DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon is copyrighted 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi. All except the characters I created belong to her. I'm just borrowing them for awhile :-) ********* SENSHI IN COLLEGE: EPISODE 4 - "Rei's Rite of Passage" Come visit "Senshi in College" on the web at http://www. geocities.com/collegesenshi/ ********* Usagi, Chibi-Usa, and Chibi Chibi were walking up the stairs of Rei's shrine. Usagi was carring a large box, and Chibi-Usa an overflowing shopping bag. Chibi Chibi simply carried a red balloon "I can't believe you made Rei-chan a cake," Chibi-Usa said, cryptically. "Are you trying to give her food poisoning for her birthday?" "No, I am NOT trying to poison Rei-chan," Usagi shot back at her. "Mako-chan made the cake. She, Ami, and Minako- chan will be over later on this afternoon. I'm just taking this over for her now." "If you don't trip and fall over," Usagi replied. "Rei-chan! Rei-chan!" Usagi and Chibi-Usa called out as they entered the shrine. The main room was empty, the fire steadily burning. Chibi Chibi ran into one of the bedrooms, then stopped short. She cocked her head to one side, and gazed at the two figures before her. "Chibi?" she said, softly. Usagi set the cake down on the kitchen counter, and Chibi-Usa set the box with the presents in it beside it. "I told you she wouldn't be at home," the younger girl said. "Rei-chan?" Usagi asked in a whisper. Rei turned toward Usagi, tears streaming down her cheeks. In her hand, she held a chopstick with a moistened bit of cotton wrapped around the end of it. She cradled her grandfather's head in her lap. ********* Usagi had never helped with a traditional Buddhist funeral before, but she quickly found herself helping Rei in burying her grandfather. After the initial shock, Rei had seemed to compose herself completely, and set about all the things she needed to do. Chibi-Usa had taken Chibi Chibi and had gone to tell the other senshi and Mamoru about the death. "Why isn't there a Shinto ritual for death?" she asked Rei as she helped to dress her grandfather in what were known as Shinishozoku, or grave clothes. Usagi was tying a small bag with several coins inside of it to his wrist. Rei didn't say anything as they finished the task, but finally she walked away from the body to her desk, and took out a piece of paper and a marker and began writing on it. "Shinto believe that death is evil," Rei said. She didn't go into any further explanation, and to be honest, Usagi was a little glad. She knew anything further would serve only to confuse her. Rei finished making her sign and grabbed some tape. She started to walk out of the room when she turned and looked at Usagi. "Usagi-chan?" Usagi glanced at the body for a moment, and grew a little scared at being left alone with it. She willed her feet not to run, and gazed at Rei. "Hai?" "Will you remain with me for the wake? Please?" Usagi nodded, then followed her best friend out of the room. ********** Usagi watched as Rei performed the various aspects of the funeral. Rei had spoken to the gathering of people outside of the shrine briefly before turning the ceremony over to a Buddhist priest for the rest of the ceremony. As the priest intoned the traditional Sutra chanting, Usagi allowed her gaze to wander over the people she could see who had gathered to help Rei mourn. Ami's mother sat with Ami at the end of the second row, and next to her sat Makoto. On Makoto's other side sat Minako's parents, then Shingo and Ikuko on Usagi's right side. Mamoru sat on her left side holding Chibi Chibi in his lap, and Chibi-Usa sat on his left side. She knew Naru and Umino were somewhere in the group, because she had invited them herself. Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru sat in the row immediately behind them. Still, Usagi felt saddened that no one had been able to find Yucchirou before the ceremony. She knew the former trainee would be upset to hear about Rei's grandfather's death, but they had searched for two days trying to find him. Rei sat alone in the row ahead of them, reserved for family and friends. A second chair sat vacant next to her, a place her father should had occupied. Remembering Rei's high school graduation, Usagi glanced down into her lap. In the month and a half since the graduation ceremonies, no one dare told Rei about how her father ended up skipping out after all. It's not fair, it's not right, she thought. Makoto sat, trying not to cry. She absolutely hated funerals. She was surprised she had gotten through Usagi's father's funeral a year earlier. Her mind wandered back to a time she at one time had figured she had completely blocked from her memory. Too bad it hadn't... MAKOTO'S FLASHBACK "Mako-chan, you will remember to water my plants while I'm gone?" Kasumi Kino folded a skirt, and laid it on top of the other clothes she had in her suitcase. Made of several layers of sheer black silk, the gauze-like skirt had the palest pink roses on the silk to match the ones the woman wore in her ears. Thirteen-year-old Makoto sat on the bed next to the suitcase. "Yes, Mother. I'll water the plants, and make sure to add some fertilizer this weekend too." "Arigato, dear." Kasumi gazed at her suitcase. "Did I forget anything?" Makoto shook her head, trying to hold back her tears. Her parents were going to America! She had always dreamed of going there, but her parents had decided she could not miss so much school. It would be like a second honeymoon for them, Kasumi had said. Kasumi cupped Makoto's chin in her hand. "I promise, we'll bring something back nice for you from New York City." Makoto nodded, unable to speak. She could not convey the nervousness she was feeling, or how much she was going to miss her parents. It was the