Tokyo Station
Mamoru and Usagi sat at a small table together having a bite to eat before Usagi got on the train to start her journey to Mahoutokoro. It had been a few days since the girls went to Asakusa-Ukkijamu and got their supplies, and Mamoru had a hard time at first understanding exactly what this meant. He recalled the conversation they had a couple of days earlier.
"I'm not sure I should go," Usagi said to Mamoru. "We've never really left Tokyo before and this is a big change. I am not a good student in regular school. I can't imagine magic school actually going that much better."
It was unlike Usagi to be this down on herself. Mamoru didn't know what to think of this sudden and drastic change in personality.
"But it's a new opportunity, and you're able to take it with friends. I'm a little jealous, honestly. I think I'm too old to go take advantage of something like this," Mamoru answered in his normal, caring tone.
"I wish you were coming with us, Mamo," grumbled Usagi.
Mamoru paused. This felt like a very important moment for Usagi, and he couldn't find words to say. Instead, he gave her a full, lingering kiss on the lips.
"Usako, you will be great. And I will be here for you should you need it," Mamoru responded.
'That's right…I've always stood by her side, but she's far more capable than me,' Mamoru thought. 'I need to do my best to support her.'
"Usako, I'm excited for you and the others. Luna and Artemis were telling me how you have been very nervous," Mamoru said to Usagi.
Usagi looked at Mamoru with cautious optimism. She hadn't been away from him like this. Mamoru was going to America when Sailor Galaxia attacked him and took his Sailor Crystal. Since then, the two had not really spent any time away from each other beyond going home.
"I'm going to miss coming home to you; our dates…but our love and its bond is eternal," Usagi responded, starting to cry a little bit. "I have faith in our love, and I know you will always be with me. Through the Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, Death Busters, Dead Moon, and Shadow Galactica, we have only strengthened."
"Usako…" Mamoru began. Usagi, however, put two fingers to his mouth before leaning in to kiss him. It was a warm embrace of all of the trials and tribulations they had been through, passionate and full of the love Usagi and Mamoru had for each other.
"You don't have to say anything else, my beloved," Usagi smiled. "I'll write to you every day!"
It was at that statement that Makoto and Rei walked over to Usagi.
"Usagi, if you don't hurry up, we won't have good seats on the train!" Makoto grinned. "Besides, I made your favourite lunch for the train."
Usagi perked up at the sound of lunch. Getting up and dragging her trunk along the station platform with Rei and Makoto, she turned around and waved at Mamoru.
"I'll write every weekend!" Usagi called back to Mamoru who simply waved and watched her get on the train with Rei and Makoto.
"You guys seemed to really be okay with this, Usagi," Rei commented. "It's nice to see that from you."
"Rei…" Usagi sighed. She didn't anticipate that Rei would be so kind in this moment.
"Yeah, it seems like you're finally maturing. Now, if we can get you to start really studying at this new school, it'll be like a whole new person," teased Rei, unable to hold the light-heartedness at bay for too much longer. Usagi growled in her seat but decided against it. She didn't want to tempt Rei to act more like her regular self.
As the train pulled away and onto the mainline, where it could go infinitely faster, Usagi looked outside at the surroundings before deciding it was better to go ahead and begin eating lunch. The rather subdued way she did, though, sent off an alarm bell to the rest of the Inner Guardians.
"Are you feeling okay, Usagi?" Ami asked. "You don't quite seem like yourself."
Usagi paused for a moment while the others looked at her and her current, low energy state. She felt something inside of her, an intuitive feeling of doom. What that was, she couldn't get any closer to finding out. There hadn't been any strange events that she could think of in the past few weeks.
"I'm fine," Usagi responded. She cracked a feeble smile, but the others seemed to accept the smile. All except Minako, who kept staring at Usagi, even as she started to eat her food.
'She's hiding something from us,' Minako thought to herself as the train really began to take off.
