A Place To Call Home
Part Two
By Bonnie-chan
Email: hunniebunny@aol.com
Web page: www.sailormoonrose.mirrorz.html
Today is September 4, 2001

DISCLAIMER: What? Sailor Moon belongs to me? You really think I'm that good? Wow! But, alas, that's not the case, for Sailor Moon was created by the incredible Naoko-hime and not me
:::sniff sniff::: Besides, I'd just mess up her brilliant masterpiece and you wouldn't want that, now would you? ((though I'd also make Mamoru/Darien a little bit more romantic in the anime!!!)) However, this story DOES belong to me…and so do all of the characters that I made up! (Trust me, you'll know who they are!!!)
I have a long list of thank yous, but they are all in the first chapter and it would be redundant to repeat them, ya know?
Oh, but I do want to say, go to Lianne Sentar's web page,
http://members.tripod.com/~Lianne_Sentar/
and read her stuff! She's an amazing writer, and the sweetest person you will ever meet! Lianne, I'm just sorry your article got all messed up! Now that I'm in college, I'm going to try and write a better one, okay? I still feel really bad about the hack job the editors did to it!
Questions, comments? Email me here: hunniebunny@aol.com…and whether you liked it or hated it, could you pretty please send me feedback? I'm majoring in writing, and any type of feedback helps! Constructive criticism,a note telling me it was good, or even bad..whatever! I'd really appreciate it!
Oh, and if you want to be the first to know when I'm going to post the next part of my story, subscribe to my list here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Moon_Rose_Updates
This is an update only list. But I also have a list for everyone to joinin and talk or post fanfics! It's:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Moon_Rose

Now, on with the story!
A Place To Call Home
Part Two

"You ungrateful little jerk! Here we are, reaching out to you, giving you food, clothes, shelter…and you dare to act better then us!?" A tall, carrot-haired man loomed before Mamoru and snatched the book from his hands, hurling it into the wall behind Mamoru's head. It's time you showed some respect around here, boy!" He took another swig of the beer in his left hand and glowered at Mamoru. "You're more trouble then you're worth, you know that? You've been here for close to a year now, and you still don't know your place! It's time I gave you another lesson." He placed his empty can on the coffee table beside him, then slowly took off his belt and snapped it in his hands. Before he could advance towards Mamoru, the doorbell rang. The man swore under his breath, threw his belt onto a nearby chair, and headed towards the door.
Mamoru stood still, his blue eyes lifeless, and listened to the voices that floated into theroom from the hallway.
"Don't you even have the decency to call first?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kariakas, but I have some important news to share with both you and Mamoru that can't wait. Where is Mamoru, anyway?"
"He's in the parlor."
The heavy thumping of shoes on the linoleum brought Mamoru back to reality and he braced himself as the man re-entered the room, followed by Miss Yammada.
"It's good tosee you again, Mamoru."
"It's good tosee you, too."
"Have things been going well for you?"
"Yes, they have."
She came and stood before him, then gasped as she took in his black and blue eye, and the red welt on his left cheek. "Mamoru, what happened!?"
"I got tackled playing football at school."
"I'll say you did! Boys your age can be sobrutal…" She shook her headsympathetically. "Make sure you keep alot of ice on it, okay?" She smiled asshe watched him nod his head. "Good. Now, guess what? I have good news for you! It turns out that you have a family after all! Your mother's father-your grandfather-has recently stepped forward to claim you! Isn't that wonderful, Mamoru? You're no longer an orphan, a ward of Osaka! You never have to stay with another foster family again!" She turned to the man beside her. "The court has already arranged all of the details, Mr. Kariakas, and Mamoru's grandfather is very anxious to meet him."
"I'll go pack his things."
She laughed in surprise. "Why, he doesn't have to leave right now!"
"It would be easier then saying goodbye would be." He stared darkly at Mamoru. "Don't you agree, Mamoru?"
"Of course."
"Well, if you say so…" Miss Yammada stared at Mamoru uncertainly for a moment before smiling again. "So, are you excited, Mamoru?"
"Words don't even begin to express what I'm feeling, Miss Yammada." He managed to smile at the lady who was beaming at him as though he had won the lottery.
"Trust me, Mamoru, I know exactly how you feel, and I am as speechless as you are!"
*****

