Chapter 9- Two Dilemmas
That night, Ami stumbled into her apartment. Her breath came out in spurts. Ami clutched her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly. What was wrong with her?
“Uhh…” Ami clutched her stomach. She blanched, and ran to the bathroom.
When she shakily came back to the living room, she looked around and plopped onto her favorite armchair, thinking. She didn’t remember anything of what had happened after she was stuck in traffic…
She fiddled with her cell phone. She had several missed calls. From “Usagi” again. She scowled.
Ami grabbed her TV remote and the TV screen came to life. The news was on…
“Ah, no!” Ami cried. Somehow, she forgot to go to the crime scene! Ami hung her head in shame.
She watched further and discovered that more than a quarter of the citizens of Tokyo were acting hostile. The police were having a hard time restoring order. Ami watched the grim report with worry in her eyes.
She worried that she might lose her job. Running away from her duty first and then forgetting her duty later were serious. She hoped that Chief Kana would forgive her for her slipups.
Ami turned off her television and got ready for bed. Halfway through brushing her teeth, nausea set in again. She now had a pounding headache. Sleep… Yes, sleep would help her feel better…
She awoke the next day bright and early, fully rested. However, as soon as she climbed out of bed, nausea returned to her yet again, and her mind reeled. She returned shaking from the bathroom once again.
Ami managed to change and get to work. When she arrived, her boss seemed to have forgiven her. That is, he seemed so stressed that perhaps he even forgot about her. She was assigned to patrol Juban.
She climbed out of her cruiser and was immediately forced to restore order, protecting a married couple from a rampaging, frightened crowd. After that, she patrolled the streets, occasionally having to use her gun as a reinforcement of her occupation. She never fired though- she believed that the bullets were reserved solely for extremely difficult individuals.
Ami felt a presence behind her, and her police instincts took over. She whipped around and pointed her gun, her hands steady, at… a woman her age.
She was a petite woman with golden hair. Her hair was in an unusual style- two buns on each side of her head… They reminded Ami of odango. Something about her made Ami’s mind soupy.
“…Ami-chan?”
“Who…?”
“It’s Usagi. Your friend Usagi.”
Once again, Ami grew angry. “Usagi, eh? I told you to leave me alone.”
The woman’s cerulean eyes shone brightly and a sparkling tear slipped down her cheek. “Ami-chan, please…”
“I said-”
“It’s Leiko-san, isn’t it?”
Ami’s eyes widened. “Leiko-san? What’re you-”
“Chibi Usa and the others told me. Leiko-san, she-”
“I’ve had enough of this, Usagi,” Ami said angrily. She turned and marched away to continue with her duty.
Ami didn’t hear Usagi pull out a communicator and say, “It’s what we thought. Ami-chan had her memory taken, and Leiko-san’s behind it.”
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Ryo arrived at his girlfriend’s apartment building. He entered and pushed the intercom button.
“Yumi?”
All he heard was the buzzing drone of the intercom. He called a few more times.
“Where could she be? I thought she was gonna meet me…”
Ryo thought for a minute or two. Maybe something happened to her? After all, Tokyo was becoming a dangerous place… That thought chilled him, and his resolve deepened. He had to find her. He wanted to hold her, make her feel safe, take care of her…
Then, another image of a blue-haired woman floated in his mind. It was like a fly in his ear- it wouldn’t go away. It was also like the image had remained in his mind from a long time ago. It was a strange feeling…
Ryo quickly pulled out his cell phone. He searched through his phonebook, and his heart fell. He didn’t have Yumi’s number…
He sighed and shuffled out of the building. He climbed into his car. He had been out all day- he needed rest. But Yumi… He had to find Yumi.
“Sleep will have to wait,” he muttered to himself. “I gotta find her.”
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Still floating in space, Galaxia laid back on the same asteroid, pondering. She had several ideas in mind.
Of course, she was pursuing Sailor Mercury’s memories first. Next on her list was Sailor Mars: she would fool her by disguising herself as a fellow shrine priestess. The foil for Sailor Jupiter would be the ‘new employee’ for her shop, and Venus was easy- disguise herself as a pop idol. The Outers and Chibi Moon would be dealt with right after the Inners. The ultimate goal was the death of the most powerful Senshi, the one who seemed to love all- Sailor Moon.
Why did she love all? The universe, and this world, especially, was full of corruption. Natural disasters, manmade destruction, and universal wars were everywhere.
“Cheh,” Galaxia said.
Then… She thought about Urawa. She still planned to use him to kill Sailor Mercury. She wanted Mercury annihilated because…
Because…
Galaxia’s transparent cheeks flushed. Because she wanted him for herself. She wanted… Ryo… for herself.
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After Usagi left, Ami swayed, unsteady. She couldn’t stand still without feeling dizzy. She grew frustrated. She had a job to do.
Gradually, the sun left and the moon rose. The full moon looked beautiful tonight. Seeing it warmed Ami’s heart, and the nausea dissolved. She wondered why… She finished her duty for the day, after one last incident involving an older man harassing a high school girl, who was trying to get away from an attack. Ami sighed. When would this mess end?
She entered the TPD and once again stumbled into her boss. The chief looked absolutely terrible. His gray hair looked grayer than usual, his gentle eyes had deep bags under them, and he was muttering to himself.
“Are you okay, Chief-san?” Ami asked with concern.
Chief Kana looked up and gave her a weak smile. “Don’t worry about me, Mizuno.”
Ami smiled back. “Just take care of yourself, okay?”
“Sure.”
Ami said goodbye to her boss and left for home. As she drove, she thought back to Usagi. Why did she feel fuzzy when she thought of this woman? Ami was a little creeped out when Usagi had said she was Ami’s friend. Why would she say that to a total stranger? Ami frowned as she pulled into her apartment’s garage. Up the elevator she went, and she stepped into her home.
A half hour later, she was in her bed, ready to doze off. Once again, an image of Usagi drifted in her mind. Trying to rid herself of it, Ami turned over and forced herself to sleep.
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Nighttime fell, and Ryo still couldn’t find Yumi. Defeated, he climbed back into his silver car and drove off. He had checked restaurants, parks, everywhere. He was getting anxious. What if she got attacked? He decided to park and do one last check around Juban.
Ryo walked through a park with his hands in his windbreaker- the summer day had turned into a chilly evening. He avoided the areas where the most attacks occurred, but then he determinedly began to explore those areas. Indeed, it was very foolhardy to go alone, but he had to find his girlfriend.
He was just about to enter a problem area when a pair of sweet-smelling hands covered his eyes.
“Guess who?” said an oh-so-familiar female voice.
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Ryo turned to Galaxia and smiled. “Yumi!”
“Yes, hi, Ryo-chan.” Galaxia kissed him on the on the cheek.
“Where were you?”
“I was at a shrine praying for a new job,” Galaxia invented.
“Ah, I see. I’m so happy to see you!”
Ryo hugged Galaxia, and she felt safe in his arms.
“So… What shall we do?” Galaxia asked.
“I don’t know. But, we’re in this together, so we have to continue to try to find a job.”
“Actually,” Galaxia purred sweetly, “I have an idea…”
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Author's Note: I'm finally all caught up with WDM on .moon! ^^ Sorry it took so long... 10 will be up when my editors can get back to me. Sry it's taken so long since I last updated on my other sites, but thanks for being patient. -Tesh : )
