I wanted to explain a bit, before people start asking "But when does the DBZ
stuff come in?" Well, this story is about two people, and the people they
love, and later about how they come to love each other. This is going to
take awhile, and the first chapters are going to be about the Sailormoon
characters. DBZ comes later, and then the two stories will merge together. 

A Love to Last for All Time
A Sailormoon/Dragonball Z Fanfic
Copyright to Marisa Price, 1997. Based on Takeuchi Naoko's _Bishojo
Senshi Sailormoon_ and _Code Name Sailor-V_, and Toriyama Akira's
_Dragonball_. Both series copyright to their authors and their sponsors.
This story is not written for any profit whatsoever. 
By Marisa Price

Minako: "I wonder if someday, somewhere, I'll run into him. A true
friend who shares my feelings. A person who understands the real me..."

Code Name wa Sailor V Book 2 Page 126.
Translated by Alex Glover.
Written by and copyright " 1994 Takeuchi Naoko. 

Dream by night, wish by day...
Love begins this way.
Loving starts
When open hearts touch, and stay.
Love it seems,
Made flying dreams
So hearts could soar.


            ---"Flying Dreams" from _The Secret of N.I.M.H._
                (Written by Paul Williams, sung by Paul Williams)

*Chapter II: Family Matters* (Part A: Draft)

	Artemis sat there for a few moments, his tail twitching, lost
in thought, before he finally jumped from the couch and landed on the
cool hardwood floor. He walked silently, his footpads caressing the
ground, out of the living room and into the front hall. The phone sat
on a small table in front of the front door. He paused for a few
minutes, gazing up at it and wondering how to use the phone without
knocking it or the table over, before he finally just took in a deep
breath and jumped up.
	The cat sighed in relief as he managed to land on the lacquered
square in a somewhat graceful fashion, and now stared down at the white
plastic phone. He read on one of the small buttons, "Intercom," and
reached his paw out to press it. A dial tone sounded and Artemis purred
with satisfaction.
	He read the names on the auto-dial buttons and saw the top
right one read, "Tsukino, Usagi." All too easy.
	The phone began to ring. After about three rings a voice
answered, "Moshi moshi?"
	"Konichiwa!" Artemis said, half startled by the sudden voice,
despite himself, and then added, "May I speak with Luna please?"
	"Luna?" the voice asked, confused. "You want to talk to my
daughter's CAT?!"
	Artemis wanted to hit himself for his stupidity. He finally
started to laugh uncomfortably and said, "Ha..ha..ha... Sorry about
that. A joke. Ha. I thought you were Usagi. Could I speak to her
please, Tsukino-san?"
	"May I ask who's calling?" she asked.
	Artemis scrambled for names and then finally said, "Tell her
that it is Endymion calling."
	"Ond-deem-eh-an?" Usagi's mother repeated, confused.
	"Yeah, uh, yeah. Endymion," Artemis said desperately, wishing
that she would just go get her daughter.
	"Um, alright. Just a second, I'll go get her," she said,
sounding a bit suspicious, but he heard the phone clatter to some sort
of surface and then the sound of the voice calling, "USSAAAAAGIII!!
Telephone!!"
	He heard some mumbling in the background after a few seconds,
and then Usagi's voice came onto the line. She said, her voice perplexed, 
"Uh, moshi moshi? Endymion...san?"
	"Usagi, it's me, Artemis. Sorry about that, but she was asking
me who I was, and I knew you would come to the phone if she said it was
Endymion. She would have known if I said I was Mamorou-san or
Umino-san. And she would probably get upset if I said I was Artemis,
the talking cat."
	Usagi laughed brightly and then said, "Ah, I see! That makes
more sense. What's up... Endymion-san?" She giggled.
	"Usaaagii-chaaan..." He said, wishing she would stop laughing
at him. He was nervous about this whole phone thing, he was so much
more accustomed to using the communicators; but Minako currently had
hers locked up in her room, and he wasn't about to go ask her for it.
	"Gomen nasai," Usagi finally said, controlling herself, and
then queried, "Is this pretty important? Should I be calling up the others?"
	"Well, it isn't senshi business, not exactly," Artemis mumbled.
	Usagi asked quietly, "Is it Minako-chan?"
	"Yes," he said, and then added, "You see, Minako didn't tell
you this, but her parents left for the week to go visit family in
Kyoto. She didn't go along because she knew she might be needed, and
also partly because she has been a bit depressed lately, I think..."
	"Depressed?" Usagi's voice was concerned.
	"You know how Mina-chan can get sometimes, Usagi-chan. I... She
has been talking about Alan again," he managed to say.
	"Oh." She didn't need to say anything else, he knew that she
understood, as Usagi was the only senshi who truly knew about Minako's
past.
	Artemis continued, "It's just that... I think she needs some
support right now. She doesn't feel like the other senshi understand
her. I was thinking, and it's just a suggestion, that maybe the four of
you could come over and try to cheer her up a bit?"
	"Oh, Ar... er... Endymion-san! Of course we could! We all know
how important it is to be there for each other at times like this!
But... Are you sure that's the best idea though? I know Minako likes to
be by herself sometimes..." Her voice faded.
	Artemis growled, "Yes. I think she needs the others right now.
If nothing else, she needs to know that she doesn't HAVE to be by
herself like she thinks she needs to be."
	Usagi started to babble, "OK, OK. I got it. I'll call up
Rei-chan and Mako-chan and Ami-chan. We can come up with something.
I'll get Luna too. Chibi-Usa has some project she is working on, so she
probably won't come. Maybe Mamo-chan will come too..."
	"That might not be a good idea," Artemis interrupted.
	"Hmmm?" Usagi mumbled, surprised, and then asked, "Um, why
not?"
	"I TOLD you she was thinking about Alan again, and mostly she's
depressed because she doesn't have anyone to love. How do you think it
would make her feel to have you bring Mamorou-san over?" He said
sharply, perhaps more vehement than he intended.
	"I..." Usagi paused, ashamed at her lack of foresight, and then
finally muttered, "I understand. I'm sorry... I, um... I'll call up the others 
and we will come over later. Why don't we have a slumber party? A 
girls' night?"
	Artemis apologized, "I didn't mean to snap, Usagi-chan... That
sounds like a wonderful idea. Thanks for being so good to Mina-chan..."
	"Don't be silly! Minako-chan is one of us, and I love
her!" Usagi's reply was cut off as her mother said something to her and
she covered the phone. Finally Usagi said into the receiver, "Gotta go,
Mom needs to use the phone... We'll be over later, OK? Hang in
there..."
	"I'll try, Usagi-chan... Thanks... Ja ne..." Artemis said.
	"No problem! Ja ne!"
	And then she was gone.

