Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to
Takeuchi Naoko and some other people, whose name and place in the greater
scheme of things I am incapable of recalling. No profit being made, no point in
suing. I'm very, very poor.
Author's note at the end.
This is not your average story. If
you're looking for action, go read something else, seriously.
V is for...
By narie_the_waitress
I
walked in quickly, trying to protect myself from the rain that was pouring down
from above. My boss sent a disapproving glance my way, because, as he and I
both know, I was very, very late. Never a good thing, but even less if this is
your first week working as a waitress. So meekly, without raising my eyes, I
made my way to the staff room, and changed from my damp, crimson sweater into
my waitress apron. And then made my way, still submissive, back to the main
hall. There weren't that many people that night, but there were three tables
that caught my attention. Maybe because they were the only occupied ones. In
the first one, a cute couple, her with long blond hair and him with short dark
hair and a face that seemed straight out of the latest Disney movie were
staring each other in the eye while she violently gesticulated about something.
She didn't seem very happy, and he seemed bored out of his mind. Incredibly so.
Actually, his expression made me wonder as to what he was doing here with her.
So,
to satisfy my curiosity, I walked over to them, and stood there for a few
seconds, listening to their conversation until he noticed me and my insolent
grin. He matched it with one of almost the same quality. Almost. When it comes
to those things, I'm unsurpassable. Or so I thought...
Anyway,
back to where I was. The 'boy,' for lack of a better term, ordered two drinks
for them, and I smiled to myself as I realized that they were the cheapest
things on the menu. Guy was most likely one of those international exchange
students with no money. Just like me. Although his Japanese was perfect. Not
just like me, then. Pity... if the blonde ever decided to let go of him, I
wouldn't mind his company.
So
I went back to get their drinks and placed them down in the table with a smile.
I lingered around for a while, always within earshot of their conversation.
Which was a pretty unusual one. I guess they weren't a steady a couple as I
thought. I doubt anyone, no matter how in love they were, would appreciate
being called dumpling head. By the look in her face, she sure didn't.
In
another table there was a girl, sitting alone, apparently waiting for someone.
She ordered a tuna sandwich as I approached, not once taking her eyes off from
the thick textbook she was reading, nor pausing her furious scribbling in the
sheets of paper next to her. She was one workaholic in the making, that was for
sure. And she had the most horrible fashion sense. Or the most conservative.
Call it what you will. But the long, Mrs. Rottenmeyer skirt she was wearing
didn't go with her blue hair, which had to be dyed. Blue is not a natural hair
color, as my father reminds me everytime I threaten to dye it.
As
I brought her the sandwich, the door opened and a girl with long hair entered.
The blue haired one raised her head quickly, glanced at dumpling head and
company, then at the door, and waved the girl over with one free hand, as she
flipped a page and continued reading. She smiled at me and nodded when I
brought her the sandwich. I had the feeling she was going to leave me a very
decent tip.
I
stuck around, waiting for her friend to approach her and settle down, and then
took her order. She asked for some tea, and so I promptly went to the kitchen
and told the woman in there about it. Two minutes later I reappeared. The
blue-haired one was still immersed in the book, and the other one seemed very
annoyed at that. She cleared her throat and launched into an endless tirade of
Japanese, spoken so fast that I couldn't understand a word she was saying. But,
as I have already said, she seemed very, very annoyed. I backed off before she
fixed her glance in me and found something to complain about.
And
so I come to the third table. In it was seating a young man, not much more
older than me, who looked completely out of place here. Perhaps his blond hair
made sure of that, although that color was fairly normal around here, at least
that night. He was cute, and seemed to be from some part of Europe. He wasn't
drinking anything, and so, following house rules, I approached him to let him
know that either he drank something or he was going to have to leave soon.
Somehow, the words came out in English, and I reddened as I realized that. He
raised his eyes to look at me and gave me a cold, cruel stare. I was about to
repeat what I just said in Japanese, making sure that the insolence had left my
voice, when he answered me in English tainted with only a tiny bit of foreign,
unidentifiable accent. He said something about coming back in five minutes and
he would have made his mind up. I left him alone and quite happily returned to
my other tables, waiting for the minutes to pass. When his time was up, I
approached him once more. He was about to order something when the door opened
and a pretty coppery blond, thin girl, of about 20 years, so I guess she wasn't
a girl, came through, followed by a white-haired man who seemed very much in
love with her. My client glanced at them, seemed to growl at them, tossed some
notes in the table and showed himself out, hatred flaming in his eyes. However,
the new couple was between him and the door, and so when he passed them, I saw
both him and the girl stiffen their backs and send each others venomous looks.
