Vol. 1 Sailor V is born! Originally appeared in Run-Run, May 1993. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.03, 7.96. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "All right," says the teacher. "Let's get started!" "I'm first!" shouts the girl with long, blond hair. "I'm Aino Minako!" She jumps onto the vertical bar. "Let's go!" She swings over it. "Come on, I can do this..." She swings over it again and flips off into the air. "Maneuver D. Hold in my knees, somersault, and a half twist!" On the ground before her, she sees a white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead. "What!? A cat!? Watch out!" She lands on the cat with a cry. "What do you think you're doing?" she says. "Who put that cat right where I was going to land!?" "Hey!" calls the teacher. "Aino Minako! What kind of stunt are you pulling!? Today's class is important!" "Okay..." she says. Hi there, I'm Aino Minako. I'm in 7th grade. "Oh... If it wasn't for that cat, I would have made a perfect landing." "Well," says a girl with short dark hair. "You did want to make an impression, Mina... Since you're pretty happy today." This is Hikaru-chan. She's in the same class as me. We've been best friends since elementary school. Today is a very special day for me. Today, I'm giving this love letter to my senpai. She holds up an envelope, which says, "To Higashi-senpai." - She jumps into the air. "Spike!" She hits the volleyball over the net. "Okay, next!" says the teacher. "Aino!" She looks over at the next court. "Next to the volleyball court is the boys' basketball court. And there's the guy... As soon as he transferred here, he became instantly popular. Higashi-senpai." Higashi shoots the basketball. "Hey! Hey!" says one girl, to the others around her. "Out of the way! Be quiet! I'm trying to watch Higashi-senpai!" "He's always got those older girls around him," Minako thinks. "It's impossible to get close to him. Oh, he's going somewhere! This is my chance! I'm going to give him the love letter." She runs forward. "Senpa-" The white cat jumps in front of her. "It's that cat...!" "Oh, a cat!" says a girl. "It's cute!" Higashi walks away as the girls gather around her. "Hey, senpai!? He's leaving! Ohh..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minako sits in the room for class B of the 7th grade course at the Glory Cram School, stuffing a burger and fries into her mouth. "Mina!" says Hikaru. "Hurry and finish eating! The teacher's coming!" "Just a second!" "Aino!" says the teacher. "Are you goofing off again!? Here's your last math test! 27 percent! You need to be using your time for studying!" "But...! I was hungry! I didn't have enough to eat! I was exercising, so I worked up a big appetite." "So your intelligence..." The cat watches them through the window. "She's got lots of problems," he says. He holds a decorated pen in his mouth. "Makes me a little nervous about the future." A voice comes from the pen. "But, she is the right one, Artemis." "I know, boss." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Here are last month's exam results," says the teacher. "They are very disappointing. Especially in math. And so, you're going to get some help from the 8th and 9th grade students of class A. Then you'll try it one more time." The older students enter the classroom. "It's Higashi-senpai!" thinks Minako. "He goes to this cram school too!" He approaches her. "All right! He's going to be teaching me! I'm so lucky!" "So, ready to start?" he asks. "Y- Y- Yes!" "You've got long hair," he says. "It's very ladylike." "What!?" "It would be nice if you put a ribbon on the back. A big, red ribbon." "Higashi-kun," calls another girl. "Come here a sec." He goes to her. Minako watches as they talk. "Higashi-senpai and Haneda-senpai are in a good mood. They seem like a good match when they're together. Could she be his... No! He doesn't have a girlfriend. Everyone says that. I'll work very hard, and I'll get him! Attack, Mina!" "Aino..." says a boy. "Look at yourself. Being a rude girl will frighten Higashi-senpai away." She raises a fist. "What did you say!?" She jumps at the boy, and beats the stuffing out of him. "Uhh..." he says. "She really isn't a girl..." "I'd just like to see her cry once," says another boy. Minako sticks out her tongue. "I never cry!" She runs out of the classroom. "Higashi-senpai's leaving! I never gave him the