[Author's note: the scrapbook item regarding the World Health Organization is an actual press release from their website, with obvious changes made for story purpose (ie. inserting Rei). For the actual article, go to: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/statements/statement4/en/] ------------------------- [Spring/Summer 2003] Ami sat towards the back of the local Starbucks, sipping her coffee slowly and pondering the sealed envelope on the table. Briefly she considered her newly-acquired taste (no, not a habit, really) for coffee. With a giggle, she wondered how much better her grades might have been if she had dosed herself with this much caffeine to stay up later studying back in high school. "Hey Ami, are you coming to the meeting tonight?" a young brunette asked her from over by the door where she stood with a couple students. "We're going to start planning our booth for the student activities fair." Ami smiled and nodded, "I'll be there, Chrissy, but I have a paper due, so I might have to leave a little early." "That's fine, see you tonight!" Chrissy and her friends waved and headed out into the rain. 'I wonder what my friends would think if they saw me working a booth for B-GLAD," Ami mused. Apparently her fondness (not an addiction, seriously) for coffee wasn't the only new thing about her since coming to America. "Penny for your thoughts," a familiar voice announced. Ami looked up just as her friend Elizabeth set her own coffee cup down next to Ami's. "May I join you?" "Of course," Ami replied with a warm grin, moving her things to clear space at the small table. "I knew I'd find you here." Elizabeth settled down in the chair across from Ami, shifting her long blonde hair over one shoulder and out of her eyes. She slouched down a bit so that she could be at eye-level with her more diminutive friend. She briefly considered the tableau that the two of them must present to the rest of the world: Ami, an almost stereotypical petite, painfully cute Asian and herself, a tall, tanned California girl. "Were you looking for me?" Ami asked. Her eyes drifted down to the envelope; she could guess why Elizabeth was here. Elizabeth's eyes followed Ami down to the table. "You haven't even opened it yet? What is the hold-up? Aren't you dying of curiosity?" Ami nodded and picked up the letter. "How did you know?" "Hiro got his today. He's been accepted. I figure if he got his, you must have gotten yours. If they said yes to him, how could they say no to you?" "I'm happy for him, I know he really wanted to stay," Ami said quickly. "I guess, I'm still not sure..." Elizabeth laid her hand gently over Ami's on the table. "Ami, I thought you'd decided finally." "I did. I have. It's just...." With a plaintive sigh and light squeeze, Elizabeth released Ami's hand and leaned back in her chair. "Ami, she's not even in Tokyo any more." Ami raised her gaze to meet her friends. Though she knew she still didn't have the people skills that someone like Rei or Usagi had, she had learned a lot from her friends. She could see the pain there and she could remember its source. --- Elizabeth stepped forward, closing the space between them. Ami shivered as the blonde laced her hands behind Ami's waist and leaned down, resting her forehead against Ami's own. "Ami, you're not only beautiful and sweet, you're brilliant. You must know how I feel about you," Elizabeth whispered. Before she could tilt her head and press her lips to Ami's, the latter pressed her hand against them. "Please, Elizabeth, don't." The disappointment and pain Ami saw in those blue eyes broke her heart. How ironic that she should be in this position. "I know how you feel about me, I do. I care about you very much. You're my best friend here and you've been so wonderful to me." "But..." Elizabeth prompted, trying vainly to stop the tears from building in her eyes. "There has to be a 'but.'" Ami's fingers shifted to caress her friend's cheek. "There is, dear Elizabeth. I think you're wonderful, and so very beautiful, but there's someone else, someone back home. It wouldn't be fair to you to pretend that there wasn't." "But, I thought you'd never... at that meeting you said that you had never actually..." "I haven't," Ami sighed regretfully, "and maybe I never will, but someone else holds my heart in her hands." "I hope she understands what a precious thing that is," Elizabeth muttered. "How long will you wait, Ami? How long will you turn away from what is to wait for what might never be?" "I have eternity to wait," Ami whispered. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I suppose you won't want to see me again." "Don't be ridiculous," Elizabeth responded, pulling Ami into a tight hug, resting her head on top of Ami's. "Hard as it might be to believe, I've been shot down before, but good friends are a treasure you can never let go." She regretfully kissed Ami's hair, capturing its texture and scent in her memories forever, and released her friend. Taking one of Ami's hands in her own, she continued their walk home. "So, the least you can do is tell me all about this mystery woman." Ami beamed up at her friend with boundless relief. It would have been so hard if she'd lost Elizabeth from her life. "I guess I can do that much. Her name is Makoto..." --- "She's in France anyway, so what does it matter?" Elizabeth's words shook Ami out of her reverie. "I know," she answered quickly, "and Rei is in Africa and Mina is out on tour most of the time. Only Usagi and my mom are still there." She took a deep breath and slid one finger in the gap where the envelope was sealed. "You're right, I've made this decision. It's only another year or two anyway." "If you get in," Elizabeth teased, raising an eyebrow. She laughed when Ami stuck out her tongue in reply. With a swift motion, Ami opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. As her eyes scanned through it, a light began to shine in them and her smile expanded. That was when she knew what she'd really wanted all along. ---------- Makoto carefully cut out the last piece of the article. It was getting harder to get a hold of these things, since news from San Francisco was not reported often in Paris. Fortunately, one of the women in her classes was the wife of someone high up in the American Embassy. They got all sorts of newspapers over there from the States and Makoto's friend always kept an eye out for particular articles. As she slid the piece of paper into her scrapbook, she grinned proudly. They really loved her over there. Any disappointment she'd felt when she'd gotten the email from Ami faded in the bright pride that blazed up while re-reading the article. --- -Sailor Mercury Signs On For Extended Tour of Duty- [San Francisco] After spending the afternoon helping firefighters battle a five-alarm blaze at an office building downtown (see related story, page 1A), Sailor Mercury took some questions from the assembled media. The elusive young heroine confirmed once again the fact that she is a native Japanese. When asked how long she planned to remain in the United States, she replied, "Another year at least, now." Needless to say, this news was greeted with tremendous joy by the assembled onlookers. Brandie Stanton, president of the Sailor Mercury Fan Club, said later in response, "We're all so happy...(see page 12A "Sailor Mercury") ------------------------------------------- "Hi honey, I'm home!" "I'm in the living room, Mamo-chan," Usagi replied. She stood up from the low table and moved to greet her fiance as he entered the room. "How was work today, darling?" Mamoru embraced Usagi kissed her tenderly, "Long, but interesting. It was a slow news day, so we spent most of our time catching up on things, collecting fluff pieces, that sort of thing." "Doesn't sound too interesting to me," Usagi pointed out. Though Mamoru loved his job as the news station, it always sounded very boring to Usagi. Still, there were fringe benefits. "Did you see anything new for my scrapbook!" "As a matter of fact, Usako, I did," Mamoru chuckled. He loved the way Usagi became as enthusiastic as a child at Christmas whenever he brought her anything. He pulled out the San Francisco Examiner article and held it out for her. "It seems that news of Ami's stay in the US is now public knowledge." Mamoru thought for a moment and corrected himself, "Well, of Sailor Mercury's extended stay, that is." Usagi had scanned the article quickly and then dashed over to the table, where she placed it amongst an assortment of other papers scattered about. "I was just working on my scrapbook when you came in. We were doing something similar in class today, so I got inspired." Mamoru hung his jacket over the back of a chair and sat on the sofa, happily content to watch his intended sift through her papers. "And how was class today? Anyone else sick?" "No, little Miri is back and that cold that was sweeping through seems to have petered out," Usagi replied. Having just graduated college, she had wanted nothing more than to settle down, but for some reason their wedding plans kept getting more and more complex. Though a tentative date was now set, pending parental approval, life as a wife and mother was far enough in the future that Usagi had decided to get a job of her own. Usagi and Mamoru both were constantly surprised at how very much she enjoyed teaching preschoolers, though that type of job had initially seemed much more up Makoto's alley than Usagi's. Though they didn't speak of it much, Usagi and Mamoru knew that all too soon, they would find themselves in quite different positions. Given that, they both resolved to enjoy as much mundane normalcy as they could in their lives now. "I'm glad the kids are all feeling better," Mamoru said. "You can go ahead and keep working on that; it's my turn to cook tonight." "You think I don't know this?" Usagi asked wryly. "Now get those shoes off, get that apron and cook me a meal, Mamo-chan!" She laughed when he simply stared at her in mock irritation. Suddenly, she leapt to her feet and threw her arms around him. "I love you so much, Mamo-chan! You're so cute when you pretend to pout." Mamoru laughed and scooped his love off of her feet, relishing her happy squeal as he swung her in a short circle. "I love you, too, Usako. After dinner, you can show me the progress you've made." He kissed her then, perhaps a bit more passionately than he'd originally intended. As he set her down, she giggled happily, as she always did when she realized the effect she had on him. "Enough of that, you. I'm hungry and I want my dinner." She gave him a peck on the cheek and gently shoved him towards the kitchen. Once he was safely away, she settled back down by the table, sorting through her articles. Truly, it had been much too long since she'd gotten around to updating her scrapbook. 