[ ] Act 44 - Stars 2 Originally appeared in Nakayoshi, May 1996. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.0, 3.97. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I love you... I love you, Mamo-chan." "Usa." "Mamo-chan!" She runs to him. "I'm so happy! Have you come back!?" "Usa, I love you." He kisses her. "I've made it back safely," he says. "And so..." His body melts away in her arms. Usagi bolts upright in bed. "It was... a dream," she thinks. She gets dressed and goes downstairs. "Where Harvard is," she thinks. "In Massachusetts, it's around dinnertime now. Yeah... And Chibi-Usa, too, has finally gone back to the 30th century. It's lonely..." She goes outside. "I'm leaving," she says. She goes to the mailbox and opens it. Empty. "At this time in the morning," she says, "the mail must not have come yet." "I'll write," he said. "And I'll call you." "Mamo-chan... Are you okay? How come you haven't written or called? I'll get mad." Seiya watches Usagi as she walks away. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ichinohashi Park. A flash of light appears in the sky. A small girl floats down from above, holding an umbrella over her head. Her red hair is tied into two heart-shaped balls, with ribbons of hair coming out. As she reaches the ground, flower petals sprinkle down on her. She climbs up to a walkway above, and sees a woman with a red and silver dress and long, red hair lying on the ground. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "All right," says Usagi's mom. "I've finished washing the dishes. Now I can get to the cleaning and the laundry. Maybe I'll go to the supermarket, too. What shall we have for dinner tonight..." She picks up a cup with the name 'Chibi-Usa' scrawled on it, with a drawing of a bunny. "This cup..." she says. "I wonder whose it was..." The doorbell rings. She goes to the door and opens it. "Chibi-Usa-chan!?" she cries. She stares out the door. "Chibi... Chibi...?" The small girl looks up at her. "Chibi chibi?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The soldiers gather at the command center below the arcade. "They say when a genius forgets, it comes back to haunt you," says Minako. "That proverb doesn't fit this situation," says Artemis. "Besides, that's the wrong kanji." "Shut up." [The correct saying would be, 'When you forget destiny, it comes back to haunt you.'] "After we defeated the Dead Moon," says Luna, "I thought we finally had peace, but... It seems another new enemy has appeared." "She called us the sailor soldiers," says Ami. "And the carriers of the Sailor Crystals." "Well, we're famous people now," says Minako. "Anyone who hasn't heard of us must be living under a rock." "If they know us..." says Makoto, "could they also carry the fate of our previous lives?" "Not only that," says Haruka. "The heavens are spacious." "Enemies from another star!?" says Rei. "Perhaps," says Setsuna. "We think so." "And those idols..." says Haruka. "The Three Lights, too." Minako gasps. "I don't know for what purpose they've become idols," Haruka says, "but... I'm not mistaken. I felt the power of stars in them. They are not of this solar system. Whether they're enemies or allies, they saved us..." "Enemies have appeared again," thinks Usagi. "Even though Mamo-chan and Chibi-Usa have gone away... We don't have peace at all." "Princess," says Michiru. "This is our responsibility. We'll take care of it." "Leave it to us," says Setsuna. "Right, Usagi!" says Minako. "Don't worry, leave everything to us!" Usagi smiles. They leave the command center. "Later." "See you at school tomorrow. Bye-bye!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I'm home!" Usagi calls. She sees a small pair of shoes at the doorway. "Whose shoes are these?" she thinks. "Welcome back!" says her mom. "Baaack!" says the small girl. Usagi's eyes widen. "Wh- Who is that!?" "Now, now, Usagi," her mom says. "You haven't forgotten your little sister, Chibi-Chibi-chan, have you?" "Chan have you??" says the girl. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What the-!?" Minako cries. "Another one!?" "Usagi's little sister?" says Rei. "It can't be," says Usagi. "Chibi-Usa's little sister?" says Ami. "Maybe." "Or Usagi's second child," says Haruka. "I don't know!" "Maybe Chibi-Usa's daughter," says Setsuna. Minako sits down by the girl. "So Chibi-Chibi is your name?" she asks. "Is your name?" the girl says. "Copycat!" says Minako. "Copycat!" says the girl. "What a brat..." says Minako. "What a brat..." says the girl. "Whatever you ask her," Usagi says, "that's what she does. Just like when Chibi-Usa came, this could be telling of a crisis to come." "Crisis to come!" says the girl. Usagi's mom comes over and picks the girl up. "Chibi-Chibi-chan," she says. "It's your bedtime. Since all of you have school tomorrow, you should be going home soon, too." The girls leave. "Could Chibi-Usa have send back her little sister, thinking that Ikuko-mama and Usagi would be lonely?" says Minako. "Or maybe after hearing all of her big sister's exciting stories, she came here by herself," says Makoto. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi sits in bed. "That kid..." she thinks. "If she's Chibi-Usa's little sister, that means she's the second child of me and Mamo-chan!" "Usagi..." says Luna. "Usagi." Usagi sees the little girl peering in at the door to her room. "Want to come sleep with me?" Usagi asks. The girl kneels down and puts something on the floor. "Huh?" says Usagi. "What are you doing?" The pot on the ground fills the air with scents. "That smells good," says Usagi. "Is it incense? Did you get that from Mom and Dad's room?" Usagi breathes in the air. "Ah..." she thinks. "This... The sweet scent of fragrant olives... This scent... Somewhere, before...?" Usagi falls asleep with the small girl in bed next to her. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi opens the mailbox. She sees a envelope inside with blue and red striping around the edges. "Air mail!" she says. She grabs it. "From America! Mamo-chan!?" She opens the envelope and takes out the card inside. "A postcard... Of the faint orange glow of sunset...?" She turns it over. "Huh? That's it? There's nothing written on the card! No letter, no message, nothing!?" She looks at the card. "Oh... That Mamo-chan..." She continues on her way to school. "But still, I'm happy. I just know something good is going to happen today. Ehehe." As she reaches the school, she sees a crowd gathering around three boys. "Usagi!" Minako calls. "Big news! Big news! The Three Lights have transferred to our school!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The three boys stand at the front of the classroom. "My name is Taiki Kou," says the brown-haired one. "My hobbies are reciting poetry and using computers." "I'm Yaten Kou!" says the white-haired one. "My hobby is photography. Nice to meet you." "I'm Seiya Kou," says the black-haired one. "I'm thinking of joining the football team." "I don't believe it!" Minako and Usagi say. "Those three are in our class!?" Seiya sits down at the desk next to Usagi's. "Hi there," he says. "Ah-" Usagi stutters. His eyes meet with hers. "How do you do." Usagi smiles. "I'm Tsukino Usagi. Nice to meet you." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A crowd mobs the three Lights as they walk out of class. "Jeez. I should have known," Minako says, "but it's impossible to get near them." "Those three are weird," says Makoto. "Why would they want to come to our ordinary school?" "It couldn't be..." thinks Haruka. "To contact us...?" "Say, where's Usagi?" asks Michiru. "On the roof," says Makoto. "She's writing a love letter." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi lies on the floor, scribbling a letter on a piece of paper. "Umm..." she says. "'It was very lovely. I put it on my notebook, like a charm. Next time tell me what it's like studying over there. Call me, too.'" Yaten walks out onto the roof. "Oh... This is too much..." he says. "Let's give up already. Going to school is exhausting." "Learning is fun," says Taiki. "Only for you," says Yaten. Seiya looks past them. "What are you doing?" he asks. Usagi gasps. "What!?" she thinks. "The Three Lights!" Yaten grabs the paper from her hands. "'To my loving Mamo-chan,'" he reads. "'Thanks for that wonderful sunset postcard.'... Your kanji stinks." "Gi- Give me that!!" Usagi yells. She grabs the paper. "That's not a very nice thing to say!" He smiles. "Sorry, sorry." The three boys look off the roof over the city. "What's with them..." Usagi thinks. "They're not like the boys in class at all. They're really... cool!" "That's a nice ring," Taiki says to her. "Did your sweetheart give it to you?" "Huh?" she says. "Well, kind of..." "Tsukino Usagi, right? And he... Where is he now?" "Now Mamo-chan's in America..." Usagi grabs her head in pain and doubles over. "Ouch!" she thinks. "It's like my head is splitting...!" "Get away from Usagi!" Haruka runs to Usagi and holds her away from the three boys. "What did you do to her!?" "Nothing," they say. The three boys leave. "I'm all right, Haruka-san," says Usagi. "Just got a little headache. We were only talking." "I don't know what they did," says Haruka. "Don't go near them by yourself again." "Did those three use some power on me?" Usagi thinks. "No, it wasn't that. When I thought of Mamo-chan being in America, suddenly..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taiki walks into the computer club room. "Hello," he says. "I'd like to join." He sits down at one of the computers and logs on to an online service, as a group of girls crowd around him. - The test results are posted on the wall. "Wow! That idol beat out Mizuno-san for first place!" - Girls cheer wildly on the sidelines as Seiya scores a touchdown. "He can't be thinking of anything except challenging us one by one!" says Haruka. - Michiru puts on lipstick in her mirror. "That's an awful color!" says Yaten. "Can't you find a color to match yourself better?" He walks past her with a crowd of girls around him. "Yaten-kun!" a girl cries. "And you do modeling too? You just have to show me how to do my makeup!" Michiru snaps her lipstick in two. "Haruka," she says. "Without us even knowing who they are, they're going to come in here and disrupt us and get rid of us! Oh, where's Makoto?" Makoto is talking in the garden with Taiki, smiling. She leaves and joins the others "Taiki-kun joined the gardening club," she says. "That's all I need to know. Nobody who likes flowers is a bad person." "Right," says Usagi, together with Minako. "Such cool guys don't look like bad people." Minako pulls out Three Lights concert tickets. "Of course, these are for peace," she says. "Since the recent enemy attack was at a concert..