Chapter 17

	Ami stood outside Akira’s room in the ICU, gazing at her lover 
through the small window in the door. Akira looked to be resting 
comfortably in his bed despite the IV sticking out of his arm and various 
wires connecting him to the heart monitor, but his face had a dull 
pallor, pale and ghostly against the darkness of his hair.

	Seeing him appear so helpless, Ami brought a hand to her mouth 
and choked back a sob that threatened to rise from her throat. She had 
spoken with her mother before heading to the ICU, and, while the surgery 
had been an unqualified success, Akira wasn’t out of the woods yet. He 
still risked deadly infection from the wound, though there were no signs 
of any problems so far.

	If anything happened to him…

	Ami shook her head, pushing out the bad thoughts. She needed to 
be strong for Akira. Thinking negatively wasn’t going to help him. Taking 
a deep breath to compose herself, she finally slid open the door and 
stepped inside.

	Ami tried to be as quiet as she could, not wanting to disturb his 
sleep, but, when she closed the door behind her, Akira’s green eyes 
fluttered open, a soft smile crossing his lips as he slowly turned his 
head in her direction.

	“Hey,” he said, his voice weak and raspy.

	Ami tried to smile back at him, but found that she was unable to 
do so. “Do you mind if I come in?” she asked instead, hesitantly stepping 
toward his bed. “Or would you rather I come back later? I know you’re 
probably tired…”

	“Don’t be silly, Ami. Of course I want you to stay.”

	Ami continued inside and took a seat in the plastic chair 
provided for guests beside the bed.

	“How did you get in here, Ami?” he asked once she had settled. 
“Isn’t this the ICU? I thought only immediate family was allowed.”

	“There are perks to being the daughter of a respected doctor,” 
she explained, not feeling the least bit guilty about using her mother’s 
position at the hospital to convince the nurse on duty to let her see 
Akira. “By the way, okaa-san says the surgery went really well. You lost 
a lot of blood, but you were lucky that Yokoyama-san didn‘t hit any major 
organs. A few inches lower, and things could have been a lot worse.”

	He arched an eyebrow. “Lucky?”

	“Well, you know what I mean,” Ami mumbled, blushing.

	Akira laughed weakly, but then turned serious. “Ami, what 
happened? How did you escape from Yokoyama-san?”

	“Hideki-san saved me. He must have heard me screaming from next 
door. He came over soon after you were stabbed and managed to get the 
knife away from Yokoyama-san before she could hurt anybody else.”

	“Remind me to thank him later,” Akira said, giving her hand, 
which had found its way to his, a light squeeze. “What about Yokoyama-
san? What happened to her?”

	“She was arrested, but I don’t know if they’ll press charges. She 
was obviously not in her right state of mind at the time. She’ll probably 
be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.”

	“I still can’t believe Yokoyama-san was behind everything that 
happened to us. She was such a good student with a bright future ahead of 
her. Why would she throw it all away like that?”

	Ami shook her head, unable to give him an answer to his question. 
It was hard for her to believe as well. She hadn’t known Yokoyama Yui 
that well, but she had always admired the girl’s work ethic and her drive 
to succeed. The aspiring cosmetic surgeon had reminded Ami somewhat of 
herself, and the few times she had managed to beat Ami in the rankings, 
Ami always made a point of sincerely congratulating her, knowing how hard 
she studied. Never in her wildest dreams would Ami have suspected that 
Miss Yokoyama resented her own success so much, though.

	“The green-eyed monster can be a hard monster to slay,” she 
finally said.

	“I suppose so.” Akira sighed, rolling his head back so that he 
looking up at the plain white ceiling. “Ami?”

	“Hai?” Alarmed, Ami started to get up from her chair. “Is 
something wrong? Do you need a nurse?”

	“I’m fine, Ami,” he assured her, and she sat back down. “I just 
-- after I was stabbed, I saw something -- this girl…” His voice drifting 
off, Akira shook his head, changing his mind. “Never mind. It was 
probably a hallucination caused by the loss of blood.”

	“No, go on,” Ami prodded him even as she felt her heartbeat start 
to rise. “What did you see?”

	Akira closed his eyes, trying to recall the image. “There was 
this girl,” he began again. “It was you, but, then again, it wasn’t. She 
looked like you, but she was dressed so strangely, like a sailor with 
puffy sleeves, and she wore this tiara on her forehead…” As Ami felt the 
blood drain from her face, Akira chuckled. “Silly, isn’t it? I must have 
watched too much of your magical girl anime lately.”

	He glanced over at Ami, more than likely expecting her to join in 
his laughter, but all Ami could do was look away, pretending to 
concentrate on the heart monitor on the other side of his bed. She had 
hoped he would forget all about seeing her transformed as Sailor Mercury. 
Of course, she’d meant to tell Akira someday about her secret life as a 
Sailor Senshi, but she hadn’t wanted it to be like this. 

	“Ami?”

	Pulling her hand away from his, Ami stared down at her lap and 
tried to find the right words to tell him. “It’s not as silly as you 
might think, Akira,” she began, her voice soft, but firm, “the magical 
girl in the sailor suit.”

	“Huh?” Dumbfounded for a moment, Akira then laughed again, 
thinking she was joking. “Don’t be ridiculous, Ami,” he said. “Magic 
doesn’t exist in the real world. As a scientist, you should know that. 
There are no such things as sailor-suited superheroines like that Sailor 
V who was so popular a few years back. She was only a marketing tactic to 
sell newspapers. You know that, right?”

	“What if I told you I knew who the real Sailor V was, and she was 
sitting in the waiting room with the rest of my friends at this very 
moment?”

	“Ami…no. It’s impossible.”

	“Well, it’s true,” she declared, finally looking back up, though 
when she saw the look on her lover’s face, she wished she hadn’t.

	Akira was staring at her as if she had completely lost her mind. 
“No. No, it isn’t. It can’t be --”

	“Akira, have I ever lied to you?” Ami asked, grabbing his hand. 
“Have I ever done anything to make you think I would make up something 
like this?”

