Among Friends, Part 8
Hospital Fun
By Taerir

All Sailor Moon references are the property of their respective owners. Any concepts, characters, world names, plotlines, and so on not found in the Sailormoon television series or manga are the property of the author, Taerir, copyright 1999. No duplication is permitted without written permission from the author.

Asami and Kensaku exchanged a glance, and went to find a place to transform once Asami had sent out a mental call for help. Elina's home, Asami knew, was down the street, so at least one ally should be there soon.

Certainly enough, when the pair emerged, Sailors Isis and Ilia had arrived already. Sailor Isis had thrown an attack, but the enemy had not faltered much.

Taerir stepped forward quickly as Sailor Ilia began her own attack. Immediately, Taerir followed with her own wave of mental energy, but before she could finish the attack, the youma sent a whirlwind of water in return. Unable to get out of the way in time, Taerir only had a split second to notice Sailor Isis narrow her eyes and seemingly refrain from helping. The force of the youma's attack threw Taerir backward and knocked the wind from her in a single, forceful motion.

When Taerir regained her senses and rolled to her feet, she found the youma ready to attack Sailor Isis. The girl, who had bent momentarily to help swimmers out of the way, froze as the attack approached.

You have time; move! Taerir thought frantically, but Sailor Isis didn't budge. Isis was still adjusting to her powers again, and might not be fully acclimated yet... Worse, the youma's attack was stronger than the one that had caught Taerir.

Taerir rushed in front of Sailor Isis to catch the attack, determined not to let matters between the two of them affect her actions. Pushed back, Taerir felt something crack as she fell to the ground. She swore, unable to get back up.

Arianrhod Knight, rushing to help, managed to rally the other two senshi long enough to defeat the enemy. When he finished, he made his way over to the detransformed Asami, glaring at Sailor Isis as he went.

"You need to be more careful," he told the girl. "A real leader watches out for all of her allies."

Isis glared rebelliously back at Kensaku. "Yeah, and real warriors watch out for themselves too." She walked over to Asami as well, detransforming on the way. When she knelt beside the older girl, she gasped suddenly as true memories replaced the ones Nami had planted in her mind. While she and Elina followed Kensaku to the nearest hospital, Nuru tried to sort the events out in her mind.

Nami watched Sailor Isis as Kensaku carried Asami away. Her hold on the girl's mind was slipping away, and as Nami watched, the influence slipped away completely. Nami left cursing, ready to find a new plan.

At the hospital, Asami was diagnosed with a cracked rib and admitted into a room for the time being. Kensaku sighed and sat down beside her bed as Nuru and Elina looked on.

Finally, Nuru sat down on the other side of Asami's bed. "I remember everything now," she announced to the older girl. Nuru still did not completely know where she stood, but she did know that she needed to say something. "I'm sorry... It's my fault you got hurt, and I shouldn't have doubted your leadership." Raising an eyebrow, Nuru turned her gaze to Kensaku. "Doesn't she have healing powers? Why hasn't she healed herself?"

Kensaku shook his head. "She does, but for an injury this bad, she can't use them on herself; just other people. Especially not when you're in a lot of pain... It makes you lose your concentration."

Asami, who was still groggy and in pain, sighed. "He's right. I'll just have to wait this one out. I'll live; the pain's not THAT bad." She softened for a moment. "And Nuru... thank you for saying that."

Nuru nodded in reply.

Elina lurked in the doorway, silent until this point. She wasn't completely sure what exactly had happened during the fight, but Nuru seemed more normal again, somehow. Finally, Elina stepped forward nervously, feeling the need to help.

"Could I heal Asami?" the girl asked quietly. "I mean, I can't do as much as you could, Asami, but maybe I could heal it enough that you could do the rest of it yourself..."

Asami smiled a little. This would be a good time to let Elina practice. "Of course, if you'd like." She grinned. "I don't mind at all."

Elina nodded and crossed to stand beside Asami, placing one hand on the injured girl's cracked rib and another on Asami's temples. Drawing a little big of energy from her surroundings, Elina's apprehension vanished, and she concentrated only on the healing. After removing the pain and beginning to knit the cracked rib together, she drew back, feeling weak.

"That's the best I can do," she said finally. "It shouldn't hurt anymore, and I started the healing process, but you still shouldn't run around chasing enemies right now." She blushed, realizing she had taken on a slightly lecturing tone.