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minako, Usagi, and Makoto cheer in the crowd at the concert. "Since we want peace," Minako says, "we can't leave the concert, right?" The three boys walk onto the stage, and the audience cheers. "And now," says Seiya, "next is the Three Lights debut single. Please enjoy 'Nagareboshi he'." He begins to sing. Your strong scent, I'm always Searching for it Can you hear my voice calling out I love you so He stares into Usagi's eyes. Where are you now My lovely princess Answer me Minako looks over. "Usagi?" Usagi stares at Seiya. "It's like my eyes just met with his..." she thinks. "Such a moving song..." A woman with a hood over her head stands among the cheering crowd, smiling evilly. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi opens the mailbox. She pulls out the letter inside. "Air mail!" she thinks. "Mamo-chan!?" She opens it and takes out the postcard. "A picture of a star this time..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun is setting as Usagi walks out onto the roof of the school. She looks at the postcard. "A faint orange star in the center," she says. "I wonder what its name is..." "It's a man-made satellite." Usagi turns. Seiya points to a light in the sky. "Wow," Usagi says. "It's so bright, you can see it. Do you like stars?" "Yes," he says. "I do." "Did you escape here from all your fans again? It must be tough, being mobbed even at school. I wouldn't think idols would have time to go to school. They'd be so busy." "Anything, as long as we can sing..." he says. "I feel... like I've met you somewhere before..." "O- Oops," she thinks. "I shouldn't have said that, not to such a famous person." "I- I..." she says. "I really like your Three Lights debut single. It's so moving... The song is pretty, and I still feel it in my heart." "Your saying that," says Seiya, "makes me very happy. We wanted to sing this song, so we became singers." He begins to sing on the rooftop. Your strong scent, I'm always Searching for it Can you hear my voice calling out I love you so "Seiya-kun..." Usagi thinks. "Who is he singing that for?" - Taiki's head jerks up from the computer. He runs out the door, Ami staring after him. The hooded woman chuckles - Seiya walks toward Usagi. Where are you now My lovely princess - "That voice..." thinks Makoto. "Such power!" - "I felt the power of stars in them," Haruka said. "I see it," Usagi thinks. "I feel it now. The star aura surrounding him." "Who on earth are you...?" she says. "Seiya you fool!!" Yaten and Taiki burst onto the roof. "Your power has come out without protection! They've sensed you!!" The hooded woman floats up to the roof. "Hahahaha," she says. "I am Sailor Aluminum Siren!!" "Sailor Aluminum Siren!?" Usagi thinks. "Galactica Tsunami!!" The three Lights dash between her and Usagi. Makoto and Ami jump in front of them, shielding them from the attack. "Haha," the woman says. "You won't beat me." Makoto turns to the three boys. "Did you call an enemy!? I won't let you! Get away from Usagi! If you want, we'll settle this now!" "No!" Usagi says. "They aren't enemies! The aura surrounding Seiya-kun, Jupiter, Mercury, it's the same as yours! Shining brightly with pride, protected by the stars! Silver Moon Crystal Power! Make Up!!" As she transforms, Sailor Aluminum Siren's hair whips out and wraps around Ami and Makoto's arms and necks, strangling them. "Hahahaha!" "Mercury! Jupiter!" "Space Turbulence!!" Haruka yells. The attack bounces off harmlessly. "It was repelled!?" "Uranus! Neptune! Venus!" Usagi calls. "I am also a sailor soldier carrying a Sailor Crystal!" says Aluminum Siren. "What!?" "I won't blow it like Sailor Iron Mouse did!" she says. "For Galaxia-sama, I will take the Sailor Crystals!" "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy..." The hair pulls taut against Ami and Makoto's throats, choking the air from them. Their bodies are torn apart as they clutch their chests. The other soldiers gasp in horror. "Jupiter!! Mercury!?" All that remains are two lights, which float into Aluminum Siren's hand. "Hahahaha!" she says. "Got them! The Sailor Crystals!!" The Three Lights look at each other. "Maker Star Power!" shouts Taiki. "Fighter Star Power!" shouts Seiya. "Sailor Star Power!" shouts Yaten. [sic] "Make Up!!" They change into three women wearing tight black leather outfits. "Star Serious Laser!!" yells Seiya. "Star Gentle Uterus!" yells Taiki. Sailor Aluminum Siren is destroyed. "You three!?" the soldiers say. "Those forms...!" "The place where the stars drift..." "Holding three infinite lights..." "Sailor Star Healer," says Yaten. "Sailor Star Fighter," says Seiya. "Sailor Star Maker," says Taiki. "We are the Sailor Starlights!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1996 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1997 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailor Moon Translations | Sailor Moon Volume 16