first time they had left her alone, and she was thrilled to have the responsibility, but scared at the same time. Kasumi brushed Makoto's bangs out of her eyes. "We will get your hair trimmed when we get back, okay?" Makoto nodded. Kasumi started to close her suitcase, then paused. She gazed at Makoto. "It's been a long time since the three o'clock fairies have left snacks for you, my sweet girl," she said. "You're a young lady now. Almost an adult." Kasumi's voice grew wistful at that last statement. She threw open the suitcase, and took out the black gauze skirt. She smoothed out the fabric. "This has been my favorite skirt since I was your age," Kasumi said. She closed the suitcase and laid the skirt on top of it, then took her rose earrings out of her ears, and laid them on top of the skirt. She picked up the skirt and offered it to Makoto. Makoto gasped. "Mother..." Kasumi smiled. "You're a young woman now, Makoto. It's time to have pretty things passed down to you." Makoto took the skirt and earrings. She fingered the earrings. They were something she had admired ever since she was a little girl. Reverently, she picked them up, and put them in her own ears. Then, she threw herself into her mother's arms, tears streaming down her face... END FLASHBACK Makoto could not stop the tears, even if she had tried. Only hours later had she recieved the phone call that her parents had died in a plane crash over the Pacific Ocean. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and managed a weak smile for Ami. On her other side, Minako put her arms around her, and gave her a hug. Ami held her friend tightly, trying not to recall her own brushes with death. The times she had died and were resurrected were insignfigant when compared to losing a loved one. She glanced down the row at Usagi, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. Only during their senior year in high school had she realized the pain and suffering Usagi had gone through the times they had died. And it had taken another death to show her... AMI'S FLASHBACK Ami sat eating lunch with Usagi, Makoto, and Minako. All of them were laughing over a mangled up saying that Minako tried to speak. Usagi was snatching bits of Makoto's lunch, and Makoto was letting her. "Usagi-chan," Ami laughed, and Usagi threw her a look, and grabbed an odango out of Makoto's tray. Usagi picked up the food, and stared hard at it. "Mako-chan, why are there little lines in the odango?" Usagi asked her. "Because, Usagi-chan, I'm trying to recreate your odangos!" Makoto said, then giggled. "I'M EATING A HAIRBALL?" Usagi shrieked, then dropped the food back in Makoto's lunch box. Everyone laughed again. "I'm trying to get into the Washoku School of Cooking," Makoto revealed to her friends. "It is the best cooking school in Japan. I want to prove I have the talent to do it, and that means doing more decorative cooking." "Can we be your guinea pigs?" Minako and Usagi cried out. "By all means! And I vow to get into that school!" Makoto said to everyone. "Let's go to Crown's after school!" Minako chimed. "Rei- chan said that Motoki-kun got the new Sailor V game in! Of course, we all know that I'm the best in it!" "Get over it, Minako-chan!" Makoto laughed at her. Usagi looked up to see a familiar figure walking around the bushes, to where they were having lunch. She immediately sprang to her feet. "Mamo-chan!" Ami, Makoto, and Minako glanced at each other. Visitors were usually not welcomed at the school unless it was alumni, and Mamoru had graduated from a private high school. They watched Usagi literally bounce over to him and grab his arm. They watched as Mamoru led Usagi some distance away from them, and place his hands on her shoulders. He started talking to her. After a moment, Usagi began to shake, then she suddenly threw herself into his arms, and buried her face in his chest. Her body shook. His hands moved up to her hair, and he caressed it as he slowly rocked her back and forth in his arms. The other girls quickly sprang to their feet. "Something's wrong," Makoto said. "Nani?" Minako started toward the two, when Luna and Artemis suddenly appeared. Luna was crying, while Artemis looked very grave. They stopped before the girls. "Luna, what's wrong?" Ami asked her. Artemis gazed at Luna, and she nodded to him. Tears still streaming down her cheeks, she lifted her gaze to the girls. "It's Usagi-chan's father," she said. "He was at work, when he suddenly fell over. He had a heart attack and...didn't make it." Everyone gasped, and started running toward Usagi and Mamoru. "Usagi!" "Wait, minna!," Artemis said loudly. The girls slid to a stop and stared at the guardians. "She needs him right now more than anything," Luna said. The girls gazed at Usagi and Mamoru together, tears streaming down their cheeks, their hearts aching for their princess. Sadly, Ami turned away and turned on her communicator so she could tell Rei. END FLASHBACK Ami gazed down the row at Usagi. The crybaby klutz she had met now sat stoically, staring straight ahead. Her eyes were unseeing, and Ami knew she was reliving last year all over again. She sighed, and turned back toward the front. She felt her shoulders being squeezed, and Ami gazed into her mother's eyes before laying her head down on her shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks. ********** Eventually, the coffin was nailed shut and carried away to be prepared for cremation, and the ceremony was over. Everyone immediately gave Rei condolences, but she didn't want to hear any of it. She knew how sorry people were, but she just wanted everyone to leave so she could go to bed, and finally cry. But, I will not cry now, she vowed to herself, forcing a serene smile on her face as she greeted acquaintenaces of her grandfather's that she