The Moonlight Legend Begins to Move
By Master Tonberi
Another installation on the "The Good, The Bad and the Silly." This one involves two of my all time favorite series, Sailor Moon and Fushigi Yuugi. It's supposed to be rather serious... but I have a feeling it may end up being silly... And, I'm trying to make these stories as long as possible... so stick with me, hm? ^_-
Oh, and this has MAJOR Fushigi Yuugi spoilers. And Sailor Moon spoilers, but then again, you can't really spoil Sailor Moon... everyone knows what happens...
4-21-00
Some Notes: Please forgive any obvious spelling errors or grammar mistakes. If you catch them, kindly and gently call them to my attention. Also, it's been a while since I've seen FY, so I might be little blurry on some details, so don't get yer panties in a wad or anything, just remember.... artistic license! ^_~ And use info from the manga more than the anime, that goes for
both series.
WARNING: Yes, I'm a hopeless romantic. Watch out for my sappy love matches.
The Moonlight Legend Begins To Move. . .
To certain blonde, pigtailed girls, life isn't always fair. Take our sweet, innocent Tsukino Usagi for example--she was just barely making it through school when one day, a cat started talking to her. Normally, she thinks she's crazy. Then the cat tells her she's a super hero! As if that's not weird enough, it's just the beginning. She finds out she's more than a superhero, she is a lost princess who will one day become queen. Talk about pressure. Then throw in a cute guy who can be hypnotized at the snap of a finger, and things really start boil. But after a while (and saving the universe a handful of times) things start to cool down. Or so you think.
"Amii-chaaan... I don't waaannnaa go to the liibrary-eee..." Usagi whined as her friend walked briskly through the cold evening.
"I'm not saying you have to go with me, Usagi-chan, but it's always beneficial to study." The girl with short, dark blue hair answered. Although she didn't show it, Usagi was beginning to get a bit on her nerves...
"Yeah, Usagi-chan. We could all use a little bit of studyin' every now 'n then." The tallest girl in the group said with a smile.
"But, Mako-chan.." Usagi whined.
"No "buts", Usagi." Rei snapped. "You should pay more attention to your studies now that there's no threat from enemies anymore."
"Yeah, I agree." Minako said, nodding. Everyone stopped and stared, face faulted, at Mina. She walked a step or two before stopping and looking around. "What?"
"Minako-chan... Did you just agree to study?" Usagi asked in a small voice.
"Um... yeah." Minako said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Good evening, ladies!" A new voice called out. The group of five turned to see three people headed their way.
"Haruka-san! Michiru-san! Setsuna-san!" Usagi yelled. "How are you?"
"Fine, but I'd be better if you lowered the decibels." Haruka joked. Usagi looked hurt and insulted, but Michiru elbowed Haruka. "But anytime I see you, Usagi-chan, things get better." Usagi's face lit up, and Michiru elbowed Haruka even harder.
"Where are you headed?" Setsuna asked.
"The library." Ami and Rei replied at the same time.
"What a coincidence. So are we."
"No way!" Usagi exclaimed. "You're so bored you're gonna hang out there?"
"Libraries aren't boring, Usagi-chan." Michiru said with a smile.
"There's always something for everyone."
"However, Usagi-chan..." Rei said with the beginning of a cruel smile. "I'm afraid all the coloring books may be checked out."
"REI-CHAN!" Usagi shouted. "That's so MEAN!" With that, Usagi proceeded to chase Rei through the snow to the library. ((The author would like to note right here that she absolutely loves libraries. ^_^ ))
***
"I'm so bored." Usagi whispered. She was balancing a pencil between her upper lip and nose. No one seemed to hear her. If they did, they just ignored her. Usagi sighed and dropped her head to her arms. Her pencil then fell from its place and rolled off the table, then on the ground for a while. Usagi just sighed and listened to it roll. After it was finished, she sighed again. "Guess I'll go get it." She muttered. She slunk down out of her chair like liquid and crawled along the floor to find the pencil. She saw it... a few feet away from her in front of an open door. She crawled over, grabbed the pencil and was just about crawl back when she her voices.
"Yui-chan, are you sure this is a good idea?" It was a girl's voice, probably her age.
"We have to no choice, Miaka-chan." Another girl's voice, the same age. Usagi stood up and made sure then to be careful and quiet.
"If you say so..." There was no noise, and then Usagi heard something odd. It took her a moment to realize that she was hearing footsteps. Unfortunately, by the time she figured that one out, the door was opening. 'Yikes! I'd better get outta here!' She thought and took one step when
someone ran right into her. She felt her feet being knocked from under her and then not one, but two people feel on her. Biting back a yell of pain, she grimaced as something like a book pressed into her ribs.
"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, I'm so sorry." One girl whispered. The three scrambled to pull apart, but only after a minute of tangled limbs and that book being pressed even more into her side, was Usagi finally free. The two girls stood above her, looking down. One girl had long, light brown hair while the other had very dark brown hair, pulled back into two buns.
"We're very sorry!" The girl with the light brown hair whispered.
"Y-yui-chan, we'd better go. Taka's waiting!"
"You'll be okay, right?" Yui whispered as they walked away in a hurry. Usagi just stayed where she was, just happy to be able to breathe.
"Owww..." She finally muttered after a minute or two of recuperation. "What's this?" She was now lying on the book that had been poking her in the side. She sat up and looked at the title of the book. "'Universe of the Four Gods'...?" She read aloud.
"Usagi-chan!" Minako whispered. "There you are! Come on, we're leaving!"
"Huh? Oh, be right there!" Usagi ran back to the table, and, without even thinking about it, put the book in her bag.
***
"So, how was the library?" Mamoru asked her later that night. She was sitting on her bed in her PJs, and they were on the phone.
"Oh, it was boring." Usagi complained. "But something cool did happen."
"Oh? What was that?"
"These two girls were trying to do something in secret, but I kind ran into them, and foiled their plans." Usagi said proudly and Mamoru chuckled.
