“Usagi. Usagi!” exclaimed Rei desperately as she felt her tears begin to well up, “Baka! Wake up! Don’t do this to us. Don’t-” Minako grabbed a hold of Rei to comfort her, and the miko nearly collapsed in her arms, choking back her tears. Ami had already motioned to check Usagi’s vitals as Mamoru held on tightly to her lifeless body.
“Mamoru. I need you to put her down.”
He was at a loss for words, trying his hardest to muster up enough strength in front of everyone. Motoki, taking notice of the emotional struggle his friend was enduring, placed his hand on Mamoru’s shoulder. Mamoru simply looked up at his friend with blank, but desperate eyes.
“She’ll be fine Mamoru. You need to let Ami check on her.”
They finally placed Usagi on the couch, and Ami immediately checked for signs of life. The girl was barely breathing, and her pulse was rapidly beating. Ami quickly dialed the familiar numbers on her cell phone and began to talk to the operator. Within a few minutes, Usagi was slowly being taken into the ambulance, and rushed into the hospital.
As the hospital staff was quickly wheeling Usagi down the hallway, Dr. Mizuno came rushing into the scene.
“What happened?” she asked the girls.
Ami began to explain in full detail what had occurred at Minako’s place. The medical terms were foreign language to everyone except the future doctor and her mother. Mamoru was at the side of Usagi’s stretcher, walking at the pace of the staff. The others were closely following behind.
“We can’t wait anymore. We’re going to have to perform surgery on her pronto,” ordered the Doctor. Usagi began to stir, slowly opening her eyes but squeezed them shut again from an unbearable pain pulsing through her head.
“She’s gaining consciousness doctor,” said one of the nurses.
Dr. Mizuno bent over to the odango haired girl, who was evidently disoriented, “Usagi, can you hear me? You’re in the hospital and we are going to prep you for surgery.”
Usagi turned weakly towards Mamoru, who was apparently holding her hand tightly. She also found the familiar faces of her friends hovering over her and she smiled weakly. Much to everyone’s protest, Usagi forcefully pulled out her oxygen mask, and said weakly, “Ev…verything will be okay...I…prom…ise…”
She gave them a fragile smile and slowly closed her eyes. A rapidly beeping of her heart monitor caused the hospital staff to instinctively react. Usagi could hear voices softly echoing through her mind, unable to distinguish them. Commands were being yelled. Her name was being yelled, but she felt herself slowly drifting away towards silence.
“USAGI!” yelled Mamoru.
“She’s crashing!” yelled one of the nurses.
Doctor Mizuno was then yelling orders out to her staff as they wheeled Usagi into the surgery room. One of the nurses had to pull Mamoru and Usagi’s friends away from the stretcher.
“I’m sorry, but only hospital personnel are allowed passed this point. You guys will have to stay in the waiting room.” she said this with the utmost delicacy and walked back to join the staff.
“No! I ne…need to be with her! I…let me go!” yelled Mamoru as Motoki tried to comfort his friend.
“Mamoru…there’s nothing we can do right now. Her life is in their hands now. You have to have faith in Usagi.”
“I…I...” Mamoru could no longer find his words and finally broke down. His tears were falling freely, and he began punching the wall with his bare hands. Motoki had to control his friend trying to understand the amount of pain and anxiety Mamoru was enduring right now. Finally exhausted, Mamoru leaned against the wall for support and slid down to the floor.
“She’ll make it. She’s going to make it,” said Ami as they sat in the waiting room.
“Sometimes, people don’t Ami-chan,” said Makoto gravely.
“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!” yelled Minako as she stood up in annoyance.
“Because in the past life, you didn’t make it,” she finished.
Minako was silent from the suddenly blow of Makoto’s words. She could not say anything because it was true. A day before her surgery, she was gone. It was obviously still a painful memory for the senshi. Mamoru was silent. All he could think of was Usagi, and Motoki sat beside him for support. Mamoru simply looked down with his elbows resting on his knees, arms crossed.
Rei stared at everyone, as they were all engulfed with their anxiety and grief. She was silent ever since they left Minako’s place. Their friend was being opened up in that surgery table, and they could do nothing but wait. Rei had faith in the girl, and yet there was still small feeling of doubt that nudged her. Minako didn’t make it last time, and it was Usagi who had revived the idol back to life. Usagi, their princess, who always reassured everyone that everything would be fine. But who was to revive her if she died? The thought cringed inside Rei and she hated the fact that she couldn’t do anything to help her friend.
“ I can’t take this,” the miko finally said and headed towards the door.
“Where are you going?” asked Makoto.
“Away from here.”
