“That’d be great!” I said, suddenly realizing that I was starving. Hefting my bags, I followed her into a good-sized two story house.
In less than five minutes, I had been installed in Mrs. Tsukino’s kitchen, my bags in the guest room and a large plate of bacon, eggs, sausage, and pancakes in front of me. “Where are you headed?” My hostess asked, sitting down across from me. I swallowed the bite in my mouth and took a drink from my glass of orange juice before answering, “Cherry Hill Temple.” “Why, Usagi’s best friend Rei is a priestess there!” She exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. “And I was planning on going there today. I can give you a ride there, if you’d like.” “Really?” I asked. “I would love that! Thank you!” I finished wolfing down my food and ran upstairs to get my bags.
Ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of a small, one story temple surrounded by dozens of the cherry trees from which it derived its name. The trees where in full blossom, turning the gentle slope a beautiful pastel pink. “Wow.” I said, staring, slightly awe-struck as the wind picked up, forming the petals blanketing the ground into numerous small tornadoes. Mrs. Tsukino, who was probably used to see the beauty here, walked calmly through the light-filled wonderland and up onto the temple porch. “Mr. Hino?” She called, knocking lightly on the open door. “Mrs. Tsukino!” A cheerful voice said behind us, making me jump about a foot and let out a very un-lady-like squeak as I landed. “And a guest!” The stout old man in the blue and white temple uniform said, his eyes glowing in a way that made me glad that I was wearing pants. “Yes, I’ve brought you a charge. She has no relatives around here and needs a place to stay. Her name is Hissori.” Mrs. Tsukino said, smiling lightly. This man made me nervous. Most men did. After nearly being raped by a red student back home, I had an intense fear of any male older than me. Except Matt. “Well, Hissori, welcome to our temple! We hope you enjoy your stay!”
The next individual I met was the temple’s one-man workforce, Chad. He was too shy and nervous to make me scared. Somehow, I knew that we would be friends. Chad was very kind and even offered to help me get settled, but he could barely lift my suitcase. “How about you just show me where I’m gonna be staying.” I laughed, picking up my suitcase as if it weighed nothing. As soon as I had unpacked my bags and put my things away in the guest room, Mr. Hino-who insisted that I call him “Grandpa”- gave me a guided tour of the temple and grounds. He left me in the middle of a grove of trees, saying that he had things to take care of. After he left, sitting under a young tree, I thought about Mrs. Tsukino’s daughter. I still had a nagging feeling that I knew her, even though I had never met anyone on Earth except two of the people from the arcade; Andrew, who worked there, and Darien, Andrew’s best friend. On instinct, I reviewed the memories that Aurora had given me. Sure enough, she was in them. Tsukino Usagi, also known as Sailor Moon and Princess Serena. One of the Sailor Scouts that I was looking for. I sat in the grove, memorizing Aurora’s memories until they felt like they were mine. Finally, I dozed off, lulled into sleep by the lazy swaying of the branches overhead.
Some time later, I awoke to find myself nose-to-nose with another girl. She wore what looked like a school uniform. Her long raven-wing hair fell loose down her back, a small section falling over her shoulder; her violet eyes looked curious and a little suspicious. Before I even woke up completely, my training kicked in. In less than a minute, I had her pinned to the ground. “Get off of me!” she yelled, struggling to get her arms loose. One of my new memories surfaced. Still on guard, I flipped off of her and rolled out of reach of her long legs. “Let me guess.” I said ruefully. “Hino Rei.” She glared sullenly at me, tugging her skirt back down. “Who are you, and how do you know me?” I laughed, surprising her. “The name’s Hissori, and I’m staying at your temple. Sorry about attacking you. It’s instinct, I’m afraid.”
By dinnertime, I was sure of two things. One, Rei was Sailor Mars, and two, Chad was in love with Rei. Grandpa found the incident in the cherry grove hilarious. He seemed especially amused by the fact that I was a better fighter than his granddaughter was. Chad repeatedly argued that I had caught Rei off guard. Rei, after some initial hostility, warmed up to me readily. Some of her friends had come over that afternoon, and I hadn’t said a word about my attack on her. That made me okay on her list. One of her friends was the ditzy blonde that I had run into this morning. Her name was Usagi, and she was Rei’s best friend, although you wouldn’t have known it just by watching them. They bickered and argued worse than my parents and me, and that was hard to do. Aino Minako, the other visitor, confided in me that she never really understood why Usagi and Rei fought so much. They had already proven to all of their friends that they couldn’t live without each other. “Those two are definitely a mystery.” She said, shaking her head. “I feel sorry for you. Usagi’s parents are going out of town for the weekend, and she’ll be staying here.” I groaned. “You mean I have to listen to that for two whole days?” I moaned, nodding my head in the direction of Rei’s room, where she and Usagi were arguing over who a comic book belonged to. “Tell you what,” Minako said, all sympathy. “if they get too horrible, then you can spend the night at my place.” “You really mean that? Thank you so much!” I yelled, jumping up and hugging her. That surprised her, but also made her blush with pleasure.
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Next - Chapter 5
