A SHADOW OVER CRYSTAL TOKYO,
Chapter 1: "Future Shock"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
-------------------------------------------------
Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2002 by Naoko Takeuchi/
Kodansha and Toei Animation and are used without permission, but with
respect. "Rashiku Ikimasho", lyrics by Naoko Takeuchi, music by Masao
Mizuno, is (c) 1995 by Nippon Columbia Co., LTD, and is used without
permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2002 by Bill Kropfhauser.
As always, for those only familiar with the English dub:
Usagi=Serena
Ami=Amy
Rei=Raye
Lita=Makoto
Mina=Minako
Haruka=Amara
Michiru=Michelle
Setsuna=Trista
Mamoru=Darien
Chibi-Usa or Usa=Rini
Finally, Haruka and Michiru are NOT cousins.
--------------------------------------------------
"You know, for everything we went through, there was one good
thing about being in the Dead Moon Circus," groused Ves-Ves, her eyelids
barely open as she shuffled down the hall in the palace of Crystal
Tokyo. "No school."
Ves-Ves wore a form-fitting crimson jumpsuit with black pockets on
the arms, the chest and the thighs, a black belt and black boots. It
was the latest in thirtieth century paramilitary chic. It always got a
disapproving look from the Queen, or Ami-sama or Makoto-sama - - which
was part of the appeal for her.
"Amen," sighed Cere-Cere. She was dressed in a retro-twenty-first
century yellow sun-dress made of soil resistant poly-spandex fiber that
clung close on her upper torso but flared out in the mid-thigh skirt.
Only her superior balance as a former circus acrobat allowed her to walk
in four-inch yellow pumps.
"You two are disgusting," frowned Jun-Jun, favoring a lime green
tube top and white harem pants with a green belt and matching ballet
slippers. "The only way to make something of yourself in this
technocratic world of ours is to learn as much as possible."
"Spoken like a true teacher's pet," grumbled Ves-Ves. "And why
does it have to be so early in the morning?"
"It teaches you discipline," Jun-Jun replied. "And you wouldn't
be sleepy if you didn't stay up until one a.m."
"Palla-Palla's not sleepy at all," Palla-Palla said. She was
dressed in a twentieth century public school uniform, a blue and white
sailor tunic with a red bow and a blue skirt, and black patent leather
shoes.
"That's because you went to bed at eight," scowled Ves-Ves.
"Well?" questioned Palla-Palla. "Barney was over."
Bringing up the rear were the Princess Usagi, daughter of the
king and queen, and her friend Hotaru. Hotaru was new to the
thirtieth century and from the look on her face was not entirely happy
with the situation. It was not lost on Usa, despite her own barely
conscious state.
"Come on, Hotaru," Usa offered. "It's not that bad." The girl
had on faded denims and a pink cotton peasant blouse that bared her
shoulders and her midriff. She wore it to make Hotaru more comfortable.
"Usa, I was in first level junior high in the twentieth century,"
Hotaru replied. Hotaru had on a black long-sleeve knit mock turtleneck
blouse, black leggings and a black skirt with black low-heel shoes.
"And I was doing well! I was in the top ten percent of the class!" Her
face twisted into a grimace. "And now I'm in third level elementary
school? All because of that stupid proficiency placement computer!"
"Well," Usa said helplessly, "you do have a lot of catching up to
do."
"I know," Hotaru said, her frustration showing. "But it's - -
just so humiliating."
"You'll catch up. You're smart - - smarter than I am. You're
probably smarter than Ves-Ves and Cere-Cere, too."
"I heard that!" Ves-Ves called back.
"You'll catch up to us in no time. You'll probably pass us by the
end of the semester. Just don't put so much pressure on yourself."
"OK," sighed Hotaru. "I wish Michiru-Mama was here. Whatever
happened to her and Haruka-Papa?"
"Don't know," shrugged Usa. "I've been here fifteen years and
haven't seen them once. Mama says they got bored about six or seven
hundred years ago and went off into space together. Nobody's seen them
since."
"Do you think they're dead?"
"Mama doesn't think so. She's sure she'd know if they died. Like
she knows with Puu."
"Then Setsuna-Mama is dead?" Hotaru asked anxiously.
"Well, Mama won't come right out and say it, but yeah I think she
is. It was real hard being with her again when I went back in time and
saved you. I kind of wish I'd taken her with us, too."
