Pre-Notes: Sup gang! It's been a while, I know, but I have not been procrastinating like I'm sure most of you are probably thinking. I've been working on a synopsis for the story, so I could have something a bit more solid to work with rather than just dream it up as I go. So far I have up to Chapter 7 planned out and am expanding the synopsis as I go. The story is shaping out pretty well so far in my honest opinion. Right now my biggest struggle is around chapter 5 and 6, which is more or less where I'm planning on introducing the rest of the Neo Senshi. I'll have it worked out soon, I'm sure. In any case, here's the third chapter, enjoy!
"Xxx" is talking.
'Xxx' is thinking.
Xxx is writing and/or dream sequences.
Xxx is typed text.
Chapter 03: Caught
'Wow, she was a cutie!' I thought as I waited for the train to reach the last station. 'I hope that wasn't the last time I see her again.' As far as I can remember I can't quite tell whether I had ever seen a cuter expression on anyone's face before. The way she acted was almost a mix between minx, shy school girl, and close friend all rolled up in one. 'Ah well, no sense in scaring her off by hitting on her. I'll try to be a friend if I ever see her again, flirting can come later if she's up to it.' I giggle at the thought of 'Shy School Girl Hotaru' trying to flirt with her.
*Ping!* "Now approaching North Tokyo Station, I repeat, now approaching North Tokyo Station. This will be our last stop, please gather all of your personal belongings before exiting the train. On behalf of us all, thank you for riding the Tokyo Underground, and have a nice day." Seems like my stop was coming up! I get up and stretch a bit before I grab my bags and head to the door.
As soon as the doors open and I step off I immediately start looking around. I had finished the text message that I had started before bumping into Hotaru and was hopeful that the girls beat me to the station. I really did not want to be waiting around for too long, we still need to go find an apartment to stay at for the next few months, not to mention find a mall for furnishing the place.
"Rini-chan!" Looks like Rikku found me. I brace myself for impact just in time to catch her as she tries to strangle me to death with both arms and legs. I send a pleading look at Lina but she just stands there, looking amused. Damn traitor…
"What's with the hair, Rini-chan? Not that it doesn't look kawaii but you never really wore it out of your pony tail before," said Rikku, her voice in awe as she ran her fingers through one of my pigtails.
I managed to pry Rikku off of me just in time to notice the crowd staring at the commotion, so I grabbed her by the hand and lead my girls away from the Underground and into the relative safety of the anonymity that's Tokyo. To this day I swear that Crystal Tokyo is the most crowded city in the world, no matter what part of the city you're at. "I changed it out of necessity Rikku-chan, I needed to do at least that much to look a little different from the posters that they had up in the Underground." What WAS up with those posters, anyway? That was the first time I had ever seen someone actively look for us to the point of posting posters for the general public. I shuddered at the thought, and instead of dwelling on it further, I decided to just change the subject. "So, do we have a general location of where we're going to stay at, Lina-chan?" I asked, eager to get the ball rolling. Not to mention the fact that it would soon get dark.
She nodded her head and took the lead, we walked down a few blocks west of the Underground entrance before cutting a right. She pointed towards a few buildings down the blocks, apartment complexes by the looks of it. I walked down the street, looking at the different complexes before my eyes set on one of them. It was a bit smaller than the rest, only five stories high, and looked only slightly more run down than the other ones but it still seemed to be in pretty good condition.
"This is the one," I said. "From the looks of things, it seems to be the cheapest out of the lot here. Lets go in and ask, and if it's in bad condition inside or if the rent is too much then we'll try one of the other buildings."
We walked into the main office building and took a look around. It didn't seem too bad, the paint wasn't pealing off the walls at least. There were desks at the different corners of the room and a couple of adjacent rooms off to the far side, probably meeting rooms of some sort. A short while later a woman walked out of one of the adjacent offices and looked towards us. "Good evening ladies, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes please," I said, trying to sound as polite as possible. "My sisters and I are looking for rooms. We wish to inquire as to how much you charge for rent."
"Well, that would depend on the different rooms. We have 3 styles of rooms, the studio, the 1 bedroom, and the 2 bedroom models. I can show you the lay-out for all three styles if you wish. Typical rent is 15,000 yen for the studios, 20,000 yen for the 1 bedroom models, and 25,000 yen for the 2 bedroom models."
'Wow…' was all I thought. "Can you give us a second to discuss things?" "Sure, take all the time you need," she responded with a warm smile. "I'll be over here at my desk when you finish."
