A/N: Written for the Senshi/Shitennou Mini Bang 2020. Thanks to the mods who set this up! You guys are awesome!
Huge thanks to my beta, NerysDax, for beta-ing the story, even though it's not her preferred fandom ;)! Huge thanks to ff9moonie for beta-ing chapters 1 and 2!
Huge, huge thanks to teamvanessacloud, for the beautiful artworks she'd done for the fic! You're awesome!
This story is sort of a mix and match of all Sailor Moon worlds (Crystal, manga, and 90's anime).
~-0-~
Chapter 1
"Hey, are you okay?"
He didn't immediately answer. Instead, he sat there in a daze though his mind vaguely registered his surroundings. It seemed like he was sitting on a grassy hill, with sparse newly-grown trees just a few meters away. He wasn't an expert in telling time from the position of the sun, but it seemed to be sometime between morning and noontime. Though his eyes were still a bit blurred, he could make out people a small distance away.
The person who'd spoken to him didn't press on. Instead, he took a seat beside him and waited for him to speak.
"Zen-san! Do you need help over there?"
"We're fine over here!" the young man—Zen—called back.
Jun didn't know how long it took, but when he spoke, the first words out of his mouth were, "What happened?"
His eyes flickered over, and they took in strawberry-blonde hair and eyes as green as the patch of grass he was sitting on top of.
Zen shrugged and pointed at him with the stick in his hand. "You might want to take off that coat of yours if you want to avoid a heat stroke."
That was when Jun Yoshida realized that Zen was right. The weather was much too warm for the down coat he was wearing, not to mention the layers and layers of clothing he had underneath.
"Do you remember what happened?" Zen asked, his intelligent green eyes peering at him.
Jun shook his head as he pulled off his coat and sweater absentmindedly. Images of snow and ice came to mind, but they made no sense to him.
Zen shrugged again as he played with the stick in his hands. "Normal, I suppose. You're not the first one to have short-term memory loss after coming out of the long sleep."
"The long sleep?" Jun asked, frowning.
The term caused a memory to flicker, but before Jun could confirm it with him, the young man spoke again.
"I suppose you don't remember we have a Queen and King now, do you?" Zen asked, raising an eyebrow.
The frown on Jun's face deepened, but he shook his head. Zen tilted his head to one side, waiting for Jun to explain himself.
"I remember," Jun replied. "But that's why ... I don't even understand why I'm still alive."
A sardonic smile appeared on Zen's face. "None of us do, to be honest."
Jun looked at him, surprised. "But … you woke up before I did. I thought you must be one of the people who'd retreated into the underground bunkers with supporters of the witch queen."
Though Jun wondered if "woke up" was the correct word. From what he remembered before he lost consciousness, he wasn't supposed to "wake up". But Jun supposed "woke up" was a better term than "coming back from the dead".
Zen shrugged again. "I suppose we're located closer to Crystal Tokyo."
The confusion must've shown on Jun's face, since the young man proceeded to explain.
"My family and I weren't the first ones to awaken. Apparently, other towns that were even closer to Crystal Tokyo woke up before we did. There's … rumors that … the Sailor Senshi are in the towns closest to the Crystal Tokyo to help."
Zen appeared uncomfortable in mentioning the Sailor Senshi, and to be fair, Jun couldn't blame him. From what he remembered, people who resisted the change, who rebelled against the witch queen either spoke about the Sailor Senshi with anger or indifference. Speaking about the Sailor Senshi doing good deeds wouldn't sit well for those who had been part of the rebellion. However, that wasn't the most important thing on his mind at the moment.
"Have you seen a little girl, about five years old?" Jun asked, worried. "She has short hair, up to about here."
He gestured to a bit below his shoulders before he trailed off, wondering if her hair would've gotten longer. He touched the back of his head to check and was surprised to find that his hair wasn't much longer than what it had been before he'd succumbed to the cold. His sister, Yua, had been ill with a fever, and though he knew it had been a risk, he had left the safety of their temporary home, hoping to find anyone, anything that could help her.
Before Zen could answer, Jun looked around, attempting to find the direction from which he had come from but to no avail. The landscape looked completely different without the layers of snow and ice. Instead, he just saw groups of trees here and there. Ruins of buildings stood defiantly amongst the green, as if to prove that they had witnessed and had gone through the wicked hand of Mother Nature.
"My group alone found plenty of children along the way, and even if you give me more details, I doubt I can point you to the correct safety center. Just in this city alone, there are over fifty temporary safety centers. The best way is to contact the local authorities, but right now, I doubt they have enough manpower to help you out until everything settles down a bit more," Zen replied. "Most of the world is just waking up after all."
