Storyline Name: Chibi Guardians
Creator(s): JupiterThunderCrash
Forum: Crystal Tokyo
Advanced or Relaxed: Advanced
Plot Summary: After Chibiusa and her Sailor Quartet take over as the main protectors of Crystal Tokyo, the original Guardian Senshi decide that the city is guarded well enough for them to finally start to relax. In the space of about 12 years, they each end up having and raising a child of their own within the palace. Each girl is destined to eventually replace their mother and become the guardian of Chibiusa's future child, but first they have to start as senshi in training. This is the story of Chibi Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus as they grow into their legacies, balancing school and relationships with training to become true senshi.

Details on any necessary information: All the main Solar Senshi + Neo Queen Serenity are as old as they are in Crystal Tokyo, with only a few more years added on. Chibiusa is now a teenager along with the reawakened Sailor Quartet, and calls herself Sailor Moon. The plot will mostly be a series of monster of the day encounters as the girls interact with each other and train, and the RP will start at the moment the girls receive their transformation items from Luna and Artemis.

Restrictions: Only Chibiusa is a playable canon character, serving as a mentor role. The others will be considered NPCs unless more people show up to play and more spaces are needed.

The senshi's 4 children are available as Otaku, and a basic outline for each one will be provided to work with so no one has to start from scratch (and to prevent personality clones from being made).

Profiles:

A Main Villain is also welcome.

Source:N/A
OOC Thread: http://www.thegalaxycauldronforums.com/t8395-advanced-chibi-guardians-ooc
Member to Character List:
Sailor Mercury- Princess Lady Serenity (Chibiusa)
Sailor Mercury- Awaki Mizuno
Addelyn- Atsuiko Hino
JupiterThunderCrash-Raito Kino
Sailor Neptune- Hikari Aino
Jasper- Wilbur the Faceless

Hikari’s heart was beating erratically, but as always, she tried to appear calm and collected. This was perhaps the most important night in her life so far, and she wanted it to be perfect. She’d been preparing herself for this; to inherit her mother’s mantle and officially become a senshi in her own right. Listening to Chibiusa’s stories had made her daydream about how the first time she transformed would be, and how it would feel fighting alongside her parents. She wondered if the four of them would make a good team like their parents had been.

Hikari couldn’t help but steal a glance at her mother, looking proud of her. She could’ve sworn she saw Minako wink at her. Then her gaze traveled to the other side, to where her father was. He looked more solemn, but she spied a small smile of encouragement when their eyes met. At least they were both there to witness it. One thing Hikari could be grateful of was that despite the fact her parents were divorced, she still had two loving parents. Maybe they didn’t live together as a family, but she was still lucky enough to have them both there. She looked toward Awaki, wondering how she was faring with just her mother.

When Luna started walking down the line with Artemis, Hikari stood straighter and paid attention to the proceedings. When her turn came, she held the transformation pen in her hands in wonder. This looked just like her mother’s first transformation item. She’d seen pictures of it before, dreamed how it would feel to hold it. And now that dream had become reality.

She pried her eyes off it as Luna spoke, telling them about what it meant to be holding the precious item. It seemed a huge responsibility to take at such a young age, but at least they wouldn’t be doing it alone. They’d still have their teachers, their parents, and of course… each other. Hikari couldn’t imagine ever giving up the pen now that she’d had it. No matter how tough the training was, she wasn’t going to give up. Her mother never did.

“I will,” she answered the question solemnly, meaning it with all her heart.

Awaki's entire body was buzzing with excitement. Standing center in the room besides the other girls, her future teammates and companions, all eyes locked on them. Awaki was aware for almost her whole life that one day she would take on her mother's role and become a sailor soldier. She had always been captivated by the stories Chibiusa had told her since a very young age, and here she was finally, about to be given the chance to live out a story of her own.

