'Do Onto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You'
-The 'Golden Rule'
Turning over the package in her hands, Ami
ran her fingers across the happy white and silver paper, which happily
declared, 'Happy Birthday!' in a pretty, scripted font, pink streamers
parading around the letters. It was with a kind of awkward uncertainty
that she walked down the sidewalk. Haruka's calling hadn't been some odd
dream. Not that she hadn't had odd, practical dreams before...dreaming
of returning books to the video departmet of the library was one thing;
senshi calling her was another. She thought.
With a sigh, she turned the corner, looking
around the landscaped yard. Trees had blooming leaves on them, evidence
of the rains sweeping though the month. Even now the world smelled of a
new rain from the morning, a few puddles reflecting testament to the water
from above. But as Ami looked up ahead, she saw a familiar, raven haired
head striding across the lawn, past newly planted flowerbeds. "Rei-chan!"
Ami called, gathering up a handful of cream colored skirt to avoid getting
any mud on it as she hurried. The other senshi paused, turning and waving
quickly as she waited for Ami to catch up. Like Ami, Rei carried a present,
wrapped in blue and gold paper, a fluffy ribbon on one corner, at an awkward
angle, since the top of her box was uneven.
"Hi, Ami-chan," Rei greeted, and the two matched
strides as they began their way up the long drive. "Any idea what this
is about? I got the weirdest call from Haruka-san last night. Is it Hotaru's
birthday or something?"
Ami shook her head, a negative gesture. "No...Hotaru's
was a couple months ago, if I remember correctly. I tried to call Usagi-chan,
to see if she knew, but-"
"She was on the phone with Mamoru all evening,"
Rei rolled her eyes, shaking her head with a sigh. "I talked to her this
morning. She had no idea, either."
"Looks like a surprise party for us then,
too," Ami commented as they went up the steps. A swing had been added,
and in the faint breeze, it creaked as it moved back and forth on its chains.
Rei jabbed the doorbell, and several notes played up and down the scale
within the house. Moments passed as they waited, hearing the sounds of
movement within.
The door opened part way, and Michiru poked
her head around, smiled, then opened it the rest of the way, standing aside
as the two new arrivals stepped in at her gesture. "Konichiwa," Michiru
greeted them, tucking a stray wave of teal colored hair behind her ear,
the rest tied back at the nape of her neck in a white scarf. She sported
the clothing of the kitchen, a wide apron across her dress and blouse.
"Here," she took their jackets as they shrugged out of them, quickly hanging
them in the closet in the entry way.
"Mako-chan is here, at least," Rei noticed,
seeing a hat hanging on the hall tree.
"Hai," Michiru confirmed with a mischivious
smile. "They're in the library, with Setsuna. Here, I'll-" she was cut
off by a yell from the kitchen, Haruka's voice carrying clearly though
the house.
"Michiru! Where do you want these things?!"
"Hopeless," Michiru mumbled with fond exasperation.
"Utterly hopeless." She called back, "I'm coming, Haruka!" Turning to her
new guests, she finished quickly, "Makoto is here, as well as Minako. The
library- ah, Ami-chan, you know the way," she made a smooth gesture towards
the hallway as she walked past. "Make yourselves comfortable as we wait
for the Princess and Prince."
"Michiru-san," Rei asked, "who is this party-"
"Michiru!" Again, from the kitchen. "Is that
supposed to smell like that?!"
This time, Michiru frowned, fine lines forming
between her brows. "You'll just have to wait for the others," Michiru the
frown vanished and she winked conspiratorially, then hurried off to rescue
Haruka from cooking. Attempting to cook, at least.
Rei and Ami looked at each other, still at
a loss. "Well, Rei-chan, maybe we can try Setsuna-san."
Rei lifted an eyebrow, and Ami shrugged. "We
can always try."
"I think that's blood from a stone, Ami-chan."
Ami laughed, and they made their way down
the polished wooden floor.
