Act 2

Sun and Moon


It has been about three days since the incident with the clothing store, and I still couldn't believe that it had actually happened. Apollo had been staying at my home with me after I talked my father into letting me keep him, so I at least had that much to anchor me to reality.

Oddly enough, my classmates seemed to quickly learn about the incident at the outlet, though I noticed that Osaka seemed especially intrigued, having apparently had a similar experience at her family's own jewelry store that same night. She and her mother were attacked by a monster, and rescued by a beautiful soldier named Sailor Moon. I wonder who she is…

However, the one thing I found consistently being on my mind was the Hellhound. He inadvertently saved my life that night… I could still see his shiny silver fur, and sapphire blue eyes… those firm, tone muscles… okay, I need to stop right now.

Anyway, school had just let out today, and I was trudging home, staring at the sidewalk below, so I ended up bumping into someone, and fell back on my rear. I quickly looked up to see that same, white-haired boy I stomped on the other day.

"You again!?" he shouted at me. "You have something against me, bitch!?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk, bastard!" I screamed back. "Why weren't you looking where you were going, Mr. Filthy Tracksuit!?"

"My name is not 'Filthy Tracksuit', idiot! It's Sentoki Kemono! Make sure you remember it the next time you go out of your way to ruin my day, Ms. Black and Blonde!"

"It's Hikari Taiyono, dummy! It literally means '(ray of) light of the Sun'! Even you could remember it!" With that, I pushed past 'Kemono', and continued on my way.

"Hikari… that was really mean." I heard Apollo chastise me from nearby. I turned to see him walking along the sidewalk next to me.

"Hey, it's not my fault that some people are idiots." I responded bitterly. "He should have been looking where he was going."

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical of you to say? You weren't exactly being a paragon of awareness yourself…"

I sighed in irritation, internally conceding his point… but I would never admit it out loud because a rich girl is never supposed to be wrong.

Finally, I made it back home, so I dropped my bag in my room, and prepared to do my homework, but I was interrupted by one of the maids.

"Uh, Ms. Taiyono, your father wants to see you," she replied shyly. I sighed in irritation, drudging through the manor to my father's study. For about a minute, he didn't look up at me, just staring down at a document on his desk. His short, prematurely gray hair seemed to glisten with sweat, and his prim, and proper suit strained to hold his moderately chunky figure. Finally, he looked up at me, and his dark blue eyes seemed to stare into my soul.

"Uh…" I started hesitantly. "…you wanted to see me, father?"

"Yeah, that's right." My father said. "Since tomorrow's Sunday, I want you to stay here for the day, and try out some of the prototype dresses our designers have whipped up. I expect to get at least 5000 dresses tested by the end of the day."

I stared at my father in shock. Is he out of his mind!? "Father… I don't want to question your orders or anything… but 5000 dresses is a bit too much, don't you think?"

"Which is precisely why I asked a random girl in your class to model the dresses with you." He replied back. "That way, you'll get through the work twice as fast."

"That's not exactly my problem, father…"

"Good. Now get to your room, I have a lot of work to get through."

I didn't even bother trying to continue the conversation. I knew what he was like. When he was finished with a conversation, then that was it. He wouldn't acknowledge anything else you had to say, especially if it went against what he was just talking about. I sighed before making my way to my room. I could see Apollo waiting for me on my bed, and I just gave him a tired look before collapsing into the seat at the desk. Might as well just deal with my homework.


At 7:00 AM the next morning, I was standing in the foyer, in a casual outfit, watching the help assemble a makeshift runway for the modeling. I sighed in irritation. My father has no care for his employees, or for the condition of the product. All he cares about is making money. I honestly doubt the designers even HAVE 5000 designs ready. I could see a number of them sweating hard, panting as they ran around. One of the maids ran towards me, noticing that I was staring at them.

"Don't worry about us, mistress…" one panted. "You just worry about yourself and the extra model… speaking of which, she should be arriving soon, right?" I glanced down at a wristwatch I was wearing in response.

