Before the dawn
Book 2: I want for nothing
By Michi-chan
"Call me later, ok Ami!"
"Sure thing Arumi," Ami said, waving to Arumi, the president of the math club. Ami smiled and waved to the other club members and began her walk home. Usagi and Makoto had already left for the arcade, but Ami didn't feel much like playing games today. Everyone was trying his and her best to stay cheerful in light of Minako's "sleep."
Buried at the North corner of the Tokyo Tower Minako, incased in her own life force slept. Her soul was safely tucked in the astral plane with Kunzite, the man she fell in love with for the first time. She was happy, and had no regrets. Ami envied that.
Ami took the long way home and stopped in front of the indoor pool that she often visited. There was always a locker with her swimsuit in it for her, waiting for her like a mistress. It called to her, begged for her. And like a lecher she submitted and headed inside the tall building.
The pool was vacant. No surprise. Michiru and Haruka had long since moved on. Michiru would no longer race her in the cool blue waters. As for where she and her companion went, no one knows. She shook her head. Enough about the past. Donned in her blue swimsuit she dove head first in the water.
It consumed her. Her mind floated back to the time when she was cradled in her mother's womb. The water was warm and safe. All her pains drifted away in the soft, lapping, waves of water. Softness. Warmth. Comfort. Safety. The feeling that life was in her own hands, that she was the creator of destiny filled every cell in her body. She controlled whether she would sink of swim, breath or drown. It was all her. It was all about her. She felt selfish and self-centered, but it wasn't so bad. She hadn't felt that way since her parents divorced when she was little and it felt good to be the center of attention for once. Even if she was the only audience. For hours she swam and eventually she succumbed to just floating on her back in a sleep-like trance.
Usagi got the call at about ten o'clock that night. Ami's mother had just called Makoto, and Rei. She was looking for her daughter.
"You haven't seen her either?" Ms. Minzo said frantically.
"No Ms. Minzo. She did say that she was going to a cram school."
"Yes, but that would have ended an hour ago."
"Oh… Well… I haven't seen her."
"Yes… Well thank you Usagi. If you see her tell her to come home."
"I will."
"Thank you." Usagi hung up the phone as Luna watched from her spot on the desk.
"It's not like Ami to disappear without saying anything," she said.
"Yeah, that really strange. I hope nothing happened." Usagi pondered the thought of kidnapping when the phone rang again.
"Usagi, did Ami's mom call you?" It was Rei.
"Yeah! Ami's missing."
"Yeah, I know. She called me too."
"I wonder why Ami didn't go home after her normal cram school."
"She musts till be mad…" Rei said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… Look don't say anything about it until I'm done,ok?"
"O… Ok." Usagi listened as Rei explained what happened between Ami and her in the darkness of Ami's room. How Ami wanted to use Rei's skills to find comfort.
"You mean… You and Minako were…" Usagi's face turned blue.
"Only for a little while… I wanted to believe that we need no man to make us happy in the future. We're not like you Usagi. We don't have our own Tuxedo Kamen. It's impossible to love in this lifetime for us."
"But you…"
"We didn't do anything bad! It wasn't like those crazy hentai movies your friend Umiro picks up."
"WHAT! Umiro's a hentai fan?"
"You mean you didn't know? Look… that's not the issue here. The thing is that Ami wanted me to do the same… but I couldn't. I mean… It's Ami here. She's too innocent."
"You and Minako… Did you love her?" Usagi waited. The silence was long.
"I don't think so. She was my cornerstone though. Maybe… Maybe Ami needed a cornerstone too."
The clock struck eleven when Ami finally came out of her trance. She slowly opened her eyes. She was still floating. The lights were off in the giant room but the light from the moon cast a peaceful luminosity around her. She lifted her head from the water and moved her body, drifting back to the edge of the pool.
The moment she stepped out she regretted it. The weight of the world was back on her shoulders. She felt heavy and sluggish. Her arm hurt. She looked down at the inside of her arm and frowned at the gash that was there. Stabbing herself did get her mind off of her miseries, but that method was short lived and very painful. Rei had hurt her heart. She wanted to be a part of something, someone, someday soon. But now she finally found her comfort. It was an escape in her own mind.
She looked at her watch after she dried and dressed. It was almost twelve. What did it matter though. Her mom was probably working late again. It was dark, and she was alone on the street. It wasn't like her water. But it was close enough. For now. She walked into the apartment a little after twelve and was surprised to see her mother, fully clothed, in an oversized chair with the phone still in her hand. She paused and walked up to her mother, nudging her. Ms. Minzo started awake and looked around. She looked up at Ami and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, Ami you're ok. Thank goodness. I was so worried when I got home and you weren't here. I almost called the police." Ms. Minzo wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close. Ami fell into that safe feeling once again. She wanted to stay like this forever. It was like being back at the pool. She felt safe, loved, comforted, and in control of her and her mother's emotions. This is what she wanted. This was all she wanted. She wanted to feel that forever. She knew that a life without this feeling would eventually kill her. She would die if she could not feel like she were the center of the universe.
That's when it dawned on her. She wasn't jealous of Minako's love for Kunzite or the love between Usagi and Mamoru. She wasn't even really jealous of what Minako and Rei shared. She was jealous of the feeling of oneness. The fact that in all of those relationships the members felt that they were the sun. Minako was Kunzite's sun and he her moon. Usagi was Mamoru's queen and he her king. Rei was Minako's yin and she her yang. Ami wanted that. She wanted it, and she had finally found it.
Off in the distance, back at the poll a strand of Ami's hair floated on top of the water. It shimmered and turned into ice. However, unlike ice, it didn't float on top of the water. Nor did it melt. Instead it sunk to the bottom and waited. Waited until the time came when it would be rejoined with it's master.
