Moving Changes

Author's Notes: Hello, dearest readers! Multiple "thank-you"s to…

Fairy-Hyper-Digi-Princess, Sailormairz, Marni (not for long if I can help it…), BenRG, Keemew2 and Moonie Chef for reviewing! Domo Arigato to those who put this story on your favorite stories section! I feel so loved!

I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter! Happy reading!

This chapter is dedicated to Ms. Spoonie von Stup, FireSenshi2 and Jedite'sFlame especially. Thank you for pestering me to continue almost two years after I stopped! You three were the inspiration to get me working again.

Here is just a tease of a chapter- a chibi-chibi one—NOWHERE near what I normally write. but I have a bit of a block as to where to go next, and I figured while we're doing character studies…

Thank you so much for your reviews! It makes all the difference in the world. :-P

Makoto Kino rolled on her side on the cot she was using while she and Minako were sleeping over at Usagi's house. Minako had gone out previously on youma duty after a call from Rei, slipping out the window with a focus Makoto had never seen in Venus' face before.

Whatever the cause was, however, Makoto knew to leave it alone, and Minako would be her bouncy self again in no time. She always was. Weren't they all, always? Time after time, death after death, rebirth after rebirth... Makoto was certainly tired of dying, although she would die a thousand times more for Usagi, if she had to. Makoto thought of her snug little dorm room at the Cooking Academy, then of her apartment at home…in Tokyo…of her many "Sempai"-s, of Asanuma…

So many things she would give up for Usagi. She wondered how Asanuma was, although they kept in touch by e-mail. Asanuma, her best guy friend, almost a brother- as close as she would ever get to a brother…he stood by her even after he found out she was Senshi, even though those who became close to a Senshi were cursed with plagues of youma and worry. Makoto recalled that curse as part of the reason Usagi had grown apart from Naru- for her own protection, although Makoto knew that in any other circumstances the excuse of "protection" would never hold water.

Makoto's mind drifted and flitted amongst her memories before recalling the shock that hearing of a new youma had filled her with. Furrowing her brow, she wondered how strong the leader behind the "monster of the day" would be; she pondered upon how her strength could aid the group, or hinder it. Mainly, she wondered how civilians were swiftly being drawn into the fight, and how much the generals could screw things up. Of course Mamoru trusted them…and they appeared to be good, fighting the youma and all…but why had they popped up NOW? What was the ultimate purpose- and why on earth couldn't they be Japanese? A wry smile tipped the corner of her mouth at that last thought. Such luck they had, having all the Senshi meet in one country, one city. She supposed that whoever was in charge of the generals' rebirth simply hadn't been as strong- as the generals would probably not be.

If there was one thing Makoto believed in, it was self-reliance; and she guessed that that same trait, and her strong belief in it, would come in handy soon.

"So… how are we going to hunt down Nev and Jed and relay all of this to them?" The boys were flopped all over the furniture back in Mamoru's flat. Mamoru gave a huge sigh.

"Pfffft. I dunno." Exhaustion crept around the room, eyelids drooping and minds struggling to push out the questions…

"How much time would you say we have left, Mamoru?"

He turned the question over in his mind, considering all aspects of it. How long was it from the first time he pulled a rose from his subspace pocket and lost his memory till the showdown against Metallia? What about between the four sisters' youma and Nemesis? Tomoe's first youma and Mistress Nine?... all those enemies… Mamoru counted the many monsters-of-the-days, counted the intermediaries, the shittenou, the Dark Moon family…the Sailor Animates (from what he had heard tell after the fact…)

"…until we run into an intermediary, I'd say…a month. The Big One? About four months. Long battles. But if this group is like Chaos, casualties will pop up within the month, the leader in two." The boys shifted at this point. Two months would be mid-January—a short, short time away. Finals for the high-school students, too.

Drew thought of a giant monster stepping all over Los Conejos as students were in the middle of their English and Chemistry finals, and winced.

Si broke the tenseness in the room with words. "Think we'll last, Endy-sama?"

Mamoru shifted, and lied. "Of course. But I suggest we get some sleep and call Jed and Nev in the morning. Are they coming here for Thanksgiving? –They used to live here, right?"

Si nodded, feeling a little better, "Absolutely. They'll be here."

"Good. It will be necessary." Mamoru flopped back on the couch again, and winced. How could he tell these boys that whenever the Senshi got new powers, whenever there were more people added to the group, someone died? How could he tell them that no matter their powers, Usagi didn't have a more ultimate form to go to as Sailor Moon? How could he tell them that, invariably, some one always died?

She ran across the park, ducks and angry geese squaking in her movement's wind. Her delicate, gloved hands occasionally broke a twig when the path got too faint, darted out to make a mark so she knew where she was going in the shrubbery and old, mossy trees. She reached the top of the hill in the park and stopped, caught in the sudden beauty of the hills beyond the populated valley, so quaint compared to Tokyo, so warm compared to England.

