Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Promise Kept ❯ Injustices ( Chapter 1 )

A Promise Kept

 

_____________Part One_____________

"Injustices"

 

"Tell me, what's there left to believe in?"

 

It was well past three o'clock in the morning when a very tired girl with twin yellow buns and pigtails hanging limply from them, managed to crawl through her second story bedroom window. A shadowy black cat with an odd golden crescent on it's forehead quickly hopped in after her. The girl sluggishly changed into her favorite pink bunny pajamas, running completely on automatic. She dropped her clothes on the floor without even acknowledging the whispered cry of outrage as her blue jean jacket landed on the cat. She was so exhausted she just climbed into bed with only a faint murmur of apology and was instantly asleep.

 

"Oh, Serina, I know you've had a long battle but surely you could be more considerate of those of us under your clumsy feet?" Luna grumbled as she clambered up next to the sleeping superheroine of the moonlight and laid curled up beside her within the crook formed by the young girl's bent legs. She was dreadfully tired as well, that Dark Moon droid tonight seemed to appear just to aggravate the Scouts and deprive them of their much needed sleep, the cat complained silently, on the verge of sleep.

 

Then her eyes popped open again in alarm. 'Perhaps that is their plan! With weary Scouts, they will more likely make a mistake and be more easily defeated!' The cat jumped to her feet. "Serina! These Dark Moon attacks in the middle of the night must be to drain our energy, to make you tired enough to make a careless mistake!" The girl didn't respond, only rolled over, barely missing cuffing the talking cat on the side of the head with her outflung arm. "Oh!" The cat gasped as she dodged. "Though I certainly don't see why they would need to waste the extra energy on YOU! You are naturally careless enough for all of us!" Again the girl just moaned, deaf to the insults, her head tossing from side to side in the throes of a nightmare.

 

"Oh, Darien, please don't leave me. I promise it will be all right, we can defeat anything when we're together . . . I know it's all my fault, I'm so sorry . . . I drove you away . . . " Serina cried in her sleep, her tears fell unnoticed in sleep except by the black guardian cat that had stepped closer to her and licked them away. Luna sighed in sympathy for the child and laid closer beside her, purring reassuringly against her chest.

 

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'Oh no, not AGAIN!' Serina bolted upright, her two streamers of blonde hair whipping past her face. Something had kicked her under her stars and moon blanket. A familiar kick that had no reason to be there! "Rini! What are you doing in my bed?! AGAIN! I told you, you spoiled little spore, this is MY room and you DON'T come in without knocking and you DON'T climb into my bed with your kicking and snoring and mumbling without asking FIRST!" Serina hollered in a fierce whisper at the still sleepy little girl. She'd been through this numerous times, too many to count, and it was totally beyond annoying by now! But she had to keep her righteous scolding to a whisper; she'd also been through too many lectures with her own parents about yelling in the middle of the night.

 

"But, Serina, I was cold, and scared, I couldn't sleep-" The small pink-haired child protested still rubbing sleep from her cinnamon brown eyes. Serina interrupted before the little fungus could continue with her list of justifications; she'd heard them all before and she wouldn't fall to this kid's tricks again.

 

"I don't want to hear it, Rini, I told you the rules and you broke them! You know I need my sleep, now I'll never be able to wake up tomorrow for my Scout meeting!"

 

"I don't think it'd be ME stopping you, Meatball head!"

 

Serina glared at the little girl sitting beside her on the bed as if she belonged there. "You know I had a droid to fight late last night, Rini! I've only been asleep-" She glanced at her bunny clock, "-for an hour! I NEED TO SLEEP!" Serina flopped back down on her pillow, tearing the covers away from the obnoxious five-year-old.

 

"You're so mean and- and selfish, Serina! I hate you!" Rini jumped off the bed and ran out the door. Serina sat up again, surprised, then sighed in regret as she laid back down. She'd seen Rini's eyes fill with tears as she ran out and felt bad. 'Maybe I should call her back.' She thought sleepily. "I didn't mean to be that mean, but she should have asked." She whispered almost ready to pull off the covers and go after the distraught child.

 

"You should be used to her sneaking into bed with you by now, Serina. She does it every other night now, I thought you'd been getting closer to her. In the morning, you should apologize. Right now, PLEASE, get some sleep."

 

"Yes, Luna . . ." Serina murmured, all ready asleep. It was WAY too early for thinking.

 

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The morning was beautiful, a perfect summer day. Enormous fluffy white clouds threatened to overwhelm the flood of azure blue sky with the promise of rain later, but right now the warmth of the sun was appreciated while it lasted.

