| Usagi: Sailor Neomoon Writer's Note: The Sailormoon universe belongs to and is copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and all the different distributors with rights. Sailor Neomoon and the NeoSenshi, the Dragon Senshi, Eternal Night and those from it, Selene, Toshiharu, and Eien no Queen Serenity belong to me. If you want to use them in another fic, you may ONLY if you have permission from me first. That's not so hard to deal with, is it?
 by Eternal SailorSaturn
In case you were wondering, my name is Miya Nazono. I am the daughter of the former guardian of the planet Mars. My father, however, I do not know very well. With a lot of research, I finally learned who he was, but I have never met him. I would like to one day, however. I doubt he even knows that I exist... You see, my mother, to this day, does not trust men. It was only at the prompting of Neo Queen Serenity that she had me, and she did not use conventional methods. I have the joy of knowing that I was born from artificial insemination.
This knowledge has always made me somewhat bitter. I have a bit of a sarcastic streak, and it is not that I want to be mean to my friends, I just have issues still that I need to address and work through. They have supported me, for which I am grateful. Kasumi especially seems to understand what I am going through, as she hardly even knows her parents as well, but she is not very good at expressing her feelings. To deal with my life, I have poured my heart and soul into classical dance.
My mother is the head priestess of her shrine, and I know that one day she would like me to step up into her place. I have been wary of learning more about being a priestess simply because I do not know if this is what has caused her heart to blacken towards men. I want to keep my options open.
It seems like Mother and I have always had a strained relationship. A few years ago, she and I had a fight over a boy that I liked. I wanted to bring him over for her to meet, but she refused. She did not want to meet him. I remember screaming at her that I never wanted to be like her, and I ran off into her quarters in the shrine. She followed me and found me with a pair of scissors in my hand. At the time, I had incredibly long, silky hair just like her, but I grabbed a clump of hair in my hand and sliced it off. She looked horrified and hurt at the same time as more and more of my hair piled up on the floor. But now that I think about it, the expression on her face was there the moment I screamed at her.
Because she and I rarely see eye to eye, Neo Queen Serenity lets me live in her palace. She has been a surrogate mother to me, and even though she may not realize it, I think of Usagi as my sister. The mothers of the other NeoSenshi have always been so wonderful and kind to their daughters. I feel a little bit of envy every now and then when I see how much they love each other. I am willing to bet that even nasty Hakai loves her mother.
Even Neo King Endymion has been an important figure in my life. When I was much younger, I was sitting outside in the courtyard of the palace. I was crying because my mother and I had been fighting. If I remember correctly, that argument started because she did not want me to start my dance lessons. His Majesty came outside and sat down next to me...
"Miya, why are you crying? Did you hurt yourself?"
I looked up at him, unsure what to think of the caring expression on his face. Mother had warned me about men enough to make me incredibly paranoid of them at a young age. "Mommy," I whispered, "and I had a fight."
He seemed surprised. "A fight? At your age? What did you fight about?"
I sniffled and brushed my long red locks away from my face. "She does not want me to take classical dance lessons. She thinks I should learn more about the shrine, but I really want to learn to dance. I spend all of my time in the shrine! Why does she not let me do this one thing I want?"
He gently pulled me closer to him, and at first I bristled. He was so warm, and I could tell he cared. He let me cry against his chest as he stroked my hair until I felt better. Then he stood up and walked away. I stared after him, and I realized that I was smiling.
That day, my opinion on men changed. They could be trustworthy. I decided then to start looking into who my father was, but even after learning his name, the King still has a special place in my heart. I bet he did speak to my mother and changed her mind about my dance lessons.
This is not to say that I do not have some of my mother in me. She and I are both Aries girls, after all. I have some of that same temperamental hot-headedness in myself. I did learn plenty of etiquette from her as well, and I would not be surprised to learn that some people think I am snotty. I do not like coming off as stuck-up, however.
"What was that?" Hanami asked after a scream jarred me from my reverie. I turned away from the window I had been sitting at and looked inquisitively at the Dragon Senshi.
Sasayaki spread her hands and shrugged helplessly. "Around here, it is not uncommon to hear someone scream. Welcome to Eternal Night, Earthlings."
I smirked. Hanami and Raimeiko went back to their discussion with Chi and Kumo about what their birthdays would be by Earth's calendar. I noticed Hakai standing in the corner brooding. Kasumi was nearby with Otome and Sassy, well, that was their nickname for her anyway. Am I the only one worried about leaving Shihaisha alone with our princess? my thoughts grumbled. Something is not right. I can feel it.
My suspicions confirmed themselves soon enough. A couple minutes after the scream, Shihaisha came barging up the stairs in a hurry. "Dragon Senshi," she barked, "transform! Now!" A black 7-pointed star appeared on her forehead as a blue jewel-encrusted star formed in her hands. I recognized the star from being affixed to the front of her sailor fuku. "AZURE DRAGON, HENSHIN!!" In the blink of an eye, the ever-so annoying Sailorryû Konpeki stood in the room.
The other Dragon Senshi looked at Ryû Konpeki with their jaws hanging open in surprise. "Aisha, what is wrong?" Otome asked.
"I said, transform!" Ryû Konpeki growled back at the white-haired girl. When the Dragon Senshi did not immediately respond, she quickly added, "We have to strike them down now while that meddlesome Sailor Neomoon is not here." Her hands lifted as she looked in Kasumi's direction. "CHAIN LIGHTNING!!" The blue lightning crackled forth from her fingertips. The sudden bright light filling the dim chamber made me squint, and I could not tell what happened except by the cry of pain I heard.
