***********
Believe In Yourself
Part 5/Epilogue
By: Usa and Hoho
Disclaimer in Part 1
************
Rei stood outside the Hikawa Shrine with Ami, Makoto and Minako. They were in a heated discussion about Usagi.
"I just don't know what to think. I never thought Usagi would do something like that, but still, her passing a test is pretty outrageous. I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust her again," Rei said, sitting down after finishing her chores.
Makoto nodded slightly. "Still, I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt. Usagi-chan can achieve things once she puts her mind to it."
"Yeah," Minako agreed. "We haven't really seen her since the day before the test. Maybe she really was studying. We won't know that until we ask her."
Ami looked up from the book she had been reading, of course. "I agree. We should really talk to Usagi-chan about it before getting too angry, Rei-chan. However, when I talked to her, she just ran away."
Rei's face turned beet red. Only Minako knew about the outburst she had given Usagi, but knew that somehow, that last comment was directed at her.
"I have good reason to be angry at Usagi. I mean, she's always late, she's clumsy, she's ditzy, she eats like a pig, she's bad in school..." Rei rattled off everything bad about Usagi that she could, counting off on her fingers with each quality.
Rei had no idea that Usagi was standing on the stairs. A few more steps and the miko would have seen her. The only one who did was Ami. She saw Usagi's pigtails fly through the air as the young girl ran back down.
Ami gasped suddenly, catching the others completely by surprise. "Ami-chan, what's wrong?" Rei asked, noticing the frightened look on her face. Ami didn't answer, but threw down her book and run down the stairs without a word.
Makoto and Minako followed Ami and nearly fell over when they realized why their blue-haired friend had gasped.
Rei simply stared for a moment, then followed, taking her time. "So what's all the fuss ab-" When she saw Usagi running off in the distance, she gasped as well, realizing what she had just done. "Shimatta..." She ran as well, catching up with her friends in a split second.
Usagi heard them calling her name. What could they possibly want? They had been tearing her apart... *Iie, Rei-chan had been,* Usagi thought to herself. She slowed down a bit and turned to face them, holding in her tears as best she could. "Minna..."
Ami, Makoto, and Minako came to stop in front of Usagi. Rei, however, couldn't stop and slammed into Minako, who in turn, slammed into Makoto, then Ami, and finally all five girls were in a heap on the ground.
Usagi pushed them off her and stood up. The tears she had attempted to hold in were falling at a fast pace now. "What do you guys want? To say more hurtful things to me?"
Ami shook her head. "No, Usagi-chan! We just wanted to talk to you about... our little misunderstanding. I, myself, would like to apologize. What about you, minna?" Ami turned to face the other three girls.
Minako and Makoto nodded silently. They were afraid Usagi might reject them. "Of course I forgive you, minna," Usagi replied with a smile. It faded when she looked at Rei. "But, Rei-chan... what you said just now... I-I don't know if I can forgive you."
Rei's face contorted into a look of anger, but everyone noticed the tears and the look of sadness in her eyes. "Usagi-chan...." She looked away, trying not to show her tears. Everyone heard her mumble something under her breath. "G-gomen, Usagi... I just..."
"Just what? Decided that I'm a klutz, a crybaby, a DUMBASS that I couldn't possibly pass a test all by myself!" Usagi screamed.
Rei couldn't answer back, but just walked away from the group, mumbling something about having chores to do back at the shrine. When she was ten steps away she started running, tears in her eyes.
Makoto put a hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Usagi-chan, are you sure you can't forgive her? You know how Rei-chan is. She always picks on you but she loves you as much as we all do."
"I don't know what to think anymore, Mako-chan. The only one who believed me from the start was Mamo-chan. Why is it that must it be some sort of miracle for Tsukino Usagi to pass a test?? Why do I have to prove myself to people? Especially to people I care about?"
"Usagi-chan," Minako spoke up. "I know exactly how you feel. My grades are less then stellar and it hurts for someone to wonder if you can do any better and not believe you can."
"All I can say is that I know you couldn't have cheated. You're just not that kind of person, Usagi-chan, and I really had no reason to suspect you of anything..." Ami whispered.
"Arigatou, Ami-chan. You don't know what it means to me to hear you say that."
"Gomen Usagi-chan," Makoto said. "I knew deep in my hear that you could do it if you put your mind to it." She gave her smaller friend a hug.
"Arigatou, Mako-chan," Usagi responded. She then turned to Minako. "Arigatou."
************
Meanwhile, Rei was back at the shrine, sitting in a tree with Phobos and Deimos. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on them. She was thinking hard about what she had said earlier, wishing she hadn't been such an idiot. She tried to console herself, but her conscience fought back.
