Forgotten Dreams
A Sailormoon Fanfic by Lady Shay
I do not own Sailormoon.... people with a lot more money and talent
than I own it... such as Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd, Toei Animation
Co. Ltd, and others. Please don't sue me, since I could pay you!!
---------------------------------
Forgotten Dreams
---------------------------------
--------
Prologue
--------
Usagi brushed a tear away as she looked out the window at Tokyo...
possibly the last time for months that she would see a familiar skyline.
Another tear followed the first as she thought of all the friends she
was leaving behind... the other Senshi had been so sad to watch her
leave. Everyone had thrown a huge going-away party: Makoto cooked
dinner, of course, and Rei sang a song that she had written about
friendship. Minako was there, and Ami... along with Naru, Umino,
Yuuichirou, Motoki, Luna, and Artemis. Luna had cried, but had finally
decided to stay with Artemis and Minako.
Closing her eyes, Usagi leaned back as the airplane took off. It had
been a hard decision to leave... but it was too difficult to stay in
Tokyo after the accident. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as Usagi
remembered her family: her mother, her father, and Shingo... all gone
now because of a drunk driver. She should have been in a car with them,
except that she had been running late and decided to meet them at the
restaurant...
Too late now for "should haves" and it wouldn't change the past. This
time, there was nothing Usagi could have done to save her family.
Usagi wiped her eyes and stared, unseeing, out at the ocean. Everything
had happened so quickly... she hadn't even had a chance to find the other
Senshi to say goodbye. Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru were all
travelling in America... maybe she would see them there someday...
The plane shuddered as it hit some turbulence, waking Usagi from a light
sleep. They were flying over land now... it had been a long flight, but
soon she would be with Mamoru... where she belonged. Blinking, she
looked at her watch and estimated that the plane would soon be landing
in New York, where she would catch her transfer flight to Chicago.
The plane shook again and Usagi frowned as the Captain's voice came over
the loudspeaker, asking that everyone please fasten their safety belts
as they were experiencing some slight turbulence while preparing for
landing. Usagi fastened her belt and tightened the straps, feeling the
plane start it's descend. As the plane quickly approached the ground,
Usagi heard a *cracking* noise just moments before landing...
The plane hit the ground and skidded, tilting on its side. As the lights
flickered, Usagi's head cracked against the window as she was thrown
sideways in her seat. As she slumped down in her seat, Usagi thought
she heard an explosion before everything went black...
-------------------------------------
-----------
Chapter One
-----------
"Ms. Tsukino? Are you awake now, Ms. Tsukino?"
The blonde-haired woman opened her eyes and blinked at the bright light,
trying to focus on the person standing in front of her.
"Ms. Tsukino?"
The blonde blinked her eyes again and lifted a hand slowly up to her
head, "Is that my name?" She shook her head carefully, "I don't...
remember."
The doctor sat down next to the bed and reached to pat the blonde's hand.
"Your name is Tsukino Usagi... or Usagi Tsukino, as the say here. You're
in New York City, in the United States of America. There was an
accident as the plane landed... something to do with the landing gear
being broken. You hit your head and have spent the last week here in
a coma, but you're fine except for the head injury."
Usagi stared at the doctor for a moment. "Why am I in America? I live
in Japan... don't I?"
The doctor patted her hand again before answering, "We checked with the
Japanese Government after we admitted you to the hospital. They told us
that you are listed as the only surviving member of your family."
"But..." Usagi shook her head, ignoring the dull throbbing that had
started, "Why am I here?"
The doctor shook his head, "I don't know. We checked, but you don't have
any family listed in America, and we couldn't find an address book in
your luggage. Do you want for us to arrange for you to go back to
Tokyo?"
Usagi frowned and spoke slowly, "No... I don't remember anything about
Tokyo and, if my family is gone, I don't have anything there either.
I... I came here for a reason... maybe I'll remember it if I stay."
The doctor nodded and stood up. "Do you speak any English? There might
not be many people around who speak Japanese."
Usagi smiled slowly, "Hai... I mean, Yes." She switched to speaking
slow, but concise English, "I think I remember speaking English." She
frowned. "I don't remember anything else, though."
The doctor nodded again as he opened the door. "We're going to keep
you for a few days until we're certain of your recovery. If you need
anything, please let a nurse know."
As the door closed behind him, Usagi closed her eyes and fell asleep.
******************************
Usagi shut the door carefully behind her and looked around her apartment.
The hospital had been really helpful in getting her settled in New York.
During the last few days before they released her, the doctor had
contacted a few companies that owned apartment complexes. Usagi had
inherited enough money to keep her comfortable, even if she never
worked... Usagi closed her eyes for a moment thinking... she didn't feel
any grief for the loss of her family, though the hospital had given her
all the information they had found about them and the accident. She
only felt sadness that anyone had died, but it might as well have been
strangers that she read about. She didn't remember.
Walking over to her new couch, Usagi sat down on the rose-colored
cushions as she reached for a small stack of photos. She hadn't found
anything in her possessions that told who the images were of, but
Usagi continued to hope that if she kept looking at the photos, she
might remember.
Looking at the first photo, Usagi smiled to see how happy everyone looked.
There were five girls all sitting in from of a fountain, with Usagi
herself sitting in the middle of the group, leaning back as if to look
at all of the girls surrounding her. A striking girl with long black
hair sat to the right of Usagi, while another blonde sat on the other
side. Both girls were laughing as they clasped their hands behind
Usagi's back, as if to keep her from falling into the fountain. On the
far right of the group was a petite girl with short blue hair, and on
the far left was a tall brunette. Both girls were laughing at the three
in the center of the photo.
Usagi sighed and flipped to the second photo. She was also in this one,
with a young girl who had pink hair. In the photo, both of them were
wearing this hair up in buns with the tails falling loose. Usagi
smiled. After seeing that photo, she had started to wear her hair up
in that unique style. She frowned for a moment, wondering again who
the young girl could be... she looked like Usagi, but Usagi was supposed
to be the only member of her family left, and there hasn't been any
mention of a sister.
