San Hikari

[a PGSM story.]

It was a balmy afternoon in Azabu-Juuban; the temperature was perfect, and the air was neither too dry nor too humid. In fact, it was the sort of weather that would make anybody want to spend the day outside.

There was one tiny problem, however, and it was that the wind was a little too strong for Rei to read her book outside. It was a hassle trying to keep the book open to the correct page, as the wind would constantly try to flip ahead in the story. This was particularly annoying to Rei, who liked to read her books methodically. So that was the reason why Rei was indoors on such a lovely day, reading the book Usagi had given her for one of her birthdays. She didn't know which, but that wasn't important.

San Hikari, or The Three Lights, had been translated from the English by Usagi, Ami, and Makoto's history teacher in high school. And of course Rei, being a miko, knew the implications of the term. "San hikari" was a Shinto concept, representing the sun, moon, and stars. This made the book all the more intriguing, although it was unlikely that poor Usagi would have known this.

Rei settled herself in her room, with its window looking out over the sun-kissed shrine grounds. That would have to do, if she couldn't read outside. The book was thick, but not unwieldy; she put it in her lap and opened it up. As Ami had said, it was reminiscent of space opera and high fantasy-the summary seemed to intimate such.

She paused to appreciate the calligraphy of the kanji for San Hikari on the title page; she assumed that Keigetsu-sensei had done it himself, an assumption that was confirmed in his acknowledgments section. He had also translated Dr. Theodoropoulou's acknowledgments as well, which Rei skipped over.

The inscription on the next page was in Greek. Rei could not read Greek, of course, but Keigetsu-sensei's translation appeared below in brackets:

[As the stars draw back their shining faces when they surround the fair moon in her silver fullness.] -Sappho, fragment 3.

Rei had only briefly heard of Sappho at school. An ancient Greek poet, to be sure; she made a note to investigate further, as her poetry seemed pleasing. In text, anyway. Rei was always one for such things.

She turned the page again, and began to read.

When Ami returned from America, all of the hospitals in Tokyo were engaged in some sort of competition in order to have her on their staff. However, Ami would work for no other hospital except the one her mother worked at, and so that was how Ami ended up at William Hasegawa Memorial Hospital, which (among its numerous merits) boasted the latest technology, as well as many doctors who had trained overseas, foreign or otherwise. "You'll fit right in," the elder Dr. Mizuno said.

Ami was not unaware that she might be one of the most promising neurosurgeons in the world at the moment; she was pretty well known among her field in America, anyhow. It wasn't every day that a soft-spoken Japanese teenager stepped out of the sheltered Minato ward in Tokyo and into Yale University without really finishing high school. And then she had already entered her residency at UCSF Medical Center when Mamoru proposed to Usagi. With all of that, of course she would be at least a little famous.

Despite the fact that Yale had been a huge culture shock (not to mention quite far from home) at first, the toughness that came with being the former Sailor Mercury had helped her through it quite successfully. And although San Francisco had been an improvement in terms of making her feel less homesick, she remembered her undergraduate years just as fondly as she did her time in California. There had been a time when Usagi and company had been her only friends - and now she could say that she had a few more overseas. Quite a few more.

But it was good to be home again, closer to Usagi and Makoto. And Rei, now, since it seemed inevitable that she would stay. Minako too, for a few months at least. Even with all the usual business and stress that came with being a doctor, Ami was content.

Content, and busy. The weather outside might have been pleasant, but the hospital was busier than ever. The elevators were at full capacity, so she was hurrying up a staircase to see a patient in the pediatrics ward when she came across someone in a long trench-coat, hat, and face mask, huddled near the landing. The figure appeared distressed, or at least was trying very hard to hide from someone from the looks of it. Ami, being the sort who couldn't ignore anyone in distress (a fine trait for a Guardian, of course), stopped and looked at her.

"Are you all right?" The person's face was pretty well covered, and Ami could only see the eyes, but something about the figure suggested that it was a young female. The face mask muffled her response, though. Ami blinked. "Pardon?"

The girl pulled her mask down to reveal her face. "I said, I'm all right, thank you. I'm just, um," and she coughed forcefully. "Just a little under the weather."

