Flee to Destiny
By: Bethany
Original release date: 3/2002
Revised: 7/2015
Author's notes at the bottom
Chapter One - Blood Trail
I looked out the small window next to me. The clouds looked decidedly too white in my opinion. The sun was also too bright for this day. It should have been dreary and pouring rain. Above me, I heard a ding, like a doorbell chime, and saw the fasten seat belt sign light up. I reached my hand out and took my little brother's hand, squeezing tightly. This was it. In a few moments we will land in Japan, clear across the world from the life we had known our entire lives.
The airplane descended slowly and a little too roughly for my taste. As it seemed we are hitting bumps, in mid air, Shingo squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in my arm. His first plane ride that should have been fun and adventurous, was nothing but a flight from the states. Back to our origins. Well, mine anyways. Where Shingo had been born in Tennessee, I was born in the country that we were now re-entering.
I had often dreamt of coming back here - to visit where I had been born and see where my parents had grown up. But Shingo and I are not here to visit and we are not with our parents. My thoughts drift back to our last days together and then the image appears before me. The afternoon I came home and found them - my mother and father - their lifeless bodies slumped over each other on the bed. Across the wall behind them was a clear message written in their blood that I can still see on my eyelids every time I shut my eyes.
You're next little princess.
The smell of blood that I remember all too vividly; the howl of distress and horror from my six year old brother as he walked in behind me. I squeeze my eyes shut, blocking these memories from my mind. I have to grow up now - and fast. My seventeen years in existence could not have prepared me for my future. All of Luna's training could not have helped me face my parent's death, or the uprooting of my life and my little brother's to move here.
Japan was not my first choice, by all means. I had every intention of staying in Tennessee where we had friends and knew our surroundings. But Luna wouldn't hear of it. As the Moon Princess, I had to do the right thing, she said. Which was up and move my little brother and myself - still morning the loss of our parents - to Japan so that I could be properly protected.
Properly protected by whom? My guardians, of course. The reincarnations of the Sailor Senshi that protected my kingdom and myself a thousand years ago. Now I'm sure any normal person would be questioning all of this nonsense by now, correct? Especially when hearing it told by a little black cat. But I had grown up with it - therefore it is a much as a part of me as I am of it. When I was no more than three years old, my parents moved to the states where my father had found better work. Shortly afterwards, my mother found a stray cat that seemed to become attached to our home, so we kept her. At three years old I still had silly notions that animals could talk - so who was I to question a cat that could? It wouldn't be for many years that I would jokingly tell her she had the most perfect grammar of any cat I'd ever spoken to.
The plane landed with a jerk, which thankfully ended as soon as it began. The speed of the engine slowed as we came around the corner and pulled into the terminal. After a few more moments, I noticed them locking the walkway to the side of the plane and the stewardess came to tell us it is safe to exit. Grabbing what few toys I had allowed Shingo to bring on the ride, I stuffed them into his backpack and grabbed my purse and his hand as we slowly made our way down the aisle and into the airport.
For a weekday, the airport was very busy. People rushed to and from, going here and there. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Most pulled suitcases behind them while others carried briefcases and cell phones. I saw a few tourists, and wished beyond my imagination that I was simply visiting this country. Perhaps it wouldn't seem as much of a grim journey if that were the case.
Tightening my grip on Shingo's hand, I entered the flow of people and headed to where I believed our bags to be. Shingo grew incredibly quiet for the normal six year old boy I knew - the one that always had questions as to why everything happened. I glanced at him worriedly from time to time, but he just continued to look around in wonder.
After what seemed like an eternity, and a five mile hike - we found the bag terminal and waited like everyone else. Of course our bags would be one of the last to come down, as luck would have it. And the stretch to the outside walk where we could catch a taxi seemed incredibly long carrying two large suitcases, a smaller suitcase, and two backpacks - while still trying to hold Shingo's hand.
By some small feat past human possibility, I managed to make it about twenty feet before the small suitcase came loose from my not so good grip, then in my effort to reclaim it, caused the backpacks to fall from my shoulders, and of course in all of this chaos, Shingo lets go of my hand to avoid being hit by the suitcase I was dropping as well. Running my fingers through my long mass of tangled hair, I began picking up the suitcases once more.
One at a time, I slowly managed to work the load into my arms so that I had a halfway decent chance of walking. Smiling inwardly to myself, I began forward again. And that's when I noticed I didn't have a small hand in mine.
"Shingo?" I looked around frantically, dropping the suitcases again, this time not caring as I searched for my younger sibling. If anything happened to him now, I'm not sure what I would do, but it would be miracle if I didn't end up in the loony bin, rambling on about what a horrid parent I made my second week on the job. "Shingo?!"
"I'm right here," came a small voice from behind me. Right where he had been the entire time I was hitting every available panic button, I realized. My eyes burned and watered. The plane ride had been nearly ten hours long and the time change was really effecting my coherent - or lack thereof - thinking.
Sighing my relief, I looked at the bags that were once more on the floor. This would not be easy at all, and as far as my eyes could see, there was not one of the carts that had been at the airport in Tennessee anywhere. Sighing again, I sat down on one of the larger suitcases and buried my face in my palms; Shingo sat down beside me, looking rather worried. "Usagi? Are you okay?" I can see worry deep in his blue eyes.