The white-haired man held his girlfriend back, and I am sure that if he hadn't
done it, she would have pounced him like a cat would.
Like
a cat. Neko, isn't it?
That
was exactly what they looked like. Now that I think back upon that, I'm sure
that had they been felines, their backs would have arched, they would have
bared their teeth and fought till one of them laid bleeding to his (or her)
death in the ground. Perhaps they used to be attached to each other, who knew.
It surely looked as if they hated the sight of one another, and what better way
to achieve that than to break up? But they would have made a cute couple,
perhaps... they were both gorgeous.
Oh
yes, I've said it, they were both beautiful. A few months ago I would have
thought that that simple thought meant I felt attracted to the girl and was a
lesbian in the making. Now I don't. She had a pretty body, an incredibly
beautiful boyfriend whom she seemed to love very much, judging from the looks
they were giving each other. Lucky them... And I, with my narrow mind and my
possessiveness was willing to admit that.. My shrink would have been very proud
of me, had I ever told her that.
So,
off I went, to serve their table. Sometimes being the only waitress has its
advantages. And it is quite an interesting job, getting to see tiny little
snippets of strangers' lives. Then again, there are always some shocks
involved. The couple were staring at each other, lost in their own little
world. And like the other couple I was serving that day, they didn't take any
notice of me until I had been staring at them for about five minutes. Had I
believed in telepathy, I would have thought (no pun...) that they were sharing
their thoughts. I used the time to study them. The girl had
a-bit-lighter-than-Scully's colored hair, as I have already mentioned. She wore
it pulled back into a ponytail, so her green eyes were visible. They were scary
eyes, void of any emotion but the love she felt for her lover (ain't I being
redundant?...) although deep below that I could see the hatred she felt for all
other living things. It was an abnormal mixture, and scared me badly. I still
shiver when I think about her. Her companion was somehow similar. He had long
white hair, which seemed natural, yet out of place in someone that young. Not
to say it looked bad... His eyes were of a deep, also unnatural grey, and
beneath the love was not hatred, but incredible contempt, a "holier than
thou" attitude. And he radiated power. You had to be pretty dumb not to
feel it coming off him. Their hands laid intertwined on top of the table. And
then they broke out of their trance and the girl saw me looking at her lover, I
guess, because as I left to go get their drinks, I could feel her eyes drilling
two holes into my skull. Not a pleasant feeling. I pitied her ex boyfriend...
if he was her ex.
Before
I took their drinks to them, yet another person came in. It must have been the
rain, or something like that, because in the other two days I had worked here,
there had never been this many people around here. This girl had brown hair and
a melancholic air around her. Her clothes were soaked and dripping as she
entered and sat down in a corner table, as far away from everyone as possible,
and took out a little wrinkled up something, which I took to be a picture. She
looked at it and seemed about to burst into tears. I was about to go ask her
what she wanted to drink, but turned around and instead got a thick pile of
napkins from the counter and placed them in my tray. Then I walked to her
table, and placed them next to her, without a word. She quickly flipped the
picture over, so I couldn't see it and then she sent a thankful glance my way.
I nodded and left her alone. As I walked to the table where the blue-haired
workaholic and her 'friend' were talking, I heard her mutter something, between
sobs, as if she were talking to whoever it was had been captured in the
picture. She talked about herself, presumably, reassuring whoever that she was
fine, and that she missed him (or was it a her? or
a them? I really should learn
Japanese...) very much. She wished for things to be different. Then she broke
down into tears. Tactfully, both me and my boss ignored her.
The
two other girls were still arguing over something.
Correction.
The one with the dark, long hair was arguing with the air over something. The
other one was studying. I checked on them and asked if they needed anything.
The one doing all the talking said that no, domo arigato.
Since
I didn't feel like going back to check on the ESP couple, I walked back to my
abandoned first couple. They were still arguing, and the girl's voice was close
to reaching that cartoonish pitch range in which glass shatters. Apparently, he
hadn't stopped calling her dumpling head. It wasn't a nice thing to do, but her
hairstyle justified it. I checked their drinks, and offered to bring a refill.
