Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon and other characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.
Ikuko and Kenji didn't know what to think. They had never heard of Sailor Moon. They had heard of Sailor V in the news, who had been thought to be some kind of super hero wanna-be. She wasn't known to fight robbers or murderers, but wherever there was a strange incident occurring where people seemed to be drained of their energy or disappearing, Sailor V would show up and fight off an unknown enemy and restore people's energy or even revive the people who had disappeared.
Kenji, being an editor and chief of a newspaper knew how to ask the right questions to get the answers. "Usagi, honey, where did you get this brooch?" He wanted to rant about who on Earth would make a 14 year-old's fighting uniform a short skirt with heeled boots, but first things first. He needed facts.
"Yesterday some boys were bullying this cat on my way to school," Usagi began. "I ran them off and took off a bandage from the cat's head. It had a crescent bald spot on it's head." Usagi traced the crescent shape on her brooch with her fingers. Her family saw the shape she was outlining, their eyebrows raising.
She continued, "Later yesterday evening the same cat came in through my window and started talking to me," she laughed bitterly, "I know I sound crazy, but she really did talk to me!"
Ikuko patted her daughter's hand, "We believe you, Usagi, please continue," she he glared daggers at Kenji who looked like he wanted interject in Usagi's story. Ikuko thought that it did seem unbelievable, but her daughter was not known to lie, so she would believe Usagi until she gave her a reason not to.
"Luna, the cat, said she was from the Moon Kingdom and that I was the chosen warrior Sailor Moon. I would never have taken the brooch without asking her questions about it what it was and what it would mean for me to take it, but after seeing it, mama, it just felt like it belonged to me." Usagi looked up into her mother's eyes, deep blue pools mirroring a depth that Ikuko had never seen in her daughter's eyes before. "I know that this brooch is mine."
"And then what, sweetheart?" Kenji prodded.
"Luna told me my transformation spell and I turned into Sailor Moon." Usagi paused, taking a sip from her now cold chocolate cocoa. "Honestly, it all happened so fast, I didn't really know what was going on. One minute I was standing there in this sailor get up and the next I'm hearing calls of distress in my hair." She gripped the cup in her hands.
"It was Naru's voice, mama. That was calling out in distress." Usagi continued to tell them about how she had gone to the rescue of her best friend at OSA-P and how her mother had been replaced by a monster from the Negaverse. She told them about her fight, or lack of ability to fight and the encouraging words from Tuxedo Kamen who had come to her rescue and her inevitable dusting of the monster. She ended her story with how Luna had forbade her to tell anyone of her alternate identity and the coldness that she heard in the feline's voice.
She began to break down again, "I mean, I'm only 14! What does she expect out of me?! I'm no warrior?! I can't even walk straight, much less fight gracefully!"
Shingo, despite the severity of finding out his sister was a superhero grinned at her, "But I bet you're faster than any other monster out there, nee-chan!"
Usagi turned to grin at her brother. For whatever clumsiness Usagi beheld, her constant mismanagement of time had made her a fast. The fastest in Juuban, actually, even their neighbors and Usagi's teachers could attest to the speed of the blonde teen as they saw her barrel down the streets daily.
Ikuko and Kenji locked eyes trying to absorb the information that Usagi just told them. It was shocking to them that their girl was given the dangerous responsibility of being some kind of super hero against monsters and demons that the common public and maybe even government didn't know about.
Kenji's protective instincts wanted to forbid Usagi from using these powers and wanted nothing more than to hide the brooch or even toss it into the closest river, but something in how Usagi had told her story made his heart freeze. Despite her fear and confusion from the situation, he heard in his daughter's voice, a conviction that he had never seen from her before. His pride overcame his fear and the feeling of being proud of his daughter filled him with warmth and joy.
Ikuko's train of thought was different from her husband's. She was annoyed at this cat, Luna; for some mystical creature from the moon, she had a disturbing way of advising and leading her teenage 'soldier'.
