Disclaimer:
Sailormoon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi. All licenses belong
to the proper people. This is used without permission.
This disclaimer also applies to several intellectual properties
referred to in the text. Please be guided accordingly.
This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in its
complete form and proper credit given. No part may be reproduced for
monetary gain without permission from the author.
Note: This is in the same timeline as "Catnap", an earlier fic. This fic,
"Catnap" and "Pets" are sidestories to my "Dances Set To The Music
Of Time" sequence.
Also original Japanese name order is used. Surname first.
*******************************************
I really agree that Yog-Sothoth is a basically
immature conception and unfitted for really
serious literature.
H.P. Lovecraft to Frank Belknap Long, February 27, 1931
*******************************************
A Little School Play
by
Elsa Bibat
********************************************
1997:
Tomoe Hotaru looked up at the ceiling.
To be more exact, she looked at the strange symbol
hidden in the strange pattern of her ceiling. It seemed
to be in the shape of a five-pointed star, hidden among
the geometric patterns that could be found in all the
ceilings of the apartment. The electric light in the
middle of the star design was in the shape of tongue of
flame.
Strange.
Hotaru smiled. Strange was the word that usually
came to into her head when describing her recent
experiences. With all the weird things going on for the
past three years, she'd been surprised when it all
seemed to slow down.
After fighting to save the world several times, it
seemed that the universe decided that the Senshi deserved
a break. There was the occasional bizarre occurrence of
course, like that ridiculous instance when something
calling itself an Arbyfish claiming to come from another
timeline clambered out of the batch of mushroom soup
Setsuna-mama was cooking or that incident with Hino-
ojiisan and the Ghost Jar. They weren't exactly world-
shattering events, at worst they would have caused minor
injuries, a big step down from what the Senshi usually
dealt with.
She sighed and mentally traced the five-pointed
star again. She had noticed it only a few minutes ago,
while laying on her bed. She had come home from school
feeling down, so after changing out of her school
uniform, she plopped down on her bed and tried to
relax.
It wasn't because of any teasing or anything like
that. Her new school, that Setsuna-mama had enrolled her
in, was actually a great place. Rather unconventional by
Japanese standards, it was also quite effective in
teaching its students. Hotaru could already speak English
like it was her birth language after only two years of
study, her French was close behind and after completing
those two languages, she intended to study Russian and
Mandarin. Haruka-papa was already giving her pointers for
her Russian classes.
Her other subjects were also faring well: science,
history, mathematics, along with some of the stranger subjects
like Ethics and Philosophy. She was even doing good in
Physical Education and was learning Aikido under the school's
martial arts sensei, Kamiya Asuka. The other students were
nice to her and she managed to make a few friends. They were
all nice, even after when she used her power to heal a member
of the girl's softball league when one got hit real hard by a fastball.
Most of the members of the team only responded to that particular
happening with just a light nod and an understanding smile. The
most extreme response was a whispered "So that's why she's
here". Trying to find out what that phrase meant was like pulling
one of her teeth out: an exercise in futility. She did get a little
something about her having "Gate abilities" but other than that
nothing turned up from her little investigation.
She had a heavy heart because she had a part in the
school play. The school had only three hundred or so students, even
if it was a pretty large place, and because of this she got drafted
for the school play. To add insult to injury, she didn't just get any
part either. She got the leading role. She had tried to explain to
Kasuga-sensei that she really wasn't cut out for acting but all her
pleas wouldn't change her mind. Kasuga-sensei explained that
this was for her own good. It was supposed to get her to
become a more well-rounded individual.
"Well-rounded, right." Hotaru muttered darkly as
she thought about the school play. "Like humiliating
myself in front of a lot of people is going to make me
well-rounded."
The bad news about the play didn't stop there. Since
the student population was a to little for a decent audience
they decided to open it to the public. Thus the school play
became more than a school play. Kasuga-sensei, "The
Madwoman" as Hotaru started to call her in her mind, got a flash
of inspiration. Hotaru preferred to call it a burst of insanity.
They were now going to perform a musical. No, not just
any musical. A classic full-costume musical, one of the most
well-loved musicals in Japan, even if it was usually performed in
full English. In Hotaru's opinion, it would have been a fine idea if
it hadn't been her in the lead role. She also had the sneaking
suspicion that this was all part of Kasuga-sensei's insane plan for
world domination or something. It all seemed to fall so neatly in
succesion. First, she was literally perfect for the part, since she
was one of the smaller girls in school, the part she was going to
play calling for someone short, and according to her music teacher
she had an excellent voice, like an idol singer's was what the
music teacher said, within earshot of Kasuga-sensei's office. Days
after, she got "accidentally" drawn in a supposedly "random"
selection for the lead actress in a play that suddenly became a
musical.