barely knew. Rei made small talk with many of them, and did her best to avoid her best friends. They had all stayed awake with her during the night before the funeral, during the wake. She couldn't have asked for anything more. Although, she knew Usagi had her hand in getting the rest of the senshi there, for the most part they had all come on their own free will. Soon, everyone was gone with the exception of Usagi, Mamoru, Chibi-Usa, and Chibi Chibi. Ami had left with her mother, and Minako with her family. Shingo and Ikuko had decided to go on home, and the outer senshi followed suit. Neighbors had helped to fold up the chairs, and everything was back in its place again. Finally, she could rest. Rei gazed out at the setting sun, and turned to go spend her first night in the temple alone. She tried to swallow the fear she had inside her. Her steps were achingly slow, as she watched Phobos and Demos picking at their feed. They will protect me, she realized. "Rei-chan?" Rei turned back to see them standing at the top of the stairs. Usagi was a couple of steps ahead from her family. That's what Rei thought of them as. She managed a small smile, while trying to fight the jealously she felt for Usagi at that moment. "You don't need to be alone tonight," Usagi said gently, with a maturity which had rarely been seen four years earlier, but seemed to come more frequently now. Rei shook her head, her stubborn pride going against her heart. "Please, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked, taking a couple of steps toward her friend. You need to learn to stand on your own two feet, Rei, she told herself. You're alone now, and you can't go depending on Usagi. She's your princess, she needs to depend on you, not the other way around. Rei started to walk toward the temple. "I do not want to put a burden on your mother, Usagi." "You can stay with me," Mamoru spoke up. "And I'll stay over there too, so it won't be uncomfortable for you," Usagi added. "Me too!" Chibi-Usa chimed in. "Chibi!" Chibi Chibi added. Rei sighed, but her defenses had been shattered. ********** Rei woke up the next morning, squinting at the sunlight coming in through the window. She threw back the covers and got up, and stretched. She needed a cup of coffee before attempting the relaxation exercises that she was accustomed to doing every morning. She dressed in her traditional temple clothes, and stepped out into the living room. Mamoru was asleep on the couch, Diana curled up on his chest. His hand absently stroked the kitten's back in his sleep. Through the open door leading into the master bedroom, Rei could see Usagi, Chibi Chibi, and Chibi-Usa asleep in the larger bed in there. Luna was curled up into a ball at Chibi Chibi's feet. Rei stepped into the kitchen, and started the coffee, which had been left ready the night before. While waiting for it to percolate, she thought about the events of the past few days. You've dealt with much harder things in your life, Rei, she told herself. You yourself died twice. You've been through so much, what's a little death to you? Because your grandfather has been the only constant in your life since your mother. Only moments after she was gone, Usagi woke up. She got out of bed, and yawned. Rubbing her eyes, she walked toward the kitchen, but kind of missed the door when she walked into the wall instead. "Usako?" Mamoru popped his head in the room to see Usagi lying on the ground, and Chibi Usa sitting up in bed, laughing at the sight. Usagi opened her eyes, and dramatically rolled them. "Oh, my head! My head! I have no memories! I have amnesia!" Usagi said, with equal dramatics. Mamoru squinted at her. "Are you making fun of me?" "Who me? Just because you have the tendency to get amnesia and..or brainwashed often doesn't mean I'm..." THUMP. Usagi's words were cut off by her fiance, who had walked back into the living room, grabbed his pillow, and chucked it at her, scoring a direct hit. Chibi Usa just laughed harder. "Go get Rei-chan up, she ought to see this!" Luna had gotten up by this time, and jumped down next to Usagi. "You know, Usagi-chan, this is what you get when you make fun of people." "I know exactly what this is!" Usagi jumped to her feet, pillow in hand. "This is WAR!" She started hitting Mamoru with the pillow. "No fair, I'm unarmed!" Mamoru backed up until he fell on the bed. He grabbed a pillow, and started defending himself. Chibi-Usa laughed until Usagi's pillow accidentally hit her. Eyes narrowing, she grabbed her own pillow and joined in the fight. Chibi Chibi was sitting at the head of the bed, laughing as well. She had a small pillow in her hands, and jumped into the middle of the ruckus. Rei walked by the room with her coffee then. Someone had introduced tickling into the fight by then, and all of them were screaming and laughing. Her heart felt hollow inside. Jealously filled her. As far back as she had searched her memory, she could not remember her doing anything like that with her mother or father. She had been too young to remember anything but vague memories of her mother anyhow. Tears filled her eyes, and she turned and headed for the door. It was time for her to leave anyhow. None of them noticed it. They were all having too much fun. Eventually, they all landed in one big pile on top of each other, smallest to biggest. "So...who...won?" Chibi-Usa panted. "I don't know," Usagi gasped, who was under her. "Win! Win!" Chibi Chibi was on top of Chibi-Usa, and in fact jumping up and down on her stomach. "Chibi Chibi's the winner," Mamoru declared from the very bottom of the pile. "Usagi-chan!" Luna ran into the room. "Rei-chan's gone!" "Nani?" Usagi suddenly sat up, knocking Chibi-Usa and Chibi Chibi off her, and back onto the mattress. She got up, and ran into the other room. Rei's