Hello beautiful people,

Happy Friday.

I hope you all had an amazing summer.

So as many of you know, I'm Iranian-Canadian, and my birth country is in a constant state of riots, unrest and political misery. I became a journalist to be able to raise my voice when my people couldn't, but soon, I understood that Western media only cares about what they deem "inclusive". The time for my people hasn't come yet.

So instead, I started to write stories, short and long, and I tried to include my past experiences, as a journalist and a political prisoner, into those stories. It numbs me to the pain of the horrors me and my generation have lived through, and continue living through, and I thought, perhaps, it might light up a candle in someone else's mind too.

This story is about an inevitable revolution, and though it's fictional, and it's not based on a real revolution in or outside of Japan, it's still trying to articulate how broken the system of the world really is.

I have created new original characters, and at times, the role of our beloved Sailor Senshi, especially our golden couple, might not be as centre as my previous stories.

So I ask you to keep an open mind. And I ask you to tell me if you want me to continue this story. The plot is so very close to my heart, but in order to write it the way I really want, I have to be prepared to go through some tragic events in my life, and in the life of my people.

Telling stories like these are so very important, but I won't lie, because knowing that there are readers out there who are actually reading, and loving and learning, makes a huge difference.

This chapter in particular is introducing my original characters. But I promise you that our beloved Sailor Moon characters will have a great deal of appearance throughout the story. I'm a Usagi/Mamo fan after all, I LOVE writing about them.

Cheers and happy reading.

Golak

She walked inside the bathroom stall and locked the door behind her. She closed the toilet lid and sat down, patiently waiting for the two girls outside to wash their hands, apply lip glosses on their gossiping linps and leave the bathroom. She still made sure to be all alone; no one could see her leave this particular stall when she emerged.

Then, she opened the toilet tank and dipped her hand inside. It took her a moment to find what she was looking for and when she took it out, she made sure that the water hadn't damaged it. It had been sealed inside a small plastic bag and it seemed to be in good shape. She was just about to rip the plastic in two, when the bathroom door wrenched open, and someone walked in.

She put her eye against the aperture on the door and peered outside. The girl didn't go inside any of the stalls, instead, she stood in front of the basin as her shoulders trembled slightly; she must have been crying.

With a hushed curse, she shoved the small plastic inside her pocket and rearranged the toilet tank. She flushed, just for show, and exited the stall. The crying girl looked up and they held each other's stares through their reflections in the stained mirror. The crying girl gave her a tiny smile, a vulnerable one; the smile dropped, however, as soon as she raised a judgemental eyebrow at her and walked away.

She walked inside her class, as quietly as she could so not to disturb her classrooms who seemed to be very invested in the history of the Middle East and settled down on her seat by the window. But before she would open her book to the chapter her teacher had been lecturing them on for the past 45 minutes, she looked at the far end of the class, at the boy who'd been watching her too. She knew what his silent question was, and she shook her head negative and looked away when his thick brows came together in confusion. She rolled her eyes and stared ahead at the whiteboard filled with information she would probably forget the next day.

How the hell could she tell him that she hadn't been able to read what was inside the plastic, because that girl from homeroom two, Tsukino Usagi, had barged inside the bathroom all flushed and crying and dramatic; and of course, she couldn't possibly read an important note like this when a stranger they didn't know or trust stood only a few feet away from her, now could she?

Ishii Moriko had always had a loud lough. The stupidest jokes and comments could haul a snicker noisier than a rocket from her. She had been known, and relentlessly teased about, how she laughed as a kid, and later, as a teenager. She used to feel very bad about people's treatment of her antics. It's not like she laughed at them, and what if her laughter didn't seem pretty or sound girlie? And even if she could change the way she laughed, she couldn't possibly change the tone of her voice, could she?

But she grew older and she came to the realization that it really didn't matter how she laughed, or talked, or grieves, there'd always be some people who would look down on her, perhaps, because they didn't have anything better to do; it took a lot of courage to look at oneself in the mirror after all.

By the time she turned 16, she stopped caring about her looks; she learned to accept that she would never become too curvy, or too tall. Her hair would always remain soft and adorable, "like a cat's fur," her aunt used to say, and it would never grow to lustrous strands of thickness. She had an ordinary face too, and nothing really stood out, unless she had an exceptionally good day, where she felt satisfied with herself, then, she would stare in the mirror and think: "I have a pretty nose." She had accepted herself as an ordinary girl.

But that all changed when she met Ueno Hayate.