The library was a grand room, with books organized
by Setsuna, spines out in military form, ordered, not by title, nor author,
but by original publishing date. Only the senshi of time could fully make
out the exact order of the volumes, though Hotaru was in the library often
enough to find whatever she wished. Minako appeared to be trying though,
a few steps back from the wall, neck craned so far she was liable to tip
over backwards as she attempted to see the ceiling. She stepped backward,
heels entering the checkerboard of light from the high window. Light draperies
filtered some of the sun's brightness, and Makoto had elected to position
herself within the duller light, aimlessly staring at the sheet music on
the grand piano, the seat of which she had perched herself on. Setsuna,
the third and final member of the waiting group, was leaning up against
the shelves, an open book in hand. She glanced up as the two entered, smiling
slightly and nodding her head in acknowledgement.
"Ah! Rei-chan! Ami-chan!" Minako exclaimed
as the two were heard. "Over here!" She left her book-gazing and stood
by a folding table, where several presents lay out for display. Bright
colors shouted birthday wishes as bows flowed over the tops of their gifts.
They were small gifts, packaged in an odd assortment of shapes, one lumpy,
another square but with a sloping side, one small and square, a rectungular
one and a boxy one. Ami and Rei set theirs down to join them, another,
smaller rectangle and the lumpy topped one of Rei's.
Rei began almost immediately, turning to the
quiet senshi against the bookcase. "Setsuna-san, what's going on?"
Setsuna looked up again, meeting each girl's
eyes momentarily, settling on Ami. Then she smiled faintly, said in her
usual cryptic way, "You'll have to wait for the others," and continued
to read from her book.
"We tried already, Rei-chan," Makoto informed
her drolly, eyeing the stoic Setsuna, who was perfectly intent on ignoring
them. Still, each got the feeling she was laughing inside, at some cosmic
joke the Outers all seemed to understand. "We have to wait for Usagi-chan."
"Perfect," Rei grumbled, not altogether in
a bad mood. She was used to the queen of tardiness and her tendencies.
Still, Usagi would be getting an earful for being late. "We'll be here
forever."
"Not if Chibiusa-chan has anything to say
about it," Minako commented wryly. "She's almost as bad as you, Rei-chan.
Besides, I'll bet Mamoru-san is coming too. Ne, Setsuna-san?"
The older woman didn't look up, but they noticed
her lips curve up into a faint grin.
Minako smiled too, winking. "See? Anytime
now."
And on cue, the sound of the chime ran though
the house, announcing the arrival of more party-goers. And a few seconds
after that, the sounds of their fearless leader were heard echoing down
the hallway, exuberant as always.
"Happy Birthday!" Usagi announced cheerily
to the waiting room in her entrance. She was on Mamoru's arm, and Chibiusa
was shaking her pink haired head as her future mother excitedly looked
around. "So, whose birthday is it?" Usagi asked as she looked around for
someone who looked like it was their birthday. She was holding another
present, in taped and re-taped red wrapping paper, Usagi's finest skills
at their best. The blank stares met hers, and her face fell a bit. Instantly,
she recovered, beaming. "Come on, Mamo-chan! Let's go see what Michiru-san
is doing in the kitchen, then!"
"Wait," Setsuna warned, speaking without being
asked for the first time. "You'll see soon enough."
"Oh," Usagi managed, frowning down at her
present. "Oh, Mamo-chan! Show me all the books!"
"Usako..." Mamoru began as she dragged him
off, exclaiming on the multitude of literature in the room.
"Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked, a little surprised.
"Interested in books?" She glanced at Chibiusa, who was setting her own
present- a large bag with tissue paper sticking out the top- on the table
with the rest of the packages. The younger girl shrugged, looking at Usagi.
"She's been like this all week. Ever since
she got out of the hospital. It's 'Mamo-chan, watcha reading,' or, 'Mamo-chan,
what's that book about?' or even, 'Mama, show me how to cook that,' Chibiusa
looked confused between despair and amusement, not really sure how to react.
"She came home from the library the other day with a book on ethics. Usagi-baka.
Ethics. Been walking around talking about human nature. It's weird. She
almost sounds like she gets it."
The eyes of the other Inners were huge, staring
in amazement, first at Chibiusa's words, then at Usagi, who was trying
to ask an astounded Setsuna what good books there were on political science.
The four girls exchanged a glance, and Rei grudgingly ventured, "Well,
it's about time she started studying something."
"It'll be good for her, to know about ethics,"
Ami agreed. "When she's Queen, she'll have to make many decisions relating
to fair judgement."
"Yeah, but it's Usagi-chan," Minako commented,
still watching Usagi. She was still holding her present, and was trying
to flip though a large book. Still as clumsy as always, she was doing an
intricate balancing act between the two, though managing to keep them both
from falling. "It's strange."
