Rated: T - Tragedy/Drama - Words: 1,289 - Makoto K./Lita/Sailor Jupiter, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Kenji T.

Terror in the Sky: One Year Later

Eyes of the Storm: Remembering the night I would rather forget.

One year ago, Japan endured one of its worst aerial disasters. A nation wept. A company came under fire. And I failed to do my job… By Kenji Tsukino. The following column was first printed in the May 06, 1986 issue of 'Times in Tokyo' Magazine.

'Times in Tokyo' would like to warn readers that the following article might be disturbing and contains references to aerial disasters.

It was to be a routine flight from Haneda airport to Osaka International. No doubt many passengers were travelling to see friends and family in the Kansai region, or perhaps simply take a vacation. The weather reports at the time were certainly encouraging. They predicted clear and sunny skies all week long.

Weather that should have made for a perfect weekend break.

'JAL592'.

It is the number that has been burned into Japan's consciousness for the past year, and likely all time. While I was fortunate enough to have not known any of those 502 lost to us, rarely a day has gone by where I have not remembered the charred bodies, the twisted metal and torn landscape of the crash site. Of course, I am not alone in this regard. Has even a day gone by where such images haven't graced every other publication, to say nothing of the television?

This circulation in turn has fuelled a demand for answers from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission. How could such a tragedy occur with advances in aircraft technology and improved training for crewmembers? Japan AirLines have not helped the matter by issuing contradictory statements, nor has the AAIC for being notoriously tight-lipped as their investigations have unfolded. It has only been recently, with the involvement of the US National Transportation Safety Board, that we finally have an official answer.

In short: Rarely have the weathermen ever gotten it so wrong.

I must admit to rolling my eyes when I heard the news myself. Not at the investigators, but rather the rumour mongers and fiery critics. The people responsible for spreading hearsay about cover ups and lax standards. After a year of such vitriol it boiled down to the worst kind of bad luck.

The investigators concluded the crash was caused by a brief, unpredicted storm. The strong winds forced the pilot to fight for control of the craft, a fight that became futile when two of the engines were wrecked by the accompanying lightning.

Whilst these conclusions have merely fuelled more debate about climate change and the potential for improved methods for tracking volatile weather, this reporter feels a certain sense of closure from the case.

One year ago 'Times in Tokyo' sent me to cover the crash. In fact, I was among the first reporters on the scene of the crash last year. And yet my name never appeared in our initial coverage of the tragedy.

Was this a simple error? A snub? Or did I perhaps demand my credit be redacted?

None of the above. I am happy to say our hardworking staff would never make such a blunder and TT has always treated me well. No, the real answer is both more simple and more complicated.

In short, I could not bring myself to cover the story.

What I saw that day, the pictures that I took, have haunted me these last twelve months. That is perhaps to be expected. Witnessing such death and devastation in person would inevitably stick with anyone. In my case though, it is the survivors that have dwelt upon my soul.

When I first arrived at the crash site I quickly learned that there were only five passengers who lived through the flight. At that point I hoped to perhaps interview a few of them. And I was certain that a shot of at least one of them, preferably one of the three child survivors, would make the front page of TT. My consummately professional editors have unflinchingly reminded me of this every time another publication comes out with a new revelation from the crash.

So, camera in hand, I waited for my chance. Finally, I sighted one of the survivors and zoomed in. It was nothing less than the perfect shot, the kind that cub reporters like myself dream about capturing. Front page worthy? No, this was the sort of shot that could be the face of the moment. So long as the photographer in question stays detached and professional.

But at that moment, I could not be professional. I could not be detached. I could not see 'a survivor'.

All I could see was a little girl.

A little girl who looked tall and strong for her age, unfazed by the storm around and above her. Nevertheless, I could see plainly that the rain drenching her wasn't quite hiding her tears.

The sight of those tears reminded me of my own daughter. She would have been about the same age as this girl. That was when I lowered my camera.

I have been a reporter for ten years now. I plan to remain one for the foreseeable future. I am all too aware that in when it comes to murders, abductions or similar such tragedies the public tends to remember the names and faces of the victims. However, in disasters such as JAL592, that is rarely the case.

We never forget the tragedy itself; let alone the most visceral images of destruction that accompany it. But the individual victims? Typically, time and the news cycle has a way of erasing them from our collective memories. For those victims, perhaps that is a blessing. The charity of being allowed to be forgotten.

I will never forget though. I know in my very soul, dear readers, that I would recognize those sad green eyes whether she was seven, fourteen or thirty.

Wherever she is now, I wish her, and the other survivors, nothing but the best. And I pray that, despite their loss, they live long and fulfilling lives.

A/N: Written for the 30th Anniversary of Usagi's father, Kenji. I didn't label it as such in the title like I normally did because I wanted to maintain the illusion of this being a real article until we got to these author notes.

In addition to Kenji, this fic also (obviously) celebrates Makoto.

For the most part, I've been releasing anniversary stories to coincide with the first chapters characters appear in the manga. Going by publication dates Makoto first appeared in May 1992 because she appears on literally the last page of Sailor Moon Chapter 4.

However, her FULL debut and character centric chapter was Chapter 5, published in June 1992. As such I'm properly celebrating Makoto in June 2022 but this fic tips the hat to her technical first appearance, without diving deep into her overall character like I hope to do with the other Inner Senshi.

Finally I have three people to thank for helping me out with this story.

Firstly, 'Tuxedo Unmasked', specifically his article titled 'WHY DOES MAKOTO LIVE ALONE?', which provided invaluable research for this story. The article concluded that Makoto lost her parents in a real life Japanese airplane tragedy, Flight JAL123. I felt it was perhaps in bad taste to use JAL123 itself in my story, hence I changed and embellished various details.

I must also thank SinJazz and k8tj17 for betaing this story for me.

You can find k8tj17's work on FFN and Ao3 under the same username.

u/14881957/K8tj17

And you discover SinJazz's amazing art on Instagram under the name 'SinJazz1327'

Also just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!