Title: Not a God Part 11 (Version 1.0)
Author: nIGHT rIDER
Email: ikari@wantree.net.au
Rating: PG
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There was a knock at the door, making Usagi jump, turning as
Shingo opened it wide. "Oi, Usagi... Dinner's ready." He sneered
at her. "Come and get it, or I'll eat the lot." He turned to
Setsuna. "Oh, hi there, Meiou-san. Mama says you can join us if
you wish." And with that, he closed the door. Usagi glanced aside
at Setsuna.
"What just happened?"
"Oh, I used a little trick on your family that Chibiusa had
perfected." She grinned. "Seems to have worked."
Usagi glared daggers at her. "Why didn't you do that to begin
with, rather than scare me half to death by appearing through a
suitcase?"
"Oh...." Setsuna looked away, deviously. "I wanted to see
your reaction. You can be so cute when you get all worked up,
sometimes." Usagi grumbled unmentionables under her breath.
"Anyway, I had to be IN the house to do it. I'm not as good as
Chibiusa at it, yet, and I don't have Luna P to help me."
"Fine excuse." Usagi huffed. "We're going to have to wake
Miki up, now." Usagi stood, stepping over to Miki's side.
"Yes, Miki." Setsuna paused. "You might have to explain me
to her." Usagi glanced over at Setsuna.
"Why?"
"I didn't use the little trick on her that I used on your
family." She paused. "I did try, however...."
"However what?" Usagi looked down at the sleeping Miki,
touching the girl's face.
"However.... she was.... resistant to my powers."
"Eh?" Usagi looked at Setsuna, shocked.
"Yes. She's a very special girl, this Miki." She paused,
nodding to herself, strange thoughts entering her strange mind. "A
VERY special girl."
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BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON / TAIHO SHICHAUZO
NOT A GOD
by nIGHT rIDER (Assistance by DDFA)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon and Taiho Shichauzo are owned by Takeuchi Naoko,
Fujishima Kosuke, Bandai, TBS, and Kodansya. All other characters
were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?
Chapter 11
Dinner Time
or "Chapter of the Carrot"
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Usagi looked down at her dinner plate with a greater sense of
fear and dread than she'd had for a good number of years. Due to
the fact that Miki's condition allowed her to eat only a certain
number of foods, mostly vegetable, Usagi's Papa and Shingo had
prepared a large salad dish to go with the main meal.
With absolutely oodles of carrots. In strips, even.
It had always amused a large number of people around her that,
with a name like Usagi, she found carrots to be absolutely
intolerable to eat. She couldn't really define what it was she
didn't like about them.... It was a combination of things, such as
the odd sweetness, occasionally combined with a sourness, especially
in those that weren't quite ripe, or simply weren't grown properly.
Then there was the texture. The snap-hard solidity, when raw,
made it feel like she was breaking off her teeth in an effort to eat
them.
Then there were those that were too ripe, with all the
flexibility and consistency of rubber. But even worse, when they
were cooked, be they steamed or boiled, or, Kami forbid, BAKED...
resplendent with slightly scorched skin... all the flavour of a
sweetened old shoe in a mushy orange stick....
Ikuko served the salad out to each of those sitting at the
table. Kenji, sitting at one end, had already clouted Shingo one
over the back of the head for starting before Usagi, Miki and
Setsuna had come down from Usagi's bedroom. It had taken Usagi a
good ten minutes to rouse Miki from her sleep, and had carried the
girl down the stairs before Miki almost leapt from her arms into the
seat next to Shingo.
Shingo looked at her with an element of disdain, even after
Miki had smiled at him with her best 'winning smile'. Turning back
to Usagi, who had sat down next to her, at the opposite end of the
table from her Papa, she whispered.... "What is it with your
brother? Isn't he feeling well, or something?"
Usagi sighed, whispering back in conspiratorial tone.... "No,
he's fine. That's his usual disposition."
"Oh.... So he's a sourpuss, then." Usagi tried to suppress a
giggle as Miki stuck a finger in her mouth, making a fake gagging
noise.
Setsuna had placed herself opposite Miki, smiling at Ikuko as
she dished out some of the salad on her plate. "So...." She began.
"Usagi and I were just talking about how you hurried along the
process of Miki's fostering." She smiled at Ikuko, who paused for
a moment, frowning. Usagi looked at the pair of them in surprise.
"You were?" Ikuko scratched her head. "Funny, I don't
remember telling anyone else." Setsuna smiled, placing a hand on
Ikuko's arm.
"Oh no.... You were telling me over the phone only yesterday.
You thought it would be good for Usagi and Miki to be together as
soon as possible, since Usagi's presence had helped Miki's health,
and that Miki would be a great test of responsibility for Usagi."
"Ah, yes, now I remember." Ikuko swallowed, desperately
trying to remember if what Setsuna was saying were true. At that
point, a vision of the memory entered her mind. "Yes, I did. Only
yesterday. Sorry, I've had so many things on my mind, lately.
After all, it WAS partly your idea."
Setsuna nodded, turning to Usagi. "It was nice of your
mother, don't you think?"
"Uh.... Yeah." What the hell are you talking about, Pluto,
Usagi thought to herself. Setsuna smiled, winking at Usagi as Ikuko
moved along to her husband, gently placing his portion of the salad
on his plate with the kind of sickeningly cute interplay that would
often go on between the pair.
"Here you go, darling." Ikuko.
"Thankyou dear." Kenji reply.
"I know how much you love these salads." Ikuko again.
"Yes, they're delicious." Kenji, lying through his teeth.
"Besides, you're going to need your strength for later on
tonight." Ikuko giggles.
Kenji sweatdrops.
Both Shingo and Usagi hung their heads in embarrassment as
Setsuna and Miki smiled at each other, Miki stuffing one of the
carrot sticks into her mouth. With a smile, she turned to Usagi,
holding out one of the sticks. "Hai kore..." Miki gave Usagi a
cute expression.