We huddled up as the lady went over to her desk to work on some paperwork. "What do you think Lina?" I said in a low voice, not quite a whisper but low enough to stay private. "I the rent for our 3 bedroom was about 27,000 yen, wasn't it?"
I saw her scribble down on her little notebook for a few seconds before she handed it to me to read. It's not a bad deal at all. If we can make due with the studios, we'll be able to rent one room for each of us with only minor adjustments to our account. I might wind up having to hack out another account or two if we need additional funds, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue so long as I keep things low-key. We might even be able to get studios for Raina and Miki if they decide to join us later this summer.
Now that caught my attention. Our own apartments? "Are you sure you can do this without getting caught though? You were the one who always said that you can only move around so much money without anyone inside the system catching on," I asked. Ho-boy, I did it now. Lina NEVER gives me the stink eye. Guess I was looking for it though, if there's one thing Lina takes more seriously than anything in the world, it's her skills as a computer hacker.
Making up my mind, I went up to the lady. She looked up and smiled her 'I want your business' smile and asked, "Have your sisters and you reached a decision?"
"Yes, my sisters and I decided that we'll go ahead with 3 studios if you have them available, preferably either close to or next to each other," I said.
"As a matter of fact, we have 3 available on the fifth floor of this building. I can show you now if you want."
The tour of the rooms didn't take too long since they were basically the same model. It basically consisted of a room with a kitchen attached to it, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom. All three of them had balconies too, with the city outskirts in view.
Once we went back down to the office, we gave the down-payment and security deposit for the three rooms. The lady explained that they had their own private parking spaces for their rooms in the adjacent parking garage. I had absolutely no idea that places like these even HAD their own parking garages. Apparently, each floor of the parking garage coincided with the floor of our rooms, and we each had 4 parking spots per room - 2 private parking spaces, and two visitor parking spaces. Knowing how expensive parking in Crystal Tokyo can be, I can see why this apartment complex made money. Cheap rooms plus decent parking made for some happy tenants so long as things were in order. I just hope I don't wind up with a leaky faucet or some other inconvenience.
We get our keys and go to our rooms to check them out. They're in good condition, surprisingly enough. They both came furnished with basic furniture, they all had a long sofa-bed, a microwave, and a fridge. After confirming that they had the same, I told the girls to get a good nights rest, that tomorrow we were gonna go out to the nearest mall to finish furnishing the rooms. As I sat down that night, I decided that I should record the day in my Diary. It wasn't everyday you found yourself a jewel of a place like this.
I open my Diary and find the place where I left off from this morning, reading over what I had written about the strange dream I had had. Strange, I had almost forgotten about it.
Dear Diary,
It's now 8:56pm, and I'm sitting in my new room in North Crystal Tokyo. It's a studio apartment, so it has no rooms but it came with its own sofa-bed and everything, a walk-in closet, and a balcony with an awesome view of the city. I even have my own kitchen! I might wind up trying to convince Lina to see if we can just let the old apartment go and stay here. As much as I'm tied to the old apartment because of the sentimental value it holds for us, this set-up is just too good to let slip up. The rent is tons cheaper here, to the point where Lina can actually hack open a bank account for each of us in addition to the one that we have right now. We'll have to play it careful though, we really don't want to get caught up with the law over this, or all of this will have been for nothing. I'm sure Lina can cover our tracks well enough, but I still get nervous whenever she has to do any kind of hacking, it almost seems too easy for her how she can get away with things that would put a normal person in jail for life.
I also forgot to mention my new friend too! I had wandered up from the station to try to lay low and managed to find a hair salon nearby. I decided to go for a new hairstyle to try to hide my more obvious looks from the idiot cops, so I went in. When I came out I bumped into her making my way back to the station. Her name is Hotaru, and she has got to be the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. She works at the Crystal Palace, I'm guessing as some sort of maid or servant from the looks of things. If I wasn't concerned about turning her away I would have probably flirted her into the ground! She seemed so shy though, I don't know if that's just how she is or if she's just that way around me. She said that she lives in North Tokyo though, so I'm hoping that I'll see her again sometime. Maybe we'll run into each other at the mall? Anyway, more about her, she's about my height, neck-long black hair, and the most intense set of purple eyes. I'm almost afraid to look into them for fear of loosing myself in their intensity. If she turns out to be like me, I'm so totally gonna go for it. Hehe, down girl! Hotaru also has the cutest little kitten I've ever seen. Her name is Diana, and she's has the cutest little crescent moon on her forehead. I'm guessing she's a palace cat, like the one that the Queen and her head of security have. Rumor has it that they can even talk!
