Under Black Wings, Part One
A Sailor Moon Fan Fiction by Thomas Sewellsewell_thomas@hotmail.com
...... = thought quotation
Preface
Under Black Wings
is the second book in my series that started with Sailor Moon's American Dream. It begins more than a year after the end of Sailor Stars, when the last of the Inner Senshi are finished with high school.Chapter 1: Rei and Usagi
MOST OF THE SENSHI were, most of the time, ordinary people. Even mysterious Sailor Pluto seemed to exhibit a range of human foibles when she was around long enough, and Rei, for one, suspected that a lot of her "mystery" was really just a ruse to keep the younger senshi off-balance so she could boss them when she wanted to. But even Rei was never sure whether Meiou Setsuna was a person who'd lived out an ordinary life before, or just a pose that Sailor Pluto was assuming, for now.
But the mystery of Sailor Pluto was not on Rei's mind or any of the other senshi as summer approached. What was really bothering everyone was the absence of Sailor Moon. She hadn't been kidnapped by aliens or anything else they would have been ready for. She'd moved away. Tsukino Usagi had gone with her family to the United States because her father had taken a job there. No one was really sure why this had happened; some of the senshi thought it was because Usagi's father had lost a lot of money and was too poor to live in Juubangai or even Japan any more; others (like Rei) thought he was worrying about money like he always did and had gone to make more. Rei backed up her theory with pictures of the house they had in America: it was much larger than her old house, and the lot it was on was almost as big as the one for her grandfather's shrine.
But still, there was something wrong. Usagi wrote less and less, even to Naru-chan, who had been her friend since they were both tiny. Rei--and the other senshi, for that matter, grew closer to Naru over the months since she seemed to know more about Usagi than anyone else. Rei grew so upset at one point she told Naru that Usagi was Sailor Moon--and then Naru replied that she had known for a long time, and hadn't told because she didn't want anyone to worry.
Rei thought she had hit bottom with that, but she soon felt even worse. Minako, who had seemed have settled back and become even more childish than Usagi after all the senshi had acknowledged (grudgingly) the leadership of Sailor Moon, proved to be cannier than all of them in finding out what was really going on with Usagi. Minako had looked up Mika, a girl Shingo had been friendly with, and discovered that he had been writing to her ever since he had moved to the United States. Shingo had told Mika that his sister was having a lot of trouble at her new school. He said that she seemed to be trying hard, but that her grades were terrible, worse than ever.
That seemed to explain a lot. Rei wrote her a very special letter, being careful not to use any kanji that Usagi would have to look up--Rei had finally resigned herself that Usagi would never really learn enough of the many thousands of ideographs used in most serious Japanese literature. Rei was also careful with the content, trying to tell Usagi that she sympathized with her problems but that she should keep trying, without nagging or pointing out how poor her schoolwork had always been.
Rei got finally got a letter from Usagi two weeks after sending her special letter. It was not what she expected at all. It wasn't very long, but it didn't have to be.
She happened to be with Naru-chan and Minako at the temple when the letter came. They watched her read it, and stared at her for a long time until she looked up and noticed.
"What is it?" asked Minako. Naru had that question and more in her eyes.
Rei finally anwered, "Usagi has broken up with Mamoru. She was with another boy, and she is going to have that boy's baby."
The other senshi were all flabbergasted by the news from America. Usagi cheating on Mamoru? When they called, Usagi just blandly confirmed that she was having a baby by someone else, and Mamoru wouldn't say anything, except ask if they had any news about how Usagi was doing.
The senshi had lives of their own to get on with, and a fair number of enemies to fight, and not just in Japan. But there just wasn't any resolution of the bustup between Usagi and Mamoru.
Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, was absent until five months after the awful news arrived. Then she returned, just in time (as always), to take over permanent guardianship of Hotaru--her father, who had never really recovered from the damage caused by the demon who had possessed him, finally died.
Hotaru seemed fine until after the funeral, when she asked why Chibi-Usa had not even come to the funeral. Setsuna told her--and the others--that Chibi-Usa could never come back from the future again. Rei sensed there was more, but Setsuna said nothing else about Chibi-Usa's fate. Hotaru became very sad, and no one could seem to cheer her for very long.
Then Hotaru got a letter from Usagi. Hotaru read it many times. She wouldn't show it to anyone else, but she said it was mostly about how much Usagi missed Chibi-Usa, and how much she wanted to be as good as Chibi-Usa was. This did not sound anything like the Usagi any of the other senshi knew; Usagi loved her daughter from the future, but she'd also fought with her and competed with her. They were more like jealous sisters than mother and daughter.
"She's sounding like a mother," said Mako, when most of them were together soaking in a public bath.
Naru, not a senshi but in on most of their secrets by now, said, "She's going to be a mother, and pretty soon."
"Sooner than you," remarked Haruka--who was sitting away from Michiru today. Naru blushed, but giggled, remembering how Umino had taken the news.
"Or you," remarked Michiru, which led to the explanation of why they were sitting apart . . .
Then, they all got letters from Usagi's father--and airline tickets. He said he was worried about how she was behaving, and he wanted her friends to be with her when the baby came, and perhaps awhile longer, if they could manage. He also asked them if they could find out what had happened to Usagi's cousin Usagi--he said that his daughter seemed to miss her cousin very much, and he and Usagi's mother and even her brother were worried because they hadn't heard from cousin Usagi for a long time.
Since they all knew Usagi's father was a great worrier about money, they knew she must really be in trouble, if he would pay for all their tickets just to help her.
