"People always say,
'Life is full of choices.'
No one ever mentions fear!
Rr how a road can seem so long,
Or how the world can seems so vast
On this journey...to the past."
- Anatasia, "Journey to the Past"
===========
Unbreakable
A Sailor Moon Fanfiction
Written by Kate "SuperKate" Butler
Prologue: "Journey to the Past"
===========
The room, finally, was nearly empty.
She surveyed her personal living space - the part of the house
that had been declared hers and only hers since their first day there,
nearly five years before - carefully, her baby blue eyes peering into
every nook and cranny. The twin bookshelves, both white, stood empty on
either side of the wall, looming over the equally-empty bedside tables.
Her bed was neatly made, prepared for one last night of being slept in,
but it seemed to stare forlornly up at her, begging for the return of
the dozens of stuffed animals that had, for so long, taken up residence
there. She sighed, straightening the red kerchief she had tied over
her head of long blonde hair. Why did it have to be so hard?
"Ara, Minako-chan, do you EVER clean out under your bed?"
groaned a voice, and the blonde was pulled violently back to reality
as her long-time friend sat up, stretching. Her joints popped audibly.
"It's so dusty under here! You could have a few hundred yen on the floor
and never know it, it's so dirty!"
Aino Minako laughed and plopped down on the hardwood floor
beside her odango-headed friend, surprised to see the other girl's
normally jovial expression fade into one of abject sorrow. "I know that
this job in California will be really good for you, Minako-chan," she
admitted softly, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them,
her eyes staring at the floor, "but it's really sad for you to move away.
Mamo-chan's still off in America for university, and Ami-chan is talking
more and more about going away to Kyoto to study... Everyone's moving
away." She sniffled miserably. "I don't want you to go!"
Before her friend could protest, Usagi launched forward and
clung her around the neck, landing on her with such force that they
both sprawled backwards across the floor. "Ara, Usagi-chan, it's okay!"
protested Minako with a soft half-smile, moving a hand to smooth the hair
of her now-crying companion. "I'll be back before you know it. The
contract only lasts three years, and I really do want to stay in Japan
with all of you. You'll hardly even - ano?"
Usagi raised her head and slowly recoiled from her clinging,
surprised to see the other blonde reaching far underneath the bed. Dust
wafted up from the dirty floor as Minako groped about in the shadows.
"What are you doing?" she questioned curiously, staring as her friend
produced a dust-covered book from beneath the bed.
The kerchief-headed girl took a deep breath and then exhaled,
hard, onto the cover of the book, a cloud of dust filling the room as
a worn brown cover was revealed under the layer of grime. "It's my
old photo album!" exclaimed Minako after a moment of gazing blankly at
the familiar-but-yet-foreign cover design - a large flower inset with
gold foil. "Okaa-san gave this to me just before we moved back here when
I was fourteen. I was very sad, and she wanted me to remember everything
that had happened in England, and so she gave this to me. I guess it must
have gotten shoved under my bed shortly after we moved here."
"Sugoi..." Usagi sat up on her knees and peered at the album,
her blue eyes watching intently as Minako opened the cover. Nimble fingers
wiped the thin film of dust off the first page, revealing only two
photographs on a page made for six. The first was of a young, petite
blonde woman with wavy tresses and bright blue eyes, her arm looped
inside that of a young man. Gray, stoic eyes stared out of the picture,
his chiseled, handsome features set heavily in a non-smile. Sandy blonde
hair hung slightly into his face, and he leaned slightly away from the
woman. Behind them, a palace loomed, casting a dark shadow over the couple
despite the charming smile of the young woman.
The second picture's mood was entirely different. Here, the same
young woman sat atop a picnic table in a tank top and shorts, her
sunglasses resting on her head as she grinned into the camera, completely
relaxed and happy. Beside her stood a slightly older man, his brown hair
and well-kept goatee slightly spotted with gray, laugh lines creasing
his face. But he was smiling just as brightly as the young woman,
winking at the camera as his two large fingers formed "bunny ears" behind
her head.
Minako sighed, biting her lower lip as she stared down at the
two photographs. She had nearly forgotten the emotions that they brought
spiraling forth, the pain and the joy and -
"Ano, who are they?" The question from her curious, odango-headed
friend caught her off guard, and blue eyes blinked. "The woman, and the
two men, I mean."
"Oh, right." Minako laughed self-consciously, pointing quickly to
the second of the two photos. "That's my mother, Aino Emi, when she was
about my age," she explained, her fingernail landing directly on the
forehead of the wavy-haired blonde. "She'd just moved to England for the
first time. And this is Roger Hughes. Roger-chan, I as call him. He was
her very first agent."
Usagi's brow furrowed slightly and she frowned. "But then who's
the other man?" she asked softly, pointing to the upper picture, the
picture in shadow. Her frown deepened. "He kinda looks like you,
actually," she added after a slight pause.
Aino Minako closed the photo album quickly and turned her back to
the other girl, rising to set it in one of the few still-opened boxes
in the room. "His name is Eric MacLeod," she answered quietly, her voice
quivering slightly. "I've only met him a few times, but everyone always
told me that when I did meet him. 'Oh, Minako, you look so much like
him!' Personally, I always thought that I looked like okaa-san, but..."
"Minako?"
She shoved the photo album down, grabbing the nearest item - a
Sailor V doll that her mother had bought her the previous Christmas - and
covering it. Now, suddenly, she realized exactly why the photo album was
under the bed in the first place.
"And it's natural that he'd look like me." Salt touched her lips,
but she hardly cared. Her fingers gripped the edge of the box, white-
knuckled. Angry. "He's my father."
DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and all trappings thereof belong to Naoko
Takeuchi. This particular storyline belongs to Kate Butler, (c) 2003-2004.