The girls entered the classroom and took their seats. Save for
the seats and desks before them that were little more than computer
ports for their individual hand-held computers, the room was a stark
white, barren of any other furnishings or equipment, save for several
strategically placed sensor disks. Once the girls were all seated,
though, the holographic virtual classroom sprang to life. The
surroundings transformed into a comfortable learning center with every
visual educational tool available. The computer system had an
educational program complete with holographic representations of the
four senshi, who rotated as virtual manifestations for the computer
program. Today "Ami" was teaching.
Each station could download and interact with each individual
hand-held, formatting lessons to the individual student's desires, grade
level and learning speed. Jun-Jun, for example, was currently at first
level high school in all subjects except math and tended to favor the
subjects of history, psychology and marine biology. Hotaru, on the
other hand, wanted to go into subjects related to biology and medicine,
but was currently hampered by her twentieth century education and was
stuck for now in remedial elementary work. Palla-Palla had special
educational needs. She proved unable to grasp any higher concepts
initially and her progress was the slowest of the group - - save in
math, where she demonstrated almost a savant level ability to work
complex equations and was solving math problems at a college master's
level. When the real Ami had first seen her scores, she'd run a
computer diagnostic thinking there was a flaw in the testing program.
Concerned about her friend, Usa glanced over during her lessons.
She saw the frustration evident in her face as Hotaru pointed to answers
on the holographic test displayed before her, only to be corrected again
and again. To her credit, Hotaru doggedly stuck it out. But she was
still having trouble.
"Princess-sama," the virtual Ami said, standing next to Usa's
station and leaning down. "Your concern for your companion is
praiseworthy, but you really must concentrate on your lessons."
"Sorry," mumbled Usa.
"Hotaru-chan will succeed at her own capacity. You must have
faith in her abilities."
"I'd feel a lot better if that was really Ami-san saying that,"
thought Usa.
* * * *
"How's Hotaru doing?" Serenity asked. She leaned over Endymion,
her hands pressed to his shoulders, as he reviewed her test scores on a
computer monitor.
"Not well," Endymion replied. "Her scores are telling me that
she's having trouble grasping the advanced concepts of this era."
"Well that's not a sin," Serenity said. "A lot of people don't
grasp anything above a functional literacy of this technological
wonderland. The more complex concepts go over a lot of people's
heads." Then her mouth screwed into a smirk. "And don't you dare
bring up any specific examples, mister."
"I wasn't," smiled Endymion. "I know better." He leaned back in
his chair. "I am worried it'll begin to erode her self-esteem, though.
Hotaru never struck me as someone with a great deal of self-esteem to
begin with."
"That worries me, too."
"Has Usa said anything?"
"Our daughter? She won't confide in us. After all, we're her
parents, so we're the last people in the universe who'll understand."
"Yes, how silly of me," smiled Endymion.
"Maybe she needs a break," suggested Serenity. "If we could send
her and Usa someplace simple and natural where she can just have fun
and relax, get away from all the pressure she's putting on herself to
fit in. But where?" Serenity thought. "Elysian, maybe?"
"That trip's still three weeks away," Endymion commented.
"OK," Serenity frowned. "That's the problem with this planet.
There aren't enough green spaces left."
"Well, keep thinking. Something will come to you. It usually
does." Endymion bent his face up toward the ceiling and, as
anticipated, Serenity bent down and kissed him. She then exited,
leaving Endymion to his monitors and his thoughts.
* * * *
"Man, today was hard," Ves-Ves sighed as the group wandered from
the classroom back to their living quarters. "I never thought I was
going to understand all that algebra junk."
Ves-Ves got a quick hip shot from Jun-Jun. When she looked over
crossly, Jun-Jun quickly nodded to Hotaru and glared her sister amazon
down.
"You making any progress?" Usa asked Hotaru.
"Not really," Hotaru replied glumly. "I just can't seem to get
it. Some of the stuff makes sense, but when they say this connects to
that and makes something else, I just don't see it!"
"Hey, look on the bright side," chuckled Cere-Cere. "At least
Palla-Palla will have some company."
Hotaru's brow knit angrily.
"Ow!" cried Cere-Cere. She quickly grasped her hand.
"What happened?" Palla-Palla asked.
