himitsu-no-hi == thanks for the review. ~_^ I tried to keep the meanings of the names close to the original senshi. I used babynames.com for all my characters, including the villains. Kali is Hindi for dark goddess.
Part 8: Earth Bound
Aiko watched nervously as her Grandmother read the letter from Toki. 'I hope this works' she thought. 'Oba doesn't look like she will let me go. Toki sure got that letter ready fast.'
As Suki studied the letter, she felt that something wasn't right with it. 'Why would she leave on a school trip the day after they sent the letters out?' She read further and started to feel a little bit better. Somehow the letter was getting convincing. After what seemed like an eternity for Aiko, Suki folder the letter back up and handed it to the girl. "You may go. But be careful Ai-chan."
"Thanks Obasan" Aiko Hugged her Grandmother and ran up to her room, taking the steps two at a time.
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Misu was going through the same thing as Aiko, only with her mother. Maya Minerva took about as long to read the letter as Suki did, and eventually came to the same conclusion. "You may go Misu, but be careful. Make sure you have everything you need."
"Thank you Mother." Misu smiled. "I'll go pack now." She walked up to her room, just in time to hear the phone ring. She quickly picked it up. "Minerva residence, Misu speaking"
"Hey Misu, its Aiko. Grandmother said I could go."
"Good. My mother also said yes. Stop by my house at 8 and we can walk to Ardiana's together." Misu referred to the plan to leave from the Shrine.
"I have to get going, I'll see ya at 8 tomorrow."
"Ok, tomorrow then." Misu sighed as she heard the line disconnect. She peeked out into the hall to make sure her mom was busy before hooking up Mercury computer into her laptop. She started copying all her vital data over to the smaller Mercury computer, and slid it out of sight behind the laptop.
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All 9 guardians and two felines were gathered in the yard behind the family residence of the Shinto shrine. It was an area closed to the general public, and thus provided them with some privacy.
"Mercury, Venus and Saturn form a circle with me. Moon, Uranus, Neptune, Mars, and Jupiter, you form a circle around us." Pluto commanded to group. After all, they were using 'her' transportation method. One that she had tweaked to allow as many or few guardians as needed.
"I would like to come too." Nokomis said to Pluto.
"Very well, you can ride on Venus's shoulder." Pluto replied. Nokomis wasted no time hopping up onto her charge's shoulder, being careful of her claws.
"We will contact you if anything changes here," Neptune told Pluto. She held up the communicator that Nokomis had given her. Pluto had modified all 9 of them for interplanetary communications. "This will certainly make it easier" she added.
All nine guardians then got into their positions and used their power to Help Pluto transport her group to earth. After a flash of bright light, only 5 guardians and one cat were left.
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When the group materialized again, they found themselves in a nicely furnished apartment overlooking a dark area of water. When Pluto nodded they all detransformed.
"Tokyo bay." Aiko remarked looking at the water. "I'd recognize it anywhere."
"We are in my Tokyo apartment." Toki told the group. "I have a few other places for us to stay as we check things out. However, I have a feeling that staying in Tokyo for awhile. Do you know any Japanese Misu?"
"A little bit. I'd been studying about Japan, and after finding out about my birth mother, I started learning the language." Misu replied.
"I know enough to get by." Tacy added. "I've been to Japan with Toki a few times, so I'm set."
"I can help you if you need me to Misu." Aiko told her friend. "So what's the plan?" she asked Toki.
"We need supplies; I can take care of that. I want us to go around the city and see if we can get any information on the enemy's whereabouts. We are to stay in touch on a regular basis. All four of us have communicators, try not to let too many people see you using them; we don't want to stand out."
"Gomen Tokisan, but lots of people have different types of communication devices, and some of them are like our wrist model." Aiko pointed out.
"Yes, but watch that you are not overheard, I doubt that other people would be talking about the same types of things as us. I also made sure our communicators are on their own 'channel'. This way no one except us guardians can hear our conversations."
"When could I find my birth mother?" Misu asked Toki. "I know it's not part of our mission here, but I would like to speak with her. I have her address, and it's in this city."
"Sure. You and Aiko can go find her while I get supplies. Tacy, start surveillance and see if you can find out anything. I'll keep any eye out as well." Toki glanced out the window, and noticing the sky, she reached into a closet and pulled out four jackets. "It looks like rain sometime today. You might need one. Also here is some money should you need any, and cards for the mass transit." She handed the money out along with the Tokyo-metro cards.
"We will be in touch, and keep a look out as well." Misu said, slipping into her jacket as she spoke. She pulled out Mercury computer and looked at the address one more time. Aiko used her ribbon to pull all her hair back before putting her jacket on as well. She looked at the address and the two of them were off. Tacy then Toki left shortly after them, Toki taking care to lock the apartment door and set her alarm.
