Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Revolution Prophecy ❯ And Then... There Were Three. ( Chapter 4 )

And Then… There Were Three

 

Two weeks passed for Princess Serenity and Hiro, most of those days filled with fights due to the discovery of the new champion of justice having appeared near the ruins of the Crystal Palace. In that time, Hiro became quite proficient with his staff, training daily with Neo-Sailor Moon. However, despite their constant training, the minions that came to challenge them grew increasingly more powerful.

They talked a lot about Serenity's experiences in Tokyo when she went back through time to train with Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi. Hiro always sat, thoroughly enraptured, as she told stories of his mother, Sailor Mars. A bright and confident woman who died inside when the destruction of the Hikawa Jinja extinguished the Fire that had burned continuously for as long as he could remember. He remembered the last day he saw his mother alive.

He had always known his mother was one of the Sailor Guardians, sworn protectors of the Millennium Kingdom and bodyguards of her Majesty, Neo-Queen Serenity. She transformed into Sailor Mars in front of him. He watched as her clothing rearranged into her Sailor outfit near the ruins of the Fire. He could sense the rage brewing inside of her.

As she finished, she dropped to her knees in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes as she vainly tried to reassure him that everything would be fine and that she would be home soon. She had told him to try and clean the jinja as best he could so they could rebuild it when she came home... but she never came back. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury came a short while after Sailor Mars left him there alone with their children, Jamin and Alyssa respectively. Sailor Mercury was strangely silent as Sailor Jupiter told them to stay together, and to stay inside one of the rooms of the jinja that still stood after the initial attack.

Sailor Mercury wiped away a tear as she hugged her daughter, still silent. Sailor Jupiter looked at Jamin and tried to smile. They both left out of the room, both never to return for them.

Hiro sat quietly as the memories of staying with Alyssa and Jamin in the jinja washed through his mind, the pain just as fresh as the day they realized that their parents would never return for them. Jamin and Alyssa mostly stayed together, leaving him alone to sink into the seas of his own depression.

He remembered the day he went out to try and find food for them to eat, and saw the Crystal Palace in flames. He broke into an all-out run out of the forest and ran the miles back to the Palace when he was suddenly tackled from behind. He wrestled with the unknown figure for a moment before he stopped a moment to see who it was. It was Jamin.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU BAKA!" Younger Hiro screamed. "We have to get to Usa-chan before the walls collapse on her! Do you want to just let her die, you coward?"

"There's no way we could get to her. Mother said she left this morning anyways! We have to stay alive and make sure she's safe after this is over!", Jamin screamed back at him. "You're going to be no use to her with your soul in the afterlife, you moron!"

Hiro tensed his leg and sent it flying behind him between Jamin's legs, feeling the hold on his shoulders release immediately. When his feet met the ground, he dashed off into the palace.

Fifteen minutes later, Hiro managed to barely escape the crumbling palace, covered in deep lacerations and blood, and having been unable to find Princess Serenity. The taller boy stood in the same place as before, glowering down at him.

"You should have stayed there, you fool.", he said. "Princess Serenity has no need for a insolent child like you as her protector. Your quick temper would get her killed."

Hiro's jaw dropped open. "Why... I'LL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

Hiro reared back with his fist and sent his body flying at Jamin, who merely stepped to the side and sent his forearm crashing down on Hiro's back. Hiro hit the ground with an audible groan, stifling the pain as he rolled over onto his stomach and brought himself back to his knees.

"Goodbye, fool.", the boy said as he turned and began to walk away.

Laying on the ground, Hiro could only watch in tears as the Crystal Palace crashed to the ground, destroying everything inside it except for the Tower of the Crescent Moon. The top of the sole remaining tower exploded in a rain of shards, and Hiro's jaw dropped as he saw a slender woman standing atop the tower, dressed completely in black. The woman disappeared from sight just as the shockwave of her scream finally reached him...

"Hiro?", Princess Serenity asked quietly, laying a hand on his thigh.

"Huh... wha?", Hiro stammered, the feeling of her hand jerking him back into reality.

She smiled. "Silly boy. Always daydreaming. Anyways, I said that we need to find the others. We have to make sure that Krista, Alyssa, and Jamin are safe."

"I know...", he said.

"You know where he is, don't you?", Serenity inquired.

"Of course I know where he is...", he replied, the pent-up rage clearly evident in his voice.

"I don't know what happened between you two.", Serenity responded. "I do know that you can't let whatever happened stand in the way of what we need to do. I am the Princess of this world, and the only person who can restore it back to its rightful state. You're just going to have to put aside whatever differences you have for the good of the people."

"I understand, your Highness.", Hiro said.

Serenity smiled as she mocked him. "Yes, your Highness... Yes, your Highness. Don't mind me while I pout...", she said, sticking her lip out for emphasis.

He laughed as he reached out and grabbed for her lip. She pulled away at the last second, laughing as she said, "Come on, Mr. Moody. Let's get going. Time's a-wasting!"

