Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Waking Ami ❯ Shattered Life ( Chapter 15 )

Ami shifted slightly. She could feel the presence of someone else entering the room. The young Mizuno didn't even look up; she knew whom it wouldn't be. Anyone else, friend, enemy, it didn't matter. Let them come, at this moment in her life, Ami felt as if she had nothing to lose.

The hulking form of JiJi materialized in the center of Garoben's hidden chambers. One of the final spells she cast was a homing beacon meant for this demon to find and follow. JiJi's massive ape-like head turned at the faint sound of broken sobs. His sickly yellow eyes rolled in their sockets, trying to focus on the large canopy bed. The ghastly orbs focused on the small form huddled in a fetal position in the center of the large bed.

Confident that the teen had not seen him JiJi's form began to smoke and melt away to that of the old man Hino. Dressed in the tattered remains of his Shinto garb, the old priest calmly walked to Ami's side. "Miss Ami.?" Not receiving a response, the old man climbed into the bed so he was sitting next to the young girl. He reached out gently grasping the girl's shoulder. Ami tried to flinch away, but Hino made sure to keep the contact.

"Miss. Ami, its Grandpa Hino. Are you hurt?" Seeing the state she was in, the old man already knew that he was too late to help Garoben. He knew it would be useless to ask if she was Ok, the girls woman had just died. There is no easy recovery from something like that.

"Grandpa?" Ami weakly raised her head. Her eyes were red and swollen from all the tears she had cried, and her vision blurred from those that had yet to fall. She gasped and turned away, desperately clutching something to her chest. "Juni, she, she…"

"Shhhh. I know, I know." Hino spoke in calming tones laced with a hint of a spell to help calm the girl who was nearly mad with grief. "Miss. Ami, will you let me take you home? There are a lot of people who are very worried about you."

"But, Juni, what about?" Ami's speech was unfocused and broken by tears. Hino's heart softened a bit to the girl in front of him. He had put on a fearsome façade around Garoben to seem more threatening. In truth over the last several hundred years he had been able to conquer the majority of the evil impulses that ruled most Yoma. His kindness was genuine; it was the evil that was forced.

"I'm sorry Miss. Ami, There's nothing I can do for her. Please, let me take you home." Ami could not form an answer, as sobs once again wracked her body. Knowing that it would be a while, the old man opened his arms to Ami. The young girl accepted the supportive embrace she desperately needed.

Hours passed before Ami had calmed down enough to allow Hino to take her home. Once he received permission, the old man waved his hand in front of Ami's face, putting the girl into a magically induced slumber. Once she was asleep, Hino lifted her into an embrace and walked to the center of the room. Chanting a few words, the powerful old man changed the warding spells and locks to respond only to Ami. This way someday she would be able to return here if she wanted to.

Hino's skin began to twist and pop as he once again dropped his disguise. Only in his demon form did JiJi have the power to teleport in-between dimensions. With one last look around, to make sure all of Garoben's wards remained intact JiJi opened a dimensional rift back into his temple.

Fiore was sound asleep, when a sudden surge of energy in the temple instantly prodded him awake. "Hey, Flower Boy what's the big idea?" Makoto sleepily mumbled as her bedmate shot up, dislodging her from her comfortable position snuggled into him.

"Something's not right." The last remnants of sleep instantly left Makoto as her friend transformed into his true self. "Mako I am sensing something of enormous power in the main foyer."

Makoto became confused as Fiore transformed back, with a worried expression on his face. "Whatever it was its gone, wait here I'm gonna check it out."

"The hell I am!" Makoto snapped at her friend. "I'm more than capable of backing you up thank you very much." Makoto stormed ahead of her companion, who quickly fell in step next to her. Both friends proceeded with caution. They had been in plenty of fights before, but the energy Fiore felt put them both on edge.

"What the!" Makoto gasped, as a cloud of fog seemed to be hovering in the halls leading to the foyer. "Hey Flower Boy, maybe we shouldn't go in there. What if it's one of them monsters that we've been hearin about lately?"

Fiore took hold of his friends hand for courage as he inched toward the door to peak around the edge. Both friends' hearts were hammering in their chests, as they had no clue what would greet them on the other side.

"Grandpa Hino!"

"Ami!"

Both friends chorused in unison as they ran forth to check on their friends. Grandpa Hino was kneeling in the center of the room cradling an unconscious Ami. The old man looked exhausted, and his robes were in tatters barely covering his body.

