Cosmic Warriors
Disclaimer: All non-original characters in this story are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei, respectively. I also do not own the mythological beings you'll read about throughout the story.
Note: This is a retelling of the first season of the Sailor Moon series. I've taken artistic license to make changes to the series to fit my liking. These changes include: the flow of the plot, the villains, the transformations, attacks, and the order in which characters and senshi will be introduced. I hope you can respect the changes and enjoy the story.
Thanks to WeirdRaptor and StarCatTibalt, both of their stories gave me inspiration to write this one. Also thanks to JulietShadow and SadieSwirl for being my beta readers.
Chapter One - Rabbit Over the Moon
Tokyo — September 7th, 1992
Like every morning the Tsukino house was ordinarily quiet. The only sound came from the dining room where Tsukino Shingo hit his fork against his plate, trying desperately to stab his remaining pancake pieces that were drifting in a sea of syrup. To his right, at the head of the table, sat his father Kenji who flipped through the morning paper, his eyes glancing over the recent news stories.
His brow furrowed as he scanned the headline before reading the article that was fit around a large black and white picture. "Twelve tons of metal were reportedly stolen from a manufacturing warehouse a few miles from here…" Slowly he reached out to grab hold of his cup of coffee.
"Wonder what happened to it all." Shingo mused while Kenji shrugged and as he gripped the handle a scream blasted through the house followed by a thud against the second level floor.
Kenji cocked his head to the side, suppressing the need to react to his daughter's wake up routine. "How late will she be?" He pulled the cup to his lips, breathing down into the piping java.
"Twenty minutes at least." Shingo mumbled as he decided to use his fork more like a spoon and managed to scoop up a soggy pancake chunk.
Standing in the kitchen, leaning on the window ledge between the two rooms, was the woman of the house, Ikuko. "I'll say just fifteen this time." With a sigh she grabbed a slice of bacon from a plate beside her.
"Ahhh! Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Down the stairs came Tsukino Usagi shouting, looking disheveled and groggy as always.
"Usagi, would it make a difference if I told you we all tried at least twice?" Ikuko muttered under her breath as she lifted the strip of bacon to her mouth. "You said you were getting up right away."
Huffing with anger Usagi burst into the dining room. "You believed me?" She then snatched a biscuit off the table before running out.
"Have a nice day." Kenji said, raising his mug up as if to wish her luck as his daughter flew out of the door, slamming it behind her.
Usagi flew down the pavement in front of her house before reaching the sidewalk where she began to sprint. Typical for this time in the morning the sidewalks were empty which gave her a clear path. She only strayed from her route once to maneuver between a street lamp and a couple of trash bags.
In Usagi's mind the only thing worse than school, was having to run there. As she raced down the street she stuffed the biscuit into her mouth that was quickly losing warmth, and memories of her typical race to school flashing through her mind. Most ended with her arriving at school late, sweaty and out of breath.
Usagi smiled through the biscuit, knowing her shortcut was coming and made a sharp turn to her left onto her neighbors' yard.
She made quick work of the yard before she reached the high wall that surrounded the property. As she approached Usagi leapt up and threw her arms out ahead of her, catching them on the top of the wall and pressed her feet against the stone divider to throw herself over.
On the other side she landed in a small pathway between two homes, it was a common shortcut and the grass in the area had been run over so much that a thin line in the dirt was beginning to form. However the pathway was only a means to an end for her today as she grabbed onto another wall and scurried up before dropping down on the other side, landing into another yard. Cutting through yards like this would save her at least ten minutes on her way to school. As she came to the edge of the yard she quickly scurried up another wall and landed in another pathway.
In front of her were the backyards of more homes, with chain link fences rather than stone walls. "One. Two. Three!" Usagi counted off the fences as she passed them, on the third she grabbed hold of the small gate and pushed her way through it.
The first time she'd taken the shortcut she hopped over the first fence and ended up trampling the vegetable garden on the other side. Her second attempt with the next fence ended up with her leg being caught in the doghouse roof on the other side. She'd finally gotten it right with the third fence; there weren't any pets and or home-grown produce to worry about.
As she made her way to the edge of the yard she slammed her hands down against the fence to bunny hop over into the next yard. On the other side she was saw brilliant white fabrics hanging from clothes lines across the yard. Usagi never faltered for a second as she rushed to the lines and began her dance.
Shifting and turning her slim body to the right and left to slide past the various dresses and pants hanging up. This was child's play.
As she moved her golden locks of hair brushed against some of the shirts she passed. She ducked low to avoid a sheet and ran freely under socks and underwear that wouldn't come near touching her meatball shaped mounds of hair.
After readying herself for the second fence Usagi bunny hopped it as well; however, as she came down her foot landed on a long black tail. Usagi wavered for a moment before she fell over and shrieked as she hit the ground.
What lay across from her was a cat with fur dark like coal, save for a tail with clumps of dirt on it that she now realized she'd landed on.
Usagi quickly plucked the biscuit from her mouth and watched the cat flick its tail. "Oh I'm sorry kitty!" she blubbered; the cat hadn't moved, but it's tail was flicking about wildly as its red eyes remained on her.
"Err, here!" Usagi stammered and ripped the biscuit in two; she kept the moistened half and tossed the rest to the ebony cat before she scrambled to her feet.
She jogged across the remaining stretch of grass, and only looked back once to see the cat that still hadn't moved. From a distance it looked more like a spot of obsidian nestled in a sea of emerald grass than anything else.
It took her a second to regain her stride as she reached the edge of the yard before she flew over the last fence. From here it would be only a block until she reached the school.
