Fatal Fury Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ To Earth and Mars ❯ After ( Prologue )

To Earth and Mars: Prologue

By: Lady Goldmoon

The scream came piercing through the night, awakening the silence of the warm Paris night. Rei Hino bolted upright in her hotel room, panting endlessly. She had not had a dream like that since…. She gave a soft sigh and looked outside, staring at the glimmering night sky. "You have to say it, Rei" she told herself, since…

"Tokyo," Rei answered. Shifting her gaze to the illuminated calendar on her wall, she knew it had been almost two years since she had mentioned her home for most of her young life. Fully awake, she rose from her bed, her slender frame casting a shadow on the bedspread. Rei went outside onto the balcony, smelling the cool night air. Her life had changed two years ago and for better or worse; she couldn't say…

After the defeat of Galaxia and Chaos, the Sailor soldiers finally got what they had deserved ever since they defeated Queen Beryl: peace. For the first time in 3 years, they could focus more on their lives than on saving the world, and for the first year, it was bliss. Serena, Amy, Rei, Lita, and Mina became what they had always wanted to be normal high school girls.

As it always happens though peace never lasts for long, the girls soon realized, and it was not always a new enemy. Rei remembered the day when she knew things would not last.

At seventeen, at last, Rei Hino was going to be ordained a Shinto priestess. Rei knew that this was going to be the most important day in her life, next to the day she became a Sailor soldier. Of course, if she survived the party the night before, she might actually look peaceful and radiant, instead of dead tired.

The party was to be a sort of debutante ball, to show to the world and all of Rei's friends just how mature and ready she was for this great honor, one not bestowed upon many people. She was allowed to pick her court as well as her escort for this grand affair, and she would have no one else but her true friends, the Sailor soldiers as the court. Her escort, however, was an entirely different affair.

For as long as she had known him, Rei Hino had always admired and loved Darien Chiba. Loved him so much that when she found out that he was destined to be with another, she stepped aside and let her best friend have him, so long as he was happy. She had cried over him, gotten angry with him, and laughed with him always remembering what she could never have. The thought had first gotten her sad, but as time went on, she began to see him more and more as a friend or brother and less like a lover. So it came as no surprise when she asked Darien to be her escort; to everyone else that is except Darien. For he knew that she was crazy over Chad, the grunge-like rocker whom Rei had fallen half in love with. When she asked him, the first response out of his mouth had been "What about Chad?" Rei's response had been,

"What about him?"

Darien tried again, "Wouldn't you prefer to have him at your side, rather than me?" He also knew that Serena would have a fit if he was her escort; he knew that Serena, at times, was jealous of his and Rei's closeness.

"Are you afraid of what Serena might do Darien? If you are, then don't bother to come at all! I should have known better than to depend on you, always at Serena's beck and call…" Rei fumed, angry that once again Darien had picked Serena over her. Couldn't he just *once* do something that Serena didn't approve of? For a grown man of twenty, he certainly acted like a love-struck fifteen year-old. It infuriated her so much! And didn't he care for her a little, a small voice asked in her mind… he knew just how much this meant to her…

Darien heard the anger in Rei's voice, but when he looked into her eyes, he saw the hurt he was causing. He couldn't bare it; if just this once, Serena would have to act like the grownup; this was Rei. He interrupted her rant long enough to say a simple 'yes.'

Rei heard him; he had actually said yes! Overjoyed she hugged him, squeezing him as tightly as she could; Darien returned the hug with just as much force, saying, "I'm honored that you even asked me Rei, but you have to tell me why you didn't choose Chad… I'm not saying today but sometime soon."

Sadness returned to Rei's eyes for a quick second, but quickly vanished as she laughed gaily, saying that Chad was for Serena, just enjoying the feel of Darien's arms around her. It was at that moment that Serena chose to walk into Darien's apartment and see the two of them, arms encircled around each other.

"What is going on here?!" she screamed, nearly livid, as she dropped everything she had been carrying, including a basket full of food.

"Nothing at all Meatball Head; Rei just asked me to be her escort for her party, and I've agreed to it," said Darien evenly. He hoped she would take it maturely….

"WWWHHHAAATTT?!" whined Serena, "but you're supposed to be my escort! Nope that's too bad; I'm sorry Rei, but…"

"Serena, did you hear me? I said that I'd already agreed to it! Rei has asked me to do it, and I am extremely honored. For goodness sake Serena, I do know other women besides you!" Darien ranted, obviously angry. Serena and him continued to argue, throwing insults back and forth at each other as though they were back to when they hated each other. Rei quietly tried to sneak out, hoping with some luck that they wouldn't see her leave. Let them argue this out without her there. As she closed the door, she sighed and smiled again…

Serena had seen Rei leave… she knew that it wouldn't be long before she asked Rei not to return…

Did you enjoy it?

No mention of Fatal Fury characters yet, but that part is coming believe me… email or review me.

Au revoir,

Lady Goldmoon