(no subject)
Title: Heirloom
Author: Raya
Theme: Post Series / Comb
Genre: General
Version: Manga (post StarS / Crystal Tokyo) (Raya's The Sleeper storyline, specifically, the Epilogue)
Rating: G
Word Count: ~979
Disclaimer: ChibiUsa (Lady), Ikuko, and Neo-Queen Serenity all belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I only claim the missiles and this giant Godzilla doll. Rawr!! *smash smash smash* (Ooops. Wrong story...)
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Heirloom
“Ikuko-mama?” Lady tapped on the door frame and peered around the corner into her grandmother's bedroom. As the older woman turned towards the doorway, she gasped. “Oh, how beautiful!”
Ikuko smiled as she ran her hand down the light blue kimono that she was wearing. “Do you think so? I thought it would be appropriate to wear to the temple tonight.”
“Mmm...” Lady nodded with a bright smile as she stepped into the room. “Cranes are always a good pattern for O-bon festivals.”
Ikuko's smile grew larger as she turned and sat down at the chair in front of her vanity. “And I have the perfect hair comb to wear, too,” she said as she reached towards the large sandalwood box on her table. “You won't believe how long I looked to find a kimono to match it.”
Curious, Lady walked across the room to her side and looked down at the treasure. “That is...” she breathed, letting her voice trail off in admiration. In her grandmother's hand was a set of three hair combs. The largest was made of wood with a carved and painted image of cranes flying in the clouds while the smaller two were cranes carved from white jade.
“These combs have been in the family for seven generations,” Ikuko said proudly as she gently put the combs on the vanity and lifted her hairbrush. “My grandmother's grandmother's grandmother purchased them for her wedding.”
“Wow...” Lady whispered as she leaned down to inspect them closer. She carefully avoided touching them although she wanted to badly. As old as they were, she feared that they would be very fragile.
Ikuko looked at the girl curiously. “Have you never seen them before?” she asked as casually as she could. In the two months since she had learned that the pink haired girl was her future granddaughter, she had discovered that ChibiUsa only spoke of the future if she was very distracted.
Lady shook her head. “No... Mama has some beautiful jewels and barrettes, but I don't remember these combs,” she replied absently as she gave into temptation and reached out to gingerly finger one of the white cranes.
Ikuko tried to keep her surprise from showing on her face as she lifted her hair and began to twist it up. She had always intended to pass these combs on to Usagi along with a few other heirlooms and special pieces of jewelry. She knew that her daughter loved this particular comb set. Surely, if she had it she would not have hidden it from ChibiUsa.
“Lady-chan?” a voice called up the stairs.
“Oh!” the teenager exclaimed as she suddenly straightened up. She hurried to the door and called out in reply. “I'll be right there, Celeste-chan!”
Turning back around, she smiled at Ikuko. “We're going over to the shrine. Rei-chan says that she has some kimono June-chan and Bessa-chan can borrow, so we're all going to get ready over there.”
Ikuko nodded as she reached for the boxwood comb. “We will meet you later then.”
Lady nodded back. “I'm off!” she called cheerfully as she dashed out of the room and down the hall.
“Return safely,” Ikuko called back with a smile as she secured her hairstyle. The smile faded as she lifted one of the small cranes. One other fact she had managed to trick out of ChibiUsa was that she, Kenji, and Shingo were not around in the time that her granddaughter came from. Why had she not passed them on to Usagi? Or had she, and then something happened to them? The thought made her heart ache as she absently caressed the small white wings.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Crystal Tokyo - Two months and a millennium later
Neo-Queen Serenity closed the photo album with a sigh and then cradled it to her chest. Sitting on the floor beside her, her daughter gave her a gentle smile. After a long moment of silence, though, the teenager shifted restlessly. “What else did Ikuko-mama send?” she asked curiously as she looked towards the string bag.
Reluctantly, the queen set her treasure aside. “Let's see, shall we?” She reached into the bag that her mother had sent to the future with her daughter and pulled out a flat, square box. “What do you think?” she asked Lady with a smile. “Jewelry?”
“Chocolate,” the princess replied with a teasing smile. They laughed as the queen opened the box. When Neo-Queen Serenity saw the contents, however, her laughter vanished. She stared in shock at the three beautiful combs. “What is it?” Lady asked as she leaned forward eagerly. “Let me see. Let me see. Oh...”
With a trembling hand, the queen reached in to touch the hand painted surface of the wooden comb. “These are...”
“The family combs,” Lady said. Her eyes glowed as she turned eagerly towards her mother. “Ikuko-mama told me these combs have been in the family for seven generations! They belonged to her grandmother's grandmother's grandmother.” The queen just nodded silently as she brushed her fingertips over the carved white cranes. “Mama? Are you all right?” the princess asked, suddenly concerned.
“I used to dream of wearing these,” Neo-Queen Serenity whispered in a choked voice. “Ever since I was a little girl. Every festival, Mama would air out her blue kimono, brush her hair, and then style it with these. She was so beautiful... Like an ancient princess come to life. I thought if I could wear them, they would make me a princess, too. I always wondered why she did not seem upset when she lost them.”
The two women sat and stared at the combs for another long moment, and then the queen gently closed the box. Carefully, she set it on top of the photo album, and then reached into the bag for another treasure.
