"Awaken, Eve," came the voice through the darkness, carried into the small room by a single speaker placed discreetly in one corner. Eve had heard this voice many times before and knew that the voice must be obeyed. Her eyes opened, and she slowly sat up.
As she did, lights came on in the room. Spartan was the kindest way to describe the room; it's sole contents being a small bed, and an empty desk with chair. Eve didn't worry about the room, however, her attention focused on the voice. When 'he' spoke, it was always for a purpose.
Eve knew today would be different from other days when the door opened. She couldn't remember the last time the door had opened. She knew it must have done so at some point, but she simply couldn't remember. A tall man stepped into the room, his eyes locked on her.
"It is time, Eve, for you to use what you have learned," he said, and her eyes widened slightly. The voice was his. He, then, must be obeyed. She stood as he continued, "In a few moments, I will show you what you are to do. I know you will not disappoint me.
"No matter what happens, you must always remember the mission."
"…always remember the mission."
"…the mission…"
The sun was just beginning to set over Tokyo, painting the sky in shades of red and orange when two girls exited the mall. To all appearances, they couldn't be more different, one clutching a box, relief evident on her face, the other practically dancing, carrying several full bags.
"You really don't like shopping, do you?" the blonde asked, giggling at the grimace her friend made in response.
"I've never been good at shopping for presents," the shorter, blue haired girl replied, shaking her head. "It always goes better when I'm with someone. For Rei's birthday, I shopped with Makoto. For you, I went with Usagi…"
"Never do that again. She can't keep a secret," Minako mumbled, but Ami hadn't heard.
"When it was her birthday, I went with Rei, and now for Mako…"
"Now you have me to shop with," Minako finished before giving her trademark V sign. Several passers-by stared, and a few moments later both were giggling as they walked on. "For not liking to shop though, you do have a knack for picking out presents."
"Do you think she'll like it?" Ami asked, sounding almost afraid.
She still panics about gifts, Minako thought with a wry grin. Or, is it just that she still panics over Mako-chan's gifts? I wonder…. "Like it? I'll be surprised if we see her again after she opens it."
Minako didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the look of horror on Ami's face. "I mean, she'll like it so much that she'll be lying in her chair every day," she hastily added. "Then again, if I could get a massage from my chair every day, I might never leave either."
Ami's relief at the explanation was evident, which made Minako giggle again. A block passed in silence as Minako wondered how best to phrase the question forming in her mind.
"So," she finally began, "What is it about …" the question cut off abruptly and the two girls froze as Minako held up a hand in a signal Ami recognized immediately. Trouble.
All thoughts of birthdays and shopping quickly fled as the two scanned the area, dividing street up between them. A moment later Minako spoke quietly, "I heard something … there!" She pointed down a small alley. This time, Ami heard the noise as well.
It sounds like someone's hurt, she realized as the two turned to scan the alley which neatly bisected the block. Shifting the package to free up one hand, she followed Minako into the dim alley. The two walked a few feet apart, each in a position to support the other if trouble came, but not so close that they could both be grabbed by someone or something.
Almost two thirds of the way through the alley, the girls came to a loading dock, empty at this time of the evening, lit only by the residual sunlight. At this dock, Minako raised her arm again to call for a stop and glanced around. A moment later, she pointed to a trash dumpster. The two slowly circled around, giving a wide berth.
On the far side of the dumpster, Minako halted and stared before she realized what she was seeing. That's a person there. As she noticed the battered and disheveled state of the girl sitting there, all rational thought left her. Bags were dropped, and a moment later, Minako knelt at the girl's side.
The girl looked like one might expect a street urchin to look at 14 or 15. Her hair hung limply around her face, dirt making it impossible to determine its original color. She sported numerous bruises over her face, arms, and the parts of her chest that were not covered by the decrepit sweatshirt that she wore. Her eyes had the haunted look that tells their owner has experienced more than her fair share of violence.