"Grandpa, what happened? Are you alright? What happened to Ami?" Makoto and Fiore asked a flurry of questions as they hovered over the old man and Ami searching for any signs of injury.

"Quit crowding me!" The old man shouted out. Both jumped back, not used to such a harsh out burst from the normally happy old man. "Makoto you and Fiore go set Ami up in a room. She will be all right for now. I need to rest do not disturb me for at least five hours." The old man raised a hand to wipe some sweat away from his brow. "And get a hold of her mother. I have a feeling that Ami will want her here when she wakes up."

"Grandpa, what happened to you?" Makoto asked referring to both of them.

"Never mind that, just make sure you do what I asked." The old priest shakily rose to his feet and began to leave. "I will be in the fire room, remember do not disturb me for at least five hours."

"But, shouldn't you be resting?" Fiore's question was ignored as the old man left the room. The two friends shared a puzzle look before Fiore shrugged. "I guess we should do what he said. Go set up a futon for Ami in the room next to ours. I'll carry her over there. After she's tucked in we'll try and get a hold of Ms. Mizuno." Makoto nodded in agreement before rushing ahead to prepare the room.

As Makoto and Fiore tended to Ami, Hino made his way to the center of the temple where the sacred fire was always kept burning. Stripping off what was left of his robes, the old man took a meditative stance in front of the flames. Once comfortable, he began to clear his mind and focus on the power of the flames. The centuries old priest sighed in relief as the fire's energy slowly began to rejuvenate his depleted power.

::I'm sorry I didn't arrive in time Miss Ami. But I promise that you WILL get through this.:: Hino knew that Ami would face some hard times. He was confident though, that her friends would stand beside her and help the young woman through this.

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"Hey Flower boy, any luck?" An emotionally exhausted Makoto asked her equally tired friend. They head spent the last three hours taking care of Ami and trying to get a hold of her mother.

"No. I tried her house and her job, no one is answering at home, and she is not scheduled to work right now." Fiore rubbed his eyes, trying to relieve some tension from a mounting headache. "How's Ami? Any change yet?"

"No. She has a slight fever and won't stop tossing and turning." Makoto looked worried about something, and Fiore could easily tell. The young man was about to call his friend on it when she began to speak. "Fiore, I think something bad has happened to my boss."

Fiore walked over to Makoto and offered an embrace, which she leaned her back into. "Why is that?"

"Every time Ami starts to toss she cries out for her. Whenever she says her name in her sleep, she starts to cry or sobbing no over and over." Makoto sighed and pushed away from Fiore to lean on a counter. "What if Juni got really hurt or something? I mean there is something really strange going on."

"Could be she and Ami just had a bad break up, we can't start jumping to conclusions. As far as the strangeness goes, I know what you mean. What do you think happened to grandpa, and how did he carry Ami all the way here by himself?" Fiore referred to Grandpa Hino's tattered garments and exhausted appearance.

"It's not only that." Makoto continued. "I didn't notice it earlier because it was dark, but Ami looks different. Did you see her hair? It's completely blue."

"Like mine is?"

"No, yours is a pale aqua sort of color. Hers is really a rich blue. And her hair doesn't feel any different, so I doubt she got it colored."

Fiore sighed. "Well, we won't be getting any answers until Grandpa wakes up. And, we still need to find Ms. Mizuno." Fiore looked around the room for something. "What time is it anyways?"

"Oh, Uhm I think the clock in the hall said six. Hey, do you think we should go over to Ami's house and see if Ms. Mizuno's there?"

Fiore shrugged. "I don't have any other ideas. What about Ami, do you think she'll be ok?"

"Yeah, I left some water by her futon, and I'll leave a message with it in case she wakes up. I'll slide one into the fire room too, so the old man knows where we went."

"Sounds like a plan." Both friends pushed off from the counter they were leaning on and left to get things ready.

Within the hour, the two had arrived at Ami's apartment complex. They tried to buzz up to her place, but no one answered. Running out of ideas and not seeing many other options, Makoto decided to pick the lock. Again, silence greeted them as they knocked at the Mizuno's door. The tall brunette sighed as she reached down to pick another lock, but was startled to find the door open already.

"Hello! Ms. Mizuno!" Makoto called out as she walked into the open apartment. Fiore followed her in and closed the door behind them. "It's Makoto and Fiore, are you here?"

