Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ Origins ( Chapter 1 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Kihin Ranno 
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.27.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 317 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological / Drama / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.27.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 317 | Status: Work In Progress
Broken
Part One: Origins
2/11
by Kihin Ranno
silver_siren2@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/kihin_rann o/starlithorizon.html
R
~~Started: February 11, 2002~~
~~Completed: May 26, 2002~~
Yup, I plotted out the entire fic. I always have a rough idea in my
head, but it takes me awhile to decide how many chapters the story will
end up being. I'm finally getting better at plotting and planning.
^_^
Anyway, this part is actually centering on Minako's mother... Which
required creating a character... I had very little to work with from
the Sailor V manga. I gave this woman a name, mannerisms, quirks,
likes, dislikes; I essentially created a round character based on the
flat character Naoko weaved into the pages of the Sailor V manga. I am
basically trying to cover the woman's entire life in one chapter,
mostly through reflection and memories. This required looking into the
human psyche and looking at how different experiences would affect a
human being. It also took extensive research on other things and was
no small task for information on the human psyche is hard to come by I
have found. And on top of that, I was originally going to make this a
fic with Minako's father instead of her mother. Then I changed my mind
and had to go back do more research because of the obvious differences
between male and female mind make up.
And that is why this chapter took a small eternity to get out.
Anyway, Sailor Moon is not mine... this character started out to be
Naoko's but it kinda got lost in there... I won't call it mine, but I
have probably screwed him up so much, it can't be called hers... But it
is still hers, so no one sue me.
Once again, this scene jumps around between time periods a lot... You
should be able to figure it out based on what Minako's mother is
thinking about prior to the flashback and what the flashback is about.
These o not go in chronological order... More like a logical order
according to how the character is thinking and what she is thinking
about.
~********************************************* ************************~
Aino Takara* was a fairly normal, decent woman. She was not the
breadwinner for her family, and was by no means overly skillful in any
craft other than homemaking, but she had no problems with that. In the
beginning, she had been resentful of her husband (who was by no means
a genius or overly skillful in any one field either, yet he was the one
with the well paying job and all the credit), but she was past that.
Sure every once in awhile she flew off the handle over nothing. Maybe
she was a bit of a nag. You could even call her an overbearing wife
and mother, but was there really something wrong with trying to make
your daughter better than you turned out? Or pushing your husband so
he could do better and make their home better? All she had wanted was
a better life for them... Was that so much to ask?
Apparently it was... At least for her husband...
Because six months ago, Aino Keiji**, Takara's husband had up and left
her. No warning before the day he did. He just decided to leave her.
And he tried to take Minako with him on top of that!
He had attempted this while Minako was out saying good bye to some
of her friends... Some pop group called the Three Lights she had been
going to school with or something like that, Keiji had come home early.
Takara had attempted to ask him how his day was, but he cut her off,
saying he wasn't going to take her crap anymore.
Takara had been stunned to say the least. She had no idea what crap
he was referring to. After a few moments of staring at his face,
squished into one of sheer anger and a bit of revulsion and turning
several shades of red, shaking all the while, Takara began to laugh.
She figured this was some kind of early April Fool's joke or something.
Keiji did not look pleased at her laughter, so she decided to humor him
for awhile. She had told him that if he didn't want to put up with her
crap (whatever it was he was referring too) he could just leave. He
could even take Minako with him if he liked, although Lord knew that he
would spoil her rotten and she'd never amount to anything. Takara just
continued to laugh and joke until finally Keiji said something that she
did not want to hear...
********************************************************** *************
"That is exactly what I intend to do," Keiji said coldly. He brushed
past his wife and started up the stairs, calling for his daughter to
come down.
Finally, Takara realized he wasn't joking, "Wh... Just what the hell do
you think you're doing?! She's my daughter as much as she is yours!"
Keiji laughed a little at that comment. He was obviously not amused.
Bitter was a better word, "The way you treat her, you would never guess
that... She's just like me. Neither of us will ever be good enough for
you! And you put both of our dreams to shame. Like they aren't good
enough for you,"
Takara rolled her eyes and said, "You both dream of being stars... The
best thing you could ever get was some two bit part in an American
comedy. You didn't even have a role or even a line! You were nothing
more than an extra in that... And on top of that, the movie was a flop.
