Serenity disappeared as Eliana took his hand from her shoulder. Hajime looked at her, and gave her a startled look when she asked the question.
"What kind of ring?" he asked, not why she was asking. She was holding his left hand, as he had been standing on her right side.
"You have a lot of power, I can't even guess how much, and it's been leaking out of you from time to time. Honestly I can't say that EVERY bad thing that's happened around you had been Metallia's fault. I can give you a ring that will help you keep your power under control and in check till you better learn to do so yourself," she explained, having no idea the significance of the left hand. She knew about wedding rings but she never paid much attention to the customs of the people, just the threats that were happening around them. "I could get it to you as early as tomorrow unless you're willing to go to Sanctuary with me now and then it would only take maybe an hour, probably less. I can return you home whenever you like," she explained, still holding onto his left hand, her fingers around the base of his ring finger.
"We can go now," Hajime said amiably. "How bout we make it for my right hand though. I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon." His smile was warm and slightly joking, but he purposefully turned his back on the crystal, and the couple encased within. Seeing Serenity in life like that, it broke his heart. He knew she was sad, but could have never guessed why...
"Married?" she asked, and then it clicked. "EHHH!" She dropped his hand and shoved both of hers behind her back, her staff clattering to the ground. "S-sorry! I haven't really been part of the world for a long time, and so I didn't really think about which finger that wedding ring went on. I see, it's the left and finger. I-I'm sorry," she stammered, her pale face flushed. She cleared her throat and then stooped to pick up her staff again. "Right, so let's get going," she told him holding the staff out before her. "Oh and sorry for not warning you the first time. Close your eyes." Light flashed again and when it cleared they were in a room that was light in the center but dark shadows all around. The room seemed to have dim outlines of walls but they almost looked intangible. There were a few scattered plants in pots, but for the most part the room was bare and seemed to have nothing but pale colors.
Reaching up, she found a group of hair that she felt had the proper length before giving them a good tug, pulling her hair out. She held out her hand and the golden strands began to float before her. She held out her staff now in both hands and a gentle glow emanated from her, her clothes and hair moving in a breeze that seemed to be generating from her body. The hairs began to glow as well and then twisted around each other before looping into a circle. After a few minutes the seemed to start to change , the individual strands growing a little thicker and the color getting slightly darker. After about ten minutes the glowing stopped as did the breeze. Eliana opened her pale eyes again and held out her hand, and the once hairs fell into her palm. She examined her work, and then tested it out to make sure it was still properly connected to her. "Here." she told him, holding out the ring to him. "Wear this and it should held act as a buffer for your power."
Hajime almost laughed at her reaction, but did not, knowing that he would only embarrass her further. When they got to the Sanctuary, he looked around, observing everything, but when she started to do her work, he watched her closely, fascinated. Taking the ring from her, he looked at it, wondering how in the world she got it to look like a simple golden band instead of something made from her hair. Slipping it onto the ring finger of his right hand, he felt something different. His clothes felt different as well. Looking down, he realized he was dressed all in black. The clothing looking almost like a set of armor, with silver accents. A black mask covered his face, leaving only his mouth free. A silver crescent moon graced the top of the mask, and it seemed as if there was one glowing on his forehead behind it. White gloves covered his hands, and a sword was hanging from the silver belt at his waist. A black cape with a silver trim hung from his shoulders, and a small silver circlet was just barely visible through his mussed red hair.
"This is..." He held a hand up, then unsheathed the sword, the wicked edge gleaming in the dim light of the Sanctuary. "Incredible." Sheathing the sword again, he looked at Eliana. "This is what you meant by Senshi? I'm a guardian of the Earth and the Moon, right? At least, that's what my heart is telling me." From the depths of his pocket, something was glowing. Pulling the glowing item from his pocket, he realized that it was the crystalline rose, and for a moment, it appeared as it was. In the next moment, it was encased in a wallet shaped item. Inside the wallet, there was nothing, but there was room for cards, money, or other such items. "This is the Silver Crystal..." He looked at Eliana. "Moonlight Warrior. That's what I am. I'm a Moonlight Warrior. You are Sailor Sun. There's going to be other Senshi as well, isn't there?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, but they will not be the typical Senshi that have surrounded Sailor Moon. You are not Sailor Moon so it cannot be expected. I will try to assist you in finding the others, but I find living in the world of humans to be somewhat difficult. I have lived apart for so long. And currency had ended up being a problem. Who would have known it would cost so much to be able to live in that world." She sighed. "It's easier for me to assist you if I am not always bound in Sanctuary, so I will continue to be your classmate, Eliana. I have always been bound by a strict position of observer, but with times having changed so much I am finally being permitted to act as a Guardian. I do not know exactly to what extent this knew freedom goes... so I may be able to do little more than offer back support for you. Farther assistance will come from your other Senshi." She paused a moment.
