Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Forever ❯ Just an Ordinary Life ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Forgotten Forever
Part One: Just an Ordinary Life
2/32
by Kihin Ranno
silver_siren2@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/kihin_rann o/starlithorizon.html
R

~~Started: April 2, 2002~~
~~Completed: May 15, 2002~~

And here is part one... Once again I apologize over and over again for
like never updating for so very long... To be perfectly honest, I am
an RPG fanatic and I was spending so much time there, that I pretty
much abandoned fic writing for awhile... And then on top of that,
things in my life were pretty terrible for awhile... Parents, grades,
guys (or rather lack thereof ;_;)... Ya know the usual.

And then when I did get asked out, my parents made up a rule... So now
I can't. --;

Thanks to all my friends at CP RPG (http://www.cprpg.com/) who helped
me get through these last few months and to all of those who gave me
feedback on this and all other stories. I promise, that I will start
cycling out more things now. ^_^

Anyway, to clear up some confusion, this story is still no where near
the flame stage... *sigh* Damn it I want to be flamed at least once
before I die and/or stop writing... Depending on which comes first.
^^ v Anyway, as I said, this fic will not be flame worthy until later.
This is only the second out of 32 parts...

Anywho, Sailor Moon is not mine... I merely twist Naoko's wonderful
creation and basically ruin it to fit my own sick, sadistic purposes...
Oh and Toei, Kodansha, Bandai, and the dubbers own a piece of it too.
Lucky ducks... I want to get money from this show too... I'd be rich
right quick! *pouts*

Oh well... Enjoy the fic!

~************************************************************ *********~

Usagi awoke the next morning, practically suffocating from the way the
blankets were tightly entwined around her and felt like absolute crap.
Her head ached from the amount of tears she had shed and her throat was
soar from screaming at Minako, Luna, and anyone else she came into
contact with... She had even bit poor Yuuichiro's head off when he
came in to ask Rei if everything was all right. She had spared no one
from her wrath, and the same was probably going to happen today...

Unless Mamoru had remembered her.

Usagi sighed dreamily and thought of how wonderful it would be if
Mamoru had remembered the whole thing the night before... The forbidden
love affair in the Silver Millennium, her wondrous and magical Moon
Kingdom, both deadly and, in retrospect, adventurous wars with Beryl,
and most of all their deep, undying love for each other. She had been
blessed at night with dreams of him remembering, holding her, kissing
her... And then she was forced to awaken and be hit with the harsh
reality that it had only been a dream...

And they wondered why she hated mornings.

Usagi looked over at her bed and was surprised to see it was only 6 in
the morning... She didn't have to make school for another hour and a
half. She was tempted to try and go back to sleep. Then she realized
that even if she was able too, she'd once again be plagued by dreams
of Mamoru and she'd feel even worse when she awoke...

So Usagi begrudgingly untangled herself from the sheets and comforter
and dragged her limp body into in the shower. She had been too
distraught the night before to do anything but sob into her pillow.
She felt that the healing powers of hot water were phenomenal, and
allowed it to cascade down on her and she felt as if she was washing
her troubles away. She turned the heat up higher and reveled in the
heated liquid, completely forgetting about the time...

Suddenly a loud pounding came at the door, "Usagi! You've been in
there forever! Come on I have got to take a shower! Staying in there
this long won't make you any better looking or cover up your smell!
Now come on!"

Usagi growled at her brother, who had an annoying tendency of being a
total brat as well as being the first one up in the Tsukino household
every single morning... It was humiliating enough having a younger
brother, but having one that was smart and punctual was just plain
mortifying... She ran her hands through her hair to work out the
remaining conditioner and cried, "Shingo! Just you wait until I get
out of here I'll kick your butt from here to next Tuesday!" Usagi had
forgotten about any love life troubles, and was now focused on ridding
the earth of a certain fifth grader's presence... She quickly turned
off the tap and hopped out of the shower, feeling much better than she
had in weeks and now with a little brother to pummel.

Shingo laughed and said, "Ha! As if anyone as clumsy as you could
accomplish that!!"

Usagi quickly threw on her school uniform and tied her hair back with
a scrunchi. She had plenty of time to worry about blow drying and
putting up her hair in the usual odangos. Right now, she had more
important things to spend her time doing.

Usagi threw open the door and screamed, "You're toast brat!"

Shingo screamed in fear and took off running, Usagi hot on his heels.
He was still in his pajamas seeing as Usagi's singing had awoken him
for once as opposed to his alarm clock or his mother. Shingo quickly
dashed down the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. Usagi was
after him with a surprising amount of quickness and agility... She
assumed it was due to all of those morning runs to school that had
helped her with the speed, but the fact that she kept from falling on
her face was still truly amazing.

Usagi finally caught up with him in the living room and tackled him,
taking him down to the floor. Shingo cried out in pain and Usagi
laughed, not realizing that Shingo was actually hurt, "Ha! I said
I'd beat you, and now I shall fulfill that promise! In the name of
all older sisters everywhere, I shall punish you!"