Most of the journey was uneventful, with the girls falling asleep on the train in their spots. Even their dreams were largely uneventful. Suddenly, they could feel the train shift a bit in its speed, slowing down as it began to cross a bridge. Usagi looked out on the horizon and gasped at what she saw.
"You guys!" Usagi called out. "You're not going to believe this, but…"
The other girls woke up and looked out the window.
"What did you see, Usagi?" Makoto asked.
"…I saw a phoenix," Usagi began, not even sure she could believe it upon saying it out loud. Rei and Ami both gasped while Minako and Makoto looked at each other. "Really, it flew in the sky. It was red and gold, and…"
"Usagi, why don't you get some sleep. I know it's been difficult but you really ought to just relax. I think you're just starting to see some things," Minako suggested gently. Usagi looked at her and the others who clearly didn't believe her, and just shrugged her shoulders.
"Nevermind…" Usagi sighed. "Perhaps you're right; I probably made it up."
"One would never forget seeing a hoo-hoo," said a voice. The girls turned around to see a boy with light lavender hair swooped around his head, slender figure, and cherry blossom wizarding robes.
"A hoo-hoo?" asked Ami. "I've never heard of such a thing before."
"They're…oh," the boy started. He stopped when he realised that the girls were still in normal dress compared to the robes they had bought. "You must be new students. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hideki Takeda, and I am a sixth-year student at Mahoutokoro. Well, a sixth-year boarding student. Are you first years?"
"Well, we're actually transfer students," Usagi said kindly. "But according to our letter, we would be sixth year students."
The boy looked at the five girls.
"Where did you transfer from?"
"Juban High School," Minako answered.
"Oh…you went to a Muggle school," the boy replied. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"
"Not precisely," Rei commented. "Are you offering or are you going to just continue to ask us questions with no help?"
Hideki stopped before smirking a bit and sitting down with the rest of the girls.
"I'll gladly help you girls with this. The whole train you're on is full of witches and wizards going to Mahoutokoro from across Japan. But this is only the first leg of the journey, and we'll be going to the second leg soon," Hideki explained. Four more people came to the area and stood, also in varying shades of cherry blossom pink robes. One was a girl with bright green, shoulder length hair. The other three seemed to be a triplet of identical boys, all very much tanned and with black hair and dark eyes.
"Guys, these girls are transfer students in our year," Hideki said to his friends. "I already told them about me, but you should introduce yourselves."
"I'm Ryoko Nakamura," said the green-haired witch.
"We're the Shimizu brothers," the three triplets said. "Kenji, Takeo, and Kazuhiko."
The girls all grinned before preparing to introduce themselves.
"I'm Ami Mizuno," said Ami.
"Makoto Kino," Makoto said to the group, shaking Hideki's hand.
"Rei Hino," Rei responded with a slight smile.
"Usagi Tsukino," Usagi added.
"Minako Aino," Minako said with confidence, "Goddess of Love and Beauty!"
The other girls sighed as the gathered company giggled. They sat down and began talking about other things when the train made an announcement.
"Mahoutokoro students, the train is approaching the Storm Petrel Station in about 30 minutes. Please make sure all your belongings have left the train and you are in school attire before joining the petrels," the announcement said.
"…Petrels?" Ami asked. "Aren't those tiny birds?"
"Oh, you haven't seen these before!" Kenji said to Ami. "They're awesome. We'll let you figure out for yourself whether they're small."
Usagi had an uneasy look on her face when Kenji said that, and Ryoko noticed.
"Don't mind him; they're not as bad as they look," Ryoko soothed. Usagi let out a low chuckle.
"I don't think you helped my mind, Ryoko," Usagi laughed.
Kagoshima
Hidori couldn't feel anything after a while. Once she made the handshake with Kenshi, she felt herself drain of energy and she didn't understand why. Kenshi stood above her and looked down at Hidori with concern in his eyes.
"I'm glad you're awake now," Kenshi said kindly. "We were a little concerned."