Ami and Umino sent e-mail to Mamoru, but he replied that Usagi still wouldn't talk to him, and he didn't feel he could tell anyone what her family had said to him in confidence. He did tell them they should come, though, if they could.
They all took the same plane. It was from a charter company they had never heard of: "Interversal Airways (part of the family of Grey Companies)," according to the airsickness bags. It had propellers. Rei made a remark about the plane looking older than her grandfather. Mako went pale for a moment, but Minako comforted her--and somehow kicked Rei in the shin, silently reminding her that Mako was afraid to fly and that Rei had said about the worst possible thing at the worst possible time.
Setsuna said the aircraft looked in fine shape, told them that its turboprop engines couldn't be more than a few years old, and went on to explain the entire history of the Lockheed Constellation. She was starting her second hour before she mentioned that she'd flown one. Hotaru said to Rei when Setsuna visited the restrooms, "Mama Setsuna is a pilot. Never talk about planes with her unless you want to hear about them for hours and hours." Rei considered jumping out of the plane, but pretended to be asleep instead. But Setsuna went on talking to the others as soon as she returned from the restrooms.
Setsuna was still talking on the bus from the airport where they'd landed--it wasn't near any city. The bus went on for a long time, and then they had to get off and wait for another bus. And Setsuna was still talking about planes and flying.
Rei hid out in the ladies room for awhile, and then Ami came in. "Is she still talking?" Rei asked.
Ami was using her miniature computer. "Oh . . . yes."
Rei groused, "How long were we on that plane? Four hours?"
Amy murmured, "Closer to five . . . "
Rei exclaimed, "Five hours? And how . . . what are you doing?"
Ami finished whatever she was doing, and turned her face and her attention to Rei. "Hino-san, you don't know much about flying, do you?"
"I know more than I ever want to know, now," said Rei.
"How long did you expect it to take to get to America?" asked Ami.
"I don't know," sighed Rei. "Two or three hours on a real airplane, I guess."
"You are wrong, Hino-san," said Ami. "It takes over twelve hours on a regular jet."
"Twelve?"
"Usually more. Rei, the Concorde couldn't cross the Pacific Ocean as fast as we just did. The Concorde is--"
"I know what the Concorde is . . . really?"
"Really," explained Ami. "I fell asleep on the plane so I didn't notice before, but I just figured out how long it took, accounting for all the time zone changes. I'll ask Setsuna about it, since she's the pilot among us."
"NO! She'll never stop talking then!" But Rei was too late to keep Ami from leaving, and too late to keep her from asking that question.
But Setsuna just said, "Yes, I noticed." And she didn't say anything else about the flight, or planes, or flying.
Rei was curious enough to ask the bus driver if he'd ever heard of "Interversal Airways" and it turned out he had. "I get passengers from them maybe every other month." That was really all he knew. But he was curious about them; it wasn't often he picked up a group to go to a private home.
They'd all seen pictures of Usagi's American home, which was much larger than her old home in Juubangai. But they all wondered how they were going to fit in--there were eleven of them, including Naru and Umino and Minako's mother, who had insisted on coming (or maybe Minako had really insisted--she had times where she needed her mother).
But instead of stopping at that house, the bus pulled up in front of a mansion. It was a little after six in the morning--the sun wasn't up yet, but it was light enough to see. There was frost on the ground. No one came out to meet them.
"Are you sure this is right?" Rei asked the driver.
"Yes. Look, they even put a picture of the house on my manifest." He took their luggage out of the belly of the bus, but he did not take it to the door. "I'd like to stay and talk, but I have a pickup to make. Have a pleasant stay in the old U.S. of A!" And the driver got back on the bus, and drove it away.
Rei went to the door and rang the bell. She rang it two more times before it opened. Three girls came out. They were colored--three different shades of brown, but they looked a lot alike. They were all in pajamas and robes. The tallest of them of them said to Rei, "You woke Sue up, you know. I hope you're happy." The girls helped them with their luggage. Shingo and a colored boy who looked like the girls came out and helped too.
Rei wanted to see Usagi immediately. Shingo told her where she was, but he said, "Don't yell at her, please?"
Shingo is concerned for her? Is she dying?, thought Rei.
Rei made her way to Usagi's room, simply abandoning her luggage. She had a thousand questions, but when she saw Usagi, all she could do was go to her bed and hug her. It wasn't for a long time that she noticed there were two strangers in the room along with Usagi and Ikuko, her mother. The strange lady looked about the same age as Ikuko. The unfamiliar girl, who had short strawberry-blonde hair, otherwise resembled the woman. The woman had the same bittersweet look in her eyes as Ikuko--but the girl was looking her with some resentment. Why? She doesn't know me yet.
The others started coming in. Ikuko started to tell them that Usagi needed to rest, but Usagi said no, come in--in fact, she ordered her mother to let them in. This was so unlike Usagi that Rei pulled back a little to look at her--and then she noticed that the strange girl wasn't the least surprised. Nor was the woman, nor even Ikuko, who let the incident pass.
Rei had to leave Usagi's bed to allow the others to have their turns. She looked around the rest of the room, avoiding the resentful girl for the moment--she would fight with her later, if she wanted, but not here . . . Rei looked at the photos. She recognized some of them from Usagi's room in her old house in Tokyo's Juuban neighborhood--but there were newer ones she did not recognize. She noticed that one of them showed Usagi and the strange girl--and Chibi-Usa. There was also a boy, who looked like the strange girl--a brother? He was standing close to Usagi--and holding her hand. There was another strange girl, who looked about the same age as Chibi-Usa--only Chibi-Usa looked older than Rei remembered her. She was so mystified by the picture, she picked it up. Then she was startled to hear someone speaking from just behind her.
