Title:
How Crystal Tokyo Came About
BY: ~SerenitySea~
Chapter:
8
Rating:
PG-13
Email: Serenity_Sea@Yahoo.com
Author's
Notes:
I have
always believed that best friends, such as Hotaru and Reenie, are closely
'linked' and therefore know when the other is in danger. So that
may explain the opening sentence…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hotaru shot straight up in her bed and yelled. Then she
jumped out of bed and ran into her parents' room.
"She's
here, she's here!" She yelled, while jumping on the sleeping couple
and their bed. The light from the hallway filtered in and the blonde, as she
sleepily opened her eyes, she could see her daughter being hyper, as per usual.
(AN: I don't like the idea of Hotaru being all gloomy and moody.)
Haruka snaked her arms out and caught the hyper girl,
Hotaru protesting the whole time. Michiru turned on her stomach and reached or
the light. She flicked it on and looked at the two. She'd never seen
Hotaru this happy before.
A shadow blocked the light that was streaming freely from
the hallway— effectively blocking the doorway. It was Trista, decked out
in full Sailor Pluto garb. And she was holding 4 steaming cups of liquid.
The three in the bed sat up.
"Is she here?" Hotaru
demanded impatiently.
Trista de-senshied and nodded tiredly. "I just
wanted to see her safely through the time stream. She's here. We'll
all see her in the morning." She glanced at Hotaru and sighed. Haruka and
Michiru followed her gaze.
"Looks
like we're gonna have to get you new clothes, there, kiddo." Haruka
said, while eyeing her daughter.
Hotaru had grown again. She'd been about 8, and
now… well, now she was about 13.
Michiru groaned and reached for a cup of tea from Trista
gratefully. Eyeing Hotaru's rapid growth, that most likely had to do with
Reenie's arrival, she silently agreed. *We have to see them, too.*
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Serena almost dropped the shake tray, but got a grip and
sat down before her legs could fail her, too.
Darien took the tray from her, before setting it down on
the table and sitting down as well.
Reenie had shifted to standing in front of them. *This is
a scene I've been at before.* She thought, amused.
Serena and Darien were thrown off track by Reenie's
amused grin. But it was Serena who spoke first, surprisingly.
"Reenie.
How did you even know we were engaged?"
Reenie's face grew warm. If they found out she
helped…she'd be in big trouble. "I, uh, have my ways."
Darien reached cautiously for a vanilla milkshake on the
table. But before he took a sip, he spoke. *If this is going to be the last
time I draw breath because of either the milkshake or Serena's being
upset because I made a face, I had better get out what I want to say.*
"Reenie,
you're welcome to stay here, or I'm sure Serena's parents
would let you stay with them, if you wanted."
But Reenie, my dear readers, was scheming. She was
wondering how she could phrase things correctly so that she wouldn't hurt
anyone's feelings. She wanted to know how she could sleep over
Hotaru's with Trista, Haruka, and Michiru. But before she could voice her
opinion, Serena jumped in again.
"Why,
Reenie'll stay at my house, of course."
Reenie and Darien stared at Serena. She was acting very
un-Serena like. Reenie wasn't as perturbed as Darien, because she'd
see her mom act like this. But Darien… well Darien had no other
explanation for it except that there was something in the milkshakes.
Milkshakes… so, cautiously, he picked his up while Reenie grabbed hers
and gulped it down. Darien took a sip and was strangely surprised at how good
it tasted. Maybe Serena had gotten her knack.
"Oh
NO! We have a senshi meeting at Rei's in 5 MINUTES!! Come on, Reenie,
let's go!" She grabbed Reenie by the arm and dragged her out of the
apartment, mindless to the fact that she'd left a wonderful vanilla
milkshake, and her fiancé, who had a car, and could probably drive them.
*And maybe not.* Darien thought ruefully. He picked up his
car keys and the forgotten milkshake, and waited for Serena to return.
32.5 seconds later, for Darien had timed it on his watch,
Serena came bursting back through his door. Her cheeks were slightly flushed,
and her eyes were sparkling—whether it be from the wind in her face from
running so fast or the fact that she was crying since Rei was really going to kick her butt since she
was late. Either reason, Darien thought she looked beautiful—just like
the days when they used to fight all the time.
