Hey again.

Here's another fic inspired by a song.
Most of the story is in third person;
the second section becomes first person
because I'm introducing a new minor
character and that section is set in
a completely different country.

In terms of the SM universe continuum,
I'd have no idea where to put this. I
also made Usagi an exchange student for
part of the story...and she is in America
alone. I know that seems far-fetched,
but roll with me here. I apologize if
anyone seems out of character.

'' means thinking, "" is speaking.

Comments, suggestions? Please email me at
cemberl@yahoo.com. Also, this is the
first time that I've used any Japanese
or Japanese culture in a fic. If I'm way
off, please let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I
didn't write nor did I sing "I know" by
Jude. (I didn't even see the movie
City of Angels, I just have the soundtrack.)
Sorry.

They Know

'My daughter.' Mrs. Tsukino thought as she
worked in her kitchen. She sighed. 'My poor
baby.'
She noticed it. Her daughter was
struggling wiht something. Oh, Usagi didn't
share it with her...she didn't seem to share
it with her friends either. The child still
smiled and laughed, but a mother could tell
the difference. Neither ever really reached
her eyes.
The facade fooled everyone else, it
seemed. But a mother still worried.
Someone could be heard entering the
house. "Hi, okaa-san. I'm home."
"Usagi dear, I'm in the kitchen."
A few minutes later, a teenager
practically skipped into the kitchen. The
woman turned to the teen. "How was your day,
sweetie?"
Her daughter smiled. That beautiful,
fake smile. And evaded the question by only
saying, "It was okay..."
Mrs. Tsukino knew that there had been a test
that day...but she decided not to ask about it.
Her poor baby needed a break.
"Would you like some pancakes?"
"Would I?! Wow, thanks okaa-san."
Her mother smiled. "You're welcome, sweetie."
'At least for a little while she can let go of
whatever she was struggling with.'
*******
I'd been worried about the blond Asian
girl for awhile. She came here as an exchange
student from Toyko. She didn't have the best
command of spoken English, but she understood it
when it was spoken to her or written. All of
which made this American university survivable
and extremely hard.
She didn't really appear bubbly here...
unless you heard her talking on the phone to
someone from her home. She kept in pretty close
contact with her friends from home...who didn't
seem to notice the depression surrounding their
friend.
To this day I can't say what made me go
out on the roof. Hey, I was a graduate student
studying residence life...I didn't even need to
be on campus that day. But I went out on the
roof.
...to see the blond girl standing on
its edge. I froze in shock. Then I wondered
what to do. I couldn't just leave...but if I
shouted and ran towards her, she may jump or
fall...
"Usagi," I said, "Standing out here
for the view?"
She turned to look at me and struggled
to say (in English), "You know...that I am not
...watching the view, Jennifer-san."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know....Why don't
you come back here and talk about it? A few
more minutes won't make much difference."
She backed away from the edge and sat
next to me. I smiled. "Okay...why are you
out 'enjoying the view'? Dr. Wharton's paper
topic choices can't be that bad."
She suddenly burst into tears. "I
cannot do it." She screamed in English,
which she followed with a whole lot of
Japanese.
When she stopped, I said. "I'm
glad you got that out." I smiled, "If
you just want to scream and rant I'll
listen...but if you want advice, you'll
have to use English. I'm a typical
American, remember? English is my only
language."
She turned to me and finally
got out, "I cannot do what they...ask. I am
...stupid...ugly. I cannot be her."
I mentally winced. Someone did a
number on her self-esteem. "First, you aren't
stupid. College is hard and you are
studying in a foreign language. And you aren't
ugly...Have you looked in a mirror lately?"
She shook her head. "Cannot." She
looked as if she was going to move.
I panicked and grabbed her arm.
"Usagi, look at me." She turned and looked.
"I'm here for you. I won't leave you. You
don't have to be anything for me...Just please
...don't jump."
She stared at me for awhile. Then she
nodded...and she let me lead her off the roof
and back to her room. There I gave her every
way she could contact me. Home, office, and
cell phone number. Email address, smail mail
address, my mother's phone number. And I asked
her not to 'enjoy the view' from a roof without
me.
******
'My poor Usako. She looks so alone,
lately. Her eyes don't light up like they
used to.' "Usako, are you alright?"
She nodded, but she didn't look okay.
Actually that look on her face was familar to
the man by her side...he had worn a similar
look for most of his life.
"Usako. I know you feel alone. I've
been alone for most of my life; did you think
that you could hide it from me?" Mamoru sighed.
"Usako, trust me. You are my life - regardless
of past or future. Trust me to help you through
this." He pleaded.
Usagi turned to him. Pain filled her
eyes and she started to cry, all the fears
coming out. And her true love was right beside
her. She wasn't alone.
*******
After a reception four people stood off
from the crowd. The oldest was obviously the
mother of the bride. She alternated between
wiping away tears and controlling her laughter.
The groom smiled at all of this, as he acted as
a support for the tired woman at his side, the
bride.
The fourth person in the group clearly
stood out as she was non-Asian. The young
African-American woman smiled. She put herself
into debt to be there...but she promised she'd
always be there for the bride...even if it meant
traveling halfway around the world to be a maid
of honor.
And the bride smiled. Really smiled,
eyes and all. She knew she wasn't alone.

- the end -

I know, I know, you are wondering why the
scouts didn't notice. I honestly think they
sometimes see Usagi simply as a good friend
to protect. They may not notice mental
anguish Usagi worked hard to hide.

As for the story...as I've said before,
I don't think becoming Neo-Queen Serenity
was easy for Usagi at all. And I think
she felt pressure from everyone to be
Neo-Queen Serenity or at least Princess
Serenity...and I bet she found it
overwhelming. But that's my take.

Remember I love feedback.
~December~