A Friendship Renewed
Chapter One
Lita sighed as she trudged through the door of her apartment building and went to check the mail. It had been a hard day at school, what with four tests, Serena's whiny voice and Melvin's nosey, obnoxious ways. Ever since she had gotten up that morning, she just couldn't shake the feeling that someone very important to her was going to enter her life again. She just couldn't put her finger on who it was though. She went over to the mail boxes and opened her, pulling out a handful of envelopes. When Lita stepped in to the elevator and pushed the button for her floor, she flipped through the mail and stopped at a light green envelope. Lita knew of only one person who used green envelopes and smiled as she recognized the name of her childhood friend. She hadn't seen her best friend in such a long time and quite frankly, Lita missed her. The tomboy had so much to tell Brianna, and she was sure that her friend did to.
Entering her apartment she looked at her watch and realized she had better get some of her homework over with and supper prepared before she headed to Rei's shrine later on. Fortunately Lita was able to get all of her homework done, since there wasn't much to do anyways. An hour and a half later, she packed up a plate of cookies and the thick green envelope from Adrianna and headed out the door. It wasn't long before she was in the park and about halfway through when she met the blue haired genius heading for Rei's as well. Ami noticed her and waited for her tall friend to catch up.
"Hey Lita, you seem happy about something. If you don't mind me asking, what do you have there, besides the cookies." Ami asked as the brunette came to a stop beside her.
"It's a rather thick letter from my best friend from when I was little. I haven't seen or heard from her for a long time." Lita replied as they approached the shrine steps and started to climb.
"I hope you will tell us what cab about your friend some time Lita.a" Ami replied as they reached the top and greeted Rei.
"Tell us about who Ami?" Rei replied as she put her broom down.
"About my friend I've had since I was about six. I haven't heard from her for quite some time, and I just received a letter from her today. A rather thick one." Lita answered.
"Well come on, everybody's already here. Even Serena...surprisingly." Rei invited. They stepped in through the door to Rei's room and sat down at the table. As the others worked on their homework, Lita opened her letter and started to read it. She had to pull the plate of cookies out of Serena's reach.
"I'm hungry Lita, and how come you're not doing your homework?" Serena whined, trying her puppy eyes.
"I got my homework done at home and these cookies are for later, if you've been doing it." Lita explained with a warning and a soft glare. Serena sighed, knowing her friend wasn't going to give in. Lita turned her eyes back to the letter and continued to read.
Hey girl:
What's up with you these days? From you last letter, it sounds like you have some wonderful friends. I'm so sorry that I haven't written for so long. A lot has happened; part of which I regret. I'm going to have to try and keep this letter short, as I'm on a tight schedule. I'm coming to Tokyo in a few days to a week; nothing is too final yet. You'll find six tickets in the envelope. They are for the concert for the troupe I'm with; For His Glory Troupe. I have a lot to tell you."
Half an hour later, the study session came to an end and Rei got up to get the drinks while everyone put their books away and sat back. When the young priestess came back, Lita put the cookies back on the table.
"Lita, if you don't mind me asking, who is that letter from. By the look on your face, it must be from a friend. Maybe an old boyfriend?" Mina hinted seductively.
"Geez Mina get your mind out of the gutter." Rei huffed.
"Actually, it's from my friend. Her name is Adrianna (noble) Birkita (strong) Drake (dragon or standard bearer). When I was about five and a half, she moved in next door to me and my parents. Over the next year, we became very close friends; almost like sisters. When my parents suddenly died in that plain crash, she was there for me every possible moment. If I couldn't get to sleep at night, she would stay awake and comfort me, she would try to make me laugh, let me cry on her shoulder. She even let me yell at her when I was feeling angry and alone. She just took it and let me get everything out of my system. "Unfortunately, she had to move away six months later, because of her father's job. I was in an orphanage for a while before a distant relative took me in for a while." Lita related.
"She sounds like a wonderful person Lita. But I have a feeling that you are kind of sad about something." Mina replied, having a pretty good idea what the dark spot was in Lita's aura.
"Yeah I guess you could say that. A few years after she and her parents left, I got a letter from a cousin of hers that stated Brianna and her parents had been in a terrible car accident. Her parents were killed instantly and it was a miracle that Brianna had even survived; she was so badly injured. You couldn't tell the front of their car from the back. To make a long story short, my friend ended up having to live the rest of her life in a wheelchair because of so much damage to her body, trying to keep the tears back.
"Oh Lita, I'm so sorry." Mina replied, coming closer to the tomboy, followed by the rest of her friends. "Did you hear from her again."
"Yes I did. It took a few years, but she eventually started writing again. She had a lot to deal with, emotionally and physically, but it seemed like things were starting to be getting better for her. I just wish I could have been there for her, like she was for me." Lita replied.
"It couldn't have been helped Lita." Serena soothed just as something fell out of Lita's parcel. She handed it back but couldn't help but notice that it was a picture of a girl that looked very much like her tall friend. "Is this Brianna Lita?"
"Yeah it is. She's always been a determined and happy girl, but I've never seen her this happy. I wonder what's happened." Lita exclaimed as she took the picture back and looked at it; holding it out a bit so the others could see it.
"My goodness, she looks a lot like you Lita. The two of you could almost be twins!" Mina exclaimed.
"I don't want to seem rude or anything Lita, but can you tell us what's going on with her?" Ami asked quietly, as she saw her friend look down at the open letter in her hand and smile.
"Other than what she has told me from her past letters, I don't really know Ami. According to what she says in this letter, Brianna is doing very well and is a devout christian. It also says that she and the group she is with are coming here to Tokyo in a couple of days. " Lita related. "Most of this letter is pretty private, but there is a part of it I think you might enjoy hearing. Let's see...ah, here it is."
