Lady's notes: Sooo… it's been awhile, eh? Well, I had to get this thing back on the go, since I fell too much in love with Kotori to just let it die out. I really did. I've never been this attached to one of my fanfics before (okay that's an outright lie – when I was like ten years old, I wrote a Digimon fanfic that was over 200 pages long. It was really bad, mind you, but I was that obsessed), so here it is. It's not in the best condition, since I always have a bit of a rocky start when I jump back into things, but I guess it's better than nothing, right? In the name of the Sun, ONWARD!

Supernova in the Sky

Ch. 9

Kotori stood there with her arms crossed, being the awkward observer in Capella and Shigeo's argument, and Rufus's maddening exclamation. There wasn't a lot that she knew what to do, except cross her arms tighter.

"You can't possibly be this bent on keeping her from her rightfully born duties!"

"You bet your ass on it that I am!"

After a bit of skillful tuning, the redhead was able to block out the two completely, and her worries were laid on Rufus. Something was wrong, and it was painted all over his feline face. Slowly, avoiding interfering with the fight, she approached him.

"What did you see?" Somewhat shocked, he turned to her and frowned.

"She used to be my friend," he murmured, tail twitching, eyes still fixated on the window. "A long, long time ago. Merope. She was the last one I would've expected to see here… I mean, after all… what are the chances?" A sorrowful smile was there for an instant, and in that instant, Kotori suddenly knew what she had to do.

It was an odd feeling. She knew nothing about who she really was, except the thin shell of a surface Shigeo had told her of, but everything she ever needed to know about her past was in that fraction of a moment. Something inside of her was fortified, and she knew that whatever the circumstances were, she was not a normal girl populating Japan. The orphans never are, are they?

"Let's go," she told him. Rufus looked up at her, searching her eyes that were so like his for what it was she really wanted.

"What?"

"Let's go! I know what you're thinking. I can tell! Something bad is happening, isn't it?"

"…Yes…" Suddenly, she heaved the cat up into her arms, with much effort, and bolted out of the door. It wasn't until then that Capella and Shigeo had noticed Kotori was no longer interested in what they were saying, and with an ear-curling curse, Capella lead the man out and after her.

Rufus was uncomfortable in Kotori's slipping grasp, and terrified of her plan.

"Where are we going?"

"We're gonna find that cat! And those two had better not stop me, because I've honestly had it with them!" Kotori huffed. "I'm gonna do what I want, and I want to help you!" Something hit Rufus in a way that reminded him of Queen Mau. Why would Kotori care like this for him? In her eyes, he should be nothing more than an ordinary pet. "You've changed the way I've been thinking, you know. All I've been doing is silently feeling sorry for myself. And you've shown me that if I want something, I need to go out and find it! I'm done with just waiting around!"

Had it been the basket? Maybe it had been… he wanted to pamper her because he noticed that all she had been doing was feeling bad. Rufus smiled – it was good to know that he had the Kotori that no one else did. Quickly, he jumped out of her arms and led her where his nose would find Merope.

It was when they ran a little past an old park that they found trouble. A bright light sparked somewhere by the tallest tree within sight, and Kotori came to a halt, her mind bringing her back to the late-night news reports. The light grew and grew, and then in a second disappeared.

"Hey… hey, something's happening…!" the redhead murmured, wandering closer to the tree.

"Merope is around here… Kotori, I've got a better idea! Maybe we should go back and get Shigeo and Ca—"

"No, we're going to do this by ourselves, Rufus! Come on!" Kotori snapped. Her head darted back and forth, red hair flying every which way behind it, but she found nothing. It was just a light. Nothing else. But that didn't make any sense! Her heart pounded, because she knew that this was a stupid idea. Tackling the unknown by herself. Suddenly, she heard a noise. A voice. Someone was laughing! Cackling! At last, Kotori thought to look up, and she screamed.

"Who does this little girl think she is?"

Rufus's heart fell. The voice was just slightly deeper than Merope's, and when he saw the cat with who was lightly floating above Kotori's head, he knew that the two were made for each other. A woman, very tall and lithe and pale as a ghost, was dressed in a black, gray, and lavender sailor fuku, with the Abyssinian purring on her shoulder. Long, dark violet tresses shimmered and blew in the breeze, giving her ghost-like complexion an eerie boost. But what topped it off were eyes that matched the steely-gray of Merope's.

"What the hell are you doing? You're hanging there! In the air! Are you on some kind of wire or something? Who the hell dresses up like some kind of nut and floats around?" Kotori shouted, balling up her fists. "And where did you get that outfit? As nutty as it looks, I think I kind of like it. Do you have one in yellow?" The woman scowled, her long pointy noise twitching just slightly. With an air of grace, her black boots, reaching up to her thighs mind you, landed her in the grass.

