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PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 9: ABCs of Apologizing
After Luna and Artemis cut the connection with Chibi-Usa, the two cats leapt down from the computer console in Crystal Tokyo’s engineering suite and headed down the hallways. As they crossed a balcony overseeing the city, they found King Endymion gazing upon the scenery while drinking some coffee. Although it was grey and overcast, this didn’t seem to bother him too much.
“Your Highness!” Artemis exclaimed as he and Luna jumped onto the table. “Small Lady just contacted us with some new information.”
“Is she doing well?” the king asked.
“Very much so, although she and the Quartet got into a battle with one of those monsters from before.”
The cats then went on to detail Chibi-Usa’s information to him – the nature of the Erisians, how they spawned from the goddess of discord Eris, their discussion about Eris and Selene’s history, the identity of the archer Sailor Soldier, the probable reason for her not trusting Earth’s warriors, and how she wasn’t from Shadow Galactica. Endymion took some time to think about all of this, feeling especially bothered by Sailor Arsenic Hyena’s contradicting nature of harboring animosity while still helping his daughter and her guardians.
“Even with all of this information, we still can’t do much to help,” Luna felt dejected.
The king stroked the black cat’s back. “There’s too much we don’t know about, and a lot of our theories are just conjecture for now. All that’s for certain is that the goddess Eris is the one responsible for these attacks, and that there is a connection between her and this new Soldier. Fortunately, they don’t appear to be on the same side; Hyena is assisting us with defeating Eris’ minions.”
“I’m not sure if we should focus on Eris or Hyena for getting more details,” Artemis admitted.
Endymion gazed upon Tokyo again, this time letting a small smile slip through. “I trust that Chibi-Usa will figure out how to talk to Hyena. She wouldn’t want her to continue fighting alone for very long. If she can overcome Hyena’s trust issues, then we could gain a valuable ally in this battle. Our priority should be locating more Erisians and sending the Sailor Soldiers out to fight them.”
“But if we deploy the Soldiers, that will leave Crystal Tokyo unguarded!”
“Serenity and I will remain to protect the Silver Crystal. It’s more important for the citizens to feel safe during this time of crisis.”
“That’s true…” Luna murmured. “Then Artemis and I will monitor the skies for any activity.”
The cats left Endymion alone, and he took a few more sips of his drink before leaving the balcony to go find his wife, the Sailor Soldiers, and his Four Generals to discuss this new turn of events.
**
Chibi-Usa felt a little better from talking with Luna and Artemis, but she now had to contend with these new feelings brewing within her. She grew confused about what to do when she met Hyena again. What would she say to her? Were her assumptions even right to begin with? Was she looking at this all wrong? Could they become friends, or would they remain stuck in this distant stalemate? She had no way of knowing until she talked to Hyena.
Even though she couldn’t do anything about it, Chibi-Usa still had many bothersome thoughts swirling in her mind. She decided to put her rain coat on, grab an umbrella, and go for a nice long walk. She didn’t have a particular destination in mind; she just wanted to get moving to burn off this stressful energy welling within her. After leaving a note for the sisters, she left the apartment complex.
Chibi-Usa didn’t really pay attention to where she was going. The flurry of street signs, passing people and rolling cars barely registered to her. All she could see was Sailor Arsenic Hyena’s face; her tired eyes, her unsmiling lips, and her apple green hair nearly covering her eyes in a veil of mystery. It was the face of someone who had gone through a lot in her life, but Hyena refused to place her faith in Earth’s guardians and reveal what those troubles were. As someone who loved to make new friends and fight alongside new allies, Chibi-Usa didn’t like this tension whatsoever – she couldn’t even stand Hyena hiding her true Sailor Soldier identity from her. Despite not knowing much about her, what could she do to ease Hyena’s wariness?
She had gotten on a bus and watched the sidewalks and pedestrians zoom by. She heard the driver call out, “Next stop, Azabu-Juuban!” Once she reached the district, she gave the man some change and got off the bus to walk around some more.
Azabu-Juuban was a place full of fond memories for Chibi-Usa when she was younger. It was complicated to explain, but she had traveled back in time to the 20th century after a sinister group called the Black Moon Clan had attacked Crystal Tokyo in the 30th century. Since the Silver Crystal had gone missing in the 30th century, Chibi-Usa went back to the 20th century to look for its duplicate. She had met the Sailor Soldiers when they were teenagers, including her mother Serenity when she went by Tsukino Usagi and her father Endymion when he was Chiba Mamoru. A lot of things happened between them, but the conflicts with the Black Moon Clan were resolved, and Chibi-Usa trained to be a Sailor Soldier during the Death Busters’ and Dead Moon Circus’ invasions. Although they were trying times, she had learned a lot about what it was like to be both a regular girl and a guardian of Earth.
