"Rei-chan!" squealed a one Tsukino Usagi, "You are so mean!"
"Well, it's true," said the priestess Hino Rei."If you eat like that anymore, you'll be too fat for Mamoru-chan to hug when he visits!" Usagi pouted and Makoto patted her back sympathetically. Usagi had just finished her second banana split and was wanting to order another.
"Usagi-chan, Rei-chan has a point," Mizuno Ami said. "Eating such sweets as constantly as you are isn't healthy, even if it won't make you as fat as she claims." Aino Minako nodded in agreement. Usagi simply pouted.
After an hour of trying to get Usagi to eat something healthy, the four friends managed to get a salad into her before continuing their window-shopping. All of them loved to look at the beautiful dresses, even the tomboyish Makoto. Then they came upon a large crowd on their side of the street. "What's going on?" Usagi asked.
"There is a music seminar," Minako said. "I heard Michiru-chan and Haruka-chan talking about it. It lasts for three days."
The girls opted to walk on the opposite side of the street to avoid the crowd. As they crossed at the crosswalk, Rei squealed. A teenage boy who looked not much younger than Rei had run into her. "Oh, I'm sorry!" the boy cried. Rei hadn't fallen, for Makoto had caught her.
Rei's temper suddenly flared. "Watch where you're going!" Rei hollered.
The boy cowered and held some sort of case between himself and Rei, as if shielding himself. Minako and Makoto tried to pull her out of her street. They succeeded in time to miss traffic. Rei was complaining loudly. The girls stopped for a moment to watch the boy. They lost sight of him as he disappeared into the crowd of the music seminar. All of the girls, with the exception of Rei, felt sorry for the boy; he appeared to be pretty shaken up.
"Bumbling, clumsy, blind baka," Rei muttered. The others could only shake their heads. "Alright! I need to cool off!" Rei said as she stormed into the nearest clothing store. Usagi, Minako, Ami, and Makoto just stood in front of the store and stared. They shrugged and went into the jewelry store a few doors down. Twenty minutes later, hell broke loose.
"Oh, can't believe I slept in!" shouted 15 year old Sukotto. With the handle of his trumpet case grasped tightly in his hand, he sprinted down the streets to the music seminar, occasionally sweeping his short black hair back out of nervousness. His Jazz Club was to be preforming after lunch at the seminar, and Sukotto was not looking forward to seeing the director's face if he was not there on time to do his solo. Not only that, but Sukotto didn't want to disappoint the band, especially not Arissa. She had promised that she would be at the seminar to listen; she wouldn't be preforming because she did not have a solo written for the piece they were doing.
"Oh, I'm going to be in trouble!" Sukotto cried as he passed another clock. If he wasn't there in fifteen minutes, he would be late. He smiled as, seven minutes later, the crowd of the seminar came into view. All he had to do was cross the street and he would be there. To his luck, the light changed and allowed pedestrians to cross. As he sprinted across the street, however, he smacked into a raven-haired girl. When Sukotto turned to look at her, she was red in the face and fire shown in her eyes. "Watch where you're going!" the girl hollered. The girl's rage frightened him and he was afraid that he'd be hit. He put his trumpet case in front of his head to protect himself. As he walked backward, he noticed that the girl was being led away by two other girls. As Sukotto stepped onto the curb, the light changed.
"That was too close," he said, exhaling sharply. He suddenly snapped back to the present and jogged into the crowd, pushing his way to the entrance. After a minute of identifying himself to the door guard, Sukotto was in and running to the stage. He reached it and climbed onto it, darting backstage. There, his director waited.
"Almost late," he said. "I was sure you wouldn't make it." Sukotto could only nod breathlessly.
"Hello Himotono-san," said a voice form behind. Sukotto turned around. Standing behind him was Akikusano Arissa, the red-haired, blue-eyed, glasses-wearing saxophone soloist that often accompanied the Jazz band. "Here, I'll put that together while you catch your breath." Arissa took Sukotto's trumpet case and set it on the floor. She brushed back her short pigtail as it got in her face. She unlatched it and opened it, pulling out Sukotto's silver trumpet. She inserted the mouthpiece and looked up at him. "Good luck, Himotono-san," Arissa said as she handed him the trumpet. Before he could express his thanks, one of the other trumpet players began pushing Sukotto out of the curtain.
Sukotto stood at his seat and looked at Arissa. She smiled and turned, taking the few steps from the stage to the main floor. "Thank you, Akikusano-san," Sukotto whispered before sitting down.
