standard disclaimers apply:  I don't own sailor moon
or any of the characters related to it, so please
don't sue me!



a friend is one to whom one may pour out all the
contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together
knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and
sift it keep what is worth keeping and with a breath
of kindness blow the rest away
			  - Arabian Proverb
However far apart we may be, love will always carry
me close to thee. - Tuxedo Mask/Kamen



evil endy has inspired me once again!  *grins*  don't know if
that's a good thing or not.  *shrugs*  enjoy!



April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain



		Amantes sunt amentes.

"What does that mean?"

		You really need to brush up on your latin,
mei carus.

"I'm from Japan and speak Japanese.  I have a hard enough time
learning English."

		Oh, alright.  Amantes sunt amentes means
lovers are lunatics.

"Oh.  What does 'mei carus' mean?  It sounds kinda, uh, I don't
know, intimate."

		It is.  It means my dear or my beloved.

"Why are you calling me that?"

		You still don't understand, do you?

"How can I understand when you're being so, so, vague?!?"

		Me?  You always did enjoy blaming me for
everything . . . not that I minded, since I let you.

"Why are you doing this to me?!  You don't know me!  Stop
acting like you do!"

		I would do anything for you, but that is
something that I cannot.  I know you.  You know me.

"But it's unreasonable!"

		Credo quia absurdum est.

"What?"

		I believe it because it is unreasonable.  You
should too . . .



Shades of Lilac:  Pink



		"Are you sure about this Toki-chan?" Usagi
asked hesitantly.
		"He was pretty adamant about it," Motoki
reassured her.
		"Yeah, demo . . . "
		"What?"
		"It's him!"
		"I know.  So . . . "
		"You didn't have anything to do with this,
did you?"
		"Iie.  It was all his idea," Motoki half-lied.
Part one of his plan was complete.  He was shocked that Mamoru
came up with the idea without much prodding.  That was the easy
part . . . part two, on the other hand was proving to be somewhat
difficult.
		"I don't know about this . . . "
		"Look on the bright side!" Motoki chirped.
		"Which is?" Usagi asked.
		"Now you'll get a chance to get to know
each other better."
		"Not funny onii-chan!"
		"C'mon.  He's not *that* bad."



		Usagi considered the possibility.  She was
tired, very tired of all the fighting.  To her, Mamoru was an
enigma.  He was the only person who hated her and she couldn't
understand why . . . yet, sometimes he would do something,
anything . . . from the slightest smile, to a wink, to staring at her
when he thought she wasn't looking.  It was infuriating to
receive so many mixed signals, slowly driving her insane.
		Perhaps Motoki was right . . . perhaps she
should give Mamoru another chance . . .
		Usagi sighed.  Why was life so complicated?



		Motoki stared up at Usagi, who had her
fingers tangled in his hair.  She looked deep in thought, with her
brows furrowed and creases forming on her forehead.
		He knew how hesitant she was to go
through with this, but for whatever reason it just felt right to bring
them together.  This opportunity provided them with a way to get
to know each other.  Perhaps it wasn't the most ideal situation,
but the fates worked in mysterious ways, and who was he to
object.
		Motoki heard her sigh and hoped that she
would agree.  Mamoru needed someone like her in his life.
Similarly, Usagi needed someone like Mamoru in her life.
		He had to admit that it was strange when
Usagi "confessed" having dreams about some guy from medieval
England.  Motoki was ready to tell Usagi's parents, but *he*
stopped him from doing so.
		Just like Usagi, *he* entered Motoki's
dreams and told him things he wouldn't have believed otherwise.
It was because of *him* that Motoki went along with this whole
thing, and last night, *he* revealed himself to Motoki.
		Motoki shivered.



		Usagi felt Motoki shudder involuntarily,
breaking her out of her reverie,
		"Are you cold?" she asked, her voice laced
with concern.
		"Iie.  It's nothing."
		"You sure?"
		"Hai, I am.  What about you?  Are you going
to go with him?"
		"I guess so.  I mean what choice do I have.
I really want to go, and this seems like my only option."
		"Don't sound so down.  Besides, you never
know . . . the two of you may come back as best friends," or more
Motoki silently hoped.
		"I highly doubt that-Oh my God!"
		"Nani?"
		"How am I going to explain this to dad?!"



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



		Life was very . . . very strange, I would say
after *they* came into my life.  It was a bit unsettling as well.

"Unsettling?"

		More like scary and unnerving.  Here I was,
alone most of my life, and all of a sudden these people show up.
They take over everything . . . they took over my life.

"What do you mean?"

		Take my "dear" aunt Callandra, for example.
She insisted on taking over the duties of the house.  Luna, who
had been taking care of me was also in charge of such tasks.  She
very upset by this, and resented Callandra ever since.
		Who could blame her?  Callandra just
showed up one day and decided to pick up where my mother left
off . . . like she could ever replace my mother.

"You sound like you didn't like her actions either."

