Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Successor ❯ The Night Sky ( Chapter 1 )

This may surprise you but I don't own Sailor Moon, tons of companies and Japanese people do. Who'da figured? The only one I can remember is the creator, Naoko Takeuchi, who married the guy who created Yu Yu Hakusho. Ain't that neat?

 

Anyway... this fic uses the Japanese names of the characters. If you don't know them, here are their names for both versions. If you already know all about Japanese stuff, feel free to scroll on down to the next asterisks (***) cause you aren't missing anything.

 

(Note - first names come last, last names come first)

 

Serena ................ Sailor Moon .................. Tsukino Usagi

 

Amy ....................Sailor Mercury ............... Mizuno Ami

 

Raye....................Sailor Mars.........................Hino Rei

 

Lita....................Sailor Jupiter.......................Kino Makoto (Mako for short)

 

Mina..................Sailor Venus........................Aino Minako

 

Darien......Tuxedo Mask (Tuxedo Kamen)......Chiba Mamoru

 

Rini.............Sailor Mini-Moon(aka Chibi-Moon)......Chibi-Usa

 

Other characters:

 

Urawa Ryo - this is Greg, Amy's would-be boyfriend from a few episodes. She calls him Urawa-kun even though that's his last name, out of formality. He gets mentioned in this chapter, so now you know who that is.

 

=A quick guide to the honorifics I use (if you have no idea what 'honorifics' means, this is for you)=

 

These are used at the end of a person's name. They represent your relation to the person. I chose to use them in the story due to the heavy importance they play in the relationships of the characters.

 

"chan" a term of affection or closeness. used mostly by girls and is kind of cutesy. all the five senshi call each other by "Usagi-chan" or "Minako-chan" because they're best friends. Usagi calls Mamoru "Mamo-chan", which is a pet name that he doesn't seem to mind, but some people would be embarrassed if their girlfriend called them that. not very formal at all.

 

"san" is used for strangers and people you aren't close to or familiar with. it is also a generally safe term to use if you aren't sure what you should be using. use it for that guy you see in the hall now and then, or someone you wouldn't usually spend time alone with. fairly formal.

 

"kun" is used when you're talking to a boy or male who is the same age/rank/grade as you, or lower, but it's not to look down on them, just showing that you're close to them. guys use this with each other, and girls will call guys this. not too formal.

 

"sensei" is teacher or person of higher authority. used in school, obviously. definitely formal.

 

"senpai" is for students older than you, or people of a higher grade than you in some way or another. there's a guy later on in this story who is very picky about being called senpai and not kun. kinda formal.

 

"sama" is of the utmost respect. there are very few people you would actually refer to as sama, as it would be weird. even so, Sailor Moon calls Tuxedo Kamen "Tuxedo Kamen-sama", because she idolizes him. EXTREMELY formal most of the time.

 

"ko" is not something you'll see a lot of, but Mamoru calls Usagi "Usa-ko'. It's like chan in that it's for girls, but it's not as cutesy. not very formal.

 

That should be about it!! I want to make sure people actually know what the heck is being said in this fic. I hope this helps. Remember, always check back to this first chapter if you ever get confused by the names or suffixes.

 

**************

 

Chapter 1: The Night Sky

 

It was a cool autumn evening. Usagi, Makoto, Rei, Minako and Ami were all congregated at the Tsukino house, having a sleepover. Makoto was beating Usagi at a new video game, badly.

 

"It's not my fault!!" Usagi wailed. "We just got this a few days ago. How are you so good already?"

 

Makoto giggled. "I just looked in the instruction book, instead of pressing random buttons. Here." She handed Usagi a glossy little booklet. Usagi snatched it quickly and flipped through it. When she stumbled across the controls page, her eyes went wide.

 

"Cheater," she said to Mako, swinging herself the other way and crossing her arms in a huff. "This tells everything!"

 

"Uh-huh. Don't feel so bad," Mako encouraged. "Maybe now you'll beat me..."

 

Usagi held her disposition for a few more seconds, then hastily reclaimed her controller and started playing again.

 

Ami was half-heartedly watching the two play, while also listening to Rei and Minako, who were examining a magazine while talking.

 

"This guy's really cute," Minako admired, showing Rei a picture of a tall, well-built athlete.

 

"You think so?" Rei said, sounding as if she disagreed, but not outright saying so. "That look in his eyes... he looks braindead to me."

 

"I guess," Minako sighed. "Not much upstairs. It says here he used to box, so that helps support your idea. Probably took some head shots or something."

 

"Most guys aren't very smart," Rei noted disappointedly. "Or at least the smart ones manage to slip through my senses."

 

"What do you think, Ami?" Minako inquired, excited to hear the silent girl's opinion.

 

"Um, on what?" Ami said, flustered. She didn't catch everything the girls had said, so she wasn't completely sure how to answer. Plus, she didn't want to say anything on a topic like this, it would be embarrassing.

 

"Guys, Ami-chan. Get your focus in life right for once," Minako teased. "Do you think there are very many smart guys?"

 

"Well," Ami recalled, "Last year in my Advanced Calculus class, there were more guys than girls... about 11 to 6, I think. It's not always like that, but I think I see a few more guys than girls in many of my classes."

 

Minako sighed. "Not very exciting of an answer, but it's an answer nonetheless."

 

"Oh, come off it, Minako-chan," Rei replied. "I think what Ami's saying is interesting. Maybe there's more girls' private schools than boys' around here, or maybe guys really are smarter?"

 

"Hold on!" Minako interjected. "Academics aren't everything. Some people are so smart they do poorly in school because they aren't interested, or because the school doesn't know how to deal with them, like Einstein. Personally I'd prefer a smart guy who ISN'T totally into his school work, cause they're usually more fun. By 'smart' I mean that he knows how to tie his shoes, and knows how to treat a girl, and... um..."

