Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or her characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.
Note: Please read The Perfect Match before reading this as it is the prologue to this story, and will help make sense as you read this story.
Imperfect Reincarnation
Chapter One
Serena walked down the sidewalk in her quiet neighborhood on her way home from hanging out with her best friend after school. She wore her high school uniform which consisted of a long sleeve white sailor top with a small pocket on the left side of the chest, a navy blue collar with red stripes, matching cuffs at the end of the sleeves, a navy blue bow sat on her chest just beneath the collar, and she wore a navy blue skirt around her waist that came just above her knees.
She was an even five feet tall, had big blue eyes, and her long golden blond hair was parted down the middle and up in twin buns with the remainder flowing down pass her knees in two streams.
I can't believe that jerk! She thought as she shook her head, her parted bangs swaying across her forehead as she remembered the guy she had a run in with just minutes before.
She had been coming out of the jewelry shop her best friend's mother owned to begin making her way home after hanging out. She had paused, practically in the middle of the sidewalk, and pulled out her last returned test to look at it once more.
It was a math test that she wasn't happy with. She hadn't failed it, but she hadn't done as well as she knew she could have. She had just completely blanked on some questions, and apparently those questions had been worth a good number of points.
In her frustration she had acted rashly, balling and crumbling up the paper, and tossed it over her shoulder.
To her surprise she heard a male voice exclaim in surprise, and she turned to see a guy straighten out her paper and look it over. Then he had the audacity to tell her she needed to study more, and then unbelievably insulted her by calling her Meatball Head!
She had snatched her test back and told him to mind his own business before calling him a jerk and storming away. She had only glanced back once to find him watching her, and she had quickly faced forward and continued on her way.
Now she was well away from him and couldn't help thinking about the encounter. She wished she hadn't tossed her test like she had, but she would have gone to pick it up right after she cooled down.
Like I didn't know I needed to study more. That still didn't give him the right to say that, and it certainly didn't give him the right to make fun of my hair. She thought in irritation. I don't care if he is cute!
And Serena could admit that he was cute. He was actually more then that. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. And his voice! He had such a deep voice that could make a girl absolutely melt.
Still doesn't give him the right to say what he did. She thought before she shook her head as she walked. She looked down at her shadow and saw the buns on her head and frowned.
She loved the length of her hair and didn't mind her hair style, but she wasn't exactly in love with it either. She didn't even remember where the style had come from. It seemed she had been wearing it as long as she could remember. She had even actually gone looking through photo albums to try and find out one day. It had started off as high pigtails when she was little, and sometime just before she hit double digits the buns came into play.
Now every time she did her hair she thought about putting it into a different style or just leaving it loose, despite its length, but somehow she inevitably found herself wrapping it back up in those buns.
Still, it's my hair and that's enough to be upset about someone making fun of it. She thought as she walked into her slightly walled off front yard. She likely wouldn't ever see him again, so she pushed the incident from her mind with a sigh.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside as she closed it. She waved to her mom, who was sitting in the living room in a squishy arm chair reading a book, and headed upstairs to her bedroom.
Once she made it there she closed the door and casually stepped over the scattering of clothing and manga on the floor and placed her school bag on her floor desk before she stepped over to her bed and flopped down on her back.
Serena sighed as her body settled into the softness of her covers and the mattress beneath. She closed her eyes and let herself relax before she got up to start on her homework. Within minutes she felt herself dozing, and decided a short nap would do her some good. She pushed herself up further on her bed before she toed off her shoes, letting them fall where they may, and continued until she felt her pillow beneath her head.
She shifted and wiggled until she was comfortable and let herself relax again. It wasn't long before she was dozing again, and she turned on her side vaguely considering getting under her comforter when she heard a sharp snap.
Her eyes blinked open sleepily and turned her head, and looked over her shoulder toward her balcony doors. She saw nothing, but she knew she heard something. Suddenly she saw a black shape leap onto her bed, and blinked as she realized it was a black cat.
"You." Serena said as she stared at the cat.
She had come across the very same cat on her way to school that morning. She had seen some little kids putting bandaids on it, and she had snapped at them instantly driving them away. She absolutely hated animal cruelty, and she knew those bandaids would cause the cat pain if they were left on for any length of time. So she had taken them off the cats forehead and continued on her way.
Now here that cat was, somehow having figured out where she lived and gotten into her room, looking at her with a strange focus for an animal.
"Yes, me." The cat said. "My name is Luna."
Serena rolled off the bed with a quickness she didn't know she had and leapt to her feet; all tired weariness gone as she heard the animal speak.