"I don't know," Cere-Cere said, looking at her hand. "All of a
sudden I got this jabbing pain in my hand."
The others stopped and looked curiously. Jun-Jun noticed, though,
that Hotaru seemed shocked by the sequence of events. Hotaru then
noticed the girl looking at her.
"Excuse me," Hotaru said quickly, flushing with embarrassment. "I
have to go." And she quickly scurried off.
"Hotaru?" Usa inquired, and went off in pursuit.
"Way to go, Miss Sensitivity," scowled Jun-Jun.
"I'm sorry," Cere-Cere offered weakly.
"Hey, I'm the blunt one of this group and even I wouldn't say
anything like that!" Ves-Ves grumbled.
"It was a joke!" protested Cere-Cere.
"Palla-Palla didn't think it was very funny," frowned Palla-Palla.
"OK, OK, I'll go apologize to her! Doesn't anybody care that my
hand hurts?"
"No," Ves-Ves smirked.
"Later, OK?" Jun-Jun said, holding onto her sister amazon's arm.
"I think Hotaru's a little too upset right now."
No sooner had Hotaru closed the door to her room and sat down on
the bed then the electronic chime sounded. "Usagi Chiba, Princess of
Crystal Tokyo, wishes entry," announced the computer in its toneless
voice.
"Let her in," Hotaru said softly.
"Hotaru?" Usa said delicately. "Cere-Cere didn't mean anything by
what she said."
"It wasn't that," Hotaru replied, her eyes cast onto the floor.
"Well, maybe part of it was. But it's not just that." The girl kept
her eyes locked on the floor, refusing to look at Usa.
"Is it your grades? Hotaru, you've only been in the future a
week. It's going to take a little time to adjust." She sat down next
to Hotaru on the bed. "Why I remember when I went into the past the
first time. It was so strange and primitive. Computers didn't talk and
cars burned gasoline, and all sorts of stuff. And I didn't think I
could make anybody understand why I was there. It was kind of scary,
especially since I was only five." Usa got a guilty grin. "I guess
because of that I was kind of an obnoxious brat to a lot of people."
"You?" Hotaru glanced cynically at her. "That's just so hard to
believe."
"All right, all right. The point is you have to give yourself
some time. Things are a lot different now, just like they were a lot
different then. But you'll get it."
"I hope you're right," Hotaru said, closely scrutinizing her
hands, which were folded in her lap. "Usa? I, um . . . I . . ."
"Yeah?"
"Never mind," Hotaru whispered.
"OK. Hey, Hotaru, do you want to go to a virtual movie?" Usa
asked.
"Virtual movie?"
"Yeah, it's the supe! They use some kind of holographic process
so the movie feels like it's actually happening all around you!" Usa
flushed slightly. "Just - - don't ask me how."
Hotaru laughed in spite of herself. "Well - - I don't know. I
really should study."
"Aw come on, Hotaru! All you've done since you got here is study!
If you study too much, your brain's going to explode! That's a
scientific fact!" Hotaru gave her another cynical look. "Well, that's
what I heard."
Hotaru rolled her eyes, then thought. "What kind of movie?"
"Anything you want to see."
"Are the others coming?"
"They don't have to. I mean, they're my senshi, but we're not
joined at the hip."
"Do they still have popcorn?"
"Yeah, but the synthetic topping sucks."
Hotaru considered it.
"I promise you can study all you want tomorrow," Usa told her.
"I'll even study with you."
"All right," Hotaru surrendered.
"Great!" Usa grinned and hugged her friend. "You will have fun!
I guarantee it!"
* * * *
Usa had been true to her word. The movie, a romantic love story,
had been so realistic that Hotaru felt like a voyeur for much of it. At
one point she actually reached out and tried to touch the male lead,
only to hear Usa giggle when her hand passed through his arm. The
technology was initially intimidating, but she warmed up to it in time
and by the end of the film the two girls were leaning against each other
dabbing their eyes with tissues and trading candy, Hotaru's chocolates
for Usa's peppermints. That combination gave each girl a unique taste
in her mouth and they giggled all the way home about it.
No sooner had Hotaru's head hit her pillow than she was asleep.
Initially her slumber was peaceful. However, it was not to last.
