Sailor Moon: Ten Years Later IC RP thread (mark II)

Dayne looked at his watch. He had been on the plane for almost the entire night, and it was just now landing. As the passenger jet taxied down the runway, he got up, and pulled his bags out of the overhead compartment. He disembarked the plane quickly, then went through the checkin station, and finally got his luggage. As he waited outside for his custom Land Rover Defender, with a fuel cell engine in it instead of a gasoline one, he studied a map. He had heard of heroes called Sailor Senshi, and was thinking they might be Children of the Moon, like himself. He hoped to find them and unite them, though these ones already seemed a team. He was also looking for one particular Child of the Moon. The one who was closest to him when he was on the moon. They seemed to cover much of the city, but sightings were congregated around the Cherry Hill Temple. So he climbed into the SUV, and started for it. He had inherited a mansion that overlooked the temple, fortunately, and it would be useful in his attempts to find them. As he made his way through the massive city of Tokyo, he noted how much of the scenery had changed from the old ways. Still, there were spots where oldfashioned buildings still sat amongst the massive skyscrapers.

He was a little out of place, or so he felt. He drove a big SUV, complete with a trailer containing most of his things. He carried a lot of stuff that he had had to get permits for transportation. Fortunately his father’s status as a politician had helped. Still, according to Japanese law, he’d have to get special permits in order to use the weapons he had locked in a storage trunk. Mostly blades, but there were quite a few firearms too. He knew exactly where he’d put them, too. In the basement of the mansion was a hidden room that once housed treasures and other things. His grandmother had told him about it when he was young. It wouldn’t take much work. But there were other concerns. He’d have to get furniture. In fact, he realized he’d better take care of that immediately, and used his GPS’ Bluetooth capability to order a couch, some chairs, a kitchen set, and of course bedroom furniture. The rest could be gotten later, he thought. Then he got a call from a relative, who was the lead singer of a band called Diamond Storm, which was currently in Japan on vacation. During the phone call, Dayne arranged to have the band play at a welcoming party at the mansion, a sort of housewarming gettogether. Once that was done, he realized he had to arrange for catering, invitations, and other stuff.

By the time he arrived at the mansion, he had used up the entire battery on his cell phone, and the delivery truck with the furniture was there waiting for him. He unlocked the doors, and told the movers where he wanted everything, then helped with the arrangements for the party. While all that was going on, runners from a local party coordinator business had gone throughout the neighborhood, delivering invites. Dayne had given specific instructions, but at the last moment he had also requested special invites. He had spotted a rather beautiful ravenhaired lass in a temple miko outfit on the grounds of the Cherry Hill Temple below, and had asked for a special invite for her and her friends. As such, a runner knocked on the temple door, waiting quietly. When an old man opened the door, the runner handed him the invite, saying simply ‘for the miko’. The old man grinned, then searched the temple grounds, finally finding his granddaughter in the room she and her friends used for studying. He handed her the invitation, and smiled. “Well, my dear Rei, it looks like someone’s taken an interest in you.”

Ami looked up from her textbook when Rei's grandfather walked in with an envelope. She hated to admit it, but there was something to be said for studying with the others. She could take a break whenever she wanted, and sometimes when she needed, but didn't want one. So she watched with interest as Rei opened the envelope and read what was inside.

A portal opens up in an ally outside of the crown. A young man dressed in a fine double breasted Armani suit that was black with a red shirt. He had blackout sunglassed on as he walks out of the ally the portal closes. He pulls out a device like PDA. "Now to locate Moon and the others."he said to himself as he puts the device back into his pocket as he walks around. It was just like he remember but this was different Tokyo but it look so much like his.

Setsuna walked up the stairs of Rei's temple and walked in removing her shoes at the door. " Hello? she said any one here?

Ami heard Setsuna's voice call from outside and smiled. She'd always liked the older woman, and she was happy that she'd come to visit. She stood and poked her head around the door to the room they were "studying" in. Well, she and Mako-chan were studying; Usagi and Rei had been arguing, Luna and Artemis had been sleeping, and Minako was doodling on a piece of paper. Waving, she smiled. "Setsuna-san! How have you been?"

Dayne was still making preparations for the party. Between his own DJing, and Diamond Storm's live performance, the night should prove interesting, he thought. Even as he thought that, Raven and the guys and gals arrived. Dayne embraced his cousin, patting him on the back, and then looked at the rest of the band. The two gals were grinning ear to ear at him. The six members of the band were the only ones who knew his secret, because though not Children of the Moon, they were like him. Raven himself was a descendant of the aliens known to many as The Guardians. The others were Knights of the Old Orders: The Wolf, The Rose, The Dragon, The Morning Star. Talon and his little sister were both of the Wolf, which Dayne had always found amusing.

