Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Successor ❯ Falling Star, Falling Star ( Chapter 2 )

*Notes from Author*

Rei has two crows that are often by her side, their names are Phobos and Deimos if you didn't know it. That's who I'm referring to when I say those two names. For the record, while I'm at it, those are names of moons of the planet Mars.

 

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Chapter 2: Falling Star, Falling Star

 

"And we can see, by noting the attributes of gravitational momentum described on page 117, that the friction of reentry reaches a temperature not obvious by that of the previous standard explained. This is because of the..."

 

"Gravitational friction of reentry..." Mamoru mumbled as he quickly scribbled notes. Today was one of those days... class seemed really boring, he didn't get quite enough sleep, the coffee wasn't helping, and he'd been neglecting Usagi for days because of all his studying.

 

SNAP!

 

It took him a second to realize what the noise was. His pencil broke. The lead ripped off, and from the hole it left came the rest of the lead from the entire pencil, all falling to the ground.

 

"Great, what a rare mishap," he sighed. He reached down to his bag and got another pencil, and began to sit up again when he noticed the window. Something strange was twinkling in the sky. It looked like a falling star; very bright, yet so little...

 

"...such as meteorites and other space debris, allowed scientists to determine the level of temperature rise of space ships returning to the earth."

 

"Meteorite?" Mamoru said softly.

 

"Something really strange about it..." said the person seated next to him. Since he and Mamoru seldom if ever talked, Mamo wasn't expecting such a comment.

 

"Can I see your notes?" Mamoru asked. "I missed some."

 

"Yeah," the guy said, slanting his paper a little while still writing.

 

"Thanks," said Mamoru.

 

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A strange new face walked along the lifeless road towards Tokyo, admiring the tall trees off to either side. "Such a green place, this 'Tokyo' is..." he said in a weak little voice. He held his arm over his head to shield his face from the bright sunlight. His clothes were very different. One arm had a long sleeve, and the other had none, but that hand had a steel-clad glove on. He looked like he was wearing some sort of arcane, lightweight armor, and a hooded cape. He kept walking alongside the road, and soon he was passing houses. Cars whizzed by him, filling the air with unpleasant black clouds. He didn't care for them, and stayed away from the road.

 

A little girl in overalls walked hand-in-hand with her young mother. They saw the young man in his strange clothing walking towards them. He noticed them too, looking at them as fixedly as they did at him. "Momma, what's he wearing?" the child asked.

 

"I don't know," the mother said pleasantly, but with a hint of dislike or unsettledness.

 

The young stranger blinked a few times in standing silence. What a strange sensation... as he thought about it, he realized they had easily noticed his clothing. He couldn't keep wearing such strange things forever; their clothes were much different. He'd have to do something about the problem.

 

As he continued down the street towards the city, where iron, glistening masses climbed for the heavens, he got several more stares, which he soon found himself reacting to by lowering or averting his head. He felt his face getting warm from it all. It was unlike any other feeling he'd ever had before, and he hated it, but he kept going.

 

Soon he was in the city, where cars were everywhere, and people walked the streets back and forth in endless waves. Things were big, flashy and loud. The span of road, washed with green, on the way to this place was much nicer, he thought. He was getting more and more stares now, but he was trying to avoid paying attention to it. When he passed a building where displays showed various jeans and clothing, he decided to check it out. He found some clothes he liked: some baggy blue pants and a pale blue shirt. He left the store, getting far fewer stares now.

 

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Rei was sweeping the walkway at the shrine, when she noticed all the crows were gathered together, picking at the ground.

 

"Must be seeds or something," she figured. She took a few steps closer, and Phobos and Deimos hopped out from the crew, looking up at her, then turning towards the stairway to the shrine. Rei, now leaning against her broom, looked the same way, curious what they had noticed. Right then, all the crows but her two took off flying, their trajectories crossing, their feathers drifting amidst it all.

 

Taken aback, Rei looked again to see an odd young man, lean and mysterious. He was farther away than he seemed.

 

"Can I help you?" Rei asked politely. Something didn't seem right, but courtesy to shrine guests was still a priority...

 

"Uhh..."

 

"Don't be shy, what is it?"

 

"All those animals..." he said timidly.

 

"The crows? What about them?"

 

"Nothing, I was just..."

 

Phobos and Deimos fluttered over to the youth, who took a step back cautiously.

 

"They're friendly," Rei said assuringly.

 

The birds cocked their heads around on their necks, curious and wiser than any old owl. Reacting to a sudden jolt of discomfort, they flew away. Rei felt it too.