There were quiet nods.
"I'd still like to know, though," Rei sighed,
"whose party are we here for?"
There was a quiet laugh, and then they heard
amusedly, "For mine."
Several sets of eyes swung around to see the
owner of the soft voice. Only one, though, gasped in surprise. That sound
caught Usagi's attention from her juggling, and there was a second sound
of breath being whisked away.
Two figures were standing in the doorway,
the first Hotaru, a smile on her face as she entered, standing just aside
for the young woman following her. Each had approached silently on slippered
feet. The second figure peeked forward shyly, still smiling faintly. A
long black skirt fell to her ankles, and a purple shirt lay slightly loosely
buttoned, the sleeves rolled back to her elbows. Long black hair cascaded
to the floor, bound up in loops behind her head, the coils just visible
in the doorway's shadow. But her pale violet eyes were bright, and smiling
as she entered. "Konichiwa, Kanashimi-chan," then she turned to Usagi,
who was open mouthed, "Usagi-sama."
"Kami-chan?" Ami managed, staring as Hotaru
took the ghost's hand, leading her into the room. At the name, it took
the others a moment to recognize it. Then they too stared, eyes wide and
mouths open as well, disbelieving.
"It's nice to see you both again!" Kami beamed,
watching Usagi drift forward, Mamoru just beside her. "I'm so glad you
could come to this birthday party. Hotaru-chan says it is what you do for
those who have birthdays now. Haruka-chan insisted we have one. I hope
you don't mind."
"Mind!" Usagi found her voice, and leapt forward,
smiling. "Of course we don't mind!"
"Sorry about the last minute invitation,"
another voice added from the doorway, where Haruka and Michiru now stood,
Michiru laden with a large cake.
"We didn't want to give you enough time to figure
it all out."
"How?" Ami croaked, still amazed that Kami
was there, real, standing right beside her. Not in a dream or in the afterlife.
"Hotaru-chan struck me with her Glaive," Kami
explained. "You remember seeing that, ne, Kanashimi-chan?"
"Hai..." Ami trailed, amazed. "But..."
"I remember seeing Usagi-sama wake up. And
I kept hearing voices, all around me, though the mirrors in the medicine
building-"
"Hospital," Hotaru provided instantly, quietly.
"Hospital," Kami reminded herself firmly,
as though trying to plant the word in her mind. Her tones were similiar
to theirs, but certain syllables were accented differently, lightly archaic.
But she continued, "I got very tired eventually, and I fell asleep. I woke
up in Hotaru-chan's room here."
Setting down the tray with the cake, Michiru
wiped her hands on her apron, then untied the bow on the back, setting
it down with the cake and presents. "We found her when we got home early
that morning. She was lying in the front yard, asleep. We have no idea
how she got there. Haruka brought her in."
Kami was nodding, smiling at the tale. "I
have been here for a week now! And since I was reborn, I am having a re-birthday.
I'm honored you could come, minna-sama." Kami gave a small bow, politely
welcoming them.
They bowed back, still staring at the living
ghost.
"Arigatou, Kami-san," came Mamoru's voice
clearly. Eyes turned to him, and Kami tilted her head, puzzled.
"You're welcome..." she paused for a moment,
then, as though considering something, "Mamoru-sama. But for what?"
He glanced down at Usagi for a moment, and
she blushed. Releasing Usagi, he stepped forward, offering his own present.
"For you."
"Ah. Arigatou," she bowed again, looking the
small box over. Bright orange and yellow confetti sprayed across the surface
of the paper, and she held it up to her ear, catlike, and looked it over.
"I thank you for your gift...I will treasure it." She then began to stare
at the box, uncertainly. There was a chuckle from Haruka, and Kami then
turned the box around, hesitantly. She looked at Hotaru. "I take the paper
off it now?"
"We usually wait until after cake," Hotaru
informed her, glancing at the pile of presents.
But Usagi broke in, "No, no! Let's open presents
first!" She pushed her badly wrapped gift at Kami, who managed to grab
it. "Open Mamo-chan's first, then mine!"
"Ah...oh...kay!" She exclaimed awkwardly,
looking at Hotaru to make sure she had gotten the idiom right. "Did I say
it right this time?"
