Walking Towards Light: Ami Redux
Act 1 - First Steps
Chapter 4: Family Business - wherein Senshi and family business are intertwined.
"So, Ami-san, do we have any new information on the recent Dark Kingdom attack?"
Ami looked up, startled by the sudden change in topic. If she hadn't already been obsessing over this for the past two weeks, she would have needed some time to prepare a response. However, she had been obsessing. The answer was right on the tip of her tongue.
"Nothing new or concrete. I have been trying to track my mother's last days to see where she might have intersected with Queen Metaria and thus, the Dark Kingdom. So far no luck. After 6 years, it is a very cold trail to follow. I wish I'd paid more attention when I had a chance"
"You should be more kind to yourself. You were dealing with a lot back then"
"I do remember she had a business trip right before...things. It was to London. I am working on tracking down who she was meeting there. That's all I have so far."
"London...I wonder if this is related then. Haruka and I destroyed a youma about a month ago in Hong Kong. It was impersonating an English businessman"
"What? Why didn't I know about this?"
"You were still in the hospital. Usagi didn't want you to worry about it until we knew more."
Ami considered things. Of course, that makes sense. No one knew if she was actually still connected to the Dark Kingdom or not.
"I understand. I wouldn't have told me either...although can I get the details now please? It might help"
"Of course. That's why I brought it up. The Aqua Mirror caught a glimpse dark energy in Hong Kong. Haruka and I went to investigate. The source was an Englishman named Aristotle Wyman. He was aggressively buying shares in a promising new nanotech research startup."
"Kami-sama. I hate nanotechnology, but that's not particularly suspicious? Sounds like business as usual"
"Well, the strange thing was that the previous owner of the company had shown no indication of wanting to sell the controlling shares at all. Just one day, he suddenly did. Turns out the Englishman had a youma at his disposal with mind control powers. We destroyed it, it was a weak thing, but in the confusion, the businessman himself got away."
"A youma? That's unexpected. Though does seem to confirm that the Dark Kingdom is still active. I wonder how far this goes."
"Indeed. We suspected there was more than just what we saw with you. Not to trivialize what you've been through of course."
"No offense taken. Frankly, I am glad to be having this discussion. Everyone else has been walking around on eggshells with this and it's driving me crazy. I feel like we've put out a fire, but not found the cause."
"They mean well... Don't mistake their kindness for indolence the way I once did. They will be ready when the time comes."
"I know, I suppose I'm just anxious to defeat the enemy. I am certain there's something out there that has yet to reveal itself."
"Of course. You are a Senshi. I'd expect no less from you"
Cheerful whistling broke the tension in the room. Haruka had wandered back into the foyer from settling Hotaru in and checking on dinner.
"Miiiiichiruuuu! Dinner's pretty much ready."
That sing-song announcement came with a quick peck on the cheek. Haruka blew into the room like a breath of fresh air.
"Ami-chan! Looking good. That jacket suits you well."
Ami blushed, self consciously tugging at the sleeves to make sure her all her scars were covered. Michiru laughed out loud. Partially to diffuse the tension and partially because it was about time for some payback on Haruka.
"You incorrigible flirt. Though I must say Ami-chan, if it weren't for this one here, I'd be quite taken myself."
Ami blushed even harder. Haruka's "old clothes" did fit her surprisingly well. Suspiciously well even.
"Have I thanked you for taking care of me yet Haruka-san? And you, Michiru-san. I mean, not just the clothes, but everything."
"You are very welcome. That's what friends are for. In fact, I should be thanking you. Hotaru tells me you two had a little chat on the way home today?"
"Oh yes, Hotaru's class was having a discussion on the atomic bomb today. She got quite upset. "
Haruka's face fell. Michiru looked concerned.
"Yes, that makes sense. No one ever considers how the bomb must feel."
Michiru nodded in agreement
"How is she now?"
"She said that she's feeling better now. Ami-chan here told her that it's ok to be different, and to be proud of it, more or less."
"Thank you Ami. I'm glad you were able to have that conversation with her."
"You're welcome I suppose? She reminds me a bit of myself at her age. You might want to watch out for that"
"Oh?"
Haruka's raised eyebrow was the only expression on her otherwise neutral face.
"I was different as a child. Too smart for my own good. That was when I started to close myself off. I'd hate to see Hotaru go through the same thing. She's seen too much too soon to easily connect with her peers."
