"Oh noooooooooooooo," Tsukino Usagi wailed as she raced down the stairs, hands busily securing the pins to hold the buns in her hair in place. "I'm going to be late on my first day of schooooooool!!!" She grabbed her pink lunch bag from the kitchen and sped out of the house. "Thanks for lunch! Bye Mom!"
Ikuko watched from the window as her 16-year old daughter race off to school. Some things just never changed. Even when they had been living in New York, Usagi had been late to school at least 90% of the time. But neither Ikuko nor Usagi’s teachers had minded much since the blonde was never really that late when she arrived. Besides it was hard to stay mad at such a sweet girl and it wasn’t like she didn’t do well in school. In fact, Usagi usually did very well in school, being a very smart young woman; but she was also human and had her moments when she messed up. It still baffled Ikuko how her daughter could flub a grade so badly at times.
Meanwhile, Usagi ran as fast as she could to school, making her way around other pedestrians as only a former Manhattan resident could. Just as she reached Juuban High, she heard the plaintive cry of a cat. Being an animal lover, Usagi couldn't ignore the poor thing. Besides, according to her watch, she had 10 more minutes before the late bell rang and while she wouldn’t be perfectly on time, she wouldn’t be in detention trouble until after that bell rang.
She turned around and headed toward a nearby alley where she heard the cat's cries. There she found a group of elementary school boys poking and pinching a little black cat with a Sailor V band-aid on its forehead.
"Hey! Leave that poor cat alone," she yelled, startling the boys.
"Ah leave us alone you old hag," the biggest boy in the group retorted.
"Old...hag," Usagi growled slowly, one hand clenched in a fist while the other twirled her book bag around a single finger in a very eerie imitation of her mother with her metal spatula of doom.. "Kid, you're crusin' for a brusin'!"
The kids noticed the homicidal glint in her eyes and decided it was time to head off for school. Muttering under her breath about little juvenile monsters, Usagi turned her attention back to the cat, who now that it was no longer being tormented, was trying desperately to bat the band-aid off its forehead.
"Oh you poor thing," Usagi cried. She knelt down and made soothing little noises until the cat came to her. She slowly picked up the cat, so it wouldn't be frightened, and rubbed it behind its ears until it purred. "Poor baby. How could those little amoebas be mean to such a sweet little thing like you," she whispered softly. "Now let's get that annoying band-aid off of you."
With a quick yank, the band-aid was removed, revealing a golden crescent moon. Before Usagi could examine the crescent moon further, the cat jumped out of her arms and landed on a nearby car. Usagi stared into the cat's ruby red eyes, her eyes glazed over as if she was in a trance. A strong feeling of déjà vu passed over her.
BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
The trance broke. Usagi looked at her watch and let out a yelp. "I'M LAAAAAATE!!!"
She turned and ran towards the school, not noticing that the cat was following her. As Usagi raced inside the school, the cat jumped up and sat on the schoolyard and watched the school with an almost human-like thoughtfulness look in her eyes.
"Hmmmm..." the cat murmured. "Could this girl be the one?"
~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~
"Hey Ami-chan! Wait up," Makoto called out.
A girl with short blue hair and matching blue eyes turned around to wait for her friend. Mizuno Ami, a sweet and quiet girl, was the school genius, which was why her teachers and classmates found it complete mystery why she and Makoto were best friends. Kino Makoto was a tall girl with wavy chestnut brown hair, which she always pulled up into a ponytail, and dark green eyes. According to Gurio Umino, the school's resident nerd and biggest gossip in Tokyo, Makoto, who had transferred to Juuban High a few months earlier, was a karate-chopping maniac who had gotten expelled from her old school for getting into too many fights.
So what could a quiet genius and a karate-chopping maniac have in common to cause them to be best friends? No one had a clue, although Umino had some theories, but who would actually believe that Ami and Makoto were reincarnated warrior princesses?
"Hi Mako-chan," Ami greeted her friend. "I wonder why we're having an assembly this morning."