Awaki's gaze shifted toward the Guardian Senshi, in particular toward her mother. Ami noticed her daughter's gaze, and for a brief moment, broke her solemn gaze to give her a proud smile brimming with warmth. Awaki grinned and quickly shot her hand up to wave at her mother, only to receive a scowl from her mother. Awaki quickly placed her hands behind her back in embarrassment and looked away. Her gaze then traveled across the room to where the four Shitennou stood, proud and graceful as they always were. Her gaze briefly met with the general Zoisite's, who she had realized had been staring at her intensely. As soon as they locked eyes, he quickly shifted his gaze away from her's. Awaki perked her brow up in confusion, but she quickly turned her focus away from him.

She turned her attention to Luna and Artemis, walking down a line in front of her and the other girls. As her turn came to receive her transformation pen, she excitedly grasped it. She gazed down at it, her smile growing wider and wider. It was an exact replica of her mother's first ever transformation pen. She had always dreamed of holding it in her own hand, but always deemed it impossible since it had been destroyed. Yet here it was now, gleaming and sparkling in her very own hands, and it was hers.

Awaki lifted her head up to listen to Luna's speech. Awaki had little worries about this new found responsibility. She knew she would always have the support of her beloved mother, the other girls, and her dear friend Mr. Furuhata. She briefly imagined herself in the future, as a strong and powerful senshi who was loved by all. She couldn't turn down such a huge request, not at the risk of being seen as week or worthless.

Awaki nodded her head eagerly, bouncing a little. "Yes!"

Atsuiko looked around at the sheer number of people that had come out to witness her and the other children of the Sol Senshi become the new Senshi-in-training. There were so many people. She swallowed, trying to calm her nerves. She wasn’t sure this was such a good idea and had told her mother so this morning like she had ever morning for the last week.

The young girl knew that her attention was constantly drawn to the other world, and that by most people’s standards she was weird. The other girls she was now supposed to form a guardian group with viewed her as a freak and barely tolerated her presence. How was she supposed to work with them when they didn’t even like her?

She really didn’t want to take the transformation pen, but a quick look at her mother and another to her father, both of whom looked so proud of her. She knew that no matter how hard she wanted to quit she couldn’t. She didn’t want to let her parents down. Atsuiko was aware of how much this meant to her mother, her taking up the mantle of Sailor Chibi Mars, senshi-in-training.

When Luna posed the question asking them if they would accept the responsibility of becoming senshi in training, Atsuiko nodded, barely able to get “I do,” past the giant lump in her throat.

Princess Lady Serenity stood beside her Sailor Quartet, dressed in an elegant white gown. She watched the new senshi-in-training with careful eyes, gauging their thoughts based on their expressions. Over the years, she had watched each girl grow and develop, trying new things and learning from their mistakes. As they accepted their transformation pens, Serenity couldn't help but smile. This was the next big milestone for these girls, and she couldn't be more proud of them. They would grow to become the guardians of the next princess of Crystal Tokyo, and so it was important that they were trained properly. That was where she came in. If they were going to be protecting the Earth and Serenity's future daughter, she might as well train them. Over the years, Serenity had adopted her mother's title as Sailor Moon, and she had defended the Earth from threats alongside her quartet. Now she was passing on her experience and wisdom.

Silently, she wondered if these girls would be able to handle it. They were still young - but then again, Serenity had been their age when she started out. She knew that, as long as these children were willing and able, she would be more than happy to help them become as great as their parents.

Read Me:

Raito was placed in between Atsuiko and Hikari, and didn't seem to be holding up under the pressure as well as the rest. There were so many people looking at her, expecting something great, and she just wanted to sink into the ground and hide. Was she really cut out for this job?

As Luna handed out the pens, Raito almost dropped hers from how much her hands were shaking. There it was, the Jupiter Pen. She wanted to give it back already. Raito kept her eyes on the pen, not wanting to see the looks the Guardian Senshi might be giving her. Probably disappointment in how much of a coward she was. She was always crying and hiding from things, so maybe her mother had finally gotten tired of it and given up on her.

As the ceremony went on, every other girl accepted their duty. Atsuiko looked nearly as conflicted as Raito, but she still said yes in the end. Even Awaki, a ten year old was willing to go for it. And of course Hikari wouldn't hesitate. She was always so sure of herself and focused. Raito was the oldest, but she felt the least prepared for any of this senshi stuff. Shouldn't she be stronger than this? She should be protecting them, not the other way around, but she was still too scared to even speak.

