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She grimaced as she sat up to the entrance of her friend.

"Hi," Yuuki said quietly.

"Hey," Akira spoke weakly.

"It still hurts? Shouldn't you have healed by now?" She inquired.

"Yeah, it still hurts. I dunno probably, I'm thinking about shooting myself so I'll heal, but I don't feel like dying anymore." Akira smiled sadly.

"How much sleep have you gotten?"

"Too much, I've been laying around here so much, I feel terrible and lazy!" She leaned her head back against the wall looking at the ceiling, "Man, I'm gonna need some serious exercise when I get better. . ."

Yuuki smiled slightly, 'Just a few days earlier I found out. . . God. . .' Yuuki walked in to see that Rowen had pulled up a chair near Akira's bed, "How is she?"

It took him a moment to even acknowledge she was there, and when he did realize he seemed surprised, "Huh? Oh uh, she drifts in and out of sleep every one and a while."

"Is she eating much?"

"Even less than she usually does." Rowen sighed, he looked back at her, "You want this seat?"

"No, I'll get one from the other room." She walked out, and came back a few minutes later. Rowen scooted over so Yuuki could have some room."You don't look well yourself. You've been staying here for the past few days haven't you?" Yuuki put her chin in her hand and studied him.

Rowen turned to her, "I just want to make sure she's OK. She shouldn't wake up alone."

Yuuki smiled, "You're a good friend to her." Rowen rolled his eyes. "No, I'm serious! You're in need of a shave though. Growing a beard?"

He sat up, "Hell, no! Why would I want a beard?"

"Don't even consider it." A rough voice spoke. They both looked to Akira, who was now partly awake although she hadn't moved anything, but her mouth and her eyes, "A beard would NOT suit you."

"I know that's why don't want one."

"You remind me of Indiana Jones. Cause of the unshaven-ness. Excuse me, painkillers make me a bit off."

"It's OK we've all been there. Some more than others!" Yuuki eyed Rowen.

"I have an honorable nature. . . That's why I sacrifice my own life to save those of others!"

"Sit down Kuno."

"Yeah, really, man cut the dramatics!"

"You compare me to that fool Kuno? That FOOL KUNO! THAT FOOL KUNO!"

"You've been letting him read Ranma again haven't you?"

"Let me guess Gosunkugi right?"

Rowen smiled and nodded, then a more serious expression came over his face, "Anyway, Akira how are you?"

Akira sighed, and looked to the ceiling," I'm all right." For what seemed like ages everyone was quiet.

"Hey, um can I ask you two a question?"

"Ask away."

"Yeah, course."

"Um," Yuuki tried to find her words, "How cum you two are such close friends?"

Rowen looked to Akira and then seemed to be thinking, "Short question, long answer."

"How many years has it been?"

"Roughly around twelve years I believe." "

'Twelve'? Huh? That's a long time for a friendship I think."

" You want to hear the whole story?"

"Or you can always see the movie." Akira sat up, wincing.

"I've got time."

"OK. . ."

"YOUR DAUGHTER BEAT UP OUR BOY!" A parent shouted.

"If I may say so, your boy tried to beat up my daughter, she was only acting in self-defense. And really is there reason to yell? I'm sitting right next to you." Mr. Kaia sat with a four-year old Akira, and the parents of a boy in the preschool class. They were meeting in the principal's office. Mr. Kaia had short fiery red hair, like Akira's and green-blue eyes, which Akira failed to inherit. She had her mother's endless brown eyes, but unlike her mother's Akira's eyes hardly ever changed from her natural superior look, which she had mastered at the age of two (according to the worst of her baby-sitters). And so the argument of who's child beat up who's went on, until finally the intelligence of Akira's father allowed him to prevail (not to mention that wits weren't exactly the things you'd list under strengths for the parents of the other child).

