Akane Tendo was bored. Not ten minutes ago, the train that she and Ranma Saotome had left the Nerima station and were on their way to Juuban. All she had learned from Ranma about his meeting with his mother was that he had a cousin in the Juuban area. She was a bit apprehensive about their staying with the Tsukinos since unlike Ranma, she wasn't related to them. But they needed a place to stay until they found their own place. Still, she was bored. So bored in fact, that she picked up a newspaper and began reading it.
On the front page there was an article on the 'Sailor Senshi,' as the group of obviously young girls called themselves, and that each of the 'Sailor Senshi' seemed to be named after one of the planets in the solar system save Earth. It continued talking about their 'battles' with the 'forces' of some 'Dark Kingdom,' who seemed to employ a lot of weird, monstrous people. Most victims of a 'Dark Kingdom attack' couldn't remember anything of their ordeals, although all reported being extremely exhausted after these 'attacks.'
And how about a year ago, there was only one Sailor Senshi, a 'Sailor Moon.' She was assisted, witnesses say, by a man in a tuxedo, who called himself, 'Tuxedo Kamen.' Sailor Moon was joined by another Sailor Senshi, who called herself 'Sailor Mercury,' a week after Sailor Moon's debut. These two were joined by two other Senshi, 'Sailor Mars' and 'Sailor Jupiter,' a month after Sailor Mercury's debut. A month after the Senshi numbered four, a fifth who called herself, 'Sailor Venus' who resembled the heroine 'Sailor V' of England, joined them.
In the fifth month of Sailor Moon's 'career,' Tuxedo Kamen was no longer seen helping her, in fact, some witnesses thought, he changed 'sides' and seemed to have changed his 'costume.' Two months after the last sighting of Tuxedo Kamen, two more Sailor Senshi were spotted, they called themselves, 'Sailor Neptune' and 'Sailor Uranus.' And two months after their debut, a 'Sailor Pluto' showed up. A week after her debut, Tuxedo Kamen was seen helping the Sailor Senshi once more.
Two months after Tuxedo Kamen's return, a 'Sailor Saturn' debuted who appeared even younger than the other young Sailor Senshi. A few weeks after Sailor Saturn joined the 'club' there was a huge battle involving all the Sailor Senshi, Tuxedo Kamen, and the Dark Kingdom. On the thirty-fifth hour of this battle, a 'vortex' swallowed up the combatants. After these events, no Dark Kingdom 'agents' had been seen since, although the 'original' five Sailor Senshi have been.
The article then continued about some legends about five special samurai, who were known only as 'Terra', 'Saturn', 'Neptune,' 'Uranus', and 'Pluto'. The oldest of these legends was dated around two thousand years ago, while the 'youngest' one was placed shortly before World War Two began. Although these legends disagree on the descriptions of these samurai, these names were constant. Although, a few legends claim that once or twice these samurai were women. Also of note, these legendary samurai's outfits matched the color-scheme of the four 'Sailor Senshi' with the same name. These legends note that these five samurai were unmatched masters of the sword, and were also have been said to have special magical powers similar to what had been seen used by the Sailor Senshi of today. The article closed with a suggestion that there was a link of some kind between these legendary samurai and the Sailor Senshi, where the Sailor Senshi are the descendants or inheritors of their legacy, one question remained. what happened to the samurai called 'Terra', and why, unlike the others, there wasn't a Sailor Senshi counterpart.
Just as Akane was finishing the article, Ranma announced that they were only a few moments away from the Juuban train station.
After reading the article Akane wanted to talk to Ranma about it but he somehow managed to change their 'discussion topic' to what were Akane's plans for college. Which boiled down to Akane admitting her desire to become an actress. Ranma was saved from answered the same question because they had arrived at the station.
It was a nice afternoon at the Hikawa shrine in the Minato Ward of Tokyo. It was that time of the week when the Sailor Senshi got together simply to spend some time together. Present were Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, and Minako Aino. The world knew them better as Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus, respectively. In addition, Usagi's advisor, Luna, and Minako's advisor, Artemis, both intelligent magical cats, were present too.