love letter." She sees the cat in the hallway in front of her. "What! You again! Where did you come from!? You're beginning to bug me. Oh no!" She runs outside. "Senpai? He's gone! It's your fault." She turns back, and the cat is gone. "Hey!" "Mina!" calls Hikaru. "Did you give it to him yet? The letter." "No, I think he left already." "He's always got those big girls around, guarding him," Hikaru says. Higashi walks down the street, followed by a group of girls. Two approach him. "Umm, Higashi-senpai!" says one. "Here, take this." They hand him a present. "Oh, thanks," he says. "Say, would you girls like to walk home with me?" "What!?" they say. "Really!? Great!!" He smiles. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minako climbs over a wall. "Just a little shortcut..." She enters her house. - "Mina!" says her mom. "You climbed over that wall again, didn't you. Your uniform is all dirty! Can't you act a little more ladylike?" "I'll be in the bath," Minako says. She goes in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. "So Higashi-senpai likes girls like Haneda-senpai." She looks at herself in the mirror. "Oh, I wish I could be pretty." "You can. Originally, you were born with the protection of the goddess of beauty." She sees the white cat. "Greetings, Mina. I am Artemis." Minako screams and runs out of the bath, into her room, and slams the door shut. "I don't believe this!" she says. "A cat talking and peeping at me. Is this some kind of joke!?" Artemis sits in her window. "That was a rather extreme reaction." He jumps down onto her bed. "You do adapt to things quickly. Weren't you prepared? Anyway, Mina, inside you is a girl with the power to transform into a woman stronger and more beautiful than anyone. Mina, you have been chosen." "Wait a sec," Minako says. "You are a cat. So how are you talking!? Are you hiding a tape or something? And I have a girl inside me? How was I chosen? And just where did you come from?" A crescent-shaped object flies at her. She catches it. "That's proof I'm not lying," says Artemis. "Just open that compact." She opens it, and sees her face reflected. A red mask covers her eyes, and a crescent moon is on her forehead. "A crescent moon..." A light flashes, and she is in space, looking at Earth. "This is...!" "You see?" says Artemis. "Now you're in space. That's the planet you're supposed to protect, Earth." "Space!? Earth!?" He points to another planet. "That is your mother star, the fiery planet of the goddess Venus. Its size and weight are about the same as Earth's. It's composed of the same elements. Venus is called Earth's twin planet." "What's that floating?" "Magellan. Magellan Castle. It floats over the land of Aphrodite. It's your castle." "My castle!?" Artemis takes out the pen. "Mina," says the voice from it. "You carry the protection of the fiery planet. You were born to fight. You have a mission. Only you can do it. You have been chosen by fate, Minako." Minako gets dizzy, and falls. "Venus!" calls Artemis. "Venus!?" she thinks. "Who's that?" She sits up in bed. "Me?" she says. "That was a strange dream." She gets up and dresses, tying a red ribbon into her hair. "When did I go to bed, anyway?" An envelope falls to the ground. She picks it up. "The love letter! I forgot! Well, today I'll have to give it to him." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Higashi walks to school, surrounded by girls. Another girl tries to join them. "Get out of here, loser," says one of Higashi's girls. "His groupies..." says Minako. "They're all with him again." "Heh heh heh..." Higashi mumbles. "All these girls... Made to be my slaves." He takes out a cellular phone, and presses a button. The image of a woman appears on its viewscreen. "Narkissos," the woman says. "Get more and more of these brainwashed slaves, so we can rule this city- no, all Japan! Make us a foothold." "I understand, Fluorite-sama," he says. "I will carry out your orders." He closes the phone. He looks up and sees Artemis watching him. He smiles and walks away. Artemis carries the pen in his mouth. "Boss," he says. "That's...!" "It is." Minako runs after him. "Mina," said Hikaru. "Higashi-senpai always eats lunch alone in the back garden. It's your chance!" "Thanks, Hikaru-chan!" Minako says. "Now I can give him the love letter, and profess my love! He's got to like me. I'm even wearing a red