When I could see again, I gasped. Sassy had thrown herself in front of Kasumi. In disbelief, we all watched Sassy pitch forward onto the floor. "Aisha!" Otome cried. "What did you do to Sassy? How could you attack one of us!"
I heard Hakai's whispery voice saying her transformation phrase, and I took that as a cue. I should transform in case this crazy Senshi decides to hurl any more lightning bolts around the room, I reasoned. "MARS STAR POWER, MAKE-UP!!" I had almost forgotten that I was now Super Sailor Neomars. I looked around and saw that the other NeoSenshi had transformed, as well as the Dragon Senshi.
"Aisha, you have to let your jealousy go! Our Prince does not love you, and he is not going to marry you. You have no right to attack us Dragon Senshi in your rage, and you have no right to attack the NeoSenshi." I was shocked to see the passion and anger in the eyes of the otherwise reserved and quiet Sailorryû Kuro.
Ryû Konpeki's dark blue eyes were still fixed on the form of Sasayaki on the floor. "What have I done?" she murmured softly. But just as quickly as the fire in her eyes extinguished, it ignited once more. "I have to destroy them!"
Out of my anger at how Shihaisha could completely disregard the well-being of her fellow Dragon Senshi, and how she had shown us nothing but contempt since we met her, I reacted. I felt a new fire burning inside me. "HOLY BLAZE TIGER!!" A tiger created from the flames of Mars materialized in front of the azure Dragon Senshi then leapt on top of her, sending her crashing to the ground as it singed her and scratched her with its claws. I could feel the eyes of the other NeoSenshi on me, staring a hole in me with surprise, but I did not care.
"What is happening here?" My head turned and spied my befuddled princess walking in on a very strange sight. Seeing my tiger atop Ryû Konpeki, she quickly transformed. "NEO MOON STAR, MAKE-UP!!" Super Sailor Neomoon's hands shot up to the sides of her brooch and the light of the Ginzuishô flooded the room. "NEO HEALTH RESTORATION!!" My tiger dissipated, and the burns on Ryû Konpeki faded, as well as the scorches on Sasayaki. Unexpectedly, a translucent form exited the azure Dragon Senshi and disappeared almost instantaneously.
"What was that? I have seen that before!" Super Sailor Neojupiter exclaimed.
"I do not know," Ryû Midori answered. Her attention turned to Ryû Konpeki. "Aisha! Aisha? Are you okay?"
A very groggy Sailorryû Konpeki sat up and rubbed her head. "What... where... I do not understand." She looked around at us all questioningly then shook her head. "I do not remember coming up here. Last I knew, we were all outside the house still."
"Something was controlling her?" I questioned. My eyes widened in surprise. That might explain why she has been so cruel to us.
All of the Senshi in the room detransformed with our wills to fight gone. Sassy slowly got to her feet, and Hanami proceeded to explain what all had happened. Usagi interjected now and then and told us what she had been through. Usagi met her daughter in the future, I found myself thinking. What is she like? Will I have one or will I grow to be a bitter, closed-off person like my mother?
After hearing exactly what all had happened, Shihaisha sighed heavily. She turned to Usagi and quietly said, "I owe you an apology." The proud Senshi then held her head up high and continued in a louder, more authoritative voice, "I clearly was not in control of myself, and I brought shame not only to the Dragon Senshi but to the people of Eternal Night. I may love my prince, but I have known for a long time that it was not possible for him and me to be together." She looked towards us NeoSenshi. "You have my apologies for anything I might have said to you, and my apologies for not protecting you as I should have been. Whatever it was that took control of me will probably tell the king of your whereabouts." She then turned to her friends. "Dragon Senshi, I have brought shame to you. I attacked Sasayaki, which is unacceptable. We are strong because of our bond. I broke that trust. I understand if you do not wish me to be your leader any longer."
I had to admit that I found a new respect for Shihaisha. She did not seem like such a stuck-up and angry person, but more someone who strived for personal perfection, a person who was proud and confident. "I forgive you," I blurted out. My hand covered my mouth quickly, then, blushing, I lowered it. "I forgive you," I repeated. The other NeoSenshi quickly echoed me. I think I even heard Hakai too.
Sassy stepped out from the grouping of Dragon Senshi and tightly embraced Shihaisha. "I forgive you too," she murmured before releasing the blue-haired girl. "It was not your fault, so please do not blame yourself. We know you are not a cruel person." The remaining Dragon Senshi nodded in agreement.
"I hope this means we can all be friends now." Usagi beamed, letting out a sigh of relief.
Shihaisha allowed herself to smile for us, and she nodded. "We are friends." Her dark blue eyes locked onto Hakai. "Even you, Hakai. You and I are a lot alike, but even I value friendship. The Dragon Senshi are strong because we work together. I remember hearing about the legendary Sailor Senshi who worked alone, but later she learned the importance of working together. You are the most fiercely loyal protector to your princess, I can see it. You should not alienate her or her other guardians but instead work with them."
I saw Hakai's eyes widen. She looked away from everyone. That should give her something to think about instead of her usual thoughts of killing everyone, I thought. She needs to learn remorse. Maybe when she figures out that her actions continually hurt us, we will understand one another. A smile appeared on my face. Today has been a day of milestones. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...
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