MISPERCEPTION
Love
in the Cards
“The wind
is starting to change direction.”
Haruka
turned towards the south, her eyes narrowing. It wasn't just the
direction of the wind that had suddenly changed; it was as if the
entire temperament of the atmosphere had shifted, the feeling
becoming a little more menacing.
“Hmm.”
Haruka turned back to the group, eying Setsuna. “What time is
it?”
“It's
3:45.”
“Four more
hours until sunset.” Haruka glanced again behind her. “I
wonder if it'll come soon enough....”
“Ooh, don't
be so negative!”
Haruka
turned to her left at this. Minako now sat where Chibi-Usa had,
sipping tea with Tourmaline, a grin on her face.
“Mmm, this
is delicious tea!” Minako's fingers grasped at a donut. “Aaaand
I think I'll be having another one of theeese....”
“What are
you worried about, Haruka?”
“....Anger.”
Haruka looked down at her cup. “I suddenly felt something
carried on the win. There's anger somewhere amongst the alternate
children. It's not widespread, though....it's coming from one
person...”
“Just one
person?”
“Yes.”
Haruka looked back. “Tourmaline-san, you know what I think...”
“I do.”
Tourmaline nodded solemnly. “I know who you all are thinking
of. But I have faith that it won't have to come to anything
terrible.”
“Why do you
think that....?”
“Because it
is sometimes better not to pass judgment until you are absolutely
certain of what will happen. Until you know who you are dealing with,
you shouldn't hold prejudice in your heart...”
Tourmaline
was suddenly silent at this. The sadness that had been muted for most
of the day was suddenly there for the soldiers to look at. Though
Tourmaline was the oldest one at the table – save for Setsuna,
whose exact age had always been obscure – for a moment, she
could have been a child again, running from her past with a pained
cry.
Running
from a screaming woman who had done unspeakable things to her and all
others. Running from a man whose face had dropped down on one side,
his voice slurred, his mind utterly wasted, and blood on his hands as
well.
”Mama.......papa.......why.....?”
“I take
it,” Michiru spoke, bringing Tourmaline back from the past,
“That the withholding of prejudice was not as successful where
you live.”
“Well....My
past was not very easy.” Tourmaline closed her eyes. “It's
not something I like to talk about in public.”
“Oh, please
tell us, Chiba-san!!” Minako smiled. “I mean, it can't be
that bad, can it? Well, all things considered, it isn't
something we'll regret hearing, right?”
“Minako-chan.”
Michiru looked at Minako, her face stern. “Don't be that way.”
“I'm just
asking...” Minako pouted. “Besides, we know almost
nothing about Chiba-san!”
“Well....”
Tourmaline looked down into her drink. “No. Again, it's not
really a story for good company, not on a day like this. To be honest
I don't know how you'd all take it.”
“...For
once, I agree with Minako, Chiba-san,” Haruka looked at the
brunette. “You've brought several hundred kids into our
dimension for reasons you haven't really gotten into. You may as well
tell us about yourself now, and about why you brought these kids
here, while there's still time.”
With
a sigh, Tourmaline looked back up at Haruka. The sky soldier could
see that the sadness was still in her eyes as she contemplated her
choices, the sadness that hadn't truly shown in her eyes at any time
before.
“....Very
well.” Tourmaline placed her cup back on the saucer. “I
suppose now is a good time as ever.”
A
soft wind blew through the trees, and Tourmaline began to speak. A
leaf fluttered down onto the table next to Michiru, who promptly
picked it up and blew it away.
“As you
probably guessed already by my existence, in my dimension my mother
won her battle against the sailor soldiers, took control of the
Silver Crystal and conquered Earth. At her victory, she trapped the
bodies of the fallen sailor soldiers into crystal prisons for all
eternity, torturing what was left of them until they inevitably
died.” Tourmaline let out a great sigh. “It was terrible.
The moment my mother won, Queen Metaria possessed her body and my
father's body, and then proceeded to turn Earth into a death camp for
its people. The Dark Kingdom began to spread through the solar
system, even throughout the galaxy, using the power of the Silver
Crystal and Queen Metaria’s soul. It seemed as if the darkness
would spread with no end.”
“Huh. I
couldn't imagine a universe where Beryl ruled.” Minako stared.
“It must have been terrible.”
“Beyond it.
