The strongest drug
Epilogue: The strongest drug
"I can't believe you dirtied my skirt with your bloody chocolate ice cream!"
"But..."
"MY skirt!"
"You are so mean... wah!!!"
It was very loud at the race track. Right now the final race was taking part, the cars on the race track speeded up once more. This race was important. Today it would show if the old champion would win again or if he would be defeated for the first time in four years, by a newcomer who came to the sport one year ago and won every race since then.
It was in the middle of summer, a very hot summer in Japan. So a lot of people ate ice cream and tried to find a shadowy place near the track. Just like two young women who went through the arrays of excited fans. Those fans were real fans. They were screaming, loudly. But those two women were even louder.
"Why can't you take care of other people? Just once? Why are you always so clumsy, Usagi?"
"Why are you always so mean to me, Rei?"
"I am not mean, I am honest."
"Wah!!!"
Every race motor was silent in comparison to the crying of the younger woman. Her long hairs were bound to odangos and almost touched the ground while she walked. The other young woman who was wearing a traditional priestess kimono only rolled her eyes and handled her a handkerchief.
"Try to calm down, okay? I am pretty sure that I can wash my skirt somehow to get it clean again. Please, I didn't mean it that way. Stop crying, okay?" she pleaded and sighed deeply as the blonde blew her nose even louder. "What should Michiru think of us?"
"She'll think that you were mean again!"
"No, she'll be embarrassed that her future queen is a cry baby!"
"I am nooowahaaaaa!"
The priestess only rolled her eyes and went over to the shadow waving at them. Smiling at them happily.
Of course she's smiling. Her girlfriend will surely win the race.
Rei turned her head and looked down at the cars racing along the track. It was now three years that they got to know each other. First as senshi and as opponents, later on as allies and finally as good friends. Together they searched for the talismans and were able to find them - together. Although one of their senshi were still missing, even after that long time when Sailor Moon and her team started another search for her but couldn't find her, they were able to unite the talismans, to form the grail and to rescue the earth. It was just last month that Sailor Moon gave up and declared that Sailor Uranus was probably not reborn with them and that it was senseless to search her any longer. Even Sailor Pluto, always sceptical, still a little bit unsure about the future queen's decision, agreed and so they silently decided to put away the topic >Third outer senshi< down. They could defend the earth without her, so there was no need to waste their time any longer.
There are enough senshi left. Together we are strong.
Rei snickered as Usagi stumbled over her own skirt and almost fell down.
Hai, we are enough crazy senshi. We all.
Quickly she grabbed for Usagi's right hand to hold her back from falling. The blonde lost her ice cream, but before she could protest, Michiru saw them and came towards them.
"Hello Usagi, hello Rei. Nice that you could come." She smiled, always looking with half of her mind to the race track. She knew that it was her girlfriend's destiny. She knew that Haruka knew how to handle a fast race car and she knew that her Ruka would beat them all, but still there were some fears left what could happen if there would be an accident.
Of course Haruka would stop racing any moment when Michiru would ask her to, but Michiru wouldn't. It was Haruka's greatest joy to sit behind such a fast car and to see her love happy was Michiru's greatest luck.
"Looks like she's winning."
"Hai." Michiru leaded the two women towards the box of her girlfriend's team. There were more shadow and less people. "Do you want something to drink?"
"Would be great!" Usagi's big, blue eyes looked greedy at the lemonade and Rei had to argue with her at the very instant.
"A queen shouldn't be that greedy."
"I am not greedy!"
"Sure you are."
"Wah..."
Michiru watched them in silence, trying not to giggle too loud. She was very happy that they became friends after the first fights and the first arguments. Especially Setsuna didn't trust them. Not at all. But their sceptical behaviours changed over the years. Just like so much more changed.
Michiru turned away from the two arguing senshi and looked out to the race track. Watching her Ruka racing like a wind goddess over the asphalt. Like the senshi she never became, although even Sailor Moon believed to feel the wind being her destiny.
It's alike if you are a senshi. You are my soul mate, love. That's all what counts to me.
Michiru smiled and waved her hands as the cars took the final lap. Still Haruka was in the leading position and it didn't look like her opponent, the former formula one champion, would overtake her on the last meters.
Hai, a lot happened during the past years. They finished school and while Michiru studied music and gave a lot of concerts - mostly for ill children and homeless people - Haruka discovered her preferences in fast cars. Just like Hotaru discovered her love for water. The soon the little girl could walk, she always ran towards the swimming pool. Surely because of Michiru's influence. Now she was almost four years old and the best swimmer in her family.
