A little girl with pink hair and wide red eyes walked down the street, crowds bustled around her pushing and shoving all trying to get where they were going. Next to the little girl floated a small balloon like toy, it was a black kitty face, a yellow crescent moon on its forehead, and an antenna coming out of the top of its head. The toy looked surprisingly like Luna.
"Luna P do you think that Serena's going to be over at Darien's again? Ooh she is so annoying I wish that she'd stop bugging him!" The little girl told her toy. She glanced up and down the street, looking at the different apartment buildings and trying to find the one Darien lived at. " There it is Luna P Darien's apartment!" she cried excitedly and started running across the street. She hadn't noticed the cars on the busy street, or that they were coming strait at her. Suddenly a shadow flashed next to her, and before she could create that pillar of golden light that she made whenever she was in trouble. The figure had grabbed her around the waist and scooped up Luna P, the figure then threw itself on the sidewalk putting all three of them out of harms way.
" Hey, didn't your mother teach you to look both ways before you cross the street?"
The little girl stared up at her savior. 'Can it be? Serena?' She thought as she stared into the older girl's crystal blue eyes. The girl pushed herself up and started to walk away.
"Wait! I want to thank you for saving me." Rini muttered looking down, she was a bit embarrassed, and shuffled her feet.
"No problem just cross at a crosswalk next time. Okay?"
'Wow'! Rini thought, 'I wonder if she's that new scout. No she couldn't be.' Rini ran to the crosswalk and pressed the button. When the walking sign appeared she ran across the street to Darien's apartment.
Sayuri walked down the street but she was lost in thought, 'Poor thing, who let's a kid like that go walking all alone.' She gasped and dropped to the ground, her heart was felt as if it was contracting and her body was quivering. Pain shot through her head and she couldn't push herself up. Breathing hard, she struggled to crawl into a side ally. Hot bursts shot through her forehead. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. It was all that she could do to keep from screaming. Then as suddenly as it had come it was over. Standing she stumbled out of the ally, she closed her eyes and leaned on the nearby wall. 'What was that?'
Across the street a figure surveyed the local candy store. She was dressed like a southern belle; her baby blue skirts and sky blue parasol enhanced her pale skin and white hair. Her alabaster hair was pulled back into a long braid that wrapped around her forehead, before falling down her back. Obscuring the black upside down moon. Her pretty blue eyes glittered in the fading light, as she watched couples walking in and out, laughing together. 'Yes this Crystal Point will do nicely.' She walked into the store.
In the ally, her breath catching and heart pounding, Sayuri stopped for a rest. Her body ached, and she slid to the ground. Resting her the back of her head on the wall, she stared up at the crystal blue sky. White clouds were lazily meandering by, happy and carefree. 'I wish…' Sayuri thought, shifting her weight from her feet to her back. She closed her eyes. 'I knew what was wrong with me…' This was nothing like Long Beach, where she'd fought together with her friends. Here, she was all alone. 'I gave up on being a Sailor Scout. I ran away.' It was strange; she'd gone halfway around the world to escape her destiny. Now, she could feel the ominous energy everywhere she turned. There were other Scouts here. 'But our mission isn't the same.' It couldn't be. In the end, she was alone. 'I ran away from destiny.' Sayuri raised her head, and watched the strange yet beautiful woman enter the candy shop. A chill raced up her spine. "What a weird vibe." It was similar to the ones in Long Beach, just before Yoma attacks. 'Man, what a pain.' She thought bitterly, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the store across the street. Sayuri felt the warping energy around the shop; it was dark and malevolent, crawling beneath her skin. It tore at her. 'This was my gift…' She thought. Her brothers had teased her about it. Being able to sense the energy of the Negaverse, even when she was little. Though she couldn't do anything about it then. She could now. 'But I don't want to.' Still, she had to do something. Her lips curled into an ironic smile. ' I go halfway around the world and still it's the same story. What a pain in the ass.' Determinedly she followed the woman to the candy shop. A couple exiting the store passed her as she crossed the street, arm. The man handed the girl a candy from the box of chocolates.