Rowen sat in his room his hands held tightly over his ears. Unfortunately, that did not block out the shouts coming from the kitchen, or the undying screams of his younger brother Nari. He hated the sound of the arguments, but he knew that sooner or later they may stop and his dad would no longer live with them. More than he hated the shouts of his parent's fights, he hated his father. To Rowen, and to Nari, the man in the kitchen yelling against their mother's voice was not their father. They had no father. How could they call a man who was never home, who sat in the den doing unnecessary work when he was instead of outside, teaching him how to play basketball or how to read better, or anything that a parent would teach a son. Rowen had heard the conversations between his father and other adults about him. One adult would say "Oh, my isn't Rowen bright?" and his father would twist it around so that it wasn't Rowen, but Rowen's father that made him bright. He knew though that once all the complimenting adults were gone his father didn't contribute anything, but tuition money to his education. These problems in the family made Rowen very quiet, at school he kept to himself, even though in his preschool they tried to encourage the children to interact with each other, Rowen refused. The first day he sat by himself, the teachers tried to get him to draw, or play on the jungle gym, but he shook his head politely, saying, "No thank you."

The teacher would smile at the politeness, but her eyes gave away her feelings of concern. That went on for about two weeks, then the teachers just pretty much stopped, only every once and a while would they go over to him and offer an activity for him to join. Of course he still refused, and as a result he had not a friend in the world.

"You little bitch!" A boy held Akira back by the arms, she struggled under his grip, but couldn't get loose.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" Akira shouted, using a word she had heard the older students using around school.

"After a moment, after a moment."

"Damnit LET ME GO! NOW!" She pushed her head up butting the chin of the boy with the top of her head. He grunted in pain, then she was slammed against a wall. The brick was cold and her cheek stung. "LET ME GO!" She shouted again, this time it was a bit muffled.

"We will, just wait." One laughed.

"I'm only four you stupid shits!"

"We like 'em young."

"Can't get none older by their own will?"

"Shuddup!" He punched her. Akira shut her eyes, unsure what to do, she seemed to be preparing for the worst. She listened for the sound of a zipper unzipping, and when it came she heard a soft rustle of cloth, opening her eyes she fought back. Akira kicked him between the legs and punched back into the trash cans. The other had stepped back in surprise she turned to him. Akira grabbed his nose between her index and middle fingers, she pulled him forward with all her strength ramming his head in the wall, then she kneed him while his behind was still in the air she pulled his underwear out as far as it could go. When Akira let him go, he fell over in pain, she stood there over him for a moment surprised by her own strength. She shook herself out of that, and ran. She ran faster ignoring the shouts of ,"Hey, you!" and "Little girl!".

Those adults were obviously worried, but she wasn't going to stop until she felt the need to. Just a few blocks away from her home she stopped. Akira held her stomach, she was out of breath. She leaned her hands on her knees like she was ready to vomit. Her breathing slowed. A pair of small black sneakers entered her eyesight. She looked up," What?" She spoke between breaths.

"You're bleeding..." The blue-haired boy said simply. Her hand went to her nose and blood trickled down her finger. Dried and almost dried blood was all over her face, some had dotted her shirt and arms. "I think I have something." He knelt down and dug into his backpack. Sure enough, thanks to his ever-thoughtful mother, he had a little pack of tissue tucked into one of his backpack pockets. He tore apart the surrounding plastic and handed the whole pile of tissues to her. Akira accepted them gingerly and held a couple, to her nose to stop the bleeding.

"Thanks," She spoke on her guard, not forgetting the reason for her bloody nose. He stood there dumbly until her bleeding stopped, he fidgeted uncomfortably under her stare.

"You get into a fight?" He asked.

"Is it your business?" She shot back.

"I guess you owe me an explanation, cuz I offered you tissues."

Akira blinked, "You talk smarter than kids my age."

He tried to hide a bit of pride, "They say I am."

"Who says?" "Lotsa grown-ups."

