Chapter Nine:  Bitter Sweet Homecoming

            *As the cloud came through the rift, it stopped and stood still above a city covered in smog. The grayish brown smog was so thick, only the tips of the skyscrapers could be seen through it, and they were an old and faded metal color. Willing Nimbus to go lower, Serena and Hiiro surveyed the sight. What they saw disgusted them beyond belief. Fires burning went unnoticed, homeless people crowded the streets, and people screamed in vain at each other. Car alarms were going off, broken windows, and utter chaos reigned in this city.

            “Is this your home?” Asked Hiiro. He knew she had had to put up with monster attacks, but this? It was unforgivable what the people had done to it.

            “I don’t know. It was never like this. In Tokyo, the sky was blue, people were nicer to each other, and there were never any fires or anything. This place is a mess.” She landed Nimbus in an alleyway and sent it on its way. “Let’s walk around, see if we can find out where we are.”

            “Sounds good. I’m loading a gun though.”

            “Yeah. I’ll change back into Sai, if that’s alright with you.”

            “Yeah.” Once they were ready, they left the alleyway and headed into the bleak city streets. As they walked, Sai thought she saw a few familiar faces, and once in a while a familiar building, but she shrugged it off. Then, she stopped.

            Hiiro saw Sai stop, and stopped as well. “What?”

            “That’s Crown Games Arcade. I used to practically live in that place when I was younger. Hii-kun, this is my home world.” She stood, finally excepting what she hadn’t wanted to believe in the first place. While she had been gone, their own fragile peace had come to a close, and now only destruction lived. “Let’s go.” She said with a cool note in her voice.  If Hiiro noticed the change in attitude, he said nothing.

            Hiiro heard her voice go cold, but figured it was for the best. She might need the anger later on if something went wrong in this town of muggers and gangsters. As they stepped into the arcade, they were met with a somewhat decent sight, and Hiiro saw Sai’s shoulders lose the tense readiness that she had put on them since they had arrived in this new city.

            “Some things never change.” She said, giving a half smirk. The arcade was still the same, and while there was a man trying desperately to get an alcoholic beverage, a tall, thin, blonde man adamantly refused to serve him it.

            “No. I don’t sell liquor here, so get out.”

            “Excuse me Andrew, but is this man bothering you?” Sai asked the blonde waiter.

            “Yes, but I’ll handle him miss.”

            “I want liquor!” Said the drunk. Suddenly, he pulled a gun out and held ‘Andrew’ to it. “Now I want me liquor. Go get it waiter-boy!” As soon as he had pulled the gun, Hiiro pulled his.

            “Let the man go or I shoot.” He said. If Serena knew this guy, he wouldn’t let some drunken fool kill him over a bottle of brandy. “I mean it.”

            “Alright! Chill out man! I’ll let go, I’ll let go!” Hiiro saw the man lower his gun from and Andrew, and then saw the movement of the gun coming back up towards him. Before the drunk could shoot, Hiiro shot the gun out of his hand. “Ouch! Geez, what the hell are you?” Cried the drunk, who backed away, and then ran down the street.

            “Nice shot Hii-kun.”

            “Thanks.”

            “Wow. Thanks for the help, you two. It’s hard to find people who care enough to do something now days.”

            “No problem Andy, I wouldn’t just let you hanging there, you know?”

            “Do I know you miss?”

            “You used to. A long time ago Andy. Let me reintroduce myself. I’m called Sai, but my real name is Serena.”

            “Sere? My Sere? The little one who used to come in everyday after school and…”

            “Play Sailor V after drinking a chocolate milkshake. Let me introduce my friend. This is Hiiro, Andy. He’s probably the best shot you’ll find in all of Tokyo.”

            “Serena! I thought you were dead!” With that he wrapped her into a giant hug. For some reason, Hiiro couldn’t help but think that this guy was way too close to Serena, even though they were only hugging. “Gods Sere, how could you leave?”

            “Sorry Andy. I needed to get out for a while. Sort through some things. Could I get two of my usual?”

            “Yeah. You still eat as much as ever.”

            “No, not really. The second one is for Hiiro.” Andrew turned to look at the handsome youth next to Serena. He saw a well-built body, messy brown hair, and a look in his blue eyes he knew immediately. Why was this Hiiro jealous that he had hugged Sere?

            “I’m sorry. It’s nice to meet you Hiiro.”

            “The same to you.” Hiiro gave a curt nod. Serena noticed the two eyeing each other up, so she decided to break the silence.

