Disclaimer: If there's anything you recognize, I didn't make it up. Everything else? That's mine, for the most part.
Gate C-3 buzzed with the squeals of teenagers walking into the terminal. A class from America had just arrived, coming to "experience" Japans history first hand. We must remember, of course, that the teacher still lived in the 1970s. Not only does he still listen to disco, he believes the Cold War is just heating up and Elvis is living in a retirement home in Miami. This would explain why he didn't consider an Internet tour, enraging parents with the $567 trip fee. While it did cover the food, tour and show fees, it didn't cover hotels. The teacher then contacted the sister school, Crossroads Junior High, and had the staff distribute flyers, asking for volunteer families to let students stay for a week. After that had been verified, the students hopped on the plane, and that lands us here.
"Can some one tell me why we just had to stop in Honolulu?" A boy with messy blonde hair walked onto the blue carpet. He let out a loud yawn that was just barely stifled by a bejeweled hand. The hand belonged to a girl with wavy, golden brown hair. Her blue eyes had bags under them, showing her lack of rest on the trip.
"Don't talk," she whispered. "Just, don't talk. I need quiet." The girl removed her hand from his face and rummaged through her backpack. She pulled out a pair of Ralph Lauren romani-style sunglasses. Putting them on, she put her arm around the boys, adding, "If I close my eyes, would you act as my seeing-eye dog?"
The boy just laughed. "I would, but the minute you do, I'll have to drag you to the shrine." He leaned his head onto his shoulder and breathed in, allowing his nasal passage to mimic the girls high snoring. She rolled her eyes under the shades, and snorted, stifling her laugh. Behind them, another boy with spiked up black hair came up behind them, and wrapped his arms around their necks, and resting his head in between their shoulders.
"You know, once you get to your host families…" his smooth voice rang with a sly bell. "You'll get to sleep and eat as soon as you want. It's just like going to a hotel, 'cept for the possibility of pets." His cheeky smile and childish giggle showed two masks; masks that his friends could see through. But that didn't matter. They were in the land of the rising sun. The ancient island nation Nippon; the technologically advanced city Tokyo; it was all for the taking.
Pretty Solider Sailor Moon R – Senshi Americana
Ami walked along the sidewalk to the temple. She wore her favorite blue skirt and her moms black blouse. Her sandals clicked on the pavement, her purse banging on her thigh as she walked. She was glad she convinced Usagi's parents to host one of the students. Her own mom was excited at the thought, boring Ami with her own out-of-country trip story. The blue haired girl laughed at the thought of her mother in a Buckingham Palace guard's hat. That must have been something nice for her school newspaper, she thought. Her hand sifted through her hair, sparkling in the sun. She squinted as she looked up, and bumped into a silhouetted figure.
"Oh," the girl exclaimed. She looked back down, gazing into the eyes of her best friends' true love. "Mamoru, how are you?"
"I'm good." The twenty-something-year-old smiled at Ami. "Are you headed for the temple, too?"
"What? You're going there too? Why?"
"Oh, didn'tUsagi tell you?"Maoru pulled a flyer from his back pocket. "I'm hosting one of the American students."
"Wow!" Ami's bright smile had shown through once more. "I'm glad she told you about it!"
Henodded. "So am I. My apartment seems a little too big for just myself. I figured I could use a roommate." The two laughed, and continued onto the temple.
When they arrived, a bunch of parents had already arrived. They held signs with names of students. Rei, a priestess to the shrine, was handing out drinks to the parents. She noticed her friends, and, waving, ran over to greet them. "Whew, I didn't think so many students were coming!" Deimos perched on Reis shoulder, eating seeds out of her hand. Phobos landed nearby, pecking at the seeds that landed on the ground. In the background, Grandpa Hino was hitting on one of the girls who'd stopped by with her mother.
Ami nodded. "Who knew that Japan was such an interesting country?" She leaned back on the gateway. "I mean, I'd much rather learn about Americas history than Japans."
Mamorusat down on a bench, shaking his head. "They've been learning their history since they started school. To them, America's boring. They'd much rather study another country." Rei handed him a cup of juice. He nodded a thank you and took a sip. Everything was normal. It'd been a week since Alan and Ann left with the Tree of Life to start anew. Everything was going to be just fine, it seemed.
Two busses stopped in front of the temple gates. All of the parents turned towards the road. The doors to the busses opened, and the teacher stepped off of the first one. He waved to the parents, and they all cheered in return.