Book 2: I want for nothing
By Michi-chan
"Call me later, ok Ami!"
"Sure thing Arumi," Ami said, waving to Arumi, the president of the math club. Ami smiled and waved to the other club members and began her walk home. Usagi and Makoto had already left for the arcade, but Ami didn't feel much like playing games today. Everyone was trying his and her best to stay cheerful in light of Minako's "sleep."
Buried at the North corner of the Tokyo Tower Minako, incased in her own life force slept. Her soul was safely tucked in the astral plane with Kunzite, the man she fell in love with for the first time. She was happy, and had no regrets. Ami envied that.
Ami took the long way home and stopped in front of the indoor pool that she often visited. There was always a locker with her swimsuit in it for her, waiting for her like a mistress. It called to her, begged for her. And like a lecher she submitted and headed inside the tall building.
The pool was vacant. No surprise. Michiru and Haruka had long since moved on. Michiru would no longer race her in the cool blue waters. As for where she and her companion went, no one knows. She shook her head. Enough about the past. Donned in her blue swimsuit she dove head first in the water.
It consumed her. Her mind floated back to the time when she was cradled in her mother's womb. The water was warm and safe. All her pains drifted away in the soft, lapping, waves of water. Softness. Warmth. Comfort. Safety. The feeling that life was in her own hands, that she was the creator of destiny filled every cell in her body. She controlled whether she would sink of swim, breath or drown. It was all her. It was all about her. She felt selfish and self-centered, but it wasn't so bad. She hadn't felt that way since her parents divorced when she was little and it felt good to be the center of attention for once. Even if she was the only audience. For hours she swam and eventually she succumbed to just floating on her back in a sleep-like trance.
Usagi got the call at about ten o'clock that night. Ami's mother had just called Makoto, and Rei. She was looking for her daughter.
"You haven't seen her either?" Ms. Minzo said frantically.
"No Ms. Minzo. She did say that she was going to a cram school."
"Yes, but that would have ended an hour ago."
"Oh… Well… I haven't seen her."
"Yes… Well thank you Usagi. If you see her tell her to come home."
"I will."
"Thank you." Usagi hung up the phone as Luna watched from her spot on the desk.
"It's not like Ami to disappear without saying anything," she said.
"Yeah, that really strange. I hope nothing happened." Usagi pondered the thought of kidnapping when the phone rang again.
"Usagi, did Ami's mom call you?" It was Rei.
"Yeah! Ami's missing."
"Yeah, I know. She called me too."
"I wonder why Ami didn't go home after her normal cram school."
"She musts till be mad…" Rei said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… Look don't say anything about it until I'm done,ok?"
"O… Ok." Usagi listened as Rei explained what happened between Ami and her in the darkness of Ami's room. How Ami wanted to use Rei's skills to find comfort.
"You mean… You and Minako were…" Usagi's face turned blue.
"Only for a little while… I wanted to believe that we need no man to make us happy in the future. We're not like you Usagi. We don't have our own Tuxedo Kamen. It's impossible to love in this lifetime for us."
"But you…"
"We didn't do anything bad! It wasn't like those crazy hentai movies your friend Umiro picks up."
"WHAT! Umiro's a hentai fan?"
"You mean you didn't know? Look… that's not the issue here. The thing is that Ami wanted me to do the same… but I couldn't. I mean… It's Ami here. She's too innocent."
"You and Minako… Did you love her?" Usagi waited. The silence was long.
"I don't think so. She was my cornerstone though. Maybe… Maybe Ami needed a cornerstone too."
The clock struck eleven when Ami finally came out of her trance. She slowly opened her eyes. She was still floating. The lights were off in the giant room but the light from the moon cast a peaceful luminosity around her. She lifted her head from the water and moved her body, drifting back to the edge of the pool.
The moment she stepped out she regretted it. The weight of the world was back on her shoulders. She felt heavy and sluggish. Her arm hurt. She looked down at the inside of her arm and frowned at the gash that was there. Stabbing herself did get her mind off of her miseries, but that method was short lived and very painful. Rei had hurt her heart. She wanted to be a part of something, someone, someday soon. But now she finally found her comfort. It was an escape in her own mind.
She looked at her watch after she dried and dressed. It was almost twelve. What did it matter though. Her mom was probably working late again. It was dark, and she was alone on the street. It wasn't like her water. But it was close enough. For now. She walked into the apartment a little after twelve and was surprised to see her mother, fully clothed, in an oversized chair with the phone still in her hand. She paused and walked up to her mother, nudging her. Ms. Minzo started awake and looked around. She looked up at Ami and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, Ami you're ok. Thank goodness. I was so worried when I got home and you weren't here. I almost called the police." Ms. Minzo wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close. Ami fell into that safe feeling once again. She wanted to stay like this forever. It was like being back at the pool. She felt safe, loved, comforted, and in control of her and her mother's emotions. This is what she wanted. This was all she wanted. She wanted to feel that forever. She knew that a life without this feeling would eventually kill her. She would die if she could not feel like she were the center of the universe.
That's when it dawned on her. She wasn't jealous of Minako's love for Kunzite or the love between Usagi and Mamoru. She wasn't even really jealous of what Minako and Rei shared. She was jealous of the feeling of oneness. The fact that in all of those relationships the members felt that they were the sun. Minako was Kunzite's sun and he her moon. Usagi was Mamoru's queen and he her king. Rei was Minako's yin and she her yang. Ami wanted that. She wanted it, and she had finally found it.
Off in the distance, back at the poll a strand of Ami's hair floated on top of the water. It shimmered and turned into ice. However, unlike ice, it didn't float on top of the water. Nor did it melt. Instead it sunk to the bottom and waited. Waited until the time came when it would be rejoined with it's master.