“Good morning!”
“Wha-what?” Ami said after waking with a start. “Oh, hello, Luna,” she added, noticing the black cat sitting across her desk through her bleary eyes.
"You're pushing yourself too hard, Ami," Luna said in a motherly tone.
That was hard for Ami to deny right now, considering she had, apparently, fallen asleep at her desk. “Yes, well, thank you for your concern, Luna, but I’m working on something very important right now,” Ami replied while straightening her clothes and hair.
“Oh, I’m sure,” Luna replied, shrewdly studying the holographic cosmos floating above the desk, “What are you working on exactly?”
“Nothing you’d be interested in,” Ami replied, hurriedly turning off the visual display.
“Well, so long as you’re not going to sell off plans for another piece of Moon Kingdom technology?” Luna asked pointedly.
Ami cleared her throat and stood up at this point. She closed the ajar window that Luna had entered through and walked over to the corner of her office, where she turned on the espresso machine used to supply her regular caffeine fix. Without meeting Luna’s eyes, she stated, “I believe I’ve apologized for selling the Communicator plans.”
“Never quite to my satisfaction, Ami,” Luna started. “I know you’ve said you needed the money, but what could you need it for? I’ve never seen you leave the office long enough to do anything with it!”
“There’s Rei’s hospital bills for one. With her grandfather gone, somebody has to look out for her—”
“But you told me the hospital housed Rei for you as a favor.”
“—then, there’s the upkeep on her shrine and the wages for the staff overseeing it,” Ami continued. “And then, there’s my own finances to think of.”
Luna frowned as Ami continued to fuss with her mug and spoon with her back to the cat. “Still, considering how many people I passed on the way here were wearing one, you must be making a fortune!” she remarked.
“They’ve sold well,” Ami said simply, returning to her chair and taking a sip of her coffee. “Now, Luna, was there a reason for your visit, or did you really come here just to quiz me on this topic again?”
Luna seemed irked but decided not to press Ami further. Ami wasn’t liable to snap at her like Makoto. She would simply shut down, and that was almost more annoying to deal with. Instead, remembering why she had made the daring journey up to Ami’s office window, she said, “It’s about Rei actually.”
Ami appeared to sigh but no sound escaped her lips.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Will you go see her tonight?” Luna asked.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” Ami replied. “If anything happens, the nurses know to contact me.”
“I think she could use some company, Ami. I’m sure hearing familiar voices will help Rei find her way back to us.”
“There’s no scientific proof of that.”
Luna scowled at Ami. “I would go if I were allowed. Seeing as I’m not, Rei’s other friends should be supporting her.”
Ami drank from her coffee, her stony expression unmoving. However, after a few moments of silence, she met Luna’s steely gaze and caved, “Fine. I’ll go. For all the good it will do.”
“Thank you, Ami,” Luna said with relief. “I’m sure Rei will be happy to see you.”
Ami bit her lip surreptitiously, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She knew good and well that her presence would be imperceptible to Rei, even if she did visit her old friend.
----------------------------------------
After a long day of staring at her computer screens doing complex calculations, Ami’s eyes were sore, and she decided to head home early, or rather, earlier than usual. As she got in the elevator with her coat folded over her arm and her briefcase in hand, she reached for the panel to select the ground floor. However, she paused for a moment before pressing the button and tutted in annoyance. Reasoning that a quick look at Rei’s chart couldn’t hurt, Ami pressed the button for the psychiatric care floor instead.
On arriving, Ami greeted the two nurses at the reception area, “Good evening.”
“Oh, Dr. Mizuno! How are you?” one of them fussed, standing up quickly. Upon recognizing Ami’s surname, the other followed suit. “What can we do for you?”
“I’m well, thank you. I’d like to see Miss Hino’s chart,” Ami answered.
“Of course. Here, please take a look,” the starstruck nurse replied, taking a clipboard from a wall hanging, and handing it over.
“As I thought…,” Ami remarked, noting no changes in Rei’s medical condition.
“Would you like to see her?”
Ami considered this. What was the point? She had been correct, after all, that Rei’s chart wouldn’t show anything new. Her visit was pointless. She made a mental note not to let herself be swayed by Luna’s silly fretting in the future, not when she knew better. Even so, Ami surprised herself by saying, “Okay.”
On the way to Rei’s room, Ami asked, “How long since her last episode?”
“Not for over a week now. She’s been a good girl,” the nurse said, and once they reached the door she added, “I’ll give you some privacy.”
Ami suddenly felt uncomfortable being alone but entered the room. She continued consulting Rei’s chart rather than looking at her friend too much. It was difficult to see her in such a condition, especially since the nurses had been forced to cut her hair. Ami wished they could have done it a bit neater, but she understood the need for it considering the girl’s occasional outbursts.
Observing Rei’s fixed, staring eyes, Ami wondered for a moment whether she should have chosen to specialize in psychiatry. Perhaps she could have found a way to bring Rei out of this state? No. She had learned enough about trauma after Rei had ended up this way, to know that there was no quick fix. The mind didn’t work like other bodily organs. A simple surgery wasn’t going to bring Rei back.
Ami put down Rei’s chart and noticed an untouched food container. She tutted, realizing that Makoto was still doing her regular visits. "What a waste,” she remarked, shaking her head and turning away from the food and the catatonic Rei.
Ami stared out the window at the moon. It was barely visible through the cloudy sky. She frowned, contemplating why Makoto insisted on visiting after all this time, and why she herself had agreed to at Luna's request. Rei didn't recognize them. She didn’t even know they were present—and she had been in that state for more than five years now! Ever since that day… The day Sailor Moon died.