Raito sniffled audibly and tried hard not to let the tears start falling. She wouldn't let herself cry in front of the Queen and King and the Princess. That would just be embarrassing...

Sailor Jupiter watched her daughter with a hint of concern, but refrained from saying anything. Raito looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she really did want to go out and comfort her, but she feared it would only make the shy girl feel worse.

"...then will you take your place as Senshi-in-Training?" Raito jerked out of her thoughts as Luna stopped in front of her, waiting for an answer. She blushed and nodded quickly, gripping her pen tighter before looking down at the ground again. Luna accepted her response and moved on. 

"Now...before the ceremony is over, you may transform using your new tools. Hold the pens up and say the activation phrase, and they should work. Awaki's would be Mercury Power, Make Up, for example. The rest of your pens should work similarly." Luna and Artemis backed up to give the girls some space.

"Don't be afraid to yell it out if it makes you feel more confident." Artemis said with a smile, trying to encourage them.

Atsuiko fiddled with the transformation wand as the rest were handed out to their new owners. She still wasn’t sure if she was cut out for this. Looking over at Raito, the new senshi in training noticed that the other girl looked more nervous than she herself was. Her attention was soon drawn to Artemis when he told them to shout the transformation phrase if they needed to. Frowning, she looked at the wand before glancing at her mother. Her expression may be neutral, but Atsuiko knew that if she didn’t transform here and now, her mother would be mad with her and extremely disappointed.

“Mars Power, Make Up!” She called softly; barely able to get the words out past the lump that had formed in her throat. With a flash of light, the clothes she had worn to the ceremony were gone and replaced with the basic Mars fuku. She gasped as she got her first look at it. It looked identical to the one her mother had shown her in photos.

It didn’t escape Hikari’s notice that her comrades weren’t as ready or excited to accept their duty as she was. She understood—in a logical way—how this could be dangerous. She had heard stories from their mothers of them dying multiple times, only being saved by the immense power of the Silver Moon Crystal. Was Hikari ready for that? She doubted she would have to face death so soon—after all, they were supposed to train first—but she was not surprised when the only resounding answer she could find in herself was ‘yes’. Her mother’s blood ran in her veins, and she understood the sacredness of that duty more than anyone else, the way Minako once did.

Excitement surged within her as Luna told them they were allowed to transform with the pen. Right now?! This was the one moment she had been waiting for since as long as she could remember. To feel the power that was her birthright coursing through her veins and to wear that senshi fuku that was the pride and joy of every sailor guardian. For a moment, she was seized by fear—what if it doesn’t work? What if the pen didn’t think she was worthy?

It was a silly thought, of course, but after you’ve wanted something so much, you start thinking about all the irrational things that could go wrong. Still, how embarrassing would it be if she said the transformation phrase and nothing happened? She might actually die.

So this is your first challenge, she told herself. Prove that you’re worthy.

Artemis’ words made her smile, and she felt comforted by the suggestion. Yes, that was what she would do—yell the words out. Her mother’s guardian was one of her closest friends and advisors, too, and she trusted him with her life. She could only hope one day she, too, would have her own guardian.

Gripping the pen in her right hand, Hikari thought of nothing else but the power that she would be seizing in a couple of seconds. The power that was rightfully hers. She cast aside her doubts and fears, and shouted, “Venus Power, Make Up!”

Even as she spoke, she could feel the word’s powers coursing through her. Light engulfed her, and the most amazing feeling of—ah, she could not describe it in words, except perhaps that it felt she had been awakened in every sense of the word. Like a part of her that had been dormant all this time had suddenly been activated. Like a switch that had been flipped. She almost felt overwhelmed by it, by how wonderful it felt, and how she suddenly felt brave and knowledgeable and ready for anything all at once.

When the rush finally dissipated, she looked down on herself.

She looked just like her mother.

Except for one thing. Where her mother used to have a chain around her waist, Hikari had twin ribbons of yellow and orange. She touched them carefully, looking at them in wonder. But what do they do?

As if answering her question, the ribbons molded in her hand, transforming into a whip that she was suddenly wielding. Hikari gasped.

So did her mother from across the room.

“Oh my god.” Sailor Venus’ voice rang out. Hikari looked up at her in alarm. Had she done something wrong?

“She has a whip,” Venus continued, her eyes widening. “I don’t believe it. Guys, she has a Love Whip!” she said before cackling happily. “That’s my girl!”

Awaki was in pure awe as she gazed down at the transformation pen in her hand. This was it, there was no going back now. A brief flash of doubt began to clog her mind. What if it doesn't work? What if everyone laughs at me?

She shot a worried glance out, and quickly locked eyes with her mother. Ami's stoic face momentarily broke to give her daughter a tiny smile, and she nodded slowly in encouragement. Awaki nodded back quickly and she held the pen up in the air. "Mercury Power, Make Up!"

A light immediately engulfed her. What probably lasted only seconds in real life, felt like minutes of pure unfiltered power coursing through her body. As the light faded away, Awaki gasped as she looked down and notice her clothes had been replaced by a blue fuku, just like her mother's. Besides maybe the footwear, there was only one other difference.

Strapped around her eyes was a visor. Blue and translucent, and shaped in the fashion of a pair of goggles one would wear in a lab. Awaki blinked, growing accustom to them, and then let out a startled yelp at what she saw.

Colors, colors everywhere! Weird colored auras were coming off of everyone. What...what is this? What do they mean? This is too weird. Awaki's face heated up in embarrassment, feeling like she had just seen something she shouldn't have, and she quickly pulled off the goggles, leaving them down around her neck. She quickly regained her composure, and tried to look confident once more.

Raito stood frozen to the spot, feeling all eyes on the room shift to her. She had watched the other three girls transform with a mixture of fear and awe, but kept returning her gaze to the floor otherwise.
A lump began to form in her throat and her mouth felt dry.
 
“Ju-,“ she tried to begin, but her hands began to tremble even more, causing her to drop the Jupiter Pen. The clattering echo filled the entire room as the pen bounced and slid across the floor.
 
Raito tried not to cry out as she ran from her spot to pick up the pen. Tears began to fill her eyes and her cheeks colored red with embarrassment. How could she have been so careless? Her mother must be so disappointed with her and everyone else must be wondering how she could possibly become a useful Sailor Senshi. Her breath started to quicken and she could feel the beginnings of a panic attack as she came to where the pen had stopped.
 
Raito knelt down to pick up the pen and wiped the tears from her eyes. She noticed then that she was not alone kneeling over the pen. Nephrite had also come to where the pen lay.
 
She looked into his smiling face and he returned with their wordless signal to start her breathing techniques. She nodded and took a few moments to calm herself before picking the pen off the floor.
“Keep your eyes on me. I believe in you,” Nephrite whispered to her as they stood up together. She gave him a small smile and scurried back to the platform with the other girls.
 
Once back in place she looked directly at Nephrite and tried to block out everything else.
 
“Jupiter Power, Make Up!” she cried louder than she herself thought possible.
 
A warm, electric feeling flowed through her entire body. She felt a strange calm and a sense of power like never before. When the feeling passed, she was still staring at Nephrite who gestured toward the mirror.
 
Raito gasped slightly as she took in her reflection. Her Sailor Fuku was almost like her mother’s except her green lace-up boots went to the knee (like Sailor Pluto’s) and instead of gloves, she had green and white gauntlets with gold accents on her forearms with green stones embedded on the back.
 
Raito then looked to her mother, who was nearly crying with joy and pride herself, and she knew she hadn’t been a disappointment today

Luna couldn't help but feel incredibly proud as the whole room watched the girls transform. It reminded her of the old days, when she and Artemis were first tracking down the reincarnated senshi. It was always thrilling for her to watch them transform for the first time, and this time was no different. This was the next generation of guardians, the girls who would protect the peaceful future they had all worked so hard for. Beaming, Luna continued on. 

"Congratulations, you are now officially Sailor Guardians! Starting tomorrow afternoon, you'll be practicing here in the Palace Gymnasium every day to hone your abilities. Princess Lady Serenity will be supervising your training, and will serve as your temporary leader until you're all considered fully capable." Luna looked at Hikari in particular. "Sailor Chibi Venus, for the moment, you are second in command." 

