Disclaimer: I soooo don't own Sailor Moon! ^_~
Also, Kira (aka Sailor Star Striker) and Aoi (aka Sailor Star Keeper) don't belong to me. I've borrowed (may also be read as 'kidnapped' ^.^;;) them both from Cassandra Sisenta, who was kind enough to give me permission to use them.
HOWEVER! Hikaru (aka Sailor Star Hunter), Josei (aka Sailor Star Dancer) and Amai
(aka Sailor Star Dreamer) are characters that I created, just for the sake of creating them. I
needed extra characters, so.... *shrug* Meh. I like them, though, I think I'm going to write a
kind-of sequel to this later so I can use them again.
One youma, two youma, three youma, four....
"STAR SERIOUS LASER!"
"STAR MYSTERIOUS RAY!"
Despite their rivalry, Fighter and Striker, when not bickering, made a formidable team in battle. They really were very much alike- not that anyone was willing to tell them that- which was the reason they were constantly butting heads, but when it came down to it, they both took the task of defending Kinmoku seriously.
Now, while Mercury continued to work furiously at her computer, they were managing to keep the youma back far enough that THEY were in no danger. The problems all lay with the others; Hunter had managed to set her elbow back in place (with a sickening crunch that had made several of the senshi wince) but would be out of commission for the remainder of the battle and Dreamer was defending her, meaning two less Star Senshi on their side. The rest of the senshi were doing well enough, with the exception of Sailor Moon....
"Shimatta! Sailor Moon, GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
"Itai!"
A shriek from the blonde senshi as Jupiter tackled her to the ground, leaving Venus free to attack.
"CRESCENT BEAM!"
Another incarnate went up as ash.
"Arigato, Jupiter!"
"No problem." Jupiter grinned, "but now's not a good time!"
"Right!"
The battle continued....the Earth Senshi using their own attacks to drive the feather-incarnates back....Star Maker watching out for Mercury while she attempted to find the original youma....Keeper and Dancer helping Dreamer to defend the downed Hunter....Fighter and Striker back-to-back and not arguing at all....
It couldn't go on forever, though....
"There!" Mercury shouted suddenly, excited. She reached up and tapped an earring, deactivating her visor. "Sailor Moon, it's the one near Healer!"
"Huh?" The Moon Child looked up; "alright Mercury!" And she called the tier to herself with a grin; "now we'll see who's tough!" Steeling herself, she raised the wand; "SILVER MOON! CRYSTAL POWER KISS!"
"Ack!" Healer had to dive out of the way. "Oi, watch it!"
A wince; "gomen ne, Healer!"
Healer cast a scathing glare in Sailor Moon's direction, but was distracted before she could say anything else; an ear-piercing shriek from the youma- "beautiful!"- and it was nothing once again. A tiny star-shaped stone fell down into the pile of ash that had once been a monster, reminding the Earth Senshi of the times they had battled the Four Sisters, and the incarnates that had been created from discarded feathers vanished without a trace.
"Yosh!" Sailor Moon threw her arms into the air happily; "one more youma bites the dust!"
"Good job Sailor Moon." Fighter commented.
The other senshi flashed a peace sign; "no problem!"
"No problem?!" Healer demanded, "you almost fried ME!"
"Yeah....sorry about that."
"Sorry?! Are you KIDDING? You-"
"Healer," Jupiter chuckled, "she didn't mean to."
Sailor Moon pouted, "it was kind of important, you know. I didn't have time to-"
"Speaking of important-" Dancer interrupted while she and Keeper helped Hikaru- who had already de-transformed and was back in her civilian clothes- to her feet. "We need to get Hikaru to a doctor to see about her arm."
"Oh yeah, Hikaru!"
"Are you alright?"
The girl grinned weakly and winked. "No biggie."
"Still," Dancer said firmly, "to the doctor we go."
"Hai." Hikaru heaved a suffering sigh and allowed Dancer to drag her down the street by her good arm.
After a moment, Dreamer hurried after them. "Sayonara!"
"Well," Keeper frowned, concerned, "one of us should go with them, so...."
Striker nodded. "You and I?"
"I was thinking, yes."
"Alright." The redheaded senshi agreed, then turned to Fighter. "This could have been worse, Fighter. Count yourself lucky it was only a dislocation that Hunter suffered; she could have been killed."