 

"Who are you?" she asked, starting to walk down the steps.

 

"My name's Hiryu. I'm new to... well... here. Tokyo."

 

She stopped at the bottom step, from which she had a better view than before of this 'Hiryu'. He wasn't very big, definitely not too strong. He had dull red hair coming down into his eyes, which she couldn't get a good look at.

 

He was pouring over with nervousness, as if he'd never talked to someone before. Maybe he was from the country or something? Rei was confused as to how someone so afraid of her could be giving off such unsettling vibes.

 

"Hiryu? Are you going to be attending Juuban High?" she asked.

 

"Umm... I guess..." he said, totally unsure, but trying not to arouse suspicion.

 

"Hmm," came Rei's reply. She was trying to get a look at his eyes, which kept going off to the side.

 

"Hiryu?"

 

"Yeah?" he answered weakly, looking at her. She caught a glimpse at last of his green eyes.

 

"Don't act like this around others, it'll just make things worse for you. Try to be a little more confident."

 

...

 

Hiryu made no reply. He didn't open his mouth, because he felt devoid of possible responses. What COULD he say to something like that? He became even more nervous, and felt an unpleasant burning feeling. Rei smiled and hoisted up her broom.

 

"I have to go do my chores," she told him, walking back up the steps. "I don't go to Juuban, so I guess I won't see you again unless you come by the shrine."

 

As she neared the top, the two crows landed on her shoulders, nearly indistinguishable from her lustrous black hair except for their dull beaks and glassy eyes.

 

She looked back down, and he was still there, motionless.

 

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. I'm Rei. Bye," she said distantly, her thoughts already on her next tasks.

 

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"Yay!" Chibi-Usa exclaimed, running out of the school building. "What a bad day that was. I hate tests," she complained to a friend, a short girl with glasses, who nodded. Almost immediately afterwards, the girl waved and climbed into her mother's car, which drove off.

 

"I think Usagi's coming to get me today," Chibi-Usa thought aloud. "She'll probably be late..."

 

"Hey there, little lady..." a familiar voice said from above.

 

Chibi-Usa looked up to see Mamoru. "Mamo-chan!" she cried, hugging his leg. "I haven't seen you in quite awhile, Mamo-chan!"

 

"Yeah, I've been busy. I've been studying and studying and nothing else, and I think my brain's going to rot."

 

"I hate studying," Chibi-Usa said, taking his hand and leading him off down the sidewalk.

 

"But studying is important," Mamoru insisted.

 

"Yeah, I know... gotta do it for when I grow up... but I'm a princess! I won't need to get a job or anything, so tell me why I have to, Mamo-chan!"

 

Mamoru chuckled. "Lots of girls say that, and you're about the only one who can mean it. But Chibi-Usa-chan, it's the same reason I tell Usa-ko she has to do her work. She's gonna be very important someday and it wouldn't be right if she wasn't even educated. Do you see now? We can't have someone in authority if they can't even spell or do math, or know history," he explained. "They'll make all the wrong decisions and everyone will suffer."

 

"I guess so. Usagi's got a lot to learn before she can be in charge of anything! And I have to get even smarter to clean up the mess she makes! I think I understand now. Thanks, Mamo-chan."

 

He laughed again. "Anytime."

 

They went in silence for a little while. Then she tugged at his shirt. He glanced down intently.

 

"Mamo-chan, we read a neat poem today," she said.

 

"Did you?" he responded in a warm, interested tone. "I thought you didn't like school."

 

"Yeah, well this is different. The poet didn't write it for us to read in class, she just wrote it."

 

"I suppose so. Were you going to tell me about it?"

 

She eagerly cleared her throat. "It went like this:

 

Falling Star, Falling Star

 

Falling down from starry space

 

Why do you fall, so long and far

 

from such a lofty place?

 

Is there something here you want?

 

Something from our little world?

 

Was it on your own you came,

 

or from the heavens were you hurled?

 

Falling Star, O Falling Star

 

I bid you welcome here.

 

For years you twinkled from afar

 

but now, at last, you're near.

 

Isn't that neat, Mamo-chan?"

 

Mamoru was totally quiet for a moment. Chibi-Usa looked at him disappointedly. Had he not liked the poem, even after she went to the trouble of memorizing it?

 

"Mamo-chan? What's wrong?"

 

"Nothing, the words just reminded me of something. I think it's a lovely poem too, Chibi-Usa-chan. I'm glad you like something about school."

 

Mamoru looked up at the sky. "Falling star," he said under his breath.