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Moonlight Densetsu

Summary:

Koushi Sugawara thought his biggest worry during his third year would be making it to nationals, but it turns out he-and his team-have been tasked with saving the world by a talking cat.

It'd be a lot easier to handle if Tuxedo Mask would do something worth a damn and Oikawa stopped blowing up his phone during class.

Notes:

so for those of you on my tumblr, you knew it was coming. i'm magical girl trash, and this brilliant (?) idea has been sitting in my brain for like ever. if you have monster ideas/minor plot points you'd like to see in this fic, please send em to me! monster creation sucks.

but you came here for boys in short skirts, didn't you.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Guardian of Love and Justice

Chapter Text

Koushi Sugawara was having a wonderful day until the talking cat showed up.

He’d woken up to his alarm as per usual, grabbing a protein bar for breakfast on the go and only stopped on the way to morning practice to stop some kids from harassing a cat. They’d stuck some sort of hat on it, and he disposed of the offending item before rushing off again.

Practice had gone smoothly (or as smoothly as it could), and classes went by fast. Nothing suspicious, until he found that same cat waiting for him outside the club room.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, crouching to scratch behind it’s ears.

“I was waiting for you, Sugawara.” It replied, causing Koushi to fall backwards on his ass in shock.

The cat didn’t look bothered at all, instead it studied him with a level gaze. Koushi pinched his cheek, wincing slightly when it did, in fact, sting. “You just spoke.”

“I can do that and more.” The cat responded, bowing its head. “My name is Luna, and I’m here to awaken your true potential.”

Koushi looked around, making sure no one was watching him talk with a cat. “I’ve got practice, can it wait until after?”

“Absolutely not!” Luna shouted. “This is potentially a matter of life and death!”

Koushi raised a brow. “How so?”

“Monsters have begun to appear all around Miyagi. You’re the only one who can fight them off.” The cat then nudged forth a glittering brooch.

Koushi picked it up and inspected it. It didn’t seem like his style, but he did have to admit it was kind of cute. It was a rose gold circle with a pink gem in the middle, and smaller red, blue, green and orange gems on the rim. He looked back to Luna. “What do I do with this?”

“Transform.” She said as if it was the most obvious thing.

Koushi gaped. “Wait. Are you saying transform like a superhero or something?”

Luna huffed. “Or something. Technically, you fall under the ‘legendary warrior’ category, as Sailor Moon.”

“Sailor what now.” Koushi meant to ask more, but was cut off by approaching footsteps. Judging by the speed and weight, it was Kageyama and Hinata, racing each other to practice again.

He stood up, pocketing the brooch, and looked at Luna once more. “We’ll continue this discussion after practice, alright?”

And with that, he left the talking cat, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into.

 

Practice had been a disaster. Koushi had been unable to focus, and had missed at least five sets. All he could think about was what Luna had given him. A superhero? Him? He couldn’t even stay on the starting lineup. He totally wasn’t salty about that, of course! Kageyama deserved that spot. And that whole transforming thing, what was up with that...

He was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find worried chocolate eyes boring into his own. “You’ve been out of it all day, what’s wrong?”

Koushi turned, facing Daichi. “Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“You know you can always talk to me about it. Or Asahi. Or, hell, the entire team.” The dark-haired man reassured him.

“I know, but...” Koushi trailed off, thinking about how bizarre it would sound.

“You don’t have to tell anyone now. Just know we’re here for you.” Daichi grinned before ruffling Koushi’s hair good-naturedly.

God, he was such a dad.

“Yeah, yeah.” Koushi ducked out of his grip with a smile. “You should probably focus your efforts on Noya trying to jump onto the basketball hoops again.”

“Wha-NISHINOYA!” Daichi whirled around to find that the smaller boy was indeed attempting to jump and hang onto the rim of the hoop.

Koushi snickered, watching him for a moment before going to grab his gym bag and change. Luna was crouched into a loaf by the club room, and had just opened her mouth to speak when Hinata came bounding over. “Is that a cat?”

Hinata crouched in front of it as Luna let out a not-very-convincing meow. Koushi watched as Hinata held his hand out for Luna to sniff before patting her head gently, his heart melting at the sweetness. “It’s so soft! Is it yours?”

“Kind of?” Koushi fibbed. “She follows me around sometimes, but she’s not really mine.”

“You should keep her!” Hinata’s eyes practically sparkled as Luna began purring.

Koushi smiled before crouching to pet her as well. “Maybe I should. I’d have to check with my parents.”

That wasn’t a bad idea, though, taking Luna in. It’d keep them both under the radar, especially with this whole Sailor Moon thing. Plus he had a ton of questions to ask her, and the privacy of his bedroom was the best place for those.

Koushi picked her up carefully, making sure she was secure before walking into the club room and setting her down on top of one of the shelves before beginning to change. Beside him, Hinata began doing the same, as the others began to filter in. Most of them hadn’t noticed the cat until Asahi spotted it out of the corner of his eye and screeched. Noya grinned before patting her wildly, not even bothering to put a shirt on, causing Luna to meow in protest and swipe at his hand. It didn’t seem to deter him much, but Daichi just put a hand on his shoulder and gave him the Stern Dad™ look and Noya went back to changing.

Koushi had just finished changing when he heard his phone buzz, raising his brow. Who would be texting him? He swiped his phone open to find a message from an unknown number.

 

Unknown: yahoo, refreshing-kun! ヾ(☆▽☆)

 

Koushi raised a brow. Who the hell was Refreshing-kun? And how’d they get his number? “Hey, Daichi...”

“Hm?” His best friend turned to him, zipping up his jacket.

“You didn’t happen to give my number to anyone, did you?” Koushi asked, creating a contact for the number.

Daichi shook his head. “No. You know I wouldn’t do that without your consent.”

“I figured.” Koushi began typing out a response. “Must be a wrong number.”

 

Me: Sorry, who is this?

Stalker?: Σ(°ロ°)

Stalker?: how rude of me! not introducing myself

Stalker?: it’s Oikawa from Aoba Johsai!~

 

Koushi frowned. What the hell did Oikawa want? And with him, no less? Probably blackmail on Kageyama, but Koushi wasn’t the one to go to for that.

 

Me: Why do you have my number?

Stalker?: i asked tobio-kun~

Stalker?: i needed to talk to you about iwa-chan and sawamura, actually!

Me: What about them?

Stalker?: i think they like each other!

 

Koushi paused for a second. When the hell did Daichi start talking to Iwaizumi? Whatever, it wasn’t his business. Maybe it was Oikawa’s, but he wasn’t about to be dragged into that.

 

Me: Even if that is true, I’m too busy right now to play matchmaker. Maybe another time.

Stalker?: aw, suga-chan! don’t be a party pooper (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

 

Rolling his eyes, Koushi shut off his phone and pocketed it, grabbing Luna and letting her slip into his bag comfortably. Waving a goodbye to the rest of the team, he began walking home alone, absentmindedly reaching into his pocket for the brooch. It felt solid in his hand, grounding him, and oddly a little warm.

He made it halfway home before Luna poked her head up, focused intently on something to his left. He raised a brow. “Is there an issue?”

“Yes.” She responded, not blinking or even looking away. “There’s a monster. Jewelry store. I think there’s a hostage, I can hear her cries.”

Koushi swore under his breath. “You’re going to make me transform or whatever and fight this monster.”

“It’s your duty, as the newest Sailor Moon.” She said as Koushi began running in the direction she told him. “Besides, once you’re transformed your speed and strength will multiply.”

“But I can still die?” Koushi grit his teeth, weaving his way through the streets.

“Technically yes, but you shouldn’t be alone for long. Surely the other scouts will awaken soon.” She ducked back in as he approached the jewelry store.

It didn’t seem like much was happening at first, but once Koushi peeked through the darkened glass he could see cases of jewelry opened and emptied. “You sure it’s a monster and not a thief?”

“Either way, you need to apprehend them. Duck into the alleyway and transform.” She told him, pointing a paw.

Koushi did so, pulling out the brooch. “So how do I transform?”

“Lift the brooch above your head and call out ‘Moon Prism Power Makeup”!” She jumped out of the bag and turned to face him.

Koushi sighed before sticking the hand holding the brooch straight up. “Moon Prism Power...Makeup?”

As soon as he had finished speaking, the brooch lit up, filling him with an almost nostalgic warmth, and he watched as ribbons flowed from the brooch, wrapping around his torso and legs. As the ribbons tightened, they solidified into a one-piece sailor styled (girls) uniform, complete with a large bow over his heart and a second bow over his tailbone. The skirt swished into fruition, settling just above midthigh, and he looked down to find knee-high hot pink boots, complete with a small amount of heel. He felt something settle onto his foehead and in his hair, and his earlobes suddenly felt heavier, as if he’d replaced his small studs with heavier earrings. The brooch disappeared from his hand, reappearing in the center of his chest bow, and gloves covered his arms to the elbows.

If cats could properly smile, Luna certainly would be, watching as Koushi twisted and turned, taking in the full transformation. “Am I supposed to have this short of a skirt?”

“Usually it’s shorter.” She snickered. “But rest assured you won’t flash anyone. Both your identity and your...purity? are protected while you’re transformed.”

“Interesting.” Koushi muttered, feeling his forehead to find a solid tiara resting there.

Luna looked back to the building. “Now for the hard part. Getting in and defeating the monster. If you use the front door, chances are good it’ll set off an alarm, and likely a trap.”

Koushi looked up and pointed at a window on the second story. “Think I could get in through there?”

She looked up, analyzing the distance. “You should. Hope your jump started decent.”

Koushi shrugged, picking up Luna and securing her on his shoulder. “I’m no Hinata, but you did say my strength was multiplied.”

He did a couple of test bounces to stretch and properly gauge how much power to put behind the jump before springing up, catching the ledge and swinging up onto it with ease. He grinned as he opened the window, slipping in and looking around. The second floor didn’t have much besides boxes of what he assumed was once stock but were now completely empty, further fueling his thief theory. Careful not to make any noise, he went down the stairs, peeking around the corner to make sure no one was waiting for him. The first floor was deserted as well, but a light from the employee-only room cued him in to where his opponent was waiting. Unfortunately there wasn’t a window on the door, so he had to crack open the door to peek in, still staying silent.

Inside was a scene straight out of an action film. A scared girl in pajamas was tied up to a pillar, and what looked like her mother was crouched over a monitor, muttering something about gathering energy for a “great ruler”. That didn’t sound good.

Koushi set a slightly confused Luna down before sneaking his way into the room, catching the girls eye. He held a finger up to his lips in a shush motion, and she nodded slightly before looking back to the woman at the computer. He looked around for something he could use to knock out the woman, but decided a simple chop to the back of the neck would probably do.

Luna watched with wide-eyed wonder as the newest Sailor Moon delivered a swift and powerful blow directly to the back of her neck, wincing as an audible crack was heard from her bones. Koushi froze as she crumpled to the ground, looking at his hand in wonder. No wonder Asahi always complained about his hits.

Shaking his head to focus, Koushi quickly made his way over to the girl, who on closer inspection was one of the second-years on the Karasuno girl’s team. She was still clearly panicked, and he attempted to sooth her as he undid the restraints.

“Who are you? Why are you here? Did you just kill my mom??” She fired off, scrambling to get up.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m here to save you, I don’t think I did?” He responded, turning to look back to where the woman was but only finding a very wrinkled...being facing him.

She(?) howled, causing Koushi and the girl to cover their eardrums, wincing at the pitch. Shaking it off as best he could, he dashed in to grapple her, but completely forgot about the enhanced speed and went flying into the monster, sending them both into the wall.

The monster moved to pin him to the ground but he held his arms up to protect his throat, struggling against its surprising strength. “Get out of here while you can!” He called to the girl frozen in the doorway, who nodded and fled the scene.

Koushi turned back to the monster, gritting his teeth and shoving himself away from it, landing halfway across the room with surprising grace. “You want a piece of me, you old hag?”

“You’re just some boy in a skirt, what the hell can you do?” It hissed back, getting up onto it’s feet.

Koushi snorted, balling his fists. “I’m Sailor Moon, and through the power of magical bullshit, I’ll kick your ass!”

They flew towards each other once more, Koushi ducking low to sweep its feet out from under it. It jumped, landing and throwing a punch, and with reflexes he didn’t know he had, dodged and grabbed its arm, throwing it over his shoulder and into the monitor it had been working at earlier. He grinned, barely even winded.

As it began to get up, Koushi watched as a pale white rose was flung directly into its chest, causing it to convulse. He whirled into the direction it came from, finding the silhouette of a tall person in a top hat and flowing cape standing in the same window he’d come from.

“Please tell me you’re not an enemy.” Koushi pleaded, causing the other to chuckle, a smooth and almost sweet sound.

“I’m no enemy yet, Mister Moon.” He turned, revealing a white mask and tuxedo, and Koushi tried to focus on their face but realized quickly that they likely had the same kind of magic protecting their identity.

Koushi rolled his eyes and focused back on the monster, seeing it had stopped seizing and had ripped the rose out. “Luna, how do I beat this thing?”

“Glad you asked, finally.” Luna walked up behind Koushi, tail curling around one of his ankles. “Take off your tiara and yell ‘Moon Tiara Boomerang’, and fling it at the enemy.”

He heard a snort from the windowsill, causing his eye to twitch. “Laugh all you want, asshole, at least I’m not the one flinging flowers like a tool.”

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” The silhouette gasped as Koushi peeled off the tiara, eyeing it.

“No, but I kiss yours.” Koushi retorted, knowing he was being petty before grasping the tiara and calling out the words he was told, flinging it at the enemy.

Both Koushi and the silhouette watched as the tiara turned into a glowing Frisbee, flying straight through the enemy and slicing it clean in half. It let out a bloodcurdling screech as it began to turn to dust from the impact point, blowing away in the soft evening breeze from the window. Luna looked up at Koushi, who grinned.

“Well, I suppose my work here is done.” The hidden figure declared, causing Koushi to look at them bewildered.

“What are you talking about? You didn’t do anything!” He yelled as they swished their cape around them, jumping out of the window.

Koushi moved to follow him only to pause at Luna’s paw on his foot. “Bad idea. You’re likely worn out, and Tuxedo Masks are crafty. Let’s go home for now.”

With a start, Koushi realized that she was right, and that his energy had suddenly disappeared. Probably the Tiara Boomerang, it likely ran off his energy.

He nodded, and with another flash of light he became Koushi Sugawara again, and the duo headed home.

 

Koushi yawned for what felt like the millionth time as they were warming up for morning practice. He’d slept like a log, sure, but his body still wasn’t used to the strain of being Sailor Moon. He looked to where Hinata was bouncing up and down, talking animatedly with Kageyama, and wondered why Luna hadn’t picked him. But then again, Hinata would’ve made a disastrous Sailor Moon, not knowing how to handle the speed and strength at all.

He thought back to Luna’s talk about his goal, about how he needed to find the other four scouts in order to find the “legendary moon heir” so they could restore peace to the world. Koushi thought it was ridiculous at first, saying surely Sailor Moon would’ve been the moon heir.

“Not always.” She’d responded. “I’ve been around for many generations of Sailor Scouts, and while about half of the Sailor Moons have been the moon heir, the other half the time its someone who isn’t a scout at all. Who knows?”

Koushi shook his head. He didn’t need to focus on the moon heir just yet, he had to find his other scouts. He’d asked Luna what he should look for, but she gave him pretty vague stuff.

Sailor Mercury was the brains of the team, strategy oriented and able to keep cool. Sailor Mars was passionate, but still able to de-escalate any issues and serve as a steady presence. Sailor Jupiter was strong, with a heart of gold and usually with an unnerving exterior. Sailor Venus was feelings-driven, incredibly talented but easily distracted by love.

How the hell was he going to find those, and would he even be able to get along with them? And who was that stupid Tuxedo Mask?

Koushi groaned and faceplanted in his split, causing Daichi to look over confused. One thing was for sure though.

 

Koushi Sugawara was in for one hell of a ride.

Chapter 2: Bubble Bubble, Brains Means Trouble

Summary:

"Jokes on you, I'm not even a real blonde!"

Notes:

y'all holy SHIT i was not expecting such a positive response to this! you guys give me doki dokis in the best way!

also i love hearing your theories on who's going to be what sailor scout, keep them coming!

(help me i forgot about chibiusa)

Chapter Text

It’d been a long week, and Koushi was TIRED.

Between practice, figuring out where the next monster was going to appear, and dealing with Oikawa (who still insisted on setting up Daichi and Iwaizumi), he was surprised he had time to himself. It wasn’t much time, of course, but it was enough to take a breather and scroll through social media.

He raised a brow at one of the Twitter ads. Why would an ad for a cram school pop up? His scores were perfectly fine. Unlike some of his kouhais...

Luna peeked over his shoulder from where he was laying on his bed. “Hold on. Click on that picture real quick.”

Koushi looked at her. “The ad?”

“Yes. Something seems off about it.” She responded, tapping a paw to the glass in an attempt to click on it.

Of course, nothing happened, because cat beans don’t work on smart phones, so Koushi tapped on the picture, analyzing what was wrong. It didn’t seem off, just a picture of a relatively attractive woman in a business suit showing off a computer running a program. He zoomed in on the computer, squinting at the words. “Crystal Seminar? Weird name for a cram school.”

Luna nodded. “It’s probably not what it seems. A trap, most likely.”

“Great.” Koushi sighed. “Why would they set up a cram school trap?”

“Traditionally, Sailor Moons aren’t school smart. Or smart in general.” Luna snorted. “They’re also commonly crybabies, who don’t want anything to do with fighting.”

“And yet it’s still me this time around?” Koushi wondered, minimizing the picture and continuing to scroll.

“Apparently.” Luna sighed, moving to the foot of the bed as his phone buzzed with an incoming message.

 

Grand Pain: ne, refreshing-kun, are you busy tomorrow?

Me: Surprisingly, no. Although I should probably spend the day studying.

Grand Pain: boo, that’s no fun ( ̄ヘ ̄)

Grand Pain: you should grab sawamura and meet me and Iwa-chan for lunch!

Me: I don’t see why I should.

Grand Pain: uh, to get them together, of course!

Grand Pain: and bonus-you get to spend time with me!

Me: You’re just going to bug me for Kageyama blackmail.

Grand Pain: okay, maybe a little.

Grand Pain: just do it for them and their love life!

Me: You’re not going to leave me alone until I agree, are you.

Grand Pain: nope! o(≧▽≦)o

Me: Fine. When and where.

Grand Pain: there’s a little ramen shop I always take Iwa-chan, here

Grand Pain: meet us there at noon?

Me: Sure, I’ll let Daichi know.

 

Me: daichi help

Me: oikawa bugged me into lunch and youre coming with

Thighchi: I’m sorry WHAT

Me: he’s bringing iwaizumi so you’ll be fine but im going to suffer

Thighchi: He’s trying to play matchmaker

Me: of course he is he’s a shithead like that

Thighchi: Where and when

Me: some ramen place at noon

Thighchi: Please please PLEASE put sriracha in his bowl when he isn’t looking for me because chances are I will be distracted by arms

Me: LMAO if im not too distracted as well I will

Thighchi: BACK OFF I CALLED DIBS

 

Koushi snickered at that. Iwaizumi definitely wasn’t his type, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the art. But then that raised the question-what was his type? He thought back to all the crushes he’d had before, trying to see if there was anything common between them all, but couldn’t think of anything specific.

Luna bopped his foot lightly to get his attention. “Have you figured out anything about the other scouts yet?”

“Been a little busy with life, Luna.” He sighed. “They’ll show up eventually. Until then, I can handle things.”

She lowered her head, settling in for the night. “I know, but I’m curious as to who you think it’ll be.”

Koushi shut off his phone, laying it on his chest. “Well, the first one is Mercury, right? And they’re the brains. So it’ll probably be Tsukishima.”

“Do you want it to be Tsukishima?” Her tail slowly thumped against the bed.

“Not really.” He admitted. “The first years have enough on their plate, they don’t deserve to be dragged into this. But Tsukishima would make a good ally, so if he does end up being Mercury I won’t complain.”

Luna hummed. “And the others?”

“Those are...less obvious. Honestly, it could be anyone on the team.” He shrugged.

“But you’re sure it’s within the team?” She asked, a hint of humor lacing her question.

Koushi blinked. “Well, I sure hope it’s all within the team. It’d be a struggle otherwise.”

“Duly noted.” Noted for what?

Koushi racked his brain for a second. “And it’s only the five? You’d think there’d be one for each planet.”

“There is.” She caught herself before she could start kneading into the blanket. “But the Outer Scouts stay hidden quite a bit longer. They’ll arrive when they need to.”

Koushi sighed. “Are they enemies?”

“Some of them try to make themselves enemies, but in the end, they’ll always be allies.” Luna lowered her head, settling in for the night. “But for now, your main focus is Mercury.”

Koushi nodded before shutting off the light, shifting to get comfortable before falling asleep.

And for some reason, his dreams were filled with a man in a white mask and a purple tuxedo, and a princess with long hair in a white dress.

 

The next day found Koushi way too fidgety over his outfit for lunch with Oikawa. He’d invited Daichi over so they could head there together, and the other man had simply watched in amusement as Koushi ran around trying to look perfect.

“Just stick with the sweater and ripped jeans, Suga. You don’t need to go overboard.” Daichi snickered as Koushi shoved on yet another shirt.

“Well, yes, but don’t you think it’s too simple?” He asked, grabbing said outfit.

Daichi hummed in thought. “Add some accessories, then. Like a hair clip or a choker or something.”

Koushi nodded, disappearing back into the bathroom to change. After shuffling into the jeans and shoving the sweater over his head, he took a moment to take in his appearance. He could definitely tell he was stressed, between the circles under his eyes and the stress pimples popping up across his forehead, but he could cover that easily with concealer. Unlike Daichi and Asahi, Koushi couldn’t grow anything on his chin but peach fuzz, but it’d never bothered him much. Facial hair just didn’t suit him. His hair was a complete mess from the constant changing, so he did his best to fix it, adding a couple of star clips for his bangs and huffing over that one lock of hair that wouldn’t lay flat, ever. He looked to his small makeup drawer, debating on whether to add anything else, before saying fuck it and applying a subtle mascara.

Good god, he really was trying too hard.

Koushi stepped out of the bathroom to find Daichi on his phone, typing out a message. He attempted to peek over the captain’s shoulder, only to get a stern glare. “If you’re finally ready, we should probably go. Don’t want to keep them waiting too long.”

Koushi nodded, pulling up the directions. “Should be like a fifteen minute walk, if the crosswalks cooperate.”

“That’s not bad.” Daichi admitted as they walked out, a light breeze greeting them.

They made light conversation on the way over, discussing the shenanigans of their teammates, and were met outside of the shop by a grinning Oikawa and a less-than-pleased Iwaizumi. “You two finally made it! I was wondering whether you flaked or not.”

“Even if we did, you’d still hunt us down.” Koushi rolled his eyes, opening the door for the others.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Oikawa insisted as he followed Daichi and Iwaizumi inside.

They picked out a booth, Oikawa instantly sliding in and dragging Koushi next to him so Daichi and Iwaizumi would have to sit next to each other. Neither of them seemed bothered by it, though, and Daichi was very clearly fixated on Iwaizumi’s arms, accentuated by the tank top he’d chosen. Koushi couldn’t blame him. It was a nice view.

“So how’s life been?” Oikawa asked, opening his menu and flicking through it.

Koushi shrugged, lightly nudging Daichi to snap him out of his trance. “Busy. Lots of practice, lots of studying.”

