Written by: Victor Naqvi
Quick thanks to Jon Carp, Andrea Hui, Tim Nolan. And to two wonderful people who appreciate my stuff and went out of their way to comment me, Shiv and Marius911 (The Lost Boy). Thank you all.
Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.
-William Shakespeare
"Ecch. There's nothing good on TV," Minako said as she tossed the remote control on to the couch.
"Well, you can read one of my books," Ami said, not looking up from the chess game she and Mako-chan were playing. "Check."
"Uh, I don't think so." She got up, stretched. "Well don't you have any video games or something?"
"I don't play video games, Minako. Hmm. I didn't see that rook over there."
"Uh, okay, you don't mind if I just look around your house? I've never really seen it all before."
"Sure, Minako, but it's not really that great of a house."
"Yeah, but it's still huge compared to mine! For only two people, too!" Minako spread her arms out to drive her point home.
"If you say so. Oops. I guess I shouldn't have moved it over there." Ami cupped her chin. "Just a second, Mako-chan. Minako, if it interests you, my mother presses wine in her free time." She turned her attention back to the game. "She's got a bunch of bottles of it in our basement. I don't know if you know a lot about wines, but-"
"Your mom makes wine? Wow!" Minako turned around and headed for the basement stairs. "You don't mind if I have a look? Or maybe a taste?"
This caused both Mako-chan and Ami to look up. "You drink wine, Minako?"
"Sure! My parents used to take me to parties all the time with them, so I sort of picked up a taste for the stuff. I'm what you'd call a 'connesieur'." At the last part she tilted up her nose and 'hmph'ed.
"Okay, Minako. I think my mom left a corkscrew down there and one of those fork things. What do you use those for, anyway?"
"Huh! You, Ami Mizuno, doesn't know what something is used for?" Makoto joked.
"I think it's used to see how good the wine would sound," Minako cheerfully said, but she was met with blank stares. "You know, if it sounds good, it- umm- I'll just go downstairs, ok?" She bounded downstairs.
"Well. You certainly learn something new everyday," Ami said as she shook her head.
"Don't tell me you actually believe her about the fork thing?"
"No, about her and her wine thing. She certainly doesn't look like it."
Mako just shrugged. "You'd be surprised. She can pick locks, too. She does it to mine everytime she visits my apartment!"
"Oh, which reminds me. Thanks for you and Minako coming over tonight."
"Don't mention it, Ami. Especially with those strings of break-ins in this neighborhood, it's kind of unnerving. But with us around, nobody's gonna even try breaking into this place, no matter how promising it looks. Or else..." Mako had a slight grin as she let small arcs of electricity engulf the pawn she was holding.
Ami sighed. "It's good to know I have people I can trust."
Ami creaked open the door leading to the basement and hopped down the steps to the floor. Despite it being a basement, it was adequately furbished, with soft blue wall-to-wall carpeting and elegant cream lighting bouncing of walls of the same color. She made her way to the common room, with had a small television set along with a bar counter that ran along the side. Behind it was a sink as well as the mirrored shelf where Ami's mother kept all the bottles of wine she pressed, along with a few glasses. She noticed a bottle and a glass missing. Uh oh.
She was worried. Makoto had gone to take a shower in her bedroom's personal washroom, so she was left to go check up on Minako. It had been an hour since she had gone down there. Ami called out, "Min-"
A ting sound cuased her to start, and she turned around to see Minako laying on the couch, a nearly drained bottle of wine in one sweaty hand and a drained glass in the other. She looked at Ami with glazed-over eyes and a lewd smile.
"God, Minako, you scared me!"
"Tin foil giftbox," Minako slurred.
"What?"
"Hey Am-amAmi! Guess what? I'm the champion of asparagus!" She held up the tuning fork in one hand. "I am Sailor Pen-"
"Oh god, Minako, what did you do?" Ami interrupted as she ran to her side. "Are you okay?" She held her hand to Minako's red forehead. It was buning hot. "Come on, Minako, let's get you some cold water." She slipped an arm under her to prop her up.
