Sailor Moon
My Soldier of Love
(The second story in the Masashi & Amy series.)
By: Alund of the Prophecy
Description: Masashi and Amy seem to have discovered that they are destined to be together, but one night their security is threatened, and Masashi finds out how far he would go for love. A sequel to "For Love is Heat and Mercury is Close to the Sun".
Life was going fine for me. Ever since I met Amy, my life had taken a turn for the better. I never felt lonely again, because even when Amy wasn't there for me in body, I could feel her with me in spirit. My life had improved dramatically. I began to appreciate the beauty in life. I'd notice how wonderfully blue the sky could be, how beautiful a shade of green the grass was when it grew in the parks, how lovely the trees looked as they swayed in the wind. The beauty of everything in the world was accentuated to a high degree because of Amy being in my life. I could never imagine myself loving anyone else for the rest of my life.
Not only did Amy improve my life, she improved my grades, too. She showed me how important school was at this point in my life. Before I knew Amy, I had an attitude of total apathy towards school and everything related to it. She showed me that by getting on well in school, the future would be whatever I wanted, not a bleak series of odd-jobs and third-class living. And she made school seem beautiful merely because she was in it.
Life was at its peak and it seemed that it could never come down. But one incident in my life which I will never forget to my dying day reminded me of how lucky I am. That incident will forever be in my heart.
* * *
It was a cool spring day in my sophomore year. Amy and I had been in love for nearly five months now, and there was never a moment in my life when I didn't think of her. Everywhere I turned, her face would appear in a shop window or it would be reflected in the sunglasses of some guy walking down the street. She'd always be smiling at me when I saw her face like that. It always made me feel on top of the world to see her like that. God, how I loved her. She had that inner radiance that many people seldom appreciate, but somehow hers only seemed to touch me, because not even her best friends seemed to notice it.
That brings me to the beginning of the incident. I had just come out from school and was walking to my bus with my friends Chuck and Pete. Chuck was a kid with an obsession over Sailor-V paraphernalia. He had all the Sailor-V video games, movies, sound bytes...you name it, he had it! A lot of kids thought him to be a little strange because of his obsession, but I didn't care. Sailor-V was just another phenomenon to me, like Pokémon. It would pass. Another thing he was obsessed over was his Korean girlfriend Hae-Young. There wasn't a day in lunch period when he didn't mention her.
Pete, on the other hand, was almost opposite to Chuck. He stood a good foot and a half taller than me, and had buzzed black hair. He wasn't really into much of anything, except Amy's friend Mina. When I first introduced him and Chuck to Amy and her friends, he couldn't stop looking at her. He never told me how he felt, but then again, I never told him my true feelings about Amy, so he had good reason not to. I didn't want to tell Serena how he felt, she'd try to fix him up with Mina, and then it'd all go to pieces. As to other times, Pete never said much of anything, except the occasional good joke. He was most talkative at lunch, but even then he didn't say much.
We were just about to split up and board our respective buses when Lita stopped us.
"Hey, Masashi! Want to come to Raye's house later today for a little get-together?"
"Sure," I said. "If it's okay with my parents."
"What about you two?" Lita asked of my friends.
"I'd like to, but Hae-Young and I are already going to a movie tonight," Chuck said. "Sorry."
"That's okay," Lita said. "What about you, Pete?"
Pete shifted uneasily from foot to foot. "Um, I don't have a ride..." he said uneasily.
"You can ride with me." I said.
"Um, if it's okay with my parents...but..." It was painfully obvious he wanted to go to see Mina again, but he was afraid of coming. Then, he made up his mind. "I'll try to make it," he said determinedly.
"Great! See you there," Lita said, walking off. I turned to my friends and bid them goodbye. It wasn't out of the ordinary to get together with Amy and her friends on such an impromptu basis by now. We'd done it a lot. It was always fun to learn more about Amy's friends. Besides, it'd give me a chance to spend some heavenly time with Amy.
* * *
That night, I got my homework finished early, a result of Amy's excellent tutoring, and took a bus to Pete's house. We both boarded another bus and rode to Raye's house. On the way, we said nothing to each other, until I finally decided to voice the question I'd been afraid to ask for so long.
"Hey Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you like Mina?"
He turned away quickly, hiding a blush, I guess. He stuttered a bit. "Um, well, yeah..."
"I thought so!" I exclaimed. "Do you think she's cute? I mean, I do!"
He said quietly, "Yeah."
"Why don't you ever tell me these things? Guys can talk about love, you know."
He was silent for a bit. Then he said, "You won't tell her I do, will you?"
"Well," I said, wondering why he wouldn't let her know, "sure, if you really don't want me to."
"No," he said.
"Do you mind if I ask why not?"
"Well, it's just that...I was planning on letting her know tonight."
"Ah," I said. "In that case, I'll let you do the work," I added jokingly. He gave a grunt. "But I'd better see you sitting next to her by the time we leave tonight," I said in a coaxing manner. He nodded. We said nothing more the whole trip. When the bus pulled up to the stop at Raye's house, we got off and went up to the door. I rang the bell. The door opened, and Raye stood behind it.
The first thing anyone notices about Raye is her hair. She's got a good yard and a half of those jet-black strands hanging off her head like so much fluffy brushed cotton. But I particularly noticed it this time because it was spray-painted pink in various spots.
"Hey," she said. Then, noticing my gaze, "Serena and Mina's idea of a practical joke. They sprayed it as soon as I opened the door. I have no idea why, but they sure did laugh." She spoke in an exasperated tone. She let us in and told us we could sit in her living room. As Pete and I padded off to that room in socked feet, I could tell both of our hearts were beating harder. Mine was beating for Amy, his for Mina. I could just feel it.
