The short blue hair girl stepped up to the podium, looking down at the notes in her hand and then looking up and out at the crowd. She had note she had written and worried over, but standing up there, her heart beating nervously in her chest, she knew they weren't the right words at all. Putting aside the cards she gripped the edge of the podium and leaned in, speaking softly at first, as if confiding a secret to the whole audience. "We did it guys. We did it. High school is over."
She grinned brightly and leaned back a bit, talking in a normal voice, "Remember when we first walked through these doors?" she gestured out with her left hand, to the front doors on the other side of the building, "Remember that first day? Nervous, maybe even terrified? Some of us had no friends going here, or only one or two… We were kids, we didn't know anything about who we were, where we were going or what to hold onto to get us through. But in these walls, and around these people, we found out so much."
She tucked a loose blue strand of hair out of her face, continuing on, her heart racing as the words just flowed out of her so easily. "We found out what we liked about ourselves, what we didn't like… We found friends who accepted us for who we are, and how to deal with those who didn't. We grew up, got our hearts broken, got built back up by our friends, and we kept moving on. We figured out who we were; the girl who stumbled through every math course, but blazed through literature like she ate and breathed books, the guy who wanted to play the big game and work up a sweat in the kitchen, and the kid who walked into class bored and came out inspired." she smiled and stared at the crowd as she continued her speech.
"We found our friends; the ones who stuck by us when we totally embarrassed ourselves in class or at lunch. We learned how to trust some people, and how to figure out how to help others that needed help. We found drama, embraced drama, and turned it down flat- because nothing good can come from the bitterness it causes there are better things in life that those small problems but most importantly we found out where we're going. This last year was all about college, grades and love. Some of us matured, and figured out what was going on while some of us were clueless almost to the end. But,"
She pounded her fist down, "We all looked to the future. Did we know where we were going, years ago? Maybe. Have we worked to get there for the last four years? Maybe. Or was it gone to fast, and suddenly it was almost summer and school was almost gone and these finals were the last of the finals for us? Maybe that too… It doesn't matter when, or where you did it, but we all thought and worried about the future. Where are we going? Do we want to go there? Will we have to go alone? Will we start over? Will we just stay here, help our family or help ourselves?"
She leaned in, lowering her voice again, bringing back that intimacy as she stared out over the audience, tears in her eyes, "I'm telling you this, it doesn't matter. For right now, right this second, all that matters is we made it. We got through four years, some of it feeling like eternity, while the rest flying by… We survived it. We made it through. We triumphed over highschool the moment we walked across that stage!" She pointed to the stage beside her, "We did it, guys. We figured it out and fought our way through to the end. As far as I'm concerned, that's enough proof that we can do anything we want. We made it out alive, during this time here, some of the worst ever, and we will be able to make it out of anything."
She stepped back a bit, almost turning away, then she turned back and said into the microphone, "Thanks, for everything. I'll never forget what happened in this building…"
Everyone sat on their chair as they heard Ami reading her speech. All of the scouts were present and in their graduation robe. They were proud that Ami was the one chosen to read out her speech. Seiya sat next to Usagi holding her hand, he seem happy that high school was out of the way the only thing left was to decide whether they would go to college or just start working. Things have been back to normal except for Usagi who had been acting a bit weird the last two months.
The sun looked so beautiful, there was more red streaked in the clouds than usual. Usagi felt her head hurt a bit and decided to go get something to drink. She let go of Seiya's hand and smiled to him. "I'll be right back I need to get something to drink." she slowly stood up and walked inside the school searching for a drinking fountain. She heard someone walking behind her and turned to find no one there. She shook her head and kept walking. 'I must be hearing things or maybe I'm just paranoid.'
She found the drinking fountain and decided to take a sip of water until she heard someone crying. She felt her body tense up as she heard that. She had heard it before but it was getting worse. She slowly turned her head and saw a girl sitting down facing the wall, she seem to be crying and hiding her face.
"A-Are you alright?" Usagi took a step closer to her and stretched out her arm until she heard a door open. She turned around and saw Seiya walking her way. "Seiya.." she turned back to where the girl was but she was gone.
"You were taking long so I came to get you. Odango are you okay?"