Ikuko's voice was cold as she spoke to Usagi, "You mean to say that this Luna didn't explain anything to you after she gave you the brooch?"
Usagi bowed her head sheepishly, nodding.
Ikuko's voice softened seeing as her daughter thought she was angry at her,"Usagi, I'm not mad at you," Usagi looked up seeing understanding in her mother's eyes. "I am annoyed at this Luna though, for not explaining anything to you! How could she just assume you would just obey her orders to gallivanting after monsters and expecting you to win against them without any explanation on how to defeat them or even your own powers?!"
Usagi went to try to justify the black advisor's actions, but Ikuko interrupted her ranting, "Explaining it to you in the middle of a battle and expecting you to understand what to do is NOT the way to train someone for battle! She put my precious daughter's life on the line because of her poor judgment! Did she even know your strengths and weaknesses?! No! She just put you in a uniform and expected you to fight like a seasoned veteran without so much as explaining to you WHY you're even fighting these creatures!"
Kenji and Shingo smiled to each other during Ikuko's tirade. For all of seeming to be a traditional housewife, Ikuko was nothing of the sort. She had strong beliefs of integrity, honesty and justice and was riled passionately at any kind of malpractice, especially when her children were included into that formula. The mama bear in her was coming out, and she was a force to be reckoned with.
Ikuko exhaled and shook her head of the steaming emotions. What was done was done, she couldn't change the past, but she damn well could change the future. There was no way that she would let her daughter be taken advantage of again.
"Usagi," Ikuko asked, "I know that all this just happened to you know yesterday, and that probably accounts for why you're so tired this morning, but is this what you want?"
Usagi opened and closed her mouth. She hadn't been given a choice yesterday. Part of her wanted nothing to do with fighting and the violence of beating up monsters, but another part of her felt like if she had this special power, she should use it to protect the people who didn't have the power to protect themselves.
Kenji interjected, being able to read some of this daughter's thoughts. "Honey," he asked her, "Do you even know much about this war with the Negaverse? Why was this war started? Who is behind the attacks? What do they want with people?" Usagi shook her head no. She didn't she didn't know anything. Luna hadn't told her anything.
Ikuko pressed her lips into a thin line. She wanted to have a talk with this Luna and demand some answers. It would be easy for a talking cat to shock teenagers into doing battle for them, but she would love to see this pushy feline try to get in the way of her protecting her daughter.
Shingo for the first time during the conversation piped up, he had somewhat of a crush on the mysterious Sailor V and had some information about her that the rest of his family didn't seem to know about. "I know a little about Sailor V, if she is working for the same goal as Sailor Moon," he began to explain. The family's attention turned to the ten year old.
"According to the stalking some of my classmates found on the internet, Sailor V was first documented fighting in London last year. She was said to have fought off monsters from somewhere called the Negaverse." Shingo shrugged, "There's a few bad photos online from people who were caught in several battles, but it seems that the monsters and even Sailor V seem very supernatural. It's like out of an anime or something."
He continued, "No one really knows why or how she's fighting off these monsters, they just show up, cause people to collapse then she shows up and fights them off and then disappears. She hasn't shown up for awhile though. Maybe that's why Luna came to make Usagi Sailor Moon? I hope she wasn't hurt though, that would be terrible."
Right Sailor Moon. Usagi was Sailor Moon. She didn't know why she had to be Sailor Moon, she knew that she wasn't qualified; she wasn't strong, or powerful. The battle from last night was proof of that. But then again, she remembered hearing the desperation in Naru's voice and her soul cried out, wanting to protect her best friend. The sense of justice that her mother had instilled in her clenched her heart along with the protective instincts of someone who carried great passion and love for others. How dare those monsters attack people who just want to live their lives out happily, Usagi thought. The sense of injustice prickled Usagi's mind. It seemed the mama bear's cub was starting to grow teeth.
...