"Mommy!"
Michiru's smile widened as she turned around and went automatically on her knees. The next moment her arms were full with a lively girl. Shoulder long, dark hairs surrounded a redden face as Michiru raised her daughter and swirled her through the air.
"That's great, mommy!" laughed the little girl and smiled with a brown mouth down to her. Surely she had another chocolate ice cream. No, Michiru wouldn't be angry with the weak aunt who couldn't resist those pleading, green eyes. Hotaru was a real daredevil and she knew that she could achieve a lot with an innocent look and a pleading word.
For a brief moment Michiru saw a small baby before her. Being pale and having difficulties to breathe. A very ill child no one wanted to give a second chance, until her mother made a contract with the devil. A very beautiful devil who never harmed her, only tickled her often. With a lot of love.
"That's daddy!" shouted Hotaru and the vision of the weak baby was gone. Now Michiru was holding a strong and very wild tomboy in her arms. Pointing over with dirtied hands to the red Ferrari which just crossed the finish line - as winner, of course.
"Yeah! Victory!!!" screamed the little girl and waved her legs excitedly. It was clear that she wanted to be on her feet and to run over to her daddy. But Michiru held her tight. Still there were too many cars outside, she didn't want her daughter to get harmed.
"So, now we have a formula one champion in our family."
Michiru shrugged her shoulders and returned Elza's grin. Her hairs were as fire red as ever, but now they touched her shoulders. It was one of her strange bets she sometimes had with Setsuna and now she had to let growing her hairs for a year. She already managed five months.
"Hope you are not jealous, you fast sportswoman."
"Me? No. I don't need any cars to be fast." Elza grinned even wider and raised her camera to take some photos. She went into a training camp right after school and became a known sportswoman. She was the fasted athletic in her team and next year she wanted to be qualified for Olympia.
"Don't boast so much, Elza-chan." Snickered Setsuna who walked slowly behind the young woman. It was too hot for her. The sun was burning and she had some difficulties to breathe. Last summer she didn't have such problems, especially not with Elza jumping around like a young deer while she felt like an old walrus. Well, but last year had been different. Right? Right.
"I would never, Sissy-chan." Smirked Elza but her smile became more tender as she went back to her fiancée and helped her to sit down. Then she took care for cold lemonade and tried to give her some fresh wind with a sport magazine she always carried around with her.
"Hey, you shouldn't run so fast, you know that, Sissy-chan. Everything alright?"
"I shouldn't run fast? Hey, but I didn't want to lose you out of sight!"
"I had been too fast?" Elza blinked and Michiru had to giggle as she saw the innocent expression there, knowing that her older sister couldn't be angry any longer after she had seen into sparkling blue eyes.
"Oh, no problem. I'll simply borrow Haruka's car, then I'll have a chance, you whirlwind."
"Are you still allowed to drive a car?"
"Hey, I am NOT ill!"
"But you are pregnant."
"Just in the seventeenth week! Here, you can hardly see anything! I am still very mobile!"
"I know." Grinned Elza diabolically and stroked tenderly over Setsuna's belly. If you looked closer you could see that it grew over the past months. "Hey, little one, guess I should be more patient with your mommy, huh?" she talked to the unborn baby and laid her head on Setsuna's belly as she felt slim fingers running through her fire red hairs. "Gomen, Sissy-chan. I didn't mean to stress you."
"I know, Elza-chan. I know."
Michiru wanted to say something her sister and her future sister-in-law, but Hotaru finally managed to escape her arms and ran over the hot asphalt. Still hearing Rei and Usagi argue, Michiru spun around to fetch her daughter, but suddenly Haruka stood there, catching a wild tomboy who flew into her arms. Again Hotaru was swirled through the air and again she enjoyed it laughing.
"Hey, my little princess." Laughed Haruka and shook some of her wet hairs out of her reddened face. Her sea green eyes sparkled with happiness as she let Hotaru down and kissed his girlfriend tenderly.
"Oh... champagne. What a nice taste." Joked Michiru and giggled as Haruka embraced her with her free arm, because Hotaru was suddenly very interested in the helmet she held in the other one.
"I told them that it's not necessary, but they simply wanted to splash with."
"Give in, you liked it."
Haruka looked at her through her soft eyelashes and gave her another kiss.