"So you stopped a library robbery. I'm proud of you, Usako." It was hard for Usagi to tell if he was kidding or not, but she smiled all the same.
"Thanks, Mamo-chan!" She giggled. Mamoru sighed but smiled. She was a sweetheart, despite her rather dense moments... "Oops! Sorry, Mamo-chan. I gotta go now, I just remembered some homework I didn't do!"
"It's a good thing to do your homework, Usako. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay! Bye, Mamo-chan! Good night!"
"Good night, Usako."
As soon as she heard the click of his phone, she turned hers off and jumped off the bed. Okay, so it was a little lie. She didn't have any homework, but she really wanted to read that book. With a rather mischievous grin, she sat in the middle of her bed, and opened her book.
"This is a story of one girl, who, having gathered the seven seishi of the "Suzaku", acquired the power to make any wish come true. . . The story itself is an incantation. The one who finishes the book shall acquire the same power as the heroine and her wishes shall come true. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become truth and begin. . ."
Usagi grinned and laughed. "This sounds like fun!" She then turned the page.
* * *
"Where is she?" A tall young man asked Yui. Yui sighed and shook her head.
"I don't know." Yui said with a shrug. "I told her the Hikawa Shrine at 5..."
"Gomen naisai!" Miaka shouted as she came running up to them. Keisuke followed her, Tetsuya not far behind. With a laugh and a smile, Miaka practically tackled the tall guy standing next to Yui. "Taka!" She shouted happily. Yui smiled as Tetsuya hugged her and Keisuke made a face.
"Too many happy couples." Keisuke mumbled.
"Sorry, Keisuke."
**
"Rei-chanRei-chanRei-chanRei-chanRei-chan--"
"WHAT?!" Rei shouted, gripping the handle of her broom tightly as she shouted at Usagi. Her blonde friend had been abnormally nosy that day, poking around Rei's books and just the whole temple, period. Kind of like she was looking for something. The other Senshi had decided that, even though there were no enemies present, it would be good to have a meeting, anyway. Rei
wasn't very happy that Usagi had broken her continuous record of being late and come early.
"Have you ever heard of this?" Usagi asked, showing her a book. Rei read the title to herself, and then shook her head.
"No. But you could ask granpa, he might have." Rei said, then started to sweep the steps. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of young people meeting at the steps of the shrine on the right, and on the left, Ami and Mako-chan approaching. She smiled in relief that someone else would be showing up to take Usagi off her hands.
***
"Hey... those girls look familiar." Miaka said as she watched Ami and Makoto approach. Yui looked at them and nodded.
"I think they were at the library yesterday." Yui said.
"Speaking of the library, did you get it?" Keisuke asked, leaning against the wall. Yui and Miaka both nodded.
"You got it, right?" Miaka and Yui both asked each other. They looked at each other with blank stares.
"Miaka... you had it, didn't you?" Yui asked quietly.
"I... thought you did." She said quietly. The wind whistled softly as no one said anything.
"Okay, let's go over what happened." Keisuke said, trying to remain calm.
"You went to the library. You got the book. You left the library. You came home. How could you lose it?!"
"I guess when we ran into that girl." Miaka said quietly, on the verge of tears.
"You don't think..." Yui said quietly. "She... READ the book, do you??"
Another moment of silence.
"You dummies!" Keisuke shouted. "Now some other poor girl has been swallowed by the book and will die!"
"Wait!" Miaka shouted. "Only one Miko died, and that was because her dad killed her. Maybe she'll be okay...? Okay, maybe not..."
"Do you think we should try and find her?" Taka asked.
"Yeah, I'd say we should find her, but there's one small problem."
Tetsuya said. "This Tokyo. More people live here than all the people in Konan put together. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Actually," Miaka said, thinking out loud. "It probably wouldn't be that hard to find a needle in a haystack. All you'd have to do is something like stick your feet in it until you pricked by the needle." Everyone just stood there and stared at her.
"Did you fall on your head yesterday at the library?" Yui asked.
"Ummm. No." Miaka said, not catching on. Yui just sighed and rubbed her temple.
"Well, now we've got another problem on our hands. The poor girl..."
"Yeah, she looked so young." Miaka said, honestly worried but Yui clenched her fist from hitting her.
"All right you two." Taka said sternly. "Let's just calm down and think this over. Maybe we should retrace your steps. If she was at the library one night, maybe she'll be there again." The others nodded in agreement. They started to leave when Miaka paused at the foot of the stairs and looked up.
The wind rustled her hair and clothing. She looked very serious.
"Wait... let's stop at the temple. Maybe... it'll give us some good luck."
***
Rei watched as a group of young people walked up the steps and closer to her. She nodded to them as she kept sweeping. Ami and Makoto were off to the side, sitting on the porch and talking. Usagi had disappeared inside to bother Rei's grandfather and hadn't come back out... yet.
The group of young people was just about to get their fortunes when Usagi's loud, shrill shriek of "EEWWW!" split the air. Usagi came running out, a cloud of dust trailing behind her. "REEEEEEEEIII-CHAAAAAAN! Your grandfather is a ... PEERRVEERRT!" Rei's right eye started to twitch. The group of young people, all adorned with sweat drops, looked for the source.
"That's HER!" Miaka shouted. Usagi, still running, screeched to a halt, huffing and puffing, clutching the book to her chest. She looked up at Miaka, who had run to her. "YOU have our book!"
"Huh?!" Usagi shouted. She whipped the book behind her. "What book?"
"The one you're hiding behind your back..." Rei muttered.
"Umm, can we have it back now? It's a really danger--" Miaka said right before Yui ran into her and knocked her to the ground.
"Excuse me, miss, but that's a... family heirloom of ours and we'd like to have it back."
