Chapter 9: Madness or Passion?

A week after the departure of the Guardian showed Amy in the lowest she had ever been in her life. Since Koaru had taken off, her grades had dropped, she had quit eating, and she often spent hours on end just watching the horizon, as though Koaru would come running through it and back to her. It hurt the others to see Amy this way, but they were all lost for words. Even Darien had no ideas as to what to say to Amy, and he watched with the others, feeling helpless.

"If only I had some idea as to what to do." Serena said, a note of desperation in her voice. Lita looked at her with a slight smile.

"The only thing that would work would be putting a leash and collar on Koaru and keeping him tied up." She said, and the others all smiled, feeling a bit better.

Koaru sat on the lowest branches of an old oak tree, staring out on the horizon, wondering how the others were doing and whether Amy was alright. Below him, a wolf cub whimpered and circled around the tree's base, waiting for Koaru to come back down. Koaru smiled as the wolf tried to climb up to him and fell on its back, then proceeded to roll around for a few moments before trying again. He had found the cub the other day lost on the mountainside and had sort of adopted it. He had named it Light because of the lightning shaped scar across its left eye. Koaru returned his focus to the view of the city, watching the lights turn on as the sun set in the horizon.

"Amy, wait for me." He thought as he hoisted himself to his feet, balancing on the tree branch. "I'll be back soon…I promise."

"Amy, please eat something." Mina begged as she tried and again failed to feed Amy some soup that Lita had made for her. Across from Amy and Mina sat Serena and Raye, both having a silent fight about what the best way to deal with Amy's condition. Over in the kitchen, Lita was trying to make some biscuits to go with her soup, but she was kept on leaving the dough to check on Amy.

"God, I will kill Koaru for this. He only thinks of himself, and never stops to think how his actions affect Amy." Lita said as she stormed back into the kitchen to continue her cooking. Raye watched her go with a small frown, knowing that she had a point. As adorable as Koaru was, he was a lot of trouble as well.

"Come on Light! Keep up boy!" Koaru called to the wolf cub as it tripped and stumbled over the rocky terrain in its attempt to keep up with the teen. It finally collapsed at Koaru's feet, who smiled and picked the pup up. "Come on boy, time to call it a night."

Koaru made his way into a small cave and set the wolf down, then set fire to a few branches he had found on his way there. Light walked a small circle around the blaze before curling up a few feet from it and drifting off to sleep.

Koaru leaned back and stared at the rocky ceiling, wondering how long he had been away from the city. Slowly, his thoughts drifted to Amy, and he felt a pain in his heart. Placing a hand over it, he sat up and stared into the dancing flames before him.

"Amy, I'll return soon…as soon as I can use that attack again…"

"I can't take it anymore. I'm calling the hospital." Serena said as she made her way over to the phone after Amy had regurgitated the small bit of soup they had finally made her eat. As Serena started to dial the number to the clinic, Lita put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me try first, ok?" she asked, and Serena nodded and set the phone back down. Lita set herself beside Amy and looked her straight in the eyes. It saddened her to see them so empty and lifeless, remembering how they had used to sparkle with excitement. Lita took in a deep breathe and started her attempt.

"Amy, you in there?" No response. She tried again.

"Amy Mizuno, what is 2+2?" Again, no response. Lita bit her lip and tried again.

"Amy, if you don't start acting like yourself again, I am going to kill Koaru next time I see him, you got that?"

Only one word in the sentence registered in Amy's mind. She turned to face Lita, her eyes wide.

"Koaru? Is he back? Did he come back?"

Lita again bit her lip and continued.

"No he isn't."

Amy hung her head, and all four girls saw tears start to fall to her lap.

"It's because of me, isn't it? He doesn't love me anymore…I'm useless, forgotten to everyon-

SMACK!

Before anyone could react, Lita's left hand had found its way across Amy's right cheek. Lita stared at Amy, tears swimming in her eyes as she held her hand across her chest.

"Amy," she started. "Don't even start with that bull shit. If you were useless, would you be Sailor Mercury? If you were forgotten, would we all be here?" Lita shouted as tears spilled down her face. Amy looked her in the eyes, and she started to cry herself. Raye, Mina and Serena all rushed forward and hugged their friend, who sobbed harder.

"I'm…I'm so sorry everyone." Amy sobbed, holding them all for dear life.

"Don't worry, Amy." Serena said through her own tears. "We will never give up on you, or Koaru. We promise."