Chibi-Usa had returned to the 30th century’s version of Azabu-Juuban. Although technology had taken over the entirety of the district, as was the case with the rest of Tokyo, she could still feel its inviting charm in the familiar locations – Crown Game Center, now a haven for gamers to play the latest in games; the Fruits Parlor Crown attached to the futuristic arcade on the second floor; Juuban Municipal Junior High School, where Chibi-Usa intended to go to junior high; and then Crystal Seminar, where Sailor Mercury once passionately studied.
Chibi-Usa mindlessly ambled in front of Crystal Seminar for a bit, thinking about Mercury when she was once Mizuno Ami. It briefly crossed her mind that Midori was attending the same cram school right now. Although she felt tempted to try and find Midori, Chibi-Usa didn’t want to interrupt her studies. She decided to just keep walking.
“Chibi-Usa?” she heard a familiar quiet voice nearby. She whipped around to find Midori heading through Crystal Seminar’s double doors, her backpack full of books slung over her shoulder. Her face was well hidden within her dark green hooded rain jacket, so Chibi-Usa almost didn’t recognize her.
“Ah! W-What the-?” Chibi-Usa panicked when she finally snapped out of her daze and realized where she was. “How did I wind up here!?”
Midori gave her a flat stare. “I’m a little scared of you asking yourself that question.”
“I, uh… Eh heh heh! I just went for a walk, got on Shintomicho Station and, um… Well, I was just lost in thought and wandered here. I have a lot of fond memories of this district, so maybe I was just led here…”
“I see. An unconscious attraction to a location steeped in memories…” Midori mused, as if the whole thing made sense. She dismissed it and asked, “Aside from that, what was preoccupying you?”
“It wasn’t anything important.”
“I honestly doubt that. Who in their right senses would wander into the wrong district on such a rainy day and not have ‘anything important’ on their mind?”
Chibi-Usa sulked, feeling utterly defeated. “I, uh… Well, I don’t really want to bother you with my troubles. I know you’re busy with your studies, and…”
“I just finished my class for today. As it is unhealthy to constantly study, I will be freeing up my time for the rest of the day. I was about to return to the apartments, but perhaps it would be prudent for us to go home together,” Midori suggested.
“Sorry about this. I just have a lot on my mind.”
The girls heard a guttural thunderstorm roaring in the distance. The green-haired girl murmured, “I doubt we will be able to reach the nearest station in due time. We should seek shelter for the interim.”
“Then let’s go to the Fruits Parlor Crown nearby.”
Chibi-Usa and Midori hurried as best as they could to the café, rushing up the steps to the entrance just in time to avoid being caught in the incoming thunderstorm. They found an empty booth and ordered a couple of drinks.
“So, let’s get to the main issue. What seems to be vexing you so much?” Midori asked.
Chibi-Usa sat back and thought about what to say. “I think it would sound kind of strange to you…”
“Strangeness is only a preconception defined by those who do not open their minds to anything beyond rational thought.”
“Erm…” the pink-haired girl muttered, feeling a little baffled by her partner’s ornate and philosophical speech patterns. She took it to mean that Midori would not find her problems weird, so she asked, “Let me ask you a question. Let’s say that you realize that something horribly wrong was done to someone and you want to apologize to them.”
“Something horribly wrong… That sounds a little too generalized. Can we use a hypothetical scenario?”
“Sure. Something happened to your best friend, like they were hit by a car and the driver left the scene, and you know who the driver is. You want to apologize to your best friend for the suffering they’re going through, but you’re not the one who caused it.”
“Hmm…” Midori folded her fingers together and thought for a few moments. “Am I safe to assume that my opinion will be one of several you will be compiling to arrive at an answer?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Very well. First of all, let us call yourself A, your best friend as B, and the offending third party as C,” she explained, drawing a triangle with her finger on the table. “With that said, it is best for A and B to keep C as a separate issue. A and C know each other, and C injured B. Those issues should be resolved on the side so as not to interfere with A and B’s friendship.
“Now, A knows they did nothing wrong to B, but because they personally know C, they want to apologize. A must keep in mind that they should not be making amends on C’s behalf – that is C’s problem, not A’s. A simply wish to acknowledge B’s pain and do their best to provide solace. We could say that A visits B in the hospital with some flowers, spends some quality time with them, and discusses how this will affect them in the future.