	“No, but what you’re saying… It goes against everything I -- no, 
we -- believe about this world. We live in a world of science, not 
magic.”

	“Why can’t it be both?”

	“Ami, you don’t honestly believe in magic, do you?” he asked, 
repeating the same question he asked at the shrine on New Year’s.

	“I do, because I possess it.”

	“No.” Vehemently, Akira began shaking his head in denial of what 
she was saying. “No, Ami, stop saying things like that. Magic does not 
exist except in fairy tales.”

	Thinking fast, Ami stood up and reached for the pitcher of water 
and a glass sitting on the rolling tray beside her. If he wouldn’t take 
her word for it, then she would have to prove it to him.

	“Akira, would you like some water?” she offered.

	“Water? Why ask such a thing--”

	“Just watch.”

	As Akira stared at her, confused, Ami poured a glass of water, 
then placed a hand over the top. When she was in civilian form, her 
powers were significantly weaker, but, over the years, her natural 
curiosity had led her to the discovery that she could control her element 
while not in senshi form with the proper amount of concentration, much 
like how Rei could read visions in her shrine’s sacred fire or how Makoto 
never had to watch the weather forecast to know a storm was brewing. She 
closed her eyes, and, letting her mind fall in sync with the water, 
within seconds the glass was filled with ice.

	“Masaka! How did you--?”

	Opening her eyes back up, Ami sat the glass back down on the tray 
beside the pitcher and answered with one simple word.

	“Magic.”

	Her little display of magic appeared to do the trick. Akira first 
looked over at the glass, blinking twice as if he still couldn’t believe 
what he had seen, then he looked up at Ami, his eyes wide with what could 
have been fear, awe, or a combination of both.

	“W-Who are you?” he asked, backing away from her touch as she 
attempted to comfort him. “Are you even human?”

	“I am Mizuno Ami, also known as the soldier of wisdom, Sailor 
Mercury, blessed by the planet of water.”

	“Sailor…Mercury?”

	“Akira, I know this must be quite a shock,” Ami said, struggling 
to hold back her tears. He was looking at her as if she was some kind of 
freak, or worse yet, one of the hideous monsters she used to fight. “I’ve 
wanted to tell you for a long time, but the timing never seemed quite 
right. It’s a lot to take--”

	“I don’t believe this… No, I won’t believe it!” he declared 
hoarsely, interrupting her. “You’re playing some kind of trick on me, 
Ami. That’s what you’re doing. This is all just some sick, twisted joke!”

	“Akira --”

	“Well, excuse me if I don’t find it funny, Ami. Maybe you thought 
this little fairy tale you concocted about you being some pretty sailor-
suited soldier of justice would cheer me up, but I’m not some naïve 
little boy. Sailor Mercury? You know, you could have been more original 
than naming yourself after my dog.”

	“But I didn’t!” she insisted, sitting on the edge of Akira’s bed 
and bringing his palm up to rest against her cheek, which was splattered 
with tears. Ami no longer bothered to hide them. “Please, you have to 
believe me! I would never lie to you about something this big, Akira. You 
know me. I wouldn‘t do something like that.”

	Her pleas fell on deaf ears, however. Akira pulled his hand away, 
and, turning his head to the side, said simply, “Go away, Ami. I’m 
tired.”

	Wiping away her tears on the sleeve of her shirt, Ami slid off 
the bed and gave Akira a kiss on the back of his head before heading back 
downstairs to the waiting room.  	

*****

	In the hospital waiting room, Makoto sat down the magazine she 
had been reading and glanced down at her wristwatch to check the time. It 
was almost eight o’clock, well past dinner time.

	Though she felt a slight rumble in her stomach, Makoto was 
reluctant to go down to the cafeteria until Ami came back from visiting 
her lover. The others, except for Mamoru, who was working a shift, had 
left soon after they had gotten word that Professor Kitagawa’s surgery 
was successful, but Makoto had decided to stay in case her roommate and 
best friend needed some emotional support after such a trying day. 

	She still couldn’t believe what had happened. As Sailor Senshi, 
they were always prepared to fight supernatural forces, but none of them, 
except for Minako in her Sailor V days, ever expected having to deal with 
a human criminal like Yokoyama Yui. The fact that Ami could have been 
killed by the deranged pre-med student still sent shivers up Makoto’s 
spine.

	Sighing, Makoto reached for another out-dated magazine and leaned 
back in her chair to read. It wasn’t long, though, before she noticed her 
blue-haired friend stepping in the room, her arms wrapped around her 
waist.

	As Ami walked toward her, Makoto placed the magazine on top of 
the pile sitting on the end table and stood. “Ami-chan, how is he?”

	“Akira’s fine,” she replied, wiping away what might have been a 
tear from her cheek. “Still a little weak, but otherwise, he’s doing 
well.”

	“I’m glad,” she said honestly. Makoto still hadn’t quite forgiven 
the professor yet for everything he had put Ami through, but she was 
coming around. Any man who jumped in front of her best friend to save her 
from getting stabbed couldn’t be all that bad. 

	Ami glanced around at the mostly empty room. “Where are the 
others?”

	“Oh, I told them to go home,” Makoto explained. “There’s not much 
they can do here, and, besides, they barely know Kitagawa-sensei. They 
all wanted me to tell you that they hope he gets well soon, though.” 
Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, she pulled out a charm. “Here, 
Rei-chan even left you a charm from Hikawa. It‘s supposed to be for good 
health.”

	“Thanks.” Taking the charm, Ami forced a small, grateful smile 
before sitting down.

	Makoto took the seat next to her, frowning as she watched the 
blue-haired girl stare blankly down at the paper charm. Her emphatic 
senses were telling her something was bothering Ami, something other than 
her boyfriend’s stabbing, but she didn’t know if she should mention 
anything.

	“Ami-chan, is something wrong?” she finally asked. “I mean, other 
than Kitagawa-sensei’s wound. It’s not infected or anything like that, is 
it?”

	Ami shook her head. “No, okaa-san says as long as he doesn’t 
develop an infection, he should make a full recovery.”

	“Then why do I sense there’s something you aren’t telling me?”