*...it's not MY fault Usagi's a baka! It's not my fault, so why worry? No... It wasn't nice to say those things in the first place... oh, why am I acting like this?* She sighed. *Usagi's not that bad a person... no, she's a great friend! Why am I being such an idiot? Just... go say you're sorry, Rei. Make her feel better,* she told herself. She was so caught up in her muddle of thoughts, she didn't notice someone standing under her.
**
Usagi arrived at Hikawa Shrine, looking for any sign of Rei. *Where could she be?* she wondered with a sigh. "Rei-chan... gomen ne..." Just as Usagi was about to leave, someone called her name.
Rei jumped from the tree branch and landed near her pigtailed friend. Her eyes were dim. "Usagi-chan..."
Usagi screamed so loud that Phobos and Deimos flew out of the tree. Rei's eyes followed the two birds. She watched them perch on the roof of the shrine. "Usagi-chan, I just wanted to say that, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry for not trusting you. I know you probably won't be able to forgive me, but maybe it's for the best if you don't. I don't want to make your life any worse than I have already."
Usagi knew she had forgiven Rei the minute she started running back to the shrine. Instead of replying, she gave the miko and hug and began crying... *again...* she thought.
Rei hugged back and smiled, glad that her friend had forgiven her - or so it seemed. "Usagi, why don't we go find minna? They're probably looking for us..." Rei said quietly.
"Not right now, Rei-chan. I want to sit with you for a while... if that's okay."
Rei smiled. "Hai, that's okay."
**
The two friends sat together in the doorway of Rei's room. "Rei-chan, I know I'm not very smart when it comes to certain things..." Usagi began.
Rei looked guilty. "Usagi-chan."
Usagi held up her hand. "It's not your fault I'm baka. I guess I just wasn't meant to be a doctor like Ami-chan... Come to think of I'm not good at much of anything except falling. Ne, is there an Olympic sport called Klutzing Out?"
Rei smiled. "It may be true sometimes, but I know that you're a very smart and very strong person. You just... haven't realized your true potential for greatness yet, I guess. Once you find it, you'll know to put it to good use, I'm sure."
"Do you really think so?" Usagi asked, her eyes filled with hope.
Rei nodded. "Of course, Usagi." She looked Usagi in the eyes. "And I'm not joking."
Usagi smiled wildly. "Arigatou, Rei-chan!"
EPILOGUE
A week later, Usagi left her math class with a huge grin on her face. It was the first time she ever passed a math test. True, she only got a 90, but that was better than a 9!
Ami ran up to Usagi after the math class. "So, how did it go, Usagi-chan?"
Usagi held up her paper. She carefully hid the zero just to see Ami's face. "Here it is, Ami-chan..."
Ami's eyes widened. "Usagi-chan... I..."
"Usagi-chan, congratulations on your test!" Umino shouted. "Ami-san, you should be really proud of your friend."
Ami looked surprised. "What was THAT all about?"
"This!" Usagi moved her finger from the zero.
Ami looked at the mark again. Her face lit up. "Usagi-chan, you passed! That's wonderful!" Usagi found herself being hugged violently by Ami.
"Am...i-chan..." Usagi gasped. Ami stopped a minute, still squeezing her. "Air!"
"Oh, right," Ami said sheepishly, letting go suddenly. "Ahem... what I meant to say is, congratulations! We'll have to tell minna!"
Usagi nodded excitedly. "I can't wait to tell Mamo-chan! He said that if I passed, he'd take me out to dinner and then we'd spend some quiet time at his apartment in front of the fireplace!"
Ami smiled. "That's great! I knew you could do it if you tried."
Makoto bounded up to them. "Usagi-chan! Congratulations! Umino-kun just told me! I am so proud of you!"
"Mou, that baka! Can't he ever let anyone enjoy their success without him blurting it out first?" Usagi muttered. "Arigatou, Mako-chan."
Miss Haruna walked out of the classroom and noticed Usagi talking to Ami and Makoto. She smiled and walked over to Usagi. "Tsukino-san, I just wanted to say congratulations on your test." Lowering her voice, she added, "I'm also sorry about our... misundertanding. I assure you, it won't happen again."
Usagi nodded. "Arigatou, Sensei. From now on, I'll be sure to try my hardest!"
Miss Haruna laughed. "Good idea." Looking at her watch, her eyes widened. "Sorry I can't stay longer, but I have an important meeting with the other teachers. Ja ne," she said, giving the three girls a friendly glance over her shoulder before running off. Obviously, she was late.
Ami laughed. "I guess everyone's late sometimes, even teachers."
The other joined her. Usagi was so happy that she almost didn't know what to do with herself. It felt so wonderful to pass not one, but two tests! She smiled. In the future, Usagi was going to be someone.
