"So, what does one do with their freedom from the zodiac?" Hatsuharu asked, wiping his brow with the back of his glove. He sat next to Usagi, who was watching Momiji chase after Hiro. The silver-haired girl smiled lightly as she thought about her years away from the Sohmas, mostly of being Sailor Moon.
"I don't know. It wasn't all it's cracked up to be, being free of the curse," she replied breezily, her eyes on the sky now. "I'd rather have stayed here, I think, even though I did make some really dear friends."
"I see." Hatsuharu said evenly, watching as Hiro now chased the hyper Momiji across the yard. Usagi turned her head toward the ox, noting how much her friend had changed since she last seen him. Getting lost in her nostalgia, she didn't realize she was staring until Hatsuharu had turned towards her with his eyebrows raised.
"Sorry, just thinking about when we were kids. Haru-chan, how has Yuki been?" Anyone could see the blue-eyed girl had been itching to ask the question, for she said it very quickly and gave Hatsuharu her full attention in waiting for an answer. Chuckling to himself, he looked pensive for a moment before replying.
"Honestly, he wasn't doing that good until recently. That girl, Tohru Honda, seems to have an effect on him." At this, Usagi reflected on the brunette girl that'd been with Yuki the day she seen them at Rei's temple. She appeared rather ditzy, albeit cheerful, somewhat similar to herself when she was Sailor Moon. Not to say she wasn't still a little ditzy and clumsy from time to time, but in general it had toned done quite a bit.
As she thought, Shigure returned from his meeting with Hatori, and his brief visit with Akito. Judging from his grave expression, things didn't go over quite as well as they'd hoped. Usagi looked up at the dog, expectantly, waiting for him to speak.
"I told Akito you were back, and that your memories had returned." Shigure announced.
"Well? Did you ask him if I could see Yuki?" The silver-haired girl asked eagerly.
"I did...he forbids it. Now that your memories have returned, he thinks it would be best if you moved into the main house." Shigure appeared to be unfinished, but Usagi didn't mind cutting him off.
"He wants to erase my adoptive family's memories? He wants me to come back to the Sohmas but I can't see Yuki? Gure-chan, I want to talk to him myself." Usagi stood, so she'd be more level with Shigure, but she was still much shorter than him.
"Usagi--"
"It's really important to me. Please, Shigure." Shigure looked into the younger girl's pleading eyes, and heaved a sigh.
"I'll ask if he'll see you. I can't promise anything." As the words left the older man's mouth, a frantic beeping sound filled the brief silence after his statement. They sat for a moment, listening to the oddly intruding noise, until Usagi realized it was her watch. With a small squeak she jumped up.
"I'm late! I'll be right back; I need to use one of the phones." Just like that, the silver-haired girl sprinted off. As soon as she found a sufficiently empty room, with a phone for good measure, she flipped open the communicator/watch. An annoyed Rei glared at her from the small screen.
"Usagi no baka! I've been calling your house since--WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?" A large sweatdrop appeared over Usagi's head at Rei's expression. It didn't take long for the black-haired girl to be shoved aside and Minako to pop up.
"Uwa! Usagi it's so cool!" The blonde girl squealed. Rei wrestled the communicator back and huffed in annoyance. Trying not to laugh, Usagi opened her mouth to speak when the door to the room she was in opened. She stood straight and looked at the newcomer in shock, and after she scoped the room for a familiar picture of Kana, she realized she was in Hatori's office.
Her fingers immediately reacted, shutting the communicator in her hands and shoving the device in her pocket. Nervously, she chuckled, and said, "Hello Hari-san."
"Ame, what a surprise." Usagi bit down on her lip to keep from correcting Hatori's mistake with her name, and simply watched as he sat a stack of papers on his desk and looked over at her. "What brings you to my office?"
"I got lost. It's been a while, you know." She lied quickly, pushing her silver bangs from her eyes. Before she could catch herself, she added bitterly, "I came to speak to Akito, but as usual, no one wants that to happen."
