My Shitennou: AU First Season Fic

Chapter 2

The Devil's 6 O'clock Bus

Time Gates, Overlooking the Year 2900

Standing at the gates of time with Princess Small Lady, Prince Mamoru and the five Chibi Shitennou, Takeshi turned to address his mother. It did hurt a little knowing that she did not remember him, although she had been making an effort to be as 'normal' about this as she knew how to be. "So, let me get this straight. We are going to the past after two of the Senshi have already awakened? The Shitennou are already well ingrained in Beryl's brainwashing by then. Would it not have been simpler to go further back... and prevent them from being taken at all?"

"Takeshi." Although Pluto's son was a grown man and raised since childhood to know all the ins and the outs of the river of time, Sailor Pluto was still the expert by far. "That time period is too close to the point of the initial disturbance; it is already too unstable to risk. Putting in more people not from that time period could cause the timeline to collapse all together. The best I can do is give you enough time to try to prevent their deaths and get them back to Endymion."

"That may be enough to get the timeline back on track, or at least keep us alive long enough to finish fixing it," Takeshi agreed with a nod, shifting the little princess on his shoulders. They were going to need her and her "Luna-P" toy to fix everyone's memories so that they would not question the presence of the boys. With something this important, Takeshi wasn't willing to leave the matter up to a four-year-old boy. Princess Usagi might be seven-years-old in mind and body but she had also been alive for 900 years and she'd taught her brother how to use his toy.

"I am not sure I see where the survival of the Shitennou affected yours though." Pluto admitted.

"Ripple effect." Takeshi offered with a grin. "You never got to meet my father. Do you think you will be able to get us past your past self without any trouble?"

"No. I will explain to her what is going on; you may end up needing her assistance."

"Fair enough."

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Tokyo, Japan

Tuesday, April 13, 1993

Back in the year 1993, fourteen year old Hino Rei of the Sendai Hill shrine found herself sitting before the sacred fire for what must have been the umpteenth time over the past few days. Her silky raven-black hair fell over her shoulders in waves as her slender fingers moved smoothly through the various motions and symbols that had become like second nature to her. "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" The sacred flames snapped and crackled, jumping up as if with invisible power sent down from God. Behind closed eyelids grew a sense of knowing, a knowledge that wasn't her own. "S-something is coming; something disastrous."

Her dark violet eyes opened to stare into the fire lit up before her. Like blazing infernos, her flickering gaze danced in time with the fire. Something was coming. No, something was here. Someone was here. Brushing a single strand of raven-like hair back behind her eyes, the miko-in-training rose to her feet and turned to make her way back outside. The door slid open with a soft but distinct thud. She stepped out onto the porch, making her way to the railing, down the stairs, and towards the man talking with her grandpa.

"Goodbye, Hino-san, and thank you for taking care of our boys." The man was just in the process of saying goodbye to Grandpa Hino when Rei exited the fire room. As though he had planned it that way, he managed to finish his goodbyes and head for the steps just as the beautiful maiden hit the last step off of the porch. By the time she reached her grandfather, all that could be seen were the pink buns of the child he carried on his shoulders as the pair descended the steps. He sure left in a hurry...

"Ah, Rei-chan! I am glad you are here," Grandpa Hino chirruped joyfully. Rei would have stopped to stare after the man and child except that her attention was recalled by her grandfather and his newfound company. Frowning slightly, she made her way over to see what it was the old man wanted, or more specifically, what the other man had wanted. "My old friend Takeshi called and asked if we could keep an eye on his two grandsons for a while. That boy of his sure has grown since the last time I saw him! Kanechi and Akiyama will be staying with us." Grandpa introduced the children, placing a hand on either boy's shoulder as he did. "Boys, this is my granddaughter, Rei. Don't be scared; she's not as intense as she seems."

"Grandpa..." Rei scolded the old man; her violet eyes narrowed slightly as she studied the boys in question with some suspicion. Could this be what she had been sensing? The elder of the two boys, Kanechi, said not a word but starred at her with a twinkling like stars in his brown eyes. The younger boy, Akiyama, had a different look altogether, a spark like fire in his violet gaze as he grinned at her brightly. But they had one thing in common, the look of knowing.

It was this very look that told her of their special abilities. She had been right about assuming them not normal, and yet... somehow, she didn't think this was what the fire had been warning her of. They weren't normal – then again, neither was she – but they were just little boys. "Welcome to Hikawa Shrine," she offered as her attention was drawn by a couple of little girls and other patrons coming off of the afternoon bus. "I hope you will both stay out of trouble..."

