Chapter Two: Never Wake A Sleeping Sailor V, Artemis!
"Minako," a deep voice rumbled in the distant corner of his brain. Something wet flicked against his hand and he lazily swatted it away. "Mina!" the voice persisted as another nudge poked at his body, this time a lot firmer. "You'll be late for school." The guardian cat Artemis turned away in disgust and muttered under his breath. "She's starting to get as bad as Usagi. I wonder how Luna manages to do this every single day."
Turning over the bed, Sanosuke Sagara pressed his head against the soft pillow. In his semi-conscious mind, he could smell faint traces of delicate perfume and he smiled inspite of himself. I'm dreaming, he thought to himself. I'm dreaming of that kitsune (fox) again. She probably smells good. He sighed once again and sunk deeper into the pillow. He could faintly hear someone gently moving around the room and shrugged it off as part of his dream. Yet, there was something nagging in the back of his mind that was willing him to wake.
"Sleep, more sleep," he muttered as he refused to give in to consciousness just yet. Maybe he could dream of how Megumi would look with just --
"Mina, you'll be late for school." An unfamiliar voice interrupted his thinking and Sano shook his head to clear it. I'm hearing things in my dreams. Must have been really good quality sake. Damn, I've to remember what place I went to last night. Maybe Katsu knows –
He felt something brush against his arm and he flinched slightly. That definitely felt real, he thought as he cautiously opened one eye. A white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead stared back at him, unblinkingly. Sano frowned as he stared back at the cat. "How did you get in here, neko-chan?" he asked as he patted Artemis on the head and scratched underneath his chin.
"You're late for school," Artemis informed him, matter-of-factly, and Sano immediately shot up from his prone position. He stared at the cat for a minute as it returned his gaze. Artemis cocked his head to one side as if waiting for him to react or respond. "Crap!" He cursed loudly.
"That cat spoke to me. No, that's impossible. Cats can't talk. This is definitely part of my dream. I'm still dreaming." Sano started talking in a rush as he stared at the white cat. "I must be dreaming this. I'll kill whoever gave me that sake last night."
Artemis jumped on the bed and walked closer to him. "Mina, are you okay? You don't seem like yourself today." The cat almost got next to his knee when Sano bolted from the bed. "Ah, it's still talking."
Sano yelped as he got off the bed. He paused for a moment as he took in his surroundings. Strange looking things were littered around the room. There was a table with lots of little stuff on it, clothes on the floor and some books that were peeking underneath the table. "I'm still dreaming. I have to wake up." He pinched his arm to rouse himself from sleep. He let out a yelp as the pain registered in his mind.
"Okay, that hurt." Sano muttered as he rubbed his arm before realizing something else. "So I am awake, wait –"
His hand went to his throat and his eyes widened in surprise. "My voice! What happened to my voice?" Feeling the smoothness of his neck and throat, he began to panic. "What's happening to me?" Frantically, his hand went further up his head, every second of discovery serving to heighten his panic.
No stubble. No bandanna. He made a mental checklist of the things he was missing until he got to the top of his head and he let out a piercing shriek. "MY HAIR! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME HAPPENED TO MY HAIR?"
At about this time, Artemis jumped down from the bed and walked towards a bewildered Sano. "Mina, what's wrong?" Sano's eyes widened and then narrowed as he scooped up Artemis and proceeded to manhandle the cat. "YOU! You did this to me! What did you do to me?"
He shook Artemis vigorously and the cat struggled to break free of Mina's iron grip. A strategically placed claw on Mina's arm loosened the grip and Artemis was able to jump a few feet away. He carefully watched as Mina followed him closely with a murderous look on her face, still shouting and cursing at him. For a second, Artemis suspected that something had possessed his young charge during the night and now has awakened.
He decided to give it one last chance before he ran out the window. "Mina!" Artemis shouted. "It's me, Artemis. Don't you recognize me?" Mina slowly advanced on the cat as he slowly racked his brain, trying to figure out what would make Mina snap out of her mad frenzy. Still, he hoped that he could figure out what was wrong with his young charge before she injured herself.
As Sano took another step towards the bewildered cat, he caught a reflection from the corner of his eye. Turning around to see what it was, he felt his mouth go dry and he stopped in his tracks. His jaw dropped in surprise as he stared at the person in the mirror. Disbelief was written on his face as he stood in front of the mirror. He frowned and the reflection frowned back at him. He took a step and it took a step along with him. He reached out and touched the top of his head as he noted the reflection did the same.
Slowly, he sank to the floor in his orange pajama set and the energy to fight left him. Artemis observed Mina's reaction at seeing her reflection and his frown deepened. Sano stared mournfully at the reflection as the blonde hair pooled at her feet. My feet, he reminded himself as he gingerly touched one of his toes. He almost felt like crying as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Not only was he back to being fifteen years old but that he was a girl!