I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face. "Yes," I lied. "I'm just tired from the plane trip, that's all." And I don't know how to get these bags to the curb, and I don't know where to go when I finally do. And... oh damn! I realized, a little too late, I don't have the pet cage. Blinking rapidly, I handed the pack backs to Shingo. "Here, drag these," I instructed, grabbing the suitcase handles and tugging with all my strength. What was I thinking packing all of this stuff? Of course, it was all things I couldn't possibly leave behind. Slowly we made it to the lost and found counter, and it didn't take long to see the rather irritated black eyes of Luna staring out of a cage from behind the counter.
"I think that's my cat." The lady at the counter looked strangely at me, and blinked questionably. Of course, in my haste to get Luna back before she was really ticked off at me, I had forgotten that I'm no longer in an English speaking country. Of course I knew Japanese, both Shingo and I were fluent, it just hadn't occurred to me in my hurry to use it. Pushing my bangs from my face, I smiled apologetically at the lady behind the counter. "Ano?" I began in Japanese. "I believe the pet cage behind you is my cat."
"Your name and the pet's name? And can you list any identifying marks on the animal?" the lady responded nicely, smiling at Shingo and handing him a lollypop.
"My name is Tsukino Usagi, and my cat's name is Luna. As for identifying her, that's easy. She has a crescent moon bald spot on her forehead." I grimace as I say those words. Luna is proud of her moon symbol, and hates when I referred to it as a mere bald spot. But what am I suppose to say? 'My cat is my talking guardian from the Moon one thousand years ago, and has the symbol on her forehead to prove it?' And then after I finally escaped from the psycho ward, Luna would really have something to be mad at me about...
"Sign here," the woman interrupted my thoughts, indicating a log that reads FOUND at the top in bold writing. Gingerly she hands me the pet cage and I smile at the black ball of fur inside, which was incidentally shoving her backend at the cage door at the moment.
So now we have me, Shingo, a pet cage with a ticked off Luna inside, two backpacks, two large suitcases and one small suitcase to carry. As I half drag and half carry the luggage towards the exit, I can felt despair wash over me. This was starting out so wrong - and one glimpse outside told me it would be getting dark soon. We still had no place to stay, and hardly any money left. The conversion of dollars into yen had helped after paying so much for plane tickets, but not nearly enough when I found out how much everything in Japan costs. What little money my parents had held back wasn't going very far, either. The future didn't look very appealing at the moment, and the past continued to haunt me every time I closed my eyes. I wonder what my guardians would think of their Princess now? I could imagine the disgusted looks on their faces - wondering what causality of my birth had caused such a turn of events to happen. A mistake, that is what they would think, my being the Princess was. I felt like I couldn't have agreed more.
As my luck would have it - and I assure you good things were sparse as of late - I managed to drop the bags one more time. I stared at the stack of suitcases, backpacks and pet cage on the floor and felt tears well up in my eyes. Never did I think it would be so frustrating to simply get out of an airport. Shingo saw my eyes glaze over, and reached up to pat my arm reassuringly. I tried to smile at him, but something else caught my eye before I had gotten the chance. "Hey!" I yelled, turning abruptly. "What do you think you are doing with my bags?" Ready to pummel this idiot into the ground, I hardly had time to notice he wasn't running like a chicken with his head cut off away from me. I blinked once, then felt the heat of embarrassment light up my face like a flame.
The young man that stood before me easily adjusted my bags in his arms so that he could carry them with a lot more ease than I had been accomplishing. And the navy collared shirt he wore said 'Tokyo International Airport' - making me feel like an idiot for screaming out so rashly.
"It looked like you needed some help.." He stumbled over the words, putting the bags back down on the ground again.
"Gomen!" I squeaked, grabbing Shingo's hand once more. "I.. I didn't see the um, the eh.. the.." I gestured wildly towards the company logo on his shirt, having lost my voice due to extreme embarrassment. I was surprised I was even speaking Japanese, and not blurting out one hundred things a minute in a language this young man probably didn't even understand. Finally I stopped, convinced that I wasn't going to say anything useful in the next ten minutes or so. Nodding his head, the young man smiled at me and gestured towards the sliding glass doors as we made our way towards them. "You parked outside?"
"No," I responded, my eyes darted around. "I'll have to catch a cab."
"No problem," he replied, setting the bags down on the curb. He held his hand up and within a matter of seconds a cab pulled up and popped the trunk. I let out a breath of relief as soon as the last of our luggage was in the car and we were on our way. First order of business was to find a place to stay; luckily the cab driver knew of a couple.
It wasn't too much later that we pulled in front of a small hotel that, thankfully, didn't look very expensive. A short boy with large rimmed glasses came out with a cart, gathered our luggage up and ushered us inside. The lobby looked fairly clean and quiet, a couple of people - I assumed was housekeeping - were standing around the front desk, but moved as soon as we came in.
"Can I help you?" the woman behind the long counter asked, moving the mouse on her computer so that the screen saver went off.
"I'd like to rent a room, please," I said, trying to ignore Shingo tugging on my arm repeatedly. Looking down quickly, I put my finger to my lips and then smiled at the clerk. "For two nights."
