**DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and other characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi,
Cartoon Network, etc. None of these characters belong to me. **
Author's Notes: Konnichiwa, minna-chan. I hope you like this next chapter.It's a bit
short but I'm still just getting into the plot. Keep in mind that this is an AU. Oh, and
for those of you who were wondering: yes, Usagi still is the princess but she's not
yet part of the group as even a senshi. Hope that clarifies some stuff. Please send
some feedback or review! Enjoy reading!
Rating: PG
*******************
"Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart."
~ Proverb ~
Silver Eyes
by: The Silver Princess
The motorcycle purred between her legs like a black leopard racing for the pure
joy of speed. Usagi smiled softly, letting the serenity that always came with riding her
bike wash over her like a soothing balm. The streets she traveled over were black and
deserted except for the occasional beggar or stray cat scrounging in the spilled trash
piled on the sidewalks. Car alarms wailed in the distance and the occasional breaking of
glass shattered through the air in a violent crash. It was Tokyo at its hardest, its worst.
But Usagi's eyes penetrated past the grime and decay and saw only the potential and
the hope that hid in cracks too small for most people to notice. This urban jungle suited
her just fine. She was a black blur on a black street, and she couldn't remember another
instance when she had felt this free and unburdened.
She let her instincts take control of the direction, knowing that her subconscious
had never misled her. Soon enough, she heard the screaming, a faint thread floating on
the stale city air. It was a dissonant note that even in its unremarkable violence pierced
through the normal city noises with its alien origins.
She revved the engine and pursued the sound with kindled determination. Fires
seemed to burn in her metallic silver eyes, and the familiar blend of adrenaline, fear,
and resolve rose inside her like a crashing wave. The dazzling lights of the senshi's
magic could already be seen flaring as she parked her motorbike and chained it and her
helmet securely. Cautiously, she stalked forward, keeping to the shadows. Her booted
feet were bare whispers on the cracked pavement as though she too were an
insubstantial scrap of shadow.
The scene came into view, unfolding like some bizarre fairy-tale gone wrong. Her
face fell immediately as she assessed the situation. The senshi—her friends, even
though it was still difficult to imagine them like this—were in severe difficulty. Two
youmas like black, liquid inkblots had attacked a small concert. Dark, sprawled forms
were littered on the ground—the victims who had fallen before the senshi had arrived.
Worse yet, each youma still had an innocent person caught in their grasp, and the
frustrated senshi could neither attack the demons nor save the people who were slowly
suffocating in the relentless claws.
Well, that simply wouldn't do, Usagi decided. She slipped behind the demons and
watched for her chance. She grinned when it came. Sailor Jupiter, whose patience in
battle was always chancy, had snapped, her frustrated fury boiling over, and she was
charging the youma head-on. Electricity unconsciously crackled in bright wreaths
around her as she ran like a ball of lightning.
Usagi sprang forward in a frontward flip before leaping high into the air and
scissoring her leg into a sharp kick. The impact jarred her bones as she connected
soundly with the youma's neck, making a muffled thud. She grunted softly; she hadn't
expected its flesh to be so unyielding.
It howled in rage as she dropped to the ground in a crouch. It spun around to
face the new opponent just as Jupiter approached. Lightning sizzled in the air, staining it
with a strange metallic taste, as she released the power, knowing it was useless to use
while the youma still held a hostage. Usagi snarled and pivoted. Putting the momentum
of her spin, she lashed out with her legs again. Her kick pounded into its wrist, and
Usagi was a blur of movement as she darted in to snatch the hostage from its weak
grasp.
She heard Sailor Jupiter roaring in victorious delight as she finally vented on the
youma. From the corner of her eyes, Usagi could see the various hues of magic
slamming into the youma, ripping it apart like an old black quilt.
The young boy shivered in her arms, and she looked down at him in sympathy.
Her heart caught in her throat as emotions she didn't want to identify surged in her. He
looked so similar to Shingo when he had been younger. Tears blurred in her eyes
before she angrily swallowed them. "Hey, it's okay now," she managed to say
reassuringly. "Everything's going to be fine."