	Ami was quiet for a long moment before she let out a heavy sigh 
and looked over at Makoto, a miserable expression plastered on her face. 
“I told him, Mako-chan,” she admitted.

	“Told him?” Not understanding what she meant, Makoto furrowed her 
eyebrows. “Told him about what?”

	“About us, about who we are.” 

	Makoto‘s eyes widened when she realized what Ami was saying. “You 
mean…?”

	Her roommate nodded in response to her unfinished question, 
staring back down at the folded hands sitting neatly in her lap. “I had 
to transform in order to stop Yokoyama-san from hurting anyone else,” Ami 
confessed. “Akira was unconscious at the time, so I didn’t think he could 
see me, but apparently he did.” 

	“Oh, I see.” From the tone of Ami’s voice, Makoto sensed the 
chemistry professor hadn’t taken the revelation his girlfriend was a 
reincarnated superheroine as well as Itto had on that rainy night all 
those years ago when he discovered her secret identity as Sailor Jupiter. 
“Well, what does he think about you being Sailor Mercury?”

	“He’s in shock, I think. I don’t know if it’s truly sunk in yet. 
For so long, he’s looked at the world through the eyes of a scientist… 
It’s hard for Akira to grasp the concept of something like magic actually 
existing.”

	“But you didn’t have a problem accepting that you possessed 
magical powers, did you?”

	“That was different,” she said, jerking her head back up. “I grew 
up believing in fact and fantasy, a combination of both my parents’ 
influences. Discovering my powers was a surprise, but I don’t think it 
was particularly shocking to me that magic existed. A part of me always 
felt there were things in this world that simply couldn’t be explained 
with science. But Akira…” Ami shook her head mournfully. “Did you know 
that his sister once told me he stopped believing in Santa Claus when he 
was only four years old?”

	“That’s kind of sad.”

	“I know,” Ami sighed. “He holds very few beliefs that aren’t 
based on provable fact.”

	“But it is a fact that you are Sailor Mercury,” Makoto reminded 
her. “He saw it with his very own eyes, right?”

	“Still, it’s difficult for him to accept the truth.”

	“He will.” Smiling, Makoto reached for one of Ami’s hands and 
gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Just give him time.”

	“Thanks.”

*****

	There was not a single thing suspicious about that glass.

	The ice Ami “conjured” had melted soon after she left Akira’s 
room, leaving nothing behind but a clear liquid, which a taste test 
confirmed to be plain water. Akira poured the water back into the 
pitcher, then closely examined the glass for any signs of trickery, 
positive that there had to be some kind of logical explanation for what 
he had seen. He checked every square inch of that plastic cup, yet found 
nothing out of the ordinary.

	Frustrated, Akira sat the glass back upside-down on the tray 
before falling back on his pillows with a loud groan. He had overexerted 
himself, and he was beginning to feel the consequences. Pain shot through 
his abdomen, and, reaching for the control near his hand, he pressed the 
button which would administer more of the pain medication through his IV.

	Sweet, intoxicating bliss came over him as the pain faded away. 
Suddenly feeling very tired, Akira closed his eyes and drifted off to a 
light sleep.

	He didn’t know how long he dozed or what he dreamed about, but 
when he finally woke up again some time later, Akira was wearing a huge 
smile on his face.

	“Pleasant dreams, sweetie?” a familiar female voice asked, 
adjusting his pillows.

	Through the haziness of his vision, Akira could just make out the 
shape of a pleasantly plump woman with gold hair and green eyes looking 
down at him. “Mama?”

	The woman tenderly brushed back a lock of hair from his forehead 
and nodded. “We’re here, baby,” Mama said. “We came down as soon as we 
heard. How are you feeling?”

	“I’m fine, but…but how did you know?”

	“Ami-chan called us. She’s been worried sick,” she informed him, 
pulling the chair closer to his bed and taking a seat. “We all were. I 
still can’t believe something like this happened to my baby…”

	By that time, his vision had mostly cleared, and Akira could see 
his mother’s eyes were rimmed with red. In her left hand, she held a 
crumpled handkerchief trimmed with lace, and, though she had obviously 
tried to wipe away the evidence of her tears, Akira could tell she had 
recently been crying.

	“Mama, it‘s okay,” he consoled her. “I told you, I’m fine. It was 
nothing.”

	“Nothing? Akira, being stabbed by one of your students and nearly 
bleeding to death is not exactly what I would call ‘nothing.’” 

	“But I survived. That’s what is important.”

	Sighing, his mother brought a hand to her forehead. “To think I 
used to believe that teaching was a safe profession,” she murmured to 
herself.

	Akira wondered how much Ami had told his family about what had 
happened. He never told them about the video or about his suspension, not 
wanting them to worry about him, but surely they must have been told at 
least part of the story when they arrived at the hospital.

	“Mama, how much do you know?” he asked after some hesitation. 
“About me and Ami, I mean?”

	“If you’re asking whether or not I am aware that she is your 
student, the answer is yes,” she replied. “I also know about the 
hearing.” 

	Akira looked down at his hands, ashamed and unable to look his 
mother in the eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth about Ami 
earlier. I know it wasn’t the best idea to become involved with one of my 
own students.”

	“Love comes in the most unexpected places sometimes, Akira. I 
don’t blame you for taking a chance on Ami-chan. She’s a wonderful girl.”

	“Yes, she is,” Akira said, though his smile soon turned into a 
frown when he remembered what he had happened earlier. “Mama, can I ask 
you a question?”

	“Of course, sweetie, though if you want to know more about your 
condition, you’ll have to wait and see the doctor. I came here first 
thing, so I don‘t have an updated prognosis.”

	“No, it’s not that… It’s just… Well, did you ever learn something 
about Papa that you found…unbelievable?”

	“Unbelievable? What brought this up all of a sudden?” Mama asked, 
confused.

	“Just humor me.”

