Sailor Moon:
G
Gemstone

By: Elena  L Sanchez

Disclaimer: I own the sailors in this fic (Gem Sailors) and the artwork here in this fic. They are mine and no one has the right to use them for their own purposes without my permission. The idea of the sailors and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and the original characters such as Serena etc...belong to Naoko Takeuchi. I own NONE of her characters and do NOT claim to, but rather thank her for making such wonderful and inspirational characters. Waii! ^_^

Sailor Moon: Gemstone : Things Are Peaceful! Serena Meets With Old Friends.

Serena Tsukino pushed the pale pink curtains back and breathed in the crisp morning air. It was a beautiful morning. She had made it a plan to catch the sunrise but that simply had not happened. She remembered with a smile how she had promptly thrown the alarm clock to hush it up.

       Serena had discovered herself, over the years past, to be the Princess of a once grand kingdom on the moon, future queen and mother, and the lone one who could defeat the Silence Messiah. She had overcome impossible obstacles and even grown in power. She had lost her loved ones and, to her relief, gained them back again.

       Yet she had never managed to break her habit of sleeping in. Serena giggled, lightly. She stretched a little, working the sleep away from her muscles. The last few years of her life had certainly been anything but ordinary. While she no longer had too many gripes about her duties, she was thankful and glad that it was over and now she could live in peace.

       Until she had to assume the throne that is. Serena paused for a moment. She wondered how on earth she would go about doing such a thing. It wasn't like the current powers of Tokyo would just back down so some young queen could take over.

       "Serena...?"

       "Mmm...huh?"

       Serena was snapped out of her reverie as her mother entered the room. Serena smiled warmly. "Morning!" she greeted cheerfully. Mrs. Tsukino returned the gentle smile and greeted her daughter in return. "And good morning to you too, lazy bones.”

       Serena had moved out of her home quite some time ago. She now shared an apartment with Darien, which suited Serena just fine. However, at times when he was off on business, she would often find herself getting lonely. To get away, she would visit home and perhaps even spend a few nights there visiting her family, especially her mother.

       Of course Mrs. Tsukino was not Serena's real mother by birth. Her real mother was Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium. It was something that had taken Serena awhile to come to terms with. For awhile she even felt distanced from her next mother, the mother she was reborn to: Mrs. Tsukino. However, she had long put it behind her. Her life was here right now, and this was her mother. She knew somewhere in her heart that Queen Serenity would've wanted it this way.

       Mrs. Tsukino shot her daughter a stern look. "Serena, do you even realize what time it is? I thought you promised Raye you’d meet her and the other girls for a get together. I know you’ve talked about it an awful lot…”

       Serena's eyed widened a bit. She HAD forgotten. "Oh no – oh! Excuse me!!” she said nervously, cutting the conversation short. She dashed about, grabbed her clothes and ran to the bathroom hurriedly to change.

       Mrs. Tsukino sighed and smiled. Some things never changed. She was grateful for that.

***

       "Maybe she got lost…?” a young blonde name Mina suggested.

       Beside her sat three other girls. A pretty, raven-haired girl with shocking yet beautiful violet eyes, sat on the bench while the two others sat on the edge of the fountain.

       Another of the girls, Lita, shot Mina a look of exasperation (Insert sweatdrop here ^_^;). "She’s just late. We use to meet here before all the time. I’m sure she hasn’t forgotten already,” Lita said with a smile, glancing to the beautiful azure sky. “She’ll be here…” she said with a nod.

       "Maybe…”

       "Huh?" the other girls all turned their heads to the raven-haired girl known as Raye. Raye seemed lost in the clouds of the sky. No one said anything for a moment. Only the wind seemed to speak as it blew gently and played with the girls' hair, blowing it about their faces.

       "What is it Raye?" Lita asked, breaking the silence. Raye closed her eyes. "Oh nothing…” she lied. She then pasted a thin, sly smile upon her lips. “Serena’s always late. Nothing is going to change that!”

       The last girl with short, blue hair was the last to speak. "You don't seem too upset Raye…” Amy said softly.

       Raye glanced to Amy for a moment. “Well, it’s just normal Serena fashion. Maybe I’m just use to it now…”

“Wow! Raye is not throwing a fit over Serena being late? Maybe things really HAVE changed!” Lita said with a wide smile. Raye shot her an annoyed look. “I just so happen to be in a good mood…” she huffed. Raye then looked back to the sky.

