A/N: So… yes. I originally planned on this being a whole other chapter on it's own, but for some reason, it just makes more sense for it being the second part of Chapter Two… Therefore… Haha. So I guess I'll update the next chapter earlier in the week? I'm still writing some parts of the story. And still mulling over some parts of the story (and how I can improve it.) I was kinda held up with Christmas and shit happened so I'm practically in charge of the entire family… temporarily, so… Yesh… Sigh. Anyway, on a happier note, I wrote to escape reality, and I'm glad I took refuge in my imagination (reality can be so dull, isn't it?)
As always, please leave me a review (whether it's good or bad, I wanna know!) Feel free to PM me and stuff if you don't understand certain parts of the story/ found some discrepancies. I mean, I wrote the story by random scenes, so tying them up is kind of a headache.
Oh, and can anyone help me beta this story? I'm shamelessly asking for help here. I'm not the best proof-reader/editor so… yeah.
I don't own the characters (cept for Nao and them ocs.) They all belong to the genius Naoko Takeuchi.
Tenoh Nao, Akiyama Restaurant, Outskirts of Tokyo, March 6, 2013, 7:48pm
Nao was in heaven. The amount and variety of food available was…fascinating. She'll be full if she just sampled a bite of everything… Not that she was complaining. Hell, even the salads look good.
Tsk, rabbit food. I don't understand why Kaa-san loves them so much.
Nao grinned and started heaping her plate with food. One of kaa-san's friends—Nao believed it was Makoto-san—smiled at her as she scooped a healthy dollop of mashed potatoes onto her son's plate.
"Hungry?"
Nao laughed and pouted, complaining. "Mou, Haru kaa-san made me sprint all the way up the hill. I thought I was going to be late when I was actually half an hour early. Besides, I skipped lunch, so I am starving."
The baa-san laughed. "Haruka-san? You call your mother by her name?"
Nao shook her head. "No, no, it's a play on her name. It's Haru-kaa-san, not Haruka-san. I'm calling my mum by her nickname attached to her suffix, see? I have very deep respect for my mother, you know."
"I can tell, Nao-chan." The baa-san placed two hands on her son's shoulders. "By the way, I don't think I've introduced my son to you. This is my son, Mizuno Tetsuya. He's seven this year."
Nao smiled as she bent down to pat Tetsuya's head. "He's cute." Tetsuya had lively hazel eyes, a tuft of jet black hair and was wearing a shirt that had the trademark Sailor V on it. It looked…oddly familiar. "Hello Tetsuya, I'm Nao. Do you like Sailor V?"
Tetsuya smiled at Nao. "Mina-baa-san!"
Nao was confused. She was sure she hadn't hear that Japanese word before. She straightened and looked up at Makoto's suddenly stricken face, she drew a sudden connection: Makoto knew Sailor V… And she was adamant on protecting her identity.
Nao smiled reassuringly. "Young children, huh? I'm sorry to say I did not understand him." Makoto relaxed, and a lovely smile graced her face. To Nao, it seemed…thankful? Relieved?
"Well, yeah. He's been having problems with his speech. My partner and I have been trying to help him."
Nao grew confused again. Sneaking a quick look, she noticed that there was a ring on Makoto baa-san's left ring finger, meaning that she was married. So… did the word "partner" mean "husband" in Japanese? Or was Makoto baa-san…
Makoto chuckled at Nao's expression. "See that blue haired baa-san over there?" Makoto baa-san pointed to a point behind Nao. Nao turned and saw one of the baa-sans that she had talked to before.
Nao tilted her head and tried to recall the name of the intelligent baa-san. "Her name is…Ami-san, correct?"
Makoto baa-san smiled at the mention of her partner's name. "Yes, she is my wife. We got married in New York just two years ago. You really are a smart young woman, you know?"
"Just making the best of the education that kaa-san gave me." Nao smiled.
I owe it to her.
"Well, I daresay that you two look really good together!" Nao winked at Makoto baa-san.
"Ah, you're not just intelligent, you're discerning too!"
