AN: Inspired by the movie Dark Water, but you don't need to have watched it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Water (Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara), Bishôjo Senshi Sailor Moon or any place, characters and objects associated with either.
Summary: Tsukino Usagi is living a hard life, a single parent with her ex husband fighting for custody over her child, and now living in a rundown flat...life couldn't get worse...AU
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Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara-----
"I'm sorry, Tsukino-san, there's nothing we can do for you at this time," the manager said. Yet another job refusal. At this rate, Usagi would lose her daughter for sure, for not providing enough income to support the two of them.
"Thank you for your time," Usagi answered, the phrase drilled into her head. How many times had she said it in the past month? She had forgotten. It seemed to be happening a lot lately.
Usagi walked through the cool metal doors of the elevator to find her daughter, the pink haired Chibi Usa, sat swinging her legs in boredom.
"Chibi Usa!" Usagi called. Red eyes looked up hopefully, and a smile grew.
"'Kaasan!" Chibi Usa cried, running towards her mother. " Did you get the job?"
Suddenly, Usagi's smile seemed forced, and didn't reach her eyes, which grew more depressed by the day.
"No, honey," and then her face brightened. "But I'll keep looking, don't worry!"
Chibi Usa smiled. She had such a brave mother, who would keep going even when life tried to pull her down!
---
As well as facing job problems, Usagi also had to deal with her ex-husband's lawyer phoning at the worst times.
"If you don't have a job soon we're afraid that your child will be handed over to her father, as she needs a stable life and someone with enough money to take care of her. Tsukino-san, it seems you just can't take care of your child."
This was the latest phone call. Usagi was considering trying to sue for harassment, but it wasn't worth it. It would mean spending less time with Chibi Usa, and then she would definitely be given to Mamoru.
Usagi's life just wasn't getting any easier...
---
And here the blonde woman was, facing another job interview. She put on her happy face. She would get this job if it killed her. She had to!
She spent thirty minutes in the office. Not long to most, but too long in Usagi's eyes. Once again, her daughter was left alone in the reception area. She could see it now, the girl leaving with Mamoru, Usagi alone on the streets, eventually dying of starvation...
"You're hired. We could use someone like you on our work force. You will start next Tuesday at 9am as our new proof-reader, and don't be late."
Usagi lifted her head up, shocked. She got the job? She smiled.
"Thank you for your time, Mizuno-san," she said, before leaving. And the routine began anew, her walking out of the elevator, her child running up to hug her, and asking if she had the job. Only now Usagi's smile was real, and she answered 'yes'.
---
Of course, Usagi seemed to be carrying around the equivalent of a bad luck charm, as when she reached her apartment, there was a white letter with a red stamp on it.
EVICTION NOTICE
Usagi closed her eyes, feeling the sudden urge to cry and destroy everything in the damned apartment.
She hadn't been keeping up on her payments, and now she was forced to move.
"Why me? What did I do wrong!?" She cried, collapsing to her knees. "Why does everything bad have to happen to me?"
And there was silence in the room, except for the broken sobs of a woman pushed too far.
---
Not being able to afford a car, Usagi and Chibi Usa caught a train to their new apartment in central Tokyo. Once reaching it, Chibi Usa took one look and scrunched up her face in disgust.
The building shouldn't have been legible for living in. It was run down, in obvious state of disrepair. And yet, this was all Usagi could afford.
"I'm sorry, Chibi Usa. When I earn enough money, I'll move out of here, I promise."
Chibi Usa looked up to Usagi, eyes wide with hope. "Promise?"
"Promise."
---
"Here's the keys, your apartment is 309. Take the lift to floor three, and it's the fifth door on the left," the man at reception said in the tone of voice that said he'd rather be cleaning sewers than doing this,
"Um, thank you," Usagi answered, giving the man a strange look. Could he be any more impolite?
After a short walk up the stairs (Chibi Usa had been scared that the elevator would break down on them) they reached their new apartment.
Usagi twisted the key in the lock, and pushed the door open, expecting to find the apartment a wreck. And yet, it looked fine. Fully furnished bathroom and kitchen, the only problem was a leaky patch on the ceiling in one of the bedrooms.
After moving all of their things into their new flat, Chibi Usa fell asleep on the bed, in the room with the leaky ceiling. Usagi sat down beside her, tucking her in, and fell asleep on the edge of the bed soon after.