“Lots of making sure the younger members don’t get themselves killed.” Daichi griped, looking to his menu.

Iwaizumi snorted. “I hear that. I feel like a parent sometimes, and this one doesn’t help.”

Oikawa pouted. “How rude, Iwa-chan. See if I ever let you stay over for Godzilla marathons again.”

Iwaizumi’s face pinked, and the shorter male glared hard enough to make Koushi nervous. Daichi held up his menu to hide a snicker. Oikawa turned to Koushi. “Did you guys hear about the break in at that jewelry store by you guys?”

Daichi shook his head. “No, I didn’t. What happened?”

“Okay, so.” Chocolate brown eyes twinkled. “Someone broke in, and no one knows what exactly happened but there was evidence of a fight, but get this! None of the jewelry was stolen. No camera evidence was left, no footprints, nothing but a very bamboozled owner and her daughter’s quite sketchy account of a monster and ‘Sailor Moon’.”

“Sailor Moon?” Daichi questioned.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I keep telling you, the chick was drugged.”

“No way! I think we’re dealing with something supernatural here.” Oikawa claimed.

Koushi frowned. “Like what, aliens?”

“Maybe!” Oikawa grinned.

“You’re ridiculous. It’s not aliens. There’s probably a perfectly logical explanation for this, let’s move on.” Iwaizumi huffed, causing Oikawa to pout again.

Koushi and Daichi shared a look before shrugging. “Wanna hear about Kageyama’s latest attempt at impressing Hinata?” The silver-haired boy offered.

Oikawa leaned forward in his seat. “Spill the tea, Suga-chan.”

 

“I won’t be able to make it to afternoon practice today.” Tsukishima told him the next day as they were cleaning up.

Koushi raised a brow. “Why not?”

Tsukishima scowled. “My mom signed me up for some cram school. Says my grades need to be better.”

“I’ll let Daichi and the coaches know, don’t worry.” Koushi offered a smile, despite the pit of dread growing in his stomach at the younger boy’s words.

Hadn’t Luna said something about a cram school trap? What if Tsukishima got attacked by a monster? Or worse-became the monster? Koushi wasn’t sure if he’d be able to fight a teammate, evil or not. He simply cared too much for their little family.

And then there was the issue of if there was a monster at the cram school. How would he get out of practice? How would he get in the cram school? Maybe Luna had a solution, but the only time he could talk to her without being caught was when he lingered behind changing, and that was if no one else lingered as well.

Of course, it seemed as if Luna could sense his distress, and sought him out during lunch, which he usually spent in the library on his own. By choice, of course, he usually used lunch to study and noise didn’t help him focus at all.

“You’ll have to settle with heading there directly after practice and hoping it’s still in session.” Luna told him. “But getting in will be easy if you’ve got this.”

She nudged a pen towards him over the table he was situated at, causing him to pick it up with a confused look. “It’s a pen. Unless it turns into a sword, I don’t know what good this will do me.”

“It’s not a sword, it’s a magical disguise kit.” She huffed, tail swishing. “Call Moon Power, and request what you want to turn into.”

“Can I turn into animals?” Koushi asked, examining the very pink pen.

“No.”

“Can I turn into the opposite gender?”

“Yes.”

“Can I turn into people who exist already?”

“Yes, but I would advise against it. Very hard to explain if you get caught.”

Koushi grinned, pocketing the pen. He was going to have quite a bit of fun with that. “Be ready to run straight for the Crystal Seminar after school, then.”

Luna sighed. “Logically, we don’t know that that’s the cram school he’s going to be at, but magical girl law states that people you know will always lead you to monsters.”

Koushi blinked. “He’s going to end up being a scout, isn’t he.”

“Most likely.” Luna admitted.

 

The rest of the team had been very confused as Koushi raced to the club room to change immediately after they were dismissed, and he’d offered them a simple “my mom needs help at home” excuse before dashing off, Luna secured in his bag, directing him to the Crystal Seminar. Now he stood in the lobby, pen in hand and brooch in his pocket. Luna poked her head up from his bag, silently nudging him in the direction of an open janitor’s closet. Koushi nodded and headed inside, shutting the door so he could disguise himself without the risk of being caught.

He twirled the pen in his fingers, debating what to change into so as to not be caught. Janitorial staff was probably his best bet, but he’d be busted the moment he stepped into a room. But maybe he didn’t need to go in the room?

“It was just Moon Power, right?” Koushi asked, looking to the cat on the floor for assurance.

Luna nodded. “Just please don’t say ‘turn me into a cute whatever’. I’ve had way too many Sailor Moons do that.”

Koushi snorted before holding the pen up. “Moon Power, turn me into one of the janitors!”

In a flash of light, his school uniform had been changed out for a polo and khakis, with a key ring on his belt loop. A lock of blonde hair fell into his face, and he quickly pinned it behind his ear. Luna snorted from where she sat. “You still have your beauty mark, Suga.”

“Shit, really?” He pulled out his phone and checked his reflection to see that yes, despite the fact that even his facial structure had changed, that damn mole was still there.

Surely that wouldn’t give away his identity. Right?

He grabbed the cleaning cart, ushering Luna on under a pile of towels, and wheeled it out through the hallway, casually peeking through the windows on the doors. No sign of anything suspicious in any of them, just kids at computers, studying and answering questions.

Koushi was debating whether they’d been wrong when he heard a door open, revealing a very bleary-looking Tsukishima. The blonde took off his glasses, rubbing his temples as he walked by Koushi, muttering something about not coming back. Koushi raised a brow, peeking in to see no supervisors in the room and all of the students were hyperfocused on their computers. Tsukishima’s computer was still on and open, so Koushi decided to take a small peek at the computer under the guise of wiping the screen and table down.

At first glance, it looked like a normal math program, but after accidentally hitting a couple of buttons the screen went completely black and green text began scrolling across the screen. Koushi went wide-eyed as Find the Silver Crystal. Give your energy to the Great Ruler scrolled past. Luna hopped up on the table, a blue pen somehow in her mouth. She set it next to the mouse before jumping back in the towels, and Koushi decided now was a good time to leave. He’d just left the room when Tsukishima brushed past him, not even sparing him a glance. Not that Koushi expected him to when he looked completely different.

Tsukishima could handle himself, but right now Koushi needed to find the monster in charge. Where the hell would they be located? He went through the hall, peeking in all the rooms again, but couldn’t find anything. He’d just peeked into the last room when a suspiciously bony hand gripped his shoulder, long green nails glinting under the light.

“Sir, I think you’re lost. Let me redirect you.” Koushi turned to see a very malicious smile on an otherwise attractive face.

He gulped as she forced him down the hallway into an empty room, shoving him in harshly. He winced as his stomach slammed into a desk, nearly knocking the wind out of him. As he recovered, he turned, finding that the woman had turned into a grotesque monster as well. “You should’ve minded your business, blondie.”

“Jokes on you, I’m not even a real blonde!” He spat back, pulling the brooch out of his pocket and calling those magic words.

The monster gaped as Koushi felt the ribbons wrap around him, enveloping him and turning into the scout uniform he was quickly growing fond of. Who knew skirts made his thighs look so good? “Just who the hell are you?”

Koushi struck a cutesy pose. “I’m Sailor Moon, and I’m here to kick your ass!”

The monster hissed before holding its hand out palm forward, summoning a flurry of papers and aiming them at him. He quickly grabbed a table as a shield, mind racing. He couldn’t fight long distance just yet, and there was no way that monster was going to let him get close. Maybe if he-

His thought process was cut short as a paper cut through the desk, stopping right in front of where his face was, and he decided to run and figure out a plan on the way. He threw the now-useless desk at the monster, successfully distracting it from attacking him as he fled the room, running through the hallway and running smack into someone.

Someone over six feet tall, blonde, and looking at him very confused. Shit.

“Who the hell are you? Did you cause that bang?” He asked, looking down at a nervously sweating Koushi.

“Probably? No time to explain, we have to get out of here.” He instinctively grabbed the others arm and dragged him along with him, going into a room that Luna was peeking out of.

Koushi quickly locked them in the room before sinking against the door with a sigh. “That was shit.”

Tsukishima blinked. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but why is there a...oh god, that’s Sugawara’s cat.”

“Sure is.” Koushi admitted.

“I have so many questions right now.” Tsukishima groaned, rubbing his temples.

Koushi winced as he heard the monster screeching, calling out for him. “And I’d answer them all if I had time. Unfortunately, your teacher is a monster, I’m some off-brand superhero, and we need to get out of here before we die.”

Tsukishima pushed up his glasses, looking around the room and thinking. “Wait until the monster is right in front of the door, then slam yourself into the door. The impact should knock them out for a bit, giving you time to defeat them.”

Koushi blinked and nodded, leaning against the door to listen for the monster’s approach. When he was sure the monster was there, he backed up before running full speed at the door, hitting it with his shoulder and knocking it off its hinges and straight into the monster. The monster groaned as Koushi pinned it down, allowing Tsukishima and Luna to escape.

He grinned. “Man, some of these monsters are just pushovers.”

Famous last words.

Koushi yelped as the monster got up with a yell, firing another wave of papers at him and pinning him to the wall, unable to move. Tsukishima had frozen in place when he heard the noise, unable to look away as the monster approached Koushi, nails elongated to the size of knives. Koushi gulped, scrunching his eyes shut tightly as he prepared himself for the pain, but it never came. He cracked an eye open to find Tsukishima had grabbed a broom and smashed it over the monster’s head, fixing it with an icy glare. “Back the hell off.”

“And who are you to stop me?” The monster hissed as Luna bounded out, somehow jumping up onto Tsukishima’s shoulder.

The blonde raised a brow, turning to the cat as she pawed at his shirt pocket, pulling out the blue pen she’d put at his desk earlier. “He happens to be a Sailor Scout too.”

Tsukishima visibly jumped at the sound of her voice, blinking in disbelief. “I don’t know what’s weirder, the cat talking or the fact that I’m supposed to run around in a skirt too.”

“Go with the cat, the skirt’s actually not bad.” Koushi grinned as the pen began glowing, as well as a mark on Tsukishima’s forehead in the shape of Mercury’s alchemy symbol.

Luna hopped off his shoulder. “Take the pen and call Mercury Power Makeup!”

“This is so fucking stupid. Okay.” Tsukishima grumbled, holding up the pen. “Mercury Power Makeup!”

The monster was completely frozen in disbelief as Tsukishima twirled the pen around himself, creating a stream of water that clung to his form and changed into a sailor uniform similar to Koushi’s, only in different shades of blue. He tapped the pen to his glasses, and with a flash they turned into blue-tinted goggles. The pen disappeared once the transformation was finished, leaving Tsukishima to gape at himself.

“Why the fuck am I in heels.” Was the first thing out of his mouth.

The monster growled. “A second Sailor Scout is no matter, I’ll end you both easily!”

Tsukishima clicked his tongue as the monster fired a paper attack, and he easily dodged. “Cat. I’ve got powers, right? How do I use them?”

“You have your Aqua Mist. It should give you the advantage here.” Luna told him, dodging the monster’s steps.

“Good god, this is all so stupid sounding. Aqua Mist!” He called, and suddenly the hallway was covered in a thick fog, confusing the enemy.

Koushi squinted, barely able to see their silhouettes, when he felt the paper’s hold lessen. He turned to see Tuxedo Mask peeling off the restraints. How long had he been there?

“Good to see you again, Mister Moon.” Tuxedo Mask winked, causing Koushi to groan.

“Wish I could say the same to you. Do you just watch me flounder?” He asked, stretching himself out as soon as he was free.

Tuxedo Mask let out a very exaggerated gasp. “Of course not! I can’t believe you would think that of me.”

“You show up, you do something that didn’t always need to be done, you leave. When are you going to start fighting?” Koushi asked before charging towards the monster, Moon Tiara Boomerang in hand.

As the monster faded to dust and the mist cleared, Koushi realized two things. One, Tuxedo Mask had dipped again. And two, Tsukishima was on the ground, glaring at his shoes. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t walk in heels, apparently.” Tsukishima sighed, looking up to Koushi. “Hi, Sugawara.”

Koushi put a finger to his lips. “Shush. We don’t know who’s listening. Let me get you somewhere secluded, and Luna and I will answer all your questions.”

 

“So we’ve still got three more teammates and a royal to find.” Tsukishima stated as Koushi walked him home.

“Essentially, yes.” Luna said from her spot in Koushi’s bag.

“And we won’t really know who they are until they appear.”

“Yes.”

“Do I have to continue wearing the heels or can I change that?”

“Unfortunately, you’re stuck with the heels.”

Koushi snickered. “It’s funny you’re stuck on the heels and not the skirt.”

“The skirt won’t break my ankles.” Tsukishima sighed as they approached his house. “I’m still really hoping this is all a fever dream, but I’ll see you tomorrow regardless.”

“Goodnight, Tsukishima.” Koushi waved as the blonde headed inside, and he began making his own way home.

He walked in relative silence for a bit before asking Luna a question that’d been weighing on him for a while. “Luna, just who is Tuxedo Mask?”

Luna pondered her answer for a moment. “He’s a bit of a vigilante. Usually they try to seek the Silver Crystal for themselves, before dedicating themselves to protecting it.”

“The Silver Crystal. What’s that?” He asked, readjusting his bag.

“The Silver Crystal is a gemstone of pure light energy. Essentially, whoever wields it has the ultimate power. After every torch pass, it goes to the moon heir’s possession, but where it goes from there has varied. I’ve seen all kinds of scouts wield it, as well as non-scouts. No enemy has gotten ahold of it, nor should they ever.”

Koushi nodded. It almost sounded like the Infinity Gauntlet from the Marvel franchise. Wait, can he legally reference that?

“So once all the scouts are gathered we’ve got a lot on our plates, then.” He hummed, walking up the driveway to his house.

Luna nodded, barely perceptible in the moonlight. “Baby steps, Suga. Your next big goal should be finding Sailor Mars.”

He made a noise of agreement, already racking his brain for who it could possibly be. His phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts, and snorted when he saw it was Oikawa.

 

Grand Pain: suga-chaaaaaaan! Sailor moon appeared again!

 

         How he knew that so quickly, Koushi wasn’t sure, but that sounded like a problem for future Koushi Sugawara.

 

Chapter 3: A Protective Flame, A Bitter Enemy

Summary:

Stop it Koushi, that's a practically taken man.

Notes:

this one's for trash-kun because their comment last chapter made me giggle

i swear i didn't change mars just for you

also if anyone has ideas for this story please don't hesitate to tell me! i'll see if i can write them into fruition for ya

Chapter Text

Koushi was not looking forward to practice that day. Mainly because one of the biggest pains in his life decided to make an appearance.

Oikawa waved at him from where he was standing against the wall, Iwaizumi with him. Koushi turned around with a groan, causing Asahi to raise a brow from where he was stretching next to him. “Why’s he waving at you? You’d think he’d be here for Kageyama.”

“One would think.” Koushi griped, furthering his split. “Unfortunately, he’s taken to talking to me.”

Asahi looked very confused. “Why? Setter thing?”

“God, I wish. No, he wants to play matchmaker for Daichi, and wanted me to help.” Koushi huffed.

Asahi gave him a look of sympathy as Kageyama and Hinata began bickering in the background, Yamaguchi trying to calm them down while Tsukishima egged them on. How those two were friends while being practically polar opposites, Koushi wasn’t sure. Daichi approached the two as they stretched out, snorting as he watched Iwaizumi swat the back of Oikawa’s head for something he said. “Practice ought to be interesting today.”

“I’m just wondering why they’re here and not at their own practice.” Asahi mused. “Aren’t Interhighs in like a month and a half?”

“Apparently, they take this day off every week, so they don’t burn themselves out.” Koushi answered.

Daichi hummed. “Smart, but we can’t afford to do that.”

“Even if we could, we’d probably all come and practice anyways.” Asahi laughed.

Koushi and Daichi made noises of agreement before calling the team together for a huddle, the captain detailing how todays practice was going to go and reminding the team (Kageyama) to not get distracted by their visitors. Most of them didn’t seem bothered by his presence beyond slight confusion, which was good, but Koushi was sure Oikawa would start heckling them once they started. He was definitely petty enough to do so.

He was pleasantly surprised to find he was wrong, as every time Oikawa started to say something he was cut off by Iwaizumi. The brunette had sulked for a bit before satisfying himself with taking pictures and recordings of their practice, but Koushi had a sinking feeling it was more to do with the stupid faces they made than practice tips. He wouldn’t be surprised if one of his weird faces ended up all over social media as a meme.

After a few hours of sweating, setting, and smacking teammates around, practice ended, and as Koushi was cooling down Oikawa dragged Iwaizumi over, a devious sparkle in his eyes. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Great practice, Suga-chan! You guys might actually be decent soon!” Oikawa chirped, causing Daichi to look over with a glare.

Koushi sighed. “You and I both know you have an ulterior motive for being here, Oikawa.”

Said brunette pouted. “You’re so pretty, but you’re so mean!”

Koushi felt his face heat up, and he quickly looked down and pretended to tie his shoes. A thunk stopped him, and he looked up to see Oikawa rubbing the back of his head, a volleyball rolling away. Iwaizumi stood next to him, covering his mouth and pretending not to laugh.

“Oops. My bad.” Kageyama called from across the gym, his deadpan tone giving away that he’d absolutely served into the back of Oikawa’s head on purpose.

Koushi wasn’t sure if that was more his influence or Iwaizumi’s, but either way he was proud.

Oikawa whined, sticking his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout, causing Iwaizumi to roll his eyes. “This idiot’s hijinks aside, we do have possibly vital information for you.”

Daichi raised a brow. “Really?”

“You guys have a practice match with Date Tech soon, right?” The ace folded his arms. “there are rumors that people are getting kidnapped on one of the bus lines from there to here.”

“The demon bus!” Oikawa butted in, having already recovered.

Koushi gulped softly. Chances were good it was another monster trap, so he started mentally recording everything to tell Tsukishima later.

“It’s not a demon bus, Shittykawa. It’s probably human trafficking.” Iwaizumi scoffed.

Oikawa shook his head. “Believe in a little supernatural, Iwa-chan! Besides, how do you explain the bus completely disappearing at 8 pm on the dot and reappearing back in Miyagi two hours later?”

“Back routes.” Iwaizumi deadpanned.

“Wait, wait. Back up a bit.” Daichi interjected. “Oikawa, what’s the whole story?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked, Sawamura-kun!” Oikawa grinned. “Every other line from Date Tech to our pocket of Miyagi is safe, but the one that leaves Date tech at 7:50 is known as the ‘demon bus’. It looks normal, but as it goes over one of the hills on its way here, at 8 pm exactly, it disappears, along with everyone on it. No one knows where it goes, but it’s always found parked in the bus lot at 10pm.”

Daichi frowned. “We should be able to avoid having to use that bus if we end early or late.”

“Don’t tell me you believe it!” Iwaizumi gaped at the other captain, who scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I don’t think the supernatural aspect of it is real, but if it is human trafficking then I’m definitely not getting the team wrapped up in that.” Daichi explained.

Iwaizumi pondered this for a moment, before sighing. “And you say you aren’t a dad.”

“Because I’m not!” The dark-haired male protested, flushing softly, causing the other three to snicker.

 

All through class, all Koushi could think of was that damned demon bus and how to keep the team from getting on. Thankfully, they were covering something he already knew, so he caved and brought out his phone, hiding it from the teacher. He still needed to tell Tsukishima about the possible monster trap, anyways.

 

Me: So I think I’ve found a possible target.

A Salty Boi: oh?

Me: I heard rumors of a “demon bus” abducting people, chances are good it’s a monster.

A Salty Boi: great, fighting on a moving vehicle. just what I wanted.

A Salty Boi: also quit acting so formal over text, it’s weird.

Me: oh right I already exposed myself as a disaster to you oops

A Salty Boi: so where does this bus run from, and where does it go?

Me: where’d you come from cotton eyed joe

A Salty Boi: sugawara, focus.

Me: RIGHT SORRY

Me: it runs from date tech and supposedly comes back here, but at 8 pm it disappears from this world altogether

A Salty Boi: hm, I’ll see if I can track it after school, luna said something about giving me a super computer

Me: I’M SORRY WHAT

Me: YOU GET A FUCKING SUPER COMPUTER AND I JUST GET A PEN????

A Salty Boi: its compensation for those damn heeled boots

Me: that’s...fair

 

         A soft buzz signaled an incoming text from someone else, and Koushi subtly raised a brow. Why was Daichi texting him? He hated texting in class.

 

Thighchi: I know I shouldn’t be texting but I can’t get that stupid demon bus thing out of my head

Me: oh goody im not the only one panicking

Thighchi: If it is a human trafficking thing, is there any way we can fend them off?

Thighchi: And if it’s actually supernatural then what the fuck do we do??

Me: dai I don’t have all the answers you know that

Thighchi: Yeah I know

Me: let’s focus on keeping the team off the demon bus by not taking the 7:50 line if we can

Me: and if worse comes to worse maybe that sailor moon person oikawa always talks about will show up and save us who knows

Thighchi: I think Oikawa has a celebrity crush on Sailor Moon with how much he talks about them

Me: who do you think sailor moon is?

Thighchi: Honestly? No idea. I’m not sure I want to know.

 

Ouch. That stung a little.

 

Thighchi: In less depressing news I’ve reached a whole new level of gay

Me: oh???

Thighchi: So you know how Iwaizumi and I have been texting

Me: mhm you smile every time he sends you anything

Thighchi: Shut

Thighchi: Anyways somehow the conversation turned to types when it comes to dating partners

Thighchi: And apparently he likes them “dark-haired and built like a truck”

Thighchi: Asahi Christ if that didn’t get my hopes up

Me: yuhhhhh get it dai

Thighchi: I don’t know if he was talking about boys or girls though but it’s something

Me: you should tell him soon! he’s a snack and somebody’s gonna snatch him if you don’t

Thighchi: I’ll tell Iwaizumi if you tell Oikawa

Me: tell oikawa what? I don’t have genuine feelings for him, I just think he’s cute

Thighchi: Well at least you admit that much

Me: ???? hop off my dick????

 

A week later, they’d all but forgotten about the demon bus, since no one (read: Oikawa) had made a fuss about it. The practice match against Date Tech had gone well, and there’d been enough rematches to let everyone play. Daichi was ushering everyone on the bus afterwards, saying he wanted them home at a reasonable time. Koushi had taken one of the window seats, and usually Daichi sat next to him, but due to recent circumstances (and Yamaguchi being roped into the three-seater with Hinata and Kageyama), his seatmate was Tsukishima. Which was fine, Koushi had something for him.

A couple of days ago, Koushi had asked Luna about how to contact a teammate when transformed and not near them. Their phones disappeared while they were transformed, and communication seemed like a pretty vital thing. Luna had winked and handed him what looked like a watch, with a white band, pink face and gold detailing.

“If you lift the face, there’s a button to alert other communicators, as well as a built-in speaker and microphone. It won’t disappear when you transform either, and it’s designed to handle pressure during combat.” The cat had explained, handing him four others in blue, red, green and orange.

Tsukishima sighed, looking around as the rest of the team settled down, most of them passing out almost instantly. Koushi snickered as Hinata, dead asleep, fell over onto Kageyama, who looked extremely confused. Yamaguchi shot Tsukishima a sympathetic look from where he’d been stuck, and Koushi blinked as Tsukishima childishly stuck his tongue out at his friend.

They settled in as the bus began to move, and Koushi started digging through his bag for the blue watch. He handed it to the blonde wordlessly, who raised a brow and inspected it, running a finger over the Mercury symbol engraved on the face. “It’s a communicator, so we can keep in touch even when transformed.” Koushi explained.