"Hai," Hotaru laughed, dragging Kami to the
couch. "Bring the presents over here!" She called, and the astounded circle
of senshi obeyed in a dreamlike trance, bringing their gifts over.
Sitting down on the sofa, Kami neatly arranged
her skirt, setting herself down. Hotaru seemed to have taken a posessive
wing over Kami, and sat beside her, waiting as the others gathered around,
standing. Setting Mamoru's and Usagi's presents in her lap, she picked
up the small one first, pulling out the bow and then staring at it a moment
as she planned her way of attack. Slowly, she slid a finger under the edge
of the paper, pausing at the tape. "This is the thing you keep in the kitchen,
Michiru-chan!" She commented as she pointed at the tape. "In the roll!"
Michiru nodded indulgently, then shook her
head, smiling. Kami, too, had 'been like this all week', exclaiming over
every little invention she had never before seen. Tape, for example, was
a mystery of sticky one-sidedness. The paper crackled as she peeled it
away and back, revealing a box of thin grey velvet. A brow knit as she
pried it open, drawing out a small, delicately rendered circle, thin threads
of silver twining their way in spirals though it's center. Two tiny silver
feathers hung off the tip of the chain, where the links met the outer ring.
"It's lovely," she looked up at Mamoru, and said, tears in her eyes, "Arigatou."
Turning the item over in her fingers, she fumbled at the clasp, trying
to get it around her neck. It fell neatly around her thin neck, just visible
before the buttons closed her blouse.
"It's a dreamcatcher," he told her quietly.
"Dream-catch-er?" repeated carefully, in query,
holding the chain up so that she could see the ring, and the webbing within.
"Hai. Far away from here is a land called
the 'United States.'" When Kami shrugged and looked bewildered, Mamoru
continued, "Long ago, people there believed that the netting would catch
bad dreams, and only good ones would come though."
Mamoru smiled faintly, and got elbowed in
the ribs by Usagi. "Mamo-chan. Why did you buy such an approriate gift
for someone you never met?" It was mock suspicious, her hands on her hips,
almost accusingly.
"Because I knew whose party I was coming to."
Usagi blinked. Then, she wheeled on Haruka. "Haruka-san! Why
didn't you tell me, too? I could have kept it a secret!"
"Yeah, right," came both Rei and Chibiusa
at once.
"It's the truth!"
"What is this?" Kami interjected, neatly avoiding
the oncoming arguement. She held up the newly unwrapped present from Usagi,
three girls standing heroically on the cover, swords in hand, the title
declaing it, 'Magic Knight Rayearth.' "It looks like a book, but,"
she flipped the pages, shaking her head. "It's all pictures!"
"No, look! Read the bubbles!" Usagi pushed
her way forward, pointing at the images on the page. "You read the bubbles,
and the pictures tell the story."
"Oh," Kami managed, looking startled. She
smoothed the pages down, looking at the drawings, intricately depicting
the kidnapping of Princess Emeraude.
"Baka," Chibiusa muttered at Usagi. "What
a thing to get someone who saved your life!"
"I didn't know it was Kami! She was dead!"
"That's still a silly thing to get someone
for their birthday! Anybody can go buy manga!"
During this, Kami had tilted her head to the
side, looking. A smile formed on her face, and she looked at it. "Kirei!"
She turned the page slowly, captured in the pictures. "Ah, Usagi-sama,
I like it very much!"
"See?" Usagi beamed, happily stepping back
for the next person, now that she had gone. Kami turned to the pink haired
girl, and offered a hand as she set the manga down beside her. "You must
be Chibiusa-chan. Hotaru-chan has told me much about you. May I have your
gift next? I would very much like to see it."
Distracted from an argument with Usagi, Chibiusa
quickly made her way forward, bag in hand. "I didn't know it was you, so
I tried to get something I thought anyone would like. I hope you don't
have one already."
"Ah, but that is the advantage of being new
to the world. Everything is very new! Didn't you need all new things when
you first came here?"
"Hai, but I had Luna-P with me then, too."
Kami hesitated, blinking, then leaned over
to Hotaru. "Lu-nah-P?"
"The toy with magic," came Hotaru's whispered
reminder, and Kami's face lit up as she remembered the story.