Usagi swallowed, looking down at the dreaded orange object,
held out in front of her. "Ah... Miki..." She sweatdropped. The
girl blinked in surprise.
"Don't you like them?"
"No, it's not that...." Usagi wasn't sure how to respond.
She felt something hit her in the shin, rather hard, and she looked
over at Setsuna, who was waving at her and gesturing at Miki. She
got the message. "Thankyou, Miki, that's most kind of you." She
took the carrot from Miki and popped it in her mouth, chewing it
with deliberate slowness, trying to keep it as far from her
tastebuds as possible, whilst hiding from Miki the fact that she was
finding it torture.
"That's okay, oneechan." Miki grinned, cutely. "I don't like
them very much, so I can give all my spares to you." Usagi's
stomach came close to rebelling at that point, her face turning a
delightful shade of green. Miki pointed at Usagi and giggled.
"Oneechan.... Your face has gone a funny colour." She
paused, putting a finger to her forehead, thinking. "Umm... Are
you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." Usagi smiled, grabbing a glass to wash down the
poison. "Blorkle blorkle." She mumbled as she washed every last
piece into her long-suffering stomach. "S'alright." Usagi put up
two fingers in a V for Victory sign. "I'll live. Probably." I
hope the hospital has a good stomach pump, Usagi thought to herself.
"Hmm." Miki looked over at Shingo. "You were right. She
doesn't like them very much." Usagi paused, then shot Shingo a
look as her little brother folded his hands behind his head,
whistling. "Hmm.... I wonder what Shingo-chan doesn't like." Miki
put a finger to her mouth, pondering.
"Spinach seems to be a good start." Ikuko smiled. "And
Brussel Sprouts. Although we don't get to eat them all that often,
since they're hard to find. However...." They watched as Ikuko
stepped into the kitchen, then emerged with a steaming tray of
spinach and brussel sprouts. "Just for him, I did my best to find
them. Nice for Papa to have cooked them, isn't it? After all, we
don't want Shingo to have all the fun, do we?"
"Mama! Papa!" Shingo looked at both of his parents. "How
could you have done this to me?"
"Well, I started by going to the shop...." Ikuko snorted with
laughter as she placed the tray on the table. "Don't worry,
peoples. There is a nice sauce to go with these. Even Miki can eat
it."
----o
Rei closed her eyes and attempted to find herself some peace
of mind. And failed. Her mind was too cluttered, with something,
anything, to allow her to wind down for the day. She had not heard
from Usagi, which disturbed her somewhat. Usagi would normally have
gone out of her way to hear how things had gone, to hear that
everything was alright. Of course, Pluto had assured them that she
would get in contact and appraise her on everything that had gone
on. But still, she was curious.
She had felt a tingle. A very slight tingle, but one she'd
felt before, one that came from Usagi.... Serenity. It was so hard
to divide between the two. Well, they WERE the same person, more or
less. More less than more, of course, but then again, she knew her
better than a majority of people, including the other senshi. Usagi
had a tendency to confide in her quite deeply. And, dammit, that
was why she was so miffed. Why the HELL didn't Usagi call her and
tell her how her day had been. She bloody well wanted to know.
She shifted on the floor, legs crossed rather uncomfortably,
as she normally would do during meditation, her miko costume folding
uncomfortably underneath her legs, made all the worse by the
lingering sensation of that tingle. Serenity's power, being
transferred. Transferred to somewhere, or someone. Serenity had
saved people with that power, sometimes even herself. If Usagi had
used it, then that could have meant....
Rei's eyes opened as she felt her stomach turn. What if Miki
had.... What if something bad happened. She put a hand to her
mouth and willed herself to close her eyes. If anything REALLY bad
had happened, she'd be the first to know. Usagi had that tendency
to run to the first person she could think of when bad things
happened, and she tended to be that person. Unless, of course, the
bad things involved her. Which they often did. Rei's concern slid
away as she suppressed a giggle. She just had to learn to stop
being so cruel to Usagi. But then, it was so much fun teasing her.
So easy to get her all worked up. Nothing like a good argument to
help you wind down at the end of the day.
Clearing her throat, she reposition herself and tried to
relax. Then her communicator sounded, and she flew across the room,
grabbing it. "YES? WHO IS IT?" She asked in too loud a voice,
making it sound as if she was annoyed for being disturbed.
"Oi, steady on." Minako's voice was an audible flinch. "What
did I do, disturb you and Yuuichirou in the middle of something?"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Rei's face went bright red, then she put
a hand over the communicator, checking to see if anyone was
watching. "Now, listen you...."
"It was just a joke, jeez. I only called to see if you'd
heard from Usagi, or anything."
"What makes you think I've heard anything from her. I'm stuck
in the prayer room, trying to relax after a hard and utterly
unresolved day, and then you call me over this damn thing."
"You know, you really do need a boyfriend." Minako sniffed.
"It might help get rid of some of your unresolved anger." She
continued before Rei could explode. "Anyways, you're usually the
first cap off the rank. I want to know how things went with Miki,
and all."
"So do I." Rei let out a long breath. "By the way, did you
feel anything about half an hour ago?"
"Feel?" Minako sounded puzzled. "Like what?"
"A tingling sensation. You know, like when Usagi uses her
power, and all that."
"No, not really." Minako chuckled. "A tingling, eh? You
sure you weren't having any dirty th..."
"That's about enough of that, thankyou very much." Rei
harrumphed. "I'm being serious, here."
"So am I." Minako yawned. "Half an hour ago I was in the
shower. I was feeling plenty of tingles at that moment, but nothing
that could be vaguely described as portentous."
"This wasn't portentous, you silly blond-haired cow." Rei
ground her teeth together. "She was using her power to heal."
"Blond-haired cow?" Minako huffed. "Thems fightin' words."
Rei dropped to the floor and banged her forehead against it.