Shrugging, Usagi brought the third photo closer to the light of her
small table lamp. While it was clear that three of the figures in the
snapshot were women, she was still unsure of the fourth... with short,
layered blonde hair and a jacket that hid all but a hint a curve, it
was easy to be confused. Of course, the fact that a pretty woman with
teal air was cuddling up with him... or her... didn't help much!
Another woman stood behind the couple, her dark green hair flowing down
her back. The last woman was probably a few years younger than Usagi...
she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen year old. She sat on the
floor in front of the couple, her violet eyes staring up at the camera.
Usagi flipped to the last picture in the set and sighed. She was in
this photo, also, curled up in the arms of a man with dark hair. She
was smiling contently at the camera, while he looked down at her with
a loving smile on his face. Pushing the other photos aside, Usagi
studied the couple in the last photo... the looked so much in love.
She wished she could remember something - Anything! - about him... even
his name. For some strange reason, Usagi felt that he was the key to
her lost memories...
Reaching out, Usagi turned off the light and headed into her bedroom.
-----------------------------------
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Chapter Two
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"Your total comes to $26.33."
"Will you go on a date with me?"
Usagi snapped her head up and looked into the mischievous eyes of one of
the shop's regular customers. "Pardon me?"
Scott smiled as he handed over the money for his purchase. "I asked if
you wanted to go out on a date with me? You know... the traditional
"dinner and movie" type thing?"
Usagi blushed and stammered, "Umm... sure, I guess. Why?"
"Why? Because you interest me," laughed Scott, "and you're nice and
funny... and it doesn't hurt that you're beautiful. So, are you free
tomorrow night?"
Usagi paused for a moment to think before answering. "I work until four
tomorrow, but I'm free after that."
Scott smiled at her again, "Good... I'll pick you up at 7:00pm."
Usagi closed her eyes as Scott left the shop after getting her phone number
and address. It had been almost eight months since Usagi had woken up in
the hospital. After a few months, Usagi had decided to get a job to ease
her boredom. Working in an anime and manga store was perfect... not only
did she get an employee discount, but she also knew the basic storylines of
most of the merchandise. Since most of the manga they carried was in the
original Japanese, the regular customers were generally either of Japanese
heritage or were just really interested in the culture. Scott was one of
the second type... he had been intrigued by anything Japanese since he had
roomed with an exchange student from Tokyo while in his first year of
college. Scott now shared a house with several guys from Japan... Usagi
hadn't met them yet, but she assumed that anyone who could get along with
the eternally cheerful Scott couldn't be that bad.
Sighing, Usagi glanced at the clock, and grabbed her purse from beneath the
counter. Waving at Fumi, the owner, she walked out the front door. Usagi
only worked part-time, usually in the morning and early afternoon hours.
As usual, the noise from all of the traffic startled Usagi as she stepped
outside. She still couldn't get over the fact that almost everyone in New
York City owned a car... or at least it seemed that way sometimes!
Shrugging, Usagi walked to the nearest subway entrance. She figured that
it was just easier not to have a car.
Opening the door to her apartment a short while later, Usagi grabbed a book
from her purse before collapsing on the couch. She giggled at the cover,
which showed a teenage girl wearing a skintight bodysuit with a short skirt
and knee-high boots. Her hair was up in a style similar to Usagi's, except
that she had things that looked like headlights attached to the front of
her buns. Usagi giggled again as she opened the manga. The shop had
received a complete set of the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon manga, and Usagi
had picked up the first book, since she had never read it before.
Or at least she didn't remember reading it. Over the past eight months,
Usagi had realized that she did remember some things about her past. She
remembered all of the English she had learned and most of her other studies.
She even remembered plots of movies and books... she just couldn't remember
anything at all about her family, friends or social life. Sometimes, Usagi
wondered if she had even had a social life. She could easily see herself as
a nerd, just studying all day and not doing anything else! After all, the
only things that she really remembered were what she had learned in school.
Usagi made a face of disgust. That didn't sound fun! Whenever she gave
up on trying to remember her past, she would make up stories about it
instead... imagining herself as the most popular girl in school, or a
concert musician, or... she looked at the book again and shrugged. Who
knows? Maybe she had been a super-hero like Sailormoon! With a giggle,
she started reading again.
*********************************
Usagi looked into the mirror and smoothed her hair down once more as the
door buzzer rang. Smiling, she opened the door, "Ohayou, Scott!" She
laughed and waved a finger at him. "You might want to close your mouth
before something flies in."
Scott blushed and blinked a few times as Usagi smiled. 'I was right,' she
thought, 'to wear this outfit. It serves Scott right for surprising me
yesterday.' She giggled to herself. Usagi stepped backwards into her
apartment and motioned Scott forward. "Would you like to come in? I
still need to put my shoes on."
Scott finally stopped blushing and stepped into the apartment, his eyes
following Usagi. She was absolutely gorgeous in a short white dress with
a thin gold chain gracing her slender neck. As he watched, she stepped
into white sandals and fastened the straps. He looked away from her
briefly and noticed a few framed photographs on a side table. Curious, he
walked over to look at them.
"Cute photos, Usagi." He pointed to a couple of group shots, "Are these
some of your friends back in Tokyo?" He stopped when he noticed the photo
of Usagi curled up in some man's arms. The photo was tucked back behind
one of her and a little girl, but he pulled it forward to study it closer.
"Who is he?"
Usagi shrugged as she walked over to join him in front of the photos.
"Why? Do you want to know if he's competition?" She forced herself to
laugh. "These are my memories of Tokyo... I just haven't figured out how
to unlock them."
Scott turned to glance at her with a puzzled expression. "Unlock them?
What do you mean?"
Usagi closed her eyes for a second before forcing a smile on her face, "Oh,
didn't I ever tell you? I was in an accident eight months ago... I don't
remember any of these people, but I assume they were my friends." She took
the photo from him, "I haven't looked at this in months." She shrugged,
"I assume I loved him... but how can you love someone you don't remember?"