"Ah! Hai, I remember that part now. Arigatou,
Hotaru-chan," Kami said as she began to remove the tissue paper from the
bag. White sheafs floated to the ground around her feet as she withdrew
a fluffy, stuffed white rabbit in a pink dress, a little bow on each of
her ears. A smile had been stitched into the animal's lips, and it's glass
eyes were blue. "Kawaii!" Kami exclaimed, setting the bag aside and testing
out the softness of the fuzzy creature. "So soft. And no, I don't have
one yet, Chibiusa-chan. I will keep it on my bed, like Hotaru-chan does
with her bear-shaped one."
Glad that her gift was appropriate, Chibiusa
beamed, stepping back for another person to crowd in. But Kami was looking
around, and caught Ami's eye. "Kanashimi-chan? May I have yours next? I
would very much like to see what you brought."
There was jostling as Ami presented hers,
and Kami carefully peeled back the layers of wrapping. Underneath the white
paper, a book emerged, hardcovered and old fashioned drawings on the cover.
Kami concentrated as she read carefull, "Ali-ce's Adventures In Won-der-land,
and, Threw-no...Through The Looking Glass." Kami ran a hand
over the smooth cover, fingers trailing over the image of Alice, her face
reflected in the surface in the mirror, blonde hair choppily falling around
her face. Kami laughed as she opened the book, turning the pages. "Who
is this Al-ice?" she asked, eyes full of curiousity.
"The book was written by Lewis Caroll." Ami
elaborated. "Alice is a young girl, who falls down a rabbit hole, into
a land where everyone is 'mad.' She is the only sane person in a land of
insanity."
Kami listened carefully to this, head tilted
to the side as Ami explained. "A fairy tale indeed. Then I will use this
to get used to the...ling-ual shifts..." she looked furtively at Setsuna,
to make sure she had said it right. When the older girl nodded, Kami continued,
"in the language, since my time. I need to improve my reading skill. Being
illiterate...." Kami trailed off, a frown of distaste on her lips. "Arigatou,
Kanashimi-chan. I will enjoy reading of the tales though the mirror." She
smiled, and Ami bowed slightly as she backed away for Minako's turn.
Ami escaped the crowd around Kami and the
couch, retreating to stand in the safer area of Setsuna, who had fitted
herself into the graceful dark curve of the grand piano. "I can hardly
believe she's here," Ami mumbled softly, partly to herself, partly to the
senshi of time.
"It does seem odd," Setsuna replied. And,
Ami seeing she was in a more talkative mood, tried to ask:
"Setsuna-san. How?"
Her head shook slightly as she considered
a reply. Biting a lip, she folded her arms, glancing down at the shorter
senshi of water. "The Saturn power has never been fully understood. Life
is cyclic. Time...time is cyclic. As is Death Reborn. It is its nature,
not only to destroy, but to begin again. By striking Kami with her Glaive,
Saturn set off a chain of unusual events. There are warpings in the future
ahead. Small, but distinct." Setsuna's garnet eyes narrowed slightly as
she observed Kami, currently asking what 'taffy' was- Makoto's present.
Usagi was only too happy to demonstrate, and Kami was offering those still
around her a sample of the sweets. "A familiar presence. Dark and light,
both. Strange."
"Hm," Ami sighed, folding her hands before
her as she looked between Kami and Setsuna. "How is she doing? Adapting?"
A shrug. "Well enough, for what she's been
though. We waited awhile to tell you about her coming, to let her adjust
and adapt to her new time frame. We didn't want to wait too long though.
All in all, I suppose she's doing better than I could have expected. Hotaru
rarely leaves her. That's a help. We've gotten her cleaned up a bit- trimmed
her hair so she won't trip on it in her new shoes." Setsuna stifled a wry
grin, trying not to laugh at the memory of Kami's adamant face- she did
not want her hair cut! Still, it was long enough, down to her knees yet,
wavy and thick as could be.
"Ah!" Kami was exclaiming again, opening another
package. Two large, round candles, one pink, one purple, inside a bit of
tissue in a cheap wooden box. At Rei's urging, she held them to her nose,
smelling them. One rose-scented, one lavender. "Arigatou, Rei-chan!"
"And," Setsuna continued thoughtfully, "her
reactions to new inventions- it's strange. Like seeing myself in reverse,
Ami-chan. I've seen too many inventions. She too few. We showed her the
television for the first time yesterday. Explaining it. So she wasn't too
surprised at the 'people in the box'- she expected it. But unfortunately,
the station it was on was playing 'Akira' at the time."