It was about 8pm when Usagi woke with a start, dreaming of water everywhere. Then Usagi realized what had caused her to wake. A drop of water from the ceiling. The damp patch had spread. She shook her head, and looked to her daughter, who wasn't there.
"Chibi Usa! Chibi Usa, where are you?" Usagi shouted, running through the apartment, before running into the corridor, then to the lift. She ran straight to the man at reception, and asked to see the surveillance footage. After agreeing (albeit rather reluctantly), Usagi was allowed into the room where the security camera images led to. And there, on the roof of the building, was Chibi Usa. Usagi breathed a sigh of relief, before dashing back into the elevator and going to the top floor.
On the way up, she saw nobody, and realized that she and Chibi Usa were the only people living in the flat. Until she noticed a girl at the end of the corridor on the fourth floor, her back turned to the lift. It comforted Usagi to know that someone else lived here.
The doors opened onto the roof, and Usagi ran out, intent on finding Chibi Usa, who was stood near the water tower, clutching a purple hat.
"'Kaasan! Look what I found!" Chibi Usa cried with glee, holding up the purple hat.
"Chibi Usa! Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" Usagi scolded, before taking her hand and leading her back to the elevator.
Chibi Usa turned back to the roof and smiled, almost as if she had met a new friend.
---
"Ah, you must be Tsukino Usagi! And this is Chibi Usa, correct?" A young woman said. "Welcome to the Central Tokyo Daycare centre," she smiled. It was slightly unnerving.
Chibi Usa didn't have the purple hat anymore, Usagi had thrown it away when they were on their way to the daycare centre.
The woman and Usagi talked for a while, and Chibi Usa went into another room, where a group of children decided to play hide and seek. One of the boys looked towards her. He had the strangest hair, almost pure white.
"So, you must be new," he said. " What's your name?"
"Chibi Usa," she answered meekly.
"Okay, my name is Peruru. Well, we're playing hide and seek, and Noriko's it," he said, pointing to a small girl with navy blue hair, who was already counting. "And you have to find somewhere to hide where Noriko wont get you, 'kay?" He added. Chibi Usa nodded in reply, before heading off.
She ran around the room, noticing a lot of pictures with a drawing of a purple haired girl with a purple hat, identical to the one Chibi Usa had found the night before.
Hotaru, please come back soon!' The pictures read. Chibi Usa wandered on, and soon found herself in the bathroom, and hid in a stack of boxes.
After a minute, she heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps, and saw a pair of black shoes standing in front of the boxes. There was the awful smell of dirty water mixed with something rotten, and Chibi Usa began to cough, chest heaving, unable to breathe, before she passed out.
---
"Is she okay? What happened to her?" Tsukino Usagi's frantic voice shouted with worry. Her daughter had passed out? Why?
"Please, calm down, Tsukino-san. We don't exactly know why she passed out, but it appears to be shock," the woman from the daycare centre said calmly, her fiance stood by her side.
'At least it wasn't that bad that she had to be sent to hospital. But still, my child's safety could be at risk!' Usagi thought, trying hard not to strangle the woman in front of her.
Peruru suddenly walked into the back room where the daycare woman Keiko, her fiance Hiroshi, Usagi, and the unconscious Chibi Usa stood.
"Is Chibi Usa okay?" He asked, carefully avoiding the eyes of the daycare man.
"She's not well at the moment. Do you know what happened to her? She was found in the bathroom, unconscious," Hiroshi asked, accusing eyes fixed on the small white haired boy.
"N-no, we were playing a game of hide and seek, and when everybody had been caught, Noriko said she heard coughing from the bathroom and then...she found Chibi Usa," he finished quietly. Hiroshi raised his hand and whacked Peruru across the back of the head.
Usagi stared, eyes wide. That couldn't be allowed! Hitting children...wasn't allowed, was it?
Usagi couldn't remember.
Keiko just kept smiling that inane smile of hers.
---
Chibi Usa had been sent home with Usagi that day. The only reason Usagi had taken Chibi Usa to the daycare centre that day was to get her used to it, as tomorrow would be Tuesday, Usagi's first day of work at the publishing company, Blue Mercury Publishing.
Usagi sighed deeply, relaxing for the first time in a few days. Chibi Usa was asleep, and Usagi had time to herself. Surely Chibi Usa would be okay if she was left alone for a minute?
Yes, she'd be okay.