His tone was far from sympathetic, but Jun knew that his words were logical. Besides that, there was also a strange feeling of trust Jun harnessed towards Zen, though this was the first time they'd met one another.
"She … had a fever. I'm worried that … that she might …"
Zen shrugged again. "I can't guarantee anything, but so far, I personally haven't seen any casualties. And hey, if we came out of something like this alive, I would assume that the little girl you're looking for must be alive as well."
"Zen-san!"
Zen looked towards the source of the voice and gave the woman who'd called a wave before turning back towards Jun.
"Gotta get back to work. You'll probably want to wait until everything settles down a bit before you search for that little girl you were talking about. My guess would be that she's fine." Zens eyes flickered for a moment before adding, "Judging from what I'd seen so far, the Queen would develop some kind of plan to help people look for their relatives anyway. She'd said something along the lines of … for those who hadn't gone into the bunkers to stay calm if we couldn't find our relatives." He tilted his head to one side and thought for a second before adding, "And if I were you, I'd help out with the rescue mission. After all, the sooner everything settles down, the easier it would be for you to find that little girl."
~-0-~
The world changed.
Jun supposed it wasn't all that surprising. What could one expect after an ice age? Or rather, the "Great Freeze", as the people called it nowadays.
The greatest difference was, perhaps, the politics, for a lack of a better word. Nobody would forget the battles and wars that had been fought after Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion took the throne, but one would find it difficult to find someone who would willingly speak about it. The opposition found it hard to speak of their concerns when the people who were helping the most were the Sailor Senshi. Everyday, there would be some new stories about how the guards of the new queen and king of the new Silver Millennium would extend a helping hand, even towards those who had once spoken loud and clear against being ruled. Whenever someone talked about the Sailor Senshi, they only had praises to sing.
Well, most people anyway.
Months after helping people settle into their new lives, Jun could only recall a couple of complaints about the Sailor Senshi, but there was one that particularly stood out.
"—out of here," Jun heard that day as he walked into the temporary apartment he was staying with Zen.
"I'm completely serious," a voice Jun recognized as a fellow volunteer rescuer answered.
"What are you talking about?" Jun asked as he closed the door behind him. "And hello, Shin-san."
"Hi, Jun-san," Shin greeted.
"Shin-san was just telling me about how someone actually had a run-in with the Sailor Senshi," Zen replied, jabbing a finger in the direction of their fellow volunteer rescuer.
Jun raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "I thought they were adamant about not getting into quarrels with civilians."
Zen shrugged.
"So what happened anyway?" Jun asked.
Regardless of whether this was true or not, it did make for interesting gossip.
Zen shrugged again. "Shin-san hadn't gotten to the details before you walked in."
They both looked towards the young man who looked ecstatic at the prospect of sharing news.
"You've both heard of Watanabe Naoto, haven't you?" Shin asked.
Jun furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Are you talking about the Watanabe Naoto?"
"The one who threatened to make a bridge to Crystal Tokyo with the bodies of authorities sent by Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion?" Zen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The same one," Shin answered.
"Did the Sailor Senshi have enough of his shit-talking mouth and beat him up?" Zen asked.
It wasn't new for the rumored loud-speaking giant of a man to speak clearly and derisively about anything the Queen and King did. Jun had even heard about people gambling in private in regards to when Naoto Watanabe would get arrested.
Shin laughed. "Not really, but close."
"How close?" Zen asked as he leaned back into the couch he was sitting on.
"Well, according to what I'd heard," Shin said, "the whole thing was pretty much a mess. Another authority was sent by the Queen to survey the south—"
"Another potential building block for the bridge to Crystal Tokyo," Zen quipped.
"The thing is, this time, it wasn't Watanabe who'd threatened to hurt the representative," Shin said, his eyes shining with humor.
Zen and Jun looked at him surprised.
"They say that the husband of the representative challenged Watanabe to a fight," Shin continued.
"The husband apparently has a death wish," Zen said, though his eyes lit up with curiosity and interest upon hearing this.
"Apparently. Not that I blame him though. The representative and Watanabe took a liking towards one another," Shin said.
"Did they know each other? Before?" Jun asked.
Shin shrugged. "Who knows? Would make sense though, since that might be the reason why the Queen decided to send the representative."
"I can't imagine Watanabe actually backing off because of old acquaintances though," Jun said with a frown as he rubbed his chin in thought.
