Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal City:Crystal Tokyo ❯ Chapter 15

Eternal City, Crystal Tokyo: Part Fifteen

Erica looked out the window of the maglev train, her black hair falling into her eyes, lost in her thoughts. Her school uniform was crisp as always, the boy's design fitting the slim girl like a glove. 'Wonder if I should wash the dye out?' she wondered. Catrine knew who she was, who she was related to, and the dye might not serve any use anymore.

She walked to the school gates, her bag over her shoulder and felt just a bit relieved. There were no whispers, no odd looks from the other students. 'I guess Catrine hasn't told anyone yet,' Erica mused. She searched through the crowds, eventually spotting the blue haired girl.

Catrine looked up and saw her, then she turned to her friends to politely excuse herself. The pretty young woman made her way in Erica's direction, the two falling into step as they headed to their class. Erica looked over at the girl, trying to think of something witty to say, and finally had to try a simple, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Erica-sama," Catrine answered softly.

Erica blinked at the honorific, "You don't need to.."

"I know who you are now, Erica-sama," Catrine's eyes shone as she looked up at the taller girl, "of course I do."

One of the early warning bells rang, and they picked up their pace a bit. "Can I talk to you at lunch?" Erica asked with a slight frown.

"Sure," Catrine blushed a bit.

'This is going to be interesting,' Erica thought, settling into her seat. Classes dragged on through the morning, Erica giving half her attention to the teacher and the rest considering Catrine's behavior. The Senshi were held in a high regard by the people of the city, having acquired an almost mythic status over the years. So Catrine's reaction really wasn't so surprising, but it was going to make things uncomfortable unless she could resolve this.

"Hi," Erica smiled a bit nervously as she and Catrine walked to one of the trees scattered around the sprawling campus.

"Thank you for inviting me to lunch, Erica-sama," Catrine said softly.

Erica waved Catrine to a seat beneath the tree, then sat down beside her. She smiled at Catrine wryly, "Did you ever wonder why I dye my hair black?"

"Heh?" Catrine looked surprised, "No, I didn't."

'Well, at least she didn't use the 'sama' again,' Erica thought happily. "When I was younger, someone recognized me as Uranus' daughter," she explained. A grim little smile was on her face as she recalled, "I got mobbed, basically. People pulled my hair out, tore my clothes, all because I was related to the sailor Senshi."

"Oh," Catrine's face had paled slightly. "What happened?"

"My parents were ready to pull me out of school for good, have me educated in the palace," Erica said softly, "but I talked them out of it." She smiled, "So, a bit of hair dye, I changed my last name to my other mother's and entered a new school."

Catrine nodded thoughtfully, "I see." She looked over at Erica thoughtfully, "I guess I can understand you not telling anyone about your parentage, then."

"I probably should have told you about it when you mentioned your own connection to the Senshi," Erica admitted. She looked over at Catrine and softly asked, "Can you forgive me for surprising you like that?"

A delicate blush marked Catrine's face, "It's all right, really."

"Good," Erica popped open her lunch box, taking a deep breath of the rich scent.

"That smells marvelous," Catrine said enviously.

Erica cupped a bit on her chopsticks and offered it, "Here, try some." Catrine was hesitant, but soon was making happy noises as she munched. "I'm glad that Jupiter makes my lunches," Erica admitted, "I can't cook worth beans."

"Lady Jupiter makes your lunches?!" Catrine squeaked.

"It's gonna take you some time to get used to all this, huh?" Erica said wryly.

Catrine blinked, then began to laugh sheepishly. "I guess so."

"You know," Erica mused, "I don't think I've ever had a friend in this school before, I couldn't risk it." She gave Catrine a smile, "Would you like to be my first?"

"I'd love to," Catrine smiled back.

They finished up their lunches together, then headed back to their classes. As the day continued Catrine noticed something a little odd going on, it seemed that most of the young women in the classes were looking at her rather irritably.

'Oh, boy,' Catrine realized, looking over at Erica thoughtfully.

Erica was one of the most handsome of the girls in class, or really in the entire school, and many of the girls had a crush on her. Part of her attraction was Erica's aloof attitude, the deliberate distance the black haired girl maintained. She usually came to school alone, ate her meal alone, then left with nothing more than friendly greetings being exchanged.

'And I just sat down to eat lunch with her,' Catrine thought wonderingly, 'something that some of those girl's would just die for.' A bit of a blush marked her cheeks, and she had to admit that she wasn't immune to Erica's charm, she just hadn't been thinking about it.

Ruki waved her down in the hall later, the pretty redhead grabbing her arm excitedly once she got near. "Is it true?" she asked.

"Yes, I had lunch with Erica," Catrine said, "but don't make too much of it.."

"EEE!" Ruki practically bounced up and down with happiness, and Catrine sighed. "How did you manage to do that?!"

"I.." Catrine started, unsure how to explain without revealing Erica's secret.

"Hey, Catrine," a voice called out. Both girls looked up and froze as Erica made her way through the crowd. The striking black hair was a bit messy after a long day of classes, and her brown eyes shone with gently amusement.

"Hi, Erica," Catrine managed.

"Introduce me," Ruki whispered as she tugged on Catrine's arm.

"So who's your friend?" Erica asked her, giving Catrine a graceful opening to introduce her friend. She had to fight back a broad smile, it almost looked like the energetic redhead was going to wet herself with excitement.

"Ruki," Catrine smiled slightly, "I'd like you to meet Erika Tenoh."

"Erica-sama," the fiercely blushing Ruki squeaked, executing a perfect bow.

"Nice to meet you," Erika said with a slight smile. She looked over at Catrine, "You live not too far from the maglev line, right?" Catrine nodded, and Erika continued on, "I usually take the line home, I was wondering if you wanted to walk together?"

"I'd like that,." Catrine said softly.

"Then I'll see you after class," Erika waved and headed off to her next class, cutting through the crowd with a determined. stride.

"Wow," Ruki murmured once she was far enough away. She looked over at Catrine and beamed happily, "She must really like you!"

"We're just friends," Catrine said to Ruki firmly.

Ruki gave her a look, "Maybe."

Waiting for classes to end took forever, the remaining hours dragging onward. Catrine wasn't normally a clock watcher, but today she waited for the seconds to tick by, so much so that one of her teachers even looked a bit concerned.

The last bell rang, and Catrine moved through the halls towards the entrance. She was surprised to see a group of girls standing around there, talking softly. Listening she over heard the comment, "Who is she waiting for?"

Catrine made her way past the girl's, her eyes widening as she saw Erica Tenoh leaning up against the gates. As soon as she stepped outside Erika looked up with a smile, "Hi."

"Hi," Catrine smiled back shyly as they fell into step together.

To be continued....