Title: Lost in the Sea of Serenity: An Altered Destiny
Author: S Dot Serenity
Disclaimer: Don't own Sailor Moon. But Ayakami and the Daughters of the Sun are mine! All mine! Ha ha ha!
Chapter 5
Ayakami Nanohara a.k.a Phenom winked at herself as she applied one last swipe of her lipstick. It was only fifteen minutes until show time, and she had to look her best. After all, it wasn't everyday that one got to perform in front of the citizens of their home country.
And she was one of Japan's best. At sixteen, Ayakami was practically notorious in Japan, only not entirely publicly.
When she was born, the doctors had been baffled at the strange mass of bright orange and white hair slicked to the little girls head, especially coming from two raven-haired parents. The next shock had come when the infant opened her eyes and stared back at her parents with brilliant amber eyes.
Though perplexed, the parents were overcome by her beauty and knew that she would achieve greatness.
And that, she did. During her youth, Ayakami was always the best at everything. She was always the best in school, and all her extracurricular activities, and was the top ranked kendo champ for three years straight. When her parents stumbled across the fact that she could sing one day, Ayakami's life story began to take on a whole new turn.
Ayakami was incredible in all genres. Having traveled all over the world in her sport endeavors, she had acquired an appreciation for all types of music. Jazz, pop, opera, even yodeling, she had mastered it all. But she found her one true calling with rock.
Though everyone in her family wanted her to become a doctor, or a lawyer, or something of the sort, Ayakami felt her calling was music. At the age of thirteen, she got an agent, hit some talent shows, and was immediately signed to one of the best labels Japan had to offer. A few months later, she was scouted by an American label, and was swept off to the states where she was made lead singer of a new rock group called Phenomenon, donning the monicker Phenom. That's how she landed the role of Roxie in the new rockpra that was blazing the world over.
Not only was she an excellent performer, Ayakami had a kind heart as well. She made sure that some proceeds from her shows and album sales always went to a different charity, as she wanted to help as many people as she could. She knew that she had been blessed in life, and wanted to bring a little bit of happiness to the lives of others.
This among other things was the reason the orange-haired vixen was loved by so many. It also explained the dozens of flowers lining her dressing room.
Glancing at the clock, Ayakami realized that she only had a short while until show time. A stage manager should be coming soon. She thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she began to run through the different mantras and meditative chants that she always did before her performances. They calmed her, as she always got nervous before a show, and helped her focus on her task.
Lost in her meditative state, Ayakami started when there was a slight knock on her door. Glancing at herself once more in the mirror, the superstar got up to answer it.
"Yes?" she called, opening the door slightly. Ayakami was slightly shocked at the woman staring back at her from the other side of the door. She assumed the woman was indeed the stage manager from her headset, clipboard, and walkie-talkie strapped to her waist. What startled Ayakami was the crop of ice blue hair atop the woman's head, pulled back into a sloppy yet fashionable bun.
The superstar blinked. She hadn't known that anyone else in Japan had oddly colored hair as she did. Though, more people were dyeing their hair these days. Ayakami's eyes narrowed as she examined the woman's roots for any hint of her true hair color.
The stage manager stared back at the girl, a confused yet slightly annoyed expression on her face. Cradling her clipboard closer to her chest, she spoke.
"Nanohara-san," she stated, rather than asked. "You are needed by the stage entrance. We are almost ready to begin."
Startled out of her scrutiny, Ayakami flashed the wary woman a brilliant smile and nodded.
"Thanks for letting me know," the star said. She closed her door and moved past the stage manager with a little wave. "Bye now."
A disguised Hatsugoori watched Ayakami as she headed down the hall and turned the corner to be nearly run over by a herd of adoring fans that had managed to slip past security. Hatsugoori leaned against the wall, clipboard tight against her chest, and tried to ignore the shouts of 'We love you Phenom!' and 'Phenom, you're so beautiful!' and a strange shout of 'Would you do me the honor of bearing my child?'