It would have been fine if it was just a play, it would have
still been okay if was a musical. But they were going to perform
_THE_ _MUSICAL_. The thought of the costume she would have to
wear made her a bit nauseous.
She frowned a little as she tore her eyes away from the
symbol on the ceiling. She sat up and decided to make a sandwich
and drown her sorrows with Coke.
She set her bag underneath her bed and got up. She
smiled at the image she presented in the full-length mirror set
near her closet. She was dressed in the lavender outfit that
Michiru-mama had picked out for her. She said that it set off
Hotaru's eyes and emphasized her face. A bit lacking in the height
department, but Setsuna-mama said she'd have her growth spurt
in a few years.
After posing a bit her mood got better. She proceeded to
the kitchen to make her sandwich. Opening the fridge, she brought
out Setsuna-mama's batch of mushrooms, cheese, mayonnaise and
a slice of chicken. She snagged the whole-wheat bread and ketchup
from the cupboard and started to make her snack. After stacking
several layers of chicken, mayonnaise, ketchup, cheese, mushrooms
and bread, she stuck it all in the microwave and nuked it for five
minutes. It smelled like heaven as Hotaru brought it out and took a
big bite.
"Mmmmm. And once again, Tomoe Hotaru, proves to the
world that she is a culinary genius!" Hotaru announced to the kitchen
with a giggle. The taste of cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise as they
melted in her mouth was delicious. She opened the fridge and got a
can of Coke to wash it all down.
She then sat down on the counter and finished off her
sandwich. Licking her fingers to clean them of the ketchup and the
mayonnaise that had dripped out of her snack, she looked around.
She was the only one in the apartment, since Haruka-papa and
Michiru-mama were off rehearsing for a concert and Setsuna-mama
was doing whatever she did. She was alone for the moment.
After cleaning up the mess she made, she decided to go
back to her room and brood some more. As she walked back to her
room she passed by Setsuna's room, she suddenly backed up.
She stood in front of the Guardian of Time's room, biting her
lower lip. Hotaru just had a brilliant idea, but she wasn't so sure about
it. She'd been in Setsuna-mama's room before and she'd seen quite
a few books in there. "A few books" was actually an understatement.
The room had a veritable library in it. She had read a few of them and
a few of them were quite cool. Maybe Setsuna-mama had a play in
there, something better than that stupid musical.
Hotaru put on a brave face and she reached out to open
the door. For a moment, something seemed to be stopping her but
as she rabbed the doorknob, the feeling disappeared.
She opened the door, surprised that it wasn't locked. It
creaked eerily, the whine of metal against metal sounding something
from a horror movie. Hotaru hesitated once again. Maybe she
shouldn't do this. But the thought of playing her part in the musical,
singing, dancing, in front of what must be hundreds of people, came
blasting out of the back of her mind. She shuddered.
Steeling herself, she took a step forward and entered the
dark room.
********************************************
The woman known to the Japanese Government and several
other dozen Japanese citizens by the name of Mei'ou Setsuna put a
hand to her neck and started to make slight rotations to get the ache
out of her neck. The sound of cracking bone was audible as she made
a particularly wide rotation, looking up, then bending her head sideway
and ending with a harsh snap forward. She kept on repeating the motion,
the cracking sounds getting louder. No normal human could survive,
or even do, what she was currently doing. But as one of her daughters
once put it, she wasn't exactly what you would call human. She stopped
her rotations and massaged her neck lightly.
"mmmmmm" The Guardian of Time said weakly, eyes closed.
It had been a long, hard day. She stepped forward the very moment the
elevator stopped, a split-second before the door opened, milliseconds
before the ding sounded signalling her arrival at her destination.
She kept her eyes closed as she continued walking down
the hall, still massaging her neck. Sight was not neccesary for her to
navigate her way. She could probably walk the hallway in total darkness
if she wanted to. Old habits die hard and she had familiarized herself with
every nuance of her current residence, building plans, electrical layouts,
everything neccesary for a speedy escape if the need ever arose. She
stepped to the side before a door to her right opened, muttering a "Good
Evening, Kobayashi-san" to her surprised neighbor. The fact that she had
extra senses were a great help, too.
She stopped in front of the apartment she shared with the
other Outer Senshi and put a hand on the rune that she had traced
on it when she had first chosen it as a new place of residence. Visible
only to her, it was more like a magical version of a lock. Primitive but
effective in a world deprived of magic.