A few clicks and questions later, we were being escorted to room 203 on the second floor. I set our bags in the corner of the room and looked around. It was small, to say the least - consisting of one king size bed, a small table with a chair, a dresser with a television on top and a bedside table. "I guess it will do for two nights, right Shingo?"
"Right!" he answered, crawling up on the bed and looking at me. "Mama," I looked curiously at Shingo, a boyish grin spread across his face and he bunched his hands up in his lap. "I'm hungry."
In response my stomach growled loudly. The plane had served dinner, but I had been so nervous I had only picked at it. I picked up my purse and the room key and gestured towards the door. "So let's go see what we can find to eat, shall we?"
"Yay!" Shingo yelled, running full speed over towards me. "Can we get a hamburger? Or do they have hamburgers here?"
I laughed merrily at his enthusiastic tone and shut the door behind us. "I have no idea what they have. Lets just see when we get there." I had gotten no more than ten feet from the room when a thought - one I had been forgetting about more often than not today - flew into my head. Rolling my eyes, I turned and went back into the room, Shingo in tow.
I fished through the pile of luggage for a moment before I found what I was looking for. Gingerly, I snapped the door open and watched as a sleek black cat came sauntering out of the cage, looking rather pissed off at me.
"Well," she began, and I knew this would be a long talk. "It's about time you let me out of there. Especially since I stayed so quiet the entire time, so as to not get you in any trouble."
I smiled apologetically at her and ran my hand through my hair. "Come on Luna, I'm sorry, okay? It's been a very long day and I just want to eat and sleep."
"And find your guardians," Luna said pointedly, as if I needed a constant reminder as to why I was here in the first place. "I think we all will breathe easier when you are under the care of the Senshi." I felt a small pang of anger at that statement, as if Luna didn't believe I could take care of myself. I started to voice it out loud when I realized it was no use, I would never win. I might as well save that argument for a time when Shingo and I were less hungry.
"Okay Luna," I agreed, which made her turn around and look at me curiously. "We'll look for them first thing in the morning, but for now, I want food. So either jump in here," I commanded, indicating my backpack, "or stay here, it's up to you."
She didn't hesitate to jump in my backpack, which made me wonder if she was as hungry as we were - or if she didn't trust me enough to let me go by myself.
The sun had already set behind the buildings as we headed out. Just enough of the light was in the sky to give it a red hue - but then it faded and cascaded into the dark night. We walked about four blocks, not finding anywhere to eat. I did, however, see a park and made a mental note to take Shingo there sometime soon.
Thinking with my head was never a good way to find food, I always thought, so it came as no surprise when my stomach growled as soon as I smelled a strong, mouth watering aroma. Letting my stomach and nose lead the way, I whisked Shingo off towards the origin of the delicious smell. It wasn't too much longer until I came across a door that said "Arcade and Crown Parlor" on it.
"This looks like a good as place as any," I informed Shingo, stepping on the mat so that the automatic doors came open. "And there is also a help wanted sign, perhaps I can apply for a job while I'm here."
Shingo nodded, but I doubt he really was thinking much about the job as he was the food. He yanked on my arm, practically dragging me into the arcade and to the counter. A man came up and handed us both a menu. I glanced up in time to come face to face with a rather handsome man, perhaps in his early twenties, with deep blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. "You know what you want?" he asked, smiling at the both of us.
"Un!" Shingo answered immediately. "I want a hamburger, but no onions, they are nasty. And I want a huge order of fries and a really big chocolate shake!"
I felt the blood creep up my neck as I thought about how much money I had in my purse. Biting my lip, I cleared my throat and tried to sound as convincing as I could. "Shingo, you can't eat all of that," I lied, knowing perfectly well his stomach was as bottomless a pit as my own. I looked at the man behind the counter, trying to avoid his eyes at every cost. "He'll take a small burger and a coke, and I'll have a pickle and a glass of water. Oh, can I have an application too, please?"
I chanced a glance at the young man's nametag and saw that his name was Motoki. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. Shingo looked vaguely disappointed, but did not question my motives as to why I didn't let him order what he wanted. And for that I was eternally grateful. I couldn't imagine telling him we didn't have enough money within ear shot of Motoki. I knew I would shrivel up and die in my chair if I did.
Motoki smiled and took the menus back, placing them under the counter, and disappearing through two swinging doors. I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding in and placed my forehead on the counter. "Sorry Shingo," I mumbled, my eyes threatening tears. "We just don't have enough money right now."
Shingo said nothing in response to my dead delivery of words, which I was semi-thankful for that. At least he didn't protest, making a scene. A few moments later Motoki returned with two plates - filled to the brim with fries, a hamburger placed on each one. Blushing, he put them before us. "Were about to close and we would have thrown this stuff out anyways..." his voice trailed off and I could see he was trying to not come across as giving us a handout. I felt my pride boil up in my throat, threatening to spill a line about how we had money, just needed to save it. And that I didn't want any pity from him. My thoughts on this speech were interrupted, however, as I noticed Shingo smile brightly at the man behind the counter. As I watched my younger brother dig into the food placed before him, I couldn't help but smile - which by all means wasn't the best start to a mad rant about handouts. So instead I sucked my pride back down and threw some pillows over it - effectively silencing it for the moment - and looked at Motoki sheepishly.
"Arigato," I said almost silently. "But it really wasn't necessary."
