When Chiyo found herself in the present again, no longer steeped in past memories, she found Leo gently cleaning his paw in her lap.  For a very brief moment she thought she had had a hallucination... but at her light stirring Leo shattered her hope for insanity by asking her how she felt.  HOW SHOULD SHE FEEL!?  Bloody cat and his stupid questions!

Wait... does she normally think so... dynamically?  It was almost instant anger and frustration expressed in a way that it was almost like she were speaking to a close and old friend who you could be completely honest with.  In a way... he was.  She remembered living with him on the moon away from the royal palace... she remembered him training her doggedly in her ... her... her Senshi Fuku... she is a...

"Oh gods damn it... I'm a bloody senshi."

Yes... all the attention seeking Senshi and Knights and miscellaneous good guys have that impression on her.  Leo however catches her attention.  "You are not a bloody senshi, you are an Ice Senshi.  A Lady of a Royal court and you should remember to present yourself in an appropriate manner from here on out.  Remember that you are not a different person now, merely all of your self once more."  For some reason his words sounded true.  Every iota of common sense is telling her she doesn't know who or what this is really.  She shouldn't trust it.  Certainly not after just such a short time... but she does.  Flashes of herself and a senshi with short blue hair enter her mind while she thinks about that... though she knows this one.

She is one of the few truely noble senshi of the world who basically govern the others.  Sailor Mercury.

She evicts the cat from her lap to stand and moves to make him dinner.  Then she grabs an onigiri and munches on that while standing in the kitchen till she finishes it, cleans up, and goes to lay on her bed.  There are so many things going on in her head... her primary urge right now is to henshin because it feels right... and she isn't even sure she knows how!  Should she seek this Sailor Mercury out?  They were friends before but... what if Mercury doesn't remember her?  Would Mercury even see her with all of the would be 'friends' and 'comrades' of the over-heroed world?

Should she act as if nothing had happened at all?  Certainly that would be convienent but would she ever be happy again?  Would she ever feel as she had before?  Somehow she doesn't feel like that would be the case.

She heard from an old television drama that a Philosopher once said, "When faced with untenable altneratives, you should look to your directive."  Seeing as it was translated and the language seemed a little odd to her, she wasn't exactly clear on what it meant but in general she felt it meant that when you have several choices with no outstanding advantage or disadvantage to any of them, you should follow your nature first and foremost.  Her nature is to hit things head on and straightforward.  Why should this be any different for her?

"Alright.  Then I try this out.  We'll see how this turns out."

(OOC Note: Sailor Echo, who appeared earlier, also happened to be the first significant senshi contact for Asahara Chiyo in the MUSH as well.)

The cat just had to deal with his human being passed out for the moment.  Talk /could/ happen later he supposed but it really would be nice if they didn't have to wait.  With deliberation and grace he hops off of the table and pads slowly across the floor to Chiyo.  "Asahara-san... you need to wake up now..."  He leans in to nuzzle his head against hers softly and waits while she begins the process of reviving herself.

It takes time and convincing with tickling her with his fur before the Librarian comes around again.  First one eye opens, then the other, and then the other too... no wait that was the first one that had closed again damnit!  Chiyo slowly sits up and looks down to her cat before starting to scoot away from it till her back rests against the cabinets at the wall.  "I... let a Youma stay in my house!"

"I am not a Youma.  I am tired of waiting." The cat responds, "You're going to be needed soon and now isn't the time to be fainting at the drop of the hat.  ... Actually why are you fainting at all?  That's not like you in the least.  You've always risen to the occasion before."

"You... know about me?  My... Life?" Chiyo asks cautiously.  It's still taking some getting used to what with the fact that she's talking to a Cat. ... !!! The cat's seen her naked!  She reaches up onto the counter and grabs one of the groceries, a bag of rice, and lobs it forcefully at the cat with the shout of, "PERVERT!"

The cat however simply dodges.  A sweatdrop appears at the side of his head as he says, "I do not know what brought that on but I can assure you that I am not a pervert.  I am your companion though.  My name is Leo, for now that is all you need to know of me."  Without further delay, he bows his head gently and a beam of light connects his forehead to hers where a yellow crescent moon was situated.

For a moment, it appears as if though Chiyo is just stunned or something.  In her mind though, interesting things are taking place.  Memories are coming forth... memories similar to that nightmare... actually... it IS the nightmare... but real.