"N-no! I don' wanna." She giggled, which turned into insane laughter. "I've been thinking Ami Ami. Ami!"
"Come on."
Minako suddenly grabbed the front of Ami's blouse and pulled her down. "Why?"
"What? Look, Minako, you're hurting-"
"I'm the senshh- shhhi of love, Ami. But nobody loves me!" She laughed again, but then all of a sudden her voice cracked and she broke down into tears and uncontrollable sobs. "Nobody loves me!"
Ami was rigid for a moment, then gently pulled the other girl into an embrace. "Shh. that's not true, Minako. We do."
"I'm ugly!"
"No, you're not."
"I am!"
"No."
Minako pulled away and looked at Ami. "You're very lovely."
"What?"
She had stopped crying, but now she was looking Ami with a blank expression. "Pretty. You're very pretty. Your hair." Minako began to run a hand through Ami's hair.
It must be the wine, Ami thought. "Look Minako, let's get you to bed so you can sleep."
"You said you love me."
"Yes, I do, but-"
"Then show me," Minako said.
"You don't-"
"Show me!" Minako suddenly grabbed her arms and threw her down on to the floor, then lay down on top of her. "Showmeshowmeshowme!" She kissed Ami savagely, harshly.
Ami managed to break the kiss, which had left her gasping for air. The stench of alcohol filled her nostrils. "Minako, please!" She tried to push her off, but she reacted by pinning her arms to her sides.
"Showme!" She was screaming now, her face a beet red, her eyes misty, streams of tears spilling down her cheeks. Then she bent down again as began to kiss and bite her neck like an animal. All Ami could do was scream as Minako began to rip her blouse off.
The golden-haired woman stood at the center of the garden, taking a deep breath and taking in the heady scents of the flowers and blossoms around her. She had done a good job, she decided, and now the essences of these blossoms could be extracted to make the finest perfumes. She knelt down beside a little stream and picked a few small bamboo stems that were sprouting there. Cupid could make good use of them for his arrows.
"So there you are."
It was then that she became aware of the shadow upon her. She turned around and looked up.
A tall, muscular man was standing- no- hovering there with the aid of small wings at his feet. He was draped in a white robe and a silver helmet with the likeiness of the same wings on his feet forged upon it. He wore a dark expression, unlike his character. She didn't let it faze her, nothing really did. "Why hello, Mercury."
"Don't 'hello' me. Don't try to act innocent, either."
"I don't understand."
"Like hell you don't, Venus. Another one of your perverted games, huh? like 'let's scar the senshi for life' game? I don't find it amusing at all."
"Look, brother, you're making no sense whatsoever. Come, sit down, and why don't you tell me about it." She smiled and patted the grass next to her. Grumbling, Mercury sat down and stared at his feet for a minute before telling it the way it was.
"Oh, my," Venus said when he finished. "This is very upsetting."
"Like hell it is. Doesn't your senshi have any self-control? What is the matter with you people anyways? Why does everybody but me have to make a bubbly, over-indulging senshi? Why not a more sensible one like mine?" He stood up and pointed at her "And the worst part is, you won't even let me have that! Damnit!" Frustrated, took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, Mercury. First of all, I'm terribly sorry that this had happened. And to yours, too. But you must believe me when I say that I had no knowledge of this at all, nor did I ever want her to do something like this. You know as much as I do, that love can't be expressed that way. And please, sit, it'll help you calm down."
Mercury took a seat again. "What am I supposed to do now?"
Venus sighed. "We go ask Dionysus."
He looked at her with puzzlement, then slapped his forehead. "Of course! The god of wine!" He got up again, then placed his silver helm on his head. "Oooh, the nerve of that moron. What the hell does he think he's doing. He's gone too far!"
"I'm coming too. Remember he's the one that got my senshi." She guestured with her arms, and a cloud of mist settled around her feet. Mercury flexed his wings, then took off, saying "And try to keep up with me!"
Look at her. Like nothing happened.
Minako, singing and laughing. Like nothing happened.