 

"By your definition, there are countless smart guys, Minako..." Rei said sarcastically. "And it's too bad Einstein's from another generation... I bet you'd get along well with him. Anyway... I agree, smart isn't just brainy. Mamoru's a smart, sophisticated kind of guy, for example."

 

"I've known real geniuses in classes before who didn't seem half as 'smart', as you say, as someone like Mamoru-san," Ami added.

 

"What about Mamo-chan?" Usagi said, leaning her head over her shoulder and looking interested.

 

"Nothing, you goof," Rei replied. "Get back to your game."

 

"Yeah," Makoto agreed. "I'm beating you, see?"

 

"Hey, you should've PAUSED!!" Usagi complained, returning her interests to the game. She was playing as a rabbit in a Sailor Suit, and Makoto was controlling a big, silly robot, shooting heart-shaped missiles at her whimsical victim.

 

"I win AGAIN," Makoto said, sounding bored. "Usagi-chan, should we alter the handicap settings or something?"

 

"NO," Usagi protested, "just... just give me a little more time to get used to the controls I very recently learned."

 

"Suit yourself," Mako consented.

 

"Minako," Rei began in a frank tone. "Sometimes I think I'm too into this sort of thing," she said as the pointed to the magazine. "And you're in deeper than me by far. Maybe you should take it easy and let a good guy come to you?"

 

"Umm..." Minako stuttered, not sure how to reply.

 

"Hey, look at that guy!" Ami exclaimed, pointing at a page they hadn't read yet. Rei and Minako immediately looked at her in silent disbelief. She slowly drew her finger back and started blushing.

 

"What about him?" Minako asked. "You LIKE hi-"

 

"No!!" Ami insisted. "I just noticed... he's holding a schoolbook. And his hair... he kind of reminded me of Urawa-kun... but now that I look at him again, I guess not."

 

"Yeah..." Rei agreed. "Urawa-kun doesn't tend to lean against handrails with his shirt undone."

 

"What's this about a guy?" Mako asked, leaning over to the others. "Hey, he looks just like my ex-boyfriend!!"

 

All the girls fell over in unison, except Makoto, who wondered what the problem was.

 

"I beat you," Usagi said from the floor.

 

"What?!" Mako raged. "I thought YOU were the one who complained about not pausing..."

 

"Mm-hm! So now we're even," Usagi retorted proudly.

 

****************************

 

The girls were all in bed, or rather in sleeping bags (Usagi had hogged her own bed before the others could, and Rei told her she'd sooner die than sleep in that dirty thing).

 

Minako sat up slowly, convinced that she couldn't get back to sleep. She glanced around the dark room, barely able to tell what everything was. Artemis was slung over the back of a chair as if he were a piece of clothing, yet somehow he was in a peaceful sleep. Luna was curled up besides Chibi-Usa, whose toes poked out at the end of her little blanket. Minako looked to Usagi's window and noticed how pretty all the harmonious little lights in the sky were. "I haven't looked at the stars for a long time..." she said softly to herself.

 

She got to her feet silently and began to sneak out of the room. She stumbled over Makoto and almost fell face-first to the ground, but managed to save herself. Makoto muttered something and rolled over. Minako left the room and made her way to the balcony window of Usagi's house. Having gone out on it before with Usagi, she knew where the lock and handle were even in the dark. It made only slight noise as she slid it open. She left it unlocked, but closed it to keep the bugs out.

 

"Wow..." she marveled as she gazed upwards. "You can never remember how many there were when you stop looking and come back later." She sighed and leaned forwards against the rail, looking out. The moon was half-full, almost too bright to make out the features on it. She held her hand out and traced lines with her finger along the various constellations.

 

"Sometimes I wish I could go out there... see what the universe is like. Because of the Moon Kingdom, I know there has to be other worlds with life, and probably beautiful and amazing things..."

 

She started getting much sleepier, and sat back, nodding off. "Beautiful..." she said softly. "Wish I could go there..."

 

And she was asleep.

 

The wind swirled... the sky was a dark violet. A figure wrapped in black walked up to her.

 

"It's very lonely out here..." the figure said solemnly.

 

"Out here?" she wondered. With a glance to both sides she became well aware that she was standing amidst the stars.

 

"There's nothing here. It's a sad place."

 

The figure turned and started to walk away.

 

"Hey, who are you?" Minako asked.

 

"A shadow, an empty shadow."

 

Minako clutched her arms, shivering. Cold winds swept by her harshly.

 

"Please don't go! I don't want to stay here anymore!"

 

"You wanted to see the stars. Now you want to go home?"

 

"Please don't make me stay here!" she pleaded.

 

"It's not up to me... it was your choice."

 

She watched as it became farther and farther away, her hope shrinking.

"Soon a shadow will cover this whole planet. The stars might just be your only refuge. The fate of the earth won't make any difference to their eternal shine..."

 

The figure faded away, and suddenly Minako was falling. Falling, falling. The sky got lighter and started turning blue as she neared Earth, falling uncontrollably.

 

"Minako-chan? Minako-chan! Why're you sleeping here on the balcony?"

 

"Mm... what? Uhh... Chibi-Usa? I was looking at the stars," Minako said dizzily, her vision doubly fuzzed by the morning sunlight and by her struggle to wake up.

 

"You could've caught a cold," said the little lady, kneeling by the star gazer. "The others aren't up yet. C'mon, let's go eat breakfast before Usagi eats all the food!"

 

Chibi-Usa hurried for the sliding door, and Minako smiled and followed her.