Character Sketches #1, Sailor Mercury - Part II, "Mizuno the Senshi"
Chapter 2: In which the past is explored, and ignored.

"In fact, the dean has recently expressed concerns over the thefts. He has stated both publicly and in an interveiw [sic] with this reporter that students should take appropriate precautions to safeguard property.

"'Of course, we recommend using locks on bicycles and that sort of thing. But we also recommend not leaving such property in isolated positions, or letting them go unwatched for more than an hour.

"'To facilitate this, we are lifting the restrictions on bicycles. They may now be brought into campus buildings such as the library, dorms, and most academic buildings. Additionally, an automatic reward of $50 will be offered for any information leading to the recovery of stolen bicycles. It's not [perfect], but we believe that it'll help.

-from the JHU student newspaper

"Don't look back. They might be gainin' on you."

-Satchel Paige

It was a Friday afternoon. The sun was bright white, the sky blue, the grass green. They took it all in, in that peculiar way that cannot be duplicated, but only comes about by a complete absence of worry. Not even the threat of rain the following day could ward off optimism. It was one of those transient moods that is difficult to enter, yet painfully easy to get out of.

This was a fact Amy Anderson, nee Mizuno Ami, a.k.a. Sailor Mercury, knew all too well. And it was the knowledge of that fact that lead to her present condition: trying desperately not to think of anything at all.

Trying not to think, she thought amusedly. All those times in Japan, always trying to think as much as possible, and now I'm trying not to...but she sensed that she was approaching dark waters there, and tried to think about something else. Jen beat her to it.

"So, what do you think about America after two years? Pretty nice, hm?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose there are some nice things...pretty big, though."

"Big? BIG? Amy, you're in one of the smallest states in the country. I'm from Vermont, and that's even smaller. And you call it big?"

"Well, it's just the cars and the..."

"Believe me, this is about as small as it gets. Count your lucky stars you're not in Texas or California. You want big, go out there."

"California? Why would I go there?" She giggled. "I have it on very good authority that everyone from California is nuts."

"Really? And would you mind divulging your informant?"

"Well...."

"Come on now, Amy, tell all!"

"Well...okay!"

With no classes to look forward to until next week, they sat on a bench to drink in the marvelous springtime atmosphere, and perhaps catch a glimpse of a few cute guys.

"Okay, he was this guy who was from CalTech. He was probably with NIPPON-"

"Nippon? I thought he was from CalTech, how could he be Japanese?"

"No, baka, the recovery coalition, you know. All the colleges and universities putting Tokyo back together? Well, anyway-"

"What's a baka? And--wait, I never asked you about that."

Damn. I was hoping she wouldn't see that slip, she thought. So far, in the few months that they had roomed together, Jen had, for the most part, avoided asking Amy too much about her past. Amazingly, she had not once asked about her family, for which she was thankful daily. To get into the details of her family troubles, she thought wryly, would require a full-fledged trilogy. And now she had to account for things.

"Well, you didn't. I figured you didn't care or..."

"Didn't care? Amy, hon," (outstanding how she had picked up the local slang), "I never said anything because I was worried about you. All that business with the monsters-"

"Youma."

"What?"

"Youma. That's what they were called. It's a Japanese term, most commonly translated as 'demon.'" And if it wasn't youma, it was cardians, or droids. What was next, daimons?

"Oh, well anyway with all that, I thought you might have lost some friend or something. I mean, you never talk about it, and..."

No, thought Amy. I never do talk about it. You generally don't advertise that you killed your own mother, regardless of their demonic possession. "Well, it's not something I'm comfortable about." She sighed, and decided to try another tack.

"Look, Jennifer, what's the name of the town you're from? Springberg or Speilberg or-"

"Springfield."

"Okay, now suppose that someone was invading Springfield. And in all the confusion of evacuation, you lost your parents. And then, later on, you found out that they die, and you have to deal with the remorse, knowing that you could have been with them."

"Aw, man, did that happen to you?"

Not even close, she thought. "In a way. It was only my mother, though. My father had been gone for years."

"Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry to have brought that up."

"It's okay. I guess I've been trying to avoid it, but I have to get used to it."

"Well, no more gloomy stuff, okay. Though...I remember reading something a couple years back. It was a book, by Anal or something, and it--hey! Why are you laughing?"

Amy was a hair's breadth from rolling on the ground in laughter. Considering how close to depression she got sometimes, this was in no way a bad thing. "It's *Aino*, not *Anal*! She was a clo...she lived close to me before the trouble started."

"Oh yeah, that's it. _The Autobiography of Sailor V_. I think I have a copy back home. Wait...you lived near her!?!"

Amy now realized how close to home things were getting, and mentally prepared for yet another mood swing. "Actually...I lived in the thick of their activities in Juuban. Hardly a night went by without hearing about the senshi doing this or that." And hardly a night went by without coming home late, barely getting enough sleep, exhausting myself to get the best grades....