The blue haired 'stage manager' snorted and shook her head. [Stupid mortals. Fawning all over a waste of a girl like her.] She unconsciously began to pat her hair. [I'm much better looking anyw-] Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she remembered the scrutiny the orange haired girl had given her. Instantly conjuring up a mirror, she frantically checked her hair. [What the hell had that freak been staring at?]
That was how Kousen found her. Dressed in black jeans, a black cap with her bright red ponytail sticking from the back, and a black t-shirt with SECURITY printed on the back, Kousen walked up to her partner and regarded her with a disapproving stare.
Feeling Kousen's gaze, Hatsugoori's head snapped up, and she rolled her eyes.
"What?" she snapped.
"Why is it that every time I see you, you're glued to a mirror?" Kousen drawled. Hatsugoori pulled a face and went back to gazing at herself.
"Spare me the lecture, torch," she said, pushing a stray hair back into place. "That little freak of a target was staring at my hair like it was, was…red or something." Hatsugoori shuddered at the thought.
Kousen bit her tongue and fought to ignore the obvious jab sent her way. Sighing, she stuck out a finger, touching Hatsugoori's mirror lightly, and melted it instantly. Instead of the expected glare and yell that Kousen anticipated from her partner, all she received was an annoyed glance and an exasperated sigh.
"I really wish you'd stop doing that," Hatsugoori mumbled. Turning to face Kousen fully, she added, a bit louder, "Or I might be forced to hurt you."
"Well," Kousen said indignantly, crossing her arms across her chest. "I really wish that you'd get focused on the mission."
Tossing her now undone hair over her shoulder, Hatsugoori began to stroke it slowly. If Kousen wasn't the hardened warrior that she was, she would have been slightly afraid at the look that crossed Hatsugoori's eyes.
A steely resolve had crept into the Mercurian warrior's eyes. There was so much coldness and malice in their cerulean depths that Kousen had to wonder if it was still the same person. She dropped her hand quickly as she realized it was still pointing at Hatsugoori.
Hatsugoori smiled slightly at the action, but it did not reach her eyes. They remained cold, lifeless, and focused intently on Kousen.
"Oh, don't worry," Hatsugoori said softly, smoothly, almost deadly. "I am very much focused on this mission. My prey will not escape me."
Continually stroking her hair, the blue haired assassin turned away from the red-haired fire starter and began in the direction that Ayakami had strolled moments before. She slowed her step as Ayakami reemerged, having been pushed back by the horde of adoring fans. By the look on the rock-star's face, one could tell that she was trying to be polite as possible, but it was beginning to be a bit much.
Glancing back at Kousen, the 'stage manager' deadpanned in a monotone voice: "Don't you have a job to do?"
Kousen quickly snapped back to the present and remembered the bodyguard role she had donned to seem less suspicious to the rock-star and gain access backstage. Nodding curtly, she started off in a rush past Hatsugoori to get to a haggled Ayakami.
"Her spirit will be broken at intermission."
The cold words floated from Hatsugoori's lips to Kousen's ears as the red haired woman strode past. Not faltering in her step, Kousen tried hard to suppress an involuntary shudder. Hatsugoori's statement chilled her to her core. It wasn't what she said, but how she said it. Her words were cold, clipped, and full of deathly determination.
Hatsugoori was dead set on redeeming herself in the Queen's eye. For her sake, she hoped that the girl carried a crystal. On the other hand, if she did posses a crystal, she could easily snatch the victory from Hatsugoori. The cold feeling returned to Kousen's being as she felt Hatsugoori's stare. Kousen shook her head to expel the wariness.
[Then again, maybe not.]
Whatever the case was, Kousen felt a ping of pity for the girl in front of her, because Hatsugoori was going into battle, no holds barred.
"This is so great!" Usagi exclaimed as she strolled down the street, all of her friends in tow. "I can't believe we all get to go to the show!" Her lavender cocktail dress fluttered softly in the wind as she happily danced around the girls, lavender ribbons in her hair trailing behind her.