"It's okay, we would have just thrown it out," he pointed out again. "You said you needed an application, right?" Reaching under the counter, he pulled a sheet of paper out. "I'm the owner's son, Motoki, so I can go ahead and interview you now, if that's okay."
I nodded dumbly, not expecting to get the job since I had no experience in the work world at all. But anything was worth a shot right now, especially since we needed the money so badly. Shingo finished off his hamburger and fries, sucking on the coke while watching Motoki and I. Smiling handsomely at Shingo, Motoki reached in his pocket and handed him some tokens. "Why don't you go play some games real quick, ne?" Shingo nodded his head, taking the tokens and running off to put them into a race game.
I watched him go, letting quietly letting Luna out of my backpack to watch him, then turned back to Motoki. I could feel my face become heated as I filled out the form. I had never been a waitress, never worked, wasn't from this city, had no permanent address as of yet, and saw no reason whatsoever for him to hire me. Sighing, I put the pen down and handed the application back to him and waited.
His face expression didn't change once while reading over the application. I just knew I wouldn't get the job. Finally he put the paper down and looked at me, at Shingo, then at the paper in his hands. Coming around the counter, he sat down on a bar stool to my left and placed the paper on the counter gently, never meeting my eyes. "Usagi," he began. "Can I ask you some questions, please? I don't want to seem rude, however ..." I nodded grimly, wondering what I had just got myself into. "When did you arrive in Japan?"
I folded my hands in my lap and sighed. Something about this man's honesty, something about the way he spoke, said that I should just tell him as much of the truth as I can. He just seemed like the kind that had good friends, and a huge heart. Some of my pride threatened to leak out and strike, but I pushed it back. I had the feeling I would be doing that more often than not until I got on my feet.
"We just arrived from the United States a couple of hours ago," I began. "Shingo is not my child, as I put on the paper, and I am not twenty two years old." Motoki didn't look very shocked at my words, but only nodded as if confirming an early thought.
"Our parents died a few weeks ago, and we came here where I could start a new life. If I had stayed in the states, they would have put both of us in foster homes, probably separate ones. I couldn't stand to loose him, he's all the family have left." I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I held them back. All of the events over the past two weeks were catching up with me. I had no idea how to support myself and Shingo, how to be a mother to him when *I* still needed a mother. I had no plans for our future, but I knew I wasn't going to loose him.
"I know that I have had no work experience, and I have no home as of yet, but I really need this job." I looked up at Motoki, and saw him staring at me intently. I felt so ashamed, so lost in this huge world that I wasn't ready to face alone. I just wanted to hide in a corner somewhere and disappear.
Motoki rubbed his chin thoughtfully and stood up. Rounding the corner, he pulled out a bag from underneath. Handing it to me, he meets my eyes squarely. "I will expect you to work every weekend, is that a problem?"
Joy rose up in my heart as I took the bag with the uniform in it. Shaking my head, I looked up at him. "No, that's not a problem! I'll work whenever you need me to! Thank you!"
Motoki placed his hands palm down on the counter top before speaking. "There is one more thing you must agree to," he began, and I felt my heart sink. Please, please let this be something I can agree to!
"I want you to enroll yourself in the local high school and finish your education." That was definitely not what I was expecting. I lifted my eyes and saw his soft smile. "I know that you have been through a lot, but I admire your courage and determination. I really think you'll be a hard worker, but you need that education if you are going to make a good life for your little brother."
I felt the first real smile on my face in two weeks and slowly I stood up. "Thank you Motoki-san. You don't know how much this means to me."
Motoki smiled, his eyes brightening up. "I'm just glad I can help you out. Do you have a place to stay?" I weighed my choices, I figured if I could get some tip money I might be able to afford the motel for another couple of nights, and perhaps by then I could have access to more of my parent's money to get us an apartment. I nodded my head quickly, trying to avoid looking directly into the steely blue eyes that were homed in on my expression. Not looking quite convinced, but not so much as to question it, Motoki took the application and placed it in a drawer as Shingo ran up to us.
"Look! Look!" his innocent voice rang out excitedly. "Look what that girl got me!" In his hand was a small UFO catcher doll of a man in a tuxedo, a white domino mask covering his eyes. "Isn't it great?"
A girl with shoulder length aqua hair came up behind Shingo, a man just to her right. Smiling, she patted Shingo on the head and giggled lightly. "That is Tuxedo Kamen," she said, her smooth voice reminding me of the gentle waves of an ocean. "He's a big hero around here."
The man just to her right winked and lazily draped his arm around the woman's shoulders. "He isn't that big of a hero." Leaning forward, the man offered his hand to me and smiled. "I'm Ten'oh Haruka..."
Gingerly I took his hand and smiled, pulling Shingo closer to me as I did so. "I'm Tsukino Usagi, and this is my.. eh, son, Shingo," I sputtered my words out, almost saying "brother" instead of "son". My decision to keep up the lie about Shingo being my child seemed more appealing than explaining my parent's death to anyone else. I didn't want to come off as looking for pity.
The woman blinked and looked at Shingo, as if she knew I was lying and smiled. "My name is Kaioh Michiru," she smiled warmly this time and held her hand out. "You are new in town, ne?"