            “Hii-kun, I’ve known Andy since I was seven years old. He used to baby sit for me, and after that, I just kept up our friendship. He’s like a big brother now.”

            “Hnn.”

            “Hii-kun, don’t be like that.” She knew he didn’t trust Andrew. He acted this way every time they met a new person. It was just one of those over-protective things he did. Oh well, best friends will be best friends.

            “Sorry Serry. You know me.”

            “Here Sere, Hiiro. Is that a new nickname? Huh Serry?” He smiled, but the smile no longer made her heart pound like when she had bee younger.

            “Yes, but only Hii-kun can use it. Stick with Sere. But Andy, I would rather be called Sai for now. Just until I get situated back here. Then I’ll go around as ‘Sere’ again.”

            “You got it. Where’ve you been all this time?”

            “Around. What’s happened here Andy?”

            “Sere, well, a lot. After you left, Sailor Moo stopped coming to the monster fights. They got worse and worse. Finally, in one of the youma attacks, the President of Japan and the Governor of Tokyo were killed at a conference here at Tokyo Civic Center. Without anyone to enforce laws, people just broke lose in a mad panic. I’ll tell you, Sere, it was like hell had arrived on Earth. Since then, nothing has been able to restore power to the law, and the monsters have gotten bolder and more frequent in their attacks. We’d need a miracle to save Tokyo now.”

            “What about the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask? Haven’t they been fighting the youma?”

            “Yeah, but they’re not fast enough. There’s usually a triple attack, making them split into three teams, and usually they aren’t strong enough to take the monsters without the whole group being together. As for Sailor Moon, they came out with the explanation at first that she had quite and gone into seclusion, but later told the truth that they had forced her out and now couldn’t find her to ask her for help.”

            “Serry…”

            “I know Hii-kun. I know.”

            “You know what, Sere?”

            “Andy, Hiiro and I have to do some things now that I’m back in town before we  can settle in. In fact, we’re off to the hospital right now.”

            “Sere, you didn’t hear?”

            “Hear what?”

            “Your father and brother woke up after about a month of you missing. They tried to find you, but couldn’t, and neither could the cops. They said they knew you were alive and wouldn’t give up the search, but the cops did. Sere, your father is kind of touchy on the subject of your disappearance, so take it easy on him.”

            “Their up? Selene…Thanks Andrew. Bye.” With that she and Hiiro  walked out into the messy streets again.

            “Serry, why don’t you go home and find your family? I’ll run a scan of the city.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Alright. Here’s your cycle.” She said, still a little unsure about separating. She pulled out her bag of capsules and gave him his  motorcycle. He had asked her to capsulize it if they ever needed it in an emergency. Now she always carried it with hers.

            “Thanks. Good luck.” With that, he speed down the road. She then took out hers and went the opposite direction, towards the residential Jubban district.

~~~City Streets~~~

            Hiiro glanced at the sidewalks. It was hard to imagine Serry had grown up here when it was not covered by graffiti and wall-to-wall with people. He saw a gang shoot out, where three boys hardly older than himself were killed, and watched as a store window was broken. ‘ This city needs more than a miracle to save it. It needs divine intervention, and if these people think Sailor Moon is able to help them, I’d like to see there faces when they find out she needs help herself. There’s no way Serry could save this city by herself. She’ll need those two timing Sailor Scouts to help her. I’d better check the directory for their homes, then pay them a little visit.’ He thought as he looked around for a phone book.

~~~1210 Kourt St.~~~

            Serena sighed. She was about to knock on the door when she remembered that there was a hide-a-key underneath the doormat. She lifted the mat and picked up the key. After letting herself into the house, she looked around. It was five thirty, so she knew everyone was home. She heard the television blaring and smelled dinner cooking from the kitchen. Suddenly, she froze.

            “Don’t move. Who are you and how did you get in here?” Turning around, she saw two men, one holding a gun, and the other a baseball bat.

            “Daddy? Sammy? Is that you?”

            “Sere, Serena?” Chocked out the older man.

            “Yeah dad, it’s me.”

            “Oh Serena! You’re alive!” With that, he embraced her in a huge hug.

            “Oh dad! I missed you so much!” When the other boy came to hug her, she said  “ You too Sammy!”

            “Where’ve you been meatball head? We looked everywhere for you! Why didn’t you come home?”
            “I’m sorry. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was… I just… I needed to take a break and figure some things out. After that, I was scared to come home because I didn’t want to see you both still laying in the hospital so helpless looking. I’m sorry.”

            “Serena Usagi, you did what you had to do. You scared the hell out of us, but we still love you. Come in and tell us where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to while you were gone.”*