Shingo growled and said, "Ah shut up Usagi! God, It's no wonder
Mamoru treats you like you've got the plague! You're such a--" Shingo
realized what he had just said to his older sister and regretted his
words when he saw her face, "Usagi, I... I didn't mean it. Really it
was an accident. Usagi, please, don't look at me like that I..."

Usagi did not do anything to respond for a moment. She just stared at
the boy with emotionless blue eyes. Finally, she nodded slightly and
got off of Shingo, "Right... Listen I'll just be a few more minutes in
the bathroom then I'll be out of your way. Then I'll leave and be out
of everyone's way." Usagi said with tears springing to her eyes. She
quickly got up off of Shingo, and ran up the stairs, unaware of
Shingo's eyes on her the whole time.

Shingo sighed sadly and shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair
and said, "Great going Shingo... She's already depressed and eating us
out of house and home. Let's just make the situation worse why don't
ya?"

"Shingo..." a weak voice called out from the top of the stairs. The
boy looked up and saw his mother standing there in her purple bathrobe,
hair askew and brown eyes droopy with sleep, "Shingo, what in heaven's
name is going on? Your father and I heard crashing and now Usagi is up
earlier than I am,"

Shingo sighed and said, "She must have had a bad night or something...
We just got into another fight, that's all..."

Ikuko sighed and said, "Shingo, your sister's been depressed about
something lately. I thought I told you to leave her alone until we
either found out what it was or she got over it... And to be honest she
looks worse." then Ikuko turned and went to get changed.

"I know mom... I know..." Shingo said with a sigh. He looked up where
he had last seen his sister and muttered, "You deserve better than
that creep Mamoru, Usagi... I may wish the worst of things on you, but
I do not want you to be miserable... Stop moping over the guy and be
my annoyingly perky sister again..."

About twenty minutes later, Usagi came down the stairs. Her hair was
up in her normal odangos and she was up early. But she didn't stay
for the breakfast Ikuko had made in honor of her getting up early.
Usagi just grabbed her usual piece of toast and headed out the door
without a word.

************************************************************ **********

Usagi got to school a full twenty minutes early while her teacher was
taking some things out of her briefcase to prepare for class. The
woman did not detect Usagi's presence until the girl was practically
on top of her. Ms. Haruna looked up, having felt another presence in
the room, and nearly fainted when Usagi walked in the door, "Usagi!
What in..."

"Good morning Ms. Haruna. I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to
come in early," Usagi said quietly, studying the floor as if the tiles
were all that interesting.

Ms. Haruna just gawked at Usagi for a few more moments and then walked
up to the girl and felt her forehead. Usagi didn't even make a move
to get away and let the woman and poke and prod all she liked. Ms.
Haruna shook her head and said, "Well you don't seem to have a fever...
Are you sure you're all right?"

Usagi nodded, not even bothering to really put real effort into
convincing her that she was fine, "I'm all right Ms. Haruna... But,
I don't think Ail and Ann will be in today. Or ever again. They
lived in that apartment where that... That... tree thing happened the
other day..."

Ms. Haruna dropped one of her books and cried, "What?! Why wasn't I
notified?"

"You just were..." Usagi said softly. Truth be told, she didn't really
care where the two aliens were. But this could be used as an excuse
for her melancholy and a way to explain the two's absence, "I'm sorry
no one told you about it before..."

Ms. Haruna sighed sadly and said, "Don't apologize Usagi... I am sorry
about this. I know you liked them... Or rather Ail liked you," Ms.
Haruna had watched the boy chase after Usagi with remote interest...
She was content to see young love and all, now that she had a boyfriend
again. It just bothered her to see Usagi express no interest
whatsoever and even go so far as to try and deter them.

Usagi nodded and said, "Yes... Thank you..."

"Usagi," Ms. Haruna said, "Are you sure you should even be here
today?" she knew she acted as though she couldn't stand the girl, but
the class was so boring without her... She provided comic relief and
the girl's constant happiness did cheer the teacher up. She just
wished the girl would work up to her potential... She knew Usagi was
intelligent, but she was also extremely lazy... And now this...

Usagi sighed sadly and plopped down in one of the desks, "What am I
going to do instead of come here? My parents won't let me stay home,
they worry about my grades enough... And even if they did, my father
doesn't want me hanging around any boys but Umino, if he found out
about Ail, he'd slaughter me... I didn't even like him, but..." Usagi
blinked and said, "And why am I telling this to you? I know you think
I'm just a dumb airhead with no life except manga, anime, and the
arcade..."

Ms. Haruna was taken aback. Usagi must have been distraught to tell
her most hated teacher that. Ms. Haruna put a hand on Usagi's shoulder
and said, "One more word like that, and I'll give you a detention... My
feelings about you would surprise you... Now go on and go home before
your friend Ami walks in here from the library and catches me being
nice to you. I do have a reputation to protect."