I told you that form the beginning, but of course you never listened to
me... Why should you listen to me anyway? I was only right,"
Keiji growled and grabbed the wedding picture of he and Takara from the
wall. They had hung it on the stairs so that every time one of them
was heading to the bedroom, that would be the last thing they saw
before they saw their spouse. He stared at it in contempt and then
looked up to his wife. The look on his face did not go away. If
anything it worsened. Then he spit on the picture and threw it down to
the first floor, the glass shattering at her feet.
Then Keiji had turned and continued up the stairs, still calling for
his daughter. Takara was enraged. She ran up the stairs after him and
screamed, "How dare you dishonor me in such a way! You won't even have
the common decency to explain to me why you're walking out on me!"
Keiji emerged from Minako's room and said, "If you don't know, then all
you have ever thought about is yourself... Where's my daughter?"
Takara fumed and said, "She's out. She's always out. Always with
those stupid friends of hers and Lord only knows how many boys... She
shames me, the way she carries on the way she does..." she looked back
up to her husband and said, "Its all your fault you know. I never
wanted to go to London. You said yes to the transfer without even
consulting the rest of us. You took her away from Japan and she forgot
everything about how we act in public... Or in private in her case,"
Keiji was as mad as he had ever been and he screamed, "That's a load
of crap! You always told me that if I ever saw a way to make more
money, I should take it! No matter what it was! And fool I was, I
listened to you!" he turned even redder and said, "And don't you dare
start speaking about Minako that way! You don't even know her!"
"Like you know her better than I do!" Takara screamed.
"I may have not been around much, but that's because I was trying to
earn more money! I buried my dreams under your wants! You had to
have everything! And that meant I couldn't be here! That meant I
couldn't be here to give my daughter the support she needed!"
"Support in what?!" Takara shrieked, "Her foolish and childish dreams,
frighteningly similar to your own?! I tried to break her of those!"
Keiji shook his head and said, "No... No, you tried to break her! Just
like you broke me!" he scoffed and said, "I should have taken Minako
and gotten out of here years ago... But at least she inherited your
strength. Its been sixteen years of you, and she hasn't broken... I
broke after about one year."
"You always were weak..." Takara hissed.
"That's what I just said," Keiji said stiffly. Then he turned on his
heel and started down the stairs again...
Takara was not about to let him go. She needed him to earn the money
and pay the bills. She could not allow him to go and shame her family.
She couldn't let him shame her. She was not going to allow him to
leave her high and dry with no money or means of support.
Takara screamed and ran after him. She grabbed his arm and said, "You
will not leave me! Do you have any idea how much I need you?!"
Keiji pulled his arm lose and began to descend faster, saying, "You
don't need me... Any other man could fill my shoes as long as you could
conquer and manipulate him. And as long as he knew how to make money."
Takara went after him, screaming, "Look at me damn you! I have lost my
youth being trapped in this house and others! My arms covered in
flour, my only perfume being dishwater, my hair is one big frizzy red
blob from lack of care... No one else would take me! And after you
shame me like this, no man would look at me long enough to decide I was
worthless! I was once gorgeous, but because I stayed here and tried
to push you to be something, I-- I'm just an old hag!"
Keiji reached the bottom of the stairs and said, "That is not my
problem... Now I ask again, where's Minako? I won't leave her to fend
for herself, no matter how strong she is,"
Takara growled and said, "I will never let you take her... And I will
not let you divorce me... I could tell lies about you. Say what a
horrible father you were to Minako, my precious angel... You were never
around, you never paid any attention to her, you don't even know her.
I can do that. And you'll never see her again,"
Keiji looked fearful and said, "Minako is sixteen. She should be able
to choose who she lives with,"
"And who do you think she'll choose..." Takara said darkly, "Children
always wind up with their mothers... Besides, she doesn't even know
you. And a girl needs her mother..."
The two stared each other down for the next five minutes until Keiji
broke the silence, "Fine. No divorce. But I refuse to live in the
same house with you anymore..." then he walked over to the door and
began to put his shoes back on saying, "And one more thing... I will be
watching you and my daughter. If I see something I don't like, the
deal's off. And I'll take her, and you won't even know it happened."
Then he walked out of her life forever...
Minako came home a few minutes later. Takara told her her faher had
left them and was not coming back. She was instructed to tell her
friends he was just on a business trip if they asked, which they would
not.
Minako always wondered why her father's briefcase was still there if he
had left without warning...
