Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.
Chapter 13: Thursday II.
Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters. But I now have the whole series on DVD, and I just acquired the full Manga series, so know I'll know what the hell half of my reviewers are asking about.
Another fun filled day at school today with the usual fun stuff like exploding labs and marathon torture sessions in gym class. This was followed by a visit from an old friend and a shocking revelation at home.
First up my gym class, I've come to the conclusion that my gym teacher either used to be a Drill Sergeant in the army at one point, or he really is a total sadist. Occasionally he tends to get a little overzealous and we end up running a lot of extra laps, or more sit-ups, or whatever. Today it was more sit-ups than we could count. Kimyo, a few of the other girls, and I have come to the conclusion that he really needs a girlfriend as his love life tends to affect his moods. Maybe I'll ask Setsuna-mama, she's met him.
Setsuna-mama: NO! Okay, maybe not.
As for the lab incident, well Ami and the others told me that at some point there is always some silly person who will try to blow up the school lab, either by accident or by design. Today I found out what they meant.
We have this one boy in my science class who, quite frankly, makes everyone nervous. He's always smiling, not a nice smile either, rather a cat-ate-the-canary smile like he's waiting to pull some huge joke on everyone. Today he must have figured was his big chance because he was giggling when he went up to the front to perform his experiment.
This can't be a good omen. I thought at the time, and I was right.
Basically he was performing a similar experiment to the one Kimyo and I did yesterday, putting compounds into the flame of a Bunsen burner, but he'd brought something with him that he'd, and I quote; 'whipped up at home for the occasion.' A diluted form of gunpowder as it turned out.
He didn't tell us that straight out at the beginning of course. We realized what it was when he started putting small bits of it into the flame and laughing as we all gaped at the bright flashes and brilliant colors it produced when it combusted. I suppose it was our fault for egging him on like we did, but hey it was fun to watch. At least until he dropped the hot metal spoon into the dish with the gunpowder in it.
There was a loud pop and a large jet of flame that hit the ceiling and the room was filled with thick, black smoke. We evacuated the room quickly while Sensei put out the fire and let us go to have an early lunch while he and 'Mr. Wizard' spent some quality time cleaning the lab together.
After that I sat down and had lunch with Katsuji again. We talked about the usual stuff like homework, parents, and other stuff. He laughed when I told him about the lab incident. Then he asked me an odd question.
"Have you heard anything from Megumi and Keiko?"
I just sat there staring at him like he was crazy. "Why in the world would I want to hear anything from those two? Not that they would call me anyway, unless it was to harass me or set their thugs on me. Why are you so concerned about them anyway?" I demanded angrily.
He backpedaled in a big hurry as he tried to laugh it off. "Um, nothing really, I used to share a class with Megumi. I was just worried that they'd tried to do something, that's all." He'd tried to deflect my question and failed miserably, which made me more than a little suspicious. If I were Haruka-papa, I'd be grabbing him by a very tender part of his anatomy and squeezing and twisting until he told me what I wanted to know (and that's if she were in a good mood). But I'm not, and I had to get answers from him the slow and less painful way, and since he wasn't very forthcoming I was at a loss over what to do. Besides lunch was nearly over and it was time to go to my next class with Mr. Sato.
"Ah, young Miss Tomoe, I trust that you are well today?" Mr. Sato asked when I walked into his classroom.
"I'm fine, thank you Sensei." I replied with a bow. He smiled in relief.
"Very good." He said.
"I have something here for you from Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa." I began as I rummaged through my schoolbag until I found what I was searching for. He smiled even wider when I presented him with an autographed copy of Michiru-mama's latest CD that she and Haruka-papa performed a few duets on.
"Thank you very much Miss Tomoe, and my thanks to your parents as well. I shall treasure this always." Mr. Sato said with heartfelt thanks.
"You're very welcome Sensei. And I'll be sure to get you a copy of their newest CD when it comes out in a few weeks. I'm performing on it as well. We did the recording last week." I informed him. He was genuinely surprised at that bit of news.
"Then I shall look forward to hearing it. Now our class is starting and we have much to do, so please take your seat." Mr. Sato said as he gestured towards my desk. I bowed again and went over to sit beside Kimyo.
After that was my gym class/torture session and I was ready to drop when I left school. Kimyo was beside me as we slowly made our way out.