"…We…?" Hidori asked. She looked around, she saw people in black robes with jade dragon designs going across the chest. Each one had a red circle around their eye in what looked like make up, but upon further inspection, a tattoo.
"Yes, my friends and followers took special care of you while you were knocked out, Hidori," Kenshi said to her. The rest of the people in the circle nodded slightly.
"Where am I?" Hidori hollered in a more panicked voice, now that she realised she didn't know where she was at all.
"You're in Kagoshima, and we're looking to plot our revenge on the Sailor Guardians who destroyed your sister as well as the wizards who exiled us from their ranks," Kenshi said to Hidori. She covered her mouth in horror.
'He's a dark wizard?' Hidori asked herself. 'Could he be?'
"Jade Master Kenshi," said one of the wizards. "What will Hidori bring to us so that we can defeat the wizards and the famed Sailor Guardians?"
"She is the sister of Kaori, the fallen one whose sacrifice to Master Pharaoh 90 brought about the revelations that we have so that we can change the fate of this planet," Kenshi responded. "But, I don't recall allowing someone of your status to speak to me in that way. Your insolence will not be tolerated, Abe-kun."
Kenshi held his hand out to his side and suddenly, the man who asked the question was writing in pain and levitating higher into the sky.
"One more outburst from you, and you will feel the power that is the Black Jade," Kenshi said to the man, who could only scream in excruciating pain. Hidori looked on in terror, paralysed with fear. What could she do? She couldn't back out now. They made the agreement and it was almost as if she could physically feel she couldn't break that bond anymore.
The man was placed back on the ground before Kenshi turned to Hidori.
"Your knowledge of genetic engineering in the same vein as your sister will be the key to use ruling the world. Do you see these?" Kenshi asked Hidori. He held out his hand and a basket of what looked to be black eggs were in them. Upon further inspection, the eggs seemed to have some sort of magic contained inside of them, as the colour and energy given off seemed to percolate rather than stay static. "These were the daimon eggs that your sister, Kaori, was working on with a rogue Professor Souichi Tomoe. We have managed to find the last surviving daimon eggs at the site of the defeat by the hands of Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn. Can we get these to live inside of magical creatures?"
Hidori paused. She didn't know what to say, especially after seeing Kenshi produce a very silent and potent Cruciatus.
"I will be persistent in my pursuit of the answer," Hidori said to Kenshi, who grinned at her answer.
"Excellent," he said to her. She looked on as he moved on further before looking down at herself. Fully clothed in the same robes as the others, she knew exactly what happened. She became a member of the Black Jade Wizards. There was no turning back now.
Mahoutokoro
"Setsuna-mama!" Hotaru said cheerfully putting on her robes. "Will the others be here today?" Setsuna grinned. She happened to really like her garnet and black robes that she was allowed to wear. Hotaru had the standard uniform, hers a pale cherry blossom just like the rest of the students.
"Yes, I think so," Setsuna said, sipping a cup of tea. She stood up when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."
"Oh, Hotaru, don't you look great," Ron grinned. "Hiya Setsuna."
"Ron, what brings you here?" Setsuna asked.
"The ceremony is about to begin," Ron said to Setsuna. He looked at Hotaru and smiled even more. Her want to explore the magical world was palpable. "Are you excited to start school, Hotaru?"
"Yes, Weasley-sama," Hotaru said.
"You don't have to be so formal, Hotaru," Ron said. "We're not in a teacher-student capacity yet."
"Oh, Potter-sama…I mean, Harry…said the same thing," Hotaru blushed. "I'm just used to being so polite."
"Don't listen to Ronald," said Hermione's voice as she walked into the room. "You answer how you feel comfortable, and we'll adjust. After all, we're in your country." She was smartly dressed in traditional black kimono-esque robes, hair pulled back into a bun neatly put together with decorative chopsticks and decorative silver branches.