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The short dark haired girl made her way through the streets of Tokyo. She looked around as she walked. She was too absorbed in whatever she was looking for not to see the other girl walking in her direction. Both girls realized that too late as they had ended up on the dirty sidewalks.
"I'm terribly sorry about that." She stood up and offered a hand to the other girl. "I'm Tacy." Tacy helped her up and asked, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." She let go of Tacy's hand and walked off. "Stupid girl" she muttered under her breath, failing to realize she was just as much to blame.
Tacy watched the other girl walk off and shook her head. 'Some people.' Making sure no one else was around, she contacted Toki. ~Not too much here yet, although I did run into someone interesting. ~
~What do you mean by interesting? ~ Came Toki's reply.
~This girl and I walked into each other and something just felt wrong~
~Keep an eye out for her next time. ~
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"I'm glad to be back out of those gloomy subway stations, if you can call this any less gloomy." Misu said to Aiko as they started down the street after riding the metro.
"Gomen Misu. It does seam extra gloomy after being on Virgo for awhile. It must be worse for you since you were never here before." Aiko replied.
"Ai-chan!" Aiko didn't have time to turn around before being glomped by the overly energetic speaker.
"Kana-chan!" She exclaimed setting her friend down as she spoke.
"Ai-chan, why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I barely even got to say goodbye to you when you left, and now here you are." Kanako pouted. "And who is this?" She asked, looking at Misu.
"Kanako Shinohara, meet Misu Minerva." Aiko made the introductions. 'Why now, we have too much to do. Poor Kana-chan, she did miss me though.'
"What are you doing back? Did you decide to move home?" Kanako looked hopeful.
"We are here visiting family." Misu said gently, hoping Kanako would get the message that this was a two person only outing.
Kanako saw the serious looks on the faces of Misu and Aiko. "Will you be here for awhile at least? Maybe we can get together later?"
"I might be. I still have your number; I'll call you if we are free." Aiko smiled at her friend and watched her walk off. Somehow it reminded her of days gone by, ones that could never be again.
"Shall we continue?" Misu asked once Kanako had left. "I'm starting to get nervous.
"We are almost there." Aiko reassured Misu as they continued down the street. 'I wonder what Kanako was doing in this area. Oh well'
The two of them walked on in silence until Aiko stopped and pointed out a house to Misu. The two of them walked up to the house, and Misu rang the bell. They only had a few minutes to wait before the door was opened by a slender dark haired woman. Her blue highlights just barley showed in the half-gloomy light of the day.
"What can I do for you?" She eyed the two girls. She didn't get many well intentioned visitors these days.
"I'm Kitoko Aiko and this is Minerva Misu. We are looking for Mizuno Naiya." Aiko spoke to the woman, being careful to keep the names in the traditional Japanese order. She noticed the woman's face brighten after she introduced them.
"I am Mizuno Naiya. Welcome to my home, Kitoko-sama Minerva-san." Naiya showed them into the living room then bolted the door shut. "Sorry I didn't recognize you Kitoko-sama."
"It's all right." Aiko replied. "It has been awhile since there has been news about my mother."
"Please have a seat; I'll be right back with some tea." Naiya disappeared into the kitchen.
After both girls sat down Aiko whispered to Misu, "At least someone didn't recognize me. I hope we can get around town later without people stopping me."
"I'm sure we will think of something." Misu reassured her friend as Naiya came back in the room.
Naiya set the tea tray down on the coffee table. She served the girls first and then helped her self to a cup and sat down. "What can I do for the two of you?" she asked.
"I'm adopted, and you are listed as my birth mother." Misu got right to the point. Somehow she managed to speak perfect Japanese, totally shocking Aiko.
Naiya smiled slightly as she looked at Misu. 'My baby has come home.' She thought. "Yes, I am your mother. I see that Maya-san kept the name I wanted to give you."
"You know my adoptive mother?" Misu was stunned.
"A friend of mine had moved to Virgo a few years before you were born, and was good friends with Maya. She said that Maya couldn't have a child of her own, so I gave you to her after you were born."
"But why did you give Misu to her?" Aiko asked. "Did you not want a child? My father never wanted me, so I had to move to Virgo to be with my grandparents."
Naiya turned to Aiko. "I'm sure he didn't have anything against you personally. He probably just wasn't ready to raise a teenager on his own." She smiled at Aiko then pulled something out of her pocket, handing it to the girl. "I got this out of its hiding spot while the tea was brewing. I believe it belongs to you."
