A/N: Well, time for the author's note, but I really don't know what to say. Yay, I have two reviews already on the prologue? Give away spoilers for my story? (That one is not gonna happen.) What? Still it's customary for me to do this, so here's my waste of space.
To my reviewers:
nannaF: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I will tell you this, I'm just going to briefly brush over the first three story lines (Those being the Dark Kingdom, the Aliens, and the Black Moon Clan.). My character will not actually have much of an effect until the Death Buster Saga. Actually, he'll just have been an observer to those, not even fully waking until the fight between Sailor Moon and the Black Lady came to an end. Still, I think you'll enjoy what I have in store for this.
Phantasy Star: Good to know that it seems interesting. I have plans for this, though I'm not too experienced at angst. I also am not the MOST experienced with romance, considering I've only ever has one sorta girlfriend (By that I mean we never did more than have lunch together and admit to mutual attraction.). But I hope it measures up to your expectations.
Chapter 1: Awakening
Otowa Sansho sat up in his bed gasping for breath as he woke from a terrifying dream. They had been coming with more frequency now. Normally he would blame it on the appearance of the Sailor Senshi, after all, he was a boy on the cusp of puberty, but there was a problem. His dreams had begun a week before the Senshi had first appeared. Yeah, Sailor V had been spoken of, but she had still been considered an urban legend. With the appearance of Sailor Moon, Sansho became worried. He felt an odd sense of nostalgia and pain every time he heard her name or saw an image of her. It wasn't right! He was a young man, and he was fourteen! He shouldn't already be pining for an unattainable love!
'Wait, wait, wait. Love? I'm fourteen! I can't be in love! I'm supposed to have immature crushes, and be picking on the girls that I have crushes on, not getting all angst-ridden like a high-schooler! Come on, man, pull yourself together. You still have another couple years until you're allowed to be like that.' After that, he got up and quickly started getting ready for the day. He was supposed to meet up with Shoji and Akira in the main part of town soon.
After a brief breakfast, and saying good-bye to his parents, Sansho was charging down the street, hoping that he would not be late meeting with his friends. They had a standing deal that the last one there paid for the food that day and he had already used up half of his allowance the day before when he had arrived last. As he neared the meeting point, he noticed that it seemed a little darker than normal, but just shrugged it off in his haste. The spot was just around the corner now.
He made it to the spot, and nearly danced in joy. Not only was he not last, he was first! He was never first there! That wasn't an exaggeration, either. After all, his friends enjoyed showing him the record. He was totally going to rub this in their faces when the got there. He sat on a bench to wait for them, planning exactly what to say, that might sound cool.
Fifteen minutes later, he was starting to worry. They were never this late. What if they were sick, or had canceled the day and he had left before they could tell him? Just as he was getting ready to leave, Shoji came running up to the spot, a look of excitement on his face. "Dude, you've got to see this! Sailor Moon and the Senshi are having another big battle! They're fighting the Black Lady!"
"Where? Are they all right?"
"Man, you've totally got a whopper of a crush on Moon." Shoji grinned at him, and Sansho began turning red, knowing the teasing he was about to endure. "Not that I blame you. She's seriously hot, and runs around in that skirt. But come on, couldn't you have a crush on one of the cooler ones? I mean, yeah, she leads them, but she's such a blonde! I mean, speeches? When you're about to fight a monster? The things probably don't understand what she's saying half the time. And they're so cheesy to! Also, she's probably the least developed of them, and usually just throws herself around trying to stay alive while the others fight. But, hey, man. You're choice, and it could be worse. You could have had a thing for Tuxedo Kamen.
"Now tell me, do you have a poster of her hanging over your bed? Are you gonna ask for her autograph? Maybe her phone number? Just to warn you though, I think she and Tuxedo Kamen are an item. Can't understand why, the guy looks like he bats for the home team, but whatever. After all, you kinda look like that too." Sansho took a mock irritated swing at his best friend, and Shoji stepped back, waving his arms. "Sorry, just kidding. You're the epitome of masculinity. Your muscles make me tremble in fear."