Ami walked at a sedate pace behind the rest of her friends, her books pressed protectively against her chest. Her throat felt raw from all the crying she had done last night, after Makoto and Minako left. Mako was in she shower, so she didn't her her cries for help, but it didn't matter because the deed was done in a matter of minutes and rather messily too, with Minako passing out on top of her.
But look at her now. Like nothing happened! She felt the first traces of tears beginning to brim at her eyes, and she quickly blinked them away as the four girls ahead of her went into a coffee shop. She went in, too.
They all took a booth by the windows. She knew that they would notice if she sat down all by herself somewhere else, so she slipped her way in and took a seat next to the window, beside Mako. She placed her books on the table between her and the rest of them, feeling somewhat better by the barrier between them.
A picture she had been using as a bookmark slipped out of one of the books she was carrying with her, into her lap. It was a picture of Urawa, pristine as ever. All of a sudden, she wished he was there with her, so she could rest her head on his comforting shoulder and cry all her troubles away. He would understand-
No, she told herself. I'm being unrealistic. She quickly put the photo back in it's place and then stared out at the window into the happy street. She felt detached.
"Ami." She felt a hand on hers, and looked up across the table, at her. The other three girls were sitting in the booth next to them, now, although she didn't realize that she had gotten up and moved. She noticed that Minako wasn't smiling anymore. Far from it.
"It was the Dark Kingdom," Ami began. "That's it. They somehow found you, and they took you over, and-"
"No, Ami."
"Mind control, wasn't it? Some evil force wanted to take over your-"
"God, I'm so sorry, Ami." Her voice began to crack.
"I know! It's wasn't you, was it? Some youmma came, and took your form-"
"Please, Ami! Please!" Minako squeezed Ami's hand tight.
"Monsters! That's"
"Ami!" She held her head in one hand, tears dripping onto the polished table. Her sobs had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the shop, and a few were buzzing with concern. Usagi and Rei ran to comfort Minako, but Ami tore away from her hand and walked out of the shop mumbling to herself. "It wasn't her. It wasn't her."
"Minako, what's wrong?" Rei shook her.
"I'm a bad person. Very bad.
"Very bad."
"...So the bartender comes back from the stock room with the magic lamp the guy gave him and says, 'Hey, pal. I asked for a million bucks and the genie gave me a million ducks!' so the guy points at the little piano player on the table and says, 'Do you think I asked for a 12-inch pianist?' Dionysus broke into laughter at his own joke before popping a grape into his mouth.
"Ahem."
He looked around, and frowned at his unannounced visitors. "What do you want," he grumbled.
"Just a few words with you, that's all." Venus had on one of those scary smiles.
"Allright." He waved his hand, and the nymphs draped on and around him got up and pranced back into the foilage of the grape vines.
"As soon as they had dissapeared, Mercury exploded. "You son of a bitch. I oughta clock you right now. I swear-"
Venus cut him off. "Please, brother. Dionysus, do you have any idea what you just did?"
Dionysus stood up and looked her stright in the eye. "Let me tell you something. What the hell makes you think that your senshi are untouchable? I mean, what, they're not allowed to indulge themselves every so often?" His eyes narrowed before continuing. "Face it. Mercury's senshi got hers, and so did yours. Don't tell me that Mercury's hasn't been dying for a piece for so long, and well, if it weren't for your senshi's parents, Venus, I'd have her pinned as a regular visitor."
Mercury was steamed. "Why you arrogant-"
"Don't start with me."
"Do you have any fucking idea what's going on in her mind now? I suppose you don't, with you and your bimbos hanging off you all day keep you from thinking about anything serious. You wouldn't know about pain; mine knows more about it than you ever could."
Dionysus sneered, and attemped to fight off Mercury's heat with an excuse. "Well, what's done is done. I suggest you go and live with it."
"You had better watch your step around here from now on," Venus warned. "Jupiter's not going to be very-" She stopped in mid sentence and looked at Mercury. He had sensed the same thing, because he was already staring back at her.