"Well shit Flower Boy, I don't think she's here." Makoto turned to leave, when she caught something in the corner of her eye. "What the? Hey Fiore, what's that?" Makoto pointed out a large mess in the kitchen. It appeared to be glass and blood liberally splashed across the floor.

"Here too." Fiore pulled the brunette's attention to the couch next to the telephone, which had a bloody cloth and a few blood patches all over it.

"Awww man, what happened?" Makoto walked into the kitchen to investigate further. "Hey Flower Boy, there's a note over here."

The young man ran to Makoto's side to read the note over her shoulder. Makoto still had a lot of trouble reading, especially if it was a handwritten note. "It says that she's at the hospital. All this happened a couple hours ago." Fiore motioned to the mess on the floor. "Well, what now?"

"Shit, Ami's just having all sorts of bad luck today." Makoto ran her hand through her hair. Both Makoto and Fiore were feeling sorry for their friend. "Well, it's not like she'll be in any condition to go see Ami, but we need to tell her where Ami is."

Makoto sat down on one of the dining room chairs as she planned her strategy. "Ami just calmed down when we left, so she should hopefully be out for a little while. How about you go to the hospital and check on Ms. Mizuno. If you can, let her know where Ami is but don't get into details. There's no reason to make her worry."

"Alright, I guess you'll be staying here to clean up?"

Makoto looked around and made a disgusted face. "The last thing I would want after the shitty day those two had, would be to come home to this mess." Makoto stretched a bit before walking to the kitchen to find a bucket and a sponge. "All right, I am going to get started. Meet me at the temple when you can."

Fiore wrapped Makoto in a tight embrace. "Hey, everything is going to be ok. Everyone is going to be ok. Miss. Ami will be awake soon. I'm sure she and Asagai-sensei just got into a little fight. And Ms. Mizuno, well if it were more serious someone would have heard something, right?"

Makoto smiled for her friend and turned to start cleaning. She knew that Fiore had nothing to back these statements up, but she appreciated him trying to cheer her up. "Yeah, you're right. Hey you should get going huh?"

"I'll see you at the temple later." Fiore was worried. He had minor empathic abilities, and could feel the anxiety literally pouring from his friend. As much as that worried him, it was nothing compared to the sorrow Ami was emanating. The truth was he was more likely to believe that something horrible did happen to Asagai-sensei. Although, there was no need to get Makoto worried until they knew for sure.

"Excuse me Miss. Do you know how to get to the Juban Medical Center?" Fiore asked the first person he bumped into, a young teen entering the apartment as he was leaving. He listened intently to the directions memorizing which busses to take. "Thank you." Fiore thanked the girl with the strange white hair, and held the door open for her before continuing on his way.

"Hurry up Usagi, if Miss. Mizuno isn't here then we have to get back to the arcade and start from square one." Luna called out as she sprinted ahead of her young charge. Usagi determinedly trudged behind. It has been over twenty-four hours since the fourteen-year-old soldier had any sleep, and it was starting to wear on her.

"Hey Lucky! Luna, I found it over hear, and the doors already open!" Usagi called to her feline mentor who was walking down the opposite side of the hallway looking for the Mizuno's apartment.

"Wait for me Usagi!"

"What do you think, should we go in?" The silver haired girl queried after she knocked a few times with no answer.

Luna took a few cautious steps in before motioning for Usagi to follow her. "Be careful, there is something strange in the air."

"Hey Flower Boy, did you forget something?" Makoto walked into the living room carrying a bucket full of hot soapy water.

"Hey! Who the fu… Oh, I'm sorry, are you a friend of the Mizuno's?" Makoto set the water down and nodded in Usagi's direction. The older teen was not normally concerned with manners, but she was in the Mizuno's house and did not want to insult their friends.

Usagi turned red and stammered out a greeting. The silver haired girl was nervous for several reasons. The main two being the fact that she was technically in a stranger's house, the second was that the tall girl in front of her had more muscles than she had ever seen on a woman.

"Uhm, that is I uh. Is Miss. Mizuno home?" Usagi was deeply embarrassed, she tried to think of more to say when she spotted the blood matted couch and red stained floor in the kitchen. The young teens hand flew to stifle her scream as her eyes widened in horrible concern.

::No! I'm too late, Ami's already dead and the housekeeper is cleaning up her blood!:: A tear streamed down Usagi's face as she considered the worst. Makoto looked at her questioningly not sure what to say to this odd girl's reaction. ::Sniff:: "Where, where did they take Miss Mizuno? I didn't know her very well, but I'd still like to say good-bye."