"Merope, you must tell your friend to find a companion with a little bit more attention span in tact," she said, petting Merope. "My name is Nebula. Sailor Nebula."

"Really? Where did you dock from?" The woman gave a haughty laugh.

"Cute. You must think you're so funny, don't you?"

"I don't want to brag or anything," Kotori said, standing straight and folding her arms, "but I'm popular with kids. That means I'm funny." Nebula made a fist, and a glowing orb of violet light surrounded it. Kotori got the idea and immediately backed away.

"Sorry to break the mood, but I was sent here to do a job. Maybe you can at least go out with a laugh?"

"You mean you're going to kill me?"

"Kotori, run!" Rufus yelled, ramming into her to give her a head start. It was just enough to avoid a powerful blast that came exploding right into a set of topiary bushes. Next, a ball of blue light formed in Nebula's hand.

"Didn't you tell her anything, Rufus?" Merope asked, leaping from the Sailor's shoulder and sitting curtly behind her. "You have a duty to fulfill as a guardian! You've really spoiled how fun this could be!" Nebula laughed at the thought and sighed.

"I know! There's no competition anymore, is there?" A bush of flowers was destroyed as the explosion narrowly missed Kotori and Rufus.

"What are they talking about? What could you, Capella, and Shigeo have possibly left out of my reeducation?" Kotori snapped, glaring down at the cat. "Huh? What was there to miss? I'm a princess, I lived on the sun, my mother is a tyrant, what else?"

"You're a sailor senshi!" he huffed.

"A what-shi?" Rufus rolled his eyes and quickly guided her around a corner.

"You're a sailor senshi!" he repeated. "I don't remember how to do this, I don't remember how to do this, oh god I don't remember how to do this…"

"To do what?" Kotori yelled, lifting the cat up by the nape of his neck and shaking him. "Aren't I the one who needs to know how to do something? What do I do? There's something around that corner that isn't supposed to be real who's chasing me and throwing exploding things of color at me! Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

Rufus wracked his brain. What were the instructions that he was given? How was he supposed to turn Kotori into the warrior that she was? Capella and Shigeo would know! But there was no way that Kotori would have that… no, she wanted to do this on her own! How could he be letting her down at this moment? He was supposed to be a guardian! He was supposed to know this! His eyes suddenly flew to the necklace dangling down past her collarbone – the gold and opal one Shigeo had picked out for her.

'Start with a momento… something special…'

Queen Mau's instructions! Of course! Start with something that the warrior can use to transform!

"Quick, Kotori, put your hand to your necklace!"

"Excuse me?"

"You wanna figure out how to do this on your own, don't you?"

"Yeah—"

"Then do it!" Kotori's hand flew to the locket. "Now… uh… say… say 'Supernova Make-up'!" She rolled her eyes.

"Super—"

"Nonono, say it cool!" He was right. She was a damn princess! She bathed in coolness! Kotori gave him a sly smile, gripped her necklace with one hand, and put the other hand before her face.

"Supernova Make-up!"

Ambient yellow and orange light enveloped the area as Kotori was made over by a glistening supernova. The birth of a star. The sun. Gold polish graced her nails and gold shadow danced over her eyes. A simple tiara, earrings of seven-point stars, and a single bangle on each wrist were the first signs of her new becoming; a sleeveless, pale-yellow bodysuit with a dark yellow sailor collar that draped in two points down her back was the next; matching dark boots with a seven-point star on the rim clothed her feet; a two-tiered short skirt, the top tier matching the bodysuit and the bottom tier matching the collar, flared out below her hips; finally, a string of pearls draped around each shoulder and a shimmering, transparent gold bow grew from where the locket had cemented itself as a broach on her chest. As the ambient light died, small ribbons tied a bow on her back, and a simple standing pose was struck.

"K… Kotori?"

The transition wasn't complete, however, without a loud, agonizing scream as the new redhead fell to her knees, clutching her head. A painful surge of memories and of who she really was came rushing back to Kotori. Images of everything – from meals at dinner time to talks with her mother to childbirth – accompanied feelings and senses. So many different sensations within seconds had overcome her.

"Kotori!" Rufus shouted, running over to her. "Hey! Hey, Kotori! Are you alright?"

"What the hell is happening to me?" she shouted, screaming again. "Why am I here? I shouldn't be here!"

"Kotori, Kotori, come on! Get it together! Sailor Nebula is gonna be around that corner any second now! Come on! Who are you?" Rufus made a vow to himself at that time – he would do anything he could to rally up this girl's spirit. She had a lot of it, as hidden as it sometimes was. She glared at him, a sense of longing in her once she set eyes on the golden ring on his forehead.