"They won't be any trouble, Rei!" Grandpa assured her with an elated grin. If there was one thing Grandpa loved, it was having children around the shrine. Having a couple of boys staying here would make things a lot more interesting! "Come on boys; I will show you to your room."

"We will try but I make no promises," Kanechi answered with a slight smile before turning to follow after the old man than was going to be putting them up.

"Define trouble..." Akiyama challenged with a playful smirk. Staying with his mother as a younger girl could prove interesting, very interesting indeed. Rei gave the boy a hard stare which only seemed to amuse him more. "You look like my mom when you do that!"

"Come on, Aki-kun." Kanechi called back to his friend.

"I think I am going to like it here. See you later, Rei-sama." Akiyama cheered, his young face breaking out in that same elated grin that Grandpa Hino was known for putting on.

"Heaven help us all," Rei muttered, picking up a broom and getting on with the sweeping.

By the time the boys finished getting settled in and headed back out of doors, Rei was already in the process of saying goodbye to the two little girls that were regular patrons at the shrine after school. Waving cheerily, one little girl called out with joy and a wave, "Bye-bye, Rei-sama!"

"Goodbye, Mii-chan; take care," Rei called after her, stopping her sweeping only once she saw Akiyama and Kanechi exiting the shrine. Grandpa Hino was sweet, but he wasn't the most responsible man on Earth. That meant the responsibility for keeping Akiyama and Kanechi out of trouble would largely fall on her. She only hoped it wouldn't be a distraction.

Hurrying out across the porch with the energy of youth, Kanechi jumped over the porch railing while Akiyama ducked under, eager to get back in the sunlight. At their hips, each boy had tied off a hilt carrying a wooden sword. It was right about the time Kanechi's feet hit the ground that the sound of the six-o-clock bus came into hearing range. The boys exchanged looks and raced over towards the far side of the grounds to look out.

They arrived just in time to peek in at the bus driver, a young man with honey-blonde hair and piercing, laughing grey-blue eyes. This plan was perfect, absolutely perfect. The energy from the shrine's patrons would surely be enough to get him out of hot water with Queen Beryl. Jadeite smirked as he tilted his head to look up at the temple. He caught sight of two boys and paused to see if they would join the others on the bus. His grey-blue eyes locked onto the elder of the two, a brunette with twinkling eyes that kind of reminded him of one his brothers. He let his gaze fall onto the younger. Akiyama grinned, waving down at him enthusiastically.

Behind them, Hino Rei felt the little hairs standing up on the back of her neck. There it was again, that sense of foreboding. Something was coming; something disastrous was coming. Following her gut, she came up behind the boys with just enough time to catch the bus driver's eye. Her heart nearly caught in her throat; what was this feeling? Her fiery red eyes starred into his laughing grey-blue ones for but a brief moment before the door slid shut and the bus drove off.

"Come on, Aki-kun." Kanechi slapped his friend hard on the back, nearly causing the younger boy to stumble forward. "Let's practice! I want my dad to see how much better I got!" Grabbing the raven-haired child by the arm, Kanechi dragged him off towards an open area on the grounds. Drawing his weapon into his hand, Kanechi set himself into a ready position. "Come on, fire hazard. Let's see if you can keep up with my lightning-fast moves!"

"My fire beats your lightning any day!" Eager to get started, Akiyama drew out his wooden sword and swung it all in one move. His sword hit up against Kanechi's and from there the two boys were off and scuffling. You could be sure this would keep the boys busy for some time.

Raising a brow, Rei returned to her sweeping while watching the boys out of the corner of her eye. Something about them, especially the younger one, had a hold of her attention. She couldn't say precisely what it was, but something about that boy: his smirk, his laugh, that twinkle in his eye. The ring of familiarity tugged at the edge of her brain but she couldn't quite take hold of it...

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Tokyo, Japan

Thursday, April 15, 1993

It would be two days before anything more would disturb the peace of the Sendai Hill shrine. At Juuban Middle School, it seemed the entire eighth grade was discussing the six-o-clock Sendai Hill bus and the mystery surrounding it. One by one, students put in their two cents.

"Hey, have you ever heard of the Devil's 6 O' Clock Bus?"

"I have! That's the bus that goes the Sendai route, right?"

