Version 1.0
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	"We've already dealt with Miki's aunt.  She has, tacitly, 
accepted Usagi's application as guardian."  Ikuko's jawline 
hardened, which made Usagi even more nervous than before, if that 
was at all possible.  Takashi stared at them, archly, smiling.  

	Usagi wanted, desperately, to do her over at that point, but
noticed something sitting on a nearby cupboard.  A photograph of 
Takashi with a girl.  A girl that Usagi recognised....

	"So....  What about you makes you think you're even vaguely
worthy of being Miki's guardian?"  Takashi leaned forward, staring
at Usagi demandingly.

	"Mako-chan?"

	"Eh?"  Takashi frowned, struck dumb at the comment which 
seemed to come out of nowhere.  She then turned to the photograph
that Usagi was looking at.

	"You....  You were the woman who handled Mako-chan's case when
her parents were killed?"  Usagi's mouth hung open, disbelievingly, 
an expression mirrored on Takashi's face when she turned back to 
Usagi.

	"Usagi....  You're THAT Usagi?"

	Ikuko's smile returned to its former strength.

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BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON
NOT A GOD
by nIGHT rIDER (Assistance by DDFA)

Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya.  All
other characters were thought up by me.  Well, its true, isn't it?

Chapter 4
Rumblings of the Past and Future

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>From the Personal Journal of Neo Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)

6/29/98


	There is something intrinsic in our nature that makes us see
a violent solution to an incipient threat as being the best course 
of action.  And justifiably so....  Many of our enemies have been 
sad, mindless and soulless creatures....  Slaves, even, with only 
one thought on their minds....  Our destruction, and that of all
humankind.

	Of course, there have been exceptions to this rule.  I've 
spent much of my time trying to find those exceptions, but it's not
always easy, especially with the others.  They're like loaded guns,
ready to go off at the merest tease of a hair trigger.  And 
sometimes that frightens me.

	What frightens me even more is the effect they have on my own
beliefs and feelings.  Because, first and foremost, they are my 
friends, and people I honestly care about.  With all my hopes in 
turning around their faults through my influence, a form of reverse
education must be in occurrence.


	Within that wreckers yard, on that Winter's day, a test of 
just how well I had been able to rein in their faults was taking 
place....

----o

	The wreckers yard was an intensely bleak place for anyone to 
be living.  But for Arimus, it had been home for close to a month.

	The female Youma skulked through the yard, cloaked in a vast
overcoat and carrying a haversack over her shoulder, she appeared to
most to be a common vagrant....  Until they saw her up close, that
was.

	Even by Youma standards, she could easily pass herself off as
human, as long as nobody gave her a close look.  Her slightly blue
skin was the first giveaway, followed by her bright green eyes and
hair.  Apart from that, she looked like a normal human being.  How
she despised that term, especially when it applied to her.

	However, she had endured the insult, for no other reason than
that her former master had turned to the other side....  As a loyal
servant, she followed suit.


	But following suit meant turning against the Dark Kingdom.  
And now, even she wasn't sure just how much of that continued to
exist in the timestream of current day Earth.  She was alone, not
knowing if any of her kind existed any more.

	She flitted between rows of wrecked or partly wrecked cars,
occasionally staring up at the dark clouds that hung in the 
afternoon sky, seeing the rain that existed within.  The weather
had turned strangely cold over the last few weeks....  She had never
really experienced the change a season could bring, or even the mild
variations of weather that could occur.  She did not enjoy it....

	Fortunately, she had made her home within a campervan, which 
for no visibly apparent reason had been dumped at the far end of the
wrecking yard, and left there, forgotten.  It was near-intact, with
all the warmth of home.  It was certainly warmer than the home she
had back in the Dark Kingdom.  But she was a Youma, and had learnt
to endure such things.


	Reaching the campervan, she stopped at the door and peered 
about, frightened that she might be spotted entering the vehicle.  
There had been occasions when she had almost been caught by the 
yards owners...  Or worse, people with evil in their hearts, doing
horrible things around the vicinity of the van in the middle of the
night.  There was nothing she could detect more easily than the 
faint stench of corruption.  No semblance of honour or dignity 
within beings of this nature....  Even Youma had their own codes
of honour.