Tsukishima made a soft noise of understanding, wrapping it around his wrist and securing it. Koushi grinned, pulling his sleeve up to show off his own, causing Tsukishima to snort softly.

“Pink? Really?” He asked, turning his headphones on.

Koushi pouted. “I look good in pink, thank you very much.”

“Sure, sure.” Tsukishima dismissed, pulling his headphones on and effectively ending the conversation.

Which was fine, Oikawa had begged Koushi for details on the practice match, so he may as well give him said details. They texted for a bit, chatting about volleyball, before the other sent a text that made Koushi’s blood run cold.

 

 

Grand Pain: suga-chan, you’re not on the bus right now, are you???

Me: I am, why?

Grand Pain: you need to stop and get the team off right now!

Me: What? Oikawa, what are you talking about?

 

         Whatever Oikawa may have sent next, he never saw, because suddenly the lights on the bus went out. And so did Koushi.

         When he came to, he was still on the bus, but it wasn’t the same bus he remembered. The interior had gone from a soft and inviting grey and navy to a bone-chilling black and red, and the bus driver was walking down the aisle, examining each of the people inside. He didn’t get a good look at said bus driver though, as he was yanked down and of his seat, coming face to face with an almost panicked Tsukishima.

         “Don’t let him see you.” The blonde warned, pulling his transformation pen out of his pocket. “Not until you’re Sailor Moon.”

         Koushi raised a brow. “Why?”

         “That’s not like the monster from last time. That’s a mini-boss, of sorts.” He explained, gesturing to what looked like a Nintendo DS on the seat.

         On the screen was the bus driver, along with a stream of information, such as name (Jadeite), affiliation (Dark Kingdom), power level (general), and weakness (fire). Damn, that supercomputer was useful.

         Koushi swallowed softly. “Is everyone else still out?”

Tsukishima nodded. “Pretty sure it’s part of the magic or whatever surrounding the bus. We’re free to transform without letting them know.”

“Thank god for magical bullshit.” Koushi pulled his brooch out of his pocket, rubbing his thumb over the large stone in the middle.

The two nodded at each other before whispering their transformation words, and with a swish of ribbon and a stream of water they’d become Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury once again. They stood up abruptly, Tsukishima wobbling a little, catching the attention of Jadeite. Said man had picked up Daichi to examine him, and was now holding him by the collar. “I would advise against anything rash, or else I might slip and hurt your little friend here.”

Koushi bit his lip, freezing, while Tsukishima just raised a brow, unimpressed. “Said friend could crush your skull without even transforming, but go off.”

“You’re quite a bit testier this time around, Sailor Mercury. Your predecessors would be ashamed.” Jadeite scolded, but still eyed Daichi warily.

Tsukishima shrugged. “Guess it’s that Gen Z mentality.”

“Oh, definitely.” Koushi agreed, placing his hands on his hips. “We’re good at ruining lives.”

Jadeite looked confused. “What the hell is a... never mind. Just die.”

He raised a hand, summoning forth a frozen wind and causing ice patches to begin forming on the seat in front of them. Tsukishima ducked sideways, getting out of the booth, while Koushi ducked behind the slowly freezing seat, shivering slightly. Thankfully, it didn’t look like any of the others had been hit with the ice, but they needed to get out before that changed and the others woke up.

Koushi scrambled to his feet after the wind dissipated, rushing past Jadeite and out the door, Tsukishima following and grabbing their enemy on the way out. Jadeite yelped and struggled, keeping his grip on Daichi and accidentally dragging him out as well. The sight that met them outside of the bus wasn’t what either of them expected. The bus had parked in what looked like a run-down temple, and passed out against the walls were a multitude of people, all worryingly pale, like they’d been drained of energy.

Now that he thought about it, that was definitely what happened. And chances were good Jadeite wanted his teammates to be next.

Koushi and Tsukishima faced Jadeite, now free to fight without the restrictions of the bus. The enemy blonde sneered. “Not going to do your little speeches? Guardian of love and justice, douse yourself, whatever the hell it is?”

 “If you insist.” Koushi retorted. “I’m the newest Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I’ll beat your ass!”

“Drown yourself, bitch.” Tsukishima sneered.

Jadeite gaped. “You two are vulgar.”

“We’re aware!” Koushi beamed, all sunshine and honey, before darting in to land a punch, Tsukishima close behind with a follow-up kick.

Jadeite blocked both of their hits, dropping Daichi in the process, before flinging another frigid wave towards them, aiming more for their feet. Koushi grit his teeth as he realized he’d aimed to stop them in their tracks, halting all movement. He could technically still fire a Moon Tiara Boomerang, but it wouldn’t have nearly as much power behind it as usual if he couldn’t move his feet, and Jadeite would probably sidestep it with ease.

A groan interrupted his thoughts, and he turned with wide eyes to see Daichi get up, rubbing his head groggily. Beside him, Tsukishima groaned. “How do we explain this?”

“We have glamour, Merc.” Koushi told him as Daichi slowly took in the scene, Jadeite completely frozen in confusion.

Tsukishima sighed in relief as Daichi looked over to Jadeite, slowly piecing everything together. Slowly, the captain walked over to where Jadeite stood hand raised in preparation, and decked him. Koushi and Tsukishima couldn’t hold back their laughter at the affronted look on Jadeite’s face, even though he’d literally stood there and let it happen, and Daichi exhaled. “I don’t know who you are, but leave them alone.”

“You...you dare attack a King of Heaven? You puny mortal, I’ve seen more lifetimes than you ever will!” Jadeite spat.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Jadeite.” A familiar voice called, and Koushi craned his head to see his feline companion coming out of the bus.

Jadeite growled. “You again. Damn cat.”

“Hello to you, too.” Luna smirked, a red pen in her mouth.

Daichi looked back and forth between the two. “The cat talks? Wait, that’s...”

“Suga’s cat, yeah.” Koushi filled in. “I’m so glad you’re getting roped into this too.”

Daichi looked to the two frozen scouts, about to say something when his forehead began glowing, a bright red Mars symbol shining from under his bangs. Luna jumped onto his shoulder, handing him the pen before bouncing off. “Take the pen and call Mars Power Makeup, Sawamura, and fulfil your destiny!”

“This is the weirdest thing ever. But okay.” Daichi said, gripping the pen. “Mars Power Makeup!”

They all watched as Daichi tossed the pen in the air, the pen swirling with flame before he caught it, surrounding himself with the flames before they solidified into the sailor scout uniform, this time in red with a purple chest bow, and instead of the heeled boots Koushi and Tsukishima had, Daichi got saddled with stilettos. And damn, did he make them look good.

Stop it Koushi, that’s a practically taken man.

Jadeite trembled slightly, fists shaking and face reddening. “You mean to tell me this attractive bastard is the new Mars?”

Daichi snorted. “Thanks for the compliment, I guess. But I think it’s time for you to burn in hell.”

Koushi watched as Daichi and Jadeite charged towards each other, exchanging blows and creating sparks of fire and ice particles every time they made contact. It was incredible, how quickly Daichi had adjusted to the increased strength and speed, but then again, he’d always been flexible to any situation. A soft crackle by his feet startled him, and he looked down to see Tuxedo Mask using a rock to break his feet out of the ice.

“You better not look up.” Koushi warned, knowing Tuxedo Mask was in prime position for an up-skirt that not even magical bullshit could stop.

Tuxedo Mask snorted. “Sorry to disappoint you, Mister Moon, but I may or may not have already looked.”

Koushi turned bright red, attempting to smack a laughing Tuxedo Mask upside the head. “Kidding, kidding! But my goodness if you blushing isn’t the second cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I almost don’t want to know what the first is.” Koushi muttered, mortified.

Tuxedo Mask finished freeing his feet, and Koushi shook them a bit to get feeling in them before taking his tiara off. Tsukishima stepped up next to him, having been freed before him, preparing his own attack. “At once, and we let Mars have the final blow?” Koushi asked.

Tsukishima nodded. “Should do the job. Fire is his weakness.”

Tsukishima called his attack, surrounding the area in mist before Koushi called his and flung the disc towards Jadeite, only to gape when it was deflected with a flick of his wrist. Daichi seemed to get the cue, putting his hands together and firing a stream of flame point-blank at Jadeite with a call of “Spirit Exorcism!”

All of them watched as Jadeite writhed and screamed, surrounding himself in icy wind to put out the flame before disappearing, seemingly warping to wherever his base was. Daichi huffed, wiping his hands on his skirt (despite the fact that he had gloves on), and muttering a good riddance.

Daichi turned to face them, recognition flickering across his face, but kept his mouth firmly shut as Tuxedo Mask had decided to stick around this time, digging through one of the pockets on his coat for something. Koushi raised a brow as a piece of paper was thrust in his face, and he grabbed it and scanned it, Tsukishima and Daichi coming over to read over his shoulder.

“This is an invite to a gala in Tokyo, Tux.” Koushi pointed out.

“I’m aware.” He crossed his arms. “But there’s a legendary gem that’s going to be debuted there, and I think legendary gems are something we’re both interested in.”

“And what’s your reason for wanting the Silver Crystal this time, Tuxedo Mask?” Luna asked, hopping gracefully onto Koushi’s shoulder.

Tuxedo Mask debated on his answer for a bit, likely thinking of a way to word it without giving away his identity. “I have a pre-existing injury, and if I can’t use the crystal to cure it chances are good I’ll stop being able to walk in a few years.”

The scouts winced, knowing that even without playing a sport an injury like that could be career-ruining. Luna sighed, not swayed in the least. “I’m sure we can find some way to heal it once we secure it.”

“I wish you luck, then. I bid you adieu.” Tuxedo mask bowed, grabbing the edge of his cape and swishing it as he turned dramatically before disappearing into the darkness.

The three boys and one cat watched him go, before Tsukishima brought up a valid point. “How are we getting out of here?”

 

They’d ended up using Koushi’s disguise pen to turn Luna into a human so she could drive the bus home. This gave them multiple nuggets of information that would be useful in the future. One, the disguise pen worked on other people. Two, Luna could use it to become human. And three, Luna could drive really well for someone who ran around on four legs.

Koushi had ended up making a scouts only group chat on an app that Luna said was designed specifically for scouts (they assumed more magical girl bullshit), and the three of them had talked about how the hell they were going to get to Tokyo for this gala. Turns out that the coach had organized for Karasuno to go to a training camp in Tokyo about that time, and the night of they had off, ensuring they could get to the gala without raising suspicion. The downside was the training camp would be with four other schools, one being Nekoma, so they’d have to come up with some excuse if any of the others asked them to hang out.

They planned to use the disguise pen as a group to conceal their identity, just in case shit hit the fan and they couldn’t escape to transform, or if someone they knew ended up being there. It’d be hard to explain their presence at the gala.

Koushi was about to pass out when his brain brought up Tux’s words from earlier, about his reason for wanting the Silver Crystal. From the way he described it, it almost sounded like a knee or ankle injury. Tux not fighting suddenly made sense, with the whole “possibility of not being able to walk” threat looming over him. Koushi knew he shouldn’t feel bad, that the Silver Crystal was meant to be in scout hands, but what would the harm in letting Tux borrow it to heal himself be? He didn’t seem like a bad guy, after all.

Koushi shook his head. He had to be careful, Tuxedo Mask could always end up being an enemy. Plus, the guy was a terrible flirt. If he was going to be hit on, he’d rather it be from a fellow setter, with soft chocolate eyes and even softer hair, who gave everyone stupid nicknames, and caused butterflies every time he laughed-wait.

 

There was no way in hell he was falling for Tooru Oikawa. Right?

Chapter 4: Beneath the Mask

Summary:

“Ooh, I like this Mercury!” Zoisite grinned, winking at Tsukishima. “Please tell me you’re into boys.”

Notes:

sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out, i wanted to make sure it was perfect because honestly? the dance scene always makes my heart melt and i hope i captured it properly

Chapter Text

The Tokyo training camp had been hell so far, to put it lightly. Karasuno had lost pretty much every match, the upcoming gala and possible presence of the Silver Crystal was stressing Koushi out, and some owl-looking guy from Fukurodani had claimed he was adopting Hinata. That was his child, dammit!

On the third day, Koushi was approached by the unlikely duo of Nekoma’s libero and Fukurodani’s setter as he was stretching himself out for bed. He raised a brow as the other two sat themselves down near him. “Can I help you with something?”

“You’re the designated mom of your team, correct?” The dark-haired boy asked.

Koushi slowly nodded, as Yaku grinned. “We’re here for UNO and bitch session. You in?”

“What the hell. Sure.” Koushi shrugged, moving so the dark-haired setter could shuffle the cards between them.

“I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself yet. Keiji Akaashi, second year.” He said, doling out cards.

“Koushi Sugawara, third year.” Koushi grinned, taking his cards.

Yaku placed a card, starting the game off. “How’s your ten kids?”

“Absolutely terrible.” The older setter griped, placing a card. “But Kageyama is my current favorite, solely because he served into the back of a rival captain’s head last week.”

Akaashi snorted. “You’re quite petty.”

“I like to think it’s one of my best qualities.” Koushi grinned.

They were silent for a bit, focusing on the game, before Yaku piped up again. “So since you’re based in Miyagi, you’ve heard all about that Sailor Moon person, right?”

Koushi sighed. “I have a...friend who’s obsessed with them. So I hear more about Sailor Moon than I probably should.”

Akaashi raised a brow, very confused. “Who’s Sailor Moon?”

“They’re this costumed crime fighter running around the Miyagi area, or so people say. Personally, I think it’s just the police or something.” Yaku huffed as he was forced to draw.

Koushi made a face at the thought of being involved with the police, which caused the other two to snicker. “I know, police suck.” Yaku grinned.

“Supposedly there’s three of them now.” Koushi said nonchalantly, reversing the order. “Moon, Mercury, and Mars.”

Akaashi pursed his lips. “Interesting. Has anyone gotten pictures of them?”

Yaku held up a finger, putting his cards down and grabbing his phone, scrolling through. “Here’s the super weird thing. There’s one guy who saw them take down some thief, and he got high quality pictures-but the faces are completely blurred!”

He showed them a picture of the three of them after they’d decided to do a patrol and show Daichi the ropes and ended up catching a criminal, Koushi and Daichi holding the criminal down while Tsukishima called the cops with the supercomputer. If he focused on their faces enough, he could tell it was them, but he assumed that because of the glamour no one could see any defining characteristics.

Akaashi took in the image, fiddling slightly with his fingers. “That’s weird, how it looks perfectly blurred over their face. Perhaps some sort of censorship technology?”

“Most likely, but where would they have gotten the technology?” Yaku questioned.

Koushi shrugged. “Maybe it’s aliens.”

Yaku and Akaashi stared at him for a second before Koushi registered what he said, smacking himself on the forehead. Clearly hanging out with Oikawa multiple times a week was not the best idea. “Sorry, that was stupid.”

“Just a little.” Akaashi admitted, and they resumed their game.

 

The next morning, Tsukishima pulled him aside, much to his surprise.

The taller boy looked a little out of it, like someone had said something life changing, and looked Koushi dead in the eyes. “I think I’m having what’s called a gay panic.”

Koushi blinked before snickering, causing the taller boy to furrow his brows. “Okay, I shouldn’t have worded it like that, in all fairness. But I figured if anyone knows gay panic it’d be you.”

“While I’m flattered you came to me for advice, what happened?” Koushi asked.

Tsukishima fidgeted with his glasses while he recalled to Koushi how after main practice was done, Yamaguchi had gotten onto him for not putting any effort into getting better, and had grabbed him and yelled at him, causing the gay panic.

Koushi had to admit, he didn’t think the pinch server had it in him.

“So you’re panicking because he was hot when he yelled at you, is the gist of it.” He rubbed his temple.

“Yeah, basically.” Tsukishima shrugged. “But I’ve never really felt attraction to anyone before, which is why I’m panicking.”

Koushi nodded. “And that’s fair. It doesn’t have to mean anything right now, anyways.”

The taller boy pondered this for a second before making a noise of agreement. “I have bigger things to worry about right now than whether I’m attracted to guys or not.”

“Atta boy!” Koushi grinned, clapping his back and causing the younger boy to wince. “Now let’s win today!”

 

Day five was the night off, but they spent most of the morning suffering through even more punishment drills. They were really getting their asses handed to them this week, but each loss just fired them up even more.

Koushi had texted the chat to let the other two know he would be waiting for them outside the gates with Luna and the pen. After a bit, they both arrived, Tsukishima griping about “too many questions from that sketchy Nekoma captain”. Koushi and Daichi had snorted at that, Kuroo did tend to be nosy.

“I did some research into the gala, to see what disguise would work best, and it looks like you shouldn’t have to change much beyond clothes and possibly hair and eye color. It’s a masquerade gala, turns out.” Luna told them as Koushi twirled the pen idly.

With a command and a toss of the pen, they watched as t-shirts and sport shorts turned into fancy suits, and mask materialized on their face in the style of their scout transformation. Daichi had donned a black suit with a dark red button up underneath, a phoenix-style mask settled on his face. Tsukishima had traded his glasses for an ice blue mask, with a matching blue bowtie and a navy-blue suit. Koushi checked his reflection in his phone, noting that he was the only one who’d changed physical appearances, his silver hair now soft pink. The pearl-coated mask on his face hid that stubborn mole, and instead of a suit like the other two, he’d opted for black suspenders over the pink dress shirt, attached to black slacks.

Luna looked them over, nodding in approval. “You three look great. No one’ll be able to tell who you are unless they’re specifically looking for your face.”

Koushi slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Let’s get going, then!”

“What about Luna?” Daichi pointed out, causing the three boys to look to said cat.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be around if you need me. I know how to hide myself by now.” She told them, shooing them with a paw. “Go have fun.”

Tsukishima snorted. “No promises.”

“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad.” Koushi rolled his eyes, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him to the front gate, where someone in a dark purple tuxedo was checking invites.

Koushi pulled the slightly crumpled invitation out of his pocket, examining it and confirming that it would get all three of them in. Getting in went smoothly, but maneuvering them through the ballroom would prove to be tough. There were people everywhere, all clad in colorful masks and expensive-looking clothing, and it didn’t take longer than five minutes for Koushi to lose Tsukishima and Daichi. They could handle themselves, he mused, working his way to the refreshments. A drink sounded good, he decided, reaching for a glass of what looked like champagne.

A gloved hand met his on the stem of the glass, and he looked up to find a very familiar tuxedo and mask, complete with fuzzy features and, this time, no top hat.

Koushi felt his face heat up, retracting his hand immediately, unable to look away from eyes that almost seemed to change color the longer he looked. Tuxedo Mask raised a brow, taking the drink before grabbing a second and handing it to him, and Koushi took it with a soft “thanks”. From the looks of it, his identity was hidden by the disguise, and Tuxedo Mask was none the wiser.

“Fancy meeting you here, Mister Moon.” He smirked, tilting the glass to his lips.

Well, fuck.

“How could you even tell?” Koushi hissed, looking around to make sure no one overheard them.

Tuxedo Mask tapped the base of his throat, and Koushi felt at his own to realize his brooch had turned itself into a choker charm for the night. Subtle enough that the general public wouldn’t notice, but someone who’d seen the brooch’s detail-like Tux-would. Smart design, disguise pen.

“Decided to take my advice after all?” Tuxedo Mask questioned, leading him over to a semi-empty spot by the wall.

Koushi shrugged in what he hoped was a non-committal way. “We were in the area, may as well.”

“We?” Tuxedo Mask paused, looking around.

“Mercury and Mars are around here somewhere.” Koushi took a sip, wincing slightly at the taste.

“Don’t think I’ve really met your partners.” Tuxedo Mask noted, leaning against the wall.

Koushi leveled him with a stare. “And we should probably keep it that way.”

Tuxedo Mask stuck out his lower lip in a pout. “You’re so mean, Mister Moon.”

“It happens.” Koushi looked around the ballroom, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of where the crystal was being held. “Hey, fancy a dance?”

Tuxedo Mask nearly choked on his drink. “Didn’t know you knew how to dance.”

“I’m not the best.” Koushi admitted, finishing his drink. “But I need to get a good look at the place, and I figure that’s the most low-key way to do so.”

Tuxedo Mask shrugged and set his drink down. “Fair enough. Prepare to be swept off your feet.”

Koushi rolled his eyes at Tux’s silly grin, taking his gloved hand and pulling him onto the dance floor. They fumbled a bit, setting up their position, before deciding Tux would lead (much to Koushi’s displeasure), and with an uplifting riff from the orchestra, they began dancing.

They danced in silence for a few minutes, both of them scouting out the place, and Koushi was surprised that neither of them stepped on each other. He managed to get a mental layout pretty quickly, and turned his attention back to the man in front of him, but he was still looking around. May as well take this time to see if he could focus through the glamour, Koushi mused, observing the masked man to the best of his ability. The glamour was thick, and focusing too hard on Tux’s appearance gave him a bit of a headache, but Koushi noted that his eyes stayed brown the most, and thankfully his height and build didn’t change rapidly. His hair was gelled back, except for one piece of hair where Koushi assumed his part was, and while it changed color just like his eyes, it also lingered on brown. Maybe it was because brown was average, maybe it was the actual color.

Also, from where Koushi’s arm rested on his chest, he could tell the other had a bit of muscle definition, which he totally didn’t fixate on. Promise.

Tuxedo Mask turned back to him, having finished surveying the room, and focused his attention on Koushi’s hair. “How long has it been pink?”

Koushi felt a bead of cold sweat drip down the back of his neck. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Tuxedo Mask hummed a note of disbelief. “I’m sure you do, Mister Moon. The last time we met, it was most definitely not pink.”

“What color was it, then?” Koushi asked, before mentally kicking himself.

“I believe the first time it was platinum blonde, as if it were freshly dyed, but since then it’s started fading into more of a silver. Like moonlight.” Tuxedo Mask answered, with a tilt of his head. “Why?”

“No reason.” Koushi quickly answered, hoping he remembered to ask Luna about it.

Tuxedo Mask smiled softly, almost fondly. “The color it’s becoming actually reminds me a bit of a friend.”

“Oh? Care to tell me about them?” Koushi prodded, hoping he could get some more insight into the other man’s identity.

“What can I tell you about them without revealing too much...he’s quite stubborn. Caring, but shows it in the weirdest ways. Incredibly talented, but he often gets overlooked in favor of others. Also, he’s incredibly adorable.” Tux grinned, a soft look on his face.

“You must really like him, huh.” Koushi teased.

“You have no idea.” Tux agreed. “But my favorite thing about him is this cute little mole...

“Right here.” He said, poking on the mask exactly where Koushi’s mole was, causing him to internally panic.

There was no way he knew. Right? It had to be someone else he was waxing poetic about, right? Sure, Koushi fit the physical attributes, and yeah, he was stubborn, and maybe he was caring in a non-traditional way, and maybe he was talented, but that didn’t matter because Kageyama was the starter, and-

Well, shit. Whoever Tuxedo Mask was, he knew Koushi Sugawara. And that was not a good sign.

Koushi’s inner panicking was cut off by a middle-aged woman with a fierce scowl bursting into the middle of the ballroom, a lockbox in her hands. Murmurs went up amongst the crowd as she looked around hurriedly, before lowering her free hand to the ground. As soon as it made contact, the lights in the room seemed to go out and the temperature seemed to drop, and Koushi paled as he realized the room was becoming an energy vacuum.