I nodded my head, felling eyes boring into me. I took a quick glance at Motoki, which hopefully got my desperate plea for his secrecy across. He didn't say anything, but instead went back to wiping the counter down. I directed my attention back to the two in front of me. They seemed so regal, though they couldn't have been over eighteen or nineteen years old. It seemed as if a sense of beauty surrounded them - and mystery. It occurred to me that they held secrets, but surely none as dark as mine. Once more I felt the strain of the recent events take their toll on my body.
"Actually, we just arrived from the States today and the time difference is really taking its toll," I gave as an excuse as I stood. "So we should be heading back to our hotel."
Haruka nodded and ruffled Shingo's hair. "You have quite a little man there. If you two like racing, you should come down to the track sometime," he offered. "No one has beaten me in a while."
Shingo's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You race cars?!" he asked excitedly. "Wow! Could I see your car sometime? Please?"
"Better ask your mom there, kiddo," Haruka replied, laughing at his enthusiasm. "But it's okay with me if it is with her."
Shingo brought his huge blue eyes up and looked at me expectedly. I couldn't help but smile at him. I wanted him to have the most normal life possible, given the circumstances. Winking at him, I gave him a quick kiss on top is slightly curly blonde hair. "We'll see when my day off comes around, ne?"
Shingo nodded his head and smiled at Haruka. "This will be great!" he shouted and started 'driving' the doll in his hands around the room, making engine noises as he went.
I turned to Motoki and took my wallet out. Before I even had the chance to ask about the bill, he shook his head solemnly and handed me a piece of paper. Times were marked on it and I smiled gratefully at him. "What about my bill?"
"I'll make sure you work it off," he answered, a smile planted firmly on his lips. Without giving me a chance to object, he retreated through the swinging doors and back into the kitchen.
I turned back around to find Haruka and Michiru gone. It was as if the wind had pulled through the doors and swept them away as quick as they had appeared. I sighed deeply, pulled my backpack on and grabbed Shingo's hand. Luna slipped out the door behind us silently. As we headed back towards the hotel, I noticed that the city seemed to have slowed down considerably. The people and cars that passed were few and far between - and most of the walk was silent.
We rounded a corner and I felt fear nail me to the sidewalk. In front of us stood a man wearing a dark mask, a gun in his hand. Shakily, he walked up to us as if attempting his first hold up, and held the gun further out in front of him. "Give me the bag or I kill the kid."
My mind went completely blank and my body numb. I knew that in my backpack was all the money Shingo and I had, but I also noticed that this man was nervous enough to pull the trigger at any second. I gulped audibly and felt the tears welling up in my eyes - Shingo held tighter to my hand, burying his face against my arm.
"NOW!" the man roared. Hastily I slipped the bag off my shoulder, praying he just let us go and didn't decide to shoot us anyway. The man reached out to grab it from my hand and suddenly with a deep guff of air, fell to the ground.
I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more scared at what I saw. Behind the thug laying on the ground stood a man in a tuxedo and hat; a white domino mask covering his eyes. "Dajibou ka*?" he asked, his husky smooth voice rang familiar, somehow, to my ears.
"H-Hai," I stuttered, bringing the bag closer to my chest and taking a step back. "Ple-Please don't hurt us," I mumbled, pushing Shingo behind me so that any weapon this man might be holding would hit me first.
His lips twitched slightly, as if amused at my horror filled voice. "Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you." He stepped towards me and I took a step back.
Behind me, Shingo pushed against my arm and smiled. "Look!" he said, holding the doll Michiru had won him at the arcade. "It's Tuxedo Kamen!"
Taking advantage of the moment the strange man looked down at Shingo, I grabbed his hand and ran past the man, pulling Shingo along. We ran all the way back to the hotel, where I hastily shoved the doors open and pushed Shingo inside, following closely. Once I had the doors shut, I turned.
I could see the man, Tuxedo Kamen, standing on the street, just in the shadows from a street lamp near the front of the hotel. I felt tears running down my face as the horror of the situation sank in my mind. He was standing not ten feet from us.
I backed up, but not before I heard him say: "I know who you are." He held his gloved hand out, as if longing to come nearer, longing to touch me. Then he jumped straight up, disappearing out of sight.
Biting my bottom lip to keep from sobbing, I turned on my heel and quickly returned to our room, Shingo in tow - shutting and locking the door behind me.
Once inside the room, I laid my bag down on the floor and fell down on the bed where I really began sobbing. I barely heard Shingo and Luna climb onto the bed beside me. Wearily my little brother patted my back and hugged me tightly.
"It's okay Usagi," he whispered, trying to sound grown up. "Nothing happened. We will be okay when you find your guardians," he tried to assure me.
But it wasn't working. I kept seeing flashes of the man with the gun, and then Tuxedo Kamen as he informed me he knew who I was. And what did that mean, anyways? That he knew I was the princess and he was going to kill me like they did my parents? Or was he on my side? Is that why he saved me? Why did he look like he longed for more than our brief encounter?
Luna lay beside me, purring softly. I fell into an exhausted sleep with one arm around Shingo, but my dreams were full of nightmares of my parent's death. Only instead of just my parents, Shingo was dead also as a bullet embedded itself in his head. I awoke suddenly, the sweat dripping off my forehead as I stifled a scream. Breathing heavily, I looked around blankly for a moment, not recognizing my surroundings. "Luna?"