******************************************************* ****************
Takara sighed, thinking back to that night. She would never forgive
Keiji for being such a fool as to leave her like he did... Now she had
to handle Minako on her own. not that she hadn't done so before, but
the girl seemed and even bigger burden without him there to relieve her
stress in the night...
Takara had been sitting outside all day, thinking. She had been living
off of what Keiji had had in his bank accounts for the past six months
now. She had never had to do without so much, and neither had Minako.
They had scrimped and saved and tried to figure things out for quite
some time...
They had run out of funds three days ago.
Takara sighed again, narrowing her eyes at the thought of her sniveling
husband... How dare he leave her like this. And not even give her
anything to support herself with. The very least he could do was send
money so that his daughter could survive... Of course, Takara would
take what money she needed first and then set the rest aside for
Minako. It was only natural she do so after all. She had to survive
to ensure that Minako did.
Takara took the ends of her red ponytail and began to twirl the
tendrils between her fingers... She was so glad her mother was not
around to see this... She'd be so disappointed in her.
Her mother had wanted her to be a success. She wanted her to be a good
woman on her own merits. Maybe not even get married. Takara had
promised she would...
At first she had thought that maybe this was her chance to shine...
it wasn't like she hadn't searched for a job. She had gone out and
tried to find something that she could be successful at and still
retain her dignity as a woman... She had not stooped to take
secretarial jobs which were beneath her worth... She would never do
that. She would never work for a man. She would not serve a man.
Takara had not been able to find anything suitable.
Takara shook her head sadly, her mother's words ringing in her ear...
*********************************************************** ************
"Men. You can't let them conquer you. You can't let them get
control," Kirameki Yuki*** told her little five year old daughter
Takara.
"I let your father take control of me. Look what good it did us...
He's gone... He left because I let him. It's all my fault really."
Little Takara did not understand what was going on... Her mother had
been drinking some liquid that was foreign to her for days on end,
saying mean things over and over again. One minute, she'd be laughing
her head off, the next she'd be on the floor, in a pathetic sobbing
heap. Her father did not come home from work. Takara did not go to
school. She just listened to her mother and waited for her father to
come home and play.
Btu he didn't come... And Yuki kept on talking, "Never let a man have
a hold over you like your dad did over me... That was my downfall. I
let him have control... men by nature are control freaks... That's why
they rape us. Why they hit us... Why they leave us..."
Takara had no idea what her mother was talking about at the time. She
had no knowledge of what the word rape even meant, and she had never
even seen one human being hit another... None of it made any sense.
And still, her mother drank. And still, she talked.
"Women call ourselves the smarter sex... If we're so damn smart, why
the hell do we let the men take control of us? They're the ones who
work, earn the money, demand when we go to bed with them, have the
babies, raise the children... We do everything for them and then they
leave us...
"Men. They always conquer. And then they leave,"
Takara tried to sort through her mother's ramblings... Although
believed she knew what he mother was getting at...
"Takara... promise me that you'll never let a man conquer you. When
you let them have control they suck the life out of you. Then they
leave and you're completely broken... Never let a man break you
Takara. Break them if you have to. Do whatever it takes. but never
let a man have control. Always be in control...
"Promise me,"
Takara, not knowing any better said, "Of course momma. I promise,"
Yuki lived until her daughter was old enough to marry. She always said
those words to her daughter. Every time she began a relationship with
a man, even when one of her teachers were male, she made Takara promise
to never be conquered...
Yuki finally drank herself to death from the devastation of being
alone. Takara promised herself that would not be her. She promised to
never let a man conquer her. She promised to conquer a man...
And that she did.
************************************************************* **********
Takara took another sip of the saki, knowing she had become her mother.
She had let her husband leave her, and because of that she was weak.
Now she was left penniless and without anything but Minako... What good
could Minako do her anyway?
Takara sighed and said, "Oh dear... What am I to do without you Keiji?
Its sad that I have to even think that... I had my power over you, but
I forgot that I'd be up a creek without a paddle should you ever
leave... I should have ensured you never would..." she took another sip
of the saki and said, "Now I just have to figure out a way to carry on
without you... Revenge would be sweet... But if you're watching me, I
certainly haven't the faintest idea where you are.
"This really is upsetting... There must be something I can do... How
did I survive without you before we met anyway...?"
