AN: Yay, tech week and the performances are over, and I can't write again! I love musical theatre, but I have had absolutely no time to write lately because of a production I was in. It feels like it's been waaaay more than 10 days since I last updated. This chapter is pretty long, I'm not entirely happy with where I cut it off, but it'll do,and if I went on any longer, it would've been waaaay longer. :P Anyways, thanks a billion to my reviewers of last chapter. Unfortunately I can't remember everyone off the top of my head, and the site won't let me access my story to check, for some odd reason. But you know who you are, and know that I love you all for giving me such great positive feedback! Keep reviewing! :)
It had been a few weeks since Usagi had found out her destiny as Sailor Moon, and things weren't very different. Usagi had been training as hard as she could, but using her tiara still drained her, and it seemed the better of a warrior she became, the harder and more frequent the youma's were. Usagi was just about to go to sleep, when her communicator buzzed. Sighing, Usagi flipped it open.
"What is it?" She asked.
"There's a youma, in the park," Luna said.
"What else is new," Usagi muttered. "I'll be there in a minute."
Why couldn't the youma's have a better sense of timing? It seemed they so frequently attacked at night, leaving Usagi exhausted for school, making her already bad grades worse. Her parents had tried lecturing her, punishing her, begging her, relating to her, but nothing worked. They thought she'd fallen into the wrong crowd at school, and was doing who knows what at all hours of the night. Usagi wished that she could just tell her parents; it would be easier on everyone. But she couldn't. Not only would they most likely not believe her, but the more people who knew about her secret identity, the worse it would be. It would endanger everyone who knew, and if the Dark Kingdom ever found out that innocent, cheerful Usagi Tsukino doubled as the powerful warrior Sailor Moon, all hell would break loose. Everyone she loved would be in danger.
Usagi slipped out of her pajamas, and put on some clothes. She tiptoed out her room, and downstairs to the door. She'd gotten quite good at sneaking out, her parents generally only caught her when she got back. Sometimes they never caught her, but then in the morning Usagi would stumble downstairs for breakfast, dead tired and all scratched up, and her mom would look at her and shake her head.
As soon as Usagi was outside, she hit the street at a dead run, only pausing for a minute in an alley to transform. The minute she arrived at the park, she quickly assessed the situation. There was a big, spider-like youma, and several people lying on the ground, not moving. Sailor Moon hoped they were only unconscious. There were lots more people running around, screaming, and Sailor Moon knew she didn't have long before the police got here.
"Hey, you, over here!" Sailor Moon shouted. "I am Sailor Moon, the defender of love and justice! And… ah, forget it," she mumbled. She didn't have time, and the speeches were always lost on the enemy anyways.
The spider shot out a sticky web, but Sailor Moon effortlessly ducked it. She wanted to make this quick, so she pulled her tiara off. It was risky using it so early on as there was a good chance the youma wouldn't be weak enough yet, but she was going to try anyways.
"Moon Tiara… Magic!" Sailor Moon summoned up her power, and felt it flow into the tiara, when it was all ready, she released it with a flick of the wrist, sending it flying towards the youma. The youma avoided, but only barely. It grazed the youma's side, and it hissed in pain.
"Damnit," Sailor Moon muttered under her breath. The youma advanced on her, and Sailor Moon found herself desperately trying to dodge the spider's large, venomous fangs. If she could just distract the youma for a minute or two, she knew she would be able to dust it. But she had no such luck, the youma was at too close a proximity, and all of Sailor Moon's energy was spent avoiding being killed. She tripped over a root on the ground, and rolled over quickly, the youma's venomous fangs just grazing her side. Sailor Moon got up, knowing that it was now or never. She didn't quite have as much room to dust the youma as she'd like, but it would have to do. Sailor Moon reached for her tiara, but she didn't see the youma change tactics, and when she noticed, it was too late. The spider sunk its fangs into Sailor Moon's shoulder, and she cried out in pain. A rose shot through the air and pierced the youma, giving Sailor Moon the time to push it off her.
Tuxedo Kamen was standing on a nearby tree branch. "Sailor Moon, now is the time—"
"Yeah, yeah, save me the speech Tux-boy," Sailor Moon muttered. "I am so not in the mood for this. I'm a better fighter than you are, you don't need to tell me to use my tiara every single bloody time! I'm not an idiot, I can fight fine by myself, thank you very much."
Tuxedo Kamen wasn't sure whether to be amused or offended. He hadn't really thought about the way his comments might be perceived, it seemed like the right thing to say to him. Tuxedo Kamen nodded his apology, but Sailor Moon wasn't paying attention.
"Moon Tiara Magic!" This time, the tiara hit its mark, and the youma screamed in agony as it vaporized.
Sailor Moon swayed on her feet a bit, and Tuxedo Kamen rushed over to help her.