"Have you guys seen this article on us?" Minako asked the group. "It's not even a good picture of me."
Usagi brought her head out of the chip bowl to ask, "What article?"
"Baka. The one in the newspaper," Rei answered. "Do you read the newspaper?"
"I can read," Usagi said defensively missing Rei's question.
"Yeah, but only my manga," Rei shot back.
"Well, I can't help it if you got all the cool manga," Usagi replied. Which started a minor, for them, name-calling battle between Usagi and Rei. This continued until Makoto asked, "I wonder about these legendary samurai the article mentioned. The article says that they were called Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Terra."
Luna lectured, "As you know, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Pluto are the Outer Senshi. Back in the Silver Millennium, their job was to protect the Moon Kingdom from attacks from outside the solar system, thus allowing you five to protect the system itself..."
"We know that, Luna," Usagi put in.
"Well..." Luna replied slightly offended.
"Still," Artemis continued for Luna. "They should have been sent to the future with you guys... so it couldn't have been them..."
"Besides, except for Saturn, they're only two years older than you," Luna added. "And Saturn is two years younger than you."
"But what if they weren't sent like us," Ami asked.
"Why wouldn't they have been?" Usagi replied curious.
Makoto thought a moment and then asked, "What about this 'Terra?' Do any of you remember a Sailor Terra back then?"
"Nope," Ami and Usagi replied.
"I didn't even remember the Outers," Minako answered.
Rei with a slight blush said, "No, I don't..."
Usagi looked at Rei and asked, "Hey Rei, why are you blushing? Thinking about Yuuichiro and your date?"
"It's not a date," Rei replied back hotly. "Grandpa don't want me go alone, that's all..."
"Riiiiiiight," Usagi, Minako, and Makoto replied knowing how Rei like Yuuichiro but won't admit it.
"Hmmm..." Ami began. "I wonder if Mamoru might know about any possible 'Sailor Terra', after all, he was from Earth..."
Artemis eyes widen slight as he said, "Now that you mention Mamoru, I seem to recall Queen Serenity commenting on Sailor Terra once or twice in connection to him. I think that Endymion and Sailor Terra were related."
"Another Senshi! We must find her!" Usagi exclaimed.
"Her? How do we know it's a she?" Rei quickly put in while looking slightly nervious.
"Don't be silly," Minako replied. "Luna said that all Sailor Senshi were girls... er... women... So, of course, Sailor Terra must be a girl, just like us."
"Maybe..." Rei replied doubtful.
Softly Makoto said, "She'll probably find us."
"What, Mako-chan?" Minako asked.
"I said, she'll probably find us," Makoto said a bit louder. "After all, the Outer Senshi found us and not the other way around..."
There was a moment of silence as the girls thought about how much help the Outer Senshi had provided them. Each girl knew that without their help, each of them would have been died upon a number of occasions. Especially, when they attacked Queen Beryl in their own throne room. Had the Outer Senshi not been there... The Inner Senshi didn't want to think about that.
"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep," sounded throughout the room breaking the silence that had descended upon them.
Everyone saw looking around for the source of the noise when, all of a sudden, Usagi bolted up.
"Oh boy... I almost forgot," Usagi screamed.
"Forgot what?" the rest asked.
"I'm supposed to pick up my cousin and his friend at the train station in an hour," Usagi replied.
The gang decided to join Usagi at the train station as she waited for her cousin and his friend to appear.
To pass the time as they waited for the train until the train arrived, Rei asked, "So... Who's this cousin of your?"
"His name is Ranma Saotome, his father is my father's older brother," Usagi replied absently since her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Saotome... I thought your family name is Tsukino," Minako asked confused.
"It is," Usagi answered. "When my Uncle married, he took his wife's family name to preserve her line. It was one of the conditions to their marriage."
"'Preserving her line?' Isn't that a bit old-fashion," Makoto asked.
"Yes, it is. And Auntie Nodoka can be very traditional at times," Usagi said with a little laugh.
"When was the last time you saw your cousin?" Ami asked curiously.
"About a year ago," Usagi replied. "It was before he went on another training trip into China."