Ami was no more immune to the sight of the girl than Minako, though her mind realized the potential dangers of the situation, and she was able to stay a small distance away just in case this girl was somehow dangerous. Her heart ached at the sight. Forcing herself to do her duty, however, she reached into her pocket for her communicator to let her friends know where they were.
While Ami did this, Minako slowly reached out to the girl and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Please," she said quietly. "I'd like to help."
The effect was immediate. The girl's sobs stopped in a gasp, and her eyes widened as they flew to Minako. A moment later, she was crab-walking away from the two as fast as she could until she bumped, none too gently, into the nearest corner.
Ami started forward, but Minako's raised hand stopped her. "Not yet. She's panicked," she said quietly. "She doesn't know that we're going to help her yet." Then turning back to the girl, she said a little louder, "My name's Minako. This is my friend Ami. We'd like to help you."
The girl simply stared at them.
Minako smiled at her. "Can we take you back to your family?"
The girl cocked her head, an expression of surprise on her face. "Family?" she asked.
Minako's smile faltered momentarily as she realized this girl must not have any surviving family. "Friends then? We can take you back to be with them. I'm sure they're very worried about you."
"Friends?" she inquired in exactly the same tone. Ami's expression grew worried, as she began to suspect that this girl had troubles that might be beyond their ability to help with.
Minako, however, continued as though she had been expecting the responses. "Well, then, if you live alone, can we take you home?"
"Home," she responded. This time even Minako realized that this sounded like someone trying out a word they had not heard before.
"Oh dear," she said quietly, and turned to give an inquiring look to Ami.
"It's only a guess, but I'd say it sounds like she's lost her memory." Minako nodded at this. I only hope I'm wrong though, Ami thought. She remembered reading articles about memory loss. Many of them involved severe physical or emotional trauma.
"Well, can you at least tell me your name?" Minako asked hopefully.
"Eve," she responded, apparently deciding that Minako and Ami were not going to hurt her.
Minako slowly approached Eve. "I promise, Eve, that I'll help you get home." She reached out to the girl, slowly kneeling in front of her. Either the girl sensed that Minako was telling the truth, or she was simply desperate for human contact. In either case, she reached out and took Minako's hand.
Then, the floodgates burst. Eve had, apparently, seen too much … suffered too much. She began to cry, softly at first, building to great heaving sobs. She clung to Minako and cried for long enough that Ami began to worry about someone wandering down the alley. Through it all, Minako held her, and quietly told her that everything would be all right.
Finally, when Eve had cried herself out, Minako, her eyes fiercely protective, told Eve, "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."
"Promise?" Eve asked, though neither Ami nor Minako were sure if Eve was simply repeating the word, or verifying the promise.
"I promise," Minako repeated, echoed by Ami. Both Eve and Minako turned to Ami, Minako smiling, and Eve curious.
"Well," she explained shyly, "I can't just stand around and do nothing. Not after what she's obviously been through." Minako nodded at this. Ami continued, "But I'm not sure that we're the best people to be doing this. We're not experts on reuniting missing people with families. Shouldn't we have Eve talk to the police?"
Only Minako, who Eve was still clinging to, felt her grip tighten at the word 'police.' Both girls, however, saw fear in Eve's eyes, and heard her stammer, "No," repeatedly.
Minako and Ami both realized almost instantly what that reaction meant. Their eyes flashed fire, promising a dreadful fate for any policeman who had taken advantage of this girl. Minako quickly wrapped her arms around Eve again, soothing her. "No, no police. I promise." This caused her to relax.
"Maybe that wasn't the best idea I've ever had," Ami apologized to Eve. Then, turning to Minako, she asked, "But what should we do then? We don't have the expertise to do this, do we?"
Minako thought for a moment, before reaching a conclusion. She grabbed Eve's hands, and said, "Why don't you come stay with me until we can figure out where your home is?"
Ami's expression grew worried, but she didn't offer either another idea, or, realizing that Minako didn't want to hear them, any objections to this plan. Eve said nothing, but did not let go of Minako as she gathered the bags she had dropped. Together, the three girls walked out of the alley and, as passers by stared, started towards Minako's apartment.