Usagi stepped into the elevator and went to push the button to the ground floor, but saw that each one had been burnt off, and that the elevator had been called to the fourth floor. Not knowing which button to press, she waited for the doors to close and for the sickly lurch of the lift as it headed up.
She stepped out of the rickety lift, to see that there was nobody there. No-one, not even the girl she had seen yesterday evening.
She began the trip down stairs, holding her nose.
'When I earn enough money, I'm moving out of here,' Usagi thought, staring at the walls with obvious distaste.
Stopping by at the reception, she told the man there (the annoyingly impolite one) about the buttons in the lift and the damp patch on her ceiling. He assured her that it was nothing to worry about, and that he'd sort it out.
Stepping out into the cold autumn rain, Usagi ran to the closest shop, and bought a few groceries and a couple of books to read. Upon her return to flat 309, in the seemingly worst apartment block in the neighbourhood, she noticed that once again, her daughter had vanished.
She ran down the stairs again, and asked to see the surveillance cameras once again. She noticed the indigo haired girl from yesterday, stood in the lift, and from the looks of it she was headed to the ground floor. Thinking nothing of it, she looked at the cameras. Nothing. Chibi Usa wasn't anywhere to be seen. Panicking, Usagi ran to the entrance hall.
The lift doors opened, revealing nothing.
Usagi blinked, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She'd seen the camera footage, the girl was in the lift, between the first and ground floors!
She put her hand to her head and ran to the first floor, then the second, then the third, checking each room to see if Chibi Usa was there.
Nothing.
She reached the fourth floor, the last floor before the roof, and saw flat 409's door was open. The apartment directly above hers. Could it be...that Chibi Usa had somehow wandered in there? Usagi ran, almost out of breath, and stopped suddenly. Like her own flat, 409 had a lowered floor, meaning that there was a step. It was a good thing, really, otherwise the whole apartment block would have been flooded by now.
The walls were dripping, dark and eerie. Every tap in the apartment had been turned on to flood the room, which explained the damp patch.
But why the hell had nobody noticed!? Why hadn't anybody tried to do something about it!?
"Chibi Usa! Chibi Usa, where are you?" Usagi cried. Although, with the rushing of the water, and the drip, drip, drip sound, Chibi Usa would be lucky to hear her screaming.
Wading through the freezing cold ankle-deep water, Usagi began to look through each of the rooms, almost worried to tears.
"Chibi Usa!" Usagi shouted, now stood in what she presumed was the hallway.
"'Kaasan..." came the faint reply from a room on the left.
Usagi ran into what used to be a little girl's bedroom, judging by the pictures on the walls that hadn't been washed away. And there, unmoving on the four poster bed, was Chibi Usa.
Usagi picked her up, cradling the young girl to her chest, then noticed a purple hat on the bed. The identical to the one she had thrown away just that morning.
More than a little spooked by now, Usagi turned to leave, and noticed a young girl in the corner of her eyes, back facing her. Usagi turned to tell the girl to leave, that it was dangerous in here, but by the time she had twisted her head, the girl had vanished.
'What's happening to me?' Usagi wondered. 'Am I going insane?'
---
"How could you have not noticed!? The whole apartment is flooded!" Tsukino Usagi yelled at the apartment manager, who doubled as the cleaner. He wasn't very useful at either job.
"I'll do something about it as soon as I can, Tsukino-san," he replied, voice monotone, and Usagi knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with this.
She had to get out of this apartment as soon as possible! Something was extremely off about the whole building.
First, a cleaner who didn't do anything, second, nobody living there except for her and the little girl who kept popping up at odd times and third, the place was run down!
But Usagi couldn't move, at least not until after the case was presented before the family court. If she moved, Mamoru would get permanent custody of Chibi Usa, as Usagi would be seen as not providing a stable home life.
Usagi sighed. She'd better get a good night's rest, as she began work tomorrow.
---
"That's right, his name is Peruru. He's nice. What? No, no! We're not...like that! I'm too young!" Usagi had finished work and arrived home to hear Chibi Usa chattering away to someone.
"What? Oh, I'm sorry, don't worry. Everything will get better someday, I promise!"
Usagi smiled. So her daughter had a friend, that meant she seemed to be settling in fine.
She walked into the bathroom, where Chibi Usa was, only to find that there was nobody else there.
"C-Chibi Usa? Who are you talking to?" the blonde asked, shaking.
