SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon (aka Tsukino Usagi), Tsukino Ikuko, Tsukino Kenji, Tsukino Shingo, Sailor Mercury (aka Mizuno Ami), Dr. Mizuno, Sailor Mars (aka Hiro Rei), Sailor Jupiter ( Kino Makoto), Sailor Saturn ( aka Tomoe Hotaru ), Sailor Uranus (aka Tenou Haruka ), Sailor Neptune ( Kaiou Michiru), Sailor Pluto (Meiou Setsuna), Tuxedo Kamen (Chiba Mamoru), Oosaka Naru, Uwara Ryo, Kenichi, Kumada Yuuichirou and Umino Gurio, and the Hikawa Shrine/ Cherry Hill Temple (Americanized) and Juuban Junior High School are the copyrighted Property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toie, and DiC. They are not mine.
Notes:
The words Kelly recites are from the Country song, "The Face on the Barroom Floor" by Hank Snow. The song was taken from the poem. of the same name, by Hugh Antoine D'Arcy.
"What would they think of me ?" is a repeated line of a poem I wrote that was published in an anthology, "The Garden of Life" by the National Library of Poetry, in 1995. The Poem's title: "What Would They Think ?" If you're interested in the full poem, please e-mail me.
SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs
The flight was exciting, if longer than it seemed capable of being. Ami had
e-mailed her brother so they could know when and where to expect them. Dr.
Mizuno had said they were staying at a hotel near the hospital hosting the
seminar, but that they could meet Ami's brother before they registered. As the
plane descended, Ami kept wondering what her brother was going to be like. She
fingered the alebaster pendent in the pocket of her blue jumpsuit, and thought
about what Naru had told her about her brother on the moon. Ami prayed that her
brother would be not only as she remembered from her dream, but as Naru had
remembered him.
The plane landed and shortly mother and daughter were out in the terminal. Ami
noticed the tall redhead with the glasses with her first glance around the room.
She took her mother's hand and guided her out. Ami walked over to the redheaded
man and the smaller greyish- brown -haired lady beside him him. She looked up
into his eyes.
" Kelly Graham, I presume ?" She asked in a voice like tiny bells.
" You presume rightly, Ami !" Her brother smiled, "Welcome to Houston !" He
hugged his sister. "Welcome, Dr. Mizuno ! This is my mother, Billie Graham !"
Greetings went around. "We best get the baggage." The quartet left the airport
waiting room in single file to the baggage-claim.
Baggage-claim was a simple matter. So, surprising, was leaving the airport.
Getting home, however, was an entirely different matter, thanks to Houston's
notorious traffic! . But the time was not wasted..
Ami and Kelly had much to catch up on.
"So," Kelly said ( a bit sadly), "we're given a new chance at life, and we are
like this." He sighed a little. "It seems we still have a lot before us ! You,
and the other Senshi, are still protecting the Princess. Whether she wishes it
or not."
Ami looked darkly at her brother. "What do you mean by that, Kelly ? You think
that she should not be protected ? She is, after all, the Moon Princess ! And my
friend."
"By all means protect , Ami! Especially, since she is a friend !" Kelly laughed
a bit now. "It is just... I would choose not to blindly dance with Fate so much
if I can avoid it ! I am just wondering, from what you have told me, if Usagi is
not questioning her fated role. I am sorry, Ami ! I just seem to be lost in my
thoughts today."
Ami shivered slightly, remembering the fears that had plagued her recently and
Ryu's e-mail.
"But, anyway," Kelly smiled, "it is good that Usagi has such a friend as you.
Listen to her, as surely as she listens to you!"
Kelly then turned the subject around a bit. " What about the Senshi ? And what
about you ? We've talked about Princess Serenity and Sailor Moon and Usagi. But
even YOUR world has others in it besides them !"
"Well," Ami blushed, "there is not much to say of it. I do very well in school.
But, aside from that and the Senshi.." Ami turned away a bit. "I have no life."