"What seriously?"

"They say that if you're riding over Sendai Hill exactly at 6 o'clock, it's your last ride ever; you'll just go missing forever!"

"They say that Death himself drives the bus, and that he's driving the bus straight to hell!"

Of course, Tsukino Usagi wouldn't know about it since she usually slept through the first part of homeroom and her reading of choice involved comic books rather than newspapers. A soft snore escaped the blonde odango-headed teenager's lips as Luna, the black cat that had turned her into the Sailor Senshi of the Moon, peeked up from out of her lap. She shouldn't have been there, but she came anyway. Girls really do like to gossip, don't they? she marveled, a soft sigh escaping her lips. It was then a sound in the hallway caught her attention... footsteps... Usagi's teacher!

"Usagi! Hey, wake up!" The feline jumped out of Usagi's lap and up onto her shoulders, pouncing in much the way she did in order to wake her in the mornings. Once Usagi started to stir, she leaned down to whisper softly but forcefully into her ear. "Today, we have to meet with Ami to discuss our strategy to defeat the enemy!" If she reminded Usagi now, maybe she would remember it by the time school was out later in the afternoon.

"Whaaat?" Usagi groaned as she was awakened from her sleep. For some reason, she never seemed to be able to get enough sleep at night. She never seemed to get to sleep early enough and always seemed to get woken up too soon. Of course, "Senshi training" also dipped into her already strained sleep schedule. "But Luna," she groaned at the feline's persistence. "I wanna go home early today and take a nap or something."

"We have to meet Ami at the Game Center at FIVE o'clock," Luna persisted stubbornly, wanting to make sure that Usagi understood the importance of these meetings. Somehow, she just didn't seem to get it. She seemed to see the whole thing like a living, breathing video game.

"Roger that!" Usagi answered back in a loud whisper, a grin playing across her face as she pictured herself giving the general-like feline a mock salute. Wanting the cat to leave the room before the teacher got there and saw her, Usagi tried to shoo her away. "Now, go on before Ms. Haruna sees you." The other students may not tell on her, but if Luna was seen in here... Usagi would be the one to get in trouble for the cat's actions.

Nodding, Luna headed for the door, but of course, Ms. Haruna would choose that moment to walk in. "Ah, sorry I am late class. Let's begin homeroom!" Looking forward to a date later that day, the red-haired sensei was in an exceptionally good mood, at least for the moment. Not only that, but she had to go and step on Luna's tail on the way in the door. With a yowl, Luna jumped up and came down... right on the teacher's head. The class was in stitches and Usagi herself was trying not to laugh at the sight. "Sorry Ms. Haruna. My cat followed me in here."

"Tsukino-san. W-why is it always you who pulls this crap?!"

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That same afternoon would find Usagi and her newest friend, Mizuno Ami, meeting up at the Crown Game Center. The pig-tailed blonde skipped into the arcade, waving a joyful hello to the resident game clerk. "Hey, Motoki-kun! Did you miss me?" From there, it was straight up to her favorite game, Sailor V! What better way to spend the afternoon than with good friends, a cute game clerk, and Sailor V! Pew, pew, pew, pew. She listened to the sound of the game speakers as Ami and Motoki looked on. Come on... little higher... shoot... jump...shoot...!

"Wow, Usagi, you have gotten a lot better!" With a friendly smile, Motoki cheered the teenager on. Tsukino Usagi was one of his best customers, but also... she was an all-around sweet girl.

"Heh! Well, that's because Ami is such an amazing teacher!" Usagi glanced away from her game long enough to shoot her new friend one of her most award winning smiles. It was sort of amazing really, how she and Ami had become friends so quickly. Tsukino Usagi struggled to get decent grades in Class 1 while Mizuno Ami was the school genius from Class 5. But like Usagi, she was destined to be a sailor soldier for justice! "Ami, you have beaten this game on hard mode before, right?" Usagi asked while struggling to defeat one of the game bosses.

"Well, this game looks different from when I played through it. Maybe the game uses a bunch of different scenario patterns?" Ami suggested with a smile and a shrug. Seeing Luna standing off to the side, the bluenette scooped the feline up and wandered over to sit down at a table nearby. "I still can't believe it. We're soldiers for justice, and we hold mysterious powers. It all seems so..." Ami lifted up her hands and starred down at her palms in amazement. "...surreal."

