PLEASE EXCUSE LONG AUTHOR'S NOTES,
                BUT THEY ARE NECESSARY!
    Ahhh! I can't believe I'm starting this!
I've been thinking about it forever, but
now I'm finally going to attempt it. Might
as well just close my eyes and jump right
in. For anyone reading who doesn't know me,
my name is Kit. I have two SM crossovers
already out: "Soulmate" and "Sister Earth."
I also have some straight SM fics on Lady
Spring's page. I'm crazy about feedback, so
just know that I would like some if it isn't
so much trouble. This is a SM/Fushigi Yuugi
crossover by the way.
    Oh, this is important for anyone who
is an FY expert. I have never seen the show
Fushigi Yuugi. It's never been on. I do,
however, read the graphic novels which are
better if you ask me, because they are
straight from the author and haven't had
to go through TV executives. Sadly, the
only books out so far are volumes one
through three. That is, I have Priestess,
Oracle, and Disciple. I only "know" four
of the Seishi, so the others probably
won't make an appearance in this story.
Sorry, but unless I can learn everything
there is to know about them and soon,
there is no way. (Too bad, and I really
have the feeling I'm going to like the
red-headed guy.) Also, I haven't been
able to find any FY fanfic pages so if
anyone knows of any good ones, please
let me know.


Searching
Part one


_____________________________________________________

    Thump thump thump thump. Gotta hurry!
    One thing ruled in the young girl's mind
at the moment. The element of supreme urgency.
Her heartbeat and footsteps rung deafeningly
in her ears as she ran down the street. Some
people stopped to stare at the strange
spectacle she made, but anyone who actually
got in her way was shoved aside carelessly.
    Gotta hurry, gotta hurry! Oh, please
don't let me be too late!
    Her burning lungs fought for air, making
her side and lower back hurt. She cursed
herself for being so out of shape, but didn't
give up.
    She *couldn't* give up.
    Her breath came in gasps and her lower
calves burned because of the sudden and
unexpected workout. This was nothing like
her daily dashes to school or whatever other
appointment she happened to be late to. This
was hard, long, and of the utmost importance.
    Hurry! The sooner I get there the sooner,
it will all be over.
    She smiled and began to run with new
resolve, promising herself a sundae when it
was all over.
    Anyone running down the street on a lazy
Sunday afternoon was a strange sight, but
when that person was a girl with no one
chasing her and when that girl was wearing
an extremely short blue skirt and conspicuous
red boots, one could only guess what would
make her run like the fate of the world hung
in the balance.
    Unfortunately for Usagi Tsukino, the fate
of the world *did* hang in the balance.
    After what seemed like a painful eternity
she finally reached her destination: the park.
Why did battles always have to be at the park?
The place was (literally) a war zone. Benches
were twisted around trees, cement was pulled up
and flung around like a child's misused toys.
Some civilians were caught under a fallen tree,
and one was held dangerously in the grasp of
an ugly, seven-foot tall youma who looked like
a mix between seaweed and litter. The end of
the youma's tail, which looked like a discarded
hospital needle, was held at the throat of its
captive.
    Usagi quickly checked to see who that
unfortunate person was, then stepped back
in fear.
    Naru.
    Did that girl have some kind of youma radar
or something? Had she somehow come in contact
with a monster-attracting magnet? Whatever it
was, she always seemed to right in the middle
of every fight, and that made it harder for the
soldier of love and justice to fight.
    Not that she ever made much of a difference
anyway, except to distract the youma enough for
her friends to weaken it, then they would let
her be the one to destroy it, just so she could
feel like she'd made a contribution.
    She joined her friends who, despite the
carnage around them, were relatively none the
worse for wear. They all had a few small cuts
and bruises, a couple tiny rips in their fukus,
and Makoto had blood on her face, but minor
injuries were the norm for the celebrated Sailor
Senshi.
    "Sorry I'm late, guys," she offered feebly.
    "Not now, Odango," Rei growled, keeping all
her attention on the youma. Sheltered behind her
was Ami, tapping furiously away on her mini
computer as usual.
    "Usagi, watch out for the youma's tail. That
rusty needle holds a rare disease that could make
a person sleep for the rest of their life," she
said in her quiet voice. "No one has been hurt
so far, but she's holding Naru hostage. I'm
working on finding the cure right now." A frown
crossed her prim mouth as she typed faster.
    "This one is going down," Makoto said angrily,
taking her fighting stance.
    "If only we could find a way to avoid hitting
Naru," Michiru muttered from where she and the
other Outer Senshi stood off to the side.
    "What a coward," Haruka's voice was dangerous.
"Hiding behind a girl."
    Sestuna frowned in concentration, then smiled
oddly. "I have a plan, but it's complicated. Come
here, girls."
    They listened intently as she explained that
as long as the youma's tail was away from Naru,
they could dust it from the back and no one would
get hurt. Minako would hold its tail away with her
Crescent Chain and the others would weaken it in
any way they could without harming its captive.
Usagi would run around to the back and destroy it.
    Usagi, though she hated the thought of running,
did so, rushing behind the monster's back as Ami
clouded its vision with her Mercury Bubbles.
Unfortunately, Usagi managed to somehow trip over
Sestuna's Time Staff, losing time. By the time she
got to the back and dusted the monster, Naru had
already been injected with the disease.
    Hotaru managed to catch the red-headed girl as
the others stared at the pile of ashes that had
once been a monster. Finally, Rei turned to Usagi
accusingly.
    "You klutz! This is all your fault, baka! Can't
you do anything right?"
    "Lay off Koneko-chan, Mars. Naru is her best
friend. Do you actually think she meant to mess up?"
    "She always messes up. I don't think she should
be leader anymore. Minako is better trained for it,
and so am I. We need to vote on someone new. Who
says that either me or Minako should be leader,
raise their hand."
    Haltingly, each one of the senshi except
the Outers all raised their hands. "I'm ashamed
of you all!" Michiru scolded, surprising herself
and everyone else. "To have so little faith in
your leader?"
    "It's okay, Mich," Usagi sounded so dazed and
unbelieving that it pained her Inner Senshi.
"They're right. It was all my fault and if they
want someone new then I will step down."
    "Koneko, you can't!" Haruka grabbed her arm.
"You're the princess! You're destined to lead us!"
    "Am I? I don't know. We aren't even sure that
Crystal Tokyo is going to be real." She thought
back to last month when her life and plans had
changed forever.
___________________________________________________________
(Flashback-one month ago)
    Usagi and Mamoru stood together before
the gates of time. They'd finally admitted
to each other that they weren't attracted
to each other the way two people destined
to be together forever should be. It was
more like a brother-sister kind of affection
they held for each other. They'd decided to
go and ask Sestuna about it, and what they
should do.
    The Senshi of Time sighed, her eyes
troubled. "I had hoped this wouldn't happen,"
she said sadly. "The future I showed you
wasn't real, my friends. It...was mostly an
illusion. Mamoru is not to be your husband
and Chibi-Usa is not his daughter."
    "Why did you lie to us Sestuna?" Usagi's
voice was toneless.
    "It was his majesty's idea," she said
sighing. "He knew that if you knew who he
was, you would be upset because you don't
know him yet. He knew he couldn't be with
you at the time, so he made an illusion of
Endymion to pretend to be your husband. Most
of what you saw was real, but some of it we
altered to hide what your future really is like."
    "And you weren't ever going to tell us?"
Mamoru demanded angrily.
    "I was, but I was going to wait until
Usagi met her true destined."
    "I haven't met him yet?"
    "No," Sestuna replied apologetically.
(end flashback)
_________________________________________________________

