SEVENTEEN
(c) rikki-chan (lady bundtcake) 2004
CHAPTER THREE - THE WISH
Author's Note: Thanks very much to all the people who've already read my story. To assuage (or, perhaps, enhance!) your fears, this is intended to be a Seiya/Usagi oriented fanfiction. And no, it's not because I hate Mamoru (though I do think he's a jerk in the anime) -- I just find the Seiya/Usagi relationship really fascinating, and they're one of my favorite Sailor Moon couples. I plan on finishing this story fairly quickly; it's been resting in my brain for a while now, so I mostly just have to get it out in typing, but it shouldn't take too long until it's complete.
Thanks for your words. :)
===
Usagi ran the brush through her long hair a final time and then sighed resolutely at her reflection, picked a few golden strands out of the brush. Her hair, which had always been long, was now easily long enough to sit on and still have some left to dangle over the chair's edge. The odango style had always been a personal preference before; now it was more or less impractical to go without them, as her hair was so abundant that it easily caught in car doors and tree branches if she didn't take some steps to tame it.
She fluffed her bangs with her fingertips and paused to study her own facial features. "Looking old, birthday girl," she said quietly.
She wasn't, of course. Usagi had known for some time now that she was destined to cease aging once she had reached adulthood, but now she was beginning to wonder if that had been misinformation on Setsuna's part. I still look fourteen, Usagi thought, a little glumly. People probably think Mamo-chan is my distant older cousin or something.
Thinking of Mamoru made her insides do a funny dance, and out of habit she glanced at her phone, considering plucking it from the receiver and hitting the speed dial. But she had been with him only an hour ago, for an early birthday celebration, and even though he was leaving early tomorrow morning to study abroad once more, Usagi didn't want to pester him.
She sighed, and picked again at her hairbrush. She so often felt she was nothing but a nuisance to him.
The dinner had been quite nice. Mamoru had arrived to pick her up at seven o'clock on the dot; he was always disturbingly punctual, a trait Usagi lacked. She had still been up in her room, struggling with a strappy high-heeled shoe, when Shingo had burst through the door with an irritated expression on his face.
"Your boyfriend's here," he said, before turning immediately to head back downstairs.
"What? Already?" Usagi gasped, wobbling on one foot as she made a lunge for her clock radio. 7:00 PM blinked steadily on the display. Usagi cursed under her breath and slammed the clock back on her table. The sudden force caused her to lose her balance, and she toppled onto the floor, still clasping her difficult shoe in one hand and nearly twisting her ankle.
"Should I tell him you're otherwise engaged with the carpet?" Shingo sneered, peering back through the doorframe.
Usagi hurriedly sat up, looking and feeling extremely flustered. She blew her bangs out of her face as she hiked up her skirts and began to attach her shoe to her foot in an incredibly unladylike manner. "Just…just tell him I'll be down in a minute!" she said hysterically, trying desperately to thread the shoe's tiny strap through the tiny buckle.
She finally got it on and somehow managed to get to her feet with no little difficulty. Dashing to her vanity, she gave her reflection a once-over, decided she didn't look TOO awful, quickly dabbed at her lipstick with a spare tissue, and dashed towards the door. She got there just as Mamoru peeped his head around the corner, and ran smack into his chest, causing her to collapse once more on the hard floor.
Mamoru stared down at her and looked politely confused. Usagi laughed nervously.
"You're early!" she gasped, struggling to stand back up.
Mamoru checked his watch. "Am I? My watch says it's already after seven."
"Oh, well," Usagi flattened her skirt the best she could. "Well, maybe you should get a new watch!" she finished lamely, clinging to his arm. "So, where are you taking me?"
Dinner had been a typically pleasant affair, at a lovely new restaurant in town. Usagi took the opportunity to sample every dish she could ("I want to make sure this place is good enough to come back to!" she joked), and Mamoru, collected and mature as always, took small sips from his drink and looked content to be with his girlfriend. As the waiters brought out a slice of cake and sang for Usagi, he smiled warmly across the table at her.
"Make a wish," Mamoru said, chin resting on his hand as he gazed at his girlfriend.
Usagi hesitated, watching the candle flicker in the restaurant's dim lighting.
