Sailor Moon is owned by TOEI Animation, Naoko Takeuchi, and VIZMedia, and I'm so fancy~ You already know! Sorry. On another note, I've been rereading the manga, and I just got to the ninth book of the Kodansha translation, in the Infinity arc (S) c: Haruka's a man and a woman, apparently haha XD Oh, Haruka. (S)he's so fab.
Yeah, I lied. My writer's block is on and off ;-; Mostly on Q A Q
Fun fact: A few years ago when I was first planning out this story, it was about the exact opposite of what it is now, and Akira was in a totally different story with a completely different character. More on that later.
Serenity senses a strange aura coming from the room right by the stairwell, and stops. She gently pushes the door open.
"What's up?" Endymion wonders aloud, but instead of receiving an answer, he follows her inside. "That capsule…"
"It's my grandmother's. It's got to be." Serenity takes the capsule with the soft glow from the shelf on the wall, holding it with care. The thought of her grandmother makes her queasy. Though she feels sorry for hating her, she's still scared of her. She still has the scars inflicted by that woman as well as Arisa on both her skin and heart. Serenity takes a shallow breath and swallows.
"What do you want to do?"
"We can't just leave her here. Who knows what'll happen if we defeat Lucifer? This whole place could dissolve into thin air."
"Do you want me to hold onto her?" Endymion offers, noting her discomfort.
Serenity takes another, shakier breath. "Would you?"
He wraps one arm around her and, with the other, takes the capsule and puts it in his pants pocket, proceeding to wrap that arm around her as well. "It's okay," he coos, rocking her slightly.
She sighs, gripping his arms. He feels a drop of wetness fall on his hand, but says nothing.
Serenity turns in his arms, wiping her face then placing her hands on his chest. How lucky she is to have a man with such chivalry! She smiles. "We need to continue on," she says.
"Drat! I thought you were distracted," Endymion says, grinning impishly.
Serenity giggles. "We can't waste any more time here, love."
Endymion kisses her nose. "When this is over and done with, wanna go on a date?"
Serenity places an arm around his waist, smiling. "It would be my pleasure," she says, imitating the real Neo Queen Serenity, cringing inwardly because she knows that that's who she'll be in the near future.
Sailor Sun notices a flicker of an idea fly across Sailor Earth's face, but it was so fast and insignificant that she doesn't think much of it.
Earth takes her whip and wraps it around her hair, forming a faux-ponytail. Then, she yanks the whip like a cord, and her hair falls to the floor, leaving her with a short bob. She smiles. "That's better. Now I can move freely."
"What the—? What'd you go and do that for?!" Sun exclaims.
Earth grins, laughing. "I've always wanted short hair."
"And you thought now was the best time?!"
"The hair was starting to feel heavy. Do you realize how free I feel now, without that dragging me down?"
"I bet that's how you felt when you left us, didn't you?!"
"What?! Okay, maybe for the first couple of days, but then Jose became a nag and I started to miss you, and—"
"Oh, don't pull that crap on me! I knew you always wanted to go off on your own sometime, don't think you fooled me!" Sun notices Earth's face melt into surprise from annoyance. "Yeah, don't think I don't know you, missy! Who do you think you tried to fool anyway?! Me?! Yeah, 'cause that's gonna work out splendidly."
"Hey, now, I only tried to keep it a secret because I didn't want to hurt you."
"Okay. I believe you."
"No need to be so condescending! Now when did I ever say that I didn't love you?"
Sun opens her mouth to speak, but closes it again. She crosses her arms and looks at Akira with one eyebrow turned up expectantly, as if to say, "Are you kidding?"
Akira laughs once without humor. "Okay, I see. I'm not gonna argue with you anymore, though, alright? I don't want to argue with you and we have a job to finish."
At the words "I don't want to argue with you," Sailor Sun remembers something Usagi told her when Akira had just left.
The two of them fall to the floor, crying. Haruko starts losing control. She starts hyperventilating.
"Haru-chan, Haru-chan, calm down, just breathe, slowly now, breathe in through your nose, that's right, slowly, out through the mouth, calmly, that's right. It'll be okay. She'll be back, I'm sure of it. Don't worry."
