UsAgI iS dEaD uSaGi Is DeAd HiP hIp HiP hOoRaY
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME

Diclaimer - Sailormoon is owned by Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai, so 
these characters really belong to them.  I'm just abusing them in a 
manner most would describe as nothing short of scandalous.  I hope 
nobody sues me for it.  I really don't have anything close to enough 
money to cover even a millionth of the court costs....

Part One (revised)
I Left My Heart in a Tokyo Schoolyard


	It must have been close to three hours after everything had 
gone quiet....  at least 3am, that Usagi's spirit had sat on the 
wall lining the school courtyard within which she died.

	Parts of her still remained there.  At least, the blood and a 
few small lumps of flesh.  The rest of her had long been carried 
away to whatever morgue was her destiny to be taken to.

	She stared long and hard at the spot where she had fallen.  
The police hadn't even bothered to outline her body, so damaged was 
it.  Blood, bone and organs had been scattered across a fifteen foot 
radius behind her.  She shuddered at the memory.

	After what had been a brutal day at the hands of her teachers, 
Usagi met up with Makoto, Ami and Naru, and after a few minutes 
chatting, they began their way home.  For some reason, Naru seemed a 
little nervous, but always seemed to fob it off somehow.

	Then they arrived at the site of her death.  She was chuckling 
over something that Makoto had been saying, something to do with Rei 
and Yuuichiro, when Naru let out a cry.  She turned to Naru to ask 
what was wrong, and then was hit.  By something that hurt.  Lots.

	Fortunately, it didn't hurt for long.  She felt herself flying 
backwards, somehow missing Ami, who had been standing behind her.  
Usagi landed on her feet and looked up to see what was happening.  
Blood showered in her direction from somebody in front of her, and 
she screwed her eyes shut, putting her hands over her head, 
expecting to get splattered.  The blood landed all around her, but 
somehow failed to hit her.  When it stopped, she looked up.

	Makoto, who had been standing to her left, was now against the 
wall Usagi would later be sitting on.  Her face was a mark of shock 
and horror, unable to move.  Usagi turned to the other side to see 
Naru, lying face-forward on the ground, moving slowly.

	"Naru-chan...."  Usagi cried out as Naru slowly lifted herself 
up, aided by another student Usagi recognised as Koto-san.
	"Naru-chan, are you okay?"  Usagi turned further to her right 
and saw Ami getting to her feet.  Ami trotted across to where Naru 
was sitting, apparently staring in shock.  Usagi looked around her 
as she stood up.  Several other students had arrived on the scene.  
There were cries of horror, whimpering, and one even brought his 
lunch up.  Usagi stepped over to where Naru was being consoled by an 
equally upset Ami.

	"Jeez, guys, what happened just now?"  Usagi leaned down to 
them.  For some reason they seemed to be ignoring her.  Naru 
continued to whimper and stare off ahead.  Usagi sighed and turned 
back to where Makoto was leaning against the wall, being held by a 
couple of girls.  Between Usagi and Makoto lay a body.  Usagi's 
body.

	Or what remained of it.

	It was amazing the top had remained attached to the bottom of 
the body, there was so little left of the trunk.  Naturally, Usagi 
went into a kind of denial.  She shook her head for a few moments, 
then turned to Ami and Naru.

	"That can't be me, can it?"  They didn't reply.  "C'mon, say 
something...."  Still no reply.  "You can hear me, can't you?"  
Silence.  "Well CAN'T YOU???"  Usagi made to grab Ami's shoulder, 
and fell straight through her.  At that moment, she felt a huge pull 
on her body, dragging her away from the scene.  She turned as she 
flew through the air, staring at the rapidly growing crowd.  

	It disappeared as she passed through a neighbouring building.

	She wasn't travelling very fast.  Before she reached her 
destination, she could hear the sirens of police and ambulances.  
She was in too much of a state to be able to take notice of what was 
going on around her.

	Dazedly, she turned, and spotted her destination.  The Hikawa 
shrine.  This confused her even more.  If she was dead... the fact 
seemed to be seeping into her mind... why should her spirit be drawn 
here?  Because of its religious nature?  Because of Rei-chan's 
connection to her.  Before she knew what was happening, she was in 
the fire room.  And there she stopped.

	Rei was chanting in front of the flame.  Usagi wondered how 
she got home from school so quickly to be here now.  She put it out 
of her mind as a vision appeared within the flame.  Rei stopped 
chanting and stared, Usagi following her lead.  It showed the death 
scene.

	Usagi was surprised when Rei quickly got to her feet and 
turned, walking through her.  For a moment, Rei seemed to shiver and 
looked around, as if she had felt Usagi's presence.