		I didn't.  I hated them even more.  Since I was
still young, there wasn't a thing that I could do about it, but I
swore that once I was of age, I would fix things . . .
		Cedric learned through some people that
Duncan had lost all of his money through gambling.  That's why
they came to me.
		After learning such things, Cedric did his
best to hide the money I rightfully inherited.  He made his own
will and spoke to many affluent members of the community,
including lawyers, about my father's will.  He wanted to make sure
that there was no way Duncan, his wife, or his children, could
ever get their hands on the money.
		Cedric was assured that there was no legal
way for Duncan to do so.  The only way he ever could was if I
married one of his daughters.  If I did, I would probably have to
pay a bride price.
		Unfortunately, my Uncle learned of this as
well.  He and his wife kept encouraging their daughters to pursue
me . . . and they did, much to my dismay.

"What is a bride price?"

		You see, in those days, there was something
called bride price.  It was given to the family of the bride,
specifically the father, to compensate for their daughter's loss.
It's almost like a dowry.  Not everyone paid this . . . it depended
on who you were, as in your status and position in society.

"How much did a person have to pay?"

		It varied from family to family.

"Did you have to pay for *her*?

		No.

"Why not?"

		As I said before, not everyone had to pay it.
Besides, both of us thought that it was a rather archaic "custom,"
not to mention the fact that it was demeaning to women, by
treating them as objects and "things" to be owned.
		It really wasn't necessary, and if *her* family
needed any sort of financial support, they knew that all they had
to do was ask.  I would do anything for her.

"It sounds like you knew *her* family well."

		I did know them quite well.

"How did you meet *her*?"

		Not now, mei carus.  I must go, and you must
rest.

"But, I want to know!  Please tell me!"

		I cannot.  I must go now.  I've said too much.
Sleep well, mei carus . . . till we meet again . . .



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



		"Where is he?" Kenji said impatiently.
		"Don't worry honey, I'm sure he'll be here
soon," Ikuko said soothingly.
		"I bet he won't show up!  Who would want
to be stuck on a plane with meatball brains over there!" Shingo
yelled loud enough for his sister to hear.



		But, Usagi didn't hear him.  She didn't hear
anything.  Perhaps he wasn't coming after all.
		"Usagi honey, are you alright?"
		"Huh, oh yeah . . . I'm fine mom."
		Ikuko walked over to her daughter, who
stood with her head leaned against the window, leaving her
husband to search for Usagi's companion.
		"Are you sure?"
		"Hai, mom.  I'm good."
		"Ok.  You know the drill, ne?"
		"Of course.  Besides, you've only told me
about a billion times!" she exclaimed.
		Ikuko smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm.
Still, she knew that something was bothering her daughter.
		'Not something, but someone,' Ikuko mused
before turning to look at her husband, 'Kenji is going to have a fit
when he finds out.'



		"Last call for JAL flight #416 to London
Heathrow.  All passengers, please proceed to gate B for
boarding."



		"Uh, you know what!  I just remembered.  I
told him that I'd meet him at the gate, so I better get going.  I'm
going to miss all of you!  I'll call when I get there," Usagi hurriedly
got out as she hugged her mother, brother, and father.
		A hand reached out and grabbed her by the
wrist,
		"Hold on young lady."
		"Yes daddy," Usagi said innocently.
		"I thought you said he would meet us here
so that I could go over the rules."
		"Dad!  You, uh, he, uh, he knows the rules
already!  You told him when he came over for dinner."



		Before Kenji had a chance to respond, a
deep voice interrupted him,
		"There you are Odango!  I've been looking
everywhere for you.  Do you want to miss the flight or
something?"



		Usagi squirmed as her father turned to the
direction of the voice.  Before him stood a dark-haired man, who
looked to be about Motoki's age.  He was wearing a pair of blue
jeans and a white shirt.  He was holding a blue duffel bag.
		Kenji let go of Usagi's hand, as his eyes
flashed with anger.
		Mamoru gulped as he noticed the look in
Kenji's eyes.  He was in big trouble.  Who knew that all the stories
he had heard about Usagi's overprotective father were true?
		"Uh . . . " Mamoru stuttered.
		"You're not Motoki," Kenji spat angrily as
Ikuko and Shingo tried to hold him back.
		Before Mamoru had a chance to answer,
Usagi grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him in the direction of
the gate,
		"RUN BAKA!"



		In the blink of an eye, Kenji ran after them,
yelling something about cradle robbers and jail bait.  Ikuko and
Shingo ran after him, vainly trying to stop him.



		They reached the gate in record time and
entered the passageway into the plane.  Mamoru sighed as he
heard the doors begin to close.
		"That was close, too close for comfort," he
said to Usagi as he tried to get his breathing back to normal.



		"Just wait until you come back here!  I own
a gun you know!" Kenji yelled through the closing doors as some
airport security guards held him back.
		Mamoru shivered.  Suddenly this didn't seem
like the greatest idea.



*grins*  poor mamo-chan!  i don't want to be in his shoes when
he comes back.  lol.

latin translations:
amantes sunt amentes - lovers are lunatics
mei carus - my dear, my beloved
credo quia absurdum est - I believe it because it is unreasonable

japanese translations:
demo - but
hai - yes
iie - no
nani - what
onii-chan - older brother

the poem in the beginning was written by T.S. Eliot.  it
was called "The Waste Land," and was written in
1922.

feedback is always appreciated.  ja ne!

redrose