Scott grabbed her free hand as she put the photo back on the table, "Usagi?
Does it make you sad?"
Usagi pulled away, "Yes. I lost eighteen years because the landing gear
on an airplane broke. Of course I regret that... but I have to live this
life now, and staying sad over something I can't remember and can't change
won't help me now." She pushed her hair back over her shoulders and
smiled. "I'm sorry. Lets go out and have some fun."
Scott followed her outside and caught her hand again. When she didn't
pull back, he smiled, "I admire you, Usagi. So... let's go and have fun.
Did you have a preference over what movie we see?"
*********************************
Usagi and Scott were laughing at they ran quickly out of the restaurant.
Tripping on a rough part of the sidewalk, Usagi fell against Scott, who
caught her and steadied her as they finished walking to Scott's blue
mustang.
"I'm so sorry!" Scott said in between fits of giggling. "That used to be
a small family restaurant... I hate it when places sell out."
Usagi giggled, "I suppose it was rude of me to say that the teriyaki
looked like something that had spent a month growing underneath someone's
bed..."
"And it was probably rude of me to prove that the sushi was rubbery... I
didn't actually expect it to bounce, but sushi isn't supposed to do that!"
Scott finished. After opening the door for Usagi, Scott got in the
driver's side and raised an eyebrow. "Can I tempt you with some really
good tempura? I promise it'll be fresh... I'll cook it myself!"
Usagi grinned mischievously, "Ahh... so this is your ploy to get me over
to your place!"
Scott smiled and winked, "Of course... though I'd prefer not to have a
chaperone, and I know for sure that one of my housemates is there!"
Usagi grinned, "Oh good... fresh cooked food and a chance to finally meet
one of your seldom-mentioned friends."
Scott pulled into a small driveway next to a two-story house. Usagi got
out of the car and followed up behind him. "Do you own this, or rent?"
"Rent... it's not bad, since the owner is a family friend." Scott
unlocked the front door and stepped in to turn on the light in the front
hallway. "I'm home!" He yelled. Turning to Usagi, he motioned her
forward. "Come on in to the living room... it's the most comfortable."
Usagi had just walked into the living room when she heard the sound of
someone walking quickly down the stairs. "Scott? You're home early..."
A man in his early twenties walked into the room, his long white-blonde
hair pulled back into a ponytail that hung to his waist. As he saw Usagi
he stopped and stared.
"This is Yaten, one of my housemates." Scott pointed to the slender
blonde man while grinning to Usagi. "He's obviously struck dumb by your
beauty. Yaten, this is my friend Usagi."
Yaten shook his head and stared again at Usagi. She looked around
nervously and started to back away when he whispered, "Usagi?" Shaking
his head again, he continued in a normal voice. "Why are you here?
Where's Mamoru?"
Usagi backed away, confusion in her eyes, "Do I know you? And who's
Mamoru?"
The front door slammed shut and two more men walked into the living room,
both of them also wearing their long hair back in ponytails, one with
black hair and one with brown. They both stopped when they saw the other
people standing in the room. The black-haired man stepped forward with a
shocked look on his face.
"Odango?"
----------------------------------------
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Chapter Three
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"Odango?"
Usagi took a step back, her eyes growing wide as she stared at the man
with long black hair. "What did you call me? Odango?" her voice rose
in pitch as her eyes flickered around the room, looking for an escape.
"Who are you? How does he know my name?" She pointed to Yaten.
"Odango... Usagi..." The black-haired man took a step toward her,
stopping when he saw her back up again. "Usagi... I'm Seiya. Kou Seiya...
one of Three Lights. We were friends in Tokyo."
Shaking her head, Usagi backed up another step. She raised her hands to
her face, hiding her eyes. "I don't remember... I don't..." Frightened,
she backed up another step and caught one of her heels on a cord. As
she took another step back, she tripped and fell, hitting her head on
the corner of a table.
"Usagi... Usagi..."
She opened her eyes, blinking to clear the spots away. What was she
doing on the floor? She had just been standing, and... with a groan,
Usagi remembered. She looked at the man kneeling in front of her...
"Seiya." She shook her head carefully and raised one hand as if to ease
the throbbing. "Seiya," she repeated. "I remember... a little." She
blinked and looked at him with a confused expression. "But why do I
look at you and also remember calling you 'Fighter'?
Seiya looked over at Yaten and the other stranger before turning back to
look at Usagi. "I... don't know." he replied slowly. "Why don't you tell
me what you do remember... and why you lost your memory in the first
place."
Usagi got to her feet with the help of Scott and Seiya, and made her way
slowly to the couch. After sitting, she looked at Scott, "Gomen, Scott.
I don't think this was what you had planned when you asked me out."
Scott took one of her hands and, with a rueful grin, replied, "No need
to be sorry, Usagi. I'm... just a friend, after all. Do you want me to
stay?"
Usagi pulled her hand away slowly before shaking her head. "You'll
probably be bored if you stay... my memories can't be of that much
interest to you." She smiled, "Besides, if you hurry, I think Miyu will
still be singing over at the R-Club. I know you like her music."
Scott smiled slightly and stood up. "We'll still be friends, Usagi?"
Usagi nodded and smiled, and Scott, after glancing at the other three guys
in the room, smiled again and walked out the door.
*************************
"Dear Minako,
I know that this letter will come as a surprise to you, since you probably
still believe that I am far away in another galaxy. After we reached our
planet, and our Princess restored our world, the three of us Starlights
realized how much we missed Earth. Our Princess understood, and allowed
us to return here to live. We did not want to disturb you... and in truth,
I believe that Seiya was afraid to get too close to Usagi again... so we
decided to move to America and build our lives there.
As you can guess, something happened to change this, or I would not be
writing to you now. About a year after we moved here, a friend and
housemate of ours, Scott, brought a friend back to the house. I'm sure
you will be just as surprised as we were when you hear that this friend
was Usagi. We hadn't heard of the plane accident, so we still believed
her to be in Toyko with the rest of the Sailor Senshi, and with Mamoru.