"You
look beautiful, Sere."
Serena stopped short in the doorway, causing Reenie to
barrel right into her. Her eyes grew watery and all she could see was
Darien—who saw the same thing. (AN: Not himself, but Serena.)
"Aww,
Darien! Did you just Serena she looked pretty or something?"
That broke the moment pretty quick. Reenie had experienced
this before, and it usually happened at breakfast, when she was hungry, and had
to wait for her mom to either go back to bed with her dad, or pretend like
nothing happened so they could eat in relative peace—while the King and Queen
played footsie under the table.
"Oh,
heck with it." Darien grabbed Serena and kissed her rather abruptly, with
no regards to Reenie. Not that she was all that fazed. After all, her parents
were pretty hard to top on the mushiness factor. The 'sudden kiss'
was actually routine for Reenie. She'd come to expect it. Seeing no other
choice, she grabbed Darien's car keys, and stuck them on the doorknob.
Then she walked out on the couple and left them to their peace. Whether or no
Serena showed up, one of the family had to be there. And Reenie planned on
doing just that.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It wasn't too long of a walk to the Cherry Hill Shrine,
and Reenie was grateful for that. She was even more scared when she saw an
ambulance outside. *Rei's grandfather wasn't supposed to die yet. I
hope he didn't.* Then she saw Haruka's car and felt slightly
better.
Climbing the steps up to the shrine she heard a distinct
voice that could only be recognized as Rei's. "What are you doing??
I'm fine. Perfectly FINE. I don't need to go to the hospital when
all I did was faint. I'm better now, so all of you can stop fussing, and
Mr. Ambulance-Dude can go help out someone who needs it."
When she heard the ambulance drive away, she figured it
was safe to come out. Trista, Haruka, Michiru, Chad and Ami surrounded Rei;
Hotaru was there as well, and wanted to heal her friend.
Rei's body stiffened as Reenie approached the group
and she was thankful when Mina and Lita came running up.
"We
got here as fast as we could, what happened Rei?" Lita asked, her voice
clearly concerned.
"Yeah,"
Mina seconded, "I had to cancel my shopping trip with Andrew. Is
everything ok?" Then she noticed the older women. "Trista, Haruka,
Michiru! What are you guys doing here?"
They all accepted hugs, and when Hotaru stepped out of the
shadows from behind Rei, the two later inner senshi gasped.
"Wow,
Hotaru. You must be 13, now." Lita said, carefully checking her friend
over.
Hotaru spoke up, a smile spreading across her face. Even
though Haruka and Michiru had told her not to say anything about Reenie, she
couldn't keep the grin off her face. "I guess it's just all
the fun I've been having lately."
Rei, who had sent Chad inside, was now fuming.
"GUYS! Has anyone noticed we're missing someone?" She spoke, enunciating
her last word, clearly identifying Serena as the missing person.
Mina looked puzzled. "Yeah. Where are Luna and Artemis?" The
group groaned.
"I
bet she forgot. After all these years and she still forgets out meetings. That
stupid meat—" Rei was cut off.
"—Ball
head. She never remembers anything. I bet she'd forget to go to school if it wasn't
for Luna!!" Reenie finished for her, walking over to the group, knowing exactly what Rei was going to say, and matched her voice perfectly.
Hotaru caught her in a huge hug while everyone but Trista
couldn't help but stare. After all, Reenie was almost as old as them.
Rei's face was white. She was swaying slightly, and had it not been for
Lita and Haruka's quick movements, she definitely would have fallen
backwards.
"What?"
Reenie asked, peeved at her friends. "It's not like Rei says
anything different when Serena's late." That got a few laughs from
everyone.
Trista walked over to Reenie and Hotaru. "Little
one, it's almost time." She spoke in a hushed whisper. "You
will have to go home before the gates freeze up."
Reenie looked sad. "I know. I won't be able to
stay for the whole wedding. But Trista, do we have to think about that now? I want
to have fun while I'm here, not be all gloomy like Michiru and
Haruka."
