Dear
Mother and Father.
I
know you are going to begin this letter with a lot of disillusion and
doubt in your heart, and that is exactly why I am writing to you. The
doubt must be vanquished and the truth must be revealed. This is
Chibi Naru Neo-Lady Serenity, the girl you cherish and love, the one
that you had longed for and, at the birth of your son, Casper, 900
years ago, thought you lost forever.
You
have been wrong this whole time. I am alive, and well, and living
happily, as I should be, in my proper dimension. I am seventeen years
old now in body, 905 in spirit, have become a sailor soldier, and
helped saved the world alongside my friends and family. My life is
now content. But it wasn't like that until very recently.
For
nine centuries, I had to contend with living in the shadow of another
girl, who was supposed to be born instead of me. Just as my not
having been born has caused you and Casper nothing but pain, it was
the same with me, who replaced a girl named Chibi-Usa, and my
parents. My life was nothing but a nightmare. All I ever wanted was
to be loved, and yet it always felt that no matter what I did,
nothing could replace that perfect angel that had visited the past
and been loved by my parents. They always talked of her behind my
back; most of my protectors could not look me in the eye, or wanted
nothing to do with me. There was even a project based completely on
what went “wrong” with my birth that allowed me to exist
instead of their beloved Chibi-Usa.
I
want it to be different for you and your son in a neutral reality,
removed from my world and yours. However, upon meeting Casper, I'm
worried it may already be too late. The same thing that happened to
me growing up has been amplified tenfold with yourselves and Casper.
I am not sure how civil I can sound while being angry with you, but I
think I have a right to my thoughts.
Because
no matter what child was born to you here, it is still your child,
and Casper is still your son. You should cherish him and love him no
matter what, instead of pushing him away and denying him a name and a
family in your anger. All he asks is to be loved as yours, that's
all. His birth to you was not a freak accident, or a tragedy that he
should be blamed for. It was simply how it came to be. There was a
reason he was born to you instead of me. It is only a matter of
finding that reason and being a family while looking for it.
Please,
Mother and Father, heed what I am telling you. Throw your pride away
and embrace Casper before nothing can be done to save him, or
yourselves. I can only do so much, as much as I love him like my true
brother; I realize that I may love him more in twelve hours than you
have in several centuries, and this is not right for him.
So
I leave you with Casper to love, and with something to ponder. If you
were to meet me as Casper did today, do you think it would
automatically make your pain go away? The truth of the matter is that
I met all the other children born to you in every state and every
universe, and the answer is no. It may ease it for a fleeting moment.
But it cannot go away without change.
And
change can only start within you. So please, let it start today.
Sincerely,
Chiba
Naru Neo-Lady Serenity
Princess
of Crystal Tokyo
35th
Dimension
“So....”
Pluto picked up her teacup. “You stepped off the plane from
Beirut....What happened next after that?”
“Well....”
Naru paused. “I went to go to international baggage claim with
mom and dad. The next thing I know, there's this guy standing in
front of me with panties on his head. No one knows why, no one knows
how....but he stood there and asked me for directions to the
international terminal like there was nothing wrong! I couldn't
believe it!!”
Pluto
chuckled as she put her cup down and poured another round of tea into
Naru's cup from the pot. Gratefully, Naru picked it up, a grin on her
face. She glanced at her watch as she brought the cup to her lips.
“Well,
Neo-Lady.” Pluto folded her hands together. “You seem
very bright and cheerful these past couple of weeks. What's
happened?”
“What
do you mean?” Naru grinned. “I thought you could see it.”
“I
do my best not to pry into people's personal lives with my power.
It's quite rude,” Pluto replied. “But...let me guess. Is
there a new friend whom you have a....more than casual liking of?”
“....Sort
of,” Naru couldn't help but giggle as she again looked at her
watch. “I guess you could say that.”
“'Sort
of'?” Pluto crimped an eyebrow. “In what way?”
“Well....it's
more than one person.”
“More
than one? How shameful, Neo-Lady.” A rare smirk came on the
time guardian's face. “I always thought you would get some boys
in trouble when your time came. I suppose I was right?”
“...Sort
of!”
Pluto
paused at the next giggle of Naru's. Her ruby-red eyes noticed her
charge again looking at her watch, a wide grin on her face. It was
apparent something was going on, but for reasons she could not
explain, she could not pinpoint what it was the girl was hiding.
“....You
know....” The sailor took a wild, uncharacteristic stab in the
dark. “It's not my birthday today, Neo-Lady.”
“Oh,
I know that.”
“Then
what are you hiding?”
“Oh,
nothing.” Naru's grin only became wider. “Nothing you
won't soon see for yourself.”
