"It Begins Again"
The shimmer of the ocean's waters reflected the pickening of the dawn skies as the sun rose over Kagoshima, Japan. The soothing rhythm of crashing waves first reached the ears of a tall, blonde individual crouched atop a rocky cliff overhead. As the wind ruffled through short, wavy tresses, emerald green eyes shut as a slender, feminine hand scooped up a handful of sand, dust and gravel. The owner of the hand, a woman, seemed to be in a meditative state as she silently ground the particles in between her palm and fingers. After a few minutes, the woman opened her eyes, a distantly focused gaze within them as they watched the dust as the hand slowly released the mound from its palm. As the particles of dust and dirt fell, they were caught in the gusts of air, swirling upward, danced with the sky and drifted for a moment then dropped...joining the last of the dust released, forming a coiled ring before finally being carried towards the ocean below.
The woman's eyes followed the dust for but a moment longer before she stood and brushed her hands off. Still silent, she pivoted on a heel, the edge of her tan hiking boot creating a circle as she turned. For a moment, she resembled a male until the wind caught the unbuttoned folds of her off white blouse, the unmoved portion tucked within the belted waistband of a pair of navy blue slacks. Rocks slid and crunched under the woman's feet as the strolled back to the yellow, sports convertible that sat, parked on the side of the road.
In the passenger front seat sat a shorter, aqua-haired woman, and lying across the back seat was a sleeping, much younger girl with raven-coloured locks. The older of the two in the car looked up at the blonde, her ocean blue eyes quickly meeting the emerald orbs of her companion. "Haruka," She began; her voice cool, smooth, almost honey-dipped as she spoke. "Something is troubling you." Reaching up, the wind caught the thin sleeve of her light blue, spring dress as she touched the shoulder of the blonde after she climbed into the car. Feeling the muscles tense under her touch, she nodded in understanding and placed the hand back in her lap. "Another mission?" Her tone of voice changed as the words rolled from her tongue. The change couldn't be detected by the ears of strangers—only by the ears of someone who was connected to her through the threads of time could the ever-so-slight transition be noticed.
Haruka internally flinched. She could tell the woman beside her longed to be involved, and felt as if the being on the battlefield was the only way to live. She was still for a few minutes longer before finally answering with the husky, amorous voice many knew so well. "We're going home, Michiru." She sighed.
Two crescent moons, one was silver and one golden, hovered over
Haruka's head, just out of her reach. The silver moon was elegant and
regal, almost ancient in appearance. Its aura was proud and serene.
The second carried a strong aura, much like that of the Light of Hope,
and looked much newer. Both were rotating at a rapid rate, making
them next to indiscernible. The glow between the two continued to
increase, causing Haruka to shield her eyes. "What the--?!" She
cried as she took a step back. Just as her eyes began to adjust to
the brightness, the two moons sped at each other. Upon collision,
there was an intense explosion that created a silver-ish blue
shockwave of light. The blonde was blown across a barren plain of
dust and dirt, her clothes shredded upon impact. She looked up,
trying to see beyond the sea of blue light before, just barely making
something out in the distance. "Who are you?!"
"Where an enormous change will take place..." And the past, present and future will become one.
Elsewhere, in a city where all things come together, barely any sign of daylight could be seen through the overhanging storm clouds in the sky above. Everything was almost at a stand still in the early morning hours, save for the occasional disturbed rain puddle or the purr of a taxi engine. Tokyo seemed to finally be at peace, after the years of confusion involving people and beings beyond normal comprehension. In the Juuban District, people were waking and trying to force away the whimsical, lullaby-esque rhythm of the raindrops falling upon the tops of trees and buildings—the unlocking of doors within the high school could be heard from the outside world as teachers prepared for their day of educating the young minds of the future generations. Beneath the protective guard of the porches leading into the school, several early students stood about chattering about grades and dates.
Standing amongst them was a young lady who looked to be in her second year there. She looked bright and youthful, with curious, cerulean blue eyes and blonde hair that reached beyond the floor when removed from the fist-sized, dumpling shaped buns at either side of her head. Her uniform was identical to that of every other female student of Juuban High School: Short-sleeved, white blouse with a loose, navy blue bow attached to the front, a pleated, shin-length, dark blue skirt, knee high socks and buckled, black shoes. The only thing that stood out about her—yet no one seemed to notice—was the rather large, heart-shaped broach attached to the bow of her blouse. It was golden with a smaller heart at the base, and tiny white wings at the sides.
Her silence lasted only a few minutes longer when she glanced up from a letter she had been reading. Three girls had approached, all three wearing the Juuban blue-and-white uniforms. The tallest of the trio was slender with brown hair held up in a simple ponytail. In height, she was followed by a girl with rather short, midnight blue tresses and black framed glasses. The smallest of the three stood the same height as the girl in pigtails and was also a blonde. Unlike the girl that ran to meet the group, her hair was worn down, hung to the back of her knees, and was held behind her ears by a large, red bow.
"Mako-chan, Ami-chan, Mina-chan! Where have you been? I thought you'd all gotten sick," the dumpling-haired girl exclaimed when she hugged the trio.