Makoto was now completely confused. "Who are you, and what the hell are you talking about?" The tall brunette nearly shouted. "Ami's resting at a friend's house."

Usagi's eyes dried as she processed what she heard. "You mean she's not dead?"

Makoto shook her head in exasperation. "No, she's not dead! Now why the hell would you even think that?" The older teen paused a moment as a clue smacked her in the forehead. "Hey, do you know what happened to Ami?"

Usagi backed up a few steps, and Luna silently circled around Makoto as the tall teen advanced upon the smaller teen. "I, she, that is, there was a monster attack at the school she was at and I thought she was hurt."

The silver haired girl sighed in relief as the Amazonian like girl in front of her backed off a bit. It took her a second to process everything, but when she did, Makoto assaulted Usagi with a slur of questions about what happened to Ami and what the monster was. Usagi did her best to answer the question, while Luna slipped around the apartment looking through the Mizuno's things.

The two girls took a seat at the couch, and it was a few minutes until Makoto got the whole story from Usagi's point of view. Well her point of view as "a girl who hid under a desk and watched it all happen." It wasn't until the end of the story that Makoto worked up the nerve to as about her boss.

"Hey, uhm you didn't happen to see a woman with Ami did you? She's really tall with dark hair that's a little past her shoulders. Uhm, she also usually wears really expensive looking wire rim glasses." Usagi shook her head no. This made Makoto both relieved and angry. Relived, because Juni was saved the monsters rampage, but also angry because she was not there to help Ami and she hasn't tried to get in contact with anyone.

"What happened to everyone who was there?" Makoto asked, hoping to get an idea as to her boss's whereabouts.

"Some ambulances and police cars arrived and were treating people and taking some to the hospital. So, how is Miss. Mizuno doing?"

Makoto sighed, worried about the whole situation. "She hasn't woken up since she got home. The priest I live with found her, and somehow carried her back to the temple we live in. My friend and I left an hour ago so we could find her mom to let her know what happened. We just got here, and it seems that Ms. Mizuno was in some kind of accident and had to go to the hospital. My friend just left a minute before you came in so I thought you were him at first."

"Oh!" Usagi put two and two together. "He must have been the guy who asked me directions to the hospital."

The tall brunette turned and looked questioningly at the girl sitting next to her.

"I'm Kino, Makoto by the way. I never got your name."

"Oh I'm sorry. How rude of me! I'm Tsukino Usagi."

Makoto, against her will stifled back a bit of laughter. "Your name is rabbit?" Usagi looked at the older teen with a blank expression. "And, your hair looks like floppy bunny ears!." Makoto indulged in a short laugh at the Usagi's expense. She didn't know why she found it so funny, and she knew it was a bad time to start laughing, but she just couldn't help it. Sometimes stress brought out some odd things. "Well little Bunny, I need to finish cleaning this up. I'll be sure to let Ami know that you stopped by to see her."

"Uhm, if I helped you clean up would it be ok if I came to see Ami with you?" Usagi asked tentatively. Makoto looked as if she were going to brush her off, so Usagi pressed the issue, insisting that it was important that she see her. Makoto was confused as to what could be so important it could not wait, but Usagi easily talked circles around the older girl.

Makoto, unfortunately wasn't the most intelligent girl in the world so it was easy for Usagi to use her warped logic to get her to agree to take her to see Ami. With that decided, the two girls vigorously set to work on cleaning the mess in the kitchen and on the couch.

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"Pardon me sir., is this Ms. Mizuno's room?" Fiore asked the incredibly handsome man sitting uncomfortably in a chair next to the room's door. Tsuzuku arose from his chair, grateful that this unexpected arrival broke him out of his musings and gave him a chance to stretch.

"It is, are you a friend of hers?"

"I'm Fiore, a friend of her daughter. I just came from her apartment, is she going to be ok?" Fiore wasn't sure how to respond to the seemingly cold man in front of him. For some reason this man made him very uncomfortable, and he found himself tripping over his words. "Makoto, err Ami's other friend and I came looking for her, and the apartment was a mess. Makoto stayed behind to clean. And I, well, I came to see how she was doing."

"That's right, I know who you two are. Miss. Ami has mentioned you. I'm Tsuzuku by the way, I live with Ayanee's girlfriend."

"Ayanee?" Fiore had never heard Ms. Mizuno's first name before, so was unsure of the reference.