“B should at least be responsible enough to feel A’s heartfelt sympathy. If all works out well, their bond should be strengthened. If B does not understand A’s feelings, they will grow distant and their friendship weakens. If that occurs, then I feel they were not true friends to begin with. Sadly, A has no control over how B will react. All they can do is apologize and provide as much support as possible without overexerting themselves.”
Chibi-Usa paused, appearing a little overwhelmed by Midori’s methodical approach to things. She then asked, “What if C had died during that car accident?”
“Like they drove into a pole or a wall or similar?”
“Sure. The point is that C is no longer around to bear responsibility for what happened to B.”
Midori shrugged. “Frankly, B should find some sense of karmic justice. Although they were hurt, they still survived.”
“That’s a good point… But I’m still trying to put myself in A’s shoes here.”
“I can see that. The dynamic may be different as far as C is concerned, but I fail to see any difference between A and B. I believe you’re grossly exaggerating C’s role in this; your priority should be how A and B’s interactions will be affected.”
Chibi-Usa pursed her eyebrows. After what Midori just said, it dawned upon her that maybe she was looking too much into Selene’s role in banishing Eris to Sailor Arsenic Hyena’s world. Chibi-Usa didn’t need to force herself to take Selene’s place in burdening the responsibility. She just needed to do what she could as Sailor Chibi-Moon; nothing more, nothing less. Despite Hyena acting strict and unapproachable, Chibi-Usa assumed that she would be mature enough to understand. She couldn’t imagine Hyena being all immature and bratty about it.
She smiled a little and replied, “Thanks, Midori. I feel much better now.”
“I assumed my opinion would only be one of several. Might you have arrived at an answer with just my input?”
“Maybe. Besides, it’s kind of a difficult subject to ask the Yoeda sisters.”
“No doubt about that,” Midori rested her head upon her hand. “Their personalities are unnaturally quirky at times, which is an endearing factor to be sure, but causes issues when seeking advice for serious matters. The solutions they suggest may wind up being too haphazard for your liking. If need be, you may consult me regarding future weighty concerns.”
“I’ll remember to do that.”
Chapter 9: ABCs of Apologizing
After Luna and Artemis cut the connection with Chibi-Usa, the two cats leapt down from the computer console in Crystal Tokyo’s engineering suite and headed down the hallways. As they crossed a balcony overseeing the city, they found King Endymion gazing upon the scenery while drinking some coffee. Although it was grey and overcast, this didn’t seem to bother him too much.
“Your Highness!” Artemis exclaimed as he and Luna jumped onto the table. “Small Lady just contacted us with some new information.”
“Is she doing well?” the king asked.
“Very much so, although she and the Quartet got into a battle with one of those monsters from before.”
The cats then went on to detail Chibi-Usa’s information to him – the nature of the Erisians, how they spawned from the goddess of discord Eris, their discussion about Eris and Selene’s history, the identity of the archer Sailor Soldier, the probable reason for her not trusting Earth’s warriors, and how she wasn’t from Shadow Galactica. Endymion took some time to think about all of this, feeling especially bothered by Sailor Arsenic Hyena’s contradicting nature of harboring animosity while still helping his daughter and her guardians.
“Even with all of this information, we still can’t do much to help,” Luna felt dejected.
The king stroked the black cat’s back. “There’s too much we don’t know about, and a lot of our theories are just conjecture for now. All that’s for certain is that the goddess Eris is the one responsible for these attacks, and that there is a connection between her and this new Soldier. Fortunately, they don’t appear to be on the same side; Hyena is assisting us with defeating Eris’ minions.”
“I’m not sure if we should focus on Eris or Hyena for getting more details,” Artemis admitted.
Endymion gazed upon Tokyo again, this time letting a small smile slip through. “I trust that Chibi-Usa will figure out how to talk to Hyena. She wouldn’t want her to continue fighting alone for very long. If she can overcome Hyena’s trust issues, then we could gain a valuable ally in this battle. Our priority should be locating more Erisians and sending the Sailor Soldiers out to fight them.”
“But if we deploy the Soldiers, that will leave Crystal Tokyo unguarded!”
“Serenity and I will remain to protect the Silver Crystal. It’s more important for the citizens to feel safe during this time of crisis.”
“That’s true…” Luna murmured. “Then Artemis and I will monitor the skies for any activity.”