	“Well, let me think.” Sitting back in her chair, her brows 
furrowed together in thought. “I remember when we first got married, I 
was surprised to discover Papa was such a good cook. He kept telling me 
he was, but I wouldn’t allow him anywhere near the kitchen because it was 
a woman’s place to do the cooking. You can imagine my surprise, then, 
when I came home after shopping with some friends one day and found a 
gourmet dinner hot on the table. I suppose living as a bachelor for so 
long, he learned a thing or two about cooking. It was quite a delicious 
meal.”

	“That’s not exactly what I meant by ‘unbelievable,’” Akira said, 
disappointed.

	“Hmm?”

	“Oh, never mind. It was a silly question, anyway.”

	However, as usual, she wouldn‘t let it go. “Did Ami-chan tell you 
something?” Mama guessed, getting up from the chair and taking a seat on 
the edge of the bed. “Something you have a hard time believing?”

	“A ’hard time’ is an understatement,” Akira muttered, which 
caused his mother to frown.

	“Surely, whatever it was, it can’t that bad, Akira. What was it?”

	“Well, she says… Ami claims… It‘s like… Oh, I can‘t even say it, 
the whole thing is just so ridiculous!”

	Mama rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you’d think she had told you she 
used to be a man or something!” she exclaimed, though she then arched a 
questioning eyebrow. “She didn’t, did she?”

	“No! I said ridiculous, not insane.”

	“Well, you can never be too sure nowadays, what with those sex-
change operations…”

	“Mama, Ami is 100% female,” he assured her, “and as far as I 
know, she has been all her life.”

	“Then what is the big problem?”

	“The problem is that I feel like everything I believed to be true 
about Ami and about the world has been an entire lie,” Akira finally 
confessed, letting out a deep sigh. “If what she says is true, then it 
means there are some things out there that can’t be explained with 
science.”

	“And if she’s not telling the truth? If she‘s lying?”

	“Then I’ve been dating a complete wacko for the past five 
months!”

	For a long moment, his mother was quiet, a rare occurrence for a 
woman who rarely stopped to think before she spoke. Akira, a bit unnerved 
by the silence, reached for her hand.

	“Mama?”

	“It seems to me the solution to your problem is simple,” she 
finally said. “You’re a scientist, Akira. Ever since you were a little 
boy, you’ve never been able to believe in anything without proof. For 
you, seeing is believing.”

	“Yeah, so?”

	“What you need to do is conduct an experiment. Ask Ami-chan to 
prove to you that what she says is the truth.”

	“She already tried that, Mama. I admit that I found nothing to 
disprove the hypothesis, but I still find it hard to believe that she 
wasn’t playing some kind of trick on me.”

	“Ami-chan doesn’t seem like the type of person to play tricks on 
you.”

	“No, but she also doesn’t seem like the type of person who would 
actually believe what she told me either.”

	“Well, what do you do in that lab of yours when an experiment of 
yours ends with an unexpected result?” she asked.

	“I perform it again to make sure that I didn’t make a mistake in 
the procedure the first time. But, Mama, I don’t thin--”

	Before he could finish his objection, his mother shook her head 
and stood back up. “Akira, test her again,” she said in the same tone of 
voice he remembered from his childhood when she told him to do his 
chores. “That’s the only way you’re going to be able to believe the 
unbelievable.”

	With that, she gave him a kiss goodnight and left.

*****

	It had been a very long day.

	Hideki arrived at Tokyo Memorial around nine o’clock, having 
spent the last few hours at the police station giving his statement. He 
wanted nothing more than to go home, crawl into bed, and pretend the 
whole thing had never happened, but, before he did, he felt obligated to 
check on how his neighbor was doing and bring Miss Mizuno up-to-date on 
what he had told the police about what happened before they questioned 
her. Unfortunately, to hide the truth of Miss Mizuno’s secret identity 
had necessitated the use of a little bit of…creative truth.   

	“Excuse me,” Hideki said, stopping at the nurse’s station, “could 
you tell me what room Kitagawa Akira-sensei is in? He came in here a few 
hours ago with an abdominal stab wound.”

	The nurse on duty, a heavy-set woman in her late forties or late 
fifties, typed something on her computer. “Kitagawa-sensei?” she 
repeated. “Are you a family member?”

	“No, I’m his neighbor. I was the one who called for the 
ambulance.”

	“I’m sorry, but Kitagawa-sensei is in the ICU. Only family 
members are allowed to see him at the moment,” she informed him.

	“Oh. Well, can you at least tell me if he’s okay?”

	“The only thing I can tell you is that he’s in serious, but 
stable, condition. If you want more information, you have to talk to a 
family member.”

	“Thank you.” 

	Turning away, Hideki sighed and walked over to a map of the 
hospital posted on a nearby wall to find out where the intensive care 
unit was. Maybe he could catch Miss Mizuno in the waiting room if she 
hadn’t already left, which he highly doubted. Once he found it, he then 
started toward the elevators, catching a flash of blue hair passing by 
out of the corner of his eye just as he hit the “up” button. 

	“Mizuno-san!”

	Accompanied by a tall brunette Hideki didn‘t recognize, she had 
just exited out of another elevator about ten feet down from the one he 
was waiting to open. The two girls were deep in conversation, but Miss 
Mizuno looked up when she heard him call her name. Ignoring the doors 
which had opened in front of him, Hideki walked over to join them.

	“Hideki-san, what are you doing here?” Miss Mizuno asked, 
apparently surprised to see him there.

	“I wanted to see how Kitagawa-sensei was doing. I just got back 
from giving the police my statement.”

	Turning to the confused brunette, Miss Mizuno explained, “Hideki
-san is Akira’s neighbor, the one I told you about. Hideki-san, this is 
Kino Mako-chan, my roommate.”

	“Matsuno Hideki,“ he said, offering his hand, Western-style, as 
he provided his full name. “It’s nice to meet you, Kino-san.”

	“You, too, Matsuno-san,” Miss Kino replied, shaking his hand. “I 
understand you helped save Ami-chan’s life.”

	“More like she saved mine, honestly.”

	The blue-haired girl shook her head modestly. “If you hadn’t 
burst in there when you did, I don’t know what would have happened.”