Believe In Yourself
Part 5/Epilogue
By: Usa and Hoho
Disclaimer in Part 1
************
Rei stood outside the Hikawa Shrine with Ami, Makoto and Minako. They were in a heated discussion about Usagi.
"I just don't know what to think. I never thought Usagi would do something like that, but still, her passing a test is pretty outrageous. I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust her again," Rei said, sitting down after finishing her chores.
Makoto nodded slightly. "Still, I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt. Usagi-chan can achieve things once she puts her mind to it."
"Yeah," Minako agreed. "We haven't really seen her since the day before the test. Maybe she really was studying. We won't know that until we ask her."
Ami looked up from the book she had been reading, of course. "I agree. We should really talk to Usagi-chan about it before getting too angry, Rei-chan. However, when I talked to her, she just ran away."
Rei's face turned beet red. Only Minako knew about the outburst she had given Usagi, but knew that somehow, that last comment was directed at her.
"I have good reason to be angry at Usagi. I mean, she's always late, she's clumsy, she's ditzy, she eats like a pig, she's bad in school..." Rei rattled off everything bad about Usagi that she could, counting off on her fingers with each quality.
Rei had no idea that Usagi was standing on the stairs. A few more steps and the miko would have seen her. The only one who did was Ami. She saw Usagi's pigtails fly through the air as the young girl ran back down.
Ami gasped suddenly, catching the others completely by surprise. "Ami-chan, what's wrong?" Rei asked, noticing the frightened look on her face. Ami didn't answer, but threw down her book and run down the stairs without a word.
Makoto and Minako followed Ami and nearly fell over when they realized why their blue-haired friend had gasped.
Rei simply stared for a moment, then followed, taking her time. "So what's all the fuss ab-" When she saw Usagi running off in the distance, she gasped as well, realizing what she had just done. "Shimatta..." She ran as well, catching up with her friends in a split second.
Usagi heard them calling her name. What could they possibly want? They had been tearing her apart... *Iie, Rei-chan had been,* Usagi thought to herself. She slowed down a bit and turned to face them, holding in her tears as best she could. "Minna..."
Ami, Makoto, and Minako came to stop in front of Usagi. Rei, however, couldn't stop and slammed into Minako, who in turn, slammed into Makoto, then Ami, and finally all five girls were in a heap on the ground.
Usagi pushed them off her and stood up. The tears she had attempted to hold in were falling at a fast pace now. "What do you guys want? To say more hurtful things to me?"
Ami shook her head. "No, Usagi-chan! We just wanted to talk to you about... our little misunderstanding. I, myself, would like to apologize. What about you, minna?" Ami turned to face the other three girls.
Minako and Makoto nodded silently. They were afraid Usagi might reject them. "Of course I forgive you, minna," Usagi replied with a smile. It faded when she looked at Rei. "But, Rei-chan... what you said just now... I-I don't know if I can forgive you."
Rei's face contorted into a look of anger, but everyone noticed the tears and the look of sadness in her eyes. "Usagi-chan...." She looked away, trying not to show her tears. Everyone heard her mumble something under her breath. "G-gomen, Usagi... I just..."
"Just what? Decided that I'm a klutz, a crybaby, a DUMBASS that I couldn't possibly pass a test all by myself!" Usagi screamed.
Rei couldn't answer back, but just walked away from the group, mumbling something about having chores to do back at the shrine. When she was ten steps away she started running, tears in her eyes.
Makoto put a hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Usagi-chan, are you sure you can't forgive her? You know how Rei-chan is. She always picks on you but she loves you as much as we all do."
"I don't know what to think anymore, Mako-chan. The only one who believed me from the start was Mamo-chan. Why is it that must it be some sort of miracle for Tsukino Usagi to pass a test?? Why do I have to prove myself to people? Especially to people I care about?"
"Usagi-chan," Minako spoke up. "I know exactly how you feel. My grades are less then stellar and it hurts for someone to wonder if you can do any better and not believe you can."
"All I can say is that I know you couldn't have cheated. You're just not that kind of person, Usagi-chan, and I really had no reason to suspect you of anything..." Ami whispered.
"Arigatou, Ami-chan. You don't know what it means to me to hear you say that."
"Gomen Usagi-chan," Makoto said. "I knew deep in my hear that you could do it if you put your mind to it." She gave her smaller friend a hug.
"Arigatou, Mako-chan," Usagi responded. She then turned to Minako. "Arigatou."
************
Meanwhile, Rei was back at the shrine, sitting in a tree with Phobos and Deimos. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on them. She was thinking hard about what she had said earlier, wishing she hadn't been such an idiot. She tried to console herself, but her conscience fought back.