Ami winced. "I take it that didn't go over
well?"
With a sigh, Setsuna pushed a lock of green-black
hair over her shoulder, out of her face. "We came in at the end, at the
stadium. It took us nearly another half hour to convince her that the actors
were not actually hurt. She knows what theatre is, but not special effects.
Not like that. She was almost hysterical." Her lips grew thin. "Switching
times like this is not natural. We must be cautious, playing with the timestream."
"Chibiusa..." Ami began, then halted. About
to say, 'Chibiusa-chan didn't cause any shifts in the timestream,' she
realized that was a massive mistake. Wicked Lady, Wiseman, the Black Moon.
Nemesis. There were many battles before once again the river of time stablilized
itself. "Hai. I understand. We must be cautious, looking for any new enemies."
There was laughter from the group before them,
and they heard Minako say, "Then we'll have to get your ears pierced! Can't
be a senshi without earrings! It's like not having a tiara!"
Kami was laughing, fingers pressed to her
mouth as she tried to stifle the smile. "Then I will, Minako-chan. Michiru-chan
has many earrings. You'll let me borrow them, ne, Michiru-chan?"
The violinist laughed in return. "But with
such ones on your own, why need mine?" Kami turned over a pair of simple
silver hoops, small and smooth. Then she looked up at Setsuna, and beckoned.
"Setsuna-san. May I see yours next? I am enjoying
this very much!"
"Of course," the eldest senshi replied, picking
hers up off the table and approaching. Kami took the flat item, frowned
at it, and then peeled away the delicate tissue paper around it. Opened,
it revealed a large book, the title declaring it, "A Brief History of the
World."
"Arigatou, Setsuna-san," Kami nodded seriously.
"This will be a great help. I have missed much in the last nine hundred
years. I will need a bookcase soon, for all these volumes. They are so
well made," she sighed wistfully, running a hand over the spine of the
book, and the binding. "Such fine paper, too. None of it wasted at all.
I wasted too much paper with my copying."
"But you can't copy anything without pens,
Kami-chan," Michiru told her warmly, handing over a fancily ribboned package.
Large flowers bloomed across the paper, the peach bow taking up nearly
the entire top. "Here. From one artist to another."
Sliding the expansive bow off the sides, Kami
opened the gift to reveal a smooth box, polished to a shine. Black stenciled
cranes swooped over cloudy mountains, painted onto the top. Slowly, Kami
opened the lid, and within lay a set of five brushes, the handles of bamboo,
with white hairs flowing in varied thicknesses out the end. A clay pot
of ink sat to their head, a cork stopper keeping it from spilling out.
"Michiru-chan! These are so lovely. Arigatou. I will use these often."
"Open Hotaru's next," Haruka urged, managing
to get an arm though the crowding Inner Senshi bodies. As Kami began to
focus on her new gift, Haruka tapped Mamoru on the shoulder, lipping the
words, "Come on," to him, and motioning to the door. Puzzled, but thinking
she probably needed his help, Mamoru followed Haruka out the door.
Meanwhile, Kami was unfolding the petals of
gold and purple wrapping paper. A flat present, with the top sloping down
slightly to the right. Pushing it back and away, Kami drew a sharp breath.
"What a perfect painting!"
"It's a picture, Kami-chan," Hotaru reminded
her.
People crowded around, eyes peering as Kami's
face welled up with tears. "Yes...you told me about the cam-er-ah." She
tapped the image of a chibi Hotaru, in Soichi's arms. "This...this is you,
though, when you were little, ne, Hotaru-chan?" The little girl was
waving at the camera, her mother trying to keep her from moving too much,
and spoiling the shot, as her father tried not to drop the squirming child.
Hotaru was beaming as she pointed out the three smiling people
in the picture. "That's me, yes. I was four. That's Poppa. And that's Momma.
We went on a picnic that day, and took a picture. It's a photo album. See?"
She drew a finger over the silver scrolling around the picture. "You can
get it engraved, too. You put the pictures in these," she opened the album,
and showed her the plastic sleeves. "Slide them in. You can keep all your
memories in these."