"That's me, and Jimmy, my brother. The girl's name was Kimberly." The girl took the picture from her hands, and set it back in its place. "You should go settle in. Usagi had a bad night. She really needs to sleep some more."
Usagi needs to sleep more? thought Rei.
Rei settled in to a room. Even the mansion had limits with so many people, so she shared a room with Ami. They were tired from the time change, so they took naps. Rei was surprised that it was nearly three when she woke up. Ami was gone. She went downstairs. She didn't see anyone at first, but she heard someone ironing somewhere. She followed the sweet smell of spray starch, and found it was Usagi. "Just doing up some of otousan's things," she said.
"Should you be doing this?" asked Rei.
"I'm not sick, Rei-chan, I'm pregnant."
Rei noticed that there were a lot of freshly ironed clothes on hangars, not just men's things but women's and children's. She saw that Usagi was very deft with the iron, finishing a shirt in a short time--in fact, doing it faster than Rei could have. "You must have been ironing for a long time."
"Oh, a couple of hours."
"No, what I mean is--you're good at this."
"Oh. Thank you. There are a few things Usagi the big lazy klutz can do. But you are right; it took me a long time to learn."
Rei was rocked back on her heels by Usagi's remark. Rei remembered all the times she had nagged and shown up Usagi's lazy, carefree ways. She wanted to tell her that she had wanted her to try harder, that she could be so much better, if only--but she didn't. What she finally said after she recovered was: "Where is everyone?"
"Okasan is asleep," said Usagi, continuing to iron. "Shingo is visiting a friend. Everyone else is shopping. Okasan thought you would all need a few small things to be more comfortable here, but she didn't want to leave me alone . . . Maybe they went to the movies, too. Every big shopping mall here has movie theaters."
"Why didn't you go? Why didn't they wake me up?"
Usagi said, "I tried to wake you up. I couldn't."
"But why didn't you go?" asked Rei.
Usagi seemed to press down extra hard on the collar she was working on. "I just did not want to go."
Rei decided to leave it at that, for now. "Your father went with them?"
"Oh. No, otousan is in England now. He's taking pictures of their Royal Family."
"Really?" Rei smiled. "If only he knew . . ."
Usagi stopped ironing.
"What's wrong?" asked Rei.
Usagi looked at her, and Rei saw in her the queen she must be someday. She seemed much older. In her eyes, Rei saw infinite sadness. Yet she was not crying; the corners of her eyes were not even dewed. She spoke calmly and evenly "The future is not as we thought it was. I will never reign as a queen. So you don't have to hold your tongue around me. I'm just me. Just Usagi."
Rei said, "But you are the Moon Princess. You are Sailor Moon."
Usagi said, "Part of me was once the Moon Princess. But I will not be a queen."
"You are Sailor Moon!" insisted Rei.
"Yes. But I will not be a queen. I won't be Mamo-chan's queen."
"Mamo-chan will forgive you. I know him."
Usagi smiled, slightly, sadly. "Yes, you do, Rei-chan, and you love him. Why don't you go to him? You could make him yours. You would be good for him. You would make a fine queen, if that is still to come."
Usagi went back to her ironing while Rei thought about what she had said. Finally Rei asked, "Is this my fault? Am I why you and Mamo-chan split up?"
"No. I saw a long time ago that you would always be in Mamo-chan's heart, and he in yours. But he did not cheat on me. If you want him, you are going to have to work very hard to get him. Make sure you are ready to give all of yourself. Don't treat him like Yuuichirou."
"I never--"
Usagi shook her head. "You did not lead Yuuichirou on. But you knew he loved you. You should have told him you couldn't love him, the way he loved you. Told him so he would believe it."
Rei felt something running down her cheek--a tear. She brushed it away, and said, "I wasn't sure I didn't love him . . . that way."
"Because you also love Mamo-chan . . . but Yuuichirou would have forgiven you, I think . . . What happened to him, Rei-chan? When I found he wasn't at Hikawa Shrine any more, I asked your Grandfather. He said he didn't know. I knew better than to ask Rei-chan."
Now Rei wasn't bothering to wipe the tears away. Usagi looked into Rei with her too-old eyes, and Rei could find no more words.
Usagi he picked up a clean dish towel from one of the baskets around her, and dabbed at Rei's face, while embracing her about as closely as her swollen belly would allow. Then she said, "What happened to Yuuichirou-chan? It has been a long time now. Would you tell me?"
Rei answered. "Yes, I will tell you . . . Yuuichirou could not stand to be around me, his heart was breaking. He asked me to make up my mind. I got angry with him and told him he was not someone to order me. He was gone the next morning."
"And after that?" asked Usagi.
"I didn't find him for a long time, "said Rei. "Then I saw him one day with an old man in a park. A very old man, older than my grandfather. There was also a lady with them, much younger than the old man."
"I didn't go up to them. But I watched them for a long time, until Yuuichirou left them. I could see he was going to a street vendor to get something, and the vendor was far off. So I went up to the lady and the old man and asked about Yuuichirou. They were his mother and father. I told them who I was to Yuuichirou and how to find me if they wanted, and left before he came back."
"A long time after that, I got a letter from Yuuichirou's mother. She said that his father had died. She explained that his father had always been hard and mean to Yuuichirou, and hadn't understood his ways. But when the old father got sick, Yuuichirou was the only one of his children who came back to be with him for any time, until he died."