She sprinted and panted across the remaining yards, all without fences, until she reached the sidewalk again. The moment her foot hit the pavement she pivoted to the right and booked it down the next sidewalk and let the residual of her morning biscuit fall to the ground. The thought she might actually make it on time flashed through her mind and she smiled triumphantly.
She sprinted across the street, into the yard of her school and finally inside before she rushed up the staircase. As she approached the top the ring of the school bell resonated throughout the halls.
Usagi felt heat rush to her head as she began to panic. "No no no no no!" She reached the next floor and rushed off down the hall to her class.
"I'm late… but maybe I can sneak in." She whispered and pulled the classroom door open slowly. She poked her head in and examined the room, finding no trace of her teacher in her typical pink attire around. Usagi sighed with relief as a bead of sweat ran down past her curled bangs. "Made it!" She cheered.
"Tsukino!"
Usagi flinched and felt the eyes of the fellow students turn on her, her teacher Ms. Haruna stood behind her, hands balled up on her hips and stared disapprovingly down at her student.
"First day of the week and you're already off to a bad start!" Haruna displayed Usagi's Algebra test in front of the blonde's face, scowling. "Tell me, Tsukino! How is it that you always fail my tests?"
Usagi's eyes widened when she saw the red F on her paper, under the encircled fourteen percent. "I—I failed?" she said shrilly. "But how can that be?"
Her eyes were already spouting out tears when Ms. Haruna shoved the test at Usagi. "Have your mother sign this test by the end of the week and return it to me!" Following the test her teacher swung the dreaded tag out in front of Usagi.
"I don't wanna wear the name tag! Please, Ms. Haruna! Please!" Twin streams of tears flew out of Usagi's eyes.
Her classmates snickered, making Usagi's waterworks even stronger. Ms. Haruna held open the door, pointing outside. "Now get out so I can start my class!" she snapped at a wailing Usagi.
Usagi miserably dropped her shoulders, bowing her head down.
"And put on that sign!"
As Usagi resentfully placed the sign around her neck, she bolted out of the classroom, made a sharp right turn and leaned against the wall. Her knees gave way as she plopped to the linoleum floor, her skirt billowing out. Hands trembling, Usagi gazed at the test, feeling another wave of tears heading toward her eyes.
"H—How can I show my parents this — this test?" she said aloud before bursting into tears, not caring if the people in the hallway were staring at her.
After a class period of whining on the floor, Usagi's test was crumbled and tear stained in her hand as the bell rang. She tore the sign off her neck and watched as the students filed from the room.
"Naru!" Usagi elbowed her way past two boys who had parked themselves near the door and laced fingers with Osaka Naru as the two pushed themselves up against the wall.
"Oh Usagi there you are!" Naru said, her native Osaka dialect coming through thicker on certain words.
Usagi straightened out the test on the wall before flashing it to Naru "Look at this! I have to show this to my mom!"
"Cheer up Usagi, it's not like its the end of the world." Naru leaned in closer, pulling a finger on the test as she looked over the girl's answers. "Wow Usagi, a fourteen percent…" Naru said in true shock. "Maybe it is the end."
Usagi began to ball up the test again as tears swelled up in her eyes. "I can't show my mom this! She'll cut my allowance and I won't be able to play the new Sailor V video game!" Usagi's whining turned into wailing again as she started thinking about how hopeless this seemed.
"Hey Usagi did you ever think if you didn't spend your weekends at the arcade you could catch up on your schoolwork?" Umino Gurio pointed out as he emerged from the wave of students passing by, his voice cut through the murmur just like his boney elbows cut through the crowd. He threw himself in between the girls and adjusted his bottle cap glasses, grinning from ear to ear.
"I go to the arcade to escape school. If I was going to give up going there it wouldn't be to do more homework!" Usagi said shoving Gurio towards Naru, not wanting to deal with him this morning.
"I thought you went to the arcade for Motoki!" Naru narrowed her eyes at Usagi as she replied, and playfully shoved Gurio back to Usagi.
"Naru!" Usagi squealed and gripped Gurio's shoulder before pushing him back. Naru giggled and shoved the now wobbly Gurio back to the wall.
Naru slapped her hands on her cheeks and beamed. "I'm just sayin' Usagi, I see how you look at him and when you pretend your machine is busted just so he has to come over, it's too cute!" Naru squealed.
"You think he realizes I jam up the buttons on purpose yet?" Usagi said quietly and blushed, thinking about all of her tricks to get a few minutes close to Motoki.
"Who knows?" Naru said plainly and linked an arm with Usagi and they dove into the last wave of students, leaving a weaving Gurio behind.
-F-
After the school day Naru and Usagi had parked themselves against a wall outside discussing what to do. "So what are you gonna tell your parents?" Naru asked again for the third time as she watched Usagi kick pebbles into the street.
Usagi looked at the wrinkled and tear stained test again. "I don't know!" Usagi whined and dropped the test out of sight.
"Usagi, I heard about your test score, but I don't know how you do it!" From down the street came Gurio's voice, the boy appeared soon after with a smirk on his acne scarred face. "It takes special skill to score so low."
The girls stood tall and looked over to him. "Can it Umino!" they shouted back simultaneously.
Gurio smiled and scratched the back of his head as he approached. "Want me to tutor to you?" he offered.
"That's the last thing I want, some nerd telling me about all of my mistake" Usagi groaned and dropped her head.
"What you need is a girl's study party!" Naru exclaimed and clapped her hands together "That's it! We'll get a bunch of girls from our class over, eat junk food, listen to music, and watch movies! We can do whatever!"
"You're throwing a party instead of studying? You need to get your priorities together girls!" Gurio continued and unraveled his own test. "Look, I got a ninety-five and didn't study at all, this is shameful, how can I show this to my parents?"
"Do we care?" Naru quipped offhandedly.