"Well, if he liked her enough," Zen chimed in. "Love does weird things to a person."
"That's the regency romance side of you talking," Shin said, throwing a pillow from the couch at him.
Zen caught it with one hand and placed it behind his lower back. "Fine, for some people, sex does weird things to a person."
"She's married," Jun said as his frown deepened.
"You're saying it as if the Great Freeze eliminated all cheaters in the process. Natural selection doesn't work that way," Zen said. Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Would probably be a good thing if it did."
"But anyhow," Shin cut in, "the husband apparently got a black eye from their 'duel'."
"And the Sailors jumped in to his rescue?" Jun asked.
"Watanabe got tied up and is being hung on a tree," Shin confirmed.
"'Is' meaning he's still … er … hanging there?" Jun asked. "Nobody helped him out?"
"Well, people did try," Shin answered. "But apparently, the vines that are tying him to the tree are electrified and would zap anyone getting close to it."
Zen snorted. "Is Watanabe getting zapped, too?"
"Whenever someone tries to help him out, yeah," Shin replied, a corner of his lips tugging upwards in amusement.
It was a month later when Jun found out that the representative was Naru Umino, rumored to be a friend of the queen's since a young age. Apparently, her husband was also classmates with the queen and her Sailor Senshi.
The main culprit of tying Naoto Watanabe to a tree, one Sailor Jupiter, was also forbidden from visiting. Nobody knew if it was because Naoto might not survive a next visit from her or because Naoto kept ranting about how he would defeat her in their next battle.
~-0-~
Things had somewhat gone back to normal—well, as normal as things could be, after an ice age and the installment of a new government. People, as a whole, had accepted Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion as their liege, but there was still a small simmer of uncertainty beneath the façade of stability. Nonetheless, it was spring, and most, if not all, people had awoken. Even if someone did want to plan a revolution, they weren't going to do it right after finding out that those who would've died from the ice age were brought back to life by the queen's magic.
The landscape after the Freeze appeared to be much more different than anyone could have anticipated. Areas as small as towns needed to be rezoned. Searching for loved ones was a nightmare shared by most of those who had defied the Queen before the Freeze and made worse by whispers of karma by those who had once been part of the rebellion but had been swayed by the queen's subsequent acts of kindness.
And so, Jun's search for Yua had led him to Crystal Tokyo.
It sometimes made Jun wonder if it actually made sense, for something like missing family members to happen in a so-called utopia, especially when it was taking forever for people like him to find their loved ones.
"Well, technically, we just got out of an ice age. At least most families have houses over their heads and nobody is worried about having no place to live," Zen had said when Jun mentioned it. "And you'll probably need more than an army to convince those people living in underwater houses that they're not living in an utopia."
Zen had a point, of course. It was all over social media when the idea was first proposed by one Sailor Venus. The poll she ran got an overwhelming amount of yeses, much to the dismay of Sailor Mercury. The reason behind Sailor Mercury's disapproval was undisclosed, but Zen had surmised that it was because it would be too much work, with or without magic. Jun didn't know too much about architecture and home construction, so he took Zen's word for it.
He supposed the people did appear to be happy, even the ones who were against Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion before the Great Freeze. Or at least, it appeared that way.
That particular morning, Jun had arrived at the department specially created to help anyone who needed help to find lost people. Jun had seen the crystal building the department was housed in beforehand, courtesy of the social media he was a part of, but he couldn't help but stare in awe the moment he saw it in person.
"Impressive, isn't it?" an old stranger asked with a wide grin on his face. "Built up overnight. One night there were just shambles and the next day a beautiful crystal building."
Had Jun wanted to, he supposed he could've befriended the old man to get more information, but he wasn't there to get information, or at least, he was pretty certain the old man couldn't possibly offer him what he needed. Therefore, Jun gave him a polite smile instead.
However, he had no idea if it were because the old man didn't get the hint or if it were because he wasn't obvious enough, but the old man continued rattling on.
"It's another feat by our wonderful Queen, of course. I'm glad to see that people are starting to see her for the kind person she is. I mean, I probably would've missed out if my granddaughter didn't force me to get into one of the bunkers that were set up before the Earth froze over."
Jun contemplated the merits of simply walking away, but for some reason, he didn't move from the spot. Instead, he stood there, listening to what the old man had to say.
"It wasn't because I was against the Queen taking the throne, but I thought that I was much too old at that time, and the future was supposed to be for youngsters like yourself," the old man said . "Seeing things like this makes me glad that I allowed my granddaughter to push me around. At least I got to see everything happen without missing out on any of the details."