	“I’m sure you could have handled it yourself, Mizuno-san, consid
--”

	Realizing what he had been about to say, Hideki abruptly stopped 
and bit down on his bottom lip. He had no idea if Miss Kino knew anything 
about her roommate’s identity as a superheroine, but neither of the girls 
seemed worried or confused about the almost-slip-up. In fact, Miss Mizuno 
even managed a small smile.

	“It’s okay, Matsuno-san,” she assured him, allowing Hideki a sigh 
of relief that he hadn‘t blown her cover. “She knows.”

	Beside her, the Amazon looked down at her watch. “Ami-chan, I 
should probably be going. Itto-kun’s waiting.”

	“Oh, right. Thank you for coming, Mako-chan. I really appreciate 
it.”

	“Call me if you need anything, okay?” 

	Miss Mizuno nodded, giving her roommate’s hand a quick squeeze of 
gratitude. “I will. Thank you.”

	Once the two of them said their goodbyes, Hideki offered to buy 
Miss Mizuno a late dinner in the cafeteria. He hadn’t eaten since 
breakfast that morning, so he was positively famished and suspected Miss 
Mizuno was as well. She declined at first, but, when he insisted, she let 
him lead her to the cafeteria.

	“So, Kino-san knows about…you know?” he asked when they got in 
line, careful to keep his voice down in case anybody was listening.

	Nodding, Miss Mizuno reached for a plate of salad and placed it 
on her tray, bypassing everything else as the line moved forward. “About 
my powers? Yes.”

	“Is she also like you then?”

	“If she is, it’s not my secret to tell,” she replied 
diplomatically.

	“Right.” He selected a main dish of spaghetti along with a couple 
of pieces of garlic bread and a salad of his own. “You know, if you want 
anything else, go ahead and get it,” he encouraged her as they neared the 
register. “I don’t mind. It’s my treat.”

	“Thank you, Matsuno-san, but I must confess I don’t have much of 
an appetite tonight.”

	“Worried about Kitagawa-sensei?” Hideki guessed, helping himself 
to bowl of orange jello topped with whipped cream for dessert. Even if 
she wasn’t hungry, he was positively starving. “How is he, anyway? You 
haven’t told me anything. He’s okay, isn’t he?”

	“He’s doing well at the moment. The surgery was successful, and, 
so far, there are no signs of infection yet.”

	“That’s great. I’m really happy to hear that.”

	Miss Mizuno smiled, yet he got the distinct feeling that 
something else was bothering her. However, since he barely knew her and 
didn‘t want to pry, Hideki decided to let it go, leading her to a table 
in the corner of the nearly-empty cafeteria after paying for both their 
meals. They sat down across from each other and quietly ate their dinner 
until Hideki remembered the main reason why he had wanted to talk to Miss 
Mizuno in the first place.

	“Oh, by the way, you don’t have to worry about me. I won‘t tell 
anybody about what I saw.”

	Miss Mizuno, who had been absent-mindedly poking at a cherry 
tomato with a fork ever since they sat down, raised her head, appearing 
as if she hadn‘t heard a word he said. “Huh?”

	“I said you didn’t have to worry about me spilling the beans 
about what really happened this afternoon with Yui. I didn’t tell the 
police anything about your powers.”

	“Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.”

	“In case they question you about it, I told them that she was 
knocked unconscious, but I didn’t see how it happened because I was going 
for the knife,” Hideki continued, a bit surprised she hadn’t asked 
herself. In fact, Miss Mizuno barely seemed concerned at all, once again 
bowing her head down and poking at the tomato. “That way, you can tell 
them whatever you want about what happened. I don’t know if the 
detectives really believed me or not, but as long as Yui doesn’t say 
anything to contradict it, I think your secret should be safe. You said 
she probably wouldn’t remember what happened, right?

	“They usually don’t, no,” she said softly, shaking her head.

	“And, of course, I assume Kitagawa-sensei already knows about 
your powers, so he won‘t be -- Mizuno-san?”

	Miss Mizuno had dropped her fork, the eating utensil falling to 
the floor with a loud clang. She ducked down to pick it up, and, upon 
sitting back up, Hideki noticed she seemed visibly shaken. “Are you okay, 
Mizuno-san?” he asked, wondering what he had said to upset her.

	After taking a deep breath, Miss Mizuno took a drink of her water 
and nodded. “I’m fine,” she said, wiping her fork clean with a napkin and 
finally eating that cherry tomato as if it was proof that she really was 
okay. “I suppose it just hit me that I took a huge risk in transforming 
in front of you and Yokoyama-san. You could have easily decided to sell 
the stories to the media. Not many people would have been able to resist 
the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. I’m sure the tabloids 
would have paid good money for the identity of one of the Sailor Senshi.”

	“I have to admit, a couple of million yen would have been nice,” 
he confessed, “but after the role I played in this whole thing, I 
couldn’t imagine putting you and sensei in the middle of another huge 
scandal.”

	“What do you mean?”   

	Hideki, surprised she didn’t seem to know he had helped Yui with 
getting the tape of her and the professor, frowned. “You mean Yui didn’t 
tell you?”

	“Tell me what, Matsuno-san?”

	Feeling his cheeks start to burn, Hideki looked down at his half
-eaten plate of spaghetti and began rolling around a large meatball, much 
like she had done before with the cherry tomato. He could feel Miss 
Mizuno staring at him, waiting for an answer. 

	“Mizuno-san, I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am about 
what happened,” he began. “If I had any idea things were going to go so 
far, I would have done everything in my power to stop her. I never 
thought Yui could --”

	“It’s not your fault, Matsuno-san,” Miss Mizuno interrupted. “You 
couldn’t have known Yokoyama-san was going to snap the way she did. 
Nobody did.”

	Hideki shook his head, forcing himself to look up despite his 
embarrassment. “I’m not talking about that, at least not completely. Of 
course I wish I had made it home and heard her message on my answering 
machine before Yui arrived at Kitagawa-sensei’s apartment, but I’m not 
just some Good Samaritan who happened to be at the right place, at the 
right time. If it wasn‘t for what I did, none of this might have ever 
happened.”