Asami smiled, still slightly weak herself. "You did a good job, Elina. I can finish the job, I think." She suited action to words and then looked around at the group again. "You know, I'm going to have to break out of here or something now. There's really no reason to stay."

"No problem!" a cheerful voice cut in. "Dr. Tsukino to the rescue!"

A vaguely familiar, young blonde doctor entered the room, pushing an empty wheelchair. Asami bit back another grin. "Usagi? Is that you?"

Elina blushed again. "I, um, called her to tell her what happened."

Usagi giggled. "I can still transform like this. Isn't it cool?" She forced her face into a grave expression.

Kensaku frowned. "So who gets to distract the security guards, just in case?"

"We'll do it," Nuru spoke up, and dragged Elina out the door with her. When they were outside the room, Nuru turned to Elina. "Two girls fighting against two very strong men doesn't sound likely. We need to trick them."

Elina winked. "Of course." She trained her expression to one of urgency and dashed around the corner to the security guards. "Officer, there's a fight in the cafeteria! People are throwing food everywhere, and we just barely got away! You'd better go see!" She flashed the men a hopeful look, widening her eyes innocently. Nuru joined Elina and swallowed a laugh, shooting the guards her own pleading look.

The taller guard shrugged. "Alright. Nothing's going on up here anyway." With that, the two guards set off for the downstairs area, apparently taken in by the ruse.

Elina winked and motioned to show that the coast was clear.

"Let's go!" Usagi whispered loudly. Asami stepped into the wheelchair, and Usagi began to push it down the hall with Kensaku in tow.

The nurse at the station - Nurse Miyoshi, judging from the name tag - glanced up as the group approached and frowned in disapproval.

"There's no authorization to bring that patient anywhere!" she barked shrilly. "Where is she going? And who are you?"

Usagi tittered nervously. "Uh... X-rays! X-rays are always good! I'm Dr. Tsukino; nice to meet you. We really should be going now!"

"There's no such doctor here! SECURITY! SECURITY!" Nurse Miyoshi screamed, pressing the red button on her desk.

"What a minute; you mean you've never heard of..." Usagi began indignantly before Kensaku tapped her to remind her of the time limit. "Problem!" Usagi amended, speeding up.

Asami glanced backward at Nurse Miyoshi and shook her head. That woman needed some relaxation tapes. Asami raised an eyebrow. She could at least do something... She sent thoughts of relaxing, hypnotic music to Nurse Miyoshi's mind and had the satisfaction of seeing the woman fall to the ground in a deep sleep.

You don't need security... she sent. The patient is headed downstairs for x-rays. Whatever were you thinking?

She watched Nurse Miyoshi reawaken and stumble to her feet as if drunk. The nurse staggered to meet the security guards to tell them that this had just been one of her "episodes..."

Elina and Nuru helped the others pile into the elevator before pressing the button for the first floor. The doors slid open once the elevator had reached the lobby, and the group emerged, hurrying out of the hospital.

"Do you do this often?" Nuru asked sharply.

"You'd be surprised," Asami smiled while the group walked. "But I think that this time around, we've never done this particular thing before, believe it or not." She cocked her head. "So what now?"

"There's something I need to ask," Nuru volunteered. "I only remember enough about my past to remember that I was wrong to feel how I felt before the fight today. You told me my memories would come back, but I still don't remember enough. Does anyone else remember it?"

Asami looked away from Nuru momentarily, thinking. She remembered Nuru's past all too well, but wasn't sure the girl really wanted to know. She exchanged a serious glance with both Elina and Kensaku, knowing that Usagi was the only one who didn't know what Nuru had been through.

"I can help you to remember, Nuru, if you really want to know," Asami told the younger girl gently. "But you might not like it afterward."

Nuru shrugged. "That doesn't matter. I remember being beaten and I don't know why. Just do it. I have to know."

Asami sighed. "We will be here for you... just remember that. Here, take a seat." She let Nuru sit on a nearby bench and placed a hand on the younger girl's forehead, closing her eyes. In Nuru's mind, she opened up the barriers blocking Nuru's memory. Pulling away, she watched the girl carefully and gently, trying to read Nuru's expression.

"There, it's done."

Many thanks to both Andromeda and Pisces yet again.