Two Months Later:
The summer came and went with minor disturbances; Sage only attacked two or three more times. As difficult as it was, Sailor Moon and the rest of the scouts were able to defeat every enemy.
A few years ago, due to wishes and such, time went back, and the girls, Mamoru, and everyone reverted back to their middle school years when they first became scouts.
Summer was over, and the girls were going back to school for the first day of their second year of high school—and Usagi was running late—again.
"Ahhh! I'm late! Mom! Why didn't you wake me up?!" Usagi screamed, quickly getting dressed and all that.
"I did—three times." Usagi's mother, Ikuko, sighed, watching Usagi frantically run down the stairs.
"Some things never change." Usagi's dad, Kenji, told his wife before kissing her cheek.
"No, they don't. I just pray she does well in school." Ikuko replied, setting Usagi's lunch bag on the counter.
"And I didn't get any of my homework done!" Usagi cried, running down to the kitchen.
"Well, that answers your question; she's always going to be an airhead." Usagi's brother, Shingo, spoke, teasing Usagi as she quickly grabbed her lunch and a piece of toast.
"I heard that, Brat." Usagi grumbled, a piece of toast in her mouth before running out the door.
"I'm soo going to be late. And I'm soo going to have detention! Noo!" Usagi cried, running to school.
As she ran, Usagi wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into someone.
"Oww! Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?! I hope I didn't hurt you too much!" Both Usagi and the other person, a girl, panicked.
"No, I'm fine. What about you?" Usagi asked, helping the girl up.
"I'm ok, just lost." The girl softly replied.
When they both stood up and saw each other, they couldn't help but stare at each other.
"You look like me!" Both girls yelled, stepping back, and pointed at each other.
The girl looked almost exactly like Usagi: they had the same facial features, hairstyle, eye shape—everything. The differences were their hair and eye colors.
Usagi is blonde with blue eyes.
This girl had peach-colored hair and green eyes.
"Who are you?" Usagi asked right away, slightly freaked out, watching the girl.
"My name is Sakura; Sakura Taiyononeko. What about you?" The girl, Sakura, answered and then asked.
"I'm Usagi Tsukino. Oh, no! I'm going to really get it this time! I'm really late!" Usagi answered and then freaked out when she heard the school bell, indicating she was really late.
"Hey, do you go to Juuban Municipal High School?" Sakura asked, watching Usagi.
"Yeah, why?" Usagi curiously asked.
"Because that's the school I'm starting at this year—and I'm lost. I left early today so I'd get there early, but I ended up at a different high school…" Sakura answered, rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed.
"Oh, it's ok; just follow me!" Usagi called as she started running; Sakura followed her, rollerblading close behind her.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Here we are: Juuban Municipal High School. The office is this way." Usagi told Sakura. She then instructed her, pointing down a hall leading to the office.
While Usagi was telling Sakura where to go, she switched into her school shoes.
"Thanks so much." Sakura thanked Usagi with a smile.
"You're welcome. Well, I'd better get going." Usagi told Sakura with a smile before mumbling.
"Maybe I'll see you around." Sakura replied, waving.
'I do hope so.' Usagi thought to herself as she ran.
"Hmmm?" Sakura hummed, looking at the thin packet Usagi dropped.
'There's barely anything done in here!' Sakura thought to herself in disbelief, looking through the packet before heading to the office.
Fifteen Minutes Later:
Sakura arrived at her first class with a note from the principal, explaining why she was late. That's when she heard a teacher yelling at a student.
"Ms. Usagi! What am I going to do with you? You're late again! It's detention for you!" The teacher yelled in front of the class until the door opened.
"Don't punish her; it's my fault she's late." Sakura frantically begged, walking in and up to the teacher.
"You must be the new student. How is it your fault she was late? Usagi's normally always late." The teacher stated, looking at Sakura.
"Well—I got up early to come to school, but took a wrong turn and ended up at a different high school. When I figured that out, I backtracked and started to make my here—but I was still lost. On the way, I bumped into Usagi and she offered to show me to the school. Then once we got to the school and inside, she showed me to the office. Honestly, it's my fault. If you want to punish someone; punish me. I'm so very sorry." Sakura explained and apologized, bowing.
"Well— I guess it's ok. You're not in trouble—this time. But next time, it's after school detention. Do you understand, Usagi?" The teacher strictly asked.
"Yes, Mr. Guro." Usagi sighed just before he dismissed her to her seat.