"I have to go." Mercury whirled around and took off.
To be or not to be, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them.
She had a long time to think about it. She had thought about it when her father first started coming up to her room every night. She had thought about it when she blamed herself for her parents messy divorce, for the reason why her mother began paying more attention to her job than to her only daughter. When she became a latchkey kid, living out days, sometimes weeks on end alone in the big big house, having nothing but memories of a past too painful to remember but too painful to forget. She had thought about it when she saw her friends die, one by one, before she had her own turn. She had got a preview, in fact. It was so peaceful.
This was just the capstone, the be all and end all.
To die-to sleep-
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die-to sleep.
She found herself at the bridge already, staring down at the waters so far below. It was night; there was no traffic in either direction; the only pedestrian some young man with a black jacket that stared at her as he slowly walked past.
She was a victim; she had been her entire life. She was the bait, the young vulnerable girl, the shy quiet one. How often had it been shoved in front of her face? She had lost count; not that there was any point to count in the first place.
Her intelligence was a sick joke that someone played on her when she was born, as was her stunning beauty. It was a twisted paradox; because of one, she could not use the other. Just like her life. How fitting.
To sleep-perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffed off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
Urawa? No, she mustn't think about him; it was nothing serious, she told herself over and over, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. He loves me, and I shouldn't do this. No. He'll move on, after time, and he'll find someone better than me. I'm a victim. No one loves a victim.
She climbed up and stood on the rail of the bridge, the winds whipping her short hair about her. The water. How poetically perfect. She took out the picture which she had in her pocket and looked at it for a good five minutes.
She kissed it then, all over, bursting into tears. She undid the top button of her blouse and placed the picture inside. My regards, Urawa.
Then she focused herself on the task at hand. Just like her swimming teacher had told her so long ago... Breathe in, breathe out. Arms stright out.
She looked down again. The waves were crashing. Good. The undertow will pull me under quickly. Short and sweet. She took a deep breath.
"AMI!"
She looked behind her. Minako and Mako were running towards her as fast as they could, Rei's face stone cold as she stood beside Usagi at the foot of the bridge, who was crying her heart out.
She just gave them all a sad smile. "Thus conscience makes cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn away
And lose the name of action." With that, she jumped and closed her eyes as the murky depths raced towards her.
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
"AMI!" Minako screamed as she stopped dead in her tracks and dropped to her knees, pounding the pavement.
"Minako!" Mako-chan ran to her side and tried to grab her hands, which had found a new target in Makoto's chest and now began pounding on her.
"I killed her, Mako! I killed her!"
"Oh god, no, quiet, Minako! Quiet!"
"I KILLED HER!" She lost all her anger all of a sudden as she collapsed into her arms and wailed. Makoto pressed her close as she rocked her, gently. Rei and Usagi ran to them and they all held on to each other.
They didn't move for a good hour.
So this is death.
Ami blinked once to adjust her eyes to the sheer whiteness that surrounded her. A mist hugged close to the ground, swirling slowly, filling Ami's nostrils with the scent of vanilla.
She propped herself up on her knees, then stood to her feet. Placing a hand over her brow, she scanned as far as she could, but all there was, was whiteness. She frowned.
Is this all there is? Do I have to wait for someone? Her throughts were interrupted by the sound of someone softly crying behind her. Turning around she saw a man dressed in a black jacket and jeans, a silver helmet on his head, and miniature wings on his feet.
Oh my god... She stood there for a minute before she uttered the word.
"Mercury..."
The coffee was cold and covered in a layer of dust. But Minako still stared into it.
I am the senshi of love.
The clock ticked on the wall. Rei, Mako and Usagi shuffled thier feet.
I killed her.
There wasn't anything else. She raped her. She jumped. She killed her. And she was the senshi of love.
Beautiful. Intelligent. Cheerful. Bright. Wonderful. I ended it all.
"Any word from the police yet?" Rei asked not too enthusiastically.
"No. They searched the entire bay, they still can't find the body," Makoto replied in a dull monotone.
