Saitoku walked into school the next day with her head held high. She was no longer the friendless outcast who had nothing better to do with her life than study. Even if she had not found her friends yet, she still knew they were out there somewhere, and she was keeping a look out for them. She looked at each face she encountered, hoping to see her friends in them. Unfortunately, her school was a large one, containing five thousand students, and her school was just one of four that held the equal amount of students. It would be no easy task to find her friends.
"Ms. Tansui, I am surprised at you!" Saitoku heard a voice behind her say. She spun around, and saw the Headmaster standing behind her with a confused and disappointed look on his face.
"Good morning Mr. Gentaru."
"Ms. Tansui, why is your hair above shoulder level?"
"I am really sorry, Mr. Gentaru, but my hair ran into an unfortunate accident with an automatic door."
Since Saitoku had never lied before, Mr. Gentaru believed her.
"I am sorry to hear that, Ms. Tansui. I hope it grows back fast."
"Me too, Mr. Gentaru. I have to go now, or else I will be late for class."
"Very well, have a nice day. Be sure to tell your teachers that I have approved your excuse."
"I will Mr. Gentaru. Have a great day."
With that, Saitoku turned and walked towards her first hour, with a grin on her face. "Serenity would have been proud."
The day passed quickly, and soon it was fourth hour, which was Math. As she had in her first three hours and during lunch, Saitoku scanned the room full of people with new eyes, searching for someone who looked like a Senshi. Her eyes passed over everyone twice, but she saw no one familiar, until, that is, Kairiki Shinrin, the shyest girl in the school, besides Saitoku, raised her head. Saitoku stared at Kairiki for a long moment, trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar, and then it struck her, Kairiki looked exactly like Makoto!
At first Saitoku was excited, and then she calmed down. Kairiki was a shy girl who would not dare lift a hand in fight to anyone, while one the other hand Makoto had always been ready for a fight. There was no way Kairiki was Sailor Jupiter, but still, there was something about those eyes of hers, something that promised that there was more to her than seemed.
Saitoku decided that she would talk to her after school, if she could find her. In the meantime, she had a math test to ace.
Soon it was sixth hour, and for the first time in her life, Saitoku was dreading entering the class, but she knew she had to anyway. She went in, forcing herself to keep her head up, instead of letting it hang as it usually did. She made it to her seat, and sat down was a sigh, just as the bell rang.
Mr. Gishi waited until everyone was seated, and then he stood up and moved to the front of his desk.
"Ms. Tansui."
"Yes?"
"You were in here yesterday for a detention, were you not?"
"Yes I was."
"And what were you supposed to be doing while in detention?"
"Writing a paper on why the Crystal Millennium could not have occurred."
"And what did you do instead."
"I wrote a paper on why the Crystal Millennium actually happened."
Mr. Gishi paused for a moment, enjoying the looks of shocks on the other kids faces over Saitoku's disobedience.
"Do you understand that I must give you an F on this paper, Ms. Tansui?"
"I understand."
Mr. Gishi was shocked, for he had expected Saitoku to argue.
"I will give you one more chance, Ms. Tansui, to write that paper. Will you take it?"
"No, I will not."
Mr. Gishi's face got red in anger, and for a moment, he reminded Saitoku of Ms. Haruna when she got mad at Usagi.
"You mean to tell me that you are willingly going to take an F?"
"Yes, that is what I am saying."
Mr. Gishi breathed deeply for a moment, and then a brilliant idea came to him.
"I have a special assignment for you, Ms. Tansui. At the end of this semester, in sixteen weeks, on the last day of class before school ends for the summer, you will give a speech, in front of the class, about why the Crystal Millennium did not happen. If you refuse to do not do this, I will be forced to fail you, do you understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Gishi." Saitoku said.
Mr. Gishi had expected Saitoku to look afraid at the prospect of failing a class, but she look completely unperturbed. What Mr. Gishi did not understand was that Saitoku was willing to take a failing grade for History if it meant protecting the memories of her friends, for if she denied the fact that the Crystal Millennium ever occurred, she would be denying the fact that her friends had lived, and that she had lived.
Mr. Gishi shrugged and continued on teaching his class.
After school was over with, Saitoku raced to the main exit of the school and stood outside, hoping to see Kairiki. Her patients was soon rewarded, for it was not long before Kairiki exited the school, head down. Saitoku jumped in step beside her, and Kairiki looked up in surprise.