"No life ?" Kelly yelped. "As beautiful a sister as I have, and she has no
life ! Not even someone to watch after your heart ?" Ami blushed deeper at
this.
"Ah... there IS someone .. !" Kelly smiled. "To have your heart, he must be
special !"
Ami tried her best to hide a face she was cetain was beet-red now.
"Well," Kelly changed the subject again, "What of the Senshi ? From the way you
spoke ear- lier, I think you are sisters !"
"In a way, we are !" Ami smiled. Then, she lost that smile a little as memories
flooded her. "They've helped me," she whispered, "through some lonely times."
Kelly smiled sadly and softly nodded. He understood those last four words, and
the unspoken thousands that went with them, perfectly.
The Grahams and Mizunos quickly made it to the Graham's house. It wasn't a very
large house, but it was comfortable. "Where will you be staying, Dr. Mizuno ?"
Mrs. Graham asked. "Or have you made reservations yet?"
"We have made reservations at a hotel near the hospital", Ami's mom said.
"Would you loose much money by staying here ?" Mrs. Graham asked. "We're not
that far from the Medical Center ! And we'd love for you to stay with us !"
"Dr. Mizuno," Kelly grinned, "You'd best agree with her. Mom does not take 'no'
graciously."
The next morning broke bright and clear, and a bit cool for June. But then, the
notorious Houston Summer had not started yet. Ami-chan awoke to the smell of
coffee. She quickly dressed and went to the kitchen.
"Hello, Ami." Kelly smiled. "You usually get up early ?"
"Usually. The smell of coffee helps. Is this your usual start, Kelly ?"
"Hardly, Ami", Kelly admitted, "but today I felt like getting an early start." He poured a cup of coffee and added some chocolate syrup. Ami couldn't help but make a strange face thinking about the drink.
"Is that your usual drink ?" Ami asked.
"It's either this or coffee and molasses." Kelly answered.
"Molasses ?"
Kelly opened the cupboard and reached for jar of treakally black syrup. "This stuff."
Ami opened the jar and sniffed at the contents. "Mmmmmmm", she smiled, "I'll take this in my coffee !" After Kelly fixed the concoction and served her, Ami asked, "What's the plan for today?"
"Well," Kelly thought,"since your mom planned to ride the busses to and from the hospital, you might as well get to know the system. Also, there's a beautiful park not too far from there! We can start our tour of Houston there !"
Once everyone was up, Ami and Kelly left their mothers to talk while they and Fu (now back on all four legs) went walking around the neighborhood. "I'm glad", Kelly said, "that it's still cool enough to enjoy walking outside !" Ami stifled a giggle- or tried to. "You do not care for hot weather, too? Neither do I."
"Oh- hot weather is enjoyable, but only in the rain !" Kelly smiled.
By mid-day, the Grahams and Mizunos had traced out routes to the Medical Center and Mothers Graham and Mizuno were heading back home. Kelly and Ami were left to wander the nearby park.
"The flowers are beautiful, Kelly!" Ami smiled.
"That's just the start !" Kelly said. " Let's walk. We've got a Japanese-styled garden here, and a zoo. And a museum, planetareum, and garden center at the other end of this place." The two stayed in the park and around it for most of the remainder of that day. Ami even found herself on the playground, laughing, being pushed on a swing by her big brother ! 'Did I have this much fun on Mercury ?" This was followed by a thorough exploration of the zoo and a stroll through the Japanese garden. The duo had to get back home in time for supper. But they made plans to come back during the week. As they neared a long reflecting pool, Kelly developed a decidedly impish grin.
"Mercury Power", he whispered, enveloping himself in a fog and reappearing in khaki slacks, boots, and shirt and navy-blue sportcoat. Saluting his slightly-stunned sister ("What is he doing?"), he then dipped two fingers in the reflecting pool.
"Ami !" he said as the two fingers collected water.