"I know the answer to that, beauteous Ami," a familiar male voice said from behind them, causing both girls to silently groan.
Both girls turned around to Umino, dragging Osaka Naru with him. Naru was a pretty girl with wavy shoulder-length auburn hair and emerald green eyes. She was very friendly, but had the misfortune of being in Class 1 with Umino while Ami and Makoto had lucked out by being in Class 5 and Class 6 respectively. Umino was your proverbial nerd, with messy brown hair and big round spirally glasses that hid his eyes.
"So spill the dirt, Umino," Makoto demanded.
"The assembly is being held to welcome a new student," he answered. He took out his infamous little black book, which held pages of gossip and bios of everyone at Juuban Junior High School, down to every least janitor. Then taking his time to make a little melodramatic pause, he adjusted his glasses, opened the book, and cleared his throat.
"The new student is a girl named Tsukino Usagi," he stated. "Her birthday is June 30th and she is 16 years old. She's transferring here from her school in Manhattan, New York and my sources say she'll be in Class 1 with Naru and me."
"That's all you got," Naru asked. "You're slipping Umino. Usually you have a complete bio on a new student before the assembly."
Umino blushed bright red. "I would have had more on her, but Haruna-sensei caught me looking at Tsukino-san's files," he admitted.
"Umino," the three girls scolded, causing the boy to flush even redder.
"Don't tell me this is how you get information on everybody," Ami said.
"Oh no," Umino assured her. "I have other sources, but there just wasn't enough time for me to get information this morning because I was discussing the theory of relativity with Yamato-sensei."
They had reached the schoolyard so there was no more time for further talk. They quickly got into one of the many lines outside and waited for the assembly to start. Their wait wasn't long; Haruna-sensei appeared onto the platform in front of them. Haruna-sensei was a favorite of all the students at the school. She was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties and looked like an older version of Naru with longer hair. Her only flaw was that she could turn into a total bitch when something went wrong in her love life, which happened at least twice a month.
Haruna-sensei motioned for a person behind her to come onto the platform, which caused a gasp from the student body when the person complied. Standing before them was a beautiful girl who could have been an angel. She had long golden blonde hair, which was pulled up into two buns with hair flowing from each one. And her eyes... Even the students in the back of the lines could see her sparkling cerulean blue eyes.
"Students," Haruna-sensei said a loud and clear voice. "This is Tsukino Usagi. She is in Grade 10 and will be in Class 1. I'm sure all of you will do your best to make her feel welcome at Juuban High."
"I think I'm in love," Umino declared in a dazed voice.
His friends exchanged looks that said one thing. Poor Tsukino-san!
~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~
Usagi sighed as she walked home slowly. She had failed a quiz on her first day of school. But who actually cared how long it would take Yuki and Kyou to reach Tokyo if they left the same origin point at 2:30PM and 4:00PM respectively and Yuki’s train was going 43km and Kyou’s train was going 60km? They shouldn't have been on the same damn track on the first place. She looked down at the big red 30 scrawled on her quiz and grimaced. Her mother was NOT going to be pleased.
The only good thing today was that she had made some friends, Umino and Naru. Both of them had been really nice and Umino had given her a folder full of bios and gossip of everyone at school and promised to help her out if she ever needed to know something. Usagi suspected that he had developed a crush on her, but she wasn't sure how she could let him know that she didn't like him that way. She absolutely hated hurting people.
But then again he had seen her quiz score and she had seen how upset he had gotten over receiving a 95. He couldn't possibly like her, a girl who failed quizzes, even though it was a rare occurrence. If she didn’t tell him that, then he might get over his crush; then again it would leave her with the image of being of some ditzy blonde who did crappy in school. Not an image she wanted to have. It would probably be best if she explained things to Umino as soon as possible since she had a feeling he had already been updating people on her less then stellar grade.
Well at least one of her new friends wasn't a gossip who would tell the whole school that she was a total blonde over one measly quiz grade.
"Hey Usagi," she heard Naru yell from behind her. Speak of the devil. Usagi turned around and gave her friend a half-hearted smile.