	“I don’t understa--” 

	“I made the tape, Mizuno-san. It was Yui’s idea, but I was the 
one who actually set the whole thing up in the first place.” 

	It was such a relief to finally confess his crime. Hideki felt as 
if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and, for the first 
time in weeks, the knot of guilt in his stomach relaxed, though it 
quickly tightened back up again when he saw the look of shock on Miss 
Mizuno’s pale face.

	“Y-You made the tape?” she asked. “But Yokoyama-san said--”

	Nodding, Hideki balled his fist underneath the table, wishing at 
the moment that he could punch the daylights out of himself. He didn’t 
deserve anything less. In fact, he was amazed Miss Mizuno managed to 
remain so cool considering the situation. She had more than enough power 
at her disposal to punish him severely for what he had done, yet she sat 
motionless across from him, making no move even to slap him across the 
face.

	“I’m so sorry, Mizuno-san,” Hideki apologized with a bow, knowing 
as soon as he said it that even if he said those words a hundred times, 
it would never been enough to make up for what he did to her. “I won’t 
blame you if you never forgive me for all the embarrassment I caused you 
and the professor, but I want you to know that I never thought things 
would get so out of control. When Yui told me she had seen you two 
together in the lab, I didn’t even believe her. The only reason I agreed 
to bug Kitagawa-sensei’s apartment in the first place was to prove to Yui 
that there was nothing going on between you two.”

	“Yet when you did find proof we were together, you decided to 
post it on the Internet?” she accused, to which Hideki vehemently shook 
his head.

	“No! That was all Yui’s idea. I didn’t even know about it until 
the Monday after she sent those e-mails, I swear. I thought she was just 
going to send it to Tanaka-sensei, not the whole school.”

	The anger that had briefly flashed in Miss Mizuno’s eyes 
vanished, and she sighed heavily, rubbing her temple as if she had a 
headache. “I know I should be furious with you, but, to tell you the 
truth, I’m too exhausted to be mad,” she said wearily. “Thank you for 
finally telling me what really happened, Matsuno-san. It took a lot of 
guts to confess.” 

	“I should have come forward earlier,” he said, a touch of 
bitterness in his voice as he remembered all the times he could have 
confessed but didn’t. “I wanted to go to Tanaka-sensei the moment I 
learned what Yui had done, but I was too much of a coward. I won‘t be a 
coward anymore, though. Tomorrow, I‘ll tell the police everything, so, if 
you and Kitagawa-sensei want to press charges, you‘ll have all the 
evidence you need. I‘m ready to pay the consequences for my part in 
everything that happened.” 

	Miss Mizuno, however, shook her head. “That won’t be necessary, 
although I do commend you for wanting to face up to what you have done. 
That was very noble of you,” she said, the faintest trace of a smile on 
her lips. “I think you more than made up for your mistakes today, though, 
and I’m sure Akira will feel the same way.”

	Hideki could hardly believe it. He had just told her that, 
because of him, hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, had seen her 
performing the most intimate of acts with her lover, nearly costing 
Kitagawa-sensei his job and her reputation, yet she had no intention of 
pressing charges against him? If the situation was reversed and somebody 
had taped him and Yui in bed together, then e-mailed it to the entire 
school, he doubted he would be so lenient.

	“I-I don’t deserve your mercy, but thank you, Mizuno-san,” he 
finally sputtered once he got over his shock. “You really are too kind.”

	“I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened.”

	After that, they ate the rest of their meal in uncomfortable 
silence, the cafeteria dead quiet except for a table of doctors who 
evidently were working the night shift and talking softly among 
themselves. Once he had finished eating his dinner, Hideki looked up at 
the clock hanging on the wall behind Miss Mizuno and noticed that it was 
getting late. He cleaned up his mess, and, picking up his tray, stood to 
leave. 

	“Well, I should probably start heading home,” he announced as 
Miss Mizuno glanced up from her salad, startled. He had been planning to 
quietly slip away, getting the feeling that she wanted to be alone, but 
since she had caught him, he didn‘t want to be rude. “Mercury probably 
needs to be walked by now.”

	“Mercury’s at your place?” she asked.

	Hideki nodded. “Uh, yeah, I took him after you left with the 
ambulance. Is that okay? I thought it was the least I could do, but if 
you would prefer he stay with someone else--”

	“No, he knows you. It’s fine. Thank you for offering.”

	She might as well have been talking to a stranger, which was, 
after all, what he was. Hideki felt like he should say something -- 
anything at all -- to convey once again how terribly sorry he was for the 
things he had done, but no words came to him, so with a nod goodbye, he 
threw away his trash and left.

*****

	Soon after Matsuno Hideki left, Ami finished her salad, then 
headed back up to the ICU, thinking of the man, who, just hours ago, she 
had considered a hero, only to discover that he had been an accomplice in 
his girlfriend’s scheme.

	As she had told Hideki earlier, she really should have been 
furious, and a part of Ami did feel some anger towards him, but he had 
truly seemed sincere in his apology. She believed him when he said he had 
never intended for things to get so out of hand, and she admired his guts 
in finally coming forward with the truth, even if it was too late. Ami 
wasn’t sure how Akira would react upon hearing about his trusted 
neighbor’s betrayal, but she would do her best to convince him not to 
press charges. After all, despite Hideki’s part in starting the whole 
scandal, if it wasn’t for his timely appearance at Akira’s apartment, 
they both might have died at Yokoyama Yui‘s hand.

	Pulling her cardigan, which Makoto had thoughtfully brought from 
their apartment, tighter around herself, Ami sighed as she thought of 
Akira. She didn’t even know if he would ever speak to her again. Having 
dinner with Hideki had distracted her for a while, save for that awkward 
moment when he assumed Akira must have known about her powers, but, now 
that she was on her own again, she couldn’t help but remember the hurt, 
shock, and anger etched on Akira’s face when he found out the truth about 
who she really was.

	Ami was so caught up in her thoughts and worries that she failed 
to notice a blue-haired woman coming toward her until the woman reached 
for her arm, forcing her to stop.

