Told ya it'd be a couple days! This is all I have consistently written (parts of future chapters and ouline done) so it'll be a bit before the next one. So go speculate! My weak point in this story is the villains, because I have no idea where to go from here! *bangs head against wall* I mean, I know how things will go once the ball starts rolling, but getting it rolling is hard! think I figured out what happened to Luna and Artemis at last, but that's later. I think... *bangs head again*

Anyway, introducing OCs to the plot officially now! enjoy them and my commentary on Japanese summer classes based off of animes and mangas! Questions at end, and maybe a rant. Not sure yet


1 – A New Stage

Whatever genius decided to have school during the rainy season should be shot. Usagi sighed despairingly as she looked out the window. Detention, again. After supplementary lessons. Thankfully she wasn't alone. Minako was a few seats away making paper hearts out of their old worksheets and tests. Anything really to get out of the muggy heat, even mentally, for a few minutes.

Why oh why did the AC have to fail? Again? And why was their school so evil to stay open when it did? Usagi sighed again, wishing at least it would rain. The storm from a couple days ago didn't do a lot to release the moisture in the air, but the sun being cranky overhead wasn't much better. "Too hot…"

The timer on the teacher's desk dinged, getting each student stuck in purgatory bolt upright. Tendo-sensei looked between it and the clock, and his watch, and his phone, before nodding and getting out of his chair. "Stand." The students almost leapt to their feet. "Bow." Everyone bowed together. "You are dismissed. Try not to be here tomorrow."

"Yes sensei!" Politeness taken care of, the class erupted into excited chatter, plans running everywhere. Minako cheerily grabbed Usagi's hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Come on! There's something you just gotta see!"

"Mina-chan!" Barely able to grab her bag and lunch in time, her friend rushed out the door and off campus in record time. "Minako! Why are you running?!"

"Because if we don't hurry, we may miss him!"

Him? Usagi chanced a look at her friend, suspicious. Eyes sparkling, grinning from ear to ear, her favorite ribbon in her hair… Was she stalking a celebrity again or chasing after her ten thousandth first love? Either way, it wouldn't last long. Aino Minako found a new 'first love' every other month and a celebrity to stalk every three. The only times it lasted less was if the boy turned out to be an agent of the enemy. It was surprising how often that happened. She seemed to be a radar for bad guys, in all the wrong ways.

'Well, it could be fun,' Usagi admitted to herself before giving more energy into the chase. It was only going to the park anyway (if she was guessing right) so it wasn't some big plot they couldn't handle. After all, they were Sailor Moon and Sailor V! They could take on anyone! Mostly.

To her surprise, Makoto was looking around the park, spotted them, then waved them down. Minako grinned. "Great! Mako-chan found him!"

"Mako-chan!" Usagi almost collided with the tall girl in regular clothes as they came to a halt. Makoto laughed, catching her shoulders gently and letting her breathe. "Thanks…"

"Not a problem. Mina-chan," the tall one started, giving her a quick glare, "you didn't have to drag her here like that! Good as he is, you shouldn't force anyone to watch. Look at Usagi-chan! All out of breath."

"Sorry sorry," Minako rambled quickly, showing she wasn't really, "but if we didn't get here fast, you know he'd disappear! He has every other time."

"Will one of you just tell me what's going on?!" Confused and tired, Usagi demanded to know why those two were so aggressive today. "Are you two after the same man again or something? Because I can't take all this mystery!"

"You dragged her here without telling her why?" The love struck blond shrugged, somewhat sheepish but not really. Exasperated Makoto sighed and started walking towards another part of the park. "We're going to show you a street performer."

"Street performer?" That was it? A street performer? Wasn't that a large step down from big celebrities like the Star Lights?

"No it's not!" Minako objected, making Usagi realize she said her thoughts out loud. Fired up, the blond explained the wonders of street performers over regular idols. "Street performers are performing their craft without all the fancy lights and sound systems, making their performance genuine! They are raw talent! They're locals and therefore more attainable than idols too! They are the ground work of all top celebrities around the world!"

"Plus the guy's pretty cute and a really good dancer," Makoto supplied. "We saw him a few days ago and have been trying to keep eyes on him ever since. Thing is, he's only at the park for an hour before picking up and leaving to another location, and we can't keep track of where. I don't think he has a permit to perform anywhere, so he's avoiding the cops."

"My kind of guy!" Minako cheered, throwing her hands into the air. "So!" She turned to look excitedly at their tall friend. "Where is he? You saw him set up here, right?"

