Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Escaping Fate ❯ Book 1 Part I - IV ( Chapter 3 )

Escaping Fate

Book I

Part I

IV

 

 

 

 

Author's Notes: Just to clarify a few things, I'm going to list the names of all the characters:

 

Last Name, First Name - Planet - English Name

Mizuno Ami - Sailor Mercury - Amy Something?

Aino Minako - Sailor Venus - Mina?

Tsukino Usagi - Sailor Moon - Serena Something?

Hino Rei - Sailor Mars - Ray?

Kino Makoto - Sailor Jupiter - I don't know

Tomoe Hotaru - Sailor Saturn - Hotaru

Teno Haruka - Sailor Uranus - I have no idea

Kaioh Michiru - Sailor Neptune - I have no idea

Meioh Setsuna - Sailor Pluto - I have no idea

Chiba Mamoru - Prince of Earth - Darien Shields?

 

As you can see, I actually don't know the English names that much any more since I converted to Japanese names, but I hope the different planets help more. You shouldn't have a problem with the characters now, as long as you know which character goes to which planet. Now with the story.

 

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“Supreme Thunder Dragon!” a shout came within the tree-made walls of the forest filled park. Sparks of blue and white in the shape of a dragon circled around the black skinned Youma, as its voice cracked in pain. The bolts of lightning surrounded the creature, bringing it to a stand still in its destructive rampage. The green skirted Sailor Jupiter extended her hands for yet another attack, as the blonde bombshell, Sailor Venus stood at her side, her own arm extended, pointing directly toward the creature.

 

“Crescent Beam!” Venus shouted.

 

“Supreme Thunder!” Jupiter cried out.

 

The yellow energy beam shot out from the finger tips of Sailor Venus erupted with bolts of electricity surrounding it, aiming directly for the frozen Youma. The black creature seemed to simply faze out of the dazed state it appeared to be in, an explosion of planetary energy erupting through two trees behind it. The creature then appeared directly in front of its two attackers, surprising both. A bony knee landed in the mid section of a confused Sailor Venus, while Sailor Jupiter blocked a fist aimed to take out her skull. Her forearm stung from the impact of the punch, bringing her leg back to keep her balance. As the creature moved forward, that back leg then raised into the creature's own midsection, staggering it back a few feet.

 

“Moon Tiara Action!” came a cry from across the field. A bright white light was then thrown from a figure's grasp, once again aiming for the lone black armored warrior. The creature fazed into the sky, moving so fast the senshi could barely see. A smirk was plastered onto the creature's face, but was short lived, as he noticed the spinning white disk had stopped its course, and taken anew. With the current leap sending him now downward, and straight for the disk, it let out a heart filled war cry, as it tore into it's flesh, burning right through, it's hands and legs starting to turn to complete ash. Before it could even land, the wind took away all evidence of the creature, ash and dust dancing along the night's wind. Sailor Moon waved an arm, as she ran over to her two fellow senshi, with a blue attired Sailor Mercury tagging along behind her.

 

“About time you showed up, Sailor Moon,” Jupiter gasped in between breathes, with her hands on her knees. “We called you two over an hour ago. We had to take on two of them on our own.”

 

“Well, on our way here, we met up with a problem of our own,” Mercury then stated, holding her right shoulder with her left hand, which refrained itself from moving. Jupiter regained her composure before continuing.

 

“Damn,” she stated with a clenched fist. “I thought we finished all these guys months ago, but they just keep appearing one after another.”

 

“Oh don't worry,” Venus retorted with a smirk. “It's just the leftovers, nothing to worry about, right Ami?”

 

“Right,” Ami stated, referring back to their previous battle that nearly took half of Tokyo with it. “But we usually only spot one or two. To spot more than that in a group is something to take into consideration.”

 

“What do you mean?” Sailor Moon asked, scratching the back of her head.

 

“Well, if they start forming a group, it's something to worry about, Usagi,” Jupiter interrupted with a hand on her hip.