He turned, shoving his way through a confused crowd to get to the balcony, temporarily forgetting about Tuxedo Mask in his attempt to keep himself safe. Unfortunately, the woman had spotted him, and dashed out afterwards, practically cornering him at the ledge. He turned, facing her and her terrifying face, frozen in fear as she raised a hand towards him and let loose a wave of force, knocking him into the railing. He attempted to lessen the blow by bracing his arms in front of him, and it seemed to have worked until a cracking noise from behind him made his heart stop.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Koushi was knocked off the balcony, scrambling to try and grab on to the crumbling ledge, only to grab a bit of rubble. He scrunched his eyes shut, waiting for the pain, but was met with a warm presence in front of him and something wrapped around his waist. His eyes flew open, only to see Tuxedo Mask struggling to grab onto a bit of ledge that hadn’t crumbled yet.

Koushi struggled for words, watching as Tuxedo Mask’s hand began slipping, and both of them practically shrieked when the ledge crumbled where his grip was. His brain raced, trying to think of a way to keep both of them from getting injured, when Luna’s voice rang out.

“Use the pen!”

With a speed he didn’t know he possessed, he pulled the disguise pen out of his pocket, and both boys watched as it glowed and turned into some magical umbrella that allowed them to float down with ease. It was better than falling five flights, but now Koushi was stuck flush against Tuxedo Mask, a man who may or may not know his biggest secret.

He’d never admit it, but it was kind of romantic, being held like that.

They landed a few moments later, watching as the umbrella turned back into a pen, and Tuxedo Mask turned to Koushi once more. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

Koushi shook his head, heart still racing from the near-death experience turned shoujo moment. Tuxedo Mask smiled, before realizing he was still holding the other boy, and let him go with a flush, clearing his throat.

“I’m going to go...try and hold off the monster for you while you transform.” He said, voice oddly shaky, before running off to suffer five flights of stairs.

Koushi watched him go, wondering why the other man was suddenly affecting him like this, before shaking his head to get himself to focus. He reached behind his neck, untying the choker and holding it in his palm, watching as it shifted back to the brooch, before raising it high and calling those magic words.

After the transformation finished, he felt at his forehead, wondering why it felt so bare, before realizing that it’d been knocked away during the battle with Jadeite and he hadn’t retrieved it. He was about to search out Luna to figure out what to do next when he felt his body heat up, almost like a warm blanket had been wrapped around him, and winced when a bright light came from his forehead. When it faded, he felt there again, grinning when a new, seemingly fancier tiara met his fingers. Hopefully it was more powerful this time, because he was probably going to need it.

It took him a few minutes to get up the stairs, and at the top he found Tsukishima and Daichi, already transformed, facing the woman who was clutching the box like she was trying to absorb it, shrouded in a dark green mist. The woman turned to him, grinning as the mist seemed to grow, moving up and forming the shape of a young man, clad in the same garb that Jadeite had been.

“Nice of you to finally join us, Sailor Moon.” The woman and shadowy man spoke in harmony.

Koushi took a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand, before looking the shadowy figure dead in the eye. “You should give up now before I put you in a world of hurt.”

“As if you could!” The shadowy figure taunted, causing all three boys to grit their teeth.

Daichi called his attack, aiming the fire straight at the heart of the mist, and they watched as it sailed right through, no harm done to the man.

“Why would you do that.” Tsukishima groaned.

“It’s called Spirit Exorcism, I thought it’d work!” Daichi defended.

“It’s a shadow. You’re going to want light.” They turned to see Tuxedo Mask behind them, wincing as he walked towards them.

Tsukishima raised a brow. “And how do you expect we do that, genius? The sun’s down.”

Koushi thought for a minute about how to utilize the moonlight properly when Luna approached them, seemingly out of nowhere. “Try the new tiara, Sailor Moon.”

“Oh. Duh.” Koushi gripped the tiara, and watched as the gem in the middle began to glow. “Let’s call this one...Moon Twilight Flash!”

They all watched as the tiara fired a beam of pure moonlight towards the spirit, making the man screech and the mist to flee to the roof of the next building over, the woman it had been possessing slumping over. The mist solidified, revealing the true form of the man, who clicked his tongue.

“And here I thought things would be different this go around. Sailor Moon has been getting weaker in these new reincarnations.” He said, eyeing them with disdain.

“You should still know not to underestimate them.” A voice that sounded suspiciously like Endeavor spoke, and they watched as three more figures shimmered into existence.

Daichi raised a brow, recognizing Jadeite as one of them. “Oh great, that guy. Can I deck him again?”

“I would prefer if you didn’t, thank you!” Jadeite hissed, an embarrassed flush rising to his face.

“We are the Four Kings of Heaven.” The Endeavor-like voice spoke again, belonging to the one with long white hair. “You already know Jadeite. I am Kunzite.”

“Nephrite.” The previously shadowy figure introduced.

The long-haired blonde standing next to Kunzite eyed them all up with a smirk. “Zoisite, currently single.”

“Stop that.” Kunzite ordered, smacking the other boy upside the head and causing him to yelp.

Daichi leaned over to mutter into Koushi’s ear. “You getting a bit of déjà vu from those two?”

“If you mean our friends from the trees, then yes.” Koushi agreed.

“Ignoring my companion’s...behavior.” Kunzite continued. “The Silver Crystal doesn’t belong to you. It never has. It belongs in the hands of our Great Ruler, and should you continue to get in our way, we will have no choice but to kill you.”

“See, you say that, but I do believe there’s multiple reincarnations proving that statement incorrect.” Tsukishima pointed out, watching their reactions with a condescending smirk.

“Ooh, I like this Mercury!” Zoisite grinned, winking at Tsukishima. “Please tell me you’re into boys.”

The goggled boy blinked. “Still figuring it out, actually.”

“Enough!” Kunzite roared, causing everyone-including the other Kings-to flinch. “Watch yourselves, Sailor Guardians, because this incarnation is going to be your last.”

Koushi rolled his eyes. “Eat my ass, Kunzite. Get out of here.”

Jadeite shuddered. “I told you they were vulgar.”

“I think it’s refreshing, compared to the usual crybabies we face.” And with that final statement from Zoisite, they disappeared, going wherever stereotypical bad guys go.

The scouts looked at each other before breaking into snickers. “What a bunch of losers.” Daichi grinned.

“Honestly.” Tsukishima agreed.

Koushi turned to see Tuxedo Mask’s reaction, only to find the other man had dipped-again. He yawned, realizing just how exhausted the new attack had made him. “In any case, let’s finish up here. I need to sleep for the next three weeks.”

“That’s not happening and you know it. We still have camp, after all.” Daichi admonished, going to the previously possessed woman. “Tsukishima and I will get her and the crystal inside and safe, you rest out here. Luna, you should go back into hiding.”

“Please don’t go dad mode on me as well, I’m thousands of years old and don’t deserve this.” The cat complained, but darted back into the shadows anyways.

Koushi watched as Tsukishima and Daichi, still transformed, helped the poor woman back into the ballroom, before walking down the stairs to find a bench outside. He practically flopped onto it as soon as he got there, passing out almost immediately, trusting no one would approach him since everyone was in the ballroom.

 

After confirming everyone was in the ballroom watching the reveal of the crystal (which had never been the Silver Crystal, not once-but avoiding the ball had been a fatal mistake in the past), Luna searched the perimeter, trying to find where Suga had passed out. She found him completely unconscious on a park bench, but he wasn’t alone.

Tuxedo Mask was crouched over him, their faces less than a foot apart, adoration written all over the masked man’s face. Luna groaned before darting out. “So tell me, Tuxedo Mask. What are your intentions with Sailor Moon this time?”

Tuxedo Mask jumped, clearly not expecting someone else, before whirling to face her. “What do you mean, my intentions?”

“I’m asking if you’re going to continue creeping on an unconscious person.” Luna said, watching as he stood up. “Some Tuxedo Masks have no inhibitions when it comes to unconscious Sailor Moons.”

“Oh my god, are you asking if I was going to molest him?” Tuxedo Mask nearly shrieked, freaking himself out by the suggestion.

Luna shrugged the best she could in her cat form. “It’s happened before.”

Tuxedo Mask gagged at the thought. “I have suddenly lost all faith in my previous incarnations. No, he’s just really pretty, and I wanted to admire it.”

Luna hummed. “Has it occurred to you how quickly you’re falling for him?”

“Isn’t that just a lasting effect from Endymion and Serenity?” Tuxedo Mask shrugged as if that was basic knowledge.

Luna blinked. “How do you know that?”

“Instead of Serenity dreams, like every other Tuxedo Mask, my dreams are filled with Mamoru Chiba.” Tuxedo Mask explained.

“What the fuck.” Luna whispered, unsure of what to do with this information.

“Exactly.” Tuxedo Mask grinned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a long way home and my knee hurts like a bitch. Tell Mister Moon he’s incredible for me.”

Luna watched as he ran off into the distance, wondering why the previous Tuxedo Mask was appearing in his dreams, trying not to get her hopes up that it was a signal of the final incarnation.

 

Koushi went through the next day in a daze, partially still tired from the previous night and partially distracted by the fact that he’d dreamt of both of his kind-of crushes. Why it took one night for him to start fawning over Tuxedo Mask, professional disaster, he wasn’t sure, but damn did those dreams of kissing him feel realistic.

During a break between matches, he checked his phone, frowning when no notifications popped up. It was unusual for Oikawa to be this silent, but he was probably busy with his own training, and he needed to focus on actually winning a match. He shoved his phone back in his bag before walking over to where Daichi and Asahi were talking, effectively inserting himself into the conversation.

“Oh, Suga. Hey, weird question.” Asahi turned to him, causing him to raise a brow.

“Weird answer. What’s up?” He asked.

“So my cousin is getting married soon, and I have a tuxedo fitting in two weeks. It wouldn’t be a problem if the store he picked weren’t haunted.” The ace explained, wringing his hands nervously.

Koushi snorted. “So you want us to go with for moral support?”

Asahi nodded, eyes pleading. “I know it’s probably only a rumor, but with all the weird things happening lately I don’t want to risk it, and I figure you and Daichi wouldn’t be afraid to punch a ghost.”

“I told him we should take Tsukishima with, since he’s salty enough to ward off ghosts just by existing.” Daichi joked.

“Either way, I’ll go with. No ghost is gonna mess with you while I’m around.” Koushi grinned as the referees blew the whistle, signaling for them to get back in the game.

 

From inside Koushi’s bag, Luna grinned, knowing the glass-hearted ace would end up delivering a shock to all of them.

Chapter 5: A Rose by Any Other Name

Summary:

"That's not a scout, that's a grown man!"

Notes:

take a shot every time race writes mannequin

also uhhhh hi sorry for the hiatus but im back with more lore and more ideas! (just wait, i have so much shit planned for chibiusa, and it all started because of a joke)

and again, if you have any ideas you want to see in this story that aren't major plot points, please dont hesitate to bring them up!

also also free oneshot of your choosing to whoever gets my not-sailor moon reference (it's still magical girl, though, so there's that hint)

Chapter Text

The bus ride back from Tokyo was uneventful, which was both a blessing and a curse. There weren’t any enemies, thankfully, but Koushi was also bored out of his mind.

At first, Tanaka had pulled out a very recognizable black box and most of the team members had played Cards Against Humanity together (minus Tsukishima, who fell asleep against the window, and Yamaguchi, who fell asleep on top of him fifteen minutes later). They bickered over whether Hinata was allowed to play, since he was the team baby-much to the redhead’s protests-but in the end they let him.

Some of his teammates had distinct play styles that matched their personalities, Koushi observed. Tanaka used a lot of toilet humor, and Daichi kept trying to explain some of his choices. Asahi refused to play any crude cards, which made Noya laugh at him, but they ended up trading cards under the seats. Not that anyone cared, especially when Kageyama kept having to put cards back and get new ones since he didn’t understand any of them. The real competition ended up being between Koushi and Kinoshita, and one bad draw had the latter winning. Koushi couldn’t be too mad about it, not when they’d all enjoyed themselves so much.

After packing up the game, they’d all settled into their seat duos, most of them passing out. Daichi had texted back and forth with Iwaizumi for an hour before eventually dozing off, but Koushi’s phone had stayed suspiciously silent. Chances were good Oikawa was just busy, but he figured he should check in just in case.

 

Me: Hey, are you busy? I’m kind of bored.

 

He waited for fifteen minutes for the read receipt to pop up, or that little grey bubble, but nothing. Koushi sighed, closing out the app and deciding to try and get some sleep of his own.

 

When he woke up, he was definitely not on the bus. Instead, he seemed to be standing in the courtyard of a shining silver palace, surrounded by people of all ages, genders, and races, all dressed in some variation of the sailor scout uniform, a shining gold brooch on each bow. He blinked, realizing he had somehow transformed as well, backing up when a blonde girl with her hair in buns and a dark-skinned male with his head shaved approached him.

“So this is the newest one, huh?” The male mused, voice deep and powerful, tinged with a French accent.

The blonde picked up one of Koushi’s arms, inspecting it. “He’s definitely stronger than some of us, physically.”

“Uh, thanks?” Koushi raised a brow. “Where am I?”

The male grinned at him. “You’re in Silver Millenium, of course.”

Because Koushi definitely knew what that was.

The girl giggled at him, letting him go. “Silver Millenium is the formal name for the Moon Kingdom. Guess Luna hasn’t explained that yet.”

“She covered just about everything else, I thought...” Koushi trailed off, shrinking as all the occupants began staring him down.

“Did she cover meeting your predecessors, I wonder?” The male mused. “No matter. I’m Andre LeClerc, Sailor Moon of 1884.”

“Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon of 1995.” The other introduced herself, bouncing on her toes.

“Koushi Sugawara, Sailor Moon of 2020, I suppose.” Koushi slightly bowed, earning him a laugh from Andre.

Usagi softly glared at the other man. “Don’t laugh at him, he’s confused enough as is.” She turned back to Koushi, blue eyes soft and calming. “I should probably tell you why you’re here, huh.”

“That’d be nice, yes.” Koushi admitted, fidgeting with a glove.

Usagi smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him to a bench, and sat him down before speaking again. “I’m going to be brutally honest-you’re not supposed to be here yet. None of us have been here before beating the first boss.”

Koushi tilted his head. “Which means what?”

“Either things are drastically sped up this time, or...” Andre trailed off, looking to his blonde companion.

“Or the cycle is finally coming to an end.” A soft female voice spoke up, and they all turned to see a small woman with her hair pinned up in a traditional hanbok, decorated with celestial symbols. “Eun Yon, Sailor Moon of 945.”

“There’s no way. Right?” Usagi nervously giggled.

Eun Yon shook her head. “It is entirely possible. Think about it, the Dark Kingdom took 25 years to awaken again, when usually they appear every ten to fifteen years. Perhaps they are strengthening themselves to break the cycle as well.”

“We can only hope.” Andre muttered, and Koushi’s vision began swimming.

The three predecessors looked at him, noticing his predicament, and Eun Yon placed a finger on his forehead. “It is time for you to go back now. But remember this...

“Trust in your teammates first.”

 

Those words continued to stick with him, especially when he and Tsukishima were magically glued to each other by an enemy and Daichi attempted to face the villain solo while also protecting the twenty something people in the area.

“You think he’s going to realize he needs to free you any time soon?” Tsukishima asked, watching as Daichi missed another kick.

Koushi sighed. “Probably not. He’s powerful, he’s just not always smart.”

The sound of a body hitting the wall and a soft oof accentuated his words, and they turned to see Daichi rubbing his back where he’d been thrown. “Get a grip, Mars.” Koushi heckled, winning him a glare from the other.

“Says the one who’s stuck.” The dark-haired boy threw back before running back at the enemy, fists engulfed in flame.

Koushi leaned back, almost resigning himself to sitting this one out when he felt hands attempting to pry him off of Tsukishima. He turned, expecting to see Tuxedo Mask in all his flighty glory, but was instead faced with one Iwaizumi Hajime.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Tsukishima asked flatly as Iwaizumi inspected the glue.

“Trying to help you out.” Iwaizumi answered, digging into his pocket and pulling out a Swiss army knife. “Because if I don’t, your friend over there is going to tire themselves out fighting this dude, and probably end up losing.”

Koushi glanced at Tsukishima, who shrugged as best he could, before looking back to Iwaizumi. “Much appreciated, actually.”

The rival ace furrowed his brow as he began to carefully cut at the glue, and had gotten halfway through before he was interrupted by a very familiar voice practically choking on nothing. “Saving Mister Moon is my job, get your own!”

The three of them looked up with wide eyes only to find Tuxedo Mask, pouting with his hands on his hips. Iwaizumi raised a brow. “Who the hell are you again?”

Koushi and Tsukishima held back snickers as Tuxedo Mask huffed. “I’m Tuxedo Mask, the one always saving these guys from danger?”

“You don’t save me from danger, you just show up and do something slightly useful before fucking off to who knows where!” Koushi grinned, causing Iwaizumi to snort before he went back to severing the glue.

Tuxedo Mask glared at him. “I’m trying my best, okay? There’s only so much I can do.”

Iwaizumi hummed, trying not to cut into the outfits. “Word of advice from one powerless to another-carry a weapon.”

“What are you, my mom?” Tuxedo Mask muttered under his breath.

Neither Koushi nor Tsukishima noticed, but that statement caused Iwaizumi to freeze for a moment before going back to what he was doing. A few moments later, he sat back, pocketing the knife. “You guys should be good to go.”

“Oh thank god.” Tsukishima muttered, standing up and stretching.

Koushi pouted. “You act like you don’t like me, Merc.”

“You aren’t the worst person to get stuck to.” Tsukishima admitted before they both dashed in to help Daichi defeat the enemy.

As soon as the enemy was taken care of, the trio walked back over to Iwaizumi to properly thank him for his help, but the ace seemed fixated on Daichi. Surely he couldn’t see through the glamour, right?

“Thanks for your help today.” Daichi grinned, doing a very good job of acting like he wasn’t head over heels for the boy in front of him.

 “It, uh. Wasn’t a problem.” Iwaizumi stammered, staring very intently at Daichi’s legs.

Koushi and Tuxedo Mask shared A Look™, before turning back to the only not transformed one. “Are you injured at all?”

Iwaizumi shook his head, breaking himself out of his trance. “Totally fine. I wasn’t in the direct vicinity when they attacked, but I figured I’d see if I could at least get some bystanders out of the way.”

“We could definitely use that kind of assistance more often.” Daichi mused, and all three scouts looked pointedly at Tuxedo Mask, who held his hands up in surrender.

“I’m working on it!” He whined. “There’s just only so much I can do right now.”

Koushi snapped his fingers. “Right, the injury. Yeah, don’t make that worse.”

Iwaizumi looked Tuxedo Mask over quickly. “It doesn’t look too bad right now, but definitely make sure you ice it later.”

Tuxedo Mask sighed. “I know, I know.”

“I’m serious.” Iwaizumi barked. “The last thing you need is for it to blow out in the middle of battle.”

“Okay, I get it! Stop nagging me!” Tuxedo Mask griped. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home and do what he says.”

And with a swish of his cape (that dramatic bitch), Tuxedo Mask left, leaving the scout trio and Iwaizumi to make sure the bystanders who were caught up in the attack were okay.

 

“So what’s the wedding theme?” Koushi asked as he and Daichi followed Asahi to the shop for his fitting.

Asahi scratched his chin. “I don’t think there’s a super specific theme, but I think a lot of the decorations are going to be cream and navy blue.”

“An interesting combination.” Daichi noted. “Do you have to match a tux to the theme?”

“Thankfully, no.” Asahi sighed. “Soft colors as a focus don’t look good on me, and navy blue isn’t my first color pick.”

Koushi thought for a moment. “Maybe do a basic black suit, but add a pop of color?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.” Asahi smiled, opening the door for the three of them.

The shop was pretty empty, only one or two customers browsing the racks, and a couple of employees flitting around and taking stock or cleaning up. In the windowsill was a bride mannequin, dressed in a snow-white ball gown, the skirt covered in a layer of tulle with pearl beads sewn on. It was a gorgeous dress, Koushi had to admit, but there was something about the hyper-realistic details on the mannequin itself that unnerved him.

Tsukishima waved to them from a cushion by the changing rooms, and Daichi and Koushi walked over while Asahi decided to start browsing. They’d managed to convince Asahi to let the first-year tag along under ghost prevention circumstances, but it was really more of a “just in case”. There were too many missing people to rule out the shop being the work of the Four Kings, unfortunately.

Speaking of the Four Kings, who was that Great Ruler they talked about? Koushi had tried to pester Luna for information, but to no avail- the cat was determined to keep quiet.

“So how long until something weird happens?” Tsukishima asked.

Daichi pondered this. “Given our recent track record? A half hour, max.”

“I think it’s going to be longer, and things won’t get weird until it gets dark outside.” Koushi pitched.

Tsukishima nodded, before adding his own input. “I think something weird is going to happen, but only Asahi will notice, and he’s going to be targeted by the enemy because of it.”

“You thought that one out, didn’t you?” Koushi accused, causing the younger boy to shrug.

The three of them began to nonchalantly browse the racks, Daichi and Koushi jokingly picking out dresses for each other while Tsukishima looked on confused. Sure, most of them they wouldn’t actually wear (on account of poor fit and bad taste), but it was still fun to joke around. No toxic masculinity here, folks.

Besides, they fought in worse all the time. A floor length dress would be a refreshing change of pace.

Asahi waved them over to the dressing rooms, a couple different suits in his arms. All of them were black, which was to be expected-Asahi didn’t like standing out more than he already did if he could help it. Maybe Koushi could convince him to accessorize with a colored kerchief or some sort of pin?

“Guys, there’s a mannequin in here.” Asahi stated after disappearing into the dressing room.

Daichi snorted. “Is it scaring you?”

There was a rustle of clothes, and then- “Yes.”

“You big baby.” Koushi laughed.

“It’s staring me down with those weirdly realistic eyes! I don’t like it!” The ace rushed to finish changing, walking out in one of the suits and casting a nervous glance to the contents of the changing room.

Tsukishima peeked inside before frowning. “It does have very realistic eyes, I’ll give him that.”

“Creepy mannequins aside, you look good.” Daichi gave Asahi a thumbs up in the mirror where he was examining the fit.

“You think? I don’t look too bulky?” Asahi turned to examine the sides better.

Koushi walked up, admiring the other’s sleek form. The suit was pretty basic in terms of style, but it gave Asahi an illusion of confidence and power. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think the other was a yakuza member. “It suits you. If you weren’t completely whipped for a little libero of ours, I might have hit on you.”

Asahi flushed, softly glaring at Koushi for bringing up his crush in front of Tsukishima, but the first year either wasn’t paying attention or didn’t care. And it was probably the latter. The ace took one last look at himself in the mirror before disappearing back into the changing room. There was more clothing rustling, and then a bang on the door. “You good in there?” Daichi questioned, knowing Asahi probably tripped.

They waited for a response, but after thirty seconds of silence Koushi knew something was wrong. “Asahi, I’m busting in.” Daichi warned before running and tackling the flimsy dressing room door open to reveal Asahi slumped in the corner, and a mannequin turning to glare at them.

Mannequins weren’t supposed to move, Koushi thought dumbly, as the mannequin’s eyes flashed at them before it darted out, smacking Daichi to the side. He landed in the arms of a couple of other mannequins dressed in formal wear, who immediately caged him in with their plastic arms, and Koushi was about to help him out when he felt cold plastic on his wrists, and he turned to see the bride mannequin from the window leering down at him. He struggled to get free, looking to Tsukishima desperately for help, but the blonde was also grappled by pale plastic arms. How were they supposed to transform and fight now?

