Chapter 3: A Run-In
Thank you all for your support up to this point. I really appreciate it! Please enjoy, all! (EDITED! I had forgotten when typing not to write 'American dialect' and had somehow written American...so I went with the easy was and chose to write 'English' instead)
The picture was glaring evidence that the night before had not been a cruel joke played by her subconscious why she slept off jetlag. It was propped up on her nightstand against the alarm clock, the numbers illuminating the edges. Amara had spent much of the night in her room with a bottle of liquor, staring at the picture Setsuna had given her. It had been her distracting thought throughout dinner, although she had attempted an allusion to her daughter that things were as well as they could have been. Sarah hadn't bought it one bit, of course, and had given her mother her privacy when they got home.
"She's so beautiful, Michi. So much like you," Amara whispered as she looked at the picture and thought of the young girl she had seen the night before. "Was it hard raising her and Hotaru with only Setsuna to help? I'm sorry I was not there. We promised to raise Hotaru again, and I failed you." She sighed as she thought back to the events that had led to their custody of Hotaru once more.
After their defeat of Galaxia, it was decided that they would be allowed to finish out their lives in this century before the freeze took over. Because of this, Chibi-Usa had to be returned to the future so that she may reenter this century as Mamoru and Usagi's true child. That put the Saturn senshi in an awkward position, though. Her 21st century father and mother dead, she was orphaned. Also, it was her true place to serve Chibi-Usa as a senshi, their destiny to fight side-by-side in all of their incarnations. After a brief council between Queen Serenity and Sailor Pluto, it was decided that the girl once again be put into the care of the outer senshi. She lived as a young teenager for a few years until it was announced that Usagi was pregnant. Not wanting to harm the timeline too much, Hotaru was quickly reduced to infancy. That was mere months before Amara's…
She looked away from the picture and groaned as the empty bottled rolled against her head. As she sat there glaring at it, she noticed another picture and felt instantly horrible. Where was her daughter?
"Sarah?" Amara called out.
A few moments later, Sarah peaked her head into the room. "What's up, Mom? Are you feeling okay? Need the trash or anything?" Sarah nodded to the bottle and made sure to keep her distance. Her mother was rarely drunk, and when she was, the site was not a pretty one.
"Are you okay?" Amara asked.
Sarah was taken aback by this comment. Shouldn't it be the other way around? "What do you mean? Of course I'm okay." She made a quick spin to prove her point.
"I'm sorry about last night," Amara said.
Sarah blinked a few times before entering the room. "Mom, what's with the weird attitude? You have nothing to apologize for. I doubt there are many other people who would have handled seeing their ex lover with a child any better. Besides, you did the right thing: you waited until you got your child home safely before getting trashed. Although you do get points knocked off for drinking alone."
Amara smiled. She thanked the gods for blessing her with such a strong daughter.
Sarah took the picture from the nightstand and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. "Ready to talk yet?" She looked the picture over a few times, taking in the image to the every detail. She wondered where the father was in this picture.
Amara groaned. "I don't think I ever will be." She pulled her pillow over her head.
While pondering what to say next, Sarah rubbed her mother's back in comfort. When she reached her hair, she stroked it softly. It was then that she remembered the pictures she and her mother had looked at back at their house. "Are you going to cut your hair?"
Amara turned her head so she could peak under her pillow at her daughter. "What?"
"Are you going to cut your hair? Your hair used to be short when you lived here," Sarah asked.
Amara pulled the pillow off her head and reached up to touch one of the locks. Her hair had grown longer than she had had it since she was a child. At first the longer hair had been an annoyance, especially when Sarah would constantly pull it in her infancy. But after a while, the hair had become manageable and she started to like the length on her. But that was back when she was in hiding. She wasn't really in hiding now, was she? Hadn't she been found out?
"Hmm, I don't know," Amara replied truthfully.
"Well, you don't do anything with it like this. You might as well chop it off again. Besides, it's going to be a hot summer," Sarah advised.