****************************************************** *****************
Takara was running late for school. She was currently enrolled in a
prestigious college where she was sure to be successful, but sadly that
would only happen if she could get out of bed in the morning on time.
Punctuality had never been and probably would never be her strong suit.
She looked at her watch and groaned, "I'll never make it at this rate.
I'll just have to forego the make up and hope I don't meet Mr. Right
looking like crap!"
Then Takara grabbed a muffin and started out the door. Eating,
running, thinking, panicking, and looking at your watch all at the same
time is definitely not an advisable thing to do. Especially when one
is running on a busy Tokyo sidewalk where running into people is
horrifyingly common.
And run into someone she did.
As Takara was wildly sprinting towards the university, she had
neglected to pay any remote attention as to where she was going. This
was not such a good idea seeing as she ran right smack into another
university student, who's nose was buried in 'The Crucible'. Neither
of them had been paying any attention to anything around him, so it
was no surprise that they both fell to the ground in a tangle of
limbs, food, and plays.
The man immediately began apologizing frantically and helping to
collect everything that had fallen. Takara stared at him in awe...
not only was he handsome and moderately intelligent but he was
everything else she was looking for...
He wasn't her father.
Takara smiled and said, "Really you don't have to apologize... I wasn't
looking where I was going,"
The man looked at Takara, who had yet to get off the ground and shook
his head offering her his hand and helping her to her feet. She
smiled again and said, "Thank you..." she looked at her watch and saw
that class had started... twenty minutes ago.
Takara sighed and said, "Well there's no point in going now... Where
were you headed?"
The man blinked in surprise and said, "Uh... Well I uh... I was just
going to go have some coffee and finish looking over my lines,"
Takara smiled, hiding her displeasure with what this man was, "Oh,
you're an actor?"
He blushed and said, "Well sort of... I'm studying drama at the
university. I'm planning on majoring in that and getting some kind
of business degree."
Takara's smile was genuine this time, "Business and Drama. Interesting
combination... Do you have any more classes today?"
"No, my professor's sick," he explained.
Takara giggled and latched onto his arm saying, "Well then is it all
right if I join you? I only had the one class and I obviously can't
make that. And I am horrifyingly bored."
The man blinked in surprise and blushed furiously saying, "Well I
umm... Sure, why not?"
Takara giggled and said, "But first, I really must know your name,"
He blushed more and let out a nervous chuckle, "Aino Keiji..."
******************************************************** ***************
Takara sighed again as she heard her daughter slip into the house. She
was late. Again.
Takara sipped her saki again and said, "Damned girl... Her father
always did let her leave during all hours of the night... And come back
any time she wanted. She hasn't done it so much since her father left,
but that's no excuse for falling back into the habit...
"I wonder what she's doing anyway? It better not be anything to bring
shame on my household..." Takara said softly.
Takara let out another long sigh and stood up. She had to talk to
Minako. They were out of money, and the girl didn't even know it yet.
Keeping Artemis was most certainly out of the question... She knew
how Minako loved that cat, but it was impossible. She wanted what was
best for her daughter, and a cat wasn't it.
Takara looked up to the starless night and said, "I wish he hadn't
left me like this... Now I have to push Minako all by myself..."
Meanwhile, in the dark shadows stood a lone figure. he let out a long
sigh and said, "I never would have helped you break her... Now I have
to wait until you do... And then pick up the pieces..." he looked up
to Minako's window and said, "Be strong daughter. And be ready for
the fight of your life."
~********************************************************** ***********~
* Aino Takara is written in the Eastern form of name writing and
translates too 'Treasure of Love'. As far as I know, Minako's parents
were never named, thus I had to make them up.
** Aino Keiji (not to be confused with Kenji) is also written in the
Eastern form and translates to Cautious Ruler of Love... Sadly, a key
element in the fic is that he was too cautious and that led to
everything falling apart.
*** Kirameki Yuki translates to Lucky Twinkle.
I bet you still don't know where this going, do you? ^.~ Send me your
best guesses, but I don't think you know... I revealed much more to you
then in the first installment, but alas, I think I may have been too
tricky for you.
Eh, probably not, but lets go with my narcissism shall we?
In any event, I hope to have the next part out really soon, but first
I MUST update TOTH... I have a few paragraphs written for Ami's chapter
and that's about it... I have been working on it since December. --;
Talk about blocks, huh?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this part. Jaa!
