Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Yu-Gi-Oh. I do however own a brain, a computer, and fingers. Not that that wasn't obvious.
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She glanced out of her steam covered windows, staring at the world below. Everything was covered in a blank of snow. She could see the vague outlines of people slipping and falling, and even small children having snow ball fights.
"Tis the season to be jolly," she mumbled sarcastically, as she took a sip of her peppermint tea. It was December 23; two days before Christmas. Two days before she promised to meet Anzu at the bus stop in front of Kaiba Land.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go, she just preferred not to. Oh who am I kidding, I'd rather bite my own foot off than go spend Christmas with those goodie-goodies. The last thing I need is a bunch of people jumping around like a happy sack of potatoes. She thought bitterly, not really paying attention to the fact that half the things she thought didn't make sense.
Swallowing the last drop of hot tea, she set the cup down on her bare and slightly dusty kitchen table, and stalked out. She looked at the giant suitcase that was lying across her bed, and grabbed a shirt hanging off one of the bedposts. She shoved the shirt into the bag, and then rummaged through an open drawer near her bed. She began to fling random things into the suitcase, until it was practically overflowing.
Sitting on top of it, she zipped the suitcase up, and then threw it into another corner, as she grabbed another bag and repeated the process. An hour later, and two suitcases and a duffle bag, she finally finished. Sinking to the floor, she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.
In her hand was a large photo album. On the cover of the book like album it said Memories to Last a Lifetime. Flipping a page, she was faced with a magazine picture of all the former sailor senshi and all their glory. The title of the magazine photo and the story followed was The Beautiful Soldiers of Juuban.
The picture was a clear photo, taken by a professional camera, of a scene from one of their many fights with the youmas. Sailor Moon stood in the middle, glowing tiara in hand, ready to throw it at the purple, scale-skinned monster. Next to her was Sailor Venus, the ends of her chain wrapped around the waist, while the rest of the chain was whipping out in front of her.
Standing in the sidelines was Sailor Mercury, her famous mini-computer and blue data visor over her eyes. Her fingers were over the keyboard of the computer, while she bit on her lower lip nervously. A little in front of her, was Sailor Jupiter, who was trying to protect the busy girl, oak leaves and thunder radiated around her.
Sailor Mars stood on one knee, to support her weight, a flaming bow and arrow in one hand, while Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus stood next to each other, their globe shaped attacks merging to create a powerful attack. Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn were the only ones that were actually going head to head with the monster, using their weapons (Silence Glaive and Garnet Orb) to poke and prod at it.
Underneath the photo there was a small article that said:
Not much is known about the Sailor Senshi, except for the fact that they are the protectors of the universe. Not only do they kick alien butt, but they do it while wearing mini- school girl uniforms.
The most graceful of the nine girls, would most definitely have to be Sailor Moon, who appeared shortly after the fifth volume of the Sailor V video games were released. Most people believed her to be a staged hoax, but she proved herself worthy of the title of 'super hero' after she saved the world from a crazed witch out to kill all humans.
No one knows the identities of any of the girls, nor is anyone crazy enough to find out, but it's well known that there are only a few people that do not trust them with their lives. Hino Akira, a former governor, who happens to be one of those people, stated, "While these girls might be a great help, they are not to be trusted. Who knows when they could turn on us?"
Though the former governor may have a point, others seem to disagree. One anonymous person stated, "He doesn't know what he's talking about. If he wants to go against the senshi, be my guest. That's one less lying bastard in the world—
The rest of the article was cut off, and as Rei closed the album she let out a huge grin. Though no one really knew it, she had been the 'anonymous person.' She had said it to be spiteful after her 18th birthday, when he had cut off all ties to her and official disowned her, claiming he no longer owed her anything. That was the reason she had to live in the small dump, because until her father was dead, or she got a high paying job, there would be no way for her to pay the maintenance for the shrine.
It wasn't as though she was terribly sad to sell the shrine, though. After her grandfather's death, she felt all ill chill run down her back every time she set foot in the beautiful shrine. She had even seen a therapist about it, but he just said she had 'post-death trauma.'
I could've figured that out by myself, without having to pay 1,000 yen an hour.
She threw the album into her duffle bag and gave one last look at the house. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, and grabbing the other three suitcases, she unlocked the front door. She gave one last look at the almost empty apartment, and stepped out of the door. Locking it, she began walking down the elevator.
Well, it looks like I'll be making an early visit. She though as the elevator door closed, and she pressed the 'lobby' button. She tapped her left foot impatiently against the elevator floor as she stared at the floor number above the door. It currently read '25' meaning she had that many floors to go before she reached the main floor.
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"Hey, can I get a burger to go?" Jounouchi Katsuya asked, as the front door of one of his best friend's house opened. It was a small two family house, one that his friend shared with an old lady who had a fetish for cats. It was a red brick building, with a chimney at the top, and stained glass front door.
"Bite me," his brunette friend as she stuck out her tongue at him. She was new to the city, and since he was her next door neighbor he had gotten the pleasure of meeting her.
