Hey there! Sorry for the long way, I forgot to update this fic on . I still highly suggest you check the version on AO3 since I add art for each chapter! You can also see the art I did for this fic on my insta (rickyriddle20) and tumblr (rickyriddle).

"Murderer! Ruthless tyrant! Warmonger! Warlord!"

Those words kept getting shouted at her on the battlefield, but it didn't stop her. Sometimes, fire was required in order to fight fire- a war to stop all the other wars ravaging the planet.

It was until she met an even bigger tyrant, a greater warrior, not on a single planet, but for the entire universe. Someone she couldn't help but admire and respect, and aspire to be as strong and powerful.

But she didn't join her for that reason. She joined for the sake of one person she cared for deeply, her beloved rival. She would follow her to the end of the universe, quite literally, to protect her.

The red crow had turned black, corrupting herself for the sake of the one she loved.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as she couldn't prevent her grim fate. She died in her arms and shortly after, she followed her in death. And yet…

Why was she still alive? What were these memories? Who was Karasuma Akane and why was she acting as if she had no recollection of her previous actions? It was as if she was a completely new person…

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Her sight was welcomed by the person she had long considered responsible for the death of her dear rival. Her mind was a mess and her capacity for reasoning was practically non-existent. Overcome by pure rage upon waking up in confusion, Crow jumped on the girl and seized her by the throat.

"Urgh…!?"

"Usagi-chan!?"

Someone immediately grabbed Crow from behind, forcing her to let go of Usagi. But Crow was far from giving up and started to struggle to break free. Usagi coughed up for a few seconds before giving her a pleading look.

"Please, Crow-san, you need to calm down… we are not going to hurt you," Usagi said.

"With your injuries, you shouldn't be moving! You're going to hurt yourself!" Ami added.

But Crow couldn't think straight. Everything they said was nothing but noises when it reached her ears. It only made her struggle even more while whoever was behind her restrained her stronger.

"Ugh…"

She could feel a sharp pain in her back, temporarily paralyzing her.

"Mako-chan, please let her go! She's in pain," Usagi said.

"But she attacked you…!"

"She's just hurt and confused."

After a moment of hesitation, Makoto let go of Crow. The latter staggered, her head spinning. Her vision was starting to get blurry and the pain in her back was still very present, as well as some kind of… wet warmth? Crow brushed her side and tried to reach her back, feeling some warm liquid staining what appeared to be bandages. When she brought back her hand in front of her she discovered with shock what it was.

Blood.

Her hand was stained with this crimson liquid she was oh so familiar with. Flashes of the many wars and battlefields she participated in invaded her mind all at once, all the carnage and massacre she caused on her path, the blood she shed wherever she went…

And she saw red.

"... Arghhhh!"

Once again, Crow rushed toward Usagi, this time with a morbid desire to stain her other hand with her blood. Makoto barely had the time to react, jumping on Crow to stop her murderous intent. But it appeared that she was stronger than before, ignoring the pain, so much that Makoto wasn't enough to contain her.

"Ugh… how can she be so strong… she's injured and not even transformed…!?" Makoto complained. "I need help!"

For Makoto, who was the strongest, to request help when it came to strength, was a testament to Crow's endurance. Rei immediately reacted, helping Makoto pin Crow to the ground.

"What a strong bloodlust…" Rei commented.

"Please, don't hurt her!" Usagi begged.

"I'm trying, but she's not making it easy for us!" Makoto replied.

Ami quickly looked through her medical kit and pulled out a syringe.

"Hold her still!" She ordered.

Makoto and Rei did their best to keep Crow, who was struggling like crazy, from moving. Ami carefully got closer and stung the syringe in her arm, injecting its contents.

Slowly, Crow began to lose her strength and her mind became dizzy. She stopped struggling and closed her eyes, falling back asleep.

"Hey, I think she's waking up…"

Crow was left feeling groggy when she once again emerged from her sleep. Her body felt both heavy and limp, preventing her from moving as she pleased. She was laying down on a futon in what appeared to be an old-fashioned, traditional Japanese room. Crow felt incredibly dizzy and had trouble with her train of thought.

"Where… where am I…?"

"Everything is alright, you're safe," Usagi tried to reassure her. "Just stay calm and don't try to move, we don't want your wound to re-open…"

But her words had quite the opposite effect. As soon as she saw her, Crow was thrown back in a state of fury, wanting to jump right back at her throat…

But she couldn't.

Her body was too weak to allow her to actually jump at her, let alone even stand up. She could barely raise an arm in her current state.

"What… what have you done to me…!?"

"Nothing, you don't have to worry…" Usagi tried to explain.

"I gave you a sedative, to help with the pain and with your… nerves," Ami suddenly said. "I wasn't sure what the appropriate dose would be given you aren't human, so I might have given you a little too much…"

Crow began to feel wary, uncomfortable to be put in such a vulnerable and powerless situation, at the mercy of former enemies.

"What… do you want from me?" she asked.

"Huh?" Usagi reacted.

"I have nothing of value to tell you," Crow continued. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you anything!"

"Huh… do you think this is an interrogation?" Minako asked.