"Training trip?" both Rei and Makoto responded at the same time.
"Yep," Usagi answered.
Curious, Minako asked, "How long has he been training? And in what?"
"Ranma has been training in his family's style of Martial Arts since before he could walk," Usagi said proudly.
"How old is he?" Makoto asked quickly... too quickly for Rei's taste, since she wanted to ask that too.
"Oh.. he's seventeen years old now," Usagi replied. "He's staying with us... until he can get his own place, he says, since both Juuban High School and NIT are close by."
"Ah..." Ami replied wisely. Seeing the blank looks on the others, she added, "Didn't you guys read the rest of the newspaper? There was an article on what happened to Nerima..."
"Huh?" the others asked.
"Was it before or after the comic strips?" Minako asked.
"Furinkan High School was completely destroyed by some type of monster," Usagi continued for Ami. "The Nerima School Board didn't think they could get the school rebuilt in time for the school year, so they divided up the Furinkan student body and sent them to schools in the neighboring wards."
"Oh," came the reply.
"Was it a youma that did it?" Makoto asked. She actually missed all the youma that the Sailor Senshi had fought.
"No..." Ami answered. "From what I can gathered from the news and the 'Net, I don't think so. My computer thinks that the monster was an actual demon."
"Demon?" Rei said in surprise. "How was it stopped?"
"No one's sure," Ami replied. "Three mysterious arrows killed it after a group of martial artists had weakened it."
"A group of martial artists?" Minako asked.
"Yep," Usagi answered with a nodded. "Nerima is the capital of martial artists... outside of China."
"Maybe, Mako-chan, you should move there," Minako joked.
Seriously with a slight dreamy expression in her eyes, Makoto answered, "Maybe I should."
"So what does your cousin look like?" Ami asked.
"He looks like," Usagi began. "Ummm.... Hmmm.... He likes that!"
Usagi ran off toward Ranma stopping only to hug him.
Akane Tendo was not having a good time. While on the train the newspaper had occupied her, but now she had time to think about the past couple weeks. She was worried about both her older sisters. Apparently, Kasumi had called their father at the Saotome's house and a week later, when Ranma's father had come over to visit, Kasumi had called home to tell Akane and Nabiki that she was fine and that she was staying with a friend since Nerima had been declared a disaster zone. Akane didn't like it. Kasumi had sounded very tired to her and she could hear what sounded like a battle in the background. At least, that's what she thought it sounded like, no one else heard those sounds, so no one believed her. Ranma, his mother, and her father said that she shouldn't worry about her oldest sister. Which was typical of Ranma but very strange to hear from her over-emotional father, who was remaining atypically calm about it. Just yesterday, Nabiki, the middle Tendo daughter, had gone off to college, she had only said 'good-bye' to her, but she had spent a huge amount of time with Ranma. She wasn't jealous of her own sister, but... why did she spent so much time with him? Okay, it was really fifteen minutes... but she only spent fifteen seconds with her.
She had read the newspaper on the train ride because Ranma wouldn't talk about his mother, why he seemed different, or why he was now carrying the Saotome family katana with him. And to top it all off, not fifteen seconds in the Minato Ward, and already there was a girl, about fifteen years old, glomping onto him like Shampoo used to. What's more, unlike Shampoo's glopping, he was smiling and enjoying himself.
"RANMA..." Akane began.
"Akane," Ranma began without noticing Akane's anger. "I would like you to meet my cousin, Usagi Tsukino. Usagi meet Akane Tendo... my girlfriend."
Akane calmed down slightly with Ranma's admission that she was his 'girlfriend' and that the girl was family. Still she would have liked to be introduced as his iinazuke. But after the disastrous, failed wedding ceremony two month ago, they had both agreed that, if they got married, it would be because they wanted to and not because of their fathers. To this end, Akane ended the 'engagement' their fathers started and Ranma had made certain that none of the other fiancees had any claims either.