The cats left Endymion alone, and he took a few more sips of his drink before leaving the balcony to go find his wife, the Sailor Soldiers, and his Four Generals to discuss this new turn of events.
**
Chibi-Usa felt a little better from talking with Luna and Artemis, but she now had to contend with these new feelings brewing within her. She grew confused about what to do when she met Hyena again. What would she say to her? Were her assumptions even right to begin with? Was she looking at this all wrong? Could they become friends, or would they remain stuck in this distant stalemate? She had no way of knowing until she talked to Hyena.
Even though she couldn’t do anything about it, Chibi-Usa still had many bothersome thoughts swirling in her mind. She decided to put her rain coat on, grab an umbrella, and go for a nice long walk. She didn’t have a particular destination in mind; she just wanted to get moving to burn off this stressful energy welling within her. After leaving a note for the sisters, she left the apartment complex.
Chibi-Usa didn’t really pay attention to where she was going. The flurry of street signs, passing people and rolling cars barely registered to her. All she could see was Sailor Arsenic Hyena’s face; her tired eyes, her unsmiling lips, and her apple green hair nearly covering her eyes in a veil of mystery. It was the face of someone who had gone through a lot in her life, but Hyena refused to place her faith in Earth’s guardians and reveal what those troubles were. As someone who loved to make new friends and fight alongside new allies, Chibi-Usa didn’t like this tension whatsoever – she couldn’t even stand Hyena hiding her true Sailor Soldier identity from her. Despite not knowing much about her, what could she do to ease Hyena’s wariness?
She had gotten on a bus and watched the sidewalks and pedestrians zoom by. She heard the driver call out, “Next stop, Azabu-Juuban!” Once she reached the district, she gave the man some change and got off the bus to walk around some more.
Azabu-Juuban was a place full of fond memories for Chibi-Usa when she was younger. It was complicated to explain, but she had traveled back in time to the 20th century after a sinister group called the Black Moon Clan had attacked Crystal Tokyo in the 30th century. Since the Silver Crystal had gone missing in the 30th century, Chibi-Usa went back to the 20th century to look for its duplicate. She had met the Sailor Soldiers when they were teenagers, including her mother Serenity when she went by Tsukino Usagi and her father Endymion when he was Chiba Mamoru. A lot of things happened between them, but the conflicts with the Black Moon Clan were resolved, and Chibi-Usa trained to be a Sailor Soldier during the Death Busters’ and Dead Moon Circus’ invasions. Although they were trying times, she had learned a lot about what it was like to be both a regular girl and a guardian of Earth.
Chibi-Usa had returned to the 30th century’s version of Azabu-Juuban. Although technology had taken over the entirety of the district, as was the case with the rest of Tokyo, she could still feel its inviting charm in the familiar locations – Crown Game Center, now a haven for gamers to play the latest in games; the Fruits Parlor Crown attached to the futuristic arcade on the second floor; Juuban Municipal Junior High School, where Chibi-Usa intended to go to junior high; and then Crystal Seminar, where Sailor Mercury once passionately studied.
Chibi-Usa mindlessly ambled in front of Crystal Seminar for a bit, thinking about Mercury when she was once Mizuno Ami. It briefly crossed her mind that Midori was attending the same cram school right now. Although she felt tempted to try and find Midori, Chibi-Usa didn’t want to interrupt her studies. She decided to just keep walking.
“Chibi-Usa?” she heard a familiar quiet voice nearby. She whipped around to find Midori heading through Crystal Seminar’s double doors, her backpack full of books slung over her shoulder. Her face was well hidden within her dark green hooded rain jacket, so Chibi-Usa almost didn’t recognize her.
“Ah! W-What the-?” Chibi-Usa panicked when she finally snapped out of her daze and realized where she was. “How did I wind up here!?”
Midori gave her a flat stare. “I’m a little scared of you asking yourself that question.”
“I, uh… Eh heh heh! I just went for a walk, got on Shintomicho Station and, um… Well, I was just lost in thought and wandered here. I have a lot of fond memories of this district, so maybe I was just led here…”
“I see. An unconscious attraction to a location steeped in memories…” Midori mused, as if the whole thing made sense. She dismissed it and asked, “Aside from that, what was preoccupying you?”
“It wasn’t anything important.”
“I honestly doubt that. Who in their right senses would wander into the wrong district on such a rainy day and not have ‘anything important’ on their mind?”