Usagi stared at the woman in disbelief and then looked back down,
"Thanks Ms. Haruna..."

"Go on, hurry up." the woman said, ushering Usagi out the door. Ami
was rounding the corner right then and Ms. Haruna had to quickly
cover, "And don't you come back to this classroom until you have your
homework done and you've slept! Honestly, staying up all night
playing video games... Such irresponsibility..."

Usagi jogged off from the classroom, wondering just why Ms. Haruna was
being so nice to her... Even when she had a date, she wasn't this kind
to her least favorite student... The blonde sighed and muttered, "The
whole world must be losing its mind along with me..."

*********************************************************** ************

Ami stared after Usagi as she left. She heard Makoto, who had been
unable to sleep and gone to the library for lack of anything better to
do, come up behind her. The blue haired girl turned and said, "Ms.
Haruna sent Usagi home..."

Makoto blinked in shock. Ms. Haruna may have done many things to Usagi
and the other students in her time, but she never sent students home.
It didn't matter how sick or insecure they were, she just would not do
it, "Geez she must have a really hot date tonight... maybe he has a
younger brother... Cousin... Illegitimate son... Anything male that has
his looks and is somewhere between the ages 14 and 17..."

Ami sweat dropped and decided it was best to ignore the last bit of
dialogue, "She was yelling at her Mako-chan... But somehow I wasn't
convinced... I wonder if Usagi's worse than anything that has crossed
that threshold before..."

Makoto looked at Ami as though she were crazy. It wasn't every day
that the genius acted completely oblivious. She shook her head
slightly and said, "Usagi did just find out Mamoru still wants nothing
to do with her. And Ail and Ann are pretty much gone forever... I
don't care how badly Ann acted or how Usagi used to practically ran
away from Ail, she liked them. Usagi likes everyone. Everyone likes
Usagi. Its the law of nature for God's sake,"

Ami sighed and said, "I know... But still Usagi would never have told
Ms. Haruna that. And no matter what lie Usagi came up with, the woman
would not have sent her home. This is completely out of--"

Suddenly the last bell rang. Makoto and Ami screamed and ran forward
to try and make it to Ms. Haruna's room before it finished ringing.
Unfortunately a janitor had forgotten to put up his mop and bucket,
and Makoto plowed right into it, flying forward into Ami. The two
girls screamed and flailed about madly, trying to regain their balance
and make it on time...

They landed right outside the door as the bell finished ringing.

Ms. Haruna stuck her head out and said, "Well this is a shock... Mizuno
Ami and Kino Makoto late... I'll let you two in, but see me after
school. You both have detentions,"

Ami sighed and finished her previous statement, "Out of character...
Everything and everyone is acting out of character..."

Makoto nodded and said, "Oh yeah. Definitely,"

***************************************************** ******************

Rei sighed in utter boredom as the nun dragged out the lecture as long
as she possibly could. The priestess couldn't understand it. Why did
nuns have to make lessons so boring? And why did the worst lessons
have to be taught just before the enjoyable stuff? And why did every
teacher at her school act like they were completely disinterested about
every single subject but Catholicism? Rei swore they purposely talked
in a drab, monotonous voice just to tick her off. And this nun seemed
to be the worst of them all.

Rei tuned back in just in time to hear the words, "Now in review..."

Rei smacked her forehead on the desk and gritted her teeth. The woman
had been talking about the government of Japan for the last half hour.
They knew it already, was it really necessary to go over it again?

Actually, Rei knew it before she walked in the door. Her father was
a politician, yet he saw it fit to send Rei to a school where not only
did she have to take Catholicism, which made her gag about as much as
Modern Society, but it was a requirement to learn everything about
Japan's government every single year...

Rei couldn't take it any more. She was going stir crazy... She had
stayed up half the night trying to see if there was anything she could
do to help Usagi and see if anything was bugging Minako... She was a
Sailor Senshi, her friendships were falling apart, Yuuichiro was still
chasing her around, and the fire had practically snubbed her the night
before. She couldn't take it... She had no interest in the Japanese
government, she knew all about it, and she had more important things
to do with her life than sit here and listen to the old woman before
talk incessantly.

The nun finally said, "And that is all for our government lesson for
the day,"

Rei sighed in relief and was very happy that the next subject was one
of her favorites, Ancient Literature. It was so much more interesting
then the present times... Rei smiled genuinely and fished around for
her book.

"Now I know that normally we have Ancient Literature next, but it
seems I have forgotten my book and lesson plan... So I'm afraid we'll
have to move on to your next subject, your favorite and mine,
Catholicism."

Rei dropped her Ancient Literature book in her lap and gaped at the nun
before her. Was everyone going insane? Why couldn't the nun just use
one of their texts?

But then she remembered... This nun had made it quite clear that she
had no interest in Ancient Literature and she would use any excuse to
get out of it... Normally, Rei managed to "convince" the woman to go
ahead and teach it anyway, but Rei did have very limited patience...
It had run out well before she had been half way to her school.

