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What I'll
miss most
I look
around, waiting for my Setsuna- momma to come back home. She's taken a
while. I look to Michiru- momma who is busy making diner (I can tell
because the food seems to be burning). I here Haruka- poppa yell from the
garage. She can smell Michiru- momma's attempts too. Haruka- poppa runs
throught the house, screaming for Michiru- momma to get out of the
kitchen. All in all a normal day.
The burnt
smell leaves the house and is replaced by the smell of delicious curry,
(now I kow Haruka- poppa is cooking). I smile and run to my room. It's
less filled than my old room was the one when I lived with my real poppa.
But I don't mind. I don't need the light of all those lamps. I have my own
light; the one Usagi- san showed me. Kibouno Hikari. I have a few lamps in
my room. Mostly for lighting up the room, rather than a collecting
purpose. I have one that I won't use normally. It's the one that Chibi-
Usa- chan gave me for my birthday. I appreciate that one too much for
everyday use. I can hear a car enter the drive and I smile. I run down the
stairs, knocking into Haruka- poppa who smiles at me.
" I was
about to call you down for dinner."
" You cooked
right?"
" Do you
smell any burnt curry?"
"
Iie."
" Then you
know Michiru didn't cook."
I hear
Michiru- momma yell from the kitchen that Haruka- poppa was a dead woman.
I smile and make my way to the dining room. Setsuna- momma is there,
laughing slightly at me. I pout and act mad at her, I know why she's
laughing and I have to struggle to stop from laughing myself. She passes
me by and continues to the kitchen. I hurry knowing that with
Haruka-poppa's cooking the food will go quickly, especially if
Michiru-momma eats. She can out eat Usagi- san and Chibi-Usa-chan. Like my
friend Yumi- san. She's in my grade.
I sit down
and start eating. I know that somethings are better not said. Chibi-Usa
talked to me yesterday. She said her vacation was over, she needed to get
back to the future. I wanted to ask about the future but she said she
couldn't. I know why though. I know that we aren't in the future, my
Haruka-poppa, Michiru-momma and I. I don't know why. We won all the wars;
there is no one else to fight, so we can't die.
"
Setsuna-momma, I have a question."
"
Hai."
" Why aren't
we in the future?"
Haruka-poppa
always told us to be straightforward never beat around the bush.
Setsuna-momma looks at me oddly. I know why, it's a taboo topic.
" What makes
you say that?"
" Cause
Chibi-Usa said so."
I know I
just got her into trouble but oh well, this is important.
"
Hotaru-chan, I know it may seem scary but the outer senshi aren't needed
in the future."
" I want to
be with Chibi-Usa-chan."
" I know,
demo, you can't."
" Why
not?"
I know I was
pushing the topic, and Setsuna wasn't supposed to say anything about the
future. It worried me though; Chibi-Usa-chan was my best friend. I deserve
it after all I went through.
"
Hotaru-chan.."
" Nevermind.
You don't want to say I was just wondering whether or not there were any
other possibilities. You said that the world the inner planet senshi saw
was only what might be, not what was to be."
She smiles
at me and takes some curried chicken into her mouth. She then stands up
and starts to leave.
"
Setsuna-momma, gomen ne, I don't want you to be mad at me."
" I'm not
mad, Hotaru-chan, I just have some work to do if I have to find a way for
you to stay with your best friend."
"
Yatta!"
She leaves
and I hope to the Kami that she does find a way.
****
I start to
walk through the halls, afraid that if I were to walk any faster I would
die. Haruka-poppa walks past me, smiling then starting to run past.
Michiru-momma puts the finishing touches on a painting of all the senshi
in their fuku. I start to walk up to her and when I compliment her
painting she jumps up in suprise, knocking into some paint thinner.
I watch as
the thinner falls onto the portrait. The paint starts to run and takes out
Michiru-momma, Haruka-poppa and I. the rest of the senshi are okay, but
suddenly Chibi-Usa-chan isn't there anymore. I start to apologize to
Michiru-momma but she says it looks better that way. I want to cry but it
would do no good.
Haruka-poppa
is back and she puts her arms around Michiru-momma. I laugh and try to get
into the hug. They pull me close in with them. Setsuna-momma comes to us
and tries to hug us but ends up pushing us apart.
" Gomen ne,
you can't be here anymore."
Suddenly
Michiru-momma, Haruka-poppa and I are all alone, no one with us. I start
to cry.
****
"KOWAII!"
Michiru-momma runs into the room, putting her arm around me. A few
seconds later Haruka-poppa stumbles in, trying to rub the sleep out of her
eyes.
" Daijobu
ka?"
" Iie, I had
a nightmare."
They comfort
me through the night. I sleep while Michiru-momma sings to me and
Haruka-poppa rocks me. There is nothing I would much rather do than never
wake up. I am too comfortable with them; I don't want to lose
them
****
Setsuna-momma came back and asked Michiru-momma for some tea.
That's one thing Michiru-momma won't mess up, she can do tea well. We all
sit in the foyer, waiting for Michiru-momma to come back so Setsuna-momma
can tell us what she found. Finally Michiru-momma comes back and sets out
some tea in front of us. I like the smell, it's oolong. I like the taste
but it's too hot. I make a face at the pain. Haruka-poppa looks at me and
smiles, she puts the tea cup on the window sill, telling me the wind will
help cool it.
I laugh and
so does everyone else. This is what I will miss.
" Minna,
this is something very important. I found two possiblities that will lead
to good. With one, you are senshi, the other you aren't and are not in the
future. The first one I spoke of is the hardest. You have to make a
decision now because the time frame is closing. You have to quite being
mortals. No more leading normal lives, you have to give up your past. The
other you continue to be normal people but no more senshi duties, no more
power, no future place for you."
"
Poppa?"
" You would
have to leave all your past behind to be in the future."
" No more,
painting, violin?"
" No more
running, racing?"
" Iie,
nothing. I can't make the decision for you, I cannot force you to make a
decision, and no one should sway your decision. I want you to decide, and
I want you to write it down. I will read the decisions and inform you of
it."
The three of
us take pieces of paper and write out our answers. I think a little and
decide quickly. I write it down in kanji and fold it in half. I give it to
Setsuna-momma who smiles at me. Michiru-momma and Haruka-poppa give their
papers to Setsuna-momma. She leaves and we all look at eachother. I'm not
sure whether or not Michiru-momma and Haruka-poppa voted the same way. I
think they did, I mean they do think a lot alike. Setsuna-momma comes back
smiling, but I don't know if it's a good thing or not.
She sits
down and starts to drink her tea again. I move my hand toward Haruka-poppa
and she hands me back my tea. It's cooler now so I drink some.
Setsuna-momma stares at us and tells us that we must like our lives a lot,
we all voted to stay normal, no senshi lives, no past. Our duty to our
princess is done, we will live our life in peace, in the music world, the
racetrack, the art world, and for me, well I have classes tomorrow. At
least now I have friends.
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