Anyway, that was my day. Wow, I'm writing more and more in you now-a-days it seems! I guess this will be as good a place as any to end this entry. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be as 'eventful' as today was, though I guess some good DID come out of it.
Love,
Basara Serena
I closed my Diary and pulled out the sofa mattress from the sofa. As I laid down, I silently wondered if I'd have any more strange dreams that night. Hopefully not, I need some actual sleep tonight damnit!
0-0-0-0
The forest was spinning. A spiral of multicolored lights danced around her, reflecting off of the surface of the small lake as she levitated a bit off the floor. She seemed to be in a trance of sorts, her eyes glowing an iridescent pink. She looked familiar, too, her hairstyle is almost the same as the one I had gotten earlier, only her hair was much longer than mines. I start walking towards her, but stop suddenly as she quickly turns to face me. I stare at her in shock. It's almost like I was looking into a mirror! I was looking at myself!
"Soon, Rini," she said to me. "You will be needed soon. You need to awaken your powers."
I was about to ask what 'powers' she was talking about when the dancing lights reached their climax and her body started to fade along with the forest and the lake.
'So… this is what it feels like to die…'
'Rini…'
I wake up with a start, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. I sit up in my bed, trying to slow down my beating heart. That last dream was way more intense than it had ever been. It was crystal clear, and I could remember every single part of it. The absolute worst part of it though was that the mystery voice turned out to be either myself or someone who looks so alike to me that she could be my twin.
'She said I needed to awaken my powers…' I thought as I swung myself over the edge of the bed and just sat there, shivering from shock and from the cold of the apartment. 'What the hell did she mean by THAT!' I thought back, to another strange happening that had occurred to me, one that I REALLY didn't like to visit. 'Could she probably be referring to the Monsters? I still don't understand what completely happened with me down there, and a lot of it is still blocked out…'
I reach over to my phone and look for the time. '4am… too damn early to be awake…' I get up, chug down a glass of water, and go back to bed. Hopefully, the rest of the evening won't be so eventful.
I lay back down and try to sleep, but I just can't find a comfortable position. I keep tossing and turning Finally, I get frustrated and, taking my losses, I get out of bed. I strip myself of my pj's and my panties and hop into the small shower. I let it run cold and let the freezing water help to wake up the rest of my mind and body.
A while later I'm outside on the balcony watching the sunrise while sipping a warm cup of tea. I can't help but wonder as the sky starts to glow with the ethereal colors of the sun if the dream I had earlier today was a premonition as to how the day was going to go. I shudder at the thought. I just want some peace and quiet, maybe go do some shopping to finish furnishing my place.
A bit after the sun had arisen I go back inside and go through my bag, trying to find what to wear for today. After a few minutes I settled for a pair of cargo pants and a black shirt with graffiti all over it. I look at my cell phone and see that it's only 8 in the morning. I have about an hour before all the good shops are open, so I decide to head out and find myself some breakfast. I go ahead and grab my grey denim jacket and step out of my apartment and start heading for the elevator while texting Lina to let her know that I was out.
Lina, gone out to eat, meet mall noon 4 sho-
"OOMPH!!!" and next thing I know I'm on the ground with a sore bum and a bump forming on my head. "Itaii…"
"You sure like bumping into people it seems," grumbled the person across from me. I look over and am simply astonished at who it was.
"Ho-Hotaru-chan?! What are you doing here?" I pause. "You didn't follow me here, did you?" I asked her, wiggling my eyebrows at her. She lets out a small giggle and a little grin.
"As a matter of fact, I live here," she replied. My jaw literally dropped when I heard this.
"Are you kidding?! I just moved here yesterday!" I exclaimed, and this time it was her turn to raise the eyebrows.
"No way! What room are you in?"
"5-C, and two of my sisters are next to me in 5-A and 5-B," I explained as I got up and dusted myself off.
"Oh wow, we're practically neighbors then, I live in 5-F, the last room on this floor," she said with a smile. "I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then," she said.
Now I'm really excited, my new friend turns out to be my neighbor, who'd thought of that.
"Well, enough with the gushy girly stuff, we'll have enough of that when I introduce you to the other girls. Oh, and fair warning, a couple of them are a bit weird, if not outright insane," I tell her with a maniacal gleam in my eyes.
"I see…" she mumbles with a huge sweat drop coming from the back of her head.