Coming Soon: Part Two: Anger Erupts
Part One: Origins
2/11
by Kihin Ranno
silver_siren2@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/kihin_rann o/starlithorizon.html
R
~~Started: February 11, 2002~~
~~Completed: May 26, 2002~~
Yup, I plotted out the entire fic. I always have a rough idea in my
head, but it takes me awhile to decide how many chapters the story will
end up being. I'm finally getting better at plotting and planning.
^_^
Anyway, this part is actually centering on Minako's mother... Which
required creating a character... I had very little to work with from
the Sailor V manga. I gave this woman a name, mannerisms, quirks,
likes, dislikes; I essentially created a round character based on the
flat character Naoko weaved into the pages of the Sailor V manga. I am
basically trying to cover the woman's entire life in one chapter,
mostly through reflection and memories. This required looking into the
human psyche and looking at how different experiences would affect a
human being. It also took extensive research on other things and was
no small task for information on the human psyche is hard to come by I
have found. And on top of that, I was originally going to make this a
fic with Minako's father instead of her mother. Then I changed my mind
and had to go back do more research because of the obvious differences
between male and female mind make up.
And that is why this chapter took a small eternity to get out.
Anyway, Sailor Moon is not mine... this character started out to be
Naoko's but it kinda got lost in there... I won't call it mine, but I
have probably screwed him up so much, it can't be called hers... But it
is still hers, so no one sue me.
Once again, this scene jumps around between time periods a lot... You
should be able to figure it out based on what Minako's mother is
thinking about prior to the flashback and what the flashback is about.
These o not go in chronological order... More like a logical order
according to how the character is thinking and what she is thinking
about.
~********************************************* ************************~
Aino Takara* was a fairly normal, decent woman. She was not the
breadwinner for her family, and was by no means overly skillful in any
craft other than homemaking, but she had no problems with that. In the
beginning, she had been resentful of her husband (who was by no means
a genius or overly skillful in any one field either, yet he was the one
with the well paying job and all the credit), but she was past that.
Sure every once in awhile she flew off the handle over nothing. Maybe
she was a bit of a nag. You could even call her an overbearing wife
and mother, but was there really something wrong with trying to make
your daughter better than you turned out? Or pushing your husband so
he could do better and make their home better? All she had wanted was
a better life for them... Was that so much to ask?
Apparently it was... At least for her husband...
Because six months ago, Aino Keiji**, Takara's husband had up and left
her. No warning before the day he did. He just decided to leave her.
And he tried to take Minako with him on top of that!
He had attempted this while Minako was out saying good bye to some
of her friends... Some pop group called the Three Lights she had been
going to school with or something like that, Keiji had come home early.
Takara had attempted to ask him how his day was, but he cut her off,
saying he wasn't going to take her crap anymore.
Takara had been stunned to say the least. She had no idea what crap
he was referring to. After a few moments of staring at his face,
squished into one of sheer anger and a bit of revulsion and turning
several shades of red, shaking all the while, Takara began to laugh.
She figured this was some kind of early April Fool's joke or something.
Keiji did not look pleased at her laughter, so she decided to humor him
for awhile. She had told him that if he didn't want to put up with her
crap (whatever it was he was referring too) he could just leave. He
could even take Minako with him if he liked, although Lord knew that he
would spoil her rotten and she'd never amount to anything. Takara just
continued to laugh and joke until finally Keiji said something that she
did not want to hear...
********************************************************** *************
"That is exactly what I intend to do," Keiji said coldly. He brushed
past his wife and started up the stairs, calling for his daughter to
come down.
Finally, Takara realized he wasn't joking, "Wh... Just what the hell do
you think you're doing?! She's my daughter as much as she is yours!"
Keiji laughed a little at that comment. He was obviously not amused.
Bitter was a better word, "The way you treat her, you would never guess
that... She's just like me. Neither of us will ever be good enough for
you! And you put both of our dreams to shame. Like they aren't good
enough for you,"
Takara rolled her eyes and said, "You both dream of being stars... The
best thing you could ever get was some two bit part in an American
comedy. You didn't even have a role or even a line! You were nothing
more than an extra in that... And on top of that, the movie was a flop.