	“Oh, Ami, there you are,” her mother said. “I’ve been looking all 
over for you.”

	“Why? Is something wrong?” she asked, drawing in a sharp breath. 
“It’s not Akira, is it? He hasn’t developed an infection, has he?”

	“No, nothing like that.” Hearing that, Ami let out a sigh of 
relief as her mother continued, “I just thought you might want to know 
that the Kitagawas arrived a short while ago. Kitagawa-sensei‘s mother is 
with him now.” 

	“Oh, good. His family should be with him.”

	“I’ve also been worried about you,” she confessed, resting her 
hands on Ami’s arms. “How are you holding up, sweetheart?”

	Unable to meet her mother’s eyes, Ami pretended her attention had 
been caught by a patient being rolled out of a nearby room, covered head
-to-toe in a blanket, signifying that he or she was to be taken down to 
the morgue. She held back a shudder, trying not to think about how close 
Akira had come to being yet another corpse underneath the blanket.

	“I’m fine, okaa-san,” Ami declared, hoping she sounded more 
confident in those words than she felt. “I’m very grateful that Akira is 
doing so well.”

	“Yes, he is making a remarkable recovery, considering how much 
blood he lost due to the stabbing, but you have just gone through an 
extremely traumatic experience as well, Ami. If you want to talk, I’ll be 
happy to listen. In fact, I‘m on my break right now. Why don’t we go down 
to the cafeteria and grab some din--”  

	“Maybe later, okaa-san,” she said, giving her mother a small 
smile to show that she appreciated the gesture. “I already ate. Besides, 
I want to check on Akira’s family and see how they are holding up. I’m 
sure they have questions about what happened. I wasn’t able to tell them 
everything over the phone.”

	“Of course. I assume you’ll be spending the night?”

	Ami nodded. There was no way she was leaving the hospital until 
she knew Akira was out of the woods.

	“Okay. I’ll see you at breakfast then.” Her mother gave her a hug 
before heading down to the cafeteria.

	After she left, Ami headed back to the ICU waiting room, though 
she couldn’t bring herself to go inside just yet. When she called earlier 
to inform Akira’s family of the stabbing, she had given Mrs. Kitagawa a 
brief summary of what had happened, including confessing that she was 
indeed Akira’s student and not going to Keioh as they had led them to 
believe over the holidays. While his mother seemed to take the news of 
their deception well enough, Ami had no idea how the rest of their family 
would react to the news, especially on top of the video and the hearing 
earlier that day, which they were bound to know about by now. The 
stabbing was the top news on all the Tokyo TV stations according to 
Makoto.

	Realizing there was no point in delaying things any longer, Ami 
took a deep breath and opened the door, surprised to see that Junko was 
the only one in the room, besides two other families who had loved ones 
in the intensive care unit. The teenager was sitting in the corner, 
watching what appeared to be the Channel 15 news, though she quickly 
flipped the channel to cartoons when she noticed Ami standing in the 
doorway. They must have been reporting about the stabbing.

	 “Ami-onee-chan!” Junko ran over and gave her a hug. “How is 
onii-chan? Is he going to be okay?”

	“He’s doing better, Junko-chan.”

	“Thank goodness! I was so worried!”

	“Where is everybody else?” Ami asked.

	“Satoshi’s not here yet, but he should be soon. He’s in Kyoto for 
school, so he didn’t come with us. Mama’s still with onii-chan as far as 
I know, and Papa went to get us some takeout. I hope you like pepperoni 
and sausage pizza. We weren’t sure what we should get.”

	“Pepperoni and sausage is fine. Sounds delicious.” 

	Suddenly taking Ami’s hand, Junko pulled her toward the couch 
furthest away from the other families. Ami could tell from her behavior 
that Junko wanted to ask her about what she heard on the news, and, 
indeed, as soon as they sat down, the teen leaned close to her, her voice 
soft and low as she asked, “Is it really true, Ami-onee-chan? That you 
really are one of onii-chan’s students?”

	Ami nodded, and to her credit, for once, she didn’t feel herself 
blushing. After everything that had happened, she didn’t think much could 
embarrass her any more. “Hai. I’m taking his advanced organic chemistry 
class. Well, at least I was. Technically, I‘m no longer in the class.”

	“And there was a tape of you two, well, you know. having sex?” 
Junko asked, the teen’s cheeks turning rosy. 

	“Hai,” Ami answered, causing Junko’s eyes to widen. “But, Junko-
chan, can we please not talk about this now? I‘d rather wait until your 
parents get back so I only have to tell the story once.”

	“Okay, I can wait,” she agreed, sitting back. “But is something 
wrong?”

	“What do you mean?”

	“You seem a bit distracted.”

	It was that obvious? First Makoto, then Hideki, now Junko…

	“Akira and I got into a fight earlier,” Ami admitted, seeing no 
point in denying it.

	“About what?”

	“He found out something about me that he doesn’t like, and I 
don’t know if he can get over it.”

	“Come on, onii-chan loves you!” Junko exclaimed. “There’s nothing 
you could say or do to make him stop.”

	“I don’t know about that, Junko-chan,” Ami sighed.

	“Well, I do. By this time tomorrow, he’ll be begging your 
forgiveness. I guarantee it.”

	Ami wished she could have Junko’s confidence, but she just didn’t 
know if Akira could ever accept the fact that she was Sailor Mercury. 
Fortunately, she was spared further discussion of their fight by Mrs. 
Kitagawa’s arrival.

	“Ami-chan, there you are!”

	Alarmed by the excitement in the plump woman’s voice, Ami stood 
up. “Izumi-mama, is something wrong with Akira?”

	“Oh, no, dear, he‘s fine,” she said, much to Ami’s relief. “I 
have been looking for you though. Akira wants to see you.”

	“He does? But--”

	“See, I told you,” Junko said smugly, lightly pushing her 
forward. “And it didn’t even take as long as I thought it would. Go on, 
go on.”

	“Yes, you mustn’t keep him waiting,” Mrs. Kitagawa encouraged, 
shooing her in the direction of the door.