"Ms. Mizuno." Tsuzuku responded to the other man's query. "And as far as her progress goes, well the doctors say she will be here a little while. Apparently, she hit her head on something and got a serious concussion." Fiore took a seat as Tsuzuku continued the story. "I guess she thought it wasn't very bad. She called me, trying to get a hold of Umi, I guess she wanted someone to talk to while she treated herself. She ended up passing out while we were on the phone."

Fiore could feel the worry and concern emanating from the handsome man in front of him. There was something else there too, anger perhaps? "I called an ambulance to pick her up, and I brought Umi here as soon as I could."

The tall man turned away from Fiore as he ran his fingers through his red and black hair. He did this as a habit, but also to mask the tears he quickly wiped away. "She hasn't woken up yet, and the doctors say there is a fifty percent chance that she never will."

"Tsuzuku!" Both men turned to see a beautiful, albeit painfully thin woman gracefully walking toward them.

"Caroline?" Tsuzuku, seemed almost shocked that she was here. Fiore also felt an extreme amount of annoyance emanating from him, while concern and love poured off of the wafer thin woman.

The attractive woman rushed up to the handsome man and drew him into an embrace, which he awkwardly accepted. "Are you alright? How is she?"

Fiore took advantage of Tsuzuku's distraction to get permission to enter Ms. Mizuno's room unaccompanied. The older man, was for the moment otherwise occupied by his overly concerned girlfriend.

A woman in a wheelchair positioned next to the hospital bed had seemingly fallen asleep while desperately clutching Ayanee's hand. Fiore's heart ached, as he felt the onslaught of emotions pouring from the woman. Fear, sorrow, concern, but above all there was a sense of hope. It was almost as if the woman knew that the best outcome was going to occur and Ayanee would be all right.

Quietly maneuvering to position himself at the headboard of Ayanee's hospital bed, Fiore decided to take a huge risk to make sure that the woman's hope was justified. Ami was a good friend, and it was obvious the younger girl had a horrible day; it was also extremely possible that something horrible happened to Ami's girlfriend. If, Ami woke up to find her mother in a coma on top of everything that has already happened, she might not be able to handle it.

The young man did not even think twice as he inhaled deeply and began to concentrate. His eyes and skin started changing color as his hair quadrupled in length, also changing color. Fiore, now in his true form focused his thoughts and concentrated on repairing the damage done to Ayanee. In this state, he was completely unaware and helpless. If any one happened to walk in, he could be in a world of trouble.

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"Hey, Bunny, Ami's not awake yet." The silver haired girl looked tired, but a bit relieved at the same time. On one hand, she really needed to talk to Ami about what happened. Mostly though, she was just relieved that her fellow soldier had come through the ordeal unhurt. As far as she knew anyways.

"Say, if you want I can cook us up something to eat while we wait. You interested?" Makoto asked as she walked past Usagi into the kitchen. Usagi nodded gratefully while following the much taller girl.

Usagi was in awe of Makoto. Not only had she never seen a young woman with her physique before, but she never knew anyone with her background. The two teens had spent the hour cleaning the Mizuno's to get to know each other a little bit. While Makoto found the younger teen somewhat funny, Usagi looked up to the older girl as a strong female role model. After all, brawn and self-confidence were two things Usagi was sorely lacking.

Makoto spent the next hour happily rattling around in the well-stocked and underused kitchen. Even though the ex vagrant never had a chance to cook prior to her residence at the temple, she took to it like an old pro. It seemed as if the culinary arts were in her blood. This of coarse was another thing that awed Usagi, whose last attempt at cooking resulted in her father having to purchase a new oven and replace several cabinets. How was she supposed to know that the flames would leap so high, or spread that fast?

"Hey Bunny?" Makoto turned to look at her breakfast companion. "What is up with your cat? That has to be the weirdest looking thing I have ever seen." Luna, who was sitting next to Usagi's chair turned to glare at Makoto. The older teen, while not the brightest academically, was very astute when it came to reading people. She looked questioning at the cat, almost positive that the thing understood her.

"Uhm, what do you mean? Eh, Luna's just a purebred that's all. She's a foreign cat; yeah her breed is only found in uh Finland…"

"NOOOOOOO!"

A loud scream ripped through the temple, interrupting the girl's conversation, and startling the hell out of them. Usagi jumped in her chair and tumbled over as Makoto pushed her chair aside and ran directly to Ami's room. The silver haired teen took a moment to untangle herself before getting to her feet and following the sound of the anguished sobs that echoed throughout the temple.

