Chibi-Usa's Picture Diary Originally appeared in Run-Run, July 1993. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.02, 6.96. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Everyone, here is your new friend in 4th grade class 1, Tsukino Usagi-chan. Please tell her all about our school." The kids gasp as Chibi-Usa stands nervously at the front of the room. "Usagi...! Wow... She's got pink hair!" "Your seat's over there, Tsukino-san," says the teacher. "Next to Momohara Momoko-san." Momoko waves to Chibi-Usa from her desk. "You've got a big head," says one boy. "You're tiny. I think that's what I'll call you. Tiny! Tiny!" "Sarashina Kyusuke!" Momoko says to him. "Stop trying to pick a fight." "Momo!" says Kyusuke. "This is none of your business." Chibi-Usa sees a pin on Kyusuke's shirt. "Hey! A Sailor V badge!" "Yep," he says. "Nice, huh? My sister made it all by herself, because I wanted one. I can get anything I want." "You're sure full of yourself," says Chibi-Usa. "Hey, now...!" he mutters. "Ha!" says Momoko. "Nice, Tsukino-san!" "She's cool!" says another kid. "Tsukino-san," Momoko says. "Can I call you something else? How about Usagi-chan?" "You know, my sister told me something," says Kyusuke. "There's one more girl at the Tsukino house named Usagi. Naming two girls the same... That's really weird!" "Okay, then what should I call you?" asks Momoko. "What do they call you at home?" "Chibi-Usa..." she mumbles. "But I'm not chibi..." "Chibi-Usa-chan!?" Momoko says. "Oh, that's cute!" "That's such a cute name!" "Umm, yeah..." says Chibi-Usa. "Ehehe..." "Just like Lyrica-chan," says Momoko. "She transferred here four days ago. Lyrica Yubel-chan. She has a really fair complexion." Another boy pops up next to them (who looks a lot like Umino and Amano). "That girl? She's the daughter of the U Country ambassador. She lives at the U Country embassy. Oh, I'm Sorano. Nice to meet you." The girl doubles over. "Lyrica-chan?" calls one of the boys. "I feel dizzy..." she says. "I'd better go home. Ishihara-kun, will you take me?" "M- me?" asks the boy. "Sure!" As the two leave, they pass Chibi-Usa. "She smells nice," Chibi-Usa thinks. "Is that perfume?" "Hmph. Boys!" says Momoko, her hands on her hips. "They'll just do anything for a pretty girl." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So, Chibi-Usa-chan," says Usagi's mom. "How was school today? Did you make friends?" "What!?" says Usagi. "Chibi-Usa went to school!?" "Now, Usagi, everyone has to go to school." Usagi approaches Chibi-Usa. "And what name did you tell the school?" "Tsukino Usagi," says Chibi-Usa. "That's my name!!" "I bet you had fun with all those kids," says Usagi's dad. "They're all nosy brats." Usagi looks at a notebook Chibi-Usa holds. "What's that?" "The teacher told us to make a picture diary," Chibi-Usa says. On the paper, she draws pictures of the kids at school. "Momo-chan sits next to me. Her house is below a restaurant. She likes gardening. Kyusuke's house is a soba shop. He's a real brat. He starts fights with Momo-chan. But, he seems to be a Sailor V fan. He was boasting that he had a Sailor V badge." Usagi mumbles to herself. "Didn't anyone have a Sailor Moon badge...?" Usagi's dad looks over Chibi-Usa's shoulder. "Oh, who's that pretty girl?" "Lyrica-chan. She's an exchange student from the U Country. She's really popular with the boys. She lives at the embassy." "So people are finally going there?" says Usagi's dad.. "What, that ghost house!?" says her mom. "It's been completely empty." "I know," Shingo says. "The garden's grown wild. That place feels weird." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The teacher stands in front of the class. "Good morning, everyone. Ishihara-kun isn't here today, but he hasn't called. I guess I'll visit his house tonight. Does anyone know what happened to him?" "He took Lyrica-chan home yesterday," says a boy. "...I haven't heard anything," says Lyrica. Chibi-Usa watches the odd look in her eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- They walk by a garden. "Look, Chibi-Usa-chan," says Momoko. "The flowers dry up, so they have to water them every day." "Hmm, that's weird," Chibi-Usa says. "To keep them alive, they use fertilizer everyday too," says Momoko. "The soil's bad." Lyrica approaches them. She pokes her finger into Chibi-Usa's face. "Your cheeks are nice and rosy. Looks delicious..." Momoko holds on to Chibi-Usa. "Ly- Ly- Lyrica-chan!?" She walks away, and goes to another boy. They leave the school. "Lyrica-chan's leaving early again?" thinks Chibi-Usa. "I feel so weak..." Lyrica says to the boy. "Will you take me home, Kuwano?