 

Luna squinted at the sunlight, standing up on the blue coverlet of the bed and stretching her back after a long night. Not all of it was sleep, though, the girls had been fighting another terribly annoying Dark Moon monster somewhere in the middle of the night. They had all fought well, even Sailor Moon, so the cat had allowed the tired Sailor Scout (and herself) to sleep in. The poor girl lay in twisted blue covers, her golden hair had come undone from her customary buns and was spilling over her pillow, glittering magically in the sunlight. Her brilliant blue eyes were squeezed shut, her usually calm face was pale and flinching from her nightmares. Luna sighed with regret, remembering how beautiful her princess could be when she was safely asleep and not prone to klutz attacks or wailing or stammering, stubborn, pig-headed, blushing, nervous, immature tongue fights with Rei or Rini. Or lamenting her break up with Darien.

 

Luna sighed again in defeat. That was the Serina Tsukino that she dealt with everyday and someday she would be the perfect princess again. Just like she had a thousand years ago, she would grow into her royal grace. She HAD been getting better, growing up and taking her life seriously until her boyfriend, Darien, broke up with her a few weeks ago.

 

Everything went pretty much downhill from there. The heart-broken and confused teenager still tried to act like her normal, bubbly self, hopeful and annoyingly naive, but she had lost her lively spark and glaring honesty when it came to her real feelings. She was almost always sad and depressed when she was alone in her room, crying nearly every night since Darien told her he didn't love her anymore. During the night, when she was not awake wishing impossible wishes upon the moon or weeping to the stars, she dreamed of her lost love, tossed by nightmares of his abandoning her, and torn between her following her heart and obeying his wishes. It was worse than when they'd lost him to the negaverse- this was completely voluntary. Maybe Rei's theory was right, Darien, or rather, Prince Endymion had only loved the old moon princess, Serenity, never Serina Tsukino.

 

If only she could get over him and continue on with the progress she had been making while he was with her, he'd been an amazing influence on her. She'd studied in school, showed up on time for meetings, fought harder in battles- all to prove herself worthy of him, to better herself for her only love. Now she couldn't even get a decent night's sleep without terribly disturbing nightmares about him. Luna didn't want to admit it to the other Scouts although she probably should, but she was worried that their leader was taking this too hard, her spirit might never recover from the blow her eternal soul mate had dealt her. The one man she should have been able to trust-

 

'Speaking of the Scouts, weren't we supposed to-' Luna glanced at the clock- and yowled! "Serina! Serina, WAKE UP! We're supposed to have a meeting this afternoon! You have ten minutes to get up and get ready or we'll be late!"

 

"Just five more minutes, Luna. Just . . . five . . ." the sleeping girl murmured and threw her arm over her eyes. Luna growled in frustration then pounced on Serina's chest. The golden blonde bolted upright, dumping the black cat on the bed.

 

"Luna! That WASN'T necessary!" She whined, sucking in a deep breath and rapidly blinking at the bright sunlight streaming in through the window.

 

"Serina, you must get moving! We're supposed to meet the other girls in ten minutes at Rei's shrine." The cat reminded her hurriedly. Serina's eyes widened with dread as she threw off the covers and raced around her room, grabbing clothes, brushing her hair, and throwing socks and shoes on in record time.

 

"Oh NO! I'm gonna be LATE! Rei's gonna kill me! Why didn't you wake me up earlier, Luna!" Luna shook her head at the pig-tailed whirlwind. This was what she had to deal with everyday. But she kept her cat mouth shut- this time she was slightly guilty for Serina's tardiness.

 

"Oh, I'm soo hungry, but I'm gonna be late, but they can wait while I snag a donut or toast or something, I'm sure!" Serina smiled at her reasoning as she ran out the door, snatching her special brooch and a pair of earrings from her dresser on the way out.

 

Luna followed, leaping down the stairs in time to see Serina head for the front door with a handful of cookies and a chocolate muffin in her mouth. Before an ominous dark-haired figure stepped in her way.

 

"Serina." Ilene Tsukino face was pale with anger and her hands were clenched around an intimidating spatula.

 

Serina froze in her tracks and looked up nervously. 'What'd I do this time?' Serina hid the cookies behind her back and crammed the rest of the muffin in her mouth, leaving chocolate crumbs on her face and the floor. "Yeah, Mom?"

 

"Your cousin Rini woke me up crying this morning saying you hate her. I KNOW that can't be true but she claims you threw her out of your bed last night."

 

"I didn't say I hated her, SHE said that! And, Mom, she kicks, and she doesn't ask first-" Serina began her whining, confidently standing her ground. This time she was in the right. It was HER room and HER bed.