 

“Yes. Since they are now starting to appear in groups, it is something to worry about,” Ami added in, turning to the larger of the four.

 

“Maybe we should up our training,” Jupiter grinned, nudging the future princess next to her as she sighed dramatically. “Don't worry, Usagi. It won't be all that bad.”

 

-----

 

 

 

-----

 

A ruffled sound next to her made Rei stir in her sleep, her groggy senses flaring of some other presence in the room with her. Instinct taking over, the girl threw the sheets from herself, her head turning to her right, where a groggy pair of odangos were currently devouring a powdered donut. Bright blue eyes looked up most innocently, though looking as if she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Rei blinked a moment, looking about the room in a confused state.

 

“Hey, Rei,” a full mouth Usagi responded the awakened priestess, taking a sip from the bottle of milk she had received from the lunchroom earlier. As Rei knew, it was impossible to escape the wrath of a worried Usagi, the future princess of Crystal Tokyo gathering the girl up in a bear hug, with streams of tears falling down her cheeks. Rei rolled her eyes, returning the hug. “It's good to see you awake.”

 

“It's good to be awake,” the fire priestess responded, brushing a loose strand of hair from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. Her violet orbs searched around the room a bit, picking up the scent of the many flowers that had been sent to her since her recent stay. “It's a little intoxicating in here.”

 

Usagi blinked a moment, as if a question mark had appeared over her head. She then threw on a witty grin, throwing an arm behind her head, as another pointed to the flowers.

 

“Yea, everyone's been really worried about you, Rei,” Usagi hesitated a moment, as if she were going to ask a question, but bit her lip instead, her eyes trailing from the raven dark haired girl before her, sheepishly chewing on the remains of the powdered donut sitting on a paper plate on her lap. Rei tilted her head, as she observed the blonde.

 

“And why aren't you at school?” Rei smirked, crossing her arms over her chest, as she leaned back to relax. Her smirk increased the moment she heard the blonde stutter.

 

“I uh… well, you see… I was worried about you, Rei,” the blonde said, her eyes never rising from the now powdery plate upon her lap. Her ears caught the chuckle of the priestess, who went on with her constant teasing.

 

“I think you just needed an excuse to ditch school, am I right?” Rei joked with a grin, nudging the girl with her elbow. Usagi blinked innocently, throwing her arms up in defense.

 

“No! It's not like that, Rei,” the blonde started, her eyes finally rising to Rei's own, the priestess shocked to find them filled with moisture, Usagi fighting back the urging tears that had started to form.

 

“Hey,” Rei cooed, as Usagi already started to move in for another hug, rubbing her back and hair soothingly. “What's the matter, Usagi?” Rei asked, filled with concern of her own. Usagi sniffled slightly, never pulling from the girl's grasp.

 

“I felt it,” Usagi blurted out through her crying, resting her head upon the priestess' shoulder. “I felt you, Rei.”

 

“What do you mean?” Rei asked, confusion hitting her face. Usagi pulled herself from the girl's hug, staring her directly into her violet orbs, holding the most serious face she had ever seen her future princess wear.

 

“I felt you die, Rei!” she cried out, taking a moment to gaze into the girl's eyes. She then collapsed into a hug again, pulling onto the girl as if she were to disappear.

 

“You…” Rei started, dumbfounded by the girl's sudden outburst.

 

“It was horrible, Rei,” she then continued, resting her head once again on the girl's shoulder. “I was out with Mamo-chan, we were at the park. I was just walking along, when I felt something in my chest. It felt as if it would explode. I didn't know what it was. I was having trouble breathing, and couldn't even continue to walk. Mamo-chan wanted to bring me to the hospital, and when he said that, I knew something was wrong. Not with me, but with someone else. That's when it happened.”

 

Rei gulped slightly, her heart monitor racing with anticipation, the beeping sounds of it not quite enough to raise alert.

