--Alan -- *** Andrew Chai stood in his domain, tall and proud, with a broom in his hands. He looked out the window, to see the yellow and black of another Tokyo night. The young man sighed. He turned his gaze to the dust-embalmed floor, and resumed the task of sweeping it. At the other end of the Crossroads prefecture, just a block away from the horns and lights of Tenth Street, Serena Tsukino lay awake in her room. She, too, looked out the window. Her eyes caught the flare of the streetlight twenty meters away, and sparkled. The young woman had no uniform to wear at this time, only her rabbit pajamas. Like the arcade, Serena's room was quiet, since Sammy and her parents were asleep. Like Andrew, she would have no visitors to call on her that night. ###################################################### The Charm: chapter 1 A romantic NASM alternate-universe story By Alan (John Alan Riggs) ###################################################### Morning arrived at the city, only to find life already at its usual pace. It had been well over two million, five hundred thousand mornings--that is, a fully seven thousand years--since the Moon Kingdom fell. Only one citizen of Tokyo knew about it that morning, and she was but a cat. Serena, having stumbled out the door, sighted a small circle of boys in her path. She took this as a bad omen. Marching toward them, the young woman said, "Pardon me. Hate to bother you, but what are you doing?" The boys suddenly froze. One by one, they turned to look at her. None spoke, none moved any further. "If you don't back off and let me through," Serena said, staring at their faces, "you won't like what'll happen." Her mouth curled into a snarl, and her hands into fists. Though still stuck, something clicked in the youths' brains. One of them exclaimed, "Oh, no. It's the 'scream' girl!" Her face remained rock-hard. "That's correct," she replied, "One false move and you get it." Serena cracked each and every one of her knuckles. In a second, the boys went from standing still to a full- throttle dash. They disappeared into the city's back alleys. Serena sighed, and relaxed her muscles. She glanced toward the pavement, and saw the thing which the young men had been harrassing. It was a black cat--her second ill omen that morning. The cat looked unharmed, save for a bandage that had been placed on its forehead. Though she shook all the while, Serena knelt down to pet the animal. (Even if it is a sign of evil,) she told herself, (better to have it on my side, rather than theirs.) Wincing, she tore the bandage away. At once, the girl and the cat leapt back. While the animal felt the sting of the adhesive, Serena saw a mark on the fur--the sort of mark no bruise could leave. Where the bandage had been, there was now a crescent moon emblazon. "My... how odd," Serena whispered, as she struggled to her feet. The cat, exposed to the world, took one look at Serena's face. It then dashed away. "Pity," the young woman thought aloud, "In any event, I should be off to school. If I don't get there on time, how shall I face him again?" With that, Serena kicked up her feet and took off. She ran to school at maximum velocity. Few who stood in her way lived to tell of it. *** The Crown Arcade opened at nine in the morning. Not many people showed up at that hour, for the business' target audience was the teenage crowd. As encouraging as it was to see parents and young children, Andrew still considered the early and midday hours unprofitable. Rare was the day when many customers arrived before dusk. "Excuse me," called a voice from a meter away, "Are you Mr. Chai?" As he heard it, Andrew turned to see the person. The individual was a young man, three or four years younger than he. The man looked at him with his pastel-blue eyes, as if he did not need to ask the question. "Yes," Andrew replied, bowing all the while, "I am the proprietor of the arcade. May I request your name?" The plain-faced man said, "Call me Darien Chiba. I have business in this neighborhood... do you know one Serena Tsukino?" With this question, Darien presented a hand-drawn likeness of the young woman. Despite the crowd milling about, Andrew took a step back. (What sort of gesture is this?) he asked himself, (Is he out to get her?) As the thought went through his mind, he told Darien, "Yes, I know her. Why do you ask?" A moment passed in which neither man talked. Still setting his eyes on Andrew's face, Darien told the manager, "I ask because she has something that I need. Don't concern yourself with it, for I intend her no harm. She, however, holds the key to my future." His face remained set in stone as he waited for Andrew to reply. "I... see," Andrew said. He said each word as it came to him. "Well, I need to get back to my work. Maybe we will meet later," he said as he walked away. *** Her vision was clouded with images of men. All sizes, but certainly not all ages--after all, Serena prided herself on her good taste. They floated before her eyes, like spotlights on a wall. "All good... all wonderful..." she whispered, "And all mine!" Quite suddenly, they vanished. She turned around and around, but not a one was left. "Hey! Wait! Where are they going?" the young woman asked. "Serena Tsukino!" a booming voice shouted, "This isn't time to be dreaming about boyfriends. It's time to *study*." The last word echoed twice, even three times. The female voice continued, "Now answer this: 4x times 3y equals what? Who