It was disgusting.” Tourmaline’s eyes furrowed, a flicker
of anger across her face. “Innocent people died by the
thousands every single day. Entire planets were obliterated in the
blink of an eye. Civilization slowly became the exception to the
rule, and the rule with my mother’s reign was that only the
will of Queen Beryl decided what went on in everyone’s life, no
matter what the consequences were.”
“And you…”
“My parents
ignored me from the moment I was born.” The tone of
Tourmaline’s voice was suddenly flat, with a hint of anger
tinting it. “My father was brainwashed, bent so far to the will
of my mother and Queen Metaria that he was nothing more than a
walking mass of flesh with lifeless eyes. My mother only cared about
herself, about her power, and about my father scraping
unconditionally to her. She had never wanted me to begin with; I was
an accident. As a result, as I grew I was almost always left alone in
their castle, never loved or acknowledged even by the servants.”
The
group was very silent at this. Tourmaline’s purple eyes flashed
with indignation as she relived the memories that she had bottled
within her mind. She then looked down and stared intensely into her
coffee, looking within the mirror of her past and seeing the
frightened young child with mangled hair, dirt on her clothing and
tears in her eyes. She was standing in the shadows, terrified of the
sights in front of her.
“It was
like that for the first five years in my life. Just an unwanted
shadow, ignored by everyone.” Tourmaline closed her eyes to
block the image. “Then came the day that I snuck into the
forbidden wings of the castle. I remember it as if it had just
happened.”
“Chiba-san.”
“I
remember. The walls were lined with skulls, and at the end of the
hall was my mother's private chambers, which no one could go into. I
went in like a ghost – how else could I have gone in, as no one
acknowledged me? I went in, and heard laughter. I hid behind a
dresser and as I did I saw my mother. She was gloating in front of a
large crystalline tube. Inside was a dead woman, skeletal and
emaciated beyond recognition.”
Tourmaline closed
her eyes at this. There she was, a tiny child, shivering as she
watched her mother, choked with power, laugh at the dead. The little
girl shrank back, hoping that her mother would not see her standing
there, watching the macabre spectacle.
“She was
wearing a tattered sailor suit, her body covered in welts and scars
and dry blood. It was here that I first learned the name of Sailor
Moon; after her defeat she had been slowly tortured and starved to
death by my mother over the years. Finally, on that day her soul left
her body, and my mother called in my brainless father to observe the
corpse and celebrate….”
Tourmaline
suddenly stopped. She was shaking slightly as the memory came to her
so vividly that she may as well have been reliving the moment that
the metal plunged into her screaming mother's chest, the blood
spraying all over her cherubic but dirty face and body. Then, more
screams, and the look on her father's face that moment when he turned
and truly saw his daughter with the devil for the first time....
Instinctively,
Setsuna laid her hand on the woman’s shoulder as she took in
deep breaths.
“Tourmaline-san…..”
“….He
killed her.”
“What?”
“He killed
her.” Tears began to form in Tourmaline’s eyes. “I
don’t know how…..how he broke the spell, but something
about seeing her body must have…..the next thing I knew, I saw
him….he had….he had his sword in his hand……”
She
quickly composed herself, fanning herself as she did so. The tears
were quickly wiped away with a napkin.
“I….I’m
sorry….”
“It’s
ok, Chiba-san.” Setsuna softly pat her on the back. “It’s
ok.”
“…I’m
the one that should be sorry.” Minako was looking down at her
drink, her fingers nervously fiddling with the remnants of her
muffin. “I really shouldn’t have asked about it.”
“No…”
Tourmaline wiped away the last tear with a smile. “It’s
all right. It is probably better that you know, that you understand
why this is happening. The good in one's life must be taken with the
bad.”
“Are you
sure?”
“Yes.”
Tourmaline gave an affirmative nod. “My past was a terrible
one. I never had my parents, and even after that day I would never
know my father. You should know these things because they happened.”
“Did…..”
Michiru’s voice covered the concern she held for Tourmaline’s
father. “What do you mean? What happened to Prince Endymion?”
“He lived,
somewhat.” Tourmaline looked down again. “He took up the
Silver Crystal from my mother's bleeding body and went into the
basement chambers to destroy Metaria once and for all. But when he
used it, his heart was crazed, and without Sailor Moon’s
calming influence, the crystal’s power disfigured him
physically and annihilated what was left in his mind along with the
monster. I remember when he fell; I cried for him to answer, but all
I received in response was an incoherent moan. So the father, who I
had always longed day and night to pay attention to me, once again
became nothing more than a shell of flesh. This time he was connected
to several dozen machines inside a hospital for the rest of his life,
just so he could breathe.”