Usagi's face went pale when she heard him use the word 'shameful' to describe his grade. "I'm hopeless!"
"Forget about the dumb test Usagi, maybe my mom will let us try on some jewelry!" Naru said and waved a hand at her friend.
"Jewelry?" Usagi's eyes widened and a drip of drool leaked from the corner of her mouth at the thought.
"Yes! She's got all kinds!" Naru chimed.
"Like diamonds, emeralds, and rhinestones?" Usagi grabbed onto Naru's hands, her eyes glistening with the idea.
"Of course, in all kinds of colours!"
Gurio's shoulders dropped and as he listened to the girls he became worried for their grades. "And when do you plan on adding studying to that list?" Gurio interjected with the obvious question.
"Umino, stop being a kill-joy. Usagi doesn't need to hit the books, she needs to relax and let it all come to her naturally. Sure we'll study, a little bit... But our main objective is to have fun!" Naru and Usagi began to jump and squeal.
"Oh I can't wait for a girl's night it sounds like a blast!" Usagi cheered, but the excitement soon died once the failed test came into her mind. "But if my mom sees this I may have to start living with you because I'll be kicked out!"
"What about changing the grade?" Naru questioned as she stood beside Usagi looking down at the test and began formulating ways to transform the grade.
"That's won't work, I have to turn it back into Ms. Haruna." Usagi whined and turned the test on its side.
"All the time you spend thinking of ways to get out of trouble if you would just study instead you'd never have to worry about being in trouble, over grades!" Gurio rubbed his head, his cry falling on deaf ears as Naru and Usagi started running their fingers over the test and mumbling about ways to fool their teacher.
"Maybe forge your parent's signatures!" Naru said and slapped Usagi on the arm, feeling proud of her plan.
"Could that really work?" Usagi asked bleakly and clutched the paper tighter. "What if she can tell they didn't really sign it?"
"You worry too much!" Naru waved a hand at her.
Usagi smiled wide and wrapped her arms around Naru. "Ooh thank you Naru!"
Gurio stood stoic, amazed at the lengths she'd go to keep herself out of trouble. "Usagi if you ever decide you need a tutor you know where to find me." Gurio said and turned his back to the girls and headed off down the sidewalk.
"I would never call him to help me, even if he is brilliant." Naru snapped back in a very prissy voice.
"I don't think I could ever go to a friend for help like that, especially Umino." Usagi said as she looked for a good spot to write her parent's names.
"Usagi! I'm such an idiot I totally forgot about Ami!" Naru screeched as she slapped her forehead.
"Mmm, who's Ami?" Usagi asked between the pen cap she had clamped between her teeth, practicing her parent's signatures in the air.
"A new girl in our class! You missed her cause you were late! She's supposed to be really smart, smarter than Umino even. She's new so she doesn't have any friends yet, she could be your ticket to a D+!" Naru explained turning to her and grabbed her shoulder, the possibilities bubbling in her mind.
Usagi's jaw dropped and the pen cap tumbled to the ground. "D+? Where is she?!"
"Actually, I have no idea." Naru admitted, to her side Usagi whimpered. "I tried to talk to her after class, you know just to be nice, but she bolted as soon as the bell rang and I haven't seen her around at all." Naru said regretfully and pulled a corner of her mouth up and shrugged the hope she had now fading as quickly as it came.
"Tomorrow I will be on time and tomorrow we will talk to this girl Ami!" Usagi stated with pride and clutched her test again.
"You sound awfully confident Usagi."
"I have to be! Because she might be my only hope..." She whined.
"So what are you gonna do today? Go to the game arcade maybe?" Naru smiled wide and nudged her friend, dropping the biggest hint of all in how she drew out the word arcade.
"Of course I'm going to the arcade." Usagi said and stuffed the test into her bag. "Motoki is working today and I want to play the new Sailor V game!"
At the mention of the heroine Naru's expression fell flat. "Usagi, can I ask you something?" she asked gloomily.
"Shoot."
"What do you know about Sailor V?" Naru kept her eyes on the ground as they started walking.
"Not much I guess, just that she's the girl in the papers. Mom calls her a vigilante." Usagi answered pressing a finger to her lip, proud that she remembered the word her mother had used recently. "And wishes I could be more like her."
"Yeah my mom says the same, but do you think she's real?" Naru asked meekly, treading slightly on the subject.
"Huh?" Usagi asked as she raised an eyebrow. "There are Sailor V posters, toys, and video games, of course she's real!"
"But what if she's made up by the police, you know as someone to give the public to look up to."
"Where did that come from?"
"Well you see..." Naru tapped her fingers together whispering a bit. "I was having trouble with my English homework so I went to mom to ask for help. She had some of her friends over and outside the door I heard them talkin' about some theory that the police invented Sailor V as a way to give the people in the city hope and as a role model for little girls. They said it encourages people to be heroes." After she laid it all out there, she began to feel a little silly taking what her mother had said, probably after a glass of wine or two.
"That sounds like it could be true." Usagi quietly, tapping a finger to her chin now having to think about if she's ever seen a picture of Sailor V in the paper.
"You think so?" Naru asked her, unsure if she really believed in the theory.
"I guess so; I mean I've never seen her on the news or anything." Usagi shrugged, not willing to give it much thought.
"You don't even watch the news Usagi." Naru said and slapped her hands down onto her hips, giving her friend a knowing look that caused her to giggle and blush.
-F-
"Jadeite, has everything gone according to plan?" A throne made of human bones and marble floated over the city of Tokyo. In it sat a woman with endless curly red hair that flowed down over the back of the seat. Her thin and boned hands, the chroma of sickly light brown, draped over the edges of the throne.