Raye heaved a long sigh. She had a funny feeling that had balled up and buried itself inside her chest. It wasn't really a pain or anything, but she knew it was there. It was a nagging feeling that would not disappear, no matter how hard she tried.

       A nagging feeling that said things were going to change.

       Usually her feelings and instincts had been right. She had been trained as a Shinto Priestess and so far her feelings had let to lead her wrong.  When she was younger, she would have dreams or premonitions of the future and things to come. It use to scare her and still did from time to time. It was never easy knowing that she was seeing the horrible truth before it happened.

       However she had learned to cope and focus it for useful purposes as the years wore on. Especially when she discovered her powers as a scout. It still frightened her sometimes, but she had grown to accept it. It was apart of herself and she was apart of it.

       Before Raye could answer, a familiar cry erupted from nearby where the girls were. "I'm here!!"

       The four girls immediately stood and looked in the direction of the calling. What they saw brought smiles to their faces. It reminded each and every one of them that while times had changed, and as had certain aspects of their lives, some things like Serena, would always be the same.

Serena ran as fast as she could, her golden, blonde pigtails, fluttering about in the breeze behind her.

       Mina was the first to call out. "Serena!!”

       Mina ran forward and was the first to catch Serena in a big hug. Serena hugged Mina tightly, as though they had not seen each other in years.  In truth, they had seen less, and less of each other as time had worn on. The girls were now about twenty-one. High school was over and everyone was moving on as people do.

       Mina was interested in pursuing the spotlight once more. She had managed a few commercials and even done some minor parts in a few, low budget films. It was hard work, but the spotlight seemed to love Mina and Serena had always been confident that one day Mina would shine as brightly as any big named star.

       Only when Mina coughed and sputtered did Serena release her from the iron gripped hug. As she did, Mina took in a deep breath, her face red, almost blue. Serena made a sympathetic face and proceeded to apologize. "Sorry about that!" she apologized though unable to stifle a small giggle.

       Mina, while still winded from the hug, smiled brightly and shook her head, passing off Serena's apology. "No need. Now I have enough hugs to last at least a month!" she said, giving Serena a wink. Then she and Serena promptly proceeded to bust into giggles. For Serena, it felt good to laugh once more with Mina.

       "Haven't forgotten the rest of us, have you Serena?"

       Only then did Mina step aside to let Serena see Amy and Lita. Amy smiled her same, shy but friendly smile that Serena had known since they first met. Lita smiled as well and whipped out a small bundle from behind her back. Serena stood speechless for a moment then ran to the other two girls in a flood of emotions. "Oh Lita! Amy!"

       The girls laughed and hugged each other, reuniting once more.

       Serena realized she had missed Amy and Lita just as much as Mina. She had seen even less of those two than she had Mina (and for valid reasons).

       Amy had been accepted into an elite school further up north, a long way from home. This of course was as no surprise to anyone. The school was known to be very prestigious and almost everyone who graduated was immediately offered a job. What came as a real surprise was, when Amy had written to Serena about her choice of career.

       "Amy, how's it going with the -" Serena trailed off.

       At that instant it was like someone had turned a light on Amy’s face. It lit up and she smiled brightly, blushing a bit. "Good! Good, I've been working really hard, and so far I've had two job offers to start off as an assistant then gradually work my way up."

       "You've ALWAYS worked really hard Amy..." Lita corrected. Amy blushed even more at this comment and laughed lightly. "I knew you wanted to be a doctor but I never thought you meant as one for animals..." Lita said, confessing her own surprise at Amy’s choice.

       Amy smiled pleasantly and continued. "Well, I never did either, but it struck me as interesting. Besides animals need help too, right?"

       "Of course!" Serena piped up. Amy smiled gratefully and nodded her head in thanks. "Well, doesn't anyone wanna know what I've been up to?"

       "Of course we do! Come on now, spit it out!" Serena urged, poking a finger at Lita’s shoulder. Lita grinned quite proudly and held up her hand. At that point all three girls, including Mina, who had joined the conversation as well, gasped at the gold banded ring with a good sized jewel in the middle. The jewel was a diamond that sparkled with all it’s might, beaming proudly in the warm sun’s rays.