She was wrapped up in the spell of the lights trickling down the valley, cars and houses reduced to fireflies, when she heard a crunching noise behind her.

Footstep.

Flipping away, she landed facing the noise. "Who's there!" She heard a cackling behind her still, and spun in a circle, seeing nothing yet still hearing the noise from both sides. "Show yourself!" Normally, youma were cockier than this, showing themselves more easily. For once, she wished Ami and her computer were there to scan, give guidance. She resisted the urge to turn wildly, clench her fists, knowing that was what the monster wanted- signs of her nervousness. She heard the lush, wet grass, green only in the autumn and winter rains, squish under the foot of whatever creature or monster….

She was Sailor V! Leader of the Senshi, idol even to Usagi, before Usa became Sailor Moon…she would not flinch so that monster would see her! If she could only…

Venus made to jump upward, orange heels squishing into the ground briefly before she straightened her knees in an instant, saw the demon with its gaping maw fly over where she would have jumped to escape, and hit it with a crescent beam. Its cry of anguish keyed her to its place, and she fired a "Love and Beauty Shock," just to be certain it would die. It cried again, and she approached slowly, ready to fire another attack…heard the squish behind her too late. Her arm made a sickening crunch as she found the second of the two youma with its jaws around it. She flicked open her communicator watch, rubbing it open on the right angle against her side, and cried.

"Jupiter! Help!" The other youma in front of her- still stumbling despite being hit twice by her attacks- lumbered forward, its momentum threatening her in two seconds. She lifted her right leg and kicked it back, her heel landing across its face, and sent a "Love and Beauty Shock" with her right arm to the one holding her left. It stumbled, dragging its teeth down her arm, threatening to bite off her hand. With a shout, she threw a crescent beam down its throat, and it let go. She sent another "Love and Beauty Shock!" and nearly jumped in relief when she heard a "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" shouted behind her. She sighed in relief when she heard, shortly after, the scream and exploding sound that belied the two youma's destruction.

Jupiter ran to her. "Venus!" The blonde's left arm was covered in a mass of sticky blood, and her glove was shredded, as well as streaks of skin, so far as the girl in green could see. "…crap, Venus, that's gross." Taking off her gloves and using one to wrap the arm tight at the top like a tourniquet and the other to wipe off some of the excess blood dripping off the arm onto Venus's orange-yellow skirt.

"Yeah…" Venus winced,"I noticed. Painful, too." Jupiter looked across the valley.

"I think that's the fastest I've ever run-dash-jumped. It looks like we're ten minutes away from home, and I made it here in about one."

"Well, I'm thankful." Venus offered a slightly-wry smile, and Jupiter could tell she was disappointed in herself.

"Ah, well, you just called and I came." She shrugged nonchalantly, and then put forward, truthfully, "When I popped up the hill it looked like you had it under control, even with your arm."

"Thanks." Hand on the tourniquet, Venus looked over the valley to where Usagi's house would be. "I think they're searching us out. Like usual. We have to get back to Usa."

Jupiter nodded, and followed, slightly worried, as Venus took down the hill, without complaint.

Kunzite had found himself arguing with the grocery clerk, his hair all frazzled and the college boy in front of him just waving his hands half-gratefully, half-fearfully.

"No, no, you can take it, you can take them!"

Kunzite let out a sigh of frustration, "Look, I JUST want to pay for my groceries and get out of here! Don't you think you have enough damage that a few more dollars might be worth something to you?" A few of the shelves were knocked over, and the deli section as a whole looked burnt. The general shifted the grocery basket so it didn't catch on his cape. "Can you ring me up, or not! Your deli section isn't going to get any fresher if you stay here too much longer."

Munching on the slightly-soggy turkey deli-sandwich from the day before (he would have thought that after the youma went through the deli section, it would remain crispy, but no luck), Kent pondered his luck- good or bad- in being a "general." King, really, if he poked his inner Kunzite into telling more about the Earth Kingdom and its four sectors. He got to wear a funny outfit (better than "Tuxedo Kamen's" and the "senshi's", at any rate,) he got to throw funny light balls at objects-turned-youma, and he saved on gas through teleportation. He was getting into better shape, even though the job was life-threatening.

He considered his sandwich and the events the day before.

Maybe he could save on groceries, too?

A/N: There you are, guys! Sigh sure TOOK me long enough!

Comment, please, and tell me what you think…it's been a while.

Thank you again for your support! Tell me what more character focuses you want :P

I'm going to get to the other two generals as soon as I can drag my bum down to Berkeley and refresh my memory of it.

Happy 2005!