He looked up at her with wide eyes as she set him down, safely hidden beneath
the stage. "You saved me," he whispered in awe. "Who are you?" Usagi smiled,
affection lightening her features even though her heart still throbbed—why did he have
to look so like Shingo? "That's a special secret for now," she informed him. "Why else
would I wear a mask?"
"Oh, yeah," he said with dawning understanding. He grinned playfully and
Usagi's heart jerked. "You're one of those superheroes with secret identities, aren't
you?"
She laughed happily at his childish innocence. "In a way," she conceded as she
tousled his sandy hair warmly.
"Well, then what's your superhero name? You have to have one," he insisted.
Usagi paused, taken aback. No one had ever asked her that. "Um, you can call
me, um..." she trailed off, searching for something appropriate. Well, there was her
black mask, her golden crown of hair. She nibbled her lip. Somehow, she wanted to be
more unusual. "Serenity," she said, the word popping out of her mouth almost without
her realizing. "Serenity," she repeated in a smoother tone even as an embarrassed
blush crept over her pale cheeks.
"That's really pretty."
"Thank you," she grinned. "Now, I've got to go and help out some more okay?
Stay here until the other youma is defeated."
He nodded solemnly. "I promise I will."
"You're a good kid," she blurted out, before turning and running back into the
fray.
The other youma was much simpler to take care of. As soon as she kicked its
wrist, its victim, a grown woman, squirmed her way free without any assistance, and
then the Sailor senshi attacked.
Usagi grinned as she watched the final demon disintegrate into a cloud of black
vapor. People began waking up as their life returned into their bodies. Perhaps it was
her fear that some wouldn't wake, that some had been too long without life that kept her
from leaving. Her heart felt bruised in a way she thought she'd taught it not to be. That
little boy kept popping up in her mind again. So she chose to stay and watch as the
victims roused themselves instead of fleeing as she out to have.
"Hey, you!"
Usagi whipped her head around and saw Sailor Venus, the leader of the senshi,
jogging towards. "We need to have a talk," she said sternly as she came up to her.
Usagi paled, praying her disguise would hold, even as Venus frowned and stared
at her, suspicious confusion growing in those clear blue eyes. "I gotta go," Usagi
stammered, for once grateful that her real voice was lower and richer than the high-
pitched wail she normally used.
She turned, and an arm darted forward catching at her.
A small sound escaped her lips as that strong hand closed around her injury. She
slapped Venus away and cradled her arm, clenching her jaw and trying not to scream.
Supernatural superheroes should learn to control their strength.
"What happened?" Venus asked remorsefully as the other senshi gathered in a
circle around Usagi.
Usagi glared at her with the full power of her metallic silver eyes. "You should
learn to control your strength," she snapped.
"I'm sorry," she said defensively. "I just didn't want you running off before we get
some answers out of you."
Usagi licked her lips as she slowly turned, taking in the circle trapping her.
"Again, you could have at least noticed that I have bandaged arm," she pointed out
reproachfully as her hot anger melted away.
"How..." Mars began.
"I got it saving Tuxedo Kamen's too-slow butt last night," Usagi explained,
anxiously searching for a means of escape. Already, she could feel moisture soaking
the inner layers of the dressing. Damn, she must have reopened it during the fight and
not noticed until Venus made it worse. "Or didn't you see that claw that was coming at
him when someone pushed him out of the way."
Mars looked taken aback, remorse and anger warring in her expression. "I'm
sorry," she muttered.
Usagi immediately regretted her sharp words. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be that
mean. I just get a little cross when I get hurt."
"Well, that's understandable," Sailor Mercury piped up in her quiet voice. "And
speaking of Tuxedo Kamen, where is he?"
She trailed off as Usagi frowned and turned to the often-overlooked senshi.The
reason why her fingers were dancing over her handheld computer hit her suddenly.
"You're trying to figure out who I am!" she accused.
Red flushed over Mercury's face as Usagi whirled on Venus. "I'm sorry," the
blond in black apologized sincerely before she struck out with the heel of her palm.
Venus oomphed back in surprise at the force of her sudden attack. Usagi vaulted over
the blond senshi's back and sprinted for her motorcycle. Her feet thudded against the
inky pavement in rhythmic beat, in time to her breathing. In the distance, she could hear
the clatter of feet racing after her and a boy's voice calling for Serenity to return.