Nao and Makoto both laughed as the Usagi obaa-san came running over. Somehow, she was the most unassuming of the baa-sans, but everyone seemed to gravitate around her, as if she was some kind of leader. Nao smiled at her before collecting more food onto her plate.
"Mako-chan! Ami-chan needs Eiko-chan's medicine."
Nao searched for a fork, but only found chopsticks. Making a face, she took a spoon and started cramming a leafy vegetable from her salad into her mouth and leaned against the wall as she observed the exchange between the two baa-sans.
"Shimmatta! I left it in the car." Makoto baa-san floundered for a bit. "Usagi, can I trouble you to look after Tetsuya while I run to the car?"
"No problem, Mako-chan." Taking the plate from Makoto baa-san, Usagi baa-san put a hand and directed Tetsuya to the table where everyone except the four of them were gathered.
It was a wrong decision. The plate she was holding tilted, and the contents threatened to fall. Noticing the precarious position of the plate, Usagi baa-san overcompensated, so the whole plate threatened to fall from her hands.
Nao leapt forward, bending her knees at the same time. Balancing her own plate expertly with her left hand, she grasped the bottom of the other plate firmly, swooping it a little so that all the contents fell back onto the plate, and only a clean spoon fell onto the floor with a resounding clatter.
Usagi baa-san's face turned beet red as her table laughed at her clumsiness. Muttering an apology, she tried taking the plate back from Nao. The plate tilted dangerously again, and only Nao's fast reflexes saved the day.
Chuckling a little, Nao smiled at Usagi baa-san. "Allow me, Usagi baa-san." The table only laughed harder. Noticing the blush on Usagi baa-san's face, and interpreting it correctly as extreme embarrassment, Nao added, "Tetsuya-kun must be a handful, so allow me to help you, all right?"
Usagi baa-san's blush vanished, only to be replaced with a warm smile as she relented and handed the plate to Nao. "You're a very kind girl, Nao-chan."
Nao laughed. "You haven't seen my dark soul yet, Usagi baa-san." She was only half-joking.
Usagi baa-san shook her head violently, her pigtails swishing from side to side. "You're just like your mother, you may look hard on the exterior, but you are very kind on the inside." Usagi thought for awhile, then added, "You're like Michiru-san too, always knowing what to say." Usagi smiled fondly at Nao.
Nao just smiled sadly as she shifted the two plates and placed them on the buffet counter. "I may be like them, but I'm not Haru kaa-san, Usagi baa-san. I'm not even her real daughter. As for Michiru-san, I just met her, so I can't say anything."
Usagi baa-san's eyes widened almost comically, but the smile was wiped off her face. "W-what?"
"I'm adopted, Usagi baa-san." Nao explained, her sad smile not leaving her face. She put the utensils on the plates, then balanced them on both hands, thinking sourly about her birth mother.
That bitch who abandoned an infant…
"Everything okay here?" Harukaa-san appeared over Usagi baa-san's shoulder. Nao nearly jumped, but controlled herself on account of all the food she was holding.
Arranging her features to a smile that was more convincing, Nao nodded and started making her way to the table. "Yeah, everything's fine, apart from the fact that I'm starving from the run earlier." She shot her mother a dirty look. Kaa-san just raised both her hands in surrender, shaking her head and following Nao back to the table. Usagi baa-san followed, still looking stunned.
Nao saw Usagi-san exchange a look with Setsuna-san. Usagi-san shook her head, her expression worried, and the other lady just sighed and looked extremely vexed.
Tsk, what's the big deal about being adopted, anyway?
Nao shrugged it off, she surveyed the table as she gobbled food into her mouth. It was a long table, and everyone sat cross legged at the table. At one end was Usagi baa-san.
Was it Usagi baa-san's birthday?
"Everybody, let's all sing Michiru-san a birthday song before we begin!" Usagi baa-san announced.
Ah, so it's not Usagi baa-san's birthday… So why is she seated at the front of the table?
The company sang the traditional birthday song for Michiru baa-san, then toasted to her health. Then they started digging in.
Nao's brain, however, would not stop running.