"... why else would you have captured me other than to torture me for information?"

"Woah, t-torture!? I think you got the wrong idea here! We're not going to hurt you in any way," Ami said.

"...uh? Then why did you bother taking care of my wound…?"

"Because you were hurt…? Do we need another reason to help someone?" Rei replied.

Crow scoffed at that.

"I forgot you Earth Senshi were naive softies… if it was me, I would have painted the walls with their blood."

"We would have appreciated a simple 'thank you' instead of a veiled threat, given the one who injured you would have gladly left you to die out there," Makoto retorted.

"At least someone in your group with common sense," Crow replied. "If I could move, you'd all be dead by now…"

"Alright, I'm calling Haruka-san," Minako said.

"W-wait! She's not going to hurt us, and we're not going to hurt her either," Usagi said.

As the Inner Senshi began to argue amongst themselves, Crow's started to feel hazy, words turning into indescribable sounds that felt like it was ringing in her ears. Then, she remembered what happened, especially the incoherence in her own memory.

"Seiren!?" Crow suddenly exclaimed. "Where's Seiren!?"

Crow was starting to get more erratic, her breathing becoming more heavy.

"What even is going on!? Why am I even alive!? Nothing is making any sense! What are those nonsensical memories I have?! Was I really living as a human with Seiren?"

In her panic and confusion, Crow managed to stand up despite the sedative, looking around frantically.

"Seiren!? Where are you, Seiren!?"

"Woah, calm down…" Makoto said.

"You shouldn't be moving in your condition!" Ami exclaimed.

"I don't care! I want to see Seiren-"

"Seiren-san is fine," Usagi suddenly replied.

Crow immediately stared at Usagi and slowly walked towards her, staggering on her way there.

"Seiren is… fine? She's really… alive?"

Crow suddenly seized Usagi by the shoulders. Even injured, with her impressive height she was very intimidating compared to the tiny girl. Makoto instinctively tried to grab her, but Usagi gestured at her to stay where she was.

"Where is she then!? Where is Seiren!?"

"We… don't know…" Usagi replied. "You got injured while protecting her, so she left so you wouldn't get hurt anymore because of her…"

Crow let go of Usagi and backed down a little, grabbing her head like she was having a headache.

"Ugh… it doesn't make any sense… what happened to me…!"

"After you two came back to life, Seiren-san… hypnotized you, and messed with your memories," Usagi explained. "She thought she was protecting you."

"No, it can't be…"

Crow staggered a little bit more before taking a deep breath. She then started walking away from the room.

"W-wait, where are you going? You shouldn't even be moving in your state!" Ami exclaimed.

But Crow wasn't listening to her, wobbling her way out.

"I need to go home," she mumbled.

She then stumbled and nearly fell, only to be caught up by Makoto.

"Not in your condition you won't!" Mako said.

"I need to go see Seiren!" Crow insisted.

"... fine, but you can't leave on your own," Ami said.

The others nodded as Minako pulled out her phone.

"I'm calling a taxi."

"Uh, I wasn't expecting you'd be living here," Makoto said.

The taxi had left them in front of an apartment complex. Given there were only a limited amount of seats in the car, only three of them could go with Crow. Usagi insisted on going, while Ami felt she needed to be there in case Crow's wound reopened. Makoto also decided to tag along, fearing that Crow might become aggressive again.

"... why are you so surprised?" Crow asked.

"I don't know, I thought you'd be living in some sort of hideout, not… a normal place."

"Normal, huh… I guess that's what I had with…"

Crow didn't even finish her sentence before she was already on her way to the building.

"Hey, wait!" Usagi exclaimed.

Usagi, Ami and Makoto followed Crow into the apartment complex. The latter headed for room 182 and then put her hand in her pocket to find her key. She unlocked the door and opened it, stepping inside. The inners remained in the door frame.

"Uh… may we come in?" Usagi asked nervously.

Crow glanced over her shoulder at them before continuing her way into her apartment.

"Do as you like," she simply replied.

The inners removed their shoes and stepped inside, a little hesitant, looking around.

The apartment was reasonable in size and the furniture was modest, nothing too luxurious but still stylish. It was a classic 3½, with a kitchen, a living room, and two other rooms that might be the bedroom and bathroom.

"Wow… seems very cozy here," Usagi commented.

"It's… modern. It feels like a place a young couple would be living in," Makoto added.

"Seiren…" Crow mumbled.

She then headed for one of the other rooms, followed by the inners. Inside was a queen size bed and a window in an overall ordinary bedroom, clean and well-ordered.

"One bedroom and only one bed… I see…" Makoto noted.

Crow sighed and let out a bitter chuckle.

"Of course she wouldn't be here… it was silly of me to think she'd be… home…"

Crow let herself fall onto her bed like she had given up all hope.

"C-Crow-san…!?" Usagi let out.

"Seiren also called me Crow-san…"

"Well yeah, because it's your name…" Ami replied.

"... oh, right…"

Crow lay down in her bed, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

"Do…you want to talk about it…?" Usagi asked.

Crow remained silent, hugging one of her pillows.

"I think she probably wants to be left alone after what she went through," Makoto said.