She fumbled with the chain as the noise of running grew louder. Her fingers
seemed so clumsy—hurry up, she silently yelled. Finally, the lock opened, and with a
sigh of relief, she jumped onto her motorcycle. She jammed the helmet over her head,
gunned the engine, and took off in a cloud of exhaust and leaving the startled Sailor
senshi in her wake.
After several minutes, Usagi braked and set her motorcycle into idle. Biting her
lip, she examined her arm in the dim light cast by the streetlamp. The imllumination
seemed oily in the polluted air, like grease floating to the top of cheap broth in waxy
clumps. Still it was all the light she had, and she couldn't wait until she reached her
home. "Damnit," she swore angrily. "This better not get infected. I'll never be able to
explain it without giving myself away."
Suddenly, she stopped, shaking her head. She pressed a hand to her face
feeling tears dripping down her cheeks. "What's happened to me?" she whispered. She
tipped her face skyward, letting the gentle moonbeams soak over her features, lighting
her fair skin as though she herself were glowing. The moon was large and silver, a clear
disc like pure crystal hanging in the sky, its white purity contrasting so sharply with the
dirty streets. She trembled like an aspen in the wind as she stared at that cold distant
moon shining up there. "I'm not…I mean, I don't know. I miss you all so. And I still love
you. I still love. There is love inside me. Isn't there?" She swiped away her hot tears.
"There's nothing worse than having so much love when you can't show it, you can't let
them know." She bent down and wept into her thigh.
An incongruous noise suddenly whispered at her ears. She frowned and sat up,
swallowing her tears and grief with practiced ease—too easy that it scared her a little.
"Hello?" she called uncertainly. "Show yourself!" she demanded in a fearless tone.
No voices returned her call only a low groan.
Her frown deepening and a disturbing sense of foreboding growing in the pit of
her stomach, she rolled her motorcycle closer to the sound.
Her eyes widened behind her mask as she recognized a huddled form moaning
by the side of the street. "What the hell?" she exclaimed in shock.
**More to come next week with the plotline finally starting to get going:-)**
Cartoon Network, etc. None of these characters belong to me. **
Author's Notes: Konnichiwa, minna-chan. I hope you like this next chapter.It's a bit
short but I'm still just getting into the plot. Keep in mind that this is an AU. Oh, and
for those of you who were wondering: yes, Usagi still is the princess but she's not
yet part of the group as even a senshi. Hope that clarifies some stuff. Please send
some feedback or review! Enjoy reading!
Rating: PG
*******************
"Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart."
~ Proverb ~
Silver Eyes
by: The Silver Princess
The motorcycle purred between her legs like a black leopard racing for the pure
joy of speed. Usagi smiled softly, letting the serenity that always came with riding her
bike wash over her like a soothing balm. The streets she traveled over were black and
deserted except for the occasional beggar or stray cat scrounging in the spilled trash
piled on the sidewalks. Car alarms wailed in the distance and the occasional breaking of
glass shattered through the air in a violent crash. It was Tokyo at its hardest, its worst.
But Usagi's eyes penetrated past the grime and decay and saw only the potential and
the hope that hid in cracks too small for most people to notice. This urban jungle suited
her just fine. She was a black blur on a black street, and she couldn't remember another
instance when she had felt this free and unburdened.
She let her instincts take control of the direction, knowing that her subconscious
had never misled her. Soon enough, she heard the screaming, a faint thread floating on
the stale city air. It was a dissonant note that even in its unremarkable violence pierced
through the normal city noises with its alien origins.
She revved the engine and pursued the sound with kindled determination. Fires
seemed to burn in her metallic silver eyes, and the familiar blend of adrenaline, fear,
and resolve rose inside her like a crashing wave. The dazzling lights of the senshi's
magic could already be seen flaring as she parked her motorbike and chained it and her
helmet securely. Cautiously, she stalked forward, keeping to the shadows. Her booted
feet were bare whispers on the cracked pavement as though she too were an
insubstantial scrap of shadow.