The girl nodded vigorously, the boy sighed, and the fact that he was stuck with
her, and wished he could be somewhere else became so obvious it was almost
unbelievable to think she hadn't noticed it. Although she didn't look very
sharp, and had a dreamy air around her... maybe he didn't like her, but she
sure had a crush on him. See... studying psychology has its advantages,
regardless of what you say, Mom.
As
I was leaving to get their drinks she called me back and declared that she had
changed her mind. She wanted an ice cream, so if I could please bring her one
she would be thankful. Her would-be boyfriend gave her a weird look, and so did
I, because it gets cold here during the winter. And December happens to be the
middle of the winter, in case she hadn't noticed.
She
had, and said she didn't care when he asked her if she was sure. I left,
pushing back down the weird images that came into my mind, even though I hadn't
asked for them. Not that I usually do.
So
I brought her the ice-cream, sent an apologetic look his way and went to take
care of the 'boy,-are-you-two-freaky-or-what?' couple, a member of which had
sent yet another nasty glance my way (guess which one). After making sure I had
received it full fledged, they returned to their conversation. I scurried to
the counter, placed the two glasses in my tray and 'got it going.' Once again
they were oblivious of my arrival, which resulted on me hearing the girl as she
jokingly questioned her companion if he was thinking of betraying her with a
'human girl!' She emphasized the last word pretty heavily, and he reassured her
quickly that no, of course not, he would never think of that. He squeezed her
hand and she smiled at him, a smile that had it been directed to anyone else
would, no doubt, have seemed predatory and territorial.
Sometime
around then the sudden realization that the fine boned, androgynous figure was
male hit me full on. I felt myself blushing, cursing my stupidity and the fact
that I had to approach them now, in the middle of my shame/embarrassment
attack. I searched around what remained of my dignity and found enough courage
to allow me to finish my journey across the cafe and back. The drinks were
deposited on their table as silently and unobtrusively as possible, and then I
left them to go sit down for five minutes and 'shoot the old bull' (can't get
rid of Holden, can I?) around with the boy in charge of the register. Three
days working there and I still didn't know his name... And he was cute, too.
However,
as I was about to ask him to say his name for me for the eleventh time, since I
couldn't pronounce it, the door bursted open and in came yet another girl with
long hair. She was also a blond and looked closely related to the other one,
dumpling head, although she stared at her and showed no sing of recognition.
She took yet another lonely table, waved me over and ordered a drink. She
carried herself with self confidence, sure of what she was doing and where she
was going. She must have been a model, or an actress or someone else of the
kind that goes around walking around with a straight back and impeccable
manners.
As
I later found out, I was pretty wrong, concerning the manners part.
She
opened the little backpack she was carrying with her and took out a magazine.
Of the kind with the glossy cover, the big fonts and the pictures of the latest
Hollywood star stamped all over it. I remember that because the cover was in
English. As she glanced through it, waiting for her drink to arrive, I'm pretty
sure she came very close to drooling on the table. I'm not sure about what was
on the magazine, and I'm not sure if I want to find out. She gulped her whole
drink down in two sips and asked for a refill. She finished that one quickly
too, but waited for a while before ordering another one. I guess her budget was
as short as everyone else's. Pity... that meant no generous tip from her
either... My only hopes were the yaoi couple and the studious one, along with
her friend. Although I was pretty sure the yaoi couple wasn't going to be very
nice, taking into account the way we'd acted around each other.
I
resumed my attempts of making sure the pretty boy behind the cashier realized
that I was more than a simple gaijin, after checking on all the tables and
getting another tuna sandwich. We hadn't gotten very far when the door opened
yet one more time (it was beginning to get annoying now... there was simply no
way of having a decent conversation around this place)
This
time it was an auburn headed man, who also seemed lost in his own little world.
I had the strong feeling that I was the only one who was still in this world
and not off to Fantasyland. The newest arrival took a seat next to the windows,
which opened into the street and stared off into the sunset. The rain had
stopped some time ago, and the sun was setting amidst a thick mantle of clouds,
sending gold, pink, purple and orange light all over the landscape. Sometimes
smog can have the most strange light refracting properties.
All
of a sudden, as if on accord, the lonely girl with the tear-red eyes, the
studious one and her friend, and the solitary blonde decided that it was time
to go home. So, they all ordered their respective bills, which the cute boy
behind the counter promptly produced, paid and left.
