It was a peaceful night.
There were no cars anywhere; just the occasional pedestrian crossing the street to get to his or her destination. Only the light of the streetlamps and the stars above provided any light to see by. All the shops along the streets were closed, except for the occasional all-night convenience store, or a pharmacy, or a perhaps a gas station or two.
The bars and night clubs were open, of course, but that was when they had most of their business.
And then there was the karaoke bars.
For most places, at least, it was a peaceful night.
The average person would find it hard to believe that only a week ago, a towering spire of Black Crystal once stood almost eighty-five stories high in the middle of downtown Azabu Juuban. But, since the various news agencies seemed to be divided on their reports of the black spire being either a mass hallucination, the work of aliens, or a very elaborate practical joke played by an entire college fraternity drunk on way too much sake and beer, the public in general chalked it up to being a big hoax, decided that they were worried about nothing, and went on with their lives. Everything was the same as it always has been.
At least, on the surface it was.
A low rumbling was all the warning that was given before the tremor began. Mamoru sat bolt upright in his bed as the violent shaking woke him from a deep sleep, but just as he sat up in his bed, the shaking stopped.
“What…?” he muttered as his eyes blinked while trying to adjust to the darkness. His gaze trailed to an alarm clock by his bed. 1:17am.
He reached over to the lamp by his bed and turned it on. A quick scan of his room showed nothing out of place. He quickly decided that it was too late to get up and check the rest of his apartment for any mess made by the strong, yet very brief earthquake.
“So, you didn’t feel anything at all?” Mamoru repeated as Usagi sat in their booth at the Crown Arcade drinking a soda that she had talked him into buying for her.
“No, not a thing,” Usagi replied as she drank her soda. “But then again, Luna’s always complaining about what a deep sleeper I am. She’d probably say something about how I could sleep through an earthquake.” She paused as she took another pull at her soda through her straw. “But still, I didn’t even know there was an earthquake. My parents never said anything about one this morning.”
He frowned thoughtfully. “How strange. I know I felt an earthquake last night. I was awake when I felt it. I’m sure of it.”
“Sure of what?” Motoki asked as he stopped by their booth.
“Motoki, did you feel an earthquake last night?” he asked. “At around 1:15 last night?”
He shook his head. “Not a one,” he replied. “Of course, I’m such a heavy sleeper that I’d probably sleep through one.”
Usagi almost choked on her soda. Mamoru had to pat her on the back to keep her from choking.
“Are you all right?” Motoki asked, concerned.
“You’re a deep sleeper, too?” she asked, eyes wide in surprise. Both Mamoru and Motoki sweatdropped.
“Look who’s here!” Makoto’s voice called out as she, Ryoku, and the other girls all walked up to their table.
“Everyone!” Usagi said as she waved a greeting.
“We saw you two through the window and thought we’d drop by and say hi,” Minako said cheerily.
“Mind if we join you two?” Ryoku asked. “Or are we interrupting?”
“Actually, I’m glad you all came,” Mamoru told them.
“Can you get us five ice cream sodas…?” Ryoku asked Motoki, but stopped as he noticed Usagi’s puppy-dog eyes and the pleading look on her face. “All right… make that six,” he sighed.
“Yay!” Usagi cheered. Mamoru rolled his eyes and Motoki laughed as he left with their order.
“I don’t envy you one single bit, you know,” Ryoku muttered to Mamoru. The latter at least had the decency to look sheepish.
“I heard that,” Usagi huffed as she finished her soda.
“At any rate, there’s something I wanted to ask you five,” Mamoru interjected.
“What is it, Mamoru-san?” Ami asked, curious.
“Did any of you feel an earthquake last night at around 1:15?”
Rei shook her head. “No. I didn’t feel anything last night.”
Minako also shook her head. “I didn’t even know there was an earthquake,” she said. “My parents never mentioned one to me and they’re light sleepers.”
Both Makoto and Ryoku shook their heads. “We didn’t feel anything either,” Makoto told him. “And Ryo-chan’s a very light sleeper. He would’ve felt something for sure. Are you sure there was an earthquake?”
“I felt it.”
All heads turned toward Ami. “You felt it, too?” Mamoru inquired.
She nodded. “It didn’t feel very strong, so I didn’t think very much of it,” she continued. “But it was strong enough to wake me up. I think it started around 1:19am or so.”
“How strange…,” Ryoku said as he folded his arms thoughtfully. “An earthquake only Mamoru-san and Ami-chan felt, only Mamoru-san felt it stronger than Ami-chan did.” He looked to Mamoru for confirmation and saw him nod in agreement.
“So, Mamoru-san’s place was hit harder than Ami-chan’s place,” Minako said. “What does that mean?”
“What area do you live in, Mamoru-san?” Rei asked.
“Downtown,” he told them.
“Hey, wasn’t that where we fought that last enemy at?” Makoto mentioned. Usagi’s expression became slightly downcast. “What’d I say?” she asked, puzzled.
“Oh, nothing,” Usagi said, shaking it off. “I was just remembering Chibiusa.” Everyone nodded understandingly. “She was a pain, but she was a cute pain. I miss her so much….”
Motoki arrived with the six ice cream sodas and served one to each of the girls and to Ryoku. “Thanks, Motoki-san,” he said gratefully. He nodded and returned to his work.
“We all miss Chibiusa-chan, Usagi,” Rei said as she picked up her glass.
“Yeah, she was so much fun to be around,” Minako added, taking her glass as well.
Ryoku took his own glass and offered it forward as a toast. “To kiddo. May she grow up to be as elegant as her mother… and not as clumsy as Usagi-chan.”
“Hey!” Usagi snapped as the others laughed. Everyone – including Mamoru with Usagi’s empty soda glass – clinked glasses together to toast the memory of their dear friend Chibiusa, who they wouldn’t see again until the birth of Crystal Tokyo. The images they saw of the Sailor Soldiers of the future were those of young Sailor Soldiers, even if they did look a few years older than they looked now. It seemed like almost an eternity away, even though it could be months, years, or even tomorrow.
But when it happened, they hoped that they would be ready for it.
Beneath the streets of Azabu Juuban, beneath the asphalt, beneath the sewer system, beneath the concrete and bedrock and dirt, deep in the dark recesses of the Earth, a small tremor rumbled up to the surface. However, this wasn’t the kind of tremor caused by nature.
Beneath the streets of Azabu Juuban, an ancient evil – after many millennia of being locked away in an eon of cold, timeless sleep – slowly, quietly began to stir.