Nao's gaze fell onto Usagi's left. Seated directly beside her was a man whom Usagi introduced as Mamoru-san. He was her husband, and a doctor. His eyes flashed towards her, and Nao blushed as was caught openly staring at someone. Mamoru-san smiled at her.
Nao scanned the people seated opposite her. Beside Mamoru-san was Ami-san, Eiko-chan, Tetsuya-kun and Makoto-san. Seated on Makoto-san's side was the other blonde baa-san, who was named Minako-san, as well as Rei-san.
"Mina-chan, can you pass the shoyu?" Rei-san asked.
"Mina-chan?" Nao frowned, so the Mina baa-san that Tetsuya-kun referred to just now…
"That's my nickname!" Minako-san happily clarified.
"Then Tetsuya would call you 'Mina baa-san', right?"
Minako-san nodded. "Hai! I suppose so!"
Nao's eyes flashed to the figure on Tetsuya-kun's shirt, and back at Minako-san.
There sure is a strong resemblance there…
Then Nao saw Makoto-san exchange a nearly panicked look with Ami-san, and her hunch was confirmed.
Minako-san was Sailor V, or Sailor Venus. Then she scanned the table carefully again, and something clicked in her brain. Nao pictured the baa-sans in Sailor costumes. Makoto-san had a striking resemblance with Sailor Jupiter, Ami-san reminded her of Sailor Mercury, Minako-san was Sailor Venus, so Rei-san should be Sailor Mars. That means Mamoru-san was… Tuxedo Kamen? Yes, he fit the look—dark hair, same build. That left Usagi baa-san to complete the Inner Sailor Senshi as Sailor Moon. No wonder the rest of the baa-sans all treated her as a leader…she was!
Nao felt extremely thankful for Wikipedia…
Then came the difficult part; Sailors Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto. Surely Setsuna-san and Michiru-san were also Sailor Senshi, but was her mother part of the team too? She must be. She said in the carpark that they were her close friends and had saved Haru kaa-san's lives before, so it made sense. Nao remembered reading an article that said Sailor Uranus had not been spotted in Japan for fifteen years, so her mother must be Sailor Uranus, but who were the other senshi, then? Michiru-san should be Sailor Neptune, with her aquamarine hair, and Setsuna-san should be another Sailor Senshi… but which one? Pluto or Saturn? There was no one else of a similar age group. Maybe that Senshi could not make it.
But that means… I'm dining with the Sailor Team.
Nao smiled, awed, and bowed slightly. But she did not miss the wave of unease that swept through the table—were they telepathic or were they such a good team that they picked up on Makoto-san's unease so naturally? They all shot Nao furtive glances that made Nao uncomfortable, so she tried a little humour.
"Hello, everyone. I'm glad to be here and I'm… Honoured to be dining with you tonight," Nao smiled, deciding to throw in a pun. "Under the moon, stars and planets that guide us. Sure is romantic… Ah!"
A sudden thought occurred to her. Ignoring the shocked reactions at her words, Nao turned to her mother, who was staring at her with amused and slightly impressed eyes.
Nao decided to tease her mother. Besides, this may help the situation with Michiru-san, too. "So you weren't quoting Shakespeare when you said 'the moon sure is bright tonight, but are you watching the same moon that protects us all? You must be, you have to be…are you?', you were saying that to the person you've been pining for these fifteen years! I knew it! I read the entire works of Shakespeare but I just couldn't find that quote!"
The table was watching both her Kaa-san and Michiru-san now, but Nao just played dumb, ignoring them and concentrating on teasing her mother. Come on, kaa-san, I'm helping you out here. Her mother blushed and went beyond red.
"Well, maybe you could have added 'a moon viewed on any other continent looks just as bright.' Hm. But that will be erroneous, though. The different angles and weather conditions of the different locations would affect the luminosity, shape and size of the moon, and given the time differences between the continents, it wouldn't even be the same moon, and if you take a little literary liberty with Einstein's theory of relativity…"
"All right, now no one understands you, little freak." Her mother cut in, her tone was gentle even while trying to stop Nao from saying more.