That
particular moment was chosen by the companion to dumpling head to take a look
around at the people left in the cafe. I watched to see what would happen when
his eyes met the yaoi couple one's and was incredibly shocked when the blond
one turned his eyes down, as if it were a gesture of respect, and the hatred
was replaced by some kind of vague, empty look, as if he were having an epiphany.
His companion came pretty close to bowing to the dark haired one, or so it
looked. All that I know is that suddenly they were no longer the proud,
arrogant jerks they seemed, but two people who have met their superior.
But
of course, as soon as their eye contact was broken, everything returned to
normal. Pity... Perhaps if they had been in a more user-friendly setting they
would have left a larger tip than the one they did when all of a sudden they
got up, the white-haired man's arm around the waist of his frailer companion,
tossed some coins in the table and left in a hurry. I caught the blond sending
another one of those seemingly trade marked poisonous looks he enjoyed in the
direction the absent minded auburn gentleman.
Who,
by the way, hadn't ordered anything yet, and so I once more sighed and got up
to do my job. The sun had set and it was now dark, and the first stars were
appearing in the sky. Not that you can see many stars in a sky as light
polluted as Tokyo's, but the auburn man hadn't realized that, or was ignoring
that fact. Maybe he was looking at the planes flying out of Narita. No matter
what, house rules are house rules, and so I crept around until I was behind
him, staring fixedly at the spot between his shoulder blades and still he
didn't notice me. Instead he continued his muttering, words in what I presume
was ancient Greek or Latin. I caught something about Proxima Centauri, so I
guess he was just talking to himself about the stars. I cleared my throat,
loudly, to avoid myself any more embarrassing moments. I'd had my share for
today.
The
noise broke his reverie and he turned around to face me. He ordered a cup of
coffee, two cream, no sugar, I think only because I told him he was going to
have to drink something or 'butt out.'
I
went to get it, and as the only remaining couple in the place asked for their
bill, I realized that the cute-boy-behind-the-counter was nowhere to be seen.
So I fumbled around with the machine, managing to bring it pretty close to a
complete meltdown more than once until it spat out, on a wrinkled piece of
paper (of course, it had to be wrinkled...) the figures I was looking for.
I
got the coffee, and the check and deliver them to their appropriate owners. The
dark-haired man (fairy tale boy), who seemed as bored as he had when I started
my shift fumbled around for his wallet and carefully counted some money, enough
to cover the check and allow myself to buy a pack of bubblegum, while the
auburn-haired one just stared at his coffee with the same abandon he had shown
the stars.
I
looked at my watch and gasped at the time. It was very late, I'm not sure what
specific time, but late enough to make me cringe back in fear as I thought of
all the homework I had to do. I went back into the staff room, told the boss I
was leaving changed back into my still damp sweater and picked up my bookbag.
I
walked back to the college dorms, or at least was trying to until I came across
you. I highly doubt you'd believe me if I tell you I've been waiting for you to
come, but nevertheless, it is the truth, so really, you can't blame me. I don't
know why. All I know is that I've been having strange dreams for some time now.
There are some, uh, I guess characters is the best way to describe them, that I
have never seen before, and there are some other popular ones. Like the
ever famous you, or Sailor Moon. But
there is also some other Senshi I sure haven't heard about, and I should know
what I'm talking about, since the Senshi are the main part of my
"psychology of the masses" course project. So, tell me, you wouldn't
mind answering a few questions for me, would you? Sure, I realize it, you've
just saved my life (how on Earth I ended up with a gun pointed to my head is a
mystery, though) and you have all the right to ask me to please let you go back
to your lair of riches, if I'm supposed to believe everything I read about you
in the newspapers.
But
please, onegai, Sailor V, just one little question. After all, isn't it your
job to protect the citizens of Tokyo? How about their future? I mean, if you
answer just this one question my grade will be a lot higher, I will graduate
with a better average score and I will get a better job. I call that protecting
my future. Don't you?
What?
What do you mean, no!? Please, just this once. I won't tell the media, I'll
just put it down as part of my project. I won't even say you answered me, I'll
make it look like I'm quoting something you said to someone else. Besides, if
you answer me, I'll stop telling you my life story. It can be so much more dull
than what you've already heard, you do realize that, don't you?
Thank
you so much!!!!! So, tell me then, why do you do it? Why do you go around with
your super powers saving people? All heroes have a motivation behind them. What
do you get out of it, once your job is done?
