Author's Note: Finally, another chapter! Yes, I know it took me a while, but that's probably what my updating speed will probably be. It is longer than the previous two, though, so…enjoy!
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi.
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It was a dark, dreary day in the forest. A flash of lightning cracked across the night sky, shattering it into two. Meanwhile, the drumming of thunder pounded constantly amidst the pitter-patter of rain falling on the forest floor. The clouds were dark and ominous, billowing like malignant shadows. And amidst the storm was a girl.
She ran as fast as she could, twin pigtails of pink streaming behind her. She wore a silver suit of armor, with shining hints of gold and pale pink. Flanking her sides were warriors of flowery yellow, ice blue, forest green, fiery scarlet, and deathly purple. They were all searching for something…and the world depended on it.
"You think it's here?" asked the warrior in green.
The warrior in purple nodded. "The energy around it is tremendous. It has to be here. Right, Moon?"
The warrior in pink paid no attention to the chatter of her comrades. She instead focused on something in front of her—a crumpled heap of pure white. Without thinking, she rushed towards it, paying no attention to the sudden screams of her comrades, nor the billowing shadows behind her. All she could see was the dying Pegasus.
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Chibiusa bolted upright in bed, her bubblegum-pink hair sticking out in all angles. "What a weird dream," she murmured.
She had never dreamt anything like it. Sure, she dreamt of flying horses and knights and forests before, but this? This seemed too real to be a dream. In addition, everyone seemed to act like she was the leader. But she dismissed it as just a dream, especially when she remembered that the Silent Warrior was there. In fact, she pictured telling Momoko all about it.
'Hey, Momo-chan, I just had the weirdest dream last night! I was a knight and I was the leader of some sort of weird multicolored army, and then a Pegasus appeared! Oh, and the Silent Warrior was there, and she called me Moon! Weird, huh?'
Then Chibiusa remembered that she wasn't in Japan anymore, and to text or call her friends in Tokyo would cost extra money.
It had been a week since moving to Montana, and even now, she couldn't stop thinking about Tokyo. Today, however, would be the first day of school in her new country, and while she was practically bilingual, there would be many different things. For instance, she wouldn't have to wear a uniform to this school. It was definitely a change she liked, but also one that would take some getting used to. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment, but she was sure that when she encountered something different, she would know right away.
After pulling on an outfit and eating breakfast, Chibiusa set out the door, on her way to a new school and a new life.
"Be sure to make lots of friends!" Usagi called after her, a huge smile on her face.
The walk wasn't very long—ten minutes at the most. As she reached the school, her first impression of it was…eh. It was a mostly outdoor campus, surrounded by the pine forest. The classrooms were mostly in one area, and from her spot on a hill overlooking the school, she could see the track and football field on the other side. Her face lit up at this, considering that she was on the Track team in Tokyo. Maybe she'd try out here…
Racing down the hill, she made her way towards the new school, which she could see was called Serenity High. However, she had only made it halfway when she was stopped by a rather snobbish-sounding voice.
"Hey, you with the pink hair!"
Chibiusa whipped around, and instantly came face to face with another girl with pink hair. This other girl's hair hung down in loose waves, and was slightly darker than Chibiusa's bubblegum-pink hair. She had sharp, violet eyes, and was wearing a frown.
"Don't you know that that hair color is reserved for me and me alone?" the girl asked rudely, crossing her arms and chewing on a piece of bubble gum. The girl beside her looked like her opposite in appearance, with curly violet hair and pink eyes, but she wore the same expression of disdain. Both of them tossed their hair, waiting for Chibiusa to answer.
"Well, I'm new here," Chibiusa started, unsure of how to answer.
"I'll handle this one," came a new voice, and a third girl came sashaying onto the scene. Her hair was dark, chocolate brown and silky, and her expression was one of deep scorn. She shoved herself into the middle of the two other girls, and from the way they moved out of her way, Chibiusa could guess that she was the leader.
"So you're new here," said the brunette. It was more of a statement than a question. "The name's Grace Blackburn."
"I'm—" Chibiusa began, but Grace cut her off.
"I didn't say you could interrupt me, newbie! Anyway, this is Leslie McKay…" She gestured towards the other pink-haired girl. "…And this is Abigail Wiggins." This time, she gestured at the purple-haired girl.
"Think my name's funny, newbie?" Abigail snapped, as the corners of Chibiusa's mouth had started twitching.
"Anyway," Grace continued, "Feel free to come find us anytime. We specialize in fashion advice—and it looks like you could definitely use some." Leslie and Abigail emitted high-pitched giggles at this. "But for now, just know this. I am the Queen Bee of this school, and there are three rules that you need to know. Les, Abby, why don't you tell this peasant about how this school works?"
"Rule Number One: Always obey the Queen," Leslie stated, blowing a bubble with her gum and popping it.
"Rule Number Two: The Queen is the most popular," Abigail continued, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers.
