Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Mask of Lies ❯ Prologue: Humble Beginnings ( Prologue )

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

Mask of Lies
Prologue: Humble Beginnings
1/28
by Kihin Ranno
goddess_branwen@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/kihin_ra nno/starlithorizon.html
R

~~Started: August 12, 2002~~
~~Completed: October 1, 2002~~

*blushes sheepishly* All right I started another long fic... *hears a
clamor arise through the readers* --; Well it isn't entirely my fault!
Blame my muse! ;_; I am merely a poor pretty author with little life
and talent. I am not to blame.

Okay so I am. But its not like its BAD...

All righty then, I am sure you've all read my summary. For those of
you who aren't on ASMR and do not have the benefit of reading the
author's note on the main page, they will be here. This story is not
just retelling the Sailor V manga/anime verbatim... Its liberally
mixing the manga and anime with taking out some elements, throwing
other ones, and proving that my theory that these two universes could
have existed at the same time.

And they could have.

That being said, I do not own Codename wa Sailor V or Sailor Moon.
Naoko created them, and I am merely borrowing them... For my own sick
twisted purposes, but once again, what I write is not my fault... its
the voice inside my head-- I mean my muse...

Yes that's right... My MUSE. Nothing wrong with having a muse...

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

Once upon a time, there was a very cute little eight year old girl.
Perhaps she could be called pretty, and astoundingly so. One might
even go so far as to say beautiful. All right, you twisted my arm...
So the little girl happened to be absolutely, positively drop dead
gorgeous. And at such a young age!

This little girl stuck out like a sore thumb on family outings. You
see, her mother had fire red hair and her father had dark brown (nearly
black) hair while this stunning little girl was a bonafide blonde. It
had been questioned a few times, but as it turned out this girl's
grandmother (who had also been rather good looking in her time) had
been blonde as well.

Sadly the little girl only learned this at her grandmother's funeral
when they had passed around old pictures of her.

This incredibly sweet little girl also happened to have blue eyes, from
her mother's side, but not her mother... Some Great Aunt or some such,
the girl had never paid attention when she was told. And these eyes
were not just blue, no sir. These eyes happen to be the most beautiful
light blue you've ever seen! Now I know that whenever you read any
sort of story starring a blonde, their eyes are incredibly dark. This
little girl however happened to be blessed with crystalline cornflower
blue eyes, and she looked all the more better because of it too! And
these eyes had life, energy, and even more than that!

And energy she had! This wonderful little child happened to be a very
cute little bundle of activity. Her parents could hardly keep her
sitting still for more than two minutes. But I don't think the poor
dear should be blamed for that... After all, people are always telling
adults that they should move about more often and excercise! The kids
who can't stop moving have the right idea if you ask me...

After all, they are always thin!

And she was practically born singing! This child's talent was apparent
the moment she exited the womb. Her mother bragged how she was
destined for fame, success, and fortune! The little girl wanted
nothing more than to ahve that and become an idol. She wanted to sing,
dance, act, do it all! She would be famous if it killed her!

Now what else can I tell you about this adorable child... Oh I know!
She had a heart as golden as her hair! And it was big too! She loved
just about everything, and hated to see anything die... She even got
upset when her parents killed bugs. She was nice to almost everyone,
but that's not saying she didn't stand up for herself when necessary.

And as she loved everyone, everyone in turn loved her. She had scads
of friends in her hometown of Tokyo, Japan, Juuban district. Pretty,
popular, and talented... This girl sounds like she's going to have a
good life...

I didn't.

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

Minako was sitting in the living room of her parents' spacious two
story house wearing an adorable little orange dress, her legs spread
out in a v-like shape for she was too little to realize that this was
not the best of positions to sit in. Her long blonde hair hung down in
her face so she'd have to continuously rake her little hands through it
as it fell in her face. This was extremely hard considering she was
trying to do her homework (and not having an easy time of it either)
and had to loom over it... That would make her hair fall in her face.
And since she hated tying her hair back no matter how much her mother
implored her to do so, it continued as such.

Finally Minako got frustrated with the assignment and her hair, and
stood up. Not seeing anything better to do she placed her arms out in
a T shape and started twirling around, causing the dress to fly on the
wind she created. She stared up at the ceiling, focusing on one little
bump in the plaster and not taking her eyes off of it. She heard her
mother sigh in exasperation when she saw her daughter spinning again
and go off muttering to herself.

Minako giggled and said, "You should try this momma! It's fun!"

Her mother sighed and said, "No thank you dear... Really, I don't
understand how you keep yourself from getting dizzy,"

Minako giggled again and said, "I won't tell you unless you try it!"

Her mother sighed in defeat, but she was unable to chuckle at her
daughter for just a moment and said, "Well I guess I'll have to live
in ignorance then,"

"Momma?" Minako asked, stopping her spins.

Her mother looked up as she began to pick up the living room Minako had
made a mess of each time she got tired of doing homework. She blew a
loose lock of her silky red hair out of her face, her brown eyes
questioning her daughters need to query (which she rarely did) and how
she wasn't dizzy... it nagged at her, but there was no way she was
going to spin around in circle's to find out. She raised her eyebrows
and said, "What is it Mina?" she asked, using the nickname her father
had given her after he heard it on a business trip to America.

