Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Rivers Run Dry ❯ chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Post-SM. The weather has been acting unnatural of late. The planets are not the cause. What is it that is strong enough to break the planetary power over the weather, what is strong enough to create such powerful winds, such powerful storms? Perhaps the weather is simply a warning of what is to come. A warning that the beings wishing for power over all, have come, that havoc will be let loose very soon. This power, comes from no normal enemy, as they are not human, they are far worse, far superior... and this time around, the Sailor Senshi may not be enough to quench it…

Now, I would like to introduce to you Rivers Run Dry. I know a lot of people HATE Mary-Sues, so I am trying my hardest not to make it such. Of course, it is nearly impossible to create a SM fic without some MS attributes, but I am going to try and keep them to a minimum. As far as I know, no one has made a SM fic like the one I am writing, and I have read a lot of SM fanfiction. The plot will move, not to fast, but not to slow. So, I hope you enjoy, Rivers Run Dry.

Rivers Run Dry

By: Hotaru

Rating: Older Teens (16+) for some mature themes, language, etc.

Chapter 1

8-31-05

My my, what have we got here? It's the disclaimer damnit! You see, fan fiction authors are required to specify that they don't own any characters involved in their story, that were not made up on their own. SOOO therefore, I say, “I do so solemnly swear that I do not own any characters created by Takeuchi Naoko. I only own my own and my plot.” And, would you please do that same courtesy of stating that you don't own my characters should you ever for some reason decide to use them, as well as the plot. Thank you.

“…” Dialogue

`…' Thoughts

-…- An expression or something

The few Japanese phrases you will here in this chapter. I will keep them to a minimum and only use them when the English translation might or will sound odd.

Tadaima! - literally, I'm home.

Okaeri - Welcome home, welcome back

Kyotsuke - stand at attention

Lei - bow

-chan - a suffix used by close friends, or for small children. it means cute or tiny, etc.

The freezing wind blew hard, feeling like needles upon the flesh of the only person on the streets. Long, black hair blew into the face of Hino Rei, as she held up her arms to try and prevent dirt from blowing into her eyes. She was going as fast as she could without being knocked over by it. It seemed darker than it really was, the smog of the city the cause of the effect. In the winter, the sky was always dirty. So much gas, coal, and wood used to prevent the citizens of the world's largest metropolis, from freezing. Pausing at a street corner to catch her breath, she waited for the light for crossing to turn green, awaited the little chime that always sang.

The heavy coat she was wearing over her school uniform was not much help against this powerful wind, this unnatural wind. Either, Uranus was not at peace, or something had gone terribly wrong, and their short lived peace was at an end. Grateful that she finally heard the little bell, she quickly crossed the street. Only a little further, and she would be home. Only that little hill that she had to climb, and she would be back at the Hikawa Shrine, back to her own fire, where she could finally figure out what it was that made this cursed wind blow.

It was perhaps, the hardest trip up the hill she had ever faced. The wind was now blowing against her, and she nearly toppled back several times. She was fortunate enough to have good skills and sharp reflexes, and finally made it up, passed through the entrance to her home, and then to the front door of her house. -SIGH- That was the first sound that escaped from her lips. Removing her black school shoes, she stepped up onto the wood floor and cried out, “Tadaima!” The warmth of the building was immediately noticeable, and she took off her coat, placing it on top of the cabinet that stood in the entry hall.

Soon after, the reply from her grandfather's older voice came, “Okaeri, Rei.” Before going to her room, she searched for him, and found him enjoying the simple pleasures of a television show. The shrine was not likely to have any visitors today due to the weather, so the old man had chosen to go ahead and close it up for the day. Deciding to leave him there undisturbed, the teen went on down the hall and slid open the door to her room. A simple room, but comfortable. A low table with futon for people to sit upon off to the right, a lamp close by. A few scattered books here and there. Tossing her bag next to the table, Rei immediately went to her closet, and took out her more traditional clothes, and quickly changed.

Once the task was accomplished, rather than bringing out the books and studying for her exam the next day, like she was supposed to, Rei made for her sanctuary, the Sacred Fire. The girl wanted to get to the bottom of things. Hopefully she could get a clear reading in her mind of what was happening in the realm of evil. Now in the hot room, where the fire that never went out was kept, she knelt down on the hard wooden floor, and closed her violet eyes.