"Well, it looks like they're here!" Rei held her hand above her brow, allowing her to see the busses. The students started to pour out of the busses, and parents held up signs with names like "Stephanie Drake" and "Kurt Gullikson" on it. Students were meeting up with their host families and getting into cars, or walking down the streets. A group of three, two boys and a girl, walked up the stairs together, talking about the in-flight movie. Ami immediately recognized the girl from her photograph she sent.
"Allison!" Ami waved her hand in the air. "Allison Blitz!" The girl turned her head towards Ami, and smiled, waving back. She ran up the stone steps, her two friends walking the rest of the way up. When she reached the top, Allison bowed.
"You must be Ami," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The other two reached the top of the steps, bowing to the three. "These are my friends, Justin and Sean." Justin, the brown haired boy, waved, while Sean, the blonde, yawned.
"Justin?" Mamoru pulled out some papers from his back pocket. "I'm Chiba Mamoru, your host."
"Oh, really?" Justin held out his hand, whichMamoru shook. "It's nice to meet you." They both sat down on the bench and started talking. Ami and Allison were talking in front of the gate. Rei noticed Sean, standing there and looking around. She walked up to him, handing him a drink.
"Is your host not here?" She walked with him down to the street. He grabbed his bags from the bus, and turned to the priestess.
"I guess not. I wonder where she could be?"
"Do you know her name?"
"Yeah." Sean set his bag on the sidewalk and grabbed another. "It's Tsu-"
"WAAAAAAAIIIIIIIT!" A wail came from down the street. Around the corner came a girl with long, blonde pigtails, running at 35 miles per hour, carrying a black cat, also wailing its lungs out, but out of fear, not panic. As she ran, Rei, Mamoru, and Ami all let out a collective sigh of exasperation. The girl tripped on a conveniently placed rock, and tumbled the rest of the way. She slowed down to a stop right in front of Rei and Sean. The girl stood up, brushed her self off, and nodded to Rei.
"Sean, this is Usagi," Rei stated nonchalantly. She walked back up the steps to help her grandfather (who was busy flipping up Allison's skirt) clean up. Sean grabbed his bags, and waved goodbye to his friends. He andUsagi started walking towards the bus stop.
"So, Usagi," the boy sat down, "what's your cat's name?"
"Her name is Luna," she answered. "You aren't allergic to cats, are you?"
"No," Sean shook his head. "I had one a few years back, but my brother took it with him to college."
"Ah."Usagi pet the cat softly, scratching behind her ears. The bus rolled along, and let the two on.
When they reached Usagi's house, Sean was greeted with a large banner that read "Welcome to our Home" in Japanese. They had a nice dinner of tuna salad, rice, and strawberry cheesecake.
"Arigato, Mrs. Tsukino," Sean said. "It was all very good."
"Why, thank you," she answered. "I'm very glad you enjoyed it." The family continued eating, and when they were excused, the three kids left to get ready for bed. Sean was sharing a room with Shingo, Usagi's younger brother.
"First rule: The cat stays out of this room. I'm allergic."Shingo walked back and forth in his Sailor V boxers, having Sean take notes in a Power Rangers notepad. "Second rule," he said, " is thatUsagi is to never enter this room. Third,"Shingo stopped right in front of Sean, facing him. "The top half of the dresser is mine, the bottom half is yours. Got it?" Sean shut the notepad, nodding.
"Yeah." He got up to finish unpacking, pulling random clothes out of his bags and into the drawers. He grabbed his pajamas and went to change in the bathroom. When he came out and walked by Usagi's room, Sean thought he heard Usagi talking to herself. He peaked into a crack in the door, and saw that she was talking to her cat.
"Luna, you don't have to worry!" The girl had taken her pigtails out, and her long, wavy hair nearly dragged behind her as she paced back in forth while her black cat followed with her eyes. "The dark forces have left the earth! It's safe!" Sean was wondering why this somewhat normal teen girl was talking about "dark forces" to her cat, when the most unexpected thing in Sean's mind happened.
"I know, Usagi," Luna answered, "But the dark forces are never gone. Queen Beryl came back. I wouldn't be surprised if we were attacked tomorrow while you were at school." Sean's jaws dropped at hearing the cat not only reply, but also with a British accent. To top it all off, Usagi pulled out the brooch she had worn when she picked Sean up at the temple.
"Did you just forget, Luna?"Usagi fiddled with the brooch, tossing it from hand to hand. "We have Tuxedo Kamen. And Rei has school off tomorrow, so that makes two people to defend the city."