Mamoru stared solemnly out the car window at the buildings that continued to fly by him.
"I bet you're wondering why it took me eight years to come and get you, right? I don't blame you for being resentful and angry, even for hating me. I can't even begin to imagine what your life must have been like. I'm sure that you weren't as happy as you could have been."
Mamoru turned his head to assess the silver-haired man sitting beside him, then turned back to the window without saying a word.
"The truth is, Mamoru, I didn't even know that you existed until recently." He pulled his car over to the side of the road and turned towards him. "You see, twenty years ago when your mother fell in love with your father, I forbade their relationship. He was a dreamer-He wanted to be a poet! That's all that he wanted to do with his life. I didn't want my daughter to wind up impoverished, so I banned her from seeing him. Instead of listening to me, she snuck around behind my back. When I found out, I was furious. After a particularly gruesome fight when she declared that she loved him and was going to marry him, I told her that if she continued to see this man, I would no longer consider her to be my daughter she was so mad at me that she ran out of the house and never looked back. Thatwas the last I ever saw of my baby girl, and I have regretted it every day of my life. I never knew I had a grandson-Heck, I never even knew that my own daughter had died! How could I have, when she didn't have any existing records to connect her to her past?"
"Then how did you find out about me?" Mamoru's voice sounded strange to his own ears, as it was the first time he had spoken in the hours that they had been driving.
His grandfather smiled faintly. "It was through fate, believe it or not. Lady Destiny decided that it was time for me to come to terms with my past and embrace it." His eyes glazed over as the memory of what had occurred enveloped him, and he became lost in his thoughts.
"I play bingo down at the Juuban Community Center every week, and I'm always meeting interesting people there. One night, I met a lady named Matsi, and we became fast friends. One night, she invited me over to her house to have dinner and meet her daughter's family. So I went over to her house, and after dinner we sat around in the parlor and got to know one another better. I was just glancing around the room, and taking everything in, and this one picture just caught my eye. She had pictures all over the place, on shelves, furniture, you name it. I'm not sure why the picture stood out; maybe it was the way the sun was shining that day or something, I don't know. The picture was in the middle of this one collage of photos on the wall beside me, and I turned my head to get a better look. It was a cute picture that was only a couple of years old, but it looked much older than that, I guess because the children have grown up so much in such a short amount of time."
He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm going off-topic again, sorry. I have a tendency to do that. So, where was I? Ah, yes, the picture. It had been taken at the beach-the first thing I noticed was this huge sandcastle. Standing before it stood three wet, sandy children. I recognized two of them as Matsi's grandchildren, but I didn't recognize the third child. I asked Matsi about it, but she just shrugged her shoulders. Her daughter came over to where we were sitting and took the collage into her hands. A small smile flitted across her face and her eyes glazed over in remembrance. She told me a story about a foster boy her family had taken in before they moved to Juuban. At first, that's all it was to me-a story. I started at the name Chiba-I hadn't heard it in years! However, Chiba is a common name, so I didn't place my daughter with the name until she mentioned your parents, and told me about the tragic accident they had died in when you were only six years old. I was shocked, needless to say. I wasn't ready to accept that this was my daughter we had been talking about. I did a bit of research, and lo and behold, it was my daughter who had died, and her son was the sole survivor, being bounced around from foster family to foster family, which is no way to live. I went to the court of Osaka and battled fiercely to gain custody of you. You weren't told in advance because nobody wanted to upset you or pull you into the messy court battle.
"To make a long story short, I won the battle, gained custody of my only grandchild, and brought you home with me."
"You're friends with the Furuhata family?"
"Yes, I am."
"Would I…" Mamoru licked his lips nervously. "Would I be able to go withyou someday when you visit them?"
"Of course,Mamoru! Everybody is looking forward to seeing you, and they're all so thrilled that you finally have a place to call home! Motoki especially is thrilled with the knowledge that he's going to see his 'almost-brother' again soon-No lie,that's what he called you. We can drop off your suitcase at home and then go visit, if you'd like to."
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm…but first we have to stop at the store and get you some decent clothing-I can't believe the filth that man made you wear! I also can't believe the Court allowed you to stay with him for a whole year! He tsked and glanced at Mamoru out of the corner of his eye before turning the key in the ignition and resuming the journey to Juuban.