"Hi Naru!"
"Usagi, you're not still upset about that quiz, are you," Naru asked sympathetically. "It's just a quiz."
Usagi shot her a bemused look. "Easy for you to say. You got an 85!"
Naru gave her a sheepish grin. "Well it's really not that big of a deal, but I know something that will make you feel better. My mom owns the jewelry store called Osa-P and she always has some cool stuff that girls like us can buy."
"Does she sell rhinestone barrettes," Usagi asked.
"You bet," Naru replied.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The girls then walked the few blocks that it took to get to Osa-P, chattering about girl stuff like they had grown up together instead of just meeting that day. When they arrived at Osa-P, they discover that a sale was being held.
"That's strange," Naru remarked. "My mom didn't say anything about having a sale today."
"Spur of the moment," Usagi suggested.
"Maybe," the auburn hair girl replied. "But my mom isn't' the type to do stuff like that."
They walked inside to see a crowd of women of all ages, fighting over pieces of jewelry, like hungry dogs fighting over a bone, as an elegant woman with Naru's coloring chirped on about discounts through her megaphone. The woman turned toward them and smile appeared on her face. The girls made their way to the crowd to stand by her.
"Hi Naru dear," the woman chirped. "How was school?"
"Great," Naru answered. "But how come you're having a sale Mom?"
"Oh I got some new stuff in that was really cheap so I though it would be nice to give a break to the customers too," her mother replied airily. "And who's your little friend?"
"This is Tsukino Usagi," Naru said. "She's new at school."
"Usagi bowed her head in respect. "Nice to meet you Osaka-san."
"The pleasure is all mine dear," Naru's mom replied. "And since you're Naru's friend, I'll sell you this exquisite 20 karat diamond, for you 90% off."
"20 karat diamond for 90% off," both girls cried in surprise. The other customers surged around them after hearing this, fighting to get the ring. The girls decided that it was probably a smart idea to leave the store before they got hurt.
"I think I better wait till after the sale is over to buy some rhinestone barrettes," Usagi said. "I'll see you tomorrow Naru."
"Bye Usagi."
Usagi headed towards home, glaring at her quiz. "I just can't show Mom this," she cried, crumpling it up and throwing it over her shoulder.
"Hey," cried an outrage male voice behind her. "Watch where you're throwing stuff! Do I look like a trashcan to you?!?"
Usagi turned and bowed in respect. "Sorry sir."
"You should be meatball head," the man said.
Usagi's head shot up in outrage and for a moment her anger was forgotten as she got a good look at the man before her. He was tall and VERY muscular with jet-black hair and deep blue eyes that you could lose yourself in. Deep blue eyes that... were looking at her quiz grade!!!!!
"30? You need to study more meatball head," he said crumpling the paper again and tossing it back to her as he walked away.
"JERK," she yelled. "They aren't meatballs, they're buns!!!"
"Buns, huh," he said turning to look at her. "Then I guess I'll have to call you Odango Atama!"
He then turned and walked away, ignoring the various insults that Usagi yelled at him. When he was out of sight, she began walking home, plotting the torture she would inflict on the dark-haired stranger if she ever saw him again. As she passed the Crown Game Center, she saw a poster announcing that the new Sailor V game was out. Being a Sailor V fan (and not ready to face her mother), she decided to stop in to try out the new game.
Inside she saw Furuhata Motoki, the college freshman who ran the arcade for his family after school and on the weekends. Usagi had met him the weekend before and had already developed a huge crush on him. Not even a girl who was certified could not help liking him! He had light blonde hair and dark green eyes and he had lots of muscles. Meow!!!
Usagi then noticed the four girls at the counter talking to him. Two of the girls she recognized from school, Ami and Makoto. According to Umino's files, they were best friends, although an odd pairing, since Ami was a young female Einstein and Makoto was a karate-chopping maniac. The other two girls, she noticed, were like day and night in their appearances. One girl's hair was black as the night sky. Her violet eyes had a look of serenity in them, like nothing in the world could upset her. She wore the gray uniform that the girls that went to T-A Private Girls School wore. The other girl was a blonde, like herself, but her hair was a lighter blonde then Usagi's. Her eyes were a sapphire blue that sparkled at amusement at whatever was being said and. Her uniform proclaimed that she was a student of Shibuya High.
