Ordinary Days, a sailor moon fanfic

Ordinary Days
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

- Minako -

Aino Minako came into the kitchen of her house and halted. She blinked in puzzlement. "Okaa-san?" she began slowly, "What are you doing?"

"Just getting Artemis a treat, Minako," her mother responded from her crouched position on the floor. Minako raised an eyebrow and then the other one joined its mate once she noticed the paper bag that lay on its side, its mouth open wide.

"Okaa-san?" Minako asked again.

"Artemis!" her mother called out while rattling the bag.

"You've gotta be kidding," Minako commented. "Artemis wouldn't..." She trailed off as a blur of white fur shot past her feet. It resolved for a moment into Artemis who gave a mighty push and slid into the bag. His inertia carried the bag forward causing it to slide into the counter with a thump.

"Artemis?" beribboned blonde questioned but her only response was a happy purr and the crinkling of paper. "That's just like so wrong," she muttered.

"He likes it, Musume. I always give him a paper bag to play with when I get groceries." Minako shook her head and turned to leave the room. "Ne, Minako-chan, where are you going?"

"To get a camera. The other girls won't ever believe me otherwise." As she left, she failed to notice the nervous silence now coming from the bag.

- Ami -

Mizuno Ami looked guiltily about, verifying that none of her friends or others that might know her was present, before slipping down a particular aisle in the bookstore. She was completely unaware that a store clerk was observing with mild amusement. The clerk had seen the routine before.

Ami walked down the aisle furtively looking at the myriad of books on her left until she reached a particular spot. Again, she glanced about and then turned to face the shelves on her right. Carefully, she scanned the titles.

Gingerly, as if she thought that the volume might explode, Ami selected a single book. Its pristine cover showed two people -- a young man and woman -- lying entangled on an exotic tropical beach. The surf was swirling around them.

"HEY MIZUNO-SAN!" came the sudden voice. Ami nearly leapt out of her skin. The teen's head whipped about and her eyes widened as she recognized Umino Gurio. 'Oh no!' she mentally wailed. Gurio was one of the biggest gossips in school. Pretending she hadn't seen him, she walked with purpose down the aisle and around the corner. The blue-haired teen was dismayed to find herself in the children's section. 'Oh...' She was about to retreat when Gurio came pelting around the corner waving his arms in the air and attracting more attention than Ami really wanted. 'Trapped like a rat!' she whined to herself. Nevertheless, she thanked her lucky stars that she had a dimensional pocket into which, she stealthily flicked the book. She smiled weakly at her classmate.

"Ne, what are you doing here, Mizuno-san?" he asked, looking curiously between Ami and the section titles. "Get lost?"

"No, Umino-san," Ami commented, "I prefer to read a broad range of subjects." Gurio adjusted his thick glasses, regarded the section headings again, and dubiously raised an eyebrow.

"The genius girl with the top marks at our school is reading children's stories?!" Ami sighed as he took on an air of someone who'd just discovered a major secret who was just then trying to decide how best to spread it about. After all, Umino Gurio was an incurable gossip. The only people that he seemed to be afraid of were Naru and Usagi. He put two and two together and got... "You aren't pregnant, ne Mizuno-san?"

"NANI?!" Ami demanded, staring at him. People in the store turned toward her. 'Where in the name of Mercury did that come from?'

Before the young man could say anything, Osaka Naru seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "Oh, hey Ami-chan. I thought I heard you." The redhead then noticed the shocked look on Ami's face and turned her gaze onto the young man beside her, "What did you do, Guri?"

"Naru-chan, guess what, Ami's pregnant," Umino stated happily.

"Are you insane?" Naru asked, noticing the flustered look on her friend's face.

"U-min-o," the normally demure teenager asked in an icy voice that would put any attack Sailor Mercury threw to shame, "How do you come to that conclusion?!"

"That's right, Guri-chan," his girlfriend interjected, "Did a youma hit you on the head or something?"

Gurio looked unfazed. "Well, why else would she be in the kid's section, Naru-chan?"

"Well maybe to pick up a book for Usagi's imouto?" Naru asked while looking as if she wanted to smack Gurio upside the head. "Ne, Ami-chan?" She smiled.