*************

	Minako yawned and stretched. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes,
trying to drive the sleep from them, and then pushed her hair back out
of her face to look at the clock sitting on her nightstand.
	5:32 PM.
	FOUR hours?! Minako thought, disgusted with herself. She hated
it when the depression kicked in and it made her sleep for hours on
end.
	She went into the kitchen and opened the refigerator, poking about
for something to eat. "Nothing. Bleah." She slammed the door shut.
	"Artemis? Where are you? Do you want to go out to get something
to eat?" She called, looking around the kitchen and living room for her
delinquent cat. "Artemis? Where are you?"
	Silence.
	"Artemis, look. I'm sorry about early. Will you come out now?"
	More silence.
	Mina grunted and sat down at the couch in front of the TV,
grumbling about "certain felines."
	Then the front doorbell rang.
	She sat up in surprise. No one had called or anything, and she wasn't
expecting anyone over. Maybe it was an emergency. Minako sped for the
door and slid on the slick tile with her slippery socks and crashed slightly
into
the door. She didn't even bother to look through the peep-hole as she opened
the door, so she wasn't prepared at all for what she saw.
	"Sur-PRISE!!!" Six excited voices called out.
	Minako blinked a Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Ami, Luna, and Artemis.
	"Ano. . . Minna." (Um. . .Everyone) "What's up?"
	Usagi smiled her brightest smile and Minako looked down to
notice that she held a bag marked "Video Special" on it in one hand,
a sleeping bag in the other, and a backpack was on her back. In fact,
she noticed as her eyes surveyed them all quickly, EVERYONE was
similarly equipped. Except Mako-chan had a bursting bag that looked
to be filled with food, Rei had some sort of strange box, and Ami
clutched a stack of books.
	"Well, Artemis told us that you were home alone, and we 
couldn't just let you enjoy it all by yourself! So we came to keep
you company! I even got some movies," Usagi chortled happily.
	Minako did her best not to give a nasty look to Artemis,
who imediately ducked under Minako's feet and ran past her with
Luna tight inn tow, and gave Usagi what she hoped as a pleasently
surprised smile. "Why, that's great, Usagi-chan!"
	"I made lots of yummies and food, " Mako-chan displayed
proudly.
	Rei opened the small silk box to show a pair of silver balls
on the inside. "I heard you were feeling stress, so I brought these
over. You roll them around in your hands and they really help
with the tension."
	Usagi and Makoto rolled their eyes at each other and Mina
tried not to giggle and took the sincerely proffered gift from Rei and
said, "Thanks, Rei-chan. I'm sure they well help a lot."
	Rei smiled back.
	Ami fussed and blushed, and then admitted that she hadn't
brought anything. "I was studying for this huge mock exam for the
high school trials when Usagi called, and I just sorta grabbed my
books and things and came over."
	"It's okay, Ami-chan. Come in everyone, I guess I can't
leave you all outside," Minako said, surprised at their depth of 
feeling, even though she knew Artemis had constructed this 
scheme. That it meant enough to Ami to intterupt her studying,
and for Minako to cook, Usagi to plan, and Rei to think of her
spiritual health, was more than Minako could have asked from
her friends. She closed the door after they all piled in, laughing,
and resigned herself to the evening. It would be wrong to go
against them after they had done so much.
	But Artemis was sure going to get it later.