Everything was so…perfect. In fact, it couldn't be more perfect. Across the table sat a mature, handsome man. Here she had four loving, wonderful friends who were also her personal bodyguards, and across town lived four more women sworn to protect her at any cost. Somewhere in the future, she had a spirited young daughter who mostly admired her. And to top it off, Usagi was the princess of the moon, destined to rule the solar system and bring it into a glorious age of peace and prosperity, as well as marry the prince of Earth and fulfill a legendary miracle romance.
She was loved, protected, and adored.
So why did she feel so discontent?
The wax slid slowly down the candle, pooling a bit on the chocolate frosting. Usagi frowned slightly. She was having birthday cake, though it was still a week until her actual birthday, but Mamoru was leaving tomorrow so they had to celebrate it early. It had bothered her, that he wouldn't postpone his schooling one measly week to be with her on her special day, but she could sort of understand; birthdays could be celebrated any time, but class schedules waited for no man. Still, even the fact that he was leaving once again wasn't really the source of her restlessness.
I'm restless, she thought, because everything is TOO perfect. And nothing is surprising anymore.
It had been a year since the battle against Sailor Galaxia. For two years of her life, Tsukino Usagi had fought against countless enemies and lived through countless unforgettable experiences, never knowing what joys or horrors the next day would bring. And although she had complained incessantly about the duty and destiny that had been given to her…Usagi missed it. She missed not knowing what would happen that day, or that week, or what the next year would bring. She missed the excitement of the unexpected, all the funny twists and turns that happened in life.
Now, nothing changed. Her life was a fairytale story to which she already knew the ending, and each passing day brought her one step closer to "happily ever after".
What about "happy in the meantime"? Usagi thought.
She guiltily reflected that she probably shouldn't be so selfish. Look at her best friends, the four sailor senshi of the inner solar system. Her own dear guardians. They had sacrificed so much for her to preserve that fairytale, and they had done it willingly. Usagi only knew bits and pieces of what they had given up, but she knew enough for it to haunt her and make her feel guilty for wishing her life were different. Rei had devoted her life to Usagi, and saved her countless times from enemies, despair, and even herself. Ami had spent innumerable hours researching and figuring out what to do next, when times were hard, and helped Usagi through her schoolwork at the same time. Makoto didn't even have a family to go home to, yet she willingly helped teach Usagi how to cook (after much trial and error) and never hesitated to help her with anything she could. Minako may have sacrificed more than any of them; the leader of the senshi had served as Usagi's decoy, put aside her dreams of being an idol or even something as mundane as being an athlete on a school team, and had been a senshi longer than any of them.
But look at them now, Usagi thought. For them, their duty to me still exists, but their lives are open books. They can become whatever they want to become, because they got to make the choice, instead of some legendary twist of fate.
Rei had remained at Hikawa Shrine, choosing to care for her aging grandfather. She felt it was her duty to him, after spending over two years as Sailor Mars and having to be away from him so much of the time. Rei continued to grow spiritually, and a lot of her sometimes ruthless tenacity had seeped out of her system with age; the fire senshi still sparked from time to time, but she was much less volatile. At seventeen, Rei had become a truly beautiful woman; her long raven locks and smoky eyes entranced all who met her. She was still Usagi's closest friend, although she still frequently became frustrated with her princess' antics.
"I swear, you're only a few months younger than me, but it might as well be years!" Rei stormed from time to time. Then her look would soften and she would tell Usagi not to cry, she didn't mean it quite like that.
Ami was working hard in high school, and medical schools had already taken an interest in her. She received countless scholarships for her stellar grades and good work ethic. She was also irritatingly humble about all of it.
"Wow, Ami-chan!" Usagi had said one day at school, reading over yet another acceptance letter from an American university. "This is amazing!"
Ami blushed. "It's not so much. Besides, anyone can achieve good grades if they try."
"I doubt that," Minako said, leaning back in her chair. "I tried for years to make good grades, and it never once happened."
"Yeah, but your idea of trying was waiting until the last possible moment to complete an assignment, and then attempting to sweet-talk the teachers into an extended deadline," Makoto said, wagging her finger at Minako. Minako made a face.