"Thank you darling!" The girl said, popping it into her mouth. She took a candy from the box and handed it to him. "Here you go."
"Thanks dear." The man said, warmly stroking the girl's dark brown hair. He contentedly chewed on the chocolate. "How about we go to the lake and rent a paddleboat?" Then, Sayuri saw his features twist. "On second thought." He said. "That's not such a good idea."
"Yeah." The girl snapped. "Who'd want to go with an idiot like you?"
"Who'd want to be seen with a bimbo like you!" He snarled. "I don't need this." He stomped off.
"Have a nice life!" She yelled after him, and stalked away in the opposite direction.
Sayuri stood very still for a second. 'Hmm…' She thought. 'I'll take that as sign number 2.' She kept walking towards the shop; with each step the hairs on her neck stood straighter and straighter. She shivered. 'That's gotta be sign number 3, I think we're in business.' Stopping just before the doors, she sighed. 'This is stupid.' She thought. 'There are other Scouts in this city. You should let them handle it.' There were a dozen reasons; she could count, over not going in. 'But who knows if the others will get here in time…' Rubbing her aching temples, she stared into the glass pane. Her own reflection gazed back. It was a skinny girl. She was not particularly beautiful, with dark circles beneath her eyes, and silvery blonde hair that hung limply around her face. Not particularly powerful or threatening. "You're weak." She said to herself. 'Who can you possibly save?' Biting her lip, looked down at the worn tennis shoes on her feet. Her baggy sweatshirt clung to her arms, and even her jeans looked tired. 'Nobody will ever recognize you as Sayuri Tanaka.' She thought bitterly. Raising her hand, she pressed her fingertips against the cool glass. 'But…I am Sayuri Tanaka. I'm Sailor Sun, one of the three solar warriors, and a reborn guardian of Earth. I am the defender of the Golden Crystal. It's my duty to protect this world.' Still a voice whispered in her mind. 'Those days are far behind you.' With her right hand, she reached up to her neck. On a golden chain, a diamond shaped pendant hung loosely against her skin. She touched the locket, her fingers tightening around it. 'I have to do this.' "One more time." She whispered. Sliding in, she noticed all the customers wandering around like zombies. 'Well, that's a dead give away.'
"You there!" She spun around. The sales woman, a glassy eyed woman with triceps like an elephant. "Would you like to buy one of our delicious negacandies? They're only 1.99 apiece right now and if you buy a box full you get another package free!"
"No thanks, I'm on a tight budget." She watched the woman. "Just thought I'd browse." 'Is she a Yoma?' With a smile, Sayuri peered at the candies in the dish. "They do look tasty."
The woman blinked. "In that case, how about one on the house?"
"No thanks!"
"Just a taste. You'll never get another offer like this one." The woman pushed the candy into her hand.
Rubbing her itching nose Sayuri thought.'Weird. Is this woman a Yoma or not? She'd normally be trying to force feed me right about now.' "No thank you." She put the candy back into the woman's hand, and closed her fingers around it. "I'm not in the mood for sweets."
"How about one for the road?"
"No." Sayuri said. 'I hate pushy sales people!'
"What's going on here?" The woman Sayuri had seen earlier came storming in from the back.
"I was just browsing." Sayuri said. Her eyes swung warily between the southern belle and the sales lady. "But this pushy woman tried to force me to take your candy. Are you guys that desperate to sell this stuff?" She frowned, pushing her finger against her lower lip. "I might have to file a charge for harassment, if this keeps up." Like a wave, fatigue rushed through her body. Pain shot through her forehead. 'What's wrong with me today.' The ground blurred, Sayuri tightened her fists, forcing her body to stay upright.
"I told you what to do if they refuse!" The southern belle hissed.