The answer came in the form of a tuxedo-clad figure dashing in through the door, swinging what looked like an extendable quarterstaff into the head of the mannequin holding Tsukishima still, knocking it off and causing the body to collapse to the floor. Koushi gaped as Tuxedo Mask turned to the blonde briefly to make sure he was alright before moving to take out the mannequin holding Daichi. Tuxedo Mask moved with a determination they hadn’t seen him possess before, and his reflexes were sharp-even if his swing didn’t seem super strong. Guess he’d taken Iwaizumi’s words about carrying a weapon to heart.

Koushi was snapped out of his musings by a sudden lack of pressure on his wrists, and looked up to see Tuxedo Mask checking them over for injuries. “You three should escape while you can.”

“You sure you can handle this on your own?” Daichi asked, looking to the dressing rooms where mannequins were beginning to exit in a horde.

Tuxedo Mask clicked his tongue. “I can at least hold them off until the powerhouses get here. Go!”

They didn’t need to be told twice, and the three boys scrambled out of the bridal shop and ducked into a nearby alley, looking to each other with wide eyes. “That was a lot of plastic people.” Daichi stated, fumbling into his pocket.

“No shit. How do we get rid of them?” Tsukishima asked.

Koushi gripped his brooch, thinking. “Surely they’re being controlled by someone or something. That’s how it always goes.”

They each held their transformation items between them, calling out the words to cloak them in ribbon, water, and fire, and Koushi felt the familiar surge of power and confidence that came with becoming Sailor Moon. “C’mon, let’s go get Asahi out of there.” He instructed, and they dashed back into the bridal shop to see Tuxedo Mask fighting the horde away from the unconscious ace, cornering them in the small dressing room.

“Mercury, Mars, you two focus on finding the leader. I’ll help Tux with defense.” Koushi called, before literally jumping into the fray and using various mannequins as launch pads on the way over to the two.

Tuxedo Mask wiped his brow as Koushi landed next to him. “Hey there. Ready to kick ass like you always do?”

“Yup. Liking the new staff, by the way.” Koushi grinned, grabbing a nearby mannequin by the feet and throwing it into the horde.

Tuxedo Mask smacked the head off a couple mannequins approaching from the side. “Why, thank you. I’ve found it incredibly helpful.”

The two of them continued to fight side by side, working in tandem, while Daichi defended Tsukishima while he scanned for the boss with the supercomputer. Koushi turned to check on them, only to realize him mistake as he was sent flying into Tuxedo Mask, the taller smacking into the wall at just the right angle to knock him out.

“Well, shit.” Koushi groaned, struggling to catch his breath as the other unconscious form in the dressing room began to stir.

He turned, paling as Asahi sat up, slowly taking in the scene around him before screeching. Koushi quickly covered the other man’s mouth. “Breathe! You’re gonna be fine!”

Asahi blinked, visibly calming down at his presence, before furrowing his brow as Koushi removed his hand. “I know you, don’t I.”

“If what I think is about to happen is going to happen, then yes.” The silver-haired boy agreed as Luna darted into the dressing room, a green pen in hand.

She dropped the pen at his feet, looking up at him with a scrutinizing gaze. “I’m almost scared to have him transform. He looks on the verge of a panic attack.”

“The cat talks.” Asahi muttered in disbelief.

Luna sighed. “I get that way too much. Take the pen.”

The ace did as she said, inspecting it. “What do I do with this?”

“Raise it high and call out Jupiter Power Makeup.” She instructed, and Asahi hesitated only for a moment before doing so.

Koushi backed up a bit to give him space to transform, and Asahi nearly yelped as the pen lit up with lightning, surrounding him and turning the suit he was wearing into a Sailor Scout uniform, this one in green and pink. Instead of the ozone smell he expected, Koushi was hit with the scent of rose as Asahi admired the sturdy boots on his feet (Tsukishima was going to be pissed), and felt at his ears to feel sparkling rose studs.

“That’s...am I supposed to feel this strong?” Asahi asked, looking to Luna.

She nodded. “Jupiter is the protector of strength and courage. It would make sense for those feelings to be boosted while transformed.”

Koushi grinned, before turning to where the horde was, feeling his stomach drop. “Look out!”

Asahi yelped and dodged a punch aimed to his head, instinctively flinging his hand out to protect himself, and Luna grinned as his hand moved itself into a peace sign and lightning sprung from his fingertips, traveling through the mannequin and spreading into the horde. As the electricity faded, several now blackened mannequins fell over lifelessly, and Asahi observed the destruction he’d caused. “Huh.”

“If you’re done playing human stun gun, I found the boss. It’s on the roof.” Tsukishima called, and Asahi and Koushi scrambled to get up. “Weakness is electricity, because of course it is.”

Koushi knelt and picked up Tuxedo Mask, holding him bridal style to make sure he didn’t aggravate any possible injuries. “Let’s go eliminate them, then.”

Asahi nodded, and they stepped around the blackened plastic to go outside, Daichi and Tsukishima following, and the four of them jumped up onto the roof, landing with ease and spotting the mannequin with the pearl-studded dress from the window, accompanied by-

“Goddammit, Nephrite, go home.” Daichi groaned.

Nephrite glared at them. “I won’t be going home until I get what I came for. Hand over the Silver Crystal.”

“The what now?” Asahi tilted his head, catching Nephrite’s eye and causing his eyes to widen.

Tsukishima snorted at the panicked look on his face. “Oh yeah, we have a new scout.”

“That’s not a scout, that’s a grown man!” Nephrite accused, pointing a finger at Asahi, who frowned.

“I’m the second youngest here, though.” He muttered. “What do I do to get rid of them?”

Like always, Luna popped up at his feet. “Your special is Jupiter Thunderbolt.”

Daichi snorted. “Pikachu, use thunderbolt.”

Asahi softly glared at him before turning back to the enemies and positioning his hands in front of the tiara on his forehead. “Here goes nothing. Jupiter Thunderbolt!”

Nephrite yelped and teleported away as a large bolt of lightning zipped towards the two enemies, turning the bridal mannequin to dust almost instantly. As the electricity faded, Koushi felt Tuxedo Mask stir in his arms. “Is it over already...?” He asked, voice thick with sleep.

“Yeah, you missed most of it. How’s your head?” Koushi asked, crouching slightly to set him on his feet.

Tuxedo Mask groaned. “I feel like I got run over by a truck.”

Daichi winced. “Moon, you wanna make sure he’s okay? The rest of us will get this big guy home.” He gestured to Asahi, who looked very drained suddenly.

Koushi nodded. “I got it. Text me so I know you guys made it home.”

“Yes, mother.” Tsukishima snarked, as he, Daichi, and Asahi darted off into the night.

Koushi and Tuxedo Mask watched them leave before sitting down, facing each other. “Sorry you got stuck with babysitting duty.” Tuxedo Mask muttered.

“Oh, please. I would’ve stayed to make sure you were okay whether any of the others volunteered or not.” Koushi waved him off.

Tuxedo Mask studied him for a moment before sighing. “Mercury was right, you really are like a mother.”

“That’s what happens when you have two, I suppose.” Koushi grinned, leaning back on his hands.

“Really? You have two?” Tuxedo Mask looked intrigued.

“Yup. They were high school sweethearts, and they’ve been married since they graduated.” Images of their wedding photo albums filled Koushi’s mind, causing him to smile fondly.

“That’s actually super cute.” Tuxedo Mask looked up at the sky, seeking out stars that were just beginning to shine through. “What are they like?”

“I’ll try not to give too much away, because identities and all, but Mom’s a car nerd and adrenaline junkie, and Mama’s a musician and the only one in the family with a brain cell, she says.” Koushi snickered. “But even that brain cell disappears around Mom.”

Tuxedo Mask snorted. “Sounds about right. Love can make you stupid.”

“It really can.” Koushi agreed, observing the other’s face. “You wanna know the weirdest thing about them?”

After Tuxedo Mask nodded, Koushi continued. “They have engagement rings, but instead of actual wedding rings, Mom gave Mama a sword and Mama gave Mom a mirror. They’re actually both hung up in the living room, and they’re gorgeous.”

“I’ve heard of lesbian sword weddings, but a mirror is new.” Tuxedo Mask mused.

“There’s a story behind the items, they claim, but I’m only allowed to know the story when I’m older. Wonder if 18 is ‘older’.”

“I would hope so. Wait, you’re older than me?”

“I guess? I’m freshly 18, though.”

“I turn 18 in a few days. Dammit.”

Koushi laughed at the pout on Tuxedo Mask’s face. “At least you’ve got the taller title.”

“True. Not even your heels can catch you up to me.” Tuxedo Mask grinned, standing up, and Koushi did the same. “I think I’m good to go now. Thanks for making sure I was okay.”

“Again, don’t mention it. I would’ve done it for anyone, really.” Koushi smiled.

Tuxedo Mask pondered this, staring into Koushi’s eyes for a few seconds before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his left cheek, right below his mole. “I mean it. Thank you.”

Koushi slowly reached up to where the kiss was, feeling his face heat up, and he watched as Tuxedo Mask smiled fondly at him before dashing off into the night. Damn that caped crusader and the butterflies he caused.

 

Koushi yawned as he walked into the house, out of his transformation and Luna in his bag, only to freeze when he saw the kitchen light was on. He peeked around the doorway, only to sigh in relief at the tall blonde sitting at the table, sipping a cup of coffee and scrolling through her phone.

“Hi, Mom.” He called, setting the bag in his chair before going over to hug her.

She looked up at him and smiled. “Hey, kiddo. Sorry I didn’t text you or anything. I meant to, but I figured you were busy with practice.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re home.” Koushi smiled, inhaling his mother’s natural scent of earthen musk and race car. “Is Mama home?”

She shook her head, and Koushi noted she needed to re-dye her hair before she started looking like him. “Michiru’s not gonna be home for a couple more weeks. Got roped into some clinic or another.”

Koushi shrugged. “You know she loves it.”

“Yeah, there are times I wonder if she loves that violin more than I do.” She joked. “Now go shower, you’re stinky.”

“But I’m your stinky and you love me!” Koushi called as he grabbed his bag, going to his room to shower off.

Haruka Tenoh watched him go, a fond smile on her face. “You have no idea, Koushi.”

 

“Luna, what the fuck is this.” Koushi hissed under his breath, pointing to the metal stick on his bed that was waiting for him after he got out of the shower.

Luna looked up at him from where she’d claimed his office chair. “That’s the Moon Stick. It’s your first official attack item.”

“Uh huh. And why is it sitting out where my mom could see it?” He quickly shoved it into his bag.

“Your mom went to sleep before I summoned it, don’t worry. Besides, it’s not like she’ll know what it is.” Her tail twitched.

“It’ll still raise questions if she finds it.” Koushi muttered, slipping under the covers. “Good night, Luna. Please don’t let Mom know you’re here in the morning, she’ll skin me alive for getting a cat without asking.”

 

Luna hummed in response, and Koushi felt sleep take over him.

Chapter 6: The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend

Summary:

"No crybaby Sailor Moon yet? Shame."

Notes:

whew gotta love having a bunch of caffeine and hyperfocusing on writing

anyways I hope everyone had a lovely and safe holidays! i'm curious, though, what do you guys celebrate and how? do you guys have silly traditions? for me, my family celebrates christmas (the non-christian version), and we decorate a gingerbread house every year...except we make sure its awful. we dub it the gingerbread murder house, and this year it was covid themed-so we put a giant biohazard symbol on the roof and had mutated snowmen. we also had a very nicely decorated stay puft marshmallow man on the roof-he was very tasty.

okay enough blabbing race just get to the story

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Koushi had just gotten home when his phone buzzed, and he grinned when he saw it was Oikawa.

 

Grand Pain: suga-chan, are you busy right now?

Me: No, why? Is something wrong?

Grand Pain: nothing serious! the team and I are trying to play a game, and we’re down a player, you wanna join?

 

Koushi blinked. Of all the people, Oikawa wanted him? Something warm settled in his stomach at the thought.

 

Me: Sure, what game?

Grand Pain: have you heard of among us?

Me: Yeah, Tanaka managed to rope the first and second years into a game before practice yesterday and Daichi yelled at him. Haven’t played it myself, though.

Grand Pain: you’ll love it, I promise! and here, a link to our discord so you can talk with us!

 

After getting everything set up, Koushi tapped the “Join Call” button in the voice chat, and was greeted by Oikawa arguing about something. He cut off his rant at the noise. “Heya, Suga-chan!”

“So this is the guy we’ve heard so much about, huh?” A lazy voice drifted through Koushi’s headphones.

He snickered. “Aww, Oikawa, you talk about me?”

Oikawa sputtered loudly, causing the other three in the call to laugh. “That’s kinda gay, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi stated, and Koushi could tell from the other man’s tone he was grinning.

“Pot kettle black, Iwa-chan!” He retorted. “Anyways, Suga-chan. You know me and Iwa-chan, obviously, but this other nerd is Mattsun.”

“Nice to meet you, Suga.” Mattsun greeted.

“Nice to meet you too!” Koushi smiled, even though they couldn’t see it.

Iwaizumi cleared his throat. “So where’s Hanamaki?”

“He’ll be on soon, don’t worry.” Mattsun assured. “What about the children?”

A ping echoed through the chat, and a cheery voice greeted them. “Who’s the newbie?”

“Yaha-chan!” Oikawa exclaimed. “Glad you could join. Meet Suga-chan!”

The two setters greeted each other, and the group chatted about nothing in particular until a series of pings sounded. “What’s up, Vsauce, Makki here.”

“Goddammit, get out.” Iwaizumi groaned.

Makki snorted. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“Why did I agree to this again?” A soft voice sighed.

“Because despite how detached you act, you actually like us?” Another young voice pointed out.

The soft voice huffed. “Don’t derail my argument with facts, Kindaichi.”

“Okay, introduce yourselves to Suga-chan, so he knows who to accuse!” Oikawa said gleefully.

         “Kunimi.” The soft voice said.

         “Kindaichi.” The young voice.

         “I already said it, but I’m Makki, half of the Seijoh meme team.”

         Koushi snorted. “You guys may be the meme team, but can you compare to our idiot squad?”

         “Considering it’s got Tobio-chan in it, they beat it by a mile.” Koushi could just imagine the look on the brunette’s face. “Anyways, we’re just missing Maddog-chan and Watari.”

         Koushi raised a brow. “I only recognize one of those names.”

         “Kentarou Kyoutani, aka Mad Dog, is a new member of Seijoh. You wouldn’t have met him yet.” Iwaizumi explained.

         Koushi made a noise of understanding as another ping rung out. “Am I late?”

         “No, we hadn’t started yet, don’t worry.” Yahaba said. “Hi, Watari.”

         “Hey, guys. Hey...Suga, I’m guessing?” Watari asked.

         Koushi nodded, even though they couldn’t see it. “Yeah, that’s me.”

         “Nice to meet the guy our captain simps for.” The libero joked.

         Oikawa sputtered again. “I do not simp for him, shut up!”

Koushi blushed, brain racing. Were his totally crazy, totally weird feelings for the other boy reciprocated? And if they were, what would it mean for the two of them? Could they even properly date, with their volleyball schedules and rivalry and Koushi’s secret Sailor Scout bullshit?

Was he reading too much into this? Definitely.

He tuned back into the conversation to find that Kyoutani had joined, and the code had been posted in the chat. He quickly typed it in, huffing softly when he saw someone else had taken the pink color. Fucking CochieMan players. White would have to do, he mused, equipping the two mini crewmates.

He felt his pulse speed up when the game started, sighing in relief when the big blue letters popped up. He quickly looked to his task list, noting the medbay scan and card swipe (ugh). “Who wants to watch me do weapons?” Yahaba asked, startling Koushi.

“Sounds like a death trap.” Kyoutani grumbled.

Koushi frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to stay silent while playing?”

Oikawa scoffed. “That’s boring. And we’re a chatty group, so why bother?”

“Okay then.” Koushi amended, going to medbay to see if anyone would watch him scan.

In medbay were CochieMan (pink) and bruh (black), running in circles around each other. “What the fuck did I walk into.”

“We’re sexing, shh.” Makki snickered.

Iwaizumi groaned. “Quit dicking around and do your tasks.”

Mattsun fake moaned. “Yes, daddy.”

“Fucking STOP.”

“Oh hey, nice scan...uh, who’s white?”

“That’s me.”

“Bet. Suga’s safe.”

“Not for long, I suppose.”

“Captain, that’s ominous. Is it you?”

“What? No! I have trash, someone watch me do that!”

“Be there in a sec.”

“Guys, I think Yahaba just vented.”

“I did not, you just like targeting me!”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh my god, Iwaizumi’s dead.”

“Where?”

“Storage.”

“Didn’t Oikawa have trash? It was probably him.”

“Why would I kill Iwa-chan?”

“Because you’re imposter, duh.”

“Shut up, Suga-chan.”

 

Oikawa was not the Impostor.

 

Several rounds later, Watari decided to retire for the night before the rest of them did, and they decided to keep playing with only nine players. Which they did for two rounds, and then someone else joined the game.

“Wasn’t this a private lobby?” Yahaba questioned as the new purple, with the nickname WakaWaka, went over to the computer and equipped the plant hat.

Iwaizumi groaned. “It’s probably a hacker, hold on.”

 

Godzilla: hey I don’t know how you got in this lobby but please leave

WakaWaka: Which one of you is Oikawa?

 

         “What the fuck what the fuck WHAT THE FUCK.” Oikawa chanted, causing Makki and Mattsun to chuckle.

         Koushi raised a brow. “Am I missing something here?”

 

         : how the FUCK do you know my name??

sugAAAAA: stalker alert lmao

CochieMan: wait for it

WakaWaka: Oikawa, you should have come to Shiratorizawa.

 

         The scream Oikawa let out felt like it could be heard for miles, and Koushi was pretty sure he was partially deaf now.

 

“Hey, who are those two?” Hinata asked at the end of practice one day, pointing to two feminine figures in the doorway.

Kageyama tilted his head. “No idea. Maybe they’re relatives of someone here?”

“Who are you talking about?” Daichi walked over, wondering why they weren’t practicing.

“Captain!” The redhead stood up straighter, still intimidated by Daichi’s mere presence months later. “I was just wondering about those two ladies at the door, who are they?”

Daichi looked over before smiling softly and turning to shout. “Suga, you’ve got visitors.”

Koushi blinked before turning to see, grinning and abandoning his previous task of helping Kinoshita with something. He ran towards the figures, knocking the smaller one over in a giant hug, inhaling the familiar sea salt and mint perfume. “Hi, Mama. Welcome home.”

“It’d be a lot nicer if you didn’t nearly kill me every time.” Michiru groaned, smiling anyways and running a hand through silver locks. “Hi, starlight.”

Haruka helped the both of them up, taking her wife’s hand once again. “So this is the team this year, huh?”

“Yup. You haven’t met the first years yet, have you?” Koushi grinned, waving over a very confused group of first years (sans Tsukishima, who always looked like he wanted to die).

Koushi felt the air change somehow as soon as his moms looked at the freak duo, and Haruka let out a soft snort before being elbowed by Michiru. What was happening, he wasn’t sure. “Anyways, this is Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi. Guys, these are my moms, Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh.”

“Why don’t you have either of their last names?” Hinata blurted before covering his mouth with his hands, embarrassed.

Michiru giggled. “Don’t worry, it’s not offensive. Koushi actually picked his last name.”

Koushi felt his face heat up. “Please don’t tell them the story.”

“You think you can stop her?” Haruka grinned. “Go on, pearl.”

“When Koushi started school, we decided to enroll him under a different name to avoid having the paparazzi come after him, seeing as Haruka and I were both very big in our respective scenes.” Michiru explained, wrapping an arm around Koushi’s shoulder. “So we asked what name he wanted and he said he wanted to use ‘Sugar’.”

“Well, we couldn’t use that, obviously, so we went with ‘Sugawara’, using Suga as a nickname.” Haruka grinned, reaching over to ruffle Koushi’s hair.

Koushi frowned, playfully swatting her hand away. “And it stuck, obviously.”

Yamaguchi smiled. “That’s actually really cute, I don’t see why you’re embarrassed by it.”

“It’s the fact that I kept it, really.” Koushi muttered, fixing his “artfully” messy hair.

Kageyama tilted his head, brows furrowed in confusion. “Should we stop calling you Sugawara, then?”

“No, no, you can keep calling me that.” Koushi quickly amended. “This shouldn’t change anything.”

Kageyama nodded, and Haruka narrowed her eyes slightly at the younger setter. “Say, Kageyama. You don’t happen to know anything about swordplay, do you?”

Kageyama shook his head. “No, ma’am. Why?”

“Oh, quit with the ma’am. You’ll make me feel old.” Haruka chuckled. “Just curious. You have the build of a fencer.”

“Thanks?” The black-haired boy clearly did not know what to do with that information.

“Anyways.” Michiru redirected. “You boys get back to practice.”

Daichi nodded before directing the team back to receiving drills, and Koushi prayed that his pain-in-the-ass crush wouldn’t show up. Of course, fifteen minutes later, who walks through the door and starts chatting up his moms but one Tooru Oikawa.

Honestly, someone just end him already.

 

“So what did Luna have to show us?” Daichi asked after practice, once Haruka and Michiru had promised to buy the whole team meat buns and all the scouts stayed behind per the cat’s request.

Koushi sighed. “No idea. But we’re safe for you to talk now.”

“Lovely.” Luna padded over to the side of the bleachers, where a discolored plank stood out. “Let me introduce you to the Scout’s hideout.”

She pressed a paw to the plank to the left of the colored one, and the floor began to shift down, forming into a staircase to below the gym floor. The boys looked at each other, confused as to when that got there, but Daichi ended up leading them all down.

It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, Koushi internally remarked, with all the futuristic technology and holograms. In the center of the room was a hologram map of the city on a circular table, a keyboard installed in the side. Little colored blips showed their location, clumped together so you couldn’t really tell the colors apart. On a wall was a large screen with what looked like a file on each of them, as well as a very incomplete file on Tuxedo Mask.

“I thought it would be a lot more...cutesy.” Tsukishima remarked. “But this is much nicer.”

“I did a little remodeling ever since Suga awakened. The past scouts kind of left it a mess, so I apologize for any leftover stench.” Luna hopped up on a stool in front of the keyboard.

Asahi whistled. “How long has this been under the gym?”

“Almost twenty years.” Luna said, typing something in. “Ever since the last Sailor Moon gave it up.”

Koushi blinked. “You mean Usagi, right?”

“Technically, yes.” Luna paused, looking over at him. “Why, do you know her?”

“I, uh. I talk with past Sailor Moons in my dreams.” He tried to play it off casual, but Daichi and Asahi gaping at him didn’t help.

The cat considered this for a moment before turning back to her work. “Interesting. Wonder if that’s a side effect of...no, I shouldn’t say anything. Not my secret to reveal.”

 

It was as he was eating breakfast that things started to go wrong yet again. Koushi was simply scrolling through Twitter while Haruka nursed her third cup of coffee when he found a video of Tuxedo Mask. Confused, he clicked on it.

“My name is Tuxedo Mask.” The video greeted, causing Haruka to look over with a cocked eyebrow. “And I have a favor to ask.”

“That can’t be good.” Haruka muttered into her mug.

The video continued. “I am looking for something called the Legendary Silver Crystal. It is currently in the hands of Sailor Moon. Anyone who manages to get the Crystal for me will have their greatest wish granted.”

Koushi frowned, clicking out of the video. “That’s bogus.”

“Sounds like it. You be careful out there today.” Haruka got up to put her mug away.