"It really is incredible, though, Ami-chan," Usagi said. "You must be very proud!"
"I'm just happy my studying paid off, really," Ami said modestly. Usagi, Makoto, and Minako all shook their heads and sighed.
Makoto was head of the cooking club at school, and her dishes were so impressive that other students' mothers would come and ask her for recipes. Like Ami, Makoto had a tendency to be overly-humble about her abilities. When women complimented her shortbread and pound cake, Mako-chan would blush and look at the floor. "Oh, it's pretty easy to make. It's my mother's old recipe, and she taught me how."
"I could never make anything this good," Usagi said, her cheeks stuffed with Makoto's delicious cake.
"That's because you don't stop eating long enough to cook anything," Minako said, chewing on a cookie. "But I can't bake either. Fortunately, I don't really have to." She grinned slyly and picked up another cookie.
It was true; Minako had finally achieved her dream and become an idol. She never had to cook, in favor of ordering out or having someone else whip up a dish for her. She had had a spectacular audition at a talent search and was signed on with a leading recording label. Usagi would never forget the day she and the others found out about Minako's triumph.
They had met at Rei's to do their homework, and everyone wondered where Minako was. "I know she hates studying, but it's unlike her to just not show up without calling us," Makoto said.
Rei chewed on the end of her pencil thoughtfully. "Maybe she finally ran away with a hot guy," she giggled. "You know she's been trying to for years."
Ami laughed softly. "Maybe she's at the park, playing volleyball or something. It's a nice afternoon out."
"Maybe she's decided to become an interplanetary explorer, and she's gone off to visit her home world and won't be back for days!" Usagi said excitedly.
"Or maybe she just got a call from a recording company, and they're going to sign her on for a hit album!"
The three girls snapped their heads around to meet the proud and shining face of Aino Minako.
"You're…joking!" Usagi sputtered.
"Not a bit! You're looking at the face of the next hit idol!" Minako gloated. "And you can be the first to get my official autograph. Here, I'll sign your math homework."
But Usagi was too impulsive to wait for a famous idol to autograph her arithmetic, and instead jumped up to give the famous idol a crushing bear hug.
"Usako?"
Usagi watched another tear of wax work its way down the candle, hardening at the base. The candle was now considerably burned, and she brought her gaze up to meet Mamoru's eyes, two ovals of blue illuminated by the flickering light.
He smiled. "Aren't you going to make your wish?"
"Yes," Usagi said softly. He reached his hand across the table, taking her small one in a tender grasp. Usagi shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
I wish…I wish for the unexpected. I wish the fairytale were more magical, less scripted.
I wish for a life free from fate.
She blew out the candle.
Later that night, sitting quietly at her vanity, Usagi unwound her hair from its streaming ponytails and began her nightly ritual of brushing it. One hundred strokes a night, her mother used to say, only Usagi felt with her amount of hair she needed at least a thousand.
Usagi sighed and laid her brush on the vanity. She clicked off her lamp and crawled into bed, gazing out her window at the full moon. Her home. Her destiny.
She had nearly drifted off to sleep when she saw a star shoot across the sky. Sitting upright, she followed the blue arc it made through the sky until it disappeared somewhere near the horizon. Moments later, a yellow star made its way across the heavens, chasing after the former.
She thought it was unusual to see two shooting stars at once, when suddenly a third star appeared. This one arced higher yet, blazing a red trail across the sky until it crossed over the glowing moon and descended into the cityscape.
She had already made one wish that night, and thought perhaps the universe might find her selfish for attempting a second just a few hours later, but the red star had struck her. Not every wandering star was daring enough to approach the moon like that, she thought. The audacity of that beaming red light made her think of someone…someone she thought of more often than she admitted to anyone, even to Rei and especially not to Mamoru. A wandering star, with a bright and untamable glow.
I wish…she began, and blushed at what she was preparing to wish for.
I wish I could see him again.
She snuggled back against her pillow, pulling her comforter up around her ears. In her mind's eye, she pictured a laughing man, with hair like the night and eyes like the sky, wandering through the galaxy to find her a second time.
Across the city, Seiya Kou had finally arrived.
