Planet Bound: Venus
     by Marj

Notes:
	arigato - thank you
	daijoubu - are you all right?
	ja ne - see you later
	kakkoi - handsome
	kawaii - cute
	neko - cat
	sayonara - good-bye

Please e-mail your comments and constructive criticisms at 
.  Thanks!

Disclaimers: The characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon were created 
by Naoko Takeuchi-san, its copyright owned by Toei Animation, Kodansha, 
Nakayoshi, Sterling Animation Inc., and many other companies scattered 
throughout the world.  Meaning, I cannot claim the characters as my 
own, and am mearly borrowing them.  The character Ayukawa Himeru is
mine.  I don't know Hikaru's surname (Minako's best friend in the 
Sailor V manga) so I invented one.  So please don't sue, as I don't 
earn anything from this other than the satisfaction of making a story.



Chapter Eight:  Tomichi Hikaru

Tomichi Hikaru and her six friends walked out of the mall, talking and 
laughing.

"Who says high school can't be fun?" asked one of the girls.  "Even if 
some of us go to different schools, we can still hang out together, 
right?"

"Right!" another girl said happily.  "But I still wish Shibakouen had a 
high school.  We would all still be together if only it had been an 
elevator school."

"Don't tell me you don't like Juuban High.  You said it was great!" 
Hikaru said.

"Oh, I like it there, don't worry.  At least there are cuter boys in 
Juuban than in Shibakouen!"

They laughed.  "You're right.  Boys in Shibakouen are way too immature.  
Hey, have you seen Ayukawa Himeru?" one of the Juuban girls asked.

"Isn't he that new guy?"

A girl pretends to faint.  "He's so incredibly handsome!!!"  The Juuban 
girls squealed.

The other girls smiled in delight.  "If we ever run into him sometime 
soon, introduce him to us!" They begged.

"Oh, look!  We don’t need to search that far, ‘cause there he is!" one 
girl said, pointing at the teenage boy with blond hair standing inside 
a bookstore.

All seven girls crowded around the window of the store and watched 
Himeru pick out a book and read the cover.  

"Gosh!  He is gorgeous!!!"

"Kakkoi!!"

The girls suddenly stopped giggling when a girl their age with a red 
bow in her long blond hair approached Himeru.  They watched them talk 
solemnly for a while, then the girl and Himeru started to laugh.  "It's 
her again," one of the Juuban girls fumed.

"Who is she?"

"She?  Don’t you remember her? Her name is Aino Minako, a former 
Shibakouen student, too.  She’s that girl who always left immediately 
after school with no friends whatsoever!  She was once Hikaru's best 
friend, right, Hikaru?"

The girl with short, dark hair bit her lip.  "Uh . . . yeah . . . once."

"Man, that girl makes me sick!" the girl who was fuming earlier 
continued.  "She snagged Himeru-san and wrapped him around her little 
finger the moment he took his first step on campus!  Did you see them 
the other day, when Himeru came to school in civilian clothing?  He was 
carrying her stuff for her!  She didn’t even let her explore the 
campus!  That's very selfish!"  The other Juuban girls - with the 
exception of Hikaru, nodded.

Hikaru felt very uncomfortable as they talked about her former best 
friend.  She turned away from the window in fear that Minako would 
catch sight of her.  Her eyes landed on a white cat with a crescent 
moon mark on its forehead . . .  "Hey, look at the kitty!"

The other girls dragged their eyes from Himeru to the cat sitting on 
the sidewalk.  "Oh, he's so kawaii!!!" one of the girls - obviously an 
animal lover - exclaimed.  She took the cat in her arms.

  "Hey girls, I have to go home now," Hikaru 
said.

"Already?!"

"Sorry . . .  I just remembered that I have to do something.  Ja ne."

"Meow!" The white cat scrambled out of the girl's arms and walked over 
to Hikaru.

"Aww.  The kitty likes Hikaru . . ." the girl said, disappointed.  
Hikaru laughed.

"It's not like we can keep him, anyway - we have to find his owner.  
I'll bring him tomorrow before turning him in at the pound, where they 
can find him," she promised.  She bent over, picked up the cat, and 
started walking for home.

*****

Usagi nervously wrung her hands.  "Do you think he found her already?"

"Well, he should have!" Luna said.  "Or else, he's going to get an 
earful from me if he's failed this mission.  After all, he planned it 
himself!"