Koushi nodded. “I’m gonna be late, I’m having a study session with a couple of the Seijoh guys after practice.”

“Is one of them that Oikawa kid?” The ex-racer grinned, wiggling her brows jokingly.

Koushi felt his face heat up. “Possibly. Why’s it matter?”

“He seems pretty smitten with you, kiddo. Wouldn’t stop complimenting you to Michiru and I.”

“Thanks. I hate it.”

“I know. Get your skinny ass to school, Koushi.”

 

“So it’s just going to be us two today.” Oikawa explained, leading Koushi through his house to his room.

He frowned. “I thought the other third years were joining us?”

“That’s what I thought too.” Oikawa griped. “But Iwa-chan’s not feeling good, and Makki and Mattsun straight up said they weren’t coming.”

“Love that.” Koushi shook his head at their antics, internally screaming about being left alone with the other setter.

Oikawa opened the door to his room, leading Koushi in, and he noted that the other had clearly cleaned recently-he could still smell a faint trace of cleaning chemicals, even with the wax melter plugged in and filling the space with a sugary fragrance. The walls were covered in Polaroid pictures of Oikawa with various people, mostly his team-but there were a few of him with an older woman with the same insufferable smirk. Probably his older sister.

“So what did you want to start with?” Oikawa’s question snapped Koushi out of his thoughts, and after a brief discussion the two got to work.

Koushi tried to focus on their study session, but that Tuxedo Mask video wouldn’t leave his brain. Was he really that desperate that he’d attempt to send civilians after him for it-and did he even have it in the first place? Couldn’t they come up with some sort of solution where Tuxedo Mask simply borrowed it to heal himself and gave it back? Or was he truly an enemy...?

Something smacked into him, and he quickly looked around only to realize Oikawa had thrown an eraser at his face. “You good there, Suga-chan? I asked if you wanted a snack like five times.”

“Sorry.” Koushi rubbed his cheek. “Got a lot on my mind right now.”

A slim brown eyebrow raised. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Probably should.” Koushi admitted, pulling out his phone to find the video. “Did you see the video of that ‘Tuxedo Mask’ guy?”

“Oh, that bullshit.” Oikawa groaned. “Yeah, I saw it. And it’s so totally fake!”

“What makes you say that?” Oikawa froze up, gears clearly turning in his head. “Did someone trace the video?”

“No no no!” The brunette quickly recovered. “But you know I’ve been basically stalking Sailor Moon online, and from what I can tell, this Tuxedo Mask guy wouldn’t do this!”

Koushi frowned. “I hope you’re right.”

“Name one time I haven’t been right, Suga-chan.” Oikawa grinned.

“You’re too full of yourself. I’m gonna take a bathroom break while you get snacks.” Koushi got up, wincing at his joints cracking, and went to the bathroom after grabbing his phone.

When he opened it, he found a message from Haruka waiting, figuring she just wanted to know when he’d be back.

 

Mom: your cat keeps yelling at me

Me: you texted me for that

Mom: well, considering she swore me out for letting you go out without her or your watch, yeah

Me: I’m sorry what

Mom: you didn’t know your cat talks?

 

         What the fuck. Why was Luna speaking in front of his mom? And more importantly, why wasn’t Haruka freaking out?

 

Mom: anyways, she says you need to get out and make your way to the radio station, apparently people are just straight up passing out everywhere?

Me: and what do you expect me to do about it??

Mom: kick ass? You ARE sailor moon, right?

Me: we’re talking about this later, tell Luna I’ll try and be there soon

Mom: got it. Love you, kiddo

Me: love you too mom

 

Koushi shut off his phone, brain racing to try and come up with a decent lie to tell Oikawa why he had to leave when the streets were apparently dangerous. No doubt the other knew already, being on top of things like that.

He exited the bathroom, finding the other frowning at his phone. “Hey, Oikawa?”

He looked up. “Everything okay? You look a little shaken.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Koushi lied. “But something came up at home and now I gotta get going.”

Oikawa surveyed him with a flat look. “Not with that disaster going on outside. Wait for Sailor Moon to fix it, I’m sure your moms will understand.”

“It can’t wait.” Koushi hoped Oikawa would drop it and let him go.

“Is someone dying?”

“Well, no, but-“

“Then you’re waiting here. I’m not letting you get hurt.”

Koushi sighed. “I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself.”

“We’re dealing with actual magic, Suga-chan, not your rowdy team!” Oikawa crossed his arms. “You could die out there!”

“But if I don’t go, then lots of other people might die instead!” Koushi blurted, before realizing just what he said.

If there was a God out there, could it just smite him already?

“Suga-chan.” Oikawa paused, thinking over his words. “What does that mean?”

“What do you think it means?” Koushi felt his face heat up as he tried to stall the inevitable.

“I may be overthinking this.” Oikawa put a hand on his chin. “But it almost sounds like you’re a Sailor Scout.”

Koushi sighed, pulling the brooch out of his pocket and showing him. “And you’d be right.”

Oikawa gaped, looking between his face and the brooch repeatedly. “You...this whole time?”

“Essentially.” Koushi admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The brunette didn’t sound super hurt.

Koushi snorted. “While I trust you and care for you, this is something my moms don’t even know.”

Liar.

Oikawa sighed, sitting down. “That’s fair, I suppose. It is a pretty big secret. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thank you.” Koushi was about to slip the brooch back in his pocket when Oikawa held a hand up to stop him.

“If it’s not too much trouble...” Oikawa trailed off, looking away with a slight flush on his face. “Can I see how it works?”

Koushi blinked. “You wanna see me transform?”

Oikawa nodded, and Koushi shrugged before raising the brooch high and calling out those magic words. Five seconds of ribbon and sparkles later, Sailor Moon stood in front of a grinning Oikawa, who looked like he was trying very hard not to squeal. “Satisfied?”

“Can I try??” Oikawa looked up at him, eyes practically sparkling.

Koushi poked his forehead, careful not to hurt him with his enhanced strength. “It only works for me, sorry. Plus, I have to get going.”

Oikawa rubbed where he poked. “Right, sorry. Lemme walk you to the door, at least.”

The two walked to the front door in silence, and Oikawa opened the door before turning to him. “Be safe out there, okay?”

Koushi smiled, before forgetting himself and leaning in to press a soft kiss to Oikawa’s mouth. He lingered for a few seconds, savoring the soft feel of the other’s lips on his, before pulling back with a blush. “I will. Thank you.”

And before he could do anything more embarrassing like confess his feelings for the other setter, Koushi dashed off into the night.

 

Oikawa watched him go, a fond smile on his face. “I’ll see you soon, Mister Moon.”

 

Luna was very confused as to why Zoisite looked barely injured from the magical finishers, but the boys didn’t seem too worried.

Especially when he spent more time hitting on Tsukishima than actually fighting back.

“So, did you consider my proposition, gorgeous?” Zoisite teased, ducking out of the way of a sparking fist.

Tsukishima groaned. “Give it a rest, seriously. I don’t think you’re even my type.”

Zoisite clicked his tongue, blocking another kick from Daichi. “Well, even so, I have a soft spot for this batch, so I’ll let you in on a secret.”

All three scouts paused, and Luna leaned in. “This reincarnation is going to be weird, to say the least. Some enemies are attempting to possess other’s bodies instead of forming their own, in an effort to get rid of their...physical weakness.”

“Physical weakness?” Asahi tilted his head.

Zoisite nodded. “Over the incarnations, we’ve all gained a resistance to the magic attacks-almost to the point where it hardly hurts us. However, if you punch one of us in the face, chances are good it’ll knock them halfway to dead.”

“Just like with Jadeite.” Daichi realized.

“Precisely! So in order to combat that, they’re probably going to start possessing human bodies.” Zoisite grinned.

“Fucking great.” Tsukishima grumbled, before getting distracted by a swirling black vortex appearing behind their enemy.

Zoisite turned, his grin fading into mild annoyance. “Boys, may I introduce your first big boss-Queen Beryl.”

The three scouts watched in horror as a woman with incredibly long red hair descended from the middle of the vortex to stand in front of them, the black folds of her too-revealing dress rippling. Luna hissed as Beryl looked them over, clicking her tongue. “No crybaby Sailor Moon yet? Shame.”

She had spoken too soon, of course, because as soon as she stepped forward to attack the other scouts, Koushi came flying out of nowhere, a well-aimed kick to the face knocking Beryl back several yards. “You called?”

“Oh, thank fuck you’re finally here.” Daichi grinned, moving to stand next to the silver-haired boy. “I thought you were too busy making out with your study date to realize you were needed.”

“It wasn’t like that at all.” Koushi retorted, face heating up at the memory of the fleeting kiss.

Asahi chuckled, looking over to where Beryl was getting up again. “Ready to send this fashion disaster back to whatever layer of hell she came from?”

Koushi grinned, holding up the Moon Stick. “Always. Plus, I gotta see what this thing can do.”

“Aren’t you missing one?” Beryl griped, looking between all of them.

“It’s just us four?” Tsukishima raised a brow, and Koushi gave him a soft glare. “Oh, right, Tuxedo Mask.”

And right on cue, Tuxedo Mask came flying in with a kick to Beryl’s face, on the opposite side Koushi hit, sending Beryl crashing to the floor. “Missed me?”

“Well, shit.” Daichi muttered.

Beryl groaned, getting to her feet again. “You two really are soulmates in every incarnation...and it’s quite annoying.”

Koushi beamed as Tuxedo Mask stood next to him. “Thanks, that’s our job! Now I suggest you go back, or my next kick will be up your ass.”

“That’s gross.” Asahi made a face, fists beginning to crackle.

Tsukishima raised his hands, ice swirling around them. “That’s him.”

Beryl held a hand out, a staff appearing out of nowhere and beginning to glow with dark energy. Koushi responded by raising the Moon Stick, feeling Tuxedo Mask wrapping a gloved hand around his and the rush of power to the Moon Stick that provided.

How cliché, that love is the source of power.

“You realize that won’t do anything against me, correct?” Beryl yelled.

Koushi shrugged. “Mayhaps. But I gotta make sure no one dies before I beat you.”

The Moon Stick glowed a bright silver, and Koushi and Tuxedo Mask yelled in unison. “Moon Healing Escalation!”

The scouts plus Tuxedo Mask watched as streams of light poured from the Moon Stick, spreading out over the city and coating it in glittering energy, and Koushi could feel as the darkness lifted, and people began going back to normal. However, it was the last thing he saw as he promptly passed out, Tuxedo Mask swiftly catching him.

“How weak.” Beryl sneered.

Tuxedo Mask flipped her off in response, the other scouts ready to fight if need be. Zoisite, who has been awkwardly standing in the background, stepped forward to whisper something in Beryl’s ear, causing her to nod. “You live for now, Sailor Scouts. But next time you won’t be so lucky.”

The two of them disappeared in a swirl of darkness, and the scouts all turned to the unconscious Koushi. “So who’s taking him home?” Daichi asked.

“I’ll take him.” Tuxedo Mask offered, causing the other three to gape at him.

Asahi frowned slightly. “How do you know where he lives?”

“Oh, I don’t.” Tuxedo Mask grinned sheepishly. “But I do know we still have a study date to finish.”

Daichi blinked. “Oikawa?”

Tuxedo Mask held a finger up to his lips. “He doesn’t know it’s me, but I know it’s him. I’m gonna tell him when he wakes up.”

Tsukishima sighed. “Great. Are our identities still secret?”

“Technically, yes, but I have my suspicions. We’ll discuss it at a later date, though-he needs rest and so do you guys.” And with those final words, Tuxedo Mask dashed off into the night, Koushi snuggled close in his arms.

 

Koushi buried his face in the pillow, not wanting to wake up when the memories of the previous day flooded into his mind. What was he thinking, revealing to Oikawa that he was Sailor Moon? What if the enemy got ahold of him and found out? Love really does make one stupid, he mused, slowly blinking awake and taking in the smell of sugar cookies and the sight of a white and teal jacket placed halfhazardly on top of him.

This wasn’t his room.

He bolted up into a sitting position, finding Oikawa sitting at the foot of the bed, dark circles under his eyes and messing with his phone. That wasn’t the weirdest part, though. No, the icing on this crazy cake was the full tuxedo Oikawa wore, a billowing red cape splayed across the bed and a way too familiar white mask on his lap. Apparently Koushi’s movement had alerted the other, and warm brown eyes turned to him.

 

Oikawa smiled. “Morning, Suga-chan. We have quite a bit to talk about, don’t we?”

Notes:

i have a discord! feel free to join, but no worries if you don't wanna: https://discord.gg/JZZutw8qmh

also reminder that i have a tumblr at raceyatothemoon.tumblr.com if you wanna see art for my stories!

Chapter 7: The Moonlight is a Messenger of Love

Summary:

"Gonna teach me how to have a killer jump serve, oh Grand King? That's bias."

Notes:

man this update came out a lot quicker than i thought it would, and that's thanks to both my new clicky keyboard and my first fanart for this pic, which (made me panic while i was streaming with a friend) you can find here: https://pissfizz.tumblr.com/post/640702655798427648/click-for-quality-reblogs-are-greatly

also, this chapter is mostly fluffy schmoop, but fair warning there is a section that talks of miscarriage! i marked it with a line break, but if it doesn't work, the section starts with "Are you sure you're going to be okay fighting..." and ends with "Four months later, Koushi Kaioh-Tenoh was born..."

as always, your comments make my day and my inbox on tumblr is always open for questions/requests/additional comments!

Chapter Text

“What the fuck.” Koushi whispered, because he couldn’t formulate any other cohesive words.

Oikawa snorted softly. “Yeah, that’s a valid response.”

Koushi’s mind was racing miles per second. “Am I the only one who knows?”

“Actually, no.” Oikawa scratched the back of his head, a sheepish grin forming. “Iwa-chan figured it out after the incident where he helped you guys. Apparently, I’m not inconspicuous at all.”

“He’s kind of right.” Koushi pointed out. “If I hadn’t been in complete denial, I might’ve figured it out myself. Maybe.”

“Thanks.” Oikawa deadpanned, standing up. “You want to talk more about this over breakfast? Sawamura-kun said you liked spicy stuff, and I know a little shop that makes to-die-for chilaquiles.”

Koushi shrugged. “Sure. But you should probably change into something more casual first.”

Oikawa looked down at himself before making a noise of understanding, probably having forgotten he was still in a tuxedo. “Right. Give me fifteen minutes and we’ll get going.”

 

“So the whole Silver Crystal thing.” Koushi said, after wiping salsa off his face.

Oikawa looked up from where he was struggling to keep the last of his breakfast burrito together. “What about it?”

“You said before you wanted it to heal an injury, right?”

“Yeah. To be more specific, it’s for my knee. It’s almost completely trashed, and while there is surgery for it, I would never be able to play sports again.” Oikawa said before shoving the eggy mess in his mouth.

How flattering. “Yeah, I can see why you’d go the drastic route. Volleyball is your life. And who am I to take that away from you?”

Oikawa held a finger up, swallowing his food before speaking again. “What are you talking about? The Silver Crystal belongs in your hands, for the safety of the world and all that.”

“Surely we can figure out a way to heal your knee and save the world at the same time, right?” Koushi mused, unconsciously going to fidget with the brooch in his pocket.

“I have no idea if it works like that.” Oikawa admitted. “And I’ve talked in depth with Serenity and Endymion.”

Koushi blinked, not recognizing the names. “Who the hell are Serenity and Endymion?”

“Oh, jeez. Am I the only one who gets those dreams?” The brunette muttered.

“Apparently. I just get to talk to all the past Sailor Moons in my dreams.” Koushi leaned back in his seat, sipping his water.

Oikawa leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “What are they like? They’re super cool, right?”

“I guess? There’s a lot of them, and I don’t think I’ve met them all yet.” The silver-haired boy racked his brain for information on all of the Sailor Moons. “The one I talk to most is Usagi, and that’s because she’s my predecessor.”

“When was she Sailor Moon?” Oikawa was eating all of the information up like it was milk bread.

“1985, I think she said? Something like that.”

“So she’d still be alive, is what I’m hearing.” Oikawa grinned, clearly already planning something.

Koushi gave him a flat stare. “We are not tracking her down. She probably has her own life and probably doesn’t want to deal with a couple of dumb teenage boys tracking her down for more information on Sailor Moon.”

Oikawa pouted. “Come on, she’s Japanese too, right? So we could probably meet her, and maybe she can even give fighting tips!”

“I highly doubt that, considering she describes herself as a ‘crybaby’.” Koushi sighed.

“Who’s a crybaby?” A familiar voice sounded behind Koushi, and he turned to see Haruka and Michiru, both wearing expressions of amusement.

“Mama Michiru and Mama Haruka!” Oikawa beamed, getting up and gesturing to his empty seat. “Here, take my seat. I’ll sit next to Suga-chan.”

“Such a gentleman.” Haruka remarked, sliding in with Michiru next to her.

Oikawa sat next to Koushi, subtly shoving him to the side with his hip. “I try. How are you two this morning?”

“Tired.” Michiru sighed, rubbing her temples.

Koushi bit his lip, knowing he probably was the cause of that. She tended to stay up waiting for him every time he went out, and he had never sent her a text saying where he was. Haruka caught his eye, mouthing ‘Luna told us’, which definitely helped his anxiety a little. But it also raised more questions-how did his moms know about the Sailor Moon thing? Why did Luna decide to reveal herself to them?

“So again, I ask-who’s a crybaby?” Haruka said after waving over a waiter to get menus for her and her wife.

Koushi and Oikawa looked at each other, attempting to mentally communicate to try and come up with a cover, before Koushi sighed and just admitted it. “A girl named Usagi.”

Haruka paused. “Usagi...Tsukino?”

“She was definitely a crybaby. Still is.” Michiru muttered.

“You know her?” Oikawa gaped.

Both women nodded. “We met her back in high school. She was a total clutz, and definitely a crybaby, but she was super nice and always saw the best in everyone.” Haruka smiled fondly.

“So, technically speaking...we could meet her?” Oikawa grinned, and Koushi mentally smacked himself for thinking he was going to ever let that go.

Haruka put a hand on her chin. “She lives in Tokyo with her husband and daughters, but we can call her up and she if she’ll come visit. Why do you want to meet her so badly?”

“He just wants to meet another Sailor Moon.” Koushi said, quiet enough that no one would overhear but loud enough that they’d all hear him.

Oikawa whirled to him. “I thought you said they didn’t know!”

“Yeah, I had just found out that they knew like five minutes before I said that.” Koushi smiled apologetically.

Oikawa made a noise of understanding, and they turned back to the other two. “So he’s your Tuxedo Mask, then?” Michiru asked, humor lacing her tone.

Koushi nodded. “By the way, you two owe me an explanation as to why you knew before I even told you.”

“Now that’s a long story.” Haruka sighed. “We’ll explain after we eat, somewhere private.”

 

“So let me preface by saying Michiru and I were Sailor Scouts when we were younger.” Haruka started, sitting at the kitchen table with Koushi and Oikawa across from her, Michiru making more coffee for herself.

“No way. Which ones?” Oikawa grinned, listening avidly.

“I was Sailor Uranus, and she was Sailor Neptune. The way awakenings went, we were out kicking ass before Usagi even knew Sailor Scouts were a thing. Fast forward a few years, we’re all somehow still Scouts even after the ‘big bad’ was defeated.”

“That’s because there were still monster remnants lurking, love.”

“Right, right. So there was one night, about a year after Usagi and her crew had graduated...”


 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay fighting, pearl?” Haruka asked, eyeing the small bump on her wife’s stomach.

Thanks to some moon magic, Michiru and Haruka had been able to have the child they’d always wanted to have together, without having to worry about sperm donation. Michiru had offered to carry the kid, citing that the constant adrenaline of racing would make Haruka a poor candidate. She’d agreed, not really wanting to undergo the pregnancy anyways. Now, the teal-haired woman was in her fifth month of pregnancy, and while Haruka hated that she was still transforming and fighting, she knew there wasn’t anything she could do to stop her hard-headed wife.

“I’ll be fine. Promise.” Michiru smiled reassuringly, kissing her wife’s cheek before dashing in after their teammates.

Of course, things never go as planned when you’re a Sailor Scout.

At some point in the fight, the Scouts had all been split up, in an attempt by the monster to get rid of them one at a time. And the monster had decided Sailor Uranus was the first to go.

Normally, Haruka would have been able to fend off the enemy on her own, but she’d made the stupid decision of leaving her sword at home, not to mention her ankle-she’d landed on it wrong after jumping away from an attack and she was pretty sure it was twisted. But now, she was simply left to brace herself for the pain as the monster fired a beam of darkness towards her.

She heard a desperate, familiar scream, and time seemed to slow as Haruka watched in horror as Michiru came out of nowhere, flinging herself in the way of the beam in a desperate attempt to save Haruka. She wasn’t sure who screamed louder, her or Michiru, but when the beam faded, Michiru was collapsed on the ground, struggling to breathe.

Haruka gently picked her up, completely forgetting about the monster (which ended up being fine, since Hotaru found it and swiftly defeated it). “Talk to me, pearl.”

“Hurts.” Michiru grit out, gripping her stomach in pain.

Haruka sighed in relief. “I know. You’re going to be okay.”

Michiru nodded, sitting up before paling and going wide-eyed in shock. “Haruka. Something’s wrong.”

“What is it?” She quickly checked over her wife, finding a very large pool of blood beginning to form between her legs. “No. No, tell me that’s...”

“He’s gone.” Michiru whispered brokenly, clinging to Haruka.

The blonde felt everything bubble over, and the next thing she knew she was sobbing into the crook of her neck, Michiru clinging onto her uniform like a lifeline. The other scouts eventually noticed what was going on, wrapping the two in a large group hug.

“I’m so sorry.” Setsuna murmured into Michiru’s hair, wondering if she could use her time powers to reverse the damage.

They stayed in their bubble of support for a bit, before Usagi gasped. “I think I can fix this!”

“How?” Michiru sniffed. “It’d take a miracle.”

“Miracles are what I do, though!” The blonde beamed, tapping her brooch. “I think I can use the Silver Crystal to bring him back!”

“Usagi, that has got to be one of the riskiest ideas you’ve ever had.” Rei snorted, causing Usagi to glare at her.

Minako put a finger to her chin. “But she’s done it before, hasn’t she?”

“That’s true.” Ami agreed. “I think it’s worth a shot. Besides, who knows if the moon magic would work to create another child?”

Usagi grinned, climbing towards Michiru and pulling her brooch off, dropping the transformation. “Here goes nothing.”

All the scouts watched with bated breath as Usagi summoned the Silver Crystal out of the brooch. The area was bathed in a brilliant light as Usagi focused her efforts, and they were all in shock as the Silver Crystal disappeared inside of Michiru’s stomach, causing her to let out a watery gasp.

Ami felt over the bump gently, using her somewhat limited experience to see if the child was alive again. “I think it worked.”

“Yeah, but at what cost?” Hotaru asked, pointing to where everyone had detransformed.

They all blinked at each other before Luna leapt in out of nowhere, Diana and Artemis behind her. “Usagi, what did you do?”

“I, uh. Tried to use the Silver Crystal to save the baby?” She sheepishly grinned, scratching the back of her head.

“I was supposed to give that to the next Sailor Moon!” Luna hissed.

“When were they supposed to be born?” Mako asked.

Luna paused. “In about a year, I believe?”

“Then you’ve got time to figure it out!” The brunette said cheerfully.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it’ll work like that.” Diana said from where her paw rested on Michiru’s stomach. “The Silver Crystal has become a part of him.”