"Sure did." The grin on Makoto's face told them how excited she was. This guy must be pretty good – or remind her of her ex-boyfriend; really hard to tell the difference some days. She pointed towards a bend where they could start hearing some pop American music. "He's right around that –"

"Gotta book it!" Instantly the blond was gone, ready to drool over another man. Her friends watched her go off for a moment before sighing. What were they going to do with that girl? Minako was cool as Sailor Venus, but out of her fuku, she was worse than a tween at a boyband concert.

"Is he really that good?" Usagi didn't mind idols that much, but she was way too focused on passing school and going out with Mamochan to follow them anymore.

"Let's put it this way," Makoto started as they cleared the bend and could see the crowd now. The guy must be popular. "If he was fighting instead dancing, I'm pretty sure he'd be a black belt. He does all these flips and tricks and turns… It's like watching the music take life. Sometimes he even pantomimes the lyrics.

"You just have to see him for yourself." Seeing the girl's grin, Usagi decided to finally go along with it. Carefully the two made their way to a spot where they could see the dancer perform without blocking anyone else. Minako, of course, was in the front, cheering on the guy, ignoring the music blaring right next to her. They arrived in the middle of a song, but hadn't reached the climax yet.

No, that happened the moment after Usagi blinked. He seemed to leap ten feet in the air, flipping three times like a stiff pencil, before catching himself on his hands and going straight into a spin. Mid spin, a foot came to the ground, letting him right himself without missing a beat. He stayed low for a bit, turning on one leg with the other extended, before back flipping onto his feet, his back to them. He kicked up a prop stick to his hands and whipped it up to lay on his shoulder as he turned to face them, a daring grin on his face. It sent exhilarating chills through the audience, especially when he almost threw the stick at them only to catch its other end at the last second. The end pointed at them swished to his open hand before he fell to one knee, pretending the stick was a sword and holding it out for anyone to take it.

That was the moment the song ended and the magic stopped. Cheers erupted from the crowd, giving the young man the signal to look up and smile excitedly, breathing harder than he was a moment ago. Stunned for a moment, a small jab from Makoto reminded Usagi to applaud too. This guy was really good! Not even as a senshi did she have a chance trying to do those tricks. Who was this guy?

Grinning from ear to ear, the young man got to his feet and gave an elaborate bow, with lots of hand twirling. "Thank you! Thank you! You are too kind! Please share your kindness by adding a few Yen to the collection!"

His stick pointed towards a handkerchief not that far away with a few coins on top. From what Usagi could tell, he had, maybe, a couple thousand yen there in small coins. Not a lot. One thing Minako neglected to say was how little street performers made with their craft. Almost ignoring what he was saying, she started to dig into her school bag to find something to add to the pile. Paper would probably fly away, so two 500 yen coins would have to do. She still wanted to save up for that phone she saw the other day, but this guy needed cash.

"- a few minutes to breathe and I'll start the next song." There were a series of chuckles around her as she placed the coins down, reminding her she wasn't the only one there. A few others added coins as well, thinking of what was best for the circumstances rather than what they could afford. Looking back to the performer, she finally realized what was truly impressive about the guy.

He had to be at least a year younger than them. Dark brown, pretty much black, hair stuck up when he ran his hand through it, sweaty from all the exercise he went through. Lightly tanned skin with European features, he was clearly a foreigner, and therefore an exotic sight for them to see, yet didn't stand out near as much as others. The only physical feature that really stood out were his eyes. Amber. That was the only way to describe them, amber. Such a light brown, it couldn't be mistaken as any other color. They were almost dazzling and a little cat-like.

His clothes looked well-worn and a little shabby and big for him, but he pulled off the look with confidence. He didn't have his jeans sag like many foreigners with big jeans did, but his belt wasn't the best quality either. Despite looking healthy and energetic, the dancer could easily be a street urchin. Poor guy.

He took a long drink from a water bottle and set it aside, focused on the old iPod and speakers he had on hand. As he set up for the next number, Usagi snuck next to Minako and started asking questions. "So… what's his name? Where's he from?"

"Dunno, don't care." Minako grinned madly, entering 'first love' mode. "It's a mystery worth keeping! For all we know, he could be the lost heir to a million dollar fortune! Or someone who lost his memories after an accident! Or –"

"Washington." Both girls stopped when they heard them yapping. He grinned at them impishly. "You can just call me Washington. Care to dance pretty lady?"

He offered a gloved hand to Minako who flustered and excitedly took it without really complaining. He really was a charmer. Usagi giggled as 'Washington' gave her friend some brief instructions a few seconds before the music started and he pretty much started dancing all around her, using her as a prop. It was a little weird seeing a guy dance like that with gloves on, but considering he was doing a lot of tricks that could ruin his hands, she didn't think much of it. Everyone had their quirks. Hers were odangos.