"Did you call Urawa?"
"Yes. He's on his way now."
"Excuse me. I need to get some more coffee," Minako said as she pushed the chair away and went into the kitchen. Nobody said a word.
She was in the kitchen, and she knew what she had to do.
An eye for an eye.
Beautifulintelligentbrightwonderful she had taken it all away. It was only fair. She opened the drawer, and picked out a sharp one. One that would cut the deepest and give her the most pain. It was only fair.
She looked at it, then began to glide the tip over points on her body. Jugular. Chest. Stomach. Stomach it is.
She looked around, and her eyes came to rest on the group picture of the five of them taped to Miakoto's fridge. She saw her- smiling right back, those wonderful blue eyes shining at her.
She drew in a deep breath, then pointed the tip of the blade at herself. I'm coming, Ami. And then I'll tell you how sorry I am. She thrusted in.
She didn't see the golden-haired woman, but she was there, gripping the hand that held the butcher knife quivering only a scant inch from her stomach.
"Let go!" she kept screaming as she thrashed around, trying to pull herself into the blade, but in vain. The woman's grip was inhumanly strong.
"Child, let go of the knife, please." The voice was soft, soothing, like a dear mother's. Enough to make her weaken her grip on it, enough to allow the woman to wrench it away.
Then the reality of what she had to to returned into her, and she struggled against the woman, but she dissapeared in an orange flash. Seeing the knife clatter on the floor, she bent to pick it up, but another pair of hands restrained her, this one belonging to a head of auburn hair.
Another pair grabbed at her, and another, shouting at her to stop this madness. They pushed her to the floor, pinned her arms to her sides, and shook her fiercely. The sensory overload was too much for her, and everything dissolved into blackness.
"...What you were thinking, was so true... I'm sorry." Mercury held his head in in hands, his weeping muffled echoing off the white around them.
Ami didn't know how to react. She remembered seeing her god once before, right when she was born. Even at such a young age, she knew who he was and what he represented. He stood there, beside her mother and father, but only she could see him. On his face was the brightest smile that she would remember her entire life.
But there was no trace of it in him now.
"I- I tried to make a senshi that would be totally unique," he continued. "All the others were making senshi in the images of warriors, having immense power and speed. But not me," he said, the sarcasm in his voice getting thick. "I figured, hey, why not make someone who relied on brains rather than brawn? So I did.
"But I didn't know what I was getting myself into, did I?" He brought his head up and looked straight at Ami. She had never seen a god cry before, but now she wish she didn't. For pain to be reflected in a human's eyes was one thing, but for pain that came from the eyes of a man that has seen and been everything, was something different entirely. "And I acted like such an arrogant fool. Throughout all the years I watched and did nothing. I let the gods manipulate you, everyone, but I still watched. Pluto told me not to get mixed up with the humans and I believed him. But now I know, Ami."
"I don't know what-"
"But I don't want you dead!" Mercury reached out and grabbed her by the arms.
"You mean..."
"I was that man on the bridge, Ami. I knew what you were going to do. After you jumped, I flew under the bridge and caught you, to bring you here."
"Where is here?"
"This is a place only me, Venus, Uranus and Neptune know about. It's nothing, or the absence of nothing, or whatever. I came here so that the only two people would be you and me, and nothing else."
"Why?"
"I want you to punish me, Mizuno."
"What?"
"I don't care what the rest of us say, we are not better than any of you. I was an idiot to think that I was. Ami, no one should have gone through what you did, for so long. I'm responsible, and I should be accountable." He sraightened up, and looked away. "Go ahead. I've deliberately weakened myself for a while. Use your Aqua Illusion or whatever it is you call it."
Ami was stunned. "I- I can't."
"You have to."
"No she doesn't," came a voice from all around. An orange flash, and Venus was standing between the two of them. "Mercury, she's going back now."
"No! She has to-"
"Nobody is punishing anybody!" Venus snapped with an authority that was completely alien to her. She took a moment to regain her composure, then continued. "This has gone far enough. We should have nipped this thing in the bud instead of playing the blame game."