"But his mother also said in the letter that she didn't want me to see Yuuichirou. She said I had been very cruel to him, and that I didn't deserve anyone as kind and good as her son. She said if I saw him again, I would only hurt him again. She also said that Yuuichirou's father had left him more money than any of his other children, and that if I tried to see him, she would tell him I was probably only after his money." Rei looked up into Usagi's eyes. "Do you think she was right? Mostly right? That I would have nothing to do with Yuuichirou just because he had no money of his own? Whenever I thought of trying to see him, I would think about what his mother said."
Usagi shook her head. "I think it is because of Mamo-chan. You always hide what is in your heart. You even hide it from yourself."
Rei started to become angry at this intrusion into her soul. "How do you--"
Usagi was still calm, and her cool words doused Rei's anger. "I have learned some new things . . . Rei-chan, you must tell Mamo-chan what you feel. You must let yourself feel."
"No, it would be wrong . . . you are the one for Mamoru."
"I will not marry Mamoru. I will not have his child."
"It is your duty!" Rei asserted.
Usagi drew away from her, aroused at last. "No, it is not my duty. I will not be queen. I will not marry Mamoru. I will never have his child."
"Why are you doing this?"
Now Usagi's eyes seemed older than Sailor Pluto's had ever seemed. "You cannot understand, Rei. You will never understand, until you are a mother." Usagi took the iron, unplugged it, and put it into a metal rack on the wall, wrapping the cord around the handle. "I will speak no more of this. But I tell you, you need to see Mamo-chan. Not that I expect you to take any of my advice." Then she left Rei.
As Rei watched Usagi leave, she saw that Ikuko was standing just outside the door to the laundry room. Usagi's mother looked at Rei for a long moment before turning and following her daughter.
Chapter 2: Haruka and Michiru
HARUKA WISHED she had her motorcycle. Everyone seemed to have a question for her, except Michiru. She wanted to just ride, alone, for hours, at night. To lose herself in the wind and the feel of the road under her wheels. To get ahead of herself, if only for a little while.
Most especially, she wanted to escape Usagi. From the second she'd looked into Usagi's eyes, she knew something had changed--everything had changed.
On the face of it, Usagi had done exactly as Haruka might have expected. She'd drifted into an affair, ruined her relationship with Mamoru--what did he see in her?--and now everyone else was doing everything to help her out of her mess. Poor Usagi, she just never seems to get it right, for very long.
But that was not what Haruka had found. Usagi was now as steely as Haruka pretended to be. Haruka looked at her, and saw a queen. And yet she did not not want to be a queen. The only thing consistent with the Usagi she had known was that she was inconsistent.
And what was that new girl to Usagi? Haruka had found out the mundane facts about the other guests right away, while Rei didn't seem to know until the end of their first week. The woman was named Ms. Ferrara. The new girl who was around Usagi the most was Nancy, her daughter by her first husband. Ms. Ferrara's son, Nancy's brother--the guy in the picture Haruka had noticed Rei pick up--he would be the father of Usagi's baby. But he was dead, in a plane crash.
The colored girls and the boy were Ms. Leary's stepchildren; her current husband, a Mr. Ferrara, was their father. She also had a baby boy of her own and a four-year-old girl, both by her current husband. Haruka had a rare moment of laughter when she found that Rei had assumed that the colored children were servants--she watched Ms. Leary tear into Rei for twenty minutes. Haruka actually admired Rei in many ways, but she thought that Rei needed to be brought down to earth frequently, and that she especially needed to learn to watch and listen more before opening up her big mouth.
Nancy and all the older Ferrara children would go through some martial-arts type exercises every day but Sunday--Shingo joined them, usually, and Minako began joining in after a few days. Haruka found that she always watched them. It looked more like exercise than real training--except for Nancy, and sometimes Felicia, the oldest. Felicia looked like she could fight, and Nancy looked like she could fight well. Possibly as well as Minako, and that was saying quite a lot.
None of that for Haruka, of course. Every doctor she'd seen had advised her first to consider an abortion. Once they were past that, they all said she was far from an ideal candidate for motherhood, and that if she wanted to carry to full term, she would have to change her lifestyle. Martial arts were out.
Why was she going through with it?
Haruka couldn't explain it to Michiru--not that she would listen, now.
Haruka had thought she would talk to Usagi about it--but the Usagi she had come to see wasn't here.
Haruka decided to take another walk, to get out of the house and away from everyone for awhile. As she opened the door, she heard a voice call out behind her. "You should wear a warmer coat."
It was Michiru. She handed Haruka a heavy jacket, with a hood, and then walked away, past Usagi and Nancy, saying nothing more.
Usagi had something to say. "Haruka, are you going to be gone long?"
"I do not know," said Haruka.
Usagi said, "It will be dark in less than an hour. A man has raped several women this month. And there are always people who will rob you here."
Haruka tried to brush off Usagi's concerns. "I will take care of myself. Don't--"
Usagi cut her off with what was clearly an order. "Nancy, please go with her. Get Tenou-san back by dinnertime."
Michiru watched Haruka walk away with Nancy from an upstairs window until they were out of sight. As she headed for her room, she noticed that the door to the room Nancy shared with oldest stepsister was open. After a moment to think about it, she went inside.
There were two dressers, and it took Michiru a moment to figure whose was whose. What first caught her eye was a garland of tiny paper cranes hanging over the mirror of one dresser. She remembered seeing Nancy wear it as a necklace when she had gone out with her stepsisters to do something together.
There was also a colored drawing on the dresser, in a glass frame. It was done in pastels. It didn't approach the quality of her own work, but it was good work for an amateur . . . Michiru picked it up. It showed a young man in a military uniform waving. Behind him was a crowd of people, and behind them, and at the end of the windowed corridor he was inside, there was an airplane. It was an effective composition: it conveyed a particular moment, a parting, a farewell . . . a final farewell . . . and it was signed by Usagi.
