Kaiya’s POV, a memory
I wouldn’t have known about time travel if it weren’t for Chibi-Usa. She had came to visit Hotaru once when I was little. Looking back on it I’m grateful that she did.
At the palace
“Kaiya! You have a visitor!”
A small child, perhaps nine years old, paused at the call of her name before continuing to thrash a beat up punching bag. Her target was small…a sand filled bag, taped with duct tape against a medium sized rock to prevent it from flying off in any given direction.
Everytime the small fist struck the object she felt her hand scrape against sandpaper material and recoil roughly. It cut into her soft female flesh, breaking blisters and causing cuts to open and bleed. However the blonde did not back down. She didn’t care; if she worried herself silly over such trivial matters then she would be dressed in ‘proper clothing’. Instead of wearing her princess attire the stubborn girl felt content with a loose, green shirt and the long black slacks that allowed her full motion of her body. ‘Hotaru would throw another fit if she caught me’.
It was obvious that she had been engaging in this habit for sometime, three years at the least. Any observer could see the meticulous precision she invested to transfer her body weight with each blow, despite her tired and strained muscles. The room in which she trained was an artificial forest, carefully cared for by large, sturdy machines that supported the dome that enclosed it.
It was the princess’s favorite places to reside, an artificial home away from home in a sense. Not being allowed out of the palace she would often run off to the palace’s environmental wing, whether it would be the beach one day, a desert the next or the current rainforest habitat they all were the closest she could be to truly being outside. The disappearance of the king and queen had been a great lose and shock to their planet that the palace had entered a state of a mild internal lock down. The princess’s older sister could not be guaranteed to intervene on behalf of her younger sister if an emergency did occur.
‘They did this to me, it’s because of them that I’m locked up like some animal, like some prized possession!’ Whoop! The target groaned from another direct blow. ‘I would’ve tried to escape a long time ago but they may have resorted to locking me in my room, knowing those cowards’.
Her rage started to get the best of her normally composed nature until her ears caught a soothing melody. There was a small waterfall to the right, an excellent place where an exhausted person may cool off after training… although Hotaru was against such actions for the fear of germs.
Another punch was delivered to the bag. Whack! ‘Maybe if I hit softer, she won’t find me’. The girl may have seriously considered this until she thought, Then again there’s the waterfall…I wonder who’s she brought this time?’ Following the climax of her battle rhythm she quickly recovered from the recoil of her last attack and jumped backwards, then directed her momentum upwards forcing herself airborne. In the first move of her attack she round house kicked an imaginary person in the air with her right leg.
“Hi-yaah!” A few falling, green leaves scattered out of the path of her blow.
She allowed her body to follow through the motion for a few seconds before willing her right leg to drop and initiate the second part of her assault. Still with a partial centripetal force Kaiya changed the horizontal motion to vertical. She swung her left leg sharply upwards to full height, maximizing the potential energy. In one slight but critical motion she directed the heel towards the ground and shot leg first straight downwards to her target as a hawk to its prey. Gravity was on her side.
“HaaaaAH!” Following contact there was a Kapoof as the target broke at its seems. Covered with sand Kaiya sat where she fell with a childlike pout that played across her facial features. ‘That’s the third time this week! I have got to practice power control!”
Unfortunately the dust clouds of sand which were freed as a result of the mishap had given away her location.
“Kaiya!”
Kaiya winced. ‘Here it comes. Hotaru paced quickly, as fast as her long, black dress would allow her towards the sand-covered girl with a shocked look of her pale face. ‘The princess speech of what are you doing and where’s your dress…’
“What are you doing? Where’s your dress? Oh, you knew we were having a guest coming over today, training should’ve been the last thing on your mind!” She scolded as she pulled the girl away from the deformed sandbag. Bent down on one knee Hotaru proceeded to dust the sand off Kaiya’s face and hair. Once reasonably satisfied she then tugged disapprovingly at the younger girl’s tattered attire. “A princess shouldn’t display such destructive behavior.” She lectured. “What would mother and father think?”
“…They aren’t coming back, are they?”
Hotaru flinched at the morbid question. She should’ve known better than to bring up the subject in the first place. Matters relating the king and queen’s fate was taboo in their family, a topic Hotaru definitely did not want to discuss if she could avoid it. The senshi of destruction couldn’t tell her little sister the possible truth that their parents were never coming back. Even she did not know of their whereabouts. Alive or dead they simple disappeared one day without a trace. Kaiya wouldn’t admit it but she cried all day, she was only a toddler but she seemed to acknowledge something was now missing in her life. ‘She probably doesn’t remember them at all.’