"I know, I know," Luna sighed. "I still want you to be on the alert." Luna walked towards the door, and looked straight at Sean. Sean walked away, as if he just got out of the bathroom. He walked into Shingo's room and slipped under his covers. He laid there in the dark, think of what he just heard. Rei, he thought, the girl from the temple? And who's Tuxedo Kamen? Sean thought about these as he drifted off…
The Dark General walked along the grey, dusty moon surface. People panicked all around him. They ran, screaming, from the monsters and Generals and darkness. Two more joined him in walking, one of them causing chaos with fire, the other causing some tremors. The Dark General was about to attack the palace when a white energy balled out of the palace. The General shielded his eyes, and-
Sean woke up in a cold sweat. The moon shone through the window, illuminating his pale face. He took some time to catch his breath, and to allow his heart to calm down. He rested his head on the sweat soaked pillow, going through the images in his nightmare. Was I on the moon? It seemed impossible to him. To the other's he'd meet in five hours, it'd be their history.
Sean was the second person to wake up in the house the next morning. Mrs. Tsukino was already making breakfast and lunches. Sean had dressed in his new uniform; something that looked like it came out of YuYu Hakusho. He sat down at the table, and Mrs. Tsukino set a plate of pancakes in front of him.
"Thank you," he said. Sean dug in, nearly inhaling the syrup covered crêpes.Shingo and Mr. Tsukino walked in, one after the other, and sat down at opposite ends of the table. The father read the paper while Shingo read a "Sailor V" comic. Sean drank a cup of coffee before heading out. Well, that is, ifUsagi had woken up on time. For a while, Sean stood outside their fence, waving to the students walking by. He'd rock on his feet, back and forth. He didn't know how much time had passed before he heard a shrill cry, and yelling that ranked a 17.8 on the Decibel Scale.
The two didn't set off until 10 minutes before the gates closed. They ran,Usagi holding onto Sean's wrist as she turned corners as fast as she'd eaten. If she can run this fast, Sean thought, how come she can't get up from bed sooner? The boy waved around like a flag asUsagi rushed into the school building. When they reached the classroom,Usagi dropped off a very terrified Sean with his classmates. She sat down in her desk, and pulled out her notebook, pencil bag, and her morning snack of bonbons out onto her desk.Makoto leaned over, stealing one of the chocolate treats.
"You just made it," she joked, winking. "We were so sure you weren't gonna make it that we saved your spot out in the hall." Ami, who was sitting behind Usagi, nodded and giggled about the ordeal. She was picturing her friend in the dunce hat last time. Miss Haruna slammed her ruler on her desk, gathering the attention of all the students, both foreign and citizens. After eyeing all of the troublesome ones (which meant many glares to Usagi and Naru), she smiled, standing up from hunching over her desk.
"Class, I'd like to welcome you the 6th grade class from Angel Grove Junior High." She nodded to Mr. Harrison, who motioned all of his students to line up in front of the class. "They come from Angel Grove, a large city in California. Class, say good morning." The entire 8th grade class did as told. The 6th graders bowed, and replied.
"Ohayo Gozimasu." The other class stood up, returning with their American-styled bows and curtsies. They sat down, and Mr. Harrison nodded to the class. Allison walked up in front of her peers, bowing her head.
"My name is Allison Blitz. I'm 11-years-old. I like to roller blade, sing, and I'm learning how to play bass." The girl smiled, and walked back to her group. Students continued introducing themselves in alphabetical order. Sean watched each of the students, thinking in the back of his mind about his dream. He'd yet to tell his friends, but he'd assumed they'd have lunch together.
When it was his turn, Sean went up in front of the class, smiling. "Hello, I'm Sean Lundi. I'm 12, and I like drawing superheroes." As he walked back,Usagi thought, He's going to love drawing the beautiful Sailor Moon! She lost herself in thoughts of her past, Princess Serenity, and of her future with Mamoru.Makoto looked over to her, smiling.
We're free to be ourselves again, she thought.Usagi is with her true love once again. The Dark Forces are long gone.Makoto looked to her left, out the window. She watched a bird, chirping with it's mate, not knowing of it's future. Everything's going to be okay.
In the middle off downtown Tokyo, A man in a long, black trench coat walked against the flow of businessmen and -women. Many who passed by wondered how the man could wear such a heavy coat in the heat wave. Others thought about his height. The man was at least three or four feet taller than the rest of the passerby, easily looming over. It made him impossible to miss, especially to the law enforcement.
