Serena wearily pulled herself out of bed the next Monday morning, extremely exhausted from the last two nights. Darien had stayed until the night before, only leaving Sunday night because he had to go to school the next day, leaving Serena to deal with the 4 girls.
Although they were safe from the pain of their memories while they were awake, they were defenseless against it when they were asleep, resulting in many nightmares that cause them to wake up screaming. Serena, every time, would get up and comfort the person who just had the nightmare. It had left her and the scouts emotionally drained, leaving them very tired.
Serena padded over to her closet, where she pulled out a clean uniform. Getting dressed, she went downstairs to find the other girls in more or less the same state of lethargy and exhaustion.
"Hey guys, how are you feeling?" Serena asked while yawning.
"Like hell," the girls said simultaneously, their voices portraying just how tired they were.
Serena took a close look at all of the girls. Ami's hair was a little mussed, Lita's hair was falling out of it's ponytail, Mina's face lacked it's usual joy, and Raye had dark circles under her eyes. To Serena, they looked in no shape to go to school, especially considering that they had gotten some awfully painful memories back, memories that would make anyone less than extremely strong go practically insane.
But, they had to go to school, or so Serena thought. Besides, Ami would hate to miss a minute of school. And, also, they'll have the guys there to help them deal, even though the guys won't know what's going on. Serena calmed down, knowing that the Ronin Warriors would help them in any way the can. It also didn't hurt that 4 out of the 5 guys were in love with the other Sailor Scouts.
Serena sighed with resignation and said, "Well, we better get going to school. We're going to be late as it is." All she got were a few grumbled replies.
***
Rowen sat in his physics class, staring solemnly at the empty seat next to his, Ami's seat. With a quick glance up at the clock, he noted that she was 10 minutes late. Ami Mizuno was never late to class. The sound of the door opening slightly shook him out of it.
Rowen's head snapped towards the door and as it inched open, he saw Ami walk into the room and his whole world brightened up. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he knew he was in love with her. She was smart, sharp, kind, and absolutely hilarious once someone got to know her. But, there was something off about her that day and he wasn't the only one who had noticed it.
"Ms. Mizuno, are you alright?" their teacher asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," Ami said, "Sorry I'm late. It won't happen again." Without any explanation as to why she was late, she briskly walked over to her seat and slid into it. Rowen just stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. What was wrong with her? Her hair was a dull color of blue when it was usually shiny, she had deep circles under her eyes that displayed the lack of sleep, and her face had a haggard look.
"Are you ok, Ami?" Rowen whispered.
Ami, who had her head buried in her arms, lifted her head slightly and said, "I'm ok. Just tired." Rowen knew that there was something that she wasn't telling him and he was determined to find out what it was.
All through the rest of class, his attention was elsewhere then what the teacher was talking about. He was worried about Ami and he had good reason to be. She was late and she wasn't paying attention in class, two characteristics that Ami never displayed. The teacher decided to end class early because he wasn't feeling well and when he had announced that class was over, Ami was up and out of her seat faster than Rowen was. He raced to catch her as she took off down the hallway, calling her name as he tried to catch up to her, but she only ignored him.
It was quite an effort, but eventually, he caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.
"Ami, what's wrong? Why didn't you answer me when I called your name?"
"I'm fine, Rowen," Ami said through gritted teeth.
"No, you're not. Please, tell me, what's wrong?" Rowen pleaded. Ami tried to wrench her arm away, but his grip was too tight. Instead, she looked up into his eyes to tell him to let her go and when she did, the pleading look in his eyes created a déjà vu that she could have done without.
The moment she saw his eyes, she had a quick flash from her painful memory from the moon kingdom of her lover looking at her with the same pleading look and it scared her. Ami opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"Well?" Rowen asked, still trying to find an answer. The look in his eyes had shaken Ami up too much; she had to get out of there. Tears starting to form in her eyes, she finally jerked her arm away.
"I-I have to go," she said, her voice choked with tears. Ami ran from Rowen as fast as she could, leaving Rowen standing there, his heart filled with worry for the one he loved.