"You two are sisters?" Usagi asked. Yui looked blankly at her for a second, then nodded. Usagi pulled the book out in front of her, and looked down at it. "Well... I guess I shouldn't keep it from you..." Yui started to reach for the book, but Usagi snatched it away. "But what was it doing in the
library, if it's your book?" She asked. Yui stood frozen. Usagi raced over to the porch near Ami and Makoto, and opened the book. "It sure does have a weird intro, though! Listen! This is a story of one girl, who, having gathered the seven seishi of the "Suzaku", acquired the power to make any wish come true. . . The story itself is an incantation. The one who finishes the book shall acquire the same power as the heroine and her wishes shall come true. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become truth and begin. . ."
A bright red light exploded through the courtyard.
***
Usagi woke to find herself floating in a bright red light. She immediately tried to put her feet down, but when she found she couldn't, she flipped and started waving her arms and legs. However, it did no good and she quickly stopped. Then, being the bright young woman she is, she looked around. Floating, just like she was, were five other people. One was Rei, the others were the two "sisters", and then a young man who looked a little like Mamoru. She watched as Rei awoke with the shake of her head and looked around.
"Where in the world....?" She asked. "Usagi-chan?" Usagi flailed her way over to Rei.
"Good to see you awake!" Usagi grinned. Rei shook her head as the young man awoke.
"Miaka?" He asked, reaching out for the dark-brown haired girl. She woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"Taka! Where are we?" Miaka asked as Yui awoke.
"I'm glad to see you all awake now..." A new voice said. They all looked around to find a man floating before them. He was dressed in pants and a vest-like shirt, and had large, red wings behind him.
"Suzaku!" Miaka gasped. He nodded to her.
"We met again, Miaka." He said. But then he focused his attention to Usagi. "You are the one who has disrupted our universes." His eyes narrowed. "When you read the book, something happened. You opened the portal to my universe... and it's stayed open." Usagi gulped. "A few people were dragged into this portal... alive people and dead. I'm afraid, through some bizarre
happening, Nakago has been returned to life." He sighed and shook his head. "However, he's not the only one. The Suzaku Seishis Hotohori and Nuriko have returned as well. And, the Suzaku Seishis Tasuki and Chichiri were brought through, as well. Nakago still has his powers, unfortunately... and I'm requesting you stop him." He looked Usagi in the eyes. "You created this. You will stop it." And with that, everything disappeared.
**
When Usagi and Miaka awoke, they were lying side by side and curled up. They were woken by Makoto shouting.
"Okay, listen here you red-headed jerk!" Makoto shouted, standing on the steps to the porch with her hands on her hips. A tall young man in a long black trench coat and bright red hair stood at the foot of the stairs, scowling up at her.
"Quiet, wench! Where are we?"
"Hey, I was shouting first! Like I was saying, you can't go around being rude and demanding to know things from people! And where the HELL did you come from?!" Makoto shouted.
"Mako-chan!" Ami gasped, who had been sitting next to her the entire time. Makoto really looked pretty pissed off, but at the same time she was trying to hide a smirk. A man next to the redheaded man stepped forward.
"Sumimasen no da, but, um, please forgive me friend here, no da..." He said. He spoke in a slightly meek voice but seemed to be looking right at Ami. "You see, young miss, we're kind of lost, no da." ((Author's note: Would you rather I have him say "y'know" at every sentence, or "no da"? Personally, I like "no da" better, even if it doesn't make sense. It's just cute. ^_^ ))
"You're... lost?" Ami echoed. "You fell from the sky.... I suppose that would count as lost."
"Ami-chan! Mako-chan!" Usagi shouted and pulled herself up. She ran to them, almost knocking over the poor redheaded man on the way. "You won't believe what just happened!"
"Try them." Rei muttered as she assumed swiping the courtyard.
***
Miaka watched the young woman argue with Tasuki, and for a second she couldn't believe what was happening. Tasuki and Chichiri were really there, standing only a few feet in front of her! Quickly, she looked around. Yui was near by, as were Miaka's brother and Tatsuya, and Taka. But, then, two more people....
"Nuriko! Hotohori!" Miaka shouted, jumping up and running to them. They had been off to the side, near the crow's tree, watching Makoto and Tasuki fight as well. Nuriko grinned at Miaka and hugged her when they met. Hotohori just nodded but smiled at her.
"So, Miaka-chan, this is your world?" Nuriko asked, looking around. "It reminds me of... home."
"That's because we're in a temple!" Miaka said, smiling. She grabbed a hand of Nuriko's, and one of Hotohori's. "C'mon!" She successfully dragged them over to the others. Tasuki and Makoto were still in a heated argument on who had the right to do what, and Chichiri and Ami were trying to decipher just how they'd gotten there to begin with. The noise was getting on Rei's
nerves as she gripped her broom handle tighter and tighter, while Yui, Keisuke and Tetsuya watched on in silent wonder. Taka stood near them, face- faulted. "HEY! EVERYONE!" Miaka shouted. "SSHHUUTT UUPP!"
The courtyard quieted as everyone looked at Miaka.
"Yes?" Usagi asked quietly. Miaka marched right up to her and held out her hand, as if to shake.
"I'm Yuuki Miaka, former Suzaku no Miko. What's your name?"
"Tsukino Usagi." She shook Miaka's hand, and they smiled at each other, just a little.
"What's going on?" Everyone was listening now. Makoto still stood at the top of the stairs, leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed over her chest. Ami sat on the stairs next to her, arms around her knees. Chichiri stood at the bottom of the stairs, leaning a little on his staff while Tasuki reclined on the bottom two steps. Rei continued to quietly sweep, but she had migrated over towards the two. Taka stood with Nuriko and Hotohori, separate but not far from Yui, Keisuke and Tatsuya.