"Well, I hope you guys are at the top of your game. This should prove wild if you are. The food's ready, the sound system's set up. We just need guests. I saw this absolutely gorgeous miko earlier. I hope she gets my invitation."

At that moment, a white tiger and a black wolf jumped down into the grounds of the Cherry Hill Temple. They were looking for someone, by scent alone. They knew he was here, but had yet to find him. "Admit it, Kyra, you're lost." The tiger was almost grinning. The wolf, however, growled. "Shut up, Apollo. He's around here somewhere, I know it."

Setsuna smiled and followed Ami into the room. She examined the sight and laughed quietly. "So how r u guys doing, " Setsuna asked in her sweet and mature voice.

Rei barely noticed Ami calling Setsuna into the room, or the older woman walking in and sitting down with them. She was busy re-reading the invitation when Usagi, noisily munching on a bun filled with sweet bean paste, poked her head over Rei's shoulder. "Rei-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! What is that?!"

Glaring at Usagi, Rei held close to her chest. "Stop trying to read it!" She picked up the envelope and waved it at the other girl. "Look, dumpling head! It's says 'for the miko'! You're not the miko, so it's not for you!" The invitation had said "you and your friends," so she'd wind up bringing the others anyway, even Usagi, but something about the name it was signed with made her feel warm inside. She didn't want Usagi dropping crumbs and bean paste all over it, and she didn't want to think too much about why someone she didn't know would have invited her and all her friends to a party. It could be a plot from . . . whoever the enemy was now; they'd thought they were done after the last time.

She handed the invitation over to Ami. "Ami-chan, what do you think of this?"

Dayne opened all the windows, and turned on the stereo. In seconds, music floated out of the mansion and down as far as the temple below, easily heard. It wasn't the annoying kind of loud, it was just loud enough to be heard. He sat down, and waited for the guests to arrive.

Ami looked over the invitation carefully. "I don't know, Rei-chan. We don't know anyone named Dayne, do we?" No one answered in the affirmative, so she shrugged. "If it is a trap," she said, "we can spring it. If it isn't, then it was nice of him to think of us."

Usagi had been sulking because Rei had let Ami read the invitation and not her, but then perked up. "It's for all of us? Rei-chan, that was mean!" She stood up and leaned forward on the table, her face intent. "Ami-chan, what is it for? A party? A grand opening to a bakery? What?"

"A party, Usagi-chan." At that, the other girls started talking excitedly, wondering who and where and what were they going to wear and finally Ami stood up. "I'm going to change, and we should all let Rei-chan change as well. We'll meet here in an hour?" They agreed and left, Usagi taking a moment to grab another bun from the tray on the table.

An hour later, they all met, dressed in party clothes. Usagi was wearing a short pink skirt and halter top, with her transformation brooch tacked onto one side. Makoto was wearing a dark green mini-dress with a neckline that was almost too low for her generous chest. Minako was wearing a peach dress with a short skirt that flared out. Ami had decided on a white skirt and a blue tank top. It was Rei, however, that looked totally dazzling in a tight, high-necked dress in red-on-black Chinese brocade that shone in the fading light.

They shared compliments and headed for the place where the party was going to be.

Dayne had dressed in the antique armor his grandfather had given him. The old man had said it dated from another age, but didn't explain. Still, Dayne had to admit he looked good in the dark silver armor with black and green trim. He opened the door, and found himself face to face with a group of young women. As he looked them over, he spotted the miko from earlier, and he was very surprised at her outfit. He bowed low, then straightened and smiled. "Greetings. I am Dayne Windsword. I inherited this mansion from my grandparents, and decided to move in. Welcome to the housewarming party Miss Miko and company."

Blushing slightly, Rei bowed slightly at the waist. "I am Rei Hino. These are my friends, Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno, Minako Aino, and Makoto Kino." She smiled and stepped inside. "It was kind of you to invite us." He was handsome, she thought as she looked at him, and she felt like she knew him from somewhere. She stopped and gave herself a mental shake. That kind of daydreaming was fine whens she was in junior high, but she was an adult. Just because the man seemed nice and was handsome was no promise that he was nice; she knew that. But he was very attractive . . . .


Ami noticed that Rei was looking at Dayne with a soft light in her eyes and sighed. Even though Rei would waver back and forth for most of the next week or so, she was sold on him. The other girls were looking at him the same way, and Ami was left feeling like she was the only one with her mind in the game. Before they had left the temple, Luna and Artemis had told them to report anything funny, but there wasn't anything funny about this, really. She smiled, polite but reserved. "Yes, arigato, Dayne-san. Your home is lovely."