 

"Serina, she's a frightened little girl who misses her family and she hasn't made too many friends yet. You have to make exceptions and try to be nice to her. You'd be surprise how nice it feels if you treated her like a little sister. If you cared, she would look up to you, respect you like a big sister, and maybe even listen to your rules, and you'd be surprised how good it feels to be depended on like that." 'Ahhh! Guilt trip! Mom, you're so unfair!' Serina averted her eyes, realizing this suddenly wasn't a fight she could win.

 

"Mom, you don't know her like I do, you haven't seen her when we're alone! She's a brat, and fights me worse than Sammy does!" Serina's desperate whine fell short when she was the look on her mother's face. 'Oh no! She's gonna explode! What'd I say?!'

 

"Oh, Serina. I do see. But I don't understand. Everyone tells me you're the most caring person in the world, but all I ever see is how you fight with your brother and the insensitive way you completely neglect Rini. No matter how tough your own life may seem, it is no reason to take it out on your cousin. She's just a little girl. I'm going to give you this one warning then leave before I ground you. Spend quality time with Rini today. Take her to the park or the zoo or something. Be NICE to her." Serina slowly backed away from her mother, scared that the icy lecture wasn't over. When her mother's eyes flashed daggers, Serina turned tail and ran as fast as she could out the door, her black cat following at a cautious pace around the furious Mrs. Tsukino.

 

"Oh, Luna, I must have REALLY screwed up! Mom looked like she was gonna KILL me!" 'Now I've gotta take the little spore to the park! Oh man! As if I didn't have better things to do, like read comics or play Sailor V at the arcade. Doesn't matter I spend everyday protecting the little fungus- but then again I was hard on her-' Serina suddenly glanced at her watch and choked. "Oh no!"

 

__________________________

 

Serina raced down the street, her hair streaming behind her like lethal gold whips, her eyes focused on the shrine steps she knew were just around the next corner. She turned her head a moment to yell at the cat running beside her.

 

"Hurry up, Luna! Rei's gonna fry us both- oof!" Serina returned her attention to the sidewalk in front of her just in time to realize she was falling forward and threw her hands out in an attempt to stop herself from crashing to the ground. Her hands met air then twisted and scraped beneath her as Serina landed on her side with a grimace. She'd done it again, tripping over her own feet. She sat up and rubbed the elbow she'd hit on the sidewalk, then massaged her aching wrists. Luna sat imperiously before her with a look of extremely taxed patience.

 

"Serina, I thought you'd at least learned to make it to Rei's temple without meeting the ground along the way."

 

"That's not fair, Luna! Why don't you stop picking on me for once."

 

"Really, Luna, pick on someone your own size." A familiar voice spoke up from in front of Serina. The klutzed girl looked up into the dark blue eyes of Darien Shields, her ex-boyfriend. She almost wasn't surprised to see him. They always had a way of running into each other, destiny or not. Right now, aside from looking extremely aloof for so early in the afternoon, he reached out a hand to help her to her feet. Serina noticed the flash of concern in his eyes- or was it pity? She couldn't tell anymore. Before she would have been overjoyed at the thought that perhaps he still loved her- but Darien banished the look from his face though his empty hand still politely, stiffly, emotionlessly waited for hers, and Serina's hope died like a spark in a blizzard.

 

Serina's face was beet red from her embarrassment that rapidly expanded as she heard some other kids laughing at her from across the street. Frustrated tears welled in her eyes but she managed to choke them back. Ignoring Darien's offered hand, she struggled to her feet, straightening her dress and jean jacket with an air of indignant indifference. "No, thank you." Luna watched with surprise, by now the old Serina would have been wailing loud enough to be heard on the moon. Or at least blubbering in the arms of the young man before them.

 

'Maybe she still has some pride left.' Actually, Serina's actions stretched further beyond pride and more into discourteous than Luna had ever seen her react with anyone before. 'Perhaps she's getting a backbone along with her self-esteem. Hopefully this signals the end of her Darien pining days?' Luna thought as she followed the silent girl past a shocked and equally silent Darien. Somehow, the thought that Serina might actually have gotten over Darien enough to dedicate herself to her real life rather than a dream world was- disheartening. As if something precious had been irrevocably lost. Luna glanced back at the dark-haired man still staring after them, she caught a glimpse of sorrow in his eyes before she followed her mistress around the corner.