“And that means what exactly?” Haruka demanded, mind already racing with issues.

“I think it means the Silver Crystal is his life source, and chances are good he might be forced to become Sailor Moon as a result.” Artemis explained. “But he’s alive and healthy.”

Michiru let out a sob of joy, clinging even closer to Haruka, and Haruka responded in kind by peppering kisses over the shorter woman’s face.

Four months later, Koushi Kaioh-Tenoh was born with a head full of shining silver hair and a grip of steel, and Haruka and Michiru vowed to love him-even when he inevitably went out to fight crime.

 


“So...I died before I was even born?” Koushi asked, still trying to process everything.

“Essentially, yes.” Haruka nodded as Michiru curled up into her side.

Oikawa turned to him. “That’s heavy.”

“No kidding.” Koushi muttered.

Michiru smiled softly, waving Luna over from where she’d just come out of Koushi’s room. “But it explains the Sailor Moon thing. And why we knew.”

“Do you think the incident has anything to do with why Suga-chan is so strong as Sailor Moon?” Oikawa asked.

Haruka and Michiru looked at each other, then to Oikawa, confused. “Explain.”

“I’m really not that strong.” Koushi flushed.

Oikawa shook his head. “He’s punched enemies dozens of yards away, and I’m pretty sure he’s used a steel beam as a baseball bat one time.”

Haruka whistled lowly. “Damn, that’s impressive. Unfortunately, we don’t have a super good reference for how strong a Sailor Moon is supposed to be, since Usagi refused to fight unless it was a magical attack most of the time.”

“As someone who’s seen a lot of Sailor Moons, Suga is a lot stronger than all the other Sailor Moons have been.” Luna explained, causing Oikawa to jump.

“I never expect the cat to talk. Ever.” Oikawa griped.

Michiru giggled. “No one ever does.”

“Hey, total change of topic. You two are dating now, right?” Haruka grinned mischievously.

Koushi felt his face heat up, and Oikawa didn’t look much better off. “About that.”

Koushi stood up, grabbing the brunette and leading him off to his room. “We’re going to go figure that out, don’t disturb us!”

“Use protection!” Haruka cackled, causing her to get a swat to the arm from her wife.

Koushi flushed all the way to the ears, slamming the door a little behind him and Oikawa. “Ignore her. We really need to talk about whatever’s going on between us.”

“Agreed.” Oikawa sat on the bed, patting next to him.

Koushi sat down next to him, thigh pressed to Oikawa’s. “I’m sorry if I shoved my feelings on you.”

“What are you talking about?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been smitten with you for ages. Did you forget everything I said about you at the gala?”

Koushi thought back to the dance, how right it had felt being with him, and how he’d said such nice things about his civilian self. “Right...”

“Suga-chan.” Oikawa cupped his cheek, looking at him with a more serious expression than he’d ever seen on the other’s face. “I like you. A lot. And if it’s alright with you, I’d really like to kiss you now.”

Koushi flushed, not trusting his voice and simply nodding instead. Oikawa leaned in, hesitating only slightly before pressing his lips to the shorter boys, capturing them in a sweet kiss. Koushi’s eyelids fluttered shut, and he wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, softly kissing him back. It felt natural, kissing him, and he could see where romance books got the ‘puzzle piece’ kisses from.

Oikawa pulled back first, looking at Koushi with such affection it caused him to shiver. “You turn me into such a mess, Kou-chan.”

“Kou-chan?” Koushi questioned, causing Oikawa to freeze.

“I figured, you know, we could be on first name terms?” He stammered.

Koushi smiled fondly, tucking a stray lock of brunette hair back in place. “I’d like that a lot, Tooru.”

Oikawa let out a wheeze-like noise, falling back on the bed with his face in his hands. “You can’t just say that out of nowhere!”

Koushi giggled. “It’s going to be so much worse when I figure out a pet name for you!”

“Kou-chan, no!”

“Maybe babe? Honey? Pumpkin?”

“Stop, oh my god!”

“Sugar? Rosebud? Kitten?”

“Okay, that last one is just weird!”

 

“Hey, kiddo. I think you’ve got some competition.” Haruka casually mentioned at dinner one night.

Koushi frowned around a mouthful of tuna. “What’s that mean?”

“Oh, are you talking about that Sailor V?” Michiru asked.

Haruka nodded, causing Koushi to be even more confused. “Who the heck is Sailor V?”

“Apparently, they’re a costumed crime fighter just like you. Except this one deals mostly with things police usually take care of, like catching burglars and such.” Michiru explained.

“They also deal with a lot of rapists and child molesters, I’ve heard.” Haruka added.

Koushi thought for a second. “You think they might be a Sailor Scout?”

“Possibly. Or they’re a copycat.” Haruka took a sip of her drink.

“Or that.” Koushi agreed.

Michiru shook her head. “Chances are good they’re just a teammate. Either way, stay safe.”

“Of course.” Koushi stood up to put his dishes away. “You don’t think I got this far by being reckless, did you?”

 

Grand Pain: hey, kou-chaaaaaaaan

Me: what now

Grand Pain: don’t be so mean! I was gonna ask if you want to go to the park today! The weather’s nice, and I’ll pack us a lunch!

Me: depends, are you any good at cooking?

Grand Pain: ...mayhaps

Me: i’ll get the food

Grand Pain: yeah okay

Grand Pain: I’ll swing by in an hour?

Me: see you then, tooru <3

Grand Pain: WHO ALLOWED YOU TO BE THIS CUTE

 

“You were right, this is nice.” Koushi hummed, subconsciously snuggling closer to Oikawa.

They’d laid out a blanket in the shade of one of the trees at the park, semi-hidden from passerby and free to be as sappy as they wanted. Koushi had packed them both simple bento boxes (with help from Michiru), and they’d both finished their lunch off before laying back and just simply enjoying the other’s presence.

Oikawa threaded a hand through Koushi’s hair absentmindedly. “Iwa-chan pointed out that I’d been super stressed, and I figured this might help both of us-not that you’re visibly stressed.”

“Not visibly, but I definitely needed this too.” Koushi sighed.

Oikawa looked over at him. “You want to talk about it at all?”

Koushi looked around to make sure no one was within earshot before opening his mouth. “I have a lot of things going on in my life. Volleyball, school, fighting monsters...it’s definitely starting to build up. And I love being Sailor Moon, don’t get me wrong, but I just wish I didn’t have to sacrifice the other two to be Sailor Moon.”

“That makes sense.” Oikawa agreed. “But you have to remember there are four of you fighting monsters, and you don’t always need all four for an average monster-of-the-week. Or day, more like.”

“That’s true.” Koushi could practically hear the gears turning in his own head. Maybe they could set up some kind of rotation system, or just send Tsukishima in to check weakness before delegating a certain Scout to fight? No, that wouldn’t be fair to Tsukishima.

“It’s worth thinking about, at least. And if all else fails, I can always help you with the other two things.” The brunette offered.

Koushi snorted. “Gonna teach me how to have a killer jump serve, oh Grand King? That’s bias.”

Oikawa groaned, planting his hands over his face. “If this is about the thing with Tobio-chan...”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“It was three years ago! I was a terrible child and didn’t know how to deal with the idolization!”

“And the nearly hitting him?”

“At the time, it was a dick move. But nowadays I would definitely slap him, not just for serving into the back of my head repeatedly, but for stealing your spot!”

“He didn’t steal it, he earned it! I told you, I’m over it!”

“Are you?” Oikawa sent him a scrutinizing stare.

Koushi met his gaze for a few seconds before looking away sheepishly. “I’m mostly over it. We’re not talking about this right now.”

“Fine, fine.” Oikawa conceded, wrapping an arm around Koushi’s waist and idly playing with the hem of his shirt. “What do you want to talk about instead?”

Koushi thought for a moment before smiling almost devilishly up at Oikawa. “Who said we have to talk?”

“Kou-chan, you’re terrible.” Oikawa admonished, leaning in anyways because really, he was too whipped for that devil in sheep’s clothing.

Their lips almost met before something slammed into the tree they were lounging under, and they both whirled their heads to see a middle-aged man had fallen out of the tree.

“Sir, are you okay?” Koushi immediately scrambled to get up and check on him, freezing when he heard what the man was muttering.

“Must find Sailor Moon.” The man kept repeating, his voice oddly monotone.

Koushi bit his lip, slowly backing away. “You, uh. You do that, sir.”

“What was that about?” Oikawa asked as soon as Koushi had retreated to the blanket.

“It’s not safe here anymore. Pretty sure shit’s about to go down again.” Koushi said in a hushed tone.

Oikawa groaned. “Let me guess. Hypnotism?”

“Most likely.” Koushi thought back to the way the man’s eyes were practically glazed over. “Ten bucks it’s Zoisite again.”

“Oh, I’m not betting against that. Come on, let’s get the others and figure this out.” Oikawa said, already packing up their picnic.

 

“Yeah, this has Zoisite written all over it.” Daichi agreed as they all surveyed the chaos from atop a building, fully transformed.

Asahi squinted as if trying to see farther. “How are we going to find him, though? He hasn’t been painfully obvious.”

“Now that one I can answer.” Oikawa grinned, clearly pleased with himself. “He’s likely where the most people have congregated. It’s horde mentality-they’re subconsciously trying to protect their leader.”

“And how do you know this for sure?” Tsukishima asked, not believing him.

“Oh, it’s a past life thing.” Oikawa waved him off, but that really only caused more confusion among the scouts.

Koushi sighed. “Tux being bizarre aside, it’s definitely our best lead. Let’s see where it goes.”

And with that, they jumped off the roof like a bunch of shounen protagonists, completely forgetting that four of the five were in heels.

It wasn’t super hard for them to make their way through the horde of people-while they may have acted like zombies, they were less likely to eat a boyfriend and more likely to continuously run into walls muttering “Sailor Moon”. Still, they continued on, shoving their way through to try and find Zoisite.

The crowd was thickest around a radio broadcast station, which made sense for how the hypnosis spread so far-the station belonged to one of the biggest news stations in Miyagi. There was no way for them to push through to get into the building at this rate, so they’d have to find an alternate route.

“Jupiter, Mars, I need you two to throw me to the roof.” Koushi turned to the two boys, who blanched.

“Absolutely not. We have no idea what we’re doing.” Daichi shook his head.

Asahi nodded. “Yeah, plus I don’t want to be the one explaining to your moms how you got thrown into a wall.”

“You two are boring.” Koushi griped, right before the crowd parted just enough for a lone figure to come down and punch Koushi square in the back.

He tumbled forward right into the waiting arms of Asahi and Daichi, who made sure he didn’t fall flat on his face. Oikawa growled, quickly whipping out his staff to attack Zoisite, who easily blocked it with a flick of his wrist. Tsukishima followed up, flinging a wave of icy wind towards the other blonde, only to get it flung back in his face by Zoisite’s own powers.

“Is that really all you’ve got?” Zoisite taunted, snapping his fingers and summoning balls of darkness around the group.

Oikawa immediately dove to cover Koushi, and he watched in horror as the dark magic flung itself into the bodies of his friends, causing them all to let out cries of pain.

Asahi grit his teeth, struggling to stay upright. “It’ll take more than that to defeat us.”

Zoisite scoffed, summoning another round of dark magic. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, manbun.”

Time seemed to slow for a moment, and Koushi was stuck watching as Oikawa dashed to land a punch square on Zoisite’s jaw just as the dark magic hit its targets, causing the other scouts to collapse to the ground. Zoisite stumbled slightly, and time returned to normal as he shot a glare to Oikawa. “Where the hell did that strength come from?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy.” The brunette snarked, causing Zoisite to pause briefly before raising his hand and firing a beam of dark energy into Oikawa’s chest. The masked man flew back a few yards, yelping when his back collided with the hard concrete.

Koushi started to move towards him before wincing, a throbbing pain in the middle of his spine rendering him temporarily immobile. “Now, then.”

Zoisite grinned wickedly, summoning a spear of dark energy to his hand and advancing towards Koushi, whose mind was racing to find a way out of the situation. “Any last words before I kill you and take the Silver Crystal?”

Koushi squeezed his eyes shut, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach, mentally apologizing to his moms for not listening to them. A cry of pain met his ears, and he looked up wide eyed to find Zoisite collapsed on the ground, clutching his leg, blood beginning to pool around his grip.

A blur of orange met his vision, and Zoisite was thrown halfway down the street. Koushi blinked, realizing the blur of orange was actually a person in a very familiar uniform, and he gaped when he realized this was probably Sailor V. A woman in a pure white dress approached the orange-clad person and laid a hand on their shoulder, and they both turned to face Koushi.

 

“I do believe we have a lot to discuss, Sailor Moon.” Kiyoko Shimizu smiled down at him, Ryuunosuke Tanaka grinning wildly beside her.

Chapter 8: A Champion and a Princess

Summary:

“Fuck those guys.” Asahi muttered under his breath, flushing in embarrassment when they all turned to stare at him.

Notes:

damn this one came out fast-though thats probably because it's 75% floof and 25% plot

catch me throwing more foreshadowing in ahaha

also i decided to draw literally every scout for the fic in the same piece, including the older scouts?? it's like 37 characters total help

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Koushi griped, taking in his teammate and manager’s appearances.

Kiyoko gave him a sympathetic smile, reaching out a hand to help him up. “I wish I were.”

“Can we discuss this later? I’d like to kick ass now.” Tanaka shot Zoisite a feral grin, causing the blonde to flinch.

Kiyoko rolled her eyes at him. “One moment. I’ve got a gift for Sailor Moon.”

“Please tell me it’s a new weapon.” Koushi begged, hoping for an actual damage dealer instead of the healing bullshit that was the Moon Stick.

“Not really.” Kiyoko admitted. “Lean over so I can reach your forehead.”

Koushi did so, and Kiyoko leaned over to place a soft kiss to his forehead, directly on the jewel of his tiara. Tanaka sputtered, about to get jealous when the tiara began glowing, forming a new crescent shape. “That should help, at least a little bit.”

“What’s it do?” Koushi questioned, feeling over it.

“I don’t know how to explain it without using video game terms, but essentially it ‘boosts your stats’.” Kiyoko explained, and Tanaka turned to him.

“Can we fight now? I think Prissy Boy over there is starting to get up.” Tanaka complained.

Sure enough, Zoisite was getting back on his feet, but so were the other Scouts, each of them summoning their signature element.

“Go wild.” Kiyoko stepped back, allowing the two boys to step forward, a glowing crescent in Tanaka’s hand and the Moon Stick in Koushi’s.

Zoisite grit his teeth, realizing quickly he was outnumbered and outclassed. “I would really rather not die today. I’ll see you later, Sailor Scouts.”

And with that, he disappeared in a swirl of dark magic, leaving behind four quite injured scouts and one disappointed Tanaka. They all looked at each other, confused as to where to go from here, before Daichi spoke up. “You guys want to talk about this over coffee or something?”

 

“We already know you’re a simp for Kiyoko. Be serious.” Tsukishima grumbled into his mug.

They’d ended up relocating at Koushi’s house, since his moms already knew (he’d told the other scouts about them being past Sailor Scouts, but not the whole my-life-is-connected-to-the-Silver-Crystal thing), and Tanaka had proudly introduced himself as Sailor Venus, and Kiyoko as Princess Serenity.

Tanaka glared at the taller boy. “I’m serious, she’s legitimately the Moon Princess!”

Daichi rubbed his chin in thought. “It does kind of make sense, I suppose. Especially with that thing she did to Suga’s tiara.”

“I’m still mad it wasn’t a new weapon.” Koushi huffed, only half kidding.

Haruka snickered from the other room, cutting herself off with a yelp as Michiru elbowed her in the side. As silly as Koushi’s violent streak was, this was a serious conversation, and they needed to butt out.

“It’s quite normal for Serenity to not be a Sailor Scout.” Luna pitched in from her spot on Asahi’s lap. “Besides, from what I’ve seen of your dynamic with Kiyoko already, it seems you already somewhat rally around her.”

“That’s because she’s the manager.” Tsukishima pointed out.

Luna paused. “Oh, right. Completely off topic, but where’s Artemis?”

“Probably at home. He’s not able to get out like you, since he’s got Saeko to worry about.” Tanaka explained. “He’s been bitching about not being able to see you, though.”

For a second, it seemed like Luna blushed (how that was possible for a cat, they didn’t know, but once again it was chalked up to moon magic), but she quickly composed herself. “Oikawa, what’s your opinion on all this? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Said brunette blinked, snapping back into reality. “Sorry, what?”

Tanaka frowned. “I still can’t believe he’s a part of this. I mean, isn’t he one of our biggest rivals?”

“We know you hate him, Tanaka, but he’s been a vital part of the team for a while.” Daichi sighed, already setting his mug down in case he had to smack the other upside the head.

Oikawa stuck his tongue out at Tanaka, who returned the gesture with a single finger. Koushi promptly slammed his face in the table, barely wincing. “Can we just fucking focus? Please?”

Kiyoko pat his back sympathetically. “Suga’s right. We need to focus. Besides there’s still a whole other topic we haven’t touched on-the Dark Kingdom.”

“Fuck those guys.” Asahi muttered under his breath, flushing in embarrassment when they all turned to stare at him.

“Let’s not fuck those guys.” Tsukishima screwed his face up in disgust, likely thinking of Zoisite’s weird flirting attempts.

Luna sighed. “So as far as we know so far, Kiyoko is Princess Serenity, and I’m fairly certain Oikawa’s Endymion.”

“That makes no sense. Aren’t Serenity and Endymion supposed to be attracted to each other?” Daichi asked. “I don’t think Oikawa’s ever had eyes for anyone besides Suga.”

Koushi flushed as Oikawa nodded. “That’s true. I’m not even really into girls, either. I mean, she’s pretty, but that’s all I really feel towards her.”

“No offense, but you’re certainly not my type either.” Kiyoko shrugged, and Tanaka let out a subtle sigh of relief.

Luna frowned. “Interesting. While not every Serenity and Endymion end up together, there is always initial attraction. It’s weird that there’s none there. Maybe...”

They waited for Luna to finish her sentence, but Haruka interrupted. “Luna, you and I both know it’s most likely a false alarm.”

The cat blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. “Why would it be a false alarm?”

“You don’t remember the shitstorm of nineteen years ago?” Haruka snorted.

“Oh, of course! That would make sense.” All the Scouts sans Koushi and Oikawa looked at each other, confused.

“What shitstorm?” Daichi asked, and Koushi sighed.

“Abridged version, my life is connected to the Silver Crystal thanks to a mishap from before I was born, and I wasn’t supposed to be Sailor Moon.”

There were stares all around the table. “Holy shit, dude.”

“Yeah. So I’m guessing Kiyoko was actually supposed to be Sailor Moon, and that’s why she’s getting the princess treatment.” Koushi leaned back in his chair.

The others let that thought mull for a bit before Oikawa spoke up. “Serenity bullshit aside, what’s the deal with the Dark Kingdom?”

“It all started with the first Endymion and Serenity, just like everything else.” Luna began. “Thousands of years ago, there were civilizations on every planet, including the moon. Endymion was the Prince of Earth, and Serenity was the Moon Princess. She’d often sneak out to visit Earth, where she met Endymion, and it essentially turned into Romeo and Juliet.

“However, Serenity wasn’t the only one with eyes for Endymion. Beryl-she wasn’t a queen back then, not even royalty-got it in her head that Endymion was hers, and made a pact with an ancient evil known as Metallia in order to claim him as her own. Of course, it didn’t work, and somehow war broke out between the Earth and the Moon. While attempting to flee, Endymion and Serenity were cornered by Beryl, and they both lost their lives. Through the remaining magic left on the Moon, the Queen ensured the two would be reincarnated, allowing them to be together safely. Of course, things went wrong-and we’re still not sure where-and now Serenity and Endymion-along with the Guardians of each planet-are stuck in an eternal reincarnation cycle.”

That was a lot to take in, Koushi idly thought, as they all sat in silence for a bit. Finally, Tanaka piped up.

“So, people actually used to live on the other planets?”

 

Koushi’s mind was still filled with that story days later, and it seemed he wasn’t the only one. Especially when Coach Ukai yelled at them for missing things during practice.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on with you guys. And I’m not sure I want to.” He told them during a quick break. “But you need to leave it at the door. When you enter the gym, your thoughts need to be focused on volleyball.”

“That being said, if there’s something serious going on, please don’t hesitate to let us know.” Takeda smiled, ever supportive.

Daichi nodded and bowed slightly on behalf of the team. “Sorry for holding up practice like this. We’ll do better.”

“Good, because the first round of Interhighs in in two weeks, and I need all of you at your best.” Ukai folded his arms.

For the first time, Koushi was slightly glad he wasn’t the starting setter. There was no way he could handle that paired with the stress of being Sailor Moon, especially with everything that had been coming out lately. Plus, he’d started getting more of the weird dreams with the man in the purple suit, and he had the distinct feeling things were about to go south. Hopefully it didn’t happen during a game.

Then again, if anything interrupted a game Koushi was sure Hinata and Kageyama would take care of it, even if they didn’t have powers.

Koushi forced himself out of his thoughts and back into the scrimmage, replacing his worries of his secret life with ideas for new attack formations.

 

“Kou-chan, you look almost dead on your feet.” Oikawa pointed out as Koushi slid into the chair across from him at the boba place they’d agreed to meet at.

“I feel pretty dead too.” Koushi sighed, placing his cheek on the table.

Oikawa’s eyes softened. “If you want to talk about it, I’m all ears.”

“Coach has been getting on my ass even more lately, and I know I need to play better, considering Interhigh qualifiers are soon, but it’s so hard for me to focus with the whole Serenity mess, and the monsters are increasing in frequency, and I keep getting weird dreams, and I just-” Koushi let out a loud groan.

Oikawa laid a hand over his own. “I know it sucks. And I wish there was more I could do for you.”

“I wish there were a way for me to not have to deal with constant monsters.” Koushi muttered, causing Oikawa to hum in thought.

“I’ll see if I can figure something out. For now, though, we’re going to spend the day together relaxing and not thinking about monsters or princesses or even volleyball.” Oikawa promised, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“I’m not sure I like where this is heading.” Despite his protests, Koushi was definitely looking forward to whatever his boyfriend had planned.

Turns out, after boba, Oikawa had planned a trip to the mall to goof off. They spent hours looking through racks of clothes, sometimes seriously looking and sometimes competing to find the ugliest shirt (don’t let him say otherwise, Koushi totally won that one). They’d gotten some weird looks at one of the stores when they decided to try on some of the skirts, but hadn’t gotten kicked out, so that was a bonus. Oikawa had dragged him into an upscale makeup store, and had bribed Koushi to do his makeup with kisses. He’d walked out of the store looking incredible, though, and Koushi had to admit-Oikawa knew his way around a makeup brush.

Eventually they decided to call it a day for shopping, stopping in at a local ramen place for dinner. It wasn’t super crowded, but there was a group of boys in purple jackets at one of the booths in the back.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Oikawa muttered under his breath.

Koushi looked at him, confused, and Oikawa gestured with his chin to the table of boys. “Shiratorizawa.”

Koushi looked back over at the table, observing them. Facing away were three boys; one with deep red hair slicked up similar to Fukurodani’s captain, a slightly shorter boy with a bowl cut who looked like he was bouncing in his seat, and a brunette who looked like he cut his bangs during a three am existential crisis. Facing towards them was a tall, well build man with a stoic expression, and a silver-haired boy with dark tips who was drumming his fingers on the tabletop.

“I know which one Ushijima is, but who’re the others?” Koushi whispered as the host led them to their seat.