A wave of sadness hit her. She almost didn’t feel the small tug on her dress. Automatically Hotaru looked up expecting to see a pair of sad eyes staring into her own but she found that Kaiya was no longer looking at her.
“Who’s that?”
Tracing the small finger’s direction Hotaru had realized that she had forgotten about their visitor.
“Ah! Gomen ne, Kaiya, this is Chibi-Usa.”
There was a pause.
“…That’s not her real name is it?”
The pink haired, teenage girl being addressed blushed slightly. Many people were too afraid to ever question her odd nickname because she was the moon heir and here was a child acting so bold and clueless. ‘She hasn’t changed, except for the fact that she’s younger’. This brought a smile to her lips. ‘How amusing’.
Kaiya eyed the visitor closely this time, deciphering the form with whatever her eyes pick up. The girl’s pink hair was up in a sort of pigtails, the tops where the hair was being held together looked very peculiar. As for the white dress she wore Kaiya observed that it was decorated lavishly with laces of all patterns. However there was one golden lace that waved horizontally across her chest. The dress itself virtually covered all of Chibi-Usa’s flesh spare for leaving her slim arms and her shoulders slightly exposed. There was a small surprise when the other girl moved forward towards the two sisters; you’d notice how long her hair really was. The ends of her unique styled hair ranged down to just past her waist. ‘It’s so long’.
Chibi-Usa had finally reached the pair and she bent down to shake the smallest girl’s hand.
“Ile, it’s just a nickname people call me.” She softly answered the innocent question. “It’s good to see you again Kaiya chan.”
The smaller girl cocked her head to the side, puzzled at what the older girl had just said. ‘I don’t remember ever meeting her in my life’.
“We’ve met before?”
The atmosphere immediately grew tense. Chibi-Usa frowned for a moment at the younger girl’s response. ‘Wait…she wouldn’t…’ Her eyes widened, her memory mentally correctly herself, realizing her slip up.
‘Ano…” Chibi-Usa sent a quick pleading glance to Hotaru, who had understood the situation immediately.
“Ah! Of course you have!” Hotaru suddenly covered for her pink haired friend.
“Nani?”
“When you were younger, you probably don’t remember.” Hotaru assured the youngest girl, waving her hands gesturing wildly. Chibi-Usa sweat dropped. ‘’Don’t overdo it Hotaru’. For the most part it seemed to work and the child shrugged. “Chibi-Usa wanted to come see you, so I’ll let you two get aquatinted again.” Hotaru turned to part when she whispered “Try not to slip up again.” to her friend and then left. Her footsteps could be heard echoing as she made a mad dash away from the room.
There was an awkward silence. The child and the pink haired teenager eyed each other suspiciously, expecting the other to make the first move. ‘Ah! What was I thinking? She’s still a kid why would she remember anything? I should talk first…’
“So what do you want to do Kaiya chan? Would you like to hear some stories?” ‘Get washed up’? She had almost lost her composure as she surpressed a giggle. “Play hide and seek?”
The little girl seemed to consider the two options. She’d rather go back to play fighting but the girl in front of her didn’t seem like sparing partner material. Finally Kaiya decided to test this girl’s patience.
“Hide and seek.”
“Alright, would you rather hide or seek?”
“…Seek.”
“So you know how it goes right? I’ll hide and you count to some number before coming to find me. Sound good?”
Kaiya felt her pride bruise slightly. ‘Who does she think she is? I’m not that dense’. She wanted to frown but held it back and chose to nod her head and smile.
“Be sure to give me enough time to hide and NO peeking!”
Kaiya watched the older girl take off and started to count. ‘Oh, I’ll give you enough time’.
“Ichi, ni, san, shi, go…”
Kaiya stopped and peered around. Once she was sure Chibi-Usa had left Kaiya sighed. ‘Well I should repair my broken training bag or at least get a new one. It should only take a few minutes’.
An hour later…
Kaiya slowly trucked back into the forest room. ‘I was really hungry’. She then walked back to their initial meeting spot, by the waterfall and spotted the raging teenager.
“YOU! Where did you go!”
Kaiya eyed the accusing finger that pointed in her direction. ‘Didn’t she know it was rude to point?’
“I went looking for you.”
“OUTSIDE THE ROOM?” The teenager huffed.
“You never mentioned boundaries so I only assumed that included the rest of the palace. Were you hiding in here? Must’ve missed you somehow…you’re quite the professional player.”
Chibi-Usa was dumbfounded. What was she to think? Kaiya wasn’t exactly like this when she was older and she had only met the younger version of the girl that stood looking nonchalantly at her. ‘But she is still a child…’
“How about we switch to plan A and have a story time.