Usagi could feel her face heat up, like someone had turned on a stove burner, as Hatori raised his eyebrows at her. Sifting through his paperwork, he said, "Shigure is trying to protect you, you know that."
"Yeah, I do, but I want to see Yuki that badly." The blue-eyed girl wanted to shove her fist in her mouth, shrinking under another of the dragon's sharp gazes. Quickly, she bit out, "You know, I haven't been home all day, Okaasan is probably worried. Bye, Hari-san."
"You're probably right," he nodded, turning back to his desk as Usagi bolted from the room. Running blindly, it was inevitable she would run into someone, and conveniently enough it turned out to be Shigure.
"Ah, Gure-chan, what did Akito say?" She asked breathlessly, ignoring the questioning expression she received from the dog.
"He said he'd meet with you next weekend. Ame-chan, are you sure you want to--?"
"I'm completely sure. Thank you, Shigure." Usagi gave him a tight hug, before continuing, "I need to get home, Okaasan will kill me. Good-bye!" And with that, whirlwind Usagi was gone from the Sohma house.
The silver-haired girl paused at her mailbox, seeing the day's mail had already arrived. Flipping it open, she tugged out the monthly assortment of bills and whatnot for her parents. Reaching her hand to the back just in case, her brow furrowed when they met a bulky package. She bent to look in, wondering if the mailman had stuffed a package in there.
She tugged for several minutes before the item broke free, and held it in her hands. The small, brown box was addressed to one Usagi Tsukino, and she turned it over in her hands for a return address, but there was none. Perplexed, she tucked it under her arm and went inside, to find her Okaasan missing. Hoping the blue-haired woman wasn't out looking for her, she dropped the mail on the kitchen counter and ascended the stairs to her bedroom.
As the blue-eyed girl dropped down to her bed, her stomach twisted with apprehension. The small package rested in her lap innocently, but she could almost feel the ominous waves coming off the brown box. Taking in a breath she tore the paper away, and dumped the contents back in her lap. It was a large stack of letters, tied together with a string of twine.
Her eyes brushed across the scrawl on the envelopes, and recognized her own handwriting. Slowly, she untied the twine and picked up the top letter, instantlyidentifying it as one of the many letters she'd written to Mamoru in America. Her heart was thumping hard against her chest, and she swallowed, trying to calm it.
A single piece of notebook paper fluttered from the bottom of the letters, landing softly on her carpeted bedroom floor. She bent, picked it up, and unfolded it silently. The Japanese writing was brash, it looked like it had been copied from a language dictionary word for word, but it didn't take much for Usagi to distinguish what it said.
Dear Miss Usagi,
I apologize beforehand for being too cowardly to phone you, even though I found your number with your mailing address in Mamoru's things. As far as I know, you're the closest thing to family that he had, he talked about you several times while I knew him. I felt obligated to contact you, and let you know what happened.
A little less than two weeks after Mamoru arrived at Harvard, he went out late at night to pick up some groceries. On the way home, a car full of drunken college kids ran a stop sign and hit him. They plowed into the driver's side door, and Mamoru was killed instantly.
Since Mamoru's parents are dead, and he has no other living relatives, there was a small service held for him at the school. Enclosed are the letters I received at his dorm after he died and two that were opened. Also, there's a partially-completed reply in the unmarked envelope. I'm sorry for your loss.
Edward Smith
Usagi's fingers slackened from the paper, and it fluttered once more to the floor. She sat, immobile, for a few moments, before gently pushing another of her own letters from her lap. She pushed one letter after another, until she reached the bottom of the stack, to the blank envelope. Shakily, she pulled the paper from its sheath and unfurled it.
Usako,
I'm glad to hear your grades are finally improving, I knew you had it in you. I'll be coming back for a week near Christmas, since it's the first time I'll be free of classes. I'd like to take you out to dinner then, and hear about everything that's been going on. Being away from you
And it ended, just like that. A tremor ran through her fingers as the paper slipped from them, without really knowing what she was doing she stood. Her legs moved forward beneath her, she sprinted from her room, down the stairs, and out of her front door. With no idea where she was going, she ran.