Makoto, Rei and Ami nodded.  They continued to wait.

*****

Hikaru dropped Artemis onto her bed.  "Here.  Make yourself at home," 
she said softly.

Artemis watched as Hikaru simply sat on her bed, staring off into 
space.    It had been a 
stroke of fate that Hikaru had seen Minako, since Minako didn't know 
anything about Artemis's plans.

He nuzzled Hikaru's arm, trying to encourage her to speak up.  She 
looked at him.  "Did you know that something was bothering me, neko-
chan?" she asked.

She reached for the drawer under her bed, dug through the pile of junk 
piled up there, and brought out a picture frame.  "See this girl?" she 
asked, pointing at the picture.  The girl had her arm around Hikaru's 
waist, and both girls were grinning widely.  Artemis judged that the 
picture had been taken about a year before he had awakened Sailor 
Venus.  "Her name is Minako.  She was my best friend . . ."

"We used to go anywhere together, do everything side by side.  We were 
inseparable . . . since elementary school.  Suddenly, about four or 
five years ago, for some reason she didn't tell me, she didn't have 
enough time to spend with anybody anymore.  She was too busy doing 
something, and she was always in a hurry.  I wasn't happy - even if she 
had told me to try and understand why she was acting that way.  It 
wasn't long before I told her to find another best friend . . ."

Hikaru wiped the tears from her eyes.  "I didn't think that I'd miss 
her, but I did.  I wanted to make up with her, but seeing her so lonely 
and friendless in Shibakouen made me feel guilty of what I had done, 
and it made me think that she would never forgive me.  Up till now, I'm 
still thinking of how we could have still been friends today if I had 
only tried to understand . . .  It's my fault that she lived such a 
miserable life in junior high!"

 Artemis 
thought.

"At least now those three friends of hers that I always see - since we 
separated - are her classmates now.  They can keep her happy, and she 
doesn't have to be alone with only that cat of hers to cheer her up . . 
."

Hikaru paused.  "Cat . . ."

She stared at Artemis, who looked like he was smiling.  "You!  You're 
Minako's cat, aren't you?"

The cat purred.  

Hikaru laughed through her tears.   "Now I understand why she spends so much time with you.  You seem to 
understand everything that I say . . ."

"Meow."

She stroked Artemis's fur with one hand, and held the picture frame in 
the other.  "She must be relating her problems to you.  Tell me, neko-
chan.  Does she miss me?"

  Seeing his chance, Artemis leaped from 
Hikaru's lap, grabbed the frame from her hand with his mouth, and 
started to run.

"Hey!  Where are you going?  Give that back!" she demanded, chasing 
Artemis.  He jumped through an open window and out of the house.

Hikaru had to run out the front door so that she could continue chasing 
the fugitive.  

*****

"Hey, come on, you stupid cat!  Give that back!"

Usagi jumped from her perch on the shrine floor after hearing those 
words.  "They're here!"

They waited in anticipation as Artemis appeared and ran towards Luna.  
He laid the picture frame gently on the floor and waited for Hikaru to 
catch up.

The girl slowly reached the top of the stairs of the shrine, panting.  
She glared at Artemis as she sank to her knees, trying to catch her 
breath.

 Makoto thought as she watched Ami approach the tired girl.  
Makoto could remember the times when she and the other senshi would 
race up and down the stairs for their training, and how the others 
would all sink to the ground, exhausted, while both she and Minako 
continued running as if they hadn't wasted any energy at all.

"Ne, daijoubu?" Ami asked, helping the girl up. 

"You're . . . you're Mizuno Ami, right?" Hikaru breathed, staring at 
the most intelligent girl going to Juuban.

"Hi!  Do you know me?" Usagi asked, waving her hand.  Beside her stood 
Makoto and Rei.  Makoto raised her hand in greeting, and Rei smiled 
softly at the visitor.

"Aren't you . . . aren't you all Minako's . . ." Hikaru stammered.

"Friends?  Yes, we are," Ami said, leading her to the other girls.

Rei looked at Artemis.  "Nice job.  I didn't think you'd be able to do 
it."

"Oh, you trained the cat to bring me here?  He must be awfully smart," 
Hikaru said admirably, although she had to admit that her inability to 
chase the cat meant that she really needed more exercise.