I told you that form the beginning, but of course you never listened to
me... Why should you listen to me anyway? I was only right,"
Keiji growled and grabbed the wedding picture of he and Takara from the
wall. They had hung it on the stairs so that every time one of them
was heading to the bedroom, that would be the last thing they saw
before they saw their spouse. He stared at it in contempt and then
looked up to his wife. The look on his face did not go away. If
anything it worsened. Then he spit on the picture and threw it down to
the first floor, the glass shattering at her feet.
Then Keiji had turned and continued up the stairs, still calling for
his daughter. Takara was enraged. She ran up the stairs after him and
screamed, "How dare you dishonor me in such a way! You won't even have
the common decency to explain to me why you're walking out on me!"
Keiji emerged from Minako's room and said, "If you don't know, then all
you have ever thought about is yourself... Where's my daughter?"
Takara fumed and said, "She's out. She's always out. Always with
those stupid friends of hers and Lord only knows how many boys... She
shames me, the way she carries on the way she does..." she looked back
up to her husband and said, "Its all your fault you know. I never
wanted to go to London. You said yes to the transfer without even
consulting the rest of us. You took her away from Japan and she forgot
everything about how we act in public... Or in private in her case,"
Keiji was as mad as he had ever been and he screamed, "That's a load
of crap! You always told me that if I ever saw a way to make more
money, I should take it! No matter what it was! And fool I was, I
listened to you!" he turned even redder and said, "And don't you dare
start speaking about Minako that way! You don't even know her!"
"Like you know her better than I do!" Takara screamed.
"I may have not been around much, but that's because I was trying to
earn more money! I buried my dreams under your wants! You had to
have everything! And that meant I couldn't be here! That meant I
couldn't be here to give my daughter the support she needed!"
"Support in what?!" Takara shrieked, "Her foolish and childish dreams,
frighteningly similar to your own?! I tried to break her of those!"
Keiji shook his head and said, "No... No, you tried to break her! Just
like you broke me!" he scoffed and said, "I should have taken Minako
and gotten out of here years ago... But at least she inherited your
strength. Its been sixteen years of you, and she hasn't broken... I
broke after about one year."
"You always were weak..." Takara hissed.
"That's what I just said," Keiji said stiffly. Then he turned on his
heel and started down the stairs again...
Takara was not about to let him go. She needed him to earn the money
and pay the bills. She could not allow him to go and shame her family.
She couldn't let him shame her. She was not going to allow him to
leave her high and dry with no money or means of support.
Takara screamed and ran after him. She grabbed his arm and said, "You
will not leave me! Do you have any idea how much I need you?!"
Keiji pulled his arm lose and began to descend faster, saying, "You
don't need me... Any other man could fill my shoes as long as you could
conquer and manipulate him. And as long as he knew how to make money."
Takara went after him, screaming, "Look at me damn you! I have lost my
youth being trapped in this house and others! My arms covered in
flour, my only perfume being dishwater, my hair is one big frizzy red
blob from lack of care... No one else would take me! And after you
shame me like this, no man would look at me long enough to decide I was
worthless! I was once gorgeous, but because I stayed here and tried
to push you to be something, I-- I'm just an old hag!"
Keiji reached the bottom of the stairs and said, "That is not my
problem... Now I ask again, where's Minako? I won't leave her to fend
for herself, no matter how strong she is,"
Takara growled and said, "I will never let you take her... And I will
not let you divorce me... I could tell lies about you. Say what a
horrible father you were to Minako, my precious angel... You were never
around, you never paid any attention to her, you don't even know her.
I can do that. And you'll never see her again,"
Keiji looked fearful and said, "Minako is sixteen. She should be able
to choose who she lives with,"
"And who do you think she'll choose..." Takara said darkly, "Children
always wind up with their mothers... Besides, she doesn't even know
you. And a girl needs her mother..."
The two stared each other down for the next five minutes until Keiji
broke the silence, "Fine. No divorce. But I refuse to live in the
same house with you anymore..." then he walked over to the door and
began to put his shoes back on saying, "And one more thing... I will be
watching you and my daughter. If I see something I don't like, the
deal's off. And I'll take her, and you won't even know it happened."
Then he walked out of her life forever...
Minako came home a few minutes later. Takara told her her faher had
left them and was not coming back. She was instructed to tell her
friends he was just on a business trip if they asked, which they would
not.
Minako always wondered why her father's briefcase was still there if he
had left without warning...