When Makoto finally arrived at Ami's room she found her younger friend curled in a fetal position, desperately clinging to something in her arms. The tall brunette took a knee next to Ami, trying to get the younger girl to calm down. "Ami? What happened, are you hurt?" Makoto was at a loss, she knew that Ami was involved in some sort of monster attack, but she didn't know what happened to her in that experience. All she knew for sure was that Ami had been taken hostage, Juni was missing, and somehow Grandpa Hino hand found Ami and brought her here.

An idea took shape in Makoto's head, and she started to speak it before she thought it through. "Ami, it's ok. You're safe. Grandpa Hino saved you from the monster. He brought you back early this morning, but he's ok. You're both all right. Fiore went to go get your mom, she's uh uhm she's, and she'll be here as soon as she can."

Makoto's words remained unheard by the heartbroken girl. There was only one thing in her mind right now. "Juni, oh god Juni."

"Huh, what was that about Juni?" Again, Makoto acted without thinking. She reached out and gently shook Ami's shoulder. Ami's only response to the contact was to curl up tighter. "Hey, where is Juni? None of us can get a hold of her. Where was she when the monster attacked the school?"

Ami remained silent, ignoring Makoto's repeated questions. Finally, the older teen just gave up. Whatever happened to Ami, it obviously was very traumatic to her. Makoto began mentally kicking herself as she realized how insensitive she was acting. Taking a deep breath the older teen gently approached Ami and situated her so the now blue haired teens head lay in her lap. Ami continued to cry, but relished the contact even if it was not the person she longed for it to be.

The two girls remained like that for over a half hour before Ami was able to speak. Even then, it was barely a whisper that escaped her lips. "Juni's dead."

Makoto almost didn't hear the nearly inaudible words. She paused the gentle massage of her fingers through Ami's hair. She wasn't sure exactly if she heard what she thought she did. No, she knew what she heard; she just didn't want to hear it. Taking a second to steal herself Makoto bent down to cradle her friend.

"Ami, I'm so sorry" Nothing could really be said, and even what she did say sounded trite. Instead of talking Makoto just tightened her embrace of the younger girl, who clung to her like a lifeline. The strength of her embrace would leave a few bruises on Makoto, but the older teen did not care. Right now, her friend needed support; all she could do was be there for her. Nothing said or done would make her feel better. The only cure for what she was feeling was time, and even she didn't heal all wounds. Makoto knew that all too well.

Usagi waited patiently sitting outside Ami's door. She had been there for over an hour now, waiting and listening to the few words said. The silver haired girl felt horrified that someone had died in the attack. That is not something she has had to face yet, and it hit her hard. Still, there was something odd about that, which did not sit right. As far as she knew, she had arrived just before the monster had transformed, and she certainly didn't remember anyone dying then.

Usagi was snapped from her thoughts when she heard Makoto mention her name to Ami. Apparently, the older girl had just remembered that she was waiting out here. From what she could tell, Ami was a little confused, but agreed to see her. Usagi quickly stood up and dusted herself off. She looked around for Luna, thinking the cat was by her the whole time. Apparently, the impatient cat had found something else that piqued her interest and left.

"Hey Bunny!" Makoto called out softly as she exited Ami's room. "Sorry you had to wait so long, but Ami's not doing to good right now. Uhm, uh please be careful what you say. I don't know what might set her off again."

"Are you alright Makoto?" Usagi queried. Makoto was obviously struggling to control her grief.

"Yeah." Makoto brushed off Usagi's concern as she quickly wiped at her eyes. "Look, I'm gonna go get some water and tea. I'll be back in a few minutes." The tall brunette didn't wait for a response as she quickly made her way toward the kitchen. Makoto was a proud woman, and could not stand to let others see her tears. Fiore was the only person she trusted enough to cry around, and she was not about to change that now.

"Miss. Mizuno?" Usagi poked her head into the room before entering fully. "Are you ok?" Ami was kneeling on her futon, she was tightly grasping onto something obscured by the blankets that pooled around her waste. Hearing Usagi enter, the young genius looked up and tried to smile, but could not. Instead, her eyes just filled again with tears.

"I'm so sorry that I thought you were a Yoma. It's just that when I finally got there you were floating in the air. If it wasn't for the Yoma getting in the way my tiara would have hit you." Usagi bowed deeply in apology to the now shocked girl in front of her. "Please forgive me"

Ami made a noise that was a cross between a sob and a gasp. Usagi looked up to see Ami turn a pale color and begin shaking. The traumatized girl slowly lifted the item up that she had been clutching to, in the assumption that it was Juni's.