In Raye's living room sat Serena, Amy, Mina, Lita, and Darien, Serena's boyfriend. I didn't particularly like him. He thought he was so cool and everything at school. Right now he had Serena by one of her ponytails and was trying to undo it. Serena was trying to stop him, and in the process managed to flail her arms and legs all over. Amy, Lita, and Mina were rolling on the ground for laughter. I looked at Pete and rolled my eyes. He chuckled and went to the couch to sit, alone. I sat next to Amy immediately, who flopped her head in my lap as she finished laughing.
"What in the world is going on in here?" I asked, feigning concern.
"Oh, jeez..." Amy said, still laughing. "Serena's such a riot!" She opened her eyes and caught my gaze, the smile still on her face. The expression matched that of her in my visions. She stopped laughing and we sat staring into each other's eyes for a while. The others talked on without us for a bit. When I finally looked up as Amy sat back up, I caught Pete staring at me with envy in his eyes. I had been there, in his position, once. Now I was the one he envied. I felt like I had made myself his enemy because of my love. Well, hopefully, tonight he'd get into my position and then everything would be all right. Hopefully.
We talked about a lot of things that night. The subjects ranged from school to makeup. Pete, Darien, and I didn't say much. I just sat blissfully on Raye's couch, Amy seated comfortably in my arms. Occasionally, she'd turn and look at me, and all I could think of then was how blue and glossy her eyes were. Those moist spheres told me everything she wanted to say but couldn't. I wanted so much then to repeat that special moment from last summer when the power went out, but I knew I couldn't here. That was impolite, and Amy, being the most sweet and polite person I know, wouldn't stand for being impolite in public.
Somehow, the conversation had gotten onto the subject of love and old boyfriends in particular. Mina had turned to Amy.
"Hey, Amy, remember Greg? He's coming to visit from Yokohama this weekend." she said. Then she slapped her mouth as if she'd said something inappropriate. Pete loved that gesture, I could tell. But...who was Greg? I looked at Amy. I guess my eyes betrayed my question, because she looked away as if she were afraid she'd lost me. She got up and excused herself. I followed her outside. As I went off, I could hear Serena reprimanding Mina for her carelessness.
Outside, Amy was standing on Raye's patio, gazing up at the moon. I came up beside her and looked at it, too. She turned away ashamedly.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi," she said timidly.
"So...who's this Greg?" I asked as gently as I could. It still sounded harsh to me. I hoped I hadn't hurt her feelings. She still didn't turn to face me.
"Greg was I boy I knew a while ago," she began. "I guess I liked him. I even gave him a picture of me. He was cute and everything, but..." Then she turned to face me. "I didn't love him or anyone else like I love you." And as if to prove her last statement, she stepped up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. Dear God, the sensations I felt all at once! The warmth from her lips and arms made my head swim. I nearly lost my footing. The world was spinning. I embraced her tightly and she laid her chin on my shoulder.
"I've never been loved like this," she whispered. "And no one else can love me like you do. I love you."
"I love you," I replied in a whisper. We stood in each other's arms for a time, then she stepped back and dug in her pocket, pulling out a photograph. She handed it to me.
"For you," she said. "I want you to keep it."
My heart moaned with joy. "I'll keep it by my bed," I said. It was a snapshot of Amy sitting under a huge umbrella at the beach, wearing a huge, baggy shirt over her swimsuit and a large-brimmed straw hat. She was looking at the camera with a wide smile on her face like she had been caught off guard. I gently placed it in my pocket.
When we returned to the living room, we saw Serena, Mina, and Lita hastily dash away from the window that faced the patio and sit on the couch as if they had always been that way. Amy looked at me and rolled her eyes, smiling. I laughed lightly. I noticed, though, that when Mina sat back down she sat right next to Pete, on a separate couch, away from her friends. I smiled inwardly.
When we had to go back home, Pete and I boarded the bus and rode to his stop in silence. Something about Pete had changed. He wore a grin to rival the Cheshire Cat and had a dreamy look in his eyes. He and Mina must have hit it off big. I felt glad that he'd gotten the courage to finally tell Mina how he felt about her. Pretty soon, he'd be truly happy, like me.
* * *
All good things must come to an end, though, as I learned the following night. Amy and I had gotten together at her apartment for one of our regular study sessions, and her parents had retired early. I was going to have to leave sometime soon, when in the middle of her sentence, Amy stopped reading. Her watch was beeping.
"I'm sorry," she said hurriedly. "I'll be right back." She got up and left the room. That was strange. She never did that before. Why didn't she just hit the button on her watch to stop the alarm. I glanced at my own watch. It read 9:18. That was no time when a watch alarm should go off. This was odd. I was going to have to ask her what was going on when she came back.
When she did come back, she seemed in a rush. She told me to stay put and not follow her. She had to go somewhere in a hurry, and she said that if I was smart, I'd just go home and not follow her. I was about to question her when she opened the window and flung herself headlong out through it onto the fire escape.
"Hey! Wait!" I shouted. She, unfazed, jumped off the fire escape and onto the pavement a few feet below. I ran to the fire escape and looked over the edge. She had landed feet first and was bolting off down the alley at a dead run. I called after her. She turned back and waved at me to stay away.
"Stay there!" she called. "Don't follow me!!" Then she rounded a corner and was out of sight.
What the hell was going on? I intended to find out. Despite her warnings, I climbed down the fire escape and went to pursue her. A great deal of light was erupting from around the corner, and when I rounded it, I saw a sight that I have never forgotten since.
Amy was dancing in fire. She had turned white, like a pencil drawing not colored in, and was twirling a blue wand as the world swam and spun about her. She didn't see me, and as I watched, blue ribbons streamed from the end of the wand and covered her body. They solidified into a white bodysuit and blue miniskirt, with a big blue bow appended to its front, and a blue crystal in the bow's center. Her color returned. Blue knee-high boots appeared on her feet and a golden tiara with a blue crystal at its center appeared on her forehead. White elbow-length gauntlets adorned her forearms, and two blue lapels with white stripes appeared at her neckline.