The red eyed girl smiled. "My friend, her name is Firefly. Say hello, Firefly!"
'An imaginary friend. That's all, Usagi. No need to be worried, no need at all...'
Then she remembered the missing posters from near the daycare centre.
'Tomoe Hotaru, Age 5. Missing since April 2002.'
Didn't Tomoe Hotaru roughly translate into English as Firefly of the Earth?
---
"Let go of her, Usagi. You're not fit to be her parent!" Chiba Mamoru shouted.
"She's my daughter! Don't try to take her away from me!"
Poor Chibi Usa was caught in the middle of her warring parents. Usagi had been late to the daycare centre after work a couple of times, and it had been dark when she was picking Chibi Usa up to take her home. And now Mamoru had found out and was trying to take the girl away from Usagi.
"Ow! It hurts!" Chibi Usa cried. Usagi and Mamoru let go of her, and the pink haired girl ran off.
"You see what you did, Usagi? I told you! You're not fit to be a mother! Living in a rundown area, not picking Chibi Usa up on time, and letting her run off at night? Wait until this is presented before the family court!" The dark haired man gloated.
"My fault!? I'm sorry I don't have the money to live in a better area, and the only reason I'm late is because I'm working late to get enough money to support Chibi Usa! And if you hadn't tried to drag her off, she wouldn't have run away in the first place!" Usagi yelled.
A car passed, and the light revealed a child walking on the other side of the road. The street lights flickered on, and more light was shed on the girl. She wore black shoes and a purple dress, and a purple hat that hid her face from view.
Usagi recognized her immediately as the girl from the missing posters.
"Hotaru! Tomoe Hotaru!" She called out. The girl stopped walking and turned her head, still looking to the ground.
Mamoru looked across the road, but saw nothing.
"Usagi? Who are you shouting? There's nobody there," he said warily.
The blonde turned. "What do you mean? The girl, over there, with the...purple...hat..." she finished, having turned to face the building where the girl was stood.
She had vanished.
"See? Nobody there. Maybe you're going insane, Usagi. I'll see you in the family court on Saturday," Mamoru said, grinning, before hailing a taxi.
"But...there was...I could have sworn..." Usagi said weakly to herself, pointing at the building, her arm shaking.
"'Kaasan?" A timid voice questioned. Usagi turned to see who had spoken, and her daughter revealed herself.
"Chibi Usa? Were you hiding there all this time?" The little girl nodded in reply.
"'Kaasan, I don't think you're insane. I've seen the little girl too. Maybe 'Tousan was just playing a game?" Chibi Usa said, full of childish innocence.
Usagi nodded, in a daze. "Come on, dear. Let's go home."
---
It was truly horrifying. Some of the books Usagi had to proof-read were disgusting.
"I can't cope. It hurts so much to read them, the stories are so graphic, full of too much detail, it's making me sick, Mizuno-san," Usagi said tiredly, half way through yet another SM torture fest book. "How can people read and write these? These should not be in stores!"
"I know, but I'm sorry, Tsukino-san. If somebody sends us a book, I'm afraid we have to proof-read it. There's nothing I can do," the blue haired manageress of Blue Mercury replied.
The books were preying on her mind when it was at it's most vulnerable state. Not when she was sleeping, but awake. She forced herself to finish proof-reading the book. With visions of missing little girls, having to read these books and fighting for custody over her five year old daughter, Usagi was getting more stressed by the day.
"Don't worry too much about it, Tsukino-san."
---
She had been late picking Chibi Usa up again. She felt disappointment rising, but crushed it. She had gone through this when she was young, her mother and father picking her up late when she was young...
Usagi remembered a dream she once had, she had been a superhero with a talking cat, and had many friends, superheroes just like herself. In fact, many of the people she knew now reminded her of them. Mizuno-san of Blue Mercury Publishing, her lawyer, Aino Minako, one of her friends from before she split up with Mamoru, Hino Rei, a priestess...
If only her life could have been like that dream she had, where she was loved and well cared for, and was truly happy.
Usagi turned the tap in the kitchen, getting herself a glass of water. She turned off the tap and raised the glass to her lips, before dropping it in horror. The glass smashed on the floor, water spilling everywhere. Usagi bent down and picked up a handful of black hair that shone amethyst in the light.