The scene came into view, unfolding like some bizarre fairy-tale gone wrong. Her
face fell immediately as she assessed the situation. The senshi—her friends, even
though it was still difficult to imagine them like this—were in severe difficulty. Two
youmas like black, liquid inkblots had attacked a small concert. Dark, sprawled forms
were littered on the ground—the victims who had fallen before the senshi had arrived.
Worse yet, each youma still had an innocent person caught in their grasp, and the
frustrated senshi could neither attack the demons nor save the people who were slowly
suffocating in the relentless claws.
Well, that simply wouldn't do, Usagi decided. She slipped behind the demons and
watched for her chance. She grinned when it came. Sailor Jupiter, whose patience in
battle was always chancy, had snapped, her frustrated fury boiling over, and she was
charging the youma head-on. Electricity unconsciously crackled in bright wreaths
around her as she ran like a ball of lightning.
Usagi sprang forward in a frontward flip before leaping high into the air and
scissoring her leg into a sharp kick. The impact jarred her bones as she connected
soundly with the youma's neck, making a muffled thud. She grunted softly; she hadn't
expected its flesh to be so unyielding.
It howled in rage as she dropped to the ground in a crouch. It spun around to
face the new opponent just as Jupiter approached. Lightning sizzled in the air, staining it
with a strange metallic taste, as she released the power, knowing it was useless to use
while the youma still held a hostage. Usagi snarled and pivoted. Putting the momentum
of her spin, she lashed out with her legs again. Her kick pounded into its wrist, and
Usagi was a blur of movement as she darted in to snatch the hostage from its weak
grasp.
She heard Sailor Jupiter roaring in victorious delight as she finally vented on the
youma. From the corner of her eyes, Usagi could see the various hues of magic
slamming into the youma, ripping it apart like an old black quilt.
The young boy shivered in her arms, and she looked down at him in sympathy.
Her heart caught in her throat as emotions she didn't want to identify surged in her. He
looked so similar to Shingo when he had been younger. Tears blurred in her eyes
before she angrily swallowed them. "Hey, it's okay now," she managed to say
reassuringly. "Everything's going to be fine."
He looked up at her with wide eyes as she set him down, safely hidden beneath
the stage. "You saved me," he whispered in awe. "Who are you?" Usagi smiled,
affection lightening her features even though her heart still throbbed—why did he have
to look so like Shingo? "That's a special secret for now," she informed him. "Why else
would I wear a mask?"
"Oh, yeah," he said with dawning understanding. He grinned playfully and
Usagi's heart jerked. "You're one of those superheroes with secret identities, aren't
you?"
She laughed happily at his childish innocence. "In a way," she conceded as she
tousled his sandy hair warmly.
"Well, then what's your superhero name? You have to have one," he insisted.
Usagi paused, taken aback. No one had ever asked her that. "Um, you can call
me, um..." she trailed off, searching for something appropriate. Well, there was her
black mask, her golden crown of hair. She nibbled her lip. Somehow, she wanted to be
more unusual. "Serenity," she said, the word popping out of her mouth almost without
her realizing. "Serenity," she repeated in a smoother tone even as an embarrassed
blush crept over her pale cheeks.
"That's really pretty."
"Thank you," she grinned. "Now, I've got to go and help out some more okay?
Stay here until the other youma is defeated."
He nodded solemnly. "I promise I will."
"You're a good kid," she blurted out, before turning and running back into the
fray.
The other youma was much simpler to take care of. As soon as she kicked its
wrist, its victim, a grown woman, squirmed her way free without any assistance, and
then the Sailor senshi attacked.
Usagi grinned as she watched the final demon disintegrate into a cloud of black
vapor. People began waking up as their life returned into their bodies. Perhaps it was
her fear that some wouldn't wake, that some had been too long without life that kept her
from leaving. Her heart felt bruised in a way she thought she'd taught it not to be. That
little boy kept popping up in her mind again. So she chose to stay and watch as the
victims roused themselves instead of fleeing as she out to have.
"Hey, you!"
Usagi whipped her head around and saw Sailor Venus, the leader of the senshi,
jogging towards. "We need to have a talk," she said sternly as she came up to her.
Usagi paled, praying her disguise would hold, even as Venus frowned and stared
at her, suspicious confusion growing in those clear blue eyes. "I gotta go," Usagi
stammered, for once grateful that her real voice was lower and richer than the high-
pitched wail she normally used.