She wore a strapless deep violent dress that cupped her breasts with sections of fabric shaped like curved water drops. She was adorned in numerous pieces of jewelry, a large band on her upper arm, a thick necklace, two large earrings, and a large headpiece, each fixed with a different kind of gem.
The woman took in a breath of the chilly air as it passed over her and cast her gaze over the city. In the reflection of her scarlet eyes the city was nothing more than a playpen infested with humans. Humans who would soon learn their place in what was to become her world.
"Yes, Queen Beryl. The supplies you requested were gathered without problem, the Experiments you wanted commissioned were created and dispatched as well." A loyal servant to his queen, Jadeite, delivered his report bowing down to her.
Queen Beryl took in another lung full of air and nodded slowly, her hands clenching around the skull ends of her armrests.
"Excellent," she said dryly. "it has been one year since we first infiltrated. One year since the first Experiment was planted, and no one other than Sailor V has recognized anything." Her expression dropped thinking about the girl that had been a nuisance for quite a while. "Jadeite, with your new toy will you be able to eliminate Sailor V?"
"Well, I—" Jadeite started and opened his eyes; still bowed he caught sight of the busy street far below.
"Jadeite, yes or no."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Excellent. I want this done swiftly, without drawing attention to us. Draw her out, separate her from anyone that may be tagging along." Beryl commanded him in a harsh tone, the underlying message being for him not to fail her.
"My Queen, if I may I had an idea of my own." Jadeite said meekly, still bowing before his queen and his cold eyes watching the city.
"I'm listening." Beryl twirled her hand through the air, the threatening tone in her voice appearing.
"Our goal is collect energy from the humans to revive our great Queen Metalia. We also want Sailor V gone." Jadeite said as he slowly rose to his feet. "My plan is to make sure both happen."
"Continue." Queen Beryl said, lacing her fingers and giving Jadeite her genuine attention.
Jadeite had become one of her favorites over the years, always striving to prove himself and his disdain from humans was second only to her own. He was of average height with the appearance of a human in his late teenage years. Jadeite had short blonde hair that came down around his fair skinned face in subtle waves, and hooded blue eyes.
"Experiment D-U-D." Jadeite retorted and dug a hand into his grey military uniform pocket and revealed a dark purple gem no larger than a baby's fist. "An Experiment of my own creation, along with our scientists. He possesses the skills needed to gather energy in an interesting way and the power to take down any opponent."
Beryl narrowed her eyes at him and then at the gem. "One Experiment will gather sufficient energy and take down Sailor V." she said, paraphrasing Jadeite's pitch rather than questioning it.
"Nearly." Jadeite said smoothly as he dug into his pants pocket and drew out a black pouch, tied close with a silver string. "After gathering some of the greatest scientists in the world over the past two years we've been able to create our own breed of genetically modified Youma, and with their recent work we've been able to clone them." Jadeite tugged on the string, allowing the opening of the sack to reveal the collection of identical dark purple gems inside.
"How many are there?"
"Sixty." Jadeite answered quickly, dropping the solitary gem in with the others. "Of course not all sixty will be needed for this mission; twenty should be more than enough for this area." He glanced down to the city below him.
"I'm impressed. Which figure did the design for this Experiment come from?" Beryl asked, waggling her fingers in the air, one of the gems floated from the bag and into her hand.
"Diarmuid Ua Duibhne." Jadeite said as he watched the gem seem to come alive in Beryl's hand, the dark purple now coming to life with a vibrant aura.
"How does our friend steal energy?" She said, looking over the active gem.
"Kunzite and Zoisite have come up with information regarding the amount of energy that is displaced when humans are afraid. We'll be sending Experiment D-U-D to steal that energy."
Queen Beryl's eyes shot daggers into Jadeite and her hand instantly closed around the gem, sealing the light inside. "For your sake, Jadeite, this better work. Dismissed."
Jadeite nodded to his queen before his body glitched from its spot in a blur of colours. Down below in the city he landed on a rooftop. Hunched over and holding his stomach, he staggered to his feet and walked to the side of the roof, glancing down below into an alley.
"No time to waste." He said clutching the black pouch as he leapt from the roof, his body vanished again before he reappeared below in the alley.
Before he stepped out of the shadows, dark tuffs of smoke lifted from his body, altering the fabric of his uniform into something more fit for the area. He then stepped out onto the sidewalk free of the uniform Jadeite now wore grey shoes, white pants, and an off-white dress shirt with grey buttons as he mixed into the crowd in Azabu-Juuban. He turned to his right and watched a blue haired schoolgirl hurry up the sidewalk in his direction.
Jadeite turned in her direction and started to walk, their shoulders touched and they spun around each other.
"Oh pardon me!" She said apologetically.
Jadeite resisted the urge not to gag at the sight of a human woman. He simply shook his head and turned from her, not before slipping one of the gems into her skirt pocket however.
-F-
"See ya later mom!" Naru called back to Jewelry OSA-P, the jewelry store her mother, Osaka Mayumi, owned. Her mother stood outside and waved as Naru and Usagi headed off down the sidewalk.
Usagi was staring at the test again, wishing the number would somehow magically change. "I wonder how long I can stay at the arcade before going home." She sighed and turned a corner only to collide with someone. She shrieked as she slipped from the sidewalk and fell over on the ground.
"Oww..." Usagi whined as she looked upwards to the one she'd come in contact with.
"Watch it, dumpling head!"
Usagi didn't have to see his face to realize who it was after she heard his obnoxious voice. Still she tilted her head back slowly and there, donned in his usual attire, was Chiba Mamoru.
He wore dull purple dress slacks, fastened around his waist with a belt. Hugging his chest was a black sweater, over that was a rich green blazer, to finish the ensemble he wore a pair of black shoes and dark aviator sunglasses. She'd seen him hanging around Motoki before and had been introduced after bumping into him outside of the arcade last week.