"Granger-sama, you look so cool!" Hotaru gasped, running up to Hermione. Setsuna looked at Hermione with an impressed look on her face. Setsuna took out her wand, made of cherry wood, 10 ½ inches, and said nothing. Suddenly she was in a garnet version of the same thing, hair still the same however.
"I didn't know we were using the formal staff-wear," Setsuna said.
"Well, Haruka and Michiru have theirs on," Hermione said. As if by clockwork, the pair showed up behind her. Michiru had a kimono in pale gold with red accents, including the ribbon that tied around the waist. Haruka opted more for the kendo/hakama look with grey pants and powder blue top.
"Haruka, shouldn't you be wearing…" Ron began. Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs. "OW! What?"
"I prefer this one, anyway," Haruka responded curtly. Michiru couldn't help but giggle.
"Pardon Haruka," Michiru said to Ron. "She doesn't like when people question her fashion choices. She chooses to present herself in a masculine way some days and in a feminine way on others."
While Ron was left pondering, the girls walked out of the room and ran into Harry.
"Did I miss the party?" Harry asked.
"Not really. Hermione and everyone else has gotten hanged into their formal robes, and Hotaru is all ready. Looks like you're ready as well," Ron replied before taking out his own wand and transforming his robes into the formal staff uniform like Haruka's but with a steel grey top and white pants. Harry changed into his, ostensibly Gryffindor red top with golden pants.
The group of six teachers and one student walked from the staff apartments to the main hall, which was decorated with lines of stone wizards in what looked to be samurai inspired robes and the mythical creatures of Japan. The hall was busier than most days because now the students were starting to come in. Harry looked around.
'These must be the older students,' he thought.
"Michiru-mama, where is Usagi and the others?" Hotaru asked.
As if almost on cue, a calamitous noise erupted from the hall. The seven turned in the direction of the noise to see Usagi on the ground, Rei and Ami looking embarrassed, Makoto running to help Usagi, and Minako distracted by the statues and other wizards walking around.
"…That's them," Setsuna sighed. Hermione, Harry, and Ron laughed.
"So that's the famous Sailor Moon and others?" Harry asked. The Outer Guardians nodded. "She's kind of….err, how do I say this…?"
"Clumsy?" Michiru, Haruka, Hotaru and Setsuna all said at once.
"I bet she's not all that bad," Hermione said. "Alright, Hotaru, you have to go with the other girls now. We have go find the rest of the staff."
"Sheesh…" Hotaru groaned. "I wanted to stay with Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Haruka-papa."
"You'll still get to go places with us," Setsuna said to Hotaru. "Our doors are always open."
Hotaru smiled as Setsuna nudged her in the direction of the others. Hotaru ran up to Usagi, who had since recovered.
"Usagi!" Hotaru grinned. The others turned around and saw Hotaru and grinned.
"Hotaru!" Usagi said running over to the smaller girl, hugging her close.
"Fancy seeing you here," Makoto said to Hotaru. "Does that mean Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna are here too?"
"Oh, yes! They're teaching along with three other friends!" Hotaru blurted before stopping herself again. "Oops, I shouldn't have said that."
"They're teaching?" the Inner Guardians gasped. Approaching them were the same people from the train.
"Usagi, who is this little one?" Hideki asked, looking towards Hotaru. Hotaru groaned. She detested being described as a little one, particularly since as Sailor Saturn, she could have destroyed everything by now.
"I'm not little. I'm twelve!" Hotaru protested.
"So you must be a second year student then?" Hideki continued to prod for information. Hotaru decided she didn't particularly like him.
"I'm a fourth year," Hotaru huffed. The other wizards were massively impressed.
"Twelve and in your fourth year?" Ryoko asked. "That's mighty impressive. You'll be in with my brother, Yoshito." A gong sounded and Professor Chieno moved into the entrance hall.