She went out into the corridor and headed for the stairs, going up to the roof for some fresh air. The lights shone beneath her, people headed home from work and families drove past. Usagi looked towards the town centre, full of glowing skyscrapers. It was then she heard it. A dull 'thud' sound, just on the edge of hearing, and it was coming from her right. She turned round, and was faced with the water tower.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Usagi began to head slowly towards the water tower. Thud. Thud. It was as if someone was in the water tower. But...that couldn't be possible! That useless manager had surveillance for the roof! At least he watched that, and if someone had fallen in, he would have notified somebody! He may have been un reliable, but he wouldn't leave someone to die!
So what on earth could be making that sound?
Usagi walked closer. A loud 'bang' scared her, but she was determined to find out what was going on. She climbed the ladders leading to the top of the water tower, getting halfway up before something stopped her. A loud bang! And a dent appearing, having been caused from the inside. Again and again, like someone with inhuman strength was pounding the walls.
Usagi did the only thing that seemed rational at the time. She screamed.
---
Chibi Usa began to run herself a bath. She sat on the edge of the bathtub and waited until the bath was half full, before switching off the taps. She turned and turned, but it didn't work. She knew she was turning in the right direction, so why wasn't the water slowing!?
There was a glugging sound and finally, the tap stopped. Chibi Usa breathed a sigh of relief and was about to empty the water when something black and stringy began to force it's way out of the tap. Hair. Human hair. The water began flowing anew, only this time it was black and filthy. Chibi Usa ran outside, crying for her mother, who was dazedly walking down the corridor.
"'Kaasan! There water wont stop! Make it stop, 'Kaasan!"
Usagi stopped and turned to face the elevator and the stairs. There was a 'ding' as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened. Usagi began to walk inside, not caring for the water pouring down the sides of the lift.
"'Kaasan! 'Kaasan, get out of there! 'Kaasan! Please listen!" Chibi Usa shouted, tears of frustration flowing down her cheeks. And then the girl appeared. So sudden, as if someone had flicked a switch and she had emerged. Usagi still had that dazed look and the girl with the purple hat grabbed hold of Usagi pulling her down and clutching at her.
"Chibi Usa...I'm sorry...but you have a father who will care for you better than I ever could...but Hotaru...never had a mother...she doesn't have...a loving family, so I will be...her loving family," Usagi choked out, smiling serenely.
"'Kaasan! 'Kaasan, no!" Chibi Usa screamed as the doors shut, water still flowing. The lift headed up, and Chibi Usa ran for the stairs.
She arrived on the fourth floor panting, as the elevator doors opened, and water cascaded over her, and Usagi and Hotaru were nowhere to be found.
---
10 Years Later...
---
15 year old Chiba Chibi Usa got off the bus three stops too early, in Central Tokyo.
"Chibi Usa! Where're you going?" One of her friends, Ceres, called out.
"I'm just going to see someone! Don't worry, okay?" She answered with a smile and a wave.
Chibi Usa headed towards an old building, her old home.
An old, torn newspaper in the reception area of the building caught her eye.
'BODY FOUND IN WATER TOWER'
'Five Year Old Tomoe Hotaru, Missing For Two Years, Was Found In The Water Tower Of Central Tokyo Apartments'
Central Tokyo apartments...that was this building, wasn't it?
Chibi Usa headed upstairs to the third floor, and walked up to flat 309. The door was ajar, and she pushed it open, walking inside.
"I'm home, 'Kaasan!" She said, smiling, walking to her old bedroom. And there sat her mother, knitting something. A child's scarf.
"'Kaasan, I've missed you so much!" Chibi Usa said, kneeling on the floor.
Her mother smiled. "I missed you too, Chibi Usa, but you shouldn't be here."
The pink haired girl frowned. "Why not?" She asked. Usagi smiled secretively.
"I have a new child to look after, and she may get a little jealous of the attention I'm giving you." Chibi Usa looked puzzled. Who was she talking about?
And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl wearing a purple hat and matching dress, head cast to the ground.
"I'm sorry Chibi Usa...but you can't stay here. I know you want to, but you must stay with your father," Usagi smiled sadly. Chibi Usa turned quickly, to look at the girl who stole her mother from her, only to find nobody. And when she turned back, her mother was gone too.
-----
AN: Wow, longest story yet...
Also, 'Kaasan means mother, and the title translates as Dark Water, just in case you wanted to know.
Please, if you read, give me some feedback. Thanks!