Reluctantly, Usagi nodded to Makoto's advice.

"We will be leaving now… if you ever want to talk or need help, you know where to find us," Usagi said softly.

"Anddon't push yourself too hard with your wound," Ami recommended.

Once again, Crow didn't reply. The inners slowly walked away from the room while Crow hugged the pillow tighter.

"Seiren… where are you…?"

"Here, have a drink. It will soothe your nerves."

Sitting on a luxurious couch, Seiren accepted the glass "Shigekane Hirari" was offering her. Seiren's hair was wet and she was wearing a bathrobe, while she had bandages around her injured arm. The room she was in was rather extravagant and wealthy, with a European style.

"Thank you… for everything. For taking care of my wound, letting me use your shower, giving me a place to stay…"

"There is no need to thank me, I'm just doing what any good friend would do," Shigekane replied as she sat down next to Seiren. "Your clothes are in the drying machine, they should be ready soon."

Seiren took a sip of her drink. It had a strong yet sweet taste.

"Mmm, that's good… what is it?"

"One of my vodka-based homemade cocktails."

"Ohh… quite tasty."

Seiren took another sip.

"Now, I think we have beaten around the bush for long enough," Shigekane suddenly said. "I'm sure you have many questions you'd like to ask me."

Seiren put her glass down on the coffee table, her hands fidgeting together.

"Yeah, Shigekane- I mean, Papillon-san… is that alright if I call you that?"

"Of course, but only in private. Let's say I'm keeping my true identity a secret… for now."

"Those monster attacks recently… were you behind them?"

Papillon sighed and laid back on the couch's backrest.

"If you must know, yes, I am… but my intentions were never to get anyone hurt, especially not you- all I wanted was to test this planet's Sailor Senshi."

"Huh? But… why? And how did you create these monsters?"

"Well, you see… they might become an issue for me later, so better know now what they are capable of. All I had to do was release some chaos energy and let it infect some Earthlings and turn them into monsters…"

Papillon cleared her throat.

"Things might have gone farther than expected… I didn't expect you or Crow-san to get dragged into this mess. And for that, I sincerely apologize.

Seiren grabbed back her glass, drinking the rest of its contents in one gulp.

"It still hurt, you know… they all thought it was me! They all blamed me! They attacked me, they hurt me, and because of that, I… might have lost Crow-san…"

Seiren began to feel woozy. Maybe drinking her glass so fast wasn't a good idea after all. Papillon suddenly got closer to her, gently taking one of her hands into hers in a comforting way.

"I'm sure Crow-san will forgive you, you can't beat yourself up for only doing what you thought was the best for her. As for the Earth senshi… you don't have to worry about them. If they were so quick to blame you, they are not worth your time. They didn't even bother trying to talk with you, didn't they? So rude of them… I would never have treated you that way."

Seiren felt her head spinning, emotions racing through her mind.

"I… I can't face Crow-san anymore, not after what I've done to her… I don't want to go home…"

"Shhh, it's alright. You can stay here as long as you need."

"Are… are you sure? Because… I don't think I intend to join whatever business you have going here on Earth…"

"But of course… real friends don't coerce their friends, I just want to help you to the best of my abilities. I will never force you to pick a side."

Seiren nearly started tearing up.

"T-thank you, Papillon-san…!"

Papillon nodded, then offered her her warmest smile.

"It's my pleasure."

"I thought we did all this in order to set Aluminum Seiren up and pin all the blame on her. Wasn't the plan to pin her against the Sol Senshi all along so she'd join us?"

As soon as she had left the room and left Seiren to rest, Papillon was accosted by a foxy-looking Animamate.

"That was the plan, yes," Papillon replied, "but it can wait. I'd rather have her on no one's side than against us. It's better to think of the long-term than worry about short-term details."

"But what if she decides to join them-"

Papillon suddenly glared at her, giving a gloomy look.

"Are you doubting my judgment, Fox?"

"That wasn't what I meant, I'm just worried that…"

"Worry not, I know what I'm doing."

Fox looked down, shameful. Papillon sighed then gently brushed her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm serious. Don't worry about this. We're in this together. I won't let anything bad happen to any of us. If Seiren became a threat, I'd deal with her accordingly. Okay?"

Fox weakly nodded.

"Where's the tadpole?" Fox suddenly asked.

"Oh, Kerokko is out on her own mission," Papillon replied with a smirk. "She can't just play the role of your little sister forever. And there's only so much someone her age can use as a cover…"

"Alright class, today we have a new transfer student who will be joining us," the teacher announced.

The students of Juuban Public School started whispering to one another. It was out of the ordinary to get a transfer student at this time of the semester, especially in the first year of middle school. They were wondering what could have caused this sudden transfer of school.

Hotaru raised her head. She wasn't one for gossip and such but she too was curious about this mysterious transfer student.

"Please, come on in and introduce yourself," the teacher said.

A young girl with short green hair entered the class and stood in front of the board. She wrote down her name and then turned down to face the class, a bright and wide smile on her face.

"Hi, my name is Handa Kaeru and I used to live abroad with my family. Nice to meet you all!"

Handa Kaeru is written that way: 半田 かえる