2.2 Staring Off Into Space Usually Leads To Trouble
"Do you think he's okay?" Tsubame Sanjou, the timid waitress from everyone's favorite restaurant – Akabeko – whispered to her employer. "He's just sitting there staring out into space. He hasn't even demanded service. Just went right in and sat down without saying anything." They both stared at the young man that seemed to be huddled in the darkest corner of their restaurant. His black hair fell over his eyes and he was staring off into space intently, oblivious to the stares and whispers that surrounded him.
Tae Sekihara, proprietor of said restaurant, nodded in agreement. "Maybe he got into a fight with Takani-sensei and she went too far with the insults." She always loved a good gossip but Tae couldn't help but feel sorry for the young man right now. The woman's eyebrows furrowed in question as she observed the expression on the man's face – so obviously confused and clearly distressed about something. Sure, he ate in the restaurant without paying a lot more times than she could count but he was also a good man that would never hesitate to defend the defenseless. She could recall countless times when he would help around the Akabeko when there was trouble. With that thought, she straightened up and marched towards Sanosuke Sagara's table.
"I'm a boy, no, correction, I'm a man." Mina whispered to herself as she sat at the darkest corner of the restaurant. She had no idea how long she had been roaming the city when she stumbled into the Akabeko. She wasn't even sure why she came into this particular restaurant when she had passed others along the road from where she woke up. "I know I'm Minako Aino, Sailor Venus." She clenched her fist, now currently covered in bandages. Seeing the bandages made her think of what she was currently wearing and a slight blush rose to her cheeks. It wasn't strange that she wore pants, but what was in those pants made her blush harder. She clutched at the front of her jacket, a little too self-consciously, as if to hide what was presently absent from her body.
"Argh, why did I have to end up being a man?" She murmured a little louder than she had intended and drew a startled gasp from a nearby presence. Mina turned around and noticed a woman wearing an apron and carrying a tray. The woman's attempt at concealing her surprise caused Mina to smirk and she politely nodded in her direction.
"Ano, Sagara-san?" Tae spoke as Mina looked at her. Even after their months of friendship, she still had a hard time speaking her mind towards the brash young man. Tae fidgeted with her tray before asking him a question. "Are you okay?" The question took Mina by surprise and she hesitated before replying.
"Um, yeah. I'm just," Not really who you think I am. I'm a 15-year old girl trapped in this body and I want to get the hell out of it. A hundred other similar phrases ran through her brain before she settled for the least shocking one. "I'm a little out of it, I guess." She finished lamely as she looked back on his bandaged hands. Her bandaged hands, she mentally corrected herself. This is going to be confusing, Mina sighed as she waited for the woman to go away.
"I know that we aren't really that close but," Tae gave him a critical look before continuing. "But if you are having problems, Sagara-san. You know you can always come to me for help." Tae offered as she looked at him again. She noticed the way his back had straightened from her comments and she mistook for something else. Mina felt a little alarmed by the way she had noticed that this person she was behaving was acting a little out of character. How much more obvious would it be if Sagara's friends were around? Worse yet, what if the same person is in my body right now?
Bile started to rise in her throat at the thought of her friends. "Or you can talk to your other friends like Himura-san." Tae finished shortly, a little hurt by Sanosuke's reaction to her suggestion to confide in her. "Or perhaps Takani-sensei?"
"Takani-sensei?" Mina echoed the last name. It sounded familiar, like she knew the person but couldn't quite remember the details of their acquaintance. Maybe this Takani-sensei could help her figure out what's going on, Mina thought as a smile appeared on her face. He sounds like a doctor or someone that wouldn't be too shocked by what she was about to tell him. And the good thing about it is that this person was a friend. "Takani-sensei." She said it more firmly this time enjoying the deep rumble of the voice in her throat. The name rolled off her tongue softly and Tae watched as Sanosuke grin and stood up to make his way towards the door.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned to Tae again. "Sorry," he smiled almost sheepishly. "Where can I find Takani-sensei again?"
^^^^^^^
Author's Notes: So this is obviously an alternate universe. I do not own Sailor Moon nor do I own Rurouni Kenshin for that matter. What I do own is an Eternal Sailor Moon doll (complete with scepter) and a part of my sanity. No money is being made out of this whole thing. If there is, then I'm obviously not seeing any of it. You will see a lot of out of character moments (since it is an alternate universe) but that's what I'm aiming for here.
And that's how Sano became Sailor Venus – or Sailor Zanza? Did someone choke while reading that? BTW, for some reason the last part of this story did not upload properly and so only the first half of chapter two was seen. I hope that this sub-chapter helped a little bit in assuaging fears of Sano's emasculation by becoming Sailor V. They will improve each other over time, so for now this is how its going to be.
Next chapter: Revelations