'This Yoma is a flunky…I'm betting she's pretty weak…but then so am I… ' Realizing her own stupidity, she took a few steps back towards the door. 'I could morph, but if that woman figures out my identity…' Mentally sighing, she took another step back. 'Why am I so stupid? There's nobody here to cover my ass…I need to play dumb until the end' "Look I don't know what kind of establishment your running but…"
"Candria!" the Yoma lunged at Sayuri. She grabbed her arm, and yanked her in close. Sayuri could feel the hot breath of the Yoma on her face. She used her other hand to pry open Sayuri's mouth. The girl struggled, kicking wildly at the Yoma's shins.
"Good 'now' you 'know' what to do, I'll check back later. Take care of this nosy brat!" with those final words Birdie vanished in a cloud of negative energy.
'Great… now I can transform!' Sayuri raised her arm above her head and yelled. "Solar Crystal Power!" But the expected rush of energy didn't come as the monster slammed her into the opposite wall. She struggled; with a free hand she shoved a finger into the Yoma's eye. The beast screamed and dropped her. Coughing, she glared up at the monster, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth. 'What's the deal…this has never happened before! Why can't I transform?' She pushed herself off the floor. "Feel good?" She taunted. "I bet you're starting to see the whole picture." The Yoma hissed, enraged. "A Cyclops always could." Candria stalked towards her, claws extended, her hairy red fur bristling. She grabbed Sayuri's shoulders and slammed her back into the wall. 'I'm so dead...' A thin trickle of blood ran down her back, as the Yoma's blood red claws dug deeper into her shoulder. "Don't touch me!" Sayuri snarled, kicking Candria in the shins.
The sudden shock caused Candria to release her, and Sayuri dropped to the floor. Red blood stained her white t-shirt as it flowed from the three deep cuts in her shoulder. "You little brat." The Yoma growled, one hand on her stomach. "I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart!" She bared her sharp teeth in a grin. "I'll start with that eye of yours."
'Is that all the power I have' She wondered, as she forced her body to stand up, once again. Staggering slightly, Sayuri lifted her chin defiantly. "Loser." She laughed. "Getting beat by a lowly human!" With a roar of rage the Yoma lunged at her. Sayuri dodged, using the Yoma's blind spot. She slid across the floor, crashing into the display cabinet near the entrance. Her icy blue eyes flashed, grabbing her shoulder, she spat on the ground.
"Having trouble sis?"
Sayuri turned to see a young man leaning casually against the doorframe. He was wiry. Wearing a charcoal gray Stanford sweatshirt, and baggy jeans. This boy was on the tall side for a Japanese man, nearing six feet. His tan face was thin and a little craggy, with a rounded clean-shaven chin. Tousled locks of curly sandy blonde hair framed his wide blue eyes, and Sayuri could see his bright white teeth flashing in the sunlight. Sayuri frowned. "No." Glaring at Candria, she put up her fists. "I don't need your help." Again the Yoma lunged, and this time, its claws glanced across her side as she jumped back, out of the way. The force of the blow sent her sprawling. Lying on the floor she clenched her fists. Angry tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. 'Why can't I transform? She looked over at her smirking brother. "What's so funny?"
Laughing the young man walked forward and grasped her hand in his fingers, pulling out a fountain pen encased in gold. A ruby bloodstone glinted in the light, from where it was embedded on the top of the pen. The Latin symbol for the sun glowed between his fingers, and he said. "You're a stubborn idiot Sayuri. You never learn." 'I'm glad I got here before that Yoma made fish food out of you.' He pulled her to her feet and said, "This isn't the time to be flying solo. We need to work together." Seeing her smile, he added. "Without you're incompetent bumbling."
"This really is a bad time for experimentation." Sayuri snapped. "But I agree, some teamwork is necessary. Just don't let your ego get in the way."
"I'll try." He said. Grinning as he thought. 'At least she's not too stubborn to balk at my help, but if I know her she'll want a very healthy explanation afterwards.' "It's possible that we need to transform under one name."