"Like we meant for this to happen?"
"It still did." Striker shook her head, "it was stupid to leave them on their own like that."
Fighter scowled, "how were we supposed to know that-"
"It doesn't matter." The other senshi shrugged, "what's done is done, but maybe you should have a discussion with Kakyuu-hime about the definition of the word 'train'."
"You-"
"Come on Striker," Keeper steered her partner down the road after the trainees, casting an apologetic glance back. "Ja ne!"
"Hn." Fighter crossed her arms. "Jerk."
If Sailor Moon hadn't known better, she would have thought that Fighter was pouting....but that couldn't be it....could it? After a moment, the black-haired senshi's arms returned to her sides and she de-transformed, leaving her in the clothes she had been wearing before. Healer and Maker did the same without hesitation, then turned to regard the Earth Senshi with amusement; not a single one of them had de-transformed yet....
"Do you think-?" Venus asked hopefully.
A shrug from Jupiter, "only one way to find out."
"What do YOU think, Mercury?"
"Well...."
"That doesn't sound good."
The blue-haired senshi shrugged nervously, casting a glance around at the expectant faces of her friends. "I....can't tell you. But I don't think anything will have changed from before just because we de-transform for a second time."
"So you're staying we're still stuck as guys?"
"Probably."
"Oh man."
Yaten began to laugh, "would you just get it over with?"
"Hai, hai...." Sailor Moon groaned and willed the transformation to reverse. Ribbons vanished in the blink of an eye and Usagi heaved a sigh. "So," he said, "I guess Ami was right. What do we do now?"
"We're not done shopping." Taiki pointed out. "You all still need shoes."
"Shimatta." Yaten snapped, at the same time latching herself onto Minako's arm. "Do we have to do more shopping?"
"You sound like Hikaru."
Sarcastically. "Huh. Thanks for that, Rei."
"....about Hikaru...." Makoto pursed his lips. "I'd like to go make sure she's alright."
"Hai, me too." Ami agreed.
"I guess." Rei nodded, "I'm going too. What about you guys?"
"I'm going wherever Minako's going." Yaten told them, patting Minako's arm. "Ne?"
"Yaten!" The blond whined, glaring, "not again! Please!"
"Oi, Minako-kun, is there a problem?"
".....Yaten...." Minako's voice had lowered to a growl.
Before things could get out of hand, Makoto laughed and herded the two of them down the street. Rei followed out of concern for Hikaru, and Ami was close behind; and naturally, Taiki followed the Mercurian senshi. Yaten and Minako's bickering faded as they walked, leaving Usagi and Seiya in silence.
She still looks mad. Usagi looked at Seiya appraisingly, "ne, Seiya? You want to get a drink or something?"
"Whatever." A shrug, then Seiya sighed. "Gomen, it's just that Kira's got me all riled up."
"I see that."
"Like I said, sorry."
"Not a problem." Usagi grinned, "so what about that drink?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Great. Lead the way!"
Seiya managed a soft chuckle. "Come on then."
The shop that Seiya took him to was quite a lot like the Crown in Tokyo; at least, it was the same homey atmosphere and friendly people. The building itself wasn't really similar, but that didn't matter; Usagi mentioned his observations to Seiya, who smiled and informed him that she and the other Starlights had asked Kakyuu if they could build it after returning to Earth. Since there was nothing like the Crown on Kinmoku, and they'd missed it, Kakyuu had given them permission.
"Welcome to the Uchu."
The shop was galaxy-themed, the paint in a blue and black scheme to simulate the sky. Stars had been painted on the ceiling. Usagi was startled to identify several constellations among them, some from Earth's sky and some that he had seen in the sky above Kinmoku.
"So? What do you think?"
"Hm?" The blond blinked and looked at Seiya, who was sitting across from him in the booth. "Oh, it's cool. It DOES remind me of the Crown. You know, I'm glad this place is here. I've only been on Kinmoku for a day or so and I'm already kind of homesick. No offense."
"None taken. I was homesick when we were on Earth, too."
"Really?"
"Sure." Seiya nodded. "But I couldn't let it show, being an idol and all."
Usagi stared at her. "You HAD to bring that up, didn't you?"
"Yeah, well, I like remind people that I'm a superstar."
"You're bragging."
"Am not."
"I think you are."
"Are you kidding? One thing Seiya-sama does NOT do is brag."