I don't know if you believed her to be dead... though in a way, she is.
She has no memory of being Sailormoon. She doesn't remember Mamoru, or
any of you. She remembers Seiya a little, and though she has a memory
of calling him 'Fighter,' she doesn't know that we are the Starlights.
Unfortunately, she does remember that Seiya was in love with her, and she
is under the impression that she loves him also..."
Yaten frowned and crumpled up the letter, cursing under his breath. How
could he write a letter telling Minako that, not only was Usagi alive,
but that she was falling in love with Seiya?
Sighing, Yaten grabbed the newspaper and flipped aimlessly through the
pages. What could he do? The problem was that he liked Usagi more not
than he had in the past... he and Taiki couldn't object to her being in
a relationship with Seiya, not this time! It didn't seem right, though...
not right while Usagi still didn't remember her past. Yaten sighed again
as he flipped past an advertisement for roses... he was sure that Usagi
would still love Mamoru is she remembered. Unfortunately, she didn't,
and she and Seiya were spending more and more time together...
Smiling for the first time all morning, Yaten scanned an article in the
Events section of the paper. Ripping the page out, he got up from the
table and ran up the stairs, "Taiki! Taiki... take a look at this!"
************************
Smiling, Usagi reached for Seiya's hand as they walked toward the
performance center. "Wasn't it nice of Yaten and Taiki to get us tickets
for this, Seiya-kun? I'm surprised that they remembered that my birthday
was this week!"
Seiya smiled and squeezed Usagi's hand. "They are your friends... why
would they forget?"
Usagi shrugged as they walked in and headed toward their seats, "I don't
know. Sometimes, Yaten will make comments about my past, and how I should
try to remember it more. Taiki just stands in the background, frowning.
I don't think they like me being with you..." she frowned.
Reaching out his free hand, Seiya paused to caress Usagi's face. "Odango,
don't frown." He smiled and gestured to a couple of seats. "Here... sit.
These are ours."
Usagi smiled up at him and sat down, resting her head against Seiya's
shoulder. "Arigatou, Seiya-kun."
Seiya smiled down at Usagi and kissed the top of her head, "Anything for
you, Odango. So... who's performing tonight?"
Usagi shrugged and looked up at Seiya, "I don't know. A world-famous
violinist, from what Yaten said."
Seiya blinked and shook his head slightly. 'No,' he thought. 'It couldn't
be.' Relaxing back in his chair, he draped one arm around Usagi's
shoulders as the curtain rose.
Usagi sighed in wonder as the first few bars of the song gently flowed
out over the audience. Closing her eyes to let the music sink in, she
opened them again quickly as she felt Seiya tense. "Seiya-kun? Is
everything alright?"
Smiling slightly, Seiya tightened his arm around Usagi for a moment before
relaxing again. "Everything is fine," he whispered. "I just recognized...
someone."
Usagi shrugged and closed her eyes again, enjoying the music. She never
noticed that throughout the entire concert, Seiya's eyes kept flickering
around nervously.
Toward the end, everyone stayed silent as the violinist raised one hand
before smiling sadly. "I have one more song to play." Her voice rang
out softly over the audience. "This is a special song, dedicated to a
very special person. Tsukino Usagi-sama, this is for you."
Usagi stared, startled, as the beautiful violinist raised her bow in the
silent room. She continued to stare as the soft melody washed over her,
bringing tears to her eyes. 'Why?' she wondered. She continued to stare
as everyone around her rose to applaud after the song's end, and as the
performer bowed once more as the curtain closed.
"Odango?"
Usagi looked up into Seiya's nervous eyes. "Seiya? I need to go backstage."
Seiya shook his head and grabbed one of Usagi's hands, "No... I think we
should just leave. We don't want to bother anyone..."
Usagi held Seiya's hands in hers and looked up at him with tears in her
eyes, "Please... I need to know why she dedicated a song to me." She
blinked and a tear ran down her cheek. "Please?"
Closing his eyes, Seiya swallowed once before nodding. Following behind
Usagi as she heading backstage, he stared at the silken fall of her hair,
as if for the last time.
"This must be it!" Usagi reached up to knock on a door with a sign
reading 'Michiru Kaioh.' She stepped back nervously as the door opened
slowly. "I don't want to bother you... but I just wondered..."
"Usagi-chan!"
Usagi looked up at a face framed by waves of teal hair. Before she could
say anything, she was dragged inside and swung into a hug.
"Usagi-chan! We thought you were dead..." The woman brushed a tear away
from her face and hugged Usagi again. "Oh my! Whatever happened to you?
And who's hiding outside in the hall?"
Usagi started to answer, but was interrupted as the bathroom door opened
and a man with short blonde hair walked out. As he caught sight of Usagi,
he rushed forward to give her a big hug. Blushing, Usagi stepped back as
she realized that the man was actually a woman. Covering her confusion,
Usagi looked back at the other woman. "I... knew you, didn't I? I have
a picture..."
The blonde woman stopped Usagi with another hug. "Odango Atama! You've
come back to us!"
Usagi returned to hug nervously and blushed. "I lost my memory... I don't
remember who you are..."
"The blonde woman is Haruka, and the other is Michiru."
Everyone turned to look as Seiya entered the room while speaking. Usagi
grinned and walked toward him, but stopped when Haruka grabbed her wrist.
"Haruka?" Usagi looked up nervously at the woman, "Seiya is my good
friend, and..."
"Gomen-nasi, Odango Atama," muttered Haruka while glaring at Seiya. Her
face softened for a moment as she looked at Usagi, but her eyes shot
daggers as she looked back at Seiya. "So, Seiya..." Haruka spoke in a
deceptively calm voice. "You're back. And how much longer were you
going to wait before letting the rest of us know about Usagi?"