"Oh, I shoul' tell you, I sorta got in a fight."

"Oh."

"I get in lotta fights, kids r' fraid of me cuz they think I'm gonna hurt 'em. But I wouldn't, longs they don't hurt me. Bastards make funa me cuz I'm part 'merican. I can't help it."

"'Bastards' ." He breathed, he recognized the word, "Um, I'm Rowen. I won't be afraid of you, I promise."

"You won't? Well, OK then I'm Akira. And s'long as y' don't tryda hurt me I won't make you 'fraid of me."

Rowen walked up to his house, his father's dark green, car in the driveway. He frowned wondering why his dad was home so early. In an instant he ran up quietly and put his ear to the door. There he waited for a moment listening, there was no noise from what he could hear. Rowen reached up and rang the doorbell. He heard the familiar footsteps walk to the door. Instead of Maki the woman who helped watch he and Nari, his father opened the door.

"Hey kid!" He said a smile on his face.

Rowen held back an angry scowl. 'Bastards. . .' he thought of the word Akira had used. Coldly he walked passed his dad, "What r' you doing home?"

"'Are' Rowen say 'are' not 'r' 'r' is not a word, son."

"What ARE you doing home so early?"

"Can't a father come home early?"

'You're not a father. . .' Rowen didn't respond out loud to the comment, instead he left and went to his own room.

"Damnit! I can't have a relationship with my own son because of you!"

"IT'S NOT ME THAT STOPS HIM, IT'S YOU!"

"THAT'S THE MOST-"

"OH BULLSHIT! YOU JUST WANT TO FIND SOMEONE TO BLAME! IT'S NEVER YOUR OWN FAULT!"

'It is your fault, it is. . .'

"I hate dresses, mom!" Akira struggled.

"Please, honey just this once!" Mrs. Kaia tried to get the dress on her daughter.

"I don't wanna!"

"Please don't be difficult!" She stopped and rested her forehead in the palm of her hand.

Akira waltzed up to her mother and smiled, "How about a deal, if I can wear shorts under it then I'll wear it."

Her mother sighed, "All right, honey, we'll compromise." Then she smiled, "I'm raising a lawyer here."

Akira pulled on her shorts and put the dress on over her head. There was a painting in her room that her mom made, it was a woman in the light and behind her a girl in the dark. The woman in the light was frightening even though she looked beautiful, and the girl in the dark seemed so close to her although she looked sad and alone. Akira had picked the painting out of all of her mother's, it was no surprise to either of her parents.

"What's wrong Akira?" Rowen asked.

"Just my head, I think I hit it during that fight, I've had headaches lately."

Akira put her hand to her forehead.

"Will, you be able to continue?" Yuuki asked.

"Yeah, just need some aspirin. There's- " she tried to roll over- "some right here." She pointed to a drawer and tried to open it.

"OK, OK I got it." Rowen opened the drawer and took out the bottle.

She took two and swallowed, "I'll be OK, just a little drowsy took some damn painkillers earlier."

Two years after Rowen and Akira met, Akira was being dropped off at Rowen's house.

"She's been a little sick lately, and the medicine is making her drowsy." Mrs. Kaia said to Rowen's mom. Akira was in her father's arms partly dozing off.

"That's all right, easier to get her to sleep later on." The adults laughed at this knowing how impossible it was to make Akira to go to sleep, much less lie down, even when she was hurt. She was handed the groggy girl just before they left.

Akira opened her eyes and spoke very softly, "Good-bye."

"Good-bye sweetie." Mrs. Kaia kissed her on the forehead.

"Bye-bye mommy. . ."

"Bye Akira. Stay strong OK? Love you." Mr. Kaia hugged her and put her back in Rowen's mom's arms.

"Bye daddy. . . " She could've sworn that there were tears in her parents' eyes, but she excused it as a result of her sleepiness.

"Do you think we'll ever see her again?"