* * * * *
	"Sailor-V means VICTORY!" the girl yelled as she took out
the last moster. Usagi reached out to take the last pork-bun from the
plate, and chewed it thoughtfully, her eyes still glued to the screen.
All the rest of Makoto's delicious food had been devoured earlier.
	"So, what are we going to do now?" Rei asked as she got up 
on her knees to turn off the closing credits to the Sailor-V IV movie.
	Usagi looked at Minako; the movie didn't seem to have cheered
her up very much; maybe that was because the characterization of its star
was completely off, as was the voice actress portraying her, and the whole
movie had been about Sailor-V and her mysterious lover, Hunter-X. Usagi
had chosen the movie to cheer up Mina, but in the first ten minutes she 
realized her mistake (with the kind help of a bite on the ankle from Luna
and a growl from Artemis). When Usagi then offered to turn it off, Minako
had just shrugged and said, "Might as well leave it on."
	Minako was seated in front of Makoto who was drawing a brush
through Mina's long golden locks. Minako had already been through four
different hairstyles during the movie, but none had satisfied Makoto. 
Finally, she was giving up and putting Minako's hair back up in it's usual
bow, deciding it looked best that way after all.
	Ami had been reading throughout the entire movie, using a 
flashlight to illuminate her textbook on what looked suspiciously like
Physics or Math. She was still absorbed, and didn't seem to have even
noticed that the movie had ended. Luna and Artemis were curled up 
at Ami's side, fast asleep.
	"I have an idea," Usagi said, and everyone, except the two sleeping
cats, turned to look at her. She flushed, feeling a bit self conscious. "Well, 
it's just that I have been thinking a lot lately about parents. I mean, you 
know, with Chibi-Usa showing up and all, and then finding out I was her
mother, and then. . . Well, I was just wondering what you guys thought 
about your parents."
	Makoto looked a bit wary, and asked, "Well, it depends on which
parents you mean, Usagi-chan. Are you talking about our parents here on 
Earth, or our parents from the Silver Millennium?"
	"She's right. Not that either story is a very happy one," Rei 
added.
	Usagi blinked. "Well, actually, I was talking about our parents
from the Silver Millennium. But, you know, I HAVE always wondered
about your parents here on Earth too. I mean, for Minako-chan and I, 
there isn't much to tell, but the rest of you. . . Well, if it isn't too
painful,
I'd like to know about that too."
	Rei, Makoto, and Ami all looked at each other, and then to 
Usagi.
	Rei shrugged, "I don't mind talking about them."
	"I guess it's okay," Makoto added.
	"I don't know, " Ami said quietly. "Maybe I'll just listen a bit and then
decide later."
	Minako, her hair back in place, sat quietly through the discussion. 
When Ami-chan hesitated, she leaned over to lay her hand on her friend's.
	"It's okay, Ami-chan. You don't have to talk about it if you don't 
want too. Maybe you can just tell us about your parents from the Silver 
Millennium. After all, it's not like Usgai or I have anything painful to
tell about
our present parents, so it seems unfair for us to ask you all to tell us things
that might hurt you."
	Ami gave Minako a weak smile and squeezed her hand. "Thanks,
Minako-chan. But, there's a significant problem. . . You see, I really don't
remember anything about my parents from the Silver Millennium."
	"Me neither," Makoto agreed, "Other then I think they died when we
were pretty young. All of our parents, except for the Queen of course."
	"I don't remember anything either, that's why I wanted to ask you
all about it, I thought that maybe I had just forgotten. I remember all of
you and
I remember my mother, Queen Selenity, but I don't see the face of my father, or 
of your parents."
	Rei was silent, a distant look on her face, as if she had withdrawn 
within herself to see beyond her surface memories of the past. Her eyes glowed
like dying embers from the side light of Ami's reading lamp, unfocused.
	"Rei-chan?" Minako asked, hesitatingly reaching out to touch her 
shoulder.
	"Mmm?" Rei said, coming out of her trance. "Oh sorry. I was just 
trying to see if I could see a vision of the past. However, it seems my gifts 
are limited to reading the future. All I can see of the past is a few memories
of my youth, and then the blackness of our deaths."
	"Maybe Luna and Artemis know?" Usagi asked, shaking the two
cats awake from their slumber.
	"Usagi-chaaaaan. . ." Luna grumbled, burying her face under her
paws.
	Artemis stretched, opening his mouth in a fierce yawn. "What's
wrong, Usagi-chan? Mina?" he asked after blinking his eyes a few times to
focus and settle himself into a sitting position.
	"We were wondering how much you knew about our parents in
