PINK REBELLION
Part Six: "A Race Against Time"

By Bill K.

Winded, Rei tore into the train depot. Several of the workers
turned and looked at her curiously, but she ignored them. She
ignored the burning in her thighs and her lungs as well. Frantically
searching for a phone, her black hair whipping around, Rei tossed off
vibrations of a woman in desperate straits - - which she was.
Finally her eyes locked onto the phone just as one of the baggage
handlers was about to ask her if she needed help. The girl lunged
for it, stuffed coins into the slot and pounded out a number in
Tokyo. As she listened to it ring, Rei fidgeted nervously.

"Come on," she whispered impatiently. "Please be there!"

"Hello," Rei heard Mrs. Mizuno say. "This is the Mizuno
residence. We cannot take your call at this time. Please leave
. . ."

"Damn!" spat Rei, slamming down the phone. "Damn, damn, damn!"

"Pardon me, Miss," one of the curious baggage handlers asked.
"Is there something I can help you with?"

Rei looked at him, recognizing his presence for the first time.
She let out a frustrated breath.

"When's the next train to Tokyo?" she asked, the fatigue from
her exertions beginning to set in.

"Um," the man replied, searching his memory. "That'd be 1:14."

Rei glanced at the clock. It read 12:48. Rei sagged against
the wall. Even if the train was on time, it would take an hour to
get to Juuban District station; even getting within range of the
senshi communicators would take forty-five minutes. Sick with worry
and frustration, Rei pounded her fist on the wall.

"In a hurry to get to Tokyo, huh?" the man asked.

"Yes," she replied anxiously. "Yes, I am." Fishing into her
pockets, Rei pulled out some more coins and stuffed them into the
phone slot. "Maybe Makoto's home."
* * * *
Approaching the home where Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna resided,
Makoto and the Amazoness Senshi scanned the place for signs of
activity. Suddenly Makoto stopped and turned to the others.

"Um, don't take this wrong, huh?" Makoto began. "Maybe I
better go up alone."

"Why?" Ves-Ves challenged her.

"Well, even though the Outers never faced you four, they have
heard what happened. That might make things a little tense at first
and I don't want to put Michiru or Setsuna on the defensive right
away."

Ves-Ves was about to argue, but Jun-Jun intruded. "You know
best, Makoto. We'll hang back here."

Makoto nodded and headed up the walk, noticing as she turned
that Ves-Ves stuck her tongue out at Jun-Jun. She got to the door
and pressed the bell. The door opened and Makoto tensed.

"Hey, Makoto," Haruka smiled. "What brings you around?"

"I wasn't expecting you to be here," Makoto replied. Her
demeanor was stiff and formal, with an undercurrent of disdain.
Haruka picked up on it immediately.

"Still rehabbing my broken leg," Haruka shrugged neutrally.
She tried not to snicker at Makoto's rigid demeanor. "Do you want to
come in?"

"Thank you," mumbled Makoto. "But maybe we can wrap this up
with just a question. Has Chibi-Usa been around?"

Haruka dropped her head, trying to decide what to tell her.
They she squared her shoulders and looked Makoto right in the eye.

"She's been here," Haruka replied. "She in trouble?"

"We're just trying to track her down. Can I talk to her?"

"She's not here right now. She took off with Hotaru this
morning. No telling where she is now." Haruka thought. "Tell you
what - - if you really want to talk to her, come back around
dinnertime. She's bound to be here then."

Makoto nodded and turned to leave, consciously snubbing Haruka.

"Are you mad at me?" Haruka asked. Makoto turned back and saw
she was using that flippant smirk she always seemed to use around
people. And all at once Makoto's rage welled up.

"Since you asked," Makoto replied curtly, "yes." There was no
mistaking her tone. Taken by surprise by the girl's vehemence,
Haruka slipped behind her neutral mask.

"And what did I do to you?" Haruka queried blandly.

"We both remember what you did to me."

"Are you still mad about that?"

"For a while. But it's been over a year and I put it behind
me," Makoto said, her gaze never wavering from Haruka's face. "I
figured you were just more concerned with The Silence than with other
people's feelings." The cutting remark didn't seem to phase the
blonde woman at all. "But the way you treated Usagi leading up to
Galaxia's invasion . . ."

"What, you mean that little pup's infatuation with her?" Haruka
replied more gruffly than either cared for.

"It was more than that! There was nothing between them! She
was trying to unite us!" snapped Makoto. "She was trying to present
a united front against Galaxia! And even if she wasn't, where do you
get off trying to keep her away from Seiya? It's not like you're her
father!"

"He could have been an enemy," Haruka replied coldly. "All
three of them could have betrayed her."

"But he didn't! And she knew that! And if you trusted her,
you would have known that, too! Because it seems like she always
seems to know something you don't. You were wrong about the
Starlights. Your 'plan' to beat Galaxia got us all killed! Come to
think of it, you were wrong about how to handle The Silence, too!
Seems like Usagi's batting a thousand and you're batting zero."

