Version 1.0
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"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
"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.
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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 and Taiho Shichauzo are owned by Takeuchi Naoko,
Fujishima Kosuke, Bandai, TBS, and Kodansya. All other characters
were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?
Chapter 5
Time Enough to Live
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Rei pushed her way through the junk that was piled throughout
the campervan, shying away from the bugs and creepy crawlies that
scuttled into the dark corners. What little light entered the large
portable home was cast through windows caked with dirt and grime,
making things even darker than it otherwise would have been. So
dark, in fact, that Rei didn't see the spider's web until she had
walked into it.
"EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAG!" Rei screamed out at the top of her
lungs as the owner of the web, a large, black and rather cross
little arachnid, landed on her nose. She shook the spider away and
took a leap backwards, into Makoto's arms, where she remained for
a good while, foaming at the mouth. This didn't please Makoto much,
since her back was still playing her up.
"What happened?" Minako pushed past Makoto, ready to use her
Venus Love Me Chain on Rei's attacker. Makoto sighed, rolling her
eyes and pointing at the spider with a free arm as the hapless
arachnid scampered for the nearest shelter.
"That happened." Makoto should have known better when she
said that. As soon as Minako saw the spider, she was hanging onto
the support railings that crossed the ceiling.
"Tell me when it's gone.... I'll get down then...." Minako
babbled.
"Look, for Kami's sake, will you just get down from there. We
didn't come in here to act like a pack of weak-willed, screaming
bimbos...." Makoto heaved Rei up onto her feet and started slapping
her around the face. "Wake up, you idiot.... It was just a
spider...."
"But... It was big and hairy and it wants to eat me and I'm
really scared of spiders...." Rei shivered as she blinked back into
the real world. "And don't slap me like that.... It hurts."
"It hurt me even more when you landed on top of me.... My
back... Ohhh...." Makoto put her hand behind her back and
stretched herself to the left a couple of times, trying to loosen up
her sore muscles.
This less than impressive scene was interrupted by Ami, who
was standing just behind Makoto. She had been scanning the room
with her visor, but had now switched it off. "I can see it. With
my own eyes, clear as day. It's in the corner...."
"Of course there's something in the corner, Mercury....
That's the spider...." Minako whined from the ceiling.
"No, you fool.... IT'S in the corner. I can see its shape,
in the darkness...." She pointed, and the others followed her
directions.
Sure enough, they spied the huddled figure, as gaunt and
frightened as she was, there was no doubt.... It was the Youma....
----o
>From the Personal Journal of Neo-Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)
6/29/98
CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION.
The word could mean close to anything, from something that is
intrinsic to something that is ephemeral. But it always means that
there is something WRONG!
It is unlikely that the word would come up, in reference to
me, for any other reason. When I was younger, I would often feel
slightly different to others, even though I was, by no means, a
social outcast. I guess everyone feels this way.... A certain
awkwardness in relating to others.
But I'd always put these thoughts aside. Mostly because of
WHO I am, rather than thinking that there was anything wrong with
me. It was pathetically easy to do, after all, everything that I've
had to live through these past few years must have had SOME effect
on what I'd always regarded as my "child's personality".
But to have the word "condition" thrown at me in that manner,
without actually being told what this condition is.... Indeed,
having those around me AVOID telling me by throwing off the subject
in a casual manner.... Well, what can I say? There is nothing in
the world that will spark my curiosity more completely than being
ignored.
As we were travelling between the office of Takashi-san and
the hospital to pick up Miki, I brooded. Mama wasn't saying
anything. She just sat there, smiling in that manner that mothers
have perfected for thousands of years when there is something they
would rather break to you gently, or not at all....
----o
"Usagi-neechan!" Miki leapt into Usagi's arms with the kind
of energy Doctor Mizuno was surprised to see from a girl who had,
not so long ago, been too ill to move from her bed. Usagi scooped
Miki up from the ground and lifted the dark-haired girl to face
height, smiling as she ran a hand through Miki's long hair,
tenderly.
"Have we been a good girl whilst I was away." Usagi giggled
as Miki rolled her eyes.
"Aww, come on.... I'm in a hospital. There isn't a lot I can
do wrong, is there?" Miki smiled, giggling in turn. Doctor Mizaki,
Miki's physician, nodded with satisfaction, arms crossed, as he
turned to Doctor Mizuno and Ikuko.
