Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon!!!
Thanks everyone for reviewing! It makes my day each time I get one! There has been a few inquiries about my changing the plot of the story from the original series. I said early on that it was my story and some of the things would change. That means I will use most of the original plot line, but not all of it. Obviously nothing about how they met Rei is the same, but I like it better this way, it's more me and less copying. Please continue to question me, it makes me think more! Now, on with the story!
PS: This is a rewrite of chapter 11. I didn't like the chapter and though that I would change that and make it better. I hope that you all let me know if you like this version better!! Happy Halloween!
*******************************************************
Serena's house was dark when she got home, but that wasn't unusual. Serena tended to take long walks that ended after dark, and her parents had accepted the fact that she was out all hours. They trusted her enough to know she wasn't getting into trouble. Serena couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. She decided to give her folks the benefit of the doubt and believe it was a good thing that they trusted her that much. As she got to the door, she unlocked it with her key and snuck in the house. Serena had discovered that even though her parents let her stay out didn't mean they wanted to be woken up when she got home.
Serena was crawling into bed without turning on the lights when she felt something move. She let out a quick startled scream, but quickly quieted herself when she realized it was just Luna. "Oh My Goodness! You scared the life right out of me," whispered Serena in a strained voice. She was still holding her hand over her racing heart hoping to calm herself down. She was used to Luna by now, having lived with her a month, but there were times that she forgot all about the kitty and this had been one of those times. She had been working on autopilot and that always got her in trouble.
"Calm down Serena. Where else would I be?" Suddenly Luna realized that she had been dozing for quite awhile as there was no light anywhere expect for the small night light in the closet. "What time is it?" hissed Luna. She didn't like the fact that Serena had been out so late. Something could have happened to her and no one would have known. The girls needed to get some sort of communication device so they could reach each other if something happened. She would talk to Amy about that tomorrow.
"Oh Luna," sighed Serena. "It's after midnight. Don't worry about it. My folks obviously don't as they went to bed and locked the door."
"Don't be too hard on them Serena. They just don't understand you or how to relate to you. Sammy is easy, he's greedy and a boy. All they have to do is give him material things and he's happy. You are different. You require vast amounts of unconditional love rather than material gain. Your parents don't understand that. Not too many people would in this day and age."
Serena smiled at the cat. How did she know just what to say to make Serena feel better? It must be that ancient knowledge stuck up in her brain. "Well, goodnight Luna. Tomorrow is going to be a full day." And with that, Serena drifted off to dreamland.
*****************************************************
The next morning came all too soon for Serena. Her bed felt so good and the covers blocked out the sun. She could have stayed like that for ages, but Luna would have none of it. And so Serena was up by 9 AM on a Saturday morning, her one day to sleep in. "Gosh Luna, why do we have to go so early? It's not like she won't be there at 2 in the afternoon. I would have been able to sleep in then."
"Oh, stop complaining Serena. You need to get used to being up early. Being late to school almost every day and getting detention for it is no way for a senshi to behave. What if something happened while you were in detention? Amy can't do this job on her own, she doesn't have your firepower.'
"Luna, the same thing would happen then as would happen if there was an attack during school hours, I would just leave. True I would get more detentions, but it's more important to save others than staying in school or detention. Don't worry so much you silly kitty."
When they arrived at Amy's house they found the girl sitting on her front step. Serena giggled at Amy's expression. She looked like she was going to be given some big prize and couldn't wait to go play with it. "Well, you sure are eager to go."
"Of course. We might find out more about ourselves, as well as finding a friend from the past. It's an exciting time for us! I can't believe you are so calm." Amy was so excited all her sentences were smooshing together. Luna would have thought that it was Serena talking if she didn't see it with her own eyes.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Serena. "Lets go!"
On the way to the temple Serena laughed at Amy. She was so excited and animated. Serena loved it when Amy had moods like this. Most people just saw the shy, serious girl, but Serena was gifted to see more. She saw how much Amy felt about the things going on around her, how she felt about her family and friends, and how much she loved school. She saw more of what made Amy who she was, instead of that girl who showed up everyday for school. Maybe Serena wasn't the only one to put on a mask.
"This morning while I was waiting for you I researched the girl at the temple," exclaimed Amy.
"What did you find out?"
"Well, her name is Rei and she lives at the temple with her maternal grandfather. I couldn't find out much about her mom, other than she died when Rei was quite young. Her father doesn't seem to be around much, instead usually touring for business. If I had to guess, I'd say she is probably lonely."