"I'm Sailor Sun. I fight… in the name of…"

He watched her pant, her mind still reeling with the pain of memories.

"Come on! What do you fight for? What should everyone be scared of in you?"

There was an explosion nearby. He was too late, Rufus realized. He hadn't acted quick enough, and Nebula had found them. The vile senshi floated on into the scene with Merope on her shoulder, and she held two orbs of red light in her palms.

"Looks like you did a half-assed job, Rufe," the Abyssinian said slyly, adding a laugh. Her and her Sailor companion chuckled together, watching as a shaky Kotori got to her feet. She no longer felt like herself, though really, she couldn't say that she had ever been herself. Was she the girl she had known after the amnesia incident? Or was she this new girl that she had been all along?

She couldn't debate that now. There was a duty pulsing in her heart. A voice in the back of her head, her voice, whispered violently unintelligible ramblings and sputters. Then, obviously through with waiting, Nebula launched her exploding orbs in her direction.

'—Sunspot—'

One word had come through in the hectic whispers in Kotori's head, and it was all she needed.

"Solar Magnetism Dissipation!"

Fearlessly, Kotori thrust her arm out in front of her with a pointed finger, and in a wave of heat and electrical pulses, Nebula's blast blew up in to pretty sparkles. She slowly descended onto solid ground, a blank expression on her face that started to grow indignant.

"Excuse me? What was that? I didn't say you could do that!" she shouted. Kotori put her hands on her hips and grinned.

"Hi Sailor Nebula. I'm Sailor Sun! Born and raised, I'm the Princess of Sol, and I fight for honor, for valor, and for justice!"

"Is this your little spiel that you're going to go on, now? Come on, Merope. We don't have to listen to this." Nebula rolled her eyes and turned away, starting down the sidewalk. She had at least been nice enough not to go off on her spiel! Couldn't 'Sailor Sun' be kind enough to do the same?

"Oh yes you do!" Rufus shouted, running to Sailor Sun's side. "I wouldn't make a wrong move if I were you!"

"Or what?" Nebula asked, looking back. "She'll make my hair frizzy?"

"You know, I've endured one hell of a guessing game these recent years of my life," Sailor Sun replied, following her. "And now that I finally have some inkling of who I am, I'm gonna rub it in your face everywhere you go!" Immediately, Nebula snapped around with her hands on her hips.

"You are having way too much fun with this. You really are. It's amazing how confident you are when the only attack in your arsenal is for defense. Just what do you think you're going to do?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes and inching closer. "I know how to do far more damage than you, and eventually, I'll exhaust your little dissipation trick, and one of my blasts will hit you, and I will prevail!"

The Earthen Kotori was still dominant, despite being clad as a senshi. That became a widely known fact because Kotori didn't understand the 'only one attack in your arsenal' bit, and figured that something perfectly mundane would suffice well enough. As Nebula inched closer and closer, the redhead promptly drove her fist into the woman's nose, scoring a perfect hit, a small shower of blood, and a yell of pain. However, the complementary victory package was gone as soon as the pissed off villain bore yellow orbs in her fists.

"Pull another stunt like that! I dare you!" she screamed. So, Kotori punched her in the gut this time, following it with a sweeping kick to the feet, knocking Nebula to the ground. Sailor Sun only had seconds to dive out of the way of the color blasts, which smashed into the front of a flower shop. The glass windows shattered, and tiny shards of glass littered the shop and sidewalk, glistening in the faint light of the sun.

"Fight like senshi, dammit!" Nebula said through gritted teeth. "Quit this immature Earth fighting and show me your power!"

"This is my power." Another kick was delivered, but didn't land. Nebula had caught Sailor Sun's heel before it connected with her face, and yanked it as hard as she could to send her flying back into the street.

"Sailor Sun!" Rufus ran after the redhead, but she quickly collected herself once skidding across the asphalt, frowning at the scrapes on her knees and elbows.

"Damn. Guess I can't keep this up for very long, can I?" she said, beginning to panic. "She's right. All I know how to do is dissipate her blasts. By the way, what are they?"

"Small collections of nebulaic plasma. They'll probably kill you."

"Oh. Shit. That sounds really bad. What do I have?"

Rufus pondered. He knew that Sailor Sun had a weapon of her own, but had no idea how to give it to her. How was he supposed to break that news?

"Hang on a second! I have an idea!" Sun exclaimed, running off in Nebula's direction. The cat was about to protest, but she and the violet-haired woman were already at standoff. Nebula had orange orbs in her hands, and Sun had nothing but a ticking readiness to act.