"Please, Kami-sama, save me from fools." She got back up
again. "Listen, Minako-chan.... It worried me, that's all. I
mean, why WOULD she use her powers?"
"Beats me. A party trick, or something?" Minako paused,
thinking things over. "Maybe, you know, Miki and all that. I
suppose Miki could've fallen ill again. Maybe that's why we haven't
heard from her. She could still be at the hospital."
"Oh my GOD." Rei put a hand to her mouth, feeling a little
pale all of a sudden. "What if things have really gone badly with
child welfare. What if Miki is dying...."
"Don't say things like that. You'll only get yourself more
worked up." Minako said, placatingly. "And you're getting me
worried. That's why I called you."
"Then shouldn't we call Ami-chan? I mean, she'd know if
everything went alright down at the hospital."
"Yes, but if that were the case, why hasn't she called us,
already?" A state of paranoia slowly started to build up between
the pair. Had it not been for the footsteps along the landing,
outside the prayer room, they might have started to get metaphysical
and start to doubt the existence of the human race. Rei hushed
Minako and turned to the sliding door, watching as a figure, shadow
cast across the light, thin material of the door, pause. From the
silhouette, Rei could see that it was Yuuichirou.
"Would you kind not creeping up on me when I'm meditating."
Rei called out to the figure. Yuuichirou put a hand behind his
head, giggling nervously.
"I thought I heard you talking to someone. I just came to see
who it was." He slid the door open and stared around the room.
"Ano.... I could have sworn."
"I was.... talking to the spirits. Now excuse me, before the
one sitting in that corner, over there, takes a liking to you." She
pointed to the empty corner of the room, to which Yuuichirou's gaze
followed her direction.
"Is there really something there?" He looked hard, trying to
make out something, anything.... Rei sighed and closed her eyes.
"Why, hello darling." Said a voice from the corner. "My,
aren't you a sweet looking thing. Why don't you come to Mama, so I
can take good care of you.... FOREVER!" Yuuichirou sweatdropped
and backed out of the room.
"That's okay.... I think I hear your ojiisan calling. You
know how he hates it when I turn up late. Ciao...." He quickly
closed the door behind him and made tracks. Rei opened her eyes and
let out a long breath.
"What was that about?" She heard Minako's voice from the
communicator. She chuckled.
"Sorry, just using my training in throwing voices. Never
thought I'd need it for things such as this." She paused. "Never
thought I'd actually need it at all, to put it rightly. Just a
party trick that Ojiichan uses whenever he tries to pick up girls."
Rei lowered her head. "It never works. For him, anyway."
----o
The knock at the door brough an annoyed expression to Ikuko's
face. Having just been able to sit down, everyone stared at her
expectantly, as if not having started her dinner yet was a
convenient excuse for their not answering. The knocking continued,
rather insistently, and a little annoyingly.
Usagi took a breath, sighing as her mother made to stand.
"I'll see who it is." She said, abruptly.
"You're sure?" Ikuko looked from Usagi to the hallway. "Your
dinner will get cold." Usagi looked down at her plate, where a lot
of orange objects were still sitting.
"Sure, sure.... I'm not feeling all that hungry, anyway."
Usagi turned to Miki. "Wanna see who it is?"
Miki, wiping food from the sides of her mouth, nodded mutely.
Usagi stood, picking her up in her arms, and she wandered around the
table and along the hallway to the front door, where she paused,
feeling a slight sense of unease. "What is it, oneechan?" Miki
looked at her, quizzically.
"I don't know.... I feel a bit odd about this for some
reason." Without thinking, she placed the chain in its latch before
making to open the door. Before she knew what was happening, the
door was pushed back from the outside, a figure trying to press his
way through the gap.
"Tsukino-san? Tsukino Usagi?" The man in the grey suit
pushed his face through the gap. He was a weedy little character
with prominent front teeth and a hooked nose, appearing to be in his
mid-thirties. Usagi stood back in surprise, holding Miki
protectively.
"Who are you?" She asked, defensively. The man pushed his
hand through the gap, holding out a small business card.
"My name is Kazue. I'm from the Tokyo Gazette. I wish to
talk with you about your rescue of the Takimi girl." He peered
around, and spotted Miki in her arms. "Is that her? Is that the
kid?"
Miki looked up at Usagi as she turned, trying to block the
young girl from the reporter's view. "What do you want? How dare
you try and barge in here like this?"
"Is everything alright out there, Usagi-chan?" Usagi heard
her father calling. She set Miki down and gestured for her to go
back to the dining room.
"What is going on, oneechan?" Miki held Usagi's arm. Usagi
smiled at her, gently.
"Don't worry. We're just having a bit of an annoyance.
Please tell Mama and Papa about it, will you?" Miki nodded mutely
and wandered back along the hallway as Usagi turned to the reporter.
"You've got some nerve, trying to barge in here like this." She
hissed, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. The reporter
grinned, cynically.
"Oh come on, Tsukino-san.... You must have had dozens of
reporters on your case, already. Yours is a big interest story."
He waved the card in her face. "Take my card, please. I really
want to do an interview with you and the girl. Please." Usagi
looked at him closely, and decided she didn't like the looks of him.
"What was it you said you were from? The Tokyo Gazette?" She
paused. "Isn't that a tit and scandal rag?" She opened her eyes
wide. "Yeah, that one that does spreads of schoolgirls. NUDE
spreads!"
"Oh come on...." Kazue looked as if he were sweating, Usagi
now pressing against the other side of the door, ready to sever him
from his hand. "It's not that bad, really.... We only do that kind
of thing with models and such. They're not REALLY schoolgirls. And
I AM interested in doing a piece about you...."
Usagi gave him the evil eye. "Don't try and pull one over me.