A sailor-type outfit...
Something went off in my mind. The memories of a fateful April night long ago jumped back into my mind, clear as a bell. SHE WAS THE ONE WHO HAD SAVED MY LIFE! I was dumbfounded, but I had to duck back around the corner as she turned to look in my direction. Then I heard her run off down the alley, her boots clicking on the pavement. Was she...? What was she? Before I could answer myself, I was running at full speed to catch up, my mind intent on solving this mystery once and for all.
When she reached a main road, she turned and ran straight for a parking garage on the corner. Bright lights flickered from unseen sources on the roof of the garage. I watched from around the corner as Amy, instead of taking the stairs or elevator, leaped up onto the roof ten stories above by jumping from level to level of the garage. Awestruck, I watched her disappear over the edge of the roof, then ran to follow her by stairway. I heard running footsteps behind me and a voice called, "Hey!!"
I turned and saw Lita, dressed in similar attire to Amy, but with green accents, running up to me. She grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and shook me hard.
"What do you think you're doing here?!" she asked angrily. I didn't have time to answer before she snarled, "Whatever you do, DON'T COME TO THE ROOF!! You don't realize how much peril you're in. STAY HERE!!"
With that, she turned and leaped up to the roof of the garage in a similar fashion to Amy.
Now I was totally bewildered. Lita, too? I needed some answers, and quickly. The roof held them, but there was obviously great danger there. Why were Amy and Lita throwing themselves into it? If they were in danger...if my Amy was in danger, I had to get her out of it! I hastily ran for the stairs and, forgetting both Amy and Lita's warnings, began to climb.
When I emerged on the roof, the oddest of sights greeted my eyes. A short, thin girl stood in the center of the roof, where the cars had not parked. She had red hair done in a flattop style cut, and wore the oddest arrangement of golden clothes I had ever seen. Serena and Raye were in a corner of the roof, wedged in the conflux of two of the cement medians around the edge. They were bruised and burned, and were bedecked in similar garb to both Amy and Lita, except Raye's outfit wore red accents, and Serena's was more ornate. Amy and Lita stood challenging the thin girl.
"Galaxia! You won't succeed in destroying the Sailor Scouts!" Lita cried.
"We are Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter, and we fight for justice and against evil!" Amy exclaimed.
"Hah!" the thin girl, the one they called Galaxia, laughed. "If Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars couldn't stand up to me, what makes you think you two can?"
Amy didn't answer. Instead, she threw her arms into an X before her face and seemed to throw blue balls of energy at Galaxia. Galaxia simply raised a hand and the balls vanished. She then waved her arm to the side and Amy and Lita flew from where they were standing into the concrete guardrail. I nearly cried out for Amy as I saw her smack her arm painfully on the concrete. I realized I was easily visible and took shelter behind an orange car.
Without warning, a rose flew from nowhere and stuck in the pavement at Galaxia's feet. She turned and looked at the top of the stairway exit. I looked, too, and beheld Darien, dressed in a tuxedo, mask, and cape, and wielding a long cane as he stood upon the roof of the stairwell exit.
I couldn't believe it. He was a superhero too?
He leapt at Galaxia and swung his cane. Galaxia dodged and flung huge yellow balls of energy at his head. I watched in horror as he fell, scorched and unconscious, to the pavement. Galaxia, leaving him for dead, turned back to Amy, Lita, Raye, and Serena.
I damned myself for my impotence. I wanted to help, but I was afraid. What could I do, if these superheroes were outmatched? With one down and four to go, it wouldn't be long before Amy fell to Galaxia's onslaught. I knew I'd die if Amy fell. I wouldn't let that happen. Neither would Lita and Amy. They stood and began fighting Galaxia, both physically and with their powers, but it was clear it was an already losing battle.
Without warning, a beam of yellow energy struck Galaxia full in the side. She cried out, broke off her attack, and turned. I looked for the source of the energy beam and saw Mina, dressed in an orange-accented sailor suit, standing on the concrete guardrail. She jumped lightly off the guardrail and ducked for cover behind the stairwell exit booth as Galaxia began her assault anew on Mina. It was just enough opportunity for Amy, Lita, Serena, and Raye to begin an assault from the rear. Galaxia whirled in anger at the strike. She turned so that her sides faced both groups of attackers and sent her arms out straight at her sides as if to push some invisible walls apart, her open palms facing all the...Sailor Scouts?...at once. The Scouts were pushed over as if by a huge gust of wind and flew back against the concrete guardrails. Lita and Amy were blown over the top of the rails, but caught themselves and were hanging on to the edge of the roof with all their might, dangling perilously over the ten-story drop. Serena and Raye turned to help them back up, but Galaxia launched her assault again and they were thrown into the rails painfully. Lita managed to heave herself over the edge and onto the roof after Galaxia stopped, but Amy was still hanging on. Galaxia was distracted for a moment by Mina's attack from behind the stairwell booth, and this gave Serena and Raye enough time to grasp Amy's arm and begin to pull her up.
But then Mina hid behind the booth again. Galaxia turned for the other four girls and threw four searing balls of energy at them. Serena and Raye lost their grip. Time seemed to slow down for a brief moment.
In slow motion, I saw Amy's hands disappear below the edge of the guardrail. Her scream was cut short shortly after.
Time resumed its normal flow.
DEAR GOD, NO!!
Unthinking, I let out a cry to rival that of the thunder of the heavens, and leapt into the car I had taken shelter behind through its open window. The owner had left a spare key in the glove compartment. Starting the car, my mind racing with anger and hatred I have never experienced before, I slammed on the accelerator. The car flew from its parking spot and I drove headlong at Galaxia. Adrenaline rushed in my bloodstream. My heart beat a thousand times faster. My lifeblood roared in my ears. Galaxia rushed up towards the windshield as she stood there, unmoving. I got the crazy idea that I'd run her down and avenge Amy's death.