Before anyone could stop her, the miko rushed out of the room and began to walk hastily outside. Minako rushed after her, and Makoto was about to follow when Ami grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” she asked in surprise.
“Let them be Mako-chan. They’ll be back,” reassured Ami as Makoto finally stopped fighting to get free.
“How can you be so sure?”
“If there is anyone who could get through Rei, it’s Minako.”
Rei was now running through the streets of Tokyo, which was dangerously crowded from the fact that people were still celebrating the New Year. She pushed and shoved past the crowd as if her life depended on it. Finally reaching a few blocks from the Hikawa Shrine, Rei found herself walking near the entrance of the church. She sat on one of the benches, and looked up at the sky. The moon was full tonight, and she could spot the form of a rabbit. Baka Usagi, she thought. She fought back the tears. The miko couldn’t handle the rush of emotions that engulfed her very soul.
Despite the noise that surrounded the area, Rei could only hear silence. She zoned out her surroundings, and allowed her mind to wander. Breathe, she thought, hearing the beat of her heart and feeling the cold wind against her face.
“I knew you’d be here,” said Minako as Rei opened her eyes and turned around, “but why here?”
“Because, this place…this church. I always seem to feel at ease whenever I go here. Whenever I had trouble with my Papa, or when Mama was sick, I used to come here as a child too.” Rei wearily looked up at the idol. She was exhausted and it was painted all over her face
The miko had not even noticed the stinging coldness in the air that gripped her skin until the idol had pointed it out, ““You forgot your coat,” said Minako as she wrapped Rei with it, later settling beside her.
“Minako. I have not felt this scared since Mama died, or since that day when Artemis told me about when you...”
“Usagi needs us now. Wouldn’t you want to be there when she wakes up?”
“Of course, but I need a little more time here. I need to calm myself. I need to know that things will be okay.”
“It will be Rei-chan,” said Minako as she embraced the miko, “You just have to have faith.”
Meanwhile in the surgery room, Usagi lay stiff on the table. Hours passed since they had begun to operate on the girl and complications had started again. Dr. Mizuno was quick to respond to the problems. Usagi’s heart rate began to drop immensely, and the staff worked to keep her stable.
“Don’t you dare die on me Usagi,” said Dr. Mizuno, “You have to keep fighting!”
Dead? said a voice. Usagi looked around but found nobody nearby. She got up and reached out into the empty space before her. She could find nothing and suddenly spotted a grain of light. It was weak, but distinct and Usagi began to walk towards it. The light engulfed her body, and she felt a warmth sensation tickle her forehead, Is this how death feels? It’s not painful at all, is it? Usagi closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation of utter tranquility and warmth. She felt herself being lifted lightly from the ground, and she opened her eyes.
Usagi found herself lying on a bed that located in a room that felt familiar to her. She got up and scanned the premises, finding the room to be empty. The odango-haired girl slowly got out of the bed and walked outside, finding herself in a hallway. Why do I feel like I’ve been here before? she thought as she began to walk. She heard a distant music playing and she followed the sound. What is that? The hallway was endless, but she continued on and followed the sound of music.
Usagi-chan! Said someone. The voice sounded so familiar, but she could not grasp a face. Finally, a little girl appeared before her and she smiled. She had dark blue hair pulled back into pigtails, and was elegantly dressed in white.
“Who are you?” Usagi asked.
“You don’t remember, do you?” The little girl sadly smiled and began to walk away. Usagi was not at all scared and followed her.
“Wait! Remember what? You’re going to fast!” said Usagi frantically.
“Silly Usagi-chan,” said the little girl as she skipped further. Usagi was running now, and saw the familiar light. She was engulfed by it and when she looked around, she found herself at a garden.
“What…what is this?” she asked.
This time, a boy who was in a white outfit as well joined the little girl. His hair was silver, and he looked to be about the same age as the girl. Despite their young appearances, there seemed to be a sense of ancient wisdom within themselves. He smiled and then bowed reverently at Usagi. She was taken aback by this gesture, but for some reason it felt right. Usagi noticed that both children had a crescent moon embedded into their clothing, as if it were a seal.
“Luna?”
She was now gasping for breath. “I came as soon as Artemis told me!”
“Where is Usagi’s family?”
“They’re waiting in another room.”
“I wonder how much longer this will be,” said Makoto.
“It’s a very complicated operation. One simple mistake could end up with a grave result,” answered Ami. She looked at the two empty chairs nearby her. Rei and Minako had not come back yet.
“That wasn’t very reassuring Ami-chan,” said Makoto wearily. She was starting to fall asleep due to the fact that it was way past midnight. Something felt wrong in her gut, and she tried her best to ignore it, resting her head on Motoki’s shoulder. I hope everything is going okay in there.
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