"Well... you kind of ended up with the book we were getting from the library. It's a spell book... kind of. When you start to read it, it takes you to a world were you can become the miko of which god you happen to be reading about.. or whichever god needs a miko. When I read the book... I
became the Suzako no Miko. Suzako is the man you met in the..uh... red light. Yui," She said, motioning to her friend, who nodded. "became the Seiryuu no Miko. There are four gods, the Byakko and Genbuu, and they've both had mikos, too. But, um... When Yui and I were mikos... there was a war. And the Seiryuu no Seishi, Nakago, killed some of the Suzako no Seishi, but we defeated him... or so I thought.." She looked down at the ground. "You found the book, and you're new to it... so when you turned the page, something happened." She looked back up at Usagi. "But I don't understand what. I don't understand how this could've happened."
Usagi chewed on her lip and looked at the ground. She didn't know whether she should tell these people or not about her other identities. She looked, one at a time, to Makoto, Ami and Rei. Rei knotted her eyebrows at her, as if to discourage her. Ami simply shook her head. Makoto looked down at Tasuki, then back to Usagi, and shrugged. 'I don't know what to do...' Usagi thought. 'I don't know if I should just let them all know who I am... but I guess the ginzuishou was what made this happened.. I guess it IS up to me, since I made it happen, to finish it... but should I tell them...?' Usagi clenched her fists. She jerked her head up and looked at Miaka. "All right! I'll do what I can to help you... but I'm just a normal girl." Usagi hoped none of the non-Senshi would know she was lying. Miaka looked her back in the eyes, and nodded.
"I'll introduce you to my friends." She turned and motioned at Yui's group. "That's Hongou Yui, my best friend. And next to her is Kajiwara Tetsuya, her boyfriend. ((According to the manga)) And then that's Yuuki Keisuke, my older brother. Then, that's Sukunami Taka, my boyfriend and the former Suzaku no Seishi Tamahome. Now, those two are Nuriko and Hotohori, two
Suzaku no Seishi who.. kind of... died. And, um, that's Chichiri and Tasuki over there."
"Hi!" Usagi said, waving to them all. "Okay! This is Hino Rei-chan! And that's Mizuno Ami-chan and Kino Makoto-chan! We're all so happy to met you!"
"Yeah." Mako-chan muttered, rolling her eyes. "All so happy. "
"So. Um. What do we do now?" Usagi asked. The courtyard quieted and the wind blew a few leaves on to the ground. Rei started to furiously sweep them up as no one said anything.
"I still don't know where we are!" Tasuki complained from the steps.
"You're at Hikawa Shrine, in Tokyo, Japan!" Rei snapped. (If anyone could give me more detail on where it's supposed to be, I'd appreciate it.) "I thought that looked familiar." Tasuki muttered as he looked out over the Tokyo skyline. Ami stood up then, and proceeded down the stairs.
"It's going to be getting late soon, so if you don't mind," She said, really to no one in particular. "I'm going to be on my way home now."
"Hey, that's right. Home!" Tasuki shouted, leaping to his feet. "We're are we gonna stay?" Ami froze in her tracks.
"I could take one other person, but..." Taka mumbled. "I'd rather it be Miaka, so I could look after her. If Nakago is loose, I'd feel better if she were with me..." Miaka beamed, and her eyes grew watery as she ran to Taka, to hug him. Thus commenced a short run of "Taka..." "Miaka..." "Taka..." "Miaka..."
Usagi stared at the two with a slight frown.
'Maybe Mamo-chan would let me stay with him...?' Usagi thought. 'On second thought, no, maybe not.'
"Excuse me..." Ami said loudly. "Who's Nakago?"
"Is he the guy with long, blonde hair?" Makoto asked. Hotohori nodded.
"Yes... he is a cruel bastard who gives beautiful men a bad name." Hotohori said and Nuriko nodded in agreement.
"Oh." Ami and Makoto said at the same time. "He appeared, and left, a second before you guys came back..." Makoto continued. She looked at Keisuke and Tetsuya. "Don't you guys remember? Oh, wait, that's right." She smiled a little. "You were too scared to move..."
"Oh, yeah?!" Keisuke shouted. "Like you did anything, either!"
"Would you both just shut up?" Yui snapped. Keisuke cleared his throat and Makoto looked surprised. "There's no need to argue. You couldn't have done anything, anyway. The only ones with real power here are Hotohori, Nuriko, Tasuki and Chichiri." The Senshi girls all hid their laughter.
"Taka has power! He knows he was Tamahome!" Miaka said in Taka's defense.
"Really, now, Miaka, this isn't the time to argue over who has power and who doesn't.." Taka said, face-faulting a bit.
"No, it is a matter of time! And power!" Tasuki said, standing up. "These .... girls," he said, almost snarling the word at Makoto. "Have no way they can stop Nakago. They're pointless. We should do this by ourselves." He was smirking very arrogantly at Makoto, who was glaring back. Then he stopped. His face softened a bit and he shrugged. "I'm just lookin' out for ya. I mean, you could get killed with Nakago after ya!"
"Thanks for your concern, fire-top, but I'm fine on my own!" Makoto snapped back, half-heartedly. "I've been fine on my own for years now."
"Well, in that case, why doesn't Tasuki stay with you?" Hotohori said. He stepped into the middle of the crowd. An air of regal excellence surrounded him. "We need places to stay... If you are on your own, it would be best for a warrior to be with you, especially if Nakago has seen you." Makoto and Tasuki both stood, mouths open.
"I agree with that." Ami said, pausing where she was. "This man has powers we've never encountered before. It would be wise for those of us with a guard of sorts. My mother has left again. If anyone is in need of a place to stay... I'd be happy to help." Chichiri walked over to her.
"Would you mind then, no da? I can help you. I won't be a bother, no da." He said, his eternal smile making her smile and nod.
"Well." Rei said, pausing from her sweeping. "I could take in you two." She eyed Nuriko and Hotohori. "As long as you don't mind working a little, as well." Both Nuriko and Hotohori looked a little.. uneasy with that, but nodded all the same.
"Now that it's settled... what do we do about Nakago?" Keisuke asked.
"I think it'd be best to go on with life as normally as possible for now." Taka said. "I'll bet Nakago will let himself be known to us." The Seishi and their old friends nodded in agreement. "So let's all return to our designated homes and rest till then."