A quick call from Ami had alerted Usagi, Rei, and Makoto about the situation, and the three were waiting at Minako's apartment to greet them. As they stepped forward, Eve, without ever letting go of Minako, quickly stepped behind the girl who had declared herself her protector.
This reaction caused the three other senshi to halt, and Ami stepped forward to explain the situation to them as Minako quietly explained to Eve that these people were friends. After a few minutes, Minako wasn't convinced that she had fully explained the situation to her, but Eve was willing to walk into the apartment, and be in the same room with them.
As everyone sat, Minako took up the explanation of how they had found Eve. Only Rei seemed unaffected by the tale. So emotional was Minako's telling of the encounter that halfway through it, Usagi leapt up from her chair and took Eve's hand. "Poor dear," she exclaimed, "We'll all help you get home again. I promise."
Eve said nothing, but her eyes sought Minako. Minako clearly read the panic and the expression on her face. She didn't know Usagi yet, and her expression clearly said one word: Help!
Minako almost dashed to Eve's side. "Now Usagi," she began as she gently pried her princess away from the panicked Eve, "We have to figure out the best way to find where Eve's home is."
"Right you are!" Usagi exclaimed. Suitably tasked, she sat back in the chair next to Makoto and the two began discussing the best way to find Eve's home.
Finally, Rei stood. "Minako, can I talk to you?" Minako nodded and the two moved into the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Rei turned to Minako, but before she could say anything, Minako started the conversation, "So, why exactly don't you trust her?"
Rei gaped for a moment before recovering. "That obvious was I?" Minako nodded. "Well, I don't know, honestly. Something about her just doesn't feel right. I sense something very strange about this girl."
"She seems to have lost her memory, she's obviously been beaten. Is it any wonder you sense something strange?" Minako countered.
"It's more than that Minako. I'm not just sensing the tragedies she's experienced. I sense something very unusual about her. I think there's a lot more to this girl than we realize."
Minako considered for a moment, before responding, "All right. And what do you suggest we do about it?"
This time it took longer for Rei to recover. "You mean you're going to listen to me for once?"
"Rei, I've seen you be right enough times that I know you have a good ability to see … something about people. I'd be a little foolish if I wasn't willing to listen to you."
Rei smiled. It wasn't often that anyone acknowledged that she could read people's auras. "I think you should not be too close to her. I think you should let someone else handle this. The police are much better at dealing with situations like this."
Minako explained Eve's reaction to Ami's mentioning the police. Rei's expression darkened. Finally she spoke, "Well, that might not be the best idea then. But still, there has to be someone else who can do this."
"She has nobody Rei. Nobody else seems to know or care about her. If there were someone else, perhaps I could see letting them handle it. But you can't just ask me to do nothing."
Rei smiled sadly. "No, I don't suppose I can. I guess if it were me, I wouldn't want to listen either."
"It's not that I won't listen Rei. If you have something specific that you've seen, I'll listen. But I won't simply send this girl away, perhaps to die alone on the street, simply because you 'sense something strange.' Do you have anything specific? Any concrete reason why I shouldn't trust her?"
"No," Rei was forced to admit. "I don't. But I'll be looking for one. And I imagine I'll find one."
Minako nodded. "And if you do, we'll reevaluate. But until then, I just can't turn her away. I couldn't live with myself if I did."
"Alright, then. In the meantime, let's go back out there and figure out the best way to help her."
Minako nodded, and then froze. Slowly she turned to stare at Rei. "You mean you're going to help her? I thought you didn't trust her."
Rei grinned. "Are you complaining?"
"No, it's just that after what you just said …"
"Well, the way I see it, I either find something definite about her and you send her away, or I help her get her memory back, in which case there's no need for you to be quite so close to her," Rei admitted. Then she smiled, "So you can see, it's pure selfishness on my part."
Minako giggled at this, and nodded. "OK. With that said then, let's get back out there and help this girl."
"Right!"
Neither of the girls saw Eve, quietly listening outside the door, tears streaming down her face.