Yuki hastily wiped at his eyes, rearranging everything on Shigure's desk to look like he hadn't been there. He slipped from the office and back up the stairs just as the sounds of Tohru and Kyou arriving home reached his sensitive ears. Entering his room, he closed the door softly and fell onto his mattress.
As his violet eyes outlined the ceiling, he realized what he had to do next. He had to find that girl, the one who called him Oniisan. Unsure of whether he would find her, what he would say, when he would find her, he at least knew where to start. The Cherry Hill Temple.
He planned to wait a few days, whether out of apprehension or for good measure, he wasn't sure. The day came, and Yuki rose from bed early to get ready for school. He'd visit after school, as the miko there promised it would be open, but for now he needed breakfast. Though considerably more awake than most mornings, he was still dragging.
Whatever made him stop in front of Shigure's study that morning, he probably would never know for sure. The voice on the television set reached him, and he turned his head to look in the partially open door at the newscast taking place.
"--sixteen-year-old Usagi Tsukino has been missing from her home for three days. Not much information has been released to the press, but according to the police the girl left the house mid-morning, returned sometime while her mother was out shopping with their younger son, and then left once more. She hasn't been seen since."
Yuki slid the door open all the way, but Shigure didn't turn around to see who was there. The both of them were staring at the image on the screen, of a smiling blonde girl with two round buns on either side of her head.
"They'll never find her like that." The dog muttered to himself, turning back towards his desk, where he acknowledged Yuki's presence for the first time, "Yuki, what brings you here?"
"Shigure! She's missing!" Yuki stepped aside instinctively as Ayame burst in the room. Shigure looked up at the snake, surprised, before turning off his television.
"Aya, I'm impressed, I didn't expect you for another," he paused, glancing at his clock, "two minutes."
"Well, you see, I was out shopping and--"
"She's my sister, isn't she?" Yuki asked finally, breaking off Ayame's sentence and earning wide-eyed looks from the both of them. "That girl they just showed on the news, she's really Ame, my sister."
There was silence; insane considering Ayame was standing beside Yuki, before a weird sort of smile appeared on Shigure's face. "Yes, that girl is really Ame."
"Yuki, Yuki! She's not your sister she's our sister! We must find her!" Before Ayame could pull Yuki away with him, the rat dodged out of the snake's grasp and sent a pointed glance at Shigure.
"I want to know why we were separated, then. I found her journal and her letters. Why did Akito do it?" The younger boy demanded, watching Ayame's changing expression with interest. Shigure pulled his attention back to himself.
"I'd tell you, but I don't really know myself. I know that Akito was jealous of the relationship you had with Ame. He also felt strongly that Ame didn't belong in the zodiac." The dog explained, looking pensive.
"Why?" Yuki questioned.
"Breakfast is ready, Shigure. Oh, Ayame! I didn't know you were here!" Tohru exclaimed from the doorway, Shigure's breakfast tray in her hands.
"Tohru! Such a beautiful flower, does Shigure dare treat you as slave labor?" The snake exclaimed, pointing at the tray in her hands dramatically.
"You say that, but don't offer to take it for her." Yuki bit off, accepting the tray from her and placing it on Shigure's desk. Tohru looked around, flustered.
"Would you like breakfast, Ayame?" The brunette asked meekly. Yuki glared at his older brother, before shooing Tohru off with a simple 'he'll be fine.' He turned back to the two older juunishi with a determined look.
"I want to know more about Ame."
-bows in apology- I'm so, so sorry it took me so long to get this out! The last week has been really busy, getting ready for school and all. Monday I start back, and that means less time to work on stories. -sobs- I like to kill Mamoru with cars, I guess, this is the second time.
There was really a lot of reviews last chapter, and it made me really happy! Review everyone! Next chapter we shall discover more about Usagi's past as Ame, and maybe even her zodiac animal! -skips away to work on Oh Brawling Love-
♥SachiNyoko♥