Chiyo awoke the next morning with what felt like a hangover. She could've been drugged and felt more awake than she did now. Getting up and getting ready, she went to work, an uneventful day to be sure. Then came home again, fed her cat, went to sleep(of course she did a few other things... but they aren't important to plot developement. Sue me. ... No not really.) This process went on for some time... about three weeks to give a general guess. The cat, while a not humand and certainly having it's moments, was a wonderful companion for Chiyo. When she started musing about Sailor Echo... he'd always come over and plop into her lap to listen to her... or at least that's what she told herself as she began to scratch in all the perfect places he likes.

After returning home after work on one uneventful Saterday, she closed the door, went into her apartment's kitchen, and got the cat food out. It was then that the voice she'd heard those weeks ago speak again, "I'm not that hungry at the moment. You should sit and listen anyway."

Turning around, Chiyo looks for the source, hands reaching for the most vicious of her knives. All she can see is the cat, sitting on the table behind her, looking straight at her. ... He never acts like that though... paying her the attention, sitting on the table... ... not begging for food as soon as she got inside the door.

The cat continues to stare at Chiyo for a moment before yawning and saying again, "Listen. We need to talk. ... Oh yeah. Fainting really does help you listen a whole lot I bet."

Naturally, after seeing the impossible, /in her house/, she'd do the sensable thing: Faint.

Another sidenote: Sorry for the delay. College has claimed a large portion of time, though I admit that most of this is simply from being on unfamiliar(and possibley insecure) computers in the lab. I will try to update in a day or so with more story.

Upon entering her apartment, Chiyo closes and locks the door. That, in itself, is a testiment to how deeply the past hour's events have shaken her... she usually never remembers to lock the door right away.

Leaning back against the door, she allows herself to slump down to the floor and just sit for a while, pondering what had just happened, what could have happened, or... more to the point... what should have happened.

As she sits there deep in thought, a tear or two trickling down her face, her newest houseguest watches her from a concealed vantage point. The cat just watches and waits, wondering what had happened. To be truthful, he had a good idea. It's why he came to her, now of all times in all likely hood. She was coming into her inheritance and now she'd been in a lot of danger. But for now he was hungry and didn't want to put off food for surprise. Grudgingly he stands up, stretches out for a moment, then makes his way to Chiyo to rub against her consolingly.

Chiyo, totally unaware of what all goes through the mind of the cat smiles and pets it absently for a moment, warmed and encouraged. One of the many thoughts that had gone through her head and had perhaps done the most damage was: "If I had been killed, who would have missed me?" The cat had helped her rid herself of that thought.

Standing up she smiles and takes the groceries into the kitchen to fix her feline friend something to eat. Some chicken and gravy from a packet she bought at the store. The cat eats it all graciously(and quickly) then hops up onto the table to watch Chiyo start setting up a litter box.

That finished Chiyo heads back into the living room followed by her feline friend. When she sits on a recliner, he hops into her lap. Pretty normal stuff. Chiyo was just about to fall asleep when she hear something say "Good lunch." She looks down at the cat, but he's just asleep. Hasn't even stirred.

. o O(I must still be out of it...)O o .

Sailor Echo is the creation of the Administrator named Punk on Fantasy Moon MUSH. All rights and claims go to her.

And while I'm talking out of character(OOC), I would like to mention that I like comments and feedback, be it: 'Hey, great story!' to 'You made 13 typos in a 6 letter word' to 'I dislike your story and will not be reading it again except to post some rants and display my aggressive geekiness.' (Note that this last one will likely be saved in the memories area for the first idiot I came across here. O=) ) Remember though that I will respond badly to 'I hate you, your MUSH, and your story' or 'I am going to kill you.' These, and those in various similar shades of grey, will be reported to the LiveJournal administrators and threats of harm or property damage will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Other than that... I think I'm ready to start planning the next segment.


-Asahara Chiyo

On the way to her apartment the two talk. Or at least they try: After all what do the Hero and the Innocent talk about?

Chiyo debates this for quite a while before finally blurting out, "I'm Asahara Chiyo... thanks for saving me..." though she can already feel how awkward this is.

For the saviour, it is no better. She is not only unsure of where either one of them is going or why they are going there.

"Umm... Why did that other guy get mad at you?" Chiyo asks curiously. She already knew of course. There were so many 'heros' in this town, all of them wanting to be the 'One' best hero and get really famous. It had looked poorly upon him when this blind girl managed what the others couldn't, and without seeming to put much effort into it, either.