******************************************************* ****************
Takara sighed, thinking back to that night. She would never forgive
Keiji for being such a fool as to leave her like he did... Now she had
to handle Minako on her own. not that she hadn't done so before, but
the girl seemed and even bigger burden without him there to relieve her
stress in the night...
Takara had been sitting outside all day, thinking. She had been living
off of what Keiji had had in his bank accounts for the past six months
now. She had never had to do without so much, and neither had Minako.
They had scrimped and saved and tried to figure things out for quite
some time...
They had run out of funds three days ago.
Takara sighed again, narrowing her eyes at the thought of her sniveling
husband... How dare he leave her like this. And not even give her
anything to support herself with. The very least he could do was send
money so that his daughter could survive... Of course, Takara would
take what money she needed first and then set the rest aside for
Minako. It was only natural she do so after all. She had to survive
to ensure that Minako did.
Takara took the ends of her red ponytail and began to twirl the
tendrils between her fingers... She was so glad her mother was not
around to see this... She'd be so disappointed in her.
Her mother had wanted her to be a success. She wanted her to be a good
woman on her own merits. Maybe not even get married. Takara had
promised she would...
At first she had thought that maybe this was her chance to shine...
it wasn't like she hadn't searched for a job. She had gone out and
tried to find something that she could be successful at and still
retain her dignity as a woman... She had not stooped to take
secretarial jobs which were beneath her worth... She would never do
that. She would never work for a man. She would not serve a man.
Takara had not been able to find anything suitable.
Takara shook her head sadly, her mother's words ringing in her ear...
*********************************************************** ************
"Men. You can't let them conquer you. You can't let them get
control," Kirameki Yuki*** told her little five year old daughter
Takara.
"I let your father take control of me. Look what good it did us...
He's gone... He left because I let him. It's all my fault really."
Little Takara did not understand what was going on... Her mother had
been drinking some liquid that was foreign to her for days on end,
saying mean things over and over again. One minute, she'd be laughing
her head off, the next she'd be on the floor, in a pathetic sobbing
heap. Her father did not come home from work. Takara did not go to
school. She just listened to her mother and waited for her father to
come home and play.
Btu he didn't come... And Yuki kept on talking, "Never let a man have
a hold over you like your dad did over me... That was my downfall. I
let him have control... men by nature are control freaks... That's why
they rape us. Why they hit us... Why they leave us..."
Takara had no idea what her mother was talking about at the time. She
had no knowledge of what the word rape even meant, and she had never
even seen one human being hit another... None of it made any sense.
And still, her mother drank. And still, she talked.
"Women call ourselves the smarter sex... If we're so damn smart, why
the hell do we let the men take control of us? They're the ones who
work, earn the money, demand when we go to bed with them, have the
babies, raise the children... We do everything for them and then they
leave us...
"Men. They always conquer. And then they leave,"
Takara tried to sort through her mother's ramblings... Although
believed she knew what he mother was getting at...
"Takara... promise me that you'll never let a man conquer you. When
you let them have control they suck the life out of you. Then they
leave and you're completely broken... Never let a man break you
Takara. Break them if you have to. Do whatever it takes. but never
let a man have control. Always be in control...
"Promise me,"
Takara, not knowing any better said, "Of course momma. I promise,"
Yuki lived until her daughter was old enough to marry. She always said
those words to her daughter. Every time she began a relationship with
a man, even when one of her teachers were male, she made Takara promise
to never be conquered...
Yuki finally drank herself to death from the devastation of being
alone. Takara promised herself that would not be her. She promised to
never let a man conquer her. She promised to conquer a man...
And that she did.
************************************************************* **********
Takara took another sip of the saki, knowing she had become her mother.
She had let her husband leave her, and because of that she was weak.
Now she was left penniless and without anything but Minako... What good
could Minako do her anyway?
Takara sighed and said, "Oh dear... What am I to do without you Keiji?
Its sad that I have to even think that... I had my power over you, but
I forgot that I'd be up a creek without a paddle should you ever
leave... I should have ensured you never would..." she took another sip
of the saki and said, "Now I just have to figure out a way to carry on
without you... Revenge would be sweet... But if you're watching me, I
certainly haven't the faintest idea where you are.
"This really is upsetting... There must be something I can do... How
did I survive without you before we met anyway...?"
****************************************************** *****************
Takara was running late for school. She was currently enrolled in a
prestigious college where she was sure to be successful, but sadly that
would only happen if she could get out of bed in the morning on time.