"Oh, and one more thing," Artemis said. "Make sure not to reveal your identities as senshi to anyone outside this room, and do not transform unsupervised beyond the palace grounds unless an emergency calls for it. We understand you're excited, but if word got out about a new group of senshi, someone might try to take advantage of your inexperience and people could get hurt for it. Leave any heroics to the Sailor Quartet for now." Neo-Queen Serenity smiled and stood up, getting the room's attention. 

"Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, how about we celebrate this occasion?"  She said. At her signal, a small party began, and they spent the next few hours talking and eating together.

---

The next day was a Monday, and the girls had to go back to school. After Crystal Tokyo was established, many of the old city's buildings were redesigned to better integrate with the new architecture. One of those buildings was the old Juuban Middle School, now known as...Crystal Juuban Middle School. All four of the new senshi were enrolled there, and it had been decided yesterday night that they would meet up and start walking to school together, to try and build their bonds as a team.

Atsuiko waited nervously at the spot they had agreed to all meet before they headed off to school. She wasn’t one hundred percent behind this whole walking to school for bonding reasons. The girls had never really wanted to walk with her before and now that they were forced to, simply because she was a team member? She didn’t for see this going very well. Her shoulders hunched as she remembered her failed attempt at getting her parents to allow her to skip school. She couldn’t shake the look of disappointment on her mother’s face.
 

Why did they expect her to be close to the other girls? They really had nothing in common. Just because her mom was close with the other guardian senshi didn’t mean Atsuiko had to be close and friends with her group. It wasn’t fair! She debated just going to school on her own. It’s not like she was wanted anyway, so they wouldn’t really miss her, and if no one said anything, then no one’s mothers would find out and no one would get in trouble. It was a great plan!

Awaki began the morning with her standard routine. Getting dressed in her uniform, brushing her teeth, applying loads of sunscreen to ensure she wouldn't break out in hives, and making sure all things were in order in her backpack. Books, her lunch, a couple of water bottles, and a handheld gaming device. She was good to go. She grabbed her backpack and left the house, making sure it was lock. Her mother had already gone off to work, and trusted her to be able to take care of herself. She never wanted to disappoint her mom.

And starting today, she would have to start walking to school with the other girls in the team. Honestly, the idea of walking with other people to school was pretty foreign to her. She always walked by herself. What were the other girls even really like? She realized she barely even knew them. Their mothers never forced them to hang out, and being the youngest, Awaki didn't have class with any of them. What if they didn't wanna be around her, because they thought she was a baby? Awaki took a deep breath, put on a bright smile, and rounded the corner where the meeting place was located.

Awaki saw that the only one to arrive so far was Atsuiko. "Hey!" Awaki shouted cheerfully, hoping to catch the girl's attention, and skipped over toward her. "I can't believe we get to walk together now. Aren't you excited?"

Second in-command.

Luna’s words yesterday still bounced around in her head as Hikari got dressed for school that day. Someday, she would lead this team, actually be in charge of them. She knew that her mother’s role more often than not was a bit of a formality—she had always seen the four Inner senshi to generally be equal since they worked together so cohesively. Each had their own purpose and Minako didn’t often have to call the shots or have a huge gap between her and the others. Yes, Venus had a year of seniority compared to the others, but now Hikari didn’t. Could she just take the leader position just because her mother had been one? Was the position meant to be handed down like that?

She wished there was a way she could earn it as opposed to just taking it. And she couldn’t help but wonder if the others would look at her differently or would resent her for being their future leader. She didn’t want to boss them around, not really. She didn’t want to force them to listen to her or anything. She wanted the responsibility, but not at the expense of their friendship.

The girls didn’t have their mothers’ close bond, though to be fair, their mothers didn’t really become friends until after they became senshi themselves. Perhaps Hikari and the others could recreate that bond somehow. She was nervous meeting the others, and not for the first time she wished they were all the same age; it felt weird, for instance, to be the leader when Raito was technically older than her.