Chibi-Usa sulked, feeling utterly defeated. “I, uh… Well, I don’t really want to bother you with my troubles. I know you’re busy with your studies, and…”
“I just finished my class for today. As it is unhealthy to constantly study, I will be freeing up my time for the rest of the day. I was about to return to the apartments, but perhaps it would be prudent for us to go home together,” Midori suggested.
“Sorry about this. I just have a lot on my mind.”
The girls heard a guttural thunderstorm roaring in the distance. The green-haired girl murmured, “I doubt we will be able to reach the nearest station in due time. We should seek shelter for the interim.”
“Then let’s go to the Fruits Parlor Crown nearby.”
Chibi-Usa and Midori hurried as best as they could to the café, rushing up the steps to the entrance just in time to avoid being caught in the incoming thunderstorm. They found an empty booth and ordered a couple of drinks.
“So, let’s get to the main issue. What seems to be vexing you so much?” Midori asked.
Chibi-Usa sat back and thought about what to say. “I think it would sound kind of strange to you…”
“Strangeness is only a preconception defined by those who do not open their minds to anything beyond rational thought.”
“Erm…” the pink-haired girl muttered, feeling a little baffled by her partner’s ornate and philosophical speech patterns. She took it to mean that Midori would not find her problems weird, so she asked, “Let me ask you a question. Let’s say that you realize that something horribly wrong was done to someone and you want to apologize to them.”
“Something horribly wrong… That sounds a little too generalized. Can we use a hypothetical scenario?”
“Sure. Something happened to your best friend, like they were hit by a car and the driver left the scene, and you know who the driver is. You want to apologize to your best friend for the suffering they’re going through, but you’re not the one who caused it.”
“Hmm…” Midori folded her fingers together and thought for a few moments. “Am I safe to assume that my opinion will be one of several you will be compiling to arrive at an answer?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Very well. First of all, let us call yourself A, your best friend as B, and the offending third party as C,” she explained, drawing a triangle with her finger on the table. “With that said, it is best for A and B to keep C as a separate issue. A and C know each other, and C injured B. Those issues should be resolved on the side so as not to interfere with A and B’s friendship.
“Now, A knows they did nothing wrong to B, but because they personally know C, they want to apologize. A must keep in mind that they should not be making amends on C’s behalf – that is C’s problem, not A’s. A simply wish to acknowledge B’s pain and do their best to provide solace. We could say that A visits B in the hospital with some flowers, spends some quality time with them, and discusses how this will affect them in the future.
“B should at least be responsible enough to feel A’s heartfelt sympathy. If all works out well, their bond should be strengthened. If B does not understand A’s feelings, they will grow distant and their friendship weakens. If that occurs, then I feel they were not true friends to begin with. Sadly, A has no control over how B will react. All they can do is apologize and provide as much support as possible without overexerting themselves.”
Chibi-Usa paused, appearing a little overwhelmed by Midori’s methodical approach to things. She then asked, “What if C had died during that car accident?”
“Like they drove into a pole or a wall or similar?”
“Sure. The point is that C is no longer around to bear responsibility for what happened to B.”
Midori shrugged. “Frankly, B should find some sense of karmic justice. Although they were hurt, they still survived.”
“That’s a good point… But I’m still trying to put myself in A’s shoes here.”
“I can see that. The dynamic may be different as far as C is concerned, but I fail to see any difference between A and B. I believe you’re grossly exaggerating C’s role in this; your priority should be how A and B’s interactions will be affected.”
Chibi-Usa pursed her eyebrows. After what Midori just said, it dawned upon her that maybe she was looking too much into Selene’s role in banishing Eris to Sailor Arsenic Hyena’s world. Chibi-Usa didn’t need to force herself to take Selene’s place in burdening the responsibility. She just needed to do what she could as Sailor Chibi-Moon; nothing more, nothing less. Despite Hyena acting strict and unapproachable, Chibi-Usa assumed that she would be mature enough to understand. She couldn’t imagine Hyena being all immature and bratty about it.
She smiled a little and replied, “Thanks, Midori. I feel much better now.”
“I assumed my opinion would only be one of several. Might you have arrived at an answer with just my input?”
“Maybe. Besides, it’s kind of a difficult subject to ask the Yoeda sisters.”
“No doubt about that,” Midori rested her head upon her hand. “Their personalities are unnaturally quirky at times, which is an endearing factor to be sure, but causes issues when seeking advice for serious matters. The solutions they suggest may wind up being too haphazard for your liking. If need be, you may consult me regarding future weighty concerns.”
“I’ll remember to do that.”
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