I KNOW for a fact that they aren't all models. I once talked a girl
out of jumping off the top of my old school building after she was
sucked in to doing one of your photo sessions." Usagi smiled. "Say
goodbye to your arm." With one hand, Usagi started pushing the door
back, very much to his surprise, as she was a hell of a lot stronger
than she looked.
"Princess...." She heard a voice from behind her and stopped
just as Kazue started to make the kinds of sounds she wanted to
hear. Turning, she saw Setsuna standing with her hands behind her
back, smiling. "Who is our guest you are attempting to dismember?"
"Save it, Pl...." Usagi doubled back. "....Setsuna-san.
This guy is nothing more than a sleazy reporter for a scandal rag."
She pointed at him as he retrieved his arm, rubbing it with a rather
thankful expression. "One who almost cost me a friend."
"Really? is that so?" Setsuna placed a hand on Usagi's
shoulder. "Allow me to deal with this gentleman. I'm sure we can
come to a mutual understanding." The expression of Setsuna's face
was enough to make Usagi stand back. Setsuna closed the door and
unlatched it, then opened it again, widely. "Kazue-san is your
name, I take it?"
Kazue looked up at the new figure in surprise. "Umm... Yeah."
He frowned. "How did you know my name?" Setsuna lifted up her
hands, expansively. "Why, don't you recognise me, Kazue-san? I'm
your old high-school newspaper editor. You remember, don't you?"
Kazue frowned, trying to search for the memory. "Uhh....
Yeah, I remember now." He scratched his head. "Meiou Setsuna,
wasn't it?"
Usagi's jaw dropped to the carpet as Setsuna gestured down the
street. "I'm sorry, Kazue-san, but the house your looking for is
that one, just across the road, there." She pointed to a rather
expensive-looking double storey town house. Kazue turned and looked
at the house, sweatdropping.
"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry...." He turned back and bowed to
Setsuna. "I'm not very good at directions these days." And with
another smile and a bow, he made his way out of their front garden.
Setsuna closed the door and turned to Usagi, smiling. Usagi, for
her part, was giving Setsuna dubious glances.
"What was all that about?" Setsuna chuckled, folding her arms
behind her head as she started back down the hallway.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just sent that gentleman on his way to
learn a lesson in life."
"But you sent him to Hidetachi's house. Hidetachi is...."
Usagi paused when she saw Setsuna wink at her, then finally
understood, an evil smile coming to her face. "Why Pluto, you
little fox, you."
Fox ears appeared on Setsuna's head as she let out a little
"ohohohohohoho" along the hall.
----o
Kazue thumped against the door of the town house, heavily.
"OPEN UP, YOU! I WANT TO SPEAK WITH YOU, NOW!" He shouted.
Feeling a little annoyed with himself for going to the wrong house,
which for some reason seemed to be the right house at the time. But
no matter, he was going to get his interview, no matter what.
The light in the hall was switched on, he could see through
the translucent window by the door, and he could hear footsteps
thumping their way towards the door. After the unlocking of several
latches, the door was flung open to reveal a large, well-built man,
wearing nothing more than his trousers, showing off the multitude
of rippling pecs and muscles he had worked many years in perfecting,
as well as the large tattoo of sakura blossom over his shoulders.
Behind the man, wearing nothing more than a nightdress, was a blond
woman, lounging over his arm with a sleepy expression. The man
looked down upon Kazue with a volcanic expression.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" The man, Hidetachi Kudan, roared with
undistilled anger. Kazue shrank several inches in his presence.
"AND JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"
"I came.... to interview...." He started to say, but didn't
get very far. Oddly enough, it was exactly as far as he expected to
get, but he just couldn't help himself, as if someone else had been
saying the words that came from his mouth.
"I DON'T DO INTERVIEWS, PARASITE!" Hidetachi, annoyed at the
reporter's intrusion into his life, gripped Kazue's collar and
lifted him, bodily, from the ground.
"But I was told to come here...." Kazue croaked as he felt
the tightness around his neck. "To interview Tsukino Usagi...."
The ludicrousness of the statement still didn't prevent him from
saying it. Tsukino Usagi lived several houses down the street....
Why was he bothering to mention it in the presence of this ruffian?
"Usagi-chan?" The woman standing behind Hidetachi, his latest
squeeze Sherie McRae, an ex centerfold, looked up at her man's face.
"He's talking about the girl across the road. You know, the one who
rescued the little kid." She crossed her arms and leaned against
the frame of the front door. "To be expected, I suppose. The media
has the innate ability to ingratiate itself on people who don't
deserve their scrutiny."
"So...." Hidetachi smiled, pulling Kazue's face up to his
own. "You wanna talk wiv lil' Usagi-chan? Well, lemme tell ya
somethin'.... I've been lookin' after da kids in dis street fer
years, an' I don't take kindly ta scum like you nosin' around in
their business, ya understand." He paused for effect, then....
"Especially when it means messin' around in MY business!" And with
that, Hidetachi drew back a fist and sent Kazue packing back to his
office, one way express.
Sherie put a hand over her eyes, watching Kazue fly away.
"You gotta be careful, Ku-chan.... One of these days you'll send
someone into orbit." Hidetachi cracked his knuckles, feeling rather
satisfied with himself, then put an arm around Sherie, who snuggled
up to his chest, giggling.
"Never give parasites like that a second chance, dats what I
always say." He smiled at Sherie, gently, placing a finger under
her chin. "Dey took advantage of you when ya were just a kid.
Better to send dem packin' before dey get da opportunity."
"Oh Ku-chan!" Sherie giggled and nuzzled against Hidetachi's
chest hairs.
"All da same, ya know what dis means, of course?"
"What?" Sherie raised her head, frowning.
"It means I'm gonna hafta watch out for dat Tsukino girl, full
time. Otherwise scum like 'im is gonna be crawlin' da street." He
turned and looked over at Usagi's house. "It's my job, after all."
