Hey, it's me again with this first chapter. :) Hope you like it...! :D
Sailor Moon (c) Naoko Takeuchi
All characters you've never seen in Sailor Moon belong to me! :)
Rei's grandfather ran into the temple after talking to a tall American woman and her translator outside. He looked so overjoyed that Rei had to giggle to herself. The miko was getting ready to visit the Crown Arcade to meet up with the girls when the woman had arrived. She decided to risk being late and wait on her Grandfather to finish his talk.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked him.
"Nothing's wrong with me, nothing is wrong at all. I'm excited, to be honest. Your cousin from America is coming in a few days to stay here, permanently. Well, until she works enough money to find her own place, if she wants. Anyways, you know her father didn't want anything to do with her so her Mother was her only close, living in America with her family. Well, her mother was murdered a couple weeks ago and she's going to be coming here to live. She said she's willing to work at the shrine to pay back anything she may owe, but I told her that it's alright. She said she wants to work here anyways. Isn't this great?" He asked, excitedly.
"Of course! I haven't seen Ume-Chan in years! Though, isn't she going to have a hard time adjusting here in Japan? I mean, she grew up in America. There are some big differences." Rei pointed out.
"Now, you know her Mother had her speaking Japanese like a second skin." Her Grandfather pointed out, just like she did.
"You've got a point there." Rei replied, walking to the door of the shrine.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"I'm going out with the girls. See you later!" She replied, waving a little as she walked through the hall.
"Well, I'm going to go redecorate Umeko-Chan's new room! I hope she likes pink..." Her Grandfather trailed off, babbling to himself.
Rei shook her head and sighed. She remembered how the last time the girl had visited she and Rei had hit it off. They had always been really great friends. However, she knew her cousin was very emotional and fragile, trying to make everyone pleased so they wouldn't feel disappointed and leave her like her father did. The thought lingered on her Aunt. Her Aunt was dead now. A numbness shivered through her body as she tried to think of what Umeko must be feeling. That was her only family member and now, she's leaving her home and moving out of the country to a place that speaks a different language than she's used too. She's leaving all of her friends behind, too.
The sound of her shoe hitting the last step of the long and wide staircase woke her from her thoughts.
'Now's not the time to dwell on that, Rei. Let's make it a welcoming stay Umeko's going to be having.' Rei though, smiling as she walked along the road.
The thought of having to leave all of her friends behind lingered in her head even if she knew that the thought would never be reality, considering they had a job to protect their Princess. They could never leave her side.
"You're leaving America?" Umeko's friend Kendall shouted as they swam in their other friend's pool.
"Yeah. My mom's dead now. I have to live with my Grandfather and cousin from now on." Umeko replied, wishing she could avoid the subject.
"Rose, why can't you just live here with one of us? You don't even know Japanese." Her 'other friend' Harper complained.
Umeko rolled her eyes at the old nickname her friends had given her. She made everybody call her that because no one could pronounce her name. Most of the time people called her 'Yuu-Mee-Ko'. Her name is 'Yuu-Meh-Ko', last time she checked.
"Hi, my name is Bailey. What's your name?" The little boy asked her as she stepped into the Kindergarten classroom. Her teacher had been debating whether or not to come to school to teach that year, so she hadn't walked into the classroom yet.
"My name is Umeko." She replied, giving him one of her kind smiles.
"U...emko?" He asked, his brows furring together.
"No, Umeko." She replied again, her smile fading.
"I can't say your name. What about a nickname?" He asked.
"My Mom always calls me Meko." She informed him.
"No, a nickname like Bubblegum or something. Your hair has pink in it."
"Don't call me Bubblegum! Not that name."
"Flamingo?"
"No."
"Peach?"
"...no."
"Pink Iguana?"
"No."
"Pig?"
"No."
"Pinkie Pie?"
"No."
It continued like that for a while with silly names like Pinky Dinky Doo, but the boy got tired of trying to come up with names. Finally, a final name slipped form his mouth.
"Amy Rose."
"...who's that?"
"She's a character from Sonic. She's in love with him." He informed.
"Don't call me Amy, but I'm fine with Rose." She said after two minutes of contemplation.
"Alright then, Rose." He smiled and ran off to talk to other kids.
"...I'd rather my name be Umeko though..." Umeko said, walking to her seat and sitting down.
"Yo, Earth to Rose!" Harper shouted into her ears as they dried off.
"Oh! Yeah, what do you want?" She asked, rubbing her ear softly.