Usagi's eyes lit up as a look of relief washed over her face. "Oh! My tiara, you found it! Oh, thank you Miss. Mizuno, Thank you! I thought Luna was going to kill me when that Yoma ran off with it."

At this point Ami began to look physically ill, and she began to tremble. Disbelief, grief, and most of all rage began to build up inside the young genius. Usagi was completely oblivious to this and continued on rambling. "How did you ever escape? Luna and I have been looking for you for hours!" Said cat, had hidden herself in Ami's room. Unlike Usagi, she was astute enough to see the changes in Ami's demeanor, and stayed back to avoid the upcoming confrontation.

"Did you escape her yourself? Or did the monster die? Gosh this is great Miss. Mizuno, everything's going to be aces from here on out!" Usagi, caught up in the joy of finding a fellow warrior was completely shocked when something shoved hard into her. Taken aback by the unexpected assault, she couldn't catch her footing and went tumbling to the floor. She hit with a heavy thump, quickly followed by the clatter of something metallic hitting the floor beside her.

Tears quickly filled the fragile soldier's eyes as she reached out a trembling hand to pick up her tiara, which vanished as she picked it up. "Miss. Mizuno, Why?" Usagi looked up with a completely confused, heartbroken expression. A mask of grief, sorrow, and hatred greeted her. The silver haired girl unconsciously pushed herself away from Ami. Her instincts told her she was in danger. Luna stood on edge positioning herself to defend Usagi if the need arose.

"Please leave." Ami barely forced the words out from between clenched teeth. The grief stricken girl was trembling violently, trying to control her building hatred for the murderer of her love. Usagi was shocked as she noticed blood dripping from Ami's clenched fists.

"Miss. Mizuno, please you're hurting yourself." Usagi stood and reached out a wavering hand to try to calm her fellow soldier. She was shocked as Ami lashed out and slapped her hand aside.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ami shouted at the girl in front of her. The cold rage at the revelation of Usagi's identity was coming to a boil. Ami was not a naturally violent person, but she was on the brink of attacking the girl in front of her. "Get out."

Usagi was shocked. She didn't know what to think or how to react. This was not supposed to happen. What did she do? What had gone wrong? "GET OUT!" Ami lurched forward and shoved Usagi backwards into the wall. A loud crashing noise sounded in the hall, quickly followed by the sound of stomping feet.

Makoto burst into the room to see Usagi in tears, picking herself up off the floor. Looking over at Ami, she immediately noticed the sheer fury and hatred pouring from the normally timid girl. "Ami? " Seeing that the girl was most likely about to attack someone, Makoto thought it best to get Usagi out of there as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, for the silver haired girl, Makoto was none to gentle about it. She didn't know why, but she knew that this girl had done something to elicit such an extreme response from her younger friend. "I think it`s time for you to leave." Makoto grabbed the shocked girl by the arm and drug her from the room.

A blood-curdling scream sounded from behind them, quickly followed by angry sobs. As much as she wanted to help and console her friend, Makoto knew from experience that going in there right now was not a good idea. Ami needed some time to vent; her presence there would only complicate things.

Cold green eyes turned to focus on the silver haired girl's terrified blue ones. "I don't know what you did to her, but I think you better leave. And I don't want to hear of you bothering Ami ever again, got it?" Makoto emphasized her point by violently twisting Usagi's arm and pushing her away.

Usagi was too shocked, and scared to say anything. She just began to cry, unable to move. Frustrated with her inability to help her friend, Makoto's temper began to flare. Roughly grabbing Usagi's shirt the burley teen literally drug the other out of the temple. Once they were at the entrance Usagi was pushed out to tumble onto the ground. Her shoes quickly followed, as Makoto threw them at her.

Makoto knew she was going to regret this later, but right now, she needed to vent. Unfortunately, for Usagi, she was the only thing there that the older teen could focus on. Sobbing wildly, Usagi grabbed her shoes and ran as fast as she could away from the temple. Not looking where she was going, she nearly crashed into a weary Fiore who was just now making his way home. The exhausted man watched confused as the girl who gave him directions to the hospital sped away from the temple in tears.