END OF PART 11
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Next Chapter.... "The Next Day"
Naito Raida ikari@wantree.net.au
Member of the AJAS Fanfic Circle
Author: nIGHT rIDER
Email: ikari@wantree.net.au
Rating: PG
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There was a knock at the door, making Usagi jump, turning as
Shingo opened it wide. "Oi, Usagi... Dinner's ready." He sneered
at her. "Come and get it, or I'll eat the lot." He turned to
Setsuna. "Oh, hi there, Meiou-san. Mama says you can join us if
you wish." And with that, he closed the door. Usagi glanced aside
at Setsuna.
"What just happened?"
"Oh, I used a little trick on your family that Chibiusa had
perfected." She grinned. "Seems to have worked."
Usagi glared daggers at her. "Why didn't you do that to begin
with, rather than scare me half to death by appearing through a
suitcase?"
"Oh...." Setsuna looked away, deviously. "I wanted to see
your reaction. You can be so cute when you get all worked up,
sometimes." Usagi grumbled unmentionables under her breath.
"Anyway, I had to be IN the house to do it. I'm not as good as
Chibiusa at it, yet, and I don't have Luna P to help me."
"Fine excuse." Usagi huffed. "We're going to have to wake
Miki up, now." Usagi stood, stepping over to Miki's side.
"Yes, Miki." Setsuna paused. "You might have to explain me
to her." Usagi glanced over at Setsuna.
"Why?"
"I didn't use the little trick on her that I used on your
family." She paused. "I did try, however...."
"However what?" Usagi looked down at the sleeping Miki,
touching the girl's face.
"However.... she was.... resistant to my powers."
"Eh?" Usagi looked at Setsuna, shocked.
"Yes. She's a very special girl, this Miki." She paused,
nodding to herself, strange thoughts entering her strange mind. "A
VERY special girl."
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BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON / TAIHO SHICHAUZO
NOT A GOD
by nIGHT rIDER (Assistance by DDFA)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon and Taiho Shichauzo are owned by Takeuchi Naoko,
Fujishima Kosuke, Bandai, TBS, and Kodansya. All other characters
were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?
Chapter 11
Dinner Time
or "Chapter of the Carrot"
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Usagi looked down at her dinner plate with a greater sense of
fear and dread than she'd had for a good number of years. Due to
the fact that Miki's condition allowed her to eat only a certain
number of foods, mostly vegetable, Usagi's Papa and Shingo had
prepared a large salad dish to go with the main meal.
With absolutely oodles of carrots. In strips, even.
It had always amused a large number of people around her that,
with a name like Usagi, she found carrots to be absolutely
intolerable to eat. She couldn't really define what it was she
didn't like about them.... It was a combination of things, such as
the odd sweetness, occasionally combined with a sourness, especially
in those that weren't quite ripe, or simply weren't grown properly.
Then there was the texture. The snap-hard solidity, when raw,
made it feel like she was breaking off her teeth in an effort to eat
them.
Then there were those that were too ripe, with all the
flexibility and consistency of rubber. But even worse, when they
were cooked, be they steamed or boiled, or, Kami forbid, BAKED...
resplendent with slightly scorched skin... all the flavour of a
sweetened old shoe in a mushy orange stick....
Ikuko served the salad out to each of those sitting at the
table. Kenji, sitting at one end, had already clouted Shingo one
over the back of the head for starting before Usagi, Miki and
Setsuna had come down from Usagi's bedroom. It had taken Usagi a
good ten minutes to rouse Miki from her sleep, and had carried the
girl down the stairs before Miki almost leapt from her arms into the
seat next to Shingo.
Shingo looked at her with an element of disdain, even after
Miki had smiled at him with her best 'winning smile'. Turning back
to Usagi, who had sat down next to her, at the opposite end of the
table from her Papa, she whispered.... "What is it with your
brother? Isn't he feeling well, or something?"
Usagi sighed, whispering back in conspiratorial tone.... "No,
he's fine. That's his usual disposition."
"Oh.... So he's a sourpuss, then." Usagi tried to suppress a
giggle as Miki stuck a finger in her mouth, making a fake gagging
noise.
Setsuna had placed herself opposite Miki, smiling at Ikuko as
she dished out some of the salad on her plate. "So...." She began.
"Usagi and I were just talking about how you hurried along the
process of Miki's fostering." She smiled at Ikuko, who paused for
a moment, frowning. Usagi looked at the pair of them in surprise.
"You were?" Ikuko scratched her head. "Funny, I don't
remember telling anyone else." Setsuna smiled, placing a hand on
Ikuko's arm.
"Oh no.... You were telling me over the phone only yesterday.
You thought it would be good for Usagi and Miki to be together as
soon as possible, since Usagi's presence had helped Miki's health,
and that Miki would be a great test of responsibility for Usagi."
"Ah, yes, now I remember." Ikuko swallowed, desperately
trying to remember if what Setsuna was saying were true. At that
point, a vision of the memory entered her mind. "Yes, I did. Only
yesterday. Sorry, I've had so many things on my mind, lately.
After all, it WAS partly your idea."
Setsuna nodded, turning to Usagi. "It was nice of your
mother, don't you think?"
"Uh.... Yeah." What the hell are you talking about, Pluto,
Usagi thought to herself. Setsuna smiled, winking at Usagi as Ikuko
moved along to her husband, gently placing his portion of the salad
on his plate with the kind of sickeningly cute interplay that would
often go on between the pair.
"Here you go, darling." Ikuko.
"Thankyou dear." Kenji reply.
"I know how much you love these salads." Ikuko again.
"Yes, they're delicious." Kenji, lying through his teeth.
"Besides, you're going to need your strength for later on
tonight." Ikuko giggles.
Kenji sweatdrops.
Both Shingo and Usagi hung their heads in embarrassment as
Setsuna and Miki smiled at each other, Miki stuffing one of the
carrot sticks into her mouth. With a smile, she turned to Usagi,
holding out one of the sticks. "Hai kore..." Miki gave Usagi a
cute expression.