'Life is full of choices.'
No one ever mentions fear!
Rr how a road can seem so long,
Or how the world can seems so vast
On this journey...to the past."
- Anatasia, "Journey to the Past"
===========
Unbreakable
A Sailor Moon Fanfiction
Written by Kate "SuperKate" Butler
Prologue: "Journey to the Past"
===========
The room, finally, was nearly empty.
She surveyed her personal living space - the part of the house
that had been declared hers and only hers since their first day there,
nearly five years before - carefully, her baby blue eyes peering into
every nook and cranny. The twin bookshelves, both white, stood empty on
either side of the wall, looming over the equally-empty bedside tables.
Her bed was neatly made, prepared for one last night of being slept in,
but it seemed to stare forlornly up at her, begging for the return of
the dozens of stuffed animals that had, for so long, taken up residence
there. She sighed, straightening the red kerchief she had tied over
her head of long blonde hair. Why did it have to be so hard?
"Ara, Minako-chan, do you EVER clean out under your bed?"
groaned a voice, and the blonde was pulled violently back to reality
as her long-time friend sat up, stretching. Her joints popped audibly.
"It's so dusty under here! You could have a few hundred yen on the floor
and never know it, it's so dirty!"
Aino Minako laughed and plopped down on the hardwood floor
beside her odango-headed friend, surprised to see the other girl's
normally jovial expression fade into one of abject sorrow. "I know that
this job in California will be really good for you, Minako-chan," she
admitted softly, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them,
her eyes staring at the floor, "but it's really sad for you to move away.
Mamo-chan's still off in America for university, and Ami-chan is talking
more and more about going away to Kyoto to study... Everyone's moving
away." She sniffled miserably. "I don't want you to go!"
Before her friend could protest, Usagi launched forward and
clung her around the neck, landing on her with such force that they
both sprawled backwards across the floor. "Ara, Usagi-chan, it's okay!"
protested Minako with a soft half-smile, moving a hand to smooth the hair
of her now-crying companion. "I'll be back before you know it. The
contract only lasts three years, and I really do want to stay in Japan
with all of you. You'll hardly even - ano?"
Usagi raised her head and slowly recoiled from her clinging,
surprised to see the other blonde reaching far underneath the bed. Dust
wafted up from the dirty floor as Minako groped about in the shadows.
"What are you doing?" she questioned curiously, staring as her friend
produced a dust-covered book from beneath the bed.
The kerchief-headed girl took a deep breath and then exhaled,
hard, onto the cover of the book, a cloud of dust filling the room as
a worn brown cover was revealed under the layer of grime. "It's my
old photo album!" exclaimed Minako after a moment of gazing blankly at
the familiar-but-yet-foreign cover design - a large flower inset with
gold foil. "Okaa-san gave this to me just before we moved back here when
I was fourteen. I was very sad, and she wanted me to remember everything
that had happened in England, and so she gave this to me. I guess it must
have gotten shoved under my bed shortly after we moved here."
"Sugoi..." Usagi sat up on her knees and peered at the album,
her blue eyes watching intently as Minako opened the cover. Nimble fingers
wiped the thin film of dust off the first page, revealing only two
photographs on a page made for six. The first was of a young, petite
blonde woman with wavy tresses and bright blue eyes, her arm looped
inside that of a young man. Gray, stoic eyes stared out of the picture,
his chiseled, handsome features set heavily in a non-smile. Sandy blonde
hair hung slightly into his face, and he leaned slightly away from the
woman. Behind them, a palace loomed, casting a dark shadow over the couple
despite the charming smile of the young woman.
The second picture's mood was entirely different. Here, the same
young woman sat atop a picnic table in a tank top and shorts, her
sunglasses resting on her head as she grinned into the camera, completely
relaxed and happy. Beside her stood a slightly older man, his brown hair
and well-kept goatee slightly spotted with gray, laugh lines creasing
his face. But he was smiling just as brightly as the young woman,
winking at the camera as his two large fingers formed "bunny ears" behind
her head.
Minako sighed, biting her lower lip as she stared down at the
two photographs. She had nearly forgotten the emotions that they brought
spiraling forth, the pain and the joy and -
"Ano, who are they?" The question from her curious, odango-headed
friend caught her off guard, and blue eyes blinked. "The woman, and the
two men, I mean."
"Oh, right." Minako laughed self-consciously, pointing quickly to
the second of the two photos. "That's my mother, Aino Emi, when she was
about my age," she explained, her fingernail landing directly on the
forehead of the wavy-haired blonde. "She'd just moved to England for the
first time. And this is Roger Hughes. Roger-chan, I as call him. He was
her very first agent."
Usagi's brow furrowed slightly and she frowned. "But then who's
the other man?" she asked softly, pointing to the upper picture, the
picture in shadow. Her frown deepened. "He kinda looks like you,
actually," she added after a slight pause.
Aino Minako closed the photo album quickly and turned her back to
the other girl, rising to set it in one of the few still-opened boxes
in the room. "His name is Eric MacLeod," she answered quietly, her voice
quivering slightly. "I've only met him a few times, but everyone always
told me that when I did meet him. 'Oh, Minako, you look so much like
him!' Personally, I always thought that I looked like okaa-san, but..."
"Minako?"
She shoved the photo album down, grabbing the nearest item - a
Sailor V doll that her mother had bought her the previous Christmas - and
covering it. Now, suddenly, she realized exactly why the photo album was
under the bed in the first place.
"And it's natural that he'd look like me." Salt touched her lips,
but she hardly cared. Her fingers gripped the edge of the box, white-
knuckled. Angry. "He's my father."
DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and all trappings thereof belong to Naoko
Takeuchi. This particular storyline belongs to Kate Butler, (c) 2003-2004.