"Mamoru." Usagi said angrily and rose to her feet, dusting off the back of her skirt before she realized who was standing beside him. Standing at an equal height and draped in camel coloured denim, light pink short-sleeve dress shirt and yellow shoes was Furuhata Motoki.
"Oh, Motoki!" Usagi gasped, clapping her hands together and saying his name in a buoyant way. She surveyed him up and down admiring how flawless he looked; his clothes seemed to be tailor-made for his lean body.
"Hey Usagi, hey Naru." He replied with a quick wave. The simple yet sweet answer caused her to melt, meanwhile Mamoru scowled at her behind his shades.
"How's it goin'?" Naru asked plainly, her eyes fixed on Usagi to watch her actions around Motoki.
"A fourteen perfect? I'm impressed; I didn't think such a low grade was possible."
"Huh?" Usagi asked dreamily, not paying attention to anything that wasn't Motoki's face now. "Wait, what?" A deep red filled her face as she saw Mamoru look over her crumbled test. "Give it back! How'd you get that" She shouted and snatched it out his hand.
"You dropped it." he replied smartly. "Are you going to apologize to us?" Mamoru asked smugly.
"I don't have time for you today!" Usagi said as she shook a fist into his face, trying her best to seem upset.
"Then how about watching where you walk next time?" Mamoru added and brushed his hand across his chest while Motoki chuckled nervously.
"So Motoki, you're working at the arcade today right?" Usagi asked sweetly.
"Yup, I'm heading there now, but I need to stop by my place first to get my apron."
"Score! We're on our way too, I guess we'll see you there!"
"What a coincidence." Naru added coyly.
"Make sure you try the new Sailor V game!" Motoki called as he followed after Mamoru who had already begun walking off.
Usagi stood there for a moment, biting her lip gently while she continued to admire him. To Usagi, Motoki was one of the nicest and best looking boys she'd seen around. Maybe Mamoru wasn't so bad looking either, but his personality made her despise him.
"Why do you always call her dumpling head?" Motoki asked as he leaned backwards and waved to Usagi.
"I think it's pretty obvious why." Mamoru chortled before he walked off ahead of his friend and turned the corner.
-F-
A short while after, Usagi and Naru strolled through the entrance of the Game Center Crown. A popular business filled with gaming machines, the laughter of children and teenagers, and of course sound effects and the mashing of buttons.
Taped to the blue walls were various gaming posters and advertisements, several dedicated to Sailor V. To the right of the girls was a tall crane grabbing machine and past that several ski-ball games lined up. To the left were rows of arcade games and through the aisles kids were chasing each other, shouting Sailor V catchphrases.
"Usagi, I found it!" Naru pulled her friend towards the corner of the adjacent wall where the new game was. It stood nearly seven feet tall and was the shape of a large box which two openings on the sides. Naru peered into one of the openings and gasped. "It's virtual reality!"
"Sweet!" Usagi said and moved back out to the front of the box, observing the screen hanging on it and the buttons beneath. "I guess the battle can be watched out here and these buttons start the game!"
"This is too cool!" She heard Naru say as she stepped back to admire the box's exterior design. "I heard only the big cities have things like this!"
Usagi's wide eyes glanced over the comic book style painting of Sailor V smashing in some guy's face on the box. "It must be nice to be Sailor V." She frowned and looked at her test again. "Bet she doesn't have to worry about stupid Algebra tests."
"I see you found it." From behind them came Motoki, wearing the same outfit from their sidewalk meeting, only with his apron now. "Pretty cool huh?" He rubbed the VR box and looked it over.
"It's amazing! Have you played it yet?" Usagi asked and started pressing some the buttons, watching the display light up and change.
"A few times," he admitted shyly. "you should check the high scores."
"Oh why? Are you number one?" She asked sweetly and flicked through the options until she found the leader board. "Whoa! Who's Minano?" Usagi glued her eyes to the screen, noticing the top ten out twenty ranked spots were taken by the same person.
"Not sure really." Motoki crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "She comes in every once in a while and usually ends up beating one of her own high scores."
"She must be really good then." Naru said coming out from the VR box with a headset, gloves and boots on.
"Uh." Usagi droned out pointing to Naru. "What is all that?"
"It's the suit you have to wear when you play so the game can register your movements." Motoki answered. "There's even a wand that acts as Sailor V's whip."
"This is too cool!" Naru squealed and rushed into the box and Usagi giggled, remembering that only a little bit ago Naru was questioning Sailor V's existence.
"Usagi, do you want something to drink?" Motoki asked. "I was going to make a run up to the parlor."
"Yes my darling." She narrowed her eyes dreamily and smiled to him.
"What?"
"I mean sure!" She cackled nervously and scratched the back of her head. "I'm thirsty!"
"Okay, be right back."
Once he had disappeared into the crowd Usagi fell to the side against the box and sighed, listening to Naru trampling around inside. Curiosity getting the best of her, she spun around to watch the monitor that was showing Sailor V in a construction zone, leaping from girders and lashing her whip out at some ogre looking creature. After spending a good five minutes watching, Usagi glanced between Naru's score, play time, and life points before a chill ran down her spine and the feeling of someone watching her swept over her.
"Hello?" She turned around, expecting someone to be behind her, but to her surprise she was alone, if you didn't count children screeching and chasing each other with rubber swords.
"Something wrong?" Motoki asked, coming from around a game holding out a styrofoam cup to her.
"Nope." She said snatching the cup up and sticking the straw into her mouth, eyes darting from side to side, still believing she was being watched.