"I'm fine.. graduation has me a bit sad I guess..."
Seiya raised a brow and stared at her. "You? You're going to miss school? Don't worry Odango if you really like school then we'll go to college." he teased. Usagi ignored is remark and smiled. "Let's get back to Ami, I don't want to get in trouble."
Usagi had changed over the year, she realized nothing was written on stone and things could change easily. Destiny controlled everything and could easily change everything. She was now official with Seiya, he was usually busy during the year since he had concerts but Usagi never missed one of his concerts. She was always V.I.P and all of the fans knew Seiya was taken by her.
Minako and Rei ran into the building to find Usagi and saw her with Seiya next tot he water fountain. Minako ran to Usagi and wrapped her arms around her. "Usagi-chan what are you doing here? Can't you stay away from Seiya for a bit to celebrate this day. We did it we graduated!"
Rei pulled Seiya away from Usagi and stared at him. "Can't you ever let us have Usagi for a bit!"
"No because now that I have her I'm not letting go." he grinned.
They both laughed and turned to Usagi who was hugging Minako. "Minako-chan now... now we have to finish college!" yelled Usagi with a hint of worry in her voice. They both stared up at the ceiling. "I know Usagi-chan I know but we can do it together."
Seiya and Rei stared at both of them and let a sigh out. They knew how alike Usagi and Minako were, they were never going to outgrow each other. "Don't worry you two, I'll help you two study since I am a very smart cool guy." he winked.
" Aino Minako your presence is needed on stage."
Minako gasped. "That's right it's my turned to go sing our graduation song!" she squealed. She made her way to the stage as Usagi,Rei and Seiya took their seats again.
Mianko stared out at the crowd and saw her best friends and smiled. They had given her the strength to become what she is now, they were always there when she needed them. She took a deep breath and brought the microphone close to her lips.
"Open that door
The time remaining
Is being drawn away
Lift up your eyes
Stare straight ahead
Give me one last kiss
And walk away
Truly
So much
That the wind is biting
My spirit is restrained
Our paths divide apart, I know
It's destiny, the stars have decided
The one that you chose
The white route
The future looms ahead
Don't lose your way
*The sea spreads out wide
The wind comes blowing this way
It may be a little cold
But start running forth
Do not forget
About yourself
The one I love the most
Even though it's hard
From here I look out
And see the desert daybreak
Open that window
The time of yours
Is beginning now
Close the lids of your eyes
I wanted to have
One last kiss at night
Remember itOpen that door
The time remaining
Is being drawn away
Lift up your eyes
Stare straight ahead
Give me one last kiss
And walk away
Truly
So much
That the wind is biting
My spirit is restrained
Our paths divide apart, I know
It's destiny, the stars have decided
The one that you chose
The white route
The future looms ahead
Don't lose your way
*The sea spreads out wide
The wind comes blowing this way
It may be a little cold
But start running forth
Do not forget
About yourself
The one I love the most
Even though it's hard
From here I look out
And see the desert daybreak
Open that window
The time of yours
Is beginning now
Close the lids of your eyes
I wanted to have
One last kiss at night
Remember it
Truly
So much
That the sky crumbles down
I am crying in my heart
Our paths are separate from each other
It's destiny, the stars have decided
The one that I chose
The blue route
The future looms ahead
Don't forget about it
The morning is beginning
People are starting to move
It may be a little scary
But start walking forth
Do not forget
About me
The one I love the most
Even though it hurts
From here I look out
And see the desert daybreak"
Usagi stared up at Minako singing, she was proud of her and loved her voice. She felt tears adjust on the edge of her eyes. Things were working out and soon she would become queen and somehow have her Moon Kingdom rebuild. It was almost time for the world to somehow freeze up and put everyone to a deep sleep, the cause of it was still a mystery to everyone. Usagi had talked to Mamoru about the future of Earth and decided the world ending wasn't going to happen, they would do whatever possible to prevent that.
Note: That song is real, it's called Route Venus
Written by Takeuchi Naoko.
Composed by Nagai Makoto.
Arranged by Kashihara Nobuhiko.
Chorus arranged by Kashihara Nobuhiko and Nagai Makoto.
Performed by Fukami Rica.