By Master Tonberi
Another installation on the "The Good, The Bad and the Silly." This one involves two of my all time favorite series, Sailor Moon and Fushigi Yuugi. It's supposed to be rather serious... but I have a feeling it may end up being silly... And, I'm trying to make these stories as long as possible... so stick with me, hm? ^_-
Oh, and this has MAJOR Fushigi Yuugi spoilers. And Sailor Moon spoilers, but then again, you can't really spoil Sailor Moon... everyone knows what happens...
4-21-00
Some Notes: Please forgive any obvious spelling errors or grammar mistakes. If you catch them, kindly and gently call them to my attention. Also, it's been a while since I've seen FY, so I might be little blurry on some details, so don't get yer panties in a wad or anything, just remember.... artistic license! ^_~ And use info from the manga more than the anime, that goes for
both series.
WARNING: Yes, I'm a hopeless romantic. Watch out for my sappy love matches.
The Moonlight Legend Begins To Move. . .
To certain blonde, pigtailed girls, life isn't always fair. Take our sweet, innocent Tsukino Usagi for example--she was just barely making it through school when one day, a cat started talking to her. Normally, she thinks she's crazy. Then the cat tells her she's a super hero! As if that's not weird enough, it's just the beginning. She finds out she's more than a superhero, she is a lost princess who will one day become queen. Talk about pressure. Then throw in a cute guy who can be hypnotized at the snap of a finger, and things really start boil. But after a while (and saving the universe a handful of times) things start to cool down. Or so you think.
"Amii-chaaan... I don't waaannnaa go to the liibrary-eee..." Usagi whined as her friend walked briskly through the cold evening.
"I'm not saying you have to go with me, Usagi-chan, but it's always beneficial to study." The girl with short, dark blue hair answered. Although she didn't show it, Usagi was beginning to get a bit on her nerves...
"Yeah, Usagi-chan. We could all use a little bit of studyin' every now 'n then." The tallest girl in the group said with a smile.
"But, Mako-chan.." Usagi whined.
"No "buts", Usagi." Rei snapped. "You should pay more attention to your studies now that there's no threat from enemies anymore."
"Yeah, I agree." Minako said, nodding. Everyone stopped and stared, face faulted, at Mina. She walked a step or two before stopping and looking around. "What?"
"Minako-chan... Did you just agree to study?" Usagi asked in a small voice.
"Um... yeah." Minako said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Good evening, ladies!" A new voice called out. The group of five turned to see three people headed their way.
"Haruka-san! Michiru-san! Setsuna-san!" Usagi yelled. "How are you?"
"Fine, but I'd be better if you lowered the decibels." Haruka joked. Usagi looked hurt and insulted, but Michiru elbowed Haruka. "But anytime I see you, Usagi-chan, things get better." Usagi's face lit up, and Michiru elbowed Haruka even harder.
"Where are you headed?" Setsuna asked.
"The library." Ami and Rei replied at the same time.
"What a coincidence. So are we."
"No way!" Usagi exclaimed. "You're so bored you're gonna hang out there?"
"Libraries aren't boring, Usagi-chan." Michiru said with a smile.
"There's always something for everyone."
"However, Usagi-chan..." Rei said with the beginning of a cruel smile. "I'm afraid all the coloring books may be checked out."
"REI-CHAN!" Usagi shouted. "That's so MEAN!" With that, Usagi proceeded to chase Rei through the snow to the library. ((The author would like to note right here that she absolutely loves libraries. ^_^ ))
***
"I'm so bored." Usagi whispered. She was balancing a pencil between her upper lip and nose. No one seemed to hear her. If they did, they just ignored her. Usagi sighed and dropped her head to her arms. Her pencil then fell from its place and rolled off the table, then on the ground for a while. Usagi just sighed and listened to it roll. After it was finished, she sighed again. "Guess I'll go get it." She muttered. She slunk down out of her chair like liquid and crawled along the floor to find the pencil. She saw it... a few feet away from her in front of an open door. She crawled over, grabbed the pencil and was just about crawl back when she her voices.
"Yui-chan, are you sure this is a good idea?" It was a girl's voice, probably her age.
"We have to no choice, Miaka-chan." Another girl's voice, the same age. Usagi stood up and made sure then to be careful and quiet.
"If you say so..." There was no noise, and then Usagi heard something odd. It took her a moment to realize that she was hearing footsteps. Unfortunately, by the time she figured that one out, the door was opening. 'Yikes! I'd better get outta here!' She thought and took one step when
someone ran right into her. She felt her feet being knocked from under her and then not one, but two people feel on her. Biting back a yell of pain, she grimaced as something like a book pressed into her ribs.
"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, I'm so sorry." One girl whispered. The three scrambled to pull apart, but only after a minute of tangled limbs and that book being pressed even more into her side, was Usagi finally free. The two girls stood above her, looking down. One girl had long, light brown hair while the other had very dark brown hair, pulled back into two buns.
"We're very sorry!" The girl with the light brown hair whispered.
"Y-yui-chan, we'd better go. Taka's waiting!"
"You'll be okay, right?" Yui whispered as they walked away in a hurry. Usagi just stayed where she was, just happy to be able to breathe.
"Owww..." She finally muttered after a minute or two of recuperation. "What's this?" She was now lying on the book that had been poking her in the side. She sat up and looked at the title of the book. "'Universe of the Four Gods'...?" She read aloud.
"Usagi-chan!" Minako whispered. "There you are! Come on, we're leaving!"
"Huh? Oh, be right there!" Usagi ran back to the table, and, without even thinking about it, put the book in her bag.
***
"So, how was the library?" Mamoru asked her later that night. She was sitting on her bed in her PJs, and they were on the phone.
"Oh, it was boring." Usagi complained. "But something cool did happen."
"Oh? What was that?"
"These two girls were trying to do something in secret, but I kind ran into them, and foiled their plans." Usagi said proudly and Mamoru chuckled.