"Are you all right, Sailor Moon?" He had such concern on his face, and Sailor Moon couldn't help but stare at those dark, brooding, mysterious eyes of his… but now was not the time or the place to be swooning over some guy, she reminded herself.
"I'm fine," Sailor Moon said.
"You should get to a hospital, that's a quite deep cut, and the venom will spread through your body and kill you if you don't do something about it," Tuxedo Kamen said.
"A hospital? Do you have any idea how bad of an idea that would be?" Sailor Moon asked. "Yeah, Tokyo's mysterious heroine parades into a hospital. And I don't test normal, either. I have mystical powers, and superhuman strength. They'd poke me and prod me, and my life would be ruined."
Tuxedo Kamen frowned as he thought that over. "We have to do something about your shoulder, and the cut on your side, if left alone the poison will kill you, even with your heightened healing powers."
"Give me a minute," Sailor Moon said. She closed her eyes, and accessed the power she felt stirring in her bones. She had recently learned that her tiara wasn't her only power. She had unparalleled power, which she could use simply by reaching inside of herself, and drawing it out. The only problem was it was connected directly to her energy source, and it left her feeling exhausted. Sailor Moon could tell she was only using a small amount of it, but she wasn't strong enough to access her full power yet. Sailor Moon felt a tingling in her side and shoulder, and knew it was working. After about a minute, Sailor Moon opened her eyes again, and collapsed onto her knees.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.
"I'm fine," Sailor Moon said. "Or, I will be. The poison's all out of my system, I just healed myself."
"What about the cut?" Tuxedo Kamen said, still worried about her.
"It will heal fine now that the poison's out. I don't have enough energy to heal it as well."
Tuxedo Kamen was still worried, but he let it go. It was just starting to get light out, and Sailor Moon cursed under her breath.
"Crap, how can it be day already?" Sailor Moon got up. She turned around to thank Tuxedo Kamen for saving her life, but he was gone. Without a second glance, Sailor Moon ran back home, quickly de-transforming before running upstairs to her bed. She still had a couple hours before she had to get up for school; it was only just starting to get light. Without a second thought, Usagi collapsed into bed, not even bothering to change into her pajamas. She was asleep within seconds.
"Usagi!" Ikuko called from downstairs. "It's time to get up for school!"
Usagi grunted, wincing at her tender shoulder and side as she rolled over,
"Usagi, don't make me come up there!" Ikuko called again.
"Okay, I'm getting up," Usagi mumbled. She showered, carefully bandaged her shoulder and side so it wouldn't look like she had been hurt, and then got dressed. She ran downstairs, grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Usagi sprinted down the street, grimacing as the running pulled at her healing wounds. She wasn't looking where she was going, and crashed into another person.
"Baka, look where you're going!" Usagi shouted, as she looked up and saw it was Mamoru.
"Yeesh, Odango, maybe you should be more careful," Mamoru said. "You're the one that always crashes into me!"
"Yeah, whatever," Usagi said. "I'm late!"
She ran off, and Mamoru watched her go with curiosity. She was surprisingly fast, given her small size. Mamoru frowned as he noticed that she was limping a bit. He hoped she wasn't hurt. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he was slightly fond of her. Sure, he thought she was silly, annoying, and childish, but she always had a positive outlook on life. Well, almost always, Mamoru sometimes saw her sitting in the arcade, and he'd catch a glimpse on her face as though she had seen more than any fourteen-year-old girl should. Sometimes she'd look him in the eye, and he could see this deep weariness, this pain. It never lasted more than a second; she'd then start up her teasing, yelling at him and calling him a baka. It troubled him, though, that look in her eyes. Life had thrown so much crap at him, what with his parents dying, his amnesia of his past, and now is hard life doubling as a superhero, and he admired Usagi for being so positive. He wished he could stay that cheerful and positive, but it was beyond him.
Usagi burst into the classroom doors, almost fifteen minutes late for class. Ms. Haruna fixed Usagi with a glare.
"Would you care to explain why you are so late?"
"Sorry," Usagi said, bowing her head.
Ms. Haruna sighed. "Usagi, see me after class."
Usagi nodded and took her seat. Class went by slowly, but Usagi noticed there was a new girl in class, which piqued Usagi's interest.
After class was over, Usagi approached Ms. Haruna's desk. "You wanted to see me, Haruna-sensei?"
"Yes," Ms. Haruna said. "Usagi, high school entrance exams aren't that far off. Many students start studying their first year of junior high school, some even before. But it's now your second year, and I see no progress being made. Do you not care about getting into a good high school? Do you not care about having a future?"
'What future?' Usagi thought. She knew she could never stop being Sailor Moon, it was the only future she could have. And she didn't really expect to live out her full life span; facing death every day was a pretty good way to shave several years off her life. But she didn't say any of this out loud.