"I
heard that!" Haruka said, coming over to tickle to two girls. Hotaru and
Reenie shrieked with laughter and finally managed to wiggle away when Michiru
caught Haruka on the shoulder.
Rei caught up with Reenie and gave her a hug, while she
whispered in her ear, "Where is Serena?" The younger girl regarded Rei for a moment
with her cinnamon eyes and shrugged.
"How
should I know?"
Lita walked up to the outers, Rei and Reenie, and smiled.
"Chad's making us all drinks. He said they're ready when we
want to come in."
Mina was already at the door, dragging a reluctant Ami
with her. "Come on, guys! The drinks look great, and I'm really thirsty."
Haruka laughed and walked over to Reenie, guarding her against Rei protectively. "Let's go inside, you bumpkin." So they walked inside, and left only Trista to her brooding thoughts.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Serena was breathless by the time she and Darien had
finished kissing. It wasn't usual for them to kiss this long, and with so
much feeling. A part of her wondered why this was feeling so right to her,
though, as if it was all supposed to happen and she was merely waiting
patiently for the rest of this strange 'transition.'
*You
ready to go?* Darien asked.
Serena nodded. Darien picked up the keys and the
milkshake. He handed the latter to Serena while taking the keys himself. Serena
helped herself to a fresh red rose from Darien's vase by the door, and
wove it through her hair. She slipped on her jacket with Darien's help
and walked quietly out the door, hand in hand to the car.
A few minutes later they were at Rei's.
*Do
you want to go in together? Or do you want to tell them later?* He asked.
*Let's
just tell them now. I have a feeling some of them are expecting it, anyway.*
She responded.
Darien got out of his side of the car while Serena did the
same. They walked as they had before, hand in hand, to the temple. When she
slid back the paper door where the rest of the senshi were gathered around one
of the tables, Reenie smiled and Rei gasped once again.
Being the most observant, Rei noticed two things. Serena
and Darien seemed to be close—and it was more than just physical. They
had some sort of inner respect for each other, and seemed, if possible, more in
love than ever. Which may have had something to do with the ring on
Serena's finger.
Mina, though, since she was the senshi of love,
didn't need Rei's psychic abilities to realize that the two were
closer than ever. She could just feel it. And then she noticed the ring on
Serena's finger. Her blue eyes danced with happiness, as Serena opened
her mouth to speak.
"Everyone…
Darien and I are getting married." The inners broke out in cheers.
Trista, who'd missed the announcement by mere
seconds—which was of course the plan, for as senshi of time, everything
was properly synchronized—walked into the chaos about the same time
Haruka and Michiru came up to her.
With smiles plastered on their faces, they sidestepped
over to her. "Did you hear how she spoke?" Haruka asked. "Our
meatball head doesn't talk like that."
Michiru agreed. "Yes, and did you see the way Rei
hadn't cheered as loudly as the others? I think she already knew."
"So
did Reenie."
Trista, who had no spoken yet, spoke. "It is part of
her transition to Neo Queen Serenity. Notice how she and Darien, though happy
at being well wished, cannot take their eyes off each other? It is that way
with the King and Queen, as it was with the Prince and Princess. Their love is
very powerful." *Almost too powerful.* She thought, knowing what their love would
bring upon the world. (AN: And no,
I'm not talking about a certain pink-haired daughter.)
"I
think we're worrying them… everyone smile and make your way back to
the group slowly. Don't let them suspect a thing." Michiru spoke
wisely.
The three did so, and made their way to inners and their
Prince and Princess. Serena, gathered Reenie into their warm embrace, and
Hotaru stood back, not wanting to ruin the moment. Michiru put her arm around
her friend.
"Don't
want to ruin the moment, huh?"
Hotaru simply nodded.
Finally, the outers made their way to the happy, engaged
couple and their future daughter. Under Rei's watchful eye, they wished
their best, knowing that it really was futile, for everyone knew that their
future selves were very happy and very married. But they still conveyed their
happiness, and fell silent when Serena spoke again.
"I
know this may come as a shock to most of you, or maybe not, but I want Rei to
be my maid of honor. And I want all the rest of you as bridesmaids, if
that's ok."