the Silver Millennium," Ami asked, pausing to scratch Luna behind the ears
in order to coax her awake.
	"Your parents?" Artemis asked blankly. "I only knew Queen 
Selenity. Once Luna and I came to the Kingdom, your parents were all 
already dead."
	"Dead?" Makoto asked quietly.
	Luna, finally somewhat awake, mumbled, "Yes. They died in the
tumult that happened when Queen Metallia erupted from the sun in it's 
violent birth. The tried to protect their planets with their powers, but it
was all to no avail. . . Queen Selenity told us the tale when we first arrived 
from our home planet, Mau."
	"The disaster left Mercury a burned-out husk, far closer to the sun 
than it originally was, and destroyed the atmosphere shield that had kept the
planet cool and livable. Venus also became uninhabitable when Magellan Castle
was deactivated, the atmosphere turned to poison and the surface changed into 
a vast and intensely hot desert. . ."
Artemis explained sadly.
	Luna finished, "Mars dried up, all it's life and water disappearing; and
Io, where Jupiter's castle once stood, became a molten land of sulfur volcanoes
instead of the vast ocean world it once was."
	"Our worlds once had life?" Ami asked, shocked. "Then that would
explain all the scientific indicators. . ."
	The two cats nodded.
	Artemis added, "I believe your castles were:
		Venus, Magellan Castle;
		Mercury, Mariner Castle;
		Mars, Phobos Deimos Castle;
		and Jupiter, Io Castle."
	"It was the sacrifice of Queen Selenity's mother, yet another Queen
Selenity, that finally prevented Queen Metallia from invading the outer planets,
and she saved the Silver Millennium and the Earth from destruction with the 
Mystical Silver Crystal. We all thought that Metallia had been destroyed . . .
But the new Queen was very young, and the new Sailorsenshi -us- were only 
children. And so Metallia escaped and took refuge on Earth to heal. . ."
	Minako stopped speaking, realizing that everyone was staring at her. She
looked around at the chagrined faces of her friends and decided to tell them
the 
truth. "Um, everyone. I remember. I remember everything about the past. I
think it's
because, unlike all of you, my memories were never fully concealed from me.
When 
I was a little girl here on the Earth, I used to have memories of our lives
on the Moon.
Of course, my parents always thought that I just had a good imagination,
and, like most 
children, I eventually convinced myself that it must have all just been a
dream. Then
Artemis showed up, and slowly they all began to creep back. . ."
	"You remember. . . Everything?!" Said Luna in surprise. "Even 
I don't remember everything about the past still. Artemis' memory is clearer
than mine
at times."
	"I remember," Minako said softly, looking down at the carpet.
	"Well!" Usagi laughed uncomfortably, "Why don't we talk about our Earth
parents first, and then let Minako-chan tell us a bit about the past."
	Rei settled down into a black leather chair on the left of the television. She
smiled a slightly sad smile at her friends, her allies.
	"I guess I'll begin. My story really isn't that long anyway. My mother was
very lovely, but she had fragile health. She was always sick as a child, and
didn't
go to school like everyone else did. Instead, my mother stayed at home to
tend the
shrine with Grandfather. She had premonitions of the future as I do, but her
visions
were so strong that she often became ill after suffering through one.
Nonetheless,
she became very popular as a fortune teller. People came from other
countries and
towns to hear her words. One day, a young man came to her to find out if he
would
ever succeed in his political ambitions. He was handsome, rich, and
arrogant, but my
mother fell deeply in love with him, and he with her. Despite my grandfather's
protestations as to her health, my father would take my mother out to
dinners and
other places in the cities. My mother, who had never seen much of the world, as
cloistered as she had been, was amazed by all there was that she had never
seen. 
When my father asked her to marry him, she said yes, and began to travel
around the
country with him on his campaign trail. Grandfather was left alone at the
shrine."
	Rei's hand moved on the leather arm of the chair, her face a picture of
pain and concentration. Finally she was able to say, "My mother fell
pregnant with
me. She was very weak already, and the pregnancy took it all out of her. She
started
to have more and more visions and people, especially my father, thought that
she 
might have gone insane. He sent her back to my grandfather, who helped her with
the difficult pains she was having. She once said to him, 'This child burns
me. She 
burns as hot as the fires of the shrine.'"
	Luna jumped up on the chair, and Rei swept her into her arms, gently kissing