"Yes, Kelly ?" Ami said. "What is it ?" She turned toward Kelly just in time to meet a small splash of water in the face.
"AAAAAIIIIIIIIIII ! This is WAR !" Ami half-screamed, half-laughed, as she ran around to the other side of the pool. She laughed even harder as water went zipping across the water and past the congregating ducks ! Ami did manage to tag her wayward brother once with a wave of water across the face and chest that knocked him into the ground. Brother and sister soon became a blue-and-white(-and-khaki) blur as wet uniforms soon became muddy uniforms. Ami was spasming in gales of laughter now! She could feel the years- no, the centuries- fall away from her. She had needed this.. for a long time.
Ami and Kelly shifted back to civilian clothing (amazingly clean!) and caught the bus home.
As they walked home from getting off the bus, Ami layed her head into Kelly's shoulder. "Why am I feeling so free and giddy ?" Ami asked.
"Call it.." Kelly mused, " 'Family'."
That night, as she readied for bed, Ami thought about the events of the day- and fingered the alebaster Pheonix that her brother had given Naru centuries before. She would tell Kelly of Naru.
The next day was Sunday. Dr. Mizuno thought about having a day-off at the beach. Kelly's mom was no beach-person, but she agreed and the quartet headed out of town to the beaches. Two hours later, a strip of beach was found that wasn't crowded, and the two Mercurian-refugees began to practice their abilities a bit.
After a whispered transformation, Kelly started sinking into the sand dunes! As Ami waded into the surf, a head appeared from the sand.
"Mercury Sandstorm Spray!"
A steady stream of sand particles stung at Ami as she waded into the surf of the Gulf of Mexico.
"YAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! Palu!"
She heard the feintest of telepathic chuckles. "Catch me if you can." The chuckles playfully taunted.
"Mercury Icestorm Blast !" Sleet and hail pelted the sand dunes. But nothing came out.
"Did Palu.. did Kelly.. retreat? Did.. I.. hit him too hard ?"
A column of brownish-green surf formed silently behind Ami as she searched the beach.
"You looking for me ?" Kelly said softly, barely over the sound of the surf.
"YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII .. ! Mercury Shabon Spray!" Instead of her usual attacking-style of tossing the shabon out, Ami swept the green waters of the Gulf up, then tossed the water out as salty shabon. Kelly laughed as he staggered, then fell with a backwards splash into the waves.
Laughing as they ran in and out of the surf and up and down the beach, Kelly and Ami settled down on the blanket their mother's were playing cards on.
"Okaasan?" Ami asked.
The two young people looked on as their mothers concentrated on the playing cards
"Hmm.." Kelly finally broke the silence. "I thought my mom and granny held the cards of war." He watched in amazement a few more minutes as the two women laid down the poker-hands.
"Meet Dr. Mizuno, otherwise known as 'Nurse Ace' !" Ami smiled as she showed off her mom.
"Shhhhh.. ", Dr. Mizuno quieted Ami. "Winner buys dinner!"
"By the way," Mrs. Graham broke her concentration a bit, "Were my eyes playing tricks on me, Kelly, of did you come from nowhere up out of the surf?"
"I know I DID do that !" Kelly answered his mom. "But don't ask me HOW! Maybe it's something Fu can help explain. Hey !" Kelly noticed. "Where did my advisor go?"
"Fuu-san is exploring the beach." Dr. Mizuno told Kelly. "Ami, have you ever dissipated into the elements like your nii-san?"
"Not so completely," Ami told her mother, "but I do feel at times as if I become one with the water!"
After Dr. Mizuno and Mrs. Graham turned their attention back to their cards and Ami sat down to enjoy the beach, Kelly closed his eyes and started to recite a story-song:
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
It was a balmy summer evening and a goodly crowd was there which well-nigh filled Joe's bar-room on the corner of the square. And, as the songs and witty stories passed through the open door, a vagabond crept slowly in and posed upon the floor.
