Shopping trip!
–=–=–=–Usagi–=–=–=–
I yawned, our lectures are so boooriiiing, it’s so hard to stay focused. Plus, it really just doesn’t feel like it matters as much now. I mean, I made contact with a FRIGGIN ALIEN! Screw biology! I wanna learn all about alien biology! I wanna learn what my cool secret mission is!
I heard a soft chuckle in my head.
“I guess I’m just glad you’re eager.”
Mhm!
But first!
Jewelry!
“Huh?”
I mean, c’mon! Naru’s folks are having a SALE Luna, a SALE! They NEVER do that! I gotta check it out!
Auuugh, but I don’t have any moneyyyy! I slumped and almost fell over as I whined, “Stupid, dumb college takin’ my friggin’ yen…” I let out a miserable sigh at my horrible circumstances.
I wallowed by a group of my peers all talking about cute pearls and gems and rubies and gold and all the fun pretty cute stuff they were gonna buy! Not me, not lil’ ol’ Usagi!
Still… I should… y’know, check it out. See how long it’ll last! Do a bit of window shopping, y’know?
“Usagi, we have really important things we need to be doing. You’re one of the celestial guardians of the planets, and it’s your sacred duty to-”
-To blow my savings on cute earrings! Oh, you’re so right Luna!
I heard (and felt) a warbly sigh.
Okay, okay, fine.
I shifted my glasses on my face.
We’ll do some cool freaky alien stuff after I’m done gushing over stuff I shouldn’t be buying.
Luna didn’t say anything, but I intook her begrudging contentment at that thought.
Off we go! Who knows, maybe I’ll see that cutie there.
“For the sake of the world, I really hope not.”
Oh don’t be such a spoilsport Luna! I’m sure it’s not that big of a deal.
“It really is! Until I can pin down where the other Guardians are you’re all that’s standing between galactic threats to the planet!”
…
Yeah but, counterpoint, if I'm gonna save the world, I might as well look cute doing it!
Luna grumbled, and I started to walk to the door, before I heard her gasp, and felt a tiny mouth open up in my jaw. It spat something, and I whipped my head around to see what happened, and slapped my palms over that mouth. Some guy with short, blue hair was wringing his hand around his neck, presumably the impact spot.
I heard Luna’s muffled strained noises as I nervously waited for him to explode or something.
LUNA. WHAT WAS THAT!?
“I can’t tell you.”
WHAT DO YOU MEAN- ‘I cAnT tElL yOu’, you just SNOT ROCKETED SOME POOR INNOCENT SUCKER. AND NOW I LOOK LIKE A FREAK WITH TWO MOUTHS.
“Freak is a little rude, even if accurate, and second. I literally cannot tell you. I’m physically incapable. The most I can say, is that long ago, the sailor guardians put on a spell to… protect…”
She searched very delicately for words.
“To ensure some safety, and as a result, ████████ ███████ ██ ████████ ██ ███ █████████ █████████ is something I can’t tell you. I bet half of that just sounded like static, right?”
I cinched my eyelids shut, squeezing my whole face tight as I felt the fuzz in my brain.
Yeah, okay, I guess. Just please try not to make that noise again.
“I’ll do my best to avoid- to not. To not do the thing that would do that.”
Good enough!
–=–=–=–???–=–=–=–
I felt something wet, and sticky hit my neck, and swatted at the spot. My eyes bulged out, as I felt what seemed to be a moving flubbery booger crawled around, and seeped into my skin. As quick as I felt it, it was gone.
I scanned my eyes, and saw a blonde-haired girl with two odango buns and dorky circle glasses looking sheepish, nervous, and guilty.
We made eye contact for a few seconds. She has something to do with… with whatever that was.
The weird alien girl…
I shook my head, and realized I was being stupid.
Aliens aren’t real.
I just felt… a spitball or something, and it fell off me, slipped through my fingers because it was wet. That’s all it was.
I should keep an eye on that girl though, if she’s an adult shooting spitballs like some middle-schooler then she’s probably acting out because something’s going wrong for her. I don’t think she has many friends. Though to be fair, I don’t think chucking saliva paper at people is gonna make that problem go away.
Regardless, I don’t really get why she’d bug me of all people. I mean, I guess my grades are pretty good but it’s only because I study as hard as I do, I’m athletic enough, and I get called a looker enough by my girlfriend that I guess I’m attractive? I don’t really see it though, but I’m into girls, I have no idea what makes a guy look good, or why someone would even like looking at a guy.