 

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By the time Serina was half up the temple steps, she had completely rebuilt her enthusiastic spirit and called to the three girls she could see waiting for her at the top of the steps. "Sorry I'm late, guys! I was SOO tired and Luna just totally forgot to wake me up- she was crashed out as bad as me not fifteen minutes ago!" Serina laughed as she skipped up the stairs. The three girls, and an inconspicuous white cat, all looked as beat as she'd felt when she woke up this morning. Daylight had come way too early. Each girl was dressed in comfortable clothes, T-shirts and shorts, tank tops and skirts, with their respective hairstyles just a little looser today as if they'd been too lazy to attempt their everyday perfection.

 

"Don't worry, Serina, we hardly expect you to be on time." Mina assured her sleepily. Serina was caught off guard by her friend's comment, her smile freezing on her face in surprise. 'Is Mina just tired or did she really mean that?' Serina thought worriedly.

 

Ami saw the hurt look filtering into Serina's eyes and stifled a yawn before clarifying for Mina. "She means, we're all so tired from the fight late last night that we all were expecting to be late ourselves."

 

"Speak for yourself." Rei appeared in her temple door, arms crossed and her foot tapping loudly with impatience. She, at least, was dressed in traditional shrine robes and looked half-way decent after a long night of fighting Dark Moon droids. Even the bruise she'd received across her face seemed to have completely healed.

 

"It's not fair that you actually LIVE here, Rei." Serina quickly pointed out.

 

"I don't think you should get off THAT easily. We've been waiting for-EVER, Meatball head! If we set a time for a meeting, as the leader, YOU should be the first there but you're always the last one to show up!"

 

"Well we shouldn't have these meeting so EARLY in the morning." Serina retorted, copying Rei's gesture and angrily crossing her arms in front of her.

 

"It's one o'clock in the AFTERNOON, Serina!" Her exasperation seethed, burning holes into Serina's defiant, flippant eyes. She threw her arms up in the air in defeat and turned on heel into the shrine, catching Serina's triumphant smile in the corner of her eye. 'You can't argue with that airhead!' She was so NOT in the mood to deal with Serina the Incompetent.

 

Not only had she not gotten much sleep and was totally crabby this morning, but Chad was starting to get annoying, even talking about giving up his dream of a music career to stay and work at the temple. She didn't think she could handle that guy around all the time- he had a strange affect over her that made her self-conscious and nervous and she DIDN'T like it! Not to mention Grandpa's health was failing again and he refused to acknowledge her pleas (again) for him to relax and take it easy for a little. Why was everyone so dead set against listening to her?! She DID happen to know what was best for everyone, whether they believed it or not. It was so FRUSTRATING!

 

"Girls, just calm down so we can get this meeting started." The rational voice of the black cat cut the agitated silence. A concurring agreement from the white cat followed. The rest of the girls filed inside the temple behind Rei, Luna and Artemis herding them in from behind.

 

The five girls went straight to Rei's fire room, Rei locking the door behind her in case Chad happened to come home early from grocery shopping or Grandpa woke up from his nap and started getting nosy.

 

"All right, Luna, what's the crisis now?" Lita asked, sitting herself down on a cushion on the floor. She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and studied the guardian.

 

"Well, we still don't know much about Rini except that her mother is in trouble in the future, in the city of Crystal Tokyo. She claims she was sent back in time to find the Silver Crystal that she believes is the only thing that can save her mother. Rubeus and the Dark Moon family are out to get her, whether they believe she all ready has the crystal or because they are afraid she will succeed. Have you girls heard anything else to add? Has she spoken of this to any of you?"

 

Lita shook her head, as did Rei. Luna glanced at Serina, Mina, and Ami. Ami, at least, had become closer to the girl; Rini appeared to use her as a mentor. Mina had always been good with children, and Serina actually LIVED with Rini. But still each girl shook her head in denial.

 

"I remember when we fought at the construction site against Rubeus and the four evil sisters, she had been talking to someone who called her princess." Serina suggested. It wasn't much, she wasn't even sure she'd heard it right. But if that little brat was a princess, then her mother was a queen. Serina giggled at the idea of a queen ruling over her hometown of Tokyo, but sobered when she remembered that that queen was in trouble and it wasn't funny. Actually, she had her own thoughts on that queen and Princess Rini. There were some clues, hints, and connections that had been adding up since she met the fungus. There was something about her . . . Serina had a secret about the child that she would never reveal to the outside world- They'd laugh at her for thinking something so outrageous, insane, impossible, and daydreamy-

 

"Yes, there is that, but you haven't heard her mention anything else? In her sleep perhaps?" Luna continued prodding the meatballed blonde. Eyes around the room focused on Serina, she should have been the most help but they really didn't expect much.