The band played their three songs and all three of Sukotto's solos sounded wonderful. After the third song, the director bid his farewell and departed, leaving the members of the Jazz club to mingle at the seminar. Sukotto looked for Arissa, but she was nowhere to be found. After a couple minutes, Sukotto returned to the stage to collect his trumpet. Then, screams filled the air. Sukotto darted on stage and looked at the crowd. Over half were on the ground, and the other half was dropping like flies. Then, the cause made itself clear.
A monster that looked like a giant black tiger with red stripes could be seen as more and more people fell. The tiger had a third eye on its forehead that suddenly focused on Sukotto. The monster dropped the man it was holding and screeched, walking over to the stage. Sukotto stood there, frozen in fear. The monster raised one horrible claw and brought it down to strike Sukotto, but it hit the stage instead. Sukotto was flying for a moment before landing on the carpeting of the main floor. He looked up to who was holding onto him. He was shocked to be looking into the eyes of the senshi of Mars.
Mars could not believe it. She had just saved the life of the boy who had rudely run into her earlier! Then again, Mars knew that it was her duty to protect the innocent. Now she was glaring at the tiger-like monster. "How dare you attack innocent people who's only intent today was to enjoy good music and to play good music? With the fire of passion and the power of prayer, I am Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I'll punish you!" Mars did her speech and pose and before she knew it, she was sparring with the agile monster. She grunted as she dodged each blow, unable to strike the monster. She could not get far enough away to send a fire attack at it, so she had to rely on her hand-to-hand combat knowledge. She didn't get to use too much, however. A feinted attack sent Mars flying into the side of the stage. She tried to get up, but she hardly made it to her knees before the monster raised its claw to attack her. Before it did, it turned away from Mars. The clunk of something hitting the monster twice caught Mars' attention, and the monster's. Mars looked and saw the teenage boy was hitting the monster with a chair. Mars screamed at the boy. "No, don't!" she screamed. "He'll kill you!" Mars was about to say something else, but she suddenly felt weaker than ever. The monster began backing away as both Mars and the boy began glowing.
"Leave her alone, dammit!" Sukotto screamed as the monster was about to attack Sailor Mars. He grabbed one of the folding chairs that were collapsed on the floor and ran at the monster. He beat on the monster's back twice before it turned to him. Sukotto stared in fear, not knowing what else to do. Someone was yelling at him. If he had known better, he would have assumed that the raven-haired girl from before was yelling at him.
He didn't get to think about the voice any more before his body began to glow red like a Christmas bulb. The monster began backing away. Sukotto looked over and realized that Sailor Mars was also glowing. Then, it felt like fire was shooting through his veins. Sukotto wailed as it felt like his skin was on fire. Everything became red and it felt like his entire body was being squeezed. Then, it stopped. He felt odd, but he didn't feel the burning or squeezing sensations anymore.
His legs felt cold and it certainly didn't feel like he was wearing pants. He looked down and he screamed. He was wearing a red skirt! His legs were slim and shaved and he had on a pair of red boots the pointed at his knee. He looked at his arms in a panic. He was wearing short white gloves that had three red bands at the end. He felt his waist; it was slim. Then, he screamed again. It was a girlish scream, and it was in another realization. He was dressed like a sailor senshi. He had turned into a girl! Moments after he screamed, Sukotto was thrown aside, crashing into the side of the stage next to Sailor Mars. Only, Sailor Mars wasn't there. In her place was the raven-haired girl who had fire in her eyes.
She was staring at Sukotto in disbelief. "Oh my God..." she finally squeaked. She snapped her head in the direction of the monster and in a split second was flying into the air. Without thinking, Sukotto jumped into the air and caught the girl, landing gracefully on the stage. He couldn't ponder at his impulse as the monster charged at them. Then, it dissolved in a rain of pink. Standing behind where the monster had been were four sailor senshi. Eternal Sailor Moon, and Super Sailors Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus were standing side by side, gaping at the two on the stage. Then, Sukotto fainted.
"So what are we suppose to do?" said Ami as the five girls sat around a table in Rei's room. Ami had finally broken the silence. No one knew what to say, really. When Makoto found out that there was trouble at the seminar and Rei had responded to it, Ami, Minako, Usagi, and Makoto transformed in an alley and went to the seminar in time to stop the monster before it could cut Rei to ribbons. Rei wasn't alone, though; the boy who had run into her earlier was next to her, having caught her when the monster threw her into the air. Only, the boy wasn't a boy anymore. He had transformed into a sailor senshi similar to Sailor Mars. He even had the sign of Mars blazing in red on his forehead. The boy had fainted and returned to being normal. With the members of the seminar slowly reawakening, the senshi grabbed the boy and Rei and darted backstage and outside.