"Well, you have only just awakened," Luna reassured her, hoping up on the tabletop and taking a seat directly in front of her newest charge. "I'm sure you'll begin to understand it, little by little, as time passes." One thing Luna was sure of, Ami would pick it up a lot faster than Usagi. Ami was already showing improvement in training, but Usagi... it was like none of her previous life's Senshi training had kicked in at all. She was completely green to it all, and it was frustrating.

Still pondering this latest development in her life, Ami turned a quizzical eye upon her feline companion. "Luna. When you say 'enemy', what kind of people are you talking about? What is the enemy's goal? How are we going to stop them?" So many things to think about... so many things to consider... could the fate of the world really rest in the hands of two teenage girls?

"Our main goal," Luna began, her tone very much that of a sensei who knew her topic very well and was eager to share her vast knowledge, "is to discover the Princess, and more importantly than that, to protect her "Ginzuishou" from falling into the wrong hands."

"The Ginzuishou?" Ami wondered, just about the time Usagi's excitement lit up the arcade.

"Finally! I did it! I beat the second stage!" You could just feel the excitement coming off the girl as her million dollar smile lit up her face once again. She was so innocent, so full of joy. One thing was for sure; you would never peg her as the soldier type. She just seemed too sweet to be fighting anyone. At least, those were Ami's thoughts about the time Luna's crescent moon 'bald spot' lit up with a soft but noticeable shine. "Oh hey, look! Something came out of the machine again, another prize!" Hurrying over to the table, Usagi plopped down across from Ami and Luna, still studying her latest prize. "Oh, it's a wristwatch! Look Ami, there is another one here for you too!"

"Oh, these are just lovely!" Luna cooed, snatching the wristwatches away from her over-excitable blonde-haired companion and looking them over. "With just a few modifications, I can make these into communicator watches for the two of you!" The twinkle in her eye, however, told Ami that there was something more behind those eyes.

"Luna?" The already quite observant bluenette wondered, thinking back to the shine the feline gave off before the wristwatches came out of the machines. "Did you... rig the game center's machines or something...?" Ami's suspicions were confirmed when the feline gave a wink, tilting her head and letting out an overly cute "mew." Ami just shook her head and chuckled. Luna was smart... if sneaky; she had to give her that.

"Hey Ami, it's five o'clock now," Luna observed, remembering that Ami had wanted to leave the Crown Game Center around five o'clock. "Will you be alright?"

"Oh, no! I have English extra help today after school!" Ami rose to her feet in a hurry, gathering up her school books and heading for the door. She had to catch the bus if she wanted to get there; if she were to miss the bus, she would never make it on time! One thing Ami prided herself on was always being on time. That was the way her mother had raised her.

"Oh, but Ami, if you leave now I'll be bored here by myself!" Usagi whined, not wanting to make her friend late but not wanting to lose her companionship either.

"Well then, Usagi, why don't you come along with me?" Ami suggested with a smile and a chuckle. She didn't really expect Usagi to want to study with her, but... it would do the girl good if she could get her to take her schoolwork a little more seriously.

Ami started on her way out the door with Usagi following behind, seemingly still deciding whether or not to follow Ami to her English extra help. She wanted to spend time with her new friend but she didn't want to spend any more time doing schoolwork than she already had to.

"And you know, around this time every day, if you ride the bus, you'll see this incredibly gorgeous girl who happens to ride on this line during this run. Sometimes we sit together." Ami explained, managing to peek her friend's interest as they headed towards the bus labeled, "Sendai Route." Pulling out her riding ticket, Ami headed up and onto the bus.

"...we're going the Sendai Hill Route?" Usagi wondered, hesitating before the door. "Sounds familiar..." Something about it sounded familiar but she just couldn't quite put her finger on it. She just about jumped out of her skin, however, as an unfamiliar hand rested on her shoulder.

"Oh yeah! It's the route that the 'Devil's 6 O'clock Bus' is supposedly on!" Coming up behind Usagi, Umino adjusted his glasses and peered out at her intently. "Usagi, we shouldn't get on this bus, it's bad luck!" He exclaimed, his hands flailing emphatically.

Oh, for goodness sakes... Usagi groaned as she started to step onto the bus. Umino. He always seemed to be exactly where he wasn't wanted. "Umino, what are you doing here?!"

'Never mind that!' Umino was insistent, trying to prevent his secret crush from getting on the bus. "Seriously, people really do go missing after riding this bus!"

"What? That's just gossip, isn't it?" Brushing Umino off, Usagi climbed aboard the bus not wanting it to leave without her. Anyway, I am going to ride the bus with Ami. It took only a moment to locate Ami and come up next to her on the bus. Usagi managed to arrive at Ami's side just in time to see her point out the 'gorgeous girl' who also rode this bus.

"Hey, there she is Usagi! The girl wearing the T.A. Girls Academy uniform!" She was gorgeous: long silky raven locks that rolled down her back, violet eyes, and an exotic skin tone most women would just die for. Usagi just found herself starring at the girl in awe. Who was she? Why did she feel drawn to her so? It was much the same way she had felt upon meeting Mizuno Ami for the first time. Something drew Usagi to her, as though they had met before and were just reuniting after a very, very long time. She stared, not even noticing when the bus came to a stop, not even noticing when Ami called out on her way off of the bus.

"Okay, Usagi, this is our stop, let's go!" Ami called out to her friend as she made her way to the door and stepped off of the bus. She turned around to see if Usagi was going to follow, but she didn't seem to even notice Ami's exit. The doors to the bus closed and the Sendai Hill bus was off to, well, Sendai Hill. Oh, well. Usagi was a big girl; she would get home alright. Shrugging, Ami turned and headed off. She didn't want to be late after all.

Mizuno Ami made her way down the road, turning onto the street where the "English extra help" tutor would be waiting for her. It was a quiet, residential street and a lot less crowded than the road she had just vacated. And yet, still she managed to almost run into someone on her way down the street. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, a tall man with dark green hair and piercing green eyes. On his shoulders was a little girl with pink pigtails and at his side an even littler boy with short blue hair. "Oh, excuse me, sir." Ami offered with an apology and a bow.

"Not a problem, Mizuno-san. I was actually hoping I would run into you," the man explained with a warm smile, the smile of one who is speaking to an old friend.

"You were... have we... met?" Ami was perplexed at this greeting from the man. She was pretty sure she didn't know him and yet he greeted her as though they knew each other.

"Hai! Look what I can do!" Ami's attention was drawn by the words of the child riding upon the man's shoulders. She was a cute little girl with pink pigtails tied up like two little bunches of cotton candy up atop her head and a disarming smile with which she could just about get away with murder. "Luna-P!" With a call of her voice, she caused a little floating toy that very much resembled Luna to come out from behind her back and up into her hands.

"Watch! Watch what I can do!" She spun the toy on one hand, rolled it back over her arms and shoulder, and spun it in her other hand before tossing it up in the air. "Henge!" In a burst of smoke, the toy transformed into a little pink and white umbrella. "Watch!" She spun the umbrella around in a circle, creating a hypnotic swirl that quickly overtook the older girl. Once the effect was complete, little Usagi let the toy change back into her Luna Sphere. "Taa-daa!"

"That is very good, Usa." Takeshi praised the little girl with a smile before gently pushing the little boy at his side foreword into Ami's sights. A bit uncertainly, the little boy looked up to lock his green eyes upon Ami's still slightly-dazed blue ones. "We enjoyed having Akemi after school today. Your brother is very bright. I hate to drop him off before your tutoring, but we have an appointment to get to today so we won't be able to look after him."

Mizuno Ami blinked rapidly a few times before she found herself starring down at a little boy who resembled her quite uncannily. Slowly, her memories adjusted to fit the little one in. "Oh, that is quite alright. We appreciate you watching him for us." Ami gave the man a polite bow before reaching out to take hold of her younger brother by the hand. The child gave her a smile before locking hands with her, relax as Ami's confusion at his presence changed to understanding. "Come on, Akemi. I don't want to be late meeting Izuno-sensei."

"Hai," Six-year-old Akemi nodded his agreement and followed hurriedly after his newly dubbed 'elder sister.' It was going to be a little weird trying to remember to call his mother "Onee-sama" and his grandmother "Mama", but at least he got to be with his mother. That was a plus. The two of them arrived at Izuno-sensei's home and Akemi waited while his mother... eh, sister rang the doorbell. While they waited for the sensei to answer the door, Akemi looked up at Ami once again. "Ah, Onee-sama...?" he wondered, his tone soft and his cheeks flushed slightly.

"Hai?"

"I am glad I'm here with you. Aishiteru."

Ami smiled; sometimes she forgot how sweet her little brother could be. "I love you to, Akemi."

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