"Why's daddy taking so long?"

Her mother blinked in surprise and then looked at the clock. Minako
was right. Her father was usually home by five in the afternoon, and
it was already six thirty.

Good thing she had just started making dinner.

She looked back to her daughter and said, "Actually sweetie, I... have
no earthly idea,"

Minako groaned impatiently and stamped her bare feet and said, "But
daddy's never late! There has to be a good reason!"

Her mother sweatdropped and said, "Honey I told you, I have absolutely
no idea... I'm sure that there is a very good reason... Well there had
better be anyway," she muttered the last, a vein starting to out on her
forehead. Her husband had never been unfaithful to her or anything
else, but he did have a tiny bit of a drinking problem... She wouldn't
call him an alcoholic, but he was always thirsty. Thus he always
drank too much than what was good for him when he did drink.

If he was drunk or even had a buzz, she swore on heaven and hell...

Just then, the door opened, and a very happy man with dark eyes and
hair invariably bounced into the house with the biggest smile he had
ever worn in his life. Minako squealed when she saw him and ran into
his open arms, giggling as he lifted her up. He gave her a kiss on the
cheek and said, "Daddy's sorry he's late munchkin, but he has very big
news for you and mommy!"

Minako's eyes became starry as thoughts of candy, chocolate, and pretty
white ponies danced in her mind's eye. She gasped and she said, "Did
you bring us something daddy?!"

Her mother raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest,
saying, "Yes Daddy, did you bring us anything? It smells like
perfume... Hmm... Could it be... Eau du liquor?" she said dryly. She
had never mastered French.

Her husband set Minako doubt despite her whine and walked up to his
wife. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Chiko... I didn't
drink all that much, but there was a bit of a celebration at the
office..." he smiled slyly and said, "And it means great things for us,
Chiko..."

Chiko raised her eyebrow and said, "Oh really? And what might that be
Taro?"

Taro grinned and said, "Well for one thing... I just got promoted with
an exceptionally large pay increase,"

Chiko's jaw dropped and she said, "Oh my... You're joking! I thought
you said you weren't trying for any more promotions!"

"I wasn't," he said with a smile, "The head of my firm offered it to
me. You're looking at the new Plant Manager of--"

Chiko squealed and hugged him tight, allowing him to spin her around in
his arms. She heard Minako giggling as she said, "Mommy's spinning!
Mommy's spinning!"

Suddenly Taro stopped spinning her around and he added, "Chiko... It's
in London,"

The entire house fell silent then... Well there were only three people
in the house (not even so much as a cat hanging around) and they were
all in that room, so one could just say the room had fallen silent.
Chiko and Taro stopped laughing and Minako actually stood still and
quiet. That had never happened before ever. Chiko was staring at her
husband in utter disbelief and she could not help but stutter.

At long last she managed to say, "Where?"

"London..." Taro repeated tentatively. He was expecting her to have a
proverbial fit over this. He hadn't discussed this with her. He had
made the decision on a whim, after having a few drinks. He took a deep
breath and prepared himself for the worst...

He never got it.

"That's wonderful Taro!" Chiko cried. She kissed him gently, not
wanting her daughter to see anything too "promiscuous" at such a young
age.

Taro blanched at both. "You... You're happy with this?"

"Yes of course!" Chiko said happily, "You know I've always wanted to
learn English a little more fluently, and this is the perfect
opportunity! And it will be easier for Minako to learn it if she's
completely immersed in the culture... And it would be so interesting to
live there! You know how much I love Sherlock Holmes."

Taro had forgotten. But he smiled and filed it away for future
reference, "God, I thought you were--"

He was cut off by the sound of Minako's soft crying. Her parents had
been so preoccupied that they hadn't thought of how this might affect
her. They hadn't even looked to see if she was okay with the idea...
Aino Minako was most definitely not happy with this news, "But Daddy...
I can't go to London! I don't even know where that is!"

Chiko smiled gently and bent down by her daughter. The little girl's
arms were folded across her chest and her face fixated into a pout.
Her mother did admit that the child looked adorable pouting (not like
most children who looked positively hideous), but she could not let
that influence her in the slightest. So she smiled gently and said,
"London is in England dear,"

Minako rolled her eyes and said, "Mother, that doesn't help!"

Chiko cringed. That girl definitely watched too much television.
Sometimes it was like having a teenager in the house about six years
too early. "London isn't all that far... It's only... a few hours by
plane." She didn't know the exact time, and the child wasn't too keen
on her numbers yet anyway, "Oh it's wonderful there Mina! They have a
queen and a big palace and--"

"I don't need to go some place where there's a queen! I used to be a
princess!" Minako said stubbornly.