Inwardly, Nao smiled as she checkmated with her mother, but outwardly, she just sighed and feigned exasperation, leaning on her kaa-san's shoulder so she could subtly watch Michiru-san's expression. "I'm just saying, that no, mama, you have to be beside the person to see the same moon, because distance and other related factors affect the shape and brightness of the moon, so no, you won't be watching the same moon as the nearly mythological soul mate you've been thinking of every night for fifteen years. You have to be beside him/her/it to be watching the same moon."
Michiru-san looked stunned, and Nao could see as every one of her masks fell and Michiru-san's visage started to cringe with pain before the masks went back on.
Ah…So she does love my mama. Game, set, match. Huh, this must be a new record. I just won against two people at the same time.
"Well, mama, at least now you're back to look for the one that you love, eh? I certainly hope she finds it in herself to forgive you." Nao added.
Michiru-san looked as if she wanted to cry, so Nao decided to stop there. That's when she noticed that Hotaru-san was staring at her, smiling. Nao grinned and gave a small wink before closing her eyes and relaxing on her mother's shoulder. Her mother's arm came around her, and her kaa-san rubbed her arm.
"Who said my soul mate was a "she"?"
Nao laughed as she sat up. "Please, kaa-san, you're as straight as a meandering river. " Nervous laughter ran across the table now.
Harukaa-san laughed. "You're right. Men are gross." She paused and added an afterthought, "No offence, Mamoru. You're one of the less icky guys. That's a compliment."
"Well, I'll take it as one. Thanks, Haruka-san. That's a big compliment coming from you." Mamoru-san waved a piece of okonomiyaki as a toast to Harukaa-san.
Nao laughed. The awkward moment passed, and the conversation continued.
But as the evening drew on, the mystery of the past was getting to her, and the worst thing was that she could not ask her mother about it without triggering a waterfall of tears.
Nao was going to google this Kaioh Michiru—seems like she was a really special person to be able to catch her kaa-san's eye. Famous, too, for the whole restaurant to go silent when she mentioned her name…
Nao sighed and glanced at her mother's plate. It mostly had salad, but there were a few pieces of sashimi. Nao's plate was already empty again, and she needed to go for a third serving.
Nao held her chopsticks in her right hand, planning her attack. Whipping her chopsticks out, she poked a piece of salmon sashimi onto her chopsticks, then promptly popped it into her mouth. She looked at her mother triumphantly before she noticed her mother's dancing, amused eyes.
Uh oh.
"One… two… three." Haru kaa-san counted off.
Icy fire burned Nao's mouth, and into Nao's windpipe. Nao coughed, Nao choked. She placed her hand over her mouth and forced herself to swallow the offending slice of fish as her mother roared with laughter.
Wasabi!
Her eyes watered.
"I told you, aka-chan. Thieves rarely come to a good end."
Nao stood up, ran to the drinks counter. She downed a few cups of iced tea before the tears stopped. Her nasal cavity, on the other hand, still itched and burned. She rubbed her nose, wishing that the odd sensation would go away, yet knowing she could do nothing about it.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw her mother holding a cup of hot tea, a grin still gracing her visage.
"Here, aka-chan. Hot tea helps with the nose."
Nao eyed her mother suspiciously, making her laugh.
"Trust me!"
Nao took the cup from her mother, sipping it slowly. Relief seeped through her system. Her mother was right, it did help with her nose.
"Better?"
"Much, you wasabi ninja."
"Hey, it wasn't my fault you took my sashimi."
"I was hungry!"
"You're still hungry? That was your second plate of food!"
"You made me expend all that unnecessary calories!"
"Hai, hai." Harukaa-san waved a noncommittal hand. "Well, thank kami-sama you're skipping a few grades, I could probably use that saved money to feed you."
Nao mumbled incoherently, making her mother chuckle even more.
"Ja, aka-chan. Let's get more food for the bottomless pit that is your stomach."
Nao followed her mother, feeling like a little puppy.
Food!
qpqpqpqpqpqp
Meanwhile, at the table and out of Haruka and Nao's earshot, a furious, whispered discussion was taking place amongst the Inners.