"Don't fool with that," said a voice from behind.
Michiru turned, and saw that it was Felicia, Nancy's oldest stepsister. She wondered again why Nancy would share a room with her oldest stepsister, rather than the youngest.
"Put it down," said the tall, powerful-looking girl. "And could you tell me why you're in here? I don't seem to remember inviting you."
Michiru refused to show alarm. "I did not know Usagi was still doing art. If she studied, she could be quite good."
"I don't care about that. Sue made that for Nancy. Nancy would kick your ass if she saw you fooling with it, and don't be so sure I won't! What are you doing in here?"
Michiru set the picture down. "I wanted to know more about your sister. Nancy."
"Well, here's an idea: try talking to her. You--"
Michiru cut Felicia off. "Where did she get those cranes?"
Felicia, who was even taller than Haruka, was not as sure of herself, at least at that moment. Instead of continuing her verbal assault, she responded to Michiru's question. "Sarah made that for her. For her birthday."
Michiru asked, "Who is Sarah? And you said Sue made that drawing? Usagi signed it."
Felicia explained, "Sue is what we called her when she stayed with us. And Sarah is what we called her little sister."
"Sarah?" Little sister?
"Yes, Sarah. I guess you would know here as . . . uh . . . kibi? No, chibi. Chibisa. I think that's her Japanese name."
"Chibi-Usa?"
"Yes, I think so," said Felicia. "But she was Sarah to us. Even Sue called her Sarah all the time. Kimberly was the only one who used . . ."
Michiru was impatient enough to show it. "What about Chibi-Usa? Usagi will not tell us something about her."
Felicia drew herself up. "If Sue hasn't told you, I won't. Besides, I don't know it all . . . Nancy does, and maybe my stepmom. But they won't tell you, either. If Sue won't tell you, we won't. So, why don't you get out of here? Why don't you go after your girlfriend? Oh, whatsa matter, you don't want me snooping into your private business? Or do you want to try to whip my ass? You probably can, but I'll mark up that perfect face of yours some. Come on. Wanna dance?" The girl got into a stance.
"I prefer waltzes," Michiru replied, and walked out of the room.
Haruka would have like to outdistance Nancy, which she should have been able to do, but she had made a prior commitment: she wouldn't overstrain herself, and risk losing her baby. Her baby. "You are mine, not his," she said to the new life within herself.
"What?" asked Nancy, a few steps behind her, as she had remained since they started out.
"Nothing," said Haruka.
"No, I heard you. You said something belonged to you, not 'him.'" The girl drew up alongside her. "Whatcha mean? Thinking about the guy?"
Haruka had to smile. "Yes. I did not know you understood Japanese."
Nancy said, "Enough to pick up on that . . . Was it a big romance? Or did you just get drunk or something?"
"It was . . . a mistake," Haruka said at length.
"Want to tell Auntie Nancy? I can keep a secret."
Haruka asked, "Why should I tell you? And why do you want to know?"
Nancy replied, "I don't know, and I don't know. But it's cold and dark and you can't just keep this inside of you. So tell me what's going on and we can go back to the house and get warm. And eat. I skipped lunch and I'm starving."
"Those are good reasons. We will go back to the house."
"And the guy?" asked Nancy after they had taken a few steps on the return journey.
Haruka said, "He is a musician, like Michiru. I took some lessons from him. He is really quite famous. I did not know how famous until later. I also did not know he had a wife and many children until later."
"Fancy he forgot to mention that. How many children with his wife?"
"Five. How many more--at least one, in four months, if I can carry my daughter to term."
Nancy grew serious. "This is really important to you, isn't it?"
Haruka walked on in silence for several paces. "I have dropped my college courses. I have spent a lot of my savings on doctors. I have probably lost Michiru forever. Yes, I would say my child is important to me."
After a few more paces, Nancy said, "The guy--Is he going to give you any support?"
Haruka said, "I will not ask for it." She could have said a great deal more, but didn't.
When they came to a little overlook with a stone bench, Haruka stopped and sat down. Nancy asked, "Are you okay? Should I get a cab?
Haruka leaned back, easing the strain on her back for a moment. "No. Nothing is wrong. I just want to stop for awhile . . . and I want to know, how do you know so much about this? Do you have any children?"
"No. I just pay attention to people who do, now. And, believe it or not, I'm still a virgin!"
"Would that I could say the same," said Haruka, using a line from a poem in English she had burned a few weeks before. She got up. "I think I can walk the rest of the way. But--how were you going to call a cab?"
Nancy produced a cellphone. "My mom never lets me leave home without it."
Haruka thought a moment "Call the taxi." Haruka sat down again.
Nancy began punching in numbers. "I'm calling my mom . . . probably faster than getting a cab, anyway."
"You are right, I suppose."
"Do you need a doctor?"
Like Usagi, this Nancy seemed to be overprotective. Haruka assured her, "No. I'm just tired . . . I should be careful."
Nancy made the call. When she was finished, she said, "Five, ten minutes, unless they have trouble finding us." She then took off her coat and put it over Haruka's legs. "Jeans aren't as good as panty hose in this weather."
"No, put your coat back on!" This was really too much.
"Shut up and just sit there, oh high-and-mighty Sailor Uranus! For once." The girl tied the coat sleeves under Haruka to keep the coat snug.
Haruka was speechless. The girl, shivering in her short skirt and sleeveless top, knew who she was.