	Usagi tried to latch onto her arm, hoping that this momentary 
recognition would work in her favour.  But Rei shrugged it off and 
quickly stepped out.  It only occurred to Usagi later that Rei's 
expression was not that of someone who had just witnessed the death 
of a friend.

	Usagi sat in the fire room for hours, hoping that Rei would 
return, but she didn't.  An intense desire to return to the scene 
filled her, even though she didn't want to see her body again.  The 
sight was far too horrible, but some morbid fascination swept 
through her, and once more she found herself flying through the air, 
back towards the school.

	When she got there, the crowd had been moved away from the 
scene.  The area was cordoned off, and her body had been taken away.  
There was no sign of Ami, Makoto or Naru, not that she expected 
there to be.  It was more than likely that, if they weren't being 
questioned by the police themselves, they'd all gone into shock and 
needed hospitalisation.  Usagi just hovered over the scene as 
several investigators scowered everything around it.  Eventually 
they all returned to their commanding officer, a woman they referred 
to as Captain Kikotsuka, and shrugged.  Their amazing 
professionalism in their efforts to find clues to her death 
astounded Usagi.

	Very little.

	Eventually, it went dark and the crowd that surrounded the 
scene began to disperse.  Even the few media OB vans that had 
arrived were leaving.  Obviously, with very little to say other 
than a young girl had exploded, their interest in the story 
rapidly waned.  Then even the main body of the investigating team 
began to depart, leaving only a couple of officers to watch over the 
scene, making a few last attempts at uncovering clues.  Then even 
they were gone.  The scene was empty.  It was midnight.

	Three hours later, Usagi sat on top of the wall, staring at 
where she died.  "Death", she thought, "Its not quite as I expected 
it to be."  She wondered at all the things she would no longer be 
able to do.  Eat.  That was the first thing that entered her 
thoughts.  What a horrible concept.  No need for food.  She mourned 
the loss of that small but intense pleasure.

	Nobody to talk to, either.  None of her friends were dead, 
yet.  Not that she had expected any of them to die.  After all, 
wasn't she destined to be Neo Queen Serenity?  Seems destiny had a 
few cruel tricks up its sleeve today.

	Her family....  What must they be going through, now.  For a 
few moments, she felt a desire to travel to her house, to see them 
in their grief.  But she couldn't.  She couldn't bring herself to 
witness that, just yet.

	And Mamo-chan....

	She wanted to break out into tears.  The thought of never 
being able to hold or kiss Mamoru again went through her like an icy 
spark.  But no tears would come.  A spirit was, obviously, not 
allowed to cry, either.

	Slowly she lifted herself from the wall and floated 
approximately twenty feet from the ground.  She stared up into the 
sky, holding out her fist.

	"Well, Kami-sama, I'm here.  I'm dead now.  Do with me 
whatever you will...."  She shook her fist up at the sky, almost 
defiantly.  She was surprised when she heard a chuckle.  Not from 
the sky, but from the ground below.  She turned.  A familiar figure 
stood there.  Short blond hair....  Piercing, intelligent eyes.  He, 
however, was not dressed in the Youma General's uniform that Usagi 
expected.  Nor was his expression as hard and embittered as she 
remembered it to be.

	"Jadeite!"  Usagi exclaimed.  For some reason, the arrival of 
the General seemed to make things fall into place.

	"Hello, Sailormoon.  Or should I say Tsukino Usagi.  It 
doesn't look like you're in the best of health right now."
	"Jadeite!  You!  You're the one who did this to me!"
	Jadeite raised an eyebrow questioningly.  "Did what?"  He 
thought for a few seconds.  "Oh...  You mean KILLED you?  No, sorry, 
I'm afraid I'm innocent on that count.  I was just passing by when I 
saw you floating into the sky.  I didn't think the reincarnation of 
the Moon Princess could fly, so it was a tad unexpected."

	Usagi's expression of rage began to subside.  "I can't believe 
that.  You spent so much of your time and effort trying to kill me 
in the past.  Why not now.  By the way, I thought Beryl disposed of 
you?"

	Jadeite shrugged.  "I was sealed away in a crystal.  As soon 
as you destroyed her, I was set free.  But without her and the Youma 
horde, I was a man alone.  So what's the point of fighting any 
further?  I work at a recording studio now."  Jadeite grinned 
smugly.  "A nice, harmless job, making music and corrupting youth."  
He chuckled for a few moments as Usagi descended to the ground.

	"You mean....  you really didn't do this to me?"
	"Course I didn't.  As I told you, there's no point now."  He 
shrugged.  "To tell you the truth, I was passing nearby and felt a 
spiritual wave coming from this school.  I knew this to be the 
school you attended, so curiosity got the better of me."

