The world came together before her eyes in a bursting explosion; a plethora of colours, dark and light, bright and dull.
X
She'd taken no notice of it the night before, too overwhelmed with everything that had occurred - the battle with Galaxia (chaos) and the farewell on the rooftop from Kakyuu and the starlights.
With all that had been going on, she'd neglected her body of the attention it sorely needed.
Prior to today, she'd sustained multiple injuries; a long deep gash across her stomach, thin arms battered and bruised - colours of purples and yellows marred the porcelain of the once unblemished, untouched skin. Small cuts were littered unevenly across her body, some deeper than others, some gorier and others oozed blood.
Though at some point she had been healed of all major injuries.
As she stood in front of her mirror though, it was evident she'd not been spared from all the pain, the large gash she'd received across her stomach she realised, was in fact still there. Except it was nothing but a fine thin line now, starting from just below her ribs to the skin just above her hip bone.
It was a stark contrast from its earlier appearance; blood pouring out, thick and crimson, down her legs, smeared across the pale plane of her stomach, certain areas drying and peeling turning into a messy crust. Others areas thick and clotting, and some simply wet, thick and sticky.
While the gash was nothing but a scar now, it was still fresh, it was still sensitive, and right now it was burning. Not only that but after waking up, she felt drained. Her muscles ached, her joints felt stiff, her whole body ached. It was like that one time she did cardio with Naru before - a few years ago now.
But like her mother used to tell her, 'nothing a hot bath can't fix, Usagi-chan'.
Pulling her top down, she looked away from the mirror, a rapping at the window drawing her attention. Clinging tightly to the frames was Luna, who appeared vexed.
Opening the window, Usagi swung to the side as Luna leapt in, straight on to the soft sheets of her bed.
"Usagi-chan!"
"Luna, where did you run off to last night?" Usagi laughed lightly, "One minute you were next to me and the next second you were gone!"
"Hmph," Luna sniffed, "Yes, well you seemed rather occupied."
Usagi blushed, her heart swelling with happiness, as she recalled the rather passionate kiss she had shared with Mamoru, in the light of the radiant full moon. She certainly hadn't noticed Luna creeping up behind. She laughed at the thought of what most likely would have been, an affronted Mau cat.
"Mhm! Happily so." she sighed contentedly, a dreamy look appearing on her face. "If only he were here right now...I didn't get to spend much time with him alone last night." Usagi spoke softly, her tone wistful.
"Good, then I'm right to assume nothing...too intimate occurred." Luna started, wiggling her tail.
"Luna!" Usagi squealed, face a blooming bright red as embarrassment overtook her, her companions insinuations a little much for the innocent girl to handle, without a handful of embarrassment.
"Definitely right then. And I went to talk to Setsuna. She mentioned you'd probably be feeling 'rather rough around the edges'. She gave me some salves. I'm quite curious about them, I don't know what they're made of and there clearly homemade. I'll just have to trust Setsuna on this...are you feeling sore?"
"NNGH, yes! Very, very sore. My whole body aches Luna-chan." Usagi moaned collapsing on her bed dramatically.
Luna screeched loudly, tail squished under the weight of Usagi's body.
"Usagi-chan! Get off of me!"
"Eep! I'm sorry Luna. Calm down, I'm not very heavy."
"That's what you think." Luna glowered, lifting her crushed tail before strutting off the bed.
"I'm not-" Usagi started.
"Here."
Usagi stopped, instead choosing to look at the two pots of salve Luna had pushed towards her.
"Ooh, they look so nice," Usagi said, examining a purplish salve, as well as the other one which was a peculiar olive green.
"My thoughts exactly," Luna smiled. "The green one is for any burns you may have sustained as well as to soothe all pains, specifically around joints."
"Thank God.. I thought I was going to be left to die silently over here," Usagi complained, theatrically fainting, with one hand sprawled across her forehead.
"Oh, Usagi...whatever am I going to do with you," Luna spoke fondly. She was extremely relieved to see her charge, even having gone through so much, especially this past year, was still bright and happy and full of joyous laughter.
"You could fetch me mama's Cosmo magazine?" Usagi asked, innocently.
"Usagi!" Luna gaped aghast, well aware of the magazines thorough love and sex section and Usagi's peculiar mind that always managed to come up with the strangest ideas and conclusions.
"Please…?" Usagi said, batting her lashes.
My goodness, this girl is ridiculous, Luna thought, watching as she fluttered her lashes. Instead, of the persuasive and alluring look she was going for she managed to look a tad demented.
Luna sighed. Only Usagi-chan.
"Just this once..."
xxx
Usagi moaned deeply.
She'd never felt so good before.
Digging her nail into the salve she easily scooped some out, lathering it on her left knee.
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
There it was.
Though when she'd applied it, it had been cold, now the salve had heated up, feeling hot, soothing and tingly all at once.
And though Luna hadn't mentioned what the purple salve was for, she assumed it was for the gash she'd received.
She applied it liberally to her stomach,
It tingles, but, that was just about it.
