People called it lots of things. The daily grind, 9 to 5, earning your bread and butter... Aino Minako called it work. That’s what it was. A long time ago, she would’ve imagined the acting business to be nice and glamorous. However, when you were reduced to handing coffee to a stuck-up pansy director, it was most certainly NOT glamorous. When she arrived home, she was tired. Real tired. Bone tired. The year 3010 may have been opportunity central for the mechanical geniuses out there, but it was just another year to Minako. She took the elevator to her apartment, pulled her card key through the slot, and a cool rush of air blew across her face when the door opened. "Arty? Artemis, come here...here kitty..." The jangle of a bell and a soft mew greeted her when her white cat, Artemis, peeked out of his hiding place and trotted over to her, rubbing against her leg. She scooped him up and smiled. "Only good thing about today is you buddy," she murmured against his fur. Artemis soon lost interest of his mistress however, and ran over to the balcony door. He pawed on the cool glass, and gave Minako a pleading look. She got the message, and opened the door for the small tomcat. "Have fun with your girlfriend," she called to the cat. Artemis was long gone however, and Minako sighed, and plopped down in a chair. "I swear, even my cat leaves me. You are sad, Minako. You are really sad..." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ She was scared. If the doctors found her again, they wouldn’t let her go. She ran, wincing when the bright glow of a flash light invaded her eyes, causing her pupils to dilate. "There she is!" A gruff voice shouted. She gasped, running down the steep jagged hill, tripping over rocks and branches in her path. She finally lost her balance, and fell, tumbling down to a seemingly inevitable doom. Sharp, blinding pain. The tearing of her delicate flesh against the cold, unforgiving stone. And then silence. The searchers shook their heads, staring down. "Too bad," one of them muttered, shaking his head, "the doc is going to be pissed. She was a good specimen..." She heard the sea...and her pain dulled for a moment. Soft emerald eyes gazed out toward the sunset. "Free..." she whispered before she blacked out... ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Minako loved the sea. That’s why she loved her apartment building, because it was nice and close to the beautiful, blue-green sea. In a world where machines reigned, nature was a rare sight. She was walking along the seashore now, rubbing her toes in the grainy, warm sand, her blonde hair flowing behind her like a cape. Artemis was perched on her shoulder, half-asleep. She prodded him gently with her finger, and he mewed angrily at her, batting her hand away. "Cranky, eh?" The cat seemed to roll his eyes, and Minako giggled, picking up her pace. Then she tripped over something. Something soft. Artemis fell off her shoulder, and landed on his feet, respectively. Minako was not so lucky. "Oomph!" she muttered, spitting sand out of her mouth, and sitting up. "What in the world...?" She turned over, and stared down at what she had tripped over. Or who, rather. A girl. She looked pretty banged up, her matted, tangled white hair covering her naked skin, eyes shut tight. Her breathing was labored, and she had a number of cuts and scratches along her porcelain skin. Minako had no idea what she was doing, but she took off her jacket (it was brisk that day), and wrapped it around the small girl. With some effort, she lifted the young lady up, and headed back to her apartment, Artemis trotting behind her. "Good thing I took those self-defense classes...if I can throw people over my shoulder, I can pick up some kid..." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~* She heard humming. And she felt warm water. Was someone...tending to her wounds? This seemed...hard to believe. Perhaps the doctor had found her? For a moment she was seized with terror. The humming calmed her down however. Soft hands ran through her wet hair, and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t open her eyes. For some odd reason, she didn’t see the need to. She was safe. She liked this feeling...what did they call it? Oh yes...comfort. The humming turned to singing, and the girl smiled. Whoever this was, they had a nice, calm voice. She liked it. "Suteki da ne...Futari te wo tori..." She wanted to open her eyes. She knew she had to....just to see this person...that gave her comfort. And so she did. It was slow, and very painful, and for a moment, light blinded her again. And then, she stared into the most fascinating blue...like the boundless blue sky. "Sky..." she whispered. She heard a gasp, and realized that the sky was really a pair of startled blue eyes. "You woke up! Wow!" The girl held her head. Too much excitement... "Please...loud." The person with the sky-blue eyes frowned, and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Gomen." The girl looked up, and got a good look at the sky-eyed person. She had a soft, youthful face, and she was very pretty. Blonde hair tumbled down her back, and she smiled warmly at the girl. "Let’s get you out of the tub, ok?" The girl nodded. This person could be trusted. She knew it. "Ok." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Later, when Minako had the young woman dressed in a nightgown, she decided to introduce herself...and ask questions. "I’m Aino Minako. What’s your name, hon?" The girl turned to her, and stared at her blankly. "Name...I don’t know." Minako frowned. "You don’t know? Do you know where you came from?" "A dark place...I don’t want to go back there again...do not make me go back, comforter." Minako laughed. "Comforter? What, I’m a blanket now?" The girl frowned. "No...blanket...is something...inanimate. You are real. You comfort me, and as a result, I call you comforter." "Um...you can just call me Minako." "Alright...Minako-comforter." "Oy." Minako found this girl very strange. Whatever had happened to her must have been traumatizing, but Minako decided to leave her alone for now. She would talk when she was ready. The girl yawned. "I am tired Minako-comforter. Are there sleeping quarters I can reside in?" Minako blinked. "You can sleep on the couch." And she did. And later on, with Artemis curled at the foot of her bed; she pondered and pondered, and finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
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