Motoki looked up and saw Usagi standing near the door with an uncertain look in her eyes.
"Hey Usagi," He called, smiling at her. "What's up?"
A smile appeared on her face, and had the same affect on Motoki as the sun coming out after the rain.
"Hi Furuhata-san," she replied cheerfully.
"Hey none of that," he said sternly. "I feel like my father when you call me that. I told you before that you had permission to call me Motoki-chan."
"But," she protested as she approached the counter, "you're older then me and we haven't known each other that long. It would be disrespectful."
"It's okay Usagi," he assured her. "I have a feeling we're going to be good friends. I wouldn't have given you permission if I hadn't felt that way. Besides you’re from America and they’re more informal there, right?"
"Alright Motoki-chan," she gave in with a grin.
"Now that that's settled, " he said, "I want you to meet my friends, the Crown Game Center's most devoted customers and highest scorers on the Sailor V game."
"I know Mizuno-san and Kino-san," Usagi said. "Well sort of."
"Let me guess," Makoto said. "Umino?"
"Yep," Usagi replied. "I think you'll be getting a full and up to date bio on me tomorrow. It’s kinda creepy how much he already knew about me before I even said hi to him."
Everyone laughed at this, since they all knew it was true.
"Well that's Umino for you," Makoto said. "Anyway I'd like you to meet Hino Rei and this ditz is Aino Minako."
"Makoto, she doesn't know who is who, especially with an introduction like that," Ami scolded.
"I think I can figure it out. Aino-san is on her right," Usagi asked, indicating the blonde.
"How did you know," Minako asked.
"She called you a ditz and everyone seems to refer to us blondes as that," Usagi explained. "I should know." The two blondes smiled at each other, sharing a moment that the others couldn't understand (well maybe Motoki, but how many times had anyone heard a guy being called a ditz, even if he is a blonde?).
Usagi then noticed that Rei was staring at her intently, with a look of concentration on her face. Had it been someone else, Usagi would have freaked out and thought they were the stalker type, but somehow she didn't' feel that way towards Rei. It seemed like the other girl saw something different in Usagi, like she sensed something. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the others exchange looks and then watched as Minako shot Rei a pointed look, which caused the raven-haired girl to look away. Usagi got the feeling that despite the carefree nature that she sensed about the blonde (and the fact that others seemed far better choices), this girl was their leader. But leader of what?
"So how did you do on the math quiz Usagi," Ami asked, which was an obvious bid to call Usagi's attention away from Rei's weird behavior.
"I-" she began to answer before she was interrupted by a vaguely familiar that became quite familiar as he spoke.
"Odango Atama needs to do more studying Ami-chan."
Usagi turned around to see the oh so gorgeous creep that she had run into earlier.
"YOU!!!"
"Odango Atama," he replied with amusement.
"You know Usagi, Mamoru," Motoki asked in surprise.
"We just met this afternoon when she hit me in the face with her quiz paper," Mamoru explained.
"Usagi did what," Motoki asked in shock. He didn't know her that well, but she didn't seem the type to hit people in the face with anything.
"It was in accident," Usagi said, defending herself. The nerve of that creep!!! How dare he make her look like the villain in front of everyone!!! "I didn't mean to hit him. Although after meeting him, I don't regret it!!!."
"Whoa! Down girl," Makoto said soothingly. "Mamoru-kun's not such a bad guy. A little cranky at times, but he's okay." She then leaned in closer and whispered into Usagi's ear, "By the way he's more or less Rei's guy."
"Well since you guys didn't get a proper introduction," Motoki said. "Usagi this is Chiba Mamoru. He's a freshman like me at the college. And this lovely lady is Tsukino Usagi. She goes to Juuban with Ami and Makoto."