"Ok— As you can see, we have a new student today. Her name is Sakura Taiyononeko; I'd like it if you showed her some respect and treat her kindly. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?" Mr. Guro introduced Sakura to everyone and then insisted, who turned red out of nervousness.
"Well, umm— I'm Sakura; I like to read, write, and anything having to do with arts and crafts. I also really love cats and have two." Sakura nervously answered, fiddling with her fingers.
"Ok. You may take a seat between Ms. Usagi and Ms. Makoto." Mr. Guro calmly instructed, turning to face the chalkboard.
"Yes, Sir. Thank you." Sakrua softly thanked, walking to her seat, tripping over her own feet. However, she caught herself and didn't fall.
"With the exception of Ms. Sakura, does everybody have their summer homework done and ready? Please get it ready for me to come collect." Mr. Guro instructed before turning around.
Just as he was about to start collecting the homework, the fire alarm went off—as did the sprinkler system.
"Ok everybody; outside now!" Mr. Guro instructed, ushering his students outside.
Outside:
"Stupid Mr. Guru giving us stupid Summer Homework. He's the only one who does that too." Usagi complained.
"Didn't get your work done again, Usagi?" Rei asked, walking up behind her, watching the school, but seeing, nor sensing any fire.
"It's going to take a miracle to get it done now. You can't afford to get detention today; we have a meeting after school." Makoto stated, finding the Usagi and Rei.
"Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt or anything; but I think this is yours. You dropped it in the hallway, showing me the office this morning. I wouldn't want you to lose this and get in trouble." Sakura spoke up, handing Usagi her homework.
"Thanks." Usagi thanked Sakura, looking at the packet.
When she flipped through the pages, Usagi was stunned; all the pages were completed.
She was going to say something when the school's principal came out and informed everyone that it was a false alarm and to go back to class.
"I thought you said you didn't have your homework done." Makoto whispered to Usagi as they headed back inside.
"I didn't. At least I didn't think I did." Usagi replied.
"Do you think that the new girl did it?" Makoto asked.
"I don't think so; she wouldn't have had the time." Rei stated as they headed to their classes.
"Ok. Will everybody please pass their summer homework up front so I can collect them?" Mr. Guro instructed, standing in front of his desk.
Doing as they were told, Mr. Guro's class handed up their summer homework for him to collect and place on his desk.
"Thank you. This year, we will be looking into the science of just about anything and everything we can get through. Today we will be starting with the study of osmosis. Can anybody explain what the study of osmosis is?
Yes, Ms. Sakura?" Mr. Guro asked, looking at his class as Sakura raised her hand.
"The study of Osmosis is the flow of water down its concentration gradient, across a semi-permeable membrane." Sakura explained.
"Very good. Now Class, get out your notebooks and let's take some notes." Mr. Guro instructed, writing stuff on the chalkboard.
The rest of the class went by quickly. Whereas, the rest of the day went by really slow for Usagi, who, thanks to Sakura, avoided after-school detention and was able to leave when everyone else did.
"Hey, Sakura!" Usagi called when she saw her.
"Oh, hey Usagi. What's up?" Sakura politely asked.
"Nothing much. I just had a quick question for you." Usagi seriously told Sakura.
"Yes, what is it?" Sakura curiously asked.
"Did you do my Summer Science homework?" Usagi asked in a whisper.
"Oh, that? That was no big deal. You dropped it and I saw it wasn't done so when the lady at the desk came back, I excused myself to the bathroom, saying I wasn't feeling too well. You know, being new and new to a much bigger school than I was used to; I said I was a bit overwhelmed. I had a little time and got most of it done in the bathroom. I was going to give it back to you in class, but that alarm went off. It gave me the chance to finish it outside before I handed it back to you. I didn't want you to get into trouble the first day back, so I figured I'd just do it for you. I hope you don't mind." Sakura softly explained.
"Mind? Heck no, I don't mind! You saved my butt back there. Twice, I might add. So you just moved here?" Usagi happily exclaimed before asking with a huge smile.
"I'm glad. Umm, yeah. Just last month. I moved in with my grandparents to help them around the house—and to come back to the place I was born." Sakura answered, switching her shoes again.
"Oh, I see. Those are cool. I noticed you changing them earlier. What are they?" Usagi asked, looking at Sakura's shoes.
"These? They're just something I created: rollerblading shoes. I simply took some wheels from old rollerblades and put them into some regular shoes. Well I shouldn't say simply; it was actually quite difficult. But here there are." Sakura answered with a small smile.