Luna on the top of her head above her crescent-moon mark.
	"Rei-chan. . ." Luna tried to comfort her.
	"It's okay, Luna," Rei shook her head. "My mother died giving birth to me,
but told my grandfather that I should be raised with him at the shrine. She
apologized
for leaving him, and told him that her daughter would maintain the fires
until the end
of time. There was a funeral, of course," Rei's voice grew cold, "My father
had to 
make sure for political reasons that everyone knew how much he grieved for his 
late wife. He hadn't even bothered to stop by to check on her during the
last months
of her pregnancy. She still loved him though, and even when she died her
lasts words
were of love for my father. I can't say that I can do the same. I don't love
my father,
he crushed all that feeling out of me years ago. The only thing my father
loves is
power. I was in the way, so he left me happily with Grandfather to be a shrine 
maiden. Of course, he also made me go to Catholic school despite the fact that I
was being raised at a "Pagan Shrine", because he was a Catholic and he wanted
his daughter to be raised "properly" so no one got the wrong idea."
	Rei shrugged. "That's all I can tell you. I see my father once or twice a
year, and he has little or no influence in my life. I go to visit my
mother's grave,
but her spirit is long gone. Grandfather is the only relative that I can say
I truly
care about."
	"Oh Rei-chan," Minako breathed, Rei's life story was so sad, especially
since she was so nonchalant about it, that it made her feel better about having 
always had warm and loving parents. As an only child, Minako had always been 
cherished in this life. Rei's sadness and tale of hopeless love also added to 
Minako's feelings of despair. What tale was coming next? She knew that 
Mako-chan's parents had both died together, but she remembered  Makoto's 
stories of her parents and felt sure that the two must have been deeply
in love. Ami's story was bound to instead be about fighting and divorce. . .
	"Should I go next?" Makoto's words cut into Minako's thoughts.
	Ami simply nodded at Makoto.
	"Well," she began, idly fiddling at first with the brush she had been using
on Minako's hair, and then stilling her fingers impatiently. "My story isn't 
nearly as interesting as Rei-chan's was, but maybe that's a good thing. It has a
similar ending though, which isn't. My mom and dad met when they were in
high school, my dad was a senior and my mom was a sophomore. He was 
helping out with teaching one of the lower science classes, and Mom was just
hopeless at math. Unless it was measurements for fabric or for cooking (which
Mom was a genius at), she just couldn't do it."
	"I suppose that explains why you do so badly in Math, Mako-chan."
Ami said thoughtfully, taking off her glasses to lay them on her Physics book.
	"Ami-chaaan...." Usagi began.
	"Ami no baka!" Minako added.
	Rei just shook her head.
	Ami looked at Luna. "Ano, what did I say? I was just. . ."
	"Nevermind, Ami-chan," Minako interrupted. "Let Mako-chan finish
her story!"
	Ami flushed and sat back to listen.
	Makoto giggled. "Well, Ami-chan, you are probably right about that.
Don't worry, you didn't insult me. I also inherited Mom's cooking and sewing
and housekeeping talents, which I love as much as she did, so being bad at
math isn't such a big price to pay. Well, Dad took a liking to Mom, and started
to help her after school with her work too. He was a big man, and had once 
played American Football, and his father was apparently an American, but that
had happened a long time ago during wartime and the American had left my 
grandmother to have the baby alone. So we still don't know exactly who my
grandfather was, but it didn't matter much, as grandmother married again to a
pharmacist and led a happy life. Both of them are gone now, as are Mom's 
parents, who were shopkeepers at a Spice shop. You know, I'm thirsty. Do 
you think you could get me a soda, Minako-chan?"
	Minako started and sat up, chuckling. "Sure. Anyone else want 
anything? I have Pepsi, juice, and tea."
	"Pepsi," said Makoto, smiling.
	"Me too," Usagi cried.
	"Tea for me," Rei said politely, "But you don't have to make it if you
don't want too. I can come in and help. . ."
	"Tea's fine, Rei-chan. Don't worry about it, it only takes a second."
	"What kind of juice is it?" Ami wanted to know.
	"Apple or Orange."
	"Apple."
	"Okay, so that's three Pepsis (one for me too), a tea, and an apple juice.
Gotcha. I'll be right back. Don't tell anymore without me!" She started to head
to the kitchen and then turned back to the group to fasten her bright eyes on
Artemis. "Oh Artemis. Why don't you come here for a second?"
	Luna whispered in his ear, "Uh oh. You're in trouble."
	"Very funny," Artemis whispered back, and then followed Minako into
the kitchen.