(c) rikki-chan (lady bundtcake) 2004
CHAPTER THREE - THE WISH
Author's Note: Thanks very much to all the people who've already read my story. To assuage (or, perhaps, enhance!) your fears, this is intended to be a Seiya/Usagi oriented fanfiction. And no, it's not because I hate Mamoru (though I do think he's a jerk in the anime) -- I just find the Seiya/Usagi relationship really fascinating, and they're one of my favorite Sailor Moon couples. I plan on finishing this story fairly quickly; it's been resting in my brain for a while now, so I mostly just have to get it out in typing, but it shouldn't take too long until it's complete.
Thanks for your words. :)
===
Usagi ran the brush through her long hair a final time and then sighed resolutely at her reflection, picked a few golden strands out of the brush. Her hair, which had always been long, was now easily long enough to sit on and still have some left to dangle over the chair's edge. The odango style had always been a personal preference before; now it was more or less impractical to go without them, as her hair was so abundant that it easily caught in car doors and tree branches if she didn't take some steps to tame it.
She fluffed her bangs with her fingertips and paused to study her own facial features. "Looking old, birthday girl," she said quietly.
She wasn't, of course. Usagi had known for some time now that she was destined to cease aging once she had reached adulthood, but now she was beginning to wonder if that had been misinformation on Setsuna's part. I still look fourteen, Usagi thought, a little glumly. People probably think Mamo-chan is my distant older cousin or something.
Thinking of Mamoru made her insides do a funny dance, and out of habit she glanced at her phone, considering plucking it from the receiver and hitting the speed dial. But she had been with him only an hour ago, for an early birthday celebration, and even though he was leaving early tomorrow morning to study abroad once more, Usagi didn't want to pester him.
She sighed, and picked again at her hairbrush. She so often felt she was nothing but a nuisance to him.
The dinner had been quite nice. Mamoru had arrived to pick her up at seven o'clock on the dot; he was always disturbingly punctual, a trait Usagi lacked. She had still been up in her room, struggling with a strappy high-heeled shoe, when Shingo had burst through the door with an irritated expression on his face.
"Your boyfriend's here," he said, before turning immediately to head back downstairs.
"What? Already?" Usagi gasped, wobbling on one foot as she made a lunge for her clock radio. 7:00 PM blinked steadily on the display. Usagi cursed under her breath and slammed the clock back on her table. The sudden force caused her to lose her balance, and she toppled onto the floor, still clasping her difficult shoe in one hand and nearly twisting her ankle.
"Should I tell him you're otherwise engaged with the carpet?" Shingo sneered, peering back through the doorframe.
Usagi hurriedly sat up, looking and feeling extremely flustered. She blew her bangs out of her face as she hiked up her skirts and began to attach her shoe to her foot in an incredibly unladylike manner. "Just…just tell him I'll be down in a minute!" she said hysterically, trying desperately to thread the shoe's tiny strap through the tiny buckle.
She finally got it on and somehow managed to get to her feet with no little difficulty. Dashing to her vanity, she gave her reflection a once-over, decided she didn't look TOO awful, quickly dabbed at her lipstick with a spare tissue, and dashed towards the door. She got there just as Mamoru peeped his head around the corner, and ran smack into his chest, causing her to collapse once more on the hard floor.
Mamoru stared down at her and looked politely confused. Usagi laughed nervously.
"You're early!" she gasped, struggling to stand back up.
Mamoru checked his watch. "Am I? My watch says it's already after seven."
"Oh, well," Usagi flattened her skirt the best she could. "Well, maybe you should get a new watch!" she finished lamely, clinging to his arm. "So, where are you taking me?"
Dinner had been a typically pleasant affair, at a lovely new restaurant in town. Usagi took the opportunity to sample every dish she could ("I want to make sure this place is good enough to come back to!" she joked), and Mamoru, collected and mature as always, took small sips from his drink and looked content to be with his girlfriend. As the waiters brought out a slice of cake and sang for Usagi, he smiled warmly across the table at her.
"Make a wish," Mamoru said, chin resting on his hand as he gazed at his girlfriend.
Usagi hesitated, watching the candle flicker in the restaurant's dim lighting.