"So you stopped a library robbery. I'm proud of you, Usako." It was hard for Usagi to tell if he was kidding or not, but she smiled all the same.
"Thanks, Mamo-chan!" She giggled. Mamoru sighed but smiled. She was a sweetheart, despite her rather dense moments... "Oops! Sorry, Mamo-chan. I gotta go now, I just remembered some homework I didn't do!"
"It's a good thing to do your homework, Usako. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay! Bye, Mamo-chan! Good night!"
"Good night, Usako."
As soon as she heard the click of his phone, she turned hers off and jumped off the bed. Okay, so it was a little lie. She didn't have any homework, but she really wanted to read that book. With a rather mischievous grin, she sat in the middle of her bed, and opened her book.
"This is a story of one girl, who, having gathered the seven seishi of the "Suzaku", acquired the power to make any wish come true. . . The story itself is an incantation. The one who finishes the book shall acquire the same power as the heroine and her wishes shall come true. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become truth and begin. . ."
Usagi grinned and laughed. "This sounds like fun!" She then turned the page.
* * *
"Where is she?" A tall young man asked Yui. Yui sighed and shook her head.
"I don't know." Yui said with a shrug. "I told her the Hikawa Shrine at 5..."
"Gomen naisai!" Miaka shouted as she came running up to them. Keisuke followed her, Tetsuya not far behind. With a laugh and a smile, Miaka practically tackled the tall guy standing next to Yui. "Taka!" She shouted happily. Yui smiled as Tetsuya hugged her and Keisuke made a face.
"Too many happy couples." Keisuke mumbled.
"Sorry, Keisuke."
**
"Rei-chanRei-chanRei-chanRei-chanRei-chan--"
"WHAT?!" Rei shouted, gripping the handle of her broom tightly as she shouted at Usagi. Her blonde friend had been abnormally nosy that day, poking around Rei's books and just the whole temple, period. Kind of like she was looking for something. The other Senshi had decided that, even though there were no enemies present, it would be good to have a meeting, anyway. Rei
wasn't very happy that Usagi had broken her continuous record of being late and come early.
"Have you ever heard of this?" Usagi asked, showing her a book. Rei read the title to herself, and then shook her head.
"No. But you could ask granpa, he might have." Rei said, then started to sweep the steps. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of young people meeting at the steps of the shrine on the right, and on the left, Ami and Mako-chan approaching. She smiled in relief that someone else would be showing up to take Usagi off her hands.
***
"Hey... those girls look familiar." Miaka said as she watched Ami and Makoto approach. Yui looked at them and nodded.
"I think they were at the library yesterday." Yui said.
"Speaking of the library, did you get it?" Keisuke asked, leaning against the wall. Yui and Miaka both nodded.
"You got it, right?" Miaka and Yui both asked each other. They looked at each other with blank stares.
"Miaka... you had it, didn't you?" Yui asked quietly.
"I... thought you did." She said quietly. The wind whistled softly as no one said anything.
"Okay, let's go over what happened." Keisuke said, trying to remain calm.
"You went to the library. You got the book. You left the library. You came home. How could you lose it?!"
"I guess when we ran into that girl." Miaka said quietly, on the verge of tears.
"You don't think..." Yui said quietly. "She... READ the book, do you??"
Another moment of silence.
"You dummies!" Keisuke shouted. "Now some other poor girl has been swallowed by the book and will die!"
"Wait!" Miaka shouted. "Only one Miko died, and that was because her dad killed her. Maybe she'll be okay...? Okay, maybe not..."
"Do you think we should try and find her?" Taka asked.
"Yeah, I'd say we should find her, but there's one small problem."
Tetsuya said. "This Tokyo. More people live here than all the people in Konan put together. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Actually," Miaka said, thinking out loud. "It probably wouldn't be that hard to find a needle in a haystack. All you'd have to do is something like stick your feet in it until you pricked by the needle." Everyone just stood there and stared at her.
"Did you fall on your head yesterday at the library?" Yui asked.
"Ummm. No." Miaka said, not catching on. Yui just sighed and rubbed her temple.
"Well, now we've got another problem on our hands. The poor girl..."
"Yeah, she looked so young." Miaka said, honestly worried but Yui clenched her fist from hitting her.
"All right you two." Taka said sternly. "Let's just calm down and think this over. Maybe we should retrace your steps. If she was at the library one night, maybe she'll be there again." The others nodded in agreement. They started to leave when Miaka paused at the foot of the stairs and looked up.
The wind rustled her hair and clothing. She looked very serious.
"Wait... let's stop at the temple. Maybe... it'll give us some good luck."
***
Rei watched as a group of young people walked up the steps and closer to her. She nodded to them as she kept sweeping. Ami and Makoto were off to the side, sitting on the porch and talking. Usagi had disappeared inside to bother Rei's grandfather and hadn't come back out... yet.
The group of young people was just about to get their fortunes when Usagi's loud, shrill shriek of "EEWWW!" split the air. Usagi came running out, a cloud of dust trailing behind her. "REEEEEEEEIII-CHAAAAAAN! Your grandfather is a ... PEERRVEERRT!" Rei's right eye started to twitch. The group of young people, all adorned with sweat drops, looked for the source.
"That's HER!" Miaka shouted. Usagi, still running, screeched to a halt, huffing and puffing, clutching the book to her chest. She looked up at Miaka, who had run to her. "YOU have our book!"
"Huh?!" Usagi shouted. She whipped the book behind her. "What book?"
"The one you're hiding behind your back..." Rei muttered.
"Umm, can we have it back now? It's a really danger--" Miaka said right before Yui ran into her and knocked her to the ground.
"Excuse me, miss, but that's a... family heirloom of ours and we'd like to have it back."
