I don't own Sailor Moon or any of the characters created by Naoko Takeuchi-sama. Much as I'd like to I don't and I'll just have to deal with that. However I do own my own characters and this storyline. I apologise for any OC-ness but sometimes it is needed for the story. Enjoy. ~Eb~
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The young man breathed the fresh air in deeply. He was happy to be back. His blue eyes sparkled at the thought. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day, he was back. Nothing could be more perfect.
He frowned as he realised that it could be. The frown deepened as he remembered why.
He looked to his three friends. They were watching him carefully, judging his reaction. He already knew the terms of this visit; if it got so bad that they deemed it necessary (i.e. he became seriously depressed again and tried to kill himself or this was having the effect they hoped for and desired) then they would take him home.
No questions asked.
No arguments.
No fighting.
Home.
It had seemed fair at the time, but now he was back he didn't want to leave again. Ever.
The girl smiled at him gently, her red eyes warm. She closed them and titled her head back to take in the fresh air.
The other two showed much more concern for him; they weren't so sure that this visit was a good idea. Green and violet eyes met his gaze.
"Don't worry so much, your faces will stick that way and then I'll have to look at them for the rest of my life." he joked. They finally smiled, expressions as gentle as the girl's, and he returned it with a smirk. He turned to face the city again. He didn't need to return home. He felt as though he was already there.
"Come on" he said. His voice happier than it had sounded in months. He turned to the others with a wicked grin. "Let's go."
"Serena!"
The blonde-haired blue-eyed girl turned with a smile at her friends' shout. She'd just gotten back from vacation and they had met her at the airport. She saw another blonde running up to her and laughed. Mina was always full of energy. She could see the others walking much more calmly towards her behind the blonde.
"Serena how was the resort? See any cute guys I should know about?" Mina gushed.
Serena smiled and shook her head. "You know I wasn't paying attention to other guys Mina." she could always count on Mina to make her feel better.
"Shame. We're running out here. Of cute guys I mean." she stared off absently into space and Serena shook her head again before following her gaze to the blue sky.
It had been three years since the defeat of Chaos. Three long years. At first they had all been glad that the fighting was over. It meant a return to normality, being able to focus on things like grades and work instead of wondering when the next youma attack would be and whether they'd have any time for school.
But after a month or two, although still enjoyable, it had begun to get boring.
And when they'd had the time to stop and think about the past few months the girls had realised something. That they missed the Starlights. It wasn't as fun on Earth without them any more. Without Seiya's pranks, the arguments with Yaten and Taiki's quiet prescence, things just didn't seem quite the same anymore.
Trista had spoken to Serena about it, saying that it was only natural for her to miss them, especially Seiya. He had helped her through a really bad time after all. But it was time to forget the past. They had a future to work to.
And for Serena, it was looming up all too soon.
She had grown up a little over these last few years, matured, had even pulled her grades up. Now she was looking back wishing she had done some things a little differently.
Seiya, for one.
She glanced at Mina from the corner of her eye; the blonde's eyes were misty with light, controlled tears. So she still missed Yaten.
Fingers snapped in front of her eyes and she started.
"Earth to Serena! We asked how Spain was." Lita said.
"Sorry," laughed Serena, "I guess I got lost in my own thoughts."
"Again." muttered Rei. Serena shot her a glance. One thing that hadn't changed was Rei's constant nit-picking of Serena. It really bothered her sometimes.
She glanced around, expecting a face but not seeing it, and a frown creased her forehead. "Where's Darien?"
Amy shared a glance with the others, but it was Lita who spoke.
"He's not here. Said he couldn't make it. Something about a paper that needed to be handed in and pulling an emergency shift."
Serena nodded and resumed chatting to the girls about her holiday; the places she'd been, what she'd done, the food, the beaches. In reality she was thinking.
'This isn't the first time he's bailed on a meeting or a date.' she thought sadly. 'Maybe I should call him and see how he is.' she had known about the paper; his American university had agreed to sponsor for him to work here in Japan. He was interning at the same hospital as Amy. But for the last few months something had been wrong, felt not quite right.
She'd been getting very good at that lately; continuing with something even though she wasn't paying attention, like how she was doing now.
She caught onto the conversation just in time to hear Lita invite them all back to her house for coffee and smiled and laughed with the others.
The girl looked into the depths of the crystal sphere intently, watching threads of time and destiny weave and separate. She homed into a single glowing strand and frowned gently. A brown eye narrowed and then widened.
The area around her was shrouded in veiling white mist, dark shapes looming out of it. She sat atop a massive structure that stood alone in the middle of the plane.
The orb glowed and then vanished, becoming a staff that was longer than she. A gentle voice rolled away across the valley, indifferent in its sigh.
"Interesting."