Everything was so…perfect. In fact, it couldn't be more perfect. Across the table sat a mature, handsome man. Here she had four loving, wonderful friends who were also her personal bodyguards, and across town lived four more women sworn to protect her at any cost. Somewhere in the future, she had a spirited young daughter who mostly admired her. And to top it off, Usagi was the princess of the moon, destined to rule the solar system and bring it into a glorious age of peace and prosperity, as well as marry the prince of Earth and fulfill a legendary miracle romance.
She was loved, protected, and adored.
So why did she feel so discontent?
The wax slid slowly down the candle, pooling a bit on the chocolate frosting. Usagi frowned slightly. She was having birthday cake, though it was still a week until her actual birthday, but Mamoru was leaving tomorrow so they had to celebrate it early. It had bothered her, that he wouldn't postpone his schooling one measly week to be with her on her special day, but she could sort of understand; birthdays could be celebrated any time, but class schedules waited for no man. Still, even the fact that he was leaving once again wasn't really the source of her restlessness.
I'm restless, she thought, because everything is TOO perfect. And nothing is surprising anymore.
It had been a year since the battle against Sailor Galaxia. For two years of her life, Tsukino Usagi had fought against countless enemies and lived through countless unforgettable experiences, never knowing what joys or horrors the next day would bring. And although she had complained incessantly about the duty and destiny that had been given to her…Usagi missed it. She missed not knowing what would happen that day, or that week, or what the next year would bring. She missed the excitement of the unexpected, all the funny twists and turns that happened in life.
Now, nothing changed. Her life was a fairytale story to which she already knew the ending, and each passing day brought her one step closer to "happily ever after".
What about "happy in the meantime"? Usagi thought.
She guiltily reflected that she probably shouldn't be so selfish. Look at her best friends, the four sailor senshi of the inner solar system. Her own dear guardians. They had sacrificed so much for her to preserve that fairytale, and they had done it willingly. Usagi only knew bits and pieces of what they had given up, but she knew enough for it to haunt her and make her feel guilty for wishing her life were different. Rei had devoted her life to Usagi, and saved her countless times from enemies, despair, and even herself. Ami had spent innumerable hours researching and figuring out what to do next, when times were hard, and helped Usagi through her schoolwork at the same time. Makoto didn't even have a family to go home to, yet she willingly helped teach Usagi how to cook (after much trial and error) and never hesitated to help her with anything she could. Minako may have sacrificed more than any of them; the leader of the senshi had served as Usagi's decoy, put aside her dreams of being an idol or even something as mundane as being an athlete on a school team, and had been a senshi longer than any of them.
But look at them now, Usagi thought. For them, their duty to me still exists, but their lives are open books. They can become whatever they want to become, because they got to make the choice, instead of some legendary twist of fate.
Rei had remained at Hikawa Shrine, choosing to care for her aging grandfather. She felt it was her duty to him, after spending over two years as Sailor Mars and having to be away from him so much of the time. Rei continued to grow spiritually, and a lot of her sometimes ruthless tenacity had seeped out of her system with age; the fire senshi still sparked from time to time, but she was much less volatile. At seventeen, Rei had become a truly beautiful woman; her long raven locks and smoky eyes entranced all who met her. She was still Usagi's closest friend, although she still frequently became frustrated with her princess' antics.
"I swear, you're only a few months younger than me, but it might as well be years!" Rei stormed from time to time. Then her look would soften and she would tell Usagi not to cry, she didn't mean it quite like that.
Ami was working hard in high school, and medical schools had already taken an interest in her. She received countless scholarships for her stellar grades and good work ethic. She was also irritatingly humble about all of it.
"Wow, Ami-chan!" Usagi had said one day at school, reading over yet another acceptance letter from an American university. "This is amazing!"
Ami blushed. "It's not so much. Besides, anyone can achieve good grades if they try."
"I doubt that," Minako said, leaning back in her chair. "I tried for years to make good grades, and it never once happened."
"Yeah, but your idea of trying was waiting until the last possible moment to complete an assignment, and then attempting to sweet-talk the teachers into an extended deadline," Makoto said, wagging her finger at Minako. Minako made a face.
