Authors Note: This story is set when the girls, Usagi, Rei, Makoto and so forth are in there twenties. They've just returned from college for the summer. Usagi still lives at her parents house during the summers. Rei in the temple. And the other three girls have their own apartments. I have changed quite a few things from the last story I've posted. (which is taken down.) I'm actually enjoying writing this story a whole bunch. Chapter two is almost done, and I have plans for chapter three. Things are going quite smoothly with this story compared to my last two attempts to write a good story. Please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I do not own the original Senshi's. However I own Nariko Kino, Inari Hino, Maemi Mizuno, Sakura Aino, Chou Tomoe, Kiya Kaioh, Megumi Meioh, and Sora Tenoh.
Chapter One- Falling
Chibiusa stirred uncomfortably in her bed. She felt paralyzed as she fell into a black hole, she reached her arms out trying to grab onto something-anything- but nothing was there for her to grab. She feared she would land on the hard ground and that it would be the end of her life. She tried her hardest to wake from the awful dream. The harder she seemed to try the quicker she fell. A bright white light appeared above her and Chibiusa went to reach for it. A tear fell down her face, she was falling and there was nothing or anyone who could save her.
"Be safe my daughter…Look after the-"
Chibiusa hit something. She clenched her eyes shut, afraid to open them. She knew the dream was over, but she couldn't bare to see her destination. Her hands felt around for gravel, certain she had collided with the ground. She breathed in deeply when she felt only cotton. Relief filled in her mind and she continued to feel around. She gasped.
"It's not silk." she gulped, and told herself to open her eyes. "Come'on, you can do it."
She opened one eye, only to see darkness. She opened the other and her eyes quickly adjusted. She stared at the ceiling which was something she was not able to do in her bed. "Maybe dad took it down?" she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why her canopy bed would allow her to see the ceiling
She sat up slowly and was able to get a better look at the room, "This isn't my room." She ran out of the door and nearly fell down a flight of stairs. She gave out a shriek, "Where am I?"
A door from below creaked open and a blonde haired young lady appeared at the bottom of the steps. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, and finally looked up at Chibiusa. She gave a startling scream, "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
"Usagi…" Chibiusa said, taking a step down. "Is that…really you?"
"How do you know my name?" she demanded. "Lunaaaa!"
"What is it?" the cat said coming out of her bedroom, and peered up the stairs. "Good heavens! Is that really you Chibiusa?"
"Yeah…" the fifteen-year-old replied. "Who else has pink hair that you know?" She came down the stairs and stared at Usagi, "How old are you now?"
"You're so nosey!" Usagi grumbled. "And why did you have to turn up just the start of my summer vacation. I was going to get some alone time with Darien and the girls, but I can see you've arrived just in time to ruin my plans!"
Chibiusa growled, "I was perfectly happy with being in my own bed with my parents and friends. I had plans of my own too. Don't think I come here just to ruin your time. I couldn't imagine if you showed up in the future. You'd totally ruin everything if you did."
"Me? Show up in your time?" Usagi shrieked. "Don't be ridiculous!-wait, that could be interesting. Then I could meet myself, and the girls. I'd be able to see what the future would be like."
"You'd only ruin it." Chibiusa snapped. She turned on her heals to go back upstairs, "And to think I was just about to give you a compliment about seeming mature."
"Pipsqueak!" Usagi yelled out. "Go back to bed. We'll deal with you in the morning."
Chibiusa's hand squeezed the railing. Right before she had hit the bed someone had tried to tell her something. The other's couldn't have possibly come to the past as well. Her heart raced with fear. She turned around just as Usagi was about to enter her bedroom, "Usagi…"
"I said-" Usagi stopped speaking when she heard the trouble in Chibiusa's voice. "What's wrong?"
"There weren't-" Chibiusa's head was pounding, as she thought about the other children. There would be no way that Michiru, Haruka, Setsuna, and poor Hotaru would be too young to raise a child. Chibiusa's thoughts raced crazily around in her head, "Other kids. Did other kids come here?"
"I don't know…" Usagi replied. "You're kind of the first kid I've seen in seven years." Usagi tilted her head, "Other kids?"
Chibiusa shook her head, "Never mind. I'll see you in the morning." she went back upstairs and shut the door. She knew she would not be able to sleep until she found out if the other's had come as well.
Luna yawned, "That was weird. Something is bothering her. She's never mentioned other children."
"Maybe she has a sister in the future by this time?" Usagi suggested.
Luna took one good look at Usagi and laughed, "Doubtful. I'm sure Rei, Ami, and the other's had to help you tend to Chibiusa when she was an infant."
"Are you saying I wouldn't be a good mother?" Usagi picked the cat up and gave her a nuggie.
"Usagiiii!" Luna clawed her way out of her arms and jumped onto the bed. "No, all I'm saying is-" she shook her head, "Get some sleep. We'll deal with this in the morning."