"Soldier Mercury, Pull yourself together!" Luna had kept herself hidden until this time. Luna was disgusted by the display, but wanted to make sure Ami was alone before making her presence known. The feline General leapt from her concealment to confront the sobbing Ami. The grief stricken girl whirled around at the sound of the new voice.

Luna was fortunate that anger was not an emotion that easily stayed with Ami. Had she shown herself a few moments earlier, Ami would have not responded well. Now however, Ami was once again overcome with the grief of loosing her love. Her anger toward the murderess of Juni had already dissipated, replaced by the stronger emotion of sorrow.

As Luna began to speak again, Ami stared at her in a confused shock. "You obviously handled yourself well to escape the Yoma, but what you did to my Moon Soldier was completely unacceptable." Ami continued to gape as Luna kept speaking. "As one of my inner planetary soldiers, you cannot be fighting with her. Do I make myself clear?"

"Wha, What are you?" Ami managed to speak through her tears. Ami was starting to get dangerously overwhelmed. Not only was she dealing with Juni's death, but her killer also confronted her, and now a cat was in front of her talking nonsense.

Luna, realizing that Ami probably had no idea what she was talking about started over from the beginning. "I am General Lunari Elusiian Mox, but I prefer Luna. I am here to find and train the reincarnations of my princess and her guardians." Ami said nothing, she just continued to look confused and amazed. "You and Usagi are two of those guardians.

"Here." Luna leapt into the air, creating a small warp hole. Out of the hole dropped a beautiful blue ring. "Wear this ring with the pride of your station. When you raise it to the sky and shout Mercury Power Makeup, you will be able to transform into the Sailor Mercury. Together with Sailor Moon, you will find our princess and rid the earth of the vile Yoma, which seek to destroy it."

Ami wanted to deny it, wanted to forget this ever happened. Nevertheless, she knew somehow, that what the cat said was true. She has a destiny as the warrior of Mercury, a destiny that would involve battle with Yoma. Yoma like Juni.

Luna beamed with pride as Ami reached out to pick up her transformation ring, only to be shocked when the blue haired teen returned it to her. "I do not need this."

"Of course you need it. You may have escaped from the Yoma earlier today, but that doesn't mean you are capable of fighting without it. That Yoma wasn't even at full strength, Usagi already wounded it."

"I did not escape her." Ami quietly spoke; renewed tears began following the trails already marked on her face. "She helped me escape you, and she died for it."

"What?" Luna did not like where this was going. Her eyes narrowed and her voice took on a steely edge.

"Juni threw herself in front of me to save my life from Miss. Tsukino's attack. She took me to safety and she died in my arms." Ami wiped at her eyes, as she tried, but failed to compose herself. "She was the most important person in my life, and now she is gone."

Luna cut in before Ami could say more. The feline general was furious, and refused to hear anymore of what Ami had to say. "That Yoma was evil just like the rest of them! Two thousand years ago they attacked, and destroyed the most glorious kingdom this galaxy has ever known. I will not stand here and listen to one of that kingdom's greatest warriors speak blasphemy!"

Luna was about to say more, when a voice unheard by Ami entered the feline's mind. As soon as it registered, Luna began to hiss wildly and her fur stood on end. ::General, I do believe it is time you left. Ami has gone through enough today and does not need you adding to it.:: Ami looked on in confusion as the spooked cat suddenly sprinted from the room in such haste that she nearly crashed into the door.

"Miss. Ami?" Ami turned, emotionally exhausted and bewildered to see who was calling her.

"Grandpa." With a heart breaking sob Ami threw herself into the old priests surprisingly strong embrace. The old man whispered into Ami's ear as he gently stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.

"I'm sorry to burden you again so soon after what has already happened, but you need to know this." Hino spoke as soon as Ami had calmed enough to listen.

"What is it?" Ami asked in a trembling voice, afraid of what she was going to hear and wondering what else could possibly go wrong.

Hino really did not want to be the one to tell her, but Makoto and Fiore were in no shape to do it. "Your mother was in an accident last night. She is in the hospital right now in stable condition. The doctors have done all they can, and she seems to be doing better. But, it, it's still not certain as to weather or not she'll wake up."

Warrior or not, Ami was still a fifteen year old girl. In the span of a few hours her love died, a talking cat told her she was a reincarnated soldier destined to fight along side the girl who the night before killed Juni. If that wasn't enough, now she finds out that her mother was in an accident and might never wake up. It was too much. Too many things had happened too fast. Hino was quick to catch Ami as she slumped to the ground.

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