---------------------------
End of Chapter Three
Continued in Chapter Four
Hate it? Email me!
shaychan@thesimpsons.com
---------------------------
A Sailormoon Fanfic by Lady Shay
I do not own Sailormoon.... people with a lot more money and talent
than I own it... such as Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd, Toei Animation
Co. Ltd, and others. Please don't sue me, since I could pay you!!
---------------------------------
Forgotten Dreams
---------------------------------
--------
Prologue
--------
Usagi brushed a tear away as she looked out the window at Tokyo...
possibly the last time for months that she would see a familiar skyline.
Another tear followed the first as she thought of all the friends she
was leaving behind... the other Senshi had been so sad to watch her
leave. Everyone had thrown a huge going-away party: Makoto cooked
dinner, of course, and Rei sang a song that she had written about
friendship. Minako was there, and Ami... along with Naru, Umino,
Yuuichirou, Motoki, Luna, and Artemis. Luna had cried, but had finally
decided to stay with Artemis and Minako.
Closing her eyes, Usagi leaned back as the airplane took off. It had
been a hard decision to leave... but it was too difficult to stay in
Tokyo after the accident. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as Usagi
remembered her family: her mother, her father, and Shingo... all gone
now because of a drunk driver. She should have been in a car with them,
except that she had been running late and decided to meet them at the
restaurant...
Too late now for "should haves" and it wouldn't change the past. This
time, there was nothing Usagi could have done to save her family.
Usagi wiped her eyes and stared, unseeing, out at the ocean. Everything
had happened so quickly... she hadn't even had a chance to find the other
Senshi to say goodbye. Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru were all
travelling in America... maybe she would see them there someday...
The plane shuddered as it hit some turbulence, waking Usagi from a light
sleep. They were flying over land now... it had been a long flight, but
soon she would be with Mamoru... where she belonged. Blinking, she
looked at her watch and estimated that the plane would soon be landing
in New York, where she would catch her transfer flight to Chicago.
The plane shook again and Usagi frowned as the Captain's voice came over
the loudspeaker, asking that everyone please fasten their safety belts
as they were experiencing some slight turbulence while preparing for
landing. Usagi fastened her belt and tightened the straps, feeling the
plane start it's descend. As the plane quickly approached the ground,
Usagi heard a *cracking* noise just moments before landing...
The plane hit the ground and skidded, tilting on its side. As the lights
flickered, Usagi's head cracked against the window as she was thrown
sideways in her seat. As she slumped down in her seat, Usagi thought
she heard an explosion before everything went black...
-------------------------------------
-----------
Chapter One
-----------
"Ms. Tsukino? Are you awake now, Ms. Tsukino?"
The blonde-haired woman opened her eyes and blinked at the bright light,
trying to focus on the person standing in front of her.
"Ms. Tsukino?"
The blonde blinked her eyes again and lifted a hand slowly up to her
head, "Is that my name?" She shook her head carefully, "I don't...
remember."
The doctor sat down next to the bed and reached to pat the blonde's hand.
"Your name is Tsukino Usagi... or Usagi Tsukino, as the say here. You're
in New York City, in the United States of America. There was an
accident as the plane landed... something to do with the landing gear
being broken. You hit your head and have spent the last week here in
a coma, but you're fine except for the head injury."
Usagi stared at the doctor for a moment. "Why am I in America? I live
in Japan... don't I?"
The doctor patted her hand again before answering, "We checked with the
Japanese Government after we admitted you to the hospital. They told us
that you are listed as the only surviving member of your family."
"But..." Usagi shook her head, ignoring the dull throbbing that had
started, "Why am I here?"
The doctor shook his head, "I don't know. We checked, but you don't have
any family listed in America, and we couldn't find an address book in
your luggage. Do you want for us to arrange for you to go back to
Tokyo?"
Usagi frowned and spoke slowly, "No... I don't remember anything about
Tokyo and, if my family is gone, I don't have anything there either.
I... I came here for a reason... maybe I'll remember it if I stay."
The doctor nodded and stood up. "Do you speak any English? There might
not be many people around who speak Japanese."
Usagi smiled slowly, "Hai... I mean, Yes." She switched to speaking
slow, but concise English, "I think I remember speaking English." She
frowned. "I don't remember anything else, though."
The doctor nodded again as he opened the door. "We're going to keep
you for a few days until we're certain of your recovery. If you need
anything, please let a nurse know."
As the door closed behind him, Usagi closed her eyes and fell asleep.
******************************
Usagi shut the door carefully behind her and looked around her apartment.
The hospital had been really helpful in getting her settled in New York.
During the last few days before they released her, the doctor had
contacted a few companies that owned apartment complexes. Usagi had
inherited enough money to keep her comfortable, even if she never
worked... Usagi closed her eyes for a moment thinking... she didn't feel
any grief for the loss of her family, though the hospital had given her
all the information they had found about them and the accident. She
only felt sadness that anyone had died, but it might as well have been
strangers that she read about. She didn't remember.
Walking over to her new couch, Usagi sat down on the rose-colored
cushions as she reached for a small stack of photos. She hadn't found
anything in her possessions that told who the images were of, but
Usagi continued to hope that if she kept looking at the photos, she
might remember.
Looking at the first photo, Usagi smiled to see how happy everyone looked.
There were five girls all sitting in from of a fountain, with Usagi
herself sitting in the middle of the group, leaning back as if to look
at all of the girls surrounding her. A striking girl with long black
hair sat to the right of Usagi, while another blonde sat on the other
side. Both girls were laughing as they clasped their hands behind
Usagi's back, as if to keep her from falling into the fountain. On the
far right of the group was a petite girl with short blue hair, and on
the far left was a tall brunette. Both girls were laughing at the three
in the center of the photo.
Usagi sighed and flipped to the second photo. She was also in this one,
with a young girl who had pink hair. In the photo, both of them were
wearing this hair up in buns with the tails falling loose. Usagi
smiled. After seeing that photo, she had started to wear her hair up
in that unique style. She frowned for a moment, wondering again who
the young girl could be... she looked like Usagi, but Usagi was supposed
to be the only member of her family left, and there hasn't been any
mention of a sister.