Rei's eyes grew watery and she smiled weakly.
"Thanks, Serena—I'll be the best maid of honor there ever
was." Mina, Lita, Ami, Hotaru and Michiru looked very pleased. Trista was
silent and impassive as always, and Haruka tried to hide her disgust of having
to wear a dress. Michiru, knowing what she was thinking, pulled her aside.
"It's
just for a little while, Ruka. It's not like you've never worn a
skirt before. You are a senshi, remember?" She chided gently.
"Yeah,
I know. But wearing a floor-length gown and a pleated mini-skirt are two very
different things. I learn to deal with the mini-skirt because there's no
other way. There may just be a way out of this one, though…" She
had a far-away look in her eyes.
"Haruka
Ten'ou, if you're planning to be an usher, don't even think about it. Darien will have more
than enough ushers with Andrew, Greg, Ken, and Chad." She paused.
"I guess we'll just have to walk alone."
But Haruka, wheels already turning in her head, asked
Darien and Serena if she could be an usher instead of a bridesmaid. Serena,
though puzzled at her request, after listening intently, she agreed, with
Darien's consent.
It was with a triumphant grin that the senshi of the sky
returned to the senshi of the sea. And the grin said it all. Haruka was going
to be an usher.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A little while later, Luna and Artemis arrived, and gave Serena
and Darien their best wishes as well. Soon, everyone was talking and Serena was
pouring over a magazine of bridal dresses that Mina had been carrying around in
her bag. Reenie, Hotaru, and Darien were trying to look alive—but were
failing miserably. Lita and Ami had joined the two blondes, and were eagerly pointing
out the color dresses they liked. Michiru, Haruka, and Trista were eyeing
Reenie and Hotaru, who both seemed tired. Only Rei seemed detached from the
group. Chad came up from behind her and enveloped her in a giant bear hug.
"Everything
ok?" he asked, concern in his voice.
She twisted her neck up to face him. "Yep. Everything's fine." Her bubbly voice seemed false to her own ears, but Chad didn't seem to have noticed.
*He would have noticed.* A little
evil voice said in her head. The other half of her mind, the rational half, the
good half, was also putting in its two cents.
*He? Riight. He could've
cared less. He always had more important things to do.*
*That's not true.,* the
other voice protested, defending whoever 'he' was, and in the
process, losing some of the stinging cynicism. *He always knew your feelings. He
was the closest, and aside from Serenity, always knew what you were thinking.*
The good half said nothing.
Rei decided if her mind was going
to have this strange argument, she'd better know who the hell 'they'
were talking about. *Who's he?* Her own voice rang inside her head. The
voices clammed up and didn't speak again. But someone's voice, soft
and cultured, sounding like a mother's said, *Rei, Princess of Mars,
Senshi of Fire, to find what the voices are talking about… do what you
usually do when you have an issue that's hard to deal with. Go to the
fire.*
Rei got up like a zombie. She walked out of the room
towards the center of the shrine, where she could do her fire reading in peace.
Serena felt her leave, and when the others exclaimed something, she covered for
her friend. But Darien beat her to it.
"She's
probably going to see how our future will be. We shouldn't disturb her."
The inner senshi agreed, and Serena scowled. How did he know what she was going
to say?
*The
link, Sere. Have you already forgotten?* his voice teased in her mind.
Serena blushed interesting shade of pink, which was only noticed
by Darien. Before he could say something about how cute she looked when she was
mad, because he wasn't the only one who could read their thoughts, she cut him
off. *Listen buster, I don't exactly think this is the place for a repeat
of this afternoon. So keep a leash on it.* Now it was Darien who turned pink,
and Serena, having only recently developed this new flirting quality, smirked.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Reenie was definitely tired. Hotaru was nodding off
towards Trista's shoulder. And Haruka was barely suppressing a yawn. It
was only Michiru who was staring off into space, talking to Luna quietly.
Trista's spine stiffened. She was needed at the
gates. She flashed Haruka a look before walking out of the shrine quietly.
"Pluto
Planet Power!" A purple light engulfed her and there stood Sailor Pluto.
With a swirl of the time key, she was gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *