Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, the Characters, or anything else associated to it-In any language.
Author's Notes:
Pre-Doom Tree series. This is my interpretation of how the scouts retrieved their memories. I make a lot of Japanese references now that I've both watched the show in it's original entirety and lived in Japan for a few years. You'll probably want to look up the meanings/translations of everyone's names before you read, but otherwise, I've put together a few notes:
-The first semester of a school year in Japan begins sometime in March/April, with the second semester in late September/October.
-Yes, they have waffles in Japan.
-Kissaten (Pronounced: Key-sah-ten) is a coffee shop
I think that's it. Feel free to email me if I've forgotten anything ^_^ Enjoy!
~ Part I ~
I groaned and stared down at the test paper in my hand. Another rotten grade, rightfully so, since I hadn't studied, but still.
I'd have a hard time getting rid of this one. My parents hadn't seen a test from me since the start of term, and I was willing to bet mom had been in my bag once or twice to search for anything I would be hiding in it.
In the last few years I had become rather crafty in destroying the evidence of these papers. Once I'd even gone so far as to tie it on one of the trees at the city shrine with the rest of the bad fortunes. It would have worked, too, if the paper had not been so large...and of course the straight-backed priestess that runs the shrine had caught me.
We were around the same age and yet she loomed over me, her long black hair falling over her face that was a shade of red almost matching her red pleated pants. I'd removed the incriminating piece of paper immediately, but she had ranted for a long while, eventually calling over the page-boy that works there to bless the tree all over again. He had long shaggy brown hair and fumbled about while she yelled at him. I actually felt sorry for the guy, even if he was volunteering. Immediately I had spun around and stared down the girl, ready to challenge her. As though she had been expecting it, she was already standing with her hands folded across her chest, glowering at me.
Then, like a string had been pulled, we both stopped. Blushing, we both bowed at each other, muttering apologies for being inappropriate. I mulled over the situation on the bus all the way back home, trying to figure out what had made me so angry. I hadn't gone back to that shrine since.
Maybe I could burn this test and my folks would never be the wiser? I glared back at it, but the page quickly disappeared from my line of sight and was replaced with my best friend, Naru, and another female classmate named Suzuki. I stood and waved my hands frantically at them. "Give that back!"
Too late, they had already seen the large red mark on the top with my score.
"Usagi, you're the lowest in the class." Suzuki whined. Or maybe that was just her stating a fact? One could never tell since she spoke through her nose, resulting in everything sounded nasally. I sometimes wondered if that was why she didn't have many friends. We were in the same classroom every year and even I still never called her by her first name. She was nice enough if you looked passed the fact that she sounded like she criticized everything. Huh, I may have answered my own question on that one.
Naru smacked a hand down on my desk. Oops. I must have zoned out again-I do that a lot. It's not necessarily my own fault; I just have a lot to think about. Most people I meet see it as a handicap, that maybe I don't have much going on 'up there'. An attribute believed to couple with having blonde hair. But let me assure you, I have plenty going on inside my head; I just don't have the ability to multi-task. I can think, or I can listen to someone talk, or I can eat a whole bowl of ramen in one gulp, but only one at a time.
I sat back down and Naru's face leveled with mine. "Hey, you alright?" I nodded and pointed to the failed exam. "Mom's gonna kill me." suzuki handed back the paper and I stuffed it in my bag, making sure it crumpled so the red wasn't visible. Naru and Suzuki began to have a conversation about my well being as though I weren't there. I grumbled and stood up again to remind them that I was, in fact, still around. "I'm not sleeping at night," I blurted out "I can't sleep until it gets late. Then I have to wake up early for school." The lies just kept on coming. It was only a little fib, really. I hated when my friends ratted on me, however playful they meant it, and they did it often.
"My older brother tells me to pretend I'm slowly walking down a long hallway." Suzuki rattled "Imagine something pretty and safe and walk down the hall." She actually sounded a little dreamy as she said it. I just nodded.
"If you can't sleep, why not study?" An unfamiliar voice rang from behind me. The girls looked up and I turned in my seat to glare at the person rude enough to eavesdrop on our conversation and interrupt. Her name was Mizuno Ami. She had a short bob of light blue hair and was rarely ever seen from the outside of a book. I had the faint memory of her in glasses, but it passed with a painful tug on my emotions. Whoa, what was that?
She must have seen me wince, because she looked in my direction. "Haruna-sensei requested I become your tutor." She explained, because we were all still staring at her wordlessly. I balked. A tutor?! Why couldn't Haruna-sensei at least allow me some upperclassman to be my Senpai? Instead she humiliates me by asking someone in my own year to help. Why me?
Oh yeah, because she hates me, that's why.
I sighed. "When would you like to meet?" I asked. It was the end of the day and I was getting anxious to leave. Maybe I'd stop by the game center and let out some steam. "Now is fine." She answered and smiled sweetly. I deflated. At least she was nice about it.
Grudgingly, I picked up my school bag and gave my friends a grim look of resignation. "I'll see you tomorrow." I waved and followed Mizuno Ami out the door.
Maybe she'd still let me call her Senpai.
*--*--*
Ami was brilliant, plain and simple.
She was also the only person who didn't berate me every time I got something wrong, which was 99 percent of the time. Especially when it came to Math. It's not that I don't try, it's that I don't understand it, and Ami was trying very hard to change that.
Somehow, I had convinced her to move our study session out of the school and into a kissaten nearby where we could enjoy coffee and cake. We had started by going over my failed test, which was barely legible thanks to my earlier disregard for its well being, and then moved on to other subjects. I could tell Ami was trying not to lose her cool at me during a particularly difficult English lesson, so I suggested we call it a day. I was relieved when she agreed and offered her a slice of cake.
The look on her face was so frightened I thought I had said something wrong. "What is it?" I looked around to see if there was something happening behind us but the restaurant was still quiet and bubbly with chatting customers. Ami frowned.
"It's not too much trouble?" She asked. I smiled again and called over the waitress, telling Ami to get whatever she liked. Ami ordered a fruit tart and I got another ice-cream float. I could tell this was something new to her. Not many people noticed her at school because she spent so much time studying, but that was just fine to Mizuno Ami. No one was ever mean to her and she was very pleasant to be around once you got her talking. She had her books and she had her goals in life. She didn't hang out with a formidable group at school and she always was running to juku right after classes. We all knew about her rigorous schedule, so no one ever bothered to invite her out. Still, I could tell she was lonely.
For a few minutes it was quiet while we waited for our orders and Ami looked so uncomfortable I thought she'd jump up and make an excuse to leave as soon as she could. I was right. I fished around for a topic she could talk about, settling on asking her what her favorite book was. She looked at me funny again and I leaned forward smiling to show that I was genuinely interested. Ami didn't read manga or sci-fi like the rest of us, she enjoyed medical journals and real-life topics. I asked her as many questions as I could think of and by the time our orders had arrived she was talking just as much as I usually did. I didn't understand much, but I nodded and interjected appropriately to keep her going. Eventually she began asking me questions, too, and by the time there was a lull in the conversation the sun had set outside.
I smiled at Ami, still talking about a movie I had seen recently, as we walked out the door and turned to walk down to the bridge by the park. When we got to our separate streets I thanked her for her time in helping me study and she thanked me for the cake. Ami had only gotten a few more feet when I called out to her again. She turned back to look at me, it was like we did this everyday.
"I'll see you tomorrow" I called. She smiled and waved happily before we separated again. I went home feeling like I had made a new friend.
*--*--*
Irony strikes us in the best way it knows how: When it's expected, but unlikely.
Just that morning I had been complaining of a (fake) case of sleep deprivation. Now here I was at midnight with my eyes as wide as saucers. Mom had thrown a fit over the test, but dad had been sympathetic that I was home late from studying with a tutor, rather than busting my wallet on video games as usual. Still, I'd been given very little for dinner and my stomach rumbled for more food.
Eventually I tried to think of something that would help me sleep. What was it Suzuki had said? See yourself standing in an empty room...no, that wasn't it. Walk through a field of flowers...hmmm, nope.
Hallways! 'See yourself walking through a hallway'. Well, that didn't seem so difficult. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath thinking of somewhere I'd been, but the only building I could think of was school. Nothing about that place was relaxing, even during the spring festival. My brow furrowed as I tried to think of something else, but my brain didn't seem to want to cooperate.
I decided to start somewhere different, somewhere outdoors that could lead in. I let my mind wander around the streets of Tokyo, through the neighborhood of Azabu Juban and down some of the alleys I played in as a kid. I crossed the street from the Kissaten where my friends and I ate Parfaits and down the set of stairs to a lower street that head in the direction of home. When I reached the bottom step, I stopped. There was a door in the stone wall to my right.
I must have fallen asleep by now, because I don't remember a door ever being there before. It was bright silver, and the sunlight seemed to disappear in an unnatural way against it. It was as though the door was absorbing the light; it didn't shine or have a single mar on it. I reached for the doorknob slowly. It was black and for a frightening moment I though it would scald me. But it turned easily and the door silently swung open.
I stepped inside.
I was standing in a hallway...No, I was running through it. The hallway stretched long and narrow in front of me, so much that I couldn't see where it lead to. My white crinoline dress fluttered behind me as I ran, my hands lifting the front so I wouldn't trip over the hem. A feeling of de-ja-vu stole over me and I smiled.
Someone was laughing. The laughter tinkled like a bell, crisp and clear, echoing as I continued to run passed the scenery in front of me. Another giggle erupted from my lips-the laughter was my own-and I practically began dancing down the hall.
To my right were tall ivory doors, ensconced with silver candle holders and matching door handles. Either side of the wide doors boasted large, round, marble columns with splashes of gray flowing like small rivers marked throughout a white field. They were the most elegant things I'd ever seen.
To my left was even more breath taking. Large bay windows stretched from the floor and rounded at the ceiling, showing a beautiful garden full of greenery and water features that poured clear water as though it fell from the sky. The sky itself was so blue it almost looked silver with a bright blue and green orb hanging in its midst. Small patches of wall blocked the outside as I raced passed the many windows and against them sat small, dark wooden tables with elaborate vases full of flowers, evenly spaced every few windows. Occasionally a large drawer set with another candle mount would sit against what would otherwise be a blank space, and then the pattern would start over again.
I felt as though the hall would never end, that I would be running through it forever. I didn't mind. I loved it here.
I woke up with a start, my heart was racing. The dream had been beautiful, almost as real as the room around me. Something about it had felt familiar and I tried to remember when I had seen something that white and clean, but nothing came to mind. The dress too had been comforting and easy to move around as I'd run. Even now I could feel the soft, smooth fabric lying against my skin. But there was something very wrong about the dream, something that scared me, shook me to the core, though I couldn't quite grasp what it had been when the dream felt so peaceful otherwise.
I sat up and flung my feet onto the floor, reaching with them to find my slippers. I drew in a long, deep breath and shut my eyes as I exhaled. In one practiced move I grabbed the empty glass on my night stand and stood up to shuffle towards the bathroom. Fumbling as my hand reached for the sink in the darkness I poured some water into the glass and drank slowly, still wondering what it was about the dream that was so frightening.
After a few minutes I had settled back into the covers of my bed and lay staring at the ceiling. I turned my face to the window and gazed at the full moon. I hadn't noticed it when I fell asleep a few hours ago, but now it glowed brightly in the night sky.
Slowly, I fell back to sleep.
*--*--*
The dreams continued like that. Sometimes I was playing in the gardens I had seen from the hall that first night, sometimes I was dancing, but the details became less identifiable and blurred as the nights went on. After a week, I didn't have them anymore and I would wake up with a sigh of relief for a dreamless sleep. No matter how happy these dreams felt when I had them, I always woke up sad or afraid of the darkness. It didn't make any sense to me how something so wonderful could make me curl up under the blankets and shake with fear when I awoke.
I plodded down the stairs to breakfast and wrapped my hands around the steaming mug of green tea my mom had already set in front of my chair. My brother, Shingo, gobbled down the steaming porridge mom had already given him. "Slow down," I complained "You'll burn yourself, you know."
He scoffed, not even bothering to look up at me. "It's always the same with you. You just like finding something to complain about."
I bristled. Sometimes I didn't feel like the older sister in this relationship and it got on my nerves. I stood up and grabbed the bowl my mother handed me. "I'll eat by the TV," and stomped out of the room.
Dad was watching the news when I sat on the floor and set my porridge down to cool off. They were covering some popular actress' newest TV program, commenting politely on how entertaining it may be. I set two rubber bands in my mouth and raised my hands to put up my hair. The horoscopes popped up and began telling everyone what kind of day they should look forward to. I didn't have to wait long for mine-it was two stars, which meant I had a relatively bad day coming-but at least it wasn't the worst of the group, and Libra had plenty of rainy day animations blowing around the screen as the announcer admonished them to stay indoors.
I looked up at the clock on the wall. I still had half an hour before meeting Naru at the clock tower in the center of town for our usual Saturday of shopping and all out laziness. My coming day couldn't be that bad, I would be on time for once! I scurried to wash my bowl in the sink then ran upstairs to grab my bag. When I landed on the bottom floor again I shouted a quick 'good-bye' to my family as I skipped out the door.
*--*--*
There are Kami up there. They are up there and they are laughing at me.
About half way to the city center I stopped and looked out at the little dam set up in our town. The water was amazingly clear and sometimes, usually in the summer when the air was hotter than the sun itself, I wondered what it would be like to jump in. I continued walking, thinking it would be a nice day to take the long way through the park, when I heard a scream. Something constricted in my chest and my senses suddenly became very alert. I pitched from side to side looking for the danger then suddenly sprinted across the street, a car narrowly missing me, and through the trees at the Park's edge. I was met with a stone wall just barely taller than myself, but I lifted an arm to grab the edge and swung myself over it like I was jumping over some old ground stones.
Whoa. When did I learn to do that?
My brain wasn't as fast as my feet, for once, because I was half way through the park when I even thought to stop and see if the wall had really been that high, or if I was making it up. I flew through more trees (not tripping even once!) and crashed through some bushes to the center of the park where the water fountain stood. I stopped.
Even now I don't like to admit that my body had run on its own accord. In the back of my mind I hid the knowledge that if I had switched off my brain and just sat back to watch, I still would have ended up in this spot. I know this, because now that I had stopped I let myself try to move my feet. They wouldn't go anywhere. My head swung left and right again as my eyes looked for the source of the scream when I saw another woman on the other side of the park. We stared at one another, sizing each other up.
When neither of us found the other to be of, or in, any danger, we walked towards one another, meeting at the fountain. I didn't say anything, my body was still acting on its own, and I was petrified to see if I could use my mouth to speak.
"Did you...hear something?" The woman asked me. She was my age, maybe a year older, but what struck me hard was the resemblance between us. We both had long blonde hair, though mine was much longer, and bright blue eyes. Her face was rounder than mine and she had a spark of maturity, but anyone looking for us in a crowd could have easily mistaken one for the other from a distance. She was very pretty, too. Much more than I ever thought myself to be.
I nodded my head but it still felt strangely involuntary. We paused and listened to the wind blowing through the trees and the laughter of small kids begging the man with balloons for a certain color; there were no more screams.
Simultaneously, our bodies relaxed and I found I could move freely again. I even stomped my foot a few times and waved my arms to be sure. The other girl looked at me like I might attack her and eventually I stopped frantically dancing about to smile, truly happy to be in control of myself again. "Maybe it was a child." I supplied, hoping she would talk to me without thinking me mad. She relaxed again and looked around "I wonder..." then readjusted the bag on her shoulder. The name painted on it was "Aino Minako" and I had the feeling she was on her way to a gym.
That's when I felt Power for the first time. Or maybe it wasn't the first time, because it had almost seemed natural. A wave of clean energy emitted from the blonde in front of me and washed passed me like a wave that had been forced to split in two by an intruding rock. I felt it stretch behind me, searching for some kind of presence or danger for a few seconds. Then it receded, pulling back towards its origin and disappeared. My mouth fell open.
Minako blew a strand of hair out of her face and shrugged, disregarding the event. I began to ask her what school she went to when the clock tower in town chimed loudly to signal the hour. Minako smiled and bowed to me uneasily before turning and running back towards the end of the park where she had appeared from. I looked down at my pink bunny watch to double check the time was correct.
Great. NOW I was late.
*--*--*
Naru was already waiting for me in front of the tower that displayed the name of our little part of Tokyo, Azabu Juban, when I reached her. I stumbled to a halt and wheezed for a few moments to catch my breath while Naru berated me for always being late. I didn't hear much of it since I was contemplating other frivolous matters. Like, it was funny how I had run and jumped through the park not moments ago without even being slightly winded. Now I was close to passing out from just a few blocks!
I felt Naru grab my arm and pull me up again, somehow not noticing that I had spaced out during her small rant. I took another few gulps of air and righted myself while we ran over ideas of places to go today. There were very few places in town we could go to enjoy ourselves without having to get on the subway. Eventually, we settled on the usual: Games and Pictures at the Crown Game Center just a few blocks away.
It had been a cool spring so far, but the weather was quickly turning warm again. My shirt was sticking to my back due to the Olympic sprint I had preformed trying to reach the center of town after I'd realized I would be late, and the promise of cool air-conditioning was becoming very appealing. Naru and I reached the double doors of the arcade, marching right through them as they opened automatically.
We both screeched as a white cat darted around our feet, out of the arcade and into the street. It did that a lot, though I could never understand what it was doing in a place full of loud teenagers and bright flashing lights attached to game sirens. Weren't cats skittish? I thought that for probably the hundredth time as Motoki looked up from his spot behind the counter and called out to me, waving with a huge grin on his face. My heart did its usual flip-flop in my chest and I smiled and waved back, forgetting about the cat. Someday I'd remember to ask him about that, really I would.
A movement from the edge of the counter caught my eye and my heart sank into my stomach, the smile falling from my face just as quickly as it had arrived. Standing to the side, waiting for Motoki to finish with some kids asking him questions, was Chiba Mamoru. I grabbed Naru's wrist.
"Let's go. We can come back later." I groaned. Naru looked at me askance. "But we just got here!" I turned back towards the counter. Motoki had gone to fix something, but Mamoru-baka was still standing there looking as grumpy as ever. I don't think I'd ever seen him smile. As if on cue, he lowered his sunglasses in a handsome gesture (What? I never said he wasn't gorgeous!) and glared at me. Hoo Boy. If it were ever said of two people disliking each other that looks could kill, it was Mamoru-heta (Meaning 'Failed protector') and Tsukino Usagi. Hmm, I thought about my name for a moment. For the first time in my life, something about it felt both odd and funny at the same time.
"USAGI!" Naru shook my arm. Oops, zoned out again. I blinked at her a few times when she moved between Mamoru-Kowaii ('Mamoru the Scary') and I, effectively breaking the spell of our secret "Oh-how-I-Loath-You" game. I quailed for an excuse to leave, "I'm hungry." I stated simply and Naru laughed. "You're ALWAYS hungry." I shrugged. So what if I just ate breakfast? I had the metabolism of an Olympic Athlete, and at that moment I wanted to be anywhere but here. Naru sighed and adjusted her bag on her shoulder; I turned on my heel and followed her back out the door.
I half expected to see the cat clamoring to get back in as we left.
AN: Somehow I posted the un-edited version of this the first time around. This is the final copy of Part 1, I swear! :D
Chapter 2 is a little more descriptive and violent, which is why I have this at a T level.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I'll love you forever :3