This time, all
the soldiers visibly shuddered at the thought. Their prince, their
future ruler, connected from every orifice to machines. They had seen
him sickly, and that enough was a frightening experience. To imagine
him in that state – without a mind, without a soul – was
beyond unbearable, even though they had never personally seen it.
“That’s….terrible.”
Haruka couldn’t stifle a sniff at the image. “You had no
one left. No family, no friends.”
“I had one
person.”
“One?”
“One of the
sailor soldiers....survived.”
At
this, Tourmaline’s eyes sparkled. Happiness replaced the
sorrow, and her smile widened.
“It took
her some time to get out and find me, but…..she did.”
Images of brunette hair in a ponytail, glittering green eyes, a smile
that evinced sorrow but also joy danced in her head. “….she
found me. She took me in as her own daughter. Gave me a home, and
love. She married the father of her fallen friend so I could have the
stable family I'd always dreamed of, and helped rebuild the world so
I could have a future with everyone else. Even though my parents had
imprisoned and tortured her, she never let me feel like it was my
fault that it had happened, like many other people did. I've always
seen her as my real mother ever since.”
“….Mako-chan.”
“Amazing…!”
“She’s
still alive.” Here was a sigh of relief from the group, the
realization that something had gone right in that world. “Living
in New Tokyo with her husband, and she has two kids of her own with
him. I talk to her almost every day on the phone. She was the one who
encouraged me to go to college and take up science, since she herself
never really did well in school, and was never able to properly
finish her education because of Beryl's takeover. Being a sailor
soldier made her realize how precious the little things in life are.”
“And….that’s
why you built the folder.”
“I learned
of alternate dimensions in college, about infinite possibilities.”
Tourmaline took another drink of her coffee. “And I decided
that, if I were to ever open a gate into another reality, I would
find all the children of my father and tell them not to fear for
their future, no matter how bleak it may seem. It soon came to
encompass my father and Sailor Moon, and their offspring, because I
learned of their love in the distant past. It took me my entire
college career and beyond to perfect the dimensional folder, and it
was all for one purpose.”
“One
purpose?”
“Yes.”
On
one side, Tourmaline could see the youngest children huddled in a
circle. They kept glancing around, then going back to the huddle. If
one did not know their individual histories, their triumphs and
trials, the good and the bad, it could have easily been assumed that
the children had somehow known each other their whole lives.
“I want
them to know....that no matter how much they have suffered, they have
always had someone who could relate. I want them to know that they
are not alone.”
The
group slowly scattered, running in different directions. Some of the
children had various items in their hands which no one at the table
could make out.
“They were
never alone....”
-----------------------
“You like
rice?”
“Mmm.”
“What?”
“Never had
it before.”
“We can
tell.”
The
group was having food at the bottom of a small hill, which was
situated in between the glen of trees that Vazgorth was in, and a
large lake. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the
majority of the people huddled around the rice pot were scarfing fown
their food as fast as they could..
Meanwhile,
Gunther was fumbling around with his chopsticks, holding one with
each hand, then holding them both with three fingers. Regardless of
how he had them, they kept flying out of his hands, and into his
bowl, or on his lap, or even on the ground; but no matter where they
fell, he would hastily wipe them off and start over again. His bowl
was not even halfway finished.
“So.”
Ranami couldn't help but grit her teeth at Gunther, as she was
sitting right next to him. “Unlike the rest of us, you do not
live in Japan.”
“Nope.”
“Really?”
Chibi-Usa was scarfing down her food as she spoke. “Where do
you live?”
“Larny.”
“Eh?”
“New Mexico
Territory.” Gunther glared at his chopsticks. “A ways
from Santa Fe....and.....well, I actually used to live in Munich
before that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,
before Busy Bizzy drove my parents out....” Gunther's voice
trailed off as his eyes searched the vicinity. “Eh...meh. Are
there any spoons here or something?”
“No.”
“....Damnit.”
Without
warning, his face dove into the rice bowl. Snarling and gnashing
sounds could be heard as Gunther attempted to eat his food sans
proper utensils. Everyone made a face as they heard him groan a
moment, come up for air with a face pocked with rice, and then dive
back in.
“Eww!”
Chibi-Usa grimaced. “What's wrong with him? I thought Americans
knew how to use chopsticks!”
“Gunther-chan
isn't from our present period.”