Oikawa sat down in the seat facing away from them, while Koushi was able to gawk at them as much as he wanted. “The redhead is Tendou, middle blocker with a freaky guessing ability. Bowl cut is one of their first years, so I don’t really know much about him, but he’s constantly talking about how he wants to be the ace. The one with the awful bangs is Shirabu, their second-year starting setter.”

Oikawa paused to take a sip of his drink, and Koushi looked back to the final member of their team, only to flush when he realized the other was staring back at him. The other boy looked shocked, like he couldn’t believe Koushi actually existed, and he offered the other boy a small wave before turning back to Oikawa. “And the last one?”

“The one that looks like you?” Oikawa snorted, subtly looking over his shoulder. “That’s Semi. Third year setter beat out by his underclassman, solely for the fact that he likes making riskier plays instead of relying only on Ushijima like everyone else.”

“Interesting.” Koushi hummed. “Wait, does he really look like me?”

The brunette nodded. “You guys could be twins, if it weren’t for the dye in his hair.”

Koushi shot Semi one last look, finding him engaged in conversation with Tendou, and suddenly got the feeling that he’d be seeing a lot more of his doppelganger soon.

 

Princess: We have an issue.

Venus: what’s wrong???

Mercury: let me guess, monsters?

Princess: Worse. Kunzite.

Moon: that’s the one with the weirdly deep voice, right?

Jupiter: I’m confused. What exactly is happening?

Princess: Kunzite has threatened to turn the entire city into an energy vacuum if I don’t show up to a certain building’s rooftop alone with the Silver Crystal.

Mars: but you don’t have the Silver Crystal?

Princess: He doesn’t know that. There is also the issue of my transformation. I cannot tap into my Serenity powers without Tanaka nearby.

Tux: so what I’m hearing is we all go!

Moon: hell yeah!

Princess: Absolutely not. The only one I’m possibly taking is Tanaka.

Venus: uh, no disrespect, Kiyoko, but I’d feel a lot better with them around. they know this scout thing much better than I do.

Mercury: also, suga and oikawa are going to show up no matter what you say.

Princess: Why are you two like this.

Moon: because I like beating up bad guys?

Tux: I honestly have no clue lmao

Tux: probably because I like watching my boyfriend beat up bad guys

Mars: if you start flirting in the group chat, I swear I’ll find a way to light you both on fire.

Moon: how rude

Jupiter: So we’re following Kiyoko to Kunzite and potentially throwing hands?

Mercury: please never say throwing hands again you sound like the shrimp

Princess: I...suppose that is what’s happening. Though I’m not comfortable with it.

Venus: it’s for your own safety, promise.

Princess: Please be careful.

 

“Anyone else kind of feel like a stalker?” Asahi whispered from where all five Scouts and Tux were hiding. “Just me? Okay.”

“Jupiter, shut the fuck up, I’m trying to listen to the Princess.” Tanaka hissed, attempting to scooch closer.

Koushi internally groaned. They were awful at stealth. Granted, he wasn’t much better, leg bouncing in anticipation? Fear? He wasn’t sure, but the heel of his boot was clicking against the floor, and if Daichi glared at him any harder he probably would achieve that goal of setting Koushi on fire.

“Oh shit, Kunzite’s here.” Oikawa ducked out of view, the other peeking Scouts following.

“Princess Serenity.” Kunzite greeted.

“Kunzite.” Kiyoko’s voice was tinged with something vaguely poisonous.

Kunzite stepped closer to her. “I assume you have the Silver Crystal?”

Kiyoko gripped the folds of her dress, already preparing herself for pain. “I do not. I haven’t found a way to access it yet.”

Kunzite paused. “And yet I sense its presence in the vicinity.”

Koushi froze, unconsciously holding his breath. This was a bad plan, Kunzite was likely going to hurt Kiyoko now-

“Let’s see if we can get it out of you, shall we?” The unmistakable crackle of dark magic rang out.

Koushi turned to go stop him from hurting Kiyoko, but found Tanaka had beat him to the punch, his hands still glowing and a smoking hole on Kunzite’s back.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch her.” He threatened, shooting the white-haired man a deadly glare.

Kunzite turned, taking in the group, before giving them a malicious smile. “Wonderful timing, drag queens. You’re just in time to watch as I gain the Silver Crystal and end this forsaken cycle once and for all!”

“Over my dead body!” Koushi shouted, which was definitely the wrong thing to say.

Zunzite’s smirk grew wider. “I believe that is the goal, yes.”

He snapped his fingers, and a beam of magic was aimed towards their group. Asahi tackled Koushi and Daichi out of the way, while Tanaka dashed away from the beam and towards Kiyoko, and Tsukishima and Oikawa simply ducked behind the wall they were hiding behind before.

“That’s it, you’re dead!” Tanaka yelled, aiming a punch towards Kunzite.

He simply rolled his eyes and swiftly dodged, kicking Tanaka in the stomach and sending him flying. Kiyoko quickly ran to where he landed, checking to make sure he was okay, and that was the last thing Koushi saw clearly before the area was filled with a familiar shimmering mist.

Asahi and Daichi had gotten up, running in different directions, leaving Koushi essentially alone, stuck listening to grunts of pain from his teammates and the crackle of Kunzite’s magic. He took a deep breath to steady himself, before standing up and summoning the Moon Stick to his hand.

Using the sounds provided, Koushi was able to track Kunzite down, and ran in to find him alone, barely even breaking sweat. Before Kunzite could react, Koushi slammed a heel into the white-haired males stomach, causing him to lose the air in his lungs and stumble back a few feet.

“There you are, you little pest.” Kunzite choked out.

Koushi raised the Moon Stick to point at him. “Your fight is with me, asshole.”

“I suppose it is, isn’t it.” Kunzite murmured before dashing forward, engaging Koushi in close combat.

Looking back on it, it probably looked like a fight scene out of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, with the rapid-paced punches. Eventually they both realized punches weren’t getting them anywhere, so Koushi distracted Kunzite by raising the Moon Stick-and instead slammed his boot into the other’s crotch. The other man let out a cry of pain, staggering back.

“You really do fight dirty, Sailor Moon.” Kunzite grit out.

“Listen, it’s not my fault you weren’t prepared. You were kind of asking for it, not wearing protective gear.” Koushi mocked.

Kunzite looked fed up. “You really are ridiculous. I’ll end this here and now!”

Suddenly, the entire room seemed to darken, as Kunzite summoned a powerful beam of dark magic, aiming it directly towards Koushi. He knew there wasn’t enough time to dodge, so he settled for raising his arms to block the blow and waiting for the inevitable pain. Instead, he heard a gut-wrenching shriek, and opened his eyes to find Oikawa in front of him, falling backwards with an awful singe mark on his torso.

Oikawa turned back, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’m glad you’re okay...”

Koushi felt something break as Oikawa slumped back against him, unconscious and pulse weak. There was no way, right? He couldn’t be dead.

 

“TOORU!” Koushi screamed, and suddenly the area was bathed in a blinding white light.

Chapter 9: Endymion and Serenity

Summary:

“Holy shit.” Tanaka muttered, not quite as quiet as he probably thought he was. “God really IS a woman.”

Notes:

haha...long time no men in skirts

so basically, i rewrote 90% of this chapter because some things happened in my personal life and i was venting too much through the story. so i took it in a totally different direction so i could avoid that, and ended up liking it much better.

i also got art commissioned for this chapter, but it's not done yet, so i'll update this when i've got it

Chapter Text

“Hey. Oikawa. Wake up.” A familiar voice spoke, and Tooru felt something nudge his shoulder.

He groaned, flopping over on his side. “Five more minutes.”

“You’ll get five more minutes when you’re actually dead. Get up.”

Tooru opened his eyes to find Mamoru Chiba standing over him, looking extremely unimpressed (though that seemed to be his default setting). “What do you mean, actually dead?”

Mamoru raised an eyebrow, and suddenly everything flooded back-the fight with Kunzite, protecting Suga, and then...

“Wait, I’m supposed to be dead?!” Tooru screeched.

A snort came from behind him. “That’s an accurate response.”

Tooru blinked, finally taking in his surroundings, finding that instead of the usual drab and cloudy dream world, he was in what looked like a run-down palace, surrounded by various people, all in formal tuxedos. Silver Millenium, he mused, but who were all these people?

“Oikawa, meet literally every other Tuxedo Mask.” Mamoru motioned.

The brunette waved sheepishly. “Uh, hi. How do I know which ones are rotten eggs and which ones are valid?”

Mamoru blinked, before realizing what he meant. “The good ones will approach you. The bad ones physically can’t come near the newest Tuxedo Mask.”

“Cool. Good to know.” Tooru shakily stood up. “So why am I here?”

“Like Chiba said, you’re supposed to be dead.” The unfamiliar voice from earlier spoke up, and Tooru turned to find a short girl in a silver tuxedo, her dark hair in an elaborate braided bun. “Unfortunately, Kunzite simply isn’t strong enough to kill anyone. He thinks he is, but so does every other villain.”

“And you are...?” Tooru trailed off, taking in the ornate dagger on her hip.

She grinned, shifting her weight to one hip. “Michelle Daniels, Tuxedo Mask of 1899.”

“She’s one of the physically strongest Tuxedo Masks to exist.” Mamoru explained, causing Michelle to blush good-naturedly.

“Ever the flatterer, Chiba. Anyways, Oikawa, was it?” Tooru nodded. “Your incarnation is clearly different. And we aren’t sure what it is.”

“Besides the fact that my Sailor Moon is only alive because of the Silver Crystal?” Tooru muttered, but not quietly enough because both Mamoru and Michelle went wide-eyed.

“I’m sorry, please explain.” Mamoru rubbed his temple.

Tooru frowned. “You were there when it happened though. Your wife used the Crystal to save an unborn baby.”

There were no coherent thoughts behind Mamoru’s eyes. “My what now?”

Michelle made an aha noise. “I know what’s happening. What Oikawa’s talking about happened after the ‘final boss’, right? So Memory Mamoru-the one you’re talking to-wouldn’t remember because it hasn’t happened yet.”

Mamoru slowly nodded. “That does make sense. And I won’t know what happened until the real Mamoru Chiba dies.”

Tooru frowned. “So is this Mamoru Chiba like a snapshot of the living one?”

“Essentially, yes. When the ‘final boss’ is defeated, the spirits of the Scouts join the Spirit Silver Millenium, in order to help guide the next incarnation. The spirit doesn’t gain all the memories of their life until the real one dies.” Michelle explained.

“Interesting.” Tooru murmured.

No wonder Usagi hadn’t told Suga about the Silver Crystal thing. She simply hadn’t known it happened.

“Off topic, but I really do end up marrying Usagi?” Mamoru looked hopeful.

Tooru nodded. “Yeah, and apparently you’ve got a daughter.”

“Oh, I knew about the daughter.”

McFucking SCUSE ME.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get a kid of your own soon!” Michelle added helpfully.

WHAT.

 

Kiyoko could only stare in horror as Suga let out another bloodcurdling wail, his entire body glowing brightly and his uniform colored pastel pink and purple. His hair had grown impossibly long, and now flowed down to his knees in almost platinum waves. She racked her Serenity memories, trying to figure out what was going on, but came up completely blank. So that’s the Silver Crystal’s influence, then.

This was not going to go well.

“Give him back.” Suga growled, raising a finger and firing a beam of light into Kunzite’s shoulder.

“He’s dead, you moron!” Kunzite growled, gripping where he was hit.

Suga didn’t seem to hear him. “Give him back!”

Kiyoko looked around frantically, hoping the other Scouts could calm him down, but they were all still down for the count. Taking a deep breath and gathering her skirts, she rushed over to where Suga was trying to get a grip on Kunzite’s throat.

“Sailor Moon.” She called out, voice loud and commanding. “Stand down. A life for a life is not the way to go about this.”

Suga stared at her for a second, eyes taken over by the glowing power. Slowly, he lowered his hands, but the mysterious power didn’t seem to dissipate. He tilted his head, face completely blank. “But I want my Tooru back.”

“I know you do. But violence will not bring him back.” Kiyoko reached a hand out to him.

The silver-haired boy looked down before hesitantly taking it, and they both winced as their hands began heating up immensely. The glow around Suga began to dim, and Kiyoko felt a new weight in her hand. As they pulled their hands back, they both gaped at the shining gold brooch resting in her hand. It was a simple eight-pointed star, with a shining silver gem in the middle.

“Did I just give you a piece of the Silver Crystal?” Suga muttered, examining his hands and trying to figure out what happened.

Kiyoko gripped the brooch. “I think you did. You created a miracle.”

The silver-haired boy looked at her, completely awed. “Miracles are what Sailor Moons do.”

They stared at each other for a second before something seemed to click in Suga’s mind. “Miracles are what we do! I can use the Crystal to bring Tooru back!”

“I sure hope you’re right.” The two of them ran over to where Oikawa was still laying on the ground, pale and unconscious.

Suga crouched over Oikawa, gently lifting his torso up and cradling his head to his chest, whispering under his breath. Kiyoko laid the hand that wasn’t holding the new brooch on his shoulder, willing her Serenity powers to flow through to him.

Oikawa’s body began glowing with that same light Suga’s body had earlier, and they watched as his visage returned and his eyes slowly fluttered open. Suga’s shoulders slumped in relief, and Kiyoko let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Hi, Kou-chan.” The brunette greeted, taking in his situation. “What’s up with your hair?”

“My what?” Suga held up a strand before realizing what happened. “Fuck, what did happen to my hair?!”

“Oh, you poor naïve Sailor Moon.” A vaguely familiar and very sinister voice spoke from behind them, and all three of them whirled around to see Beryl standing there, Kunzite crouched at her feet.

Kiyoko narrowed her eyes, her inner Serenity furiously screaming. “This is the part where you kidnap Tuxedo Mask, right?”

“Haven’t failed yet.” Beryl boasted.

Suga stood up, standing protectively over Oikawa and summoning the Moon Stick to his hand. “Key word is yet, you old hag.”

Beryl chuckled, looking the three of them over. “You’re in no state to defeat me, Sailor Moon. You’ve exhausted all your energy bringing your precious boytoy back to life, Tuxedo Mask can’t fight-”

“Hey!”

“-and your Serenity looks incredibly frail. I wouldn’t be surprised if a strong gust of wind knocked her over.” She finished.

Suga bit his lip, knowing she was right. It was taking all he had to stand and face her, and Kiyoko and Oikawa had no powers to take her on. The other Scouts were slowly getting up, which was good, but even combined they wouldn’t have enough power to take her on.

“You’re wrong about one thing.” Kiyoko’s voice was surprisingly level.

Beryl raised a brow. “Oh? Do tell, Princess.”

She took a deep breath and gripped the brooch tighter, feeling a whole new power well up inside her. “I’m much stronger than I look.”

Kiyoko raised the golden brooch high above her head, and five Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, and the first boss all watched her body light up a radiant sunset orange. “Sun Prism Power, Makeup!”

Glowing light surrounded her legs and torso, solidifying into the Sailor Scout uniform, with a soft coral chest bow and pastel yellow collar and skirt. Sheer white tights covered her legs, and short pastel yellow pumps slipped onto her feet. Instead of the full coverage gloves the other scouts got, she had short wristlets, a diamond point covering most of the back of her hand. Around her neck was the normal choker, but in the middle was a small sun charm that matched the brooch, now in the middle of her chest.

“Holy shit.” Tanaka muttered, not quite as quiet as he probably thought he was. “God really IS a woman.”

Ryuunosuke, you are the cutest idiot I’ve ever met.

Beryl gaped at her, completely speechless for once. Suga and Oikawa let out teasing whistles in unison, then looked at each other and laughed, Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Asahi give her a thumbs up, grinning widely.

She felt...confident. And she loved it.

“I am the first ever Sailor Sun, and in the name of ending this awful cycle, I’ll kick your ass!”

“Sailor Moon, you’re an awful influence.” Tsukishima griped as the other Scouts stood at her side.

Suga beamed, helping Oikawa to his feet. “Oh, no, she’s been like this since we met.”

They all faced Beryl, who was furious. “Sailor SUN?? What the hell is this? How?!”

Kiyoko smiled softly, sensing everyone shift into fighting positions. “Turns out we can create our own miracles this time.”

And with that, they all jumped into action, their respective elements flying.

Beryl could barely keep up with all seven of them coming at her at once, working in freakish harmony. If it wasn’t Suga throwing punches, it was Tanaka firing beams in an attempt to cripple her, or Tsukishima nearly high-kicking her in the chin. Asahi and Daichi charged their elements into Oikawa’s staff, allowing him to get a very good whack into her stomach. Topped with Kiyoko’s own flurry of attacks, Beryl was forced to dash away as best she could to get a moment to breathe.

Of course, they weren’t going to let her, and Suga raised the Moon Stick high, all the other Scouts gripping the handle with him and charging the “weapon” with a glowing rainbow.

“I don’t understand! Why can’t I beat you??” Beryl hissed, doing her best to open a portal to escape and essentially failing.

“Easy.” Suga grinned, a feral thing that stretched ear to ear. “We’re out for blood.”

And with that, they fired the charged Moon Healing Escalation, causing Beryl to let out an ear-piercing screech. She managed to open up a portal, quickly jumping through it to escape possible death. The rainbow magic faded, and the only noise for a few moments was the Scouts trying to catch their breath.

Kiyoko cleared her throat. “Anyone up for a midnight IHOP run?”

“I could kill for a stack of pancakes.” Oikawa groaned, and they all murmured their agreements.

 

The seven of them sat in silence as they waited for their food, changed back into their civilian clothes. Asahi was idly fidgeting with Koushi’s new hair, and between that and the emotional rollercoaster of the night, he could feel himself almost dozing off in his chair.

The door to the nearly empty IHOP opened, and they all looked up to see Haruka and Michiru, followed by a blonde in buns, a dark-haired man, and two teenage girls with colorful hair. Koushi forced himself to wake up, smiling weakly at his moms.

Michiru didn’t say anything, just wrapped him in a hug, shaking slightly. “You’re okay.” She murmured, burying her nose in his silver hair.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” He smiled softly, hugging her back tightly. “We all are.”

“What’s with the wig?” Haruka snorted, trying to lighten the mood and lifting the braid Asahi had made.

“It’s not a wig.” Koushi and the blonde woman spoke in unison, and he jumped when he realized she had spoken.

Hazel eyes met bright blue, and Koushi gulped softly when he realized who the blonde woman was.

“Usagi Chiba.” She giggled, curtsying slightly. “It’s nice to meet you all!”

 

Turns out Haruka had rung up the Chiba’s when they had disappeared to fight Kunzite, hoping they could fill in her and Michiru on everything that was about to transpire. Usagi and Mamoru had told them about what happened to them, causing Michiru to work herself into a panic. Haruka had managed to calm her down, and seeing everyone okay at the IHOP put her concerns to rest.

Usagi had then introduced her two daughters, Chibiusa (“Seriously, just call me Rini.”) and Kousagi. Rini had bright pink hair, tied in two low pigtails, her father’s height, and deep red eyes that made no sense considering both of her parents had blue eyes, but Koushi chalked it up to moon bullshit yet again. Kousagi was the shortest of the family, with lavender hair pulled up into two pigtails and adorned with bunny clips, and her mother’s lively blue eyes.

Apparently, Rini and Koushi were only a couple years apart in age-she was in the middle of her second year of college. “We tried to set up playdates for you two when you were toddlers, but it just never worked out-mostly because we moved out to Miyagi while they stayed in Juban.” Michiru explained when Koushi asked why they didn’t know each other.

They all ended up relocating at Koushi’s house, and somehow Haruka found enough futons for almost everyone-Usagi and Mamoru would be splitting one, and Koushi had offered to share his bed with Oikawa, who had happily accepted and promised no funny business. Now they were cuddled up, Oikawa freshly changed into an old tee of Koushi’s and a pair of Haruka’s sweats.

“Y’know, Kou-chan.” Oikawa started, slowly rubbing a hand over Koushi’s back. “I really like the longer hair on you.”

Koushi smiled softly, looking up from where he’d buried his face in the crook of his neck. “Too bad I can’t keep it.”

Oikawa paused for a second. “Right. How would you explain it, anyways?”

“Exactly.” Koushi sighed. “But I have been debating whether to let my hair grow out a little or not, and I think this solidified my choice.”

Oikawa simply pressed a kiss to his forehead in response, and they were both hit full-force with the exhaustion from the fight.

 

Come morning, Oikawa was acting exactly the way Koushi was afraid he would act when he met Usagi.

“Oikawa, quit bugging Bunhead with questions and eat your breakfast.” Haruka groaned.

Usagi pouted. “I’m not a bunhead anymore! And besides, I like the questions!”

“Yeah, see? It’s fine.” Oikawa grinned before turning back to the blonde. “Anyways, tell me about your Scouts.”

“Right, right.” Usagi grinned. “So you know Haruka and Michiru, my Uranus and Neptune, of course. The other Outer Scouts, Setsuna and Hotaru-Pluto and Saturn respectively-live in Osaka, where Setsuna teaches physics and Hotaru writes...mystery novels? I think?”

Tsukishima paused from where he’d been glaring at a bowl of rice. “She wouldn’t happen to be Hotaru Tomoe, would she?”

“That’s her!” Usagi beamed.

“Interesting.” He muttered before going back to picking at his food.

“As for the Inner Scouts, they’re everywhere. Last I heard, Ami-Mercury-was doing some sort of vaccine research in Africa. Rei’s been walking the Paris runways for several years now-oh, she’s Mars, by the way. Mako-she’s Jupiter-runs her own bakery in Tokyo, and she’s REALLY good. And Mina, my Venus...” Usagi trailed off.

“Still haven’t heard from her?” Mamoru asked, wiping egg off his face.

Usagi shook her head. “It’s been six years. I’m really worried. I know she was going to settle down and get out of the limelight-she used to sing professionally-but cutting us out is just ridiculous.”

“You’ll see her again soon, I’m sure.” Rini looked up from where she’d been typing furiously on her phone, and based on the intense and knowledgeable look in her eyes, Koushi fully believed her.

“I hope you’re right, Chibiusa.” Usagi sighed.

Rini grit her teeth. “Don’t call me that! Mom!”

“Oops, sorry.” Usagi stuck her tongue out childishly, and all the new Scouts had to remind themselves that this woman had somehow saved the universe multiple times. “Anyways, how’s your datemate?”

Rini scowled and went back to her phone, a soft blush on her face. “Helios is fine. Go back to mooning over Dad.”

“Please no.” Mamoru muttered under his breath.

Kiyoko cleared her throat, causing almost everyone to turn to her. “Tsukino-san, I was wondering if you had any advice for us newer Scouts.”

The blonde woman thought for a second. “It’s not really advice, but have you guys been to the Moon yet?”

“We get to go to the Moon?” Oikawa leaned forward, starry-eyed.

Usagi nodded, hair flowing with the motion. “Yup! And you get to meet Serenity’s mother, and find the Sailor Sword, and see Silver Millenium!”

Koushi blinked. “Sailor Sword? You mean we get an actual weapon?”

“Kind of.” Usagi shrugged. “I never used it, Minako did, so she could tell you more about it.”

“If we could get ahold of her.” Haruka reminded.

“Minako or no Minako, we’ve still got to go to the Moon. Clearly, it’s an important step.” Daichi declared. “Let’s split up and get ready, and regroup at the gym.”

 

On the Moon, the Sailor Sword rested, awaiting it’s true wielder for the first time since its creation.

Notes:

as always, i'm on tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/raceyatothemoon

feel free to send me stuff