Amara batted at some of Sarah's long gold hair. "You're one to talk. You've got a lion's mane going on up here." Sarah's hair had yet to be brushed for the day, so the thick strands were all puffed up and tangled.
"At least I pull mine back or put it up." Sarah put the picture down and stood up. "I'm going to go for a run. You're welcome to come if you'd like. Run off some of those calories from last night…"
Amara had to admit that the idea appealed to her. When she was younger, she had always used running as a way to clear her head. But when she went to sit up, she felt an overwhelming onslaught of nausea.
"I think I'm going to stay here," Amara replied. "Hand me the trash, baby."
Sarah handed her mother the trash from the bathroom and then a hair tie. "When you're done puking, take a shower. No offense, Mom, but you kind of smell."
Amara sniffed around and grimaced. "Okay, I will."
"I will have my phone on me, okay. Call if you need me for anything," Sarah offered.
"Don't get lost. Oh! And don't keep your iPod on so loud. You'll blow your eardrums out," Amara advised as Sarah began to leave the room.
"Jeez Mom, I'll be fine," Sarah laughed.
Sarah retreated to her room to change into her sports bra, a navy blue tank top, black shorts, and her running shoes. After making sure her hair was secured in a ponytail and all of her limbs were properly stretched, she headed out. It was just after eleven and the day was already promising to be a hot one. Sarah briefly cursed herself for not grabbing a water bottle before her left. Sarah zoomed down the sidewalk, skillfully avoiding the pedestrians. It wasn't until a song came on her playlist that was strangely slow did she look down. The beautiful blonde girl didn't stand a chance.
"Abunai!" A male voice called out urgently just before the collision.
There were two high-pitched female screams, followed the concerned cry of a name.
"Kumiko-chan!"
Both blondes groaned. They had landed on the ground with hard thuds, the impact having been bruising. Once the stars cleared from Sarah's eyes, she began to freak out and apologize like there was no tomorrow.
"Omigod, omigod, omigod, omigod I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Omigod. I'm sooo sorry! I'm so airheaded sometimes. Are you okay?" Sarah rattled as she struggled to stand. Her earbuds had fallen out of her ears and were tangling in her hair.
A handsome young man stepped forward to help up the other blonde. He was speaking to her rapidly in concerned Japanese, scrutinizing her smaller form for any injuries. It was then that Sarah realized that everything she had just said was pointless. This girl was undoubtedly Japanese. She had had no idea what Sarah was saying.
"Kumiko-chan, are you alright? Your hand looks scratched. Do you feel any other pain? Come back up to the temple, I'll have mother fix you up," the young man said.
As Sarah attempted to untangle the earbuds from her hair, she realized that there was blood on them. She looked around for the source and was appalled to see that there was blood running down her calf. Had the impact been that hard? She tried to see if the other girl was alright.
"Man, how do I tell her I'm sorry?" Sarah wondered out loud.
"Oh, it's alright. I wasn't looking where I was going, either," Kumiko said in crisp English.
Sarah gaped at the blonde beauty.
Kumiko giggled good-naturedly at her shocked face. "My mother and father are in the film industry and have a habit of traveling all over the globe to do projects. I know several languages." She gently pulled her hand from the young man's grasp and took a few steps closer to Sarah. "How is your leg? If you want, we can head up to the temple and have it taken care of. Isamu's mother runs it and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out. I'm a bit of a klutz so it won't be very surprising to them if I bring up someone else who I got banged up." Her laugh was sweet and infectious, for it had Sarah and the young man, Isamu, smiling as a reflex.
"Thanks. That's be really nice of you." After a moment, she remembered the situation. "And I'm really sorry. This was my fault. If I had been watching where I was going, I wouldn't have run full-speed into you."
Kumiko waved her uninjured hand at the matter. "Like I said, it's not a big deal. Besides, I think you got the worst end of the deal here." She glanced at the stinging scratches on her other hand and then at Sarah's bloody leg. "Toya Kumiko." She paused then giggled. "I mean, I'm Kumiko Toya. Man that's a hard habit to break!"