"How do you get the wheels to—you know, not come out?" Usagi asked, not knowing how to ask.
"Oh, that. Hahaha. The wheels just fold up into the bottom of the shoes; they only come out again with either a push of the button—or if I pull them out." Sakura answered, giggling a bit.
"They're sooo cool! I wish I had a pair." Usagi excitedly exclaimed.
"Do you want a pair that badly? I can make you a pair." Sakura softly offered.
"Really? You'd do that?" Usagi excitedly asked.
"Of course. If you have a pair of shoes that you don't mind being wrecked to make them. I have the wheels, but not the shoes. I can do it over the weekend or something." Sakura replied with a smile.
"Oh, that'd be great! Thank you so much!" Usagi thanked, shaking Sakura's hands.
"What'd be great?" Rei and Ami asked as they, Makoto, and Minako showed up.
"Oh. Sakura is going to make me a special pair of shoes that have rollerblades on the bottom. Like what she's wearing. Oh, Sakura; these are some of my best friends: Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako. Girls, this is Sakura." Usagi happily introduced everyone.
"Yes, I know; I have some classes with her. It's nice to have you here." Ami politely spoke, shaking Sakura's hand.
"Yeah; we have classes together as well." The others added, also shaking Sakura's hand—one at a time.
"It's nice to meet you as well. Umm… Well, I guess I should get going." Sakura softly told the girls, slowly starting to turn around.
"Wait!" Usagi called.
"Hmmm? What is it?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Can you hang out for a little bit?" Usagi asked, watching Sakura.
"Don't you have a meeting to get to?" Sakura asked, confused.
"No." Usagi answered with a smile.
"But earlier, when that alarm went off; you, Makoto, and Rei were saying something about it." Sakura reminded Usagi, confused.
"Oh, that? That's later. It's never right away after school. And it can't start without us anyway. So what do you say? Hang out for a while?" Usagi asked, looking at Sakura, pleading with her.
"Well—I guess a little while couldn't hurt." Sakura nervously replied.
"Yay! Just you wait! I'll show you some of my favorite places! First off: the arcade!" Usagi happily exclaimed, heading off ahead of everybody.
"I'm sorry; I really didn't mean to ruin any of your plans." Sakura softly apologized.
"Oh, it's fine. Usagi's right; the meeting isn't for another hour. She usually has detention after school, so we always plan ahead of time." Rei kindly informed.
"Oh, I see." Sakura replied, unsure.
After a minute or two, Rini and Hotaru showed up.
"Hey, Usagi! I'm surprised to see you out of school now. No detention today?" Rini asked, surprised.
"Why you rotten little brat! I don't always get detention… Oh, hey Hotaru. How are you?" Usagi asked Hotaru after yelling at Rini.
"Oh, I'm good. Rini and I were just heading somewhere to hang out for a while. Does that mean the meeting's starting now then? Oh, hello." Hotaru asked and then noticed Sakura.
"Hey! Who are you? Are you a friend of Usagi's? I'd watch out; she's kinda a slacker and a cry baby. I'm Rini, Usagi's cousin. And this is my best friend, Hotaru." Rini exclaimed, causing a vein to pop out of Usagi's head.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Sakura." Sakura introduced herself.
"Hey! Those are so cool! Where'd you get them?" Rini excitedly asked, noticing her shoes.
"I made them." Sakura answered.
"Oh, cool. Could you make me a pair?" Rini asked with a smile and glint in her eyes.
"Rini—she doesn't just go around making things like this; it's not easy. Besides, she already said she'd make me a pair. And you don't have any shoes that could be used to make them." Usagi argued.
"Yes, I do! I have lots of shoes!" Rini argued back.
After a few minutes of arguing, Sakura softly spoke up, "it's fine; I can make her some if she has shoes. If anybody else wants them, I suppose I can make them some too. But could you please not tell anyone else about them—or where you got them? I don't want to have to make them for everybody and their family. It does take me a few hours just to make one pair. But I can do it for you guys."
"Oh, that'd be great. How much do you want for them?" Hotaru asked, clapping her hands together.
"Oh, nothing. Just a pair of shoes and for nobody else to know." Sakura softly answered, rollerblading backward.
"Are you sure? We can really pay you for this." Ami politely offered.
"I'm sure; I don't need the money. Money doesn't mean anything to me." Sakura honestly insisted with a smile.