Makoto held her forehead, clearly troubled. "Nao knows that we're the Sailor Team. Tetsuya let slip that Mina-chan was Sailor V, and I think Nao just inferred from here."
Ami nodded. "She's very smart, and it's not just textbook intelligence, she's perceptive as well."
A thoughtful silence punctuated Ami's statement.
"Well, I doubt she'll expose our identities. She's too kind." Usagi commented.
Everyone nodded.
"Haruka-san's changed a lot, hasn't she?" Rei commented. Ami nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, she's more… I don't know, bipolar? When she's happy, she's really happy, but there are those moments where she just seems so…deeply sad. Plus, she's even got a daughter now? It means she'd slept with…" Minako broke off, for the sake of the children at the table.
Everyone turned to look at Michiru at the same time, all worried at her reaction.
Michiru flipped her hair to the side, eyebrows raised in a defiant "So?"
"No," Usagi whispered, looking at Setsuna. "Nao is adopted."
Setsuna sighed and shook her head. "Then we are in trouble…"
Everyone else did not know what to say about that.
qpqpqpqpqpqp
Nao came back with a third heaped plate of food, which she ate with great gusto.
"Goodness! Nao-chan, I think you have the potential to rival Usagi for the title of 'best glutton'!" Rei-san commented.
("REI-CHAN!" Usagi baa-san cried. Rei baa-san sniggered. "What, it's true!")
Nao smiled. "I'm a growing child, Rei-san. Besides, I skipped lunch, and this devil here," She nudged her mother in her ribs. "Made me sprint all the way up this hill for nothing. Be thankful that I'm here eating and not in a hospital getting checked for domestic abuse." She shoved a large chunk of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
"Well, you wouldn't be running if you had made it here with plenty of time to spare." Kaa-san replied.
"I would have, but…" Nao glanced at Rikka-chan, then at her kaa-san. "Never mind, forget it. I'm just hungry, so give me food and no one gets hurt." Haru kaa-san laughed.
The whole table, though, was curious.
"What happened?" Rei-san asked, curiousity written all over her face.
Rikka-chan, who had been silent up till now, started talking enthusiastically, telling the table what had transpired while Nao just continued eating, trying not to blush too much.
"…And then, at the last moment, just when Pork Chop was about to hit her in the face, Nao onee-san turned, held Porkie by the wrist, and punched his elbow. It didn't look hard, but Porkie screamed like mad. It must have hurt, but Nao onee-san just said that it was a deep muscle bruise or something—"
"A bone bruise." Nao cut in at the inaccuracy. "It was actually a bone bruise and not a deep tissue bruise as I mistook it to be. Thinking back, there is no or little muscle on the elbow for a deep tissue bruise, so that must mean that it was a bone bruise." She shrugged and went back to finish the food on her plate.
"You can get bruises on your bone?" Asked Minako-san incredulously.
"Hai." Ami-san replied. "Nao-chan's analysis was a little shallow, but accurate and impressive for someone who hasn't undergone medical training."
Nao laughed. "Well, I read."
"Yes, but it takes a well-honed mind to apply it to daily context." Ami-san added.
Nao snorted. "It's just watching out for what I read, no biggie. Sorry Rikka-chan, please continue."
Nao started considering if she should go for desserts. She was relatively full by now but… There was always space for desserts!
"Yeah, so Nao onee-san scared the other two high schoolers away, and walked me back to school, where Mama was waiting for me." Rikka-chan paused, hesitating for the first time since she started her monologue. Nao took a mouth of tea and got up, heading for drinks and dessert bar, deciding to refill her tea as she drained it.
"I-I want to marry Nao onee-san when I grow up!" Rikka-chan concluded.
For the second time in the night, Nao choked. The tea trickled down her windpipe and threatened to make a reappearance through her nose, finally lodging itself somewhere between her throat and her nasal cavity.
Did I just receive the first marriage proposal of my life while drinking tea?!
The table laughed again as Nao coughed and sputtered for air. This time, everyone laughed, even Michiru-san joined in. Only Rikka-chan looked confused, and embarrassed. Nao felt a twinge of pity for her. If Nao'd confessed to someone, and said someone choked while the whole table laughed… It wouldn't be a good feeling…
Geez, is there not an ounce of sympathy for a dying girl here?