Amy's death...it couldn't be.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Galaxia thrust out her hand and the car came to a dead stop. My face slammed into the steering wheel. Pain lanced through my forehead. With a flick of her finger, Galaxia set me and the car flying into the stairwell booth. I felt my heart jump into the back of my mouth as the car hurtled through the air. The impact shattered the windows of the car, sending fragments into my face and arms. The roof flattened like a pop can and my brain overloaded with pain signals from all over my body. When it was over, I became conscious of being in a fetal position in the seat of the car, fragments of the windows and windshield stuck painfully in my face and body. My arms were wet and sticky with my blood. The driver's side door of the car had been thrown open upon impact.
Pain clouding my vision and judgement, I dragged myself out of the car and onto the pavement beside it. I shakily tried to stand and had to lean against the guardrail for support. With no thoughts in my brain, my legs and arms brought me over to the fire escape and hoisted me over the guardrail into it. With not a sensation of thought in my synapses, I descended the fire escape. When I turned to face the pavement about three levels down, I caught sight of a human form prone on the ground.
My mind couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. I denied it even existed. I wanted so much to see the form raise itself up and turn to face me with a smile on its face. When this didn't occur for a few minutes, I could only think of one thing: to die with her. I descended the remaining seven stories and dropped from the bottom of the ladder to the ground. My legs were too weak to hold me up, and they gave way beneath my torso. Uncaring about the pain in my body, I crawled slowly up to the motionless form, my blood leaving a trail on the asphalt behind me. When I came up to the form and turned it onto its back, I couldn't stop the moan from escaping my lips.
She lay there, her blood coagulating in a wide puddle beneath her head. Her face was like a wax carving, motionless, with closed eyes and mouth half open. Her beautiful blue hair was sticky and stained with what should have been coursing through her veins at that moment. I sobbed into it and couldn't stop crying for what seemed like an eternity. I ran my fingers through the fine strands on her head and over the smooth, lukewarm skin on her face. My tears dappled her eyelids and cheeks. I brought my hand behind her head, feeling the deep gash in its back, clasped it to my heart.
She was dead. The only thing I ever knew I was fated to have for the rest of my life was gone forever. She wasn't warm and loving anymore, she was a cold, lifeless shell. Dear God in heaven, it couldn't be. It wouldn't be. I lay my head on her chest now, resolving myself to die there with her.
I must have lied there for hours, when I became conscious of footsteps approaching from behind me. It was the Sailor Scouts. I didn't want to see their faces ever again. I blamed them for Amy's death.
"Go away!!" I cried. "Leave me!! I never want to see you again!!" And I sobbed until I was hoarse, but still the tears didn't stop.
Serena was crying as she supported Darien. Lita held it in with an effort, and Raye and Mina were openly sobbing into their hands. They didn't leave. I ignored them and began to feel my consciousness fading. I had lost a lot of blood. I was going to die there with Amy, like I wanted. I openly accepted Death's embrace.
A distant noise, like a regular drumbeat, echoed in my ears. I thought it was my own heart slowing down, but then I realized that it was speeding up, and getting louder and stronger every second. I raised my head from Amy's chest and looked at her face.
The color was returning to it.
The crystal in the center of her big blue bow, stained purple in some areas by me, was glowing a bright cyan. As I watched stupefied, the drying puddle of blood beneath her head began to slowly recede and vanish away into nothingness.
She slowly opened her eyes...
I thought I could explode for elation. My tears turned to tears of joy as she took a labored breath and looked around her to gain her orientation. Then she focused on me with her big, glassy, blue eyes. They were moist. Her face was pink with her reclaimed blood, and the lips which parted as they joined with mine for the third time were warm and pulsing with life.
When we finally ceased, the combination of blood loss, rapid emotional change, and the wake of the adrenaline rush caught up to me. My vision faded to a single point and then died out completely.
* * *
When I next opened my eyes, I felt warm and cozy beneath a heavy blanket in a hospital bed. The room was plain and white, and smelt of anesthetics and decontaminates. I sat up and my joints groaned under the sudden stress. I had and IV running into my arm, and an EKG machine was giving the regular tones of my heartbeat.
Standing before me, dressed in a heavy overcoat, blouse, and jeans, was Amy. She stepped forward and clasped my hand in both of hers.
"Welcome back," she said softly.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, my voice sticky with the long period of disuse.
"About twelve hours," she replied. "I came here to say thank you."
"What for?"
"For saving my life," she replied. "Serena said that it was your love for me which interacted with my crystal. You revived me. Thank you for my life, Masashi."
I smiled. "It's the least I could do," I said, "for a soldier of your caliber."
She smiled sweetly and kissed my cheek. Before she left, she gently set something on the table beside me. Then she said goodbye and softly shut the door.
On the table sat the photograph of her at the beach, framed in a blue wooden case. I smiled at it and fell back asleep.
The End
---
I hope you enjoyed my story. There are two left to this series! Please make sure to read the first, "For Love is Heat and Mercury is Close to the Sun", and this one will make much more sense. This may have nothing to do with the actual series, but I write what I think! Galaxia may be from the "Sailor Stars" series, but this story is not part of any of the series. The "Pokémon" reference is attributed to everyone who owns the rights to "Pokémon". This series is based completely off the USA series. The copyright for "Sailor Moon" is held by Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI, DiC, Kodansha, Bandai, and others. I have no relationship with any of the "Sailor Moon" copyright holders and do not claim ownership of their materials or "Sailor Moon"'s image/likeness. Please do not sue me. Thanks for reading. -- Alund
My Soldier of Love
(The second story in the Masashi & Amy series.)