"Usagi-chan?" Luna said softly from beside me. Slowly she stood, stretching her long feline body out before sitting on my lap, tucking her tail up under her. "Are you okay now?"
Slowly my memories flooded back to my head and I jerked to the side, looking for Shingo. He laid beside me, one thumb stuck firmly in his mouth and some blonde curls falling lazily over his forehead. My breath seemed to slow down to a normal pace and I gently reached over and brushed my fingers over Shingo's forehead, moving the curls to the side. "What time is it..?" I asked absentmindedly.
The black cat looked over to the night table for a brief moment. "About twenty after four. Go back to sleep for a while, in the morning we must begin the search for your guardians."
I began to protest before I heard Shingo's voice beside me. "Then we'll be safe, right Mama?"
I couldn't help how my heart ached to hear the name he called me. After our parent's death, I sat Shingo down and explained to him that I would be his mother for now on - making sure he understood we would never forget our real mother. His tear-filled eyes had looked up at me with a renewed respect as he wrapped his arms around my neck. "Can I call you Mama now?" he has asked. I assured him he could if he felt comfortable doing so but every time I heard the name leave his lips I felt the crack in my heart ache for the mother he really needed.
Gently I reached down and kissed his forehead softly, pulling the covers up higher on his tiny form. "Yes baby, we'll be safe then," I answered.
Luna watched on relieved, before curling up in a ball at the foot of the bed. "Goodnight, Usagi-chan," she mumbled, already following the sand man back to dream world.
I reached over and turned the small light off, lying back down and attempting to reclaim sleep as my own for a few hours longer.
Using her teeth, and more strength than I thought she possessed, Luna managed to pull the heavy drapes back to allow the sun to come sparkling through the small hotel room - straight in on my sleeping form. With about as much grace as a drunk chipmunk, I stumbled out of the bed at the ungodly hour of eight a.m. - and effectively pulled the drapes shut once more before falling back on the bed and snuggling in the ever warm covers.
Satisfied with myself that Luna would not go a second round with the drapes, I drifted back to sleep for approximately 8.2 seconds before the dratted fur ball dropped a cold cloth on my face. "Luna?" I mumbled from under the cloth, sitting up on the bed.
"Yes?" the feline answered, followed by a high pitched shriek as she flew across the room as I yanked the covers from under her form.
"Good morning to you, too," I replied, sitting up on the side of the bed. "Must you be so lively this early in the morning?" I asked as I yawned and stretched my tired limbs.
From across the small hotel room, next to the table where she had landed, Luna gave a disgruntled grunt of annoyance and began washing herself. "I'll have you know I've been up for an hour and let you sleep in," she replied, stopping long enough to give me a pointed look before finishing her bath. "You need to find your guardians and get Shingo - and yourself - enrolled in school. As well as try to acquire some of your parent's money to find a place to live."
I nodded numbly and stared around the hotel room. Having procrastinated as long as I felt I could get away with, I stood up and stretched again before heading towards the bathroom with one of my bags.
I wasn't out of the shower long when I heard Shingo moving around in the other room. Wrapping a towel around myself, I peeked the door open and shuddered as the cold air whooshed into the bathroom, causing cold chill bumps to form on my arms and legs. "Shingo?"
"I'm up!" he called, jumping off the bed and coming to the bathroom doorway. "When are we going to eat?"
I had to laugh at his sweet face, topped by blonde hair sticking up in every available direction. Since Shingo could talk, his first question of the day was when he would be able to eat. "As soon as I get dressed and you take a bath and get dressed."
"Can I take a shower all by myself?" he asked immediately. "I'm a big boy and can do it all by myself now!" he told me proudly, grinning. As I nodded, he ran over and began pulling his bag over to open it, revealing most of his clothing.
It seemed the day was going to start out on a half way normal note - my only hope was that it stayed that way.
When both of us were dressed and ready, I grabbed my backpack and the hotel key off the table and we headed out. Luna stuck her head out of the top of the bag, clearing her throat to begin informing us of where to begin searching for my guardians. Surely I couldn't have got lucky enough to eat before hearing her.
"I have some things your mother gave me before I was placed in my cryogenic sleep. One is your moon wand. Supposedly," she continued, looking off as if at her own memories, "it should begin reacting when we are near one of your guardians. Unfortunately, my memories aren't clear enough for me to be able to tell who they are just from seeing them. And of course, there is also the fact that they are not running around in their fukus. That would make it hard to spot them. Their planet powers give them identity protection, as well. We will not recognize them nor them, us."
"Why don't we just put up a bill board that says 'Senshi wanted, apply within'?" I mumbled, although Luna still heard me.
Since we were a safe distance from the hotel, Luna jumped from my bag and stepped in front of me. "Usagi-chan, please take this seriously. It is for your own protection, as well as the worlds, that we find your guardians and begin to re-establish your royal court. From what I have heard, there has already been some trace of the enemy here in Tokyo." She began walking again, turning ever so often to be sure I was still following. "Some Youma attacks and such, but someone - I'm supposing the Sailor Senshi - have been fighting them off."
Mocking Luna talking, I turned to Shingo and began making faces. He giggled lightly and held tighter to my hand. The feline in front of us stopped for a moment, throwing a rather nasty look at us and began to speak again. "If I may continue," she said hotly, not allowing either myself or Shingo to react before she began again. "The Senshi can not stay ahead of this game for long, I'm afraid. Soon the enemy will become more powerful than them as they gather more energy," here she turned, looking at me with a straight face void of emotions. "Only you can help them defeat the evil." Sighing, she hung her head. "If you do not take your role seriously, I fear for the future of Earth."