She turned the corner with these thoughts in her mind, and upon seeing she hadn’t been the first to arrive, she felt ashamed already. She couldn’t help but feel she should’ve shown up first. “Good morning, Atsuiko-chan, Awaki-chan,” she greeted both girls with a smile. She hoped things wouldn’t be weird with them. True, suddenly being shoved together and kind of forced to be friends with each other was going to be strange, but they grew up together, didn’t they? And their mothers were so close… Hikari wanted that kind of friendship, too.

Raito's head was a buzz with all sorts of anxieties as she walked to the designated meeting spot. Her mother had surprised her with a special breakfast this morning which had put her in good spirits before leaving home. However the short walk to meet the other girls was long enough for her mind to run away with all sorts of possibilities.

What if I'm last? Will they hate me for being so late? 
What will we talk about? I haven't spent much time with any of them in years!
Her mind continued to race with such circuitous thoughts as her pace slowed to a halt.

Suddenly a car door slammed shut across the street and Raito jumped with an audible yelp. The fright pushed all other thoughts from her head and she happened to look at her watch and realize how late she was. Between her panic and lateness, Raito took off toward the meeting spot.

Ratio saw that everyone else was there already and kept her pace to arrive at the meeting spot. She was so flustered that she let out a winded "HI!" as she stopped next to the other three girls.

 Atsuiko 

As the other girls began to arrive, Suiko could feel her nervousness growing. She wanted to say something to them, something witty or profound, but every time she opened her mouth to do so, it felt like a giant lump appeared in her throat, making it difficult to breathe. Perhaps it was best if she didn’t say anything. People usually told her to shut up when she opened her mouth anyway. Not wanting to be rude, she nodded to Hikari in greeting. She couldn’t help but wonder if her parents would be ashamed of her if she decided to run away right now.

As usual, Lady Serenity woke up late.

She wouldn't have woken up at all if it weren't for Diana walking on her head. 

In a frenzy, Serenity dressed into her old high school uniform and fixed her hair before running through the palace and out to where the girls had arranged to meet. Right before turning the corner, Serenity stopped to compose herself and get her appearance in order. Smiling broadly, she round the corner and walked down the street towards the place where the other four girls were waiting. 

"Good morning ladies! I trust you slept well?" Serenity said, placing her hand on Hikari's shoulder. "How are we all getting along?"

Flashing them a teasing smile, Serenity tried her hardest to be as optimistic as possible. She knew that these girls were no where near as close as their mothers, and that it would take some time to get them all used to one another. But bringing people together was Serenity's specialty, and she would do it no matter what.

The awkward aura among the group of girls have started to settle into Awaki. Besides there exchanged greetings, they all stood around and were silent. What if it's always like this? How can become a great team in the future when we're all so distant? A frown spread across Awaki's face for a brief moment, until she noticed Lady Serenity's arrival and her face lit up happily.

"Good morning!" Awaki greeted, and bowed repeatedly toward the princess. She tried to push back her excitement, but she was failing at doing so. "Serenity-san, how are you doing? Ah! I'm sorry, should I call you princess?" Awaki rubbed the back of her head, her cheeks turning red due to a mixture of excitement and embarrassment.

Raito had caught her breath by the time Princess Lady Serenity arrived after what seemed like an eternity of endless silencea. Her mind was blank from embarrassment because of her lateness and the others didn't seem to have much to say either. The Princess had always made her feel more at ease though, having been around throughout much of her youth and relating stories of their mothers' triumphs as Sailor Senshi.

"Good Morning, " Raito said with a slight bow. "Thank you for joining us. But I thought you were finished with school? And that we wouldn't see you until training after school?" Raito's cheeks flushed for having said so much.

Raito joined them, looking breathless and in a rush, and Hikari smiled at her. Atsuiko, meanwhile, had remained silent, and Hikari started to feel the awkwardness permeating the air. Gosh, this was terrible. How were they supposed to just suddenly be friends? Was it that easy for their mothers, or did they struggle through it too?

When suddenly Princess Lady Serenity appeared around the corner, Hikari almost wanted to hug her in relief. Having her here would help so much, and not just because of her experience. Already Hikari could feel the ice breaking among them. She beamed at the older girl as the princess actually touched her shoulder, appreciating the gesture of support.