"Naru's doing great." Motoki moved around Usagi to watch the monitor. Naru had made it to the next level and was running up an empty street and dodging bullets that were flying at her from off-screen.
"This Minano girl must spend a lot of time playing if she has so many high score spots." With a little bit of an obsession Usagi pressed the control pad button and the in-game screen was replaced with the leader board.
"Maybe she's just really good, then again you know all about wasting time here, right dumpling head?" Usagi scowled at the sound of Mamoru's voice coming from the end of the aisle to the left. She turned her head in his direction slowly, with a look of irritation spreading across her face.
"Why don't you come over here and say that!"
Motoki glanced back and forth between the two, sipping his juice in silence while Usagi shot him evil glares.
"I'll pass." With that Mamoru waved to them before disappearing out of sight and from the VR box came Naru, stripping off the suit.
"Your turn!"
An hour and a half later after Usagi had taken several tries at the game she managed to rank at number forty-five and Naru managed to finish off her smoothie.
"Ready to go home?" Naru asked with a slight sugar buzz.
"Not really." Usagi whined, the failed test in her book bag reminding her why she wanted to stay out all day in the first place. Reluctantly, the pair then said their good-byes to Motoki and exited the arcade, pausing on the street to decide if going home was the only choice they had left.
"Maybe she won't freak out." Naru said, bringing up the test again.
"You must have spent too much time in that box." she quipped. "Mom will kick me out 'cause of it!"
"I'll make a bed for you on the floor just in case." Naru snickered and waved a hand at Usagi as something black circled Usagi's legs. "Uh you got something on you."
"What! Is it a bug?" Usagi panicked and flailed around, bumping the black cat at her feet and knocking it over onto its side.
"Oh Usagi, calm down already it's just a kitty." Naru crouched down and scooped the cat up, holding it under its arms.
"Phew!" Usagi wiped her forehead and stepped up beside Naru to observe the feline. "What is it?"
"Looks like a girl." Naru said and lifted the cat up above her head into the path of the sunlight.
Usagi chortled and the cat let out a low hiss. "I think it's mad."
"She's kinda cute." The cat began to squirm in Naru's hands and Naru brought her in close, cradling her like a baby. The cat clawed her way up onto Naru's shoulder and rubbed her head against Naru's, flicking her tail around rapidly.
"You know, this looks like the cat I stepped on this morning." Usagi said and held her chin, trying to recall as the cat leapt from Naru and onto Usagi's shoulder, her tail smacking Usagi in the eye. "Yep this is the one."
"Is it a stray?"
"I doubt it, she's got a collar." Usagi plucked the cat from her shoulders and grabbed golden collar around her neck, turning it around to find a tag which was a golden crescent moon dangling from a chain.
"Pretty..." Naru said admiring it.
"Awful nice for a fur ball." Usagi said grabbing the moon and trying to find the cat's name when she felt another chill run down her spine.
Naru watched her friend seem to freeze in time, staring into the cat's scarlet eyes and clutching the moon tag for dear life. She tapped her shoulder and tried to nudge her before waving a hand in front of her face.
"Usagi!" Naru said and gave her friend's back a pinch.
"Ouch, what?!"
"You okay? You spaced out on me."
"No I didn't." Usagi lied. The moment she touched the collar she felt as if she'd left the street and ended up far away. In her mind she saw a burning lake, pillars crumbling and crushing people and nine people standing in a palace square.
"Did you find the cat's name?" Naru asked pulling on the collar and causing the cat to yelp at the sudden jerk. "Hmm, L-U-N-A."
"Lun-a." Usagi answered.
"Are you failing English too?" Naru smirked, unamused at Usagi. "It's a long U, so it sounds like Loona."
"What's an American cat doing here anyway? Or is it British?" Usagi asked with narrowed eyes, wanting to get past her shortcomings in understanding the English language.
Usagi watched the cat as its eyes never left her, its scarlet eyes were like giant marbles, boring deep into her. Something about it seemed less and less natural by the second. Naru began to pet the cat, but its gaze never changed, nor did it show Naru any attention, not even a purr.
"Maybe she belongs to an American, here on vacation. I wonder where the owner is." Naru asked as she glanced around the street, looking for nothing in particular until she spotted the bus coming down the street. "Oh the bus is here. Here I'll see you at school, Usagi. Bye Luna!" Naru hugged Usagi around her shoulders, mindful of Luna and waved bye as she jogged down the street to the bus stop.
"Stop staring at me!" Usagi shouted to the cat that narrowed her eyes and began to hiss, raising a paw and batting it against Usagi's hand. Out of instinct Usagi dropped Luna who flipped over, landing on her paws and scurried off out of sight. "Demon cat." Usagi swung her book bag over her shoulder and marched across the street to head home.
Along the way she got a similar feeling to the one she had in the arcade; of eyes watching her every move.
-F-
Atop one of the largest jewelry stores in the city the soft sound of rooftop pebbles crunching under feet echoed in the night. A well-dressed man strode over and placed a foot on the edge, he hunched over with his arms resting on his knee.
A sigh drifted from lips while the chilly September night air danced past him causing his black cape to rise up and reveal the deep red lining within. Behind a white masquerade mask his eyes darted to the moon, a sterling object in the night sky.
"Could I be wasting my time?"
He dug a snow-white gloved hand into his breast pocket and pulled out a handful of gems. He looked them over one by one, holding them up into the moonlight for only a second before dropping them back into his hand.
"Tuxedo Mask, I warned you."
Tuxedo Mask turned away from the edge and found the owner of the voice that had interrupted his nightly heists before. Half of their body remained in the shadows, the lower half of his grey uniform only visible. Of course there wasn't a need to see his face to know who had been watching him.