Aiko examined the object carefully. It was a golden cylinder with a mirror on each rounded end. She gasped as she realized what it was. "The mirror Sailor V used to disguise herself." She stammered. "How did you get this?"
Naiya looked at both Aiko and Misu. "Your questions about Sailor V's mirror and Misu's adoption are related. My ancestor, Mizuno Ami also known as Sailor Mercury kept that mirror safe, and handed it down through generations of her family so that it would continue to be safe. As for me sending Misu to Virgo that was to keep her out of harms way. I feared for my own safety, and didn't want anything to happen to her."
"You know about the senshi?" Aiko asked, stunned.
"Yes, the house of Mercury, built on knowledge and wisdom kept the history of the senshi after the fall of Crystal Tokyo. I have to tell you of the good times of that era before you can understand why things are after the fall. In the 20th/21st century, Sailor Moon had her senshi that fought along side her and acted as her guardians protected that world. Those where the inner senshi, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and their leader from the Silver Millennium, Sailor Venus. Sailors Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn guarded the solar system from invaders outside the realms. Once Crystal Tokyo was founded with Neo-Queen Serenity, the inner senshi lead by Venus were her still her guardians and the outers carried out their duties as well. Serenity was the first to have a child in the new Era. Her child grew and gained her powers, all the while no inner senshi had children to become guardians for Small Lady. By the time the inners had children of their own, Small Lady Serenity had her own guardians, the Asteroid senshi. Because they were her guardians, there was no need for the children of the inners to protect her.
"The fall came shortly after Neo-Queen Serenity 2 gave birth to her Daughter. With the Asteroid senshi guarding her, and the children of the inners still to young for duty, she sealed the princess's powers. Serenity had no idea what the future held, and figured that with her powers sealed, the princess would appear to be a normal girl. Because none of the children of the outer or inner senshi had shown or had need for their powers, the senshi decided not to tell them about what had happened. However, after sealing the princess's powers, Serenity made 9 crystals, and each senshi put power into them for their children. They crystals were made to protect the children, and each bore the Kanji for their mother's guardian power. They came in handy during those dark days. The enemy that had caused the fall found the planet uninhabitable for their species and left, allowing mankind to flourish again. Because the Princess and her court were normal people, the earth settled into a pre-crystal Tokyo state. Eventually humans spread out in the solar system, and even beyond.
"After centuries, a new enemy from a different place attacked the earth. They were able to sense the power of the descendants of the senshi. The ones that they attacked were your mothers. Their powers had never been sealed, because they were thought powerless. Due to the fact that they were unaware of their heritage, they were unable to hide their power signature. You girls were lucky to have been passed over. With your younger ages, your power readings were too weak for them to sense. Also, you were fated to become the new protectors of humankind, the guardians."
"What happened to the Asteroid senshi?" Aiko asked.
"It was believed that they died in battle during the fall. Sailors Juno, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas fought hard in that last battle. The time it took allowed the crystals to be made, and the children protected." Naiya paused for a moment before continuing. "That pretty much sums it up. The only reason I know as much as I do is because Sailor Mercury passed down the knowledge. She was the only senshi to go back on the pact of secrecy."
"We have everyone gathered." Misu informed Naiya. "Pluto and Saturn came to earth with us, and Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune are on Virgo with the princess."
"We came with Pluto on an information meeting, and Misu wanted to meet you." Aiko added.
"I'm really glad that I was able to see you girls." Naiya smiled as she spoke.
"I am too." Misu replied. "I've always wondered what you were like. You couldn't have picked anyone better to raise me in your place though."
"I have another question." Aiko spoke up again. "Our fukus are the same colors as the original senshi except for Guardian Moon's. Her's is gold and silver. Do you know why that is?"
"Well," Naiya began. "My best guess is that it's because of her lineage. All of you are descended from your planetary senshi, except for Moon. When Endyminion married Serenity and had small lady, the houses of Moon and Earth were combined. The silver could be for the moon, and the gold for earth. The only other two houses to join were those of Neptune and Uranus, but there were two children from that union, one to represent the house of Neptune and the other the House of Uranus. The one child of Serenity represents two houses by herself."
"I hate to say it, but Aiko and I should be leaving soon. I'm sure Toki has plans for us." Misu looked sad as she spoke.
"It was wonderful to see both of you." Naiya told the girls. "If you're still in Tokyo feel free to stop by. I'm here if either of you need anything. You can reach me on the computer once you leave." Naiya hugged each girl before unbolting and opening the door. Aiko and Misu waved before heading out into the gloomy streets once again.
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Well thanks for reading another chapter and let me know what you think. I was going to have a little interlude after the scene with Misu's mother, but it went a bit longer then I had planned. At least this way there is no cliff hanger. I promise there will be more action in the next chapter. ~_^