Haruka held her ground passively, but Makoto could sense she
had managed to anger the woman.

"So yeah, I'm angry with you," Makoto continued. "And it's
hard, because there are some things about you that I respect. But
your manners aren't one of them!"

"Are you finished?" Haruka replied, seemingly bored with the
conversation. "You don't like the way I do things? You're entitled.
But at the end of the day, there's only one person I have to answer
to, and it's not you."

The blonde watched Makoto leave, then shook her head and closed
the door. The Amazons gathered around her once she cleared the yard
and they could see she was fuming.

"What happened?" Cere-Cere asked. "Isn't she there?"

"Oh, that woman is SO ARROGANT!" spat Makoto. Then the
question registered in her brain. "She's not here now, but she is
staying with them."

"So now what?" Ves-Ves replied.

Makoto thought. "How about we visit Ami and see how she's
doing with that little kid?"

The senshi didn't seem too thrilled with the mission, but
deferred to their "elder". The quintet started down the street.

"Palla-Palla wants some ice cream," whined Palla-Palla.
* * * *
Luna walked into Usagi's bedroom, glanced up at the futon and
scowled. A bare leg hung over the side of the futon. The cat leaped
up onto the bed, padded over next to the prostrate, snoring, face
down, drooling Usagi, climbed up onto her head and sat down.

"Luna," murmured Usagi, her voice muffled by the pillow, "get
off my head."

"Why are you back in bed?" Luna asked. "It's after twelve!"

"So? There's no school today! Besides, it's bad enough I had
to get up so early to see Rei off! Now leave me alone!"

"Do you intend to sleep all afternoon?"

"Why not? You do it."

"I'm a cat!"

"Wish I were a cat," mumbled Usagi. She shook Luna off her
head and burrowed back into the pillow.

"Fine! Sleep your life away! See if I care!"

As the cat padded off for the windowsill, Usagi drifted back to
sleep. She was almost there when her phone rang. A loud groan of
annoyance resonated from the pillow.

"I'm sleeping. This better be good," Usagi growled into the
phone.

"Late night, Usako?" she heard Mamoru say. "You're not playing
around on me are you?"

"MAMO-CHAN!" she gasped, springing up in her bed. "O-Of course
not! Why would you think that? HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"Usako, would you like to meet me for a late lunch? We've got
something to discuss."

"We do? What?" Usagi swallowed suddenly. "You're - - not
going to dump me, are you?"

"Of course not. Our daughter is back in town. I've got to
discuss a few things with you about her."

"Chibi-Usa? Then she is here? You found her? Where is she?"

"That's part of what we have to discuss. Can you meet me at
The Rice Bowl?"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes! Good-bye, Mamo-chan!" She
hung up and paused thoughtfully. "I wonder why Chibi-Usa didn't
contact me."

"Chibi-Usa's back in this time?" Luna asked.

"Uh huh." Usagi glanced at the clock and sprang to her feet,
racing around the room. "Luna, I'm meeting Mamo-chan in fifteen
minutes! Why didn't you wake me?"

Luna rolled her eyes and went back to sleep.
* * * *
After fixing herself a sandwich, Haruka went back into the
living room and returned to the television. She still was under
doctor's orders to avoid the track for another week and the
inactivity was preying on her mind. She had only just gotten back
into racing form after being laid up with the shoulder wound she
suffered fighting Talon Umbra and now this.

For once she was glad Michiru was out meeting with her music
publisher. The thought of Michiru seeing her curled up on the sofa
watching "Magic Knight Rayearth" would be just too mortifying. She
never thought she'd ever be addicted to an anime show, but she'd
stumbled onto it while rehabbing her shoulder and now she was hooked.
And now she didn't have to tape it and watch it in secret at the
track.

It was all Mokono's fault, too. The little beast was just so
damn cute. As she sang along with the closing credits, the doorbell
rang. Grunting, Haruka rose and moved to the door. As she opened it,
Haruka wondered idly if it was Makoto, returning to punch her lights
out.

"Usa?" Haruka said, surprised. "Why didn't you just come in?"

"No key," Usa replied, as if Haruka should have known that.

"Oh, yeah," Haruka grinned sheepishly. She stood aside and let
Usa in. Returning to the living room while Usa headed straight for
the kitchen, Haruka quickly switched stations and found a news
report. She continued to eat her sandwich as Usa entered the room
munching on some fish. "I assume Hotaru made it to school OK?"

"Um, yeah," fudged Usa. "Don't you have any pudding left?"

"Sorry, you cleaned us out last night," smirked Haruka. "How
about some nice healthy carrots?"

Usa made a face. "Carrots? Bleagh!"

The girl flopped down on a chair to Haruka's left. She was
silent for the longest time, but Haruka could tell she wanted to say
something.

"Haruka-san," Usa said at last. "Were you serious when you
said you ran away from home?"