The 'Saviour' decides that it'd be rude to just not talk, even though she's still a little weary of using her voice. After all... it was her weapon at times. "I...I'm Sailor Echo." There. It's out... nobody got hurt. Baby steps.

Chiyo smiles at this and offers, "Pleased to meet you Echo-san."

Sailor Echo begins to smile too, even though she can't see Chiyo's. The smile last until she realizes that she shouldn't be here, walking along, with some stranger on the street. Her pulse races as her heart leaps and bounds forward. "Please pardon me! I must be on my way... I... I'm terribly late." She begins to pull away and head perpendicular to the path they were taking.

Chiyo feels that all too familiar sting... the slap in the face of a person she's rescued from a bully being mad and going away. She knows it's not quite the same... but how can she help how she feels?

As a last minute decision she calls out, "Thankyou!" before heading back to her house dejected. At least now she has a cat to cuddle when she's sad. On that note she stops in for some cat food and toiletries.

It was the middle of the day, just hours after she found that cat in her apartment. Asahara Chiyo has no idea where it came from, how it got in, or even why it got in. She isn't great at deducing that sort of thing and so hasn't really bothered. What she did do was grab a bowl and put some food in it. Nothing much, just a little meat and such, then put some water in a bowl beside it. The cat had appeared content to sleeping on her bed when she left, and she hadn't the heart to throw it out: It was too CUTE!(even if it did scare the heck out of her)

It has crossed her mind that it might be somebody else's cat... some poor little child who is worried to death at where his/her little kitty has gone... and thus she's started making flyers. She works at the library happily(as she's something of a bookworm) and gets access to photocopiers, printers, microfilm machines and more. She could research to her hearts content if only food, money, and sleep didn't constantly interfere.

She wasn't always this docile though... she isn't really now either. It just takes a spark to get her going. One of the things she hates so much in the world: Bullies. She got into more fights in gradeschool than any other girl her age. Some of them she won, some of them she lost. Never was she thanked. She was used to it though.

Her shift's ended, . o O(My the day went by fast...)O o . she thought as she walked out of the library at six o'clock. She began her walk home, just a few blocks away from her place... something she does every day without thinking about it, just whiling away the time with thoughts and day dreams...

Something you should know about Japan in this day and age: Monsters are abundant and they like easy prey. Unfortunately for the monsters(and sometimes the easy prey) though, there are more would-be heros than there are monsters. They also always seem to pick the oddest places to choose their next battle... such as on the way home from work at the library to the apartment complex just after six o'clock...

This monster appears as a ghoulish beast, quick on it's limbs with super-sharp teeth and an appetite for blood to boot. Not very powerful when hero's fight it, but it's victims usually aren't heros now are they? This one has just sprung itself out of a storm-drain and onto the sidewalk, on all fours hissing at Chiyo. . o O(Geez... why me!? First the dream, then the cat, NOW THIS!?)O o . What's a poor girl to do? Both woman and beast stare at the other for a while to see what the other will do first, Chiyo with a display of utter fear, and the Ghoul with a display of horrific pleasure.

Fifteen seconds have passed... the ghoul is impatient. It crouches low, aims and leaps into midair, about to nab it's victim... /was/ about to... A blast of sound focused and directed at the ghoul strikes it midchest knocking it, and everybody within ten feet, back.

A young lady appears, dressed in what appears to be a school uniform, with a tiara and a cane that she uses to prod the ground. While the attacker stares at the ghoul and vice versa, Chiyo backs herself towards the side of a nearby store, trying to keep out of the way, hoping against all hope that her saviour isn't really blind.

Now, here comes other people in odd outfits from all directions. A few stop at the edge of the battlefield to proclaim their self-assumed titles(Sailor Suchandsuch or Lord Idontknow), others stop to survey the scene, while even more just decide to enter battle weapon or spells flying and sort out the damage later. With about twenty some-odd new additions, it's no wonder that about half of them start shouting orders at eachother to then, in turn ignore the orders they just recieved.

The ghoul knew it's time was numbered, so why not go out with a bang and take a few others out too. Crouching low, baring it's teeth, the ghoul decides the first one should go first. It takes flight, leading a fanfare of shouted phrases and too-poorly-aimed blasts in it's wake heading straight at that first saviour of Chiyo's(Japanese surnames are first, given names second).