Ami stepped backwards, startled. "...Rei-chan?" "Uh...no? You must be mistaken, I'm Momoko. Hasegawa Mo-I mean-"

"Hasegawa!" a man's voice trumpeted from the landing above them. "Get back here!"

"Yipes!" the Rei-lookalike-Momoko-jumped up and fled, or at least tried to. Ami winced as she watched Momoko trip on one of the steps and roll down the rest of the way in a most unbecoming fashion.

No, she definitely was not Rei, even if the resemblance was uncanny.

"Rei? What is this?"

Rei scowled, but her head was turned so Minako couldn't see it. She probably already knew Rei was making a face, anyway. "I'm glad you're taking time off of work on such a nice afternoon, but don't you have anything else to do? Other than dig through my things?"

Minako giggled. Over the years, Minako's attitude had softened considerably towards Rei. Much more so than when they were fourteen. Back then, Minako had been so bent on molding Rei into a leader-which, of course, led to considerable friction when Rei refused to listen to her. Nowadays, she finally seemed to understand why Rei refused to play the game her way, and seemed to appreciate the miko's company a lot more these days.

That didn't mean that she had given up playing pranks on Rei, or generally annoying her. As she was doing now. "What are you reading?"

"I told you already. Usagi gave me a book. I'm reading it."

"Is it any good?"

"From what I've read, it seems decent. I'm only halfway through the second chapter."

"What's it called?" Minako crossed the room and looked over Rei's shoulder, her cheek lightly brushing against Rei's jaw. Rei tensed up so much that she nearly lost her place in the book. "San Hikari. Is it fiction?" She made no attempt to move away, as she was reading the pages open on Rei's lap.

Rei scooted over. Nowadays-but especially after Usagi's wedding-Minako never seemed to be able to keep her distance. "Yes, it is. If you want to read it...well, I'd tell you to get your own copy, but Ami-chan says it's out of print."

"I'm sure someone's selling it online." Minako grinned. "Hey, I have an idea."

It was the same grin Minako wore whenever she was convincing Rei to get into Nako-Nako costume.

Occasionally, whenever Makoto's flower shop became particularly busy, Usagi would drop Little Usagi off at her parents' house and help Makoto out. While she wasn't exactly a genius when it came to working a cash register, Usagi's bright personality represented, with minor improvements, the height of customer hospitality. Quite a few of Makoto's customers had continued to do business with her because they appreciated Usagi's cheerful willingness to help them.

Today was one of those busy days; while Makoto ran a delivery, Usagi held down the fort in her absence. Usagi was busily checking the water for the carnation bouquets when a familiar figure walked into the store. She looked up and called, "Welcome to...Keigetsu-sensei?"

"Tsukino-san," her former history teacher smiled gravely at her. "It's good to see you again. It has been too long. You work here?"

"Oh! Y-yes, of course. And, I'm just taking over for the day. It's good to see you, sensei. Did you need anything in particular?"

"Ah. Just looking around, thank you." Keigetsu Saku was in his fifties, a tall, solid man with broad shoulders and a bushy, graying mustache. His eyes were kindly, though, and Usagi knew better than anyone how he could turn the stuff from her dry, boring history book into something like fairytales. Rather than events, Keigetsu-sensei talked mostly about people, how their emotions created those events, and why they did what they had done.

Sometimes it hit closer to home than Usagi would have liked.

"I'll take this, Tsukino-san."

Keigetsu-sensei held up a single, long-stemmed red rose, with the green base wrapped neatly in cellophane. "Oh! Yes, of course." Usagi hurried to the counter to ring up the purchase. It took some thinking, but it went more or less smoothly. As was Makoto's custom, Usagi included a small packet of plant food with the purchase.

"So this is Kino-san's shop, isn't it? This is the first time I have seen it. It is nice." Keigetsu asked. "How is business?"

"Yes, sensei. Business is going well, Mako-chan has always been most comfortable around plants."

"So I've heard. I have also heard that you have been married these past few years?"

Usagi blushed slightly. "Yes. Mamoru and I have a daughter now, she's four."

"Congratulations."