"So what did Katsuji have to say today?" Kimyo asked.
"What, you mean you weren't hiding under the table listening again?" I retorted with a smirk. She glowered at me and stuck her tongue out at me.
"If I could raise my arm to smack you right now, I would." She growled back. "So c'mon, tell me already." So I told her about everything that Katsuji said, including the part where he mentioned Megumi and Keiko. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at that point and her voice took on a conspiratorial tone.
"I don't know if this means anything, but a few weeks ago I saw Katsuji hanging around with Keiko and Megumi at the food court at the mall. I don't know what they were talking about, and I wasn't about to get closer with the gorilla sisters there as well." Kimyo stated.
"When was this?" I demanded in surprise. The more I was learning about Katsuji, the less I liked how things were going.
"A few weeks after you and Katsuji started having lunch together." Kimyo replied. I was speechless, but this would explain Katsuji's question and behavior during lunch. How long has he known them? I walked along lost in my own thoughts until a car horn sounded and a familiar voice brought me back to Earth with a jolt.
"Geeze Firefly, doesn't your old Papa rate a 'hello' anymore?" I looked up sharply, startled and saw Haruka-papa standing beside her car with a big grin on her face. Hoshiko waved from the back seat.
"Hi Papa! Hi Hoshiko!" I called as Kimyo and I ran up to the car. "What brings you two here today?"
"We just wanted to surprise you, that and there's someone waiting at home who'd like to say hello." Haruka-papa replied.
"Really? Who is it?" I asked.
"Now you know I can't tell you that, it would spoil the surprise. Besides if I told you, Michiru and Setsuna would kill me." Haruka-papa admonished. I looked over at Hoshiko who shrugged.
"I am sorry, I cannot tell you either." She said. I gave up. My parents can be so infuriating sometimes. It seems to be a common theme today.
Kimyo interrupted us. "Um, Ms. Tenoh? Could I catch a ride home with you, please?" She asked. As we were standing there talking, our bus had pulled away. Whoopsie.
Haruka-papa laughed. "Sure, hop in." She held open the door and Kimyo eagerly climbed into the backseat beside Hoshiko while I got into the front seat. Soon we were on our way home and Kimyo and I started talking about what happened in the lab today, along with our conversation with Mr. Sato.
"That's not too bad. I once managed to burn a huge hole in the lab bench in my high school lab after accidentally dropping a beaker of acid." Haruka-papa commented.
"Only once?" I asked innocently. Haruka-papa shot me an annoyed look while Kimyo and Hoshiko giggled.
"Ha-Ha very funny. I'll have you know that I was a very attentive student in most of my classes." Haruka-papa shot back.
"That's not what Michiru-mama told me. In fact she's often mentioned that you either paid more attention to her, or other girls, or the latest racing magazines, then you did in class." I shot back. Haruka-papa just growled and concentrated on her driving. To be far though, Haruka-papa did quite well in the majority of her classes, thank you very much. She is a lot brighter than a lot of people give her credit for and a lot stronger and tougher as well. So there.
"Did you ever do anything like that when you were in school Hoshiko?" Kimyo asked. Hoshiko blushed faintly.
"Well, I once dropped a canister of liquid nitrogen onto the laboratory bench of my school lab." Hoshiko replied looking embarrassed.
"What happened?" Kimyo demanded.
Hoshiko's blush deepened. "The contents spilled all over the table top ruining everything sitting on it. I tried to scoop up some of it in a bucket, but I dropped the bucket and shattered the table top. I was banned from the school lab after that." She sighed and sank into her seat a bit.
"Do you mean to tell me that our shy little Hoshiko was a hell-raiser in high school? I've got to tell Michiru about this!" Haruka-papa crowed. Hoshiko replied by giving her a gesture that she no doubt learned by observing Haruka-papa. Oh dear, this could be bad if Haruka-papa is becoming that much of an influence on poor Hoshiko. The rest of us were all laughing as we drove up to Kimyo's home and dropped her off. And with Hoshiko glowering at Haruka-papa the whole way, we went home.
There was a green mini-van with a handicapped sticker on the window parked in front of our home as we pulled up and neither Haruka-papa nor Hoshiko would tell me who it belonged to.
"We're home!" Haruka-papa called out as we entered. I heard voices from the living room.
"We're in the living room love!" Michiru-mama called back. The three of us trooped into our living room where I received a huge, but happy, surprise.