The only reaction left for the blind Senshi(those who claim the title of Sailor are considered Senshi) was to strike out and hope it worked, though as soon as she opened her mouth to issue out her deadly scream she knew she'd lost control again... maybe worse! All those Knights(those with powers but aren't considered Senshi) and Senshi who were behind the thing waiting for a chance to strike at it again got splattered by entrails and goo, and were also knocked back quite a bit, some holding their ears in pain.

Asahara Chiyo, long forgotten by the 'Heros' had luckly guessed(or was too scared to hear) and had plugged her ears with her fingers... and so only had a headache. As she stood up to survey the scene she decided to go to the blind saviour. After all, at the very least she can thank her hero... who is... crying?

One of the male knights, no older than the 9th grade by the looks of it, approached the Blind Saviour with clenched fists and a look of utter fury as he glared at his target. "Just who in the hell do you think you are?"

No answer comes. "That one was MINE!" No reply comes. "Do you know how many people you hurt!?"
Still no answer comes as the Saviour weeps. She even begins turning but no... the knight grabs her by the arm(tight enough to bruise easily) "Oh no... you don't just walk out like that! Your gonna answer for this Bi..."

He never finished his sentence. It would be hard to with a mouth full of fist knocking him down and out. Unbeknownst to the Knight(...all he had to do was look...), Chiyo had been turning reder and reder in the face with ever word he spoke from the start. When he grabed the Senshi, Chiyo had been digging in her purse for her chemical mace. When he started speaking again though... all her childhood's preparation had prepared her to not only knock him out, but likely break his jaw.

Chiyo's touch to the Senshi who'd saved her, however, was gentle and warm. "Come on now. Let's get you somewhere else. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you came along... I'd be dead otherwise." It took a little persuasion, but eventually the Senshi cooperated. Chiyo lead the Senshi to her house(kicking the knight as they passed).

I know that your probley wondering why I'm not telling more of my story... in truth I am just giving you time to run away. ... I jest, I jest.

I just wanted to say something that's been on my mind for so long now: The people at the MUSH I play at, Fantasy Moon(The MUSH that inspired this entire story), leave me amazed. Since starting there, I have become aquainted with most of the there. I have discovered that most of the people who play there are people who have been abused, shunned, hurt, and traumatized time and again. The fact that they are having that done to them isn't the amazing part. The amazing part is that they are still /thriving/. They have not stopped their life and said, "No. I don't think I want to go on dealing with this shit." - Please pardon the wording, it will pop out on occasion here. - They said, "Damnit! I'm not going to let this ruin my life for the rest of my life. It's over. I'm through. I've /GOT/ to move on." And they did/do. I can't say that I've really had any major problems in my life... moved to another town once, parents got a divorce, had to carry home a cat that got hit on the highway(perhaps the hardest... cause I really loved that cat.) As a consequence of this, I can only send my heart out to them and let them know that I'm there. I care, and I hope to help in any way I can. Thankyou for your attention.

-Asahara Chiyo

Asahara Chiyo awoke with a start, a cold sweat building on her face from the dream... or rather nightmare... that has been plaguing her for the past two weeks.

As she climbs out of bed and heads to the mirror on her dresser, she stares at the reflection of the woman with long ponytailed green hair and dark emerald eyes. Her cream skin gives her an almost etheral appearance in the nearly-dark bedroom.

As always she went to bed in her silk nightgown, and as usual, with her nightmares came a cold sweat which doesn't absorb well with silk. Hence: She's soaked.

She strips off her gown and walks towards her bathroom. As a librarian, she is able to make a living alone, in a small apartment. It's meager to some, but to her it's enough. Upon entering the bathroom she turns on the light, turns on some warm water(letting it heat first), then climbs in and showers. It's about 4AM now, and she has to be at work at 9AM. She knows that she can't sleep a wink more this night so why resist?

After finishing her shower, draped in not but a towel, she heads back into her room to get dressed. At first, in the darkness, nothing seems out of place. After a moment of shuffling around in her dresser though, she notices that there is a dark shape sitting on her bed.

It's at times like these that a person wonders why your heart has to stop at such important times. At first she does nothing, too panick stricken to react. Slowly though she manages to turn. At first there is only a barely visible dark shape, but as her eyes became adjusted to the low light again she was able to tell the shape. And of course this dangerous intruder would be a... cat. A cat who is cleaning itself at the moment.