    The Senshi carried Naru back to the shrine
and sat around Rei's bed where they'd lain her,
no one knowing what to do. Usagi's eyes were red,
but as far as anyone knew, she hadn't cried.
    "What-" the blonde's voice cracked. "What
is going to happen to her? She isn't going to...
to die is she?"
    "No," Ami answered sullenly, looking down at
Naru. "Only sleep. Forever. We might be able to
cure her."
    Usagi nodded and began to stand. "I'll heal her."
    Ami held out a restraining hand. "No, that
won't do anything other than wear you out. The
crystal can't heal her."
    "Then what can I do?" Usagi's voice was
strained and her bottom lip trembled as she
settled back down.
    "There is only one cure. It's a plant
called yu ye, and it's only found in China.
Unfortunately, due to humankind's stupidity,
the plant is almost extinct."
    Usagi stood again. "Then there's no question
about what to do now, is there? I have to find
the cure. Naru's my only friend who isn't a
Senshi. I can't let her sleep the rest of her
life away."
    "Usa, girl, take a minute to think," Minako
said warningly. "That plant will be almost
impossible to find!"
    "I'm responsible, and there's nothing here
holding me back. No kingdom, no leadership, no
anything. I'm going to China."
    The others looked to Sestuna for her input.
If the Keeper of Time agreed to it, then they
would, too.
    "I only have one thing to say about this,"
she said, standing to her feet, the odd smile
again appearing on her face. "Good luck, your
highness."
____________________________________________________________

    Usagi sat on the roof of the hotel she
was staying in, feeling frustrated. She'd
been in China a month already. A whole,
exhausting, uneventful month. She sighed.
She'd looked everywhere and asked any person
who looked like they would know about yu ye,
and most of them had never even heard of
the plant.
    Naru, this is all my fault!
    Usagi lowered her head into her hands
as she felt the hot tears well up inside her.
She'd messed up before, sure, but no one had
ever gotten so hurt because of it before.
She'd failed to protect an innocent bystander.
    And now she might fail to cure her.
    I wish there was an easy way out of this.
I wish I could find a place with plenty of yu
ye and be able to take it with no problem. I
wish....I wish there was something...
    Her thoughts broke off abruptly as a huge
sob made its way from her quivering lips. She
looked up at the moon, her home so long ago.
    I wish you could help me with this.
    Maybe I can.
    Usagi sat up straight, pulling her face
out of her hands. She'd heard a voice in her
head, and it wasn't her own. It was-
    The air before her began to shimmer and
slowly took shape, forming into the iridescent
figure of Queen Selenity.
    "Mother..." Usagi whispered, reaching out.
Her hand passed right through the phantom. The
long-dead queen smiled slightly with a look that
was mixed with joy and regret. Usagi gasped as
she began to glow and float softly into the air.
    There is a purpose for all things. Farewell,
my precious Serenity. Find your true happiness.
    With the thoughts of her mother ringing in
her head, Usagi was surrounded by light until
there was nothing that could be seen of her
through it. The sphere of light enveloping her
shot off into the sky and a small rift in the
stars made way for her as she was sent far away.
    Selenity watched her go, her joy increasing.
____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________
To be continued
    What do you think so far? Does it sound
interesting? I used a slightly different
writing style this time, can you tell? FY
characters will be in the next part, have no fear.
~Kit