"Yuko!" I cried out as I went over and hugged someone I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Hotaru! Hi!" Yuko replied as she hugged me. If you remember last year's report, Yuko Minaguchi was the blind girl who was seated at the table with us at Grandma and Grandpa Kaioh's wedding anniversary celebration (and we all know how that turned out don't we?) She's a cousin of Michiru-mama's and a dear friend of mine.
We've had dinner at each other's homes dozens of times and her parents and mine are good friends as well. Six months ago though, Mr. Minaguchi was transferred to England. We've exchanged letters and E-mails and letters but it was really nice to see them again.
"It's great to see you again Hotaru." Mrs. Minaguchi said as I went and hugged her and Mr. Minaguchi.
"When did you get in? How long are you staying?" Everyone laughed politely as I stood there babbling like a fool. I blushed a bit and sat down beside Yuko while Michiru-mama handed me a cup of tea.
"I see that you are still as full of questions as ever." Mr. Minaguchi remarked with a chuckle. "To your first question, we've been back for a few days now. We'll be home for a few weeks and then we're heading for Switzerland."
"Switzerland! Wow, that sounds so exciting! What are you going over there for?" I asked.
"We already told your parents and your cousin Hoshiko here, but it might be best if we let Yuko tell you herself." Mrs. Minaguchi replied.
"Is there someplace that we could talk privately Hotaru?" Yuko asked politely.
"Okay let's head up to my room then okay?" I replied. Yuko smiled and nodded as I took her hand and lead her up to my room. Both of us brought our tea with us as we went.
Once we were up in my room I lead her to my desk chair while I perched on the edge of my bed.
"Are you still collecting antique lamps Hotaru?" Yuko asked quietly as we sipped our tea. She seemed to be really worried about something, but I didn't want to press her.
"Sometimes, but not as many as I used to though. That lamp sitting on the desk to your left is the most recent one." I replied. "I bought it a few weeks ago."
"That's good." Yuko said. We spent the next several minutes catching up on everything we'd been up to in the last few months since we'd last spoken to one another. She talked about going to school in England, while I talked about my latest report and everything that's happened so far. Well almost everything anyway.
Yuko laughed politely. "What? You mean to tell me that you haven't rescued a bunch of hostages at the airport yet?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that lately?" I muttered as I sipped my tea.
Yuko laughed again then her expression grew serious. "There are a few things I need to tell you Hotaru." She set her cup down and put her hands in her lap. I noticed that she was trembling a bit as well.
"You can tell me anything Yuko, you know that." I assured her. Yuko smiled and nodded.
"The reason my parents and I were going to Switzerland is that we were going to a special clinic there." She stated.
"A clinic? What's so special about this particular clinic?" I asked. I suddenly became very worried about her health, and the health of her parents.
"I can hear the anxiety in your voice from here. Don't worry, it's nothing life threatening. Our Doctor in England recommended it to us because there is a fairly good chance that they may be able to restore my eyesight." Yuko replied.
"I set my cup down before going over and embracing her. "Oh Yuko, that's wonderful news!" I exclaimed. Yuko has been blind since she was six years old and I couldn't imagine what she was going through right now. Yuko hugged me back before I sat back down and held her hand while she explained.
"When our Doctor told us about this clinic, we were excited but cautious. WE did a lot of research and we managed to contact several former patients along with several other Doctors and they all agreed that this clinic was one of the best in the world for performing this type of surgery. There is another one in America but it has a long waiting list. We contacted the one in Switzerland and they were able to put my name on the list for surgery in three months. It'll be expensive, but if I can see the world around me again, it'll be worth it." Yuko stated. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she spoke.
I gently squeezed her hands. "I'm so happy for you Yuko and I pray that you get your sight back. You are an inspiration to a lot of people including me." Yuko spends a lot of her spare time helping other blind children cope with their disability.
"Thank you again Hotaru. That means a lot to me." Yuko replied. I hugged her again before I picked up my teacup after handing Yuko back her own cup. Her face grew serious again. "I need to tell you something else."
"What's that?" I asked while taking a sip.
Yuko took a deep breath. "I know your secret Hotaru."
Here's a good health tip: shooting hot liquid out your nostrils may be a fun party gag but it looks disgusting and it's also rather painful. "Wha-what do you mean?" I gasped while trying to drown myself.