 

"No, Luna." Serina's eyes took on a sad, sympathetic cast, as she looked away from her guardian cat and her friends. "She just cries at night, whispering to her mother and asking her not to die. She promises who ever's in her dreams that she'll get the crystal and save everyone." 'She sounds like me. I'll save everyone, and that means you too, Rini.'

 

The four other girls noticed the change in Serina's demeanor. Even though she fought with her 'cousin' constantly, the girls knew Serina was by far the most protective of the mysterious little girl. Especially since the construction site battle. "I'm so sorry I yelled at her last night." She whispered below their hearing. "I didn't even get to apologize."

 

Luna continued, oblivious, and looked to the last two scouts. "Ami? Mina? Neither of you have spoken to her?"

 

"Not since she found out that we are the Sailor Scouts. She almost seems afraid to get too close now." Ami stated. The girls reflected on that memory with mixed feelings. Two of the four evil sisters in the service of Rubeus of the Dark Moon, had turned to the side of good. Catsy and Birdie were visiting the whole group at the shrine when the other two sisters kidnapped them. They had gotten Rini to hide while the girls transformed and left to rescue their friends. Unbeknownst to them, Rini had been watching and followed. They had saved the two good sisters and purified the other two with Sailor Moon's Crystal, but little Rini had seen that Serina had the Silver Crystal she was searching for. No doubt she felt betrayed by them, especially by Serina, whom she now also knew to be Sailor Moon. All the scouts had promised to protect and help her, Serina most of all, and here they had been hiding the Crystal from her the entire time.

 

"The poor dear. We promised to help, and now she can't trust us at all." Mina murmured, absently petting a dozing Artemis. She felt she could relate to the kid, she had never thought she could trust anyone besides herself and Artemis before she met Serina. She'd been so alone then.

 

"Well, if anyone should feel bad, it's Serina. Rini is staying with HER, and she should know what's up." Rei reminded them, challenging Serina to take responsibility for once.

 

"For your information, I do feel bad about Rini. Everything seems to go wrong for her, something I am familiar with. But it's not like we can just hand her the Silver Crystal and let her go on her merry way." Serina defended herself. At least what she said was a reasonable argument, more logical than Rei was prepared to counter immediately.

 

"That's true, Rei." Ami spoke up. Rei was being awful harsh this morning, they all had things on their minds, including the Rini problem. If only it was so simple as to follow Rini back the future, save her mother and go back home. Ami truly did not know how to approach this problem. Every time she thought about it, it seemed so complicated with Rubeus after the child, timelines and paradoxes, and daily monster fighting making it appear more overwhelming than it probably was. She felt like it should be so easy, something should just click into place for her but she couldn't see it. It annoyed her to no end that she couldn't find a solution. She had failed; this was one problem she couldn't figure out for some reason.

 

"Well, what about Darien? Rini spends most her time with him now.

She's always been close to him." Lita suggested carefully. He might actually know something that she told him and not them. The other girls fell temporarily silent. They couldn't figure him out. He'd come to Serina's rescue every time she was in trouble and even when that Hypnotica droid had Sailor Moon caught in the eternal sleep spell, he'd been nearly panicked with worry and begging forgiveness for leaving her. He couldn't fool the Scouts into thinking he didn't still love her but then he still kept up his scherade of cold indifference.

 

Either way, Darien was still a tender subject with Serina. The mention of his name invariably brought tears or shouts from the crushed teen, but this time, Serina didn't even seem to notice, still staring off into space with a vaguely guilty look on her face.

 

"He doesn't know any more than we do. He's tried asking but she tells him nothing." Serina glanced down, tonelessly informing them what little she knew. She'd asked him about it, once but never again.

 

'Thank goodness, no wailing! Maybe she's finally getting over him. I was never this bad over a guy.' Lita thought then noticed Serina's hands trembling as she played with a gold rose pendant on her necklace. 'Uh-oh, here it comes . . .'

 

"You guys? Have you heard anything from Darien? Anything about- what's wrong? Between us?" She whispered hesitantly, still not shedding a tear. She all ready knew the answer but she still had to ask.

 

"Ohh! Serina, GET OVER IT! It's been how many weeks so far that you're moping around and can't get the fact through that spaghetti brain of yours that HE DOESN'T WANT YOU ANYMORE! Just drop it!" Rei clenched her fists and growled in angry exasperation. 'She never gives up! Can't she see that he doesn't love her? Someone has to wake her up from her little dream world!' If Serina would just give up on him, he couldn't hurt her with his cruel games anymore!