Artemis sat up proudly upon hearing the word "smart" while the girls 
tried to suppress their snickers.  Luna rolled her eyes.

"So . . . what gives?  Why did you send the cat to bring me here?" 
Hikaru asked.

"We know that you were once Minako-chan's best friend," Makoto started 
slowly.

"So?  That was eons ago.  We're not on good terms now."

Usagi's usually happy face was incredibly solemn.  "Listen, what we 
have to say to you is extremely serious, and we hope you'll take it 
seriously as well."

"We know that you and Minako had some rough times together," Makoto 
said.  "But please, try to make up with her."

"What are you talking about?  Why should I make up with her?  What she 
did four years ago was inexcusable . . ." Hikaru lied.  

Artemis shook his head.  

"Try to understand.  Look at us.  We've only been friends with her for 
four years.  You and Minako-chan had been friends since you were 
little.  Yet, we seem to understand her better than you," Rei reasoned.  
  "Don't you think you should be more considerate 
to your childhood friend than us?"

"Then . . .  If you really want us to patch things up, then why just 
now?  Why not earlier?"

"Because Minako-chan needs you more now than ever before," Ami said, 
nearly mirroring Artemis's earlier thoughts.

Hikaru looked at them for a moment.  For a moment, Ami caught a curious 
look on her face. "Gomen.  I don’t think Minako needs me.  Not when she 
had been able to survive junior high all alone."  She turned around.  
"I have to go now.  Sayonara."

"Wait!"

She felt someone grip her shoulder.  

"You forgot something," Makoto said.

Hikaru slowly took the picture frame that Makoto was handing her.  "A-
arigato."  She waited for Makoto to remove her hand from her shoulder.  
Then, she noticed that Makoto was staring at the picture that she was 
now holding.

"She’s leaving, you know," Makoto said, her eyes starting to gleam with 
tears.

"Really?"  Hikaru avoided her sad eyes.  "When is she coming back?"

"She’s not coming back."

"I . . . I see.  Well, that’s one good news . . ."

Makoto removed her hand from her shoulder.  "She’s dying."

Hikaru felt as if someone had shot her straight at her heart.  She 
almost dropped the picture frame she was holding.  She noticed the 
others staring at her, so she quickly gathered her composure and stared 
stonily at them.  "So . . . ?"

"Don’t do this to yourself, Hikaru," Rei said softly.  "We know you 
care."

"No, I don’t!"

Usagi ran towards her and quickly swiped the frame from her hands.  
"Hey!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"You wouldn’t chase after a cat all over town just for her picture if 
you didn’t care for her!"  Usagi accused.

Hikaru bowed her head, her shoulders shaking.  She covered her face and 
started to cry.

Ami touched her shoulder.  "Hikaru . . . "

"I’m sorry!  I’m so sorry!" Hikaru sobbed.  She leaned on Ami as the 
girl tried to comfort her.

"I didn’t mean what I had said!  I didn’t want to hurt her!  I was just 
too mad that I did everything I could to make her feel awful - what 
kind of a friend am I?!  I’m the one who’s feeling awful now - I’m the 
one who’s hurt!"

Usagi handed Rei the picture and took Hikaru from Ami.  "Hikaru, 
listen," she said softly.  "It’s not too late.  It’s not too late to 
change and start all over again."

"But she’ll never forgive me!  Not after what I’ve done . . . "

The blond-haired girl shook her head.  "I don’t know what you did, but 
I’m telling you now, it’s not too late."  Hikaru looked the eyes of the 
girl who looks enough like Minako to be her twin.  They were shining 
with love and understanding.  "I’m sure Minako-chan still loves you, 
deep inside her heart.  All you need to do is try.  There’s nothing 
wrong in trying, right?  It wouldn’t hurt you."

Rei returned the picture frame to Hikaru, who hugged it dearly.  "Help 
us, Hikaru," she pleaded softly.  "Help us make her happy."

Hikaru slowly looked at the pleading faces of the people who surrounded 
her.  "I promise . . . " she said.  "I’ll make up for everything I had 
done to her, I swear."  < For her . . . >

"Thank you, my friend," Usagi said, hugging her.  "Thank you."

Hikaru wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced at the picture frame.  
Both she and Minako looked truly happy.  Hikaru wanted those years 
back.  She only hoped that Minako felt the same way.

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/field/4723/stories