Outside of a McDonalds, a woman dressed up in a yellow bird costume was giving out coupons for a free sundae. She shoved one into the hand of the large man, her smile blinding the little children. The burly man looked at the coupon, confused. He crushed the paper in between his forefinger and thumb, flicking it off of the woman's head. The power of the blow knocked her off her feet, sending her slamming into the concrete wall. The force of her body hitting the building dislodged the goldenrod "M", sending sparks flying into the streets. Citizens ran in all directions, watching with frightened eyes the Golden Arches swinging back and forth on weakening wires. The woman in the bird suit was slumped against the building, groaning as she woke up. Her head throbbed with lack of oxygen, and she could taste her blood.
Chiba Mamoruwas a witness to the mayhem. He saw the logo, hanging by a thread. He knew that the woman wouldn't be able to stand up in her condition, let alone flee from danger.Mamoru wasn't one to play the hero; that was Tuxedo Kamen's job. But, with the proverbial clock ticking, and being surrounded by anonymous faces, he knew that this was the time for the citizen of Tokyo, not the previous prince of Earth. He ran to the woman, grabbing her by her collar, and carried her out of harms way. The "M" finally broke away from the wire, smashing into the sidewalk littered with coupons. Sirens wailed in the background, andMamoru searched the area for the man. He didn't have any trouble. Neither did the police.
Protected by car doors and nearby buildings, the cops opened fire on the man. Bullets whizzed through the air, the now empty streets polluted with smoke from the gunpowder. When the dust cleared the man still stood there. He continued walking, picking out bullets from his coat and flinging them behind him. The bullets were sent with such velocity that only the metal of the car doors could protect the officers. Two of the policemen fell, dark red liquid expanding from their lifeless bodies.Mamoru watched in horror as this invincible beast just brushed off heavy gunfire like they were spitballs. He edged away, trying to stay out of the behemoths view. The man ducked into an alley, and ran down into the metro station.Mamoru walked over to a payphone, inserted the coins he needed, and dialed the numbers. The phone rang, rang, and rang, until the machine picked up. When the message ended, the beep went off, signalingMamoru to speak.
"Rei, it's Mamoru. Meet me at the radio tower as soon as possible, preferably now. We've got trouble."
Justin walked up to the front of the class, bowing. "Hello. I'm Justin Stewart. I'm 12-years-old, and I teach karate back home." He was the last student, so when he walked back, Miss Haruna's class all stood up and clapped. The bell rang, and the class was released for an early lunch. Usagi, Naru, Ami and Makoto all walked outside with Sean, Allison and Justin following suit. The group sat under a large tree, basking in its shade. Mrs. Tsukino had made Sean andUsagi both a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; She'd also packed in a piece of strawberry cake for Usagi, and some sushi for Sean. Ami and Allison were busy sharing a sandwich, and Justin was trying some of Makoto's lunch.
"I made it myself," she said, smiling. "It's some kind of pita. I found it in one of my old cook books." Justin nodded, approving of the dish. Swallowing, the boy sighed in delight.
"Wow, my dad's cooking does not even compare!" He laughed, leaning back onto the grass. Sean and Allison joined with their own hearty laughter. The girls started giggling. Sean composed himself, and when his face had returned to its natural color, he explained.
"Mr. Stewart was trying to make a lasagna one night, but he'd added in pizza sauce instead of the tomato sauce." Sean leaned back onto the tree. "Let's just say it took less than thirty minutes!" The group shared a moment of laughter. Ami was still giggling when she noticed a black cat.
"Luna?" Ami nudged Makoto, who nodded. Ami stood up, brushing her skirt off. "Sorry, guys. Usagi,Mako-chan and I have some business to take care of."
"What!" Usagi's face was stuffed with cake, making her look like a squirrel. "I'm having lunch!" She continued to ramble and pout as her two friends carried her off. That left the rest wide-eyed and embarrassed or their comrade.Naru took a bite out of her Twinkie.
"How long was your flight?" Her red hair glistened in the specks of sunlight that made their way through the leaves and branches.
"Oh, I don't know." Allison thought for a moment before answering. "Um, I think about 34 hours. We were asleep for most of it but-" The girl was interrupted by a loud siren coming from the city. Students ran into the school, all not knowing what the siren held in store for them. Sean and Allison ran inside with Naru. Justin, on the other hand, ran toward the sound of the siren. He flicked his left wrist; summoning a large, watch like device. He flicked the other wrist, and an odd key in his hand. The boy continued running, crossing his arms over his face to block out the sun.