Soon everyone was lost in the performance, especially how he got Minako to do exactly what he needed her to do to get the effect of the music they were hearing. Guess 'Washington' was worth that long run after all.


(+)


Mamoru finally closed his textbook and notebook, his study group done for the day. Medical law had to be the most boring part of his studies, but if he was not up to date on it, he would never be allowed to have a license. Due to its importance, he got together with three others and quizzed each other almost daily, comparing notes, and occasionally razzing on their teacher. Professor Takata was very insistent they memorized everything before they ever stepped foot in a hospital. This was almost as hard as that medical math course he had to take before getting into the program. He really wished more classes were like his biochemistry class. At least then he felt he was making real progress.

After making promises with the others to meet the next day at the usual time, he decided to wander the library for any interesting texts he might like to read on the side. Thinking back to his other studies and what he read recently, he found himself in the holistic medicine section to see if science supported the theories found in the grimoire he was given. So far other theories he read about were supported by science. Some were even supported by anthropological studies. Why shouldn't he test out the herb lore he recently read with modern medicine and chemistry?

Course that wasn't the real reason he was still hanging out at the library. A prickling sensation started on the back of his neck an hour or so back, warning him he was being watched. Being with his group, he couldn't look into it until now. Wandering the library, picking an obscure section, all were a test to see if he were being followed and who by. At the moment it didn't feel sinister, but there was no guarantee it would stay that way.

Opening one of the books to a random page, he pretended to read while extending his senses and awareness through the building. His empathic abilities grew a bit lately, and with his new studies, he was able to hone it to do more than know when Usako was in trouble. '213 people in the library. 78 are familiar for this place. Workers. Students from college… 96. 15 children. No… 17. 2 service animals. 20 people left…'

His eyes narrowed in concentration, looking like he was glaring at the book instead of reading it. Twenty people. 'No spells. One of these people… who's watching me? From where?' Leaning against the adjacent bookcase, Mamoru took a breath and focused on locating these twenty people. Majority were on levels above and below him, one in the bathroom passed out. Three were on his level.

Eyes were still on him.

Getting a direction, he chanced a look through the bookcases to see who was watching him now. Instantly he made eye contact with a woman a little older than him with long dreadlocks, darker skin with freckles, and pale green eyes. Realizing she was caught watching, the lady made a small surprised noise and ducked out of sight.

Mamoru rolled his eyes. 'Great. Another fangirl.'

Determining she wasn't a threat, he picked off two more books that might be useful and walked away. There really wasn't anything he could do about these girls who 'fell in love at first sight', and decided to ignore her like he had hundreds before. He only lingered on her energy for a moment more to memorize it, in case the situation became more than he could handle and he had to identify her later for the cops. If Usako only knew how often this scenario happened to him, she might not blow up so much when she caught sight of it.

The man made it to the check-out and resituated his bag on his shoulder before leaving the building and his latest admirer for his car. He promised to take Usako to a new shop today in another district. Hopefully it would just be the two of them and one of the senshi wouldn't muscle their way into a free ride.

His new admirer watched him from a distance, a small excited smile on her face. He didn't turn her away. That was a large step in the right direction. He saw her and he didn't reject her. Perfect. Truly perfect!


A/N: so how'd you like it? Just a day in the life of Mamoru and Usagi, but still necessary. They get introduced to the OCs through normal day activities (library/idol tracking) and where it takes off from there. Love how Mamoru's expanding his powers and senses here. I really wonder how many fangirls he has in the shadows and Usagi doesn't know it.

now for the questions: how do i get dreadlock fangirl and her pals introduced to Mamoru and make him start to connect with them? I can handle 'Washington' fine, but I am tapped on situations that aren't clique so I need ideas or I'll be going with one that I don't like. So ideas? I need to get that side figured out. Only need to know that she knows who he really is. That's all. I'm not giving out much more away.

And this is a sympathy question for readers/betas in general: ever had to read a story you were told all about by your friend/sibling, liked it, then was asked to edit it, and find out it was really badly written? Editing my sister's book and I've pulled my way up to chapter 4. If it were a fanfic, I would have dropped it partway through chap.2, good plot or no. She's older than me and, without reading my stuff, critiques my stories all the time when I tell them, so I thought she'd be a lot better. How do you get through the entire thing and not feel horrible tearing it apart? Plus, how do you get yourself to finish it? Haven't started #4 yet, and there's 14 chapters! So need support here.

enough rambling! Please comment and tell me what I can do to make it better or I'll be following an OC way too much and I don't wanna do that! No mystery then! and not near as much fun for you. There isn't supposed to be a love triangle, forced or otherwise (thank heavens!) so please no romantic suggestions. Hopefuly I'll get over this hurtle soon and give you the next chapter before the end of next month, and from there take off.