"No, that's just all the fat you have quivering while you walk." Shoji stared at Sansho in shock for a second, before he began laughing. As the two hurried to the sight where the battle would take place, they began trading friendly insults, the danger of the situation forgotten. Finally they arrived, seeing the battle come to an end, Sailor Moon unsurprisingly victorious. Unknown to them, the battle had left some structural damage on the building. The crowd dispersed, leaving Sansho and his two friends staring at the scene of the epic battle. Akira turned and noticed his two friends.
"Hey, Shoji, Sansho. Don't worry; I caught the whole fight on film, so you can watch it all later. It was cool. It's too bad the Black Lady turned back into a little kid after the fight though. She was… just wow."
"Dude, she might have looked like a teen, but she was still just a kid. That's a little creepy."
"Shoji, shut up. I wouldn't do anything now, but if I meet her when she is a teen, she's gonna be a total babe. Besides, your fixation with older women is a little creepy also. I'm glad my mom's married, because if she wasn't I would be scared to invite you over." Sansho almost fell over laughing.
"Oh, yeah? Well, that's cool. We can start hanging out at my house more. But if you so much as start looking at my little sister, Akira…"
"Come on, man! I'm not into little kids! She's twelve, and you are SICK!"
"She might be twelve, but that's probably older than the kid form of the Black Lady. Besides, I think she might have a little crush on you." Akira looked at Shoji in shock, before pretending to gag.
"Tell her to wait four years, and I'll consider it. Until then, that's just gross." Shoji laughed and gave his friend a playful punch to the shoulder.
"Right, like I'd ever encourage her to date you…" Suddenly a lady screamed, and every eye turned toward her, then in the direction she was staring. Akira, Shoji, and Sansho froze. A piece of the building they were under was falling directly toward them. As it grew closer, each of them felt varying degrees of shock as they began to realize that they were about to die. Akira wished he had taken the time to say good-bye to his parents this morning, and to tell them he loved them. Shoji felt tears welling up in his eyes at the knowledge that he wouldn't be there to help his little sister. His father tried his best, but it just wasn't enough with their mother dead. Shoji wouldn't be there to give advice, or protection, or comfort… Sansho just stared, until a little voice caught his attention. He felt strength welling up within him, and he remembered a phrase from his dreams.
"Life Shield." A thin hazy barrier formed between the three boys and the rubble. When the chunk of rebar and concrete hit the barrier, it turned to dust, and drifted down onto the three boy's heads. Then Sansho collapsed to the ground, unconscious. His two friends turned to him, there eyes widening in shock as they beheld their friend. He still looked the same, physically, but his clothing was completely different. Instead of jeans and a t-shirt, he was wearing a golden tunic with black designs running across it, and had black pauldrons on his shoulders. His legs were covered by black and gold armor with more designs on them. On his head was a crown that seemed to shift between the two colors that seemed to be his theme. Then they noticed the crowd that was starting to form around them, and they grabbed their friend. The two shared a glance, communicating and forming a plan silently. Shoji hid Sansho's face, while Akira began causing a scene to distract the by-standers. In the chaos that he caused, Shoji slipped away. Akira would find them in a couple hours, and by then, Sansho would hopefully be awake.
Sansho groaned in pain, his mind slowly returning to the land of the living. Then his memory returned, and he sat up in shock. The quick movement proved to be a mistake, as his small breakfast made an unplanned and unwanted break for freedom. "Come on, man! If you gotta spew, try not to do it on my bed, please." He looked over, and saw Shoji sitting by him. His face must have shown his nervousness, because Shoji grinned at him. "Don't worry about it. You just saved my life, so you're entitled to one free throw-up-on-Shoji's-bed coupon. And the crazy awesome powers, and clothing, can be explained once Akira gets here. Now get off the bed for a second so I can clean it and throw the sheets in the wash. While I do this, find my sister, and tell her that I asked her to make some snacks for us. Also tell her that Akira likes rice-balls, and will be here shortly."
"Shoji, you're awful. I'm not gonna tell your sister to make something Akira hates! She'd never forgive me, and would tell my parents and older sister about it. I will ask her to make us something though. I could seriously use some food."
"Fine, fine. I'll leave you out of my evil plots for now. You're seriously no fun though. Too scared of your sister to give your best friend a hand in protecting his sister. What is the world coming to?"