Haruko bursts out into loud sobs again, and Usagi holds her head to her chest.
"She'll be back. I know it." Then, she whispers, "Mamo-chan and I went through the same thing a few years ago, and look where we are now."
"Wait a sec, I'm not gettin' it," Makoto says. "You're talking like they're a couple."
Usagi looks up at Makoto. "They are. They've been a couple for three years."
"More like we were," Haruko mutters.
"Don't speak like that!" Usagi scolds. "That's exactly the kind of talk that caused me to go depressed back then, and even… recently. C'mon, Haru-chan, get yourself together! She'll be back. You have to believe in her. Even if you've never had a fight or anything before, this is good. Look at me." Haruko slowly lifts her head to look at Usagi. "While she's gone, she'll be thinking of all of this, thinking about what she did and her choices. She'll realize just how amazing and beautiful you are, how kind and wonderful, sweet and caring, and she'll hate herself for what she did. When she realizes this, she'll be back, and she'll cherish you more than she ever did before. She took you for granted, didn't realize just how important you are to her, and to me, and she will come back for you. I promise you, that's how it will happen. Okay?"
"Y-You r-really think so?" Haruko asks, and hiccups.
"I know so!" Usagi says, and smiles. She pulls Haruko in for a hug, and holds her tight. "She doesn't know what a precious gift she had right in front of her. Trust me, she'll be back. I'm here for you, Haruko!"
"Thank you, Usagi!" Haruko says, and sobs in Usagi's arms.
That's not a feeling that Sailor Sun likes to remember, but the words Usagi spoke at that time resonate in her ears like bells, clear as day, granting her with as much comfort and faith and strength as they did at the time they were spoken, and so she stands, ready again to fight her enemy.
When Serenity and Endymion arrive, they hide around the corner to inspect the situation. Everyone looks worn out, including Lucifer. Serenity winces. It might've been better had they not left.
"Well, it seems we have company," Lucifer says, and Serenity tenses. He's good, she thinks as he chortles. "Come on out, we don't bite. Well, for the most part."
Serenity takes a deep breath before stepping out from behind the corner. "I suppose I should keep my guard up, then, shouldn't I?" she deadpans. "You seem in rough shape. You feeling alright? Perhaps we should put you out of your misery."
Lucifer bursts into a fit of laughter, flaunting his knives-for-teeth that frighten Serenity, but she doesn't show it. Instead, she squares her shoulders, trying to look tough. She hears Sailor Earth scoff, and she knows that she can see through her. "Oh my," Lucifer says once his enthrallment by amusement is through. "What a quip you can spin! My, my, we'll just have to test your theory," he finishes, seeming to hiss on the word "test"
"It'll be easy," Endymion says with confidence. "I mean, you're already beaten down a bit by our comrades, and we are standing just fine."
Serenity smiles smugly. "That's right," she says. "It'll be quite easy." She gasps at her use of the word "quite". She'd never used the word before, not that she knows of, and yet, the word had seemed to slip from her tongue as though it were natural. She clears her throat. "A-Anyway, let's get started. Time seems to pass faster here than in our world, so it's been days."
"What?!" Earth exclaims in exasperation. "What day is it?!"
"At home, it's the ninth."
"The ninth?! Of August?!"
"Yeah, what a waste of time, right?!"
"You're kidding! Our trip is in a week!"
"My wedding's in two! Think of all the planning time we lost!"
"Don't worry, we don't have much left to do, just…" Sailor Jupiter starts, then notices Serenity shoot her a meaningful glance. Play along. "Oh, crap! I still have to call in all the arrangements!"
Serenity places the back of her hand against her forehead dramatically. "Oh! With two weeks left, how will our wedding ever be finished?!"
"Never fret, my love," Endymion says assuringly, and Serenity stifles a snort. Leave it to him to come up with the cheesiest, most dramatic line. "I will slay this enemy here and now, for you!"
"When did this become a Shakespearean play?" Earth wonders aloud, making Sun giggle.