"I know that you're Sailor Saturn."
I spent the next few minutes coughing and sputtering while Yuko came over and slapped me on the back repeatedly. Setsuna-mama poked her head in and asked if we were all right. Yuko assured her that I was okay. Some tea had gone down the wrong way. Oh and could we get some water please? Setsuna-mama smiled and got both of us a glass of water and after she was sure that I wasn't going to die, she left us alone again.
"I'm sorry Hotaru I didn't mean to shock you so badly." Yuko assured me.
"How did you know?" I demanded when my coughing fit subsided.
"Well you know how good my hearing and other senses are." Yuko replied. "You mentioned it in your report last year a few times, although I'm guessing you sent me the edited version." She was right, her hearing was extraordinary. It was one way she compensated for her blindness.
"Let me guess, it was just after we, the Sailor Senshi, rescued you and everyone else, you came up and thanked me and you commented that my voice was familiar." I said.
"And you tried to cover by lowering your voice a few octaves. You need to practice that, you sounded pretty goofy." Yuko commented with a giggle.
"Oh gee, thanks a heap." I replied sarcastically. "Did you know right away?"
"No, I wasn't sure until a few months later. I happened to catch the news one night after I heard about a Yoma running amok through the amusement park. Do you remember that? A TV reporter caught up to you along with Sailor Moon and a few others after the battle." Yuko replied.
I remembered that now. A Yoma went on a rampage at the amusement park in the middle of August, a few months after my first report concluded. Ami and Makoto were there with my parents and I and we called the others in. We defeated the creature and were about to leave when this annoying reporter ran up to us asking all sorts of dumb questions. Michiru-mama and Rei had been hurt and we wanted to get out of there in a hurry, something Makoto and Haruka-papa told him in no uncertain terms. But he did get a few comments from Usagi, Minako, and me. All I told him was that we were just doing our jobs and could he please leave us be to tend to our wounded. I told this to Yuko who nodded.
"That's when I realized that you and Sailor Saturn were the same person." She stated.
"Have you told anyone else?" I whispered. Yuko was a dear friend. I couldn't conceive of her making those phone calls. Not Yuko. I started crying.
Yuko reached out and touched my cheek. "I haven't told a soul, other than you. Not even my parents know. You are a dear friend Hotaru, we're practically related. I could never hurt you like that. Don't worry I will protect your secret with my dying breath. That I promise you."
I looked at her shocked. "There's no need to go that far!" I hoped it wouldn't go that far, I pray that it won't.
"I hope that it won't come to that, but just in case it does, I wanted you to know that I will protect your secret always." Yuko stated. "And it is my hope that I will get to see you in action with my own eyes."
"I really hope you do as well." I replied as I hugged her. I knew then that Yuko meant every word she said. She never does anything halfway and she means what she says. And I knew that the operation would succeed and that she would be able to see again, which is what I told her.
"Thank you Hotaru. That means a lot to me." Yuko replied with tears in her eyes. We sat there for a few minutes hugging each other until there was a knock on the door.
"Hime-chan? Yuko's parents are saying that it's time to go home now." Setsuna-mama called.
"Okay Mama, thanks." I replied. Yuko looked as disappointed as I did.
"Well, I'll call you later I guess." Yuko said sadly as she stood up.
"I'd like that. And we'll come and visit you before you head to Switzerland." I assured her as we headed downstairs.
"I know you will, because I'll harass you unmercifully if you don't!" She replied with a grin. We both laughed as we went down to the door were our family was waiting. We said our farewells after they gave us a few gifts that they had brought from England, and after assuring them that we'd be coming over for dinner soon, Yuko and her parents left.
"I'm glad that Yuko is getting a chance to get her eyesight back." Michiru-mama commented after they left.
"Me too." Haruka-papa stated. What were the two of you talking about up there? Anything we should know about?"
"Well there was something…" I began, but was interrupted by the phone again. I sighed and answered it. "Hello?"
"I know your secret, Sailor Saturn." The creepy voice said. I screamed and slammed the phone down. Someone else out there knew I was Sailor Saturn!
"Hotaru! What is it? What's wrong?" Setsuna-mama exclaimed.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. "We've got a problem. Call the others. I need to tell you all something." My parents nodded and started to call everyone while I stood there with my heart pounding furiously in my chest.
What the hell was going on?