"You know me too well, Michi-chan." She whispered. "But a shower with you is better. Hope you know that." They both grinned at each other, then Haruka bowed down and helped Hotaru to put on the helmet. Of course it was too big. And of course Elza was there right now to take some more photos.
Of a happy family.
A little car racer with a too wide helmet was swirled around by a tall car racer without a helmet while the others stood around, laughing.
>There're persons out there who need you. Who will love you with all consequences.<
You have been right, Hika-chan. As you've always been right. Do you see them, Hika-chan? My friends? My girlfriend? My daughter? Do you see them from above, Hika-chan?
They are my family.
Haruka held Hotaru tight who seemed to enjoy the helmet and the attention she got with it. There were some reporters, taking other pictures, but Haruka didn't see them. She only saw the others, saw her family who meant the most in her life.
Finally Setsuna rose and declared that she was hungry. Very hungry, because Elza's child in her was as greedy as Elza herself. The red haired girl pouted - but only for a moment - then they all decided to go inside. To celebrate the big event and simply to have a good time.
Haruka just turned for one last time and looked up to the cloudless sky, believing to see a tiny star sparkling beneath the burning sun.
Arigato, Hika-chan. For everything.
***
"Why do children always have to be born in the middle of the night?" Haruka yawned slightly and looked at her watch. Right now she was driving in high speed over the highway of Tokyo to get to the hospital in time. Elza just called them up, not being able to say a single sentence that would have made sense. But Haruka and Michiru knew at the very instant what happened. Setsuna's belly grew incredibly big over the past weeks and the birth was near. Still they didn't know if she awaited a little boy or a little girl. Every time the senshi of the time went to the doctor, the baby showed them their back so that they had no chance to see the gender. Setsuna was a little bit upset, but Elza declared that she wanted to have a healthy child, the rest was alike to her.
"Because later on they'll hardly ever have the chance again to stay up so late in the night." Snickered Michiru and thought of Hotaru who didn't want to go to bed early in the evening these days. She preferred to hear another fair tale, told by her beloved daddy. Sometimes Haruka couldn't resist... but after the four story even she had to see that nothing could make little Hotaru tired if the little girl didn't want to sleep.
Right now the small daredevil was at home. Rei was baby sitting her. The priestess only declared that she hated hospitals and that someone had to take care of Hotaru and offered her help.
"Elza's surely a total wrack."
"Just like Sissy." Michiru giggled and looked over to her girlfriend. "Sissy told me last week that Elza has to have the next baby or they won't have any more children at all."
"Can imagine." Haruka grinned at the vision of a raging Setsuna who wanted to catch Elza but couldn't, because her big belly was always in her way. "But that's normal. There had been times when I had been pregnant with Hotaru when I hated the whole world, too."
Shortly they exchanged glances, knowing that Haruka had her reasons to hate the whole world while Hotaru was on her way. Setsuna only had some problems with her snapping hormones.
"Ruka! Watch out! That's not the race track!" shouted Michiru suddenly as a big shadow jumped on the street. Haruka braked hard and she was lucky to have her racing skills, so nothing really bad happened. The car slipped across the road and back, but that was all.
"Nani? What was that?" whispered Haruka and shook her head, turning over to her girlfriend. "Are you okay, Michi-chan? Are you hurt?"
"Hai, everything alright, Ruka." Michiru opened the door and Haruka could see a golden staff sparkling in her hands as she left the car.
"Moment!" Haruka rose, too, and cursed as she hurt her head on the car's doorframe. "What do you think you are doing?"
"That hadn't been a deer and not a fox. That had been a youma! I can feel it. The sea's raging again."
"Again?" Haruka looked around, sceptically. "But Sailor Moon defeated the last youmas two years ago, right? You found the talismans and the grail and could ban the evil."
"That's what I thought, too." Michiru raised her henshin to transform, but was held back by her girlfriend. Slowly she turned around and faced Haruka confused.
"Don't even try it, Michi. You are all alone, Sailor Moon's far away. You know how strong those youmas can be."
"But we can't simply let him walk free! He's able to kill people. Innocent people!"
"That's why we are going to talk to Usagi and the others - in hospital. Together you're surly able to defeat him..." Michiru wanted to walk away, but Haruka held her tight. "I won't let anything happen to you, Michi-chan. I mean it! Maybe I am not a senshi, but I am your girlfriend and I tell you to come with me and to talk to the others first before you harm yourself."