"She's certainly looking more hale and hearty than I've seen
her in a number of years.... I don't know what kind of energy it is
that your daughter radiates, Tsukino-san, but I wish I could bottle
it. It would be a miracle cure for many of the ills I've seen."
Ikuko put a hand behind her head, chuckling. "Well, she has
this effect on a lot of people. I guess you can say she's got that
kind of personality." She put on a wicked grin. "She inherited it
from me, of course."
"Oh, of course." Mizaki bowed to her, holding out a hand in
deference. "M'lady."
"Teehee.... He looks silly...." Miki pointed at Mizaki, who
stood up, putting his hands in his pockets, blushing nervously.
"Uh-oh.... I think we've been caught out." He said aside to
Ikuko, who nodded.
"Miki!" Usagi wagged a finger at the girl. "It's rude to
point, you know." Miki stuck her tongue out at Usagi and pointed
both fingers at her. "You sound like my Mama." She giggled.
"Do I?" Usagi sweatdropped. "Oh dear...."
"Anyway...." Doctor Mizuno turned to Ikuko. "With the
paperwork done with, and the relatives' consent, Miki is Usagi's
responsibility for the time being."
"One would hope she's up to the task." Ikuko flashed her eyes
mischievously at her daughter, receiving the expected response.
"Aww, Mama.... You're just picking on me."
"Can we go up on the roof? I want to see the city from the
hospital roof." Miki waved her arms about. Usagi looked at her,
then back at her mother and Doctor Mizaki. Mizaki nodded.
"I don't see why not. You haven't seen much of the city, have
you, Miki?"
"Nah.... Just what I've seen on tv, and out of my bedroom
window...." She paused. "And from hospital.... Across the street.
It hasn't been much...."
Usagi looked at Miki, sadly, and hugged the girl. "Don't
worry. You'll get to see as much of this city as I can show you."
She let Miki back down to the floor, brushing down the girl's
hospital gown. "Where is your jumper.... It's getting late and
might be a bit cold on the roof...."
As Usagi and Miki walked over to Miki's bag, containing all
her worldly goods, to rifle through in search for a jumper, Mizaki
stepped closer to Ikuko and Doctor Mizuno, speaking in a hushed
tone.
"How much has been explained to her about Miki's condition?
She knows how bad it can become?"
"I've.... explained the basics to her..." Ikuko swallowed.
"She has also met with Miki's aunt, Tanaka-san...."
"Ah yes..." Mizaki nodded.
"She's not the kind of person to hide things from others, is
she?" Ikuko stared into Mizaki's eyes, sternly. "It was a good
thing you'd warned me about her, beforehand.... And the way to deal
with her. I must say.... There were a couple of moments I would
have liked to.... Well, let us just say that Usagi feels deeply
about a lot of things, something I've had to LEARN to contain."
"Tanaka-san is not as bad as she makes herself out to be....
She is a very defensive individual.... I've often wondered about
her background. I'm lead to believe it was not.... the best."
Mizaki sighed. "She likes to test people, I'm afraid. I was Miki's
third physician.... The previous two... had been unable to deal
with Tanaka-san's foibles."
"We're off..." Usagi sang, holding onto Miki's hand, the
young girl now bedecked in a too-large windcheater, as they made
their way to the door.
"Don't be too long." Ikuko tapped her watch. "Be back in
twenty minutes.... I'll be in Doctor Mizuno's office, okay?"
"Haaiii." Usagi and Miki chorused, together. They both
looked at each other, then laughed out loud as they left the room.
----o
"I think she's scared of us." Makoto moved around the last
few boxes before reaching the corner of the campervan that the Youma
was huddled in. Clear of the boxes, the corner was covered in
several soiled sheets and blankets.... The Youma's bedding. The
Youma herself was not particularly displeasing to look at, being as
weak and as gaunt as she was, Makoto had the impression that, in her
prime, she had been quite attractive. If one discounted the fact
that she had pale blue skin and green hair and eyes.
"I...." The Youma croaked. "I am not... afraid... of
humans..." She pulled her cloak tightly around her and tried to
stand, failing. Eventually, she managed to push herself up the
wall, leaning against it, by which time all four senshi had moved
into the clearing. "I... am a loyal servant... of the... Dark...