"I hope you have some new tricks up your sleeve," Nebula sneered, "because I've got news for you: You're not gonna best me with sissy fighting!"

"To be honest," Sun said, "your attacks are getting tiresome, too. I hope you have some new tricks up your sleeve! 'Cause believe me – I've got plenty." With that, Nebula angered, and threw her blasts full force.

"Solar Magnetism Dissipation!"

Rufus watched as Sailor Sun pointed not at the blasts, but at a telephone pole. There was a fizz, a flicker, and a shower of sparks as the metal bits shook free and fell, colliding with the explosions. Wires snapped and danced around on the ground with loose electricity, and then, as Sun guided them with the direction of her fingers, they shot after Nebula.

"Sailor Nebula, run!" Merope shouted. With a scream as she was shocked, the senshi abided her guardian's advice, scooped her up, and floated off.

"You think you're hot stuff!" she yelled, her voice shaky and panicked. "But you're nothing! But that's okay. You can think as high of yourself as you want, because sooner or later, you'll see the true nature of Sailor Nebula. And if you're lucky, I'll come with some friends next time!"

Wild laughter and the senshi's image trailed off as Merope and Nebula vanished. All Kotori and Rufus could do was stare up into the sky, listening as the crackling of raw electricity died down around them, and their audience began cheering. The redhead's spirits suddenly soared – citizens had gathered around the fight and were taking pictures of her! With a valiant smile, she stood as tall and proud as she could and struck a simple, if a tad narcissistic, pose.

"Fear not, citizens of Japan! Sailor Sun is here to protect you from the vile villains that vanish in and out of nowhere and cause panic to all! I will defend you in the name of honor, valor, and justice!"

It wasn't the best beginning line, and she was well aware of that, but everyone had to start somewhere, didn't they? Kotori tried to ignore how corny and ridiculous she sounded, hoping to alleviate that with some practice. When she looked to Rufus, though, he showed signs of obvious embarrassment. Whether it was because of her or all of the attention, she couldn't be sure.

"There's another senshi!"

"I didn't know there were so many!"

"How long has it been since we've seen anyone but the new Sailor Moon?"

There were tons of comments and people waving, but none of them dared to get too close save for one tiny little girl. She had a head of wispy brown hair and a rather malnourished frame, but despite her frail appearance, she bravely approached the senshi without a second thought.

"H-hi!" Kotori grinned and kneeled down to her.

"Hey! You're a pretty girl!" Of course it was a lie, because the girl looked more raggedy than a dog's playtoy, but Kotori found no reason to say such a thing.

"S-so are you! I've made up my mind that you're my favorite sailor senshi out of all of them!"

"All of them? Just how many of them are there?"

"Well," the little girl said, readying her fingers for counting on, "everyone says that the old ones will never come back, and I've never actually seen them, but I look at their pictures and read their stories all the time! The old Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury—"

"Is it safe to assume that there's one for every planet?"

"Yeah! And then everyone says that the new Sailor Moon used to be called Sailor Chibimoon, and when she grew up, she took her mother's place! But her and Sailor Saturn are the only ones we see anymore. I used to be really sad about it, because I love the senshi! And I never got the chance to see any of the old ones team up… but now there'll be more, won't there!"

"We'll just start with me, okay? I guarantee that I'll be the best!" The girl smiled her gap-toothed grin. "What's your name, anyway?"

"My name's Miho! Tasakura Miho! I'm gonna be your biggest fan!"

Suddenly, just as Kotori shook her newest enthusiast's hand, an irritating voice called out to her from afar.

"Hey! Sailor Sun! Get your ass over here!"

Capella. The redhead grumbled and patted Miho on her ratty head, gave her parting words, and dashed off with Rufus. Capella and Shigeo waited for them back at the topiary park, one upset as usual, and the other one completely in awe when Sailor Sun approached.

"Yes? Can I help you citizens out?"

"Cut it out, Kotori. Though, you do pull off the monotone fuku pretty well. Never thought I'd admit yellow would actually flatter you. Now change back and let's head back to the orphanage," Capella said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not sure I want to!" Kotori replied, striking a model pose. "I'm famous already! I already have fans, Capella!" Her eyes drifted to Shigeo for a moment, who just stared with a dazed look over his eyes.

"I'm sorry for staring. I guess I can't believe it. I thought I would never get the chance to see you again, the you that I really knew." He smiled with his dimples, and something felt so right and familiar about it to Kotori. She couldn't believe it, but for the first time since everything had started, she began to believe that her old self and her new self would mesh, and she would come to be the Kotori that she was always meant to be.