"We were saying how you've always wanted to go over to Japan for some reason. I guess it's a good opportunity for you, huh?" Kendall informed.
"Oh, yeah. Didn't you guys know that I'm part Japanese?" She asked, her eyebrows raising.
"Well, we knew, but we never thought much of it. When are you leaving again?" Harper asked.
"In two days."
"So...you can't spend the night tonight?" Kendall asked with melancholy.
"Yeah, I can. My social worker isn't that mean. She said I could spend the night and she'd come pick me up tomorrow and take me to the airport. She has all of my luggage in her trunk." Rose rolled her eyes.
"YAY!" Kendall shouted, jumping on Rose and ordering her to walk her inside of the house.
The night flew by, doing each others nails, being forced by Harper to watch My Little Pony, and talking all through the night. They were getting ready for bed when Kendall decided to ask,
"Rose, do you really want to move to Japan...?"
Rose looked at the ceiling in the dark, watching the light from the crack in the door flicker as Harper's mother walked back to her room from some other place in the house.
"No, Kendall, to be perfectly honest. I'm a little scared. I mean, I used to be really close to my cousin Rei and Granddad, but what if they don't want me there? And you know how I get around people. I don't really speak. I get all quiet and my face turns red. Kendall, I'm going to have a hard time making friends. It took me a long time to finally talk to you guys." Rose admitted, listening to the quiet. Harper was already asleep.
"...I've never met any of your family except your mom. And, if they're as nice as her, then they'll except you for who you are. About new friends, there's nothing I can do about that. Or say. Just know that they'll possibly be like you, Rosie. Plus, you're awesome. Even my younger sister thinks so. So, ya know, just slip in and meet people."
"Thanks, Kendall."
"Yeah, you know we'll always be here and have your back. Just write if you need any advice. Just don't replace us."
"Never."
"We both love you to pieces, so I'm going to end it here before I start crying. Night."
"Love you both too. Nighty night~" Rose responded before shutting her eyes and falling to sleep in an instant.
Rei walked back and forth in front of the shrine, Makoto, Ami, Minako, and Usagi all behind her.
"I don't see what you're so nervous about. If you two are so close, It'll all be OK." Minako said, trying to reassure the miko.
"Yeah, Rei-Chan." Usagi agreed.
"What does she look like?" Ami asked.
"Well, last time I saw her, she had raven colored hair like me except it was stranded with this beautiful cotton candy pink and she always wears it in ponytails. She has sky blue eyes, which really don't go well with the pink, in my opinion, and she wears glasses." Rei nodded, thinking long and hard about it.
"Is that her?" Makoto asked, nodding in the direction of the stairs.
Rei whipped her head around towards the two figures moving up the staircase. A girl with a bag in her hand and a backpack on her back and the same woman that was talking to her grandfather, also carrying a bag. The girl's eyes were shaded by raven colored hair and she wasn't smiling. It was a neutral look, like she was thinking.
"..Yeah, that's her. My cousin, Umeko Asakura." Rei smiled despite herself. Ever since Yuuchiro had left the shrine, after he found that Rei had feelings for someone else, it had just been her and her Grandfather. She needed a companion to spend time with while the girls had something else to do. When they were busy. She walked over to the girl and hugged her tightly. Rose couldn't help but smile and hug Rei back, just as tight.
The girls' Grandfather came out from the shrine, running towards the two, and glomped Rose.
"Ugh!" Rose let out of her mouth as he squeezed her, too tight.
"Umeko-Chan, how great it is to see you again!" Their Grandfather shouted as the four other girls walked up, giggling.
"Hai, hello Grandpa...Chan?" She asked.
"Ah, just call me Grandpa. Anything you want really, Ume-Chan!" He smiled broader at the formalities.
"Well, if you could, could you all call me Rose?" Rose asked, looking down and blushing deeply.
Usagi squealed, shouting something about being so adorable.
"Sure. But, why?" Rei asked.
"Well...that's the name I grew up with. Since I haven't seen you guys in a long time, kids have given me a hard time about my name, so I just let everyone call me Rose...my hair, by the way, is what sparked the idea." Rose explained, looking up, but with the same tomato red face.
As they watched her, Ami felt herself blushing for the girl. It must be so awkward to move in with family you hadn't seen in years, plus if the family lived in another country than you.
"Well, come with me. What's your favorite color?" Rei heard her Grandfather ask as her showed her inside of the shrine.