"I'm not sure…" As soon as I said that, I heard the doors open behind me, and spun around to face the classmate my father hired… and gaped in horror.

There, standing in the doorway of my mansion home, was Usagi Tsukino.

Making eye contact with me, she ran forward, and grabbed my hand, shaking it in excitement.

"Taiyono, I am so honored that your father wanted me to test model dresses for him! Though I think 5000 dresses is a bit unreasonable, and not just for me either. Do your designers even have that many designs ready, and are they all actually finished?" We heard a scream of panic from a side room, and we both turned to see a number of people running in and out of the room in a panic, carrying numerous patterns of fabric and sketchbooks. I can safely assume the answer to both is "no".

"Let's just get this over with…" I muttered, noticing that the runway was finished. Tsukino and I took turns entering a side room to change into a test dress, and then show it off on the runway. It was going fine at first, but as it went on, it became more and more obvious how unprepared the designers and semesters were. Some dresses were made in odd shapes that covered too little, others had weird color choices, and others still had evidence of still cut fabric showing. It was becoming clearer and clearer that the dresses were being made in haste. Eventually, I couldn't take anymore, and called for a time out. Tsukino evidently shared my sentiments, as I could see her consoling one of the workers on site.

I quickly made my way over to the designer's room, intending to tell them to calm down and take their time, but when I opened the door, I was stunned. A large number of the designers were passed out on the floor, some slumped over in chairs, and in the middle of the room, harvesting their stress and wasted energy, was a tall, blue-skinned youma wearing a patchwork dress.

"Oh, yes…" I heard her murmur as she admired her collection. "Master Jadeite will reward me for such a fine load." As quietly as I could, I backed out of the room, hoping she wouldn't notice me. I had to get Tsukino and the rest of the staff out of the mansion before this thing hurts them. Unfortunately, just before I could close the door, the youma suddenly turned right towards me, and we made eye contact. At that moment, I started panicking, and slammed the door shut before jumping away from it, just as the youma inside destroyed it with an energy beam that nicked my shoulder.

I looked up to see Tsukino and the maids staring at me in shock and terror before lifting their gazes up at the door. I risked a glance behind me to see the youma emerging from the room, her dress billowing in a sudden breeze.

"Run!" I screamed at the onlookers. "Get out of here!" Immediately, the maids and staff ran for the front door, scrambling for safety. Tsukino, on the other hand… She ran to my side, grabbed me, and ran to the nearest hallway, away from the youma.

"What are you doing!?" I demanded as I pushed her away from me. I knew I couldn't transform into Sailor Sun with a witness, but on a more immediate level… I felt insulted that a commoner would try to help a rich girl.

"I couldn't leave you there…" Tsukino responded. "I had to help you get away from…"

"HELP ME!?" I shouted back at her. At this point I was finally at my wit's end with this girl. "What is your problem!? Why can't you just accept that a rich girl can never accept help from a commoner like you?!"

"Would you?" she asked me.

"Were you not listening to me?" I asked her annoyed. "A. Rich. Girl. Would never. Accept…"

"But would YOU?" Tsukino asked me again. "You've just been telling me what 'a rich girl' would do… not what you would do. So what WOULD you do?" I just gave her a blank stare.

"I don't understand the question." I replied simply, and Tsukino just gave me this understanding, pitying look.