wrote 'The Tale of Genji'? You must study!" She placed her hands over her ears. "No!" Serena shouted, "I don't want to study! I want to... do something else!" Jumping into the air, she thrust out a fist at the ghostly teacher, and yelled, "I don't!" Just as abruptly as before, her vision changed. She was back in the classroom. Her desk was over her head. Her teacher, Miss Haruna, was keeling over. "Ahhh... did I just hit Miss H?" she asked. "Bingo," replied Molly. The red-haired girl sat calmly at her desk, looking sideways at the spectacle. Just before she fell to the ground, Miss Haruna told her less- than-excellent student, "Miss Tsukino... take it out in the hall..." *** "Serena," Molly said to her friend, "you really need a lot of help. If you don't concentrate during class lectures, you will end up like... like..." She paused, and clicked her fingers several times. As they walked beside the car-clogged road, a few seconds of silence passed between the young women. Serena then stopped in her tracks, and asked, "Like Melvin?" "No, not at all like him!" Molly replied. She checked the traffic signal, and began to cross the road. Along the way, she continued, "Seriously, though... You've spent a lot of time with Andrew. Do you think he's been a good influence on you?" Following her arrival on the other side of the road, Serena told her friend, "Maybe. He's a responsible man, but he considers me like a little sister. I don't know... maybe our relationship can continue that way, but--" At this, she paused, and looked in Molly's direction. The other young woman was looking at a store, which was set inside a gray stone edifice. With one look at the logo, she recognized it as the very place where Andrew worked. Molly pulled open the glass door. "Shall we test this out?" she asked. "Well..." Serena said, "I guess we could. Let's see if he is busy or not." Following Molly's lead, she entered the arcade. *** Darien looked to the door. "It seems the customer has arrived," he muttered to himself. He turned his chair to face the entrance. Serena and another young woman went from the door to Andrew, who stood in his office. Darien could not hear the words exchanged between the three, but he saw their stances and gestures through the glass panel. (Perhaps before too much more time passes, I will figure out why the woman told me about Serena,) he thought. Ten minutes went by. With their shoulders slumped over, the three individuals walked out of the office. Andrew motioned for Darien to stand, and said, "Serena, Molly--this is Darien Chiba. I'll leave the two of you to talk for a while. I really should get back to work." "Thank you, sir," Darien replied. He gazed into Serena's face. She wore her hair exceptionally long, just as his confidante had said. Her face, however, bore a somber expression. As Andrew walked away, he said, "I hate to bother you, Miss Tsukino, but there are a number of things I need from you." The young women stared back. "Am I involved in this?" the red-haired one asked. Darien shrugged. He told her, "No, I'm afraid not. If you wish to stay with your friend, please do. Our business is not so private that you must leave." The two exchanged glances. For half a second, Serena burst out in laughter. Just as quickly, her expression became calm again. "What do you mean by that?" Serena asked. "Although I keep it a secret from most people," Darien whispered to them, "I am an enemy of evil. Do you believe, like I do, that there is an active evil presence in the world?" Serena tapped her chin. She said, "It's a plausible idea. Still, I'm not quite sure about all this..." Both she and Molly tapped their feet against the floor. He stood up, and took one step toward the two young women. "I understand that," he replied, "However, you will soon believe. Miss Tsukino, in time, you will fight by my side." All three paused. Hardly a breath was taken. To her friend, Molly whispered, "Serena... your boyfriend problems may soon be over." She laughed just as quietly. A moment later, Darien cleared his throat. He needed to continue his brief speech. "Unfortunately, Miss Tsukino," he said, "a close friend of yours may be involved. Be warned." Each looked at the other. A whisper rushed across the arcade as all three thought about the statement. "I need to be leaving," Darien said. Without looking back, he walked out of the arcade. -- IN CONCLUSION... Yes, this is the first thing I've posted on ASMR. Did it work? If it wasn't very good, please let me know. That way, I can try harder. In any event, this will be the first chapter of a series. The subject matter is hardly dynamic or original, but I might be able to pull this off. With any luck, I'll be able to write a new chapter every three weeks or so. Since over half of all ASMR writers have a good knowledge of anime, I suppose most people will recognize the "Fushigi" skit. I should feel so ashamed at putting it in this fic... After all, Serena isn't the same person that Miaka is. The scene's main result will probably be a chorus of groans. -Alan October 8, 1999 e-mail: / Anime writings: Elfquest works: "Sailor Moon," and everything associated with it, is copyright 1992-7 Naoko Takeuchi, Bandai, Kodansha Comics, DiC, Buena Vista, Mixx, Pioneer, and others. "Fushigi Yuugi / Mysterious Play" is copyright 1995-9 Shogakukan, Viz, Pioneer, etc. Feel free to distribute this fanfic, but please don't remove my name from it, and don't try to make money off it.