"Oh, thank you. I'll tell Mako-chan you stopped by. She's out making a delivery."

Keigetsu-sensei nodded. "I see. Well, I shall try to come by another time to see her."

Usagi waved at him as he left. "See you again, sensei!" she called. She made a mental note to mention this visit to Makoto once the other woman came back.

"And there it is!"

Minako pumped her fist as the message on her computer told her exactly what she wanted to see. That her book order would arrive tomorrow morning, express shipping.

"What's going on, Minako?" Artemis asked.

"Rei and I are forming a book club."

Artemis stared. "A book club?"

"Sure. It took some convincing, but it's a go."

"I'm sure it did." Artemis could see Mars' scowling face. "What book are you planning to read?"

"The Three Lights, by an American college professor. Have you heard of it?"

Artemis' ears perked up. "The Three Lights? As in...the San Hikari?"

"Yeah, I guess so. It's fiction, though."

"I...see." Something prodded at Artemis' conscience, but he shrugged it off. "So when are you planning to have these book clubs? I don't remember you agreeing to take off work recently..."

Minako shrugged and grinned. "Lately I thought you kept saying I was working too hard and I needed a break?"

"Well, I'm glad you're taking it seriously now, but..." Artemis blinked as the foreboding tugged at him again, a little stronger this time. How was he supposed to verbalize this to Minako, who was obviously using the book club idea to spend more time with Mars? "Never mind. Just. Don't drive Mars over the edge."

"I think Rei can handle herself in the face of my great charm." And it might very well be true, since Artemis had already figured out long ago how much Rei was willing to forgive Minako.

Usagi shrieked with laughter. "Are you serious, Ami-chan? She looked exactly like Rei-chan? I can't imagine her falling down the stairs or doing anything like that! Rei-chan's too graceful!"

The other customers at the teashop cast curious glances at them, and Ami shushed her too-exuberant friend. Even Little Usagi looked slightly mortified at her mother's actions, scooting a few inches away from her. "Yes, the resemblance was uncanny at first," she continued when Usagi sheepishly quieted down. "But once I thought about it, I would be able to tell the difference between them quite easily. Rei-chan is a very serious sort of person, and Hasegawa-san-I think her name was-she lacks a...certain furrow in her forehead, if you will, which comes from Rei-chan's tendency to...ah...frown a lot. Hasegawa seems to be a much less solemn person." Ami smiled. "She reminded me more of Usagi-chan, come to think of it."

Makoto thought it was funny, too, although she didn't scream with laughter the way Usagi did. "Tell me about it. So this Hasegawa, she looks exactly like Rei and yet acts like Usagi. I can hardly wrap my mind around it."

Usagi giggled, and wiped some of the stray sugar from her daughter's mouth. "I sure wish I could meet her."

"Maybe you will," Ami suggested. "She works for Little Angels. Mako-chan, didn't you contract with them occasionally?"

"She does, does she?" Makoto mused. "Well, most of the time I make the deliveries myself. And everytime I communicate with their office, it's mostly with the boss or Kataoka-san. Well, we'll see."

"Oh! By the way, Mako-chan, Keigetsu-sensei stopped to buy a flower from the shop when you were out!"

From where he sat, Keigetsu Saku could see the back of Tsukino's head as she threw up her hands in excited chatter. Across the table sat Kino and Mizuno-which surprised him. Wasn't Mizuno a doctor? Shouldn't she be busy at work, instead of drinking tea and eating pastries with her friends?

Well, that was none of his business. He pushed that aside and fixed his gaze on the little girl sitting next to Tsukino. He couldn't see much other than the top of her head, but there was no mistaking the silent thrum of extraterrestial power emanating from her. The other young women exuded something of the sort as well, but he had had too much practice over the years-he could not fail to pick out exactly where the focus of the power was.

So that must be Tsukino's daughter. And so, his theory continued to stand. History continued to repeat itself.

He should have known. He was a history teacher, after all.

Keigetsu-sensei fingered the phone in his pocket, debating the wisdom of making the phone call. Should he do it now? Later?

"Later," he said to himself, and got up.

AN: Sequel of sorts to Let It Be Night.