	Satisfied that there was nobody in sight, Arimus opened the
door to the campervan and disappeared inside, the door slamming shut
behind her, like a trapdoor spider disappearing into its hole.


	Makoto sat atop the small pile of cars, almost lazily 
contemplating her next move.  She saw a small flash of red, off to
her right, and turned to see Rei waving at her.  The fire senshi
was gesturing to the campervan.

	Makoto shook her head and held out her hands, as if telling
Rei she already knew where the Youma went, but didn't really know
what to do next.  This was followed by a beeping on her 
communicator.  She answered.

	"Yes?"

	"Don't give me the apathetic shrug, you overgrown bimbo.  The
thing has gone into that campervan.  It's our chance to nab it."  
Rei's impatient voice echoed tinnily into Makoto's ears.

	"What was that?  'Overgrown bimbo'?"  She growled into her
communicator.  "Listen, you brainless tramp, I could blast the 
living bejeezus out of the van if I wanted to....  But it doesn't
feel quite.... well, sporting."

	"Brainless TRAMP!?!?"  Rei shrieked with splenetic rage.

	"Makoto was right...."  Ami's voice suddenly cut in on their
pleasant conversation.  "We ARE reverting to our former 
personalities."

	"I rather liked the brainless tramp line."  Minako countered,
making her own contribution to the argument.

	"You would, you blond sl...."

	"THAT WILL BE ENOUGH!"  Ami managed to interject before Rei 
could say any more.  "Have you all forgotten what we're supposed to
be doing here?"

	"I know what I'd like to be doing here."  Minako sighed.  "And
that is NOT being here."

	"I'll second that motion."  Makoto chimed in, happily.  
"Anyone for the coffee shop?"

	"Look, let's just take the thing out, quickly, and get this 
over and done with."  Rei said in exasperation.

	"But it hasn't done anything wrong, yet."  Makoto whined.  
"You said yourself, you couldn't feel any hostile intentions from 
it."

	"That was before we all started having a go at each other."
Rei sighed, sitting down on the pile of wrecks she had found 
herself, cross legged, leaning her chin on one arm.

	"I seem to remember who it was that started this argument."
Minako gave Rei the finger from the other side of the yard.  Makoto
turned and shook her head.

	"Maybe I SHOULD just blast the campervan."

	"You know, I wish Usagi was here....  The lot of you are 
acting like a pack of grade schoolers."  Ami sounded depressed.

	"Hey, I have an idea.  Why don't I walk up to the campervan 
and knock on the door."  Makoto sat up straight, smiling.

	"WHAT?  ARE YOU CRAZY?"  Rei shouted so loudly they could hear
her without the communicator.

	"Oh great, ya black-haired twit.  Let the thing know we're 
here."  Minako mumbled dubiously.

	"Oh well, it can't do any wrong now."  Makoto let out a long
breath and hopped off the pile of wrecks, landing on the ground in
front of the campervan.

	"Wait!  Don't do it!  It's too dangerous...."  Rei said, 
stammeringly.  Makoto ignored her and started her way forward, 
towards the door.

	"I'll cover you, Jupiter...."  Ami made an appearance out of
nowhere, running up alongside Makoto from in between the lines of
wrecks, where she had been hiding.

	"I don't think it will be all that necessary, but thanks."
Makoto smiled at her.

	"Olly olly oxenfree...."  Minako bounded in to join them.
"All for one, one for all, what do you say?"

	"You people are IDIOTS!"  Said Rei as she ranged up on the 
three of them.

	"So why are you here?"  Makoto looked at Rei, dubiously.

	"I can't let you make a complete mess of this all by yourself,
now can I?"  Rei said through gritted teeth, holding up a fist in
Makoto's direction.  The taller girl stared at the fist casually.

