[Author's Note: Unfortunately, in order to ensure that anyone can read this stuff, I save it as normal text. That means I don't have the full range of formatting options I would have in MS Word, for example. Normally, this is not a problem, but in the first part of what's below, I really need Strikethrough. It is a written letter and Mako is crossing things out and re- writing them from time to time and I want to capture that. So, I've had to come up with a way to show that in normal text format. When you see something like "XXI love youXX", it means that everything between the XXs was stricken out, but still legible to Ami. If you see something like "XXI mXXs yXX", it means that only the "I m__s y__" is legible under the stricken out part. I hope this is not too jarring. Desslok] ---------------------------- [Winter 2002] "Dear Ami-chan, "I was going to email you but Rei thought it might be better if I wrote you instead. I hope you can read my handwriting! So, how's things going in America? XXMeet anyone interestingXX I hope you are making friends and having a good time and learning a lot. "I figure we both owe each other apologies so how about we just skip that and move on, okay? We're both sorry, we're both still friends, etc etc. "Things here have changed quite a bit since you left. Rei is leaving, too. I'm sure you know by now that she's off to Europe. I really envy her. There are some really great cooking schools there and one of my teachers says that all the best chefs must go through Paris someday. "XXI talked to MinaXX As I'm writing this, I'm realizing how much I miss you. I knew we'd spent a lot of time together, but I guess I kinda took you for granted. You're really the only one that I always felt like I could tell anything too and since you've gone its been very lonely. I talked to Mina and we got things straight. I think she and Rei had some sort of talk too cause Mina seems real calm about Rei's leaving. XXXI guess you're gXXXXg your Xish, things are changXXg big timeXXX Sometimes, I still get mad that everything is changing and I blame you, but I know that's not fair of me. Rei has seemed so much happier since she decided to go. Usagi tells me that you're really happy too. XXI wish I had someplace to goXX "Everyone keeps telling me that I need to write to you so we can figure things out. I don't want to figure things out. I just miss you and want to talk to you. I wish you were home. I'm sorry if that doesn't help you, but I don't know what else to say. I'm not mad at you anymore. I was, but I'm over it. I know that you did what you thought was right and I respect that. I just miss you is all. I don't like being alone. XXXXXXXXXXXXXX "Anyway, you can reach me at the usual place. Doesn't look like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. Hope to hear from you soon. "Love, Mako-chan" --------- "Hey, Mako-chan, check this out!" Usagi announced as she strode into her friend's apartment, bustling past Makoto in the open doorway. "Ummm ok, Usagi-chan. Hello. Come in." Makoto laughed at Usagi's puzzled expression and took the piece of paper being thrust at her. "Someone at his office told Mamo-chan about this and he got a copy and brought it home to me," Usagi explained as Makoto examined what she now saw was a photocopy of two newspaper articles. --- "Scantily-clad Schoolgirl Saves Stanford Student Sailors" (AP) San Francisco: Yesterday afternoon, a young Asian woman dressed in a schoolgirl's uniform saved a group of Stanford University students from drowning. The students were sailing in heavy winds in San Francisco Bay. Witnesses report that a sudden gust of wind, combined with the wake from a large speedboat, had threatened to capsize the students' sailboat. "Just as it was about to go over, there was a flash of light on the beach and then this girl was standing there in a blue mini-skirt and scarf. She waved her hands and suddenly these bubbles appeared, flying out towards the boat. The water around the boat froze and the kids got safely out onto the ice." Lt. Kashner of the Coast Guard added, "We got a distress call and found what looked like an iceberg in the middle of the bay, but in the center of it was a sailboat on its side, with a bunch of students waiting nearby." Scientists can offer no explanation as to how a schoolgirl could freeze a sailboat-sized chunk of San Francisco Bay with bubbles. - "Sailor Mercury on a US Tour?" (AP) San Francisco: Sources from Tokyo have verified that the schoolgirl who saved a group of students from drowning this past