Mercury glared at her for a moment, then lowered his eyes. "You... You're right, sis."
Ami looked at the woman with uncertainty. "I can't go back. I can't face them again."
Venus turned and looked at her with a sad face. "Ami," she said in a soft tone, "Minako tried to kill herself."
"No..."
She did it because she thinks you're dead, and she blames herself for it. I've never seen my senshi so depressed and suicidal before, Ami. And she's the senshi of love. Frankly, I'm not so sure of what to do. But I know of one thing. You have to go back."
"I-"
"I know how you feel, Ami. But there are people down there who love you, more than anything else. Your friends. I'm not so sure what they'll do if you don't go back. Minako. She's the one I worry about, because I can't come to her rescue every time you cross her mind, which is more than I can count. Sooner or later, she'll do it."
Ami began to cry. She knew who was coming next, and crossed the palms of her hands over her chest to keep it away from sight and mind.
"I'm sorry, Ami. But I have to." Venus carefully reached out and pried Ami's small hands from her chest, then slowly took out the picture. "Look at it, Ami."
She cried harder as Venus took the small girl into an embrace "Shh. I know."
"He loves me, and I left him," she wailed.
"But you can fix it, Ami. Go back."
Ami lifted her head from Venus' shoulder and looked at Mercury, who solemly nodded his head. "Everything gets better, starting now. The nightmare is over."
Minako sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Beside her, Makoto was pretending to be asleep, she knew that. Now that the others had gone home, she was left to watch over her and make sure she didn't leave her sight, not after what she had tried to do.
The doorbell rang. After a moment, Makoto got up and headed out the bedroom. "You coming?"
Minako shook her head.
"Stay put. Do you promise?"
She said nothing.
"Minako-"
"I promise."
"Good. I'll be just a second." She slipped into the hallway.
They're not going to be watching me forever. I have to pay for what I did. Minako began to think of the many different ways. Locked in a garage, car running. Nope. I don't have a car. Turn on propane gas on stove and leave it. No, no. Makoto doesn't have a gas stove. Shot. Too loud. Jump out of window. Yes. I can do it now, she thought as she turned her attention to the window in the bedroom, seven stories up from the ground. She licked her lips as she moved off the bed and to the sill. If I can do it quickly, I-
"There won't be any more of that, Minako."
It was that same voice she heard before, seeming to coax her away from the glass. She didn't want to turn around. "No, I'm going to, and you can't stop me. I'm going to pay for what I've done." She slid the window open.
"Minako."
God, no it can't be. I'm going crazy. That's it. Don't listen-
Her voice, a barely husky whisper. "It's me."
She- no, her body turned around and saw them in the doorway. The first one was Makoto. The second one was the gold-haired woman. The third was-
She glided over to Minako and getly led her by the hand away from the windowsill. then they both looked at each other as the other two looked on in the doorway, Makoto still with a look of awe on her face, the gold-haired woman with a bright smile on hers.
All was silent.
Minako broke it as she crushed Ami in her arms, crying. "You're alive! You're alive!"
Dionysus stretched as he pulled himself to a sitting position on his hammock, trying to get the sleep from his bones. He yawned and then stood up. He wondered for a moment where all his nymphs were, then remembered that they were usually playing in the grapevines at this hour. He left the quiet forest glade where he took his nap, then walked through the forest towards the grapevines. He didn't hear any nymphs laughing or singing as he got closer, though. What could they be up to, he wondered as he pushed away the final branch and entered the vineyard. Are they- Oh no.
The vineyard, or at least what used to be the vineyard, was a rotting mess. The grapes were not robust purple orbs hanging from the plants, but brownish slime which littered the ground. The entire yard smelled of rotten fruit, and there were flies buzzing everywhere.
My grapes. My beautiful grapes! He ran down rows and rows but found the same results. What could have done this?
His eyes caught a corner of parchment jammed into a vine, and he pulled it out, unfolded it, and read it. It was a note.