Luna and Artemis were at the temple, waiting for the girls after learning of the attack. They, too, were speechless at what had happened."What are we going to do?" echoed Luna as she looked at Ami's computer. It was monitoring the boy's stats. His health was normal, but his energies were almost twice that which were Rei's when she was transformed.
Everyone shook their heads, still unable to find anything to say. "How about I answer that for you?" said a voice. Everyone turned their heads to the door that led outside. It was open and a dog was sitting at the entrance, staring at everyone intently. The dog had long fur that was splotched black and white. The dog stood and entered the room, passing Luna and sitting next to Rei's bed, where the boy lay sleeping. "This is the beginning of the keepers and the end of the planetary senshi," said the dog in a female voice.
The girls jumped back in surprise. Artemis and Luna sat, still as stone. "What do you mean by that?" Artemis asked.
"This isn't suppose to happen until a millennium after the second rise of the Moon Queen," Luna said.
The dog looked at them sternly. "Things changed, dear Luna," the dog said. "The prophecies have been interrupted and everything has become off-balance. The prophecies from before are no good. The keepers' time is now. The planetary time is ending."
"Then, this boy is the keeper of Mars?" Artemis asked. The dog nodded.
"Sailor Mars is no more?" Luna asked in disbelief.
The dog shook her head. "Indeed," the dog said. "Sailor Mars is no more; Sailor Keeper Mars shall rise in her place."
"Wait just a minute!" Rei cried, jumping to her feet. "What's going on? I'm Sailor Mars!"
Artemis and Luna shook their heads as they turned to the girls. "At the founding of the Moon Kingdom, prophecies were made," the dog began. "Several came true, such as the birth of the moon princess and the birth of the Sailor Senshi. Recently, those prophecies and many more have been shattered."
"The Prophecy of the Keepers and Princesses is this," said Luna. "A millennium after the second rise of the Moon queen, the Princesses of the Moon's court shall be removed from protecting power and shall return to their home worlds to reestablish their respected kingdoms."
"Meaning," Artemis continued, "One millennium after Usagi would have become queen, you girls and the outer senshi would have lost your powers as Senshi and would become queens to your respected planets. Your senshi powers would then have gone to a new generation of senshi, called the keepers. They would uphold the protection of Queen Serenity, but also of their respected kingdoms."
The girls stared at Luna, Artemis, and the mysterious dog with blank stares. The dog sighed. "That prophecy have shattered, hence it will not go like that," she said. "The keepers are emerging now, and the Keeper of Mars has awoken." Everyone looked at the boy. "His name is Himotono Sukotto. He is fifteen and goes to Trinity North High School. He is a member of the Jazz club that was at the seminar. He walks with a permanent limp in his left leg from a train accident in his old home in Kobe. He moved to Tokyo a month ago from yesterday."
"You know all of this how?" Luna asked.
"I suspected him of being a keeper from the moment he moved to Tokyo," the dog replied. The dog then stood and began walking out of the door. "He lives on 23rd in the large, yellow, tri-level. You had better return him home, soon."
"Where are you going?" Artemis asked.
"I have an owner to return to," the dog replied without a glance back.
"Who are you?" Luna asked.
The dog stopped and looked at Luna and Artemis. "My name is Morii," she said. "I am the keeper of the guardians. I awoke from my dormancy two and a half months ago." Then she turned and left. "Oh, and one more thing!" Morii said, poking her head in. "When you wake him up, explain to him EVERYTHING and if he has any questions, have him contact me through this." She pushed what appeared to be a wristwatch into the room with her paw. It was red and had the sign of Mars on the front. Then, the dog was gone.
Makoto looked at the rest of the group. "Do you think that dog has anything to do with those senshi from before?"
Everyone looked at Makoto. "You mean Pluto and Saturn?" Minako asked. Makoto nodded.
"Perhaps," Luna said. "After all, Setsuna and Hotaru have said that they are unable to transform. Those two senshi, those keepers of Pluto and Saturn, must be connected to this boy and that dog."
"We should have asked the dog about it," Ami said.
"No," Artemis said firmly. "Not now. Now is not the time."