Rei's blood boiled... She had already suffered through the Modern
Society lecture on the government. She was sure as heck not going to
jump from that right to continuing the lesson on the man who was eaten
by a big fish. Oh no, she was not going to take this sitting down.
She may have been told by her father that she had to be good and not
get into trouble, but she couldn't take it anymore.

Rei got to her feet and said, "Sister... May I say something?"

The nun blinked in surprise and said, "Well I umm... It is highly
unusual..."

"Well even so, I'm gonna say it anyway. This subject is not my
favorite. Heck I hate this subject about as much as Modern Society.
Why? Because I'm Shinto. Yup! That's right! Shinto! I suppose
that means I'll be going to your hell now aren't I? Oh wait! I
forgot. IT DOESN'T EXIST! And I swear to Kami-sama, if I have to go
over any more Bible stories, Christian laws, or listen to another "I
love being a nun and you should all be one too" speech I am going to
throw myself out of the damn window!" Rei screamed, the vein above her
left eyebrow was bulging out, pulsating with anger.

The nun stared at Rei in disbelief for a few moments. Then she
darkened, "Really Rei, you should be grateful! Not every girl--"

"Is lucky enough to attend a Catholic school. I know. You've told me.
But being in here and listening to your boring lectures almost makes
me believe there is a hell... And that I'm in it!"

"Hino Rei I forbid you to say another word! If you do, I swear upon
the Bible that you shall be suspended for an indefinite amount of time
and I will recommend you for expulsion!"

Rei nearly jumped for joy. She knew her father would be angry at her,
but she couldn't take another moment in that classroom. She hated
being away from her friends, and had had a few conversations with
Minako about going to her school, which was closer to the shrine
anyway. They both hated not having any of the other senshi go to their
school and maybe this was the opportunity to change that. Rei smiled
and said, "I'll see that you do that,"

Then Rei gathered her things and stormed out of the classroom,
wondering how long it would take all of the nuns to decide that she
wasn't Catholic school material...

****************************************************** *****************

Minako sighed as the teacher went on trying to explain Quadratic
Equations to the class... She knew she should pay attention for once,
but she couldn't. When you considered what was in the paper that
morning and what the other senshi would do to her once they found out
she had actually given a statement to every single major locally and
nationally circulated newspaper that they had ever heard of, Algebra
just seemed so very miniscule in comparison.

'I can't believe I was that dumb,' Minako thought, 'How could I have
said such a thing? Artemis nearly tore me apart this morning... We
don't make comments to the press, and we definitely don't say anything
that could cause a national panic. I may have inadvertently made
every human being on the planet begin to fear for their lives now...
Great, just great! Rei's gonna blow my head off when she sees it...
And now Usagi will never forgive me... Ami and Makoto probably won't
ever speak to me again, and Luna... Luna will probably have me demoted
or something... God why was I such an idiot?!'

"Aino Minako," a stern voice called out.

Minako looked up in a mixture of confusion and fear. She was surprised
her new teacher, Kokuo Kana was paying her any mind anyway.
She was hardly a top student, and he wasn't the type of teacher who
tried to force you to work to your potential. He was the type who
said, 'You get what you earn and I won't try to change it.'

In fact she thought about him as little as possible.

Minako sighed, not bothering to mask how little she cared about
whatever he was about to say, and said, "Yes Mr. Kokuo?"

"You might try to pay attention Ms. Aino. Unless you were thinking
about something you would like to share with the class?" he responded
coldly.

Minako narrowed her eyes at the various snickers around her and said,
"No I would not like to share it with you... After all it is none of
your business. Although I assure you it was far more important than
Quadratic Equations."

Mr. Kokuo narrowed his eyes and said, "Well Ms. Aino, apparently
you think of a lot of important things at the wrong times. Including
tests," he walked over and slapped down a small stack of papers on her
desk, with a big red 56 circled on the top, "I suggest you take your
earth shatteringly important thoughts and only think about them at
home,"

Mr. Kokuo was also the type who liked to publicly humiliate
students.

Minako narrowed her eyes and wanted to transform right there and blow
a few holes in him with her Crescent Beams but somehow managed to
restrain herself. Instead she just sat back and waited for the
wretched day to end.

************************************************************* **********

Usagi sighed as she slowly walked away from the school. She was in no
particular hurry to go anywhere. It was the beginning of first period,
and she had nowhere in particular to go. She wondered if maybe she
should go to her usual sanctuary, the Arcade... It may be a place that
was filled with artificial happiness and really could only cheer her up
for the amount of time she was playing one of those ridiculous games
with poor graphics, but it was something... Besides Motoki, who was
anything but fake and plastic, may be able to cheer her up...

The fact that Motoki also happened to be Mamoru's best and only friend
and may know something about his condition or if anything had
changed over night had absolutely no bearing on her decision
whatsoever... Or at least that's what she told herself.

Usagi sighed and began to slowly walk towards the arcade... There she
could get an ice cream sundae, play video games for a few hours, and
forget about reality...