It was another information that the former rebels had to digest after "awakening from their sleep", and that was the fact that people could choose to accept their new lieges and live to an average of a thousand years old.
Zen had been fascinated with that revelation, babbling on and on about how it was only an "average" and how that could mean that there were people who lived way beyond that thousand years. Jun, however, wondered about the merits of living a long life if there weren't some kind of goal to it.
"So many young people travel around the world to visit the city to see these new crystal structures," the old man continued. "The bunkers were comfortable, but meeting new people has always been a joy of mine." He peered at Jun, causing the latter to subconsciously straighten his back. "Is it your first time here?"
"No … well, yes, I guess," Jun answered, running a hand through his hair. "I mean … I've been here before the Great Freeze, but not afterwards."
The old man smiled and nodded. "So you'll be staying for a while?"
Jun nodded before hesitantly adding, "Until I find my sister."
The old man nodded before realization appeared on his face.
While there were some people in the bunkers who had family members who'd opposed the Queen, tabs were kept, and they immediately found their lost relatives after the snow melted away.
Only the rebels needed help finding their relatives.
It was absolutely absurd since Jun didn't know this old man, but somehow, knowing that the old man knew him for what he was, that Jun was one of the rebels who'd stood up against the Queen, triggered a feeling of nausea in Jun.
You don't know him anyway.
He doesn't know your name and more than likely he would forget you by tomorrow.
This is the first time you've met him, so why do you care about what he thinks about you?
But the problem was he did care, and he didn't know why.
Seconds felt like minutes as Jun waited for the guillotine to drop, for some kind of judgement from the old man.
"It must be hard, not knowing where a loved one is," the old man finally said. He gave Jun another smile. "I don't know when you'll find your sister, but I hope you do soon. If you have time or after you find your sister, come visit me again."
A sense of relief washed over Jun, and he nodded in affirmation to the old man's words.
"I will," Jun promised.
At that moment, the old man's cell phone rang, and Jun watched as he took out the phone and spoke to the person on the other end. Meanwhile, Jun wondered if he should even ask for an address to find the old man, should he want to visit in the future. Would the old man find him suspicious? Would he think there was some kind of scheme up Jun's sleeves?
"—I'm almost there—Alright, alright, stop nagging—no, what do you mean by that? My own dear granddaughter, showing me this kind of distrust—"
The old man then bantered with the person, presumably his granddaughter for another five minutes before hanging up.
"So I'll see you again soon. I was supposed to meet with my granddaughter ten minutes ago," the old man explained.
"I'm sorry," Jun apologized with a bow.
The old man patted him on the shoulder before shuffling forwards. A sense of loss appeared in the pit of Jun's stomach, and he felt the urge to ask the old man just where to find him. Uncertainty and an absurd sense of longing warred inside him, and he was left staring at the back of the strange, old man.
At that moment, the old man turned around and gazed at Jun with a smile on his face. "I forgot to tell you! After you find your sister, come visit me at Hikawa Shrine. Even if you don't find her, you can still come be a volunteer!"
~-0-~
His cell phone rang the moment he walked out of the building, two hours later.
"So how did it go?" Zen's voice came from the other end.
"I've filed my case," Jun answered. He paused before he added, "Good timing. I just walked out of the building."
"That's because I'm right across the street from you, idiot," Zen answered.
Jun looked around and found Zen waving at him from inside the café he had previously seen the old man walk into. Rolling his eyes, he disconnected the call before crossing the street.
As he waited for the light to change, he wondered if he would see the old man again. He shook that thought away; it was two hours ago. He likely would've left already.
The door to the café opened with a soft jingle of the windchimes. The waitress behind the counter looked up from whatever she was doing, and a bright smile appeared on her face.
"Good day!" she called out with a friendly wave of her hand.
"Hi," he answered.
He maintained a friendly smile on his face as he took in the seemingly bubbly blonde in front of him. A less composed man would've been caught off guard by her, and it wasn't because she was beautiful. There was no question about her beauty, but there were plenty of people who could be considered "beautiful". No, there was something about her that brought people's attention over to her, as if there were something in her aura synonymous to that of a siren's song.
"How can I help you today? Are you here for one of our delicious cakes? Or are you here for a potted plant for your new apartment?" the blonde beauty asked with a smile.
Jun cleared his throat and tilted his head to one side. "Is it that obvious that I'm new in town?"
