Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Revolution Prophecy ❯ The First Threads of Destiny Revealed ( Chapter 8 )

The First Threads of Destiny Revealed

 

Hiro plodded along silently as he went about his task of gathering wood so he and Usagi could eat supper that night. He had calmed considerably since Jamin's departure, and now, the only negative emotion that pulsed in his heart was his shame that he had lost his self-control in front of Usagi.

"Is Jamin right?", Hiro asked aloud. "After hating him for so long for accusing me of it, is he right that I am not suitable to protect Princess Serenity? She's already injured, and might be dead if Jamin didn't know how to fight."

Hiro continued contemplating quietly as he picked dead branches of varying size from the ground. "Have I so quickly forgotten how to calm the fire that burns inside of me?"

Hiro stopped for a moment, closing his eyes as a memory of his mother filled his head...

Rei suppressed a knowing smile when she saw her little boy walk into the Fire Shrine covered in bruises. She held a hand over her mouth to keep him from seeing the smile that twitched at the corners of her mouth as he sat down on his knees alongside her in front of the Fire.

Young Hiro released a grunt of pure frustration which made his mother unable to contain her amusement at his appearance. She began to laugh, and he frowned at her. "Why are you laughing at me! Why does everyone always laugh at me?", he asked in a loud tone.

Rei sighed. "Oh, sweetie. Tell Mama what happened today."

Jumping at the invitation he had been waiting for so that he could regale his mother with tales of how unfair his life was, Hiro began to ramble. "Mama! I'm so mad at Jamin. He always makes fun of me in front of Usagi and I keep telling him not to, but he keeps doing it and I get so mad and he pushed me today and I pushed him back and it's not fair because he knows how to fight and he made me look bad in front of Usagi and she laughed and Alyssa always takes his side and no one would help me and..."

Rei cut him off suddenly by putting a finger over his lips. "Want to try something, sweetie?", she asked him. Eager for the chance to spend time with her, he nodded excitedly, now unaware of life's injustices that he was forced to endure.

Rei smiled. "Okay, now take a seat beside Mama just like she's sitting and we'll start..."

In reality, Hiro sighed quietly as he remembered the day his mother taught him how to gain inner peace by meditating in front of the Fire. Tears began to form under his eyes as he remembered his mother. She was always so incredibly patient with him. He couldn't help but smile sadly as he thought that it must have been her meditation in front of the Sacred Fire and the inner peace she obtained from it that allowed her to be that way with him.

He set down his bundle of firewood and knelt on the ground the way his mother taught and opened his heart silently in meditation. He prayed that he would be able to surround himself with the peace he would require to co-exist with Jamin and that he could someday rid his heart of the hatred that had plagued his soul for four years.

He felt the familiar sensation he remembered from years ago in front of the Fire washing over his body and smiled genuinely. He opened his eyes again and saw the sun almost gone over the horizon. He knew he'd better hurry back to Usagi before the sun went down completely.

When he returned back to their camp, he saw her sitting with her back to him, looking around nervously. "Serenity!", he called out, so that she wouldn't become alarmed by his return. "I'm back."

Usagi shifted her sitting position so that she was facing him as she responded. "It's about time.", she replied. "It's not like I can defend myself with my ankle like this!"

Hiro gathered the firewood a safe distance from their sleeping bags and started the fire. Silent until he was assured the fire would continue to burn without his assistance, he shifted his attention to Usagi, who was staring at him sullenly.

"Such a face doesn't suit you, Usa...", he tried gamely, attempting to find her good mood. Unfortunately, it did not work. He realized that he'd have to bite the bullet and apologize for his actions. He cleared his throat before he continued. "I'm sorry, Princess...", he began. "I can't even give you a good reason for the way I behaved, and I won't try to. I can only hope you'll forgive me and accept my promise that I will work towards being able to co-exist with him."

"That's all I wanted to hear!", she replied. "Now come over here and sit next to me. It's lonely over here."

Hiro's mouth dropped open for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and padded over to Usagi's sleeping bag and sat down on it. She laid down and rested her head in his lap as he continued to read.

The sun had gone completely down and Hiro was thankful for the warmth of the fire as he set his book down. "Usa, would you like something to eat?", he asked, reaching for his pack to grab their supplies. When he didn't respond, he looked down and saw her sleeping peacefully.

"Just like her...", he thought with a smile. He put his pack down and grabbed his sleeping bag and covered her with it. He lifted her head gently and set it down against her bundle of clean clothing as he got up. He stretched for a moment and then sat down against a tree. He silently watched his princess snoring lightly a few feet away from him as he gazed up and watched the stars.

Jamin arrived outside of the seashore residence of Alyssa's family while the stars that Hiro was watching shone down on him. He yawned as he knocked on the door and leaned against one of the posts that supported the overhang that sheltered the porch overlooking the beach.