Cologne was a problem until Nodoka had a talk with her. After which, Cologne had disappeared completely. Shampoo had remained behind running the Nekohanten alone... with Mousse. Shampoo also stated that she was giving up on Ranma loving her. Shampoo did want to remain 'friends' with Akane and Ranma. Ranma had accepted everything at face value while Akane thought it was just other of Cologne's tricks. Cologne had reappeared just in time to be seriously injured by the Demon Trin.
Ukyou, Ranma's other former-fiancee, took the news well since she had come to realize that Ranma did not love her as an iinazuke but as a sister. She understood that Ranma was in love with Akane and not with her. For compensation, he forced his father to 'adopt' Ukyou, making her his legal-sister. Being Ranma's sister, Ukyou realized, was best she could hope since he wouldn't marry her.
Usagi with a smile on her face and an outreached hand said to Akane, "Nice to meet you."
They walked over together towards a group of four girls. Picking out each Usagi introduced them, "Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Rei." Each of the girls had a dreamy expression on her face. Usagi simply said, "See ya later, Mom said to bring them home as soon as they arrived. Byeeee."
"But," Rei began before she noticed that Usagi had ran off with Ranma and Akane in tow.
"Will they be all right?" Ranma asked Usagi as they and Akane walked up the steps to her house. Akane rolled her eyes at Ranma's naivete.
"Oh... They'll be fine," Usagi answered. As she entered the house she said, "I'm home! I got Ranma and his girlfriend with me."
Both Ranma and Akane winced at that, for different reasons, and followed Usagi in.
"Supper is ready, dear," Ikuko Tsukino, more commonly known simply as Usagi's mother, responded from the dining room. "You, Ranma, and 'Akane,' that's her name, go wash up first."
"Okay, Mom," Usagi replied. She lead all of them to the wash room and then showed them the dining room. Ranma sat down next to Usagi and Akane sat between Ranma and Usagi's mother.
Akane had always wondered from which side of his family Ranma got his huge appetite from. However, seeing Ranma's uncle and cousin eat, the answer became obvious.
After supper, Usagi showed Ranma the spare bedroom where he would sleep and showed Akane her room, since she would be staying with her. Akane told Usagi that she wanted to talk to Ranma alone, Usagi giggled and left them alone in spare bedroom.
Akane began, "So how much does Usagi and her parents know..."
"Huh?" Ranma asked not understanding. "About what?"
"You baka," Akane answered back. "Everything! Your training... Your curse... Our failed engagement... Me! Everything!"
"Oh..." Ranma said. Sighing he continued, "Well... You know how cheap Pop is..."
Akane nodded for him to continue.
"So between training trips," Ranma said. "We would stay at Cousin Usagi's place... since we couldn't go home. It was the one constant in my young life. I was six when we first came here. Pop had just 'trained' me in the Neko-ken... and he needed a place to stay while I 'got over' the 'accident.' And since he hadn't seen his brother for such a long time..." Ranma shrugged. "We used to come here after each of our training trips... Usagi seemed to enjoy the stories we would tell. Pop's were wild exaggeration.... Mine were true..."
Ranma smiled at the memory.
"And you taught her a few things too," Akane added smugly. "Like the Saotome Martial Arts Style of Eating."
"Hey, with our fathers," Ranma replied with a laugh. "She needed all the help she could yet. The last time we saw her was before we left for Jusenkyo. I don't think Pop said any about our 'engagement' but since you nulled it..."
"Okay..." Akane responded with a yawn. She got up, headed for the door, and before she walked out of the room she said, "See you tomorrow."
The next day, Usagi showed Ranma and Akane around the Minato Ward. They stopped off at the Hikawa shrine. Upon seeing Rei, Usagi said, "Hi, Rei."
"Hi, Usagi," Rei responded. "Hi, Ranma. Hello, 'Akane'..."
"Hello, Rei," both Ranma and Akane replied.
"The others are inside," Rei said. "We're just hanging out. Want to join us?"
"Sure..." Usagi replied, wondering if it was a good idea or not.
Once inside, the three newcomers sat down, and Makoto passed a large bowl of cookies around. Both Usagi and Ranma both took the same large amounts of the cookies, even ate them in a similar manner. The others couldn't help watching Ranma and Usagi's synchronized eating with a touch of awe.