Shrugging, Usagi brought the third photo closer to the light of her
small table lamp. While it was clear that three of the figures in the
snapshot were women, she was still unsure of the fourth... with short,
layered blonde hair and a jacket that hid all but a hint a curve, it
was easy to be confused. Of course, the fact that a pretty woman with
teal air was cuddling up with him... or her... didn't help much!
Another woman stood behind the couple, her dark green hair flowing down
her back. The last woman was probably a few years younger than Usagi...
she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen year old. She sat on the
floor in front of the couple, her violet eyes staring up at the camera.
Usagi flipped to the last picture in the set and sighed. She was in
this photo, also, curled up in the arms of a man with dark hair. She
was smiling contently at the camera, while he looked down at her with
a loving smile on his face. Pushing the other photos aside, Usagi
studied the couple in the last photo... the looked so much in love.
She wished she could remember something - Anything! - about him... even
his name. For some strange reason, Usagi felt that he was the key to
her lost memories...
Reaching out, Usagi turned off the light and headed into her bedroom.
-----------------------------------
-----------
Chapter Two
-----------
"Your total comes to $26.33."
"Will you go on a date with me?"
Usagi snapped her head up and looked into the mischievous eyes of one of
the shop's regular customers. "Pardon me?"
Scott smiled as he handed over the money for his purchase. "I asked if
you wanted to go out on a date with me? You know... the traditional
"dinner and movie" type thing?"
Usagi blushed and stammered, "Umm... sure, I guess. Why?"
"Why? Because you interest me," laughed Scott, "and you're nice and
funny... and it doesn't hurt that you're beautiful. So, are you free
tomorrow night?"
Usagi paused for a moment to think before answering. "I work until four
tomorrow, but I'm free after that."
Scott smiled at her again, "Good... I'll pick you up at 7:00pm."
Usagi closed her eyes as Scott left the shop after getting her phone number
and address. It had been almost eight months since Usagi had woken up in
the hospital. After a few months, Usagi had decided to get a job to ease
her boredom. Working in an anime and manga store was perfect... not only
did she get an employee discount, but she also knew the basic storylines of
most of the merchandise. Since most of the manga they carried was in the
original Japanese, the regular customers were generally either of Japanese
heritage or were just really interested in the culture. Scott was one of
the second type... he had been intrigued by anything Japanese since he had
roomed with an exchange student from Tokyo while in his first year of
college. Scott now shared a house with several guys from Japan... Usagi
hadn't met them yet, but she assumed that anyone who could get along with
the eternally cheerful Scott couldn't be that bad.
Sighing, Usagi glanced at the clock, and grabbed her purse from beneath the
counter. Waving at Fumi, the owner, she walked out the front door. Usagi
only worked part-time, usually in the morning and early afternoon hours.
As usual, the noise from all of the traffic startled Usagi as she stepped
outside. She still couldn't get over the fact that almost everyone in New
York City owned a car... or at least it seemed that way sometimes!
Shrugging, Usagi walked to the nearest subway entrance. She figured that
it was just easier not to have a car.
Opening the door to her apartment a short while later, Usagi grabbed a book
from her purse before collapsing on the couch. She giggled at the cover,
which showed a teenage girl wearing a skintight bodysuit with a short skirt
and knee-high boots. Her hair was up in a style similar to Usagi's, except
that she had things that looked like headlights attached to the front of
her buns. Usagi giggled again as she opened the manga. The shop had
received a complete set of the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon manga, and Usagi
had picked up the first book, since she had never read it before.
Or at least she didn't remember reading it. Over the past eight months,
Usagi had realized that she did remember some things about her past. She
remembered all of the English she had learned and most of her other studies.
She even remembered plots of movies and books... she just couldn't remember
anything at all about her family, friends or social life. Sometimes, Usagi
wondered if she had even had a social life. She could easily see herself as
a nerd, just studying all day and not doing anything else! After all, the
only things that she really remembered were what she had learned in school.
Usagi made a face of disgust. That didn't sound fun! Whenever she gave
up on trying to remember her past, she would make up stories about it
instead... imagining herself as the most popular girl in school, or a
concert musician, or... she looked at the book again and shrugged. Who
knows? Maybe she had been a super-hero like Sailormoon! With a giggle,
she started reading again.
*********************************
Usagi looked into the mirror and smoothed her hair down once more as the
door buzzer rang. Smiling, she opened the door, "Ohayou, Scott!" She
laughed and waved a finger at him. "You might want to close your mouth
before something flies in."
Scott blushed and blinked a few times as Usagi smiled. 'I was right,' she
thought, 'to wear this outfit. It serves Scott right for surprising me
yesterday.' She giggled to herself. Usagi stepped backwards into her
apartment and motioned Scott forward. "Would you like to come in? I
still need to put my shoes on."
Scott finally stopped blushing and stepped into the apartment, his eyes
following Usagi. She was absolutely gorgeous in a short white dress with
a thin gold chain gracing her slender neck. As he watched, she stepped
into white sandals and fastened the straps. He looked away from her
briefly and noticed a few framed photographs on a side table. Curious, he
walked over to look at them.
"Cute photos, Usagi." He pointed to a couple of group shots, "Are these
some of your friends back in Tokyo?" He stopped when he noticed the photo
of Usagi curled up in some man's arms. The photo was tucked back behind
one of her and a little girl, but he pulled it forward to study it closer.
"Who is he?"
Usagi shrugged as she walked over to join him in front of the photos.
"Why? Do you want to know if he's competition?" She forced herself to
laugh. "These are my memories of Tokyo... I just haven't figured out how
to unlock them."
Scott turned to glance at her with a puzzled expression. "Unlock them?
What do you mean?"
Usagi closed her eyes for a second before forcing a smile on her face, "Oh,
didn't I ever tell you? I was in an accident eight months ago... I don't
remember any of these people, but I assume they were my friends." She took
the photo from him, "I haven't looked at this in months." She shrugged,
"I assume I loved him... but how can you love someone you don't remember?"