Anger made my head snap sharply. My face flushed and I bent down to look at my guardian eye to eye. "You say that," I accused, more than a little hurt on the inside. "Like I don't care. That I have no intentions of fulfilling my role as their princess. I am well aware, Luna, of my job and how I don't have an option, or opinion, on my future."
"Usagi-chan," Luna sighed. "I didn't mean it that way. But you don't seem too interested in finding them. As if this doesn't make top priority on your things to do."
"Luna! For crying out loud! I have just lost my mother and father to one of these.. these Youma's!" Tears threatened to break free from my eyes as I continued my heated rant. "I have to be a mother first, and then a princess!" I explained, holding Shingo in front of me as to emphasize my point.
"Not if you want Shingo to live to see adulthood!" Luna shot back, now standing. "Usagi-chan, I'm tired of being the only responsible one here. If you don't decide to grow up - then I won't pressure you. But instead, I will sit back and wait for the destruction of Earth. That is what will happen if you don't straighten your act up immediately!"
I just stood stark still on the sidewalk. Not caring that more than a few people had stopped to look at me strangely as I spoke to my cat in heated tones.
Shingo stood by my side, his face dark. His hand fell from my grasp and he wiped a tear from his face. Enraged by the look of blame on Shingo's face, I picked him up quickly and turned the other direction. "Luna, I'll assume you didn't mean to imply what you just did. I will see you back at the hotel."
Shingo laid his head on my shoulder, sucking softly on his thumb as I moved in and out of crowds of people, making my way to the parlor we had eaten at the night before. As I passed the corner where we had almost been robbed not twelve hours earlier, my thoughts left Luna's nagging and focused on the strange man who had saved us. It was obvious that he was amused by my attempts to evade him. Does that mean he knows where I am now? That he is following us? Fear clutched at my chest; does he want me dead, too? But that didn't make sense, if he wanted me dead, surely he wouldn't have intervened last night. But try as I might, I couldn't figure out the situation in my head.
As I silently questioned his motives, I hadn't been paying good attention to where I was. As the automatic sliding doors to the Crown Parlor opened, I roughly bumped into someone, nearly dropping Shingo in the collision.
"Gomen!" I squeaked, putting Shingo down and examining him for any injuries. When I looked back up, I was startled to see someone who looked remarkably like myself. Her long blonde hair, the same shade as my own, fell past her knees and her blue eyes were wide as she looked at me. My jaw remained dropped as I stood up, reaching for Shingo's hand. "Eh, um, eh," I stuttered, still gawking at her resemblance to myself.
Shingo, not often known to be speechless, managed to state the obvious. "Hey!" he said, as if someone had insulted me by baring such a strong resemblance. "You look like my Mama!" Did I mention he said this rather loudly, too?
This statement, punctuated by a six year old calling me 'Mama', rounded another - if not even more shocked - look from the girl in front of me. Her mouth moved, but words still seemed beyond her as of yet. Instead, she reached behind her in what looked like an effort to hold herself steady with something. However she pulled an arm in front of her, followed shortly by Motoki. "Eh, Motoki, do.. do you see this?"
Motoki, apologizing to whoever he was talking to whenever this girl interrupted him, turned and upon realizing who I was, smiled brightly. "Morning Usagi-chan," he greeted, then realized that the blonde in front of me was digging her nails into his arm. "Mina-chan," he said sourly. "Would you stop?"
"Huh? Oh!" she instantly let go of his arm, a slight red blush tinting her face and making her seem to glow with beauty. "Sorry Motoki, but this girl... wait... You know her?!"
"Hai, I know her. She is the waitress I told you I hired." His eyes went from me to the girl in front of me as he explained, and then as if the sun had decided to light up his face, he blinked - looked at me, then back at the girl in front of him. "Whoa... Mina-chan, you look a lot like Usagi, did you notice?"
"Baka!" Minako hissed, slapping him on the head lightly. "That's what I've been trying to tell you." Suddenly she let go of his arm and came closer to me, as if examining an animal to see if it was friendly or not. Curiously we studied each other to find any differences. The tension was broke by another female voice, this one a little deeper and much more rougher.
"Minako-chan! I just knew you would be in here!" And before I had time to react, I was yanked around and brought face to face with a raven haired girl. Her violet eyes registered shock as she realized I was not who she presumed I was. "Whoa..." she mumbled, stepping back and running into another girl, this one much taller than any of us. "You are not Minako..."
By this time I had gotten rid of my current silence streak, and gruffly retorted: "Duh!"
However, my new double next to me had taken the time to come to the same quick reply - and had managed a rather similar version of "Duh!" the exact same moment as I, causing the dark haired girl in front of me to look back and forth between us with huge eyes. After getting her eye-full of double blonde haired, blue eyed girls; she then turned to the taller woman behind her and promptly began screaming. "AAAAHHHH! There are two Minako's! The end of the world is upon us! Run for your life!"