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey! Did you hear? Kuwano never went home last night!" "Really!?" "There was a big commotion at his house." "But yesterday... Kuwano went with... Lyrica-chan..." The two boys watch her walk by. "Kuwano..." "Where did he go!?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chibi-Usa and Kyusuke dish out stew in the cafeteria. "So what did you do to get kitchen duty today?" asks Kyusuke. "That's what I should be asking you," says Chibi-Usa. The students sit down at their tables. "Everyone here?" the teacher says. "Then let's eat." "Teacher!" calls a boy. "Lyrica-chan's not here!" "What? Again!?" "She was here earlier," says another kid. "I don't know where she went." "Come on, let's eat!" "Okay," says the teacher. She turns to Chibi-Usa and Kyusuke. "You two, go look around for her." They go outside and wander around. "Jeez," Kyusuke says. "Why do we have to do this..." "Hey!" says Chibi-Usa. "What's she doing...?" They see Lyrica in the garden, holding a flower. She brings it to her mouth and takes a bite. "What the!?" "She ate... the flower!?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hmm... Well, Chibi-Usa, after everything you've told me, there's only one conclusion." Makoto leans back and takes the cigarette from her mouth. "This suspicious girl Lyrica... is a vampire." "A vampire?" "A vampire," says Ami, holding a book. "They drink human blood and live for hundreds of years. They're monsters of legend. They're pale and delicate. They have a strong sense of smell, and they love pretty flowers." Usagi cowers in the corner as she imagines a vampire. "They live under the darkness," Makoto says. "The U Country embassy is also called the Hell House. It's well-known that howls call out from that place every night. Lyrica must be luring the young boys there and sucking their blood." "Mako-chan!!" cries Usagi. "Quit it!" "Hey!" Makoto jumps up. "You all have to come eat with me tonight! I'm making yakiniku!" She sticks the cigarette back in her mouth. (It's chocolate.) "Yakiniku!?" says Usagi. [Yakiniku - grilled slices of meat.] They leave Usagi's house and walk through the city. "Vampires are weak against garlic, so I'll put lots of it in the food. Then tomorrow, you can see if Lyrica reacts to it. It'll scare her." "Vampires live in coffins, Chibi-Usa," says Minako. Rei holds up a small cross and an anti-evil paper strip. "To kill one, open the cover of its coffin, holding up a cross. Then drive a wooden stake through its heart. If you do that, it will turn to dust and vanish." Usagi whines. "V-chan, Rei-chan! Not you too!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chibi-Usa walks into the classroom in the morning. "Lyrica-chan's not here today?" The teacher backs away as she smells the garlic on Chibi-Usa's breath. "No, she's not. Tsukino-san, could you and Momohara-san take these papers to her house?" "Chibi-Usa-chan," says Momoko. "I don't know if I want to go. It's scary." "I'll go with you," Kyusuke says. "Kyusuke!?" "But I don't know that place too well..." he says. "So, Sorano!" He grabs the other boy. "You come and show us the way." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The four kids approach a large, old house, surrounded by a tall fence with stone pillars. Dead trees rise beside it. "Here!?" gasps Chibi-Usa. She looks around. "That smell...?" She sees a garden. "Flowers, like the one Lyrica-chan ate!" They run inside the gate to the flowers. "Wow..." Behind the garden are several crosses, held in stone blocks in the ground. "That's not right! Graves in a garden!" "Do people really live here?" The crosses begin to shake. Momoko clutches Kyusuke. "The tombstones are moving!!" "This is spooky! What's going on!?" A hand reaches out and touches Chibi-Usa on the shoulder. She screams and turns around. She sees a blond woman behind her. "Are you Lyrica's friends?" the woman asks. "I'm her mother. She's can't see you right now; she's asleep. But thanks for coming. Would you like some tea?" "Sure," says Chibi-Usa. The woman's eyes widen. She steps back and coughs. "Oh... That's... That's strong garlic...!" "She hates garlic!?" thinks Chibi-Usa. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lyrica, a vampire!? Oh, that's silly." The woman laughs and takes a sip of her tea. "About now, all those missing boys will be getting tired and going home. The flowers Lyrica were eating were candy. See, candied flowers." She pointed to a bowl of them on the table. Momoko picks one up and eats it. "Mmm... These are really sweet. They're good!" She eats another. "Momo!" says Kyusuke. "If you keep eating like that, you'll become a pig." "Oh, be quiet." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi's mom enters her room. "Hey, Usagi, Chibi-Usa-chan hasn't come home yet. Why don't you go get her." Usagi is playing a video game with Minako. "Oh, mom... Do I have to?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The kids leave the large house. "Well, the outside does look like a hell house," says Chibi-Usa, "but inside it's perfectly normal. Wait, where's Momo-chan?" They look around and don't see her. They go back into the house. "Momo-chan? Where are you?" Chibi-Usa opens a door. "Miss?" Inside, the woman looks up. Two fangs show in her open mouth. Two holes are punctured in Momoko's neck. She wipes her mouth. "Who is that?" The three kids scream and run outside. The lid slides off a coffin in the yard, and Lyrica gets out of it. "I'm thirsty..." she says. "I want blood." The two missing boys follow behind her. Fangs show in all their mouths. "You, too, will join us," says Lyrica. They come after the three kids. "Lyrica-chan!? Ishihara!? Kuwano!?" Usagi and Minako run up to the fence. "Oh no!!" Kyusuke and Sorano hold on to each other. "Let's go to the police!" says Kyusuke. "We can't!" Sorano says. "The embassy has extraterritoriality. Japan's laws don't apply to it. There's nothing we can do!" Kyusuke points to the badge on his shirt. "Sailor V!" he says. "This is just the kind of time when Sailor V comes!" Minako grins and laughs. Usagi groans. Lyrica licks her lips. "Ooh... You're probably full of delicious blood, Chibi-Usa-chan. I've got my eye on you." Chibi-Usa cringes. "Oh no!" "Crescent Boomerang!!" A blade flies through the air and strikes the woman. "Who's there!?" she yells. She sees two girls in sailor suits standing in the moonlight. "Code name: Sailor V! For love and justice, I am the sailor-suited pretty soldier, Sailor Venus!!" "And I am Sailor Moon!" They jump at the woman. "Double Sailor Kick!" Kyusuke and Sorano run from Lyrica. Chibi-Usa goes up to her and shouts. "Garlic Attack!" Her putrid breath fills the air. Lyrica falls to the ground. Kyusuke and Sorano fall after her, groaning. Usagi turns to the woman. "You use children as food! In the name of the moon, and the PTA, I'll punish you!" She holds out the moon rod. "Moon Princess Halation!" The woman's body begins to disintegrate. Lyrica's does as well. "Lyrica-chan!?" Her body vanishes, and a flower falls to the ground. "She became a flower!?" Chibi-Usa picks it up. "Lyrica..." The flower falls apart, and blows away in the wind. She looks up and sees the two soldiers have gone. "Sailor V!? Sailor Moon!?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chibi-Usa has written in her diary. Today was amazing! We were in trouble. But I can't tell you who came to save us. Sorry, teacher. As she sleeps, she dreams of herself in a sailor suit. "A soldier for love and justice! Sailor Chibi-Usa Moon!!" I want to become a strong, cool soldier too. The end. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lyrica-chan changed schools again?" "I had a dream..." says Momoko. "Everyone in Lyrica-chan's house turned into vampires..." "Hey tiny," Kyusuke says. "Who're you calling tiny?" says Chibi-Usa. "Look," he says. He holds out his hand, showing her a badge with a picture of Sailor Moon. "My sister made it. It's one of a kind. Because you're very strong. We saw them together. It wasn't a dream." The two badges sit on a table. "Right!" says the Sailor V on the badge. "It wasn't a dream." "Sailor V," says Sailor Moon, "thanks for the help!" The end. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1993 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1996 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailor Moon Translations | Sailor Moon Volume 5