Scott grabbed her free hand as she put the photo back on the table, "Usagi?
Does it make you sad?"
Usagi pulled away, "Yes. I lost eighteen years because the landing gear
on an airplane broke. Of course I regret that... but I have to live this
life now, and staying sad over something I can't remember and can't change
won't help me now." She pushed her hair back over her shoulders and
smiled. "I'm sorry. Lets go out and have some fun."
Scott followed her outside and caught her hand again. When she didn't
pull back, he smiled, "I admire you, Usagi. So... let's go and have fun.
Did you have a preference over what movie we see?"
*********************************
Usagi and Scott were laughing at they ran quickly out of the restaurant.
Tripping on a rough part of the sidewalk, Usagi fell against Scott, who
caught her and steadied her as they finished walking to Scott's blue
mustang.
"I'm so sorry!" Scott said in between fits of giggling. "That used to be
a small family restaurant... I hate it when places sell out."
Usagi giggled, "I suppose it was rude of me to say that the teriyaki
looked like something that had spent a month growing underneath someone's
bed..."
"And it was probably rude of me to prove that the sushi was rubbery... I
didn't actually expect it to bounce, but sushi isn't supposed to do that!"
Scott finished. After opening the door for Usagi, Scott got in the
driver's side and raised an eyebrow. "Can I tempt you with some really
good tempura? I promise it'll be fresh... I'll cook it myself!"
Usagi grinned mischievously, "Ahh... so this is your ploy to get me over
to your place!"
Scott smiled and winked, "Of course... though I'd prefer not to have a
chaperone, and I know for sure that one of my housemates is there!"
Usagi grinned, "Oh good... fresh cooked food and a chance to finally meet
one of your seldom-mentioned friends."
Scott pulled into a small driveway next to a two-story house. Usagi got
out of the car and followed up behind him. "Do you own this, or rent?"
"Rent... it's not bad, since the owner is a family friend." Scott
unlocked the front door and stepped in to turn on the light in the front
hallway. "I'm home!" He yelled. Turning to Usagi, he motioned her
forward. "Come on in to the living room... it's the most comfortable."
Usagi had just walked into the living room when she heard the sound of
someone walking quickly down the stairs. "Scott? You're home early..."
A man in his early twenties walked into the room, his long white-blonde
hair pulled back into a ponytail that hung to his waist. As he saw Usagi
he stopped and stared.
"This is Yaten, one of my housemates." Scott pointed to the slender
blonde man while grinning to Usagi. "He's obviously struck dumb by your
beauty. Yaten, this is my friend Usagi."
Yaten shook his head and stared again at Usagi. She looked around
nervously and started to back away when he whispered, "Usagi?" Shaking
his head again, he continued in a normal voice. "Why are you here?
Where's Mamoru?"
Usagi backed away, confusion in her eyes, "Do I know you? And who's
Mamoru?"
The front door slammed shut and two more men walked into the living room,
both of them also wearing their long hair back in ponytails, one with
black hair and one with brown. They both stopped when they saw the other
people standing in the room. The black-haired man stepped forward with a
shocked look on his face.
"Odango?"
----------------------------------------
-------------
Chapter Three
-------------
"Odango?"
Usagi took a step back, her eyes growing wide as she stared at the man
with long black hair. "What did you call me? Odango?" her voice rose
in pitch as her eyes flickered around the room, looking for an escape.
"Who are you? How does he know my name?" She pointed to Yaten.
"Odango... Usagi..." The black-haired man took a step toward her,
stopping when he saw her back up again. "Usagi... I'm Seiya. Kou Seiya...
one of Three Lights. We were friends in Tokyo."
Shaking her head, Usagi backed up another step. She raised her hands to
her face, hiding her eyes. "I don't remember... I don't..." Frightened,
she backed up another step and caught one of her heels on a cord. As
she took another step back, she tripped and fell, hitting her head on
the corner of a table.
"Usagi... Usagi..."
She opened her eyes, blinking to clear the spots away. What was she
doing on the floor? She had just been standing, and... with a groan,
Usagi remembered. She looked at the man kneeling in front of her...
"Seiya." She shook her head carefully and raised one hand as if to ease
the throbbing. "Seiya," she repeated. "I remember... a little." She
blinked and looked at him with a confused expression. "But why do I
look at you and also remember calling you 'Fighter'?
Seiya looked over at Yaten and the other stranger before turning back to
look at Usagi. "I... don't know." he replied slowly. "Why don't you tell
me what you do remember... and why you lost your memory in the first
place."
Usagi got to her feet with the help of Scott and Seiya, and made her way
slowly to the couch. After sitting, she looked at Scott, "Gomen, Scott.
I don't think this was what you had planned when you asked me out."
Scott took one of her hands and, with a rueful grin, replied, "No need
to be sorry, Usagi. I'm... just a friend, after all. Do you want me to
stay?"
Usagi pulled her hand away slowly before shaking her head. "You'll
probably be bored if you stay... my memories can't be of that much
interest to you." She smiled, "Besides, if you hurry, I think Miyu will
still be singing over at the R-Club. I know you like her music."
Scott smiled slightly and stood up. "We'll still be friends, Usagi?"
Usagi nodded and smiled, and Scott, after glancing at the other three guys
in the room, smiled again and walked out the door.
*************************
"Dear Minako,
I know that this letter will come as a surprise to you, since you probably
still believe that I am far away in another galaxy. After we reached our
planet, and our Princess restored our world, the three of us Starlights
realized how much we missed Earth. Our Princess understood, and allowed
us to return here to live. We did not want to disturb you... and in truth,
I believe that Seiya was afraid to get too close to Usagi again... so we
decided to move to America and build our lives there.
As you can guess, something happened to change this, or I would not be
writing to you now. About a year after we moved here, a friend and
housemate of ours, Scott, brought a friend back to the house. I'm sure
you will be just as surprised as we were when you hear that this friend
was Usagi. We hadn't heard of the plane accident, so we still believed
her to be in Toyko with the rest of the Sailor Senshi, and with Mamoru.