Her father sighed and muttered, "Oh no. Not again." Chiko and he had
heard this tale a number of times. Their daughter had been having this
strange dream since she could form sentences and had been mentioning it
nearly every day of their lives since then as well. According to her,
she sued to be a princess of the planet Venus but lived on the moon.
She was supposed to protect the Moon Princess and had a sword made of
crystal. The dreams had been quite pleasant for a time (although the
tales about some men/suitors disturbed him just a tad), but recently
they had become violent. About eight or nine months ago, Minako had
woken up screaming for one month straight. They never had found out
why exactly, but she had been screaming over and over again, "It's red
mommy! Everything's all red! And she won't wake up! Why won't anyone
wake up?!"

They both had gotten the gist.

They had taken her to a few specialists, but the dreams kept right on
coming... It wasn't until they met this curious little priest that
Minako's dreams seemed to calm down. Odd he couldn't remember his name
now, but the little man had borne a striking resemblance to the
Buddha...

Meanwhile, her mother had strived to get her beloved daughter off the
subject of her fantasies. Chiko knew how her husband dreaded hearing
of them. He was a proud man and believed it was his job to protect his
family. He could not protect his daughter from her nightmares... So he
had been forced to go to complete strangers and often times they were
at a loss as well. She knew how badly it had affected him.

His one comfort was the bad dreams had stopped... For the time being.

At last she succeeded and was proceeding to explain to Minako why they
had to move, "Well we don't have to darling, but--"

"Then why are we moving!" Minako whined, stamping her foot for dramatic
effect.

Chiko merely thanked the heavens that she was acting her age and said,
"Because dear it will mean better things for us in London. Now there
isn't anything wrong with Japan, Mina. It's perfectly lovely here.
But how do you know it isn't better in London? And besides, this will
mean your daddy will be able to... do more important things for his
company. Don't you want your daddy to be a bigger help at his job,"

Minako, too young to truly understand what her mother was saying,
readily agreed.

Her father smiled and bent down besides Minako, "Your mommy and daddy
REALLY want to move to London munchkin. We can have a better life
there."

"Our life is fine _here_!" the little blonde insisted.

Her mother sighed. This was becoming difficult, "But what if it's
better there?"

"But-- But-- My friends! What about them!"

"They can't come with Mina," Taro said gently.

Minako sputtered a bit more at that and tears were beginning to form in
her eyes, "But... How can I just leave my friends behind?! They're the
only ones I got!"

"You can make more in London little one," Chiko said endearingly.

"No I can't!" Minako insisted.

Her father smiled slightly and said, "How do you know that?"

Minako was taken off guard. "Well I... I just do!"

Chiko smiled warmly and said, "Minako, honey, we--"

"No!" Minako cried, pulling away from her parents, "I won't go! You
can't make me! I'd rather die than go to stinky old London! You can't
make me! You can't make me! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!" then the child
screamed again after all those shouts, as if that would better serve
her purpose and ran up the stairs in absolute hysteria. About thirteen
seconds later her door slammed. They could still hear her sobbing.

Chiko stared after her daughter, hurt by the outburst. Her husband
wrapped his arms around her and said, "Don't worry so much Chiko.
She'll get used to the idea."

"I hope you're right..." Chiko said, sighing. Then she looked back to
Taro and said, "When are we leaving?"

"Two weeks."

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

And thus begins the story of my life...

I know it seems rather dull at first. But then every story has to
start somewhere. And this is where mine really begins. Several
things will have profound meaning, and perhaps you can pick those out
right now. They're things that don't seem to fit with the current
storyline. Things that seem as though it is a waste of time to
mention...

You shall se in time what they mean. What do they call that?
Foreshadowing? I think that's right... That's not a saying. It should
be correct.

The day I learned I was moving my entire life was turned upside down.
Now I know what a lot of you are thinking... It always seems like the
end of the world to a child. And my attitude there seem like the
incessant whining of a child, but even then I was acting almost
constantly. I really hurt much deeper than that. What you saw was
just the surface of my pain... But I didn't really know how to express
it then. I was only eight years old and not too bright (or so I'm
told).

But that isn't the only reason why I said what I said and did what I
did. Back then I thought that if I whined enough and threw a fit,
I would get my way. That if I screamed and cried and laid as much
guilt on my parents as humanly possible, they would give in and I could
stay in Tokyo. After all that is how it worked on television.

I learned my lesson two weeks later when I boarded the plane.

London would not end my life entirely... It would not happen for a
little while, but in London my childhood would end. It would be ripped
from me, along with my innocence... A part of me died in London...

I still don't know if I want it dead.

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

* Chiko Aino translates to Arrow of Love (so yes that is why it looks
just a little bit like cupid... I think ^^;).

** Taro is a common name in Japan given tot he first born son of each
family. Hence it means 'first born son'.

The formatting you see in this chapter will be the same in all of
them. Namely, a first person introduction by Minako that gives you a
bit of a teaser for it, the main body of the story will be third
person, and the closing will be as the beginning, only instead of a
teaser it will give the story closure. This format was partly inspired
by the book "The Mists of Avalon" by the late but great Marion Zimmer
Bradley. Ms. Bradley is an EXCELLENT author and I implore you to buy
copies of her books.

It should also be noted that this story has absolutely not connection
with my story 'Broken'. In that story, the names and personalities
of the parents differ greatly from that story... Err... Well sort of.
--; They're less extreme here, k? ^^;

Coming Soon: Quick as a Wink