A fact that was the reason for her particularly hard day. Magic
was starting to come back, slowly, and though it was going to be
another fifty years before the effects were truly felt, the foundations for
humanity's survival had to be planted now. She sent a bit of her power
into the rune and heard a click as the mechanical equivalent of her rune
unlocked itself. All she wanted now was a good bubble bath, a batch
of her homemade aspirin and a long rest.
As she stepped into the room, all thoughts of warm water,
bubbles and silk sheets caressing her oh-so-tired body were dispelled,
to be replaced by shock. Her eyes snapped open to survey the
apartment's living room, ruby eyes flashing a dangerous red.
One of her runes was shattered. She could feel the residue
of the magic that was part of it as she entered the apartment. From
the feeling she got, this particular rune happened to be the one to her
room. An intruder, especially someone or something who can shatter a
protective ward like the rune on her private sanctum, was not something
you ignore.
The only thing that she saw in the living room was Hotaru
doing her homework.
"Hi, Setsuna-mama!" said the young girl, a smile on
her face.
"Umm... Hotaru-chan, have you noticed anything strange?"
Hotaru blinked.
"Other than the normal strangeness, I mean." Setsuna
amended as she walked over to the couch and sat down beside
the younger girl.
"Well, not a thing."
Hotaru was lying through her teeth. Setsuna looked at her
with an arched eyebrow. She knew Hotaru was lying. Body language,
the young girl's voice harmonics and the way she was avoiding her
gaze was telling the older woman everything she needed to know.
Besides, Hotaru was hiding something underneath the couch. Piecing
everything together, she decided to be direct about it.
"Hotaru, you went into my room and got one of my
books, right?" she said in a gentle voice.
The younger girl hung her head and sighed. Setsuna
took that as an affirmative.
"Why?" Setsuna also wanted to voice "how" but she had
a pretty good guess on the "how" part. Unconscious manipulation
of the Saturn power usually manifested in most of the Senshi of
Saturn. A rune like the one on her door would have shattered easily
against the very force of universal entropy. You can't fight a force of
nature after all.
"We're going to have this musical at school..."
"That's great! What seems to be the problem?" A musical?
A rather original excuse if it weren't for the fact that Hotaru wasn't
lying this time around.
"We're going to be performing ... that weird one. Plus
I'm the lead actress."
Weird one? What musical would ...Oh. She'd heard about it
from her agent at Hotaru's school. The school was going to stage a
production of Clark Ashton Smith's "The Perils of Cthulhu".
"You mean _that_ musical." Setsuna said with a silly smile
on her face.
Hotaru pouted. "No need to rub it in."
Setsuna just shook her head and she looked at her charge.
"Well, that pretty much explains it. But, I still wonder what you were
doing in my room?"
"You've got tons of books in there. I was hoping you had a
cool play or something and maybe I could weasel out of playing
Cthulhu."
Setsuna flinched a little at the rather flippant way the young
girl mentioned "Cthulhu" but she couldn't repress a light laugh. "You
as Cthulhu? Now that would be a sight!"
Hotaru pouted a little which only made Setsuna laugh again.
"I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan. The mental image is rather hilarious. But I
doubt you found anything sufficiently 'cool' to replace your play in my
room."
Hotaru smiled as she pulled out a yellow hardbound book from
underneath the couch pillow. "Well, I did find this cool book in French."
Setsuna blanched. The title of the book of the book was clearly
etched in the cover.
"'Le Roi En Jaune', pretty cool actually. Plus it's got a better
plot than that Perils of Cthulhu thing. At the very least I won't be
wearing that stupid costume. I could probably make a pretty good
Cassilda!" Hotaru said, waving the book around excitedly.
"Ummm... Hotaru, you read 'Le Roi En Jaune'?"
Hotaru blinked and she nodded.
"Totally? All the way through?"
Another nod.
"Did you feel anything ...strange... while you were reading,
like a headache or a bit of disorientation?"
"Well, a bit. But it just went away after I actually thought of
it. Now that you mention it, that was pretty strange."
Setsuna sighed, the tone of relief in it evident. The King had
tried, but it seemed that the power of the Saturn force was more
powerful than He thought and decided a tactical withdrawal for the
best. The fact that Hotaru found the book was inevitable, considering
that the Yellow King was the Saturn force's rival in a way. The King was
probably trying to destroy his competitor by giving the girl access to the
book and shattering her mind but it seemed Hotaru had things well
in hand. The King, it seems, was no match against one who had
the spawn of the Demon-sultan bound to her soul.