"And Rule Number Three: No. Stealing. Our. Boyfriends," Leslie and Abigail finished together, putting their faces closer and closer to Chibiusa's with every word. Chibiusa just stared at them with an expression of distaste.
"What makes you think I want to steal your boyfriends?" she inquired. "I mean, they have to be incredibly desperate to want to be with you."
The trio ignored her sarcastic comment. "Anyway," Grace continued. "If you violate these rules, I will personally make sure that your social life is a nightmare." With that, the three tossed their hair again and sashayed off, leaving Chibiusa wondering whether to burst out laughing or yell at them.
"Just ignore them," came a quiet voice to Chibiusa's left. Out of the shadows stepped another girl, this one petite with violet eyes and black hair cropped to her shoulders. Chibiusa did a double take at her appearance. Could it be…?
"You okay?" the girl asked, snapping Chibiusa out of her reverie.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Chibiusa said lightly. "What's your name?" She looks exactly like the Silent Warrior…
"Hotaru Tomoe," said the girl. "You?"
"Usagi Tsukino-Chiba," she replied swiftly. "But you can call me…" Here, she stopped. Chibiusa was her nickname back in Japan, used because she looked like a miniature version of her mother. But she wasn't exactly Chibi anymore…
"Usa. Call me Usa." There. New country, new school, new life, new nickname. "You want to be friends?"
Hotaru looked rather surprised at this notion. "Yeah…sure!"
"Well, friend," Usa said, digging through her backpack, "Want to compare schedules?"
Hotaru brought hers out with a flash, and smiled for the first time since Usa saw her. "Here. I've got first period English with Goldwood, then Gym with Hall…" She grimaced at that. "I hate Gym."
Usa consulted her own schedule, and then compared it to Hotaru's. "Yep, I've got all classes with you…wait, except for fifth and sixth period. They're switched."
Right after she said that, the bell to first period rang. The two newfound friends glanced at each other, grinned, and walked to first period.
"Well, that was easy," Usa commented upon reaching the door in under a minute. "I was sure we'd get lost."
"Well, it did help that we were already close," Hotaru commented, pulling the door open. Then she dropped her voice a few octaves and said, "After you, Milady!"
Usa laughed at her new friend's antics, and then elicited a girlish giggle for the sake of playing along. "Why thank you, I…" She stopped, for aside from them, the classroom was empty—that is, except for one. But this person wasn't just any person. Usa could swear that he was the reincarnation of Adonis.
Everything about him looked like a handsome prince. His face, his hair, his eyes, his build…everything. His face was pointed, but not exactly sharp, while his wavy, pure white hair hung loosely to just above his neck. Meanwhile, Usa suspected that if he stood up, he would end up being taller than her, and he did appear to be at least somewhat muscular. However, his most striking feature was his eyes. They were like two gorgeous pools of amber, deep and soulful. Usa could stare at them all day.
The boy was concentrating on something earlier, but now he looked up. Their eyes met, and Usa could feel her heart stop. It was like an instant connection. Nothing could spoil this moment, not even—
"Henryyyy!"
Grace Blackburn launched herself from behind Usa and Hotaru into the classroom and the arms of the boy, whose name seemed to be Henry.
So this was the boyfriend nobody was allowed to steal.
A sudden surge of jealousy rocked through Usa, before she calmed herself down with a few breaths. She didn't know this guy at all. He could be a complete jerk. But the more and more she watched, the more and more she doubted it. Henry looked very awkward, especially when Grace didn't let go of him. He finally gently shoved Grace away, giving both her and Usa an apologetic look.
"Usa? Are you okay?" Hotaru's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Oh!" Wrapped up in thoughts of Henry, Usa had forgotten about Hotaru for the moment, and when she turned around, she saw that the black-haired girl was still holding the door open for other people. "Well, do you want to find seats?"
"Sure!" Hotaru replied with a smile, letting go of the door. The two, after walking around for a while, picked two seats next to each other. Hotaru's was next to the window.
A few minutes later, the next bell rang. The last of the students came flitting in, followed by the teacher, a tall, severe-looking woman with long, golden-blonde hair.
"Good morning, class, and welcome to Tenth Grade English," the teacher greeted the class with a smile. "I am Ms. Goldwood, and I will be your teacher for this year."
Usa narrowed her eyes at Ms. Goldwood. Something about her didn't seem quite right. She didn't know whether it was the unusually golden eyes, or the fact that she seemed to be giving Hotaru a rather suspicious look. Hotaru just coughed a couple of times, not really noticing the rather steely glare she was getting. But the teacher's gaze snapped away from Hotaru and with what she probably meant to be a smile but ended up looking more like a leer, she addressed the class again.
"Today, I will share with you my class policies as well as give you an insight on what we will cover for the rest of the year. But first, I want us all to get to know each other. When I call your name, I want you to stand up and tell me and the rest of the class a little bit about yourself." She picked up a clipboard, presumably one with the names of all of the students in her class. "Ailier!"