"Hello returning students, and welcome new students," Professor Chieno said to the hall. "I'm glad that you all are here to broaden your horizons and become suitable witches and wizards. We will begin the induction ceremony shortly for the new students, but I have a few announcements. We have six new professors this year for Defence Against the Dark Arts, Divination, History of Magic, Duelling, Potions, and Arithmancy. We are lucky to have three of them come all the way from the United Kingdom. May I present Professor Harry Potter, Professor Hermione Granger, Professor Ron Weasley, Professor Michiru Kaioh, Professor Haruka Tenoh, and Professor Setsuna Meioh."
The six stood beside Professor Chieno and the Inner Guardians gasped in what was an ostensibly quiet moment.
"Okay, so will all the new students follow Professor Kaioh into the hall," Professor Chieno said to the room, gracefully ignoring the outburst from the Inner Guardians while Ami blushed out of embarrassment.
"Guys, we have to try and do better," Ami sighed.
Later that night, after the ceremony and feast, the Inner Guardians and Hotaru made their way to their rooms, each able to have three in bedroom area with a shared common area. Usagi, Ami and Hotaru were in one room together (despite much protesting about the idea of a fourth year and two sixth years being put together by Professor Chieno) while Rei, Minako and Makoto were put in the other. Hotaru looked out the window before hearing a knock on the door.
"Hotaru," Usagi smiled. "We have visitors!"
Hotaru turned around and saw Harry, Michiru, Haruka, and Hermione.
"Hiya Hotaru," Harry said to her. "Are you enjoying the room?"
"A bit," Hotaru replied. "It's not that Usagi and Ami aren't nice, they have been really nice of course. And it's an honour to be staying with the Princess…"
"Princess?" Harry muttered under his breath.
"Usagi is Sailor Moon, who is the Princess heir to the Silver Millennium," Hermione explained. "Come on, I told you you have to read the manga. It's based on their lives."
"Don't feel badly, Hotaru," Haruka said to Hotaru. "You're going to come with us on the weekend. We have to go somewhere on Kyushu."
Hotaru's face perked up. She was about to say something in regards to the trip to Kyushu, but Michiru kneeled to her level and put her finger to Hotaru's lips.
"It's a secret, okay?" Michiru responded. Hotaru nodded in excitement. Usagi and Ami looked at each other.
"Could we come with you?" Ami asked.
"Not this time," Hermione smiled. "Oh, I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger, and I've had the pleasure of meeting Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru and Setsuna. They have told me a lot about you, Usagi. Mostly about what a wonderful person you are."
Usagi blushed with bashful pride upon hearing the compliment.
"I'm excited to learn from you and Potter-sensei," Ami responded. Hermione and Harry looked at each other before turning to Ami.
"There's no need. We're not in class, and honestly we're only one year older than you," Harry said to the two girls. "I'm still not used to how formal Japan is when it comes to names and relationships."
"We should let you three get more comfortable and decorate your room as you like," Michiru said. "We'll see you tomorrow at the beginning of class. Don't be late! You have double Divination first, and I won't be an easy grader."
Usagi, Ami and Hotaru all groaned. They had dealt with school before, but never had they thought about what magical school will be, let alone with Michiru as a professor.
"Alright, we'll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning, Haruka," Harry said. "We'll talk strategy then."
Haruka nodded before the English witch and wizard split off from the two Outer Guardians.
"Now, what will we do when we get back to our apartment," Michiru said softly.
"Perhaps nothing, I'm a little tired," Haruka answered.
"Oh, I thought you had better stamina than that."
"…You seem confident in yours," Haruka whispered.
"Wanna test it out?" Michiru winked. Haruka shrugged before the two turned into their apartment.
"It's weird that they don't want us to come," Ami said to Usagi. "It feels like something might be up."
"I did feel a pretty intense energy when we went by Kagoshima; it was a different kind of energy, but nonetheless it was intense and it gave me the feeling that peace was about to be over," Usagi responded.
"Let's talk to the others tomorrow," Ami responded. "We should get sleep though; it's been a long day of travel."
Usagi nodded. 'What new enemy are we going to encounter?'