"Where did it come from ?" Someone said. "The wind had brought it in ?"
"What does it want," another cried, "Some whiskey, rum, or gin "
"Here, Toby, seek it if your stomache's equal to the work"
"Why, I wouldn't touch him with a fork! Why, he's as filthy as a Turk!"
This bandage the poor wretch took with stoically good grace.
In fact, he smiled as though he'd struck the proper place!
"Come! I know there's kindly hearts among so good a crowd!
Why, to be in such good company would make a deacon proud!
"Give me a drink, that's what I want! I'm out of funds, you know.
When I had cash to treat the gang, this hand was never slow.
"What? You laugh as though you thought this pocket never held a soo?
Well, I was fixed as well, my boys, as any one of you."
"There, thanks! That's braced me nicely! God bless you one and all!
Next time I pass this good saloon, I'll make another call!
"'Give you a song ? No- I can't do that ! My singing days are past!
My voice is cracked, my throat's worn-out, and my lungs are goin' fast"
"'Say, give me another whiskey and I'll tell you what I'll do,
I'll tell you a funny story -and a fact, I promise, too !'"
"That I ever was a descent man not one of you would think!
But I was some four or five years back. Say ! Give us another drink?"
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
Kelly concentrated a little, and the beach sand seperated into small hills of white, tan, and brown. Kelly then picked up the grains and laid them down. Lines started to form. And these were followed by solid fields of color. The picture took form, and Ami and the two mothers became entranced, as the story continued.
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
"'Fill'er up, Joe! I wanna put some life into my frame !
Such little drinks to a bum like me are miserably tame !
"'Five fingers ! There ! That's the scheme ! And corkin' whiskey, too !
Well, here's luck, boys, and, Landlord, my best regards to you !
"You've treated me pretty kindly, and I'd like to tell you how
I came to be the dirty sot you see before you, now!
"As I said, m'boys, I was a man with a muscle, frame, and health !
And, but for a blunder, I would have made considerable wealth !"
"I was a painter ! Not one that daubed on bricks and wood, but an artist!
And, for my age, was rated pretty good!
"I was working hard at my canvas, and I was bidding fair to rise,
'cause, gradually, I saw that star of fame before my eyes "
"'I made made a picture, perhaps you've seen ? 'Tis called The Chase of Fame.
It brought me fifteen-hundred pounds and added to my name.
"Then, I met a woman ! Now comes the funny part !
With eyes the petrified my brain and sunk into my heart."
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
As Kelly sandpainted and recited, he seemed to loose himself in another time.
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0 "'Why don't you laugh ? It's funny that the vagabond you see could even love a woman and expect her love from me ? "'But 'twas so ! And, for a month or two, her smiles were freely giv'n! And, when her loving lips touched mine theyu carried me to heaven!
"'Boys, have you ever met a woman for whom your soul you'd give ? With the form of de Milo's Venus ? Too beautiful to live ? "'With eyes like the purest of diamonds and a wealth of chestnut hair ? If so, 'twas she for there never was another half so fair!"
"I was working on a portrait, one afternoon in May,
of a fair-haired boy, a friend of mine, who lived across the way!
"And Madeleine admired it, and, much to my surprise,
said she's like to know the man that had such dreamy eyes!
"It didn't take long to know him and, before the month had flown,
my friend had stole my darlin' and I was left alone.
And, e'er another year of misery had passed above my head,
the jewel that I had treasured so had tarnished - and was dead."
"And, that's why I took to drink, boys! Why, I never saw you smile!
I thought you'd be amused and laughing all the while!
"Why, what's the matter, friend? There's a teardrop in your eye?
Come! Laugh like me! Why, 'tis only babes and women that would cry."
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
Fields of color - parted grains of beach sand - slowly formed hair and skin, and the brightest of eyes, under the singer's touch.