A brunette sitting in the back of the classroom stood up, albeit rather reluctantly. "Yo. I'm Cheyenne Ailier. I like horror movies and snakes. That's it." With that rather laconic statement, Cheyenne sat back down.
"Blackburn!"
Grace stood up immediately, batting her eyelashes and running her hand through her silky brown hair. "Hello, everybody! I'm Grace Blackburn, future Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, and captain of the Cheerleading Squad. I love fashion, I live in a huge mansion, I also…"
Usa mostly tuned her out, as well as most of the other students. However, there were a few that stood out, in her mind.
"Harrison!"
A short and somewhat chubby girl with bright blue hair tied back in a loose bun bounce up. "Hi, everybody!" she chirped in a bubbly voice. "I'm Sophine Harrison! Sophine loves reading and playing around with her friends! She also talks mostly in third person, except when she introduces herself." With that, she plopped back down in her seat, looking very pleased with herself.
The list went on. "Stevens!"
Henry stood up, looking rather sheepish. Both Grace and Usa straightened up somewhat when he did. "Hello…I'm Henry Stevens, I like literature and fine art, and I sometimes volunteer at the horse ranch in the nearby town of Vestalia." With that, he sat down as well.
Usa's heart started pounding, right from the very mention of art. She loved drawing and painting, and fantasy creatures such as Pegasi were some of her favorite subjects. And, to cap it all off, she loved horses as well!
"Tomoe!"
Hotaru stood up slowly and very shyly. "Hey," she all but whispered. "My name is Hotaru Tomoe. I collect lamps for fun, and I want to go into medical school and become a nurse. I also like learning about world history." She sat down much more quickly that she stood up, and dissolved into a short fit of coughing.
Usa heard Grace, Leslie, and Abigail giggling and whispering to each other, no doubt about Hotaru. The odango'd-ed girl shot a glare at them.
"Tsukino-Chiba!"
Usa stood up, keeping her chin high. She managed a friendly smile before saying, "Hey, guys! I'm Usagi Tsukino-Chiba, but you can call me Usa." This time she did not hesitate at the new nickname. It was a new life for her, one where she wasn't so Chibi anymore. Usa really did smile at that.
"I love drawing and painting," she continued, "As well as track, and I hope to try out for the track team." With that, she sat down, feeling much more confident than she did before. She looked over at Hotaru, who gave her a rather shy thumbs-up. Usa returned the gesture with a grin.
"Valdez!"
The last person to get called, a rather short but very muscular girl with green hair tied back in a tight ponytail, stood up upon the mention of her name. "Wassup?" she greeted the class, giving them a rather confident smile. She spoke with a hard edge to her voice. "I'm Juana Valdez, I'm very athletic…meaning I like sports a lot. My favorites are track and baseball, I can do fifty pushups at once, and I'm still working to improve that." With a playful wink, she sat back down.
"Well, it is very nice to meet all of you," Ms. Goldwood commented. "Just to let you all know, though, there will be one more student joining us next week. She will be transferring from France, and when she does come, I want you all to be very nice to her. Is that understood?"
There was a general murmur of assent throughout the classroom, punctuated by Sophine Harrison's vow of, "Of course! Sophine will make friends with her and I shall help her around if she needs it!"
"Yes, yes," Ms. Goldwood said. "Now, I would like two people to come and help pass these papers out…"
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"So, how do you like Serenity High so far?" Hotaru questioned as the last bell of the day rang, prompting the students to leave their last class.
Usa shrugged. "I don't know. It seems pretty cool. I mean, there are awesome people like you, but then there are airheads like Grace and her stooges. And Gym class. Just…Gym class. I just hope track isn't that bad!"
Hotaru giggled at this. "Now that I would agree with. But I'm not trying out for track; I'm not much of a sport person."
"Aww, it's be awesome to have a friend try out with me," Usa commented with a smile. "But that's totally fine. Hey, want to go the mall with me tonight?"
"Oh…" Hotaru stopped smiling at this. "That'd be really fun and all, but I can't. I think I'm coming down with a cold or something."
"Oh." Usa wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well…get well soon! Rest and eat lots of soup!"
Hotaru's smile returned to her face. "Okay…I'll do that! See you, Usa!"
"Bye, Hotaru!" Usa replied with a wave, as the two walked in their separate directions. Again, the walk to Usa's house only took about ten minutes, but she was still exhausted all the same. After greeting her mother (Mamoru was still at work, and Kousagi's new school got out later than Usa's did), she hurried along the hallway and promptly threw her backpack on her bed.
"Hey, watch where you throw that!" a rather indignant voice squawked from on top of the bed.
Usa screamed.
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Author's Note: So, another chapter done, and while there is no action here, she meets quite a lot of important people…and there's still some more to come!
Reviews are appreciated, as well as constructive criticism! Flames, however, are not.