She nodded. "It could be a sibling thing…"'that would explain why I wasn't able to transform here… but this has never happened before…could it be because of…' "We have to act quickly!" Biting her lip in deep concentration she tried to think up words that they could use to transform together. 'Double, no that wouldn't work. It has to have Solar in it I know that, Duo? No.' "Twin?" she said and smiled. "Since we're twins…"
"Yeah Twin, that sounds right, I like it." The two raised their hands together, and cried out.
"Solar Twin Power!"
Red orange light bled from the bloodstone on her brother's pen, as it shined out of Sayuri's necklace. The light surrounded them as their clothing melted away to reveal Sailor Scout uniforms, Sayuri's uniform was the traditional leotard, sleeveless, with a dark red skirt. Her boots came up to her knees and were a pure bright red, a brooch the same color as her skirt containing her necklace, and a deep purplish red sailor cape. Along with light blue-purple, bows like the sky just before twilight, and a choker that was a dark purple and gleamed with tiny golden dots. Her tiara was intricately designed: it was silver with long curling lines of gold that twisted around the fire red gem in the center of the tiara. The silver part took on a life of it's own with tiny glittering stars and a golden flames spreading out from the gem, like the fires of the sun. Her gloves reached up to her elbow; it's lining was a deep red like the setting sun.
Her brother's uniform reflected the early sunrise. His uniform was like a gymnast's, and consisted of three pieces: the torso leotard that was a pearly white unmarred like the other traditional sailor costumes; the second was tights, they were a shifting reddish-orange like the dawn running all the way down to his ankles; and light red soft leather shoes. His arms were bare, and he wore gloves that ended at his wrist, the color of the rising sun. Around his neck he wore a glittering golden amulet with a bloodstone inside. A golden circlet wrapped around his sandy blonde hair, in the middle was a glittery piece of amber. The circlet was also intricately designed, it consisted of silver flames that flared around the entire circle and surrounded the amber jewel.
The golden light faded, revealing two Sailor Scouts. The female Scout, her silvery blonde hair curling around her heart shaped face, one hand on her hips. With the other, she spread her fore and index finger in a peace sign over her forehead. She spoke commandingly; she'd spoken the words hundreds of times before. "The Protectors of the Earth, the Champions of and Justice, Sailor Sun..."
Her brother stood beside her, hands crossed over his chest. "And Sailor Sol…"
"Will finish you!" They yelled together.
"What!" Candria yelled. "Sailor Brats!" She added in confusion. "Male Sailor Brats?"
The Sailors of the Sun glanced at one another, and smiled. Unanimously they released their attacks on Candria. Raising her arms towards the sky, light and fire gathering between her hands, Sailor Sun yelled. "Solar Flare!" Slamming her arms downwards, she hurled the large fireball towards Candria.
Her brother raised his hand towards the ceiling, crossing his arm over his chest, yelled. "Solar Firestorm Eruption!" A pillar of fire gathered behind him, and he pointed his hand towards her, flames curled around him, and then shot at Candria. The two attacks wove together and struck the Yoma with a continuous blast of fire. Neither brother nor sister heard her scream. All that was left of Candria was a pile of dust and a burned out jewel; the candy store vanished around them leaving the two unsure scouts.
"I think now is a good time for explanations." Sayuri said, glaring at her brother. "For starters, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I hadn't realized you'd developed such a foul mouth, sister dear." He said coolly. "But you deserve answers, however this isn't the place or the time." He glanced around.
"Fine." She snapped. Letting go of the transformation, she stood in her worn gray sweatshirt and jeans. Hands on her hips, she glared at him for a few short seconds. Then, nose in the air, she stalked out the door. "Let's go."
He sighed a bit exasperated, "Next time I'm not coming to pull your ass out of the fire." He yelled after her.
"Who said I wanted you too!" She yelled back. "For you information I was doing just fine by myself!" 'Stupid… over… bearing…pea brained…idiot!'
"What's with her today?" He muttered to himself as he followed her up. 'Better tell her first that I'm moving in… she's going to kill me.' Depowering, he followed her outside, the two headed towards the apartment building, glaring at each other the whole way.