"I wanted to thank you Serena for helping me." The cat, Luna, said sincerely. "Those children caught me off guard. I would have been in real trouble if you hadn't come along when you did, so again thank you."
Serena stared at the feline, wondering how she knew her name, and simply nodded.
"Now with that aside I can move on to my other reason for being here." Luna said before she cleared her throat. "I have been watching you all day since our meeting to make sure I was really sensing what I was, and I found that I was correct. You are one of the chosen ones I have been searching for."
"You are a sailor scout." Luna said seriously.
"A what?!" Serena asked, curiosity getting the better of her despite the shocking and outrageous situation.
"A sailor scout." Luna repeated. "To be more specific you, Serena, are Sailor Moon."
"Sailor Moon?!" Serena repeated. "What...what in the world is a sailor scout?" She asked.
"A sailor scout is a warrior. A female warrior charged with the duty to support and protect the Moon Princess." Luna explained, and she blinked in surprised amazement.
"And you actually believe I'm one these warriors?" Serena asked as she looked down at the cat.
"Yes." Luna said seriously.
"There's no way." She said as she shook her head.
"I can prove it." Luna said before she stood up and jumped into the air. She did a backflip and there was a brief flash of light before she and an object landed back on the bed.
Serena stepped forward and grasped the object and lifted it up to see that it was a gold brooch. It was round with a large crescent moon on its face with a large pink gem above the crescent moon, and four tiny gems on the edge of each side. Red on the top, blue on the bottom, green on the left, and orange on the right side.
"That is your transformation brooch. All you have to do is say 'moon prism power' and you will become Sailor Moon." Luna said confidently.
Serena frowned in uncertainty. She was unsure if she believed the cat despite her producing the brooch, and she was also unsure if she actually wanted to be this scout she mentioned.
Why should I do this? What will this entail? What responsibilities will I have? She asked herself as she looked from the brooch to Luna, and decided she needed more information.
"If I'm going to be this Sailor Moon I need more information." Serena said as she lowered her hand with the brooch. "You said a scouts duty is to support and protect the Moon Princess. Is that all there is, and who is this Moon Princess?"
"I will be honest I haven't remembered all my memories yet." Luna said honestly. "However, I know that we were all reincarnated here on Earth. You, me, the other scouts, and the princess. In the past there was life not just on the Earth but on all the planets in the solar system and of course the Moon."
"The Moon Princess was the heir to the throne of the Moon Kingdom and next in line to wield and guard the imperial silver crystal; a very powerful object which can only be used correctly by the royal moon line." She continued. "Because of this, shortly after her birth, she was given five guardian scouts to protect and support her during her lifetime. Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Moon."
"I don't yet remember how everything ended on the Moon, but I do know that there was a great evil involved." Luna explained. "I believe that evil was sent along to the Earth as well, and it is now awake and active, which is why I was awakened. As I said before the scouts protect the princess, but with this evil out there she is in constant danger, especially outside the protection of her Guardian Scouts."
"With that being said you and the scouts will need to fight and defeat any agents of the evil that appear and attack since one of the victims could possibly be the princess." Luna concluded.
Serena blinked and breathed slowly as she thought over what she had just learned. Everyone had somehow been reincarnated on the Earth though it sounded like they had all died on the Moon. The Sailor Scouts were guardians to the Moon Princess, because she was next in line to wield the silver crystal, which meant she had a very big responsibility.
And I'm supposed to be the reincarnation of one of her guardians; Sailor Moon. She thought with a light sigh. In this time I guess the princess wouldn't be next in line to wield the crystal. She'll be the holder, so she'll really be in danger whether she has the crystal yet or not. Although it would be nice to know if she already has the crystal.
"Will the silver crystal have to be found as well?" She asked.
"I don't know. Although, I believe one will lead to the other if they are not together." Luna replied. "So Serena, will you once again take up your sworn duty as a sailor scout?"
Serena took a deep breath before she released it in a sigh as she lifted the brooch once again. It was nice looking, but it was heavy and she felt nothing looking at it. What resonated within her was the words 'sworn duty as a sailor scout'. The sight of the brooch did nothing for her, but those words made her decision.
"Moon Prism Power!" She said clearly, and squinted her eyes as a bright pink light flared from the brooch and surrounded her. When the light cleared she looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a sailor uniform.
She wore a white bodysuit with a blue collar that had two white stripes on it, white shoulder pads, and a blue miniskirt. On her chest and lower back were red bows, and she wore white gloves that stretched up her forearms just beneath her elbows with red borders. In addition to that she wore red knee-high boots with a white border at the triangular top with gold crescent moons in the middle.