Hotaru turned again on the bunk. She still slept, but it was a
fitful sleep. The evidence was clear on her delicate face, now twisted
in a harried grimace. Her small body shook a few times and she grimaced
again, struggling with some unseen adversary. As a few low murmurs
escaped, her lips moved slightly. She quivered again. Her hands
clenched into fists.
Still asleep, Hotaru began to shake her head, slowly at first.
The tremors became more and more pronounced and reached a crescendo
simultaneous with Hotaru's eyelids ripping open. She shot up to a
sitting position, disoriented and wide-eyed. A hand touched her arm and
she flinched.
But it was only Palla-Palla sitting by her side.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Palla-Palla asked innocently.
"Yes," Hotaru said, expelling air. "What are you doing in my
room?"
"Palla-Palla is sorry, but she kind of felt some of your thoughts.
It woke her up and she came to see if she could help."
"I'm sorry if I woke you," Hotaru whispered, embarrassed.
"Ves-Ves says Palla-Palla's not supposed to listen to other
people's thoughts, but they were so strong Palla-Palla couldn't help
it."
"It's all right," Hotaru whispered.
"Do you remember what you dreamed?"
Hotaru thought. "I was struggling - - to get away from something.
I don't remember what it was, but it wouldn't let me go."
"Palla-Palla remembers all of her dreams - - even the scary ones.
Palla-Palla remembers one she had a long time ago. It was real scary.
Her mommy walked off and left her all alone and never came back."
Palla-Palla stopped and frowned. "No wait, that one was real. Do you
dream about your mommy?"
"Sometimes," Hotaru said. It wasn't a subject she liked talking
about. She glanced at the chronometer and saw it was one-thirty a.m.
"I don't think it's going to be light soon. Maybe we better go back to
sleep. Thanks for staying up with me."
"Palla-Palla liked it, too," grinned Palla-Palla. "And
Palla-Palla hopes those icky bad people don't come back to your dreams."
"People?" Hotaru asked. "How much of my dream did you see?"
"Palla-Palla didn't see your dream," the girl corrected her. "She
just heard some of your thoughts. She doesn't know they were people,
just that there was a bunch of them."
"How?"
"Because you kept thinking 'something-nine'."
Because it was dark, Palla-Palla didn't see the color drain from
Hotaru's face.
Continued in Chapter 2
Chapter 1: "Future Shock"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
-------------------------------------------------
Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2002 by Naoko Takeuchi/
Kodansha and Toei Animation and are used without permission, but with
respect. "Rashiku Ikimasho", lyrics by Naoko Takeuchi, music by Masao
Mizuno, is (c) 1995 by Nippon Columbia Co., LTD, and is used without
permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2002 by Bill Kropfhauser.
As always, for those only familiar with the English dub:
Usagi=Serena
Ami=Amy
Rei=Raye
Lita=Makoto
Mina=Minako
Haruka=Amara
Michiru=Michelle
Setsuna=Trista
Mamoru=Darien
Chibi-Usa or Usa=Rini
Finally, Haruka and Michiru are NOT cousins.
--------------------------------------------------
"You know, for everything we went through, there was one good
thing about being in the Dead Moon Circus," groused Ves-Ves, her eyelids
barely open as she shuffled down the hall in the palace of Crystal
Tokyo. "No school."
Ves-Ves wore a form-fitting crimson jumpsuit with black pockets on
the arms, the chest and the thighs, a black belt and black boots. It
was the latest in thirtieth century paramilitary chic. It always got a
disapproving look from the Queen, or Ami-sama or Makoto-sama - - which
was part of the appeal for her.
"Amen," sighed Cere-Cere. She was dressed in a retro-twenty-first
century yellow sun-dress made of soil resistant poly-spandex fiber that
clung close on her upper torso but flared out in the mid-thigh skirt.
Only her superior balance as a former circus acrobat allowed her to walk
in four-inch yellow pumps.
"You two are disgusting," frowned Jun-Jun, favoring a lime green
tube top and white harem pants with a green belt and matching ballet
slippers. "The only way to make something of yourself in this
technocratic world of ours is to learn as much as possible."
"Spoken like a true teacher's pet," grumbled Ves-Ves. "And why
does it have to be so early in the morning?"
"It teaches you discipline," Jun-Jun replied. "And you wouldn't
be sleepy if you didn't stay up until one a.m."