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
"Say, boys, if you'll give me another whiskey, I'll really be glad, and I shall draw a picture of the face that drove me mad ! "Give me that piece of chalk with which you mark the baseball score, and you shall see the lovely Madeleine upon the barroom floor!"
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
Kelly then added the shading and highlights that brought the portrait to life. And Ami and Dr. Mizuno gasped in recognition.
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
"Another drink, and with chalk in hand the vagabond began to sketch a face that well might buy the soul of any man ! "And, as he placed another lock upon the shapely head, with a fearful shreak he leaped and fell across the picture. Dead."
0oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo0
The winds along the beach and the surf seemed the echo of low fiddles as Kelly finished, and Ami and her mom both started to breathe again.
Once her breathing was steady, Dr. Mizuno responded to the picture. "That.. face.."
"She's very beautiful", Mrs. Graham said as she hugged her son.
"I started seeing her in my dreams two weeks ago." Kelly said with a small sigh and a far-away look when he opened his eyes. "Oh, my princess! Where are you, Naru? I miss you so. I remember when I last saw you. At least, we died together. No one should die.." Kelly's voice choked on the last word, "alone!"
"She is alive, Kelly !" Ami said. "She lives in Tokyo ! We only learned of her about a year ago ! She is Usagi's oldest friend!"
"Oldest friend ?" Kelly laughed as he wiped away a tear of joy. "It figures that the sisters should stay close ! Serenity could not have planned it better if she had tried !"
"She asked me to give this to you !" Ami reached into her purse. "Here it is !" She lifted the alabaster pheonix out and handed it to Kelly.
His voice got caught in sudden tears. "The.. Dragon of Mercury !" Kelly took the pendent in his hands.
"She still loves you, Kelly !" Ami hugged her brother.
"Love never dies, does it ?" Kelly smiled.
"The circle comes together !" Fu said as he rejoined the foursome, "as it should"
"Let's take things one step at a time, counselor." Kelly said to Fu.
"That is best !" Fu smiled.
"I think it's best we head to dinner !" Ami said. "The winds is picking up. And the surf is getting rather rough !"
"OK," said Mrs. Graham, "but not before a picture. Kelly ? Ami ? Get close together, backs to the waves !"
After Fu took another picture of the two families, and Ami took a picture of Naru's portrait, all five climbed into the car and headed off the beach.
"So !" Kelly asked. "Who's paying for dinner ?"
Kelly woke up before the dawn, surprisingly refreshed after talking with Ami until sometime after midnight. The game of tag at the beach, and the sand-painting of Naru, brought a flood of memories to Kelly. And, he was not one to remain silent when thoughts and visions came to call upon him. Or, to keep the tears inside that demanded release. The night before, after Dr. Mizuno and Mrs. Graham went to bed, was filled with stories and tears.
Ami was in the kitchen with the radio and coffeepot going. "Ohayo, aniki!
How did you sleep ?"
"Pretty good !" Kelly smiled as he took the cup of coffee Ami offered. "Do you usually get up before the dawn ?" He asked his sister.
"No. Did I awaken you ?" Ami asked. "Gomen nisai."
"No need to apologize !" Kelly smiled. "I was already awake."
"I have been.." Kelly sipped his coffee slowly, "remembering many things. Tell
me, is the green- haired enigma still the Senshi of Time ?"
Ami answered with a bit of a start. "Hai. Is Meiou-san important ?"
"Yes and no", Kelly answered in a way that made Ami wonder. "It is just that
Setsuma-san was the last person I ever argued with in the Millenium. It was one
week before Beryl's invasion. I was keeping the Outer Senshi abreast of the war,
as I had been told by our father and Queen Serenity. I had often wondered why
the Outer Senshi needed to be told, especially since those Senshi were always
farthest removed, in spirit, from the things- the people- that actually held the
Millenium together!
"As Priest, I knew why the rules were in place. But I always questioned the WHY
of the 'why'. Certainly, with time being a neutral constant, the Senshiate of
Time can never truly be thought of as an ally. And, Time was never an ally in
those fateful days !" Kelly chuckled. "There's that word again. 'Fate'.