"Odango Atama suits her better," Mamoru replied.
Usagi narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. She silently counted to ten before turning her attention to Motoki and the girls, giving then an apologetic smile. "I better leave now before this,” she turned her attention to Mamoru and gave a dirty look, “jerk causes me to lose my temper completely and say some things that would shock you."
"I doubt you could say anything that would shock us Tsukino-san," Minako remarked. "You seem way too nice to say anything that could be shocking."
Usagi gave her a bemused smile. "I've spent 9 years of my life in New York. Believe me, I can say some shocking things when I'm riled. Sayonara." She then turned and left with a wave.
"So Rei what are you sense before," Minako asked as soon as Usagi was gone.
"Sense what," Mamoru demanded.
"Rei sensed something in Tsukino-san," Ami explained.
"Yeah, she was staring so hard that I think that Tsukino-san noticed," Makoto added.
"Well hopefully she'll forget about it or just pass it off as Rei being eccentric," Motoki said. "But what did you sense Rei?"
"She has a powerful aura around her," Rei told them.
"You don't think she's part of the Dark Kingdom," Minako asked, a frown on her face. Usagi seemed really nice, she'd hate to find out that blonde was their enemy.
"No there was nothing sinister about her aura," the dark-haired girl answered. "But I got the feeling that I knew her even though we've just met."
"You too," Motoki asked in surprise. "I though it was just me."
"I had the same feeling too," Ami added.
Mamoru nodded his agreement.
"Ditto," Minako said.
"Hmmm...since she's not evil, could she be another Senshi," Makoto mused aloud.
"I don't think so," Minako replied. "Artemis would have sensed her if she was and she's been in town for what? At least a week? Besides I'm sure I heard him saying that there was just four of us."
"Perhaps she's someone we knew in the past," Ami suggested. "A noblewoman, which
would explain why she has a strong aura."
"You could be right Ami-chan," Minako said. "Now let's get down to Senshi business."
~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~*=*~
Meanwhile Usagi had reached home to discover that Umino, although well meaning, had already told her mother about her quiz grade and offered to tutor her. After her mother's wrath had subsided, it was decided that Usagi's father, who was brilliant in math, would help tutor her and Umino's offer was to be politely declined. Both mother and daughter agreed that he was nice boy, but not boyfriend material and that it would be wrong to allow him to use tutoring sessions as a chance to woo Usagi, when there was no hope for him. Usagi then got into her daily argument with her 12-year-old brother, Shingo, before
retiring to her bedroom to work on her homework.
Usagi made quick work of her English homework since she was already proficient in the language. Literature was a breeze as was history. Science took a little more concentration and math... After attempting a few problems, she slammed the book shut with disgust and decided to wait until her father was home to help her.
Usagi then flung herself facedown on the bed to contemplate about her day, but the last remnants of jet lag that she still had caught up wit h her. She was soon fast asleep. Her mother checked on her a few minutes later and seeing how exhausted her daughter was, she decided to let her continue to sleep.
Several hours later, Usagi was awoken by something landing on her bed. She sat up and was surprised to see the cat that she saved that morning.
"Hello Usagi," the cat said in a voice that sounded young and feminine.
Usagi blinked. Either she was dreaming, hearing things in which case she was going insane, or that cat actually said hello to her.
"Yes Usagi this is really happening," the cat said, seeing the look of disbelief in the girl's eyes. "My name is Luna. And after watching you all day, I am sure that you, my dear, are the chosen one."
"What do you mean the chosen one," Usagi asked. She wasn't quite sure that she believed this was real or not, but her curiosity had been provoked. What could she have been chosen for? Maybe she was the next Buffy?
"To be the Senshi of the Moon, the personal Senshi of the Moon Princess," Luna replied.
"A Senshi like the others," Usagi inquired. Even though she had been in Japan for a little over a week, she had already heard all about the Sailor Senshi that protected the city from youmas and the mysterious masked man, Tuxedo Kamen, who assisted them.
