#Azabu Juban

[sorakazeno]

Mamoru's Apartment

Mamoru's apartment in the Crystal series.

Building is not exactly the same but rather similar. I wasn't able to walk all the way around the building. Maybe next time.

Slightly different angle.

Up next is Makoto's Crystal Apartment!

[muratagawa]

Azabu Juban, Tokyo, October 2022

[bartking]

Poster for the Azabu Juban Festival (2010) by Aquirax Uno

[morporkian-cryptid]

🖋🎴Daily Hanafuda pt.3 progress!

Day 31

Wait I didnt post anything on day 30. I didn't forget to write, did I??

Anyway. No writing today because I didn't have the energy to come up with new words, but I did do a serious bit of editing. Past me, come on, you're not even making an effort...

[caelenath]

Meanwhile, Tokyo Tower just gets up and moves to wherever the animators want it.

😂

Okay, I have revised and updated my Azabu-Juban Crystal map!  Because I am a nerd and this is the sort of thing I do, I “walked” down the street where I think Usagi’s house is using Google Street View, and I think it’s a bit further down the hill than I assumed.

At this intersection, the road takes a sharp turn, and is just steep enough that the Tokyo Tower is visible.

As you can see, Tokyo Tower is still quite hidden by buildings, and there is not quite as much greenery here.  But the angle, the wall and trees on the left, and the green railing by the sidewalk all match.  As well, this corner has only apartment buildings, no houses.  

I think Crystal deliberately paints Azabu-Juban in an idealistic way.  There is more greenery, more houses than apartment buildings, and Tokyo Tower is much closer and more visible.  In fact, Tokyo Tower seems to migrate depending on where the animators want it, but we’ll get to that.

The Osa-P Jewelry Store is also located in one of Azabu-Juban’s more visually appealing areas.  This area is called “Patio Juban,” and features a small shopping area surrounding a tiny park.  At one end of the park is the Kimichan statue, which is often used as a landmark for meeting up with people.  

(Images courtesy of Azabu-Juban Walking Guide)

Both Usagi’s house and Osa-P appear to have moved from generic side streets to more visually appealing parts of Azabu-Juban.  

Meanwhile, Tokyo Tower just gets up and moves to wherever the animators want it.

Should you be able to see Tokyo Tower from Osa-P?  Nope.  

Do we care?  Well, I’ve always considered the Tokyo Tower to be an iconic fixture of Sailor Moon.  I would be sad if it were not visible just because it is now so hidden by other buildings.  

I like this merging of fantasy and realism the animators are doing with Azabu-Juban.  It suits the magical element of the series.

[demonslayedher]

The first fanbook tells us that lately, Mitsuri is hooked on "youshoku" (Western food) like pork cutlet and omelette rice, so her expenditure on food is pretty extreme.

Nowadays, these Japanese-style "Western foods" are pretty ubiquitous but not actually things you run into much in "the West." The ingredients and recipes have changed here and there with how long they've been around, so a nerd buddy who knows Tokyo better than I do (and who is a Mitsuri fan) insisted I try out what these things would have tasted like in Taisho. That's why she took me to Rengatei, where some of Mitsuri's favorite dishes were born.

I'm going to let this food blog do the talking about the restaurant itself and how it has the credit for creating many well-known dishes, including pork cutlet and omelette rice. It's an interesting, short read.

We'll focus most on what Rengatei might mean for Mitsuri, and on that note, I'll call your attention to the fact that this food blog article first mentions looking for a similar restaurant with a long history in the Azabu Juban area. Mitsuri is from a spot that was known as the Iikura neighborhood of the Azabu area in the Taisho period, and what is now known as the Azabudai area. Back in the Taisho period, this was a glitzy shopping and entertainment area where Mitsuri would have had many options for popular Western style restaurants. Even today, Azabudai feels like an area meant for people who make far more money than I do.

So, if she was spoiled for choice closer to where she lived back then, would she have bothered going over to Ginza, another glitzy shopping area of Tokyo, to visit Rengatei? The restaurant opened in 1895, a year or so before she was born, so it would have been well established, but not exactly new. To that I say, let's assume she'd have had plenty of opportunities to go to Ginza. It's perfectly reasonable to assume she might have visited the restaurant that developed some of her favorite dishes. Even today, Rengatei plays up the retro atmosphere with the table setting and wait staff uniforms.