"I'm Sarah Taylor," Sarah replied.
"Oh, how rude of me! This is Isamu Kumada." She turned to the young man before continuing the introduction in Japanese. Sarah didn't miss the way Kumiko's cornflower eyes sparkled as she looked up at the taller, and obviously older, boy.
"Konnichiwa," Sarah greeted.
Isamu smiled in reply.
"Let's head on up. You'll ruin those nice sneakers of yours," Kumiko said.
"Sounds good to me. My mom would kill me if I ruined these," Sarah laughed.
"Isamu-san, can you help Sarah-san up the stairs?" Kumiko asked.
Isamu nodded and reached a hand out to Sarah. She hesitated and looked to Kumiko, who translated what she had asked. Sarah then smiled and accepted to assistance. Her leg was beginning to sting, after all, and as she looked at the steps, she knew she wouldn't have been able to do it herself.
Sarah looked over the two as they climbed the stairs. Kumiko was probably her age and had long gold hair, roughly a shade lighter than her own, with two little white bows in the front. Her eyes were a sparkling cornflower and she had a bright smile. She was dressed in a black pleated skirt and a white blouse, black ballet flats on her feet. She looked well-off and happy. Isamu was one of the more handsome men Sarah had seen in a while. He had raven hair that fell around his eyes and deep chocolate eyes. He was dressed casually in jeans and a faded red T-shirt. The steps seemed like second-nature to the two of them, as if it were nothing more then a stroll in the park.
"Kumiko, what did you do this time?" the annoyed voice of Rei's daughter, Kohaku, called out as she saw the blonde approaching. "I thought you left with—" she faltered when she saw her brother helping an unfamiliar blonde. "What happened?"
"We had a little run-in. Go grab so hot water and a rag," Isamu commanded.
Kohaku shot Kumiko and annoyed look before going to do what her older brother bid. Isamu helped Sarah over to a bench before going into the house.
"What was with her?" Sarah asked.
"Kohaku-baka? Oh, she's had a stick up her ass as long as I can remember. She's never liked any of us. She goes to this prissy private school and thinks she's better then we are," Kumiko replied, obviously annoyed.
"Who is 'us'?" Sarah asked. She prayed it was other English-speaking kids who were just as friendly as Kumiko.
"'Us' refers to the kids of all of my mom's friends. We've all been hanging out together since we were babies, Kohaku unfortunately included. Our mom's still hang out here all the time, so that means that we do, too. Not that we don't hang out on our own, of course. But typically when we do, we hang out at one of our houses and Kohaku is so not invited. She's always spoiling things. Like, when Usa-chan and I were play this game one time—," Kumiko rambled.
"Kumiko-chan, is that you?" a girl called out as she came around from the side of the temple, cutting off Kumiko mid-ramble. She had auburn hair in wild curls that fell down just past her shoulders, pulled half up, and was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a pink tank top. "Kumi-chan, I thought you left already." It was then that she saw Sarah. "Who is this?"
"The reason why I'm still here. I had a little accident." Kumiko lifted her hand to show her scraped palm and made a gesture towards Sarah's injured leg. "Moriko-chan, this is Sarah. Sarah, Moriko."
"Salah?" Moriko tested the name on her tongue with curiosity.
Kumiko giggled at her friend's pronunciation. "Sarah is from America."
"Oh! Hello," Moriko said brightly, testing out what American she knew.
"Konnichiwa," Sarah replied in the same manner.
"This will be fun for me. Neither of you speak the other person's language," Kumiko said under her breath. Still, she was thrilled to be useful in this situation. It was very rare that one of her skills came to use whilst amongst her friends.
"Do any of your other friends speak English?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah! Other then my brothers and sister, my friend Chikako is a super-genius and is fluent, just like me! And I think her little sister Arisu can speak some, too," Kumiko replied. She frowned. "Chikako left already, though. She's probably almost home by now." She chewed her lip in thought.