clothes were gone, and the nightgown Usagi had lent her neatly-folded up on top of the neatly-made bed. "Why did she leave?" Chibi-Usa asked, appearing behind her with the others. But no one could answer that question. ********** Rei got off the bus, and walked up the street toward the shrine, when she saw someone by the mailbox, hammering a sign into the ground. Her eyes narrowed, and she ran toward the person. "Hey! What are you doing?" Rei reached around the man, and grabbed the sign out of the ground. "This is private property!" "Are you Hino Rei?" The man asked her. Rei nodded in return, and the man gave her a white manila envelope. "Then this is for you." Rei dropped the sign, and opened the envelope. She took out the letter, and started reading it. The color drained from her face. She shoved the letter into the man's chest. "Tell my father this isn't over yet," she growled, and ran up the shrine's steps. She entered the shrine, and headed straight for the her bedroom. She grabbed the phone off its hook, and dialed in a number. "Let me talk to Soun Hino, now," Rei said. "I don't care that he's in an important meeting, this is his DAUGHTER. And it's an EMERGENCY. Tell him if he doesn't have the decency to show up at his father- in-law's funeral, he at least should talk to me now." Rei paced the length of her bedroom while waiting for her father. She stopped short suddenly. "Father. Why the hell did you call in the loan on the shrine?" She didn't care that she was cussing to her own parent. She didn't feel any respect for him anyhow. "NANI? What do you mean Grandpa didn't make three payments in a row! I know he did!" Rei slammed her fist on the top of her bookcase. "Look, I don't care that this is business. I'm your child, your blood. Does that not mean a thing to you?" Rei stared out the window to see Phobos and Demos sleeping in a tree outside. "Look," she said, dropping her voice back to more of a normal tone. "Give me a month, otou-san. Please. I'll have the back payments paid off. Please..." Her voice died away. Soon, a click sounded on the other end of the line. Rei began to tremble, and sank to the ground, turning off the phone as she did so. Drawing her knees up to her chin, she finally gave into the tears she had been surpressing since the day Grandpa died. ********** "NANI?" Usagi, Minako, Makoto, and Ami screamed. "You're moving out?" "You're quitting college?" Ami looked ready to faint. Rei nodded, flipping through a newspaper. "I think it's time for a change in my life. Get out and actually start pursuing my dreams, you know." "But, what about taking care of the shrine?" Makoto asked. "I'm sure the bank will do that for me," Rei muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough for Artemis to hear. "The bank?" The while cat questioned. "What does a bank have to do with this?" Minako asked. Rei closed her eyes for a moment. "Absolutely nothing." Usagi sat, staring at her friend. "Then why is there a sign out in front of the shrine saying it's going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder next week?" The other senshi gasped and stared at Rei, who threw Usagi a dirty look. "You shouldn't be snooping." "How can I snoop if it's the truth? Someone came and hammered it into the ground when I got here." "Rei-chan, why didn't you say anything?" Luna asked her. Rei threw down the newspaper. "It's because I didn't know! I found out this morning, after I left Mamoru-san's apartment. I tried talking to my father, but it was no good. So, it looks like I'm out on the streets!" She sprang to her feet. "It's time for a change, anyhow!" "Rei-chan, you can stay with me until you figure out what to do," Makoto said. "Rei-chan, please don't quit school," Ami added. "You have one semester paid for, and an education will be the greatest assest to you in finding a job." "Would you all stop acting like your my moms?" Rei turned back on them, trying to supress the emotions she was feeling. "None of you control my life, got it? I do and say what I please. I always have, and always will." With that she marched toward her bedroom, and the door's slam echoed down the hall. ********** This seemed like a good idea at the time. Haruka stared at the white stucco house she had been watching. The license plate number, which she had memorized when Mamoru flashed the paper at her after the last youma attack, had led her straight to this house. Haruka slowly stepped out from behind the tree where she was hiding. She needed to transform. It would be safer to spy that way, and less of a chance Misora would find out her true identity. "URANUS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!" Moments later, Sailor Uranus was creeping toward the house. From behind another tree in the yard, a figure watched her approach. He placed his back against the tree for a moment, opened his jacket, and withdrew a single red rose. Uranus approached the window, and carefully peered inside. Misora was sitting at the breakfast table, reading a newspaper, and talking on a telephone. She did look somewhat sexy in her robe, Uranus thought, then dismissed the thought as quick as it came. Suddenly, she felt someone was watching her. She quickly whirled around to see Tuxedo Kamen standing behind her. "What are you doing here?" Uranus asked him, angrily. "I ought to ask you the same thing," Kamen replied in a controlled voice. "After all, I was the one who took down the license plate number to begin with." "Details, details, everything's always details," Uranus turned back to the window, and they both crouched down as not to be seen. "Give me a good reason why you should be here." "Oh, I don't know, I figured it might be a good thing to check out," Kamen commented, absently, giving Uranus a sidelong glance. "Of course, if you don't