"Oh Lita, I have so much to tell you! You may think I'm crazy, but it is all in complete truth and sanity. So many wonderful things have happened to me. I've written a book and it should be in the bookstore there now. Just show the a picture of me; you'll get a discount. I look forward to seeing you again. And your new friends sound wonderful. I love you dear friend.
All my love, Brianna
Everything was silent for a few minutes. And as Lita looked around, she could see all her friends had tears in their eyes. No doubt, they could feel the love and devotion rolling off the letter.
"Well, I for one, am really looking forward to meeting her. She sounds very special. Now that I think of it, I believe I saw her face on the poster of the group you said she is with….For His Glory Troupe. They will be performing at the Tokyo Dome in a week, for a couple days, then at the park nearby for another few days." Mina replied, remembering the poster she had seen on her way to Rei's shrine.
A few days went by and Lita had read Brianna's book a number of times. By the third time, she could tell that the book held nothing but the absolute truth of what had gone in her friend's life. She had felt a wave of guilt of not being there for her friend, but she knew it had been impossible because of the circumstances and distance. Now more than ever, she wanted to see her dear friend.
The following Monday, she checked her mail on her way out to school, and found a slightly bulky envelope from the Tokyo Dome. Stuffing it in her pocket, she hurried to school and couldn't wait until lunch hour so she could see what was in the envelop. She quickly joined her friends and opened her bento box with one hand while the other reached in to her pocket for the envelope.
"What do you have there Lita?" Ami asked, looking up from her book.
"This came this morning. It just says it's from the Tokyo Dome." Lita answered, tearing the flap open and pulled out seven RSVP balcony passes and a short letter. "These are passes for the concert at the Dome, and the note says;
"Hey girl; when I told the managers of the Tokyo Dome that I had a good friend living in the city; they were kind enough to give me five passes to invite you and your friends to come and see the concert. Well actually he didn't want to, but his wife, in no uncertain terms, told him to, or else. Anyways, to smooth things over a bit with the man, I agreed to buy two more passes. So if you have any other friends, they can have them. Just hang on to them for the concert in the park; you'll get special seats with them. Adrianna.
"I went to the ticket office to get my ticket after leaving Rei's Friday, and they were already sold out. Now I can go!" Mina squealed as she accepted the ticket from Lita.
"I can forgo an hour or so of studying. Besides, if there is a chance, I would like to meet your friend Lita. Oh come on you guys, I don't study all the time." Ami replied, then blushed as her friends gave her looks of 'oh really?!'
"I don't think mom and dad will let me go...'cause of my grades." Serena replied, pouting.
"Well you have a couple days before the concert. I strongly suggest you get studying for the test and quizzes that are coming up if you really want to go Serena." Ami stated gently.
"Will you guys help me?" Serena replied quietly, pouting in the process. She would rather go to the Arcade and be with Darien than study.
"Of course Serena. But if you don't study hard and very little of Darien No passing, no concert. That's the deal." Lita stated firmly. Serena clearly didn't like it, but she really wanted to go to this concert.
Serena really wanted to attend the two concerts, so as promised, she worked hard in studying and did very well on all her tests and quizzes over the next two days. Needless to say, she was exhausted at night and even managed to get to school on time every day.
Midday of the concert day, Lita met her friends in the park and headed for the arcade to talk and about what they were going to see at the concert. When they entered their favorite hangout, they immediately saw Andrew at the counter, talking to Darien.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Mina called out as she bounced over to the counter where Darien was sitting.
"We've been pretty busy in here today. Everyone is talking about the concerts. It sounds like it's going to be very festive, and packed. I just wish I could go." Andrew sighed.
"Well, you can now. I have two spare tickets if you really want to go. You can have the other one Darien.¨ Lita replied, holding out the tickets to the two young men.
"Thanks Lita, but where did you get them?" Andrew asked taking one from Lita's hand.
"Yeah, thanks Lita. I think I'll go; it sounds interesting. I need a break from my studies anyways." Darien replied, taking the other ticket from Lita.
"An old childhood friend of mine. She's with the troupe that's performing at both concerts. I haven't seen her for years, but we've been writing to each other. I would love to see her again." Lita related.
"You guys should hear her story; it's quite interesting." Ami replied.
"And since when do you go out to concerts Darien? You usually don't like going to these sort of things." Serena asked, a little suspicious.
"I saw the flier for the concert, and it got my curiousity up. That's all Serena. And I would love to hear about your friend Lita. Why don't we go over to that booth and you can tell me." Darien replied, pointing.
"If you can wait for a few minutes, I can get Lizzy to take over for me. My break starts in a few minutes anyways, and I'll bring over your drinks. The usual?" Andrew asked as he stood up straight.
"Yes please Andrew." everyone chorused together. Looking briefly at each, they all chuckled and headed for a large booth. A couple minutes later, Andrew appeared with a tray of drinks and treats.
"Before I forget to say this, I think we should all wear warm, comfortable clothing for the second concert; I think it's going to be outdoors." Lita replied. "And by the way, we will meet you and Andrew at the entrance so we can all go in together."
/cc/
"The only person we need now is Lita. She should be here soon." Mina replied just as she saw her tall friend come running towards them. Rei noticed that the brunette was coming up to them a little too fast.
"Slow down girl or you'll crash in to something." Rei called out, smirking to herself. As it was Lita ended up skidding to a stop in front of her friends. Darien had needed to catch her to stop her from falling.
"A little excited Lita!" Serena stated more than asked, trying not to chuckle.
"I guess I am. I'm really looking forward to the concert...and hopefully Adrianna." Lita replied excitedly. She had to admit she was kind of nervous of meeting her best friend again after all these years.
"Alright, let's get in there before the crowd gets to big." Mina replied enthusiastically.