weekend could very well have been Sailor Mercury. While many Americans are familiar with the exploits of London-based Sailor V, it seems that Tokyo is home to a number of astronomically oriented young women who protect that city like comic book superheroes..... [grainy photo of a sailor scout included with story] --- Makoto looked up from the second article with a proud smile. "Can I keep these?" ------------------ "Dearest Mako-chan, "Thank you so much for writing to me. You have made me so happy. I can tell that you are still mad and I know you said not to bother, but I want to apologize anyway. If I could have thought of anything else to do other than leave you, I would have done it. We need not talk about how I did what I did. You are braver than I am and would have done things better, I'm sure, or at least differently. "I am doing very well here in America, though I miss you all terribly. I have made a lot of friends. Please don't worry about me. I didn't want or need to hear anything from you other than what you said. I miss you, too, Mako-chan, very very much. "I'm also very happy for Rei. I think she will do well. You mention Paris, Mako-chan. Why don't you apply to some schools there? You are a wonderful chef with a lot of creativity and innovative ideas. No one was more scared than I was before leaving, and I've managed to survive. I know you can do it, too. If there is one thing that the Pegasus taught us it's that we have to go after our dreams! "Usagi emailed me and told me you all saw some of those newspaper articles. When I saw that boat sinking, I didn't even have time to think, I just transformed. Mako-chan, I didn't need my wand to do it, it just happened! Luna told us someday we wouldn't need our wands anymore. I guess that time has come. It's very embarrassing, really, because the whole city seems obsessed with Sailor Mercury now. I guess I got used to just being another one of Sailor Moon's friends. It's strange having everyone focused on little old me! "Mako-chan, I haven't told anyone else this, but I know I can tell you anything. I think I like all of the attention. I guess I learned more from all of you than I'd realized, because my life is quite different here. I'm actually very popular! It is a very odd experience. Please don't think that I am bragging. That's why I didn't want to say anything to the others, but I wanted to tell you. I don't like it that I don't know everything that is going on in your life any longer, or that you don't know what is going on in mine. "Please give my best to everyone at home and write or email me when you can. And, Mako-chan, please give some thought to what I said earlier. If all great chefs must go through Paris, then you must do so as well, because you're going to be the best in the world, I just know it. I have nothing but confidence in you. I love you, Mako-chan, and I miss you very much. "Yours always, Ami-chan" ------------ Usagi sighed deeply as she watched the plane taxi out toward the runway. Mamoru tightened his arms ever so slightly around her waist, watching her reflection in the glass before them. "I'm going to miss her so much, Mamo-chan," she murmured. "Why are all of my friends leaving me? Do you think it's something I said or did?" Spinning her gently so that she faced him, Mamoru kissed her forehead. "Don't be silly, Usako. It has nothing to do with you. This is just something Rei needs to do. She was like a flower wilting in the shade in that temple. Now, she can really bloom." "But it's not just her. First Ami, and now we find out Makoto is applying to schools in Paris. I need them, Mamo-chan. What am I going to do?" Mamoru glanced over Usagi's shoulder, noting that Rei's flight was taking off. "You're going to do the same thing that they are doing, Usako. You're going to adapt and grow. I can promise you one thing, my love. I won't leave you, not again." Usagi's eyes widened. "You mean?" "Yes," he replied with a grin. "I've decided not to go back to the US next semester. I'm home to stay." "Oh Mamo-chan!" Usagi squealed, burrowing into his arms. "I've decided something else, too," Mamoru continued, a little less certainly. "I want you to move in with me." Usagi lifted her head suddenly, staring into his eyes to see if there was any sign of jest there. "Are you serious, Mamo-chan?" "I've never been more serious about anything in my life, darling," he stated. "We have been apart long enough. Besides, we have a wedding to plan, don't we?" "Oh Mamo-chan, yes, yes, yes!" Usagi yelled, jumping up and down in