Kingdom... No human... frightens me..." She began to hack and
cough, doubling over with one hand over her mouth, the other over
her chest. The four only just managed to resist the temptation to
come to her aid.
"Who are you, Youma?" Rei pointed a finger at the woman, but
her voice lacked the determined threat she had often used against
other enemies. The woman looked up at her, her green eyes glinting
with a kind of mild amusement, which seemed strangely sad to them.
"My name... is Arimus... I am a Youma soldier... under the
control... of the Dark Kingdom General... Nephrite..."
"Nephrite?" Makoto frowned. "But Nephrite is dead... And
the Dark Kingdom is.... It doesn't exist, anymore." She found it
difficult to validate her memories of their battles with the Dark
Kingdom, especially with the strange variations that had been
inflicted upon the time streams.
"This... I know..." Arimus closed her eyes and shook her
head, weakly. "When my Lord came over... to your side... it was the
duty and... the curse... of those who... served under him to...
follow...." She opened her eyes, and slid down the wall, finding
herself unable to stand any further.
"What did she say?" Minako queried Makoto and Rei. They both
looked at her and shrugged.
"I think she's trying to tell us she is not a threat." Ami
stepped forward, towards the ailing Youma woman. "In her own way,
of course."
"Wait... Mercury..." Rei reached out to stop Ami, but Makoto
grabbed her arm. Rei looked up at her, questioningly, but Makoto
merely shook her head. As Ami knelt down beside Arimus, the woman
hissed at her, threateningly. Ami wasn't fooled.
"You looked tired." She said, softly, placing a hand on
Arimus's arm. The woman looked down at the hand, then up again.
"I long for my final rest. Soon it shall come... All those
who are weak must die."
"Why do you not take the energy of we humans, to feed your
needs?" Ami sat herself, cross-legged in front of her. Makoto
followed suit.
"I..." Arimus paused as she watched Minako and Rei follow
Makoto's example. "I am weak... I have not... the will... to harm
any longer." She dropped her face, looking down at her lap.
"But... I cannot rest, yet..." She perked up. "I must see the one
you call Serenity. As Nephrite turned, so must I. I have a warning
to give you..."
"What kind of warning?" Makoto asked.
"Tis about the Dark Kingdom.... You say tis dead, do you?"
"It's... what we believe. We have nothing to dispel this
belief." Ami nodded. "It is very difficult to know, since our
memories of that time... if it even still exists... have been warped
in some manner."
"Ah... yes... Well, you see... The Dark Kingdom... It was
not so much... destroyed when... Beryl... Metallia... fell... It
was removed... so to speak... from time. Guarded by a barrier...
which is now... beginning to collapse..."
----o
The sunlight was slowly beginning to fade as night approached.
As Usagi thought, the air up on the roof of the hospital was a great
deal cooler and windier than down on the ground. Twenty storeys up,
both she and Miki had a wonderful view of the growing number of
lights across the city.
Miki was up against the handrail, open mouthed, as she watched
the waning of the day. "It's beautiful..." She said, softly.
"I guess it must be, to someone who never sees the dirty side
of a big town like this." Usagi smiled. "But yes, from up here,
even Tokyo can look nice."
"Are there people in all of those buildings?" Miki pointed in
a wide arc across the panoramic view. Usagi nodded.
"I should think so, in most of those buildings, anyway."
"So many people. I'd like to meet them." Miki clapped her
hands together, excitedly. "When you show me the city, can we meet
lots and lots of people?"
Usagi sweatdropped. "You know, not everyone in the world is
nice.... There are some mean and nasty people out there, too."
"I'm not scared of them." Miki stuck a fist in the air,
almost daring the world in one gesture. "Sailormoon is in this
city, protecting all the good people. We have nothing to fear."
Usagi sweatdropped again. "You like Sailormoon, don't you?"
Miki nodded. "Hmm. She's my favourite hero. I want to grow
up just like her. Strong, and unafraid to face any foe." She began
punching the air. "Wham! Bam! In the name of the moon, villains,
I shall punish you." She then stood back from the railing and sat
down, looking up at the astounded Usagi with a giggle. "What's
wrong, Usagi-oneechan?"
"Oh.... Nothing. You seem to be full of energy today, that's
all...." Usagi sat down next to Miki.
"That's because I'm going to live with my number one friend
and hero." Miki leant her head against Usagi's side. Usagi smiled
and put an arm around Miki's shoulders.