"Of course I care about that, Haruna-sensei," Usagi replied instead.
"Then work harder," Ms. Haruna said. "Take this packet, it will be useful for studying. I expect you to turn it in by the end of the week, all finished. You may leave now."
Usagi gulped as she saw the packet Ms. Haruna handed her. It was thick, and full of worksheets with various assigned readings in her textbook. Even if she didn't lead a double life, it would be hard to get this done in one week. As it was, it would be nearly impossible. Usagi sighed. Yet another thing her secret identity messed up. Usagi found herself even missing her mother yelling at her about not doing her homework, instead of just shaking her head and sighing. Usagi left Ms. Haruna's classroom, and ran into the new girl.
"Oh, sorry!" Usagi said as she bumped into her. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"No worries," the girl smiled.
"Hey, you're new here, right?"
"Yes, I just transferred schools," the girl answered.
"I'm Usagi Tsukino," Usagi said.
"Ami Mizuno," the girl replied, bowing slightly.
"Nice to meet you," Usagi said. "Don't worry, everyone here is really nice. Well, the students. I wish I could say that about the teachers. Beware Ms. Haruna, her mood changes depending on whether she has a date or not. It's insane."
Ami giggled a little bit behind her hand.
"I have to go," Usagi said. "Catch you later!"
The lunch bell rang, and Usagi ran outside to find Naru.
"Usagi!" Naru shouted, waving her arms. "Over here!"
"Hey Naru!" Usagi ran over to greet her friend.
"My mom's jewelry store is having this huge sale today," Naru said. "You should come by! It'll be really great."
"That sounds like a great idea!" Usagi said. 'If I don't have to fight any youma's', she added silently to herself.
Naru and Usagi sat down and pulled out their lunches, happily chattering away.
"Hey, Ami!" Usagi called, seeing Ami sitting alone, reading a book. "Come join us!"
"That's the new girl," Naru said. "Do you know her? I've heard she's a total braniac, and thinks she's smarter than everyone else."
"She seems nice," Usagi said
Ami came over and joined them.
"Ami, this is Naru Osaka; Naru this is Ami Mizuno," Usagi introduced them.
"Nice to meet you," Ami said, bowing slightly respectfully.
"Hey. Naru was just telling me about this sale her mom's jewelry store is having today, you should come by and shop with us!" Usagi said, ignoring the looks Naru was shooting her.
"Oh, I don't know…" Ami said. "I have cram school."
"You go to more school after this school?" Usagi asked incredulously. "Why on earth would you do that?"
"Well, I need to study hard if I want to get into a good high school," Ami said.
Naru shot Usagi an I-told-you-so look.
"Yeesh," Usagi said. "That sounds so dull!"
"I like studying," Ami admitted.
"Well, to each their own," Usagi said. "You should stop by anyways, if you have time."
The rest of the day passed relatively quickly, Naru warmed up to Ami, and by the time lunch was over they had gotten her to promise to quickly stop by the jewelry store after cram school.
"I'm home!" Usagi shouted as she walked in the door of her house.
"How was school today?" Ikuko asked.
"Boring," Usagi said. "Ms. Haruna was totally unfair and gave me this packet to finish by the end of the week."
"Well, your grades have been slipping quite a lot lately, Usagi," Ikuko said. "I don't think it's unfair of Ms. Haruna to want you to do more work."
"But still, I can't do it all in one week!" Usagi said. "Oh, by the way, Naru's mom's jewelry store is having a sale today, so we were going to head over there at some point."
"Not until you've finished your homework," Ikuko said.
"But mom!" Usagi whined. "I don't have time for it!"
"If you have time to shop, you have time to do your schoolwork."
"It's not fair! I'll never be able to go if I have to do my homework first!" Usagi complained.
"Listen, Usagi," Ikuko said. "I have been very patient with you lately, turning a blind eye when you disappear at all hours of the night, and come home with unexplained bruises and scratches. But it needs to stop. I don't know what you're involved in, but I won't stand for it. You were never a fantastic student, but I know you can succeed if you really try. You're a bright girl, Usagi, and I know that at fourteen you want to be popular, and fit in, and just have fun. But if you don't work hard to get into a good high school, you'll regret it later when you can't get a good job. So I think it's perfectly fair to ask you to finish your homework before you go shopping."
"But you don't understand," Usagi said.
"I was fourteen once, too," Ikuko said. "Try me."
"I can't," Usagi said. "You really wouldn't understand. I know I've been falling behind in school lately, but there's just been so much going on in my life, and I can't deal. I've been trying, but please, just let me have fun with my friends, this one time. I'll do my homework, I swear, but I need this, mom."
"I'm sorry, Usagi," Ikuko said. "I'm not backing down on this one."