"Not quite," Luna answered. "You see Usagi the Moon Princess is also the heir to Silver Millennium, which means that she will one day rule over this solar system and bring peace and happiness just like her mother did long ago. But to achieve that she must live to ascend the throne. Although it their duty to protect the Princess, the Senshi currently have other duties that conflict with it. Which is why you were created, Usagi. Your only destiny is to protect the Moon Princess."
Luna paused to allow a dazed Usagi to absorb all that she had said.
"So where is the Moon Princess," Usagi asked, after a moment of silence. She still wasn’t sure of this Senshi of the Moon business, but it was all rather interesting.
"That I do not know," Luna admitted. "All I know that she is in Tokyo and that since she has not appeared yet, it can be assumed that her memories of the past have not resurfaced in her current incarnation. But we must find her quickly before the Dark Kingdom finds her and destroys her before she reawakens."
"So how am I supposed to find her," Usagi demanded. "Do you know how many people are in Tokyo?!?"
"You are HER Senshi," Luna said loftily. "You are born with a sixth sense to find her. You will know her when you see her. Now..." Out of thin air a pink broach, with a gold crescent moon on it, appeared on Usagi's bed.
"What's that and how the hell did it get there," Usagi asked.
"I got it out of my subspace pocket which I'll tell you about later, but this is your transformation broach,” Luna explained. "Since we haven't the slightest clue where the Princess is yet, your main mission is, of course, to find her and to train so you can protect her properly. Part of that training is to fight youmas when they show up."
"Well that sounds logical, I suppose" Usagi mused. "But what if I run into the other Senshi? There's no way to avoid running into them when their job is to take care of the youmas."
"Don't you worry about them," the cat assured her. "There will be times when you have to work with them to defeat a particularly pesky youma, but your mission is separate from theirs. I'm afraid you'll have to be rude to them."
"Why," the girl asked.
"Because if you become friends with them it will make it that much harder on you to do your job because you there will come a time when you have to pick between saving them or the Princess and your only concern should be the Princess," Luna replied.
Usagi nodded in agreement. She couldn't argue with Luna's logic, except...
"But what about Sailor Venus? Rumor has it that she's the leader of the Senshi. SO can she order me around or what?"
"No, only the Princess has that authority, but even then you can disobey her if you think her orders puts her life in danger," Luna answered. "Now I suggest we begin with your training," Luna continued. "It's 9:30 and you have school tomorrow so we can't have you staying up too late. Take the broach and repeat after me: Moon Prism Power! Make Up!"
Usagi picked up the broach and studied it for a few moments. "Moon...Prism...Power!
Make Up!"
In a flash of dazzling lights, Usagi's school disappeared, leaving her naked for a few moments (panicky moments at that since it occurred to her she might have to do this somewhere where people could come across her and see her au natural), before it was replaced with a sailor fuku that was almost identical to the ones the other Senshi wore. The major differences being the color of her. Her collar and mini-skirt, which Usagi suspected had been designed by a man, was a dark blue and the bows on her fuku were red. The boots she wore were similar to Sailor Mercury's except hers were red with white trim and gold crescent moons located near the top of the boots. Like Sailor Mars, her tiara had a red jewel and her elbow-length gloves had red trim. Dangling from her ears were crescent moon earrings and little red discs trimmed with white adorned her buns along with little white feathery barrettes in her hair. And located on the center of the red bow on her chest was her transformation broach.
"Whoa," Usagi exclaimed. "I look so totally cool!" She examined herself in the mirror, but then her eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice cry for help.
"Somebody please help me," Naru cried out.
"That's Naru's voice," Usagi whispered in surprised. "But how?"
"Those red discs in your hair are designed to pick up distress calls," Luna explained. She jumped out the window and landed on a tree branch near Usagi's window. "Let's go!"
"Luna, problem here," Usagi protested. "I can't jump out a second-story window! I'm just a teenage girl!"