"Am I better than Sailormoon?"
"Way better." Miki giggled, then went quiet. "Usagi-
oneechan..."
"Hai?"
"How much time do we have together?"
Usagi didn't know how to answer that question, because she
didn't really know in what context Miki was asking it. "As much
time as you want...." She eventually replied.
"What if I get sick again?" Miki looked up at Usagi, who
swallowed, feeling a shiver run through her.
"You're only as sick as you think, Miki. Do you think you're
sick now?"
"No. I feel really good now."
"Then there's no reason to think you'll ever be sick like
that again, is there?"
"I guess so." Miki smiled.
"There is more than enough time to live." Usagi shook Miki's
shoulders. "Life is about having fun, and doing everything you want
to do. It's the only way you'll make a mark on the world." She
looked back at the open door to the stairwell. "Come on, I think we
better get back to Mama, or she'll be cross at the both of us."
"Haaiiii." Miki chortled, happily.
----o
>From the Personal Journal of Neo-Queen Serenity
(Tsukino Usagi I)
6/29/98
After returning with Miki to the office of Ami's mother, I was
given a lecture on what Miki could and couldn't eat. She had a
multiple number of allergies, and that already started my worrying.
Worrying about what I could eat in front of her. Everyone
KNOWS what my appetite is like. Enormous at the leanest of times,
for all the good things that are patently wrong for you. Well, it
just so happened, surprise surprise, that Miki was unable to eat a
lot of my favourite foods. So, then and there, I vowed that I would
never eat any of these things in her presence.
It would be unfair for her, to see those she respected and
cared for as friends, having things she couldn't have. Of course, I
would have to enforce this rule, especially with Shingo and the
others.... In Shingo's case, it would be something close to
impossible, and I became concerned about the way he would treat
Miki....
At the same time, I was becoming worried about the others. I
hadn't heard from them since the initial emergency call. Not that I
think they are incapable of taking care of themselves.... Believe
me, there is no-one on this planet as capable as they are in self
defence. It's just the offworld attacks that make me worry....
So many things to worry about.... That's responsibility for
you....
Meanwhile, plans were afoot that would affect my immediate
future....
----o
Chief Superintendent Arizuka wandered up the stairs of the
Bokuto Precinct Police Station, saluted by the two nervous officers
who were standing guard at the front entrance.
The burly, aging veteran officer chuckled, an imposing figure
in his dark, well-badged police uniform. He clutched his clipboard
tightly as he turned to his driver, still standing by the car in
which he had arrived, in the front courtyard of the station,
saluting. After a brief nod, he stepped through the front doors of
the station.
Arizuka was used to being feared by subordinates, although not
always with good reason. A strict and upright individual, he was a
great deal more flexible than other Chief Superintendents had been.
But it was not always a good thing to develop a reputation for being
flexible when one was at the pinnacle of his profession.
So he went out of his way to cultivate the persona of "Lord
Enma", the great Demon-King of Japanese mythology.... Everyone
feared a visit by "Lord Enma".... Stories would abound over
officers being sacked or transferred to remote locations after one
of his visits. True, he had had occasion to exercise a little
discipline here and there, but barely as much as would be stated on
the grapevine.
"Ah, Chief-Superintendent...." Arizuka turned as he stepped
up to the main desk, expecting no resistance to his intention to
walk through to the main office. The Captain of the Bokuto
Precinct, a tall, tanned and lazy-eyed figure and a one-time student
of Arizuka, stood beside him, doing his best to retain his sense of
calm in Arizuka's presence. "This is a most... unexpected
pleasure."
"Indeed." Arizuka adjusted his glasses. "I see the internal
alarm system is working perfectly in here. I didn't expect you to
emerge from your cave quite so quickly after my arrival."
The Captain smiled, nervously, his thin, dark moustache
twitching. "Actually, I was already here." He put his hands behind
his back. "May I be so bold as to ask the purpose of this visit,
sir?"
Arizuka smiled, shrugging. "I have a job for our favourite
pair of female officers... Tsujimoto and Kobayakawa. Something to
do with a young lady who is to receive a national award for
bravery, by the name of Tsukino Usagi...."
END OF PART 5
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nIGHT rIDER ikari@wantree.net.au
Member of the AJAS Fanfic Circle
17th August 1998