Usagi swallowed, looking down at the dreaded orange object,
held out in front of her. "Ah... Miki..." She sweatdropped. The
girl blinked in surprise.
"Don't you like them?"
"No, it's not that...." Usagi wasn't sure how to respond.
She felt something hit her in the shin, rather hard, and she looked
over at Setsuna, who was waving at her and gesturing at Miki. She
got the message. "Thankyou, Miki, that's most kind of you." She
took the carrot from Miki and popped it in her mouth, chewing it
with deliberate slowness, trying to keep it as far from her
tastebuds as possible, whilst hiding from Miki the fact that she was
finding it torture.
"That's okay, oneechan." Miki grinned, cutely. "I don't like
them very much, so I can give all my spares to you." Usagi's
stomach came close to rebelling at that point, her face turning a
delightful shade of green. Miki pointed at Usagi and giggled.
"Oneechan.... Your face has gone a funny colour." She
paused, putting a finger to her forehead, thinking. "Umm... Are
you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." Usagi smiled, grabbing a glass to wash down the
poison. "Blorkle blorkle." She mumbled as she washed every last
piece into her long-suffering stomach. "S'alright." Usagi put up
two fingers in a V for Victory sign. "I'll live. Probably." I
hope the hospital has a good stomach pump, Usagi thought to herself.
"Hmm." Miki looked over at Shingo. "You were right. She
doesn't like them very much." Usagi paused, then shot Shingo a
look as her little brother folded his hands behind his head,
whistling. "Hmm.... I wonder what Shingo-chan doesn't like." Miki
put a finger to her mouth, pondering.
"Spinach seems to be a good start." Ikuko smiled. "And
Brussel Sprouts. Although we don't get to eat them all that often,
since they're hard to find. However...." They watched as Ikuko
stepped into the kitchen, then emerged with a steaming tray of
spinach and brussel sprouts. "Just for him, I did my best to find
them. Nice for Papa to have cooked them, isn't it? After all, we
don't want Shingo to have all the fun, do we?"
"Mama! Papa!" Shingo looked at both of his parents. "How
could you have done this to me?"
"Well, I started by going to the shop...." Ikuko snorted with
laughter as she placed the tray on the table. "Don't worry,
peoples. There is a nice sauce to go with these. Even Miki can eat
it."
----o
Rei closed her eyes and attempted to find herself some peace
of mind. And failed. Her mind was too cluttered, with something,
anything, to allow her to wind down for the day. She had not heard
from Usagi, which disturbed her somewhat. Usagi would normally have
gone out of her way to hear how things had gone, to hear that
everything was alright. Of course, Pluto had assured them that she
would get in contact and appraise her on everything that had gone
on. But still, she was curious.
She had felt a tingle. A very slight tingle, but one she'd
felt before, one that came from Usagi.... Serenity. It was so hard
to divide between the two. Well, they WERE the same person, more or
less. More less than more, of course, but then again, she knew her
better than a majority of people, including the other senshi. Usagi
had a tendency to confide in her quite deeply. And, dammit, that
was why she was so miffed. Why the HELL didn't Usagi call her and
tell her how her day had been. She bloody well wanted to know.
She shifted on the floor, legs crossed rather uncomfortably,
as she normally would do during meditation, her miko costume folding
uncomfortably underneath her legs, made all the worse by the
lingering sensation of that tingle. Serenity's power, being
transferred. Transferred to somewhere, or someone. Serenity had
saved people with that power, sometimes even herself. If Usagi had
used it, then that could have meant....
Rei's eyes opened as she felt her stomach turn. What if Miki
had.... What if something bad happened. She put a hand to her
mouth and willed herself to close her eyes. If anything REALLY bad
had happened, she'd be the first to know. Usagi had that tendency
to run to the first person she could think of when bad things
happened, and she tended to be that person. Unless, of course, the
bad things involved her. Which they often did. Rei's concern slid
away as she suppressed a giggle. She just had to learn to stop
being so cruel to Usagi. But then, it was so much fun teasing her.
So easy to get her all worked up. Nothing like a good argument to
help you wind down at the end of the day.
Clearing her throat, she reposition herself and tried to
relax. Then her communicator sounded, and she flew across the room,
grabbing it. "YES? WHO IS IT?" She asked in too loud a voice,
making it sound as if she was annoyed for being disturbed.
"Oi, steady on." Minako's voice was an audible flinch. "What
did I do, disturb you and Yuuichirou in the middle of something?"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Rei's face went bright red, then she put
a hand over the communicator, checking to see if anyone was
watching. "Now, listen you...."
"It was just a joke, jeez. I only called to see if you'd
heard from Usagi, or anything."
"What makes you think I've heard anything from her. I'm stuck
in the prayer room, trying to relax after a hard and utterly
unresolved day, and then you call me over this damn thing."
"You know, you really do need a boyfriend." Minako sniffed.
"It might help get rid of some of your unresolved anger." She
continued before Rei could explode. "Anyways, you're usually the
first cap off the rank. I want to know how things went with Miki,
and all."
"So do I." Rei let out a long breath. "By the way, did you
feel anything about half an hour ago?"
"Feel?" Minako sounded puzzled. "Like what?"
"A tingling sensation. You know, like when Usagi uses her
power, and all that."
"No, not really." Minako chuckled. "A tingling, eh? You
sure you weren't having any dirty th..."
"That's about enough of that, thankyou very much." Rei
harrumphed. "I'm being serious, here."
"So am I." Minako yawned. "Half an hour ago I was in the
shower. I was feeling plenty of tingles at that moment, but nothing
that could be vaguely described as portentous."
"This wasn't portentous, you silly blond-haired cow." Rei
ground her teeth together. "She was using her power to heal."
"Blond-haired cow?" Minako huffed. "Thems fightin' words."
Rei dropped to the floor and banged her forehead against it.