*...it's not MY fault Usagi's a baka! It's not my fault, so why worry? No... It wasn't nice to say those things in the first place... oh, why am I acting like this?* She sighed. *Usagi's not that bad a person... no, she's a great friend! Why am I being such an idiot? Just... go say you're sorry, Rei. Make her feel better,* she told herself. She was so caught up in her muddle of thoughts, she didn't notice someone standing under her.
**
Usagi arrived at Hikawa Shrine, looking for any sign of Rei. *Where could she be?* she wondered with a sigh. "Rei-chan... gomen ne..." Just as Usagi was about to leave, someone called her name.
Rei jumped from the tree branch and landed near her pigtailed friend. Her eyes were dim. "Usagi-chan..."
Usagi screamed so loud that Phobos and Deimos flew out of the tree. Rei's eyes followed the two birds. She watched them perch on the roof of the shrine. "Usagi-chan, I just wanted to say that, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry for not trusting you. I know you probably won't be able to forgive me, but maybe it's for the best if you don't. I don't want to make your life any worse than I have already."
Usagi knew she had forgiven Rei the minute she started running back to the shrine. Instead of replying, she gave the miko and hug and began crying... *again...* she thought.
Rei hugged back and smiled, glad that her friend had forgiven her - or so it seemed. "Usagi, why don't we go find minna? They're probably looking for us..." Rei said quietly.
"Not right now, Rei-chan. I want to sit with you for a while... if that's okay."
Rei smiled. "Hai, that's okay."
**
The two friends sat together in the doorway of Rei's room. "Rei-chan, I know I'm not very smart when it comes to certain things..." Usagi began.
Rei looked guilty. "Usagi-chan."
Usagi held up her hand. "It's not your fault I'm baka. I guess I just wasn't meant to be a doctor like Ami-chan... Come to think of I'm not good at much of anything except falling. Ne, is there an Olympic sport called Klutzing Out?"
Rei smiled. "It may be true sometimes, but I know that you're a very smart and very strong person. You just... haven't realized your true potential for greatness yet, I guess. Once you find it, you'll know to put it to good use, I'm sure."
"Do you really think so?" Usagi asked, her eyes filled with hope.
Rei nodded. "Of course, Usagi." She looked Usagi in the eyes. "And I'm not joking."
Usagi smiled wildly. "Arigatou, Rei-chan!"
EPILOGUE
A week later, Usagi left her math class with a huge grin on her face. It was the first time she ever passed a math test. True, she only got a 90, but that was better than a 9!
Ami ran up to Usagi after the math class. "So, how did it go, Usagi-chan?"
Usagi held up her paper. She carefully hid the zero just to see Ami's face. "Here it is, Ami-chan..."
Ami's eyes widened. "Usagi-chan... I..."
"Usagi-chan, congratulations on your test!" Umino shouted. "Ami-san, you should be really proud of your friend."
Ami looked surprised. "What was THAT all about?"
"This!" Usagi moved her finger from the zero.
Ami looked at the mark again. Her face lit up. "Usagi-chan, you passed! That's wonderful!" Usagi found herself being hugged violently by Ami.
"Am...i-chan..." Usagi gasped. Ami stopped a minute, still squeezing her. "Air!"
"Oh, right," Ami said sheepishly, letting go suddenly. "Ahem... what I meant to say is, congratulations! We'll have to tell minna!"
Usagi nodded excitedly. "I can't wait to tell Mamo-chan! He said that if I passed, he'd take me out to dinner and then we'd spend some quiet time at his apartment in front of the fireplace!"
Ami smiled. "That's great! I knew you could do it if you tried."
Makoto bounded up to them. "Usagi-chan! Congratulations! Umino-kun just told me! I am so proud of you!"
"Mou, that baka! Can't he ever let anyone enjoy their success without him blurting it out first?" Usagi muttered. "Arigatou, Mako-chan."
Miss Haruna walked out of the classroom and noticed Usagi talking to Ami and Makoto. She smiled and walked over to Usagi. "Tsukino-san, I just wanted to say congratulations on your test." Lowering her voice, she added, "I'm also sorry about our... misundertanding. I assure you, it won't happen again."
Usagi nodded. "Arigatou, Sensei. From now on, I'll be sure to try my hardest!"
Miss Haruna laughed. "Good idea." Looking at her watch, her eyes widened. "Sorry I can't stay longer, but I have an important meeting with the other teachers. Ja ne," she said, giving the three girls a friendly glance over her shoulder before running off. Obviously, she was late.
Ami laughed. "I guess everyone's late sometimes, even teachers."
The other joined her. Usagi was so happy that she almost didn't know what to do with herself. It felt so wonderful to pass not one, but two tests! She smiled. In the future, Usagi was going to be someone.