"Your sister is safe from Akira for now, and my sister is a dojo instructor. She could rip me apart with just her pinky. Besides, you're scared of her too."
"You should really be looking for my sister, and I need to wash these sheets. What are you just standing around for? Oh, you might want to cancel out the armor before leaving this room." Sansho looked down at himself for the first time since he woke up, and just kept staring. "Okay, yeah, your armors cool, but you had better quit ogling yourself, or I'm gonna through you out of my house." Sansho glared at his friend.
"I recognize this stuff. I saw myself wearing it in a dream."
"What, that one with Sailor Moon, and living on the moon?"
"Yeah. This is a little creepy. Does the dream mean something, or what?"
"Sure it does! It clearly means that you and Sailor Moon are… Aliens, sent to invade earth by gathering a large following, then eating your follower's brains! Though any follower of yours would probably have to lack brains anyway. After all, no intelligent being would follow you."
"Oh shut up. Now how do I get this stuff off?" The armor vanished, leaving him in his normal clothes. "Oh, that's how. Well, I'm gonna find your sister now. Want me to grab the air freshener while I'm at it?"
"Sure. It smells bad in here."
"Yeah, and my throwing up didn't help it any." Sansho laughed as a pillow smacked him in the back of the head.
Akira panted in exhaustion. It was a good thing he was on his school's track team. There's no way he would have avoided being caught if he had been any slower. He had needed to do something drastic to help his friend escape, so he chose the most shocking distraction he could think of on the spot. He just prayed nobody he knew saw him streaking down main street. He would be sooo screwed if someone had. But that was unimportant right now. He needed to know if Sansho was fine, and what had happened on the street.
He walked up to Shoji's door, and gave it a quick knock. The door flew open, and Akira saw Kimiko grinning at him. "Akira-kun, Sansho-san told me you would be here soon! He asked me to make some dango and send them up with you." So saying, the twelve-year-old shoved a plate into his hands, and dragged him inside.
"Ah, thanks, Kimiko-chan. Sansho's awake? Where are they?"
"They're in Shoji-niisan's room."
"Okay. Thanks again for the dango."
"It's no problem, Akira-kun. I was happy to make them." Akira walked up the stairs, slightly flattered, but also worried by the girl's crush. He reached the hall leading to his friend's room, and heard a soft thwack followed by a spraying sound, and Shoji coughing. When he opened the door, he saw Shoji flailing a pillow in front of himself, while Sansho wielded a can of air freshener like a weapon.
"Hey, guys. I'm here, and I brought dango!" Shoji looked at Sansho in shock.
"You not only refused to tell my sister to make rice ball, but actually told her his favorite snack? Traitor!" He leaped at Sansho with his pillow, and Sansho side-stepped. The spray can came up, and Shoji got another blast of "fresh floral fragrance." He went down gasping, and Akira just laughed at the spectacle.
"All right, children, settle down now." He turned to a desk and set the dango down. When he turned around, he got two pillows to the face, making him collapse. The two armed boys spent a few minutes wailing on him, until he cried uncle. Then they all settled down, and Sansho began explaining what he thought was happening.
Once he finished talking, Akira looked at him. "So, you think you're a reincarnated alien from the moon, or Pluto, or something? That's totally awesome! My best friend's an alien! Hey, now we know why you're so infatuated with Sailor Moon, too! You loved her in your past life. Okay, actually, that bit's kinda cheesy, but the rest is awesome. Sansho grabbed one of the pillows, and threw it at him. From there, all serious conversation came to an end, as a mass pillow fight drove all reason from there fourteen year old minds.
A/N: Another chapter done and I think this might be my longest one ever! I realize the age difference in the present is actually smaller than it was in the Moon Kingdom, and it was not an accident on my part. The cause of this will be explained in later chapters. Now, to give my customary notice. To all people: If you like my story, you may review. If you want to give constructive criticism, go right ahead. If you dislike it, or just want to flame me, that's fine too. Flames and such do not bother me. But please try not to sound like an idiot in your flames, and please keep cussing to a minimal, if at all. There are children that may read the reviews. Thank you and have a nice day.