“Fine, I think!” she answered brightly, though that was a questionable statement for sure. “Good morning, Your Highness. I’m very happy to see you joining us.” The others had reacted much more ebulliently, and Hikari felt the same way, but she felt as if she ought to maintain decorum. She really could use some help easing the burden she felt as the team’s leader and turn it into something good instead of something she obsessively stressed over.

Serenity's eyes widened in surprise. She mentally slapped herself for being so careless. Taking a quick glance around the area, Serenity confirmed that the area was clear before speaking.

"Please, call me Chibiusa when we're in public. I'm afraid if you addressed me formally, it would call too much attention." She smiled, making sure she was being gentle and optimistic. The tension between these girls was almost too much for her to bear. She was used to the senshi's good-natured bickering and close relationships - nothing like how these girls were acting. 

Serenity addressed Raito next: "I was in school, but now I take private lessons at the palace. This outfit is just a disguise so that I can take you girls to and from school every day. I think it's a nice chance for us all to get to know each other better, don't you think?"

She checked her watch and realized they all had to be at school soon. Deciding to start leading, Serenity began to walk forward. "So, how are you all feeling, now that you're senshi? I remember when I first became a senshi. Believe it or not, I was probably one of the worst there was. I had this awful attack that never worked when I wanted it to, and it just made monsters mad. But it saved Queen Serenity's life on multiple occasions. Don't tell her I told you that," Serenity giggled.

A shy smile broke across Raito's face at Lady Serenity's little story about her first attack as a senshi in training. 

"R-really?" she managed to get out, blushing slightly. "I've always thought you were a strong and powerful senshi from the moment you first activated." Ratio began to feel more at ease now that the princess had broken through the silence and that some purpose was given with their onward march toward school.

"I...uhh...I transformed again alone in my room the other night. I wanted to see what my fuku looked like again, even though it's similar to my mother's." Raito stared intently at the ground out of embarrassment. She almost couldn't believe she made such an admission in front of the princess, but she was also excited about becoming a senshi, even if her feelings were 70% terror, 30% excitement.

Awaki's eye sparkled with admiration as she listened to Serenity talk about herself when she was a senshi-in-training. "Really? I couldn't imagine that, I bet you were always fantastic." She spoke excitedly, her step picking up with a little skip. Worry clouded Awaki's mind for a moment: what if she had a useless attack? What if she couldn't do anything? What if no one liked her? What if..... Awaki quickly shook the thought out of her head. That was such a silly thing to think.

She flashed a grin at Raito. "The fuku is pretty cool, huh? Mine's probably the coolest though." She slowed her step, and looked down toward the ground. "Um... did any of you guys get weird items when you transformed?" She asked with a slightly nervous tone, thinking about the strange visor she had received. She had sneaked it into her backpack, even though it was advised against to bring anything magical, since her identity could possibly be revealed, but she was curious and wanted to know more about it. She had plans to mess around with it today during her solitary lunch break. She patted her backpack discreetly, hoping no one would catch on to her weird behavior.

Chibiusa?

Hikari tested the name mentally—it felt strange to be calling the princess so casually, especially when she wasn’t technically ‘little’ anymore. Nevertheless, she was grateful to have the princess accompanying them, especially when she started to tell them stories about her own experience as a senshi. Although it worried Hikari, too. What if she would be useless? What if she turned out to be the weakest of them all? You don’t exactly get to pick your powers, after all…

She balled her fists until her knuckles whitened, trying to force herself to relax and stop putting so much pressure on herself.

You’re going to get white hair at thirteen at this rate, her mother always said. For the love of Venus, Hikari, you’re my daughter. Please relax a little, we are born for greatness already. You don’t have to try so hard.

If only she had half her mother’s confidence.

She blushed as Raito mentioned transforming again in private. She had done that too, just to be able to see herself better in the mirror. She had scoured over every inch of it, noting all the differences and similarities to her mother’s, trying to decipher what it meant.

Hearing Awaki’s question about weird items, however, her face reddened even more. “Well… I did get those ribbons instead of chains like my mother… the one that transformed into a whip…”

The one Minako had dubbed the Love Whip and proceeded to embarrass her in front of the entire royal family for.