However, that smile disappeared when she sped up as she went backward down a steep hill.
By the time she heard the girls' screams for her to watch out, it was too late. She was falling at an incredible speed—a shrill scream escaping her lips.
Sakura had never gone down a hill backward; she had no idea what to do as her mind went completely blank.
Elsewhere:
"Do you think that Bun-head will have detention today?" Haruka asked Michiru and Setsuna.
"I don't know." Michiru replied, sighing a little.
"She usually does—as unfortunate as that is." Setsuna stated with a frown.
"Do you hear something?" Haruka asked, listening as she stood up straight.
"Yeah, it sounds like a girl—screaming." Setsuna answered.
"Hey, look out!" Michiru yelled, moving out of the way—along with Haruka and Setsuna.
Just then, Sakura went whizzing by them and landed in a water fountain.
"Sakura!" Usagi and the others called, running down the hill.
"Look, it's Bun-head; she's not in detention." Haruka told the others, surprised, watching them run by.
"Hi, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna! Sakura, are you ok?" Usagi quickly greeted before asking, passing the three stunned older girls.
"Sakura?" Setsuna asked, shocked.
And that's when Mamoru and another guy walked over.
"Hey, what's going on?" Mamoru asked, watching Usagi and Rei pull Sakura out of the water.
"Are you ok?" Rei asked as Sakura kicked her wheels back into her shoes and stood up.
"Yeah, I'm ok. And that's why you must always pay attention to where you're going when rollerblading. Haha. Haha." Sakura replied, laughing at herself, clearly embarrassed.
"Sakura? Sakura Taiyononeko?" Setsuna and Mamoru asked, getting everybody's attention.
"Do you know this girl?" Haruka and Usagi asked, looking at Setsuna and Mamoru.
"Kind of. Sakura, I don't know if you remember me, but I knew…" Setsuna started but was interrupted by Sakura.
"I remember you—both of you. I'm sorry Usagi, but I have to get home. See you 'round. Bye!" Sakura kind of mumbled and then called after grabbing her backpack. She then ran off with tears in her eyes.
"Sakura! Ok, what's going on here? Do you know her?" Usagi asked, demanding answers.
"Kind of. I used to date her older brother. How do you know her?" Setsuna answered and then asked, looking at Mamoru.
"Her brother was my tutor/friend growing up." Mamoru answered, looking dumbfounded.
"Who's he?" Usagi asked, pointing to the boy behind Mamoru.
"This is Ryou; he's a friend. I met him while in college in America. Ryou, this is my girlfriend, Usagi." Mamoru introduced Usagi and Ryou.
"It's nice to finally meet you; Mamoru never shuts up about you." Ryou greeted Usagi, shaking her hand, causing her to blush a bit.
"Nice to meet you too." Usagi greeted, slightly embarrassed.
Ryou had shaggy, nape-length sandy-brown hair and hazel eyes; he was maybe an inch or two shorter than Mamoru.
"Anyway, I better get going. Gotta find an apartment. I'll see you later, ok? Have a good day!" Ryou spoke, waving as he left to go apartment hunting.
"He doesn't have an apartment?" Usagi asked, confused.
"No, not yet; he's only been here for three days. He's been staying in my spare room until he can find a place of his own." Mamoru answered.
"Ok, that's nice and all. But how do you two know Sakura again?" Rei and Haruka impatiently asked.
"As I said before, her brother was a really good friend and my tutor when I was in middle school. I knew he had a sister, but she was sick a lot of the time." Mamoru answered, looking in the direction that Sakura ran.
"And I used to date her older brother. There was quite a big age difference between the two. He was incredibly smart—so smart he graduated a few years early. Put together, he was even smarter than Michiru and Ami." Setsuna sadly answered as they started walking to Rei's temple for the meeting.
"Sakura never mentioned an older brother." Usagi stated, looking ahead.
"Was?" Minako and Makoto asked, looking at Setsuna.
"No, I don't suppose she would. Yes, was. Satoshi died years ago in a car accident. The car went over the side of a bridge and into a river." Mamoru answered.
"That's sad." The girls all mumbled, looking down.
"Yeah… And what's worse, is Sakura blamed herself. I kind of wonder if she still does." Setsuna added.
"Why would she blame herself?" Mamoru asked, confused.
"Because she was there that day; she was in the back of the car—and she survived." Setsuna answered, looking past everybody.
"That's just awful! I can't believe she had to go through all that. What about her parents? What do they think?" Rini asked, upset.