Thing is, despite the retro feeling of modern-day Rengatei, this building was constructed in the 1960s. Mitsuri's wouldn't have seen the place in the same way you can see it today.

The kicker is that it would have been the same Meiji era recipes.

My friend who took me along asked for my thoughts on the food afterward, and we arrived at the same conclusions about it being not amazing, but feeling a little imperfect compared to many other versions of these recipes that we've had. Like you can tell these were freshly developed and on the homestyle side. I had the omuraisu (omelet rice, as it is better known today instead of the long o-mu-re-tsu-rai-su* as it used to be known), and she had the tonkatsu (pork cutlet, which is also a shorter way of saying po-o-ku-ka-tsu-re-tsu*, with "ton" for "pork").

*Both the KnY fanbook and the Rengatei menu use old, long names, though there was some linguistic variation like ka-re-ka-tsu or ka-to-re-to until the current names were settled on.

So why were these sorts of foods such a big deal? There were a lot of new foods introduced to the Japanese diet over the course of the Meiji period, especially meat, since Japan was very influenced by Buddhism and not widely in the habit of eating it (but you can always find exceptions, and different strains of Japanese Buddhism vary in how much they condemn certain lifestyle choices). Many new meat dishes, like curry and sukiyaki (or rather, gyunabe as Rengoku knew it in his bentou), were fancy and expensive and novel in the Meiji period. Perhaps more surprisingly, eggs were also a luxury item (though they have a complex history in the Japanese diet).

Granted, by the time the Taisho period rolls around, a lot of high society in Tokyo has already had some time to get used to these new menu items being a thing, and how much they were adopted into people's lifestyles varied as much as how much they adopted Western attire and houses. On that note, it is very interesting how in the flashback to Mitsuri's family life, they live in a very Japanese-style home and visit Japanese-style establishments and eat Japanese-style sweets, but by the time we join Mitsuri for Hashira training, there are Western elements to her home (though it is not clear if she lives with family or not), and she eats Western style sweets (beekeeping has a long history, and Western methods of beekeeping were introduced in Meiji long before Mitsuri was born). We can see how quickly what was normal for Mitsuri changed over the course of her life, so it's possible she really hadn't been in a habit of eating Western food until closer to when she joined the Corp. While I'm sure Rengoku was happy to eat anything, his home and tastes still seem to lean distinctly non-Western in comparison.

Anyway, so how was the food at Rengatei? Back to that topic!

I usually associate restaurant omuraisu with being impeccably fluffy, and with a variety of sauces and rices seasonings to choose from, even if ketchup is traditional. However, this omelet had a distinctly flatter, more inconsistent texture than you usually get with standard restaurant omuraisu. It's closer to just the usual flat, bumpy, but at least smoothly beaten omelette you'd be more likely to accomplish at home. Even the ketchup had a bit of a freshly-blended quality to it, but I can't exactly say I'm ketchup connoisseur. For all we know about Mitsuri, she might be.

The pork cutlet was, as you get into it yourself instead of having somewhat pre-cut strips like at many tonkatsu establishments, very clearly a hunk of meat. My usual image of tonkatsu is a evenly tenderized, evenly cooked hunk of white meat, with a stretch of fat along one side. Not so with this--the textures and darkness and lightness of the meat, as well as the amount and distribution of fat, was more typical of a cut of meat that is first and foremost meat; not a uniform product. My friend really loves tonkatsu, and says she prefers this juicy, not-quite-perfected version. Because it is a greasy dish, this is why Rengatei introduced the convention of serving it a bed of shredded cabbage to aid in digestion, which all of Japan has copied ever since.

As a brief note, most online sources say "yeah, Rengatei invented tonkatsu (but we're all probably copying the same source)." It seems there is another restaurant (Ponchitei) that claims to have invented tonkatsu before or after 1897, and for what I've poked around, the claims for Rengatei's invention aren't clear, but 1899 seems like the most likely time it entered the menu (I saw a claim for 1890, but the restaurant didn't open until 1895...).

Anyway, tl,dr; I did feel I was eating something closer to what Mitsuri would have known and loved by having eaten at Rengatei.