 

“I felt your powers, Rei,” she cried out, as she gripped her arms tightly around the princess of Mars. “I felt as if they were sucked out of you, and placed into me. I thought… I thought…”

 

She then continued to cry into the girl's shoulder, uncontrollable sobs discontinuing any more attempts of conversation, as Rei continued to sooth the girl by rubbing her back, and humming softly into her ear.

 

“It's okay, bunny,” she cooed, running her hand through the girl's long blonde hair. “I'm not going anywhere, Usagi.”

 

“But I felt you die, Rei, it was so painful,” she cried out, never letting go of the girl. “It was too painful.”

 

-----

 

Rei held her chin in her palm, leaning upon her risen knee, flipping channel through channel, finding nothing of interest. Her eyes then trailed over to the form next to her, half resting herself on her bed. Usagi had cried for so long, the exhaustion had brought her much needed sleep, though the words she had spoken were still plaguing the girl's mind. `I felt you die, Rei.'

 

“Rei?” came a soft childish voice from the doorway. The raven-haired girl turned to the entrance, a smile upon her face.

 

“Hotaru,” she said softly, as the dark haired girl smiled back, clad in her normal black attire; a long sleeve black turtle neck shit, dark violet skirt, with black skinned tights around her legs, leading down to her plain black shoes. The girl bowed her head respectfully, keeping her voice down as she noted the sleeping blonde next to Rei. The fire priestess patted the seat to her left, as the girl walked slowly over.

 

“How are Haruka and Michiru?” Rei asked, breaking the silence between them. Hotaru looked up from the floor, as her feet dangled from the seat.

 

“Their fine. Haruka-papa said I could stop by after school got out,” she said, though bit her lip slightly, avoiding the girl's eyes. Rei's eyebrow twitched, as her own violet orbs met the clock, reading only near noon. She smirked slightly, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

 

“Looks like you're not the only one playing hooky today,” she grinned, nodding her head to the slightly snoring form of Usagi. Hotaru smiled, looking up to Rei. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”

 

“Thanks, Rei,” she said, turning herself to fully face the girl. “How are you doing?” the senshi of death and rebirth asked, her brows lowering slightly. Rei shook her head, however, dismissing the worried look Hotaru possessed.

 

“Nothing short of hellfire and brimstone can keep me down, Hotaru,” she grinned, patting her chest with her fist rather childishly. The small girl giggled again, smiling up at Rei. “Just another test today, and I should get a clean bill of health. They say I can go back to school in a week.”

 

“You want me to help you with the process?” Hotaru asked, referring to her special abilities. Rei shook her head, raising a hand.

 

“I wouldn't want you to waste your abilities on something that will only be rid of with plenty of water and rest,” Rei replied with a wavering hand, leaning back against her pillow, handing the girl the remote she had been fooling with since the blonde had fallen asleep. “Try to find something, Hotaru.”

 

-----

 

A knock on the door awakened the girl from her dazed state, as her attention was brought back to the romantics of the local station's current drama shows. Usagi and Hotaru had long since left, as the girl now expected her grandfather, or the rest of her friends to show up within the hour. Since the pairings leaving, however, poor Rei was reduced to the local station's soap operas, never understanding how their ratings continued to rise. As the wife accused the husband of cheating on her for her best friend for the countless time, Rei lifted the remote to mute the television, her eyes trailing over toward the door of a shadowed silhouette she could not recognize. As if sensing the girl's approval, a man entered that stood the height of Mamoru, but a little on the scrawnier side. With a formal attire, the man bowed in front of the priestess, Rei nodding her head in respect, then pulled from within his coat a badge of some authority type.

 

“I hope I'm not disturbing you, Miss Hino,” the man spoke in a deep voice, as he flipped the badge back into his inner coat pocket. “My name is Hitachi Kowanami, of Kawasaki Insurance Company. I represent your father's company, and I just wanted to ask you a few questions about the plane incident a few days ago, if you don't mind.”