"Yeah, I'm really excited about it." Makoto said, readjusting her pastel green halter-top that draped low in the front, revealing a small but tasteful amount of cleavage. She had given up on her leather mini skirt long ago as the annoying thing kept riding up as she walked. She sighed internally; the price a girl pays for beauty.
Minako sighed reverently as she walked with her arms behind her head. "So many memories. How many times have we come to this theater to see a wonderful show?"
Rei snorted. "The question is, how many times have we come to this theater to actually finish a show without getting…distracted."
Minako blinked in confusion. "Distracted?" She readjusted the strap of her black spaghetti strap dress. "Distracted how?"
"Think about it." The miko deadpanned.
Staring off into space for a moment, Minako laughed sheepishly and sweatdropped slightly when she realized what Rei meant.
"Oh."
"Well, let's not let past memories cloud the excitement of tonight," Ami said, decked out in a belted pale blue halter dress.
"That's right!" Usagi exclaimed. "Tonight's all about fun! Besides, we have to show Andrea-chan a good time since this is her first real night out in Tokyo!"
The girl's nodded. Said foreigner was to meet them at the theater along with Motoki and Reika. Shortly after Andrea's ticket situation was resolved, the girls had departed to get ready for the night.
"Yep, all about fun, " A stunning Rei, dressed in black slacks, red tube top and fire red stiletto heels said, putting an arm around Usagi's shoulders. "And Usagi-chan is going to stay awake and pay attention to the whole thing, right Usagi-chan?" the miko asked the blonde through gritted teeth.
Usagi scoffed and feigned hurt. "Of course, Rei-chan," she said. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because a certain dark-haired prince isn't here to keep you focused on the show," Minako offered with a wink.
Usagi pouted slightly at that. When she had told Mamoru about the musical, he seemed really interested, but couldn't go due to late night sessions at the hospital he was interning at. He promised he'd catch up with her later. The blonde wasn't too put out, because she knew that tonight, her main focus would be making sure Andrea had a good time.
"Well, we don't have to worry about that," Makoto said. "Because we have a certain dark-haired priestess who'll be more than happy to fill in!"
Everyone laughed except for Usagi who cut her eyes at Rei. "As if she could take the place of my Mamo-chan."
Lightly swatting Usagi on the head, Rei said, "Oh pipe down, Usagi-chan. The Kami's know I would never want to take Mamoru's place and have to tolerate having you on my arm twenty four seven."
Any snappy comment the moon princess would have made was cut off by Ami's shout of "Hey, isn't that Andrea-san?"
The group looked up to see that it was indeed Andrea standing in front of the theater, looking around sparingly. Spotting the group about a block down, she began to wave frantically.
"Hey everyone!" she called.
Hurrying their pace, the group of girls happily greeted their friend. Amidst all of the compliments on their respective styles of dress, Andrea looking gorgeous in a black pencil skirt with sheer white top over a black camisole and waist belt, Usagi looked around for the two other, noticeably absent, ticket holders.
"Hey, Andrea-chan," Usagi asked. "Where's Motoki-kun and Reika-san?" Giggling at a joke Makoto just made, Andrea turned to Usagi. "Oh, they're already inside. I told them that I would wait outside for you guys."
"Well let's not keep them waiting any longer!!" Minako exclaimed, hooking Ami's elbow in her's. "Let's go!"
The girls all nodded and traipsed inside, with Andrea leading the way.
Kousen sighed impatiently as she peaked behind the curtain at the crowd. [So many people!] she mused. [This is going to be messy.] Hearing a small crash behind her, the fire girl whirled around, hand hidden behind her back engulfed in flame. She rolled her eyes as she realized it was just Hatsugoori, tripping over an errant bucket backstage. Apparently, she wasn't too happy about her bout of clumsiness as she glared at the bucket as if expecting it to react back.
Turning toward her partner, Kousen waved to get her attention. When she had it, she said in a rushed whisper, "There's a ton of people out there!"