Haruka's shock was so great that her combat instincts were suppressed for a few seconds. But after those few seconds, she fixed again on something she'd noticed while all this was going on. A car that had gone past them just after Nancy had taken off her coat, was now approaching them again, slowly, very slowly. She glanced back at Nancy and saw that Nancy was reading her face. Nancy turned around. "Oh, sh--" Nancy started to say.
"Nancy, get out of here!" She pulled Nancy's coat from her legs, and started to get up.
"No, wait--don't transform. You don't know what it will do to the baby." Nancy turned back to her, and handed her the cellphone. "Hide it. Hide yourself. I'll draw him off. Call the police when he can't see you--screw that. Call the house! My mom knows the score." And then Nancy skipped out into the middle of the street and made a very interesting gesture at the car. It rocketed forward. Haruka saw Nancy spring away. She jumped off the road just as the car was about to strike her. Haruka wanted to blast the man--but remembered what Nancy had said. She faded back into some brush and began to work the phone. The car turned off the winding road they had been walking beside, and peeled off loudly downhill.
The phone stopped working after a few moments, but Haruka did talk to Ikuko and then Mako long enough to tell them there was trouble. Then Haruka waited for several minutes. She was starting to go back to the street to get a better look when she heard Nancy's voice calling her, "No, stay down! He's coming back!" Haruka had no idea where the voice was coming from, but she let herself slide down a few meters, and made sure her hood covered her orange blonde hair. She could just make out a car slowing up, and then idling, only a few meters away. She fingered her henshin wand, and considered, but waited.
Then a door began to open. A boot hit the pavement, then another. Haruka prepared to get up, but slipped, and slid down the slope for a more few meters--making quite a rumbling noise. And she lost her henshin.
Haruka looked up and saw a man standing on the edge of the road above her. He was outlined by lights from behind him. He had something in his hands--a rifle, or a shotgun.
But then the menacing silhouette stepped back, out of sight. Haruka heard the car door slam, and the squeal of tires. Then she felt hands on her.
"It's okay. He's gone." It was Nancy, helping her up. "Careful . . ."
Haruka heard someone scrambling down. Then another pair of hands grabbed her. In a moment, she was up the slope back onto the walkway. In another moment, she was being helped into a van, and she saw that the second pair of hands belonged to Michiru. Michiru started moving away, but Haruka grabbed her hands and said, "Please, sit with me?"
Michiru paused, and then sat down beside Haruka.
Nancy got in next. She paused to slap some of the dirt of her coat. Haruka noticed that she was just wearing a brassiere under her coat--her top was gone. Before she could ask, she heard Nancy say, "Here, keep this for her until you think you can trust her with it." Nancy handed Haruka's henshin to Michiru, and then moved back to another seat.
Chapter 3: Ami and Usagi
Mizuno Ami wished she had gone with the others to pick up Nancy and Haruka, but she hadn't known they were in trouble. With her special computer-sensor that she had in all her Mercury forms, she surely could have tracked the man, and they would have caught him. But when they found out about the criminal who was after Nancy and maybe Haruka, the only person in the house who could drive a car was Ikuko, Usagi's mother, and she wasn't going to leave Usagi or the little children behind. Usagi's mother told everyone to stay in the house. Then she began making calls, first to Nancy's mother, already driving in the van toward Nancy and Haruka; then the police; then some neighbors. Usagi had come down and began calling neighbors herself, on another line. Ami noticed that Usagi's mother bent down to whisper to her several times while they were waiting for the police, and for the van to get back.
The police came to the mansion to take reports after Haruka and Nancy came back. They didn't ask Ami many questions, and when she volunteered a good idea about how to find the man who had chased after Nancy, they told her to leave police work to police. Minako gave her a knowing look just afterward. But she hardly noticed, because she was wondering why Nancy seemed to be so sure of herself talking with the police. Nancy gave them the license number of the car and a description of how it looked and how the man looked. Ami wondered how she had got such a good look when the man was trying to run her over, or shoot her, or catch her to rape her, if he was the rapist the police were looking for.
It must have been a good description, because the police arrested the man the next day.
Ami was the best at solving puzzles, although Usagi had surprised her once--Usagi--but the puzzle of why Usagi had changed so much and why she insisted she would never marry Mamoru and never become queen . . . She was baffled. By the end of their second week in America, Ami had observed enough, and learned enough from what others were willing to tell her, that Nancy knew, and Nancy's mother, and perhaps Usagi's mother. But Ami decided--really felt--that it was better not to ask them. When the time seemed right, she would ask Usagi herself. Meantime, she looked for clues, and cherished a vague hope that she would find something that Usagi had overlooked, and convince her to reconcile with Mamoru.
But the clues she found were few, and disturbing.
One morning, when she was on her way to take a shower, she passed the room that Usagi's parents slept in. Usagi's father was back home, and he had just stepped out of the room, already dressed and ready to go somewhere. Ami looked into the room for a moment, and saw that Ikuko was praying in front of a picture on her dresser. It was a very short prayer. Ami heard Usagi's father call out, "Come on, we'll be late."
Usagi's mother replied, "Just fixing my makeup." Then she put the picture in a drawer.
Ami could see that from where he was standing, Usagi's father would not able to see what his wife was doing. Why would Usagi's mother lie to her husband?
Ami wanted to talk to Usagi, but there always seemed to be someone else with her. Before long, that was what bothered Ami. Without school, and without her mother, Ami realized she was alone. Usagi had been her first real friend, and now . . .