 

Now the waterworks started. Hurt and embarrassed, Serina began to wail- very loudly. The girls covered their ears and rolled their eyes before mentally picking Ami to comfort their crybaby princess. Besides silently voting, pairs of blue, green, and cat eyes each glared piercingly at Rei's violet.

 

"Come on, Serina. It's all right, you don't have to wail like that, calm down." Ami placed an arm around her best friend's shoulders trying to act like she wasn't as fed up with the fourteen-year-old's behavior as the others were. "But you must admit, Serina, Rei does have a point. You've been brooding over this for long enough. We all know you still care for Darien, but you need to move on. If not for yourself, for us, the Sailor Scouts and your friends." Serina quieted, sniffing loudly and using her jacket sleeve to wipe away the twin waterfalls. She turned her watery blue eyes to Ami's. Ami was always right. But did she have to be right this time too?

 

"Oh, Ami, you know I'd never let anything happen to you guys, even if meant giving up Darien." Serina's heartfelt reply caught the other's attention. She was serious? She wasn't just randomly wailing over Darien? "Maybe. I'd do anything for you guys. But, you really think I have to?" She whined shakily. She didn't want to give up hope, it was the last thing she'd ever voluntarily do but no one wanted her to be with the one man she loved, not even HIM.

 

"Yeah, definitely. You know Darien has his own reasons for what he does, he's a guy and he can't change what guys do. Trust me!" Lita smiled encouragingly, she definitely knew what she was talking about when it came to being dumped. "Guys do have the tendency to fall out of love just as quickly as the fall in. Maybe he thinks you need to see other guys. Maybe the age difference finally got to him. Or maybe he met someone else-"

 

"Thank you, LITA, I think I've got the idea now." Serina darkly glowered at her friend, the brunette's last words had struck the tightest cord in her soul, a fear and pain deeper than she'd ever let her best friends see. Darien had found someone better to love. The words were her mortal enemies, her worst nightmares. A prettier, older, smarter, more graceful girl- no, a beautiful woman. A gorgeous college student that had stolen his heart from her, someone who was so much better than her and more deserving of his warm kisses, tight hugs, and thoughtful smiles. That must have been what happened. She'd never seen her, but it was the only way Serina could explain Darien's abrupt break up.

 

"Thank the gods that's over!" Rei exclaimed in an immensely annoyed and relieved voice. "Now we can get on with our meeting!" Rei received another unanimous glare from everyone in the room.

 

But Luna and Artemis agreed with her: Rini and the Dark Moon problem had to be addressed. "What do you have in mind, Luna?" Ami asked, returning her attention to the black guardian cat.

 

"Actually, I've no idea. All we can do now, is protect Rini until she makes the next move. Or until she decides she can still trust us." Luna sighed. They had been protecting Rini ever since she was discovered to be the victim of the Dark Moon family that had suddenly shown up. Thus far the closest one to her was Serina's ex-boyfriend and he was certainly the last one who should be associating with them. If it weren't for the special bond between the Moon Princess and her Prince of Earth, causing Darien to appear as Tuxedo Mask every time Sailor Moon was in danger, he would surely never see them again. Although, Luna had the feeling that he still deeply cared for Serina; the true love that survived within the prince and princess for a thousand years didn't just die overnight. She knew something important kept him away from her and it was probably, in some strange way, for the best. She just wished he'd explain it to the rest of them instead of hurting the poor innocent girl.

 

"Um, I'm supposed to take Rini to the park this afternoon, IF it doesn't rain." Even as she spoke, a far distant echo of thunder resonated across the sky from outside. "I could try and talk to her then." Serina grumbled, at the threatening storm AND the fact that she didn't want to waste her time baby-sitting a girl whom she knew despised her though she'd saved the little pink-haired brat many times all ready. She was so stubborn and narrow-minded for a twerp her age, she reminded Serina of Darien, the old Darien who use to tease and torment her before they realized they were in love. And now the new Darien who persistently gave her the cold shoulder when she tried to apologize for whatever it was she'd done to drive him away. Serina sighed softly. She was drifting off the subject again.

 

"Earth to Serina . . . Moon Princess, snap out of it . . ." Lita waved a hand in front of Serina's blank eyes, causing her to jump back, startled. "I said, it sounds like fun, do you want us to come too?" Lita repeated what she asked before but Serina shook her head.

 

"No, I don't want to overwhelm her with all of us there, Mom says we just need some 'quality time'. I DO think we need to reach an understanding." Serina's serious voice was thoughtful as she considered how she could NICELY approach the bratty little fungus. She wished the kid could be a little nicer, more open, like she was, so they could get along. She did want to be friends and the poor thing was all alone and just wanted to help her mother.