"Yes you can," Luna retorted. "You are Sailor Moon! You are stronger, faster, heal faster, more agile, and capable of doing things that a normal teenage girl cannot do. As time goes by, you won't need to transform to tap into these abilities."
"Believe me Sailor Moon," Luna continued, seeing the doubt in her young charge's eyes. "It is your destiny! Now come on! Your friend, Naru is in danger!"
Hearing Naru's name, helped push the fear out of Usagi's mind, allowing her to jump out of the window and land, if not gracefully, but at least unharmed, on the ground below. Picking up Luna, who had landed by her side, she ran to Naru's house, which was located above Osa-P, something she knew from Umino's detailed files. She was delighted to find out that Luna was right and that she was faster as Sailor Moon then as Usagi. When they reached Osa-P, she paused as a thought entered her mind.
"What is it Sailor Moon," Luna asked.
"You're going to have to stay out of sight Luna," Sailor Moon replied. "If the Senshi show up, I don't want them to see you."
"But why," Luna inquired.
"Because if I'm supposed to keep my distance," Sailor Moon explained. "That will
provoke their curiosity. Even if I don't join them, they'll most likely want to find out who I am in civilian form to be on the safe side. If they see you with me and then see me in civilian form with you, it won't take much to put two in two together. You're not exactly an inconspicuous cat, Luna."
"Good point," Luna agreed, jumping out of Sailor Moon's arms. "I'll stay out of sight."
When Luna had disappeared into the shadows, Sailor Moon entered the store to se the Senshi being attacked by the women she had seen that afternoon at the sale. Considering that they had been normal humans before (well normal as can be for crazy stampeding women over a sale), she concluded that they had to be under a spell. Near the back of the store she spotted Naru with a corpse-like youma who was trying to strangle the young girl.
"Let's her go," Sailor Moon ordered, causing everybody to pause and turn to stare at her, which annoyed her. Geez, you'd think they've never seen a Senshi before!
"I thought there were only four of you," the youma said, looking annoyed at having another uninvited visitor to contend with.
"So did I," muttered Sailor Venus. "Artemis has some serious explaining to do later."
"Who are you," demanded the youma.
"Me...uh," Sailor Moon stammered, but then an inner voice inside her guided a series of elaborate motions as the she said, "I am Sailor Moon! The Champion of Love and Justice! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
"Sailor Moon? Never heard of you," the youma cried, dropping a now unconscious Naru to the ground. "And I'm sure I never will again!"
The youma attacked her and it took all of Sailor Moon concentration to dodge the
youma's assault. Then to add to her troubles, the controlled women began to attack her too. Between the youma and the women it was becoming near impossible for the novice Senshi to deal with all of them, and she soon received a scratch on her right arm above her glove.
"Ouch. Damn it that fucking hurts," she complained. "This is sooooo not my day!"
"Such language from one so young," the youma said.
"First of all I am not that young," Sailor Moon retorted. "Second of all I've had a bad day, and third of all you're not my mother so shut the fuck up!"
Unfortunately for Sailor Moon, the youma got even angrier at being cussed at, and ordered her zombie-like minions to attack the Moon Senshi with a vengeance. She barely managed to dodge the attack, but still received a deep cut on her right thigh, just below her skirt, that started to bleed.
"OWWWW," wailed Sailor Moon, being one with a low pain tolerance especially when she received a wound that bled. As she wailed, the red discs in her buns began to glow and everyone but Sailor Moon covered their ears to the horrible noise.
"AHHH," the youma screamed. "Cease that horrible noise!!!"
"What's going on," Sailor Jupiter demeaned.
"The red discs in Sailor Moon's hair are amplifying her wails," Sailor Mercury answered, ignoring the wails long enough to use her Mercury computer to scan for information on what was going on.
The youma, who was close enough to Sailor Mercury to actually hear what she said, attempted to attack Sailor Moon to end the wailing, but was stopped dead in her tracks when a blood-red rose landed between her and Sailor Moon.
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama," the Senshi cried in unison.
"Now is your chance Sailor Moon," Luna hissed, from her hiding spot near her charge. "Take your tiara and say: Moon Tiara Magic!"