"Wow! Did you ever see them? Which one was your favorite?"

"Um...I may have seen them a few times..." (there, now that's not too much of a lie), "...and my favorite...who's yours?"

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, right after I read Sailor V, I thought Venus was the best, but after looking some stuff up, and watching the show, I think I like Sailor Moon the best."

At the mention of the series, Amy had to grimace. Immediately following the revelation of the senshi, an American animation company, DIC, had decided to tell their story. However, they met several roadblocks, including creative differences with the Japanese anime company they were to work with, and the matter of royalties to be paid to the senshi. Therefore, they had been forced to do the entire series in America, with US animation, US scripts, US voices, and US names. To make sure that they couldn't be hit with a lawsuit, they had, in most instances, changed the names slightly. In addition, personalities had been completely changed, genders altered, entire episodes dropped, and events mangled. The American attempt at Sailor Moon had fared abysmally, ending after a mere 65 episodes, right in the middle of their battles with the dark moon. When coming over, Amy had had no end of amusement watching DIC's attempts at the senshi (or scouts, as they called them).

Despite many complaints from purists, the names were, for the most part, accurate in their own bizarre ways. Rei to Raye was okay, and Minako to Mina was passable, given that Mina was another spelling of myna, and the myna bird's name came from the Sanskrit for bubbly or full of happiness. And if you knew some mythology, and her origins, Usagi came out to Serena, using the algorithm Selenity to Serenity (r and l being almost identical in Japanese) to serene to Serena. And Makoto's name was, in Amy's opinion, the most clever; Leda, in addition to mythologically being a daughter of Zeus, was, astronomically speaking, the 10th moon of Jupiter. But she didn't even want to know how they figured Ami equated to Electra. Where was the connection there? Electric blue hair? But--wait. Sailor Moon? Why not--

"Why not one of the other ones?"

"Well, Sailor Venus is way too flighty, and when she isn't, she's downright bloodthirsty. Sailor Jupiter...well, have you heard some of the stories about her? Seems she doesn't care much for the masculine species, if you know what I mean. Mars...how could you like some pyromaniac who throws fire around? Sailor Moon is graceful, pretty, and royalty! And those meatballs: they're so...so..."

Kawaii!!! "Cute?"

"Exactly! And all the things with the Japanese government, too!"

She was afraid to ask, but she had to. "And Sailor Mercury?"

"Oh, come on, Amy, get with it! Mercury's too shy, too short, and too much of a smart-ass. Venus went on and on about her. I mean, she spun it so that she was a plus, but you could tell--what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that Mercury has kind of been my favorite."

"Sorry. But in any case, if I were to meet her in a dark alley...we'd have words, okay?"

"Uh, sure. But-"

"No buts! Enough gloomy stuff for today? Geez, didn't you do anything fun in Japan?

-the tinkling of a million shards-

"Yes, I suppose I did..."

"Well then, tell me! And what about that guy from CalTech? You never got around to telling me about him!"

"May...maybe later. I have some studying to do."

"Um, okay. I'm running downtown for a few things. See ya!"

Amy walked away slowly, the memories crowding in on her. She was quickly snapped out of her reverie.

"OH! DID YOU WANT TO GO TO A BALLGAME? SEASON OPENER'S IN A FEW WEEKS!"

Amy turned to face Jen, who was now quite a few meters away, ensuring that the entire Homewood campus could hear them. "SURE!"

"OK!"

Amy continued on. Jen had been bugging her about baseball since fall. Jen was bound and determined that Amy's two year streak without watching the Orioles was going to end.

Ah well, she thought, time to head back to the dorm, get the mail, and try not to think about the senshi. She did feel rather bad about leaving them, but she just had to find herself. And from what she'd read, they were handling themselves rather well. Usagi's attempts at politics, however....

Walking into the dorm, she stopped by the mailboxes to pick up a few letters, checking the addresses as she climbed the steps to the second floor. Junk...junk...letter from Johnson and Johnson (she had to reapply for her scholarship, she remembered)...junk...letter from Japan...junk...letter from the head of the hospital...Japan! She dashed up the rest of the steps and raced into her room to inspect the envelope more closely.

It wasn't from the senshi. She knew that instantly; before leaving, she had set up a special code that would be used, so that she would not be traced back to the senshi. How could anyone else know where and who she would be? She double checked the address...yes, definitely to Amy Anderson, not Ami Mizuno. Then she saw, for the second time, who it was from, and this time it registered.

Oh. He always did have a way with that sort of thing, she thought, slumping onto her bed. It gave a reassuring creak. She felt no joy in having to open it, despite her ardor for the one who sent it. Instead, she felt a dull hollowness, a hollowness like those rare times when she wandered the Internet, reading alt.fan.sailor-moon and seeing various articles speculating on her demise.

Why, she thought. Why?