his arms delightedly. Without warning, though, she stopped and shot him a dangerous look. "Wait, aren't you forgetting something?" As the warning flags flew in his head, Mamoru cautiously replied, "No, I don't think so." "You're supposed to propose to me! Where's my ring?!" Usagi demanded. Even as he began backpedaling and fixing it, Mamoru thought to himself, "Well, at least she's not sad about Rei any more." --------------- LIVE ONE-NIGHT ONLY!!!! THE J-POP ALL-STARS CLUB NEW YORK FRIDAY NIGHT 8 PM TILL THEY KICK US OUT STARRING: KAZORI HIROAKI (#1 HIT "DON'T STOP DANCING") ALSO FEATURING: K-CREW (AS HEARD ON TV'S HIT SHOW "POPMANIA") AND ALSO: AINO MINAKO (TOP 50 HIT "LOVE ME CHAIN") ------------------------ "KBBL, this is DJ-Ran! What do you want to hear?" "AAAAAAAAHHHH DJ-Ran!!! We're having a slumber party and we all want to hear 'Love Me Chain'!!!!" "You got it, girls. Go untie little brother and make sure your PJs are on tight, cause here's the song that's sweeping the nation, Aino Minako and 'Love Me Chain!'" ----------------------- "And finally, on a lighter note, Sony Records announced today that they have signed new sensation Aino Minako to a 5 record deal. To celebrate, the teen idol announced a 30-city tour of Japan, Korea, and the Pacific Rim to kick off in just a few months. You can check her official website for details." "Sounds like a fun show, Tetsuyo. My kids love her." "Well, maybe we can pull some strings here in the studio to get tickets for them. That's all for tonight. We'll see you all tomorrow with more Eyewitness News." -------------------- "To Mako-chan, the greatest chef those silly French people have never seen, till now!" Minako, Usagi, and Mamoru raised their glasses while their very embarrassed friend tried to squirm into the back of the sofa. When they finished their toast, Makoto suggested one of her own. "To Mina-chan, who we all knew was a star long before the rest of the world figured it out!" Mamoru and Usagi again clinked glasses, the latter apparently beginning to feel some of the effects of the champagne. Unlike Mako, however, Mina joined the toast to herself with gusto, beaming radiantly at her friends. When Ami had gone, no one had known ahead of time. When Rei had gone, there hadn't been enough time to organize anything more than a farewell dinner at a restaurant and a ride to the airport. Fortunately, the third time had been the charm and the farewell party for both Makoto and Minako had been a huge success. Mamoru and Usagi had insisted that Makoto could not be allowed to cook for her own party and so had had it catered in their new apartment. Similarly, despite her offers, Minako had been forbidden from providing entertainment. Instead, Michiru had graciously offered to perform, accompanied as always by Haruka on piano. Though the guest list was fairly small, everyone had had a wonderful time and only recently had the party broken up for the evening. And so the four of them sat, sipping the last of their drinks, none wanting to be the one to bring their last night together (for awhile anyway) to an end. Usagi, dozing lightly on Mamoru's shoulder, broke the silence at last. "I'm going to miss both of you so much," she wailed out of the blue, lunging over to the other couch suddenly to tackle-hug both of her friends. The three girls remained pressed together for a few moments, sharing a teary-eyed farewell. Sensing that the night was at last over, Mamoru went to gather jackets and call for a cab. As Mina and Mako got their things together, Usagi dashed into the kitchen, returning with a large box. "Now, Mina-chan, you are going on tour, but then you'll be back here, so you don't get a goodbye present. Mako-chan is going very very far away and we don't know if she'll ever come back!" Before Makoto could reassure her melancholy (and quite tipsy) friend that she would indeed be home after her studies were complete, Usagi shushed her and shoved the package into her hands. "You don't open that till you are on the plane, ok?" Makoto nodded her agreement and the three girls shared one last hug together. For awhile anyway. -------------------- "Dear Mako-chan, Though I'm sorry to see you go here is a goodbye present from me and Mamo-chan. We know how much you like collecting articles about Ami-chan so here is something to put them in. It is a scrap book. I already have one with things about everyone in it. I cant wait to add restarant reviews from Paris too!! Love Usagi" ---------------------
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