After all that is why she loved the arcade... the only other person
that could really understand that was Minako. Makoto played there a
lot too but that was only to see if she could snag Motoki away from
his girlfriend. She didn't understand...

But Minako did. She and Usagi both loved the arcade because it was
not real. There they could go and play games where you killed, but
you didn't suffer the consequences... Where things didn't really die.
All that happened was a little graphic disappeared from the screen.
They didn't have to worry that a life had been taken. They didn't
have to wonder if they felt it, if maybe they had families, if they
had a lover...

Minako thought Usagi didn't know all about her time as Sailor V... But
Artemis had told her. He had told her that the only attacks Venus had
had were the Sailor V Kick and the Crescent Boomerangs... And that not
all youma happily turned to dust once they were killed... Some of them
bled. Some of them died slowly. Sometimes, Minako had had to watch.

Usagi shuddered just thinking about it. She may have been mad at the
girl yesterday, and she was still a little miffed about being treated
like a child... but Usagi realized that it was ridiculous to stay mad
at Minako. She was her friend and ally, and she needed all the comfort
she could get if Mamoru hadn't had an overnight revelation...

Usagi looked up and saw the arcade. She smiled at the sight of her
artificial sanctuary, and nearly ran inside... She was very surprised
when she saw a familiar raven-haired girl in a Catholic school uniform
sipping on some lime green concoction...

"Rei-chan?"

******************************* ****************************************

Rei walked out of her horrid catholic school, not bothering to hide the
smug smile on her face. Her attitude surprised all of the nuns and
students she passed. She even went so far as to plop all of her books
down on the desk in the main office and made reference to getting out
of this hell hole... She knew they were staring, but she honestly
didn't care. She knew they could never understand what the Catholic
school and its teachings represented to her. Not that Rei wanted them
to understand. It wasn't as though she was going to advertise it to
them or anything...

But its just that the strict rule and everything about it reminded her
far too much of her father. Her father who had forced her to go to the
school in the first place, who had insisted on an iron-fisted rule when
she had had to live in his house for about six years of her life, who
had blamed her for her mother's death, who hated her because she lived
on and because she looked like her mother... Her father who then turned
around and called himself a devout Catholic. Her father who snubbed
the Shinto religion because it had kept Rei from being christened and
taken his wife's time away from him. Her father who had abandoned her
for things beyond her control.

It was painful to put on that uniform every day and pretend like it did
not make her sick to wear it.

Rei sighed as she realized that she had probably done something she'd
regret... Her grandfather had taught her to respect all religions. Her
father would no doubt strangle her for getting herself suspended. And
he would torture her mercilessly if she had gotten herself expelled.
It had been very stupid.

But it had released her. Rei was finally free of their strict rules
and laws. And she didn't have to pretend that she didn't feel utter
contempt for that religion...

But she knew if she went home her grandfather might not speak to her
for a very long time, so she would have to find other solace.

Rei smiled as she realized that she had made her way to the arcade.
She didn't find quite as much pleasure in coming her as Usagi or
Minako for she found the whole place utterly fake, not to mention
loud and disturbing... It shook her sense of inner peace. But she
doubted there would be too many people in there at this hour.

Rei stepped into the arcade, allowing the chime to sing out announcing
her arrival. She smiled as Motoki, the remotely cute but very taken
college boy who seemed to live there he was working there so often,
gasped slightly as she walked through the door. She almost never came
there unless Minako, Usagi, or Makoto was dragging her in and she
definitely was not the type to cut school... Especially if she was
dressed to be there.

Motoki quickly stopped gaping and said, "Rei! Well, well, well... I
never thought I'd see you come in here by choice,"

Rei smiled and got up on the bar stool, setting her black briefcase
on the ground, "I know... But I am in the mood for this place,"

"The usual?" Motoki asked. Rei nodded and Motoki chuckled as he bega
to prepare Rei's request, "So, why are you in such a good mood? And
why are you here instead of school? Not that its any of my business
but--"

"I got kicked out," Rei stated simply.

Motoki dropped the glass in his hand, but caught it again just before
it hit the floor and set it on the counter. Amazingly enough, he
actually hadn't lost that much of her drink... Rei assumed that this
was not he first time it had happened. He gaped again and pushed the
peridot liquid towards her, his mouth still hanging open like a
codfish, "Excuse me?"

"I got kicked out. Suspended. Maybe even expelled," Rei said, not
bothering to elaborate anything about the situation to Motoki, "Do
me a favor and pray for the latter,"

Motoki raised his eyebrow and said, "Wait a minute... You want to get
expelled? I didn't know Catholic school was that bad..."

Rei nodded as she took a sip of her drink and said, "They are actually.
The lectures are even more boring than public high schools, the
teachers don't want to talk about anything but their God, and they
always teach that if you aren't Christian or Catholic or whatever, you
shall be damned... I feel like I'm being persecuted by my own teachers.
Not the most pleasant of experiences, I assure you...