"A..arigatou...Hotaru-chan." She shut the
book, and stared at the cover picture on the front for a moment longer.
"It is the best present."
"But not the last!" Came Haruka's grunting
voice from the doorway. "Hey, Michiru. Want to give us a hand?"
Both Michiru and Makoto broke away from the
cluster of girls, helping Haruka and Mamoru angle a bulky object though
the doorway. Finally in the library again, they managed to get the thing
set down without pinching too many fingers. They were all on their feet
now, and Kami was staring down at the cloth covered lump. "Haruka-chan,
what is this?"
Dusting off her hands, Haruka grinned. "You'd
better like it. It's mostly from me, but it was Michiru's idea. Sent me
all over Tokyo looking for the thing, too."
Kami knelt down, folding back the cloth. One
fold back, and she made a squeak of excitement, abandoning politeness to
rip away the cloth. "A koto!" She shouted, clapping hands then running
them over the board of it. Face alight, she began twisting all around it,
looking from all sides. The wood was smooth with age, dark in spots, light
in others, where the sun had shone on it for too long. It was lightly
decorated, only at the edges with a faint scroll design.
"It's an antique," Michiru informed her. "We
had to order strings though. And we'll have to find some picks for your
fingers."
"It's perfect!" Kami laughed with delight.
"Welcome to the family," Usagi said with a
grin, an arm around Mamoru's waist. Kami looked up and around at the people
circling her.
"Arigatou. To all of you. Thank you so very,
very much."
"Hey!" Rei exclaimed, counting on her fingers
as she thought. "I just realized something." Curious eyes turned to her,
waiting for an explanation. "If today is Kami's birthday, this makes Kami
a Taurus. None of us are."
"Wouldn't my birthday- or re-birthday- have
been last week, though?"
Rei thought about it. "Late April is still
Taurus."
"What is 'Taurus'?"
"An astrological sign," Rei explained, palms
upward as she considered. "I can tell you about them, if you want."
"I'd like that."
"Ah, Kami-san," Usagi asked, tapping the still-kneeling
Kami on the shoulder. "Can we have your cake first? I'm kind of hungry."
"You're always hungry," Chibiusa grumbled,
shaking her head. Then she grinned a little as Usagi prepared to argue.
"But I am too- this time. Can we eat first?"
"Hai," Kami laughed, coming to her feet.
Haruka grabbed a chair and let Kami sit at
the folding table, tucking it under her as she drew closer. "Hotaru-chan,"
Kami asked. Her younger 'sister' appeared at her side, and Kami continued,
"You didn't finished telling me about this part. What do we do now?"
"We sing happy birthday, and you blow out
the candles." Hotaru provided, looking at the cake being centered on the
table by Michiru. Rei was going for the matches, and Ami was trying to
unobstusively make sure the fire senshi didn't act too true to her element,
accidentally setting something ablaze. "Oh!" Hotaru exclaimed as an afterthought.
"Don't forget to make a wish. But you can't say what it is to anyone, because
then it won't come true."
"Hai," Kami agreed, certain to keep her mouth
shut. Such important traditions would not be broken by her. Certainly not.
Minako hit the lights, and the room dimmed a bit, the sunshine
outside still making the room a misty haze of sunlight and candlelight.
"...seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty,"
Usagi was counting. "Kami-san, you're twenty?"
"Hai!" Kami agreed. "So I'm an old lady, then."
Setsuna remarked with dry humor, "I resent
that."
"Ah! Gomen nasai! You've aged so well, Setsuna-san."
The eldest senshi shook her head, smiling.
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Kami-chan."
They began to sing, and Kami looked around
her, amazed that they all knew the exact words. "Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Kami, Happy Birthday to you!"
I can hardly believe all this. So much
has changed in my life, in such short a time. Or long. So long. And yet
so little time. Looking between them, they are so different. Ah, Usagi-sama
is so out of key! And Chibiusa-chan too. But they sing with all their might,
anyway. So I laugh and smile, and try to hum along and learn the words
to this birthday-ing ritual. Mamoru-sama has a wonderful voice, very low.
Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan offset each other in perfect harmonic. Mako-chan
is doing well enough- laughing as she sings. A happy sound. Rei-chan and
Minako-chan are also very good. Perfect pitch. I must ask them someday
to sing as I play. Ah, Kanashimi-chan. A voice so light. And how similiar
Hotaru-chan and Setsuna-san. How similar they sound, though Setsuna older.