"Please, Kami-sama, save me from fools." She got back up
again. "Listen, Minako-chan.... It worried me, that's all. I
mean, why WOULD she use her powers?"
"Beats me. A party trick, or something?" Minako paused,
thinking things over. "Maybe, you know, Miki and all that. I
suppose Miki could've fallen ill again. Maybe that's why we haven't
heard from her. She could still be at the hospital."
"Oh my GOD." Rei put a hand to her mouth, feeling a little
pale all of a sudden. "What if things have really gone badly with
child welfare. What if Miki is dying...."
"Don't say things like that. You'll only get yourself more
worked up." Minako said, placatingly. "And you're getting me
worried. That's why I called you."
"Then shouldn't we call Ami-chan? I mean, she'd know if
everything went alright down at the hospital."
"Yes, but if that were the case, why hasn't she called us,
already?" A state of paranoia slowly started to build up between
the pair. Had it not been for the footsteps along the landing,
outside the prayer room, they might have started to get metaphysical
and start to doubt the existence of the human race. Rei hushed
Minako and turned to the sliding door, watching as a figure, shadow
cast across the light, thin material of the door, pause. From the
silhouette, Rei could see that it was Yuuichirou.
"Would you kind not creeping up on me when I'm meditating."
Rei called out to the figure. Yuuichirou put a hand behind his
head, giggling nervously.
"I thought I heard you talking to someone. I just came to see
who it was." He slid the door open and stared around the room.
"Ano.... I could have sworn."
"I was.... talking to the spirits. Now excuse me, before the
one sitting in that corner, over there, takes a liking to you." She
pointed to the empty corner of the room, to which Yuuichirou's gaze
followed her direction.
"Is there really something there?" He looked hard, trying to
make out something, anything.... Rei sighed and closed her eyes.
"Why, hello darling." Said a voice from the corner. "My,
aren't you a sweet looking thing. Why don't you come to Mama, so I
can take good care of you.... FOREVER!" Yuuichirou sweatdropped
and backed out of the room.
"That's okay.... I think I hear your ojiisan calling. You
know how he hates it when I turn up late. Ciao...." He quickly
closed the door behind him and made tracks. Rei opened her eyes and
let out a long breath.
"What was that about?" She heard Minako's voice from the
communicator. She chuckled.
"Sorry, just using my training in throwing voices. Never
thought I'd need it for things such as this." She paused. "Never
thought I'd actually need it at all, to put it rightly. Just a
party trick that Ojiichan uses whenever he tries to pick up girls."
Rei lowered her head. "It never works. For him, anyway."
----o
The knock at the door brough an annoyed expression to Ikuko's
face. Having just been able to sit down, everyone stared at her
expectantly, as if not having started her dinner yet was a
convenient excuse for their not answering. The knocking continued,
rather insistently, and a little annoyingly.
Usagi took a breath, sighing as her mother made to stand.
"I'll see who it is." She said, abruptly.
"You're sure?" Ikuko looked from Usagi to the hallway. "Your
dinner will get cold." Usagi looked down at her plate, where a lot
of orange objects were still sitting.
"Sure, sure.... I'm not feeling all that hungry, anyway."
Usagi turned to Miki. "Wanna see who it is?"
Miki, wiping food from the sides of her mouth, nodded mutely.
Usagi stood, picking her up in her arms, and she wandered around the
table and along the hallway to the front door, where she paused,
feeling a slight sense of unease. "What is it, oneechan?" Miki
looked at her, quizzically.
"I don't know.... I feel a bit odd about this for some
reason." Without thinking, she placed the chain in its latch before
making to open the door. Before she knew what was happening, the
door was pushed back from the outside, a figure trying to press his
way through the gap.
"Tsukino-san? Tsukino Usagi?" The man in the grey suit
pushed his face through the gap. He was a weedy little character
with prominent front teeth and a hooked nose, appearing to be in his
mid-thirties. Usagi stood back in surprise, holding Miki
protectively.
"Who are you?" She asked, defensively. The man pushed his
hand through the gap, holding out a small business card.
"My name is Kazue. I'm from the Tokyo Gazette. I wish to
talk with you about your rescue of the Takimi girl." He peered
around, and spotted Miki in her arms. "Is that her? Is that the
kid?"
Miki looked up at Usagi as she turned, trying to block the
young girl from the reporter's view. "What do you want? How dare
you try and barge in here like this?"
"Is everything alright out there, Usagi-chan?" Usagi heard
her father calling. She set Miki down and gestured for her to go
back to the dining room.
"What is going on, oneechan?" Miki held Usagi's arm. Usagi
smiled at her, gently.
"Don't worry. We're just having a bit of an annoyance.
Please tell Mama and Papa about it, will you?" Miki nodded mutely
and wandered back along the hallway as Usagi turned to the reporter.
"You've got some nerve, trying to barge in here like this." She
hissed, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. The reporter
grinned, cynically.
"Oh come on, Tsukino-san.... You must have had dozens of
reporters on your case, already. Yours is a big interest story."
He waved the card in her face. "Take my card, please. I really
want to do an interview with you and the girl. Please." Usagi
looked at him closely, and decided she didn't like the looks of him.
"What was it you said you were from? The Tokyo Gazette?" She
paused. "Isn't that a tit and scandal rag?" She opened her eyes
wide. "Yeah, that one that does spreads of schoolgirls. NUDE
spreads!"
"Oh come on...." Kazue looked as if he were sweating, Usagi
now pressing against the other side of the door, ready to sever him
from his hand. "It's not that bad, really.... We only do that kind
of thing with models and such. They're not REALLY schoolgirls. And
I AM interested in doing a piece about you...."
Usagi gave him the evil eye. "Don't try and pull one over me.
I KNOW for a fact that they aren't all models. I once talked a girl
out of jumping off the top of my old school building after she was
sucked in to doing one of your photo sessions." Usagi smiled. "Say
goodbye to your arm." With one hand, Usagi started pushing the door
back, very much to his surprise, as she was a hell of a lot stronger
than she looked.