The sixteen year old blonde with long hair done up in ball styled pigtails let out a loud complaint, “I can't believe this! The wind is too strong for me to get home now!” Tsukino Usagi was sitting on a stool in front of the counter at the Crown Game Center. A chocolate milkshake sat in front of her covered in massive amounts of whipped cream and a cherry on top. About five minutes beforehand, she had attempted to leave but the second she had finally managed to push open the door, the furious wind pushed her back inside the building like she was nothing more than a fly. Quickly giving up, she had ordered her third milkshake for the day.

Sitting beside her was another blonde, Aino Minako. She too had a milkshake, but this one was strawberry, “I really wanted to go home and take a nice hot bubble bath! Today was so cold, and now this wind will only make the freezing weather worse!” Both girls let out sighs of exasperation. They had been at the arcade since after school, and that was over three hours ago. It would soon be completely dark outside. Looking out the windows, the girls saw flyers being pulled off their posts, trashcans blown over, even one of the heavy vending machines were on the ground.

“Hey, Mina-chan, what do you say to another round of Sailor V!” Usagi brightly asked, her crystal blue eyes brightening in excitement. She looked around in her bag and brought out her wallet that was pink and covered with little white bunnies. “Alright!” The pretty blonde replied. The two cheerfully went off to the game, forgetting their shakes on the bar, as they were slowly melting in the heat of the building. The girls were quickly preoccupied by the game and soon a small crowd of people were watching as the two played the game two players, and were beating the current record, previously set by none other than Kino Makoto.

If people knew the true purpose of the game, they would have realized that the only record setters left on this particular Sailor V game were the group of five girls that always stopped by, who were in actuality Sailor Senshi. Soon enough, one of the girls finally lost, Minako being the beaten, and Usagi continued to play on her own. Yet, she too lost eventually. And the sighs of defeat were heard. No one had ever beaten the game, as it seemed never ending. The crowd separated after the game that had lasted nearly an hour.

The two friends walked back to the counter where they had left their belongings, and saw their now liquidated shakes. A very small amount of tears formed in Usagi's eyes as she saw it, “Oh no! I really wanted to drink it now…” The teen didn't allow herself to cry though, because she was at the stage in life where she was finally maturing into adult hood, and learning that crying didn't get her anywhere. It had taken longer than usual for her to begin the mental maturing stage, and her friends were grateful that it had finally come, because she no longer wailed over little things.

As if though sensing a change, both girls looked immediately out the windows, forgetting their ruined treats. The wind had stopped completely. It was dark outside, but the streets were well lit, things were no longer blowing about, and the cars finally started back up and continued on their ways, having stopped because the force of the wind was making it to difficult to drive. Usagi and Minako looked at each other. The atmosphere didn't feel right. They were brought out of their reverie by other people leaving the arcade that was supposed to have closed half an hour before, but couldn't.

“I guess we better go home huh? It could start again,” Minako stated. She grabbed her coat and was putting it on. Usagi nodded her agreement, but her face was serious. A feeling of great foreboding had come over her, and she didn't like it. However, just as soon as she had felt it, it disappeared, and she mimicked her friend, and the both picked up their school bags and finally left the place. Glancing at her watch, the blonde noticed it was well after seven, “Oh no! My mother's gonna kill me! Mina-chan, I'll see you tomorrow at school alright? See you then!” And the girls made their separate ways, Usagi running as fast as she could, and Minako walking freely, enjoying the fact that she wasn't struggling against any wind.

Mizuno Ami sat in her desk by the window, her head bent over her papers as she was working out one of her Advanced Calculus problems. Frustrated, the blue haired girl finally looked up from all of her calculations and instead chose to stare out the window. The class was given a long home room in the sixth period that day, and many of the students were out of their seats and loudly talking; the screeching of girls as they made new discoveries of one's new boyfriend, the guys gloating over their accomplishments. It was all getting too noisy for the genius to concentrate any longer. She wished that the teacher would walk in at any moment, so that she could get the students under control, if that was possible.