* * * * *

	"What's wrong, Mina?" Artemis asked as she pulled out a teapot and
a pan to heat water in.
	Minako glared at him, "What do you mean, what's wrong? I was 
planning on having some quiet time to myself, and you go and invite everyone
over."
	"Well, you seem to be having a good enough time," Artemis began.
	"Whether I am having a good time or not isn't the point. The point
is that you should have asked me first. I _AM_ glad to see everyone, but Mom
and Dad never gave me permission to have anyone over or anything. I could
get in a lot of trouble."
	"Minako-chan," Artemis jumped up on the cabinet and rubbed his head
against her arm while she prepared the hot water and put some tea into the
teapot.
She paused to give him a dark look and to move her arm before she continued
with what she was doing. "I was just worried about you, Mina. It isn't healthy
for you to be depressed, especially right now at a time when there aren't any
enemies around. You should be enjoying yourself."
	She sighed and put her arms out to sweep Artemis close. "I know,
Artemis. I know you care about me and that's why you did it, and that's why
I love you. But, sometimes it just happens to me, and I need time and space
to figure out what I want to do about it, you understand?"
	Artemis nodded.
	Minako let him go, and he dropped on all four feet back to the 
ground. "Go back in there and cuddle up with your girlfriend, OK? I'll be in
there in a sec."
	Minako's hands only shook slightly as she poured the now-boiling 
water from the pan into the teapot.