"I forgot to tell you, aka-chan, gluttons rarely have good endings as well!" Her mother choked out in between hysterics.
Nao shot her mother a death glare, but otherwise went over to Rikka-chan, still looking mortified seeing that everyone was laughing, seemingly at her. Rikka-chan seemed precariously close to tears.
"Don't worry, Rikka-chan, they are laughing at me for choking, not at your confession, okay? That was really courageous of you. Nobody here will laugh at that, so don't worry." Rikka-chan did burst into tears and launched herself into Nao's embrace. Nao patted her back gently, after flinching wildly at that unexpected contact. Nao growled mentally. She still found it difficult to shake off that habit picked up from her childhood.
Everyone stopped laughing when Rikka-chan started bawling.
"But Rikka-chan, you are too young to talk of love now, okay? Give it a few years, and I'm sure you'll find someone way more deserving of your love than I am." Nao patted Rikka-chan on her head, but Rikka-chan stiffened. Cringing, Nao mentally kicked herself for saying that.
Talk about tact!
"But I want Nao onee-san!"
"Uh… Alright, let's not talk about that anymore, do you want to get some dessert, Rikka-chan?"
He crouched in the shadows of the trees, blanketed by darkness. His eyes found his target seated at a long table, laughing and talking with the others gathered there.
Found you.
His lips curled into a gruesome, cruel smile. Then his right hand drifted to his crotch, and he unzipped his pants, stroking himself gently, thinking of that incident that had plagued his mind over the long, dark years when he plotted his revenge…
You are going to pay for what you did to oni-san and me fifteen years ago.
His left hand reached for a metal box, thinking about its contents, and he grew excited. But no, this was not the time yet. He started pumping his right hand harder. Up, down. Up, down. Faster, harder, stronger, until he climaxed with a muffled groan, spraying his seed on a tattered photograph of his smiling target.
We meet again, and this is just the beginning of your pain, Tenoh Haruka.
He picked the picture up and smudged his seed all over her face, enjoying the look of himself over her. Then he licked it, savouring his taste and the smooth texture of the photograph on his tongue.
Or should I say…Sailor Uranus?
He thought of the power that his target held, and it almost gave him another orgasm. His lips curled again, this time in amusement, holding back laughter.
Soon, soon, koi, we shall have a lot of fun together.
A/N: Yep. Guys (esp psychos) can be pretty gross sometimes. Not always, just sometimes. *shivers*
Careful guys, this story is and will get a lot darker, so be preparedddddd *sings in Scar's voice*
*crickets*… It's late, guys… cut me some slack…
Anyway, for all of you wanting to know what happened between Haruka and Michiru… You'll have to wait a little longer! I like to slowly unravel the story, so… *Laughs evilly* Anyway, here're the replies to non-PMable peeps!
Guest: THANK YOU! Haha. We'll get there. Your questions will be answered in the coming chapters (well, hopefully, I don't know if I would manage to answer all your questions in future chapters!
Alexia: I understand, and I fully applaud you. I mean, I know how difficult it is to learn and read a language that is not your native language. Alright, so Nao is adopted, right? And her eyes are of different colours (one blue, one green). The significance of this would help explain (or be explained) in the later chapters. Anyway, Nao has mixed feelings about her eyes. On one hand, she likes her eyes (she thinks that they are beautiful and makes her unique) but they always remind Nao of her birth mother (whom she detests). So by saying that Nao has one of her eyes, Haruka is actually comforting Nao by saying that they are, in however small a manner, related to one another. I hope that clears things up!
Jo C: Just out of curiosity, is your name your actual name, or a play on "Josie"? Heh. Sorry. Just my mind running off with my common sense. ;D To answer your question, I am going to TRY updating every week. BUT! As I'd said above, shit happened, and I currently have the responsibility of running the household seeing that my mum is kinda MIA at the moment, so…. Yeah. I'll try to update this story as soon as I can. ^^
Thanks for all the reviews guys! Lovin' them!