By: Alund of the Prophecy
Description: Masashi and Amy seem to have discovered that they are destined to be together, but one night their security is threatened, and Masashi finds out how far he would go for love. A sequel to "For Love is Heat and Mercury is Close to the Sun".
Life was going fine for me. Ever since I met Amy, my life had taken a turn for the better. I never felt lonely again, because even when Amy wasn't there for me in body, I could feel her with me in spirit. My life had improved dramatically. I began to appreciate the beauty in life. I'd notice how wonderfully blue the sky could be, how beautiful a shade of green the grass was when it grew in the parks, how lovely the trees looked as they swayed in the wind. The beauty of everything in the world was accentuated to a high degree because of Amy being in my life. I could never imagine myself loving anyone else for the rest of my life.
Not only did Amy improve my life, she improved my grades, too. She showed me how important school was at this point in my life. Before I knew Amy, I had an attitude of total apathy towards school and everything related to it. She showed me that by getting on well in school, the future would be whatever I wanted, not a bleak series of odd-jobs and third-class living. And she made school seem beautiful merely because she was in it.
Life was at its peak and it seemed that it could never come down. But one incident in my life which I will never forget to my dying day reminded me of how lucky I am. That incident will forever be in my heart.
* * *
It was a cool spring day in my sophomore year. Amy and I had been in love for nearly five months now, and there was never a moment in my life when I didn't think of her. Everywhere I turned, her face would appear in a shop window or it would be reflected in the sunglasses of some guy walking down the street. She'd always be smiling at me when I saw her face like that. It always made me feel on top of the world to see her like that. God, how I loved her. She had that inner radiance that many people seldom appreciate, but somehow hers only seemed to touch me, because not even her best friends seemed to notice it.
That brings me to the beginning of the incident. I had just come out from school and was walking to my bus with my friends Chuck and Pete. Chuck was a kid with an obsession over Sailor-V paraphernalia. He had all the Sailor-V video games, movies, sound bytes...you name it, he had it! A lot of kids thought him to be a little strange because of his obsession, but I didn't care. Sailor-V was just another phenomenon to me, like Pokémon. It would pass. Another thing he was obsessed over was his Korean girlfriend Hae-Young. There wasn't a day in lunch period when he didn't mention her.
Pete, on the other hand, was almost opposite to Chuck. He stood a good foot and a half taller than me, and had buzzed black hair. He wasn't really into much of anything, except Amy's friend Mina. When I first introduced him and Chuck to Amy and her friends, he couldn't stop looking at her. He never told me how he felt, but then again, I never told him my true feelings about Amy, so he had good reason not to. I didn't want to tell Serena how he felt, she'd try to fix him up with Mina, and then it'd all go to pieces. As to other times, Pete never said much of anything, except the occasional good joke. He was most talkative at lunch, but even then he didn't say much.
We were just about to split up and board our respective buses when Lita stopped us.
"Hey, Masashi! Want to come to Raye's house later today for a little get-together?"
"Sure," I said. "If it's okay with my parents."
"What about you two?" Lita asked of my friends.
"I'd like to, but Hae-Young and I are already going to a movie tonight," Chuck said. "Sorry."
"That's okay," Lita said. "What about you, Pete?"
Pete shifted uneasily from foot to foot. "Um, I don't have a ride..." he said uneasily.
"You can ride with me." I said.
"Um, if it's okay with my parents...but..." It was painfully obvious he wanted to go to see Mina again, but he was afraid of coming. Then, he made up his mind. "I'll try to make it," he said determinedly.
"Great! See you there," Lita said, walking off. I turned to my friends and bid them goodbye. It wasn't out of the ordinary to get together with Amy and her friends on such an impromptu basis by now. We'd done it a lot. It was always fun to learn more about Amy's friends. Besides, it'd give me a chance to spend some heavenly time with Amy.
* * *
That night, I got my homework finished early, a result of Amy's excellent tutoring, and took a bus to Pete's house. We both boarded another bus and rode to Raye's house. On the way, we said nothing to each other, until I finally decided to voice the question I'd been afraid to ask for so long.
"Hey Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you like Mina?"
He turned away quickly, hiding a blush, I guess. He stuttered a bit. "Um, well, yeah..."
"I thought so!" I exclaimed. "Do you think she's cute? I mean, I do!"
He said quietly, "Yeah."
"Why don't you ever tell me these things? Guys can talk about love, you know."
He was silent for a bit. Then he said, "You won't tell her I do, will you?"
"Well," I said, wondering why he wouldn't let her know, "sure, if you really don't want me to."
"No," he said.
"Do you mind if I ask why not?"
"Well, it's just that...I was planning on letting her know tonight."
"Ah," I said. "In that case, I'll let you do the work," I added jokingly. He gave a grunt. "But I'd better see you sitting next to her by the time we leave tonight," I said in a coaxing manner. He nodded. We said nothing more the whole trip. When the bus pulled up to the stop at Raye's house, we got off and went up to the door. I rang the bell. The door opened, and Raye stood behind it.
The first thing anyone notices about Raye is her hair. She's got a good yard and a half of those jet-black strands hanging off her head like so much fluffy brushed cotton. But I particularly noticed it this time because it was spray-painted pink in various spots.
"Hey," she said. Then, noticing my gaze, "Serena and Mina's idea of a practical joke. They sprayed it as soon as I opened the door. I have no idea why, but they sure did laugh." She spoke in an exasperated tone. She let us in and told us we could sit in her living room. As Pete and I padded off to that room in socked feet, I could tell both of our hearts were beating harder. Mine was beating for Amy, his for Mina. I could just feel it.