think I'm capable of checking out an enemy, I could always call Usako and the others to come help us." He reached in his pocket, and took out a communicator. Uranus blanched. Bringing in Usagi and the other inner senshi would be the same thing as calling CNN to the area. "Umm..no thanks." "That's what I thought," Kamen replied, smugly. The two focused their attention on the inside of the house, where they could vaguely hear Misora talking. "Yes...of course," she was saying. "I hear it is a very... popular...highly...religious center. No problem, I will get to it." "Religious center?" Kamen wondered out loud. He and Uranus glanced at each other, and they thought for a moment. "'Cuse me, mister?" The two whirled around to see a little boy standing behind them, a lollipop stuck in his mouth. He took it out, and gave them a solemn look. "I thought Halloween wasn't for months an' months?" "Hallo...," Uranus started saying, but Kamen quickly interjected. "Hai! We're going to a great costume ball tonight! We wanted to show our friend here our costumes, but she's playing hide and seek," Kamen quickly said. "We're hiding, and she's seeking." "Cool! I wanna play!" The boy said. Good one, Mamoru-san, Uranus thought to herself, as the boy turned around, and started running for the house. "Hey, Misora! I found your friends!" Kamen and Uranus glanced at each other, nodded, then sprinted off toward the back of the lawn, leapt over the fence at the edge of the property, and were gone. ********** Rei stared at the want ads, trying not to believe what she was doing. She couldn't believe she was actually looking for a job! But, what else could she do? She had to save the shrine. Fast-food was definitely out. So was being a waitress. Rei decided she would most likely dump a bowl of soup on an unruly customer rather than be nice to him. There were jobs in there that she could barely bring herself to even think of doing. But, what else could she do? Rei had checked her grandfather's bank account. There was enough money in there for her to survive, but not enough for her to pay off the mortgage. And, her own inheritance was untouchable until she was 21. She threw down the newspaper in disgust, and got up and walked into the room where the fire burned. She fed the fire, knelt down before it, and began to concentrate on the flames. Think, Rei, think, she told herself. Allow yourself to relax. Concentrate on the flame, and you'll be fine. Her heart throbbed with lonliness. What would she do without the shrine? She tried to make Usagi and the others believe that she didn't care if she lost her home, but it was eating her up inside. I failed you, Grandpa, she thought, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Rei-chan!" Rei glanced up, startled. Chibi-Usa ran into the shrine, dragging a picnic basket behind her. "Look what Mako-chan made for us to eat!" She started to protest, but her stomach betrayed her. "I guess I am hungry after all," she admitted. Rei and Chibi-Usa walked outside of the shrine, and sat down on the steps, and started pulling food out of the basket. "Odango Atama's not around, is she?" Rei asked the younger girl. Chibi-Usa had a sandwich in her hand, and took a bite out of it. "Mamo-chan arrived right before we were going to come over here. He was very very eager to take Usagi-chan on a date right that moment, so she went with him." Rei laughed. "Funny, usually it's the opposite way around!" Chibi-Usa shrugged. Ever since Elios entered her life, Usagi's love life hadn't concerned her that much. The older she got, and the older Usagi and Mamoru became, she was able to see more of her parents in them than she had when she first visited the 20th century. "Say, Rei-chan?" "Hmmm...?" Rei took a bite out of her sandwich, and chewed. Phobos and Demos landed next to them, but still a few inches away. Rei took some seed she always carried in her robe pocket out and fed it to them. "I don't get why you're not saving the shrine?" Chibi-Usa asked her. "I just don't think I can, that's all," Rei admitted. "But, I saved Crystal Tokyo! If I can save a city, then you can save the shrine!" Chibi-Usa's eyes took on a wise look. "But, I couldn't do it without Usagi-chan, Mamo-chan, and the senshi. I didn't want their help sometimes, but in the end, it took all of us saving my home." "Our home," Rei reminded her. "We're all going to be living there one day too." "Still, if you let Usagi-chan and the others help you, then we can save the shrine!" Rei's eyes narrowed. "Did Usagi ask you to come here and say this?" Chibi-Usa shook her head, and Rei knew it was the truth. She felt a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had made her decision. Even if she couldn't save the shrine, she would at least allow her friends to help her out! "Chibi-Usa, I...," Rei's voice died off as she saw a woman climbing the steps of the shrine. "May I help you?" she asked. The woman held up an item. It looked like a string of rosary beads. "I hear you went to T*A Girls School, and I was wondering if you had lost these." Rei's insides began churning as she sensed the woman's evil prescence. Her hand slipped into her other pocket, where she kept her wards and her henshin wand. "What about it?" Chibi-Usa stopped eating, and simply stared. ********** Usagi sat facing Mamoru, who was staring out the window of the cafe they were sitting in at the large church across the street. It was the largest Western-style church in the city, and he come over about an hour ago and insisted on taking her out to lunch here. And hadn't said a word since. She absently stirred her spoon in her coffee. She had finished eating about ten minutes ago. He still hadn't touched his food. Whatever could he be thinking about that would cause him not to eat? Usagi gazed out the