WHAT TIME IS IT
Chapter 1: "Calm Before The Storm"
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2018 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2018 by Bill K.
Luna sat in the window of the Royal Chambers and looked out over Crystal Tokyo. The city seemed calm, peaceful, and yet alive with the industry of people living their lives and striving to get ahead. It had been two years since the tumult of The Moon King, the chaos sewn by the fox demon Hojiko and her Goremu, and the sensational resignation of Liberal Democrat Party head Takahashi. Life had settled into a peaceful normalcy. It was as if the gods had decided that the city had seen enough turmoil for a while.
For that, the little black cat was grateful. Without such distractions, repairs to Japan in the wake of the Tohoku earthquake and the two year ice age that followed had finished. Japan had even opened a new economic market, exporting building materials and workers to other countries in the Pacific Rim unable to cope with the devastation at the same pace. Several countries had accepted readily, especially at the generous terms negotiated by the Japanese government, at the behest of the King and Queen. Other countries, such as Russia and China, preferred to do their own rebuilding, but thanked Japan for the offer.
Even with this, the Japanese construction industry was thriving and it was a big help to the still recovering economy. The people were happy. That in turn made Serenity happy, which in turn made the people even happier.
The sun shone brightly on that day in late June of 2018. Luna felt the warm rays on her fur and found herself purring unconsciously.
"Is something happening outside?" she heard Serenity ask. The cat turned and saw the Queen glide into the room, the hem of her long white gown seeming to not quite touch the floor.
"No," Luna responded. "Just enjoying the sun.
"You're not . . ." Serenity began, then stopped.
"Not what?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe on-line, shopping perhaps?"
The cat sighed. "Your Majesty, I am well aware that your birthday is in one week," Luna grumbled. "There is no need for such blatant hinting."
"I wasn't hinting!" fumed The Queen. "And DON'T call me Your Majesty!"
"A blow to the head is more subtle than you are at this time of the year," Luna volleyed back. "And you assume I haven't already purchased your gift."
"What did you get me?" Serenity grinned greedily.
"You may have nothing better to do than act like a two-year-old child, but I do," Luna scowled. She leaped down from the windowsill and scampered for the door, her tail straight in the air. "And I'll remind you that you have a luncheon with the heads of the Japanese Education Association at twelve. Do be punctual."
"Luna, don't go away mad!" Serenity whined. But the black cat disappeared out the door. In frustration, she blew at her bangs. Then the door opened again.
"Your Majesty," Luna added, then closed the door again.
"LUNA!" Serenity bellowed.
Out in the hall, the black cat tried to keep from smiling, but couldn't. Queen Serenity may have many aggravating quirks, but she also had a heart of gold and Luna felt blessed to be associated with her.
And she was so much fun to tease, too. It might be an affront to the Queen's station, but Luna just couldn't resist. She noticed Artemis approaching and forced herself to be serious.
"Luna, have you seen Minako?" the white cat asked.
"Not for several days, now that you mention it," Luna replied. "Isn't she filming? What was the name of it; 'Princess Of Space' or some such tomfoolery?"
"Yeah, but filming on that wrapped up yesterday," Artemis replied. "She should be in bed, either sleeping in or sleeping one off. I'm a little concerned."
"Given Minako's occasional lack of propriety, perhaps you've good reason," Luna mused. "And of course, the Senshi sadly do have enemies. Perhaps it would be prudent to use the Senshi Communicator to locate her whereabouts."
"I don't like doing that," Artemis grimaced. "If Minako is just out doing some post-production partying, she gets mad when she thinks I'm checking up on her. After all, she is thirty-eight years old."
"And if some ne'er-do-well has captured her, you could be rescuing her just in time," Luna countered. "Better safe than sorry. If you fear her that much, tell her I ordered you to check."
"I'm not afraid of her!" huffed the white cat. He turned and headed for the ready room that the cats used to monitor the city and the world.
"No, of course you're not," Luna smiled and then followed.
"Mom, I'm going out!" Akiko called out as she paused by the front door. Makoto popped her head out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Makoto asked. Clearly these plans were news to her.
"Grace and Sakura and I are going to hang out," Akiko sighed, the thirteen year old girl annoyed that she had to explain herself.
"That's kind of sudden," Makoto commented with a raised eyebrow as she entered from the kitchen.
"We had some free time," Akiko shrugged.
"And just where were you going to 'hang out'?"
"I don't know. Wherever," Akiko responded. She darkened. "Why, did you want to put a tracer on me?"
"Homework done?"
"Yes, Mom," Akiko sighed dramatically.
"Well I suppose it's OK, as long as you're back by dinner," Makoto reasoned. She looked her daughter over. "You're going out like that?"
"What's wrong with this?" Akiko demanded. She was wearing jeans, a short-sleeve softball shirt and a backwards baseball cap of the local Yomiyuri Giants.
"It's not what a lady would wear," bristled Makoto.
"Well maybe I don't want to be a lady," Akiko grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I want to be me."
"Looking like you just came off of the softball field isn't a way to make a good first impression," fussed her mother, "particularly with guys."
"Not why we're going," countered Akiko. "Now can I go or was there something else you wanted to criticize me about?"
"A smart mouth isn't going to make a good first impression with people, either," Makoto glared. Then she sagged in defeat. "Have fun, be careful, and be home by dinner."
The husky girl lunged out the door before her mother could say anything else. Makoto exhaled loudly in frustration.
"What is it with that girl anymore?" Makoto muttered to herself. "She never minded very well, but anymore I can't even open my mouth without her taking it personally." She chuckled ruefully. "And she's getting too big to spank. I wish kids came with an owner's manual."
