Soft voices spoke from a place unknown to the
listener. They spoke of grave problems and sadness,
but the listener knew nothing of that. The young girl
sat in silence, unable to reply. Unable to scream in
frustration at this helplessness. Unable to defend
herself from the pain that coursed through their body.
"Will she survive?" The deep voiced one asked
quietly.
"Yes, the poor girl. She will be paralyzed from the
waist down for the rest of her life." The melodic
voice replied.
"Dr. Mizuno, are you sure there isn't anything that
can be done?"
"Absolutely certain. This girl will have to learn to
live with this."
"She is only 8! What is she supposed to do? Grin and
bear it?"
"What other choice does she have?"
The listener finally understood the words. Tears
slowly seeped from beneath the closed eyes as the
words sunk in. Tsukino Usagi, victim of a terrible
accident, would never be able to walk again…
Chapter 1
Twelve years later…
Usagi stretched her hand into the dark area, reaching
for an object she believed to be unattainable. Her
hand grasped a lightly weighted package and she slowly
pulled it toward herself. Finally…
"YES!" Her voice echoed throughout the small suburban
neighborhood. Housewives stopped hanging their
laundry and babies stopped crying for a moment to see
what the commotion was about. All they saw was Usagi
quickly wheeling quickly towards her house. There was
a large shrug of indifference and all peace returned
to the community.
Usagi rushed into the house, her pale blond hair loose
and flowing. She frantically glanced around for her
mother who had been in the process of digging into the
newest romance novel called Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
(AN: THIS MANGA RULES!!). She found her mother
oblivious to everything but her book. Usagi wheeled
herself over to her mother, waving something in her
face.
"What do you have there, dear?" She asked
distractedly. Her mind still stuck on the story in
front of her.
"I got a letter from the college, Mom!! I got a letter
from the college! I…I'm so nervous and excited! What
if I didn't get into it? Will you read it for me? I'm
so nervous!" Usagi's words all blended together into
one long sentence as her mother blinked her eyes at
her. Usagi continued to stare at her mother
expectantly, as she waited for her to take the letter
from her hand that was slowly waving in front of her
mother's face.
"You want me to read that for you? Oh no. You have to
do that all on your own. I went through that before
with your brother. He read his and got into his
college, and I'm sure that you will be in the college
you want as well. Just read it."
Usagi sighed, annoyed with her mother, then ripped
into the letter. Her eyes quickly skimmed the letter,
searching for words like "denied" and "you'll never
get into here, what the devil were you thinking, you
silly girl". Instead, her gaze landed upon the word,
"Congratulations". Her bright blue eyes filled with
tears as she met her mother's eyes. Ikuko leaned
forward and hugged her daughter, assuming that she had
not gotten into the college of her dreams.
"Mom…" Usagi managed to say quietly.
"Yes, dear?" Her mother responded gently, assuming
the worst.
"I GOT IN! I GOT IN!" She screamed, forgetting how
close she was to her mother's ear.
Her mother jerked back against the couch, moaning.
Her ears will never be the same again. She put her
hands gently to her deafened ears, and then smiled
proudly at her daughter. "You got in? I am so proud
of you! We will have to celebrate tonight! We can go
out to eat at your favorite restaurant!"
"Really? 'Naoko's Fine Cuisine'? I love their food!
I'll go change and be ready when dad comes home."
Usagi maneuvered herself through the living room
furniture to her large bedroom, the rubber wheels
making a soft noise on the hardwood floor.
Ikuko picked up the white cordless phone and called
her husband at work, explaining the situation. After
finishing the conversation, she called her son,
requesting that he come home to celebrate. Once she
was finished with the calls, she went to see if Usagi
needed any help changing.
***** Five Months Later *****
Usagi, sitting in the backseat of the van, stared out
the tinted windows with wonder. Her dark sunglasses
helping to keep the sun from her eyes as she looked
around herself, drinking everything up. She couldn't
believe it. College. Away from her overprotective
family for once. They just couldn't believe that she
had grown up…and that she had forgiven them years ago
for the tragic accident that deprived her of her
ability to walk. Their guilt stemmed from the fact
that no one else in the car had been seriously
injured. Sure, her brother had broken his left arm,
but that was easily fixed. Her mother and father had
only gotten some minor scratches and bruises, but… she
had gotten the brunt of it. Usagi shook her head
mentally, far too excited by the future to dwell on
the past.
Ikuko, the ever-safe driver, slowly made her way
around a sharp turn, revealing the college in the
distance ahead. The dark trees canopied the narrow,
private road leading to Tsukasa's School of Business,
the most prestigious of its kind in the United States.
Usagi drew her breath in sharply. Never in her
wildest dreams did she imagine such splendor. She
began to breathe more quickly; sharp rasps filling the
air as she practically hyperventilated. Who is going
to like a wheelchair-bound girl? Will she make any
friends? How is she going to make it for the next four
years by herself?
"M-mo-om?" Usagi shakily got out.
"Hmm?" Ikuko looked at Usagi through the rearview
mirror.
"Mom, I…I don't think I can do this. Let's just turn
around right here; there is no need to go any further.
I have made my decision."
Ikuko laughed quietly. "It will be alright. Just
take a deep breath, we will be there any second and
you'll see how easy it'll be." Her motherly urges
begged her to agree and turn around, but she knew in
her heart that this was a better place for Usagi to
be, rather than hanging around at home.
They arrived far too quickly for Usagi's mind to be at
peace with her final decision. Fear still clamped
down upon her, unwilling to let her take a deep breath
and calm herself. It demanded that she pay attention
and realize this was definitely not the place for her
right now. Go home, it urged, be with your family.
The quiet voices chanted softly in her mind, urging
her to go home. I'll be all right, she thought as she
attempted to cheerlead herself into the idea. I
always wanted this; I'll be just fine. I will make
friends and will learn so much; I'll be a true genius.
Usagi smiled inwardly, braced her shoulders, and
waited for her mother's assistance from the van.
There was a quiet metal whurring sound as the ramp was
extended for her to get out. Hastily she wheeled
herself from the van before she could curl up into a
ball and try to hide.
It wasn't but five minutes later that she was lead to
her new dorm room, a small one-bedroom equipped for
handicapped students just off the entrance. The room
definitely needed improvements, and she was easily
equipped with posters and pictures to make the room
more hers. Her mother helped her unpack before she
left, hugging her daughter and kissing her cheek
softly, leaving some tears on Usagi's cheeks.
Finally…I am my own person. I live alone and this is
all mine, surveying the small area that was to be her
home for the year. "Well, one must make do what one
has, correct?" She muttered to herself.
Once she arranged the photos around her room and had
hung pictures up of her favorite artists as well as a
very large 'Sailor Moon' wall scroll on her wall, she
decided it was time to explore.
She exited her room and went out the front door,
making sure that she had her key in a safe place.
Usagi raised her face up to the sky as she made her
way down the sidewalk, basking in the heat of the late
August sun. Her attention centered upon other things,
she was not paying attention to where she was going,
and neither was her soon-to-be victim. Once they
collided, there was loud cursing as the person in
question quickly brushed of their pants and turned a
pair of flaming blue eyes toward Usagi.
"Watch where you are going!" He snarled as he stalked
past her.