window at the church as well. Her heart started beating faster. Baka! Why didn't you figure it out before? He's trying to tell you that he doesn't want to wait to be married, and wants to be married in this beautiful church! Oh, he never even really proposed, maybe he is trying to do so now. Usagi gazed at her engagement ring she had been wearing since she was 16. "Is there something you want to talk about, Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked as innocently as possible. Damn, I wish we could have heard more of that phone conversation. Unfortunately for Mamoru, his mind had slid into such concentration about what had happened this morning, that he forgot Usagi was even sitting across from him, or what he wanted to tell her. Haruka and Michiru are staking out the Buddhist temple, he thought. It's a good thing Haruka is such good friends with the priest. But, I haven't seen anything unusual going on here. It sounded like on the phone that her next assignment was to be carried out today. But, I don't know, it's getting pretty late and nothing has happened. "Mamo-chan...," Usagi was beyond annoyed now, and was getting mad. He had virtually been ignoring her this entire so-called date. She wanted to talk about the possibility of them getting married now. She realized she had been making a mistake in asking him to wait. This is the price you pay for that, Tsukino Usagi, she told herself. But, of course, youma attacks at night as well, you of all people should know this, Mamoru thought. And there is more than one entrance to the church, there are back entries in too. Great, just great. Maybe I could walk over there in a moment or two to make sure anything hasn't happened. We could be too late! "You know, if you want to get married here, that's fine by me," Usagi's voice penetrated his mind enough for him to realize she was talking about a wedding. Who was she talking to anyhow? "Mamo-chan, will you listen?" I am listening, he thought, trying to figure out the ways Misora could sneak in the church for a youma attack. He didn't notice Usagi slamming her coffee cup on the table. "Fine!" Usagi stood up from her chair, feeling extremely angry. "Then I'm leaving." Of course, Misora could be waiting until dark to attack. That would be easier because there's not that many people around, but still...matte...leaving? Mamoru looked up to see Usagi heading toward the door to the cafe, and people staring at him. He jumped out of his seat, quickly tossed some money on the table to pay for their meal, and ran after her. "Usako!" He called after her. Baka, baka, BAKA, his mind screamed at him. How could you forget your finace had been sitting there for more than an hour? And...wasn't she talking about a wedding? His eyes grew huge. God, she was talking about THEIR wedding! She thought he must had brought her here to talk about their wedding! "Matte! It's not what you think!" Usagi had stopped outside of the church, tears in her eyes. He ran up to her, and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Usako," he tried to explain. "I'm sorry you thought we were going to talk about getting married, but there was another reason entirely we came here." "Are you tired of waiting?" Usagi refused to look at him, her eyes fixated on the church, her voice voided of all emotion. "Do you not want to marry me at all?" "Iie, of course not," Mamoru slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I'd wait forever for you." "Really?" She finally looked at him. He nodded in reply, and they both gazed at the church for a moment, both wishing that it was their wedding they were planning for at the moment. They both allowed themselves to dream of their wedding day, and what it would be like. Then Usagi looked at him again. "So, why are we here?" "Well, you see," Mamoru started to explain, but suddenly Usagi's communicator began to beep. She quickly hit the button on it, and Chibi-Usa's face popped up on the small screen. "Usagi-chan!" The younger girl sounded frantic. "I took came to visit Rei-chan, and she's being attacked by a youma! They're trying to steal her hopeful soul!" "Chibi-Usa, henshin yo! We'll be right there!" Usagi ordered. Mamoru grabbed her hand, and they started running down the block, until they found an alley way. They ducked in it to transform. ********** Chibi-Usa hit one more button on her communicator to send out an all-call emergency signal, and grabbed her brooch. "MOON CRISES, MAKE-UP!" "Nani?" The youma whirled around to suddenly see Sailor Chibi Moon standing before her. "Who are you?" "I'm glad you asked that! I am the sailor-suited soldier of love and justice in training, Sailor Chibi Moon! In the name of the future moon, I'll punish you!" the younger senshi replied. "You're one of those sailor senshi?" Misora asked. "Why shouldn't I be?" Chibi Moon's eyes narrowed. "Because you're too pink!" Misora shot back at her. "PINK?" Chibi Moon held up the Crystal Carillion. "I'll show you pink! PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!" The ray of hearts knocked Misora onto her rear-end. She immediately jumped back to her feet. "Do you have anything stronger than that?" Umm...technically no, Chibi Moon thought. Please, hurry up, minna! Rei walked out of the temple just then, the noise outside waking her up from her nap. Her eyes narrowed at Misora and the youma. "Get off of my property!" "You mean the property of the General Bank of Tokyo," Misora said to Rei. Rei held up one of her spirit wards. "As long as I live and breathe, I will never give up my home and the place I grew up. I don't care if this place is going up for auction, I refuse to let it go! EVIL SPIRITS DISPERSE!" She released the ward at the youma. The youma quickly dodged the ward, and started toward Chibi Moon. The younger senshi