"Princess...." She heard a voice from behind her and stopped
just as Kazue started to make the kinds of sounds she wanted to
hear. Turning, she saw Setsuna standing with her hands behind her
back, smiling. "Who is our guest you are attempting to dismember?"
"Save it, Pl...." Usagi doubled back. "....Setsuna-san.
This guy is nothing more than a sleazy reporter for a scandal rag."
She pointed at him as he retrieved his arm, rubbing it with a rather
thankful expression. "One who almost cost me a friend."
"Really? is that so?" Setsuna placed a hand on Usagi's
shoulder. "Allow me to deal with this gentleman. I'm sure we can
come to a mutual understanding." The expression of Setsuna's face
was enough to make Usagi stand back. Setsuna closed the door and
unlatched it, then opened it again, widely. "Kazue-san is your
name, I take it?"
Kazue looked up at the new figure in surprise. "Umm... Yeah."
He frowned. "How did you know my name?" Setsuna lifted up her
hands, expansively. "Why, don't you recognise me, Kazue-san? I'm
your old high-school newspaper editor. You remember, don't you?"
Kazue frowned, trying to search for the memory. "Uhh....
Yeah, I remember now." He scratched his head. "Meiou Setsuna,
wasn't it?"
Usagi's jaw dropped to the carpet as Setsuna gestured down the
street. "I'm sorry, Kazue-san, but the house your looking for is
that one, just across the road, there." She pointed to a rather
expensive-looking double storey town house. Kazue turned and looked
at the house, sweatdropping.
"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry...." He turned back and bowed to
Setsuna. "I'm not very good at directions these days." And with
another smile and a bow, he made his way out of their front garden.
Setsuna closed the door and turned to Usagi, smiling. Usagi, for
her part, was giving Setsuna dubious glances.
"What was all that about?" Setsuna chuckled, folding her arms
behind her head as she started back down the hallway.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just sent that gentleman on his way to
learn a lesson in life."
"But you sent him to Hidetachi's house. Hidetachi is...."
Usagi paused when she saw Setsuna wink at her, then finally
understood, an evil smile coming to her face. "Why Pluto, you
little fox, you."
Fox ears appeared on Setsuna's head as she let out a little
"ohohohohohoho" along the hall.
----o
Kazue thumped against the door of the town house, heavily.
"OPEN UP, YOU! I WANT TO SPEAK WITH YOU, NOW!" He shouted.
Feeling a little annoyed with himself for going to the wrong house,
which for some reason seemed to be the right house at the time. But
no matter, he was going to get his interview, no matter what.
The light in the hall was switched on, he could see through
the translucent window by the door, and he could hear footsteps
thumping their way towards the door. After the unlocking of several
latches, the door was flung open to reveal a large, well-built man,
wearing nothing more than his trousers, showing off the multitude
of rippling pecs and muscles he had worked many years in perfecting,
as well as the large tattoo of sakura blossom over his shoulders.
Behind the man, wearing nothing more than a nightdress, was a blond
woman, lounging over his arm with a sleepy expression. The man
looked down upon Kazue with a volcanic expression.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" The man, Hidetachi Kudan, roared with
undistilled anger. Kazue shrank several inches in his presence.
"AND JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"
"I came.... to interview...." He started to say, but didn't
get very far. Oddly enough, it was exactly as far as he expected to
get, but he just couldn't help himself, as if someone else had been
saying the words that came from his mouth.
"I DON'T DO INTERVIEWS, PARASITE!" Hidetachi, annoyed at the
reporter's intrusion into his life, gripped Kazue's collar and
lifted him, bodily, from the ground.
"But I was told to come here...." Kazue croaked as he felt
the tightness around his neck. "To interview Tsukino Usagi...."
The ludicrousness of the statement still didn't prevent him from
saying it. Tsukino Usagi lived several houses down the street....
Why was he bothering to mention it in the presence of this ruffian?
"Usagi-chan?" The woman standing behind Hidetachi, his latest
squeeze Sherie McRae, an ex centerfold, looked up at her man's face.
"He's talking about the girl across the road. You know, the one who
rescued the little kid." She crossed her arms and leaned against
the frame of the front door. "To be expected, I suppose. The media
has the innate ability to ingratiate itself on people who don't
deserve their scrutiny."
"So...." Hidetachi smiled, pulling Kazue's face up to his
own. "You wanna talk wiv lil' Usagi-chan? Well, lemme tell ya
somethin'.... I've been lookin' after da kids in dis street fer
years, an' I don't take kindly ta scum like you nosin' around in
their business, ya understand." He paused for effect, then....
"Especially when it means messin' around in MY business!" And with
that, Hidetachi drew back a fist and sent Kazue packing back to his
office, one way express.
Sherie put a hand over her eyes, watching Kazue fly away.
"You gotta be careful, Ku-chan.... One of these days you'll send
someone into orbit." Hidetachi cracked his knuckles, feeling rather
satisfied with himself, then put an arm around Sherie, who snuggled
up to his chest, giggling.
"Never give parasites like that a second chance, dats what I
always say." He smiled at Sherie, gently, placing a finger under
her chin. "Dey took advantage of you when ya were just a kid.
Better to send dem packin' before dey get da opportunity."
"Oh Ku-chan!" Sherie giggled and nuzzled against Hidetachi's
chest hairs.
"All da same, ya know what dis means, of course?"
"What?" Sherie raised her head, frowning.
"It means I'm gonna hafta watch out for dat Tsukino girl, full
time. Otherwise scum like 'im is gonna be crawlin' da street." He
turned and looked over at Usagi's house. "It's my job, after all."
END OF PART 11
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Next Chapter.... "The Next Day"
Naito Raida ikari@wantree.net.au
Member of the AJAS Fanfic Circle