She was dressed in an oversized school sweatshirt, and pajama pants, but she still looked cute none the less. Her name was Kino Makoto, a busty 18 year-old girl with chestnut colored hair and forest green colored eyes.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot," she moved aside as he stepped inside the house, and ran up the stairs to her part of the house. She lived on the second floor. Upstairs he was greeted with the delightful smell of gingerbread cookies, and the earth colored décor of her hallway, that matched the rest of her house. He entered the living room, and ran to sit with Anzu and Yuugi, who came a few minutes before him.
"What's up guys?" Jou greeted them, as he slid into an armchair that was across the two. Anzu and Yuugi were currently sitting in a loveseat.
The three sat in silence for a little while, turning their attentions to some cheesy romance movie that was playing on TV. "Boring," Jou mumbled as he tried to think up a conversation starter. "So, what are you guys getting me for Christmas?"
"A giant burger," Makoto's voice replied, as she entered the kitchen, with a plate of icing decorated cookies. They were all Christmas themed, in colors of white, red and green.
"YAY! FOOD!" Jou shouted, as he grabbed the plate, and shoved two or three cookies in his mouth. Anzu tried to grab one from the plate, but Jou growled at her, and she backed away, scared he would bite her fingers off.
"You guys remind me of my friends. Except they were worse…" Makoto began to trail off, as Jou let out a giant groan. This was the part where Makoto would dose off and go into her little dream world, remembering some meaningless moment about her and her friends from Juuban. If you asked him, this girl was just a little too homesick.
"You should go visit them," Anzu offered, as Makoto snapped out of her daze, and gave Anzu a million dollar smile.
"I should, shouldn't I?" she repeated, liking the idea.
"Do you really want her to start ranting about the importance of friendship?" Jou said, shoving another cookie in his mouth, as Anzu sent him a glare. She picked up a cookie from the tray, and flung it at Jou. He tried to dodge, but it didn't help much as the cookie connected with his hard head, and crushed the pieces. Most of the bits of cookie ended up in his hair.
"Baka," Anzu mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I can't go anyway," Makoto continued to ramble about visiting her senshi friends, as if nothing happened. "I need to look after the story. Maybe next vacation." She picked up the now empty plate, and walked back into the kitchen.
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Rei growled in annoyance, as she threw her suitcases onto the floor, and unzipped one. She kicked her running shoes off and hissed in pain as she looked at her now red and frozen ankles. She had fallen 17 times since she got off the bus stop at Kaiba Land, and yes she counted.
But that wasn't even the worst part about the god-forsaken city. No the worst part had to be the fact that she only had enough money to stay in a dingy broken down motel. She studied her surrounds: a fold-out bed, a small black-and-white T.V., a chair with a ripped seat and a crooked coffee table. Not to mention the fact that the shower in the bathroom had a strange fungus growing on it.
She unzipped one of the suitcases, and flung off her black trench coat. Underneath she wore a green holiday sweater, and for bottoms she wore an old pair of ripped jeans. Sliding out of the jeans, she grabbed a pair of black three-fourth sweatpants, and slid them on. To cover her open ankles she pulled out a pair of fuzzy black boots that reached mid-calves. She pulled the boots on and let a sigh of relief as the numb feeling in her legs began to disappear.
She viciously pulled off the Christmas themed sweater, and put on a red zip-up shirt. Over the shirt, she threw on a DKNY Active coat (colors: black and pink) and grabbed her Hello Kitty wallet and the motel room key. She ran out of the disgusting room, locked the door, and began to jog down the street.
She continued to run down the street, not paying attention to her surroundings. Not only was jogging healthy, but it kept her mind off important matters, such as applying to her new high school. She tried to apply online, but the school website told her she'd have to wait 48 hours before they would even look at her school file. And she definitely didn't have 48 hours to spare.
Soon the busy shop filled streets began to change from clear, to ice-covered, and slightly muddy. She looked down to find her suede boots covered in brown snow. After she got over the initial shock of her now ruined boots, she looked up and crashed head long into another body.
Swearing loudly she looked up, prepared to curse the person who dared to cross her path and her eyes widened in shock. Though she didn't recognize the person, she couldn't simply ignore the golden and slightly tainted aura that outlined his body. And she was allowed to gape at him, since it had nothing (note the sarcasm) to do with the fact that she was clutching the front of his coat, and his arms were wrapped around her waist. She tried to find something intelligent or bitchy to say at the guy, but her mind was a total blank.
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"Hey where's Ryou?" Jou asked, mouth full of another batch of Makoto's cookies.
"He said he'd stop by. He's probably running late because of the snow," Anzu said logically.
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Flames of My Heart: If you people don't know who she bumped into… well then, you'll just have to wait till the next chapter. For those of you that do know, you deserve one of those pretty cookies Makoto baked. And if you review right now I'll throw in a lock of your favorite Yu-Gi-Oh bishie's hair… and you can sell it on E-Bay… or just sniff it.
Review replies to anonymous reviewers: (since I replied to all signed reviewers… and if I didn't, I'm so sorry!)
Rena H.M.: Thanks a lot. I tried to put myself into Rei's place if someone as bubbly as Anzu called me. (I pretended it was a telemarketer… Oh I hate them!)
Mina: Yeah, I love Rei-centric stories. They rock! Anyway, thanks for your review! Hope you liked chapter two!