Something flashed through the blonde beauty's eyes. It passed by so quickly that any other person would've thought they'd imagined it, but Jun could almost always tell whether a person had the potential to be dangerous—Zen had even joked that it would be a rather useful technique if Jun ever wanted to be a bodyguard. Right now, his instinct was telling him that the beautiful woman standing in front of him could be potentially lethal should she be provoked.
Soon, the blonde was all smiles and charm again.
"Or maybe I just happen to know most people in town," she said, waving her hand in the air nonchalantly. "New society, new government, there's not much a common person can do except gossip, is there?"
"I suppose not," Jun replied, allowing a short laugh to escape his lips, knowing that he wasn't in immediate danger at the moment.
He allowed his eyes to rove over the store, taking in the homey decoration. Though the amount of plants inside the café felt a good measure over what most people would deem normal, it somehow didn't overwhelm the onlooker. The pastries on display were artforms in and of itself, and he reckoned that he would've been amazed by how delicately made each and every one of them was, if he weren't already surprised by the sheer amount.
"How many bakers do you have?" he asked, blinking.
The blonde giggled. "Just one." Endearment flashed through her eyes before she added, "We never have to worry about having extra by the end of the day. There's always someone ready to … make sure that nothing goes to waste."
They idly chatted as Jun picked out what he wanted before he walked through a small archway to the seating area where Zen was waiting for him.
"Here you go," the blonde chirped as she placed a cup of coffee and a slice of blueberry cake in front of him a moment later.
"Thank you," Jun replied with a bright smile.
The blonde tilted her head to one side, the same sweet smile on her face, as she gazed between Jun and Zen before she clicked her tongue. "Have all the good-looking men decided to just move into Crystal Tokyo recently?"
A short laugh left Jun's lips. "Maybe they've caught wind of a beautiful young lady working in a café around here."
"You have me wondering if you'll use that line on everyone who walks through that door, Minako-san," Zen spoke up, raising an eyebrow.
"Nonsense," the blonde—Minako—said with a pout. "Are you doubting my sight, Zen-san?"
A corner of Zen's lips curved upwards and he replied, "I think not. It's undeniable that I am a sight to behold after all."
They chatted for a couple of minutes before a voice from the back called for Minako. Jun and Zen watched her enter the kitchen before Jun spoke up again.
"So you two are already on a first-name basis?" he asked as he picked up the fork and took a bite out of the blueberry cake.
Zen shrugged. "We chatted for a bit before you walked in."
It took Jun a second to answer, as he marveled at how delicious the seemingly simple blueberry cake was.
Then, in a lower voice, he said, "There's more to her than she's letting on."
A grim smile appeared on Zen's face. "There's more to this whole café than what we see, too."
Jun looked at him in surprise.
Zen tilted his head towards the window in the direction of the building Jun had previously been in. Although he didn't say a word, Jun suddenly knew what he was talking about. This ability to almost communicate without speaking was something that had shocked Zen and Jun, especially during the early days of their acquaintance and friendship. It was almost as if they knew what the other person was thinking without needing spoken words, almost as if they'd worked with one another all their lives.
Only the rebels would need to have their family members found.
And building a café right across from that department would be a strategic place for spying and keeping track of who entered the building and who didn't.
A wry smile appeared on Jun's face.
"The cake is delicious though," Zen commented, taking a bite out of his peach cobbler.
A look of realization dawned on Jun's face. Zen must've found something that hinted that they were being watched and probably overheard.
The desire to chat dwindled with that knowledge, though he really doubted whether he found his sister or not would be useful information to whomever would be listening into their conversation. Despite all of this, it hardly took away from Jun's enjoyment of his piece of cake and cup of coffee.
Zen opened his mouth, but a loud bang stopped whatever he'd wanted to say. They shared a look and Jun turned his head to look backwards, just in time to see Minako coming out of the kitchen. A warning scowl and glare replaced the previous sweet and bright smile.
"Grab her, Ami-chan, and whatever you do, don't let her contact Rei-chan," Minako hissed at someone before she slammed the door shut.
She froze when she saw both Zen and Jun staring in her direction, but a millisecond later, the familiar sunny smile was back on her face.
"Sorry, our chef is having a bad day," she said, waving her hand towards the door.
A cordial smile slid onto Jun's face, and he gave her a nod as if he believed what she'd said.
"I assume you'll be in for a worse day if Rei-chan appears then," Zen said.
Minako laughed, and for the first time since Jun had met her, he thought he saw a crack in the façade she had been holding up.
"Let's just say, I really like this café and would rather not have to face the risk of having it burnt down," she answered.
For some reason, Jun didn't feel like she was joking.
~-0-~