"Whatever you can do will be a great help Eliana," Hajime said softly. "You've already helped so much. Serenity smiled. I've never seen her do that before." He smiled and walked over, giving her a slight hug. "If you ever need anything of me, don't hesitate to ask."Shaking his head, he pocketed the wallet, and twisted the ring slightly on his finger. In an instant, his transformation had vanished, and he was in his school uniform once again. "So that's how that works," he said to himself, then looked back at Eliana. "I like your eyes by the way. They're very beautiful." He was telling the truth, as he saw it, and didn't think of it any other way than just trying to help his new friend feel comfortable.
"Eh?" her eyes went wide for a moment and then she looked down, her face growing hot. She could feel her heart beating harder in her chest, something that confused her greatly. "Thank you... most people would probably find such a pale unatural color frightening..." she kept her eyes down for a moment and then forced her mind away from her beating heart. "Come. I'll take you back home now. We have homework to do after all."
As soon as they appeared in the room again Apollo jumped up, and pounced on Eliana. He jumped off quickly, landing on the bed before she could do anything. He was glaring at her silently.
"Oh. I should probably add. Apollo is with me. He's sort of like my companion," she told him, her own Senshi Fuku being replaced by her school uniform. "He was checking out your place and evidently you just let him in... so he stayed. Would you mind keeping him longer? He can act in my stead to assist you if I'm not around, both in being able to contact me, and despite his small stature, he does have a lot of power," she told him.
Apollo wasn't sure if that meant he was allowed to talk now or not, so instead he just stayed silent.
Hajime found himself smiling even wider when she blushed, and then found himself wondering why it felt so right to be with her like that. When they got back to his apartment, he listened to what she was saying, and then nodded.
"So it WAS you who roared the other day. I was wondering where the lion came from," he chuckled, picking Apollo up. "You know, it's not so bad being a housecat," he added when he noticed Apollo looking with disdain at the bed, scratching post, and cat food that he'd bought for him. "You don't have to worry about getting yourself fed or watered, or about where you'll sleep. You just have to worry about what you're going to do for the day."
Eliana giggled. "Apollo's never been a 'normal' cat before so I think you'll find he acts rather disagreeable at times. But he's actually not so bad once you get to know him," she told him. She went over and gave him a pet on the head. 'Now you be good for Tsukino-san. He has enough to worry about as it is and I don't need trying to make you happy one of them. Take it as a learning experience. If you wish to speak you can, so long as you know it won't freak him out or cause in trouble.'
Apollo grumbled under his breath, which ended up sounding like a soft growl in his throat. But he made no move to free himself from the merciless pair of 'torturers.'
Eliana just smiled and shook her head. "Mind if we do homework here? History that you are taught is flawed from what really happened so I seem to get a bit confused," she told him.
"Sure. Only if you tell me what really happened. I'm curious. What's it like being up there, seeing things?" Hajime asked, pulling his text reader out of the school bag he'd dropped near the door when they'd gotten home.
"It's interesting. Things change so quickly when you look at it from a period of as long as I have," she told him. 'But it's lonely being but there with only me and Apollo,' she thought, but kept that bit to herself. She didn't want anyone feeling sorry for her. So as they went through the assignment she filled him in on some of the things that she had seen, things the history books had decided to leave out.
Once all their homework was done she got to her feet. "Well I guess I'll be heading out. I have to get something from the store for dinner so-" she flushed slightly when her stomach growled to confirm her statement. "I'm still not quite use to needing to eat yet so I keep forgetting."