	They stared at each other for several moments, the former 
enemies, still not willing to trust each other.  Jadeite tried his 
best to smile reassuringly.  "Believe me, I'm not here to hurt you.  
I think you're a little beyond that now."
	"Wh...  What am I going to do?"  Usagi looked pleadingly at 
him.  He bit his lower lip.
	"Damned if I know right now.  I've never had to deal with a 
dead person before."
	Something occurred to Usagi.  "You...  You can see me..."
	"Of course."
	"But nobody else can."
	"Hmm?"
	"I've been all across town, even around other senshi, and not 
one of them even vaguely registered my presence.  And yet you can 
see me, as clear as day."

	Jadeite shrugged.  "Don't ask me why.  Maybe I'm simply 
attuned to your spiritual wavelength."  He sniffed.  "So, what are 
you going to do?  Trust me or not?"

	Usagi stared at him for several moments, then turned away.  "I 
can't trust you, Jadeite.  Not after what happened before.  I'm not 
sure if you're responsible for what has happened to me now, or what.  
All I know is, somebody or something killed me, and then you appear, 
the only person capable of seeing and hearing me.  I find that more 
than suspicious."
	"Think what you like.  I have nothing to do with your demise."

	Usagi floated into the air, looking back at Jadeite.  "I'm 
going to the shrine.  If I do find you have had something to do with 
my death, I will, somehow, warn the senshi about you.  You will not 
get away with this."  She floated away, disappearing behind some 
buildings.  Jadeite shook his head.
	"My dear, I think you're in for a nasty little surprise."


	It took a matter of minutes to reach the shrine.  Faster, this 
time.  Usagi seemed to have started to get the hang of this floating 
business.  She arrived at the gates to the shrine and stopped there.  
There were voices coming from within.  Slowly, she landed.  It was 
the sound of her friends, and they weren't sounding too much like 
they were in mourning.  Usagi tried the old method of walking, now.  
There wasn't any sound to each step, even though she made an attempt 
to creep.  Slowly, she made her way to the door of Rei's room.  
There was a light coming from the room, and the sound of (somewhat 
subdued) partying.

	"KANPAI!"  The sound of glasses clinging together to the half-
hearted cheers.  Usagi peered into the room.

	They were all there.  Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako, Mamoru, 
Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, Hotaru, Luna, Artemis....  even Chibiusa 
and Naru.  They were all taking a swig of beer.  Usagi wondered if 
half of them were legally old enough to do so.  She also wondered 
why they should be partying after her recent and premature demise.  
Rei turned to Naru.

	"So, Naru-chan, how does it feel to be the new candidate for 
the position of Moon Princess?"
	"Jeez.  I feel a little...  I dunno...."
	"What, guilty?"  Haruka laughed nervously.  Michiru nudged her 
in the ribs and Haruka grimaced.  "Why would you feel guilty?  Its 
always been this way in the Moon Kingdom, so Setsuna has told us."
	Naru sniffed.  "I know.  I just feel a little sorry for Usagi, 
thats all."  She shook her head.  "I'd known her for so long, and 
the expression on her face..."
	"Aww, come on!"  Makoto shouted, looking a little drunk.  "She 
was a loser and you know it.  She had neither the personality nor 
the will to take up the position."  Makoto sculled her glass and 
held it out for more.  Most of the others looked at her.  She seemed 
to be trying a little too hard to enjoy herself.

	Setsuna, who had been staring off into space, decided it 
was time to lecture....  "It has always been the way that if one 
candidate for the position of Moon Princess proves to be less than 
satisfactory, then she is removed from the right of succession and 
another is put in her place."  She paused for a moment, taking a 
momentary sip and wrinkling up her nose at the taste.  "This is 
destiny.  You only have to look at Chibiusa to see that."  She 
sniffed and frowned.  Hmm...  Chibiusa, she thought.  Strange that 
she should retain the name....  Most of the name, anyway.

	Usagi's head was reeling.  Candidate?  Right of Succession?  
She turned her head towards Chibiusa and clutched onto the 
doorframe.  Chibiusa....  No longer looked quite like her.  In fact, 
she looked like....  Looked like....  Na... na... na....

	Usagi stepped back, but brought the door off its sliding 
hinges.  It clattered to the ground, making everyone turn.  They 
were all looking at her!  Usagi stood there, shivering with 
disbelief and rage.

	"You....  All of you....  How could you....?"