"Sure. I don't say things like that to impress people."

"Oh." Usa contemplated her next question. "How old were you?"

"Fourteen."

"Where did you go? How'd you support yourself?"

"I wandered around a little bit. Ended up hanging around this
garage. The owner took pity on me and gave me a job sweeping the
place up. When he saw I was interested in cars, he showed me how
they work. Pretty soon I was fixing them, then I was racing them."

"Sounds cool," Usa said.

"Well it wasn't always cool," Haruka said sharply. "Being a
runaway's a hard life. Don't forget that. You had friends to crash
with; I didn't. You had things to fall back on; I had to scratch my
way along. And you may think just because you're fifteen you know it
all, but you don't. And more importantly, there are people out there
who use that to take advantage of kids like you. I got lucky because
Harabi-sama gave me a break. I could just as easily be working the
streets on the Ginza right now."

Usa looked down, her face hard.

"Look, you feel you have to prove yourself," Haruka said,
mellowing ever so slightly. "I understand that. I can even respect
it. A girl comes from your cushy background, she could just lay back
and have things handed to her. But you feel you have to earn your
respect. That's very noble of you."

"Thank you," Usa replied neutrally.

"But after you do what you have to do," Haruka continued, "you
might want to think about doing the honorable thing: going back home
and facing the music for this. Being a runaway myself, I can
understand your side. But now that I'm Hotaru's parent - - sort of
- - I can sympathize with Serenity and Endymion's side of this, too."

Usa stayed silent.

"And maybe I'm wrong, but I think you're missing them - - just
a little bit?"

"Did you miss your parents?" Usa asked.

"Hmm, loaded question," Haruka mused. She thought over her
answer. "I missed having parents. I didn't exactly miss my
parents." When she caught Usa's curious stare, Haruka blushed
sheepishly. "You'd have to know my parents."

Usa lapsed into one of her silences and Haruka let her
contemplate their conversation on her own. She knew better than to
push any runaway, let alone one with the stubborn nature she recalled
Usa had.

"Is Hotaru happy here?" Usa asked out of the blue.

"I hope so," Haruka replied, surprised by the question. "I
know I'm doing everything I can to make her happy. Why, did she say
she isn't?"

"No," Usa said quickly, mentally editing her response and
trying not to look conspicuous. Haruka smothered a grin. The girl
was just like her mother: one of the worst liars in the universe.
"I'm, um, just curious. Hotaru's my best friend and I want her to be
happy."

"Isn't she happy? Is she having some trouble? Trouble at
school, maybe?"

"No! I mean, she hasn't said anything. I'm just, well, new in
this time and I don't know how she's getting along. And I'm
concerned, you know, because she's my best friend in the whole
world."

"Oh," nodded Haruka, her suspicions aroused. "OK. It's good
she has a friend who's concerned about her. It's too bad you can't
stay here permanently."

"Yeah," Usa replied, her response speaking volumes.
* * * *
"Mizuno," Ami's mother repeated over the phone. "I wanted to
speak with Dr. Yamaguchi about someone who I believe may be actively
practicing ESP. I realize this sounds like a crank call, but I'm a
pediatrician with . . ." Suddenly Mrs. Mizuno noticed the
background noise on the phone was gone. "Are you still there?"
There was no response.

Putting the phone down, the woman turned - - and saw Sakiko
standing in the doorway to the room. The girl glared angrily at her.
An uneasiness crept over Mrs. Mizuno, but her rational mind forced it
back.

"You want to take me away from Ami," Sakiko snapped
suspiciously.

"I was calling one of the leading researchers in Extra-Sensory
Perception and related phenomenon," she replied calmly, asserting her
position as the adult in the room. "I wanted to see if he knew of a
way to help you control your powers."

"I don't need a doctor!" Sakiko growled.

"You're far too young to be able to control . . ." she began.

"I DON'T NEED A DOCTOR!" Sakiko bellowed.

"Sakiko?" Ami said, peering at the girl from the other doorway
with a surprised look. Instantly Sakiko shrank back into herself.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "Please don't send me away."

Ami crossed over, knelt before Sakiko and gathered the girl
into her arms. The little girl clung to Ami.

"Did you disable the phone?" Ami's mother asked. Only when Ami
looked directly at her did Sakiko respond.

"She was going to send me away," Sakiko whispered.

"Sakiko-chan," Ami said, gently wiping the girl's tears.
"Mother's only trying to help you. You have a great power and the
doctor will try to help you control your power."

"That's what Papa told me he wanted to do," Sakiko murmured,
"and then he'd hurt me."

Ami hugged the girl. "No one wants to hurt you, Sakiko. But
you must learn how to control your power. Otherwise, something bad
might happen."

As she watched the scene, Ami's mother noticed tears spring
anew from Sakiko - - and she noticed a haunted look in the girl's
eyes. It was a look she'd never thought she'd see in the eyes of a
ten-year-old.

Continued in Chapter 7