In Raye's living room sat Serena, Amy, Mina, Lita, and Darien, Serena's boyfriend. I didn't particularly like him. He thought he was so cool and everything at school. Right now he had Serena by one of her ponytails and was trying to undo it. Serena was trying to stop him, and in the process managed to flail her arms and legs all over. Amy, Lita, and Mina were rolling on the ground for laughter. I looked at Pete and rolled my eyes. He chuckled and went to the couch to sit, alone. I sat next to Amy immediately, who flopped her head in my lap as she finished laughing.
"What in the world is going on in here?" I asked, feigning concern.
"Oh, jeez..." Amy said, still laughing. "Serena's such a riot!" She opened her eyes and caught my gaze, the smile still on her face. The expression matched that of her in my visions. She stopped laughing and we sat staring into each other's eyes for a while. The others talked on without us for a bit. When I finally looked up as Amy sat back up, I caught Pete staring at me with envy in his eyes. I had been there, in his position, once. Now I was the one he envied. I felt like I had made myself his enemy because of my love. Well, hopefully, tonight he'd get into my position and then everything would be all right. Hopefully.
We talked about a lot of things that night. The subjects ranged from school to makeup. Pete, Darien, and I didn't say much. I just sat blissfully on Raye's couch, Amy seated comfortably in my arms. Occasionally, she'd turn and look at me, and all I could think of then was how blue and glossy her eyes were. Those moist spheres told me everything she wanted to say but couldn't. I wanted so much then to repeat that special moment from last summer when the power went out, but I knew I couldn't here. That was impolite, and Amy, being the most sweet and polite person I know, wouldn't stand for being impolite in public.
Somehow, the conversation had gotten onto the subject of love and old boyfriends in particular. Mina had turned to Amy.
"Hey, Amy, remember Greg? He's coming to visit from Yokohama this weekend." she said. Then she slapped her mouth as if she'd said something inappropriate. Pete loved that gesture, I could tell. But...who was Greg? I looked at Amy. I guess my eyes betrayed my question, because she looked away as if she were afraid she'd lost me. She got up and excused herself. I followed her outside. As I went off, I could hear Serena reprimanding Mina for her carelessness.
Outside, Amy was standing on Raye's patio, gazing up at the moon. I came up beside her and looked at it, too. She turned away ashamedly.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi," she said timidly.
"So...who's this Greg?" I asked as gently as I could. It still sounded harsh to me. I hoped I hadn't hurt her feelings. She still didn't turn to face me.
"Greg was I boy I knew a while ago," she began. "I guess I liked him. I even gave him a picture of me. He was cute and everything, but..." Then she turned to face me. "I didn't love him or anyone else like I love you." And as if to prove her last statement, she stepped up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. Dear God, the sensations I felt all at once! The warmth from her lips and arms made my head swim. I nearly lost my footing. The world was spinning. I embraced her tightly and she laid her chin on my shoulder.
"I've never been loved like this," she whispered. "And no one else can love me like you do. I love you."
"I love you," I replied in a whisper. We stood in each other's arms for a time, then she stepped back and dug in her pocket, pulling out a photograph. She handed it to me.
"For you," she said. "I want you to keep it."
My heart moaned with joy. "I'll keep it by my bed," I said. It was a snapshot of Amy sitting under a huge umbrella at the beach, wearing a huge, baggy shirt over her swimsuit and a large-brimmed straw hat. She was looking at the camera with a wide smile on her face like she had been caught off guard. I gently placed it in my pocket.
When we returned to the living room, we saw Serena, Mina, and Lita hastily dash away from the window that faced the patio and sit on the couch as if they had always been that way. Amy looked at me and rolled her eyes, smiling. I laughed lightly. I noticed, though, that when Mina sat back down she sat right next to Pete, on a separate couch, away from her friends. I smiled inwardly.
When we had to go back home, Pete and I boarded the bus and rode to his stop in silence. Something about Pete had changed. He wore a grin to rival the Cheshire Cat and had a dreamy look in his eyes. He and Mina must have hit it off big. I felt glad that he'd gotten the courage to finally tell Mina how he felt about her. Pretty soon, he'd be truly happy, like me.
* * *
All good things must come to an end, though, as I learned the following night. Amy and I had gotten together at her apartment for one of our regular study sessions, and her parents had retired early. I was going to have to leave sometime soon, when in the middle of her sentence, Amy stopped reading. Her watch was beeping.
"I'm sorry," she said hurriedly. "I'll be right back." She got up and left the room. That was strange. She never did that before. Why didn't she just hit the button on her watch to stop the alarm. I glanced at my own watch. It read 9:18. That was no time when a watch alarm should go off. This was odd. I was going to have to ask her what was going on when she came back.
When she did come back, she seemed in a rush. She told me to stay put and not follow her. She had to go somewhere in a hurry, and she said that if I was smart, I'd just go home and not follow her. I was about to question her when she opened the window and flung herself headlong out through it onto the fire escape.
"Hey! Wait!" I shouted. She, unfazed, jumped off the fire escape and onto the pavement a few feet below. I ran to the fire escape and looked over the edge. She had landed feet first and was bolting off down the alley at a dead run. I called after her. She turned back and waved at me to stay away.
"Stay there!" she called. "Don't follow me!!" Then she rounded a corner and was out of sight.
What the hell was going on? I intended to find out. Despite her warnings, I climbed down the fire escape and went to pursue her. A great deal of light was erupting from around the corner, and when I rounded it, I saw a sight that I have never forgotten since.
Amy was dancing in fire. She had turned white, like a pencil drawing not colored in, and was twirling a blue wand as the world swam and spun about her. She didn't see me, and as I watched, blue ribbons streamed from the end of the wand and covered her body. They solidified into a white bodysuit and blue miniskirt, with a big blue bow appended to its front, and a blue crystal in the bow's center. Her color returned. Blue knee-high boots appeared on her feet and a golden tiara with a blue crystal at its center appeared on her forehead. White elbow-length gauntlets adorned her forearms, and two blue lapels with white stripes appeared at her neckline.