stood still, unable to move. Rei darted behind a tree, and grabbed her henshin wand from the folds of her temple robes. "MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!" Why wasn't Rei surprised when nothing happened? After all, this was the way her luck had been going lately. Chibi Moon's screams filled the air. Rei glanced out from her hiding place to see the youma had Chibi Moon on her back, and apparently was trying to kiss her to steal her hopeful soul. Misora stood, watching over the operation. "If I can't have shrine priestess, I'll at least get you!" she told Chibi Moon. "No!" Chibi Moon cried, darting her face from side to side. "LET ME GO!" Suddenly, a rose spiraled out of the air, and hit the youma in the side of the neck. It jumped up in surprise, and yanked the rose out of its neck, and Misora looked up to see two figures standing at the top of the stairs. "How dare you attack someone precious to me," Tuxedo Kamen's dark eyes resembled blue lightning with the anger flashing in them. "I, Tuxedo Kamen, will not forgive you." "How dare you steal the hopeful soul of a beautiful shrine priestess and a hopeful young senshi-in-training," Sailor Moon added. "I will not forgive you! I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!" "Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" Chibi-Moon exclaimed. "Sailor Moon!" "You dare interupt my worshipping?" The youma screammed at Kamen and Moon. It raised one of its robe-covered arms in the air, and a gnarled wooden staff appeared in it. It headed straight toward Kamen. Kamen's cane extended, and he started dueling with the youma. Moon faced off against Misora. "What do you want out of us, Misora?" she asked, having been filled in after the previous attack. "Just your hopeful souls, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to get any here. Ciao!" Misora turned on her heel, and started walking off. "Don't let her get away!" Chibi Moon cried. "PINK SUGAR..." Rei ran out from behind the tree at that moment, and headed straight for Misora. She tackled the woman to the ground. "HEART ATT..." "Chibi Moon, NO! You'll hit Rei!" Moon dove at her daughter, and the two fell to the ground, ending the attack. Rei landed on top of Misora, and withdrew one of her wards. "I will not let you get away with attacking me, my home, and my friends!" Her eyes glowed with anger, and slowly, the glow started to spread throughout her entire body. Misora looked up into Rei's face, and realization hit her. She remembered the picture sitting on the bookcase in Dark Shadows' office. The only one he had. He had said...oh lord, she realized. This is Hino Rei! Moon and Chibi Moon looked up. Kamen and the youma stopped fighting. Slowly, Rei got off of Misora, and stood, a red glow surrounding her. What do you want out of this life, Hino Rei? A familiar voice filled Rei's mind. The priestess closed her eyes. Chibi Chibi? What do you want out of this life, Rei? Chibi Chibi's voice echoed in her mind again. I want...I want to protect my princess. I want my dreams to come true. I want to be a bride. All of Rei's dreams and goals filled her mind. I want to be everything I can be. But, the most I want to do is make my grandpa proud. I am proud of you, Rei, her grandfather's voice joined Chibi Chibi's. Live your dreams. I will always be proud of you. You have passed your rite of passage, Chibi Chibi's voice came again. Now, it is time for you to grow. Rei's henshin wand changed into a brooch in her hand. Slowly, she held it in the air. The glow disappeared. Her eyes opened. "MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!" Misora's eyes grew huge. She got up and ran off as everyone else was fixated on Rei...rather, Sailor Mars. Sailor Star Mars stood before them, ready to do battle. "It's time to dust some youma butt!" she said, the life back in her voice. "MARS..." A red and black ball of swirling energy formed in Mars' hand as she stuck it out. "FIREBIRD..." She used her other hand to expand the energy into a ball, which looked like it was made of feathers of fire. "STORM!" She released the attack at the youma. It screamed, and quickly died. Mars knelt on the ground, exhausted from the attack. Moon and Chibi Moon ran to her, and knelt down by her side. Mars gave a saucy grin to her friends. "I always have to save your worthless hide, Sailor Moon." "Worthless hide...," Moon's eyes teared up for a moment, then she started laughing, realizing everything was going to be alright. Rei had come back to them. "You're the worthless one!" "No, you are!" "You are!" "NYAH!" Mars stuck her tounge out at Moon, who promptly returned the gesture. Then, they all began to laugh. ********** The man sat at his desk, trying to build a castle out of playing cards. He had a sizable tower, about five stories high. It relaxed him, to figure out the intracies of making towers out of playing cards. So sturdy, yet so slippery as well... Suddenly, his office door banged open, and the cards slid neatly into a red and white pile on his desk. The man sighed, and gazed at the angry woman who stood in the doorway. "Do you care to speak with me about something, Misora?" he asked, twirling a card on his fingertip. "The hell I do!" She walked over to his desk, and slamed both hands down on the top of it, causing the card to fall from his finger. He gazed at her with a mildly annoyed expression, picked up the card, and tossed it at her. She winced as it hit her shoulder, then flew across the room. "Well, go ahead and speak your mind," he commented, picking up a pen and began toying with it. "Might as well get yelled at, although I do believe I should be the one doing the yelling." Misora's eyes grew even darker with supressed anger. "How dare you send me on a suicide mission like that." "Nani?" Shadows did not