They'd been in the same homeroom and the friendship between them had been instantaneous. He had moved from Shirakawa to Tokyo with his family only a few weeks before the start of the school. He'd told her how he didn't want to move with them, that he had a community of good friends, "confidants" he called them, and didn't want to leave them all behind. But his father had been offered a job he couldn't walk away from, and so, the whole family had agreed to move to the big city in pursue of a better life. Moriko had been impressed by his life story and had secretly told him how little she knew about anywhere outside of Tokyo, and how she yearned to travel through Japan, and maybe, travel the world too one day.

They talked about society and politics, two of Hayate's favorite topics, which, he slowly tried to teach Moriko to care for too. "We live in weird times, you know. Politicians only think about their own pockets, they don't care about people."

Moriko agreed with him, even though she had zero knowledge of what he talked about. Politics and what happened around it never interested her. She had so much to deal with already, she didn't have time to care about who did what to whom. Sure, she watched the news and knew that Keio University students had had a walk out at the beginning of school year. There'd also been that other school in Kyoto that had done the same thing. But she didn't know, or care about, why they'd done it.

For the first couple of weeks of their friendship, they had spent their breaks and lunch hours glued to each other's side, and Hayate never questioned why Moriko never spent any time with her other friends. It didn't take a Nasa scientist to figure out that there'd been no others; that Moriko needed this friendship just as much as he needed it.

The only other person she seemed comfortable to be around with, had been a blue haired genius from another homeroom, Mizuno Amy, with her gentle smiles, perfect teeth and rosy cheeks. She had the heart of an angel, according to Moriko, and Hayate hadn't been able to contain himself from falling, deeply, in love with her. He told Moriko of this love the moment it hit him that the tingling feeling he had every time Mizuno Amy walked by could only mean one thing. "I'm in love," he told Moriko, and thanked the sky that his new friend had enough class not to tease him about his pathetic heart.

In truth, Moriko celebrated this love just as much as Hayate did. She had come to know him as a pure soul, as someone who went above and beyond just to make his friends happy and their self-esteems up to the roof, for he had done the exact same thing for Moriko over the course of their young friendship. With his care and probing, Moriko had started to like herself just the way she was, and she had started to recognize all the qualities that distinguished her from everyone else; like the way she laughed. "Your laughter is contagious. I mean, as soon as it comes out, it just makes you wanna laugh along with you. It's awesome." Hayate always said to her.

She tried hard to get Hayate and Mizuno Amy closer together. The genius had a couple of best friends she always hung out with, in school and outside, and even though Moriko didn't have much in common with them, she forced her way into their group, holding Hayate's hand tightly and pulling him too, so he'd win Amy's heart. It'd been clear from the beginning that some of those girls didn't like her at all. Aino Minako questioned her sense of style non-stop, and their other friend, the shrine miko, questioned her attitude, even though Hino Rei had been known for her bitter tongue all over Juuban. Moriko had tried to get close with Kino Makoto; that girl was super interesting and full of surprises, and she cooked heavenly. Moriko and Hayate couldn't get enough of her pastries.

And then there was Tsukino Usagi.

Hayate had taken an instant liking in her, "what's there not to like? She's cute and fun, and she has a heart of gold. What is wrong with you?" He'd told Moriko when she told him, in secret, that she didn't like Tsukino that much.

"She's just…too much." She'd replied timidly, feeling embarrassed to harbour anything besides adoration for the small girl. Tsukino Usagi was loved by everyone; by her friends, obviously, but also by her classmates, by students outside of her circle, by teachers and the kitchen staff, and Moriko questioned her own emotions; surely, there was something wrong with her, because even Moriko hadn't been blind to Tsukino's tremendous charm, or her gentleness and her kind heart. She hadn't missed the way the blonde had tried to include her in their outings and gossips and girlish giggling. "Moriko-san, I don't usually share food, but you simply have to taste this." She'd told Moriko on a few occasions, when Makoto had brought a new home-made food for them to enjoy.

Moriko saw the way Aino Minako stared at her whenever Usagi showed her kindness and she would only smile at her, and she wondered if Aino's animosity towards her had been mostly based on her indifference towards Usagi. Anyone with a brain could see how Aino, and the rest of them, acted so protective towards the small blonde; and Moriko envied her because of that.