***
Lita sat in English class, trying desperately to stay awake. No matter how hard she tried, she found herself dozing off no matter what. Her eyes fell shut and she was just about to fall asleep when she felt someone shake her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open and she looked left to see Kento looking at her with a worried expression on his face.
"Hey, are you ok? You're falling asleep."
"Yeah, I'm ok," Lita said, giving a reassuring smile, "I'm just tired."
Kento looked at her suspiciously and said, "Ok, if you say so." Lita, who was now trying to ease Kento's suspicions, turned to listen to her English teacher as she talked about a short story that they were supposed to have read.
"Now, as we know in this story, the girl had to watch her lover die, is that right?" A few heads nodded.
Lita's breath hitched and she closed her eyes to fend off the tears. She gripped the sides of the desk until her knuckles were white and the wood started to crack, all in order to keep her from losing it. Kento's head turned at the sound of the wood cracking and he gave Lita a suspicious look that was filled with worry. There was something wrong with her.
"Good, now, this brought a pain to her that was described to us in the story. She felt like her heart had been physically ripped out of her chest and she didn't have the will to live. I'm sure none of you have felt that heartache, but what might you do if this happened to you? Lita, what would you do?" her teacher called out to her.
Lita's eyes opened wide and she stared at her teacher in disbelief, like she couldn't believe that her teacher was daring to ask her that question. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as memories started flooding back in. It was like the dam she had built to keep her memories from surfacing when she was awake had broken down and now she was helpless against the bombardment of emotions that were yet very raw.
Everyone was looking at Lita expediently, waiting for her to answer. Lita always had something to say about everything and the class usually looked forward to hearing what she had to say, but her silence was unnerving.
"Lita, are you all right?" her teacher asked. Lita drew in a shaky breath, ignoring her teacher's question, and said, "No, no. I can't do this. I can't."
With that, Lita rapidly stood up and left the room, leaving everyone staring agape at her. Little did she know that she was broadcasting her emotions for anyone to pick up.
***
In biology class, Mina felt her best friend's pain acutely. It was like a voice cried out, "Help me!" Mina's body froze as she felt Lita's distress and without warning, she pushed her chair out and stood up, running out of the classroom.
"Mina, wait! Where are you going?" Cye asked as she bolted from the room. Mina didn't answer. She just ran, searching for Lita and a way to help her.
***
Raye was in history class, answering a question about an ancient Japanese myth and it's affect on society when her psychic powers picked up on Lita's emotions, strengthened through the link that she shared with Lita, the same that she shared with all of the other Sailor Scouts. Raye paused mid-sentence as the pain of Lita's emotions hit her.
Raye flinched and her teacher, a male in his mid-30s, said, "Miss Hino, are you all right?" Raye didn't answer as she rushed out of her desk and out of the room.
"Raye, where are you going?" Sage asked, confused about Raye's strange behavior.
She had come into class late and she looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep. She basically looked sick and had told Sage that she was feeling fine every time he had asked her. When Sage called after her, Raye didn't even say anything. She just turned around and gave him a quick smile before leaving the room.
***
Serena, who probably had the best links with all of the Scouts, was in the middle of doing the math problems that her math teacher had given them when she felt Lita's pain. Serena's maternal instincts kicked in and she set her pencil down and ran out of the classroom, ignoring her teacher's cries for her to stop.
Ryo only watched as Serena, who was quickly becoming one of his best friends, rushed out of the classroom with a pained expression on her face. He knew that once Serena got something into her head, there was no stopping her, but it didn't stop him from worrying about her. As she left the room in a hurry, Ryo knew that he was going to figure out what was up with her that morning.
***
Ami was running home when she felt the same thing that all the others had felt. She froze in her tracks and turned around to throw a glance at the school, which was set a little distantly into the horizon.
"Lita," she whispered. She knew how Lita felt. Something had obviously unexpectedly reminded her of the memories that had plagued her throughout the weekend, just as the pleading look in Rowen's eyes had reminded Ami. Without hesitation, she ran back to the school to find and help Lita.