Standing up, she went downstairs, straight to the kitchen - she couldn't be bothered to take a bath anymore and the salves had pretty much eased any pain she had.
She was as usual home alone something that had become a recurring occurrence ever since she became Sailor Moon.
That wasn't to say her family wasn't home a lot, in fact, it was her, Usagi that barely spent time at home with her family. Too busy fighting and training, too busy shopping, and gossiping and studying with girls, constant sleepovers. Too busy chasing after Mamoru, dating Mamoru.
And she realised with a painful pang in her heart, that it wasn't only her family she'd managed to neglect over the years, but her old best friend Naru, so easily replaced. All of a sudden she replayed the times she'd last seen Naru and noticed for the first time the sadness in her eyes and the wistfulness on her face.
She was hit strongly with nostalgia. All the time she'd spent with her family as a little girl, all the times with Naru, the girls in her class, Umino and Motoki in the crown arcade.
It seemed as though that when she was constantly welcoming new people into her life, she somewhat(completely in some cases) neglected the people who had been in her life for a very long time, who had always been there.
She sighed, twirling a strand of golden hair around her pinky, before sifting through the fridge and coming across a half-eaten lemon pie. She indulges herself with a large slice. She nearly moans at the heavenly taste of it - it was clearly mama's homemade pie and not simply a shop bought one. It was quite hard to mimic mamas pie - not even Makoto managed to bake one quite as good.
The pie, sweet and citrusy had certainly brightened her up, yet lingering in the back of her mind were lost dreams and wishes.
She remembered a time when she'd pleaded every night to just have a normal life. A fresh start. With everyone, she cared about. She still did, well a fresh start that was, with everyone she cared about where she didn't have to hide so much from her family and friends. She long ago loosened her tight grasp on ideas of normality. That just wasn't her. She'd never be just average, just plain, just ordinary.
Just Usagi.
She ate another slice of lemon pie, idly flipping through the magazine Luna had given her before she departed once more; she blushes occasionally at some of the things she reads, at the intimate poses of the women and the pictures of gags and whips, yet most often than not she just flips through the magazine not really paying attention to the words, more interested and attracted to the colourful pictures and quizzes.
"Usagi-chan!"
Usagi jumped, startled. The magazine that had been in her grasp was now flung against the wall.
There before her, in all her glory stood the tall, Sailor Pluto.
"Pluto-san!" Usagi exclaimed.
"What brings you here?"
Pluto stared at her seriously, her stern maroon eyes narrowed slightly, as though they were assessing her.
"A while ago...two years ago, I believe...you made a wish."
"I did?" Usagi stated dumbly.
"Yes. Perhaps you'd like if I were to play the scene before you? To jog your memory."
Usagi nodded, she had no idea what Pluto was on about, but it was obviously somewhat important and relevant if she'd taken to visiting her.
xxx
Pluto watched as Usagi stared wide-eyed at the scene before her, her body tensing occasionally, her breathing at times became heavier and her eyes seemed to water slightly. Pluto could understand where the pain came from. To have old wounds, lost dreams placed before her to witness after so long, after she'd continuously tried to move on...was rather cruel. It was a good thing Pluto held a purpose for showing her the memory.
And though her princess had tried to hide it...she knew that even after all this time, she'd never been quite as happy as she made out to be.
The scene came to an end and Usagi turned to look at Pluto tears trailing down her face slowly, watching that memory - it had almost been as if she had been there again, fighting Beryl and Metallia and wishing so hard.
"Why…?"
She explained slowly and thoroughly to Usagi the consequences of her wish, the new opportunities it opened and how Fate couldn't resist the new ideas she'd been given. Fate did as Fate pleased, no matter how selfish or cruel or unfair her choices could sometimes be.
To Fate, everything was a game.
"You won't hold your memories from this life in your new life. Not until the time is right. You'll remember this very day vividly too when you regain your memories and when you do...talk to Luna. You'll live your new life in bliss, in a whole new world of magic. Where witches and wizards exist, vampires and werewolves live in the shadows, new branches of magic; potions and charms, turn wood into turtles, discover all sorts of nasty and beautiful creatures, like unicorns, threstrals, hippogriffs and the like. It'll be wonderful...at the start at least." her last words were muttered quietly, but Usagi still heard them.
"What?!" she cried in alarm.
"Nothing to worry about, princess." Pluto smiled mysteriously, she span her garnet rod with an elegant whirl and Usagi's eyes widened as the room was engulfed in shockingly suffocating, powerful, ancient magic.
"WHA-"
X
Ikuko smiled, tears of joy forming as she looked down at the flushing baby in her arms.
"She's beautiful…" her husband whispered in awe beside her.
So long they had yearned for a child...and finally after all these years of trying they'd been blessed.
"Have you come up with a name?" asked the mediwitch gently.
They'd been unable to come up with a female name, yet at this very moment…
"Usagi."
"Usagi?" Kenji questioned.
"Huh. what do you know, it's perfect...our precious little bunny."
She beamed at him.