*****
"Hello, Nakamura and Chiba Residence."
"Hello, this is Dr. Kismet from the Juuban Hospital. May I please speak with Nakamura Yoki?"
"Yes, of course. I'll go get him, hold on." Mamoru lowered the small black phone from hisear and went into the living room.
"Dr. Kismet is on the phone, Grandfather." He handed the phone to the elderly man and sat on the edge of the coffee table, where he watched his grandfather anxiously until he was off of the phone. "What did he have to say?"
"Mamoru…"
"Yes,Grandfather?"
"I'm dying."
"What?"
"You know how I had my yearly physical recently? Well, Dr. Corsaine was concerned about the problems I've been having with my respiratory system, so he sent me to Dr. Kismet to get some special testsdone. The results just came in, and it turns out that I have cancer."
"Cancer?" Mamoru blinked and stared at his grandfather.
"Lung cancer, to be precise." He laughed mirthlessly. "The ironic part is thatit's not even from smoking-I've never allowed that filth near my body."
"Grandfather…"
"It's alright, Mamoru, I know how you feel. You don't have to say anything at all. It's a pretty awkward situation, though, don't you think?"
"Yeah. Will you be getting chemo or radiation?"
"No, the cancer has already begun to spread. They can stop the spread through treatment, but it's too late to save me. I'd rather spend the rest of my time here with you instead of in a dinky old hospital." He smiled whimsically. "This will be hard on you, won't it? It took us a year to get used to one another, and another year to get into the comfortable routine we have now. Two years isn't nearly enough time, but it's better then to have never met you at all, don't you think?"
"Yeah." Mamoru frowned and fiddled with his suit jacket. "We should probably stay home tonight and rest instead of going out to celebrate your birthday."
"Nonsense, I'm not dead yet!" His eyes roved over his grandson's tense face, and he smiled tenderly. Unlike you, I still have to get ready for tonight. Why don't you go for a walk, maybe go visit Motoki at the arcade?"
"In other words, get out of your hair before I drive you crazy." Mamoru smiled as he headed for the door. "I'll be back soon, grandfather. Have fun getting ready!" He smiled and left the room, softly shutting the door behind him.
Mamoru wandered aimlessly through downtown Juuban until he reached the Crown Arcade,where he stared vacantly through the window at Motoki, who was helping a girl with curly red hair play the latest Sailor V game. He lowered his hand from where it had beenresting on the doorknob and turned towards the direction he come from, deciding to wait awhile before telling Motoki his devastating news.
As Mamoru began to walk back home, he felt something soft hit the back of his head and quickly turned around, startled. His eyes widened at the sight before him-a petite girl with golden blond hair that cascaded down from two buns upon her head stood before him kicking angrily at some stray pebbles near her feet and muttering to herself.
For some reason, the fact that the girl seemed oblivious to what she had just done rubbed up against him the wrong way, upsetting him further than he already was,and causing his calm façade to melt away. "Hey, watch it Odango Atama!""
She whirled around with a startled "Huh?" and glanced at him with wide, sky-blue eyes. "Oh, sorry!" She shrugged apologetically.
He raised an eyebrow at the girl, then glanced down at the crumpled test paper he was holding and cocked his head at the girl. "A thirty? Admirable." He smiled condescendingly down at her. "Are you stupid, or just incredibly lazy?"
The wounds inside him smirked and danced in glee as the girl gasped, her face turning a rosy shade of pink before she got her bearings together and glared at him. "How dare you! Give me that!" She quickly swiped the paper out of his hands and stalked away, muttering to herself the whole time.
Mamoru leaned contentedly against the stone wall of the arcade and stared after the angry girl's retreating back.
A moment later, his satisfied smirk became a puzzled frown as he watched the girl glance back at him and momentarily meet his eyes before continuing to stalk away.
Something about that girl…
He started at the unwelcome thought before quickly pushing it out of his head, leaving room for other unwanted thoughts to resurface and make their presence known to Mamoru once more.
*****
That's all for now! You can email me at hunniebunny@aol.com. You can also visit my web page at www.sailormoonrose.mirrorz.com,
and if you want to be the first to know when I'm going to post the next part of my story, subscribe to my list here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Moon_Rose_Updates
This is an update only list. But I also have a list for everyone to joinin and talk or post fanfics! It's:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sailor_Moon_Rose

The lines that just passed between Usagi and Mamoru? They were from the dubbed version of their first meeting..so they weren't mine.
Oh! And, yes, I KNOW that doctors don't tell you information over the phone, but...I dunno, I just felt like doing it. ::shrugs::

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( Y ) ()_() *Bonnie-Chan*
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