"Ah...blue." She replied, looking down.
"Well, how do you feel about pink?" He asked.
"It's...fine. I can live with pink. Why? Do you have a sweater you want me to wear or something?" She asked.
"I did up your whole room in pink!"
"Uh..."
Rose was inside now, so Rei turned towards her friends, wanting to know what they thought.
"I think she's adorable!" Usagi cried with glee.
"She's seems to be a very sweet girl." Makoto smiled.
Minako agreed.
Ami looked indecisive.
"For some reason, she seems a little uncertain. Like she's wondering if she's being a bother. And, I really don't think she likes the color pink, but she's going to act fine with it because she wants to make your Granddad happy in his decision. She seems like she used to be so full of energy, but something took it all away. She does seem sweet, and yes, I agree with Usagi, she is adorable!" Ami smiled too.
"Yeah, all her joy was taken away..." Rei whispered.
"What happened that made her have to stay here?" Minako asked.
"Well..."
It was a sunny, warm day, and with school being let out, it was time for Harper, Kendall, and Rose to get together again at Harper's pool. They hadn't seen each other in a while, all going on short vacations and the like, so they were all very excited.
"Come on, slow poke!" Kendall shouted as Harper lingered behind them.
"I'm coming! I just have to run back in and get some towels!" Harper shouted back, running back inside the house.
"Rose...today is the day you're jumping into the pool." Kendall said as they stood at the pool's edge.
"No. I absolutely refuse, Kendall." Rose said back with seriousness in her voice.
"Rose, get a grip. It's only three feet of water. I'm sure you can do it." Kendall laughed.
"Kendall, we all know I'm an easily scared person. I would never jump into a pool-" Rose was cut off as a hand pushed her inside. Kendall went in with her.
"You two just need to get real and jump in already!" Harper laughed.
Rose felt the chlorine fill her nostrils and burn her throat. All she could feel and hear was the water and it scared her. She couldn't swim at the time, considering her mom wasn't exactly a water person.
After swimming for a while, the three girls went inside and redressed. Kendall's mom came and picked her up while the girls were sitting in the living room, watching TV. Rose waited about an hour before speaking up and asking:
"Hey, Harper, can I use your phone to tell Mom I'm coming home?"
"Sure. You know where it is." She responded, not turning to face the girl.
Rose picked up the phone and called, waiting patiently.
No answer.
'Oh well, it Isn't like mom not to pick up, but I guess I'll go home anyways. She must not be able to get to the phone. Once she sees Harper's number, she'll get the jiff.' Rose thought at her Mother's funny behavior. Once her mom was outside, trying to get this raccoon to go away without it attacking and she heard the phone ringing. So, she grabbed the raccoon by its tail and slung it back into the woods expertly before running through the house like a mad man, trying to reach the phone.
"Bye Harper, I'll see you later!" Rose called before opening the front door.
"Bye, Rosie. Be safe on the way down!" Harper called back.
"Always! Always be safe and stuff! I like fried chicken!" Her older brother joked before running back to his room, dodging a pillow from the couch.
"Shut up Gregory!" Harper shouted.
"Make me!" Gregory shouted back as Rose closed the door, shaking her head with a smile.
She walked through the carport, petting Harper's dogs as she walked to the fence. She opened the gate and shut it back, waving goodbye to the dogs. She almost expected them to wave back, but knew it was something silly to expect.
It only took a few minutes to get down the road to her house, usually, but she saw the prettiest flowers growing...
And a stray cat...
And old Mrs. Pensky getting groceries from her van and walking them up her large hill to her house.
So, finally, she reached her house and grabbed the key from her pocket. Whatever her mom was doing, she didn't want to disturb her.
As she opened the door, she saw blood. Everywhere. It led to a trail in the kitchen. Once she saw what was wrong, her hand flew to her mouth and she began coughing. Running to the door, she flung it open and threw up, knowing there would be no time to clean that up later. She walked back inside, steadily, knowing she needed to check her mom's pulse. A weak sign that faded instantly. Her mom spoke her last soft words as Rose grabbed her hand.
"No...reason to worry for me, Ume...Chan... Be happy...I love you..."
"I love you too, Mom!" Rose spoke, her eyes widening and tears spilling from them. The older woman smiled and tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes slowly.
"I know..." Her mom smiled wider.
"Just have to have that last word, huh?" Rose giggled. It sounded like a sob, more than anything.
"Yep..."
And, with that, her mom died.
