Saved

She watched as the three girls walked off. Hugging her chest, she could feel the pressure build until she could bear it no more. She had told them to go.

She nearly fell to the ground in exhaustion. He mind was on overload. She didn't want to remember what she had seen.

'Malachite..' she thought, 'I will never forget you.'

She stands up, clutching the orange fabric in her hands, above her heart. Slowly, she makes her way out of the park.

--

She could hear the screams around her, even though she couldn't see. Her voice seemed to grow fainter with each passing second, growing more and more like a person she didn't know.

Such was the life of a teenager who lived in these troubled times. With the constant threat of yoma, who could even try to be normal? Sure, the easiest thing to do would be to run away from it all, wouldn't it?

"Hand over the crystal or you friend will die."

'Hm.. I wonder why I'm always caught in the line of fire?' she thinks, trying in vain to feel her hands. 'Why would that witch lock me in here, anyway?'

"All right! You win. Let her go."

'Usagi?'

--

She walks down the street, deep in thought. 'It couldn't be.. But the odangoes.. The acting.. It's gotta be!'

She stops in front of the local television store and watches the screens replay what had been on her mind. Standing in the middle of the screen was a sailor-clad warrior, Sailor Moon, holding out a crystal in the palm of her hand. An evil looking lady stood nearby, reaching out to take it.

'That's all this is. A game of cat and mouse. Well, I won't stand for it!'

"Although there were no reports, the casualties of these strange monster attacks are starting to rise. Who is this teenager who is bent on taking over the world?"

She snorts. 'More like saving your sorry asses.' She walks further down the street, not caring who she bumps into.

--

She watches the stars shimmer in the night sky. Her face is stotic, her stair unblinking. It's as if time had stopped for the girl.

'Why do things have to change?'

She conjures up an image of her friend, Usagi.

'Why can't they be the same as before?'

She sees her clothes melt away into a version of Sailor Moon's fuku.

'Why didn't you tell me?'

She smiles.

'Then I would be able to thank you.'

--

She hears her door open, pulling her from her revere, her silent vigil of the stars. Standing there is her mother, basked in shadows. "You know her secret, don't you?" she asks, the stench of alcohol on her clothing.

"Know whose secret, mom?" Despite her inner torment, she was calm.

"Sailor Moon's! You know her! Tell me!" She lunged for her daughter.

"Mom! I don't know! How could I? You know she never stays around!" She jumps further into the corner.

The woman gets ahold of her shirt. "Tell me!"

"How can I?"

--

She could hear the glass shatter, yet she hadn't the strength to move. She heard a small struggle, then her door slam.

'Why, mom?' she thought desperately, trying to ease her shaking spirit.

"Naru, are you all right?" a voice asks from so very far away.

'Perhaps I'm just imagining things.'

A pair of soft hands gently lift the girl from the floor and lay her gently on the bed. She could hear soft humming, and a strange light seemed to fill her.

"Usa.. I know.." she barely stutters out.

A gasp and the fading of the light guided her into the darkness of sleep.

--

She was walking down the hall, painfully aware of the stares she was getting. Her mother wouldn't let her put on any makeup, nor did she want to cover the hand-shaped bruise.

She stumbled to a halt to see her childhood friend standing in the middle of the hallway, clutching her bag and a note like there's no tomorrow. Her head is bowed, and she's trying to catch her breath.

Not a word is spoken as the blond hands the neatly folded square into the waiting hands, then turns and walks calmly into the classroom.

--

"If you had to choose.. Life.. Death.. Normalcy, uniqueness.. Which would you choose..."

--

Dinner was slow and tense. Mother and daughter said not a word as the clattering of silverware on china echoed through the small dining space. Neither looked nor stared, both concentrating on the task at hand.

Without a word, the girl picks up her dishes and silently excuses herself to the kitchen. Placing her dishes in the sink, she carefully walks up the stairs to her room, softly closing and locking the door.

Funny how one night can change a person so much.

She sits down at her desk and reads the slow and steady handwriting of her friend, trying to make sense of it all.

She smiles. Her friend needn't her help.

She takes out a piece of paper and a pen, and slowly begins to write.

--

'Usagi,

'The manner of which you speak is not for me to decide. Whatever is best, I will conform. Life, I would choose life. Not because it's shelfish, but because it on itself is the most wondrous thing.

'Even if we grow apart, I will never tell your secret. I must admit I was surprised at how long it took me to figure it out, even though we don't talk much anymore.

'Times change, Usagi. I am sorry I was not there for you when you needed it the most. In ways, I wish I could turn back time to help you on this journey, however I know it is not for me to help. You have a guard now, princess. You have my blessing.

'Even if you erase my mind, I will always remember the one that seemed to sparkle with moonbeams as you have these past few weeks. Your toughest challenge is yet to come, and it will start with the finding of the crystal and the Tsuki no Hime. You have my prayers, as well as
my thanks.

'Don't berate yourself now. Even if mom wanted to find out, I wouldn't let her. You saved me, Usagi. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done. This bruise, it means nothing if it weren't to help a friend. I am eternally grateful that you help the world, as I'm
sure they will someday. Just, don't do anything rash, all right?

'I'll leave the memory thing up to you. The world's in capable hands, princess. Never forget that, for it is your light that will save the
world.

'Naru'

--

Naru closes her eyes as she flips off the lights. She sighs as she
settles in for a night's rest. She smiles softly as she drifts into a
fitful slumber, fit for royalty.