* * * * *
	". . .And a cup of tea, with a pot extra to spare," Minako smiled, 
handing the tray to Rei. "Everyone happy?"
	Makoto sipped her Pepsi and smiled. "Yeah. Where was I?"
	"Math tutoring," Ami filled in.
	"You WOULD remember that," Usagi said sagely.
	Minako and Makoto stifled a laugh at Ami's clueless look, and Rei's
eye's twinkled over the rim of her teacup.
	"Right, math tutoring," Makoto agreed. "Well, Dad started to help
Mom a lot, and she really started to fall for his big, slightly-foreign
looks, as
he had reddish hair and pretty green eyes. One thing led to another, and 
they finally kissed. He asked her to go with him to his Senior Dance, and they
introduced each other to their parents. Then Dad found out that he had been
accepted into an Architectural school in America, and he was going to have
to leave to go there for four years. Naturally, Mom was devastated, and she
thought that she would never see him again as her family didn't have enough
money for long-distance phone calls or trips. And four years was a long time."
	Mako-chan paused to sip on her Pepsi, and smiled at the sad look 
in everyone's eyes. "Hey hey, everyone! This isn't even the sad part of the
story! I mean, I'm here right? Well, here's how it happened. Mom wasn't 
too bright at school so she didn't decide to go off to college, and instead
continued to work at her parent's store. Her Dad was very sick, and she
and Grandma had to do a lot of the work because he was always in bed.
Well, Grandpa finally died, and Mom and Grandma could barely make it
without him. Then, one day, the bell on the door tinkled, and a smiling 
handsome man walked in. He had in his hands a bunch of flowers, and
my grandma didn't know what to say. He finally asked her if there was 
still a young lady working at this shop, and if she was still unmarried.
Well, Mom had been to busy looking after the shop and her parents to
have time for a boyfriend, so both answers were yes. My grandma 
told him that the young lady in question was her daughter, and she was
in the back of the shop. When Mom finally came out and saw it was her
old high school sweetheart, she was filled with happiness, and it was
only a few weeks later that he asked her to marry him, saying he could
never forget her even after all those years."
	"Wow," Usagi cried, "That's so sweet. . ."
	"Yeah. . ." Minako agreed, feeling her heart tremble. A love
like that, to stand the test of time. . .
	"So what happened?" Rei pressed.
	"They got married, and we had a really happy life. I came along
a couple years after they were married, and Dad started to make a lot
of money building things. The sold the shop after Grandma died, but
Mom still kept her mother's recipes and everything alive. Then, about
five years ago, Dad got word from his American father. He had been
apparently trying to find his son for several years, and that he hadn't 
just left my Dad's mom, that he had been ill and during his time in the
hospital, the contact number for her had been lost. When he returned
to Japan several years later, my Dad's Mom and him were already 
gone. So, Dad and Mom decided that they should go visit his long
lost father. Dad already spoke English perfectly and Mom knew a
little, but I was too young and it was too expensive for me to go too.
So, they took off on a plane, bound for America."
	Makoto paused and wiped the tears away which had appeared,
somehow, on her cheeks. "They never made it. The plane crashed over
the Pacific, and all of it's passengers were lost. I've never been able to
stand the sound of planes since, and I won't ride on an airplane for 
anything. My American grandfather offered to let me come live over
there, but I didn't want to go to America and I didn't want to have to get
on a plane or a boat to go over there. He writes to me every once and
awhile, and maybe someday I will be able to see him. I didn't have any 
other relatives left, and for awhile I was put into an orphanage. They 
weren't very nice there, so I took the money I got from my parents' 
insurance and went to court to have myself declared legally independent.
That's how I am able to live by myself, even though I was only thirteen
when I first got my own apartment. It's been four years; I still miss them
and love them, but I think I have finally been able to cope with things.
And now I have a new family, I have all of you."
	Everyone, even Ami and Rei and Artemis, was crying. The
story was so sad and sweet and showed that Mako-chan had strength
that was mental as well as physical. Minako sat up and took Mako-chan
into her arms and let her cry on her should. "Oh Mako-chan," she cooed,
"We love you."
	"I know," Makoto gurgled and laughed a bit. "Sorry to get so
emotional."
	Rei shook her head, her tears falling freely. "It was so much harder
for you. . .knowing them like that. At least I didn't lose something as special
as parents who loved me like that. . ."


*Ami's Story and Minako's tales of the Past to come soon. Comments?*