"What's going on out here?" Rei Hino, or rather Rei Kumada, asked as she came out from the temple. Minako Toya and Makoto Taji were right behind Rei, a little bleach blonde haired girl following them curiously.
"Kumiko? I thought you left with Usa-chan and the boys," Minako asked as she looked in curiosity at her oldest daughter.
Once more, Kumiko gave a short description of the incident and introduced Sarah. She was almost tempted to call Makoto's Takeshi and Daichi outside so that they, too, could hear the story, but figured that Isamu would tell him. Once everyone was clued in, the adults immediately went to Sarah's side.
"Hi, I'm Kumiko's mom. Does anything hurt?" Minako asked.
Sarah was relieved to hear that she spoke in English. "No. I mean, it stings, but otherwise I'm alright."
"I wish Ami were here." When she chewed on her lip in thought, Sarah smiled. Mother and daughter were so much alike that it was almost comical. Minako turned to Kumiko. "Hot water? Bandages?"
"Isamu-san and Kohaku-san are getting that stuff," Kumiko replied. She sat down next to Sarah. "Sarah, this is my mom, Minako Toya. These are her friends, Rei Kumada and Makoto Taji. And that adorable little thing over there is my baby sister, Sachiko."
"I am not a baby!" Sachiko argued in English, not caring if the new girl heard her defense. Her face immediately colored at the accusation.
Kumiko rolled her eyes. "She's eight and my youngest sister. She will always be a baby in my eyes," Kumiko explained to Sarah.
"I always wanted a little sister," Sarah mused. She decided to leave out the whole 'I can't have any siblings, though, because my mom is a lesbian' thing, figuring that it was too much information for the moment.
"We can trade if you want. I even have two younger brothers if you want to give that a try," Kumiko muttered.
"Where do you live? Has anyone thought to contact your parents yet?" Minako asked.
"Oh, I don't live here. I'm on vacation with my mom," Sakara said. It was then that she remembered her cell phone. "I have a cell phone I can call her with."
"Do you think we should call Ami or Mamoru-san?" Makoto asked.
"We have a well equipped first-aid kit in the house. You'd be surprised how many tourists get injured," Rei said. She pushed away the flood of memories of upset tourists complaining about injuries in languages that Rei could only hope to understand. 'Maybe I should have Ami-chan tutor me on some foreign languages. But at least Minako and Kumiko are here to translate.'
"Here we go," Kohaku said as she came outside, Isamu and Makoto's two boys in tow. Isamu handed off the kit and he and his friends went to stand off to the side.
Sarah lay down on her stomach on the bench so that her leg could be properly examined. Kumiko was kind enough to hold her hand as Rei washed the wound as gently as she could with the hot water, Sarah hissing in pain regardless. Once her leg was cleaned, she had to roll back onto her back so that they could wrap her leg. After a small argument about the placement of a metal holding clasp between the three adults, they deemed Sarah done.
"You should probably call your mom now. You shouldn't walk on your leg," Minako advised.
Sarah sat up and quickly dialed her mother's cell number. When her mother didn't answer right away, Sarah briefly cursed herself for having not thought to put the number for their room in her phone. As she was pondering this, her phone vibrated in her hand.
"I told you not to get lost," Amara said the instant Sarah put the phone to her ear.
"It's not that, Mom. Um, I sort of got into a little accident," Sarah explained what happened before her mother could freak. "I'm okay now. The ladies at the place I'm at wrapped my leg for me, so it's not bleeding anymore. But they did advise that I not walk on it." She paused to inquire as to where she was. Kumiko was quick to reply. "I'm at the Hikawa Shrine."
Amara paled. 'This cannot be happening. Of all the places she could possibly be…'
"Mom? Mom, do you know where that is?"
"Sorry Sarah. And yes, I do. I'll be there soon. Do you mind waiting for me at the bottom of the steps?"
"I can't really walk, Mom. I mean, I'm sure someone would help me down if I asked them—,"
"Ask them then, Sarah. I'll be there soon."