“I
beg your-”
“Puu!!”
Pluto's
eyes widened as, all of a sudden, her teacup and the space around it
started to fluctuate and bend violently. With a gasp, she dropped the
cup on the table, jumped up and reached for her time rod.
“What
in Charon-!!!”
“PuuuUUUAAAAACK!!!!!”
There
was a momentary flash of light; the cup shook and disintegrated from
the atomic pressure it was put under, a phenomenon Pluto had never
thought to see. Then, the next thing the time guardian knew, there
was a squeal of delight, a streak of pink in her face, and the
unwanted sound of a body crashing into her table and breaking it in
half.
Pluto's
eyes widened. “Oh....”
“Hello,
Puu!!”
Naru
smiled and waved to Chibi-Usa as she lay spread out on what remained
of the table. With a sheepish look, Chibi-Usa waved back to her
before sitting up, her own face smiling as well.
“Hey,
Naru-chan! Look, I made it here again!”Chibi-Usa turned again
to Pluto. “Hi, Puu!”
“Uh....”
Pluto's eye twitched as she almost lost her grip on her rod.
“I.....uh......”
“That
was Naru-chan's reaction too!” Chibi-Usa laughed. “How
funny is that?”
“I
did not react like that..!”
“Yes
you did!”
“I
did not!”
“....Uh.......huh?”
“I
clearly remember not reacting like that.”
“I
remember.” Chibi-Usa stood up to her full height, which was
still formidable despite her chronic shortness. “You kept going
'Uh?' until Chiba-san came.”
“Well,
I...” Naru turned red. “Ok. I actually don't remember
meeting Chiba-san...”
“A-ha!”
“How......?”
The
two heads turned simultaneously to look at the time guardian. Pluto's
eyes were as large as saucers, and her eye was still twitching.
“How...is
this...” She looked at one, then the other, then back again. “I
mean....Small Lady....you...you-”
“Shouldn't
be born?” Chibi-Usa smiled. “I know, Naru-chan told me.”
“Speaking
of which,” Naru looked at her watch again. “We don't want
to be late.”
“Right!”
Chibi-Usa nodded. “Ranami would kill us if we were late for her
party, especially since it's the first time she's been able to invite
anyone who wasn't a servant or yes man.”
“Not
if Gunther said anything about it.”
“She'd
still kill us eventually.”
“I....don't
believe this....”
“...I
wonder how Ranami explained all of us to her parents?”
Chibi-Usa tapped her finger onto her chin. “Or maybe she
didn't. I don't know. I myself have no idea where we're going until
we get back to Chiba-san.”
“Is...everyone
else going to be there?”
“Is
that a question?”
“Right,
then.” Naru stood up. “Sailor Pluto, it's time.”
“Time...to
what?”
“Time
to go.”
“Wh-what?!”
Pluto grasped her rod at this. “You can't be serious, Neo-Lady.
First, Small Lady, now th-this....”
“We'll
have you back quickly.” Naru nodded. “Please come, Pluto!
We need a Pluto at our party. All the other Plutos in our realities
were too busy.”
“Other
Plutos? Oh dear....”
“...Awww,
Puu.” Chibi-Usa frowned. “But it'll be so much fun!”
“I....”
Pluto
couldn't help but smile. It wasn't just because she always relented
whenever the pink-haired princess gave her that frown. It had been
centuries, millennia, since she had seen that pout, and more so than
that, it made her feel much safer about whatever was going on.
“....You'll
tell me what's going on, right?”
“Of
course!” The two girls responded in chorus. “It's a
promise!”
“Right.”
Pluto smiled nervously. “I see.”
“Let's
go then!” Chibi-Usa took Pluto's left hand. “We'll tell
you everything on the way.”
“Just
don't tell my mother or father.” Naru took her right. “You
have the present, right?”
“Yup!”
“Wonderful.”
With
that, the air around them again bent and brightened, and all three
were sucked into the vortex. Pluto shut her eyes tightly, hoping she
could get acclimated to whatever was happening. She had no doubt it
would all be explained to her; she had seen in the girls' eyes that
they had much to talk about.
Yes....wonderful.
Naru
smiled as she felt the journey end. She could already imagine it –
Ranami chasing Gunther to beat him up for doing something
inappropriate. Hitoko with Uromamo, helping him adjust to the strange
new surroundings. Tourmaline standing next to the dimensional folder,
aiding Uromamo as well. And Casper, smiling at her as she entered the
reality, welcoming her with a great big hug.
For
such a group of people to gather, with all their problems, their
trials and tribulations, Naru couldn't have felt more blessed. They
were from other universes, but they were together. They had beaten
the odds.
Thank
you.
THE
END