"Palla-Palla's not sleepy at all," Palla-Palla said. She was
dressed in a twentieth century public school uniform, a blue and white
sailor tunic with a red bow and a blue skirt, and black patent leather
shoes.
"That's because you went to bed at eight," scowled Ves-Ves.
"Well?" questioned Palla-Palla. "Barney was over."
Bringing up the rear were the Princess Usagi, daughter of the
king and queen, and her friend Hotaru. Hotaru was new to the
thirtieth century and from the look on her face was not entirely happy
with the situation. It was not lost on Usa, despite her own barely
conscious state.
"Come on, Hotaru," Usa offered. "It's not that bad." The girl
had on faded denims and a pink cotton peasant blouse that bared her
shoulders and her midriff. She wore it to make Hotaru more comfortable.
"Usa, I was in first level junior high in the twentieth century,"
Hotaru replied. Hotaru had on a black long-sleeve knit mock turtleneck
blouse, black leggings and a black skirt with black low-heel shoes.
"And I was doing well! I was in the top ten percent of the class!" Her
face twisted into a grimace. "And now I'm in third level elementary
school? All because of that stupid proficiency placement computer!"
"Well," Usa said helplessly, "you do have a lot of catching up to
do."
"I know," Hotaru said, her frustration showing. "But it's - -
just so humiliating."
"You'll catch up. You're smart - - smarter than I am. You're
probably smarter than Ves-Ves and Cere-Cere, too."
"I heard that!" Ves-Ves called back.
"You'll catch up to us in no time. You'll probably pass us by the
end of the semester. Just don't put so much pressure on yourself."
"OK," sighed Hotaru. "I wish Michiru-Mama was here. Whatever
happened to her and Haruka-Papa?"
"Don't know," shrugged Usa. "I've been here fifteen years and
haven't seen them once. Mama says they got bored about six or seven
hundred years ago and went off into space together. Nobody's seen them
since."
"Do you think they're dead?"
"Mama doesn't think so. She's sure she'd know if they died. Like
she knows with Puu."
"Then Setsuna-Mama is dead?" Hotaru asked anxiously.
"Well, Mama won't come right out and say it, but yeah I think she
is. It was real hard being with her again when I went back in time and
saved you. I kind of wish I'd taken her with us, too."
The girls entered the classroom and took their seats. Save for
the seats and desks before them that were little more than computer
ports for their individual hand-held computers, the room was a stark
white, barren of any other furnishings or equipment, save for several
strategically placed sensor disks. Once the girls were all seated,
though, the holographic virtual classroom sprang to life. The
surroundings transformed into a comfortable learning center with every
visual educational tool available. The computer system had an
educational program complete with holographic representations of the
four senshi, who rotated as virtual manifestations for the computer
program. Today "Ami" was teaching.
Each station could download and interact with each individual
hand-held, formatting lessons to the individual student's desires, grade
level and learning speed. Jun-Jun, for example, was currently at first
level high school in all subjects except math and tended to favor the
subjects of history, psychology and marine biology. Hotaru, on the
other hand, wanted to go into subjects related to biology and medicine,
but was currently hampered by her twentieth century education and was
stuck for now in remedial elementary work. Palla-Palla had special
educational needs. She proved unable to grasp any higher concepts
initially and her progress was the slowest of the group - - save in
math, where she demonstrated almost a savant level ability to work
complex equations and was solving math problems at a college master's
level. When the real Ami had first seen her scores, she'd run a
computer diagnostic thinking there was a flaw in the testing program.
Concerned about her friend, Usa glanced over during her lessons.
She saw the frustration evident in her face as Hotaru pointed to answers
on the holographic test displayed before her, only to be corrected again
and again. To her credit, Hotaru doggedly stuck it out. But she was
still having trouble.
"Princess-sama," the virtual Ami said, standing next to Usa's
station and leaning down. "Your concern for your companion is
praiseworthy, but you really must concentrate on your lessons."
"Sorry," mumbled Usa.
"Hotaru-chan will succeed at her own capacity. You must have
faith in her abilities."
"I'd feel a lot better if that was really Ami-san saying that,"
thought Usa.
* * * *
"How's Hotaru doing?" Serenity asked. She leaned over Endymion,
her hands pressed to his shoulders, as he reviewed her test scores on a
computer monitor.
"Not well," Endymion replied. "Her scores are telling me that
she's having trouble grasping the advanced concepts of this era."