 

Rei's mind urged a protest, but the politeness she had received from her mother's side of the family would intervene, as she shook her head, pulling herself to a sitting position.

 

“No, not at all,” she replied, pulling the sheets down to her waist. The man poured the senshi a fresh glass of water, as he sat next to her, a briefcase placed upon his lap. As he clipped it open, he pulled out a notepad that just so happened to already be opened to a particular page, the man pulling a pen from his coat, jotting down a few notes before he spoke.

 

“Well then, let's just start out with what you remember, Miss Hino,” he replied, as his eyes went from his pad toward the girl's dark violet orbs. Rei's mind played back the painful memory, deciphering fiction from reality, as her eyes closed, picturing what her heart begged her not to remember. She shook her head slightly, turning her vision out the window.

 

“I don't remember much at all, really,” Rei lied, knowing good her memories of that tragic night was jumbled and confused within the walls of her own mind. The man then spoke again.

 

“I know it may be hard for you to remember, Miss Hino,” he started out kindly, before continuing on. “But for insurance reasons, we must ask everyone what they remember, and try to piece together what happened. Some people have replied that there was alcohol served on the plane, and that one of the pilots may have been under the influence. Do you recall anything of the sort?”

 

“Well,” Rei started, her vision falling to the floor below. “I remember some of the passengers were drinking wine.”

 

“Good,” the man said, as he started to scratch away at his note pad. “Do you remember where you were sitting?”

 

“Mm hm,” Rei nodded, biting her bottom lip as she slightly clenched the sheets. “I was sitting next to my father, the fourth row back.”

 

“And where was everyone seated?” the man asked, continuing to write.

 

“A few of my father's lawyers were sitting at the front. His secretary was sitting in front of us, I think her name was Keishi Kuromatsu,” Rei hesitated over the name, remembering the book she had received from the polite woman.

 

“Ah yes, Miss Kuromatsu. She's the next one on my list,” he replied, flipping back a page, as if analyzing her entire life on one simple piece of paper. Rei suddenly felt uncomfortable, rubbing her eyes with her palm, letting out a yawn. The man didn't seem to take notice, as he continued on with his questioning. “What happened after take off?”

 

“I,” Rei stuttered slightly, clearing her throat with a cough. “I was reading a book Miss Kuromatsu had bought me…”

 

“She bought you?” the man looked up from his pad with a questioning gaze, completely interrupting the girl's story. Rei looked puzzled for a moment, shrugging her shoulders.

 

“We got to know each other a little bit during the trip,” she shrugged, taking her eyes from the man quicker than she had looked. “We were talking about a book I was reading for school that I enjoyed, and she recommended a book by the same author.”

 

“She bought you a book by the same author,” the man replied, quickly flipping a page and jotting down some notes. Rei blinked, her eyebrows suddenly lowering, her defenses erupting like a ki flare.

 

“What does this have to do with anything?” Rei suddenly barked, a frown appearing on her features. The man placed his hands up in defense.

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't think the book meant that much to you,” he continued, as he wrote down some more notes.

 

“The book doesn't, your constant questioning does,” Rei replied, as she hit the button next to her, signaling a nurse into her room. “If you don't mind, sir, I would like it if you were to leave right now.”

 

“Miss Hino,” he started, standing up from his seat, his arms raising in apology. “I meant no disrespect, but as an insurance agent, it does sound suspicious for a secretary to buy a gift for a politician's underage daughter.”

 

“Maybe it was just an act of kindness, something you evidentially lack,” Rei yelled, pressing the button again. Damn it! Never a nurse around when you need one.

 

“Miss Hino, in order for your father to avoid any lawsuits I must finish this story,” the man's harsh tone replied. Rei's suspicions rose of this man, her breathing quickening as she started jamming down on the button.