bother to look up at his employee. "Not only did you send me out to take care of your own daughter, Hino Soun, but you also sent me after Sailor Mars!" The pen snapped in Hino's hands, splattering ink all over his hands and desk. He casually tossed the pen aside, and gazed at Misora. "Sailor Mars? Rei? I would never send you to kill my own child, Misora." "You know the old man is dead, Hino. Who else would be at the temple but her?" "I would trust that you would have seen to Rei's safety," Hino said, still not meeting her eyes. "Trust me, she saw to her own safety," Misora commented. "Yes, I suppose so, seeing that she is friends with Sailor Mars." "Baka. She IS Sailor Mars!" This got Hino's attention. He sat up straight in his chair, and stared directly into Misora's eyes for a moment. Then he reached for his phone, and dialed in a number. "Hiranga? This is Hino. You know the mortgage on Hikawa Jinja? Cancel it. It is now paid in full...Yes, I know this, but the debt has been cancelled. Arigato." Hino dropped the phone onto the reciever, and stared at Misora. "Any word of what you know to anyone, and I swear I will add you to the collection." Misora blinked. "Collection?" "Trust me," he propped his elbows on his desk, and tapped his fingers together. "You do not want to know what my little collection is." ********* Rei finished stacking her books in the box, and turned around to look at her friends. Makoto was carefully stacking pictures in a box, while Ami took apart her computer. Mamoru and Motoki were trying to manuever the heavier furniture out of the room, while Usagi was folding Rei's clothes on her bed. Rei walked ove to inspect the job being done. The clothes on the bottom of the stack were folded horribly, while they got better toward the top. She tried to get annoyed about the way Usagi was treating her clothes, but couldn't. find the words. After all, Usagi and her family were going well out of their way to help her. She would be staying with Makoto until she had a chance to figure out what to do. Ami had convinced her to at least finish out the current semester at Azabu, while Minako said she would talk to Ukari about letting her work at the sandwich shop. Usagi's mom had offered her to eat with them as often as possible, while Usagi hinted about some money put away she could convince her mother to let her lend Rei. "MINNA!!" Minako's voice was heard screaming in some other part of the shrine. She raced into the room, and crashed headlong into Motoki, who dropped Rei's dresser. Mamoru jumped back out of the way, but the dresser landed on Motoki's foot. "OUCH!" he yelled, jerking his foot back, losing his balance, and falling on top of Minako. Meanwhile, Chibi-Usa ran in after her, waving a piece of paper excitedly. She dodged the Minako/Motoki pile, skirted around the dresser and Mamoru, nearly knocking him over, and nearly ran into Rei as well. She thrusted a paper in Rei's face. "Someone just brought this by here! Look!" Rei took the paper, and read it as everyone gathered around. Minako stood up, and started to help Motoki to his feet. Rei's eyes grew big. "The bank cancelled the debt on the shrine! Everything is now paid for in full, and I could stay!" Everyone began screaming and cheering. Minako pumped one fist into the air excitedly just as Motoki finally was pulling himself into a standing position, punched him square in the eye, and he went crashing back to the floor again. Tears shone in Rei's eyes, and she smiled happily. Suddenly, she found Usagi enveloping her in a bear hug, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so happy for you!" she said, excitedly. Rei nodded, unable to say a word. Instead, her gaze landed on her desk, where the vase filled with white Casablanca lillies stood. Arigato, otou-san, she thought to herself. Arigato. ********** COMING NEXT: EPISODE 5 -- To be the Best! Usagi and Umino's lesson. When Umino accidentally causes his older brother, Azabu University's star pitcher, to break his arm, he secretly decides to fill in for him in order to get the team to the College World Series. But, when he fails to help the team, and Haruka fills in, he goes on a quest to fufill his honor and reclaim his brother's good name. Meanwhile, when Mamoru claims Usagi can not hold a job, she sets out to find and keep a job just to prove him wrong. ********** AUTHOR'S NOTES Arigato! Many thanks goes to Jupiter-chan, who took the time to beta read this for me. The Chibi-Usa having too much pink comment was especially for her! Thanks to Bethany-chan, my queen, and Serenity Raye for being one of the homes to "Senshi in College" and Andrea for being another home. "Senshi in College" now has its own website at http://www. geocities.com/collegesenshi ! Go check it out! 1) I tried by best to find out all that I could about how Shintos deal with death. Their beliefs are that life is centered in living and not in death, so While they do not have funerals, they usually go with the traditional Buddhist funeral, which is shown a little here in this episode. Run a search on Shintos and death, and it should be pretty easy to find. Below is the parts of the funeral I did use: Rei running a moistened cotton swab across her grandfather's lips Dressing of the death in grave clothes The wake The traditional Sutra chanting at the beginning of the funeral If I had included everything involved, this story would have taken weeks to read, and months to write! BTW, Usagi's thoughts about not having been to the traditional ceremony is that when her own father died, the funeral was probably a modern one. 2) I know, I seem to be giving too much away at this point, when there is still a lot left to go. But, this does play into effect, because Hino will use this knowledge about his daughter to plan future moves.