ribbon. Ehehe!" Artemis jumps down from a tree in front of her. She stops. "You should stop chasing after that guy," he says. "Who is that talking!?" she says. "Stop playing this joke on me! Get out of my way." "Mina," Artemis says. "Do you really not remember me?" Minako gasps. "That's... Higashi-senpai and Haneda-senpai!" "Higashi-kun," says Haneda. "Since you're so popular, I haven't been able to talk to you. I really..." "I really like you too," says Higashi. "I think it's good you're so ladylike. Especially that red ribbon in your hair. I love it." "It would be nice if you put a ribbon on the back," he said. "A big, red ribbon." Minako turns around and walks away. "Hmph. Guess I knew it all along. They love each other. So I won't even bother. There's plenty of guys. I'll find someone else to like." "Mina!" says Artemis. Higashi turns into a monster, and grabs Haneda. "From now on, you will be my slave too! This school- no, this city will be mine!" Minako hears a scream behind her. She rushes back, and looks through some trees. "Higashi! No way! What's... that strange light!?" Narkissos looks back. "I see you. You, too, will join me. You will be my slave!" "Mina!" calls Artemis. He tosses the pen to her. "Can you hear me, Mina?" says the voice from the pen. "What!?" "Just call me boss," it says. "There's no time for a full explanation! That guy is an enemy! Only you can stop him. You need to transform, defeat him, and save everyone!" "An enemy!? Transform!?" she says. "I'm supposed to beat him!? Just how am I going to do that!?" Narkissos raises his arm, and waves surround Minako. "I... can't move!" she thinks. "My mind is getting foggy..." "Mina!" Artemis says. "Hold up the pen! Transform! Shout, 'moon power transform!'" She struggles to lift the pen. "Moo... Moon Power Transform!!" Light fills her body. "Wh- What!? I'm free! I'm full of power! I can feel it!" "Who are you!?" says Narkissos. She appears in a fancy sailor suit, with a red mask over her eyes. "Code name: Sailor V! The soldier of justice, the sailor-suited beautiful soldier. I am Sailor Venus!" "Damn!" he says. "Get her!!" One of the girls runs at her. Minako jumps in the air and kicks the girl, flooring her. "Senpai!?" Minako says. "Come to your senses! Senpai!" "Mina!" calls Artemis. "That guy isn't human! He's an enemy! Beat him!" "But...!" "You impudent fool!" says Narkissos, approaching her. "You will die!" "Mina!" Artemis says. "He'll kill you if you don't stop him! Use your crescent beam! Do it with your compact! You'll see his true form! His form as an enemy!" She opens the compact. "Crescent Beam!" She sees a twisted face, destroyed by the beam of light. She gasps. She walks by all the girls lying on the ground. "Mina!" says Artemis. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Artemis looks at Minako as she lies on her bed. "Boss," he says to the pen. "My way of doing things was too forceful..." "Artemis," the voice says. "From now on, you'll be Minako's partner, and you'll work together. She's confused. Show her the way." He jumps onto the bed, and goes to her. He licks her neck. "Hey..." she says. "That tickles." She lifts him up. "Oh, it's you." "Artemis," he says. "Call me Artemis." "Okay... Artemis." "Can I open the window? There's a beautiful full moon. You need to put the compact in the full moon's light to charge it." Minako gets into bed, as Artemis sits on the windowsill. "Good night, Mina. Sweet dreams." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "All right," Minako says. "This ribbon is nice after all." She leaves her house and walks to school. Artemis sits outside. "Morning, Mina." "Good morning, Artemis." "Mina!" calls Hikaru. She runs to Minako. "Hey! Look at this book!" She shows Minako a page with a teenage boy on it. "See! It's a new idol. Now, I don't normally go for this idol stuff, but this boy is just so hot! Uhh... Mina?" Minako face is buried in the magazine. "He's so cool!!" She puts it down and walks off. "I'm right! This world is still full of cool guys! So I've decided. I'll study hard, and I'll go to that guy's concert!" Artemis sighs. And so, Mina has awakened as an idol. The enemies are tough. The battle has begun for Sailor V! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1993 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1996 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko | Sailor V | Volume 1