“…What kind of stories?” Kaiya inquired, trying not to sound too curious.
Her older sister mentioned that their parents used to read to her every night before they disappeared, however the child could not remember anything of the experience at all. Hotaru had tried to continue the little tradition in their parent’s place but the older girl was often away due to conferences and meetings.
“Well…I’m not very good at made up stories but…”
“What’s that?”
Slightly surprised and irritated that she was interrupted, Chibi-Usa reluctantly looked to where the younger girl was pointing There was an object hanging around her neck, a small key. The older girl had thought she hid the object carefully in her garnets but she was proven wrong. ‘It must’ve jiggled out from all my hiding’. She thought back to climbing a tree, almost slipping several times, her arms wildly swung trying to keep her balance.
“…” ‘Should I tell her the truth?’.’
Kaiya steadily stared down the older girl in front of her. She wanted to know, there was a strong, indescribable feeling inside her chest told her that whatever powers the small object contained, it was something she was going to need. Maybe she wouldn’t need it now but who knows.
“Well…It’s a time key.” Chihbi-Usa finally replied tensely.
There was another pause.
“Have you ever used it?”
“Hai. I’ve gone to the past with it when I was little…But there was a good reason for it” She quickly added. She now felt the desire to brag in the child’s face.
Kaiya’s facial features had lit up. She had always wondered what things were like in the past but what she really wanted to know was information about her parents. She hated to admit it but she really couldn’t remember them very well and although she felt a strong sense of hate for them she would rather not judge someone blindly.
“What was it like? The past I mean? Did you meet my parents?” Kaiya asked, her heart was beating rapidly. Its pounding in her ears threatened to block out the older girl’s words. Seeing the older girl give a small nod Kaiya’s excitement escalated “What were…they like?”
The tension in the room broke. Chibi-Usa was happy that someone wanted to listen to her experiences. They both walked over to the cool shade under a gathering of trees, a short distance from the waterfall. Prepping herself for the atmosphere Kaiya plopped herself into the older girl’s lap and Chibi-Usa began.
Kaiya listened intently to every detail of the girl’s story. There were times where the younger girl would “Ooh” or “Ahh” in awe. There was so much that she didn’t know, being stuck in the palace for her entire life, the outside world, even if it was the past thrilled her. She allowed herself to be swept up in the moment, allowing the older girl’s words take her through fierce battles, the goofy school life and sleepovers with friends. ‘I want to do that’. Kaiya’s thought rang out throughout her head. Then Chibi-Usa finally said something that broke her trance.
“Time traveling is very dangerous, even Setsuna was reluctant to allow me passage.”
“Setsuna?”
“The guardian of the gate of time, also known as Sailor Pluto. Not too much is known about her, even though I talk to her time to time I know very little about her myself.” Chibi-Usa looked up to peer at the sky through the transparent dome ceiling. “It’s already getting dark… I should be going home before mother worries about me.”
Kaiya slid off of the moon heir’s lap onto the ticklish grass that covered the floor. Picking herself up the older girl made her way towards the room’s exit. Stopping short of the doorway she looked back at Kaiya who was watching her movements like a hawk. ‘She’ll need a bath’. Chibi-Usa chuckled but then stopped when it hit her. Looking down she cringed when she saw the dirt on her dress. ‘I forgot that Kaiya was roughhousing before our talk. I can’t allow mother to see this, she may think that I’ve gotten into a fight.’ Her mother always jumped to conclusions. The last thing she needed was being locked up in her own palace because of a false alarm.
At that moment Hotaru had almost bumped into her.
“It’s getting late, you need to-“ There was the pause as Hotaru stared at the condition of her friend’s dress.
“Yeah, I know…Can I borrow some clothes?”
Hotaru gave Kaiya a little glare, in her mind she wasn’t sure if Kaiya was completely innocent of the deed. It was well known that the young heir at times could be a mischievous prankster.
“I’ve got an idea, let’s go to the hot springs!”
“But…I really have to go soon Hotaru.”
“I hardly get to see you. You spent a lot of time with Kaiya already, please?” She coaxed. “ Besides you can relax while your clothes get cleaned. You know all of mine are dark colored and your mom would think something worse if you came home in mourning clothes. And don’t think about it, Kaiya’s are too small for you.” Hotaru quickly added, knowing what was going through her friend’s mind.