	"Actually, I'm more worried about you than the Youma right
now.  I'm certainly more likely to get bopped over the head by you
than it."  She ignored Rei's dark expression and stepped up to the
door.

	And she knocked.  Three times, in fact.  "Hello, Sailorsenshi
delivery service, is this the Youma Mansion Apartments?  I have a
special delivery for you...."  She said with a sing-song voice and 
a grin.

----o

	Ikuko smiled at Usagi as Takashi rifled through the paperwork,
much to Usagi's confusion.

	"Did I say something wrong?"  Usagi asked, softly.

	"I don't think so.  In fact, I think it's just the opposite."
Ikuko giggled, equally softly.

	"Tsukino Usagi....  Tsukino Usagi...."  Takashi mumbled as she
looked more intensively through her reports and files.  Slowly, an
expression of disbelief crossed her face, replacing the look of 
determination.  "YOU, of all people....  YOU'RE the one that Mako-
chan kept telling me about?"  Takashi's jaw was on the table.

	"Uh-huh."  Ikuko nodded, patting Usagi on the head, rather 
condescendingly.  Usagi's face went red with embarrassment.

	"I just can't believe it."  Takashi allowed the files to drop
on top of the desk.  "She....  I...."  Takashi didn't know what to 
say.

	"Perhaps you'd like to read further on Haruna-sensei's report
of Usagi, Takashi-san?"  Ikuko smiled, handing Takashi the original 
file that she had dropped in her confusion.

	"Ah....  Ahem...  Yes, of course."  Takashi opened the file
and started reading it from where she'd left off.  "'However, 
considering the condition she has suffered since early childhood, 
and the way these negative aspects to her education are dissipating 
with great rapidity, I must say that she has achieved a great deal 
in an almost heroic manner.  On top of this, she has acted like
something of a counsellor to the other students.  She has a strong
empathy with people, and has, more than once, been responsible for
helping students who were....'"

	Takashi paused.  Ikuko gestured her to keep reading.

	"Who were... what?"  Usagi frowned, not quite understanding 
what was being said.  Usagi's mind was still pondering over the
revelation of a 'condition'....

	"'She has a strong empathy with people, and has, more than 
once, been responsible for helping students who were on the verge 
of, or considering, suicide.'"  Takashi swallowed.

	"They were WHAT?"  Usagi's jaw hit the floor.  "You mean there
were people in school in THAT frame of mind?  I never knew."

	"'I don't think Usagi does it consciously.  To her, it seems to
be something that comes naturally....  Trying to work out the 
emotional problems of others.  Almost as if she were trying to cure 
the problems of the world in her own limited sphere of influence.'"  
Takashi trailed off, lowering the file, staring into space.

	"Yes."  Ikuko nodded.  "So, Takashi-san.  What makes you think
Usagi is not a good person to be taking care of Miki?"

	"I....  I....  This really doesn't change anything in terms of
her application.  The processes of bureaucracy have to be worked 
through."  Takashi swallowed again.  "However, despite my earlier 
feelings, I don't think....  I won't...."

	"Yes?"  Ikuko crossed her arms.  Usagi looked from her mother,
to Takashi, and back.

	"You... have my blessings."  Takashi said the words softly.  A
softness that Usagi thought was most uncharacteristic of the woman.
Takashi sat back in her chair and stared down for several moments.

	"Does that mean I can get to look after Miki."  Usagi asked,
hopefully, a pleading look on her face.

	"Yes, I think it does."  Ikuko smiled at her daughter.

----o

	There was no response.  Makoto was most disappointed, turning 
to look back at the others.  "You think she's asleep?"

	"Maybe she's slipped out the back?"  Minako scratched her 
chin, staring dumbly into the air.

	"Or maybe she's preparing to ambush us."  Rei held up a fist.
"I mean, what kind of Youma is it that hides in an old campervan?"

	"Why wouldn't she hide in an old campervan?  We've had enemies
hide in worse."  Rei huffed and turned away, crossing her arms.