"Stay here and I'll make something for us," Hajime said, motioning her to the couch as he walked to the kitchen. He clattered about, making something simple. "It's not much, but at least it's healthy and nourishing."
She started to the couch and then stopped. "Wait... you're going to cook something?" she asked, doubling back to follow him into the kitchen. "Can I watch? I haven't cooked anything since before I became a Senshi," she told him. "So really, I don't know how to cook. Think you could sort of teach me a bit? Since I'm here anyway?" she asked, her hands lightly clasped behind her back, her pale eyes holding a sort of shy plead. She wanted to learn to be more self-reliant in this world, since it was a rare opportunity and she didn't know when she'd get it again.
"Sure." Hajime began to get supplies and ingredients out, and then gently directed her on how to put certain things together. Soon, dinner was ready, and Hajime tasted a spoonful. "This is good." He'd let Eliana do most of the cooking, and after her confession about not knowing how to cook, he'd not expected it to taste good, so a slight note of surprise colored his voice.
Since she knew she didn't know how to cook she decided not to get offended by the surprise in his voice. Instead she just gave a soft smile and single note of a soft laugh under her breath. "Well, all I had to do was follow your instruction. I'm a quick learner, I just have to be shown what to do," she told him. "Where do you keep your plates?" she asked, getting out two plates then halting. "Would you like some too Apollo?" she asked.
Apollo sat in the kitchen entryway, watching. This was not how he was accustomed to seeing Sailor Sun. While those soft smiles were not uncommon, usually they didn't have such happy luster. Nor was hearing her laugh common. But she kept doing it now. She was so... human. Something he'd never really considered her before. In answer to her question he turned her back on them and went to his little plate of tuna. It was tasty so he was just fine with it- though he ate around the cat food, refusing to stoop THAT low. How could it possible taste good?
Eliana giggled softly at his response. 'Only a cat could shun a person like that. Even if he doesn't want to admit he's at all the same as a common cat,' she thought, and closed the cupboard and dished out the food.
"Thank you. For showing me how to do so much today," she told him as the headed to the small dining room table.
Hajime shook his head, smiling slightly.
"It's no problem. You showed me a lot today too. I feel like it's an equivalent exchange of sorts. I'm glad I'm a little more in the know about what's been happening to me."
'Trusting him was the right choice to make at this time,' Eliana thought, taking a seat. She'd been a bit worried about telling him, not sure how he'd take it. But it seemed he was open minded about this whole thing. Plus, Serenity showing herself to him had probably helped. He had a similar desire to help others as she had. 'If only that prophecy wasn't looming over our heads... no, don't dwell on it. With that ring you can monitor his power now. So you'll know if things start to go sour will enough warning to stop it,' she reminded herself as they ate in comfortable silence.
Afterwards she assisted with the dishes and then gathered her things. "I'll be heading home now. See you tomorrow then." she told him with a slight bow before heading out the door.
Apollo sighed. He understood he was to remain here with the boy... but still... he was not often apart from Sailor Sun... and this 'act like a normal cat' business was frustrating.
Hajime watched her go and then turned to Apollo.
"Well, you're a special cat then," he said after a few moments. "I'm sure you think you have something better to do." Leaning in and petting Apollo's head, he sighed. "Thank you for taking care of her at least. She seems so lonely and everything else. You must have been through a lot to keep her sane." So saying, he stood and went into his room, closing the door behind him so that Apollo was left alone in the living room area.
Apollo just sat there, contemplating. He'd done nothing to 'keep her sane.' In fact he usually disliked anytime she got involved with others as it always made that lonely expression become clearer when they were alone. He didn't understand it. He didn't feel he needed anyone to be content with his existence. Perhaps that loneliness was reminiscent of her human self. Either way he felt oddly guilty about receiving praise for something he'd never done- nor ever tried to do.
Eliana looked about the small apartment. It was empty. There was no one there to talk to, not even Apollo. She sighed, setting down her bag. 'If I had known it would make this loneliness worse I probably wouldn't have suggested Apollo stay with him... it makes sense. Tsukino-san needs someone to keep an eye on him... But now I have no one to be with me.' She shook her head. "Dwelling helps no one," she told herself and then got out the newspaper she'd picked up, looking through the want ads to see if there was anyone hiring for something that she could do with her limited understand of current human society.