"It really is incredible, though, Ami-chan," Usagi said. "You must be very proud!"
"I'm just happy my studying paid off, really," Ami said modestly. Usagi, Makoto, and Minako all shook their heads and sighed.
Makoto was head of the cooking club at school, and her dishes were so impressive that other students' mothers would come and ask her for recipes. Like Ami, Makoto had a tendency to be overly-humble about her abilities. When women complimented her shortbread and pound cake, Mako-chan would blush and look at the floor. "Oh, it's pretty easy to make. It's my mother's old recipe, and she taught me how."
"I could never make anything this good," Usagi said, her cheeks stuffed with Makoto's delicious cake.
"That's because you don't stop eating long enough to cook anything," Minako said, chewing on a cookie. "But I can't bake either. Fortunately, I don't really have to." She grinned slyly and picked up another cookie.
It was true; Minako had finally achieved her dream and become an idol. She never had to cook, in favor of ordering out or having someone else whip up a dish for her. She had had a spectacular audition at a talent search and was signed on with a leading recording label. Usagi would never forget the day she and the others found out about Minako's triumph.
They had met at Rei's to do their homework, and everyone wondered where Minako was. "I know she hates studying, but it's unlike her to just not show up without calling us," Makoto said.
Rei chewed on the end of her pencil thoughtfully. "Maybe she finally ran away with a hot guy," she giggled. "You know she's been trying to for years."
Ami laughed softly. "Maybe she's at the park, playing volleyball or something. It's a nice afternoon out."
"Maybe she's decided to become an interplanetary explorer, and she's gone off to visit her home world and won't be back for days!" Usagi said excitedly.
"Or maybe she just got a call from a recording company, and they're going to sign her on for a hit album!"
The three girls snapped their heads around to meet the proud and shining face of Aino Minako.
"You're…joking!" Usagi sputtered.
"Not a bit! You're looking at the face of the next hit idol!" Minako gloated. "And you can be the first to get my official autograph. Here, I'll sign your math homework."
But Usagi was too impulsive to wait for a famous idol to autograph her arithmetic, and instead jumped up to give the famous idol a crushing bear hug.
"Usako?"
Usagi watched another tear of wax work its way down the candle, hardening at the base. The candle was now considerably burned, and she brought her gaze up to meet Mamoru's eyes, two ovals of blue illuminated by the flickering light.
He smiled. "Aren't you going to make your wish?"
"Yes," Usagi said softly. He reached his hand across the table, taking her small one in a tender grasp. Usagi shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
I wish…I wish for the unexpected. I wish the fairytale were more magical, less scripted.
I wish for a life free from fate.
She blew out the candle.
Later that night, sitting quietly at her vanity, Usagi unwound her hair from its streaming ponytails and began her nightly ritual of brushing it. One hundred strokes a night, her mother used to say, only Usagi felt with her amount of hair she needed at least a thousand.
Usagi sighed and laid her brush on the vanity. She clicked off her lamp and crawled into bed, gazing out her window at the full moon. Her home. Her destiny.
She had nearly drifted off to sleep when she saw a star shoot across the sky. Sitting upright, she followed the blue arc it made through the sky until it disappeared somewhere near the horizon. Moments later, a yellow star made its way across the heavens, chasing after the former.
She thought it was unusual to see two shooting stars at once, when suddenly a third star appeared. This one arced higher yet, blazing a red trail across the sky until it crossed over the glowing moon and descended into the cityscape.
She had already made one wish that night, and thought perhaps the universe might find her selfish for attempting a second just a few hours later, but the red star had struck her. Not every wandering star was daring enough to approach the moon like that, she thought. The audacity of that beaming red light made her think of someone…someone she thought of more often than she admitted to anyone, even to Rei and especially not to Mamoru. A wandering star, with a bright and untamable glow.
I wish…she began, and blushed at what she was preparing to wish for.
I wish I could see him again.
She snuggled back against her pillow, pulling her comforter up around her ears. In her mind's eye, she pictured a laughing man, with hair like the night and eyes like the sky, wandering through the galaxy to find her a second time.
Across the city, Seiya Kou had finally arrived.