I also felt it went to show why her food bill was so high, because Rengatei is not cheap (like, about twice what I'd typically be willing to pay). You're paying for some ambiance and history here, as opposed to just a standard meal. Also, it is worth noting that although there is scant official information for the parent restaurant in Ginza, there is a lot more information for an off-shoot restaurant in Fukagawa that opened in 1928. That includes a short, cute English article introducing Western foods.

But hey, despite the stiff prices, I was full and satisfied after one plate of omuraisu and a couple bites of pork cutlet. Mitsuri-chan has a Hashira salary, so she can afford as many servings as she likes.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Finally going through more pictures of the trip to Tokyo--I went to see the Azabu Hikawa shrine, which is where Hikawa shrine where Rei/Sailor Mars lives and works in Sailor Moon is based on. More specifically the manga and PGSM, the 90's anime's shrine is based on the larger Akasaka Hikawa shrine, which I also went to, and will put some pics of in a separate post!

There were Sailor Moon themed ema (the small wooden moon plaques) which was really adorable, here's some closeups in this post.

They also had little Sailor Mars dolls displayed in the charms and ema store.

I also saw the...Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask manhole, as well as the statue of the little girl (Kimi-chan) often seen in the anime while walking around Azabu Juban!

[sug4rsweet]

ᯓ★ // ... Kaori Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋 かおり, Hepburn: Takahashi Kaori; born February 6, 1995), also known as Kimberley Ava Takahashi and mononymously known as Kaori, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter, actress, producer, DJ, and fashion designer. Making her debut as a singer in 2011, she has gone on to be one of Japan's most popular singers. She is portrayed by Hirai Momo.

Kaori Takahashi was born on February 6, 1995 in Azabu-Juban, Tokyo, Japan as an only child. Born into a wealthy family, her father is Takahashi Hidehiko, a businessman. Her mother is Nakamura Mamiko, a singer-songwriter, socialite, designer, and former member of the eighties idol girl group Onyanko Club.

Takahashi's parents suddenly divorced in 2004, which caused her and her mother to move out of their wealthy neighborhood and into a small apartment in Yanaka, Tokyo. Takahashi and her mother would reside in Yanaka for two years until they moved into her maternal grandparents' home in rural Nakagawa, Nagano, Japan. They lived there briefly, moving to a larger townhouse apartment in Brooklyn shortly after.

After moving to the United States, Takahashi began acting and modeling as a way to support her mother. She attended an audition for Hannah Montana (2006) and secured a supporting role, and would continue working with Disney until 2010. Takahashi signed with Hollywood Records and released music under the label, but her debut album, scheduled for release in 2009, was shelved.

Takahashi attended high school in New York for a year, but moved to attend school in Tokyo in 2010. She would continue her modeling and acting career there, sending her mother a percentage of what she made.

Takahashi speaks Chinese fluently, as her mother studied it while in high school. She also speaks decent Spanish and French, the former of which she learned in high school, and the latter of which her mother also studied.

2005–2010: Career beginnings, stints with Disney, cancelled debut album

Shortly after moving to New York, Takahashi was scouted by IMG Models. She began modeling for magazines such as Seventeen and Elle Girl, for fashion brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, and in commercials for the fashion doll brand Bratz.

Showing an interest in acting due to her love for actresses Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie, and Lucy Liu, Takahashi began taking acting classes and auditioning for roles. Due to her inexperience, she didn't get many roles at first. However, she landed a small role in the television series Ugly Betty in 2005.

Around the same time, Takahashi's mother would spot a casting call in a newspaper for socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's reality show The Simple Life, calling for "eccentric families" on the East Coast that Hilton and Richie could live with. Seeing it as an opportunity for her daughter, Mamiko answered the call, and the Takahashi family was chosen by production. The family's episode aired in October 2005.

Takahashi would continue modeling following her role in Ugly Betty until she was convinced to audition for Disney's Hannah Montana. She scored a supporting role in the series, and she received critical acclaim once it premiered.

Following this, Takahashi would star in other TV shows such as the the sitcom Seven Street (2006), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and in the film Cherrytree (2007). She also had a guest role in the show Wizards of Waverly Place (2007). In 2007, she began writing music and recording demos for Hannah Montana and other Disney productions, which included The Princess Protection Program (2008), 16 Wishes (2010), and Shake It Up (2010). Takahashi was also a cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club at this time, remaining on the show until 2008.