Serena turned and looked in her vanity mirror and saw that she had red hair pieces on the buns in her hair, a gold tiara on her forehead with a red gem, gold earrings with dangling crescent moons, a red choker with a gold crescent moon on it, and in the center of the bow on her chest sat the heavy brooch she had used to transform.
"It's true." She said in surprise. "I really am Sailor Moon." She said. Even after all the explanations she hadn't quite believed, but now there was no doubt. She was the scout of the Moon.
"Yes you are." Luna said proudly.
Serena turned to her but before she could speak a panicked fearful voice began to sound around her. She looked around in confusion before she realized it was coming from the red pieces in her hair.
"Help! Someone, anyone help! Please help me!" They heard the scared voice plead, and Serena frowned as she recognized the voice.
"That sounds like Molly!" She said in alarm. "How am I supposed to find her?!" She asked in a panic, but then suddenly calmed down enough to think and she remembered that Molly told her she was staying at her mother's jewelry store late that day.
Serena looked to her balcony doors and ran around her bed and opened the doors and stepped out. She quickly scanned the area and once she was satisfied that no one was looking she leapt over the balcony. She landed in the grass and quickly made her way out of her front yard and began to run, sprinting through her neighborhood, and onward as she hurried to the jewelry store she had been at earlier that day.
It was now dark out, and part of her realized that was helping her move unimpeded, but at this point she worried that the store would be closed and her friend would be in an unknown place in need of help.
Serena skidded to a stop outside the jewelry store's front doors and panted as she looked through the windows. The lights were off inside and her heart sank, but then she heard a scream.
"Help!" She heard, and knew it was Molly.
"Go on Sailor Moon! Quickly!" She heard Luna say. She must have followed me. She thought as she looked down at the black cat before she returned her gaze to the doors.
Before she could let her imagination run wild with what was possibly inside she stepped forward and tried the door. It was unlocked so she opened it and stepped inside, idly noticing that Luna had slipped in as well.
She squinted in the darkness and stepped further in and paused as she was finally able to see what was going on. There were people lying on the floor everywhere, and she didn't know if they were unconscious or dead, and beyond them was her best friend being held in the air by her neck by the hand of strange looking woman.
"Hey! Put her down!" She called, and watched in disbelief as the woman turned her head, not just to the side, but all the way around so she was completely facing her.
That action showed her clearly that this woman wasn't a woman at all. This was obviously one of the evil's agents that Luna spoke of. She looked closer and saw that she had black and yellow eyes, a red splotch mark on her forehead, and her hands were actually clawed.
"Who are you?" The woman, monster, asked in a raspy tone.
oOoIRoOo
A tall young dark haired man sighed as he sat on his couch in his apartment as he prepared to relax before he began to read through the textbook sitting in front of him on his coffee table. He clicked on the TV purely for background noise and closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind.
However, once he managed to clear it the face of the golden blonde haired girl he had encountered earlier flashed into his mind.
Darien sighed again. He didn't know why the girl wouldn't leave his mind. It was a slightly strange encounter but it wasn't his first.
So why is she lingering? He wondered as he thought back to that incident.
oOo
Darien walked down the sidewalk on his way to drop in on his best friend briefly at his job before heading home. He wasn't in a hurry but he did want to make it quick since he needed to get a start on the textbook to one of his classes.
So he quickened his pace as he walked his eyes gazing ahead of him when he saw a girl step out of a store and pause in the middle of the sidewalk.
She looked short even from his distance and her hair was incredibly long though the style left much to be desired. For some reason it instantly irritated him. He had seen worse more outrageous styles, but this one just instantly grated on his nerves.
As he came closer to her he saw that she was indeed short. She barely came up to his shoulder, but now that he was getting a closer look at the buns on her head he saw how much hair made them up.
How much longer would her hair be if she let it down? He wondered before he saw something white flying at his face.
"Hey!" He said in surprise as he was hit in the face. He blinked his eyes and snatched the ball that was falling out of the air, and straightened it when he realized it was crumbled up paper. He scanned it and saw that it was a math test with a slightly above average score.
"Hmm...you need to study more Meatball Head." He said with a smirk as he looked up, and got his first look at her face. She had big blue eyes, a button nose, and a slightly rounded face.
Now if she could do something about that hair style. He thought but was interrupted by her snatching the paper from his hand.
"Mind your own business Jerk!" She snapped, and he held in a laugh as he watched her storm away.
oOo
Darien smiled slightly in amusement as he remembered her look back at him only to turn back around and walk faster as she saw him still looking. She was a pretty little thing with that face, the long golden blonde hair, and petite body.