The taller woman looked down at the raven haired girl and made a shooing motion with her hand. "Rei-chan, please, there are not two Minako's. Kami-sama wouldn't do that to humankind," she retorted, laughing lightly at the enraged look on Minako's face. "I'm kidding. However," here she looked curiously at me, though - I noted with relief - not like I was an alien force, "you do resemble Minako strongly. I'm Kino Makoto," she reached her hand out, and despite her impressive stature, she had soft hands with beautifully manicured nails that seemed to soften her appearance. "Nice to meet you, even under such odd circumstances."
I took her hand appreciatively and smiled back. "I'm Tsukino Usagi and this," I motioned towards Shingo and patted his head to get his attention. "Is my son, Shingo." There was a slight pause from all three girls as I said "son" - though at this point I was getting used to that reaction - and then they smiled at him.
"I'm hungry!" Shingo stated matter-of-factly, which for some reason brought a round of laughter from the girls in front of me. Each gazed at him as if looking for resemblances to myself, and when they found enough, smiled at me again.
A little freaked out by the turn of events, I picked Shingo up once more and directed my attention towards him. "How about we go get you something to eat then, ne?"
Shingo nodded his head enthusiastically and jumped down, heading to a nearby table. I turned to the three girls, minus Motoki who had disappeared, and gestured towards the table. "Would you like to join us?"
All three nodded their heads and went towards the booth, filing into the seat across from Shingo and I. After the waitress walked off from taking our order, we all sat in a deep silence. Once more, Shingo decided to break it the blunt way. "Why do you look like my Mama?" he asked Minako, slightly leaning over the table as if he were a cross-examiner for the police force.
Minako leaned back and winked. "I don't know kiddo, but your Mama sure is pretty!" she giggled.
"Minako-chan," Rei said lowly. "You said it." Makoto seemed used to Minako's blunt statements though, and laughed lightly without saying anything.
Afraid of the silence coming over the table again, I began talking. "We are new in town and I was wondering if you all knew where Jyuban High was? And perhaps somewhere were I could get an apartment?"
This everyone seemed to have an opinion on, and one thing lead to another. Soon we were all talking over our breakfast about fashions and home decor. I found out that Makoto was rather good with flowers and such, and offered to help me decorate my new apartment when I found it. Rei was a Priestess of a nearby Shinto temple and Minako was dating my new boss. They all seemed to be such close friends that I found it sad. All of my friends at home never offered to help me do anything unless they got something out of it. But these girls were different, they were intent on helping me, and refused anything in the way of payment. It was as if, for the first time in my life, I fit right in with them. They asked my opinion on things, and listened attentively when I spoke. It was as if we had known each other our whole lives - and not about an hour. I felt more at ease than I had in weeks.
And just when I was feeling relaxed and began enjoying myself, thinking perhaps this town wasn't so bad, I saw him. Just a small movement on the top of a nearby building, but it was enough for to catch my eye. Across the street, on the roof of small shop, stood a figure in a black cape and top hat, a domino mask covering his face. I felt fear nail me to my seat and nothing but the words he had said the night before filled my mind: "I know who you are."
Suddenly, I feared for my new friends. What if the enemy killed them in an attempt to get to me, like they did my parents? What if I was putting their young lives in danger just by sitting in the same booth with them? Should I even try to make friends in this town until I find my guardians? Or even then? The question of what should I do filled my mind and blocked out the conversation happening around me.
"Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked, bringing me back from my own world. "Are you okay?" The tall girl reached over the table, placing her hand on my arm and her worried eyes staring at me intently.
"I-" I stumbled over my words, my brain screaming to get away from them before my past hurt them. Before I hurt more people I cared about with my presence. Suddenly I stood, grabbing Shingo's hand and scooting out of the booth. "Gomen, I have to go. See you later." And without thinking twice, I headed out of the Crown Parlor and down the streets of Jyuban as quickly as I could, practically dragging Shingo along.
I wouldn't be able to make friends here. As badly as I yearned to stay with those girls and forget my problems, it seemed they would always catch up to me. I would have to face reality and find my guardians and save the world before I could begin to think about a normal life. Sorrow filled my heart, making me long to spend a few more hours sobbing. But I fought the urge and slowed down as I entered the park. Shingo looked at me questioningly, but said nothing as we walked through the gardens - my head full of
matters that shouldn't be troubling a normal teenager.
But then again, I'm the Princess of the Moon, when had I ever been a normal teenager?
-End Chapter 1
* - Dajibou ka translates to "Are you okay?"
I have been thinking about this story a lot lately, actually since I saw a post on Facebook that was celebrating 20 years of Sailor Moon (I'm feeling old!), and decided to re-read it. Much to my horror, there were a lot of inconsistencies and errors through out (funny what 13 years can do for your English!). So I've decided it's high time I revised the story. Unfortunately in the past 13 years I have lost the email address attached to the account this is originally posted under and have to post it on a new account. Can't have it all!
I don't think it should take a really long time to revise these chapters, then with any luck I can finish the second book in this series, No Greater Love. I hate leaving things undone, but as I'm sure a lot of my used to be author friends know, life gets in the way! As a single mother of 3 kids that works night shift, I feel like I have less time than ever, but I really want to finish this. It might make way for me to finish some other stories in my life (LE;AH for one….)
Until the next installment, drop me a line on the review page and let me know your thoughts. Thank you for reading. God Bless
Beth