"It's quite entertaining, in my opinion."
"They look like idiots, but they're somewhat dressed for the part."
"Well, then so are we!"
"What— No! Haru, you can't do this to me!"
"Oh, come on! Live a little!"
"We're going to Hokkaido in a week! I know how to live!"
Sun laughs. "Do you, now?"
"Yes! In fact—"
"SHUT UP!" Lucifer yells, sending a shockwave through the room that knocks everyone off their feet. "Are you all imbeciles?! Do you not comprehend that you are doing battle with the Devil, who deserves quite a bit more respect than what you offer?!"
After a long, silent moment, Earth speaks up, "What, you expect us to actually pay respect and full attention to an enemy as weak and stupid as you? What we were just doing was a cover-up, a sham. We were really recharging our power and healing our wounds and injuries. You are now the weakest one in the room."
Serenity laughs. "And that was your great master plan?"
"Put together by those two and myself," Endymion says, straightening his jacket with a sense of smugness.
Serenity rolls her eyes, but smiles. "Well done, I must say I'm wholly impressed." Dammit again with the formal speech! she curses inwardly. "Solara."
"Well done. I must say I'm wholly impressed," Serenity says, then nods to Sailor Sun. "Solara."
Sun winks. "On it." She draws her Sword, raising it against him. Lucifer looks up at her, and his eyes turn normal, becoming an icy blue color. They become lighter and lighter until they are completely white save his pupils and the outer edge of his irises, both of which remain black. She lowers her blade, overcome with dizziness. No! This can't be happening to her! She said she couldn't be controlled!
She thinks she hears someone say something, but it's muffled under the ringing that overwhelms her hearing. She brings her hand to her face and notices that her vision has become red like blood. Her body tingling, she begins to fall. She tries to lean her weight on her Sword, but it's difficult, as she can't tell where her weight is. Everything feels muted, every sense taken away, and then there's nothing. She feels utterly alone, unable to tell where anything is, and longs for salvation.
Haru! she hears, and it sounds so clear, it must have been her imagination. She's going mad, madder than mad. Her brain is filled with nothing, her sight with nothing, her ears with nothing, her mouth and nose together with nothing. She feels nothing, senses nothing. She is being swallowed by the nothing, becoming nothing.
Haru! she hears again, but cannot tell where it comes from, so she dismisses it.
Haruko Celeste Taiyono! Look at me!
Give her your mask. Where's hers?
Must've been lost.
Dammit, Haruko! The one who spoke last is the one who spoke first, and proceeds to let out a guttural scream of angst, though she wasn't the one overcome with nothingness. Haruko is. Haruko doesn't understand why this person is seems to be in pain while Haruko suffers, but for some reason, it makes her sympathize with this person.
Suddenly, her vision clears, and she blinks, finally seeing where she is, feeling so overjoyed to be free of the nothingness.
Haru? Haru? "Haru?!"
Sailor Sun feels her throat, thankful to be able to feel again, but her throat hurts, like a white-hot branding iron had been thrusted down it. "What—" she croaks, and then coughs heavily, the fire in her throat igniting like never before.
"You were screaming so loud, and I—" Sailor Earth says, her voice sounding thick, which seems odd to Sun. Sun feels herself being pulled into the security of Earth's arms, and smiles. She feels drops of wetness fall onto her hair. "I'm just glad you're okay now."
"Thank you," she rasps.
About the other stories. The original "Kyoto" did not take place in Kyoto, but rather in Hokkaido, and didn't include Akira or Haruko at all. Haruko hadn't even been conceived at the time. Grandma was nice and there was a Grandpa and Shingo and Usagi were living there for a year and they both had it really nice.
As for Akira, she lived in Tokyo, and I think I had the idea of Gramps taking care of her but didn't really plan it out. Akira was "shy, loving, and caring," as described in my poor sixth-grade handwriting. I had Usagi go up to her one time after class and say, "You look like someone I know, like you could be his sister!" Akira was always Mamoru's long-lost sister, though. She just went through some personality changes along the way :D Thanks for staying with me so long, y'all!