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Her fingers trailed along the coffin, a mix of bitterness and nostalgia in her eyes. She hadn’t seen her father in decades, and their relationship had become estranged over time- no, it would be more accurate to say they were never close to begin with.
But regardless, he was still her father. And now, it was too late to reconcile. Too late for regrets.
“The bastard finally bit the dust huh,” she said, her voice coming out too soft for those harsh words.
The daughter was a young woman who appeared to either be in her late teens or early adulthood, with shoulder-length dark auburn hair, red eyes and a pale complexion. She was wearing a black robe and cape with a motif reminiscent of stained glass.
“Please, do not speak ill of your father like that, Vampir. Especially not now.”
The person who reprimanded her was a woman who appeared older than her, with shorter black hair and a plain black robe.
Vampir scoffed.
“It’s not because you married my father that you get to act like you’re my mother, Olam.”
“Stepmother,” Olam corrected.
“Whatever. I'll never accept you as my stepmother either. And I won't start seeing you as such just because he died-”
“He was murdered.”
Vampir stared at her.
“Vampires don’t die of natural causes, so I figured. Who did the deed?”
Pure hatred flashed in Olam’s eyes.
“Who do you think? Humans killed your father! Just like they hunt down our kind forever.”
“Don’t lump me with the likes of you! I’m nothing like you, or my father! I’m not a monster!”
“From where I stand, humans are the real monsters. The ones who murdered my husband. The ones who took away your father, and your mother-”
“Don’t. You do not get to speak about my mother- my real mother! I don’t care if you married my father, you do not get to speak to me like this- you’re nothing more than a stranger to me.”
As Vampir started to walk away, Olam grabbed her by the arm.
“Your father wanted me to take care of you, his dear daughter. And I intend to honour his final wish.”
Vampir hesitated for a moment before she shook her arm to break free.
“Well tough luck, because I never cared about what my father wanted. So leave me alone.”
“Vampir-”
“Is this a bad time?”
Another woman made her entrance, dressed in a dark robe and wearing a black pointed hood. She was holding a sinister-looking staff.
“Who are you?” Vampir asked, wary.
“She’s a friend,” Olam said. “She knows what happened to your father.”
“I am Lilith of Darkness, at your service, Vampir-sama.”
Lilith bowed at her. Vampir stared with narrowed eyes at the woman.
“Just as your stepmother said, humans killed him- more specifically, one human is responsible for his death.”
“Who? Who killed my father?”
Lilith smirked.
“Her name is Serenity, and your father died because of her.”
“Achoo!”
Usagi sneezed loudly. Rei sighed.
“You could have at least covered your mouth. That was rude,” Rei scolded her.
“It just came up so suddenly, I didn't have time…”
On their way back from school, Usagi, Ami, Minako and Makoto had encountered Rei and they decided to go hang out in a nearby park. Ever since they started high school, Rei had felt somewhat isolated from the group. Now that Minako had transferred schools, Rei was the only one not attending Juuban High School.
“Do you have a cold?” Ami asked, concerned.
“I don't think so? I feel fine,” Usagi replied, thoughtful.
“Then maybe someone is talking about you right now,” Minako teased.
Usagi scratched her head, a dreamy expression on her face. “You think so? I hope it’s someone handsome.”
“I’ll tell Mamo-chan that you’re cheating on him in your mind!” a childish voice suddenly called her out.
Usagi jumped and turned back, discovering with shock who had just said that.
“C-Chibiusa…!? What are you still doing here!?” Usagi exclaimed. “I thought you went back to the 30th Century already!”
“It can wait. I still want to hang out more with Hotaru-chan! We barely had time to hang out together since she’s been back.”
After the incident with Nehelenia, Hotaru, who had been reborn as a baby, had reawakened as Sailor Saturn once more and was back to her initial age. Chibiusa was thrilled to have her best friend back and had no intention of going back to the 30th Century right away. It wasn’t like the future couldn’t wait a few more days.
“If you want to hang out more with Hotaru-chan I’m fine with that, but don’t come bother me and Mamo-chan!” Usagi let out.
“I can hang out with both Hotaru-chan and Mamo-chan!” Chibiusa protested.
“You two will never change, huh,” Makoto said, crossing her arms behind her head. “You feel more like sisters than mother and daughter…”
“Of course! I'm way too young to be a mother!” Usagi protested.
“My mama is nothing like stupid Usagi,” Chibiusa replied.
“What!? She's literally me, in the future!”
“I still find it hard to believe- I must have been adopted.”
“This doesn't even make any sense!”
As Usagi and Chibiusa continued to bicker, Rei was suddenly distracted by an odd feeling. She turned back, feeling like there was someone spying on them from the shadows- an evil presence.
But there was no one behind them. Rei sighed.
“ I must have imagined that… ” she thought.
“Rei-chan, is everything alright?”
Minako was looking at her, a concerned look on her face.
“Y-yeah, I was just being distracted by how puerile Usagi-chan is. Arguing with a child half her age…”
“Hey! She started it!” Usagi protested.
“Thank you for proving my point.”
As Usagi was now bickering with Rei, the other girls laughed. Usagi and Rei eventually laughed it off too; this being nothing more than their usual teasing among friends.
But as they walked away, a figure came out from the shadows, previously hidden behind a tree. She appeared to be a young woman around their age, with short brown hair and wearing the same school uniform as them. Her eyes shone red as she watched them disappear into the horizon, and a sinister smile crept on her lips.
“At last, I finally found you, Serenity…”