"You two are sisters?" Usagi asked. Yui looked blankly at her for a second, then nodded. Usagi pulled the book out in front of her, and looked down at it. "Well... I guess I shouldn't keep it from you..." Yui started to reach for the book, but Usagi snatched it away. "But what was it doing in the
library, if it's your book?" She asked. Yui stood frozen. Usagi raced over to the porch near Ami and Makoto, and opened the book. "It sure does have a weird intro, though! Listen! This is a story of one girl, who, having gathered the seven seishi of the "Suzaku", acquired the power to make any wish come true. . . The story itself is an incantation. The one who finishes the book shall acquire the same power as the heroine and her wishes shall come true. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become truth and begin. . ."
A bright red light exploded through the courtyard.
***
Usagi woke to find herself floating in a bright red light. She immediately tried to put her feet down, but when she found she couldn't, she flipped and started waving her arms and legs. However, it did no good and she quickly stopped. Then, being the bright young woman she is, she looked around. Floating, just like she was, were five other people. One was Rei, the others were the two "sisters", and then a young man who looked a little like Mamoru. She watched as Rei awoke with the shake of her head and looked around.
"Where in the world....?" She asked. "Usagi-chan?" Usagi flailed her way over to Rei.
"Good to see you awake!" Usagi grinned. Rei shook her head as the young man awoke.
"Miaka?" He asked, reaching out for the dark-brown haired girl. She woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"Taka! Where are we?" Miaka asked as Yui awoke.
"I'm glad to see you all awake now..." A new voice said. They all looked around to find a man floating before them. He was dressed in pants and a vest-like shirt, and had large, red wings behind him.
"Suzaku!" Miaka gasped. He nodded to her.
"We met again, Miaka." He said. But then he focused his attention to Usagi. "You are the one who has disrupted our universes." His eyes narrowed. "When you read the book, something happened. You opened the portal to my universe... and it's stayed open." Usagi gulped. "A few people were dragged into this portal... alive people and dead. I'm afraid, through some bizarre
happening, Nakago has been returned to life." He sighed and shook his head. "However, he's not the only one. The Suzaku Seishis Hotohori and Nuriko have returned as well. And, the Suzaku Seishis Tasuki and Chichiri were brought through, as well. Nakago still has his powers, unfortunately... and I'm requesting you stop him." He looked Usagi in the eyes. "You created this. You will stop it." And with that, everything disappeared.
**
When Usagi and Miaka awoke, they were lying side by side and curled up. They were woken by Makoto shouting.
"Okay, listen here you red-headed jerk!" Makoto shouted, standing on the steps to the porch with her hands on her hips. A tall young man in a long black trench coat and bright red hair stood at the foot of the stairs, scowling up at her.
"Quiet, wench! Where are we?"
"Hey, I was shouting first! Like I was saying, you can't go around being rude and demanding to know things from people! And where the HELL did you come from?!" Makoto shouted.
"Mako-chan!" Ami gasped, who had been sitting next to her the entire time. Makoto really looked pretty pissed off, but at the same time she was trying to hide a smirk. A man next to the redheaded man stepped forward.
"Sumimasen no da, but, um, please forgive me friend here, no da..." He said. He spoke in a slightly meek voice but seemed to be looking right at Ami. "You see, young miss, we're kind of lost, no da." ((Author's note: Would you rather I have him say "y'know" at every sentence, or "no da"? Personally, I like "no da" better, even if it doesn't make sense. It's just cute. ^_^ ))
"You're... lost?" Ami echoed. "You fell from the sky.... I suppose that would count as lost."
"Ami-chan! Mako-chan!" Usagi shouted and pulled herself up. She ran to them, almost knocking over the poor redheaded man on the way. "You won't believe what just happened!"
"Try them." Rei muttered as she assumed swiping the courtyard.
***
Miaka watched the young woman argue with Tasuki, and for a second she couldn't believe what was happening. Tasuki and Chichiri were really there, standing only a few feet in front of her! Quickly, she looked around. Yui was near by, as were Miaka's brother and Tatsuya, and Taka. But, then, two more people....
"Nuriko! Hotohori!" Miaka shouted, jumping up and running to them. They had been off to the side, near the crow's tree, watching Makoto and Tasuki fight as well. Nuriko grinned at Miaka and hugged her when they met. Hotohori just nodded but smiled at her.
"So, Miaka-chan, this is your world?" Nuriko asked, looking around. "It reminds me of... home."
"That's because we're in a temple!" Miaka said, smiling. She grabbed a hand of Nuriko's, and one of Hotohori's. "C'mon!" She successfully dragged them over to the others. Tasuki and Makoto were still in a heated argument on who had the right to do what, and Chichiri and Ami were trying to decipher just how they'd gotten there to begin with. The noise was getting on Rei's
nerves as she gripped her broom handle tighter and tighter, while Yui, Keisuke and Tetsuya watched on in silent wonder. Taka stood near them, face- faulted. "HEY! EVERYONE!" Miaka shouted. "SSHHUUTT UUPP!"
The courtyard quieted as everyone looked at Miaka.
"Yes?" Usagi asked quietly. Miaka marched right up to her and held out her hand, as if to shake.
"I'm Yuuki Miaka, former Suzaku no Miko. What's your name?"
"Tsukino Usagi." She shook Miaka's hand, and they smiled at each other, just a little.
"What's going on?" Everyone was listening now. Makoto still stood at the top of the stairs, leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed over her chest. Ami sat on the stairs next to her, arms around her knees. Chichiri stood at the bottom of the stairs, leaning a little on his staff while Tasuki reclined on the bottom two steps. Rei continued to quietly sweep, but she had migrated over towards the two. Taka stood with Nuriko and Hotohori, separate but not far from Yui, Keisuke and Tatsuya.
"Well... you kind of ended up with the book we were getting from the library. It's a spell book... kind of. When you start to read it, it takes you to a world were you can become the miko of which god you happen to be reading about.. or whichever god needs a miko. When I read the book... I
became the Suzako no Miko. Suzako is the man you met in the..uh... red light. Yui," She said, motioning to her friend, who nodded. "became the Seiryuu no Miko. There are four gods, the Byakko and Genbuu, and they've both had mikos, too. But, um... When Yui and I were mikos... there was a war. And the Seiryuu no Seishi, Nakago, killed some of the Suzako no Seishi, but we defeated him... or so I thought.." She looked down at the ground. "You found the book, and you're new to it... so when you turned the page, something happened." She looked back up at Usagi. "But I don't understand what. I don't understand how this could've happened."