"Apollo was right. You are just following a template." That shocked me. Apollo actually talked to her? Why would he…? "Do you even have any idea who you are? Why Sailor Sun feels that much more real than Hikari Taiyono does?" She knows that I'm Sailor Sun? Did Apollo tell her? "It's because as Sailor Sun… you can't follow a template. You're forced to be yourself." At that point the youma appeared behind us, glaring at the intruders to her ploy. Tsukino was visibly shaking, but she forced herself to her feet and stood between me and the youma. "I know the kind of person I am. I'm a klutz, and a moron, and a crybaby… but I'm also willing to protect those I consider my friends!" Tsukino… sees me as her friend? As I looked on, she did something I would never forget…

"Moon Prism Power! Make-Up!" as she said that, the brooch she was wearing sparkled, and I could only watch in awe as she transformed the same way I did the other day. Usagi Tsukino… is Sailor Moon… "For love and justice, I am the pretty guardian in a sailor suit. I am Sailor Moon! And now in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"

I could only sit there, staring in confusion as Sailor Moon engaged the youma in combat. It was clear that she was still new to this, but to her credit, so was the youma apparently. I was still processing everything when the youma finally gained the upper hand, pinning Sailor Moon to the wall. She got ready to kill her…

To kill Sailor Moon…

To kill Usagi Tsukino…

To kill… my classmate…

To kill… my… friend.

"Hikari…" I heard my mother whisper as she handed me the amulet with the sun motif, "If you ever have to protect a friend, you need only believe in yourself…" I slowly came to my feet, reaching for the amulet. "Raise this amulet over your head, and say this phrase aloud…" She leaned in close to whisper in my ear…

"Sun Spectrum Power… Make Up…"

"Sun Spectrum Power… Make-Up!"

The light from my transformation immediately grabbed the youma's attention, giving me an opening to toss one of my Solar Wind Fans at her wrist, freeing Moon.

"For love and truth, I am the pretty guardian in a sailor suit!" I shouted at the youma, providing my own spiel. "I am Sailor Sun! Now submit, to the fury of the light!"

I could see that the youma was anxious now that there were two Sailor Guardians facing it, and Moon and I were ready and willing to press the advantage. In perfect synchronization, Sailor Moon and I rushed the youma, and gave it a flying kick to the face, forcing it onto its back. It got back up more quickly than I was expecting, and suddenly charged at us. Moon leapt out of the way in the nick of time, but I was caught completely off guard, and got rammed through the wall to the outside… except we had fled to the third floor of the mansion. Usagi must have been pulled me farther than I thought.

I think I heard Moon scream my name in worry, but the Youma must have tried to stop her because she yelped in sudden pain a split second later. I shot my hand out, hoping to catch the edge of the mansion floor, but I just missed. Just I was ready to give in to despair, a furry hand grabbed my wrist, and I looked up to see the Hellhound staring down at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, slightly out of breath. I felt my face heat up as I stuttered out a shaky assurance, after which he pulled me back into the building. I could see Youma on the floor in pain, along with Sailor Moon kneeling across from it, with an older, masked man in a black tuxedo helping her to her feet. I noticed that Sailor Moon was looking at this man with a longing look in her eyes.

I shook my head as I rushed to her side, the masked man stepping aside to let me close to her. She simply smiled at me in reassurance, slowly turning to the youma across the hall. Smirking in victory, she slowly took off her tiara, and I watched in shock as it morphed into a sharp ring. I mimicked her, bringing one of my fans to the ready.

"Moon Tiara Boomerang!" Sailor Moon exclaimed as she threw her discus and I threw my fan. They both cut clean through the youma, causing it turn to dust.

"We did it!" Moon exclaimed, wrapping me in a grateful hug. I spared her a grateful glance, before turning to see the masked tuxedo guy and the Hellhound sharing a look.

"The Silver Crystal isn't here…" the guy in the tuxedo reported.

"I figured as much…" I heard the Hellhound reply. "We should get out of here." With that, they both turned to leave.

"Wait!" Moon exclaimed noticing that the boys were about to leave. "Tuxedo Mask! I want to thank you… for saving me again." Again? She met this guy before?

The young man… Tuxedo Mask, I guess… turned slightly to look at her, smiling softly. "There is no need to thank me… Sailor Moon." With that said, he and the Hellhound leaped through the hole in the wall, and off into the distance. I stared after the latter, feeling my heart start beating erratically at his retreating form. It was official.

I'm in love.


FIN