 

'Hold up, Serina, this is RINI you're talking about! The spore that hogs your bed and kicks and calls you Meatball head!' Serina yelled at herself. Then her better half took over the argument in Rini's favor. 'Yeah, but she's cute and CAN be sweet, though not often. And she needs your help and you promised to protect her. She's like the kid sister you don't have. Make the best of the time you have cause she won't be here forever.'

 

"Good idea, Serina. It's good to see you finally taking some

responsibility." Luna received a searing glare from the offended teenager. 'I was only trying to compliment her'. She thought as she shook her head in mild confusion.

 

"You know she wouldn't be doing it if her mom hadn't made her, Luna," Mina and Lita laughed, joking about Serina actually VOLUNTARILY taking care of Rini the Intolerable. It was too funny to think of Serina being able to spend more than thirty seconds with the kid without a stick-out-the-tongue fight. They could never take anything seriously! But that's what made Serina fun to be around. "Rini the Intolerable and Serina the Incomp- I mean- Princess Serenity the beautiful, lovable, caring-" Mina giggled, trying to cover her slip up with enough compliments that Serina wouldn't notice the near fatal mistake.

 

"I heard that, MINA. I think I'll leave now. This meeting is OVER." The dark tone of Serina's voice halted the snickering in the room as she stood up and angrily strode out, not even glancing back when the girls yelled their apologies. She even came as close to slamming the door as she could get without waking Grandpa.

 

"Geez, we were only TEASING." Mina tried to explain. Three of the girls stood to follow her but Luna stopped them.

 

"I'm sure she knows that and is just trying to be dramatic. But she has had a particularly grueling morning and night." She reminded them, even as Mina and Rei reached to smother yawns. Luna calmly advised them to leave her alone and let he cool off; she'd come back when she realized no one was going to follow her.

 

"Yeah, our Meatball head needs to be by herself to think some more- then again, maybe we SHOULD stop her. She'll likely hurt herself trying to use that spaghetti brain!" Rei laughed loudly, confident that Serina could never have heard the joke having all ready left. The other three laughed, even Luna and Artemis chuckled.

 

Just outside the closed door, Serina gasped, quickly covering her mouth before a cry of dismay could escape her lips. She HAD come back as Luna had predicted, when she realized no one was coming to apologize but she'd stopped just outside the door to listen when she'd heard them talking about her. Now she regretted coming back to apologize for running out. And none of the others had come to her defense! Just laughed right along with Rei at HER! 'So that's what they think of me, huh? An air-headed, incompetent, conceited, lazy, stupid klutz. What a great beloved leader, they talk about me behind my back, they don't appreciate me at all . . . They don't care!' Serina fled from the temple, flying down the stairs and back to her house, leaving her 'friends' and their comments far behind her.

 

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"But you've got to admit, Serina's gotten so much better since last year." Lita reminded them, stretching her long legs. They were completely unaware of their best friend's flash of torment just outside the door before she had run away.

 

"She really was improving when she was involved with Darien. She

seemed so happy, and when she's that happy, she can make everyone around her feel the same way." Ami smiled in memory. She'd often run into Serina after the lovesick girl had been swept off her feet by love and was walking on air. The feeling was infectious and Ami had laughed and been relaxed for the rest of the day. Presently she giggled at the pleasant thought.

 

"Yeah, I'm so glad we have her. She's so sweet, and caring and

considerate." Mina gratefully sighed, thinking about her crush, Andrew from the arcade, whom Serina had introduced her to and was supposed to try hooking her up with- even if he did have a girlfriend. "She can work miracles. Ya know we love her!"

 

"Yeah, well, you're all getting sappy on me; it's not like we hurt her feelings- she'll get over it in two minutes, if it were a real tragedy she'd forget it in ten." Rei retorted, not willing to give up her stubborn stand against the weakling.

 

"Oh, come on, Rei, we all know you're the most protective of her when it comes down to it. Admit it, you love her like a sister." Mina chided, smiling and throwing a pillow in the young priestess's direction.

 

Rei caught the pillow and tossed it back. She almost denied it, just for pride but the Scouts knew her too well. "Yeah, maybe- so what? She still needs to be kicked in the head sometimes to knock her back into reality. If it weren't for us, she'd never have made it this far alive."

 

"That's exactly right, Rei. We're supposed to PROTECT her from harm, not cause it." Ami spoke up again; her head was hung so her short blue hair hid her eyes that were suddenly stinging with tears. She felt guilty now for what they'd said, Serina shouldn't have been allowed to storm out like that. It wasn't her nature to be angry and her spirit was far too delicate to be prodded and insulted as they had- especially in her present state. And Luna was wrong, Serina hadn't returned yet . . .