Later that day, Hiro and Serenity were sitting peacefully along the side of the road. Serenity wore a large cloak that Hiro gave her so that she could conceal her identity, preventing a passerby from giving her away to any possible enemies that might be around. Hiro was wearing the tunic he pieced together so that he could train with her. It was loose and comfortable and allowed him to be free in his movements in case he needed to move quickly.

The fire they had started was crackling along contentedly, feasting on fresh kindling every so often. Serenity laid back on her sleeping bag, staring at the moon among the stars and fingering the Key around her neck that opened the Gates of Time. Hiro had been watching her surreptitiously for the last hour when he broke the silence.

"Serenity, why don't you go back?", he asked quietly.

She blinked and turned her head to face him. "What did you say?", she asked.

"I'm just saying... you still have that key that opens up the Gate that you could use to go back to the 20th century.", Hiro continued. "You could use that Key and just go back. You wouldn't have to worry about us. Your life wouldn't be in danger like it is now..."

"And if I go back, who is going to be your protector?", she replied. "Who will set right everything that has gone wrong. And even if I did go back, I could never forget what I've seen. It would eat away at me for the rest of my life."

Hiro nodded. "I just wondered why."

"Better get some sleep. We've got a long day of traveling waiting for us tomorrow.", she said.

Hiro smiled and laid his head back. He laid awake for a long time staring at the starry night sky. Soon, Serenity's regular breathing was like music inside his ears, and he did not notice as the fire finally died out. And finally, he fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was halfway above the horizon, and Serenity was snoring lightly beside him. His movement in waking up stirred her, and he watched with quiet and subtle excitement as she was roused out of her dream. She opened her eyes slowly, and he saw a gentle light still shining inside of them.

"A light that hasn't seen the full devastation of the world she calls home.", he thought to himself. "She's so bright... she brought light to this cursed world we lived in again. It's been dark for so long. She must certainly be worthy of her name... Serenity..."

The goofy smile that stretched his lips was unmistakable. He didn't know if any of the others knew, or even if SHE knew, but he had always had a crush on her. Her indomitable will, her passion. She was so... alive. It was a pulse of life he had forgotten existed. Had he become so wrapped in the dreary surroundings of his small world that he neglected to even live? If so... she would be the solution to that, and he knew that he would follow her until the end.

His eyes fluttered as he faded back into reality by the sound of her snapping fingers close to his ears. "Did you hear anything I just said?", Chibi-Usa asked irritably. "Time to come back to reality, buddy!"

He smiled. Even in her irritation, she sparkled. He sat up straight.

"Of course, Usa-chan.", he said. "Anyhow, let's go ahead and get this camp cleaned up and continue on. We can talk about it on the way."

"You WEREN'T listening!", she laughed. "I was asking you to take care of your mess so we could get going. Why would I want to talk about that after you've done it, baka?"

He blushed fiercely, and turned away quickly and began to gather his sleeping gear and put it back into his pack. As soon as he finished, the two of them began to walk again towards Jamin's domicile.

Even though Chibi-Usa's return brought back the sun, the days were still only slightly warm at best, even at noon. The cloud cover was dark, and continued to gather on the horizon that they made their way towards. About a mile away from Jamin's, Hiro stopped suddenly, looking around suspiciously.

"Hiro, what's wrong?", Chibi-Usa asked.

"Usa-chan, I've been sensing something wrong for a while now, and the feeling only grows in intensity as we continue to make our way. We are heading towards something bad. You might want to become a Senshi, just to be prepared."

"Okay...", Chibi-Usa replied. She stopped, and didn't need to look towards Hiro, who had already turned away in curtesy. She held the Silver Crystal aloft, and called out,

"Moon Crystal Power, Make-Up!".

She imagined the color scheme of her outfit again, and again when her transformation was finished, she had completely different colors. Light red covered her entire outfit in a pattern that resembled paint strokes. The rest was just plain white.

Neo-Sailor Moon smiled at Hiro. "Come, let's go find our friend.", she said. He nodded and they continued to walk.

An hour later, they arrived at a lake. Neo-Sailor Moon looked around, and commented, "I have no idea where this place is, Hiro. Are you sure that this is where he is?".

"I'm pretty sure...", Hiro responded. "I came here a few times when I was younger. This is where Sailor Jupiter kept her second home aside from where we all stayed in the Crystal Palace."

Hiro stared off across the body of water and then pointed suddenly. "Even if this isn't the place, we should go investigate that."

Across the lake, a home that had withstood the Millennium Holocaust was bathed in flames. Strangely enough, the raging fire produced no smoke at all, so the chaos could not be seen from afar. Neo-Sailor Moon and Hiro ran alongside the lake.

After about 20 minutes, they arrived to find the home completely destroyed, and its occupant engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a daemon. The daemon was covered in flames, which seemed to swirl around its deceptively small frame.

Every time the boy went in to strike, his hand or foot would get licked by the flames. But the pain, ever so apparent on his face, would not deter his attacks, fueled by the rage that pulsed and seethed through his frame. Hiro watched and said nothing except for a muted "He sure has grown up."

Neo-Sailor Moon said breathlessly, "Jamin...”.