	"Wh...  What was that?"  asked Minako.
	"The door fell off its hinges."  Haruka, who was the closest 
to the door, stood and stepped over to the doorway.  She picked up 
the door and placed it back in its position.  She scratched her head 
for a moment and turned.  "Well, what did you think it was?  Usagi 
come back to haunt us?"  They all laughed at this, sweatdrops 
forming on their foreheads, then started munching out on the cake 
and snacks that were sitting in the middle of the table, chatting 
away to each other quietly.  Setsuna returned to her space-gazing, 
whilst Hotaru placed the glass of beer she'd been given, virtually 
untouched, and sat quietly, watching everyone else with a somewhat 
strange expression.  Michiru held on to Haruka's arm when the other 
girl sat back down and began whispering to her.  Haruka seemed 
somewhat disturbed by what she had to say.  They both looked over at 
Hotaru for a few moments, then turned aside and began to talk more 
privately.

	Usagi was completely gone, now.  She couldn't take any more of 
this.  "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!!!!  I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY 
FRIENDS!!!!"
	"Try the coffee cake.  Its nice."  Makoto handed a slice on a 
plate to Mamoru, who took it with a strange smile.
	"HOW CAN YOU ALL BE THIS WAY?  WHAT WAS I TO YOU ALL?"
	Rei turned on the television.  "What do you wanna watch?"
	"Are there any early-morning animes on?"  Minako said, 
stuffing chips in her face.
	"Nah, we've missed Hyper Police and Haunted Junction.  I think 
Maze is over, too."
	"Mi...  Minna..."  Usagi croaked.
	"Aren't there reruns of Hana Yori Dango on now?"  Makoto 
wondered.  Rei screwed up her face.
	"Eeew, I'd rather watch reruns of Dragonball...."
	"each to their own, Rei-chan, each to their own."
	"C...  Can't any of you hear me?"  Usagi whispered.
	Rei switched the stations.  Finally one playing an anime came 
on.  There was a small cheer from some of the group.  "Aha.  Reruns 
of Nadesico.  Thought there was something."  Rei said triumphantly.
	"ANSWER ME!  ONE OF YOU!  ANY OF YOU!"  Usagi screamed.  There 
was no answer from any of them, although Rei turned to the doorway, 
blinking for a few moments.  Mamoru looked at her unemotionally, his 
questioning tone almost sing-song.
	"What is it, Rei-chan?"
	"Oh nothing, just thought I heard someone approaching."
	"Its a good thing your Grandfather and Yuuichiro are away, 
Rei-chan.  This could've looked rather suspicious, otherwise."  
Michiru commented, turning back to the group.
	"Heh...  Yeah well.  It took three months to plan this.  We 
had plenty of leeway."

	Usagi decided she didn't want to hear anymore.  Letting out a 
cry, she ran from the temple, eventually taking to flight.  She 
continued on and on and on, through the city, until she reached the 
countryside.  Then she went further, until there were mountains.  
And then running away just seemed stupid, and she sat for several 
moments on one of the mountain ledges, wondering what to do next.

	Jadeite, she thought.  I must see Jadeite.  It was the only 
person she could think of.  Surely, now that her death was proven 
not to have been of his doing, she could trust him.

	She felt a little resistance to the idea.  But eventually, she 
found herself flying, latching onto Jadeite's spiritual signal.

END OF PART ONE



Notes

Here is the revised first chapter of "Usagi is Dead".  I'd only
actually looked back on this chapter for the first time since I'd
written it when I'd completed chapter 5, and realised that there
was quite a lot about it that wasn't sitting with the rest of the
story.  First and foremost, I'd revised the party scene to make
the senshi rather less than jubilant about what they'd done to
Usagi.  Secondly, I've changed a couple of the characterisations
within the party scene so the ideas I'd come up with for later
chapters aren't so much a case of Deux ex Machina.  (God From a
Machine.  I love that phrase, think I'll use it as the title for
a future chapter....  Fits in well with the sudden new ideas I
keep coming up for this story and the fact that Usagi is reborn
from the...  Ah, but if you're reading this for the first time,
I better not tell you).

Anyways, this story has already evolved quite a long way from the
simple "Usagi hatchets the Sailors" tale it began its life as.  If
you are reading this for the first time, this thing is turning into
a roller coaster of bizarre proportions....  Hope you enjoy the
ride.  ^_^

Any comments, criticism and outright abuse should go to 
ayanami@merlin.net.au

I may respond to the comments and criticisms, but the abuse....  
Well, it may make good material for future projects.....

"Don't you talk to me you disgusting heap of Parrot droppings!
You're kind really make me puke!  You vacuous, toffee-nosed, 
maloderous pervert!"

"I only came here for an argument."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but this is abuse."

^_^

DDFA