       "This is the surprise?!! Lita you’re…en…ENGAGED!?" Mina gasped, her blue eyes positively wide with admiration. "How did you manage to keep such a thing from ME?! ME THE SAILOR OF LOVE!?"

       "Lita...I can't believe it..." Amy muttered, shocked as much as the others, but baring a pleasant smile.

       Serena could only smile wistfully. It was odd to think of boy crazy Lita, now committed and ... engaged. A happy thought but it had definitely thrown Serena for a loop. "I'm happy for you Lita," she said with a smile. She kept her face as pleasant as she could manage but deep inside something was slowly eating away at her happy mood. Lita was engaged. That was a big change. She had initially thought that nothing had changed between her and her friends, but now, as she looked from face to face, she could see that a lot had. Just how often would she see Lita now? Marriage and then what? Children? For a moment Serena mentally pictured herself and her friends elegantly changing into their Sailor identities only to be interrupted by kids dancing around Sailor Jupiter yelling, “MOMMY! MOMMY!”

       Lita beamed happily then paused, looking briefly distraught when she saw the far off look on Serena’s face. "Serena! Hey! Snap out of it! I have a present for you," she said in a sing song voice. At that moment she snatched a bundle away from behind her back and dangled it in front of Serena’s face. Serena’s eyes it up and this caused her to temporarily forget her thoughts. “Lita…” she said fondly and took the parcel gently. Lita scowled and crossed her arms. “that’s not like you Serena. Where’s the old Serena who would just tear into that parcel like it was your last scrap of food?”

Serena laughed and hurriedly opened the parcel to reveal bunny shaped cookies with pink frosting. Serena never let her smile falter and she felt her heart jump at the kind gift. Maybe not everything had changed. Lita had remembered her favorite cookies after all. “Thank you Lita,” she said sincerely and nodded.

       "Aww, it's nothing!" Lita said brightly. Then she frowned for a moment. "Aren't you going to try one?"

       Serena nodded eagerly and picked one up. As she bit into it, a voice interrupted her.

       "Same old Serena. You always did had a bottomless pit of a stomach when it came to sweets."

       This caused Serena to look up, cookie still in her lips. "Way!" she called, sounding gargled because of the cookie that dangled from her mouth. The other three girls broke out into laughs and even Raye had to join in. Serena walked over, removing the cookie from her mouth and delicately placing it back in the parcel.

       "It's been a while Serena " Raye said, smiling a little sadly. She quickly hid the brief flare of emotion and pretending to scold her friend. “I’m incredibly mad at you, you know! All that time without so much as even a letter or a visit!”

       For a brief moment, Serena looked taken back and tears welled up in her giant blue eyes, however Raye gave her friend a big smile and laughed. Serena huffed and her tears evaporated, but then she smiled and suddenly grabbed Raye in a hug that could’ve rivaled the one she had given Mina.

       She had seen Raye more than she had seen Amy or Lita or even Mina, but when she had seen Raye it was very brief. Raye had attempted to pursue her dream in singing and song writing. It hadn't worked out very well and when her grandfather had fallen sick, Raye had no choice but to return home to the temples. She had remained there briefly and decided to take up studying further as a priestess. Her abilities served her well in this and lately, Raye had traveled to various other temples to train. It left her and Serena very little time to catch up with each other.

       "Raye you’re so mean! But I’ve missed you all the same..." Serena said backing off for a moment to look into her friend’s face. Raye shot Serena a playful look and held her head up high. “I am not. I’m just right, like usual!” For a moment both girls glared daggers at each other then cracked up and were both overtaken in laughter. Serena hadn’t been able to think of any time she had been happier to see her friends, save the few times they had almost been taken away from her permanently by Beryl and Galaxia.

“But those times are past…” she thought to herself and her friends closed in around her, all chatting about how much they missed the other. Serena let her thoughts float away from the wind and lost herself amongst the friends she knew and loved so well.


[AN]:

I didn’t do artwork for this chapter because you all know what Serena, Raye, Amy, Mina and Lita look like. They haven’t changed really. Truth also be told, I’m not very good at drawing them for some reason, though I will try later on in different chapters. Sorry, don’t be too mad at me!