"I don't know; I think she said she lived with her grandparents." Usagi answered.
"I'm not sure how her parents felt; she was always in her room when I was around." Setsuna stated.
"I don't think her parents cared very much for her. I remember going over one day; they were just yelling and berating her pretty badly." Mamoru added as they sat down to have their meeting.
"I think the real question is: how did she survive that long of a fall, into a river?" Haruka asked as they waited for Luna, Artemis, and Diana.
"I think it was said her brother shielded her and made sure he got to shore. But that was what I heard; I also heard that his body was never found. She had an arm print across her chest, indicating he blocked her from hitting the dashboard or something." Setsuna explained just before Luna and the others got there.
"What are we talking about?" Luna asked right away.
"Just a new friend; nothing too important. Why did you call this meeting, Luna?" Usagi answered and then asked, looking at her cat.
"We're here to discuss the new enemy and how we need to defeat them. It's obvious you cannot do it on your own. So we have news; we've been keeping something from you." Luna calmly started.
"What is it?" Usagi and the others asked.
"Usagi—as Princess Serenity, you were always told that you could only have one child. Same as your mother. However, what we didn't tell you, is that your mother had a brother; his name was Cyrus. Cyrus had a daughter named Charity. Usagi, you have a cousin—another princess. You must find her, and her Ruby Millennium Crystal. The Ruby Millennium Crystal is exactly like the Silver Millennium Crystal—except its red. Which brings me to my next point. There are four more sailor scouts out there that you'll need to find as well." Luna calmly informed Mamoru and the girls.
"Really? There are more of us out there?" Usagi asked, shocked.
"Yes, there are more. From what we understand, the scouts you will be looking for are, Sailor Sun, Sailor Shooting-Star, Sailor Meteor, and Sailor Eclipse. But that's all we know; we don't know who they are or what they look like." Artemis explained.
"The only thing we do know, is that they live around here somewhere. And that at least one of them will have a cat or so: Sora and Riku. So you know who you're looking for as cats; Sora is either a calico or a torbie and Riku is an orange, black and white tabby cat." Luna explained.
"When you find them, they will be able to tell you about their princess. Because to be honest, we don't really know a whole lot about Charity other than she's not all that strong." Artemis explained with a bit of a nervous chuckle.
"Neo Queen Serenity told us about this the other night; she said it was very important for us to tell you everything we know. Cyrus told his sister to tell us when the time was right." Diana spoke up.
"Well, I guess we have another mission…" Rei sighed.
"Woohoo! Do these new girls know of our princess or just the new one we're looking for?" Minako excitedly asked.
"Ehem. Much like when you girls started, these girls probably don't have their memories back yet. But to answer your question; I think maybe they've heard of Serenity, but their main mission was to protect Charity. For Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru; you will eventually get memories of Charity back, seeing you four are the outer scouts. You four watched out for both kingdoms—and wherever you were called upon, you went to. King Cyrus made sure to keep your memories of the Sun Kingdom held away until the right time. As for the rest of you, including Princess Serenity; you have all heard of King Cyrus, Princess Charity, and the Sun Kingdom, but have never been there or met them." Luna explained.
"Well—actually, Mars had duties on both Kingdoms as well. Mars and the Sun Kingdom were closer than Mars and the Moon Kingdom. It's just that Princess Serenity, at the time needed Sailor Mars more than Princess Charity. These new scouts that you must find are needed to help defeat this new enemy. I've never been to the Sun Kingdom, but I do remember that Sailor Mars would go there from time to time—mainly when they needed her. So Rei, you'll be a key contributor in finding these girls." Artemis explained, shocking Luna and the others.
"Are these girls stronger than us?" Makoto asked, speaking up.
"No. But you can't defeat this new enemy without them. Nor can they defeat them without you. Each and every one of you girls has your own strengths and weaknesses; you need to combine all of your strengths together. Much like all of your previous battles; you drew on each other to strengthen each other." Luna and Artemis explained.
"When do we start?" Ami asked, looking at everyone.
"As soon as you can. Just keep an eye open. Now girls, go; I'm sure you all need to be home soon. Make sure you get all your homework and stuff done and be on the ready in case of an attack." Luna instructed, hopping onto Usagi's shoulder while Artemis hopped onto Minako and Diana onto Rini.
"Ok. See you all tomorrow—maybe tonight." Everyone bid farewell, heading their separate ways, thinking about a new princess and new scouts…