	"At least she has a sense of pride.  After all, a campervan is
designed for being lived in, as opposed to holes in the ground and
caves and grottos and such."  Minako sniffed.  "I mean, if you were
a monster, all alone in this world, you'd want to find as good a 
place to call home, wouldn't you?"

	"That didn't sound quite right, there, Venus...."  Ami sighed.

	"Anyplace you can hang your home is a hat."  Minako shrugged.  
The other three facefaulted.

	"Maybe we should try looking inside, rather than standing 
around here, chatting?"  Rei pointed to the door.  Makoto chuckled.

	"You sure changed your tune."

	"Well, it's not like anyone else here is making decisions."

	"Have it your own way."  Makoto took hold of the door handle
and tried to open the door, to no effect.  "Hmm, must be locked."
She tried, harder, but merely rattled the door.

	"Come on, Jupiter, where's your legendary strength gone?"  Rei
grinned, tapping her foot.

	"I'll show you where it has gone."  Makoto gripped the door 
handle with both her hands and put a foot up on the campervan's 
side.  "One, two, three, HEAVE!"


	Makoto wrenched the door from its hinges, falling flat on her
back with a short cry, the door landing on top of her.  
"Iiitaaaiiii."  She mumbled after a few moments.

	"Are you alright, Jupiter?"  Ami asked, softly.

	"No, I am NOT okay.  Will someone help get this door off me?"

	"Oh, sorry."  Ami said as she and Minako reached down and 
pulled the door away from her.  Makoto sat up, rubbing her head.

	"Jeez....  That damn thing should never have been so hard to
open.  I mean, it's not as if it is that well built."  She slowly 
got to her feet, then arched her back.  "Owwie."

	"What is it?"  Minako asked, fearfully.

	"I've pulled a muscle in my back.  Ack...."  Makoto shambled
around as Minako came to her aid.  Meanwhile, Ami was studying the
door as Rei peered into the campervan.

	"This is strange....  The door feels heavier than it should 
be."  She clicked on her earring, and her visor flashed across her
face.  "Indeed, it appears the structure has been altered."  Ami
leaned the door against her shoulder as she took out her computer,
making calculations on the door's structure.

	"What's the point of doing THAT, Mercury.  The Youma could
leap out at us at any moment."  Rei turned to Ami, who sighed.

	"Don't you think it is strange?  Maybe the Youma attempted to
strengthen the campervan to protect itself."  Ami turned around and
showed Rei her calculations.  "See for yourself."

	Rei stared at the symbols, dumbly.  "Er, yeah, right."

	"I can see you don't understand."  Ami sighed, shaking her 
head.  "Ho hum.  And you give Usagi a hard time when she can't 
understand these things."

	Rei's face turned dark as smoke rose from her ears.  Ami 
ignored her and placed the door up against the side of the 
campervan.  Minako guided the grimacing Makoto up to the pair of
them.

	"Well, we're halfway there."  Minako sniffed.  "So, are we
going in?"  Rei huffed, crossing her arms.

	"Well, yeah, I would go in if I could see what was in there.
Apart from the huge mess, that is.  There is rubbish and boxes and
stuff all over the place."

	"Really?"  Ami looked through the doorway, her visor making
things clearer to her.  "I can see a figure, giving off a weak 
energy signal, lying at the far end of the campervan."

	"Eh?"  The others frowned.

	"I think....  She's either asleep, or unconscious, or...."
Ami swallowed, the others waiting for her next words.

	"Or?"  Rei urged her to continue.

	"Or... she's dying."

	"Dying?"  Rei's jaw dropped.  "Oh, come on.  Why would a Youma
let itself die?"

	"Well, we know she hasn't taken any energy from anyone.  Maybe
she wants to die."  Ami switched off her visor.  "She's starving 
herself to death."

	They all chewed this over.  Rei's face became solemn.  "I 
did... feel.... that she wasn't a threat... earlier."  She looked up
at Makoto and Minako, then over at Ami.  "Perhaps we should find 
out.  First hand."  She turned and stepped up into the campervan.