Maybe that's why she's lingering in my mind. He considered as he opened his eyes.
However, before he could do more than that a sharp pain flared through his head. The pain was so intense his mind went blank as he cried out, his hands flying up to grip the sides of his head as if he pressed hard enough he would somehow get relief.
His head tilted back as the intense pain continued and he closed his eyes as he continued to cry out. Despite the pain he suddenly felt a warmth appear in his chest. It pulsed, heating and cooling, heating and cooling before the warmth began to spread out toward the rest of his body.
Darien collapsed to his side, falling face first into the couch, his screams muffled by the seat cushion. As the warmth encompassed his entire body the pain spiked and suddenly his mind was being flooded. Places, faces, people, locations, names, events, titles, occasions, and more swept through his mind like a tsunami.
He gave a last pained cry before the intense pain, and warmth, suddenly lessened until it faded entirely. He lay there unmoving, panting and wincing at the remembered pain, as he tried to understand what had just happened. He wanted to pass out and forget the memory of the pain, but he knew he couldn't. He was needed.
He laboriously sat up, and tried to figure out why he was needed and who needed him.
Her. The thought came urgently through his mind even as the flood continued.
Darien couldn't help wondering who this 'her' was, but he stood up all the same and stumbled slightly toward his balcony. He slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the balcony and gazed out at the view.
He was thoroughly confused and slightly disoriented but some part of him understood, and knew what to do and where to go. He looked down at himself, wearing a pair of black sweatpants and gray t-shirt, and knew he wasn't dressed right.
Through the flood came an image of a man in a navy blue uniform, silver armor, and sword.
No. Too noticeable; too threatening. Came the contemplative thought.
Then another image came, and he saw her again. The girl he encountered earlier that day, only she looked different, dressed differently, in some kind of sailor outfit, though she wore the same hair style. Though it no longer irritated him. Now it angered him; although for some reason he was pleased that her hair was even longer.
Then the image became a scene and he saw her dancing with a man wearing a black tuxedo and white mask. He knew instinctively that that was it. It was less noticeable, non threatening, and he wouldn't be recognized.
Darien grabbed onto the balcony railing to stabilize himself as he closed his eyes. He focused on the outfit he had seen. Full black tuxedo, black shoes, white gloves, black cape with red inner lining, and white mask.
The warmth he felt earlier pulsed in his chest and once again spread through his body. Unknown to him his body began to glow a soft gold before it brightened and covered his body from view. When the warmth disappeared he opened his eyes and immediately saw the difference. His hands now sported white gloves, his arms black sleeves, his legs black pants, and black shoes comfortably graced his feet.
Darien turned around and looked at his reflection in the glass window and saw himself dressed identical to the man in the image he saw.
Go! Came the urgent thought.
He turned back to face the view even though he wanted to go back inside and out the door. Another part of him knew he couldn't, and shouldn't waste time trying to. But what was he supposed to do instead?
Go! The thought came as a command this time, and Darien stopped thinking.
He leapt onto the railing and jumped to another balcony, and another, and another until he made it to a lower rooftop. He then amazingly began to sprint through the city running across and leaping rooftops, jumping from balconies and fire escapes, skipping across light and electric poles, and racing through alleys before repeating the process as and when needed.
He had no idea where he was going or how he even knew where to go. It was as if he was following something he couldn't see yet knew was there all the same.
The connection. The thought came helpfully through his mind, and he blinked as he ran. He was needed and being guided by a connection. He blinked again as it dawned on him that he had been called and that was why he was in such a hurry.
He was being guided by a strange connection to a call from a...female?
Soon he found himself racing across a rooftop toward the edge. There was a large gap and he knew there was a two way multiple lane street below. His destination was the next rooftop, but he didn't understand how he was going to get there from the direction he was clearly heading in. There was no way he could make that jump.
Just as the thought finished he reached the edge of the roof and to his amazement and horror he jumped, leaping through the air like there was a soft landing below. He was scared shitless, but another part of him was confident and knew there was nothing to fear.
Darien sailed high across the gap and landed lightly on the target rooftop like it was nothing, as if he was simply stepping down a stair. He shook his head and rushed forward, searching, searching until he found a large skylight window. He opened it and looked down on the scene below and blinked at what he saw.
A woman wearing a black dress floating in the air behind dozens of people who were walking and struggling forward. He shifted his eyes curiously and looked ahead in the direction they were headed.
He sucked in a sharp breath as he spotted her, and simultaneously the flood in his mind finally settled. Everything made sense. He understood. He remembered.
She was his soulmate; his Serenity.