Rei had become even more closed off than before. When Ami tried to get her to talk, Rei would snap at her, or simply ignore her. Minako seemed to be spending most of her time with her mother. Michiru and Haruka were together again, though Michiru was more likely to snap at Haruka and everyone else than Rei. Except for Usagi--Ami did notice that Michiru avoided Usagi a lot, although Ami caught her looking at Usagi several times, when Michiru obviously did not think Usagi could see her.
Hotaru still seemed sad much of the time, though she had started to put on a cheerful face for others. Ami saw her with Usagi quite a lot, but they never seemed to be talking. Setsuna was either with Hotaru, or she was gone. And Nancy also spent time with Hotaru, though, again, they didn't seem to be talking much.
Makoto was alone a lot, usually cooking or working with the potted plants. Sometimes Usagi would help her do simple things, like peel fruit or vegetables, but Usagi seldom did any cooking more complex than popping snacks into the microwave. Makoto wouldn't let Usagi near a plant; she had said long ago that Usagi could probably wilt plastic flowers.
Ami decided to talk with Makoto when she was alone. "Mako-chan, can I help?"
"You don't have to. Cooking isn't your talent. But you can keep me company. That would be nice."
"Well . . . okay . . . Mako, has Usagi told you anything?"
Makoto asked, "You mean about why she broke up with Mamoru?"
"Yes," said Ami.
"Not really," Makoto replied, "She has told me a little about the other boy. Jimmy, Nancy's brother."
Ami said, "What? If you can tell me . . . please?"
Makoto said, "Jimmy was closer to Usagi's age. They met at school. The way she talks about him, I think they were just friends for a long time. Then when he was about to go away to join the armed service here, they made love. And that's how she got pregnant. He died in a plane crash right after."
Ami said, "She hasn't talked to me about him. She hasn't talked to me at all. Not just me . . ."
Makoto said, "I see . . . why don't you just go up and talk with her? She's up. Or at least she was a few minutes ago."
"Is Nancy with her?" Ami asked.
"No. Nancy went out with Minako and her stepsisters. And Hotaru. They won't be back until dinnertime."
"Minako went out without her mother?" Mina-chan seemed to be inseparable from her mother lately.
"Yes. Actually, Nancy and her stepsisters sort of dragged her out. Minako's mother went out with Nancy's mother and Usagi's mother. . . " Makoto stopped her tale, and addressed Ami more directly. "You can talk to me any time. But you need to talk to Usagi. Go on, do it while you can catch her alone."
"Don't you want to talk to her? First?"
Mako stopped kneading the dough she was working with. "You knew her before any of us. Maybe she will tell you."
"She knew Naru-chan long before me," said Ami.
"Yes," said Makoto, "But I don't think she wants Naru-chan to know everything. And even if Naru-chan knows, she won't tell. Think of how long she knew Usagi was Sailor Moon. Please, go talk to Usagi. Now?"
"All right . . ."
Ami drank a glass of water before going to Usagi's room, not really because her throat was dry, but to have something to do first. But once that was done, she mustered her courage, and went. She noticed that Mako was watching her, although she looked down at the dough she was kneading when Ami glanced back at her.
Ami found Usagi sitting up in her bed, reading. Usagi was reading a book, not a manga. "What is it you are reading?" Ami asked.
"The Last of the Mohicans," said Usagi. "An old book."
"For school?" asked Ami.
Usagi replied, "Did you forget I'm not going to school now? I saw a movie of it, and I thought reading the book would be nice."
Ami looked closer. "You read English for pleasure now?"
"It is still work," said Usagi, pointing out two dictionaries beside her in the bed, a Webster's and a Japanese-English one. "But I am so addle-brained I forget to be lazy sometimes." Usagi closed her book. "What do you really want to talk about?"
There was no point in stalling any more. "Will you tell me why you broke up with Mamoru? Why you won't see him?"
Usagi shook her head."It would only bring him pain to see me. I will not see him until he has found someone else. If he sees me before, he will try to make me change my mind. But I will not change my mind. Mamoru and I will never be married. And do not tell me that we must--the future is not what we thought it was. And that is all I will tell you of this."
"But--"
"That is all!" said Usagi in a commanding tone. Then she softened. "Before you tell me of my own heart, are you sure what is in your own?"
"What do you mean?" asked Ami.
Usagi said. "You have been here for nearly three weeks, and you've hardly spoken to me, or anyone. Hotaru is more outgoing than you. I saw Hotaru help drag Minako out. But they do not bother to drag you out. Why is that?"
Ami said, "I am not much fun."
"No," said Usagi. "They don't try because they've given up."
Ami began to cry. "Why are you like this? You have broken Mamoru's heart, you have hurt Rei, and now you are hurting me. Why? Why can't you be like you were before?"
Usagi took her hands. "I can never be as I was before. But I am your friend . . . " Usagi scooted herself over to Ami so she could hold her. "Always your friend . . . and if you want to mend Mamoru's heart, why not see him?"
"Me?" Ami was shocked.
"Is there anyone else in here? Yes, you. I have seen him flirt with you."
Ami said defensively, "That was just in fun. Mamoru flirts with many girls."
"Yes, I have noticed that . . . "
Ami caught a glimmer of hope. She does still care about Mamoru. At least enough to be a little jealous.
". . . But you are right, it is just fun for him. But why not you. Are you free? Did you get back together with Ryo after all this time? Did Sumi Kurume finally get up enough nerve to talk to you? Another boy?"
"No . . . no, I guess I am free. Are you ordering me to see Mamoru?"
Usagi said, "No, just suggesting . . . strongly! You're both great students, you are both going to be doctors--you have much more in common than I ever did with him. What is the harm? See if you might become more than friends."
Ami put her head to one side. "What about Hino-san?"