Although they were safe from the pain of their memories while they were awake, they were defenseless against it when they were asleep, resulting in many nightmares that cause them to wake up screaming. Serena, every time, would get up and comfort the person who just had the nightmare. It had left her and the scouts emotionally drained, leaving them very tired.
Serena padded over to her closet, where she pulled out a clean uniform. Getting dressed, she went downstairs to find the other girls in more or less the same state of lethargy and exhaustion.
"Hey guys, how are you feeling?" Serena asked while yawning.
"Like hell," the girls said simultaneously, their voices portraying just how tired they were.
Serena took a close look at all of the girls. Ami's hair was a little mussed, Lita's hair was falling out of it's ponytail, Mina's face lacked it's usual joy, and Raye had dark circles under her eyes. To Serena, they looked in no shape to go to school, especially considering that they had gotten some awfully painful memories back, memories that would make anyone less than extremely strong go practically insane.
But, they had to go to school, or so Serena thought. Besides, Ami would hate to miss a minute of school. And, also, they'll have the guys there to help them deal, even though the guys won't know what's going on. Serena calmed down, knowing that the Ronin Warriors would help them in any way the can. It also didn't hurt that 4 out of the 5 guys were in love with the other Sailor Scouts.
Serena sighed with resignation and said, "Well, we better get going to school. We're going to be late as it is." All she got were a few grumbled replies.
***
Rowen sat in his physics class, staring solemnly at the empty seat next to his, Ami's seat. With a quick glance up at the clock, he noted that she was 10 minutes late. Ami Mizuno was never late to class. The sound of the door opening slightly shook him out of it.
Rowen's head snapped towards the door and as it inched open, he saw Ami walk into the room and his whole world brightened up. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he knew he was in love with her. She was smart, sharp, kind, and absolutely hilarious once someone got to know her. But, there was something off about her that day and he wasn't the only one who had noticed it.
"Ms. Mizuno, are you alright?" their teacher asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," Ami said, "Sorry I'm late. It won't happen again." Without any explanation as to why she was late, she briskly walked over to her seat and slid into it. Rowen just stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. What was wrong with her? Her hair was a dull color of blue when it was usually shiny, she had deep circles under her eyes that displayed the lack of sleep, and her face had a haggard look.
"Are you ok, Ami?" Rowen whispered.
Ami, who had her head buried in her arms, lifted her head slightly and said, "I'm ok. Just tired." Rowen knew that there was something that she wasn't telling him and he was determined to find out what it was.
All through the rest of class, his attention was elsewhere then what the teacher was talking about. He was worried about Ami and he had good reason to be. She was late and she wasn't paying attention in class, two characteristics that Ami never displayed. The teacher decided to end class early because he wasn't feeling well and when he had announced that class was over, Ami was up and out of her seat faster than Rowen was. He raced to catch her as she took off down the hallway, calling her name as he tried to catch up to her, but she only ignored him.
It was quite an effort, but eventually, he caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.
"Ami, what's wrong? Why didn't you answer me when I called your name?"
"I'm fine, Rowen," Ami said through gritted teeth.
"No, you're not. Please, tell me, what's wrong?" Rowen pleaded. Ami tried to wrench her arm away, but his grip was too tight. Instead, she looked up into his eyes to tell him to let her go and when she did, the pleading look in his eyes created a déjà vu that she could have done without.
The moment she saw his eyes, she had a quick flash from her painful memory from the moon kingdom of her lover looking at her with the same pleading look and it scared her. Ami opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"Well?" Rowen asked, still trying to find an answer. The look in his eyes had shaken Ami up too much; she had to get out of there. Tears starting to form in her eyes, she finally jerked her arm away.
"I-I have to go," she said, her voice choked with tears. Ami ran from Rowen as fast as she could, leaving Rowen standing there, his heart filled with worry for the one he loved.