When Sarah heard the dial-tone, she pulled her phone away from her ear in question. Had they been disconnected? And what was her mother's deal? Still, she knew she should answer the curious faces staring at her. "My mom is coming to get me. Could someone help me down the stairs?"
"Isamu and his friends would probably carry you if I asked them to," Kumiko offered.
Sarah turned to look at the two that her new friend was referring to. The taller one had wavy brown hair and brilliant emerald eyes. He had an easy-going smile and was talking quietly to his younger brother. The younger one made Sarah's heart skip a beat. He had light brown hair and brown eyes, and when he saw Sarah eyeing him, he gave her a smile that made her face flush. She quickly turned away from him and pretended to be observing her bandages.
Kumiko walked up to the three boys. "So, which of you three lucky lads wants to help assist my new friend Sarah here down the steps?"
"I'll do it," Takeshi offered instantly. He then added, "We were just about to leave, anyway."
Daichi playfully punched his younger brother in the shoulder. "You've always had a thing for blondes." He then looked at Kumiko and gave her an apologetic shrug. "Pretty blondes, that is."
Kumiko glared at him and punched him in the arm, hard. When Daichi winced, she smiled triumphantly. "Besides, I can do much better then the likes of you."
Minako laughed. "That's my girl."
When Daichi turned to his mother for some assistance, she merely shrugged and smiled at the girls.
Kumiko went back to the bench where Sarah was sitting. "Takeshi-san offered to take you down. I'm sure Isamu-san will help you, too. I'm willing to bet that they'll even carry you if I asked them to. Just act pathetic enough and appeal to their gentlemanly side."
"Thanks, Kumiko," Sarah said with a laugh. She turned to the adults and thanked them as well.
"I suggest you go see a doctor once you get back to where you're staying. I'm sure we did enough to prevent infection, but it's best to check these things out." Minako grabbed a piece of paper out of her purse and quickly wrote some information down. "These are two really good doctors, old friends of ours. Either one will be more then happy to give you a check up. Tell them you're one of Kumiko's victims and I'm sure they'll give you a discount." Minako laughed at her own joke.
Kumiko didn't even bother to defend herself. "How far away is your hotel? Should we head down now?"
"She'll probably be here any minute," Sarah replied.
Kumiko turned and smiled sweetly at Takeshi. "Takeshi-san, we need your assistance please."
Takeshi ignored his brother's snickering as he came forward to assist Sarah. She blushed as he helped her stand and wrapped her arm around his neck.
"Do you want us to wait with you?" Minako asked.
"I'll be alright, thank you," Sarah assured her.
"Make sure you come back and let us know how you're doing, alright?" Makoto said, Minako translating for her.
"I will, I promise," Sarah replied.
Rei scrutinized Sarah closely before she left with the others. Something felt familiar about the girl. When she got inside, she addressed the other girls.
"Did she seem familiar to you?" Rei asked.
Makoto shrugged. "Maybe she's been here before?"
"No, it wasn't that," Minako insisted.
"You noticed something too, Mina?" Rei gasped.
"There was definitely something, I just can't place what," Minako agreed.
"You two have been spending too much time in the sun," Makoto insisted, rolling her eyes at them. "She's just another tourist, victim of Kumiko's clumsiness."
Minako sighed and nodded. "It's been a long day. I should get going. I need to plan a good punishment for Kumiko letting the boys leave on their own."
Makoto and Rei laughed.
"Don't give her too hard of a time, Mina. She ran someone over and was detained. You should know that feeling," Rei teased.
Childishly, Minako stuck her tongue out at the miko and went outside to retrieve her daughters.
End of chapter!
Woo, it's a long one. I was actually three pages, plus, longer, but then I realized that I could separate the chapter and give you guys an update sooner, instead! So please review. Also, once again, please forgive my OCCness of Haruka. I never realized she'd be so hard to write. And I promise that the name will switch over soon. I keep making the mistake and writing their other names instead. Haha. Oh! And check out my deviantART account for some art of all of these characters.
-Serenity