She turned, and an arm darted forward catching at her.
A small sound escaped her lips as that strong hand closed around her injury. She
slapped Venus away and cradled her arm, clenching her jaw and trying not to scream.
Supernatural superheroes should learn to control their strength.
"What happened?" Venus asked remorsefully as the other senshi gathered in a
circle around Usagi.
Usagi glared at her with the full power of her metallic silver eyes. "You should
learn to control your strength," she snapped.
"I'm sorry," she said defensively. "I just didn't want you running off before we get
some answers out of you."
Usagi licked her lips as she slowly turned, taking in the circle trapping her.
"Again, you could have at least noticed that I have bandaged arm," she pointed out
reproachfully as her hot anger melted away.
"How..." Mars began.
"I got it saving Tuxedo Kamen's too-slow butt last night," Usagi explained,
anxiously searching for a means of escape. Already, she could feel moisture soaking
the inner layers of the dressing. Damn, she must have reopened it during the fight and
not noticed until Venus made it worse. "Or didn't you see that claw that was coming at
him when someone pushed him out of the way."
Mars looked taken aback, remorse and anger warring in her expression. "I'm
sorry," she muttered.
Usagi immediately regretted her sharp words. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be that
mean. I just get a little cross when I get hurt."
"Well, that's understandable," Sailor Mercury piped up in her quiet voice. "And
speaking of Tuxedo Kamen, where is he?"
She trailed off as Usagi frowned and turned to the often-overlooked senshi.The
reason why her fingers were dancing over her handheld computer hit her suddenly.
"You're trying to figure out who I am!" she accused.
Red flushed over Mercury's face as Usagi whirled on Venus. "I'm sorry," the
blond in black apologized sincerely before she struck out with the heel of her palm.
Venus oomphed back in surprise at the force of her sudden attack. Usagi vaulted over
the blond senshi's back and sprinted for her motorcycle. Her feet thudded against the
inky pavement in rhythmic beat, in time to her breathing. In the distance, she could hear
the clatter of feet racing after her and a boy's voice calling for Serenity to return.
She fumbled with the chain as the noise of running grew louder. Her fingers
seemed so clumsy—hurry up, she silently yelled. Finally, the lock opened, and with a
sigh of relief, she jumped onto her motorcycle. She jammed the helmet over her head,
gunned the engine, and took off in a cloud of exhaust and leaving the startled Sailor
senshi in her wake.
After several minutes, Usagi braked and set her motorcycle into idle. Biting her
lip, she examined her arm in the dim light cast by the streetlamp. The imllumination
seemed oily in the polluted air, like grease floating to the top of cheap broth in waxy
clumps. Still it was all the light she had, and she couldn't wait until she reached her
home. "Damnit," she swore angrily. "This better not get infected. I'll never be able to
explain it without giving myself away."
Suddenly, she stopped, shaking her head. She pressed a hand to her face
feeling tears dripping down her cheeks. "What's happened to me?" she whispered. She
tipped her face skyward, letting the gentle moonbeams soak over her features, lighting
her fair skin as though she herself were glowing. The moon was large and silver, a clear
disc like pure crystal hanging in the sky, its white purity contrasting so sharply with the
dirty streets. She trembled like an aspen in the wind as she stared at that cold distant
moon shining up there. "I'm not…I mean, I don't know. I miss you all so. And I still love
you. I still love. There is love inside me. Isn't there?" She swiped away her hot tears.
"There's nothing worse than having so much love when you can't show it, you can't let
them know." She bent down and wept into her thigh.
An incongruous noise suddenly whispered at her ears. She frowned and sat up,
swallowing her tears and grief with practiced ease—too easy that it scared her a little.
"Hello?" she called uncertainly. "Show yourself!" she demanded in a fearless tone.
No voices returned her call only a low groan.
Her frown deepening and a disturbing sense of foreboding growing in the pit of
her stomach, she rolled her motorcycle closer to the sound.
Her eyes widened behind her mask as she recognized a huddled form moaning
by the side of the street. "What the hell?" she exclaimed in shock.
**More to come next week with the plotline finally starting to get going:-)**