"Besides, I didn't want to go there anyway... My father made me." Rei
stated further, only saying enough to make him understand, hoping the
boy realized that she did not wish to divulge any more.

Motoki obviously had not realized that and said, "Ya know, I've never
met your father... Or heard you talk about him for that matter,"

Rei's eyes hardened and she made sure that her tone was as unpleasant
as possible, "There's good reason for that,"

Motoki raised an eyebrow at the girl, wanting to press further... but
he knew that he had better leave her be and move on to another subject.
He smiled and produced the paper, starting to say, "Rei, have you--"

"Rei-chan?" a familiar voice called out.

Rei nearly spit out what she was drinking when she heard Usagi's voice.
She spun around on her stool and said, "Usagi? What are you doing
here? You aren't cutting school are you?"

Usagi sighed and hopped up on the seat next to Rei, "No... I got to
school early and--"

Rei didn't nearly spit it out, but unfortunately she had been taking
a sip of the concoction just as Usagi said the word early. The
context Usagi had used it in had automatically made Rei began to choke
on her drink. She set the glass down and began coughing violently.
The two blondes in the room just stared at her, offering no aid
whatsoever...

Which did not go over well with Rei when she could talk again, "Gee
thanks a bunch for your help guys..."

Motoki chuckled nervously and decided he did not want to risk suffering
the priestess' wrath. He turned to Usagi, who was also making a move
to put distance between her and Rei, saying, "I'll get you the usual
Usagi,"

"Err... Thanks Motoki..." Usagi said with several sweat drops forming
on the sides of her head from Rei's reaction, "Anyway... I got there
early, and told Ms. Haruna that... that Ail and Ann were in the
building that was--"

"I know," Rei said gently, her mood turning melancholy at the mention
of the aliens.

"...And then she sent me home... Usagi continued, "I guess she figured
I was sick or something from it,"

"Yes I suppose..." Rei said softly. While Motoki was out of ear shot,
Rei leaned over and whispered in Usagi's ear, "That was a good idea
Usagi... That's how we'll explain their disappearance if anyone
asks." she quickly leaned back as Motoki began to come back with
Usagi's triple scoop hot fudge sundae.

Usagi licked her lips hungrily and took it from Motoki. She was still
not in the best of moods, and hopefully this sugar would help to cheer
her at least a little. In between bites, she asked, "So why are you
here?"

"I got kicked out of school for downsizing the Catholic religion," Rei
said, wanting to see what Usagi's reaction would be.

Usagi was in the process of bringing a bite to her mouth while she did
that. She nearly dropped the spoon, and began flailing about and
contorting in ridiculous ways to keep the vanilla ice cream and
chocolate sauce on it. Once she had done that, she held still and
discovered that in the process of the flailing it had turned to soup.
She set the spoon down in the sundae and pulled out another scoop
saying, "Well that was... surprising,"

Rei shrugged and said, "Well I'm not Catholic and I've made it clear
that I hate it there... What's so surprising,"

Usagi pulled the spoon out of her mouth with a loud pop and said, "Well
you just always seemed respectful towards other religions, that's all,"

"I try..." Rei said as she finished off her drink, "But... Its just...
Oh it doesn't matter. I just couldn't take it anymore that's all,"

Usagi looked at the raven haired girl in concern and went back to
scarfing down the huge sundae without a word.

All remained silent for a while, until the girls heard Motoki
muttering under his breath. They asked him what was wrong, and he
brought the paper over there for them to look at. He sighed and said,
"Have you seen this?"

Usagi and Rei both looked down at the paper as Motoki spread it out
before them... And simultaneously shrieked when they saw the headline:

'SAILOR SENSHI SUICIDAL?'

Usagi paled, not even reading the article, and said, "Just... Just what
is this?"

Motoki sighed and said, "Apparently Sailor Venus gave a quote to a
reporter after the tree incident yesterday... And it wasn't good. I
believe she said something about how she didn't plan for the future
because she could be dead tomorrow... God, that's frightening isn't
it? If someone as powerful as Sailor Venus is scared of getting
killed, what's to become of the rest of us?"

Rei read through the article quickly, cursing Minako and the media in
her thoughts... She couldn't believe Venus had broken the deal they
made: No talking to the press. At all. Period. But no, Venus had
given a statement and now they might have an international panic, and
they were supposed to be at peace! But they couldn't even enjoy it
because life was hell and Venus was not thinking...

Rei decided that Minako was going to need a talking to as soon as
possible.

Usagi did not bother to look at the article... She didn't care for
Minako's exact words or how the press must have twisted and distorted
the facts to have a juicy story. Instead, she stared at the picture of
Venus' sad eyes that had been snagged on the roof when she hadn't
noticed. She had only seen Minako look that down when she had brought
up the subject of her past in England. The blonde had kept in high
spirits ever since then. She hadn't even shown her depression in front
of Usagi when they had lost Ami and Makoto in the battle with the DD
girls... She had even tried to remain that way when she herself was
dying...