"And those were my last words to Setsuma-san. In those times of trouble, when
the very reason for our existance was threatened even as our lives were being
extinguished, on both sides, why was the Senshi of Time clinging to rules that
would only bring about certain death ?"
Ami looked into her coffee as she contemplated her response, even as she guessed
the answer to her question.
"Did Pluto ever give you an answer ?"
"No."
The only sound in the kitchen came from the radio.
"Ami ?"
"Hai, Kelly ?"
"Would you give Naru-chan my love ?"
"Why, my brother "
"Because," Kelly softly said, "if I go to see Naru, I would surely run into
Setsuma ! And, if Naru now is anything like she was in the Millenium, she is
greatly effected by her sister's pain. And, I fear, my questions to Setsuma
would bring Usagi much pain."
Kelly and Ami went to see the breaking of day.
As Doctor Mizuno attended the pediactrics conference, Ami and Kelly explored the
parks and museums and libraries. His was more diffuse, but Ami could not help
but marvel at her brother's thirst for knowledge- especially his quest for
history and words ! "To understand ourselves," he would say, "we must understand
out where we came from !" This seemed to go to a personal level, as Ami found
when she went on a trek to the local family-history libraries. "What would they
think of me ?" Ami had heard that question a few times from her brother- she,
surprisingly, had asked that herself quite a few times herself that same way-
but she only realized the importance of that question until now, with her
brother.
Kelly seemed good with words. Ami found he was not so much eloquent as careful
with the words he chose.. and how he said them. "How many times do we kill with
our words?", he asked Ami once. "They flow out like water, and as water their
force can never really be halted or returned!"
Ami began to dance and bow. "You should have been an actor, Kelly !" She told
her brother. "You can be so.. commanding.. in your speech !"
"I'm not a great speaker!" Kelly laughed. "I guess I just got the love of the uses,
and abuses, of language from my mom. She wanted to be an English teacher!"
Kelly smiled at that last thought. "And- well- I guess I do have a bit of the
dramatist in me. Although I doubt the stage would have ever been my home."
He looked at Ami. "And, what of you ? Those pirouettes tell me that there's
more than a bookworm and doctor in that head !" He playfully tapped Ami's
forehead. It was Ami's turn to smile. "Well, my father is an artist. A painter ! So,
I guess a bit of the artist is in me, too! Come, now, let's race to the bus !"
Soon, it was the night before Dr. Mizuno and Ami were to leave for Japan.
The Graham and Mizuno families went out to eat what Kelly thought was theirt
last meal together. After the meal was finished, Dr. Mizuno and Mrs. Graham
announced a surprise - on Kelly.
"Kelly ?" Billie asked her son. "How would you like to go to Japan ?"
The young man almost choked on his drink. "Go.. to Japan ? When ?"
"Tomorrow !" Dr. Mizuno announced, producing five tickets from her purse.
"Hmmm..." Kelly pondered this developement, remembering his talk a few days
back with Ami. "I'd love it ! But- I'm a little nervous! Four tickets? Mom? You're
going, too ?"
"Yes. I'm not leaving you out of my sight. Especially-", she paused, looking to
Ami, "- after what I heard what you and Ami talked about. Fu may be the Royal
Advisor, but I'll feel better if I'm with you, too!"
Ami gently, but firmly, held her brother's hand. "Kelly- Palu- you do not seem
the one who lets much frighten him away. And Naru is waiting. If you must fight
Setsuma-san.. or me.. so be it ! Do not let problems of the past and fears of the
future ruin YOUR future !"
Kelly looked around the table, and grinned. "Alright," he chuckled. "My fears be
damned !"
He raised his tea. "A toast.. to Japan !"
The next morning saw a plane chasing the sun westward.
By.
Kelly Paul Graham
To be continued in.
Chapter 4