'I think this one next,' she thought as she lifted a glossy magazine article. --------- --UN agencies and generic pharmaceutical companies step up collaboration to expand access to essential medicines-- The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recognize that the generic pharmaceutical industry has a vital role to play in efforts to provide safe and effective medicines at low cost to improve health and save lives. At meetings this week, WHO?s Director-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland welcomed the commitment made by the International Generic Pharmaceutical Alliance (IGPA) and generic manufacturers of antiretrovirals (ARVs) to work in close collaboration with UN agencies to achieve increased access to safe and effective medicines of assured quality. Director-General Brundtland announced that WHO staffer Hino Rei would head up a new office designed to foster this collaboration and to ensure the distribution of low cost pharmaceuticals to impoverished peoples across the world. Ms. Hino made a statement to the press. "The UN family is fully committed to working with the international generic industry as well as brand name companies to scale up access to HIV/AIDS care. There are millions of people at risk from this deadly disease, many of them children. My office will work to ensure that these people receive the care and medicines they require to live healthy, productive lives." --------- Rei leaned forward, pulling her hair together and binding it up with a red ribbon. She could imagine what it looked like in this heat and humidity, but hopefully in a long ponytail, it would be fine. Her neck certainly felt cooler. She stood beside a white-walled building watching trucks drive past into the compound. A clerk stood next to her, tallying each arrival on a clipboard. "That's just about all of them, Ms. Hino," the clerk informed as the last truck arrived. "What do you mean 'just about'?" Rei asked. The trucks were all traveling together in a caravan from the port, carrying much needed medical supplies for the people in the interior. Rei had spent the better part of the last few months negotiating with the CEOs of the world's largest drug companies, trying to convince them to donate these supplies or at least to sell them at a price even the UN could afford. "Come on," she said to her aide as she set off to track down the last driver. "Yeah, they got a flat tire," the driver informed her after Rei had inquired about the fate of the last truck. "We offered to hold up the caravan, but they insisted we go on ahead." Biting off any number of curses that sprang to mind, Rei thanked the driver. "I'm sure they'll be here soon," the clerk suggested. Rei paused, however, and focused herself. Sometimes, she really missed the quiet serenity of her old temple and of the sacred flame. As she cleared her mind, she sensed it. Something was wrong. "I need a car," she announced to the startled clerk. "But, Ms. Hino..." the clerk stammered. "No 'buts'! I need a car. Now!" Without waiting for a reply, Rei dashed off to the motor pool. Her aide could fill out the paperwork later. She was good at that. Rei, on the other hand, had little patience for such things. Even as the young woman ran up, waving her clipboard frantically, Rei sped off in the opposite direction. She found the missing truck rather soon. Unfortunately, they had encountered more trouble than just a flat tire. As Rei peered over a rise at the scene before her, she could make out the drivers of the truck, bound and gagged by the side of the road. A group of young men in combat fatigues, with rifles in hand, were just releasing the truck from the jack and getting ready to climb aboard. "Come on, those peacekeepers could be back here any minute." "And if they do, we'll show them who really rules this part of the world. Hey, who's that?" "Stop right there! The peacekeepers you refer to risk their lives to protect the innocent and bring peace and security to people all over the world. That truck has medicine that will save the lives of women and children in this country. I will not allow crooked thieves like to you to steal it. I am Sailor Mars, and in the name of Mars, I will punish you." "It's some girl in high heels! Go grab her and we can have a little fun back at camp. Holy crap! What's she doing???" ------------------- "So, did you hear about what happened with Rei?" Minako asked, settling back into the comfy, yet stylish, sofa that Mamoru and Usagi had just bought. It was hard to move with so much food sitting in her tummy. She had never known that Usagi was such a good cook. True, the kitchen looked like a tsunami had passed through, but the food had been wonderful. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal after so much junk eaten on the road. Usagi sat across from Minako, not concerned in the least about the immense amount of clean-up work she had left for Mamoru. It was his turn to clean, after all. "No, what happened?" Minako smiled happily. Apparently, Rei hadn't told anyone else and that made her feel special. "Well, she told me about in a letter, but then I tracked this down off of a wire service." Minako blushed, "Well, some of my people tracked it down for me, but I asked them to!" Mina pulled out a well-worn piece of paper out of her purse. Usagi took it and read, careful not to rip it. Looking up, she exclaimed, "Sailor Mars saved a shipment of medical supplies?! And Rei didn't even mention it in her last letter!" "I think she was kind of embarrassed. She's been so focused on her work with the WHO. I think she almost felt like she was cheating using her Sailor powers to help," Minako explained. "But she told you," Usagi pointed out in a teasing tone, tainted with a hint of jealousy. Minako broke out in a sweat and turned her gaze away from Usagi's with a happy blush. Trying to change the subject, she asked, "Have you heard anything from Makoto lately?" -------------------------- "May I have a word with you, Kino-san?" The sound of Japanese being spoken startled Makoto. Looking up from the bowls and ingredients laid out before her, she saw an older Asian man in a nice black suit waiting patiently. "Are you allowed to be back here?" she asked, wiping flour off of her hands onto her apron. "Monsieur LaHaye gave me his personal permission to speak with you now, Kino-san," the Japanese man informed her. "My name is Watanabe and I represent a very large hotel chain." "Pleased to meet you, Watanabe-san," Makoto replied, still puzzled as to why Master LaHaye would allow someone into his kitchen. "Please, Monsieur LaHaye said that we may speak in his office," Watanabe explained. With a gesture indicating she should follow, he headed toward the back of the kitchen and into a small office. As he sat behind the desk, he gestured to Makoto to take a seat as well. "Kino-san, our corporation has been seeking a new master chef for some time now. We have recently purchased a series of upscale hotels throughout Europe and we need someone to oversee the restaurants in those hotels." Makoto simply stared at the man. 'He must need a recommendation,' she decided finally. She frantically began to search her head for names of those who might be qualified for such an important position. "The president of the company prefers that positions of such importance be filled with people who understand our homeland, preferably native Japanese. However, we also require someone familiar with Europe and European cuisine. Additionally, it is our preference to hire younger individuals, people with great potential who are willing to work hard to achieve that potential, rather than to bring on established names. We find that people at the beginning of their careers are more productive than those at the end." "You can't be suggesting..." Makoto began, shaking her head in disbelief. "Yes, Kino-san, we are suggesting. Please understand that I have performed extensive research, interviewed master chefs and the faculty of the finest culinary academies in both Tokyo and Paris. Throughout my search, I have heard one name over and over again. Monsieur LaHaye confirmed it this evening when he said that you were the finest sous chef he has seen in years and that your potential was limitless." Makoto fell back into her chair, not even realizing till that point that she had been sitting on the edge of it. This had to be some sort of joke. Even as she struggled to guess who could be so cruel, Watanabe reached into his briefcase and pulled out some folders. "This is information about our corporation, including a formal offer letter and an explanation of our benefits package. You will also find information about the restaurants and hotels in question. While your work will keep you in Europe for the next few years, you should know that if you do as well as we expect it is likely that we will recall you to Japan after that. The individual who occupies the same position for our Japanese hotels is due to retire in the near future. I'm sure this is a lot for you to process, and I know you have work to do this evening. Please look over what I've given you and consider our offer. My card is in that red folder. I will await your reply." ---------------------- 'Oh Mako-chan, I knew you could do it,' Ami sighed as she pressed the article into place. She placed the remnants of the Food section of the Examiner to one side and picked up the Travel section. Not for the first time, she found herself seeking out air fares for flights to Europe instead of Japan.
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