Chapter One
Beep…beep…beep…I groaned and rolled over, slowly opening one eye and reaching for the snooze button on my alarm clock. Once the beeping stopped, I rolled back over and smiled softly at my sleeping partner before settling back into my dreamland. Fifteen minutes later, the screech of my alarm woke me once again. After I turned it off, I sat up in the bed and sighed. I had a strange feeling something was going to happen, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I carefully got out of the bed and crept out of the room, trying not to wake Haruka.
I walked down the hall to the stairs, stopping at the top for a brief moment to think. We had been through a lot lately, and after finally defeating the Deathbusters, we thought it would be best to hide out for a while and recover, possibly try to resume a normal life. I sighed, and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. I put the tea kettle on the stove, then walked over to the tea cabinet and pulled out the box of peach mango tea. It was my favorite one, because Haruka had gotten it for me for my birthday.
After a few moments, the kettle began to whistle, so I walked over to turn it off. I placed the tea bag into my cup and poured the steaming water over it and left it to steep. When it was done, I pulled the tea bag out and stirred some sugar into it. I seated myself at the table, and began to think some more about our last battle with the Deathbusters. Sailor Saturn vanquished them all, and sacrificed herself to save us. I wondered where she was now…after she had died in the battle, she was reborn as an infant. I wondered if she had been reunited with her fathe, who was in the hospital suffering from minor injuries from a reported lab explosion. I guess that was a good way of putting it…no one else knew that he had been possessed by an evil being who used him to try to destroy us all…no one would believe that. Thinking back, the whole situation seemed like smething out of a Hollywood blockbuster.
I also wondered what Usagi and the others were doing now. I missed them, and thought about going to visit, but I knew that for the moment, things were better this way. If we were supposed to meet again one day, I knew we would.
Moments later, I heard a noise behind me. I turned to see Haruka standing there, smiling. She seated herself next to me and I smiled back, placing my hand over hers.
"Good morning" I said softly.
"Good morning. How did you sleep?" Haruka asked.
"I slept alright" I said with a sigh.
"Just alright? Is something bothering you?" Haruka replied, sounding worried. She knew me too well sometimes.
"No, not really. I just have a lot on my mind." I then began to explain everything I was thinking about to Haruka. As I spoke, she nodded in agreement.
"I know what you mean" Haruka said amidst a yawn. "I also wonder what happened to Setsuna…I haven't seen her since the last battle at all." We had a sneaking suspicion about what had happened to her. Since she broke the rule about stopping time to save us, she's probably stuck guarding the time gate again. Hopefully we would see her again soon.
(Across town, Hikawa Shrine)
"Usagi, would you pay attention please?" Luna scolded. Usagi flipped her long blonde pigtails behind her shoulders and rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"I don't understand why we have to have these meetings. The enemy is gone! Can't we quit worrying about nothing and do something fun?" she whined.
"We may not be free yet" Luna explained, then turned to Rei. "Will you tell the others what you told me this morning, Rei?" The girl nodded, her intense dark eyes flickering.
"I had a vision" she began. Usagi and the others leaned in to listen. "I think something bad is going to happen."
"Like what?" Usagi asked.
"I don't know." Rei answered. "We just have to be on the lookout."
"I hope it's not another enemy" Usagi groaned. "I want to spend my time with Mamo-chan, not fighing bad guys!"
"Oh, get over it!" Rei responded, becoming aggravated. "What kind of a leader are you, if you can't be serious for once?"
"You're so mean, Rei!" Usagi wailed. "I never said I didn't want to be the leader of the group! I just don't want to have to worry about anything right now…" Usagi said, her voice softening. "But, if anything does happen, we'll stop it! Right?"
"Right!" the others said in unison. The tension in the air disappeared, and the five girls began to laugh and chat about anything and everything they could think of.
(Haruka and Michiru's)
"We should do something fun" I said, looking at Haruka with pleading eyes.
"That's a great idea. We could go to the beach" she suggested. I giggled, and nodded in approval. I went upstairs to change into my bathing suit, then slipped a blue floral sundress over it. I put on my beaded sandals, then headed out of the bedroom, stopping in the bathroom to grab the sunscreen. Soon after I reached the bottom of the stairs, we were off.
When we arrived at the beach, I stepped out of Haruka's car and happily breathed in the salty ocean air. I always loved the ocean, and it wasn't just because I was Sailor Neptune. There was something so calming and beautiful about it, and I loved that. Haruka got out of the car and stood next to me, grinning at me.
"You look happy" she said. I giggled and turned to look at her.
"Of course I am!" I said. "I'm at my favorite place in the world, with my favorite person in the world! What could be better?" Haruka smiled again then grabbed my hand as we walked out onto the soft, white sand. It was so nice not having to worry about anything, and I wished every day could be this way.
(Local Hospital)
A woman lay in her hospital bed, sleeping. The IV machine next to her hummed lowly, and the various other machines around her clicked and beeped. She was covered in scratches and bruises, and her flame red hair was slightly matted from not having been washed in a while. Her chest slowly moved with every ragged breath she took. A nurse entered the room and walked over to the woman, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Smith?" she said quietly. The woman opened her eyes slowly and glanced over at the nurse. The color of her eyes matched the intense red shade of her hair.
"Yes?"
"I just spoke with Dr. Reeves, and he said your condition has improved significantly. You're free to go home today, if you'd like" the nurse explained.
"That's fantastic news, thank you nurse!" the woman said.
"You're very welcome! Just be sure you take it easy, and don't do anything too strenuous. You're still pretty weak from that accident. You know, it's pretty miraculous you're still here. I don't know too many people who could survive swerving off a cliff like that" the nurse said.
"I won't!" the woman said cheerfully, smiling at the nurse as she left the room. The second the nurse left, the woman's demeanor changed. The cheerfulness left her eyes, and they were filled with darkness. She snickered to herself, then carefully got out of the bed to change out of her hospital gown.
"Don't you worry" she muttered under her breath. "I won't be doing a thing just yet."