The blue haired lady, Ami, was the first to speak. She smiled, eyes closing as she pushed the frames of her glasses back up her nose. "If it wasn't for Ikuko-san, we'd still be waiting for you in the rain, Usagi- chan." She chuckled as she opened her equally blue eyes and witnessed the embarrassment in Usagi's face.
"Gomen nasai, Ami-chan. When I woke up this morning, mama was already making breakfast. I was sure that I was late again." As Usagi moved to make a fist in her awkwardness in the situation, she removed the item in her hand. "Oh! I got a letter from Mamo-chan!" Bouncily, she waved the letter around, causing Makoto to reach up and place a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"Alright, Usa, just tell us what it says. Don't paper cut us to death, okay?" The brunette laughed and removed her hand.
Nodding, Usagi unfolded the letter and reread it so she could paraphrase what Mamoru had to say. "He says that he's having a nice time in America, and that his classes are pretty stressful. He's made a few friends, but he misses all of us terribly." She slowed down and carefully read out one sentence that stuck out. She looked perplexed at its meaning. "But he also says that he's...having dreams again, and that he'd explain it to me in another letter." Looking up at the group before her, the bell rang and everyone began moving towards class.
"Morimoto?"
"Here."
"Suki?"
"Here!"
"Tsukino?"
"Here!"
"My, my, Usagi. I'm glad to see you're here on time." The old woman of a teacher said with a smile on her face directed at Usagi, who blushed with a returning grin. Just then, a knock came at the door. "Oh, I'm getting too old for this. I almost forgot. Students, we have a special guest who will be with the class for the rest of the school year." She explained as she walked up to the door, sliding it open. "Class, this is Sarah Jennings. She is a student-teacher from America."
The lady that walked in was beyond anything Usagi had every seen. She was tall and young, unlike most of the teachers in the high school. Her hair was as long as Minako's, indigo locks reaching to the backs of her knees, with very pale, violet eyes. The exotic irises stood out thanks to the dark blue suit she wore, which was lined along the collar in silver. Her skin was ivory and practically glowing. On the middle finger of her right hand was a large-banded, silver ring with a moonstone in the top—the sides of the band held engraved peace signs. Her ears were lined with studded earring, five in her right ear and four in the left. However, something about the earring seemed to catch Usagi's curiosity. Each earring looked exactly like one belonging to each of the senshi! The blonde shook her head, and her attention was drawn to the pendant hanging from Sarah's neck. It was silver, round and large, to say the least. A peace sign was engraved inside it like her ring, save for one difference: In the center was a marquise-cut, silver-ish blue crystal. She felt drawn to the crystal and the soft warm it seemed to give off, and her attention wasn't wavered until Sarah's voice finally broke into her consciousness.
"Thank you, Yamamoto-sensei. I'm happy to be studying here in Tokyo. My class was given an assignment to pick a class anywhere to study for a school year. I figured what better place to stay that in Japan."
"Yes, and didn't you say you were staying with one of my students, Sarah-san?"
"Indeed I did say that, ma'am. Since the hotels here are pretty costly for long-term stay, I was able to arrange it so that I may live with a student of the school as if I were just another foreign exchange student. I believe the family I said I would be staying with was the...um...Tsukino family? Is there a Tsukino Usagi here?"
Usagi verbally gasped, causing everyone in the class to look back at her. Mortified, she slowly raised her hand, letting Sarah know she was indeed there.
"Oh, hello Usagi. It'll be a pleasure staying with you this school year."
"Mako-chan!!!!!" The whail of Usagi's voice echoed throughout the courtyard as people turned away from their humble lunches to stare at the blonde as she ran towards the tall brunette, who was in her usual place under an oak tree. Jumping, Makoto instinctly threw a hand over her lunch basket, having been reminded of when Usagi would beg her for her lunch.
"What the matter, Usa?"
"It's awful! Yamamoto-sensei brought in this American girl, and she's going to be living at MY house! What's even worse is that she's a teacher!" Just as her mouth began to widen in preparation for a loud yell, Makoto shoved an eggroll into it. She still managed to whail again, but it was greatly muffled, which took the attention away from them.
"You know, Usa...this is starting to sound like when Chibi-Usa showed up, remember?" Makoto gave Usagi a grin as her eyes began to look horrified. "So it's agreed. We're off to see Rei-chan after school."
"Okay, you two...what do you want now?" Rei was already in her priestess garb when the pair arrived at the Hikawa Jinga. She was sitting before the shrine fire, which blazed high with the pride of the Hino family, violet eyes focused upon the red and orange light before her. Tresses of dark violet were tied back in a ribbon that had been given to her back when Haruka and Michiru first arrived in Tokyo. "Nevermind, don't tell me," her hands were seen as they formed the symbols for each of the elements. "I've had a vision of --"
At that moment, the fire erupted in a blaze hot enough to blow Rei back against Makoto and Usagi's knees. The three watched in shock and terror as a pair of blackened eyes appeared in the light before them and evil, maniacial laughter echoed in their ears and throughout the shrine. The sounds of loud popping were heard before the fire returned to its original state, a dark red, thick liquid spreading out on the floor before the alter. Usagi looked up from her 'hiding place' in Makoto's shoulder then look at the girls before her. Rei's eyes became serious while Mako's fists balled up. Together, the three silently nodded in understanding that the lives they had led since Galaxia had been purified would have to be put on hold once more.