 

"Oh. Hmm, anyone else feeling totally bummed now?" Mina asked. She held her head in one hand, her legs crossed and petting a purring Artemis her lap with her other free hand.

 

"I think I'll go check on Serina, then." Luna meowed farewells and took off.

 

"Yeah, I think I'll go too, goodness knows it's Saturday and I have some volunteer work to do." Mina stood, moving Artemis from her lap to her shoulder and pulling her gold hair out from under him. The content white kitty barely seemed to notice and didn't miss a beat in his purring. "But I need to get home and change first!"

 

"Always in Sailor V mode, huh? Gotta help everyone." Lita smiled when Mina nodded. Even now that she was busy being Sailor Venus, Mina still managed to fill the idolized part of the famous Sailor V and volunteer at the hospital and child day care centers. The girls sometimes helped out too. "Do you think you could use some help? I've got nothing to do."

 

Mina nodded emphatically. "We can always use more hands! Do you want to come, Ami?"

 

"Sorry, I have to study for my classes next year, I want to get as far ahead as possible before summer cram school starts and I've only these few months to do it." All three other girls sighed and rolled their eyes knowingly. Ami just stood there smiling, and left the room waving a quick good-bye.

 

"Rei? You wanna come?" The two girls paused by the door on their way out, waiting for the raven haired girl's answer. She was staring into the fire that incessantly roared in the shrine's fireplace. She shook her head, never taking her eyes off the guiding blaze, and the girls quietly left her alone, searching for answers and soothing her guilty soul.

 

'You do know I don't hate you, right, Serina? I'm sorry for how I treat you, it's just so EASY and it comes natural. You're the one person who can see through my defenses and that just makes me more defensive, you must know I'm not really serious! You just need to be beaten into shape sometimes, and the others are so worried about pampering their princess, they forget that you like to goof off most of the time like a normal teenager. When we need a leader, your not it, but when we need a friend you always are. I'm so confused! Should I try to push you into being a better person or let you grow into it- we may not have the time to wait! If you're hurt in an attack because you klutzed out, or started wailing or something stupid, I'll never forgive myself! You'll thank me later, trust me, Serina, it's for your own good. I hope you understand . . .'

 

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"Why does everyone hate me? They're always so mean to me!" Serina mumbled to herself, tears brimming in her eyes. She was still running, not towards home anymore but to the park. In the rose garden she would feel better, more comfortable and she could cry her eyes out without worrying about Sammy or Rini walking in on her.

 

Serina ran past the rows of white, yellow, pink, and red roses, all blurred into smears of color by the tears in her eyes. She nearly stumbled once on a rock, but she recovered and quickly made it to her favorite spot in the garden.

 

An ancient stone bench rested beneath a dark cherry tree, completely secluded by dense rose bushes, as if the gardener had forgotten it even existed and so never trimmed the bushes enough for people to see it there. Serina fell to the ground, her head hidden in her arms resting on the cold stone, and wept. Nothing was going right today, everyone was yelling at her. She was never good enough for anyone, she couldn't please EVERYONE no matter how hard she tried! 'Maybe they're right, I AM too lazy and air-headed . . . This is just too hard for me now. Rini hates me, I'm not getting any sleep with all these stupid Dark Moon attacks, I don't have Darien's strength or my friends' support anymore. I feel so all alone . . .'

 

"The only way this could possibly get worse-" Serina felt something wet smack her face, then another drop hit her exposed leg. Serina looked up from her jacketed arms, rubbing away wet salt and impressed creases from the folds of the denim. She spotted several green leaves and red rose petals drifting easily on the breeze, then abruptly being ripped away by a gale. The wind had picked up incredibly, the sun was completely obscured by ominous thunderheads, leaving the entire park in a misty gray darkness. She'd completely forgotten about the storm! Serina felt another rain drop strike her face as she looked up through the dark green leaves of the cherry tree. The storm was here. And it was going to be a mean one, quickly over but nasty while it lasted.

 

Serina slowly stood, crystal blue eyes wide, nearly petrified with fear, and her legs were cramped and asleep from her sitting so long unmoving. She cautiously backed away from her sanctuary, the rain suddenly coming down in torrents as quickly as she could draw her next breath. "Oh no . . ." She whispered in horror. Then screamed as a lightning bolt cracked across the heavens just above her, ripping the already torn sky asunder and deafening her with it's immediate and resounding crash, drowning her scream like a candle in a hurricane.