Author: Raya
Theme: Post Series / Comb
Genre: General
Version: Manga (post StarS / Crystal Tokyo) (Raya's The Sleeper storyline, specifically, the Epilogue)
Rating: G
Word Count: ~979
Disclaimer: ChibiUsa (Lady), Ikuko, and Neo-Queen Serenity all belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I only claim the missiles and this giant Godzilla doll. Rawr!! *smash smash smash* (Ooops. Wrong story...)
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Heirloom
“Ikuko-mama?” Lady tapped on the door frame and peered around the corner into her grandmother's bedroom. As the older woman turned towards the doorway, she gasped. “Oh, how beautiful!”
Ikuko smiled as she ran her hand down the light blue kimono that she was wearing. “Do you think so? I thought it would be appropriate to wear to the temple tonight.”
“Mmm...” Lady nodded with a bright smile as she stepped into the room. “Cranes are always a good pattern for O-bon festivals.”
Ikuko's smile grew larger as she turned and sat down at the chair in front of her vanity. “And I have the perfect hair comb to wear, too,” she said as she reached towards the large sandalwood box on her table. “You won't believe how long I looked to find a kimono to match it.”
Curious, Lady walked across the room to her side and looked down at the treasure. “That is...” she breathed, letting her voice trail off in admiration. In her grandmother's hand was a set of three hair combs. The largest was made of wood with a carved and painted image of cranes flying in the clouds while the smaller two were cranes carved from white jade.
“These combs have been in the family for seven generations,” Ikuko said proudly as she gently put the combs on the vanity and lifted her hairbrush. “My grandmother's grandmother's grandmother purchased them for her wedding.”
“Wow...” Lady whispered as she leaned down to inspect them closer. She carefully avoided touching them although she wanted to badly. As old as they were, she feared that they would be very fragile.
Ikuko looked at the girl curiously. “Have you never seen them before?” she asked as casually as she could. In the two months since she had learned that the pink haired girl was her future granddaughter, she had discovered that ChibiUsa only spoke of the future if she was very distracted.
Lady shook her head. “No... Mama has some beautiful jewels and barrettes, but I don't remember these combs,” she replied absently as she gave into temptation and reached out to gingerly finger one of the white cranes.
Ikuko tried to keep her surprise from showing on her face as she lifted her hair and began to twist it up. She had always intended to pass these combs on to Usagi along with a few other heirlooms and special pieces of jewelry. She knew that her daughter loved this particular comb set. Surely, if she had it she would not have hidden it from ChibiUsa.
“Lady-chan?” a voice called up the stairs.
“Oh!” the teenager exclaimed as she suddenly straightened up. She hurried to the door and called out in reply. “I'll be right there, Celeste-chan!”
Turning back around, she smiled at Ikuko. “We're going over to the shrine. Rei-chan says that she has some kimono June-chan and Bessa-chan can borrow, so we're all going to get ready over there.”
Ikuko nodded as she reached for the boxwood comb. “We will meet you later then.”
Lady nodded back. “I'm off!” she called cheerfully as she dashed out of the room and down the hall.
“Return safely,” Ikuko called back with a smile as she secured her hairstyle. The smile faded as she lifted one of the small cranes. One other fact she had managed to trick out of ChibiUsa was that she, Kenji, and Shingo were not around in the time that her granddaughter came from. Why had she not passed them on to Usagi? Or had she, and then something happened to them? The thought made her heart ache as she absently caressed the small white wings.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Crystal Tokyo - Two months and a millennium later
Neo-Queen Serenity closed the photo album with a sigh and then cradled it to her chest. Sitting on the floor beside her, her daughter gave her a gentle smile. After a long moment of silence, though, the teenager shifted restlessly. “What else did Ikuko-mama send?” she asked curiously as she looked towards the string bag.
Reluctantly, the queen set her treasure aside. “Let's see, shall we?” She reached into the bag that her mother had sent to the future with her daughter and pulled out a flat, square box. “What do you think?” she asked Lady with a smile. “Jewelry?”
“Chocolate,” the princess replied with a teasing smile. They laughed as the queen opened the box. When Neo-Queen Serenity saw the contents, however, her laughter vanished. She stared in shock at the three beautiful combs. “What is it?” Lady asked as she leaned forward eagerly. “Let me see. Let me see. Oh...”
With a trembling hand, the queen reached in to touch the hand painted surface of the wooden comb. “These are...”
“The family combs,” Lady said. Her eyes glowed as she turned eagerly towards her mother. “Ikuko-mama told me these combs have been in the family for seven generations! They belonged to her grandmother's grandmother's grandmother.” The queen just nodded silently as she brushed her fingertips over the carved white cranes. “Mama? Are you all right?” the princess asked, suddenly concerned.
“I used to dream of wearing these,” Neo-Queen Serenity whispered in a choked voice. “Ever since I was a little girl. Every festival, Mama would air out her blue kimono, brush her hair, and then style it with these. She was so beautiful... Like an ancient princess come to life. I thought if I could wear them, they would make me a princess, too. I always wondered why she did not seem upset when she lost them.”
The two women sat and stared at the combs for another long moment, and then the queen gently closed the box. Carefully, she set it on top of the photo album, and then reached into the bag for another treasure.