As Ami continued looking outside, she noticed the sky was darkening. The day had been a rare and beautiful one, but now black clouds were gathering off in the distance, and the teenager predicted their arrival to be in less than an hour, just as school would be letting out, “That's funny… there were no chances that it would rain today…” The clouds looked angry, and she heard a loud clap of thunder, louder than it should have been for a storm so far away, and then she saw the flashes of lightning. She though, `First the strange wind storm the evening before, and now this unexpected storm that was not even on the radar for the entire country!'

At first, she had thought maybe Uranus was going through a great pain when she noticed the wind. Yet, when it had ended, a strange calmness and silence had overcome the entire city, even when the buses started running again. She had not seen any of the outer Senshi for months. Perhaps Jupiter was enduring pain? But how could Makoto be enduring anguish or pain when she was in the classroom right next door? Ami was trying to think of the reasons for the odd weather. Then she was also considering that good times were over and the Sailor Senshi would be needed again. The bell pulled her from her deep thoughts, and then the teacher entered the room through the sliding door and took her place at the front of the classroom, “Hai! Mizuno-san!”

It was Ami's turn for the day to lead the class in formalities. The class stood up, everyone back at their desks, as they had rushed when the teacher had come in. The blue haired girl's voice cried out just loud enough, “Kyotsuke!” All the students stood up straight in attention, “Lei!” Everyone bowed, and then they were dismissed. Students were gathering their belongings, as they finally began to notice the rainstorm coming in. Loud complaints of, “Damnit! I didn't bring my umbrella!” were heard. Ami headed for the chalkboard so that she could wipe it clean of all its writings except for the date that was written respectively at the far right side. With the task completed, Ami returned to her desk, put away all of her work and grabbed her bag, and proceeded to leave.

The tall brunette waited for her friend Ami to leave the classroom. When the girl finally did, Kino Makoto immediately said, “I don't know anything about this rainstorm. All I can say is that it is not the result of any power of Jupiter. If it were, I would know.” Ami seemed a little caught off guard by her close friend's word out in public. Normally, things such as these were kept on hold until there were few people in the area, or for meetings. The next of their little `group' to meet up with them was Minako.

“Mako-chan, do you know what this storm is about?” The blonde was out of breath as she had rushed from the second building and concern was in her voice. The shaking of the brunette's head signified her `no'. The daughter of love continued on, “First that insane wind… and now we have a storm, who knows how bad, about to hit.” Next she pulled out her communicator and contacted Rei, “I think we should have a meeting Rei-chan, this unnatural weather is beginning to freak all of us out. This storm is no cause of Jupiter.”

Almost immediately, the raven haired girl replied through her own communicator, “I was just about to contact you guys to suggest the same thing. It's Friday, so why don't you guys plan on spending the night? We might need to talk for a long time. Hurry on quick, cause this storm looks bad.” Then, the tiny screen with her face cut off. Looking up, the three saw the last of them hurrying down the hall, Usagi, Usagi-chan! All three of the girls shouted as they gestured for her to finish her trip as soon as she could.

The girl finally made it, and out of breath, much like Minako had been, she asked, complaining, What is up with all this weird weather!

Can it. Makoto responded in a voice that sounded very much like Rei, Tonight we are meeting at Rei-chan's house, and we are spending the night. There are some serious issues that we need to discuss.

Right in the middle of the hallway, Usagi plopped to the ground, her knees up to her chest, and one hand supporting her chin, Oh geez, and when I thought things were finally gonna be normal again. Oh well… I guess we will never get to have our normal lives for very long… Little did the Moon Princess and her followers know, was how correct she really was.

-SIGH- i really have no idea how this will go. no. thats a lie. i know how the story will go, but i dont know where this will go with my readers. i had a title in mind only about two hours ago but i forgot it. damnit. me and my forgeting english in japan. well then, what do you think about all this crazy weather? what is causing it? if uranus wasnt controlling that wind, and jupiter the storm, what is it then? in this story i have the planets being the power sources of weather. so ya. anyway, review for me. and crap, my laptop crashed yesterday, so slow updates until i return to america in november.

hotaru