Usagi's eyes began to cloud with tears. Her friend had probably kept
all of that anguish inside to protect Usagi. She had died pushing her
out of the way of an attack meant for her. She had died because of
duty, and never once blamed her. Minako had done everything to protect
her leader with just as much passion as Rei, as much conviction as
Makoto, as much clear thinking as Ami, and with as much love as
Mamoru...

And Usagi had been so terrible to her.

Usagi let out a strangled sob and grabbed Rei's hand, saying, "Come
on!" then she began to drag her friend out of the arcade. She stopped,
as though she had forgotten something. Then she remembered, and turned
to face Motoki, "I heard Mamoru-baka was hurt..." Usagi said, making
sure she used the nickname she had given him so Motoki did not suspect
anything out of the ordinary, "Is he all right?"

Motoki sighed and said, "He went in for surgery... There was some
internal damage that made surgery necessary. Last I saw he was in
recovery... Maybe you should visit him later Usagi. I'm sure he'd love
to see you,"

Usagi scoffed and said, "Ha! As if I would ever waste my time on that
jerk... Just tell him I said hello and I do really hope he gets
better," she waved slightly and cried, "We'll be back later with the
yen!" Usagi cried as she sped out the door.

Motoki stared after them, and shook his head saying, "She says that
every day... Lord only knows how much you owe me by now..."

********************************************************** *************

Rei stared at her pig-tailed friend in shock. Just what did she think
she was doing? And why the heck was she going so fast and dragging Rei
behind her like a dog?

Rei allowed it to continue for a few blocks, because she was still
reeling from the article on Minako and was trying to figure out just
what she was going to say to the blonde... But finally Rei got her wits
about her and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Usagi!! Stop right
this instant!"

Usagi squealed in surprise and immediately released Rei's wrist from
her vice like grip. She looked at the priestess in surprise and said,
"What is it Rei?"

"What the heck are we doing?" Rei said, "You practically kidnapped me!"

"I know." Usagi said plainly, "But you wouldn't have come otherwise,"

"Try me," Rei said dryly.

Usagi sighed and gestured to the building at their right. Rei
immediately recognized it as Minako's school and arched her delicate
black eyebrow as if to question why they were there. Usagi sighed,
expecting Rei to have figured it out by now and said, "We're going to
wait for Minako,"

Rei blinked in surprise and said, "Usagi... It's only the beginning of
third period. Minako doesn't have lunch until after fourth,"

"I know," Usagi said.

"So we're just going to wait here until they let them out for lunch?"
Rei asked, her voice betraying her disbelief.

"Yes. I'm glad you've got on." Usagi moved down by the big iron fence
and sat down on the pavement. She leaned her back against the bars and
beckoned for Rei to come sit by her, "Come one, we'll be waiting a long
time. You can't possibly stand for nearly two hours."

Rei sighed and said, "This is so stupid... And completely in character
for you,"

"I know," Usagi said, "But look at it this way... My first idea was to
transform and kidnap Minako from her classroom. Does that make you
happy?"

Rei sweatdropped and said, "Not entirely... But I guess it is the
better alternative..."

Rei narrowed her eyes, finally taking notice that Usagi looked more
depressed than she had ever seen her... This was odd considering that
she had managed to remain peppy even when Mamoru hadn't remembered her
the first time... Maybe having it happen twice was just too much for
her broken heart to handle...

Rei placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, "Usagi? Are you okay?"

Usagi sighed and shook her head, not having the energy to lie at the
moment. She brought her knees up to her chest and said, "You know... I
was so sure he'd remember me after Tsukikage no Knight re-entered into
his body... Even though he said I'd have to face a battle of the heart,
I didn't think he meant that... That I'd have to lose him for a third
time..."

Rei sighed and said, "I know Usagi... It is painful... But don't you
worry. You got him once... You'll get him again,"

Usagi smiled and said, "Thanks Rei... Usually Minako does this kind of
pep talk ya know,"

Rei nodded and said, "I know..."

The two spent the rest of their time waiting for Minako, in
companionable silence... They didn't feel any need to make conversation
and spent their time trying to figure out what to say to Minako... But
both had very different ideas...

********************************************************* **************

Minako literally ran out of Mr. Kokuo's room when the bell for lunch
rang. She hated school, but his presence made it even worse than it
had been before... She had never had a teacher in her life that was as
rude as he was. He only appealed to the smart students because he was
nice to them... He treated the rest of them like they weren't worthy to
lick the dirt from his practically reflective shoes.

Although Minako couldn't help but notice that the smart female students
got a little more attention... It was typical for a man of his age, but
she couldn't help but be a little sickened by it.

Minako ran out into the warm sun and spun around a few times, humming
happily... Never had it been so good to be free. She took the test
that awful man had given her that day and tore it into little bits,
throwing it into the nearest garbage receptacle. She smiled and began
walking to her usual spot by the black iron fence...