It is a simple song. Ah, and it holds up well under Usagi's poor pitch.
They are all so close. And how quickly
the accept me. 'Welcome to the family,' says Usagi-sama. Family. Ah, I
know what my birthday wish shall be!
"Many more birthdays to you!" They belted
out in grand finale, and Michiru had miraculously produced a camera
out of a pocket. A bright flash lit up the room briefly as Kami took a
deep breath, cheeks puffing as she let loose a gust of air across the lit
wicks of the tiny candles, deep in white frosting.
Let me never, ever lose any of them. Ever.
And twenty candles winked out.
Her lips tasted of acid.
It was a sour flavor, metallic and bitter.
Turning to the sink, she rinsed her mouth out with water, spitting and
rinsing the foul taste away. There was still a faint smell, and she looked
over at the toilet, and the remains of her very small dinner. She looked
away, and put the lid down, flushing it away, far away, out of sight, out
of mind, out of body. Rinse and spit again the flavor of partially digested
salad going down the drain.
The door had a mirror, full length, on the
back of it. Easy to do makeup and dress, to make sure everything was just
perfect. Her eye caught the reflection of herself there, and she crumpled
the paper cup in hand, pitching it into the wicker wastepaper basket. What
she saw in the mirror were her expectations, though perhaps not reality.
"Couple more pounds..." the girl murmured
to herself, running a hand over her non-existent flabbiness.
Did you see her? Ha. Can you believe that?
Round, chubby cheeks. So cute when a baby,
but now that she was grown, who wanted to be fat? Fat wasn't pretty. Just
a couple more pounds. Then she'd be able to wear pretty clothes again.
Now hers were big, dark and volumous, meant to hide the bulges of her figure.
What a freak. What's she doing over there,
anyway?
She smoothed thin hands over her hair, shade
that wasn't red or orange, but dully both. To her eyes, lank and unappealing,
flat, bangless and hanging limply around her shoulders. Pale blue eyes
scanned the way her face was round and plain. Broad cheeked and with a
forehead that was too high, only partially hidden by some of the nasty,
off color hair. A little nose, too sharp for her big face.
Ha ha. Don't you know? She's trying to
be a psychic again.
"Stop laughing at me," the girl mumbled to
herself as she pressed the palm of her hand against the flat mirror. The
surface of the mirror was warm to the touch, evidence of the humidity in
the bathroom.
Yeah. What a weirdo. You know, she's always
trying to be everyone's friend. But the thing is, who'd want to be hers,
hahaha?
"Stop it..." the voice was pleading, almost
plaintive, begging for silence in her mind. Her fingers grew into a fist,
tight muscles beginning to cramp at the tension. Her throat cramped, and
she felt hot tears burn her eyes.
Hahaha! Look! She's seen us!
Maybe we shouldn't stare.
Are you kidding? Stare right back at her.
She has no right to look at us like that.
Darkness hovered at the edges of her vision,
and she began to sink into the silence around her, devoured by the thoughts
in her head. "Stop it!" The fist released it tension, slamming into the
surface of the glass under it, sending the mirror into a cascade of falling
crystal shards. Slivers cut into the thin skin on her knuckles, and she
felt the pain of it cut into her consciousness.
On her knees, she sat among the broken glass,
and the tiny fragmented mirrors showed her all angles of her face and body.
There was one very large shard, a sharp shard, bigger than her hand. With
slightly bloody fingers, she picked it up, looking at the distant blueness
of her eyes. It was the only thing she thought pretty about herself, really.
So faraway, like the sky. Far away from all the troubles. Far away from
the ugliness and the laughing. A little more weight, and maybe then she'd
see the prettiness again. Sometimes, she dreamed of going up, up into the
clouds, flying away, faraway, far, faraway....
The mirror was laying against her palm, and
she could see the blue and purple lace of the veins in her wrist. Blood
in them, just below the surface. If it was cut, it would bleed. The jagged
edges of the broken glass were sharp as a knife. And they were dark in
the light of the bathroom.
Pinpricks of distant light in the polished
surface of the glass, watching her with golden interest. Darkness against
the blood under her skin.
Wouldn't you rather make them suffer as
you have suffered?
And the nightmare consumed her.
********************
