Tokyo, Modern Day
Mamoru Chiba was decidedly having a bad day.
Forget the fact that he didn't do as well on his math test as he hoped. That was to be expected. Usually a star student, the high schooler had something else entirely on his mind, something so all consuming that he couldn't focus on anything for the past several weeks. This test score was a clear indication of that.
The revelation was just too much, he reasoned. That coupled with all his new responsibilities, he barely had time to process this new side of him, let alone study for a test. At first, he didn't believe it, but then all the dreams started making sense and it clicked. Since his parents died years ago, he had many recurring dreams. At first, it was about the car crash. Between those came dreams of a lush meadow that bled into a cerulean sky. Mamoru was sitting, picking flowers when a woman with silky black hair and a flowing gown called to him. Every time he tried to run to her, his feet stuck to the ground.
The worst was when he dreamed of drowning.
Years passed and he wrote off the vivid dreams as figments of an overactive imagination. Until one day, a few weeks ago, as he walked down a busy street in the Juuban District he saw her: Her flowing, fire-red hair, her pale skin and sharp features. Her eyes were completely fixed on him and her expression softened as they exchanged glances.
I've been looking for you.
Lightning struck. He had been looking for her, too.
She walked right up to him and extended her hand while he frantically searched for her name. Yes, her touch, he remembered it. How could he miss a person so badly who he had somehow forgotten?
From then on it was a flood. Places were clear but faces always weren't. He remembered how something happened but not always why. She told him things were bound to get clearer overtime, all he needed to do was find the Silver Millennium Crystal and reclaim it as his own and take his place as the ruler of the Earth Kingdom.
Her story was almost hard to believe: Betrayal, murder, seduction. He almost walked away from her when she told him. Then she showed him her power of sorcery and conjured images of the past, of a glistening kingdom where he sat on a throne. All of it felt like reading from a book of his own life.
So, instead of studying for math or wasting time with his friends, he started pursuing the illustrious magic that might restore his kingdom. And that mission was starting today: Mamoru and his generals needed to start gathering enough energy to locate the crystal at all costs.
He didn't exactly agree with the plan in its entirety. It seemed kind of cruel to farm out unwitting humans as a means to fuel their restoration. But the red-haired beauty had assured him time and time again that this was the most sensible way to return the Earth Kingdom to its former glory, that people would be happy to have its rightful ruler once more.
In the hands of someone else, she warned, in the hands of those who brought down the Earth Kingdom in the first place, the crystal could be deadly. The means justified the ends.
He watched as people poured in and out of the unremarkable jewelry store, hoping the plan would work. As the horde crawled and clawed at one another, hoping they might be the one to receive the deal of lifetime, Mamoru suddenly didn't feel so bad. Maybe when the Earth Kingdom came back to power, a sense of decorum would follow. Maybe he could be the leader to curb bloodlust and greed, to make things equal and fair again. On the throne, Mamoru planned to be the example of good and give his people a sense of fairness and respect.
Clearly, they did not practice those sorts of things now.
Mamoru felt a thud against his forehead. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and let his fingers glide over his hairline. Looking down, it appeared the culprit was a crumpled up piece of paper. Did someone throw this at him?
Carefully, he picked it up, unfolding the sides of it before realizing it was someone's test. A very bad test at that. Whoever this belonged to should be embarrassed, he thought. His eyes scanned the sidewalk: A few men in business suits, a mother and her two children, and then his likely suspect. A girl around his age, dressed in a school uniform and walking with a slog reminiscent of someone walking toward their imminent death.
It only took him a few long steps to catch up to her. Not only was it rude to throw paper at strangers, he thought, but it was sort of embarrassing to leave such a dismal test result out for the general public to find. He pictured himself lecturing her as he stalked behind. On top of her head of blonde hair were two giant buns that reminded Mamoru of dumplings. A unique style to say the least, but he didn't hate it.
"Watch where you're throwing things, bunhead."
The girl swung around, her face bright red. As he extended the crumpled paper to the girl, her expression changed from surprised to mortified. Mamoru found it amusing.
"30 percent?" He pressed on. "Looks like you better study harder next time, bunhead."
"That's none of your business!" She snatched back the paper from his hand, her face glowing an even deeper shade of red. As she receded down the sidewalk, she shot Mamoru an offensive, yet juvenile, hand gesture.
Petulance, he thought to himself. When I am king, I will teach people manners.
"Nice," he groaned and the girl's spine snapped tight.
"Hey!" She frowned. "I'm not the one reading people's private test scores!"
"If you didn't want someone to read it, you would've kept it private."
A grin snaked across Mamoru's face, which fed fire to the girl's already burning rage. Crumpling the paper once more, she shoved it into her book bag before hurrying away. Just like the memories from before, a bolt of understanding struck him. Seeing her from this angle, perhaps, made her seem familiar, as if he had met her once before. Back when he didn't know his true identity as Prince Endymion, Mamoru used to take these coincidences for granted, writing them off as his overt desire to connect to a lonely world.
Now, he knew better. If she jogged his memory, it was possible there was a reason. Why did she look so familiar?
When she realized he was watching her watching him, she nearly fell over in embarrassment. Despite her rudeness, he thought she was quite funny.
"What are you looking at?" She asked him incredulously.
