This was something I made up some time ago in my junior year of high school. There are a few parts that were modified or added from the original draft to help make this character sketch more interesting. Quite a bit, actually, once I think about it. The fact that my writing and my taste in writing has changed a bit over the years definitely shows. There is no solid time period when this story "happens". It is definitely after the episode where Ami considers leaving the senshi to go the Germany. *At least, that's what the English dub said. I have no clue what the original Japanese version was like.* It's up to the reader to decide when this little tidbit "happened". The Japanese content here is pretty low even though this is mostly based on the Japanese version of the Sailormoon anime. However, don't be surprised if some of the characters are acting more like their DIC counterparts. I've only seen the English version of Sailormoon and read about the Japanese version through summaries and fanfics. Therefore, there is a sort of "mixing" of characters between the two versions I cannot fully avoid until I actually _see_ the Japanese original. The only Japanese word *besides the characters' names* used here is "senshi". "Senshi" means soldier(s) or warrior(s) in Japanese. It can be both singular or plural. The second thing you should know is that Japanese have their last/family names first and their first names after their family name. (For example, Sailormercury's first name is Ami; her family name is Mizuno. Thus, the Japanese would say her full name as Mizuno Ami.) Have I forgotten something? Oh, yeah! Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and all associated characters were created by Takeuchi Naoko. Sailormoon is copyrighted by Takeuchi Naoko, TOEI Animation, DIC Corporation, Kodansha, Bandai, and other companies. These characters are not mine *though I wish they were*. I am not making any profit out of this. This is purely for entertainment purposes only. Please don't sue me. No copyright infringement intented. Got that? Good. Enjoy! Character Sketch: Mizuno Ami / Sailormercury by Pisces6 (pisces6@centragarden.net) Ami let out a big, exasperated sigh as Rei and Usagi started one of their many fights. "Stop being such a brat, Usagi," shouted Rei. "Give me back my comic book." "But I was reading it first," whined Usagi in a high pitched voice. "If you call brawling your head off, reading, that is," snorted Rei. "Why do you have to be so mean?" "Well someone has to whip the whiner in shape..." came the curt reply. "Who are you calling a whiner?" Usagi shot back indignantly. "I..." Shaking her head, Ami thought, 'this is going to be a long day'. Ami automatically tuned out the ensuing verbal argument that would inevitably follow. Turning to her chemistry book, she tried to concentrate on studying for the chemistry quiz scheduled for the next day. Usually she could ignore Usagi and Rei's constant bickering, but today, she couldn't. The words and numbers blurred as Ami remembered the past. The past of her current life. It seemed that ever since she had become a Sailor senshi, her entire life changed. Studying and fighting evil had become a part of her everyday life and secretly, she enjoyed it. Before becoming Sailormercury, studying was all she did. She never had any close friends until Usagi came into her life. Her parents were divorced and her mother had to work day and night at the local hospital as a doctor to help pay the normal expenses of living in Tokyo. This often left Ami by herself at home while her mother toiled day after day. To help fight the loneliness she felt, she began studying almost non-stop to achieve her dream. To become a doctor, like her mother. She had even cut her long, silky-blue hair so that she wouldn't have to waste time washing and drying it. Ami dearly wished for friends, but the friends that she had before were offended by how much time Ami had put into her studies. 'I suppose that's partly my fault,' thought Ami ruefully. They figured that she was too snobbish to spend time with them than with her precious books, so they never bothered to get to know her better. Even if one of the new students tried to make friends with Ami, they found her too much of a loner and a bookworm, to top it off, for their tastes. That was why Ami transferred to Juuban Junior High School in the first place. She reasoned that since she spent so much time by herself, why not go to another school where no one knew her? That way she could concentrate more on her studies than on other people's opinions of her. Little did she know that she would meet a girl named Tsukino Usagi who would become her first best friend and would give her life new meaning and new goals. What she liked most about Usagi and the rest of the senshi was that they accepted her as she was as a person. Sure, they teased her about her study habits, but they didn't try to change her as some of her other so-called friends did in her older school. Their teases were friendly; in the older school, the teases had an edge of malice in the words. They respected her desire to become a doctor and even when she was going to go to Germany to study, they wished her good luck. That was why she didn't go. They needed her as a friend and a fellow senshi. Before meeting Usagi, she would have left Japan for Germany in a second. But since she made such good friends, _true_ friends, Ami found it was much, much harder for her to leave. That was why at the last minute, she decided to stay. Now looking back at that moment, Ami was sure she had made the right decision. True, she did lose a great opportunity to study abroad and get ahead in her studies, but she would have missed her friends dearly. (Not to mention the fact that she would regret her decision to leave if any of them had gotten hurt while she was away.) They had become like a family she never had, always caring and supporting her while her mother was busy at the hospital. Ami suddenly snapped back into reality as her mini-data-computer beeped in alarm. The beeping was loud enough to stop the current tongue war between Usagi and Rei. Everyone else in the room seemed to look relieved. Ami gently took her computer and opened the lid, reading the information gathered. "Guys?" Ami spoke hesitantly. "We've got trouble."