Sailor Moon took off her tiara and watched in surprise as it changed into a glowing golden disc that radiated power. As she stared at it, a warm feeling filled her and she knew that she could defeat the youma. "Moon...Tiara..." she carefully aimed the disc at the youma and then tossed it at the creature as she yelled, "MAGIC!!!"
The golden disc flew through the air and cut right through the youma's abdomen. "No," the youma screeched, as she disintegrated into a pile of dust and the controlled humans fell to the ground passed out, finally freed from the youma's spell.
"Ha," Sailor Moon crowed in triumph as she held up two fingers in the sing of victory. "Moon dusted!"
"So there are not four, but five Senshi," a masculine voice, that seemed vaguely familiar, said from behind her.
Sailor Moon turned around to se a man in a black tuxedo with a matching black top hat wearing white gloves and a white mask that hid the upper half of his face. No doubt about, this hunk meister was Tuxedo Kamen. She also noted that in his arms, he held a cat with white fur and blue eyes; a cat that had golden crescent moon on its forehead, just like Luna. She realized that the cat had to be the guardian of the Senshi, just as Luna was hers.
"Care to explain why, you didn't tell us about her, Artemis," Sailor Mars asked.
"Because according to my memory there are only four Guardian Senshi," the cat retorted.
"He's right," Sailor Moon said softly. "Back in the past there was only four Guardian Senshi, but I was born in this time to be the Moon Princess's personal bodyguard while the rest of you could focus on dealing with the Dark Kingdom. But for me to protect her, I'm going to have to find her first."
"Well look no further," Artemis said. "Sailor Venus is our beloved Princess."
Sailor Moon turned her attention on the blonde-haired Senshi in orange. Luna had said she would know the Princess when she saw her because of her special sixth sense. This girl was a powerful Senshi, and she seemed familiar, but she knew instinctively that this was not the Moon Princess. She turned to leave.
"Hey," Sailor Jupiter cried in outrage. "How dare you turn your back on the Princess?!? I though you said you was supposed to be her personal Senshi!"
Sailor Moon turned back and shot her a disdainful look. "She is NOT the Princes. I am the sworn protector of the Moon Princess and as Senshi of the Moon, I have a special affinity with it just as the Princess. I would know better then any of you who she is. But keep saying that Venus is the Princess. It'll keep the real Princess safer." She then turned to leave again, but she was stopped by Artemis, who stood before her defiantly.
"You can't leave until Sailor Venus says so," he told her. "You are a Senshi and even if what you say is true, Venus is still the leader of the Senshi."
"That's what you think," Sailor Moon replied. "My destiny is to protect the Moon
Princess and only she has the power and authority to order me around.” Then with lightening quick moves, she was gone, leaving a stunned audience.
"Well," Mars drawled as she got over her shock. "She was rude. She could have least said good-bye."
"So what do we do about the Moon chick," Jupiter asked.
"Well she doesn't seem like an enemy," Tuxedo Kamen said. "Until she proves otherwise, we'll count her as an ally. But I think it would be to our best interest to figure out who her civilian identity is."
Venus nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan to me." She yawned. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted. Let's go home."
They exchanged goodbyes and then headed their separate ways homes, all of them thinking about the mysterious new Senshi.
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Final Thought from Luna:
Usagi catches on pretty quick…
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Author’s Note:
Another story that I found in my pile of old unfinished and unloved fics. Since I’ve revived a lot of my old stories to work on, I decided to pick this one up too. I know I have a lot of stories going on which means sporadic updates for them, but I just can’t seem to help myself. I’m starting to understand how some of my favorite authors have a million bajillion stories going on…..
I adjusted the ages of everyone to make them a little older then they were originally in the series, since I wanted them all to be a little bit more mature to let them get away with certain things that might not fit a younger teen. As a heads up, this story won’t go beyond the Dark Kingdom arc.
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Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Sailor Moon or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Takeuchi Naoko and anyone else she says has rights to it.