To break the silence, Ranma said, "These are good cookies... Where did you get them from?"
"I made them," Makoto replied proudly.
"Wow..." Ranma said. "Beautiful and she can cook."
"Ranma..." Akane hissed.
With heart-shaped eyes Makoto said, "Thanks."
"So where were you when the 'demon' destroyed your school," Ami asked curiously.
With a slight blush Ranma answered, "Chasing another demon."
"You mean to say, it really was a demon?" Rei asked quickly.
"At least that what he called himself," Ranma replied with a shrug. "Of course, he also said that he was over two thousands years old and that he helped destroy something called the 'Moon Kingdom.'"
"What?!?" all the girls screamed.
"The demon said it, not me," Ranma responded with another shrug. "Like there could have been a kingdom on the Moon... Moon, of all the places. I mean the chances of that are the same as cousin Usagi being an actual princess."
"Hehehehe," Usagi, the Moon Princess, replied too quickly. "Me a princess...."
Usagi's giggle was forced but only Ranma and Akane couldn't tell.
"Is that were Sailor MOON comes from?" Akane asked Ranma.
"How should I know?" Ranma answered with a question.
"Did Sailor Sol mention anything about a 'Moon Kingdom?'" Akane asked sweetly.
"Huh?!?!?" the girls and Ranma asked.
"Who's Sailor Sol?" the girls demanded of Ranma.
"Someone who helped me in my fight against Taque," Ranma said.
'Sailor... Sol?' thought Usagi. Unlike the others who found the idea ludicrous, she didn't see it as an impossibility. In fact, it seemed to stir up some old memories. Flashes of her mother, Silver Millennium Queen Serenity, had talked about 'Sailor Sol,' a Dragon, the full Planetary Circle of Sailor Senshi, and some other things, something about a prophecy or future danger popped into her mind. But it was gone before she could figure out what it meant.
"Taque? You defeated a full-fledged demon?" Rei asked incredibly.
"Yes," Ranma replied confidently. After an elbow from Akane, he added, "Okay... Sailor Sol helped defeat the demon... using me as a channel for his power."
"His power?" Minako asked noticing the male pronoun.
"How?" Rei added curious.
"It was simple..." Ranma said off-handedly. "It was like the time I faced Saffron... All I had to do was gather up the energy in the cave for a 'Hiryu Shoten Ha Revised.'"
"A what?" Rei asked curiously.
"'Hiryu Shoten Ha Revised' is one of Ranma's ki-attacks," Akane remarked.
"If I could continue," Ranma complained. "The difference was that only this time, the energy came from Sailor Sol instead from all around."
See the same newspaper Akane had read on the train, she recalled the question she wished to ask Ranma which she spoke out-loud, "I wonder if there's a Sailor Earth?"
Rei and Makoto stopped their attempts to get more information out of Ranma and stared at Akane like everyone else was.
"I was wondering that very thing this morning," Ami replied hoping to enter into a conversation with Akane.
Without thinking, Ranma said, "Of course, there is."
At everyone's strange look, he added quickly, "I mean... There are legends of 'Terra'... The article stated that the other legendary samuari have Sailor Senshi counterparts, then it stands to reason that Terra, Earth, should too..."
Ranma and Akane excused themselves to go see their new High School and to go apartment hunting. They told Usagi that they would meet her back at her house. Once they left, the girls turned on Usagi with their questions.
"Sailor Sol? Have you ever heard of such a thing..."
"He could be making it up..."
"He couldn't have defeated a real demon only..."
"Is he single?"
Usagi waited for the other to calm down and said, "Ranma wouldn't lie... Lying isn't very honorable, and Ranma's one of the most honorable person I know."
"But a male Senshi..." Minako asked.
"Sailor Sol..." Ami added. "That's not a planet, it's a star."
"Luna! Artemis!" Usagi called out.
The two cats walked in the room and joined the circle of girls.
Minako asked both of the newcomers, "Do you two know anything about a Sailor Sol?"
"Hey, isn't 'Sol' another name for the Sun?" Artemis responded.