For weeks, she and Hayate spent most of their lunch breaks with the group. Usagi even invited them to their favorite hangout spot, the Crown Arcade, after school a few times. Moriko didn't join, because she had to run home right after school to make sure that her sister wouldn't do anything stupid; like burn their apartment down, or strip naked and dance in front of her open window for the whole neighbourhood to see yet again. She opted to hear from Hayate how cool the arcade is, "I especially like the owner. He's like the coolest guy ever," and how many rounds of the Sailor V game he had lost to Usagi and Minako. "Minako-chan really knows her stuff."

He also told her about Usagi's boyfriend, the med-student, who she couldn't shut up about. "He's a great guy. You'll like him. He barely ever talks. So, the two of you can sit in front of each other and just stare." It was clear that Hayate had found a little nest for himself amongst that group, and Moriko patiently waited for the day that he'd start dating Mizuno Amy and stop having time for her altogether.

"You should definitely come to the arcade with us. You'll love it there." He told her on a Tuesday morning as they walked to school. Moriko smiled and didn't reply. How could she explain to him that her social life had been restrained to the walls of their apartment, with its spectacular view and fancy furniture. How could she tell him that caring for her sister, once a happy girl now turned to a mentally troubled woman, was the only role she had in her family. So, she lied and told him that she had to study, or that they had relatives visiting, or she had a piano lesson to get to; all the lies she had mastered since junior high.

"Moriko-chan," Hayate touched her wrist and stopped her mid-way, "you'll tell me if there's anything wrong, right?"

His question and the way he asked it, so unassuming and yet, so very caring, caught Moriko off guard. For a moment, she opened her mouth to spill her guts to him. She wanted to tell him what a hellish morning she'd had and how she had to yell at her sister to get her to eat her breakfast, and how forceful she had to be to get her to swallow her medicine. She wanted to tell him how guilt gripped at her every time their morning mayhem came to an end, and her sister looked up at her like a lost little puppy.

"It's all good. I'm just very behind and mid-terms are just a week away."

Hayate didn't push any further, but Moriko could see the subtle doubt in his eyes.

That day in school, Moriko talked more than ever and laughed harder, because all day, she had felt Hayate's worried eyes on her, and she didn't want him to worry for her; she didn't want to become his responsibility; she just wanted to be his friend.

Afternoon rolled and Amy told them that their group had decided to go to the arcade before dinner, and if the two of them wanted to join as well.

"I would love to. But my aunt is visiting us, and I haven't seen her in ages. You guys have fun. Have a big sundae for me Hayate-kun." Moriko gathered her stuff as fast as she could, waved at the duo and ran out of the school. She felt her resolve wavering and she knew she couldn't possibly go with them. Her father trusted her to be home right after school to care for her sister. She hadn't forgotten the harsh words he'd said to her that time she had gone out shopping instead of going home. It had taken her two hours to get home and her father had been there, waiting for her. "I'm so disappointed in you Moriko. This is not how we raised you." He'd told her. "I thought I could trust you, but I can see how naïve I was."

It was well past seven in the afternoon, and Moriko had just given her sister her afternoon medication and had helped her bathe patiently. She had just sat on the couch, to relax and gather her energy to study, when the phone rang. Her father was still at work, and perhaps, he'd call to let her know that he would miss dinner again. Her mother had gone to her hometown, and Moriko had no idea when, or if, she would ever return.

"Moshi, moshi?"

"Hello, good afternoon. I need to speak to Moriko-san please."

"Speaking. Amy-san, is that you? Are you okay?" Moriko held the phone closer to her ear and something in her chest tightened. Amy had never called her before; in fact, Moriko wasn't even sure if she'd ever given her number to that girl.

"I'm okay, don't panic. I'm sorry to be calling you like this. But I…we didn't know who else to call. And I didn't want to worry his family—"

"What happened? Has something happened to Hayate-kun?"

"Moriko-san, listen. Hayate-kun was arrested an hour ago."

Moriko stood very still, and words escaped her.

"We'd just come out of the arcade and some police officers were waiting for him. He's arrested in charges of public disturbance."

Moriko heard shuffling behind her, and then she heard the front door wrench open. She only had a chance glimpse of her sister, clad in her pink comfortable dress, before she ran out the door.

"Amy-san, I have to call you back."

She heard Amy's confused voice, telling her how important this was, and that they didn't know where the police had taken Hayate, before she dropped the phone and ran behind her sister.

As she ran down the stairs, screaming at her sister to stop, she remembered Hayate telling her how one day, he would tell her his biggest secret.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or its amazing characters. I only own the story I tell.