On her way she noticed that there were two people sitting on the
outside... they looked about her age, one with dark hair the other
fair... They both wore different uniforms, both from each other and
from her school's... And the blonde had the strangest hairstyle she had
ever seen...

Minako sighed as she realized that it was Usagi and Rei... Only they
would be here now... During school... And there was only one reason
they would be here...

The article in the newspaper...

Minako's heart sank as the two girls took notice of her presence.
Minako did not wait for them to beckon to her and just started walking,
not bothering to take notice of either of their faces... She kept her
head down and held her lunch to her chest, wondering how they were
going to handle this...

Unsurprisingly, Rei started in on her, "Minako, just what do you think
you're doing?! You don't give comments like that to a reporter! We
made a pact after that first media fiasco, no reporters! You know
better than that, no why did you--"

Usagi stepped in front of Rei and said, "Rei, don't be so cruel... She
didn't do it on purpose and we are supposed to be trying to cheer her
up!"

Minako sighed and said, "Look Rei, I--"

"How do you know what she needs? A few minutes ago, you weren't even
speaking to her! Now, all of a sudden you're concerned?" Rei said with
an annoyed tone.

Usagi sighed and said, "Look I was wrong for snapping at her, just like
you are wrong for berating her like this! It was a mistake!

Minako blinked and muttered, "Great now I'm being ignored..." she
raised her voice and said, "Guys, please--"

Rei cut her off yet again by saying, "A mistake that could cause
worldwide panic! We are the defenders of the Earth. We are invincible
to those people. I would even go so far as to say that we are immortal
in their eyes. If we suddenly start fearing our own mortality and let
them know about it, they'll think that we don't stand a chance against
any of the enemies we face... And then what are we supposed to do?"

Minako finally decided to step in and said, "Then we pacify the panic.
We'll wait awhile and see how the people handle it. If they do freak
out even though we are in peace time, we release a statement clarifying
mine."

"That might do more harm than good... We should probably just grin and
bear it," Rei said, making it clear that she did not want to have to
deal with the situation in the first place.

Minako sighed and said, "This is not slander Rei, we can't ignore it."
she said harshly, "We need to calm the people down if they need it. If
they don't, I lay low for awhile until this is forgotten. Its simple.
And since you obviously want nothing to do with it, I will handle it if
necessary."

"No you have done quite enough," Rei said, "No way am I letting you lay
your self out in front of the press without being involved in it... I
don't want anymore screw ups,"

Minako narrowed her eyes and said, "Stop acting like you outrank me...
I am the leader not you. So reign in your overbearing ambition and get
off my back. I made a mistake all right? I had just found out that my
best friend's love doesn't remember what they mean to each other. My
judgment wasn't all that great. I have said I was sorry and I refuse
to apologize for it anymore,"

"That doesn't erase the comment," Rei said, "And look at it another
way. What if the enemy saw that and realized the senshi aren't as
confidant as they appear. And Venus is the weak link. You'll be dead
at the first battle, and we won't last much longer. That's the other
reason we made the pact, was so that the enemy did not get any
information they could use against us,"

Minako sighed and said, "Considering we don't HAVE one at the moment,
I don't think its anything to get upset about. Could we please just
drop the subject and move on with our lives?"

"Not until you learn when to keep your mouth shut," Rei said. She was
surprised when Minako did not respond.

"All right that's it," Usagi said meekly, "Stop it both of you. This
is not about anyone making mistakes or misspeaking or whatever...
Minako, I really want to know if you're--"

"All right?" Minako finished, her voice sounding sharper than she
intended, "You want the truth or the happy lie?"

Usagi's eyes saddened as she whimpered slightly, "Minako..."

Minako sighed, obviously exasperated with the two of them and tired of
dealing with the criticisms and constant questions. She looked them
both in the eye and said, "Look, I appreciate the concern, but it
is not needed. I am fine. I'm just being realistic... because let's
face it guys... We could die any day."

"Minako--" Usagi started.

"No! I won't listen to you're speeches about how its going to be all
right. If we can kill them, they can sure as heck kill us. And I will
die for you... I have done it before; I'd do it again... But I won't
kid myself and say that it can't happen...

"Let's face it... We won't die in our beds, asleep or in a car... Or a
plane or even a bathtub... We'll die on the battlefield as nameless
heroes... Heroes with families left behind who will never know what we
did... never know who we really were...

"And a public that doesn't give a damn as long as they survive,"

Then the bell rang again and Minako turned on her heel, storming inside
the building... Usagi and Rei watched her go, neither one of them
saying a single word...

Because they knew if they did, it would have to agree with Minako's
words.

~********************************************* ************************~

* Kokuo Kana is in the Japanese order of names and means Powerful King.

Oh and if you think this was long... It used to be longer but I tacked
on some of the beginning of this onto the end of the prologue cause it
seemed to fit better with that.

Anyway, expect to be hearing from me again soon! Send feed back and
I'll be very very happy!

Coming Soon: Part Two: Darkness Inherent