Title:  Welcome To Reality

Chapter Title: Dreamy crushes…

Summary: Serena Warren, now fifteen, graduates the tenth grade with honours and is offered a chance to go to Japan on a student exchange program. Here, she realizes that the reason her dreams seemed so real is that they were.

Author: Silver Sparklze

Reason For Writing: This story was written as a challenge set by Sage: The Dark Dryad.

Author's Notes: I have tried to translate the Japanese next to the words, but even so, anything written in bold will be translated at the end of the chapter if not already translated.

~Random Gym, Tokyo~

"Hiya!" Serena said, giving her boxing bag the full treatment, kicking and punching it for all she was worth. "Take that." She muttered, punching all of her anger and frustration away. She gasped slightly as her right shoulder twinged, a result of her battle with some kind of purple squidy thing last night. "Damn," she hissed, massaging the knot rather awkwardly.

"You should probably have stretched beforehand," a masculine voice said, rubbing the spot for her, and causing the acute pain to vanish.

"I did, but…" Serena turned around, and blinked, "Helios?"

"Yeah." The younger man smiled a slightly crooked grin. "You're Rei-san's exchange student, right?"

"You know who I am? And you're not mistaking me for Sere-ko?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I know you. And 'course I don't mistake you for Sere-ko. Guardian of Dreams, remember? I know you and Sere-ko shared a soul, always have. You're strangely naïve for a teenager. I can still access your dreams. Well…most of them," his face tinged slightly red, and Serena giggled.

"Nice to know I have a friend here who knows the entire story," she said. "Well, since we both know one another, wanna have a coffee or something? I'm a bit worn out."

"Sure." Helios agreed. "So, if you stretched, what's with the sore muscles?"

"War wound from last night." Serena joked. Helios nodded.

"Makes sense." He offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

"I'll just go have a shower first." Serena said, hurrying towards the Ladies Change Rooms.

"So," Serena said, "gimme all the goss. Like, how do you feel about Rini?"

"Wh-what?" Helios spluttered, his face going red as he tried to hide behind his golden fringe.

"You heard me. What was all this talk Sere-ko heard from Rini about her horsy-faced love, hmm?"

"She likes me?" Helios asked shyly.

"Most definitely. I reckon you've got a pretty good chance, Hel-kun. Just gotta take it. Ask her out. I'll bet she'd love it." Helios' face went redder, if that was possible, and he ducked his head shyly. "Anyway," Serena slurped up the last of her cappuccino, "I'd better be going. Paper due for Chem."

"Yeah, I have stuff that I need to do, too." Helios agreed, getting up, "see you around, Serena-san."

"Ja, Hel-kun." {See ya, Helios} She gave him the finger wave, and watched him leave, before checking her watch. "Damn," she muttered, "I missed half my work out, and now I have to find myself a chiropractor."

~Dr. Tsukiyani's office, Winston and Son's Chiropractors, Tokyo~

"Oh, yeah…" Serena sighed as her new chiropractor; Harako Tsukiyani kneaded the sore muscles in her lower back until the pain was a thing of the past.

"You have the mother of all knots in your back." Harako said, frowning, "you should cut down on the stress."

"'S the exercise. I do judo." Serena lied, hissing slightly when Harako hit a particularly sore spot.

"Well I think you need to stretch more beforehand." Harako said sternly. "There we go, all done. See Sadako on your way out, and she'll tell you how much you owe."

"Right." Serena nodded, and fished in her pocket for her purse, having already calculated the price, and was panicked to find it somewhere in the 30,000 yen range. She decided then and there that she had to get a job.

~Serena's Room, Hikawa Shrine, Tokyo~

MoonlitPrincessTokyo has logged on.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555 has logged on.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: hey, 'rena!

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: hey yaself. how iz ya, matty?

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: pretty good. y u online? 's three am, no?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: ya. but gotta get a job. 'side from fightin' evil. not that that doesn't have its benefits…but there's no health plan, or money. and i need money for chiropractor.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: life sucks, right?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: for sure. b4 i 4get, how iz u? coz i haven't spoken 2 u in a while.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: 'm pretty good. mia got ur letter. she sayz hi.

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: cool. she go by mia now?

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: ya. strange, huh?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: not really. what else has bin hapnin?

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: not much, actually. it's bin real quiet

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: hmm…anything to do with me not being there?

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: most likely :-P

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: bitch.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: so wat 'bout u? ne thin new?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: yes. 'm Et Sailor Moon.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: duh.

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: well neway, i've participated in two battles now. 's strange…i've pretty much got evry1's fighting styles figured out, and 'm getting good at hiding. met helios too.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: helios?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: he's the Guardian of Dreams. a real cute bloke, blonde hair, shy dreamy eyes. has a thing 4 rini, and she has 1 4 him 2.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: rini?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: my daughter from the future. see, darien and i eventually get married, and have rini. she's princess serenity too, princess rini for short. 'm neo-queen serenity, and darien is king darien. 's cool.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555: sounds that way. ack, must go, tty l8r?

MoonlitPrincessTokyo: ya. bai.

HawaiianPrincessMatty555 has logged off.

MoonlitPrincessTokyo has logged off.

Serena leant back, a satisfied smile on her lips. It was nice talking to Matty again. Her cell rang, and she quickly picked it up.

"Moshi moshi." {Hello. (for phone only)} She said brightly.

"Hello, Sere-chan." Kimi-chan's voice said brightly. "I is wonder you want going shopping?"

"Su-" Serena's voice died away as she heard a familiar beeping of a certain communicator. "Damn, I can't," she said regretfully, "perhaps another time?"

"Sure. Maybe tomorrows. Must stay, Mama is calling." Kimi-chan sighed. "Ja."

"See you." Serena hung up, and grabbed her compact. "ETERNAL MOON POWER!" Moments later Sailor Moon snuck out of the window, hurrying towards The Park…

Hel-kun: Helios (affectionate)

Ja: see you