"Well that's not a sin," Serenity said. "A lot of people don't
grasp anything above a functional literacy of this technological
wonderland. The more complex concepts go over a lot of people's
heads." Then her mouth screwed into a smirk. "And don't you dare
bring up any specific examples, mister."
"I wasn't," smiled Endymion. "I know better." He leaned back in
his chair. "I am worried it'll begin to erode her self-esteem, though.
Hotaru never struck me as someone with a great deal of self-esteem to
begin with."
"That worries me, too."
"Has Usa said anything?"
"Our daughter? She won't confide in us. After all, we're her
parents, so we're the last people in the universe who'll understand."
"Yes, how silly of me," smiled Endymion.
"Maybe she needs a break," suggested Serenity. "If we could send
her and Usa someplace simple and natural where she can just have fun
and relax, get away from all the pressure she's putting on herself to
fit in. But where?" Serenity thought. "Elysian, maybe?"
"That trip's still three weeks away," Endymion commented.
"OK," Serenity frowned. "That's the problem with this planet.
There aren't enough green spaces left."
"Well, keep thinking. Something will come to you. It usually
does." Endymion bent his face up toward the ceiling and, as
anticipated, Serenity bent down and kissed him. She then exited,
leaving Endymion to his monitors and his thoughts.
* * * *
"Man, today was hard," Ves-Ves sighed as the group wandered from
the classroom back to their living quarters. "I never thought I was
going to understand all that algebra junk."
Ves-Ves got a quick hip shot from Jun-Jun. When she looked over
crossly, Jun-Jun quickly nodded to Hotaru and glared her sister amazon
down.
"You making any progress?" Usa asked Hotaru.
"Not really," Hotaru replied glumly. "I just can't seem to get
it. Some of the stuff makes sense, but when they say this connects to
that and makes something else, I just don't see it!"
"Hey, look on the bright side," chuckled Cere-Cere. "At least
Palla-Palla will have some company."
Hotaru's brow knit angrily.
"Ow!" cried Cere-Cere. She quickly grasped her hand.
"What happened?" Palla-Palla asked.
"I don't know," Cere-Cere said, looking at her hand. "All of a
sudden I got this jabbing pain in my hand."
The others stopped and looked curiously. Jun-Jun noticed, though,
that Hotaru seemed shocked by the sequence of events. Hotaru then
noticed the girl looking at her.
"Excuse me," Hotaru said quickly, flushing with embarrassment. "I
have to go." And she quickly scurried off.
"Hotaru?" Usa inquired, and went off in pursuit.
"Way to go, Miss Sensitivity," scowled Jun-Jun.
"I'm sorry," Cere-Cere offered weakly.
"Hey, I'm the blunt one of this group and even I wouldn't say
anything like that!" Ves-Ves grumbled.
"It was a joke!" protested Cere-Cere.
"Palla-Palla didn't think it was very funny," frowned Palla-Palla.
"OK, OK, I'll go apologize to her! Doesn't anybody care that my
hand hurts?"
"No," Ves-Ves smirked.
"Later, OK?" Jun-Jun said, holding onto her sister amazon's arm.
"I think Hotaru's a little too upset right now."
No sooner had Hotaru closed the door to her room and sat down on
the bed then the electronic chime sounded. "Usagi Chiba, Princess of
Crystal Tokyo, wishes entry," announced the computer in its toneless
voice.
"Let her in," Hotaru said softly.
"Hotaru?" Usa said delicately. "Cere-Cere didn't mean anything by
what she said."
"It wasn't that," Hotaru replied, her eyes cast onto the floor.
"Well, maybe part of it was. But it's not just that." The girl kept
her eyes locked on the floor, refusing to look at Usa.
"Is it your grades? Hotaru, you've only been in the future a
week. It's going to take a little time to adjust." She sat down next
to Hotaru on the bed. "Why I remember when I went into the past the
first time. It was so strange and primitive. Computers didn't talk and
cars burned gasoline, and all sorts of stuff. And I didn't think I
could make anybody understand why I was there. It was kind of scary,
especially since I was only five." Usa got a guilty grin. "I guess
because of that I was kind of an obnoxious brat to a lot of people."
"You?" Hotaru glanced cynically at her. "That's just so hard to
believe."