"Umm... Setsuna-mama, did I do something wrong? I mean,
I'm sorry for going into your -"
Setsuna smiled at her young charge as she plucked the
yellow book from Hotaru's hand. "Don't worry about it. I understand.
But still I don't think a performance of the King in Yellow would be
an appropriate replacement for 'The Perils of Cthulhu'."
Hotaru rolled her eyes skyward. "You're not the one who
has to wear the costume!"
"Actually, I was there for the original production. I played
Nyarlathotep and the costumes for that part were a pain the ass."
Hotaru looked at the elder woman, eyes wide. "You mean
you were there?"
"Yes, me and a friend of mine were on ...", Setsuna thought
for awhile for an appropriate word, "vacation, when we decided to visit
our old friend Lovecraft and Smith. I was the one who actually wrote
the opening song."
"You mean the 'Ia Cthulhu' thing?"
Setsuna nodded. "Yes, that was me. My friend composed
the Elder Thing song. He was the one who played Azathoth for the
original production."
Hotaru frowned at what Setsuna had just said. "Setsuna-
mama, please don't be mad, but I think the entire Cthulhu play just
sucks."
Setsuna smiled a mysterious smile. "And why is that?"
"I mean, it all sounds so stupid. Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep,
Cthugha, Shubb-Niggurath and all of the other unpronounceables.
Did you really need people wear those stupid costumes?"
"And this opinion of yours doesn't have anything to do
with the fact that you'll be wearing one of these 'stupid'
costumes?"
Hotaru hung her head in defeat. "Okay, okay. It's not
stupid. I mean, I like Cthulhu like every kid does. But it doesn't
mean that I want to play him!" After a few moments of silence,
she sighed and added, "The costume makes me look fat, too."
Setsuna shook her head and laughed a little. "Let me tell
you a secret, Hotaru. But promise not to tell anyone first."
Hotaru looked at the older woman beside her and blinked.
"Okay. But I don't know how it could -"
Setsuna interrupted her. "I hate our Senshi uniforms."
An embarassed silence followed. Hotaru broke it a few
moments later.
"Um...why? I know it's a bit skimpy and all, but you never
see anyone complain."
"That's because they've gotten used to it. Personally, I
hate it for four reasons. One, it's drafty. You haven't been to some
of the places I've been Hotaru, and trust me on the fact that a fuku
is not something you want to wear on long journeys. Two, it makes
me look dumber than I am. As an old friend of mine so delightfully
put it, who in there right mind would wear a skirted leotard into
battle anyway? Three, I think it makes my thighs look bigger than
they are. The final reason is, all in all, I think it makes me look fat."
Hotaru blinked. Then blinked again. Then she laughed.
Setsuna favored the girl with a little smile while the young
girl was laughing. "Now, if I decided not to become a Senshi
because the uniform, in my opinion, looks stupid, what would that
make me?"
A few moments of silence reigned in the living room as
Hotaru digested the statement. Then she hung head in defeat
and sighed.
"I think I know what you're getting at, Setsuna-mama."
Hotaru said.
"Really?"
"Well, I think you're telling me that I'm being stupid for
not liking something because of something trivial."
"That's one way of looking at things. But I do know you
would really like to play Cthulhu and I don't think you're giving me
the real reason."
"Umm..."
Setsuna smiled faintly as she drew the young girl nearer.
She whispered theatrically, "So, Hotaru-chan, what seems to be the
big secret?"
Hotaru couldn't help herself. She giggled at the older woman's
joking manner and she relaxed a bit. "Okay, Setsuna-mama, I... well...
I'm afraid I'd mess up."
Setsuna ruffled the young girl's hair. "Everyone always feels
like that when they have a big responsibility, Hotaru-chan. It's nothing
to be worried about."
"But, I have to sing! I have to dance! I have to remember lines,
act properly and in a costume to boot! I don't know how I can do it!"
"Well, Judy Garland managed to do it."
"I'm not Judy Garland, Setsuna-mama! And it was a film, they
had cuts and retakes! I'll be performing live! What if I mess up? Then
everyone would blame me and I'd feel so terrible and ... and ..." Hotaru
trailed off into a sigh. Tears were starting to form at the corner of her
eyes.
"There, there, Hotaru-chan." Setsuna gave the girl a hug, in an
attempt to soothe her nerves. The Senshi of Time felt her young charge
relax under her ministrations. She slowly pulled back and looked Hotaru
in the eyes.
"It's okay to feel that way. Everyone's afraid of making mistakes,
Hotaru-chan. But do you know what? Most people forget is that when
you worry too much about making mistakes when you do something, you
don't see the instances when you succeed. That is their mistake. Do you
know why, Hotaru-chan?"