Dayne took each lady's hand in turn, planting a gentle, knightly kiss on each one. Each one was quite beautiful, but none struck his heart more than the ravenhaired miko. At the soft voice of the bluehaired girl, he turned and smiled. "Thank you. I just wish I had enough stuff to fill the place. I guess I'll have to buy some new things. Well, come on in. There aren't many guests yet. I expected more people to be here already. Oh well, at least my cousin Raven and his band are here to play music." Raven nodded, waved, and then went back to adjusting the chord settings on his keyboards.

Rei was charmed by Dayne's manners, and wanted nothing more than to sit down and talk to him to get to know him; she had the strangest feeling she knew him already. She barely noticed when Minako and Mako went to gawk at and flirt with the band (Mako whispering her usual "he looks just like the senior who broke my heart" as she went). Usagi, already having Motoki, tore her eyes away from Dayne and headed for the food, dragging a reluctant Ami behind her.

When Rei realized she was alone with their host, she blushed. "So, you just moved here, then? You seem very familiar to me," she added before she could stop herself.

Dayne blinked, confused by Rei's statement that he looked familiar. Though truth be told, she looked familiar to him as well. "Well, I may have visited a few times as a child. This is my first time in Tokyo in at least ten years though. Though I suppose if you know a Princesses Hinoki or Areina, you'd probably know me." He clapped a hand over his mouth immediately, realizing he shouldn't talk about the Moon Kingdom dreams he'd been having all his life in front of a total stranger.

The male members of the band, aside from Talon, flirted back with the girls, while the two female members just giggled.

Rei looked at him curiously. "Those names . . . ." She shook her head. "I only know one princess, and neither of those are her." Her hand went over her mouth, unconsciously mirroring his posture. The last the she needed was him finding out about Usagi before she knew whether he was evil or not. "But those names aren't unfamiliar. Tickling my memory, you know."

She took hold of his arm and smiled. "So tell me about yourself," she said, trying to change from things that neither of them really wanted to talk about.

Dayne raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. He leaned back in the seat he was sitting in, then smiled. "Well, my father's a politican. My mother's a businesswoman. She owns a global tech company, as well as a testing lab for weaponry. She's given me quite a collection of firearms, actually. I have to keep them under lock and key though. I keep most of my swords on the walls of the old Armory room down in the basement though. Not like anyone's going to steal them. This armor was my grandfather's. He always told me it belonged to an ancient prince, born of two kindgoms. Never did get an explanation out of him." He shrugged. Then he looked at the others. "Looks like your friends are fans. I knew Diamond Storm was popular, but not THIS popular."

Rei smiled and looked at Mako and Minako. "They're boy-crazy. And they both have a thing for musicians." She leaned forward with an interested look. "Would you show me your armory? I've got an interest in weapons."

Dayne considered for a moment, tilting his head to one side and then the other. Finally, he shrugged. "Are you sure it's safe to leave your friends up here unsupervised? The two blondes look like they could get into a LOT of trouble." He smiled, teasingly. "If you want to, I suppose." He stood up slowly, then held out his hand to her.

Rei took his hand, trying to keep her face expressionless as she felt a jolt at his touch. "Ami can keep Usagi from getting into too much trouble, and Minako's more sensible than she looks," she said with a little laugh. Walking beside him, she was conscious of his body and her own; it had been a long time since she'd felt . . . like she could be protected by someone.

Dayne had to give a laugh at that. Then he smiled, and walked with her to the door leading to an old stone staircase. He flicked a switch, then started down the steps ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't missing any steps, and waited for her at the bottom. Once she was down in the basement with him, he pushed open a double door, and stepped into the room he'd displayed his collection in. One wall had a hidden door, of course, but it wouldn't be visible unless someone either knew how to open it, or were very lucky. In there was where he stored the more dangerous items, like the Sword of the Dark Moon. It was shielded against psychics, but one could never be too careful. "Welcome to the Hall of Blades."

Looking around the room, Rei was astonished. "This is incredible," she whispered, running a hand lightly over the swords. She'd never seen this many different swords in one place, and she'd never seen them all this well-taken care of. Grasping the hilt of a katana, she looked at him with a hopeful expression. "Do you mind if I . . . ?"

Dayne smiled, and nodded. "As long as you're careful. Most of these are replicas, but some, like that Musashi, are authentic. Don't ask me where my family got some of these. I have no clue." He shrugged, sitting on a bench nearby.

Rei gently removed the sword from the wall and ran through a few moves with it. The balance was amazing, she thought as she swung it in a smooth arc over her head. Twirling it as she brought it down, she guarded quickly, spun on the ball of her foot, and brought the katana up in "ready" position as she faced Dayne. Then she smiled and lowered it, a little red in the face. "G-gomen. It's a lovely katana, Dayne-san."

Dayne applauded, amazed at her form. "I didn't think they taught Bushido-den anymore. I myself prefer the style of the Order of the Dragon. It's much more fluid and seamless." He smiled at that, then stood up slowly. "So, what else do you want to see?"