 

“What story?” came a deep voice from the doorway. The pleading eyes of Rei Hino would match the future prince of Earth's own, Mamoru's glare fixated upon the man standing over the fire senshi. Hitachi looked over his shoulder to the man, fixating his own narrowing eyes upon him. “Watanabe?”

 

“Chiba.” The words rolled off his tongue like a child spitting out their first attempts at eating raw vegetables, disgust evident in the tone in his voice.

 

“Find your story elsewhere, Watanabe!” Mamoru ordered, as he walked protectively toward Rei, standing directly in between them. The man grinned, his eyes narrowing down to the fire senshi.

 

“Maybe we can finish this conversation more privately, Miss Hino,” he replied with a devilish grin, closing his briefcase as he left. Rei sighed in relief, leaning back against her pillows, staring up at the ceiling.

 

“Watanabe?” Rei asked curiously, turning her vision to look up to the dark haired man next to her. “He said his name was Hitachi Kowanami, of Kawasaki Insurance Company.”

 

“No,” Mamoru replied, shaking his head. “His name's Hitachi Watanabe. He's a news reporter. I've run into him a few times before in the past.”

 

“So,” Rei replied, rubbing her head slightly, searching for a new subject to speak of.

 

“I saw your grandfather a little while ago,” Mamoru said, catching the hint. “I saw him leaving just as I was coming in.”

 

“That was over an hour ago,” Rei questioned, looking up to the clock. Mamoru smiled, taking a seat next to the senshi, handing her a set of `get well' flowers with a confident smirk.

 

“Well, I bumped into Ami, and we thought it'd be nice to get our fire senshi a get well gift,” Mamoru smirked, as Rei took the flowers. She held a smirk of her own, sniffing the flowers.

 

“Their very nice,” she said with sarcasm, handing them back to Mamoru. “You couldn't get a vase to go with them?”

 

“Always so demanding, aren't we Rei?” Mamoru joked, standing up in search for a vase.

 

“I think there's one in the…” she started to point out, as a nurse ran in suddenly, surprising the two.

 

“Miss Hino!” she yelled, running over. “Are you alright?”

 

“What?” Rei asked at the sudden outburst. Her memory sparked, as she frowned slightly. “Yea, what's with letting a journalist my room?”

 

“Journalist?” she asked, scratching the back of her head. “The only visitors I allowed were the ones on the list, your family, and your father's defense lawyer.”

 

Rei sighed, smacking her face with her hand. Mamoru rubbed the side of his head, as he turned to the nurse.

 

“That man wasn't a lawyer, he was a journalist,” he replied, lifting the flowers. “Got anything I can put these in?”

 

-----

 

Rei sighed, staring up at the ceiling above her, her eyes wide open, violet orbs cracked with red lines, showing her lack of sleep as of late. Though she dare not show it in front of anyone, she truly was scared. Usagi's words echoed through the back of her mind, like the lyrics of a song you can never get out of your head, and can't help but sing or hum. She rolled onto her side, staring out the window to the city below, darkness surrounding the Tokyo skylines, and its very own Tower. Her eyes trailed up to the needle sticking out of her arm, as well as the empty bag of liquid that had just recently finished draining into her body, supposedly bringing her sleep. Sleep was the last thing she wanted.

 

Her head shook slightly, pushing herself to sit up. Any minute, the nurse would be back in, pull the needle out of her arm, and tell her good night. This had been the routine for the past three days, ever since she had awakened, though when she fell asleep, she knew good and well what would be awaiting her. Her eyes closed for merely a moment, though the flashes in front of her eyes lasted an eternity. The cracking sounds of the engines failing, thunderous sounds of lighting striking the wing, the heat of flames surrounding herself was just too much to bear. Her eyes shot open, her breathing unknowingly racing along with her heart rate, the worrying bringing sweat to her moist forehead. Using the sleeve of her long sleeve gown, she wiped away her forehead slightly, bringing her knees to her chest.