"I'm actually heading to the mall right now for some breakfast and to do some shopping for my apartment. You want to come?" I asked, employing liberal use of the 'Puppy Dog Eyes' technique to good effect. I can see her resistance crumbling away slowly.
"Eh… I don't know Rini-chan, I don't normally go out all that often…"
"Even more reason for you to come then! It's settled then, we're going shopping!" I exclaimed and grabbed her arm. We were off!
0-0-0-0
Four hours and what seems like forty stores later, I still haven't found much in terms of decoration. Hotaru was decent help for the little knick-knacks that we found, but her expertise revolved more around lamps and lighting, as I had later found out.
"Looks like we'll have to wait for Lina-chan to come and help out," I mumbled as I sat down on a bench to the side of our latest store.
"I don't think I've ever been to so many stores in such a shot amount of time," mumbled Hotaru next to me.
"Don't worry Hotaru-chan, after shopping around with Miki-chan and Rikku-chan you'll get used to it really fast, they're ten times worse than me," I said with an evil grin. Hotaru's face became even paler than normal at the thought of a faster paced shopping experience. "Oh, don't give me that look Hotaru-chan, shopping with my sisters is a right-of-passage in and of itself. We all had to go through with it at least once in our lifetime," I added, my grin getting even wider as Hotaru started looking around nervously.
Finally I couldn't hold it in any longer and started cracking up. Hotaru finally realizes what's going on and starts glaring at me. I try and finally succeed at calming myself down. "Sorry Hotaru, I just couldn't help myself, the look on your face was just priceless," I said, a fresh batch of giggles.
"Shut it you," she growled, a slight smile on her face now. "Lets grab something to eat, I'm starving!"
I look at my phone and notice that it's passed noon already. "Oh wow, is that the time?! No wonder I'm so hungry, with all the stores we've hit today we skipped breakfast!"
"All the more reason to make way for the food court then," said Hotaru as she got up. "C'mon, it'll be my treat, they have some excellent okonomiyaki here."
She had me at 'my treat'.
5 minutes later we're digging into a huge pork okonomiyaki each. She wasn't kidding, this stuff is really good! We're finished a few minutes later and for the next few minutes we have some idle chat over some shakes.
"So, what exactly do you do at the palace? I'm kinda curious since I've never actually met anyone that works there," I ask.
Hotaru pauses as she contemplates the question. 'That's weird, it's almost as if she's trying to decide what to tell me and how much to say, is her position in that place that important?' I wonder.
Finally, she answers. "I actually can't say much about what I do, since most of it is classified information, but I can say that I work in close proximity to a lot of high officials. I've even had to work with the Queen's Sailor Senshi a few times."
"I see… that must be interesting," I said with a neutral tone. To be honest, I REALLY don't like the Queen and her cohorts, they seem to be nothing but a bunch of petty politicians and those Senshi have way to much power for their own good, not that they use it the way they should. During the invasion of the planet Nemesis a few years back, the Senshi concentrated on protecting the center of Crystal Tokyo with a massive shield, but left the outskirts of the city to fend for themselves. The results divided the city into 5 separate sections - North, South, East, West, and Central. North and South Tokyo are more or less caught up with Central Tokyo as far as reparations and repopulation goes, and East Tokyo was making good progress. West Tokyo, though, took it the worst, and is now a crime ridden project overrun with gangs and tormented with monster attacks on an almost weekly basis. Attempts at reconstruction in that part of the city have been all but abandoned because of the hostility, and the worst part was that the Queen and her Senshi refused to do anything about it other than attempt to contain the problem, saying some bullshit about not wanting to divide their forces. I say bullshit, because with 7 Sailor Senshi they could cover plenty of ground and still have Senshi left-over!
I was about to comment on just that when all of a sudden a chill crept up my spine. My eyes narrowed: someone was watching us. I looked around and, for the first time in a very long time, I felt fear. The two cops that where at my school earlier this week on my last day where standing right behind me.
"Basara Serena," said one cop. "We need you to come with us."
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes : It's about 1k words shorter than the other chapters, but it just felt right to leave it here. So wow, it's been a year since my last update! I didn't mean to wait so long, I swear! I've been busy with work doing overtime, trying to save up for a better car and another apartment that the time has just gone passed me and I didn't even notice. I promise I'll try to update more often! Again, if I miss anything in terms of lore, grammar, or punctuation, feel free to contact me at my email, . Till next time, I'll be watching you…