Konnichi wa, minna-chan! Thanks for coming to read my fic...I'm touched. ^_^ Okay. This is my first story to be posted on the web... wait! Don't leave. I've worked really hard. Couldn't you at least check out the first chapter? Pretty please? Thank you. Anyway, this fic is an action/romance kinda thing, but there isn't any romance in this installment. Sorry! It takes place in the first season, after they get Minako, but before they discover the Moon Princess. Kapeesh? (AN: Does anyone know how to really spell that?) Disclaimer: Yeppers, this is the disclaimer. I don't own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, no matter how hard I've wished. ^_^; Please don't sue me, because I know it is property of Takuechi Naoko, Toei Animation, and a bunch of other things like Dic. *gag* Besides, I only have a nickle. *Sierra-chan* Visions-Chapter One Sailor V leaped across the rooftops, not even having to watch her landings as she scanned the city for signs of trouble. She had traveled this route hundreds of times before, and knew it better than the back of her hand. All seemed peaceful in this district of Tokyo, however. Birds were singing off in the distance, the sky was clear, there was a light breeze, and the setting sun was casting fiery shadows over the bay. Something was horribly wrong. Now, Sailor V knew she should have been grateful for the apparent break in attacks from the enemy, but the peacefulness made her uneasy. There was something up, and she had a foreboding sense that she wouldn't be there to stop it. Trying to push such pessimistic thoughts from her head, the famous super-heroine continued along her patrol. Soon, she began to dismiss her previous doubts and was ready to call it a night when she heard a peculiar shuffling from the alley below her. Creeping to the edge of the roof, V peered down into the gloom and was met with a startling sight. Down in the narrow side street a youma was dragging a body around. A human body. Eyes widening, V wondered for a moment if this is what she had been sensing, before she quickly jumped down to attack the creature. After dispatching it, she ran over to see if the person was alive. He wasn't. Shame, guilt, and failure welled up in her, and staring up at the suddenly unforgiving sky, Sailor V let out a heart-wrenching scream. Rei sat up in alarm, taking stock of her surroundings. Taking several deep breaths, she realized that it must have been a dream. However, she didn+t find that particularly comforting. Not only was it a bad omen for a priestess to fall asleep in front of the Sacred Fire, which she had done, but Rei's dreams had an unnerving habit of coming true to an extent. At least, the more prophetic ones. Shaking her head, the raven-haired miko tried to ward away her uneasiness, but for the rest of the day, the dream hung in the back of Rei's mind. That evening, the senshi gathered at the Hikawa Shrine. They chatted amiably, as they always did while awaiting Usagi's arrival. That is why they were shocked to see her arrive long before Minako. It got later and later, and the senshi began to worry about there blonde friend's absence. It was already around 6:30, and the sun was going down over the horizon. "Where could she be?" Rei asked. She was beginning to feel the same foreboding as Sailor V from her dream. "She is usually here on time. She didn't even beat Odango Atama today." In her nervousness, Rei fell back on insulting Usagi to distract herself from the current situation. "Rei..." Usagi began with her normal reaction, but she was cut off by everyone's communicator going off at once. With worried expressions, the senshi all turned them on to see a tearful Sailor Venus. "Minna..." she sobbed out. Even the calm, rational Ami was shocked to see her in such a condition. They had been expecting many different reasons for Minako to be late, but this didn't appear to be any of them. "Minako-chan, what's wrong?!" Makoto cried in astonishment. Rei's heart froze as she heard the response. "I was walking over to meet you at the shrine, and I heard something in an alley I was passing. There was a youma." "Did you destroy it? Is everything alright?" Usagi asked. Minako began to cry harder. "I transformed and killed it, but... but..." She broke down, and was unable to finish her sentence. Rei finished it for her. "A man was killed before she could get rid of it." Venus nodded weakly, and the others gasped. Unsure of what to say, everyone stood in silence, with only the sound of Venus' sobs breaking it. Finally, Makoto said quietly, "Minako-chan, stay there I'll come to get you. Okay?" Sailor Venus nodded again, Makoto hurriedly transformed into Sailor Jupiter, and then left to collect her friend. Slowly, Ami turned to Rei. "How did you know?" "I had a dream this morning. I fell asleep while doing a fire-reading. It was something along the lines of what just happened." "You should have said something to the rest of us," said Usagi. "We could have been on guard..." "I know. It's all my fault. But, I hoped that maybe for once it really was just a dream," Rei replied, tears welling up in her eyes as well. Ami put a comforting arm around her. "It isn't your fault. You couldn't have known that your vision would come true. But please inform us if you have anymore strange dreams. Unfortunately, I doubt we've seen the last of our enemies and their new plan..." The next day, respective schools were met with somber Sailor Senshi. Everyone was startled to see that even Usagi, who was usually the most cheerful, happy girl at Juuban Junior High, was seemingly depressed. Naru, one of her best friends, was especially worried. She had known Usagi since kindergarten, and never had she seen the sprightly blonde so unhappy. She acted dead. During lunch, Naru tentatively approached her. "Usagi-chan? Are you alright?" Usagi nodded, averting her eyes, and Naru decided not to push her. "Oh. Well, you know, I'm here if you ever need me for anything, even if it's just to talk. Changing the subject, she attempted to cheer her friend up. "Look at the size of my lunch! I surely can't finish all of this. Would you like some, Usagi?" "No, thanks. I'm not really hungry. I don't think I'll even eat mine. Here," she said absently, and tossed her bento to her shocked red-haired companion. Rising, she shuffled back into the school building. Naru watched her leave with wet eyes. "Usagi-chan," she whispered. "I hope you find the answer to whatever problem you're dealing with right now. And please remember, I said anything." Usagi stumbled wearily home from school. She was upset, and didn't even want to go to the arcade. She just needed some time alone to think. She wondered how Minako was holding up. She must feel awful, though Ami had concluded that the man was dead long before she had arrived. There was still a dark cloud of guilt hanging over each of the senshi, especially with Ami's predictions of more trouble. Sighing, Usagi vaguely thought that perhaps she should come up with an excuse for her odd behavior. Naru had seemed unconvinced with her reply at lunch, and her mother was certain to be suspicious of her gloomy attitude. Before she could get very far in forming a plan, though, her communicator went off. "Hai?" she asked, opening it. "Usagi-chan?" said an upset voice. "It's Makoto. There was a youma in the park..." "Was?" Usagi interrupted. "Hai, was. It wasn't very strong, and Mercury and I were able to defeat it. But...there's been another casualty." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Tune in next time: What will the senshi do about the rash of killings? Who will Usagi look to for comfort? Why haven+t they been able to save anyone yet? How is the Dark Kingdom going for such long periods on Earth, unnoticed? And who's that watching Usagi transform?! More to come in Chapter 2!* Look at that! I finally finished the first chapter. Yay! I was afraid that'd I'd lose interest and not get anywhere. But, I'm determined to finish this fic! Just give me time! (E-mail doesn't hurt either.) I DO have an ending in mind, thanks to some writing tips at First Love: Spring 2000, (go to my site for a link!) from Lady Starra, Alicia Blade, and Athena. Everyone thank them by going to read their fanfiction! Okay, I guess that's it. Ja ne! *Sierra-chan* webmaster@ranma-chan.zzn.com http://www.geocities.com/sierra_chan/index.html Oh, yeah, it's April 12th today. That should give you an idea on whether I have been doing any writing recently, since I don't know when you're reading this. Also, I'm looking for prereaders, so feel free to contact me. Bye!