"I understand. That's why we surround her with as much love as we can. Michiru and I, Setsuna, her Papa, Usagi, Mamoru and all the senshi. My dream is to give her a proper upbringing. She deserves as much happiness as we can give to her. …but she is not an ordinary girl. She's extraordinary. I think that she could have something even better than a normal life then. One where being Sailor Saturn is just one aspect of her, and not just the end of the line. "
"That's a wonderful dream Haruka-san. She's a great kid from what I've seen so far. A credit to you all."
"Thank you Ami. Professor Tomoe as well. He knows something of Sailor Saturn, even if he doesn't know the details. He trusts us implicitly regarding his precious daughter. She spends weekends and holidays here with us generally. That can't be easy for him."
"It is a good thing for her to be surrounded by so much family. Loneliness is a hard thing to bear."
"Hotaru's got a wonderful group of people in her life that all love her, and she loves them all right back. In the end, I think that's her saving grace. You know you are a part of that right Ami-chan?"
Ami looked somewhat skeptical
"I don't know. I left when she was so young, and when I came back, I brought a world of violence with me. She has no reason to consider me family. I don't think I deserve that"
"You are a Senshi. That's enough for her I think. Plus we've told her stories. You're in them. Don't forget, it was you that saved her that night under Mugen"
Ami flinched, remembering the pain of Viluy's Mosaic Buster.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. The nano-bots… I heard you were out of commission for a while afterwards."
"Only because I was concerned about after effects. Makoto helped me figure it out"
Setsuna came home at that point. Further conversation was delayed in favour of a hot dinner, and, to the happy surprise of Hotaru and Haruka, the sweet sticky nama-yatsuhashi that came with her for dessert.
Setsuna waved affectionately at the sound of the happy sticky-dessert muffled conversation going on in the other room.
"There. That ought to keep those three happily occupied for a while"
Ami sat opposite her across the large oak desk in Setsuna's office.
"Nama-yatsuhashi... I haven't had that since I was a child. You and Michiru both seem to have had Kyoto in your thoughts today?"
"Correct Ami-san. Well reasoned. I had some business there. As you might have already figured, it concerns you."
Setsuna pulled a stack of paperwork out of her briefcase. Ami recognized her own birth certificate among them. Mizuno Ami. Daughter of Mizuno Saeko and John Anderson. Between the killer, the victim and...well, she didn't even have words to describe her father anymore ."Family" was the last thing she wanted to think about.
It was irrational, but Ami didn't want to taint the loving family environment in this house with her dark thoughts. She looked away from the offending document quickly.
If Setsuna noticed Ami's introspection, she did not acknowledge it, preferring to give Ami her privacy. She carried on with necessary business instead.
"I'll need you to sign all these afterwards, but long story short. "Amy Anderson" is now legally "Mizuno Ami" again. You are now free to pursue your medical career in your own name if you so desire. If you have any loose ends in Berlin, bank accounts, leases and the like, you may wish to attend to those as soon as possible. I assume you are planning to stay in Japan yes?"
Ami nodded. For better or worse, she was here now.
Setsuna continued to rifle through the stack of documents.
"In tracking down the necessary paperwork, I was also able to obtain this"
Setsuna pulled out a sealed manila envelope.
"I apologize for not preparing you properly. I was not expecting to find this being held in trust for you."
Ami's eyes widened. Her mother's handwriting graced the front of the envelope.
"The Last Will and Testament of Mizuno Saeko"
A.N.
Story notes: *koff* yup, yet another cross reference, although technically it is the same cross reference as the one form the previous chapter and for my keen eyed, long memoried readers, the introduction (Goodbye Aristotle Wyman, we hardly knew ye). The story of what Haruka and Michiru did in Hong Kong can be found in my profile.
Flavour notes: Nama-yatsuhashi is a sweet sticky triangular dessert dumpling very similar to/is mochi. Kyoto happens to be famous for the stuff. For context, I intended for Setsuna to show up with a box of desserts that reminded Ami of where she grew up. If she was from Boston, I would have said "whoopie pies" or if she was from Hong Kong, I might have used "Egg Waffles" etc etc (I can't think of more examples anyways). It doesn't come up too often in this story, but personally, I LOVE food. I try to bring it into the story whenever it is appropriate. Y'know, for flavour (har har - punny)
Thank you to my Japanese Culture Consultant Hoshirabu (and Hoshirabu's friend Keiko) for their help with the yatsuhashi. Anyone interested in Haruka/Michiru stories should go right now and check out Hoshirabu's "HaruMichi One Shots" - M! rated fun, fluff and comedy flavoured with a bit of angst. Happy trails!
PM and Review always appreciated. Thank you for reading! Onto Chapter 5