A New Hope
Chapter nine: Training
Eri Kamei nervously stood in front of the adress Solaris had given her. What if the didn't like her? She wondered. She nervously bit her lip.
"Hey!" Eri spun around to see a girl with shoulder length brown hair. The girl smiled at her.
"Are you looking for someone?" She asked. Eri cleared her throat nervously. She bit her lip.
"Um..Solaris told me I was supposed to come here for training" She said. The other gril grinned.
"You must be Eri" She said. "I'm Ai. Come one" She bounded up the steps to the porch and pulled the door open.
"We're here!" She called happily. Eri followed her timidly. A young woman with strange purple hair came into the room. Her hands were wet and she was wiping them on a dish towel.
"You're just in time for lunch" She said smiling. She turned and yelled, "Rika, Diana, Solaris, Manoko, they're here" Eri jumped at the sound of rushing feet.a very beautiful girl with white hair and a young woman with black hair rushed down the stairs, each of them had a cat on thier shoulders.
"Lets eat" The gray cat said, licking her chops. Everyone laughed. Over lunch, Eri was introduced to everyone. She could tell that it pained Ikuko and Manoko to talk about thier past friends, the ones that Eri and Ai were replacing. After lunch, Ikuko led them to the training arena, which was concealed in the basement of the old house.
"Alright, Ai, you will be paired with Diana and Eri will be paired with Rika" Ikuko instructed. "Manoko and I will demenstrate some of our powers for you. Mars Power, Make-Up"
"Venus Power, Make-up" Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus walked over to the middle of the training area.
"One of the things you must always remember is your physical form" Venus instructed. "It takes a lot of energy to use an attack, so you must be in tip top shape, and if at all possible, fight without using too much power" Mars nodded.
"Right" She walked over to a sheet of sheet rock. "Hyah!" She yelled, swinging her foot around at the sheet rock. It split into two and the girls clapped. Mars did a dramatic bow. After demenstrating some more moves, Mars and Venus set up some brick blocks for the girls to practice thier powers on.
"Supreme thunder" Eri shouted, decimating her blocks.
"Mercury Ice bubble, freeze" Mercury shouted, freezing the entire row of blocks. Mars smiled.
"I'm impressed" She said. "As you grow accustomed to using your powers, they will come more easily to you, as will the ability to manuver your body to avoid oncoming attacks" Mars instructed. Mercury put her hands on her hips.
"Can I ask a question?" She asked. Mars shrugged. "Who's the leader?" Mars and Venus looked at each other.
"What do you mean?" She asked. Mercury ran a hand through her hair.
"Well, who leads the sailor scouts. Some say Venus was the leader and some say that Mars was the leader" She replied. Mars shook her head.
"What are they teaching you in these schools?" She asked. "First of all, Venus got recognition for being the leader because she was the first scout to appear, and when she revealed her identity as Venus, She also revealed herself to be the princess. Later, after it was discovered that Venus was not the princess, people thought I was the leader, because I planned the battle stratedgies. But once again they were wrong"
"Then was the leader?" Eri asked. Diana smiled weakly.
"My mom" She said quietly. Eri and Ai turned to face her as a tear trailed down her cheek. "My mom brought the sailor scouts together" She explained. "Even when she was a cat, she was helping Mercury find coordinates to the enemy's hideout, helping Mars plan the battles. She trained them, even though she was a cat"
"With out Luna, we, most of us would have died" Venus said quietly. "As a cat she was loyal, As a scout she was quick, smart and able to get out of any situation. She was the glue that held us together at times when we wanted to quit, give up or kill each other. Before the final battle against Diamond, Queen Serenity the elder gave a proclamation throughout the kingdom that Luna was the heroine of the moon with whom we would not be here. I miss her" When Venus was done speaking, She, Diana, Solaris, and Mars were all crying, leaving Rika, Eri and Ai feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Is practice over?" Rika asked. Mars nodded and the three girls raced up stairs, ready to get out of the tension filled basement. After Rika said goodbye to Eri and Ai, she walked to her room and stared out the window at the palace in the distance. "One day" She whispered. "I will take my rightful place, and you will be nothing more than a horrid memory, Diamond" She laid down on her bed and fell fast asleep.