I don't know if you believed her to be dead... though in a way, she is.
She has no memory of being Sailormoon. She doesn't remember Mamoru, or
any of you. She remembers Seiya a little, and though she has a memory
of calling him 'Fighter,' she doesn't know that we are the Starlights.
Unfortunately, she does remember that Seiya was in love with her, and she
is under the impression that she loves him also..."
Yaten frowned and crumpled up the letter, cursing under his breath. How
could he write a letter telling Minako that, not only was Usagi alive,
but that she was falling in love with Seiya?
Sighing, Yaten grabbed the newspaper and flipped aimlessly through the
pages. What could he do? The problem was that he liked Usagi more not
than he had in the past... he and Taiki couldn't object to her being in
a relationship with Seiya, not this time! It didn't seem right, though...
not right while Usagi still didn't remember her past. Yaten sighed again
as he flipped past an advertisement for roses... he was sure that Usagi
would still love Mamoru is she remembered. Unfortunately, she didn't,
and she and Seiya were spending more and more time together...
Smiling for the first time all morning, Yaten scanned an article in the
Events section of the paper. Ripping the page out, he got up from the
table and ran up the stairs, "Taiki! Taiki... take a look at this!"
************************
Smiling, Usagi reached for Seiya's hand as they walked toward the
performance center. "Wasn't it nice of Yaten and Taiki to get us tickets
for this, Seiya-kun? I'm surprised that they remembered that my birthday
was this week!"
Seiya smiled and squeezed Usagi's hand. "They are your friends... why
would they forget?"
Usagi shrugged as they walked in and headed toward their seats, "I don't
know. Sometimes, Yaten will make comments about my past, and how I should
try to remember it more. Taiki just stands in the background, frowning.
I don't think they like me being with you..." she frowned.
Reaching out his free hand, Seiya paused to caress Usagi's face. "Odango,
don't frown." He smiled and gestured to a couple of seats. "Here... sit.
These are ours."
Usagi smiled up at him and sat down, resting her head against Seiya's
shoulder. "Arigatou, Seiya-kun."
Seiya smiled down at Usagi and kissed the top of her head, "Anything for
you, Odango. So... who's performing tonight?"
Usagi shrugged and looked up at Seiya, "I don't know. A world-famous
violinist, from what Yaten said."
Seiya blinked and shook his head slightly. 'No,' he thought. 'It couldn't
be.' Relaxing back in his chair, he draped one arm around Usagi's
shoulders as the curtain rose.
Usagi sighed in wonder as the first few bars of the song gently flowed
out over the audience. Closing her eyes to let the music sink in, she
opened them again quickly as she felt Seiya tense. "Seiya-kun? Is
everything alright?"
Smiling slightly, Seiya tightened his arm around Usagi for a moment before
relaxing again. "Everything is fine," he whispered. "I just recognized...
someone."
Usagi shrugged and closed her eyes again, enjoying the music. She never
noticed that throughout the entire concert, Seiya's eyes kept flickering
around nervously.
Toward the end, everyone stayed silent as the violinist raised one hand
before smiling sadly. "I have one more song to play." Her voice rang
out softly over the audience. "This is a special song, dedicated to a
very special person. Tsukino Usagi-sama, this is for you."
Usagi stared, startled, as the beautiful violinist raised her bow in the
silent room. She continued to stare as the soft melody washed over her,
bringing tears to her eyes. 'Why?' she wondered. She continued to stare
as everyone around her rose to applaud after the song's end, and as the
performer bowed once more as the curtain closed.
"Odango?"
Usagi looked up into Seiya's nervous eyes. "Seiya? I need to go backstage."
Seiya shook his head and grabbed one of Usagi's hands, "No... I think we
should just leave. We don't want to bother anyone..."
Usagi held Seiya's hands in hers and looked up at him with tears in her
eyes, "Please... I need to know why she dedicated a song to me." She
blinked and a tear ran down her cheek. "Please?"
Closing his eyes, Seiya swallowed once before nodding. Following behind
Usagi as she heading backstage, he stared at the silken fall of her hair,
as if for the last time.
"This must be it!" Usagi reached up to knock on a door with a sign
reading 'Michiru Kaioh.' She stepped back nervously as the door opened
slowly. "I don't want to bother you... but I just wondered..."
"Usagi-chan!"
Usagi looked up at a face framed by waves of teal hair. Before she could
say anything, she was dragged inside and swung into a hug.
"Usagi-chan! We thought you were dead..." The woman brushed a tear away
from her face and hugged Usagi again. "Oh my! Whatever happened to you?
And who's hiding outside in the hall?"
Usagi started to answer, but was interrupted as the bathroom door opened
and a man with short blonde hair walked out. As he caught sight of Usagi,
he rushed forward to give her a big hug. Blushing, Usagi stepped back as
she realized that the man was actually a woman. Covering her confusion,
Usagi looked back at the other woman. "I... knew you, didn't I? I have
a picture..."
The blonde woman stopped Usagi with another hug. "Odango Atama! You've
come back to us!"
Usagi returned to hug nervously and blushed. "I lost my memory... I don't
remember who you are..."
"The blonde woman is Haruka, and the other is Michiru."
Everyone turned to look as Seiya entered the room while speaking. Usagi
grinned and walked toward him, but stopped when Haruka grabbed her wrist.
"Haruka?" Usagi looked up nervously at the woman, "Seiya is my good
friend, and..."
"Gomen-nasi, Odango Atama," muttered Haruka while glaring at Seiya. Her
face softened for a moment as she looked at Usagi, but her eyes shot
daggers as she looked back at Seiya. "So, Seiya..." Haruka spoke in a
deceptively calm voice. "You're back. And how much longer were you
going to wait before letting the rest of us know about Usagi?"
---------------------------
End of Chapter Three
Continued in Chapter Four
Hate it? Email me!
shaychan@thesimpsons.com
---------------------------