"Hello, Kairiki." Saitoku said was a smile.
"Hello Saitoku." Kairiki said in a confused voice.
"Can I talk to you, alone?"
"Uh, sure."
Saitoku led Kairiki out of the exiting crowd and onto the lawn.
"I have kind of a weird question to ask you."
"Uh, okay." Kairiki said, getting more confused as time went on.
"Do you believe that the Crystal Millennium occurred?" Saitoku asked bluntly.
Kairiki looked surprised at the question, but she answered anyway.
"I don't think it was very likely, I think it was all just a fairy tale that someone made up."
Saitoku's face fell, but Kairiki was not done talking yet.
"I just wish it wasn't made up! That Sailor Senshi and Neo-Queen Serenity would have been so cool to know!"
Saitoku's head snapped up, and she saw the twinkling of passion in Kairiki's eyes, and she knew that look. That look was the same look that Makoto had when she was excited about something, usually boys.
"I have a weird request of you, Kairiki, and I would understand if you did not follow through with it."
"What is it?" Kairiki asked.
"Do you know where the old cemetery is?"
"Yes."
"Would you meet be by the gates in half-an-hour?"
"Uh, sure, but why?"
"You'll see." Saitoku started running off towards home, but she yelled behind her, "See you soon!"
Kairiki looked after the retreating girl, and just shook her head in confusion.
Twenty minutes later Saitoku was on her way towards the cemetery, when she heard a noise down an alley way. Something told her to investigate, so she walked quietly down the alley.
At first she could not see anything, but then she saw something shimmering in the shadows. Then it just happened to move into the light for a split second, and she saw that it was a black mist.
"Oh no! It's happening again!" Saitoku thought with terror.
Saitoku was on the verge of panicking for a short moment, and then she remembered that she was Sailor Mercury, and she could beat the black mist, as long as it did not enter a human. With that in mind, she rounded the corner, looked around to make sure no one was looking, and for the first time in over three thousand years she yelled, "Mercury Power!"
A comforting spray of water surrounded Saitoku, and she revealed in the power that coursed through her. She felt the ancient power in her, and she knew that only she, Saitoku, could control the power.
As soon as the transformation was complete, she ran back into the alley.
Sailor Mercury hesitated, wishing she had her computer with her so that she could scan the mist. Then she remembered her visor, so she touched her earring, and prepared for the visor to slip over her eyes. Once it was in place, she scanned the mist.
"Hmm, this mist is exactly as it was thousands of years ago, but stronger somehow. Good thing it's not too much stronger!" Sailor Mercury thought to herself. With that thought, she released the visor, stepped out of the shadows, and said:
"Hey! You negatrash! I'm not going to let you possess a human being. I am Sailor Mercury, and in the name of the planet Mercury, I will destroy you!"
The mist hovered for a moment, and then began to move towards her.
"I don't think so!" she said, knowing the mists' intentions. "Shabon Spray!"
The familiar bubbles blasted from her hands and surrounded the black mist. The mist could not take the burst of pure energy, and it dissipated.
"That takes care of you!"
Sailor Mercury let go of her transformation, and became Saitoku again.
"That felt good!" Saitoku said with an almost giddy smile. Then she realized that she was late to meet Kairiki, and sped off running.
Kairiki was, at that moment, waiting at the gate.
"I wish she would hurry up, I don't want to wait here all day, this place is creepy!" Kairiki mumbled to herself. She felt a familiar anger rising in her, but she forced it down. Ever since she was little, she had felt the need to fight, but she knew that if she did, her mother would be disappointed in her, and she would not disappoint her mother for anything in the world. Ever since her father had died, Kairiki had felt the need to protect her mother, but her mother did not want protecting, all she wanted was a good little girl who was always pleasant, and never fought. For some reason, Kairiki found it hard not to fight when she felt the need, so she kept away from any chances of a fight. Unfortunately, that meant that she had to keep away from people; therefore, it was not long before she was a shy recluse.
Kairiki felt her anger starting to build at Saitoku's absence, so much to the point where it was becoming very difficult for her to control it. She was afraid that she might blow up and run out looking for a fight. Luckily for her, however, Saitoku was running up the sidewalk.