Serena looked at Amy and saw sadness flicker into her eyes and then saw it shoved aside. Amy's father was rarely around either, and Serena knew this hurt Amy because she refused to talk about it. "Wow, you found out a lot. But how did you find out about the dad? I mean, that isn't in any papers is it?"
"Actually you can get a lot of information from the papers. It listed his schedule because of his job. He was on the rode like 5 days a week. With a schedule like that who would find time to come home to a temple and a young child if you knew the child was being cared for? There may be more reasons, but I don't think that Mr. Hino wanted to be around the home front much."
"That's so sad. Even if she's not Mars, I think we need to befriend her. Everyone needs more friends."
Amy smiled at that. Before Serena she did not have any real friends. Sure there were her study buddies, but they weren't real friends. They weren't people that she would tell her deepest, darkest secret to, like she would with Serena. She didn't think that Serena knew how lucky she was to be able to make friends so quickly and easily.
They got to the temple and found that the girl was sweeping outside. They hoped she would remember them this time, maybe even remember the incident from when they had come as a class and the youma had attacked. "Hello" they called to the girl.
"Hello and welcome to the Cherry Hill temple. My name is Rei and if you have any questions while you wander around, be sure to ask."
"Actually we came to see you. We came here with our school a few days ago and thought that you looked interesting. We were wondering if you would like to be our friend." Serena could see her words shocked the girl because Rei had stopped sweeping and just looked at the two of them like they each had grown a second head or something. Serena knew she had to do something to break the silence. "Is there something on my face?"
"No," replied the temple girl quickly. "I'm just not used to visitors coming to see me. What are your names?"
Amy decided she needed to speak up. "I'm Amy Anderson and this is Serena Tsukino. We are both in the eighth grade at Juuban Junior High."
Rei just looked at the two girls. Could this be real? Most people were scared of her because of her talents with reading the sacred fire and her meditations. But thinking about it, maybe these two just wanted to use her for those two just wanted to use her for those same talents. "I go to a private academy but I'm also in the eighth grade. Would either of you like tea?"
Serena's face just lit up at the idea of tea. "Would we ever!" she exclaimed, causing both of the other girls to laugh. "Tea it is then," said Rei and brought the girls inside the temple.
The girls spent the day getting to know each other. Serena talked the most at first, but as soon as Rei saw she really had no ulterior motives, she began to warm up to the two girls. Soon the three were trying to talk over each other and had found many common traits between them all. They knew by the end of the day that they would all be fast friends. Unfortunately, both of the girls had to leave about 5 for dinner, but they made promises to come back as soon as they could and invited Rei to both of their houses anytime. It had been a good day.
When Serena arrived at home, her mother had a message for her. "Serena, some boy stopped by today to find out how you were doing. He was concerned because of how you were acting last night. Is there something we should know about? Why didn't you wake us up last night when you got home if there was a problem."
Serena was shocked. Who could have stopped by? The only person that she saw on her walk was Darien and he wouldn't check up on her, would he? "Nothing was wrong Mom, I was just having a bad night and so I really wasn't paying much attention to people as I was walking. Did the boy tell you his name?"
"I think he said Darren or something like that. He was an attractive boy with black hair and blue eyes. He was older though. How did you meet him?" Irene was suddenly realizing her little girl had grown up into a beautiful 14 year old girl. This revelation shocked her and made her wonder if something was happening that shouldn't be.
"I ran into him in the park and have met him a few times since then at the Crown. His name is Darien and he's ok. He is older though. I wonder why he stopped by suddenly. Don't worry about it Mom, I'm fine I promise."
"Okay, if you say so. You might want to give the boy a call, he left his number on a piece of paper in the hallway." Irene decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to ignore it and went back to preparing supper.
Serena figured it was best to call Darien and reassure him she was fine. As she shifted through the papers, she found one had been crumpled by Sammy and pieces torn off. As she flattened it, she saw that there was part of a number on there. "Sammy! You tore up Darien's number!"
"Too bad, guess you can't call him then huh," smirked her little brother.
"You brat!"
Just then they both heard their father coming home. Serena knew she would be yelled at for being mean to her younger brother and so decided to drop it. "Just wait till I get you," mumbled Serena. She knew she would never make good on her threat, but it felt good to say it and release steam. It's not like it was horrible she wasn't calling Darien. Eventually she'd see him. She heard her mom yelling supper was ready. Supper was more important anyway.
*************************************************
Well, that's the rewrite. I welcome any suggestions! Please review and/or email. I want to know what you think.