Silence as Usagi struggled to keep from laughing at the serious look on Seiya's face. Did she really believe what she was saying? She had to, or she wouldn't be saying it. Seiya didn't lie, after all. Or at least, not often....
But come on! Seiya-sama? She's calling herself by the name the crazy fans called her- er, him. Whatever.
Luckily, the waitress came by then and he was saved from having to comment.
"Hi there! What can I get you?"
It was then that Usagi realized he didn't even know what kind of things they drank on Kinmoku.
"Um...."
"We'll both have a cherry soda." Seiya offered, "that's okay, right?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Alright then, two sodas." The girl smiled, "you know Seiya, we haven't seen you around here lately. I was starting to think you and the others had abandoned us." A wink, "but it seems I was mistaken."
"We've been busy." Seiya shrugged, leaning her head on her hand. "Gomen."
"The life of a senshi?"
"Hai."
"Anyway, who's this? Your boyfriend?"
"Something like that, yeah."
Usagi's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. "I'm STILL not dating you!"
Why was it that no matter what happened, he had to keep repeating the same things over and over again. Of course, the conversation had been slightly different this time; the word 'boyfriend' in place of the word 'girlfriend'. But still....and why did Seiya seem to find it as amusing as she had on Earth?
The waitress giggled, "hard to get, ne? Well, I've never known a guy who could resist you before."
A blink from Usagi, "what was that?"
"Oh, nothing!" Seiya quickly waved it off, "she doesn't know what she's talking about!"
"Now I'm hurt." The waitress stuck her tongue out jokingly, then turned to go. Looking at Usagi, she grinned, "it's only a matter of time, you know!" Another giggle; "I'll be right back with your drinks."
"Heh, heh...."
"Seiya, what was that all about?"
The black-haired girl shrugged nervously, "who knows? You know waitresses, always babbling randomly. They never make any sense. I think it's part of their job description or something-"
"Right now YOU'RE not making any sense."
"So?"
"Does that mean you're a waitress?"
"Um, what?"
"....never mind."
Seiya eyed him, leaning back and resting an arm on the back of her seat. "You're just as odd as I remember you, Odango."
"Right back at you." Usagi shook his head. "Seriously, was what that waitress was saying true?"
"What was she saying?"
"Don't play dumb, Seiya."
"Ne, Odango, why do you care about my love life?"
"Huh?" Several blinks as the blond now-man considered; "well, I....don't know...."
Seiya's face broke into a sly grin, "you know what I think? I think you want me and-"
"Here's your drinks!"
"Ack!" Usagi jumped when the waitress appeared- seemingly from nowhere- with a tray, to set their sodas in front of them. Having been interrupted, Seiya simply cut her sentence off and very gladly took her drink. Usagi less-enthusiastically took his, and both were silent as the waitress left again.
Why DO I care? The Moon Child thought, frowning, it's stupid, but ever since I got here I've been....huh. I dunno'....different. He glanced up at Seiya, who was watching him with interest, Seiya makes a very pretty girl. Why didn't I notice that when she was on Earth? For that matter, why do I care now? Shimatta. This being a man is very sucky.
Turning back to his drink, Usagi found himself continuing to stare at Seiya.
And Seiya's eyes were on him, too.
"The tides have turned, Odango."
"Hm? What was that?"
Seiya grinned, choosing not to explain. "Roles reversed, tides turned....whatever way you want to say it." A shrug and she pushed her drink away before standing. "Anyhow, I'm done. Let's get back to the Palace; I DO want to check on Hikaru."
"....okay." Usagi nodded and followed Seiya out of the Uchu-
-and found himself watching her walk.
Shimatta.
The male hormones were going to be more trouble than he'd originally thought.
Was it like this for the Starlights on Earth?
He made a mental note to ask one of them- NOT Seiya- when he got the chance.
Because Kami-sama knows I don't want to have THAT discussion with Seiya....
____________
Me: I think I'm about halfway done, now. There's probably going to be about 12 or maybe 15 chapters all together. Still pointless. Yup, I know. ^.^;; I'm already planning another story after this one. It's going to be Digimon Tamers & Sailor Moon, but I don't want to start another story until I've finished one of the ones I'm working on now. *shrug* I'm also planning on doing another Starlights story about Hikaru, Josei & Amai. Well, eventually....ja!