"Ugh!" Usagi stormed off, trying to keep tears for falling. She felt bad for her parents, it must be hard trying to raise her. They didn't know what she was dealing with; all they knew was that she was doing badly in school, and snuck out all the time. They didn't know she was saving the world. Usagi was determined to go out with Naru, so she headed upstairs to try and do some of her homework.
An hour or two later, Usagi's communicator buzzed.
"Yes?" Usagi asked, waiting for Luna to tell her about some youma. "Where is it now?"
"The youma's at the Osaka jewelry store," Luna said. "Come quickly, I have some information for you as well, which I'd rather tell you in person."
"I'm on my way," Usagi said. At least now she had to go to the jewelry store. Maybe she could shop and bond with Ami and Naru after she dusted the youma.
Usagi knew her parents were downstairs, so she opened her window, and dropped down to the ground. Luckily the jewelry store was right downtown, so Usagi didn't have to go far. Right before she got to the store, she transformed, and then rushed off to find Luna.
"Sailor Moon!" Luna called. "There you are."
"What's the news, Luna?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I think I may have discovered one of the Dark Kingdom agents."
"Really?" Sailor Moon said. "That's great! So if I dust them, it has a bit more impact than the regular youma's?"
"Yes," Luna said. "The agents are the ones who serve directly under the ruler, ad control all of the youma attacks."
"So, who is it?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure if she's a dark agent or not," Luna admitted. "I'm getting very strange energy readings from her, but she may not be evil. Her name's Ami Mizuno, she just transferred to your school. Do you know her?"
"Ami?" Sailor Moon asked. "I just met her, but no way is she evil! You must be mistaken."
"Well, she could be another Sailor Senshi," Luna said. "It's hard to tell."
"Great, you can't tell friend from foe?" Sailor Moon complained. "So either I dust her, or I get her to help. Which one?"
"Just observe her," Luna said. "See how she acts. All I know is she's not entirely normal."
"Got it," Sailor Moon said. "Observe."
A scream from inside the jewelry store interrupted any further conversation.
Sailor Moon ran inside, ready to fight. A quick scan of the room proved that the youma was a relatively easy one, and that both Ami and Naru were in the room, and safe. A couple people lay unconscious on the ground, but most people were just scared.
"Over here!" Sailor Moon shouted. "I am Sailor Moon, the defender of love and justice! And in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
The youma rushed at her, and Sailor Moon effortlessly flipped over, avoiding the blow. The fight when on for a coupe minutes at a stale mate, with Sailor Moon dodging all of the youma's blows, but unable to land any herself. Just as Sailor Moon was about to land a hit, the youma jumped up, and Sailor Moon staggered, thrown off by her punch that didn't land anywhere.
"Crap, where'd it go?" Sailor Moon muttered to herself when the youma didn't come back down. Out of nowhere, the youma appeared and hit Sailor Moon hard, sending her flying across the room. Sailor Moon crashed through a jewelry display case, and lay there, unmoving, her head ringing from the blow, and the glass cutting into her skin.
The youma turned its attention to Ami next, picking her up and draining her energy. Luna, who had been watching Ami, noticed a strange symbol appear on her forehead. 'Ami is Sailor Mercury!' Luna realized. She leapt over, scratching the youma's arm until it let go of Ami. As soon as the youma was distracted, Luna turned back to Ami.
"Ami, take this and shout Mercury Power, Make Up!" Luna jumped up, and the Mercury power stick appeared.
"W-what?" Ami asked. "But… how did you do that? And how can you talk?"
"There's no time to explain, just do it!" Luna said.
Ami nodded, and took the power stick from Luna. "Mercury Power, Make Up!"
In a flash of bright lights, Ami was standing there in a Sailor fuku in blue similar to Usagi's.
"You need to distract the youma," Luna explained. "Shout 'Shabon Spray'!"
Mercury did so, and the room was enveloped in a cold, dense mist. Luna rushed over to where Sailor Moon was starting to get up.
"Are you all right?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sailor Moon said. "I hit my head a bit, but it's not a big deal."
"Is that the best you can do?" The youma asked. "Mist? Pathetic!"
"No, actually," Sailor Moon said. "This is the best we can do." And she pulled off her tiara, and threw it at the youma, effectively turning it into dust.
"Well played, both of you," Luna said. "Now hurry, the police will be here soon and you don't want them to see you here."
Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury left quietly, slipping out as the mist started to disperse, dropping their transformations.
"Wow," Ami said. "That was incredible."
"Tell me about it," Usagi said. "Takes some getting used to, eh?"
"I can't believe it…" Ami said. "How long have you been Sailor Moon?"
"Not very long," Usagi said. "Only a couple weeks."
"Wow," Ami said again.
"Well, welcome to the team!" Usagi said. "It'll be nice to have someone else around here."
AN: Review and let me know what you think! :)