Makoto had been unable to sleep. She had never imagined herself with insomnia, but she had a bad case of it since starting college. She hoped that with summer finally arriving that she would be able to sleep better. She pulled a towel over her wet body, and went out of the bathroom and toward her linen area. She passed by the living room catching a glimpse of something lying on the couch. She continued on her way thinking very little of it. She reached into the dryer to pull out her clothes when something taped her on the shoulder. Extremely alarmed, she went into combat mode, but no one was there.
"Oh Makoto, you need to get some sleep." she groaned. She quickly put her clothes on, and dropped the towel to the floor. She went to her bedroom to find that the light had been turned on. She shut it off and then back on again. She let out a blood curdling scream, and fell backwards onto the floor.
"What? How? Where? When?" Makoto couldn't talk anymore. She stared up at the auburn haired girl, who was peering down at her very curiously. "You're seeing things now Makoto." she smacked her own cheeks, trying to get the image of the little girl out of her head. She closed her eyes and when she reopened them the image was gone. "Oh thank-" the girl appeared back over her.
"Are you real?" Makoto asked and reached up to poke the little girl. Her finger did not go through her leg, and Makoto had to come to the realization that she was not here due to lack of sleep. Makoto sat up and the little girl stepped back a little frightened. "Do you have a name?"
She shook her head and took a few more steps back. Makoto remained sitting on the ground. "Do you know me?" Makoto knew it was an odd question.
The little girl nodded shyly. "Well, are you hungry?" Makoto asked. She knew the quickest way to get people to open up to her was by her cooking. The little girl nodded. "Alright, well, let's see what do you like?"
She shook her head and backed up once more. Makoto stood up slowly, "How about I make something, and you can sit in the living room?"
The auburn haired girl nodded, and moved toward the living room. Makoto sighed a sigh of relief. She had no idea where the child had come from or why she had come to her, but she guessed she really did know her some how. Makoto felt a strong connection between her and the little girl. She brought herself into the kitchen and took out a few ingredients to make something quick and easy. She could easily see the little girl sitting in the living room. She was nervously kicking her feet and looked down.
Makoto thought about calling one of the other's but she didn't want to frighten the girl with visitors. She started to prepare the ingredients, mixing them all into one bowl. When she looked up to check on her mysterious visitor she was gone. Makoto gulped.
"Little girl?" she called, but there was no answer. She looked down at the batter and frowned. Shrugging, she thought she might as well finish making it. She picked it up to take it to the counter near the stove, when she spotted the little girl sitting at the table. Makoto threw threw the bowl up into the air, and it came crashing back onto her head.
The silent one started giggling uncontrollably. Makoto took the bowl off her head and licked the batter off her hand, "Funny, huh?"
She nodded.
"Well, will you tell me your name now?" Makoto insisted.
"Nariko…" she said shyly. And that was the only question the girl answered that night. Makoto was finally able to finish making some blueberry muffins and then she made her a bed on the living room floor.
Rei was sleeping peacefully in her own bed when her hand collided with another figure. The first thought that ran through her head was Yuuchiro. She grabbed onto his arm, and gave it hard squeeze, "What have I told you about-"
"OWIE!" a small little girl cried out. Tears immediately filling her eyes. Rei turned on the light and looked at the little girls arm, horrified that it was turning red. She hoped it wouldn't bruise.
She tried to find words to comfort the little girl, but the only thing that came out her mouth was a demand for her to tell her how she had gotten inside the temple and who she was exactly. The little girl stood up in the bed, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm not telling you anything. You're a meanie!" She jumped down off the bed and went out of Rei's bedroom. She turned around and stuck her tongue out, "Meanie!"
"What a temper," Rei groaned. She thought about following after the child, but decided to let her cool down first. The girls red hair matched her fiery temper. Of course, Rei had to admit that she might have a temper if someone squeezed her arm like she had and then did not apologize right after. Rei rationalized with herself that she also had the right to do it, as seeing the little girl was trespassing.
After a good twenty minutes Rei went to find the little girl. She discovered her to be in the fire room. Her eyes grew with anger, "What are you doing in here?"
"Looking." she replied, her eyes in awe of the flame. Rei was about to tell her to get out, when she spoke up, "It's just like the one at home. My mama spent hours in front of it, trying to get a vision from the fire."
That struck a chord with Rei. "Not many people do fire readings."
"My mamma does."
"What's your mom's name?" Rei asked. "And why aren't you with her?"
The little girl put her hands on her hips again, "None of your business lady!"
"It is too my business! You're in my house!" Rei pointed out. "Your name?"
She wrinkled up her nose, "You should know lady."
"You're a very rude child." Rei said.
"You were rude first," she replied, pointing to her arm that had a yellowish tint.
Rei looked down, "I'm sorry."
"That's a start."
Rei bit her tongue hard. She was ready to ring the little girl's neck. Now she knew how Usagi felt whenever Chibiusa dropped in for an unexpected visit. "You should really get some sleep. We'll go find your mom first thing in the morning."
The little girl smiled mischievously, "Okay. And my name is Inari!"