A sailor-type outfit...
Something went off in my mind. The memories of a fateful April night long ago jumped back into my mind, clear as a bell. SHE WAS THE ONE WHO HAD SAVED MY LIFE! I was dumbfounded, but I had to duck back around the corner as she turned to look in my direction. Then I heard her run off down the alley, her boots clicking on the pavement. Was she...? What was she? Before I could answer myself, I was running at full speed to catch up, my mind intent on solving this mystery once and for all.
When she reached a main road, she turned and ran straight for a parking garage on the corner. Bright lights flickered from unseen sources on the roof of the garage. I watched from around the corner as Amy, instead of taking the stairs or elevator, leaped up onto the roof ten stories above by jumping from level to level of the garage. Awestruck, I watched her disappear over the edge of the roof, then ran to follow her by stairway. I heard running footsteps behind me and a voice called, "Hey!!"
I turned and saw Lita, dressed in similar attire to Amy, but with green accents, running up to me. She grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and shook me hard.
"What do you think you're doing here?!" she asked angrily. I didn't have time to answer before she snarled, "Whatever you do, DON'T COME TO THE ROOF!! You don't realize how much peril you're in. STAY HERE!!"
With that, she turned and leaped up to the roof of the garage in a similar fashion to Amy.
Now I was totally bewildered. Lita, too? I needed some answers, and quickly. The roof held them, but there was obviously great danger there. Why were Amy and Lita throwing themselves into it? If they were in danger...if my Amy was in danger, I had to get her out of it! I hastily ran for the stairs and, forgetting both Amy and Lita's warnings, began to climb.
When I emerged on the roof, the oddest of sights greeted my eyes. A short, thin girl stood in the center of the roof, where the cars had not parked. She had red hair done in a flattop style cut, and wore the oddest arrangement of golden clothes I had ever seen. Serena and Raye were in a corner of the roof, wedged in the conflux of two of the cement medians around the edge. They were bruised and burned, and were bedecked in similar garb to both Amy and Lita, except Raye's outfit wore red accents, and Serena's was more ornate. Amy and Lita stood challenging the thin girl.
"Galaxia! You won't succeed in destroying the Sailor Scouts!" Lita cried.
"We are Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter, and we fight for justice and against evil!" Amy exclaimed.
"Hah!" the thin girl, the one they called Galaxia, laughed. "If Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars couldn't stand up to me, what makes you think you two can?"
Amy didn't answer. Instead, she threw her arms into an X before her face and seemed to throw blue balls of energy at Galaxia. Galaxia simply raised a hand and the balls vanished. She then waved her arm to the side and Amy and Lita flew from where they were standing into the concrete guardrail. I nearly cried out for Amy as I saw her smack her arm painfully on the concrete. I realized I was easily visible and took shelter behind an orange car.
Without warning, a rose flew from nowhere and stuck in the pavement at Galaxia's feet. She turned and looked at the top of the stairway exit. I looked, too, and beheld Darien, dressed in a tuxedo, mask, and cape, and wielding a long cane as he stood upon the roof of the stairwell exit.
I couldn't believe it. He was a superhero too?
He leapt at Galaxia and swung his cane. Galaxia dodged and flung huge yellow balls of energy at his head. I watched in horror as he fell, scorched and unconscious, to the pavement. Galaxia, leaving him for dead, turned back to Amy, Lita, Raye, and Serena.
I damned myself for my impotence. I wanted to help, but I was afraid. What could I do, if these superheroes were outmatched? With one down and four to go, it wouldn't be long before Amy fell to Galaxia's onslaught. I knew I'd die if Amy fell. I wouldn't let that happen. Neither would Lita and Amy. They stood and began fighting Galaxia, both physically and with their powers, but it was clear it was an already losing battle.
Without warning, a beam of yellow energy struck Galaxia full in the side. She cried out, broke off her attack, and turned. I looked for the source of the energy beam and saw Mina, dressed in an orange-accented sailor suit, standing on the concrete guardrail. She jumped lightly off the guardrail and ducked for cover behind the stairwell exit booth as Galaxia began her assault anew on Mina. It was just enough opportunity for Amy, Lita, Serena, and Raye to begin an assault from the rear. Galaxia whirled in anger at the strike. She turned so that her sides faced both groups of attackers and sent her arms out straight at her sides as if to push some invisible walls apart, her open palms facing all the...Sailor Scouts?...at once. The Scouts were pushed over as if by a huge gust of wind and flew back against the concrete guardrails. Lita and Amy were blown over the top of the rails, but caught themselves and were hanging on to the edge of the roof with all their might, dangling perilously over the ten-story drop. Serena and Raye turned to help them back up, but Galaxia launched her assault again and they were thrown into the rails painfully. Lita managed to heave herself over the edge and onto the roof after Galaxia stopped, but Amy was still hanging on. Galaxia was distracted for a moment by Mina's attack from behind the stairwell booth, and this gave Serena and Raye enough time to grasp Amy's arm and begin to pull her up.
But then Mina hid behind the booth again. Galaxia turned for the other four girls and threw four searing balls of energy at them. Serena and Raye lost their grip. Time seemed to slow down for a brief moment.
In slow motion, I saw Amy's hands disappear below the edge of the guardrail. Her scream was cut short shortly after.
Time resumed its normal flow.
DEAR GOD, NO!!
Unthinking, I let out a cry to rival that of the thunder of the heavens, and leapt into the car I had taken shelter behind through its open window. The owner had left a spare key in the glove compartment. Starting the car, my mind racing with anger and hatred I have never experienced before, I slammed on the accelerator. The car flew from its parking spot and I drove headlong at Galaxia. Adrenaline rushed in my bloodstream. My heart beat a thousand times faster. My lifeblood roared in my ears. Galaxia rushed up towards the windshield as she stood there, unmoving. I got the crazy idea that I'd run her down and avenge Amy's death.