Alyssa peeked out from one of the windows to see Jamin standing there, and she ran to the door. Opening it, she flung herself into his arms and sighed. "I was so worried about you!", she exclaimed. Removing herself from his embrace, she smiled and said, "You're late, ya know."

Jamin didn't smile back at her, causing her to frown. "She's back, Alyssa.", he said quietly. "Princess Serenity has come back to save our world."

Alyssa nodded. "We should have known when the sun began to rise again.", she responded. "It's only fitting that a member of the Royal Family should be the Messiah that saves the Earth."

Alyssa listened intently as Jamin related the story that Usagi has told him about everything that had happened. As he continued to tell Alyssa the chain of events, he frowned and looked away as he recounted what had happened between Hiro and himself. He flinched as she pounded one of her small fists on her shoulder.

"I told you about that, didn't I?", she demanded. "Didn't I tell you not to pick any fights with him?". He nodded and began to reply, but she cut him off. "You be quiet and listen to me. Mother told me about how eventually we would take our place as Sailor Guardians and it's going to happen now! No excuses, no whining. You are going to apologize to him, because we NEED him."

"That boy doesn't have half of what it takes...", he began to speak again but he lost his voice when he saw Alyssa glaring at him.

"The way I see it, you and he are just sitting on equal ground when it comes to being unable to take your places as our planet's protectors, you arrogant brat.", she replied shortly. Jamin reached out for her shoulder, but she walked away.

"Grow up, Jamin.", she said curtly. "And while you're figuring out how to do that, get your things ready again. We have to go through the basement passage in this house so we can get something that Neo-Queen Serenity asked Mother to keep safe for Usagi. It's in Mother's seafloor laboratory."

"Without power, we'll have to travel for miles in that tube!", Jamin railed.

"Whining again?", she replied. "Looks like your nemesis might just be more prepared to become a Guardian than you."

Sufficiently put in his place, Jamin remained quiet and began to gather his things.

The two teenagers slept through the remainder of the night, and walked downstairs to the door that sealed off the transport tube that led to the laboratory. Jamin sighed complacently as he saw the magrail transport that would've cut a day's journey into a five minute trek. Without power, however, it wouldn't move an inch.

Alyssa nudged him in the back and they began the arduous trek.

As the sun rose on the two teens traveling through the underwater tube, it hadn't quite dawned on the eastern coast of China, where a woman and her two sons set out to gather food before the light of the sun would make her family easy targets for the daemon hordes that terrorized the entire continent.

Unfortunately for her family, there was a group of daemons in the area that early morning. She heard a muffled sound from behind her and turned around to find her younger son in the grasp of a daemon. Her older son, still only 9, clung to her hips with a deathgrip. She screamed and cried as she was grabbed from behind and forced to watch her son suffer.

She closed her eyes and turned away as the daemon twisted her son's neck. She vomited as she heard the sickening snap and the thud as her dead son's body hit the ground. She heard another scream as the murderer who ended her younger son's life wrestled the older boy from around her waist. She screamed and wrenched herself loose from her assailant's grip and launched herself into the daemon holding her son. The monster's grip broke free and she shoved the boy and told him to run and to never look back.

She sighed as he ran away in the dark. Surrounded by trees, her son's small frame would be hard to see in the lack of light. She felt hands grip both her ankles and wrists, and closed her eyes and prayed silently as she realized what her fate was. But all of a sudden, she heard scuffling and felt the grip on her arms and legs release. She hit the ground with a crash and tried to see what was happening, but it was useless. Sweat and blood and run into her eyes, and all she could hear was the pained screams of the monsters who had terrorized her and killed her son, and faint words...

"Eclipse Wave!"

"Judgment Blast!"

And then there was nothing. Many silent minutes passed before the woman heard a slight noise coming towards her. Small arms wrapped around her momentarily, and she wept as her little boy began to cry.

Author's Note: The plot of the Revolution Prophecy thickens this chapter with the addition of Alyssa as an active supporting character.

Alyssa

Alyssa is the daughter of Mizuno Ami, Sailor Mercury. Of the children of the Inner Senshi, she is most unlike her mother. Where her mother was quiet, she is forthright and filled with confidence. She is never afraid to speak her mind and does so quite often, sometimes to the point of utter bluntness.

Alyssa stayed with Hiro and Jamin briefly during the initial events of the Millennium Holocaust, but decided to leave with Jamin when he left Hiro behind at the jinja overlooking the ruins of the Crystal Palace. Four years later, Alyssa and Jamin have become very close, but Alyssa fears relating her true feelings to him because she is unsure of his own feelings towards her.

Age: 15

Height: 5 feet, 7 inches

Hair Type & Color: Upper neck length and slightly curly, blue

Eye Color: Blue