"No, we were never meant to see her after this." She began to cry, "I'll miss her! How will she ever get along on her own? She's so young. . ."

"She was meant to continue on, she will live you know."

"I know that! I just wish none of this were true! I almost believed that visit was truly a dream, but that day when she was little, with the blood, SHE WAS DEAD! SHE CAME BACK! WHY? WHY COULDN'T THAT POOR GIRL GROW UP NORMALLY? SHE DID NOTHING!"

"They're dead." Akira said.

"Who's dead?" Rowen asked her.

She was lying on the couch with a small blanket over her. "My mommy and daddy."

"No not yet they're still here. I hear them."

"Then I gotta go."

"Yeah." He stood up, "Hey . . . if they do die, where are you gonna go?"

"I'm going to leave here. I can't go to another family."

"Wait." Rowen flew up the stairs and came back down holding something under his arm. He handed what was under his arm to her and she took it then looked at him in confusion. "This is Mike."

"I know."

"But you love Mike."

"I'm giving him to you." Akira stared at the little blue samurai, then held it close. Her eyes began to tear up, and she threw her arms around Rowen.

"I'll be back, Rowen. I swear it. . . I'll come back."

"Bye, Akira. I know you'll come back."

"I hope so."

"So then what happened?"

Rowen shrugged," I really don't know the details too well."

Yuuki looked to Akira who seemed to have drifted off. "Akira?"

It took her a moment but finally she turned her head. Yuuki then realized Akira wasn't drifting off.

"Um. . ." Akira's voice was slow, and she put her hand to her forehead so she could think. "Well, I took Mike," She nodded to the little raggedy doll next to her. "And- well, I ran."

"NO!" She screamed, dropping the doll. Akira ran to her parents as she ran she saw them both fall one after the other. The sand on the beach around them was stained red. Akira reached her mother first, "Momma?"

"Hey, sweetie." She smiled like nothing was wrong, smiled like there really was no blood coming from the open wound in her side. "I love you, honey."

"Momma?"

"I'm sorry, baby. This is the way it has to be." Her head dropped to the side, and her eyes shut. Akira bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. A chilling wind came in and blew strands of her mother's soft black hair around in the air. A few feet away from her Akira heard a soft groan. She turned around. Her dad lay, in the same condition as her mom was a few minutes before she died.

"Dad?"

"Come here, Akira there are a few things I have to tell you." Akira kneeled next to him. From his jacket pocket he took out a little black and white bag with drawstrings."Inside here there is a marble, you can communicate with us this way-" he coughed, and some blood ran down his mouth "-also there is a transformation stick, so when you get older you can become Sailor Earth. This won't, however be permanent, once you meet a woman named Cynthia, a few months after you get back to Tokyo, she will instruct you further." Akira nodded, knowing that most of this information had been told to her earlier. "And there is a necklace with a wedding ring on it, put it on and never take it off under normal conditions."

This she had never heard and wanted to question it, but decided not to waste time. Akira dug into the bag and pulled out the necklace, immediately she put it around her neck. Her father smiled, "Your life will be tough, but if anyone had thought you wouldn't be able to make it, then you wouldn't be here. Don't fear anything, and come back to Tokyo during the summer of 1998. Never get discouraged, and don't be afraid to commit crimes to survive." Akira was taken aback at this. "I know, we told you never to do that, but in order to live you have to."

"But I live forever."

"You'll understand later." After those words left his lips, he sighed and left her the same way her mother did.

"I shouldn't have asked." Yuuki sighed.

"It's OK you asked . . . Gotta talk about stuff anyway."

"I wished I'd've gone with you." Rowen said.

"No, then you'd be dead too, I'll bet."

"True, true. . ."

"Ah fuck!" Akira winced.

"What?" Yuuki stood up. "Painkillers wearing off?"

"Yes . . . I hate those motherfuckers though, they make me feel like shit. I can live without them. . . or die. . don't matter."

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