Amy's death...it couldn't be.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Galaxia thrust out her hand and the car came to a dead stop. My face slammed into the steering wheel. Pain lanced through my forehead. With a flick of her finger, Galaxia set me and the car flying into the stairwell booth. I felt my heart jump into the back of my mouth as the car hurtled through the air. The impact shattered the windows of the car, sending fragments into my face and arms. The roof flattened like a pop can and my brain overloaded with pain signals from all over my body. When it was over, I became conscious of being in a fetal position in the seat of the car, fragments of the windows and windshield stuck painfully in my face and body. My arms were wet and sticky with my blood. The driver's side door of the car had been thrown open upon impact.
Pain clouding my vision and judgement, I dragged myself out of the car and onto the pavement beside it. I shakily tried to stand and had to lean against the guardrail for support. With no thoughts in my brain, my legs and arms brought me over to the fire escape and hoisted me over the guardrail into it. With not a sensation of thought in my synapses, I descended the fire escape. When I turned to face the pavement about three levels down, I caught sight of a human form prone on the ground.
My mind couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. I denied it even existed. I wanted so much to see the form raise itself up and turn to face me with a smile on its face. When this didn't occur for a few minutes, I could only think of one thing: to die with her. I descended the remaining seven stories and dropped from the bottom of the ladder to the ground. My legs were too weak to hold me up, and they gave way beneath my torso. Uncaring about the pain in my body, I crawled slowly up to the motionless form, my blood leaving a trail on the asphalt behind me. When I came up to the form and turned it onto its back, I couldn't stop the moan from escaping my lips.
She lay there, her blood coagulating in a wide puddle beneath her head. Her face was like a wax carving, motionless, with closed eyes and mouth half open. Her beautiful blue hair was sticky and stained with what should have been coursing through her veins at that moment. I sobbed into it and couldn't stop crying for what seemed like an eternity. I ran my fingers through the fine strands on her head and over the smooth, lukewarm skin on her face. My tears dappled her eyelids and cheeks. I brought my hand behind her head, feeling the deep gash in its back, clasped it to my heart.
She was dead. The only thing I ever knew I was fated to have for the rest of my life was gone forever. She wasn't warm and loving anymore, she was a cold, lifeless shell. Dear God in heaven, it couldn't be. It wouldn't be. I lay my head on her chest now, resolving myself to die there with her.
I must have lied there for hours, when I became conscious of footsteps approaching from behind me. It was the Sailor Scouts. I didn't want to see their faces ever again. I blamed them for Amy's death.
"Go away!!" I cried. "Leave me!! I never want to see you again!!" And I sobbed until I was hoarse, but still the tears didn't stop.
Serena was crying as she supported Darien. Lita held it in with an effort, and Raye and Mina were openly sobbing into their hands. They didn't leave. I ignored them and began to feel my consciousness fading. I had lost a lot of blood. I was going to die there with Amy, like I wanted. I openly accepted Death's embrace.
A distant noise, like a regular drumbeat, echoed in my ears. I thought it was my own heart slowing down, but then I realized that it was speeding up, and getting louder and stronger every second. I raised my head from Amy's chest and looked at her face.
The color was returning to it.
The crystal in the center of her big blue bow, stained purple in some areas by me, was glowing a bright cyan. As I watched stupefied, the drying puddle of blood beneath her head began to slowly recede and vanish away into nothingness.
She slowly opened her eyes...
I thought I could explode for elation. My tears turned to tears of joy as she took a labored breath and looked around her to gain her orientation. Then she focused on me with her big, glassy, blue eyes. They were moist. Her face was pink with her reclaimed blood, and the lips which parted as they joined with mine for the third time were warm and pulsing with life.
When we finally ceased, the combination of blood loss, rapid emotional change, and the wake of the adrenaline rush caught up to me. My vision faded to a single point and then died out completely.
* * *
When I next opened my eyes, I felt warm and cozy beneath a heavy blanket in a hospital bed. The room was plain and white, and smelt of anesthetics and decontaminates. I sat up and my joints groaned under the sudden stress. I had and IV running into my arm, and an EKG machine was giving the regular tones of my heartbeat.
Standing before me, dressed in a heavy overcoat, blouse, and jeans, was Amy. She stepped forward and clasped my hand in both of hers.
"Welcome back," she said softly.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, my voice sticky with the long period of disuse.
"About twelve hours," she replied. "I came here to say thank you."
"What for?"
"For saving my life," she replied. "Serena said that it was your love for me which interacted with my crystal. You revived me. Thank you for my life, Masashi."
I smiled. "It's the least I could do," I said, "for a soldier of your caliber."
She smiled sweetly and kissed my cheek. Before she left, she gently set something on the table beside me. Then she said goodbye and softly shut the door.
On the table sat the photograph of her at the beach, framed in a blue wooden case. I smiled at it and fell back asleep.
The End
---
I hope you enjoyed my story. There are two left to this series! Please make sure to read the first, "For Love is Heat and Mercury is Close to the Sun", and this one will make much more sense. This may have nothing to do with the actual series, but I write what I think! Galaxia may be from the "Sailor Stars" series, but this story is not part of any of the series. The "Pokémon" reference is attributed to everyone who owns the rights to "Pokémon". This series is based completely off the USA series. The copyright for "Sailor Moon" is held by Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI, DiC, Kodansha, Bandai, and others. I have no relationship with any of the "Sailor Moon" copyright holders and do not claim ownership of their materials or "Sailor Moon"'s image/likeness. Please do not sue me. Thanks for reading. -- Alund