“I guess… I have no choice.” Chibi-Usa sighed. She was secretly happy that she had an excuse to spend more time with her friend, they were always too busy to talk because of all the meetings that have taken place lately. Her parents had thought their perfect world would stay as it was, but Rei had sensed an evil force approaching in the near future. Already preparations were being made to form the second generation of sailor senshi. Unfortunately Kaiya was one of them although the girl probably did not know her fate. It was sad to think that such a happy and carefree child such as the one she had just spent the evening talking to would feel such a burden. They all would.
Chibi-Usa then followed Hotaru to the hot springs where they caught up on all the things they’ve missed together.
End of memory
Glaring down in her hand Kaiya felt her gaze pierce the small key that she grasped so tightly. It was a stroke of luck that Chibi-Usa forgot the key in the hot springs. Even luckier that I found it the next day before the staff or Hotaru. Since the moon heir didn’t seem to miss it, I’ve been keeping it. I’ll probably give it back to her later but right now I need it!
The pink light was gone. I found myself staring into a dark colored void of space. The walls shifted between a mixture of purple, black and blue. It’s cold. I better get out of here quickly before I’m caught. Whoever Pluto is, I have this feeling that I don’t want to mess with her. Who would want to get on the bad side of the guardian of time right?
If I remember correctly, according to Chibi-Usa’s stories there was a main route…but I should probably avoid it, I’m trespassing after all aren’t I? Let’s try…this way. Diving into the wall of space to my direct left I felt myself being sucked in till I disappeared into a different corridor.
Further down the deep void of space Setsuna’s brow twitched. She was sure that she had felt something intruding in the passage of time. Who? It was too early to tell, but her instincts told her that it was not Chibi-Usa. The young princess personally knew the dangers of time travel. She was also now grown up enough to know it would be stupid and rash to brave an unnecessary and dangerous trip just to see the guardian of time. However this brought Setsuna back to square one. If not Chibi-Usa…then who? Is it an enemy? Something didn’t seem right. The presence was descending backwards to the past, not the future. However in the future time frame that it was escaping there was no attacking evil force, at least yet. Whatever or whoever r it was, they were trying to avoid any sort of detection; breaking through the time walls was a desperation attempt. If you strayed from the path you’d easily get lost. She paused and finally decided. ‘I can’t wait around for this presence to appear, this could be something big and if I screw up it could transform events into dire consequence.’
“Take…no chances…” She darkly muttered. “Pluto deadly scream!”
A bright light shot out of the staff she carried, sending a miniature, planet shaped ball of energy into the passage of time. It whooshed away with, screaming its battle cry.
Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
I was still fumbling my way through the unknown territory. Guessing and checking you could say. Already I’ve crossed several different corridors. But the odd part is I thought I’d be spotted by now…maybe I’ll be lucky and escape without any problems. The idea seemed to relax my muscles but I can’t relax, not yet. Feeling my leg muscles tense up again, I continued forward, dodging anything that looked suspicious, trying to be best of my ability to avoid touching anything. Tracking through time wasn’t easy; anyone could get lost doing this. Minutes passed but it felt like an eternity, already my mind started to feel the uncertainty of doubt. Each corridor mimicked the same, eerie appearance.
“No…I can’t fail, I’ve trained hard for this moment… nothing will stop me!” My resolution came out thorough clenched teeth.
As my eyes squinted, looking for the exit I desired, something suddenly rushed past my right shoulder.
“What the?”
Then I heard it.
Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
“Gah!”
I had just spotted the bright light and barely dodged it, escaping it narrowly through another time wall. Landing upright, I instinctively eyed my surroundings. Back on the main path, however I’m wasn’t sure if I had passed the guardian of time or if she awaited me further ahead.
The hesitation in my mind disappeared upon hearing the deadly attack come back for another round. Time to get moving! Rushing forward, I felt my body push my limits. This was my life on the line, if I didn’t succeed who knows what would happen to me. Hotaru’s pouch whipped at my legs. I wouldn’t ever see Hotaru again …and I’ll never get revenge against my parents. Their faces, their voices, who they were, all of it gone. It’s almost like they never existed. They abandoned me…Now they’ll feel a world of hurt, even if I die trying!
A bright light opened up in front of me. There was no thinking required, without hesitation I lunged for it. Pluto’s attack had reached me in the same instant. Everything in my being coiled up waiting for the pain that was sure to follow but a purple light from Hotaru’s pouch burst forth and miraculously brought up a weak shield.
The attack still hit but I was sure it had being considerably weakened. With the extra momentum I felt my body fall into the passage of light. The next moment I was falling. Falling from where? There was open sky and below…the sea? Did it work? Did I fail? My thoughts were drowned out by waves of exhaustion.
“I can’t…open my eyes…anymore.” The last word, barely audible whisper.
Darkness took me and I welcomed it.
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