Punctuality had never been and probably would never be her strong suit.
She looked at her watch and groaned, "I'll never make it at this rate.
I'll just have to forego the make up and hope I don't meet Mr. Right
looking like crap!"
Then Takara grabbed a muffin and started out the door. Eating,
running, thinking, panicking, and looking at your watch all at the same
time is definitely not an advisable thing to do. Especially when one
is running on a busy Tokyo sidewalk where running into people is
horrifyingly common.
And run into someone she did.
As Takara was wildly sprinting towards the university, she had
neglected to pay any remote attention as to where she was going. This
was not such a good idea seeing as she ran right smack into another
university student, who's nose was buried in 'The Crucible'. Neither
of them had been paying any attention to anything around him, so it
was no surprise that they both fell to the ground in a tangle of
limbs, food, and plays.
The man immediately began apologizing frantically and helping to
collect everything that had fallen. Takara stared at him in awe...
not only was he handsome and moderately intelligent but he was
everything else she was looking for...
He wasn't her father.
Takara smiled and said, "Really you don't have to apologize... I wasn't
looking where I was going,"
The man looked at Takara, who had yet to get off the ground and shook
his head offering her his hand and helping her to her feet. She
smiled again and said, "Thank you..." she looked at her watch and saw
that class had started... twenty minutes ago.
Takara sighed and said, "Well there's no point in going now... Where
were you headed?"
The man blinked in surprise and said, "Uh... Well I uh... I was just
going to go have some coffee and finish looking over my lines,"
Takara smiled, hiding her displeasure with what this man was, "Oh,
you're an actor?"
He blushed and said, "Well sort of... I'm studying drama at the
university. I'm planning on majoring in that and getting some kind
of business degree."
Takara's smile was genuine this time, "Business and Drama. Interesting
combination... Do you have any more classes today?"
"No, my professor's sick," he explained.
Takara giggled and latched onto his arm saying, "Well then is it all
right if I join you? I only had the one class and I obviously can't
make that. And I am horrifyingly bored."
The man blinked in surprise and blushed furiously saying, "Well I
umm... Sure, why not?"
Takara giggled and said, "But first, I really must know your name,"
He blushed more and let out a nervous chuckle, "Aino Keiji..."
******************************************************** ***************
Takara sighed again as she heard her daughter slip into the house. She
was late. Again.
Takara sipped her saki again and said, "Damned girl... Her father
always did let her leave during all hours of the night... And come back
any time she wanted. She hasn't done it so much since her father left,
but that's no excuse for falling back into the habit...
"I wonder what she's doing anyway? It better not be anything to bring
shame on my household..." Takara said softly.
Takara let out another long sigh and stood up. She had to talk to
Minako. They were out of money, and the girl didn't even know it yet.
Keeping Artemis was most certainly out of the question... She knew
how Minako loved that cat, but it was impossible. She wanted what was
best for her daughter, and a cat wasn't it.
Takara looked up to the starless night and said, "I wish he hadn't
left me like this... Now I have to push Minako all by myself..."
Meanwhile, in the dark shadows stood a lone figure. he let out a long
sigh and said, "I never would have helped you break her... Now I have
to wait until you do... And then pick up the pieces..." he looked up
to Minako's window and said, "Be strong daughter. And be ready for
the fight of your life."
~********************************************************** ***********~
* Aino Takara is written in the Eastern form of name writing and
translates too 'Treasure of Love'. As far as I know, Minako's parents
were never named, thus I had to make them up.
** Aino Keiji (not to be confused with Kenji) is also written in the
Eastern form and translates to Cautious Ruler of Love... Sadly, a key
element in the fic is that he was too cautious and that led to
everything falling apart.
*** Kirameki Yuki translates to Lucky Twinkle.
I bet you still don't know where this going, do you? ^.~ Send me your
best guesses, but I don't think you know... I revealed much more to you
then in the first installment, but alas, I think I may have been too
tricky for you.
Eh, probably not, but lets go with my narcissism shall we?
In any event, I hope to have the next part out really soon, but first
I MUST update TOTH... I have a few paragraphs written for Ami's chapter
and that's about it... I have been working on it since December. --;
Talk about blocks, huh?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this part. Jaa!
Coming Soon: Part Two: Anger Erupts