"Yes, it is," Ami answered. "It is also my understanding that the Sailor Senshi were named after the colony they protected. Was there a colony on the Sun?"
"Of course not," Luna said without hesitation. "While the Silver Millennium's magic was great... It wasn't that great."
"My memory of the Silver Millennium was never that great," Artemis said. "Do you, Luna, remember anything about a Sailor Sol?"
Usagi's expression changed to what the others had come to call her 'Princess Serenity' face. She even sat straighter, more proper. In other words, while Usagi's appearance didn't change, her attitude and manners did, she wasn't their Usagi anymore, but her highness, Princess Serenity of Moon Kingdom. Her highness spoke in a cultured voice, "I remember my Mother, the Queen, once or twice spoke of a 'Sailor Sol.' Yet She didn't speak of that Sailor Senshi as She spoke of the Others. She spoke the Name with both fear and awe in Her Voice... something I rarely heard from Her."
The rest were spellbounded by their Princess... and a little afraid. Usagi seemed to change completely when the Moon Princess took her over.... They knew that Usagi and the Moon Princess were one and the same, like their civilian identities and their Sailor Senshi identities... but it still spooked them when the 'Moon Princess' showed up. Most of them felt they should be bowing or something...
With a tired sigh, Usagi relaxed and said, "I... I remember there's more... but I guess I'm more tired than I thought."
"That's okay..." Makoto replied. "You're tried."
The others nodded in agreement.
"Luna?" Usagi asked.
"Yes..."
"Doesn't Ami's computer have some of the History of the Silver Millennium in it?" Usagi asked.
Sweat drops appeared on both Ami and Luna as Rei said, "Why didn't I think of that!"
Ami pulled out her computer, started a search on the words 'Sailor Sol' that appeared in the vast database, and then said, "I don't know how long this will take... There's a lot of information for it to go through."
"That's okay," Usagi replied. "We're making an attempt..."
"Hello," Mamoru said as he walked in. When he saw everyone staring at him, he asked, "Am I interrupting something?"
"Not really..." everyone said too fast.
"Oooo-kay..." Mamoru replied. To Usagi, he asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"Oooo...." the Sailor Senshi minus Usagi went.
Usagi stuck her tongue at them and to Mamoru she replied, "Yep."
She thought a moment then asked, "Did I tell you my cousin Ranma is in town?"
"No..." Mamoru replied.
"Well, he is," Usagi continued. "He and his girlfriend are staying with us since his high school was destroyed."
"Nani?!?!" Mamoru exclaimed. Jokingly, he said, "What... he lives in Nerima?"
"How did you know?" Usagi asked innocently.
The others who realized Mamoru was joking gave Usagi a weird look.
"The Dark Kingdom agents probably took one looks and fleed in terror. Too many martial artists and other weirdos," Minako replied with a slight disdain.
"And that's a bad thing?" Makoto asked chillingly. She considered herself a martial artist and Minako just suggested that martial artists and weirdos went together....
"No..." Minako said evenly. "But it's the reason why there are so many fights and battles there."
"Hmmm...." Makoto replied wondering if she should be offended or not.
"He came with his girlfriend, who goes to the same school," Usagi continued. "They'll be going with us to school. Weeelllll... Not exactly since they'll be seniors while we'll be freshmen..."
Minako was curious, she asked, "Hey, Mamoru-san, you're from Earth of the Silver Millennium time, right?"
"Terra," he corrected.
"Anyway," Minako continued. "Do you know anything about a Sailor Terra like the newspaper article suggested?"
While Luna was watching him, Mamoru replied, "Hmmm.... Not really... What newspaper article?"
"Why this one," Minako replied as she handed it to him.
Mamoru quickly scanned through the article Minako had pointed out. He paused a moment and asked, "Legendary Samurai? Never heard of them... Have you guys?
"Nope," they replied.
Mamoru shrugged, noted to himself to stop off at the library to look up those legends the newspaper talked about, and then said, "Usagi, we need to go if we're not going to be late..."
"Right," Usagi replied.
And with that the two lovebirds left.