He smiled to himself for an instant, if there was one thing this quest offered him was a sense of stability. He knew he could steal the gems, he knew he would get away, and he knew someone would try to stop him.
"Nice to see you again, Jadeite."
Mask took a quick step towards him and Jadeite moved forward as well, the moonlight exposing his features. "As much as I appreciate your cooperation in hunting down the Silver Crystal, I warned you to give it up." Jadeite said.
"Give what up, the Crystal?" Mask said, rubbing his chin gently. "If I had it I wouldn't still be here, shooting the breeze with you."
"Give up hunting for it." Jadeite replied easily, he knew Mask was playing dumb, but after several of these run-ins he hadn't the patience for the thief anymore.
"You know I can't do that."
"Why?"
Mask stiffened, that was a question he asked himself every day. He knew it was something he had to do, but the reason for it was something that had eluded him for quite some time. After taking a minute to mull it over Mask let a smile play across his lips, his way of saying 'it's none of your business'.
Jadeite's face fell for a moment before a helicopter launched up into the air off to the side, a beam of light tainting the natural light from the moon. A speaker attached to the helicopter cracked to life before a deep voice came through. "We have the building surrounded, put your hands above your heads!"
"This is why I told you to stop. You're so theatrical with your heists; you've created quite a buzz." Jadeite touched a hand to his lip and closed his eyes.
"Don't do it." Mask retorted knowingly, he had come to recognize Jadeite's movements, the way he spoke and what happened when outsiders became involved.
Jadeite glared at Mask before throwing his arm out. Mask's attention darted to the helicopter and he watched a fizzle of electricity run down the tail end of the machine before it exploded nigh the rear and the copter began to lurch about in the air.
"It's funny isn't it?" Jadeite said, pressing a gloved finger to his lip again. "You always end up involving the police, but never harm them. I on the other hand never attract attention of the authorities, but have no problem disposing of the rats."
"You have quite the sense of humor." Mask replied and took a step back to get back onto the edge of the roof.
In reaction to his sudden movement Jadeite threw a hand out and caused a spot on the roof to explode, rocks and dust filled the air. As the helicopter swayed in the background, trying to land without causing damage to the nearby buildings, the propellers whipped around the storm of debris.
Jadeite remained calm most of the time; however, when it came to failing his mission and possibly upsetting who it was he answered to, he took drastic measures. Tuxedo Mask knew this well.
Mask had kept his eyes on Jadeite regardless of the mess he caused, while Jadeite was having trouble locating the sharp dressed thief as he stomped through the cloud of dust he created. Jadeite tired to focus on a shifting noise around him, but just as he noticed the source something sharp pressed itself into his throat.
Mask stood at the edge of the roof, black cane in hand and the end of it pressed to Jadeite's throat. Violence was never his goal, but would he hesitate to take out someone far more troubling to his cause than the police? Someone who stood in the way of his... destiny?
Slowly a protrusion sprouted from the end of his cane resembling a rose thorn and pressed itself against Jadeite's neck. Jadeite stiffened, making Mask prod the flesh with the prick. "Careful, I'd hate to get blood on that snazzy uniform of yours. Let's play a game, you tell me why you want the Crystal and who you work for, and I'll let you live."
Jadeite stood still and narrowed his eyes at the man before coiling a hand around the cane, a murky energy leaked from under his hand and coated the cane. Mask yanked back, the thorn cutting through the glove on Jadeite's hand and in his moment of pain Mask slammed his foot into the man's chest. The kick sent Jadeite stumbling back and sent Mask over the edge of the building, his cape flapping wildly around his body as he plummeted.
In midair, Mask watched the roof's edge for Jadeite's appearance which became harder the further he fell. He could see the helicopter in the distance that had crash landed in the middle of the street, a frown formed on his face and he saw the people and cars crowding around it.
As the wind blew around him a dark spot showed itself off to the right. Mask caught sight of a dark energy blast coming for him and spun around, the cape taking the brunt of the blast, leaving him unharmed.
"Took you long enough." Mask said under his breath with his arms spread out around him before he reached into his pocket for a switch. Pressing hard on the button his speed slowed and Mask took off through the night sky with the assistance of a hang-glider his cape doubled as.
In the distance he saw Jadeite flying through the skies, his pale face and blonde hair easily visible as he rounded a building to put more distance between them. As he passed another building the sight of Jadeite was soon blocked by another blast of dark energy, the black and purple ball, circuited by black lightning came spiraling at him, making it a difficult move to dodge. Difficult, but not impossible.
Mask dove down before heading back up, taking full advantage of tonight's wind to make his maneuvers as grand as possible. After successfully avoiding it he glanced to the right to track the course of the blast to see it fizzle out shortly after passing him. He furrowed his brow, wondering why Jadeite wouldn't attack with everything he had to take him down. He thought it was a little insulting.
He shrugged and angled his body for a quick dive and aimed straight for the streets below. Jadeite noticed and shifted his course not to lose him and as Mask came closer to the ground he veered off into a space between two buildings, an empty alley.
Upon landing, his glider fell back into his cape form and he ripped it off along with his tuxedo jacket, swinging both over his shoulder. His mask he stuffed into his pocket and his top hat he hid under the cape. He exited the alley and merged into the crowd citizens walking down the sidewalk, adjusting his strut to match theirs, pretending to notice something in the window or even stopping to look at the sky. Rather than hide from Jadeite, he'd simply blend.
After roughly five minutes of walking he came to an electronics store where a display of computer screens displaying information like the weather for the following day and the time caught his eye. Five minutes until midnight.
He held his head, brushing back a handful of his bangs and sighed. As much as he felt drawn to finding the jewel, staying out late like this was sure to catch up to him and his schoolwork, eventually. He changed his course after assuring himself Jadeite had given up the chase and headed for home. The hunt for the Crystal would begin anew, another time.