“Eh?”
Naru blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Gunther-chan,”
Hitoko responded, “is from the 1880s. That's his present time.”
“Really?”
Naru took a bite of her rice. “Then, who is....?”
“Busy
Bizzy?” Gunther looked up from the rice bowl. “Bismarck.
You know, Prussian guy with the stupid mustache?”
“...You
mean Otto von Bismarck.”
”My parents
were Bavarian nobles!” Gunther tried without avail to get a
grain of rice off his cheek with his tongue. “My dad knew the
king of Bavaria and lived near Schloss Nymphenburg when I was a baby.
But we had to leave when I was three because my dad hates Prussians
and especially hates Protestants.
“Why?”
“Because
Prussians are Protestants. Which....naturally explains why we ended
up moving to America, where 99 percent of the population
is...Protestant.” Gunther licked his lips. “Well done,
dad.”
“Oh.....well,”
Naru looked at Gunther, her head tilted in some slight confusion.
“I...guess it sort of makes sense. I mean, the time period you
come from. I suppose, because this is 20th century Tokyo,
and I'm from 30th century....”
“It depends
on the dimension.” Hitoko put her empty bowl down. “According
to Tourmaline-san, we're all from the present time, but
because our realities' time lines are varied by proxy, our realities'
'presents' are different. That's why there's so many different eras
here, instead of instead of all of us simply being from the 20th
century.”
“Gunther's
from the 19th century, most of us live around the 30th
and 31st centuries....” Ranami paused. “In a
technical matter of speaking, though, I come from the first century
BMY which is also the 30th century...”
“There's a
couple kids from the 50th century and beyond.”
“Th-th-there's
a...” Uromamo raised her hand. “K-k-kid from the 4th
c-c-century!!”
“The Roman
prince?”
“Yeah...”
“I guess
I'm not surprised.” Naru looked over. “The dimensions
override time, I guess?”
“It's
supposedly really complicated.” Hitoko wiped her hands
together. “I didn't press for details.”
At
that moment, Naru wasn't completely paying attention to Hitoko's
words. She was looking else where, pondering about other things that
had come up, though no one wanted to admit it.
Casper-san.
Casper
wasn't even looking at her, but there was obviously something
troubling him. Naru could see it in his eyes when Chibi-Usa joined
them; it something that no one was willing to admit to her directly,
but deep down, she had the feeling that it involved her in some way,
in some form. This feeling worried her, as she had been sure that she
had been getting along with everyone – especially Casper.
”.........my
life.......”
There
was something else going on as well, though it was not directly
related to Naru. When Chibi-Usa arrived, the group had again become
somewhat tenuous, but this time the latent animosity was directed
towards Chibi-Usa. They ate her rice, but it was a silent meal; only
Gunther had spoken to her since they sat down to eat.
“.....So.”
Naru decided to take a chance. “Chibi-Usa, this is some good
rice.”
“Yeah!”
Uromamo suddenly nodded with a smile. “I-i-i-i-its not laced.”
“Thank
you....”
“...It'd be
better if I could get it all out.” Gunther, his face and orange
hair crusted with grain, put his bowl down. “Whoever wants it
can have it. Sorry, Chibi-Usa.”
“It's
ok....”
Naru
watched Chibi-Usa as Uromamo took it up, eating it merrily. Just as
she suspected, no one else thanked Chibi-Usa for contributing to the
lunch; whether or not the girl noticed, or cared, Naru didn't know.
“Heh.”
Gunther took a deep breath. “Now that I am somewhat nourished,
let's have a round of something. How about.....” At this, he
tapped Ranami in the shoulder. “poker?”
“How
about,” There was suddenly an unhealthy-sounding crack as
Ranami's hand grabbed Gunther's finger and bent it back, almost to
the wrist. “no?”
“Eheheheh!”
Gunther snorted as he wriggled free and, with a grunt, set the bones
back into place. It was apparent this had happened before. “Awww,
come on. What else do we have to do?”
“Why do we
have to play cards?”
“Ranami-chan's
right, you know.” Chibi-Usa looked around. “You know,
there's a lake nearby, and a playground. There's also the ice cream
vendor if you want dessert...You know, I wonder what he thinks of all
of this...”
“I don't
get something.” Hitoko looked at Gunther. “Why cards?”
“Why not?”
Gunther took out his cards and shuffled them. “There's nothing
else to do where I come from. Besides,” At this, Gunther puffed
his chest a little. “I'm a champ at every card game there is.