"I am so sorry I am late!" Saitoku said, slightly out of breath.
"Oh, it's okay." Kairiki said, not really meaning it. She was afraid that Saitoku would see the anger in her eyes, so she looked to the ground. It was too late; however, Saitoku had seen the anger in her eyes.
"You are angry at me for being late." Saitoku stated simply.
Kairiki shook her head feverently.
"No, you are angry!" Saitoku said, and the tone of her voice made Kairiki snap her head up.
"You're happy that I am angry?" Kairiki said, no longer angry, know only confused.
"You should not keep in your anger, it is not healthy." Saitoku said, and then, before Kairiki could reply, she said, "Come on, follow me."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
Kairiki followed Saitoku down the wall out of curiosity, and was surprised to see Saitoku climbing it easily.
"I can't climb this!" Kairiki said, referring to the wall.
"If I can, you can. It really is quite easy to do. All you have to do is believe you can do it."
Kairiki shrugged and decided to at least attempt to climb the wall. She was greatly surprised to find that she could do it, and with great ease. Once at the top of the wall, she nimbly jumped down into the cemetery.
"Why are we in the cemetery?"
"You'll see." Was all that Saitoku would say, and started off towards a destination known only to her. Kairiki shrugged and followed.
A few minutes later, Saitoku spoke up and asked, "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Without thinking, Kairiki said, "Be a chef, why?"
Saitoku smiled inwardly, but said, "I was just wondering."
"What do you want to do?"
"Be a doctor."
"A doctor? Wow, I could never be a doctor, it would take too long to learn all that I needed to know."
"Yes, it does take a long time to learn, but I already know more that most doctors could ever hope to know." Saitoku said, without a hint of braggery in her voice. It was a fact, because even after thousands of years of recovery, medicine was still not as advanced as it was in the Crystal Millennium.
Kairiki looked at her strangely and said, "You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm not, but believe me when I say that one day you will be able to say the same thing about cooking."
Kairiki shook her head in disbelief, and the two girls walked the rest of their journey in silence.
When they reached the mausoleum, Saitoku stopped Kairiki, and said, "Let me go in first to make sure it is all right."
"What is this place?"
"You'll see."
With those word, Saitoku slipped inside, and left Kairiki outside, fuming with anger.
Saitoku saw right away that the cats were there, sleeping.
"Luna, Artemis, Diana, wake up!"
The cats were startled from their naps, and fell with a collective "Bump!".
"Ami! Must you do that?!" Luna said, exasperated.
"Shhh." Saitoku said, but she was smiling, because it was nice to be called Ami again. "I think I found another scout, but I'll have to tell her the story first to see how she reacts. I just thought it was best to bring her here, but you three need to be quiet!"
The cats nodded, and Saitoku called out, "Kairiki! It's safe, come on in!"
Saitoku looked back at the cats to make sure they were being good, and observed their faces.
Luna was looking curious, but sad at the same time, while Artemis and Diana had a hushed excitement about them. Saitoku realized with a start that Artemis hoped that Mina had been found, and Diana hoped that Usagi had been found, while poor Luna had no hopes that her beloved Serenity had been, or was even out there to be found.
When Kairiki walked in, Artemis' and Diana's faces both fell, although they were both glad to see a possible Senshi.
"What is this place? Who are those cats?"
"Oh, the cats? They just live here. Come stand over here."
Kairiki obeyed, and was soon standing next to Saitoku.
"Now, look at that statue, and tell me what it is."
Kairiki looked at the statue for a good five minutes, and then a slow realization dawned in her eyes.
"The Sailor Senshi! This is where they are buried, isn't it?" Kairiki said, looking at Saitoku with pure excitement and wonder in her eyes.
"In a sense, yes. Their bones are buried here, but their spirits are not."
"What do you mean?"
"Their spirits moved on, so that one day, like they did once before, they will be reborn."
"You're joking, right? It's impossible for a person to be reborn once, not to mention twice!"
"It may seem impossible, but not when you have Serenity and the Imperium Silver Crystal."
"Imperium Silver Crystal? What's that, and who is Serenity?"
"Why don't we sit down, and I'll tell you all about the Crystal Millennium, okay?"
"All right." Kairiki said, somewhat skeptically, but it was not long before she was lost in the world of the Crystal Millennium.
Back to Chapter Three
Chapter Five