What
do you mean, you get nothing out of it? Not even the thrill of saving people?
The joy that comes when you see your name all over the newspapers, and all
those little girls trying to be just like you?
Oh,
you get nothing physical. I understand. Psychological rewards are completely
different, according to my teachers. So you're not searching for the Mystical
this or the Shiny that or anything like that. You're doing it just because?
Girl,
you're one weird heroine. You mean there is no deadly chunk of kryptonite you
need to seal away before the world gets blown up, you just go around fighting
everyday criminals? And you're not a reporter, or the product of some
horrendous lab experiment gone wrong?
Boy...
What
do you mean, how do I know you're not a journalist? Well, you don't sound like
one, and to tell you the truth, you don't look like one. Nor act like one.
Anyone who looks like you and is a journalist would be (excuse me) hell bent on
concealing their appearance, so no one would recognize them. And as to why
you're not the result of some lab experiment, well, you don't seem to have the
x-ray vision, or the furry eight legs, or anything like that.
Anyway,
there really is no secret plot or goal behind your "career"? So in
your free time you're just an ordinary girl who goes to school, does her
homework, etc? And why the move from London? I mean, they sure need you more
over there than they do here.
What
do you mean, your cat told you to do that? You're lying to me, aren't you?
Who's ever heard of talking cats? Not me, that's for sure. I guess I'll leave
that little bit out when I write my final project. But really, you should have
tried something more believable. Now I think you're completely insane. Cats
don't talk. But then again, superheroes with magic powers don't either.
Anyway,
let's go back to my original question. You're doing this because you want to,
yes? You enjoy going around saving innocent people and protecting the world
from criminals. Nothing wrong with that. But at the end no shiny princess will
come down from the heavens and say "Well, thank you very much, Sailor V,
you've been wonderful. Go find yourself a nice boyfriend, settle down and have
a great life, girl."
What
happens if she ever shows up? What happens to Sailor V? Does she fade out and
disappear? What about Sailor Moon, is she related to you?
Yes,
I know I said I would ask only one question, but you're actually highly
interesting to talk to. Please, just those, and I will shut up, this time for
real. I'll get up and leave, go home and work on my project to honor this
conversation.
Whoa!
So Sailor Moon is kinda, but not really related to you, yet V-chan is going to
disappear soon? Why can't you two just work together? Is it, like some ancient
grudge or something? And hey... why didn't you answer my question about the
princess? Does that mean there really is one? Wait, I never asked that. Don't
even bother answering. If the answer is yes, I think me and my psychologist
would end up having a long chat, and that is not something I want to do.
OK,
so now that I have my answers, I will leave and let you carry on fighting
crime. How do I put this, domo arigato, V-chan for talking to me. Domo arigatou gozaimatsu. It has been a pleasure meeting you.
Hold
on!! The V stands for victory, doesn't it?
What
do you mean, V is for Venus?? There is no Sailor Venus! Besides, every one
knows V is for Victory. Sailor V-chan, Sailor Victory. Not Sailor Venus! Who's
ever heard of Sailor Venus!? No one! NO ONE! There's only Moon, Mercury and
Mars, and that cute enemy of theirs, Jade something or other, the blond with
the short hair.
Oh
great... another riddle to solve. With any luck, I'll catch her some other day
and ask her what she meant. I don't know why, I've been having this incredible
sense of deja vu since I started talking to her. As if I had seen her before,
or knew her, or something like that. Go figure...
Well,
from there on my life once again becomes boring and unworthy of being written
down. As usual. I wonder why I even wrote about my afternoon at work today.
There sure is no link between me meeting V-chan and all the weird people in the
coffee shop today. No way. It was just a coincidence. That's it. Just a weird coincidence.
Nothing
else.
***************************************************************
This is my first real fanfic. Hopefully
you enjoyed it, hopefully (but much less likely) it will inspire you and cause
you to send me some feedback on it. More likely, you will not. However, if you
must tell me how bad the story is, please, do it in a way that will not send me
into a spiraling depression, since that is not something nice to do to a first
time author.
Anyway... as to the narrator, I am not
sure where she came from, so if you were wondering, well, I can't help you. She
is not the reason behind my nickname, for which there is a longer
explanation... She was simply born out of boredom while I waited for my mother
to pick me up from school.
narie
(bakanarie@hotmail.com,
www.envy.nu/bakanarie/
Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 12,
2000.