The family had talked through the morning and into the early afternoon. Kenji thought that it would be too stressful for Ikuko to also make lunch, so he offered to treat the family to a late lunch out. Everyone had gotten ready and had a great time out, talking about mundane things in their everyday lives over at their favorite Italian restaurant.
Once they had gotten back home they were all in a calmer state of mind. Usagi was pleasantly surprised at how her parents had taken the news of her being Sailor Moon. Granted, she had spent all of less than 24 hours as the new soldier of love and justice, but it was only a matter of time before she was called out to the front line again to battle the Negaverse. Usagi wished that Luna would make her reappearance so that she could ask her own questions about her responsibility as Sailor Moon.
They settled into the living room with tea and cookies, ready to take back on the heavy conversation of Usagi as Sailor Moon.
"So, nee-chan," Shingo started, "not to be mean or anything, but how did you even beat that monster from last night? You're not exactly a Spartan gladiator or anything."
"Yes, young lady," Kenji inserted, "I'm also very concerned about the idea of my little princess fighting when you haven't been trained in it at all."
Ikuko held up a hand. "Hold it right there first." The conversation stopped and eyes turned to the lady of the house. "First," she continued, "Let's see if this is something that Usagi wants to pursue. I know that this cat didn't give her an option about it, but I'll be damned if we don't give the right to chose for herself if she wants to continue down this path."
Usagi had tears of gratitude in her eyes. She was overwhelmed with the constant support that her family showed her. "Th-thank you mama," she said, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Usagi sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. She figured, if she was going to be a super hero, she should try to be a little tougher. "I think, that even though I wasn't given a choice to accepting this responsibility, that I should see it through." She clasped the brooch tightly in her hands and looked up at her mother with clear eyes, "You've shown me, mama, that if we don't stand up for the injustices we see, that we're just as bad as the people committing the crimes. I don't want to fight, I hated it, but if it means less people will get hurt, then I'm want to try." She paused and frowned, "I know that I might not be the best person for the job, but if people are willing to be patient and to train me, I'm willing to learn."
Ikuko felt a swell of pride rise within her. Part of her heart broke, seeing her little girl prove to her that she was growing up right before her very eyes, but she wouldn't want to witness it any other way.
"We support you, Usagi," Kenji said, his voice full of emotion.
"Yeah, nee-chan!" Shingo exclaimed, "You can count on us for all the help that you need!"
Usagi turned to her mother, with a beaming smile on her face, "You have all our support and love sweetheart," Ikuko softly said. She shook her head and clapped. "Ok! Now that Usagi has decided on her own that this is something that she wants to pursue, let's talk logistics."
The rest of the evening was spent talking about how they would be able to best support Usagi in her new mission. The family had decided that it would be best if there were free and open communication between Usagi, her family and Luna. Ikuko and Kenji especially wanted to have a one on one talk with the lunar feline.
Kenji, Shingo and Usagi would be looking into dojos for Usagi to become more accustomed to training her body and mind to fight. Shingo would also take lessons with Usagi for moral support and according to him for 'just in case.'
After some debate over school Usagi begged her parents to let her stay enrolled at her school. They had decided that if her grades didn't pick up and if Sailor Moon business got in the way of her studies, they would figure out an alternative.
Something else that both Ikuko and Kenji were adamant about was that they still wanted Usagi to have a fun teenage lifestyle. They knew that with her new responsibilities, she would have to become more mature and well… responsible. But that didn't mean she couldn't still hang out at the Fruits Crown Parlor or hang out Naru. It would be those times of fun and carefree joy that would remind Usagi why she was fighting for her friends and those she loved.
Usagi couldn't be happier with how things were turning out! Her parents were on board with the whole Sailor Moon thing, they had an active plan to help her protect herself—now only if Luna would show up so she could fill in the feline with it all. She was a little apprehensive, especially how Luna had told her to keep her identity secret, but she was only 14. Usgai knew she needed the support of her family to accomplish the lofty goals Luna seemed to have in mind for Usagi.
And there you have it. Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you like?