"I know what I am doing."
"Like you did in front of the opera? When I had that flu three years ago?"
For a moment there was silence and Michiru looked deeply into worried green eyes. Then she sighed and lowered her henshin again.
"Okay, Ruka. Guess you are right. Let's..."
She couldn't finish her sentence, because the youma appeared suddenly out of the darkness, attacking them with sharp knifes. He was one of the strong species. On of the most evil ones. He wiped away Sailor Neptune's attack like a troublesome fly and aimed his knifes at her. Ready to kill her. Or at least to try it. Haruka knew that he would be successful, because Michiru wasn't able to defeat it. Not all alone.
We need to call Usagi!
We need Sailor Moon to defeat it!
Haruka glanced over at Sailor Neptune who set free another deep submerge, but her spell failed. Again.
I need to rescue Michi-chan first!
Michiru raised protecting her hands and stared shocked at the youma who laughed about her attack. Her strong attack that looked so weak suddenly.
Nani?
The knifes sparkled dangerously and Michiru wondered how she should defeat them. Without Sailor Moon's, without anyone else's help.
I have to protect Ruka as well...
Just as the youma raised his hands to throw his knifes, a planet hit him and he screamed tortured.
Nani?
It had been a golden planet. None of the other senshi had a golden planet. Michiru's was blue, Setsuna's green, Hotaru was still too young to fight. The inner senshi had other weapons, no planets at all.
Nani?
"Michi?" Haruka's voice was unsure and as Michiru turned around to look at her girlfriend, she saw what was confusing her. Because behind her there stood no Haruka, but Sailor Uranus.
***
End
Okay, there are some more disclaimers necessary:
The song Haruka sings for little Hotaru while bathing her is "The last unicorn" from that great animation picture music soundtrack, sung by "America". "Lullabye" is the name of the song Michiru sings for Hotaru to make her sleep better. It belongs to "Billy Joel". Haruka and Michiru dance to the rhythm of "Can you feel the love tonight" from Disney's "Lion King", written and performed by "Elton John". And last but not least, the song Haruka writes for Michiru to explain her feelings is "Crucify" by "Tori Amos".
*takes a deep breath*
I can't believe that I really finished this story. Last year in autumn (that means in 2001, because it took quite a long time uploading all those parts at hamena.org) when I started it, it had been just a small idea. I wrote the first four chapters within three months, just like I always do with bigger stories.
Then a lot changed and I have to give in that I didn't write at it for almost half a year. It's not that I had no fun writing any longer, but somehow I had other things in mind than sitting down and writing some invented stuff. The last half year had been chaos and I had to clear my mind first, before I could sit down and write more than just five or ten pages.
This story is for Link who begged me all the time to continue and to finish it, because she knows my habit that no one is allowed to read a story of mine as long as it's not finished. I hope you like the result and if I'll ever be in the mood again like stopping a story at page 165, please remember me that you want to read it, no matter what rule I might break in this one ^-^.
This story is also for Adriann, Laura, and Dani. Thank you for your friendship. There had been times during the past months when I didn't know what I should have done without your nice, comforting, and funny mails.
*big hug*
Arigato!
Hm... and for the rest out there, thank you for reading again such a long story. *shrugs helplessly her shoulders* I gave up cutting any ideas long ago. It's the first story that has more than 200 pages on my typing programme. A new record *opens a champagne bottle and splashes around with it* Gomen that I can't say anything more intelligent to that story, but I started it so many months ago and somehow the words I wrote in the beginning are so strange to me now - and after needing almost one year uploading it, they are even stranger.
It was just an idea I got while listening to old cassette tapes. I have no idea if I could picture the problems with drugs and AIDS good enough, I never took any drugs (does alcohol counts? *sweatdrop*). If I did any mistakes or if there are some wrong details, then I am sorry. Guess I thought too much about that topic after watching a special movie again (does anyone knows "Philadelphia"? Watch it! It's worth it!) and guess I'll never get tired writing about friendship and family. Because no matter how down you are, you are able to go through every doubt, through every hell, as long as there are still persons out there who love and who support you.
This story took part at the "Sailor Moon Fanfiction Competition of the Animexx 2003" (www.animexx.de) and I even succeeded by reaching the 2nd place (after all, it's a German page, this story was in English, thanks again for the people who accepted this long, English story ^-^''').
Thanks for reading.
April Eagle
Writing: September 2001 -July 2002