----o

>From the Personal Journal of Neo-Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)

6/29/98


	Takashi-san actually turned out to be quite a nice woman, once 
she had thawed that icy front she'd put on to begin with.  Makoto 
had often told me stories about a woman who had been looking out for 
her, like a second mother, or an aunt.  It was only when I was able 
to see this kinder side to Takashi-san that I was capable of 
believing that she was the woman in Makoto's tales.

	It was interesting, later recounting this encounter with 
Takashi-san to Mako-chan, to see the expression on her face, 
especially when I described her attitude when my mother and I first
walked into her office.

	To say Mako-chan was furious was an understatement.  For a few
moments I thought I'd rung the death knell on their relationship.  
But Mako-chan is quite forgiving of people, underneath.  Except for
those she holds things against.  That sounds like I'm contradicting
myself....  Well, anyway, we'd managed to smooth things over, later.


	Takashi-san went out of her way to please us after this 
turning point in our appointment.  In fact, she told me things about
Mako-chan that even Mako-chan had never told me.  Perhaps, more or 
less, out of embarrassment.  And one of those things included Mako-
chan's... ahem...  "Long Lost Senpai", for want of a better term....

	There were a few shocks associated with that tale, I can tell
you, and things that she would never forgive me if I recounted them
here....

----o

	"That's....  I don't believe it.  She's not a...."

	"Yes, well, I think it's best that this little bit of 
information not go any further than this office.  It was just one
of those things, I'm afraid."  Takashi giggled, nervously, as Usagi
sat back in her chair, pondering this.

	"I hope you're not planning on dumping any little surprises
like this on us, Usagi-chan...."  Ikuko nudged Usagi in her ribs,
making her daughter shift, nervously.

	"Oh, Mama....  How many times do I have to tell you...."

	"Anyway."  Takashi continued.  "All the paperwork is 
completed.  At least, things are clear at this end.  There is no 
reason, now, why Miki can't go home with you tonight, as long as the
doctors involved agree with this, of course."

	"Well, the way she was bouncing around when we visited her 
earlier, today, I don't think there would be a problem on that 
account."  Ikuko handed Takashi a form she had signed.  Takashi took
the form and studied it, nodding.

	"Miki is a very fragile girl.  I've known her for quite a 
while.  It is good to see that she is in remission."


	"Ano...."  Usagi interrupted.  Ikuko and Takashi looked at 
her.

	"What is it, Usagi-chan?"  Ikuko asked.  Usagi swallowed, 
nervously.

	"Haruna-sensei's notes....  They mentioned a.... um... a 
'condition' that I had...."


	"Well."  Takashi interrupted her.  "I think I should call the
hospital to let them know you are coming back for Miki."  She stood,
holding out her hand to Ikuko.

	"Ano...."  Usagi croaked.

	Ikuko also stood, taking Takashi's hand.  "Thanks for your 
help, Takashi-san.  It has been good to meet you."

	"You too."  Takashi smiled.  She then stepped around from 
behind the desk as Usagi stood, nervously.  "Usagi-chan..."

	"Ah, hai?"  Usagi blinked.  Takashi threw her arms around the
surprised girl, hugging her.  "Good luck.  And thankyou."

	"Thankyou?"

	"For Mako-chan.  For Miki-chan."  Takashi pulled herself back
and looked at Usagi, smiling, her hands on Usagi's shoulders.  "I 
leave Miki in better hands than my own."  She put up a hand and took
the dark glasses from Usagi's face, surprised by how sore they 
looked.

	"Takashi-san?"  Usagi winced as the full light struck her 
eyes.  Takashi closed hers, then opened them again, smiling.

	"I had to see them.  Your eyes.  It is so hard to feel empathy 
towards a pair of dark sunglasses."

	Usagi nodded.  "Ano...  About my condition...."

	Takashi turned away and bowed to Ikuko, who bowed back.

	Why are they ignoring me about this, Usagi thought to herself.


END OF PART 4

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nIGHT rIDER  ikari@wantree.net.au

Member of the AJAS Fanfic Circle

28th Jun 1998