Dionysus stared at the note in disbelief. =20
"BAH!" he spat as he crumpled up the parchment and angrily tossed it over his shoulder, stalking away. I get no respect.
The police boats had stopped searching an hour ago, but Urawa still stayed there on the docks. The wind coming across from the bay slapped his face. He didn't want to leave.
He didn't know what to do next. There wasn't really anything else, was there? To go home to parents that don't love him as much as he had thought? Who did love him, at all?
She did.
She did, and now she's gone. Just like that.
"It's unfair," he said to the bay. "It's your fault!" Yes, it was the bay that stole her from him. Yes. The bay. He had something to blame.
That smell... A faint floral scent, so beautiful.
That was her scent.
God, I'm going nuts... He shook his head, but the smell lingered. Was stronger, even. Why am I torturing myself?
He felt something at his waist. He looked down, and saw a pair of petite hands clasped upon his stomach. His eyes narrowed.
"I don't want to turn around," he began. "Because if I do, I know you won't be there." He closed his eyes.
He felt himself being spun around, then a pair of very real lips touched his and stayed there even when he opened his eyes. Those lips beloged to wonderful blue hair, delightful to run hands through. He did.
They parted, and Ami smiled. "I'm here. Forever."
Urawa cried for joy.
There were back at Makoto's apartment, sitting on the living room couch. Mako and Minako had already went to sleep, both in the same bed because Mako-chan still wanted to keep an eye on her, for a little while.
Urawa got up, and started the CD player. "Want to dance?"
"But... I don't know how to."
Urawa pulled her up. "Neither do I."
They held each other tightly, as they shuffled their feet around in time to the music. They were quiet for the first five minutes, then: "So how did it work out with you and Minako."
She sighed. "She says she doesn't want me to speak to her for a week, at least. I told her I didn't blame her for anything, but she said that she deserves at least that. I'm respecting her wish."
Another silence. "I'm sorry I don't come over more often. Actually, I'm sorry about a lot of things."
"So am I," Ami replied.
"Like what?"
"I'm sorry for being a victim."
"Ami-"
"These past few weeks have been crazy, Urawa, and it feels like I'm the center of everyone's grief and hate. I don't know sometimes." She had that faraway look in her eyes.
"Ami, I can't think of someone who's been any braver than you have. I mean, where would we be if it weren't for Sailor Mercury? It was you who saved me from the Dark Kingdom, and I'll always be in your debt for that. Always."
Ami sighed again. "You make me feel so important."
"Of course. You're my princess," he said, twirling her around then bending her backwards.
"Hey... I thought you said you couldn't dance."
"Uh... yeah, well... I lied."
Ami grinned as she playfully hit his shoulder. "I guess white lies don't count."
"Not at all," he said, and leaned down to kiss her.
Mercury and Venus stood on the roof of the building across the street, observing their subjects.
"I sure love a happy ending," Mercury cheerfully said.
"Don't we all."
They both stood there as they saw them dance, then Mercury spoke up again. "You know Venus, maybe we should stop fighting amongst each other. I don't see the point anymore."
"I know, brother. But we'll have a hard time trying to get the rest to agree."
"No, sis. Just the two of us, for now. I mean, we've just proven we can actually solve a problem without ripping each others' heads off!"
"You're right. I mean, Uranus and Neptune get along so well, too."
"There's something else. We should really look after these senshi of ours, because, I mean, we seem to take them for granted. I know I did, until now."
Venus nodded.
"I just want her to know that if she ever needs a father figure, I'll be there. No lie."
Venus was impressed. "Wow, Mercury, you're really getting into this."
Mercury shrugged. "Well, love is something a lot of us have been missing in our lives. I know, for one, that I'm going to make it a part of mine from now on."
She smiled. "Everyone should."
A short while later, Venus decided to retire to her garden. Mercury wasn't about to leave, however. He had only begun to feel happy. "I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks," he said as he removed his helmet and thumbed away a single tear of joy. "Thank you, Ami Mizuno."
The moonlight covered all.
Return to Ami's Library...