Usagi said, "Maybe you will have to fight Rei-chan for him, if you find you really want him. I think that either way, you win. If you want him, you are smarter than Rei, and you don't have a bad temper. Mamo-chan respects people with cool heads. If you don't, maybe you will make Rei jealous enough to open herself to Mamoru, and maybe they will find that they should be together. If that happens, you will have really done a kindness for Rei-chan. Don't expect her ever to thank you for it, though."
They laughed. For the moment, Ami forgot about the complications of being a senshi and a member of a nascent royal court, and was just a teenager confronting the pratfalls of first loves.
Then Usagi stopped laughing and grimaced, arching her back for a moment.
"What is it?" asked Ami.
Usagi gasped out, "Oh, I think I ate too many snacks last night. I've had stomach pains off and on since this morning."
"When was your last one?" asked Ami.
"I don't know . . . a little before you came in . . . Ohhh." Usagi arched again. Amy felt her Usagi's belly under her flannel nightgown. "What are you doing?" asked Usagi.
"Feeling your stomach . . . Usagi, I think you are having a contraction."
"What?"
"I think you are about to have your baby," said Ami.
"But it's not due for twoooo--" Usagi's reply turned into a shriek.
"Babies come when babies come, said Ami. Then she shouted, "MAKO! MAKO!"
Mako came bounding into the room moments later, her hands covered with flour. "What's wrong?"
"Usagi is having her baby now," said Ami
Makoto said, "I'll get Haruka! She can drive!"
Ami called out, "No, call an ambulance. 911. I think the baby may come very soon . . . acchh!"
"What was that?" asked Usagi.
"Your water just broke," said Ami.
Shingo came in the door just as Ami was seeing how dilated Usagi was. He passed out.
The ambulance that was routed to Mako's call crashed. In the confusion that followed, for two hours, whenever anyone called to find out about the ambulance, they were told it was on its way. Finally the mistake was discovered, and another ambulance sent.
The ambulance wreck wasn't the only one that afternoon. Traffic was bad pretty much everywhere for several hours. By the time the mothers got back to the house, the second ambulance had already taken Usagi away. There were police and firemen still there, packing up and finishing their reports. Ikuko went to them and asked what was going on, but she was excited and forgot her English. Mako took her aside and explained, in Japanese. "Usagi had her baby. A little girl. She had it before the ambulance came."
Ikuko said, "Is she all right? Is the baby all right?"
Makoto said, "Yes, I think so. Ami thinks so."
"Ami?"
Makoto explained, "Ami delivered the baby. She went with Usagi and the baby in the ambulance."
Ami and Usagi's mother Ikuko stayed overnight at the hospital with Usagi, while everyone else went home. Ms. Leary would have stayed, but she had small children--and she insisted that Nancy come home with her. She didn't boss Nancy much, but maybe she was upset because she couldn't stay with her new grandchild.
In the morning, after they had something to eat at the hospital cafeteria, Ami and Ikuko were coming back to look into the nursery. They saw Mamoru already there, looking at the babies. And they saw others coming from the other direction, with Nancy in the lead. Ami saw Nancy put her arms back, stopping the others. With a glance, Nancy indicated that they should wait, and she went up to Mamoru alone, coming up to him at the same time as Ami and Ikuko.
"Is he the guy?" Nancy asked them, not speaking with Mamoru, who continued to look through the nursery window.
"Yes," replied Ami. "Mamoru? This is Nancy."
Mamoru turned around. "The baby has hair like yours."
"So did her father. Listen, I'm sorry you came out on the short end here . . ."
"Are you close to Usako now?" Mamoru asked.
"Usako?" Nancy asked.
"He means Usagi. It is a, how you say, a nickname," explained Ami.
"Oh . . . yeah, I'm close to her," said Nancy.
"Tell her for me that she has made a beautiful girl." Then Mamoru walked away.
After a moment, Ami went after him. She almost lost him, but before he could turn a corner, she called out, "Mamo-chan!"
He stopped, and waited for her to come up to him. When she was close, she said, "Don't just go away. Come and see Usagi."
Mamoru said, "She does not want to see me. And who are you to call me Mamo-chan? Only Usako calls me that. Only Usako should." He was being authoritative again, speaking to Ami as if she were still a child.
Ami stood her ground. "Hino-san called you that once."
Mamoru smiled faintly. "That is true . . . but that was a long time ago. Nothing happened."
Ami said, "Usagi thinks something might, if you let it."
"What?" Mamoru was surprised.
Ami wasn't sure why she went on, but she did. "Usagi won't see you until you have someone else. She thought maybe Hino-san. Or maybe even . . . me."
"You? Ami-chan?"
Mizuno Ami put authority into her own words: "Who are you to call me Ami-chan?"
Mamoru smiled, and put one finger gently on her chin. "Well, Ms. Mizuno, if you prefer," he said in English.
"She said that we are alike in many ways . . . we will both be doctors, we like to do challenging schoolwork, we . . . we are much alike. You must admit that. You must--"
"Right now I think I must do this." He brought his head down and tilted it just enough, and kissed her, on the lips, for a long time. When he finished, he took her shoulders in his hands, and said, "You will never be Usako. But, Usako will never be you."
Ami wasn't sure what she was feeling. "Ne-e-eh . . . will you call me? Later? Sometime?"
"Yes. I will." Then he let her go, turned around, and walked away.
Ami took a long moment to become aware of anyone else. Then she noticed that several familiar people were looking at her. One of them was Rei.
Next: Minako shares a family secret with Usagi, and Usagi reveals a very new form. What will the rest of the senshi do now that Usagi won't be their queen?
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