"H-Hai! That's right!" Ami squealed, silently thanking Naru and making a mental note to tell Usagi what happened. Though she did wonder when Naru had met Chibi-Chibi.

"But Naru-chan..." he whined only to cringe as his girlfriend took him by the scruff of the neck while shaking her head.

"Gomen, Ami-chan, come on, you? We're gonna have a talk."

Ami watched with amusement as Naru dragged the protesting "glasses guy" away. After she was sure that they were far enough away, she retrieved the book from her dimensional pocket and sighed. 'What I go through to protect my reputation as a brain.' It was time to complete her purchase. She had a date. To go home to soak in a nice hot tub and read the latest historical romance novel.

- Makoto -

Kino Makoto was elbow deep in potting soil when a knock came on her apartment door. "Hai!" she called out. Getting up, she carefully wiped off her hands and then walked across her papered floor to the door and opened it. "Oh? Konnichiwa Tsukino-san," she said upon seeing it was Usagi's mother.

"Chibi," came the plaintive tone from lower to the ground.

"Konnichiwa to you, Chibi-Chibi-chan. How are you?"

"Not to be rude, Kino-san," Ikuko interrupted. "But... Could we borrow your bathroom?"

Makoto nodded and stepped aside watching with mild amusement as the very small child shot across the room practically dragging the middle-aged mother behind her. After a few moments, Ikuko came out shaking her head and then paused as she noticed the newspaper spread on the floor.

"I was repotting a plant," the brunette explained.

"I'm just glad you were home, Kino-san," Ikuko indicated with a grin, "Or it would have been a very long walk." The woman chuckled. "She's so like my Usagi in some ways. I should know better I suppose but..." Ikuko gave a helpless shrug before walking over to look at the plants. "Those look pretty."

"Arigato... They've been a real pain to get going," Makoto admitted. She paused and then asked, "Was Usagi-chan as genki as Chibi-Chibi at that age, Tsukino-san?"

"Hai," Ikuko replied as she bent to sniff at a flower, "Having a youngster about the house again really reminds one. Of course, she settled some after Shingo was born." Ikuko stood and then wrinkled her nose. "Nani? What's that?" she asked pointing to a plant.

"Spider plant," Makoto replied, giving the dilapidated plant an annoyed look, "We have a tug of war going on. It looks dead but it's not... Or maybe I just can't get passed my pride to say it." She grinned as Ikuko chuckled.

"That sounds like my musume in some ways." Usagi's mother looked like she wanted to add something but then Chibi-Chibi called from the bathroom and she only sighed a little theatrically. "Duty calls, Kino-san." Makoto wasn't quite sure how to take that.

When Ikuko came back in carrying Chibi-Chibi, the brunette asked, "Can I ask you something, Tsukino-san?" Ikuko nodded. "Do you like being a mom?"

"Definitely, headaches, hugs, and all." She regarded Makoto and added, "'Though sometimes I wish for a desert island."

"Chibi!" Chibi-Chibi commented.

"But?" Makoto asked.

"But then, I remember that I'd be very lonely there and I'd be worry about everyone." The mother of two smiled faintly. "Although sometimes, I think about sending Usagi to a desert island instead. Maybe that way, she'd get her homework done." The tall young woman laughed. "Well, I should get this one home. Arigato for being here, Makoto-san."

"Not a problem," Makoto replied with a grin, "If I have any left over dirt, I'll let you borrow it for that island." She smiled as Ikuko laughed.

"You'll have to come over to supper sometime," Ikuko offered.

"Chibi," Chibi-chibi agreed.

"Sounds good to me, Tsukino-san, just let me know." Ikuko nodded and said good-bye. It wasn't until they had gone that Makoto remarked, "Thanks for being here too, Tsukino-san. You helped bring your musume into the world, and she's very special."

- Rei -

Hino Rei came into the living room in the Hikawa Shrine and walked over to the couch to settle beside her grandfather. The old Shinto priest was slowly going through a photo album. Rei peered down at the pictures and smiled slightly. "Ojii-san?"

Hino-ojiisan started then looked up. "Oh, Rei-chan, I didn't hear you come in. Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yep," Rei nodded, "Not too much homework thankfully." Her grandfather smiled up at her. "What got you digging out the pictures, Ojii-san?"