"Well, since you found yourself in here, Inari, I'm sure you can find a place to sleep other than my bed."
Inari glared at Rei, "Fine! My momma is so much nicer than you are."
Rei grumbled to herself and went back to her bedroom. She would take care of the little girl first thing in the morning. There was no way she was going to be staying at her house. She wondered if the little girl's parents were worried about her. Perhaps she was a runaway?
Maemi wandered through the small apartment. She wondered where her friends had gone and why she ended up on the floor of some strange apartment. Other than the dishwasher running there were no other noises. She caught the clock on the stove. It was nearly three in the morning.
"Either this is a really weird dream or I slept walk again." she sighed. She had never seen this in the palace before. She spotted a light coming out of a room down the hall. She decided to follow it, hoping that there would be some form of a living creature there. The door was cracked open just a bit. She pushed it open, startling the young woman sitting in the chair.
"Mom?" Maemi said with a puzzled expression.
"What?" Ami asked back. "Where did you come from?"
Maemi's face turned red, "Oh, I'm sorry. You looked like someone I knew."
Ami knew this didn't make sense logically, but chose not to question it. "How'd you get inside?"
"I assume I slept walk. I have a bad habit of doing that." Maemi explained. "I should probably get back home."
"Why don't you stay here? It's dark outside. You can leave in the morning." Ami suggested.
Maemi didn't want to intrude on the young lady's studying, but she also didn't know how far she had slept traveled. She tilted her head, "If you don't mind."
"I insist." Ami explained.
"Thank you, you're very kind." Maemi said.
Ami nodded, and got up to get the young girl some covers. Maemi wondered if the cold medicine her mother had given her right before bed had caused her to see this woman almost as an exact replica of her own mother. It was insane that she was so much like her own mother in looks and personality.
"What are you studying to become?" Maemi asked very curiously.
"To become a doctor," Ami explained. Maemi froze, as Ami went to go make a bed in the living room.
"She's just like my mom. Maybe a clone?" Maemi thought quietly to herself. She walked into the kitchen, "Do you have any children?" the question slipped out of her mouth.
Ami turned slightly pink, "I just turned 21 this September. Children are quite out of the question."
Maemi frowned.
"What does your mother do for a living?" Ami asked.
Maemi blushed, it was so weird that this woman and her mother had the same career path. She was afraid to tell her that her mom was a doctor. She laughed and said, "Oh, she's just a stay at home mom. My twin brother's are such a handful at times."
"Twin brothers?" Ami's eyes widened in surprise. "Twins aren't very common."
Maemi shrugged, "Guess my mom was the lucky one."
"It must've been a painful experience." Ami said.
"Oh, it still is painful, even when they're twelve" Maemi laughed. "Thank you for the place to sleep."
"No problem." Ami said.
Sakura kept herself occupied by looking in one of the blonde haired girl's scrapbooks. She had awoken up from a frightful nightmare and had ended up in a strange apartment. It seemed to be vacant at the moment, but that didn't stop Sakura from making herself feel right at home. She wondered where the woman who owned it was. She laid on her back, the book above her face. She kept giggling at each new picture she saw. "These teenagers look so much like the people we know at the palace." she said to no one in particular. "I wonder if this apartment has food. I'm starved."
She put the book down and found her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge to find absolutely nothing in it. "What gives?" Sakura grumbled, and proceeded to the pantry. Once again nothing was in the pantry. "Great, the person that lives in this apartment is dead!"
She heard the door open. She ducked under the table and hid. In the back of her mind she was hoping it was the owner with some food. She knew she should've eaten dinner before she had gone to bed.
"Hello?" a female voice spoke.
"Hi!" Sakura called back.
"Who is in my house?" Minako cried.
"Just me! Did you bring food?" Sakura crawled out from underneath the table and into view of the woman. "Whoa! You do look like my mom! Are you my mom?"
"No way, I didn't give birth to anyone!" Minako screeched.
"Minako! Minako! Minako!" Sakura giggled, jumping up and waving her arms in the air.
"That's not my name!" Minako said, startled that the little girl knew her name. "What's your name?"
"You don't remember, mom? You named me! Shame on you!" Sakura shook her head. "So, did you bring any food? And when did we move?"
"I…don't have a daughter…" Minako explained very exhaustedly.
Sakura looked at the woman very confused, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive. No baby. Now, if you don't mind, you've come at a really bad time," Minako explained.
"You're telling me, there's no food in your…" she dropped the subject altogether when she noticed the young lady trudging through her house. "Did someone die?"
"My heart was recently crushed, but you're too young to understand that," Minako explained. "Now, I'm going to get some sleep, please do not pester me anymore with this nonsense of a kid."
Sakura sat on the couch very puzzled by all this. She was almost certain the woman was her mother. She had to be, but she didn't have any recollections of her. Sakura had to admit, she did look a bit younger than what she did at the palace. She snapped her finger, and pounded her hand into her fist, "I got it! This has to be the past!"