No one can beat me anywhere.”
“Then why
play,” Ranami rolled her eyes, “if you always win?”
“Money.”
“Money?”
“Well,
yeah!” Gunther snorted. “I've beaten every card player
north of the Gila River. Mexican, American, Chinese, everyone. My mom
and pop hate it when I play cards though, since I've gotten into the
middle of a few fights, but...” Gunther shrugged. “I make
a good deal of money for a kid my age. And that gets the girls'
attentions, too.”
“Show off.”
“Girls go
for the cards! Well...” Gunther paused. “Most girls do.
Personally, I like girls with nice behinds. And brains. There's lots
of girls with nice rear ends, but no brains, from my territory. Most
respectable girls where I come from can't even read!”
“How sad
for you.”
“Yup. The
only girls who can read are squaws.” Gunther shuffled
the cards. “And you don't want to mess with a squaw. They're
trained to kill palefaces.”
“...Nice.”
Ranami's voice was slightly sarcastic. “Very smooth of you to
use such words.”
“So
yeah...I've never met a really sophisticated girl before.”
Gunther's shuffling suddenly stopped. “A girl with a rear end
but with the ability to be deep. Girls who don't just yes me just
because I can play cards, you know?”
“You don't
like girls who admire your card playing?”
“Well,
I...” Gunther started to turn pink at Hitoko's question. “There
are a couple I've thought of. But there's only one girl that I've
recently started to take a fancy with because...well, she doesn't
like my playing cards.”
“I thought
you said there was no one with brains where you live.”
“There
isn't....”
“Then you
just-”
“But, the
truth of the matter is....I really like you, Ranami.”
For
a single moment, the cockiness had all but disappeared at that
outburst. The smarmy, annoying Gunther that everyone had known since
that morning transformed into something that was completely unlike
what they had seen from him. He looked nervous, almost bashful, about
admitting to his liking a girl, as opposed to being a shameless
flirt. In short, he was the uncertain, shy boy that people might
never have suspected him to be, the one who didn't know how to
approach a lady without getting too scared to win her approval.
“....You
are joking, right?”
Naru's
mouth was wide open, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth, as Gunther
shook his head as Hitoko spoke. There was a genuine smile that, very
slowly, came onto his face as he looked at Ranami, who was probably
most stunned of all of them, though her eyes flickered red as much as
her face did.
“Of....of
course not!”
“But.....”
Chibi-Usa's eyes darted back and forth. “That....that's just so
crude!”
“But it's
true.” Gunther rubbed his hands, his cheeks flushed. “And
it's not what you think, either. There's nothing wrong with it.”
“What do
you mean?” Hitoko asked uneasily.
“Think
about it for a moment. My mother and father were Maxmillian and
Wilhelmina, and apparently in this universe she is 'Sailor Venus',
and he is 'Tuxedo Mask', correct?” Gunther shrugged. “Plus,
'Sailor Venus' is not the same as 'Sailor Moon', who is
Ranami's mother, and that guy Demander-”
“Demando.”
“- is her
father. So see? It's not incest.”
“But it's
still disgusting!”
“Why?”
“I
mean....” Chibi-Usa covered her face. “It's like...it's
like dating your stepsister!”
“I
agree...” Hitoko mumbled. “It's weird.”
“But.....she's
not my stepsister.” For the first time, Gunther actually
looked a little upset. “So why should it matter?”
“Because......”
Chibi-Usa shook her head. “Mergh....”
Naru
could see the sadness build in Gunther's face as he heard the
repeated rejections about the improbability of a relationship.
Ranami, on her part, was still just too shocked to say anything in
response to Gunther's genuine declaration, which had been all but
buried by everyone else’s disgust.
Even
Gunther-san. Thoughts of unrequited love danced through Naru’s
mind. Even Gunther-san has sadness. Is that...simply our lot in
life as the children of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask....to always be
sad...?
“....I...”
Naru tried to formulate her agreement. “G-gunther-san....”
“...It's
ok.” The usual bravado seemed to suddenly return as Gunther
waved his hand. “I don't care. I was just kidding anyways.
I...don't really like her in that way....yeah...I
really don't.”
It
was pretty obvious to Naru that he was lying. His face was still
flushed red with embarrassment, and his smile seemed like a weak
facade in comparison to the smiles he had shown before. With a swipe
of his hand, he took his drink and sipped it, conveniently hiding his
face in case he started crying.