Teary-eyed, Hotaru shook her head.
"Because the world and everything that happens in it is what we
make of it. How we think of it. Our thoughts become reality. Especially
mine,"
Setsuna joked a little, smiling. "When you think something bad will happen
and believe in that thought, something bad will happen. That is because
your mind influences your body in slight ways so that you will fail. But if
you
think hard enough that you will succeed, believe in that thought with every
bone
in your body, your mind and body will do their best to succeed. Do you
understand what I mean to say, Hotaru?"
Hotaru blinked back her tears and nodded her head. "You mean
I can do it, if I believe in myself?"
"Well, if you had a normal childhood, young lady, you should know
that by now." Setsuna joked. "But, I've forgotten to give you a few lessons
on being a normal girl."
"But, I'm not a normal girl!" Hotaru brightly said, forgetting her earlier
mood.
"Neither was I, Hotaru-chan. But it doesn't mean that I knew how
normal girls acted. Besides you're a lot more normal than me when I was your
age."
"Setsuna-mama, please stop hinting at things you won't say anything
about. You always tease everybody about how you walked the streets of Troy
or met Sherlock Holmes." Hotaru pouted at the older woman.
Setsuna chuckled. It seemed that everything was back to somewhat
normal.
********************************************
Setsuna smiled as the lights dimmed. Hotaru had done her best for
the last two months and the results showed during rehearsal. At last, it was
opening night and she had it on very good authority that this was going to
be a great performance.
Haruka and Michiru were seated beside her along with the Inner
Senshi. When Usagi had learned of Hotaru's upcoming performance she
had insisted on being there for the first performance. Setsuna had managed
to get tickets for the show even if it was supposedly sold out. Quite
surprising
as this was a student performance. It seemed the old "Cthulhu magic", as
the various critics called it, was still strong in Japan.
Setsuna straightened in her seat as weak lights played on stage and
the strange piping music started. Visible were the Deep One-costumed actors,
in a pose of worship as Cthulhu/Hotaru slept on the altar.
Then the chant started.
"I'a! I'a! Cthulhu ftaghn!!"
Setsuna actually grinned, white teeth exposed, a rare sight to see.
The show was about to begin.
********************************************
Appendix:
The Perils of Cthulhu
Written by Clark Ashton Smith and scored by several of his friends, the
world-renowned poet and fantasist, the musical is in the vein of Gilbert and
Sullivan. He wrote it in the late 1930s, it is based on the many Cthulhu sto
ries
and several Cthulhu novels published between the 20s and 30s by one of the
world's most beloved children's fantasy author, Howard Philip Lovecraft. The
entire series, collectively known as the Cthuhu Mythos, stars the vaguely
octopoid, winged and incredibly cute ancient entity known as Cthulhu
detailing
his adventures with his friends ranging from the many-faced joker
Nyarlathotep
to the sickly Rhan-Tegoth.
The musical in itself is a summary of the entire series with an all-star
cast of Mythos characters. It details how Cthulhu wakes up and meets all his
friends on his way to King of all the Worlds, Azathoth. Classic songs like
"My
Favorite Elder Things", "A Very Modern Deep One" and the crowd favorite
"Springtime for Cthulhu" have become parts of the modern psyche. Several
film
versions have been made but all critics agree the first one with Judy
Garland as
Cthulhu is the best, with the Michael Jackson version at a distant second.
It is still performed widely all over the world, the only disadvantage
being the need for extensive costumes to have a succesful production. It has
found its largest audience in Japan, where the musical has a devoted
following,
even if it is always performed in English.
- Article from The Encyclopedia of Music, 1997 Edition
Author's Notes:
Weird.
Anyway, I owe the idea for this fic to several people, especially to my
Forgotten Futures RPG group. The idea for the children's Cthulhu Mythos came
from them, which they kinda ripped off from Marcus Rowland's most recent
offering for the FF setting, The Angel of The Revolution. The ideas they
used for
our recent campaign, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of R'lyeh which was a
hoot
to play, with the deranged Victorian Senshi and melodramatic villains and
Big C.
^_^
Anyway, the fic is actually more like an "day-in-the-life" fic sort of
thing
I'm attempting for my setting. It's also a bit of a setup for several
concepts in the
big fic I'm working on, along with "Catnap" and "Pets".
And yes, according to two earlier vignettes Cthulhu _does_ exist in this
timeline. Why there's a musical and he is relegated to the status of a
children's
fantasy character is another story.^_^
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