Someone's footsteps rang in the courtyard. All of them looked up.
Someone in a heavy coat and glasses was coming up the stairs. Their hair was in a loose bun on the back of their head. Rei got up and scrambled out to meet him.
"Hi! Can I help you?"
Serena cocked her head curiously. This person seemed familiar...
"Yeah... I was told there's a psychic that works here?"
Almost all of them were shocked. It was a boy! But he looked like a girl!
"Yeah, how can I help you?" Serena's friend had regained her composure.
"I've been having weird dreams, and I wanted to know if you could make heads or tails of it." the guy said. A swarm of girls passed by in the streets and he looked over his shoulder in alarm.
"Yes?" Rei urged.
"'A princess of the moon with the style and grace of a bear and a regiment of soldiers at her back.' That's it." the boy answered.
All eyes went to Serena.
"Why're you all looking at me like that?!" she cried, unnerved by their stares.
"Style and grace of a bear, just like you." Mina said dully. "But it's hard to see you a princess." she added, keeping the truth secret.
"Soo... I'll take it you... don't understand either?" the stranger asked, breaking the silence. "Well... Bye, then..."
"Wait!" Rei stopped him. "There is someone... Have you heard of Sailor Moon?"
"Umm... No?"
"She's one of the Sailor Scouts that defends the city from evil!" Lita smiled. "Along with the Sailor Scouts Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto!"
"Is she around often? I... need to meet her..." the boy answered, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh... It..." Rei trailed off.
"It's not every day you see them. Sometimes they don't show up for weeks at a time!" Ami covered.
Serena shot her a glance, reminding her how often they'd been fighting lately.
"Oh... Okay... I'll just have to hope I get lucky then!" the boy grinned, giving them a thumbs-up.
"There he is!"
"Shit!" the boy swore, taking off running.
A large group of girls came into the courtyard. They stopped in front of Rei.
"Why didn't you stop him?!" demanded one.
"Who was he even? He never told us!" Serena snapped, coming up to her friend's defense.
"That was Koro Yuii!"
"Whaaat!"
"Another pop-idol I don't know of?" Serena asked her friends.
"Apparently! Koro Yuii is more popular than the Three Lights!" Rei told her in a 'duh' sort of tone.
"We've been on his trail for almost three hours now! He almost shook us with that disguise!" one fan-girl whined. "And now he's gotten away again!"
"Sorry! If we had known, we would've held him here!" Mina whined apologetically.
"Well, that seems a little obsessive there... I'm going home. See you tomorrow!" Serena sighed, leaving the temple.
She was almost home when she bumped into the quarry of the fan-girl mob again.
"Oof! Sorry!" she apologized... Before realizing who it was.
He'd changed his appearance again. Now his hair was loose... It was really long! And he'd ditched the glasses and coat. Now he wore a simple tank-top and jeans. "Hey... You're the blondie that your friends called like a bear, aren't you?"
"Are you going to make fun of me too, Koro?"
He winced. "Please... not in public..." Then he straightened up. "I think you're cute... Kinda like a teddy bear!" he smiled. "So, what's your name?"
"Serena Tsukino."
"Hey! That name's on my class-list for tomorrow!"
"Oh, so you're the new student!"
Koro blushed, shrinking into himself. "I... Just got transferred..." he murmured.
"Why's that?" she asked curiously.
"My doctor is here in Tokyo... I've been ailing a bit lately... You can't tell anyone, 'kay?"
"Not a problem! I'm okay at keeping secrets!" she smiled.
There were screams and squeals, and Koro whipped out a book, leaned against a wall, and hid his face behind the book.
"You there!"
Serena found herself mobbed by eager fan-girls. She had questions thrown at her from every angle. "I haven't seen him, sorry... Wasn't he up near the temple earlier?" she bluffed.
The fan-girls blindly took her advice and ran back in the direction they'd come from.
"Whew! Thanks there!" Koro sighed.
"Where were you even keeping that book? It came outta nowhere!"
"I've been running form ecstatic fans for almost as long as I can remember. I've got my ways!" he smirked. "So... Seeya tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah, I guess..." she blushed.
"Oh! By the way..." Koro turned to look at her before walking away. "Your hair..."
She tensed up, waiting for him to make fun of it.
"... I think it's very cute! It reminds me of a teddy bear!"
"Oh... Thanks!" she waved, smiling and laughing as he walked away.
That night, she had trouble getting to sleep. And when she did get to sleep, it was fitful and full of nightmares.
"No! I won't let you destroy such a shine! One such as this..."
"One such as this... Deserves to live on! You will not taint or extinguish this shine!"
She gazed in wonder at the Sailor before her. She appeared to be a Starlight...
But she wasn't. She wasn't adorned with stars... She was decorated with hearts!
"Wh-who are you?" she asked, her voice a whisper.
"Do you not remember? I am the one you granted the power to protect you from those who would harm you." the Sailor said, her eyes soft and tear-filled, much different from the hard gaze of before!
Suddenly, the Sailor dashed in front of her.
She gasped.
Once clean and untouched, the Sailor was now coated in blood, her skin torn to ribbons with long and deep scratches, and a large sword extending from her back. "I promised to protect you..." she murmured, blood dribbling from her mouth. "... But it looks like I failed..."
Screaming, she shot awake.
"Mer-ow!" Luna jumped clear of her flailing. "What sort of dream was this?"
"I... I don't know..." Serena panted.