They took her home the next morning after signing multiple papers and resting.
xxx
"Usagi! Usagi! Come down this instant young lady." screamed Ikuko. Honestly, how did she manage to give birth to such a cheeky little menace? This must've been how Molly Weasley felt when she gave birth to Fred and George.
"Mama…" called a quiet, sleepy voice.
Ikuko turned to look at her darling little boy, Shingo. She smiled sweetly.
"Shingo, my good little boy...you go wait at the table while I go wake your sister up, alright sweetie pie." she said, pinching his cheeks and placing a kiss upon each afterwards.
"Mhmm," he mumbled.
Amused, Ikuko called the house elf knowing her little boy would probably fall asleep before getting to the dining room.
"Mipsy!"
A pop sounded throughout the room and a haggard-looking house elf appeared.
"Hows can Mipsy be helpin' you, Mistress Takashi?"
"Take Shingo outside to the conservatory dining table, and please make him some fresh juice."
"Mipsy be doing as good Mistress Takashi says."
Taking hold of her young Master's hand she apparated them to the dining area in the conservatory.
The table was stacked with steamed rice, grilled fish, miso soup, nori, Japanese pickles, fermented soybeans, green salads, thick slices of toast and eggs as well as some plum blossoms and persimmons.
A slightly fancier traditional Japanese breakfast fit for a family of an ancient, noble pureblood line.
xxx
Usagi grumbled to herself, wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets and surrounded by a mass of fluffy, luxurious feather pillows. The sun peeked through her cream curtains, bright and blinding, setting of a mirage of colours as it hit the crystal words embedded into the wall above her bed, 'Usagi Serenity…'. Her first and middle name.
Tiffi her house elf had just informed her about the time and her mothers wake up call, which she could hear clearly now as she was awake.
Wiping the drool off her chin, she struggled to untangle herself from the mass of blankets she'd cocooned herself in, and instead managed to roll her body towards the end of her bed.
"Tiffi!" she muttered, speech stifled by the fabric caught in her mouth.
A loud pop resounded throughout the room before a young female house elf appeared, looking very energetic. She gazed upon Usagi with fond exasperation, "Silly Mistress." she giggled.
A snap of her fingers and her young Mistress was free.
"Thanks, Tiffi." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.
Tiffi bowed before promptly leaving the room.
This was a daily occurrence.
Usagi huffed grumpily pulling the covers from her bed aside and stepping out into the wide expanse of her lovingly and tastefully decorated room littered prettily with flowers and intricate designs. She breathed in feeling a little better as she inhaled the sweet, spicy aroma of cinnamon and rose
The eight-year-old sighed as she lazily combed her long hair, dumping her long locks into a sloppy somewhat presentable bun. She freshened up in the bathroom, before running down the long cascading staircase that seemingly went on forever. She ran into her mother's room, where her mother stood impatiently.
"Usagi! There you are!" she cried.
"Mama!" the girl giggled happily, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist clumsily.
"Silly girl, I told you to go to sleep earlier, I only have a little bit of time to make you look presentable now."
Usagi frowned at her mother's displeased tone.
"Not to worry though bunny," she said softly. "Now did you brush your teeth? Wash your face?"
Usagi nodded.
"Good girl."
Her mama rubbed some nice smelling cream on her face, and put a little bit of pink, glittery gloss on her lips, she combed her hair and tied the top half into a bun, letting the rest of it lay freely across her back in soft curls. She slipped a light pink dress onto Usagi that went just above her knees, the top half of it decorated with lace. No frills though. Never frills. Her mama hated them; she thought they looked tacky and gross. That and because pink, lace and frills reminded her too much of that awful Umbridge, whoever that was.
"Mama, what are we doing today?" she asked with childlike curiosity.
"Mama made some friends the other day. When I and your father went to Britain the other day to sort some business out, I met a lovely family. They're called the Weasley's."
"The Weasley's?" Usagi said in an excited voice, she didn't know many people her age or have many friends for that matter yet as her father's manor - the most ancient and noble house of Takashi was located in a secluded area in Japan surrounded by lots of lush greenery and cherry blossoms. She hoped one of them was her age.
"Yes Usagi, Mr and Mrs Weasley have seven kids, they have a little boy called Ronald who is your age and also a little girl called Ginevra who's a year younger than you. I expect you to be on your best behaviour." Ikuko finished sternly.
"Don't worry mama, I'll be on my best behaviour!" Usagi squealed, she couldn't wait to meet the Weasley's.
"Just keep in mind dear that the Weasleys are very different from us. They're British and quite poor, they're nowhere near as wealthy as we are. But that - none of that matters okay darling? Remember that. Never judge anyone on what they don't have."
"Ummm...okay?"
"Good now come on, eat some breakfast quickly, then we'll leave."
X
A little dry, sorry. I have a poll up for this story about who Usagi should be paired with. So far Tom Riddle is winning, though Harry and Haruka aren't too far behind.
Would love to know what you liked, thanks for reading xx
(next chapter: usagi meets the weasleys and the lovegoods, we take a peak at harry's life, skip a few years briefly because i wanna get to writing about hogwarts soon and finally shopping for Hogwarts - so a long chapter.)