"So?" Hatsugoori asked, walking to where Kousen was peaking through the curtain. "So?" Kousen repeated, incredulously. "How are you going to steal the crystal with so many people out there? We want this to be as clean as possible!"
"Oh Kousen," Hatusgoori drawled, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "You know how much I love an audience." Kousen rolled her eyes again as she realized Hatsugoori was right. She also knew that if she hung around the ice princess any longer that her eyes would be permanently stuck in the back of her head from her rolling them so much. Just as she was about to make a snide remark, Hatsugoori started speaking again.
"Besides. If this Ayakami person doesn't have a crystal, there's a big chance that someone in the audience might. Plus, what better way do you know to lure out these Sailor Senshi other than having a mass group of people in distress?"
Kousen could do nothing but blink at her partner. Hatsugoori actually had an intelligent thought?? The thought alone was mind boggling. Playing with her hot red ponytail in slight distress, Kousen nodded slowly. "…I see your point."
Nodding sharply, Hatsugoori began to saunter away from Kousen. "I thought you would". Pulling her hair back up into it's bun, the blue haired assassin turned and smiled at her comrade. "Come Kousen. Let the games begin."
"Guys! Isn't this amazing?!" Usagi whispered to her friends. The rock-pra was in the middle of the second of four acts, and the girls were absolutely floored. Throughout the course of the acts, the audience were amazed by the pyrotechnics (especially Rei) , lasers, elaborate set design, and most importantly , the awesome singing of the lead girl, Phenom. Usagi already had thoughts of getting the soundtrack as soon as she woke up the next day.
"It sure is Usagi-chan," Andrea whispered back. "I'm so glad we got tickets!"
"SHHHHHH!!!" everyone around them admonished. Both girls slunk lower in their seats, chagrined.
"Gomen nasai."
Makoto giggled as the girls looked positively put out. "It's ok, guys," she whispered. "Everyone else is enjoying the show too. Right Mina…ko??"
The brunette halted mid sentence as she turned towards her other blonde friend. Said blonde's eyes were glued to the stage, huge stars plastered in them. It was a well known fact that Aino Minako wanted to be a famous idol one day, and no doubt she was staring at that stage envisioning herself in Phenom's shoes. Turning back to Usagi and Andrea, Makoto whispered, "I think she agrees."
"SHHHH!" Rei whispered harshly, waving her hands at her friends. "It's almost intermission. Can't you pipe down for at least 10 more minutes?"
"Sorry Rei-chan," the girls muttered in unison.
Exactly ten minutes later, Phenom belted out the last notes of the act whilst singing to her would-be lover. In a flash of lasers and fog, the stage blacked out and the actors were gone. The audience applauded loudly as a sickly sweet voice came over the intercom:
"Good evening everyone! Hope you're enjoying the show! Stop it Kousen! We are now at intermission, which will last for at least 15 minutes. The show will resume promptly at 9:08. Hurry back!"
The audience were chatting amicably with each other, and totally missed the little quip at Kousen that Hatsugoori made. Snatching the microphone from the blue haired woman, Kousen gave her a look of pure death.
"You almost ruined it, you idiot!" she seethed. Hatsugoori sniffed haughtily and readjusted her glasses. "Well, you should have thought of that before you tried to grab the mike. I had things completely under control."
"Uh huh," Kousen gripped. "And just when are you going to implement your little plan?"
Hatsugoori smiled evilly. "As soon as the curtains rise." Kousen scratched her head. "I thought you said that you were gonna do it at intermission?" Hatsugoori shrugged. "Changed my mind. Figured that more people would be in their seats when the show began again rather than at intermission. I want as many viewers, er, victims as possible."
Kousen blinked at Hatsugoori. Well, she thought. That's two good ideas in one night. Maybe I'm not giving the girl enough credit.
"If you'll excuse me, Kousen, I have to get ready for my debut." With that, Hatsugoori turned and headed toward the dressing rooms. Kousen didn't feel like a witty retort, so she set about looking for a good hiding place…and a good place to watch the show.