Mamoru smiled cheekily and shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning back as if to get a better view of her. He tried to hide the curiosity in his eye but it wasn't working. She noticed his demeanor changed, and now it seemed she wouldn't leave him alone until he fessed up.
"Nothing," he said coyly. "Just surprised that someone so cute could be so rude."
Her eyes bulged and she swallowed hard. Now, maniacally laughing, she waved her hands in embarrassment.
"What?" She half-chuckled, half-balked. "I mean…I'm not rude! You're rude…for…not introducing yourself."
An awkward silence formed between them. Why did this feel so familiar? The way she talked, the way the sun hit her hair, even the sweet vanilla that wafted off her porcelain skin. Somehow, he had met this woman before.
"Hello?!" She stomped her foot.
"Have we met?"
She blinked and raised her eyebrows. "I…I don't think so."
He pressed harder. "I think we might have." He took a step closer.
Pink flooded her cheeks once more and she chuckled nervously.
"I mean, it's possible. Do you go to school around here?"
"Usagi!" A red-headed girl poked her head from around the corner of the building. She, like Usagi, was wearing a school uniform. The other girl stood for a moment, assessing the conversation happening between her friend and this strange man, but before she had a chance to recede back into the shadows, Usagi was waving back.
"Coming, Naru!" Her book bag swished as she motioned to her friend. She turned back to Mamoru, still blushing. "So, I guess I'll see you around?"
Mamoru tried to call out to her, to at the very least share his name, but she was pushing forward with no sign of stopping. Before she turned the corner, he caught her looking back at him one last time.
"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help me?"
The voice swung Mamoru's focus in the complete opposite direction. There stood his longtime friend and bodyguard, the same glassy grey eyes and messy blonde curls. The only difference was his outfit. Jadeite looked uncomfortable in modern clothes, Mamoru thought. He could only remember his friend wearing the stately (and somewhat boxy) uniform of the Shitennou. Now, his friend was all too casual: A black t-shirt and jeans.
"I was just coming to find you, Jadeite," Mamoru replied. "Now, remind me again, why are we doing this?"
"Beryl seems to think if we gather human energy, it will help direct us to the Silver Millennium Crystal." Jadeite surveyed the spectacle at the jewelry store, one he had put in place hours ago. "What better way to do that than by sucking it through their jewelry."
"And they won't die, right?" Mamoru asked cautiously. Something about using people's energy without their consent felt a little wrong.
"No, I don't imagine so." Jadeite cocked his head. "Though that might've been a better question to ask before I put this plan in motion."
Jadeite laughed to himself. He, like Beryl and Mamoru, had been reborn on this planet. All his life he felt just somewhat out of place, as if he was living in a world he did not truly belong. It was only until Beryl visited him late one night that he realized why. When she restored his memories with her magic, it was like a light switched on.
He left university, much to his human parents' chagrin, telling them he was wasting his time reading about business when he could be learning it. All of his energy poured into his work for Beryl to expunge the mark the Moon Kingdom had left on his people. He liked to call the Shitennou the "Dark Moon," a sort of private joke for himself. He wanted the Moon Kingdom to suffer for destroying their home so many years ago. If Queen Serenity hadn't let them all die, perhaps he might've prospered under better circumstances.
Truth was, Jadeite had grown up discontented. He was lackluster and overlooked, though he believed he belonged among the higher echelon. Turns out, he was right. This was his chance for revenge in both worlds.
"What will happen when the Kingdom is restored?" Mamoru asked.
Jadeite shrugged. "I suppose everyone will remember who their true ruler is. We can find Elysion and start over, and we can make sure no one ever uses the Silver Millennium Crystal for destruction again."
Jadeite stepped forward and parted the crowd to enter the store. "Ladies, ladies, one at a time!" He smiled at the throngs of women gathering around the door. "Please, we will help you in an orderly fashion, we just ask you to be patient!"
The women fawned over him, grabbing at his arms as he pushed his way into the building. Mamoru tailed closely behind, glancing at the women as he passed. All their eyes had a milky sheen, almost as if a fog was circling around their heads. Mamoru ignored it and pressed on, navigating through the crowd like a snake.
"Here, in the back." Jadeite shuffled over to a back door, threw it open and shoved Mamoru in before following closely behind. Quickly, he slammed it shut. In the corner of an office was a woman bound in ropes, her head slumped against a metal cabinet.
"She owns the jewelry store," Jadeite said preemptively. "She wasn't exactly willing to participate."
As if the spectacle outside hadn't been enough to make Mamoru question this plan, seeing an innocent woman gagged and bound made his stomach turn. Was this really what they had to do to make their plan succeed?
"You didn't harm her?"
Jadeite scoffed. "Of course I didn't."
"Good."
Mamoru thought about Beryl's words on that first fateful day. He thought about her plan to right a wrong thousands of years in the making. If it wasn't for the Moon Kingdom, the Earth would have never faced famine or war, the people would've catapulted themselves to prosperity and peace. Humankind would thrive. The kingdoms of all the solar system would have remained intact. Queen Serenity's selfishness was a blight and the only way it could be reversed was to find the crystal.
If this is the way it had to be done, so be it. Mamoru gritted his teeth and sunk deep, deep down the feelings of guilt. The ends justify the means, he told himself. The ends justify the means.
"Well then." He swiveled on his heel and put his hand on the door knob. "Let's sell some jewelry."