I know I don’t. I have to see one every day.
“Akiiiiii!”
Speaking of my girlfriend, we did make plans for lunch at a really yummy restaurant that opened up recently. Minako was pretty insistent on checking it out, and I could tell she meant it the way she ran over, yelling my name, and glomped into my side. “Heya you!” I gave her a small chuckle as she looked over at me, and I looked back up to see the other girl had vanished.
Guess I just gotta focus on what’s in front of me.
–=–=–=–Usagi–=–=–=–
I held up the beautiful brooch in my hand, “Woah Naru! You weren’t kidding, even I might be able to actually afford something here!”
Naru sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, “Yeah, I guess so! It’s really weird honestly… mom’s never been that focused on trying to do stuff like this before. She’s always told me that we should stick to our guns.” She shrugged, looking a little disappointed. “I guess she changed her mind…”
“Well boy am I glad she did, because now I can-” I inspected it closer, my big grin immediately hitting the floor as a frown, “AWWWH, just a measly five hundred yen too much!” I sighed, willing the tears from reaching my eyes, “Now I regret getting that parfait… And that extra parfait. And a parfait to wash the other two down…”
I looked at all the other girls, flaunting about their new purchases, a gleam in their eyes as they did, piercing accessories into their ears, firmly clipping beautiful things into their hair, and making sure necklaces were secure around their neck. I pouted.
They all looked so happy, like it was the best day of any of their lives. I just looked at the pearl brooch in my hand, a beautiful moon design on it, miserable as ever.
“Fitting that one would catch your eye.”
I raised an eyebrow, and looked up at the corners of my vision with my pupils, I’d be looking at Luna but…
“Yes, I understood your intentions well enough. You know how I mentioned you’re one of the celestial guardians?”
I gave a very small nod.
“Each of the guardians is after a different planet… ᵐᵒˢᵗˡʸ. At the very least they’re all from different celestial bodies in the solar system. Yours is of the Earth’s one and only moon, you are the lunar guardian.”
WOAH. I couldn’t help but mouth the words, knowing better than to speak them. ‘THAT’S why you’re luna’
She chuckled at that, “it’s only fitting, isn’t it? Hopefully I can reconvene with Artemis at some point, but that would require finding one of the other guardians that’s bonded with him. There’s technically one other like me, however he’s… flighty, and his guardian tends to go off on her own more often than not. They’re not quite team players, never were, even back then.”
I furrowed my brow, the words ‘back then’ sticking into me for some reason.
There was a before?
“... Yes, there was a before. I’d prefer not to talk much about it, and I don’t want to overwhelm you.”
So were there guardians before us?! When!? How!? Where!? Tell me everythiiiiiing!!!
She let out a small, exasperated groan, “It’s really for the best that you learn about it yourself. Certain things I simply can’t tell you about that time. The basics are that yes, there were guardians before you, it was from a long time ago, and… it brings up some very old wounds for me.”
…
I pouted, and nodded. It didn’t really satisfy even the tip of the iceberg of my curiosity, of my NEED to know more, but I could hear the hurt in her voice near the end.
Okay Luna. Just… it’s important to me too, I don’t know ANY of this stuff and I’m expected to do all this… this… s-scary stuff. I need to know things about it too. Please tell me what you can when ya can, okay?
I felt the bittersweet smile on her face, she nodded internally, and I puffed out my chest in pride, and gave my biggest grin.
“Uh, you… good… Usagi?” I whipped my head up to the voice, Naru was looking at me like an insane person!
…
Because I’d just been staring at a brooch making weird faces for who KNOWS how long! Oh no no no!
“Uh! Yeah!” I put the jeweled accessory back and forced out a laugh, “Y’know! Just thinkn’! About… a job! I should do a job and-...” A lightbulb went off above my head. “And maybe I can make money from doing it!” I put a fist in my palm, and my eyes started to twinkle.
“Oh Celestials…”
SHSHSHSHSH Luna! It’s perfect! I need a job to keep up my regular girl look, and I need to do my cool superhero alien stuff! It’ll kill two birds with one stone!
“Please do not kill any birds.”
I watched as other girls walked out of the store’s entrance, all walking in a straight line, big smiles on their faces. And people say I’M weird…
Luna, it’s a human expression! It just means do two things done with one thing!
“That’s so violent…”
That’s the human spirit baby!
I darted off, “Thanks for the idea Naru! You’re the best!”
“But I didn’t eve-”
And I was gone.