Her grandfather smiled. "Your father found a photo of your grandmother and mother together. He wanted to know if you wanted it. I was just seeing if we had the same picture." He frowned slightly as Rei wrinkled her nose. "Don't do that, Rei-chan. It's a very nice photo."

"But HE touched it," Rei replied, looking as if the made her ill. Her grandfather rolled his eyes. "Just tell him no thanks."

"Now, Rei-chan, don't be like that. Yes, he didn't raise you for the most part but he's still your father."

"He was never my father, you were."

Hino-ojiisan smiled and patted her arm. "Arigato, sweetheart." Rei's expression smoothed slightly. "Listen, Rei-chan. You're old enough to decide if you want to have your father in your life or not. I won't ignore him though. He was devoted to both of you when your dear mother was alive." The raven-haired girl snorted. "Rei-chan, don't make me break out the baby pictures." He chuckled as Rei gave him an annoyed look. "If you're really bothered about why he wasn't around, ask him."

"Ojii-san, do you think he'd actually tell me?"

The old priest shrugged. "Possibly. The worst that he can do is to refuse to answer." His granddaughter grunted.

"I suppose," Rei shrugged, "I'll think about it." She then asked, "Ne, just what type of baby pictures do you have?"

She became worried when her grandfather gave a sly smile. "Well, there is the kawaii one of you in a kitty cat outfit." His smile grew as Rei gave him a stricken look. "You just loved those pajamas."

"You're kidding, ne?"

"Not at all," Hino-ojiisan replied, "Of course, that one isn't the cutest in my book."

"Oh?" Rei asked, warily.

"Well, there is the one of you eating your birthday cake when you turned four." He smiled as Rei's eyes widened.

- Usagi -

Tsukino Usagi laid her pencil down, closed her eyes, and rubbed her forehead. "Why did I ever go on to high school?" Technically, she could have left after graduating middle school but through sheer force of the others' will, she'd somehow managed to scrape together a respectable grade on the entrance exams.

She sighed, sat up a little, stretched, and looked around her dim bedroom. Luna was curled into a ball, sound asleep, its crescent moon sigil glinting slightly in the light from the desk lamp. Usagi smiled remembering how she had met the black cat; that seemed like a lifetime ago. Things had certainly gotten more interesting after taking that bandage off of Luna.

She was about to turn back to her homework when she heard the faintest of noises behind her. Turning slowly, she spied large dark eyes peeking around the door. When their owner saw that Usagi had noticed, Chibi-chibi stepped into the room, dressed in her pajamas, her hair down for the night.

"Not tonight, Chibi-Chibi-chan," Usagi said gently.

"Chibi?" the little girl asked.

"No, you'll just have to sleep in your own bed."

"Chibi?" Chibi-chibi remarked, pouting a little and looking hopefully at the pigtailed teen's bed before regarding Usagi again.

"Honestly," Usagi sighed and after another moment of internal struggle gave in, "Hai, but you need to go right to sleep." The little girl nodded and soon Usagi had tucked her in.

Walking back to her desk, she lifted her pencil and then paused to gaze at the little girl. She wondered if Chibi-Usa would be that reasonable at that age. That was something she would find out in the future. The young woman snorted gently to herself. "She'll be sugoi. She's my musume, after all!" If Mamoru ever gets back. She frowned a little. "He hasn't written me once from America!" Somehow, though it didn't bother her as much as she thought it should.

Mamoru loved her, even if he was dense sometimes. Usagi giggled gently. "I'm dense too, ne?" Deciding that she was done for the night, the pigtailed teen turned the light off and quietly padded to the bed. Slipping under the covers, she hugged the little girl who snuggled against her. "Ne, who are you really?" Usagi asked the tiny strawberry-blonde gently but the only respond was the sound of the slow breathing of sleep.

"I guess we'll find out eventually." Usagi yawned, wiggled to get more comfortable, and then drifted off to sleep as well; it had been a busy but productive day.

And as the full moon hung over the City of Tokyo, five teenage girls and two cats dreamt different dreams of peace and happiness.

The End

Authors' Afterwords

Something light and fluffy. It's odd how a muse works. Real life can be a real pain sometimes and you start wishing for a plain boring old day. I think this is where the story idea actually came from. Although it was hard to think of what might qualify as "ordinary" to the girls.

Thanks for reading!

Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl
November 2007