Misfortune works like a comet. It comes out of seemingly nowhere. Sometimes you never see it until it’s too late. It swoops past and amazes you, frightens you. It leaves, gone back to the unknown from which it came, but never gone, always to return.
………..
The world hadn’t changed much in the three hundred years after the battle with Solana. Kasumi had moved to Germany almost immediately afterwards. Ryuu moved in with her shortly afterwards. She’d returned to get married on Mt. Fuji for her wedding. Karei remained in Japan and sang and later moved to America, following her brothers Nijiro and Genjuuro. Megumi and Yohko moved to India and Seijuuro to China. Aiko remained in Japan. Although her marriage resulted in a divorce, she took it in stride and remained close to the Tsukino family. Yoake stuck around with Usa as well. Although she never planned on having more than one child, she loved Aaron and Chiharu equally and they both knew it. Himeko disappeared and no one spoke of Megami.
The strife hit the Moon family directly. It was a miracle there were survivors… or were they merely left for the next time the darkness came?
At first the world looked to the moon in rejoicing. Usa and Usagi were both pregnant.
However, they never realized the power of the crystals was limited. With a child and two more on the way—twins—as well as a grandchild, Mamoru was the first to go. The golden crystal was strained too far. The power couldn’t be split so many ways and after so long it was all that was keeping him alive now.
Although Usagi promised him she would keep going, and not to follow him in death, she died a month later. Even with the powers of the silver crystal, there were things no one could explain, no one could stop. Even in the future, all the doctors could give as an explanation, was ‘complications with the birth.’
Misfortune did not leave, it merely waited.
Despite the fact that the children were born between the deaths of their parents, Usa named them in memory of her father, Gaia an Rhea, and had great hope for them.
Shortly after, she gave birth to her own daughter, Shizuki. The children were raised as sisters, too young to be affected as the king and queen left the throne—and life. Like her friend Hotaru, Usa found herself incredibly weak after giving birth. She never recovered. Within three months of the birth of the next princess of the moon, Usa was dead. Trent had no one to fall back on and followed her the next day.
Although she never knew her mother, Shizuki always wore a symbol of remembrance of the short-lived Neo Millenium: a pink lily.
…………………..
Cuchlaine stepped up to the plate. She was hardly going to win the World Series—or even get into major league—and she knew it. She didn’t completely suck, either. What mattered to he was that she got to play.
She readied her stance and signaled she was ready.
The pitcher let fly.
She grinned. She was going to hit that ball. She was—
"Give me more power!" some yelled, holding up something large and gold.
Andarta never fully got the details of the situation. She saw no context and had no time to examine the situation. That, and the softball hit her directly on the head.
All the other kids stopped screaming. Moist came over to look at her as she stared in a daze on the ground. Her cap had come off and her long black hair was all over her face.
She blinked and managed to focus as everyone gawked. The teacher pushed through the crowd as people stared yapping about what happened.
"Cuchlaine?" the teacher asked. Unlike most PE teachers, this one actually seemed to get more exercise than donuts.
"I didn’t hit it, did I?"
………………….
"Hey, Cherry," someone said behind her. Cherry turned around. She knew that voice. Everyone in school knew that voice.
Cherry gulped and turned around. "Ken…" Ken, one of the resident bullies.
"You didn’t bring your wallet today," he said, leaning over her and putting his hand on the wall. "Not smart."
"Not for you," someone else said and there was a blur of something hitting Ken and then he was on the floor.
Cherry just stared. She knew the owner of the new voice too. Everyone did. Hitomi was the resident counter bully, fighting school crime and on occasion earning favors from people. The only time no one liked her was during a contact sport during gym.
Despite the fact that she was easy to pick out of a crowd—stocky body, at least a head taller than everyone, long black hair with a stripe of blue in it.
Everyone also made a point to remember her cousins, Andarta Du Loc and Cuchlaine Wallace. They were far more normal in height and body than Hitomi. The only thing they’d inherited from their Irish mothers were stripes of red and bright yellow in their long black hair.
