Chapter Six: The Guardian

Batafurai followed the principal of Juuban Junior High, watching the faces of her peers stare at her. She nervously tugged at heruniform top, needing something to do with her free hand.

"Look at that girl. She's more tan than the rest of us."

"Not a pretty pale girl like ones from here."

"I bet she hides freckles with cover-up or something! Poor thing!"

"What is that THING on her bow? Why would ANYONE wear something like that.

Done fiddling with her uniform, Batafurai clenched her free hand into a tight fist. She was growing angry at the whispers of her peers. 'So what if I'm not colored like one of your precious Japanese stars…I'm Japanese, same as you, no matter if I'm the color of cream or not!' Barely listing, some comments caught her attention.

"Did you see that battle last night? There's a new Sailor Senshi!"

"Yeah! She called herself 'Sailor Little Moon' or something like that."

" 'Little Moon?' Is she related to Sailor Chibi Moon or something?"

"I don't know…she looks more like she's related to Tuxedo Kamen to me…same color skin as him and all."

"Well, Tsukino-san, here we are," the principal said, smiling to her.

"Thank you, sir," she replied.

After he opened the door and held it for her, he approached the teacher. He spoke to her for a few seconds, then addressed the class after they bowed to him. "Students, we have today a new student. I trust that you all will treat her kindly and help her around Juuban Junior High. Now," here he turned to Batafurai, "would you please introduce yourself to your new classmates?"

She nodded, turning to her peers. "My name is Tsukino Batafurai. I am 13. I and my younger sister are staying with our aunt and uncle here in Tokyo while our parents are traveling with their jobs. I am very pleased to meet all of you."

Sastified with her introduction, the principal spoke again to the teacher, and left after the class bowed to him.

The teacher smiled to Batafurai. "I am Miss Haruna. We are very glad to have you here in our class, Tsukino-san. Please, take the empty seat behind Kusagi-san." Batafurai did as she was told. As soon as she was seated, classes began.

Later that day, Batafurai carried her lunch out to the courtyard. Looking around, she heard someone call out her name. She identified the source as a very thin and pretty girl sitting by herself beneath a tree.

"Tsukino-san! You can sit with me if you want! Or the tree, whichever seems more friendly," she called.

Batafurai was more than happy to join her. "Thank you so much. I thought for sure I'd have to be by myself."

The girl smiled. "It's no trouble at all. My name is Shuensha Kasai."

Batafurai smiled. "And before I forget, you can just call me Batafurai…or Bata-chan, if you wish."

"You may call me Kasai." Both girls began eating. Batafurai soon noticed that Kasai did not look quite like most of the other students. Her straight, black hair was longer than the other students, and she had hazel eyes. Although she was very thin, her arms and legs were very muscular for someone her size. After a few minutes, Kasai asked, "Why do you wear that brooch on your uniform? Is it from a guy or something?"

Batafurai touched it gently, using the explanation she had created the night before. "My mother gave both my sister and I one before she and dad left, so we'd always have something from them with us. She and I wear ours often."

"Oh, I see. It's very pretty. So, do you know anyone else here in Tokyo besides your family?"

"Well, some of my friends are transfering here soon. I'm not sure when…or why…but they'll be here eventually. I'm sure you'll love them…WELL, most of them."

"I hope that they come here soon, Batafurai. I'd really like to meet them."

While she watched Kasai eat, Batafurai thought, I wonder if she had anyone to eat with before I got here...she seems like she spends a lot of time alone...

As she walked through the door of the Tsukino house and took off her shoes, she was nearly tripped by streaks of tan, grey, and black. "Can SOMEONE tell me what the heck that was?" she called out, stepping out of the sunk-in foyer into the house.

ChibiUsa, who was chasing after the three blurs, replied, "My kitten Diana and Usagi's cat Luna are chasing this other kitten that followed me in!"

Batafurai simply went into the kitchen, grabbed a can of tuna, and opened it. In seconds, she had three felines staring at her and the open can. After she divided it into three small bowls and gave it to the kitties, she said to ChibiUsa, "Okay, who's who?"

"Luna is the black one and Diana's the grey kitten. The tan one's the stray."

"…why do Luna and Diana have crescent moon bald spots?" At Batafurai's question, Luna appeared to either choke or sneeze.

"I don't know. That's how Usagi and I named them, though: the names for the goddess of the moon in Roman and Greek mythology."

Batafurai knelt down in front of the tan cat, looking carefully at it. It was a small cat, bigger than Diana but smaller than Luna. It had dark blue eyes and something stuck to its forehead. Soon, the cat started staring back at Batafurai. "The tan one's cute…if it doesn't have a home, I'm willing to care for it…as long as Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino don't mind…"

"I don't think they will. They had no problems when I brought Diana along with me here."

Batafurai, slipping her school bag farther onto her arm, scooped up the tan cat and its bowl of tuna. "I'm gonna take it up to my room. Thanks, ChibiUsa, for not chasing it off."

Batafurai sat the cat and its bowl down on the ground in her room after shutting the door. Laying her schoolbag on her bed, she sat down and stared at it. "So, little kitty, you're homeless?" Leaning front, balancing herself on the edge of her bed, she saw that the thing stuck to its forehead was a small, round sticker. She carefully pulled it off, earning herself a hiss from the cat. "Easy, fiesty, I'm helping you." She saw that it, too, had the same bald spot as Luna and Diana.

"Pull my fur like that again and you WILL regret it, girl," it shot at her.

Batafurai literally fell off her bed in shock. "Why does ANYTHING surprise me anymore? I'm living a freaking sci-fi movie where girls fight in mini-skirts and felines talk!"

The cat sighed, boyish voice ringing. "Look, I was SENT here to watch YOU, Princess. All this stuff is destiny, not a cheap movie. Get over it and start working on your mission!"

She glared at him. "Number one: I am NOT some princess! Number two: WHO would send a CAT to guard ME? And number three: do NOT tell me what to do!"

"You can call me Devin, alright? I'm about as thrilled at this arrangement as you are. Now, have you become Little Moon, or do I need to drag you across Tokyo to find your brooch?"

Batafurai sighed, pointing to the brooch on the front bow of her uniform. "What do you think this is, a cheap replica from a TOY STORE?"

He rolled his eyes. "Like I REALLY know what the resting place of your crystal looks like, Brilliance. I've been in hiding for SEVEN YEARS in Crystal Tokyo, so I haven't had time to look it up!"

His comment caught her attention. "Wait…hiding…Crystal Tokyo…SEVEN YEARS?"

Sighing once again, Devin jumped up on her bed. "Sit down, Princess, this will be a LONG story…"

Before I forget, I'd better describe Batafurai a little better. She's darker skinned than Usagi and ChibiUsa. Not black, just tanned. She's got very dark brown eyes, borderline black, and brown hair. Her hair is wavy, goes to the middle of her back, lacks bangs, and is parted in the middle. She keeps the front sections behind her ears, and will either put it in a low ponytail or a braid to keep it out of her way. She's also relatively short, being around 5 foot 3 inches tall.

The comments of her peers are just my play on how cruel kids really are, how judmental they are of anyone who's different than them in general.

Again, thank you all reviews; also, thanks to Will, who's been a great inspiration.

EDITED AUGUST 9, 2005:
-fixed the lack of spaces between words so they no longer read likethis. For some reason, the Document Manager sometimes does this to my chapters when I upload them. If you find those kind of errors, e-mail me with the location of it so I can fix it, as I usually won't notice these for a long time on my own. I also added a bit to Kasai's dialoge.

EDITED AUGUST 20, 2005:
-Took out a part in my description of Devin, as I didn't realize I messed it up until now.