	Sighing, Ami headed to the door. “Okay, okay, I’m going!”

*****

	Akira tried to fall asleep again after his mother left, but found 
it difficult. Not even his pain medication seemed to do the trick. 
Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to get any rest any 
time soon, he reached for the remote beside his bed and channel-surfed 
until he heard what sounded like a timid knock on his door.

	“Junko? Papa?”

	The door slowly opened, revealing a head of dark blue hair. “It’s 
me, Akira,” his late-night visitor announced, causing Akira to draw in a 
sharp breath.

	“Ami.” 

	Ami hesitantly entered the room and closed the door behind her. 
“Your mother said you wanted to see me.”

	Turning off the TV, Akira half-heartedly chuckled. He should have 
known after their conversation his mother would send Ami to see him. “She 
would do that, wouldn’t she? Never can leave well enough alone.”

	“Oh, you didn’t want to see me?” she asked, blushing as she bowed 
in apology. “I’m sorry for bothering you, then. I’ll come back later.”

	“No, wait,” Akira said, not knowing why, but suddenly not wanting 
her to go. Ami, who had started to leave, paused at the door. “Stay. I 
want you to stay.”

	After a moment of silent deliberation, Ami released her grip on 
the doorknob and turned back around.

	“Akira, about earlier, I --”

	Akira shook his head, not wanting to hear her apology -- at 
least, not yet. If Ami truly was who she said she was, he needed proof. 
His mother was right. They would never be able to get past it until he 
knew the truth.

	“Look out the door, Ami,” he ordered, Ami’s eyes widening.

	“W-What?”

	“Look out the door and see if there is anybody in the halls.”

	Confused, Ami opened the door and stuck out her head. “Nobody is 
around,” she said. “The corridor is empty.”

	“Good. Now lock it, then draw the curtains.”

	“Akira, what is going on? I don’t understa--”

	“Just do it, Ami. Please.

	Though she must have thought he was acting very strangely, Ami 
followed his instructions, then came to stand expectantly at his bedside. 
She didn’t say anything, her hands folded in front of her and her head 
down, waiting to see if he wanted her to do anything else. 

	“How do you transform?” he finally asked, Ami’s head jerking back 
up in surprise. “Do you have some kind of special wand or something? 
That’s usually how it goes in magical girl anime, isn’t it?”

	“W-We used to have henshin sticks, but they aren’t necessary 
anymore,” Ami stuttered, still looking at him as if she thought he had 
completely lost it.  

	“Okay. In that case, I want you to transform.”

	“Right now?”

	“Yes, right now. If you really are who you say you are, then it 
should be no problem,” Akira said, noticing that Ami had briefly glanced 
in the direction of the door. “The door is locked, and even if somebody 
does pass by, you’re hidden by the curtain,” he reminded her. “Nobody 
should interrupt us.”

	Inhaling deeply, Ami moved back a couple of feet away from his 
bed. She placed her right hand over her heart, then raised the other hand 
in the air, calling out, “MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!” Unblinking in case he 
missed anything, Akira stared, transfixed, as Ami’s clothes faded away 
and her body was covered in an ethereal blue light. What appeared to be 
ribbons of water wrapped around her arms, legs, and torso, and when the 
transformation was finally complete, a blue-haired woman emerged from the 
light garbed in the same frilly sailor suit of contrasting blues he 
vaguely remembered from before.

	“Ami?” Akira gasped. “Sailor…Mercury?” 

	The woman walked over to his bed and bent down to gently kiss him 
on the lips, proving without a doubt in Akira’s mind that the sailor-
suited superheroine in front of him was, in fact, Mizuno Ami.

	“B-But how?” As Sailor Mercury -- no, Ami -- sat down on the edge 
of his hospital bed, Akira brought his hand up to caress her damp cheek. 
Even seeing her transform in front of his very eyes, it was still 
somewhat difficult to reconcile the idea that the woman he loved and the 
woman sitting on his bed were one in the same. “H-How is this even 
possible?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

	Ami smiled, taking his hand and holding it against her chest. 
“Magic, Akira. It exists.”

	“Ami, come on, don’t be ridiculous. There must be some kind of 
logical, scientific explanation for the existence of such powers. A 
genetic mutation, perhaps, although that doesn’t explain the cloth--”

	Interrupting him, Ami placed a finger on his lips and shook her 
head. “Akira, I know this must be difficult for you, but just accept the 
fact that there are things in this world which are impossible to explain 
with science,” she said. “Believe me, if there was such a scientific 
explanation for my powers, I probably would have discovered it by now, 
but it simply doesn’t exist. Every law of the universe says I should not 
exist, yet I do.”

	“But --”

	Akira exhaled. He wasn’t quite sure if he could bring himself to 
accept the idea that something like magic truly existed, but the one 
thing he did know for certain was that he loved Ami, superheroine or not, 
and he wasn’t about to lose her. That hadn’t changed, even after learning 
the truth. If loving her meant acknowledging the fact that, yes, she did 
have unexplainable special powers, then he only had one choice. 

	“Well, this is going to take some time to get used to.” he said, 
giving Ami a half-smile.   

	Ami, who had once again looked down at her hands, looked up. 
“Does that mean you don’t hate me?” she asked.

	“Hate you? Ami, I could never hate you. I love you, you know 
that.”

	“Even if I believe in magic?”

	Nodding, Akira reached up and brushed Ami’s bangs out of her 
eyes. The dark blue stone in the center of her tiara sparkled underneath 
the fluorescent lights of his room. “Yes, even if you believe in magic,” 
he assured her. “I’m not going to lie to you, Ami. I don’t know if I’ll 
ever be able to fully share in your beliefs, but I can respect them. You
‘ve proven to me tonight that there are things out there that are outside 
the scope of what we currently know about the universe. I don‘t know if 
it‘s magic or not, but I promise to be more open-minded.”  

	“Oh, Akira…thank you.”



DISCLAIMER: “Sailor Moon” is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Comments and criticisms can be sent to me at 
ElysionDream@aol.com. Special thanks to my editors, Starsea and I 
Abibde/Samuraiter.