The Queen glided up to the door leading to Setsuko's room and knocked. She had the luncheon pressing her at twelve, and she knew Luna would have her head if she was late. But she wanted to look in on Setsuko before then, and one of the advantages of her new abilities was that she could materialize a fresh look with a thought.
"Besides, when have I ever missed lunch?" she mumbled to herself with a smile.
The seven-year-old bid her to come in. Serenity slid the door open and peeked inside, expecting the girl to be working on her spelling booklets, her kanji practice or some other assignment for second grade, or playing one of the video games that she was hopelessly addicted to. But she found the little black-haired child in front of her computer with a web page up.
"Is that one of those ancestry search pages?" Serenity asked, entering the child's room.
"Yes, Mama," Setsuko responded. "I'm trying to look up my original family." She peeked over her shoulder. "That's OK, isn't it?"
"Of course!" Serenity exclaimed. "I don't want you to forget about your original family. I'm just surprised. You never seemed interested before."
"Well, I was always interested," Setsuko admitted. "I just . . . well . . ."
Serenity knelt down next to the girl. "Were you afraid Endymion or I would be insulted if you brought them up?"
"Uh huh. I'm very happy with you as my mama, and with Mamoru-Papa. I don't want anything to change. I like it here." She grew solemn and glanced back at the computer. "I just don't remember that much about my real mother and father, or about my older brother. I remember they died - - though I don't even remember that very well."
"You know I dimmed those memories for you so you could stop being afraid," Serenity said, brushing at the girl's shoulder-length hair. "Are you sorry I did it?"
"No," Setsuko murmured. "I just don't remember a lot about them. I just think I should remember more about them."
"You were pretty young," Serenity suggested. "I remember a lot about my parents, but not a lot from when I was that age. I think that kind of comes with the territory. And your Mamoru-Papa doesn't remember much from that age, either." She leaned in and rubbed her cheek against Setsuko's. "But if you want to keep looking into who your first parents were, that's perfectly fine. Maybe you can even find a picture."
"Yeah!" Setsuko said, encouraged.
"And even if you can't, what you do find can help you understand who you are." She glanced at her Senshi Communicator. "Oh, I'm going to be late! You keep looking, if you want to. Just remember, don't click on any strange sites without asking your father or Luna first. You remember what happened when I clicked on that one site and infected the entire palace's computer system, don't you?"
"Yeah," Setsuko chuckled. "Luna was SO mad!"
"Well, Luna likes being mad," Serenity grumbled. "Anyway, I have to go. You going to be all right?"
"Yes, Mama," Setsuko said pleasantly.
Serenity kissed her on the cheek and then glided off, her gown changing as she went. Setsuko watched her go. For a moment, she felt guilty about what she was doing, for she didn't want to hurt Serenity for anything in the world. But curiosity got the better of her and she returned to her exploration.
In a retail section of Tokyo that had just been rebuilt and was slowly getting back to the pre-Ice Disaster norm, business was picking up. People were finding their way back to old shops and restaurants they had favored before the disaster. They were also discovering new shops and new restaurants that had sprung up in the spaces of old establishments who hadn't returned. Foot traffic wasn't up to pre-disaster levels, but signs were encouraging.
Amid the crowd of people hustling back and forth, a man was suddenly there. Nobody was really certain if he'd just appeared or if he'd just been unnoticed until now. He was a tall man, thin and unhealthy looking. His head was bald, his eyes were sunken, and a long, thin, beak-like nose divided sallow cheeks. On his thin, gaunt, brittle frame was a skin-tight suit of metallic silver that covered him completely from head to toe, and was dotted in a specific pattern along his limbs and body by red circles. His eyes were covered by a red visor.
Heads turned and people stared. He was a sight because of his strange costume. Some thought he was an actor in some zentai drama, while others thought it an advertising stunt. Others stared because he was not Japanese. He seemed vaguely European, although he could be American, as there wasn't one identifiable type of American. Such types, though, were not common in Japan, at least not wearing the uniform he was wearing.
The stranger ignored everyone. He held out one arm in front of him, while the hand on the other pressed one of the red circles on his clothing, this one chest high.
"Dead Scream!" came the call from above. The crowd looked up even as a sonic blast struck the stranger dead on, slamming him to the pavement. Leaping down almost from nowhere was a Sailor Senshi carrying a long staff adorned with a large red ruby, her green-black hair cascading behind her as she descended. Though she wasn't familiar to the crowd, the basic design of the uniform told everyone she was one of Queen Serenity's Senshi.
Still, it didn't keep the crowd from falling back to give the combatants plenty of room to battle.
"You shall not have the opportunity to carry out your misguided plans," Sailor Pluto proclaimed. She landed nimbly about fifteen feet from the fallen stranger. Her staff was pointed and ready to fire again, while her lanky body was crouched and ready for any counter move.
"You won't stop it," the fallen stranger told her as he struggled to rise.
"Did you think I would not know you would appear in this place at this moment?" Pluto demanded.
He smiled. "And did you think I wouldn't know that you knew?" he asked.
From behind, a second stranger materialized out of thin air, looking exactly like the stranger on the pavement. Pluto whirled to face him, but too late. She was struck squarely by a concentrated energy discharge from the palms of the second stranger. Crumpling under the assault, Pluto sank to the pavement and fell unconscious. As the second stranger faded from view, the first scrambled over to the fallen Pluto. He grasped her with one hand and touched a circle on his wrist with the other.
The pair faded from view, to the astonishment of the on-looking crowd.
Continued in Chapter 2