"All right, all right. The point is you have to give yourself
some time. Things are a lot different now, just like they were a lot
different then. But you'll get it."
"I hope you're right," Hotaru said, closely scrutinizing her
hands, which were folded in her lap. "Usa? I, um . . . I . . ."
"Yeah?"
"Never mind," Hotaru whispered.
"OK. Hey, Hotaru, do you want to go to a virtual movie?" Usa
asked.
"Virtual movie?"
"Yeah, it's the supe! They use some kind of holographic process
so the movie feels like it's actually happening all around you!" Usa
flushed slightly. "Just - - don't ask me how."
Hotaru laughed in spite of herself. "Well - - I don't know. I
really should study."
"Aw come on, Hotaru! All you've done since you got here is study!
If you study too much, your brain's going to explode! That's a
scientific fact!" Hotaru gave her another cynical look. "Well, that's
what I heard."
Hotaru rolled her eyes, then thought. "What kind of movie?"
"Anything you want to see."
"Are the others coming?"
"They don't have to. I mean, they're my senshi, but we're not
joined at the hip."
"Do they still have popcorn?"
"Yeah, but the synthetic topping sucks."
Hotaru considered it.
"I promise you can study all you want tomorrow," Usa told her.
"I'll even study with you."
"All right," Hotaru surrendered.
"Great!" Usa grinned and hugged her friend. "You will have fun!
I guarantee it!"
* * * *
Usa had been true to her word. The movie, a romantic love story,
had been so realistic that Hotaru felt like a voyeur for much of it. At
one point she actually reached out and tried to touch the male lead,
only to hear Usa giggle when her hand passed through his arm. The
technology was initially intimidating, but she warmed up to it in time
and by the end of the film the two girls were leaning against each other
dabbing their eyes with tissues and trading candy, Hotaru's chocolates
for Usa's peppermints. That combination gave each girl a unique taste
in her mouth and they giggled all the way home about it.
No sooner had Hotaru's head hit her pillow than she was asleep.
Initially her slumber was peaceful. However, it was not to last.
Hotaru turned again on the bunk. She still slept, but it was a
fitful sleep. The evidence was clear on her delicate face, now twisted
in a harried grimace. Her small body shook a few times and she grimaced
again, struggling with some unseen adversary. As a few low murmurs
escaped, her lips moved slightly. She quivered again. Her hands
clenched into fists.
Still asleep, Hotaru began to shake her head, slowly at first.
The tremors became more and more pronounced and reached a crescendo
simultaneous with Hotaru's eyelids ripping open. She shot up to a
sitting position, disoriented and wide-eyed. A hand touched her arm and
she flinched.
But it was only Palla-Palla sitting by her side.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Palla-Palla asked innocently.
"Yes," Hotaru said, expelling air. "What are you doing in my
room?"
"Palla-Palla is sorry, but she kind of felt some of your thoughts.
It woke her up and she came to see if she could help."
"I'm sorry if I woke you," Hotaru whispered, embarrassed.
"Ves-Ves says Palla-Palla's not supposed to listen to other
people's thoughts, but they were so strong Palla-Palla couldn't help
it."
"It's all right," Hotaru whispered.
"Do you remember what you dreamed?"
Hotaru thought. "I was struggling - - to get away from something.
I don't remember what it was, but it wouldn't let me go."
"Palla-Palla remembers all of her dreams - - even the scary ones.
Palla-Palla remembers one she had a long time ago. It was real scary.
Her mommy walked off and left her all alone and never came back."
Palla-Palla stopped and frowned. "No wait, that one was real. Do you
dream about your mommy?"
"Sometimes," Hotaru said. It wasn't a subject she liked talking
about. She glanced at the chronometer and saw it was one-thirty a.m.
"I don't think it's going to be light soon. Maybe we better go back to
sleep. Thanks for staying up with me."
"Palla-Palla liked it, too," grinned Palla-Palla. "And
Palla-Palla hopes those icky bad people don't come back to your dreams."
"People?" Hotaru asked. "How much of my dream did you see?"
"Palla-Palla didn't see your dream," the girl corrected her. "She
just heard some of your thoughts. She doesn't know they were people,
just that there was a bunch of them."
"How?"
"Because you kept thinking 'something-nine'."
Because it was dark, Palla-Palla didn't see the color drain from
Hotaru's face.
Continued in Chapter 2