***
Lita sat in English class, trying desperately to stay awake. No matter how hard she tried, she found herself dozing off no matter what. Her eyes fell shut and she was just about to fall asleep when she felt someone shake her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open and she looked left to see Kento looking at her with a worried expression on his face.
"Hey, are you ok? You're falling asleep."
"Yeah, I'm ok," Lita said, giving a reassuring smile, "I'm just tired."
Kento looked at her suspiciously and said, "Ok, if you say so." Lita, who was now trying to ease Kento's suspicions, turned to listen to her English teacher as she talked about a short story that they were supposed to have read.
"Now, as we know in this story, the girl had to watch her lover die, is that right?" A few heads nodded.
Lita's breath hitched and she closed her eyes to fend off the tears. She gripped the sides of the desk until her knuckles were white and the wood started to crack, all in order to keep her from losing it. Kento's head turned at the sound of the wood cracking and he gave Lita a suspicious look that was filled with worry. There was something wrong with her.
"Good, now, this brought a pain to her that was described to us in the story. She felt like her heart had been physically ripped out of her chest and she didn't have the will to live. I'm sure none of you have felt that heartache, but what might you do if this happened to you? Lita, what would you do?" her teacher called out to her.
Lita's eyes opened wide and she stared at her teacher in disbelief, like she couldn't believe that her teacher was daring to ask her that question. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as memories started flooding back in. It was like the dam she had built to keep her memories from surfacing when she was awake had broken down and now she was helpless against the bombardment of emotions that were yet very raw.
Everyone was looking at Lita expediently, waiting for her to answer. Lita always had something to say about everything and the class usually looked forward to hearing what she had to say, but her silence was unnerving.
"Lita, are you all right?" her teacher asked. Lita drew in a shaky breath, ignoring her teacher's question, and said, "No, no. I can't do this. I can't."
With that, Lita rapidly stood up and left the room, leaving everyone staring agape at her. Little did she know that she was broadcasting her emotions for anyone to pick up.
***
In biology class, Mina felt her best friend's pain acutely. It was like a voice cried out, "Help me!" Mina's body froze as she felt Lita's distress and without warning, she pushed her chair out and stood up, running out of the classroom.
"Mina, wait! Where are you going?" Cye asked as she bolted from the room. Mina didn't answer. She just ran, searching for Lita and a way to help her.
***
Raye was in history class, answering a question about an ancient Japanese myth and it's affect on society when her psychic powers picked up on Lita's emotions, strengthened through the link that she shared with Lita, the same that she shared with all of the other Sailor Scouts. Raye paused mid-sentence as the pain of Lita's emotions hit her.
Raye flinched and her teacher, a male in his mid-30s, said, "Miss Hino, are you all right?" Raye didn't answer as she rushed out of her desk and out of the room.
"Raye, where are you going?" Sage asked, confused about Raye's strange behavior.
She had come into class late and she looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep. She basically looked sick and had told Sage that she was feeling fine every time he had asked her. When Sage called after her, Raye didn't even say anything. She just turned around and gave him a quick smile before leaving the room.
***
Serena, who probably had the best links with all of the Scouts, was in the middle of doing the math problems that her math teacher had given them when she felt Lita's pain. Serena's maternal instincts kicked in and she set her pencil down and ran out of the classroom, ignoring her teacher's cries for her to stop.
Ryo only watched as Serena, who was quickly becoming one of his best friends, rushed out of the classroom with a pained expression on her face. He knew that once Serena got something into her head, there was no stopping her, but it didn't stop him from worrying about her. As she left the room in a hurry, Ryo knew that he was going to figure out what was up with her that morning.
***
Ami was running home when she felt the same thing that all the others had felt. She froze in her tracks and turned around to throw a glance at the school, which was set a little distantly into the horizon.
"Lita," she whispered. She knew how Lita felt. Something had obviously unexpectedly reminded her of the memories that had plagued her throughout the weekend, just as the pleading look in Rowen's eyes had reminded Ami. Without hesitation, she ran back to the school to find and help Lita.