No one picked on them. At least not for long. It wasn’t that they were like Hitomi—in fact they were pathetic when it came to fights—it was that Hitomi thought only she had the right to fight with her cousins and made sure everyone knew about it.
"Hey, Ken, you left money in your backpack," Hitomi said, giving a visual aid. "Not smart."
Cherry ran off. Hitomi only picked on bullies.
Everyone on the school wondered—but never voiced it—what would Hitomi do for kicks without any bullies? It was obvious school and after-school sports hardly satisfied her.
………………
"Andarta?" Cuchlaine asked, seeing her cousin sitting in the infirmary as well. Cuchlaine rubbed her head. "Another blackout?"
"Yeah," Andarta said, slouching on the chair. She rubbed her elbow. "And fell out of a desk. Why can’t these happen at lunch or something, damnit?"
"These things could at least get us out of tests," Cuchlaine said. "What the hell is going on?"
"What, you’re therapist didn’t say it was all about sexual fetishes and repressed childhood traumas?"
"You got ANOTHER Freudian?"
"Believing in him should be classified as a disorder itself."
"My therapist thinks I’m on drugs and blames cartoons and music and games."
"You mean fun?"
"Pretty much," Cuchlaine said, nodding. The nurse came back and handed her a bandage before dabbing alcohol on Andarta’s elbow.
"Shit!" Andarta swore, ignoring the look from the nurse about kids swearing in school. Seriously, there was worse stuff than saying a few words that had to do with the bathroom or bedroom. "Why do I get the nutcases and you just get the media?"
"Probably because I can’t remember what the hell happens in mine."
"Your memory sucks ass."
"Well, I keep telling people that, but THEY’RE the ones who forget."
……………………
"That’s strange," Shizuki said, preparing a bouquet in a vase.
"What is?" Rosalind asked. Rosalind had been the nanny Usagi had hired to help Usa take care of the twins. Us never minded. Rosalind never minded taking on all three children. She herself had been childless, but then, that could have been explained by the fact that until a year ago she’d never had a real boyfriend.
"The lily I picked last week. It isn’t faded or wilted or anything."
Rosalind shrugged. "It might be your crystal, Shizuki."
"Hmmm," was all Shizuki replied. It gave her an idea.
………………………..
"We’re going to WHAT?" Andarta yelled.
"I said we’re going to Japan," her father Nijiro said.
"It’s nothing to scream about," her mother, Damara said.
"No, you said we’ve been invited to princess Shizuki’s party in Japan."
"Dressing fancy for one night is not going to kill you," Nijiro said.
"No, but it’ll make me want to kill YOU," Andarta replied.
"We can’t go against the wishes of Shizuki, you know that," Damara said.
"Can I at least wear pants?" Andarta whined.
"Sorry, the invitation said she’s picked out a dress for her."
"Fuck," Andarta said and stormed off to her room to pack. ‘Damn grandma Rei. She HAD to have so many kids,’ Andarta thought. ‘Why do I have to be related to a senshi?’
Her father, long ago, had thought it was a God-given right to root through his sister’s things to find embarrass her about. This plan backfired when he was horribly embarrassed by a lecture from his sister and mother as well as finding out that Karei was Sailor Mars.
As she began to pack, she suddenly realized she was thankful she wasn’t a sailor senshi. Skirts, high heels, and nothing but hippies and losers. There were indeed things worse than being subjected to people decorating her up like a doll and stuffing her in things she’d never be able to walk in. But just barely.
"Heh. I’ll bet Hitomi’s gonna be even more pissed off about this," Andarta said, chuckling o herself.
Hitomi in a dress… now that would be a sight to see.
………………….
A/N This is a continuation of the Sailormoon Neo Story by J. Janelle, found here: http://sailormoon-millennia.net/neo.php
Any and all references to people, places, and things specifically from that fic are copyright her, not me.