Usagi chewed on her lip and looked at the ground. She didn't know whether she should tell these people or not about her other identities. She looked, one at a time, to Makoto, Ami and Rei. Rei knotted her eyebrows at her, as if to discourage her. Ami simply shook her head. Makoto looked down at Tasuki, then back to Usagi, and shrugged. 'I don't know what to do...' Usagi thought. 'I don't know if I should just let them all know who I am... but I guess the ginzuishou was what made this happened.. I guess it IS up to me, since I made it happen, to finish it... but should I tell them...?' Usagi clenched her fists. She jerked her head up and looked at Miaka. "All right! I'll do what I can to help you... but I'm just a normal girl." Usagi hoped none of the non-Senshi would know she was lying. Miaka looked her back in the eyes, and nodded.
"I'll introduce you to my friends." She turned and motioned at Yui's group. "That's Hongou Yui, my best friend. And next to her is Kajiwara Tetsuya, her boyfriend. ((According to the manga)) And then that's Yuuki Keisuke, my older brother. Then, that's Sukunami Taka, my boyfriend and the former Suzaku no Seishi Tamahome. Now, those two are Nuriko and Hotohori, two
Suzaku no Seishi who.. kind of... died. And, um, that's Chichiri and Tasuki over there."
"Hi!" Usagi said, waving to them all. "Okay! This is Hino Rei-chan! And that's Mizuno Ami-chan and Kino Makoto-chan! We're all so happy to met you!"
"Yeah." Mako-chan muttered, rolling her eyes. "All so happy. "
"So. Um. What do we do now?" Usagi asked. The courtyard quieted and the wind blew a few leaves on to the ground. Rei started to furiously sweep them up as no one said anything.
"I still don't know where we are!" Tasuki complained from the steps.
"You're at Hikawa Shrine, in Tokyo, Japan!" Rei snapped. (If anyone could give me more detail on where it's supposed to be, I'd appreciate it.) "I thought that looked familiar." Tasuki muttered as he looked out over the Tokyo skyline. Ami stood up then, and proceeded down the stairs.
"It's going to be getting late soon, so if you don't mind," She said, really to no one in particular. "I'm going to be on my way home now."
"Hey, that's right. Home!" Tasuki shouted, leaping to his feet. "We're are we gonna stay?" Ami froze in her tracks.
"I could take one other person, but..." Taka mumbled. "I'd rather it be Miaka, so I could look after her. If Nakago is loose, I'd feel better if she were with me..." Miaka beamed, and her eyes grew watery as she ran to Taka, to hug him. Thus commenced a short run of "Taka..." "Miaka..." "Taka..." "Miaka..."
Usagi stared at the two with a slight frown.
'Maybe Mamo-chan would let me stay with him...?' Usagi thought. 'On second thought, no, maybe not.'
"Excuse me..." Ami said loudly. "Who's Nakago?"
"Is he the guy with long, blonde hair?" Makoto asked. Hotohori nodded.
"Yes... he is a cruel bastard who gives beautiful men a bad name." Hotohori said and Nuriko nodded in agreement.
"Oh." Ami and Makoto said at the same time. "He appeared, and left, a second before you guys came back..." Makoto continued. She looked at Keisuke and Tetsuya. "Don't you guys remember? Oh, wait, that's right." She smiled a little. "You were too scared to move..."
"Oh, yeah?!" Keisuke shouted. "Like you did anything, either!"
"Would you both just shut up?" Yui snapped. Keisuke cleared his throat and Makoto looked surprised. "There's no need to argue. You couldn't have done anything, anyway. The only ones with real power here are Hotohori, Nuriko, Tasuki and Chichiri." The Senshi girls all hid their laughter.
"Taka has power! He knows he was Tamahome!" Miaka said in Taka's defense.
"Really, now, Miaka, this isn't the time to argue over who has power and who doesn't.." Taka said, face-faulting a bit.
"No, it is a matter of time! And power!" Tasuki said, standing up. "These .... girls," he said, almost snarling the word at Makoto. "Have no way they can stop Nakago. They're pointless. We should do this by ourselves." He was smirking very arrogantly at Makoto, who was glaring back. Then he stopped. His face softened a bit and he shrugged. "I'm just lookin' out for ya. I mean, you could get killed with Nakago after ya!"
"Thanks for your concern, fire-top, but I'm fine on my own!" Makoto snapped back, half-heartedly. "I've been fine on my own for years now."
"Well, in that case, why doesn't Tasuki stay with you?" Hotohori said. He stepped into the middle of the crowd. An air of regal excellence surrounded him. "We need places to stay... If you are on your own, it would be best for a warrior to be with you, especially if Nakago has seen you." Makoto and Tasuki both stood, mouths open.
"I agree with that." Ami said, pausing where she was. "This man has powers we've never encountered before. It would be wise for those of us with a guard of sorts. My mother has left again. If anyone is in need of a place to stay... I'd be happy to help." Chichiri walked over to her.
"Would you mind then, no da? I can help you. I won't be a bother, no da." He said, his eternal smile making her smile and nod.
"Well." Rei said, pausing from her sweeping. "I could take in you two." She eyed Nuriko and Hotohori. "As long as you don't mind working a little, as well." Both Nuriko and Hotohori looked a little.. uneasy with that, but nodded all the same.
"Now that it's settled... what do we do about Nakago?" Keisuke asked.
"I think it'd be best to go on with life as normally as possible for now." Taka said. "I'll bet Nakago will let himself be known to us." The Seishi and their old friends nodded in agreement. "So let's all return to our designated homes and rest till then."