Thanks a lot, Mom.

Atsuiko


The awkwardness began to get to Suiko. She wanted to say something to break it, but she feared if she opened her mouth, something stupid would come out and she’d be ridiculed for it. Not many of her classmates were ever interested in what she had to say, preferring that she stayed quiet. They always told her that she said the weirdest things and perhaps she did. It was people like her classmates that made Suiko prefer the spirits she saw and spoke with on a regular basis. They at least thought she was interesting.


When the Princess arrived, Atsuiko bowed as her parents had taught her, showing respect. She remained silent as she watched her new teammates interact with Neo Queen Serenity’s daughter. Atsuiko found herself surprise to hear Princes…not she had asked them to call her Chibiusa in public, tell them that she had been one of the worst senshi with more or less a useless attack.  But she was so powerful! This couldn’t be true, could it? Was she simply telling them an altered story in order to make them feel better? Her brows knitted themselves together in thought.

Serenity laughed aloud, shaking her head in amusement. "Oh goodness no, I was quite the opposite of a strong senshi. I was nothing compared to the others. In fact, it was thanks to our teamwork as senshi that I am the soldier I am today," she said, hoping the girls got her hint.

The pink-haired princess listened as the girls talked about their fuku, smiling to herself. Even now, whenever she transformed Serenity remembered the first moment she had shouted her transformation phrase. Her fuku was such a foreign thing at the time, and it still was, in a way.

She remained silent for a while, slightly leading the way towards the girls' school. Her eyes landed on Awaki, who seemed to be acting strangely. The mention of mysterious items spiked Serenity's suspicions, but she kept her mouth shut. She trusted the newest senshi of wisdom to make the right decision. Serenity then glanced at Atsuiko, who seemed to be very quirt. It was so strange how these girls' personalities differed so vastly from their mothers. However, it was a refreshing change.

Deciding that she would encourage Hikari a bit more, Serenity gently nudged her and, once gaining the child's attention, nodded towards Atsuiko. As leader, Hikari needed to learn how to be the link between the senshi. Getting Atsuiko to feel comfortable with them was the first big step.

A thousand things were running through Hikari’s head, and so she hadn’t noticed that all of them weren’t talking until Princess Lady Serenity nudged her. Instantly at attention, she glanced at the older girl, feeling like she’d just been caught daydreaming by a teacher. When the princess gestured at Atsuiko, Hikari noticed the girl’s uncertain expression, as if she was thinking something real hard, and Hikari realized she hadn’t heard Atsuiko say anything for the past few minutes.

Channeling her mother’s friendliness, she smiled and asked brightly, “What about you, Atsuiko-chan? Do you like your fuku? I think those boots are really cool!” She had noted the difference between Atsuiko’s senshi shoes and her mother’s famous red high heels, but she actually liked the change. After all, everyone should have their own trademark, and they were a bit young to be wearing heels besides.

Atsuiko

So lost in thought, she almost didn’t hear Hikari ask a question. She wasn’t used to people asking her things, so it took her brain several long seconds to figure out that yes, it was indeed her that the question was being directed to. She blushed as people’s focus began to shift to her.

“I-it’s o-k-kay Hikari-san,” she said, voice trembling. Why were they asking her these things? Were they waiting for her to say what she really thought and mock her for it? She wrapped her arms around herself, at the thought. She really did think that the fuku was cool even if she wasn’t sure she deserved to be wearing it or was capable of living up to her mother’s expectations.  She was also relieved that she had ended up with boots and not her mother’s famous high heels as she really didn’t think she’d be able to walk in them.

Hikari was hoping she could draw Atsuiko into the conversation, but now it seemed putting a spotlight on her had only made her uncomfortable. Immediately she felt like a failure and wanted to kick herself. How come she couldn’t even do something this simple right? How was she meant to be a leader if she’d already failed this little test?

Feeling lost, she instinctively glanced back at Princess Lady Serenity, wondering if she could give her some pointers on how to best talk to Atsuiko without scaring the girl off. She’d been friendly, hadn’t she? Part of her wanted to try again, and yet the other part was too terrified to even speak another word lest she made it worse.