-F-
September 8th 1992
With a dull groan Usagi stomped down the steps in her house and heard her mother starting breakfast in the kitchen off to the right.
"Morning, U-Usagi?" She said slowly as she poked a head out into the hall and watched her daughter sluggishly drag herself off of the staircase. "You're up early, very early." Ikuko said as she checked the clock on the wall.
Usagi slapped a hand over her mouth to yawn into. "Naru called me and wants to get to school early to talk to this new girl who's going to help me study."
"Still," she checked the clock on the wall. "this early?"
"We're going to get breakfast on the way." Usagi shook a bit of her grogginess at the thought of pigging out before school. She blew a kiss to her mom and flew out of the front door.
Hearing the door slam Ikuko looked down at the food she had been preparing and mumbled. "I guess bacon and eggs aren't good enough."
"Naru!" Out on the sidewalk was the Osaka girl, swaying her hips to some song in her head.
"Morning, Usagi." Naru said and looked her over. "I see you managed to get up and get ready on time like I asked." She gave her a nod of approval followed by a quick thumbs-up. "Where should we get some food?"
"My dad said there's some new pancake place that is supposed to be really great." Usagi answered and tapped her chin.
"What's it called?" Naru inquired and glanced around before crossing the street with her.
"Stack Attack." Usagi said. "My dad said it's run by an Italian company."
It only took the girls roughly ten minutes to arrive at the new pancake shop in town, Stack Attack. According to Kenji their grand opening happened the other day, but for a new and supposedly amazing breakfast restaurant, it was quite dead inside.
As the girls made their way inside Naru glanced around. "It's so quiet in here." she whispered, unsure if this was the right place.
The building wasn't very large, able to hold thirty-five people at the most, according to the plaque near the door. The floors were covered with a dull white tile that matched the wallpaper hiding behind various poster advertisements.
There were booths lined against the walls and a blue velvet rope that started in the middle of the room leading to the counter. Standing at the register was a girl, perhaps in high school with long dark hair that reached to her mid torso and an angular face. She was collecting the money for the latest order when she noticed Naru and Usagi.
"Welcome to Stack Attack!" She called out and waved at the girls as she welcomed them, her voice rather high for someone of her assumed age. Naru and Usagi walked through the velvet ropes to reach the counter as the customer ahead of them headed off to find a seat. "What can I get for you?"
Up close she was more stunning than your average girl. Her lips were rosy and fixed in a perfect effortless pout; she had a strong jawline and piercing blue eyes that darted side to side between the girls.
Naru narrowed her eyes at the menu and Usagi did the same, but the latter seemed more interested in the restaurants logo of a pancake with sharp teeth than the food. "Do you have anything you'd recommend? M-Megumi." Naru asked as she looked to the girl's name tag.
"Well we have our E-Z Stack; it's all anyone's been ordering since we opened. I'm not allowed to eat the food, but I hear it's to die for." On her last few words Megumi leaned in closer, her voice dropped to one that seemed more natural as she spoke to the girls.
Naru looked back to the menu and pursed her lips as she tried to find the item on the menu. "You're not allowed to eat it?" she asked.
"Watching my figure." Megumi answered and turned to the side, giving the girls a view of her svelte build. Usagi tilted her head to the side, taking notice of how perfect the girl's body seemed.
"I guess we'll have two orders of that then." Usagi whined, scanning the menu for the E-Z Stack she as she dug into her bag and fished out her purse. "This should cover it." Usagi tossed out a few wadded up bills and coins on the counter.
Naru grinned and patted Usagi's back. "Thanks Usagi, I'll take care of the snacks for the girl's night." Naru chimed and spun around to look for a table. "Wow the food must be really good."
"Why?" Usagi asked as she turned and leaned back against the counter, surveying the rest of the room.
"Everyone looks stuffed." Naru stated as she pointed to a few middle-aged customers who had sunken down in their booths and were either rubbing their stomachs or looking at their empty plates with a sense of shame.
"That's what Shingo looks like when mom makes his birthday dinner, except these people are wearing pants." Usagi quipped and scrunched up her face after seeing majority of the people inside all unaware how unattractive they looked with their bulging bellies.
"Order up!" Megumi shouted from behind the girls. Naru and Usagi spun around instantly, somewhat startled, as Megumi slammed a tray down onto the counter. Two plates rested on the tray with two steaming stacks of fluffy golden pancakes topped with syrup, whipped cream, various fruits with chocolate sauce dripping from the top.
"That was really fast." Usagi muttered.
"Nothing about these pancakes looks easy." Naru spoke quietly as she looked the stack up and down. The stacks were made up of four pancakes each; each one seemed to be drooling butter.
"I can see why they're sitting like that now." Usagi grabbed the tray carefully, noting it had some weight to it and turned from the counter and headed out of the velvet area to the nearest booth. The girls plopped down into seats near the door and eyed their individual stacks.
"This is going to go straight to my thighs." Naru proclaimed, but it didn't stop her from cutting a chunk out of the mountain of food and stuffing it into her mouth.
Usagi waited to get an okay sign from Naru that the food was good, which she spotted in the form of a thumbs-up, before she dug in.
"It's so sweet." Usagi said with a sheepish grin as a bit of drool tried to escape from her mouth after having her first bite.
Behind the counter Megumi watched the two girls begin to devour their food with a grin. "Eat up girls."
End of Chapter One
Next, Jadeite finishes his preparation and the Dark Kingdom's plan begins and hits close to home for Usagi. Will she be able to save someone she cares for? Find out next time.
Chapter Two - Goodbye, Halcyon Days