 

As if on cue, the nurse came in with a smile, walking over to the fire priestess, as she went to pull the needle out. She put a piece of gauze upon the girl's arm, pulling the needle out, and taping the gauze to the exposed wound, as it quickly let its crimson red liquid out. Rei kept pressure on her arm, her eyes never leaving her bed sheets.

 

“Why don't you try to get some sleep tonight, Miss Hino,” the nurse pleaded, remembering the girl's awakening shouts from the past few nights. “Tomorrow I'll talk to the doctor to see if we can up your dosage a bit. I've noticed you haven't been sleeping much lately.”

 

Rei merely shrugged her shoulders, resting her head on her knees. As the nurse left, she was once again surrounded by darkness, the very same that surrounded her in the plane. Her eyes went to shut, but she quickly put a stop to that, remembering the flashing images that would soon follow. Shaking her head in frustration, Rei removed the sheets from her grasp, swinging her legs off the bed. She had been caught a few times trying to supposedly `escape' treatments, or simply go for a walk. She nearly had it to a point where she could get out and back without ever being noticed by now, and this had just been the perfect opportunity. She was the last patient on that nurse's list before she would be leaving for the night, and the third shift would come in, giving her time to roam about in slight freedom. Maybe stop by the cafeteria, open for only one more hour, possibly the vending machine, some much needed sugar, or simply stroll about until her legs gave in.

 

Her mind wondered, as she snuck easily out from her room, her bare feet stinging against the cold tile flooring. She was scolded for walking around barefoot, though she refused to wear the paper-made slippers the nurses provided for her. A hand removed a strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes from her vision, as she tried to clear her thoughts. The dimly lit hallway suited her much better than her dark room, though the blurry vision that started to erupt sent worry to the back of her mind. She rubbed her eyes slightly, as she looked down the hall again. Walls started to twist slightly, as if bending to form its own. Balance nearly thrown, Rei reached out for the wall, as her mind yearned for the reality of the picture before her.

 

Shaking her head lightly, her walk would take her ears to be filled with the soft cries of life, her hand upon the wall finally reaching glass, her eyes moving down to the special care nursery, currently filled with little ones. As Rei's eyes turned to them, the murmurs of voices filled the back of her mind. Her eyes then trailed up to a swirled picture of figures she hadn't seen before. Under the only working light, three figures stood watching the nursery, dressed in what appeared as white lab coats of some sort. The walls surrounded them continued to twist and bend, bringing more disorientation to the senshi of Mars. Rei then let out a pleading hand.

 

“Excuse me,” she cried, leaning slightly against the glass as she walked over. As her vision slightly cleared moving closer, before her in the light stood two women with blacker hair than her own, along with a man, white aged hair, but no aged face. The man looked over, though the two women did not. “Could you help me please?”

 

One of the women turned to her, then looked around, as if the girl were speaking to someone else. She whispered something to the man, who simply rose a hand to the girl, walking over to Rei. An interjecting hand would reach out to the man, grasping his arm, though he pulled it off.

 

“We're not supposed to interfere,” Rei's ears caught a murmur, though her current blurred vision was more of a priority, already forgetting her route back to her room. The man came over to Rei, taking her hands in his own. They felt warm to the touch, making Rei sigh slightly.

 

“Are you lost child?” the man asked Rei, looking into her eyes. As Rei looked into his own, she felt a sudden chill, as if the man was staring directly into her mind, her soul, her past, everything. Her breathing quickened, nearly pulled her hand from his grasp. Reality started to fade, as the walls twisted and turned once again. The light above them flickered, their images nothing more than a hallucination. The hallway remained as dimly lit as it was before, Rei pulling her vision toward the children in the nursery. Shaking her head, a feeling of utopia hit her as she collapsed onto the floor.

 

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Author's Notes: Sorry about the long delay on getting this chapter out. I wanted to make sure I had everything in there before I updated, and I think it's good now. Hope I clarified some things that you may have missed last chapter, or anything you didn't get simply. Thanks for the reviews, and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!

 

Ja ne