In 2008, she had a supporting role in the Emma Roberts-led film Wild Child. Afterwards, she had her first major film role in Lucky, playing the lead character Elizabeth "Lucky" Jones. The role garnered Takahashi a Kids' Choice Award nomination, as well as a Young Artist Award. In September, she was cast as Patrice in the Broadway production of the musical 13. Takahashi's popularity as an actress picked up, and as a result, Disney decided to push her as a singer, as well. Her debut single album, Kimberley, was released on October 9th, 2008. The album's lead single, "Girlfriend," debuted at No. 1 on Radio Disney. That same year, she also appeared in the music video for Miley Cyrus' "7 Things."

In early 2009, Takahashi starred in the television film Anything But, playing the rebellious Riley "Lee" Sawai. It garnered her first nominations at the Teen Choice and MTV Movie & TV Awards.

The same year, Takahashi was in talks with Disney to star in her own television series, but that would never come to fruition. She later confirmed that her debut album, titled Don't Tell, was set for release that year. However, months passed, and after the album's release faced multiple delays, news about it eventually stopped. By early 2010, Takahashi revealed that Don't Tell had been shelved and that she had moved back to Japan to continue school. Disney confirmed the news shortly afterwards.

The last two films Takahashi was in before resuming school was Talk Talk Talk and Superficial (both 2010), which both premiered in theaters to positive reviews. Takahashi contributed to the former’s soundtrack, which became her only album release in the States at the time. She also sang the track used in the opening credits of the latter and a track that appeared on the film’s soundtrack. Takahashi also appeared in a few episodes of the Nickelodeon TV show Victorious, which she also wrote music for.

2011–2015: Other acting roles, debut in Japan, rising popularity

After moving back to Tokyo, Takahashi moved into her maternal aunt and cousin's apartment. While in school, she continued to write music with the help of her mother, and recorded a few songs which would be posted to her Facebook page.

Takahashi would ease back into work through modeling, scoring jobs with Seventeen, Egg, Nylon Japan, Vivi, and S'Cawaii. She modeled for the clothing brands JSG and Fig & Viper, the former of which was founded by former model Kaoru Watanabe. Takahashi was also featured in various commercials, as well as in campaigns for cosmetics brands such as Dolly Wink and ColourPop. She also became an exclusive model for Egg, appearing on five separate covers.

After modeling for a while, Takahashi had a supporting role in the Japanese drama Switch Girl!! (2011). The drama made her popularity as an actress rise in Japan, and later that year, she scored another major film role.

Playing the lead in the film High School Debut, it would do immensely well, becoming one of the most popular teen films in Japan and skyrocketing Takahashi to star status. She was nominated for numerous awards in the country, most notably for the Best Newcomer awards at the Japan Academy Film Prize. Additionally, Takahashi also sang "Heart no Tonari Ni," the song used in the films opening credits, which would go on to chart highly in Japan. As a result, the record label Avex Trax would later contact her and offer her a recording contract.

Takahashi accepted, wanting to restart her music career. After nine months of development and recording, Takahashi released her debut single, "Treat Me (Akachan o Atsukatte)."

Meant to establish her "eccentric" image and technopop sound, "Treat Me" debuted at No. 4 on the Oricon charts, selling over 100,000 units. It fared moderately in the States, landing at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single brought Takahashi back into the public consciousness, and it set the precedent for what would be her debut album.

2012–present: Debut album, expansion into other countries, superstar status

Finally, on February 17, 2012, Takahashi released her debut album, Kaori. It was massively successful, selling over 400,000 units and debuting at No. 2 on the Oricon albums chart. It also did well in the United States, garnering a placement of No. 70 on the Billboard 200. With sales of over a million, Kaori was one of the highest selling albums in Japan by the end of 2012. Takahashi's sophomore album, Sweet 18 (2013), would turn her into a teen idol in the country.

After releasing her second studio album, Takahashi released her debut Chinese album, K.T. (2013). Prior to its release, the single "I'm Not Yours" was released. It topped the Global Chinese Pop Chart, selling over 90,000 units in the country.

In 2020, Takahashi signed with JYP Entertainment and ventured into the Korean pop market with the single "I'm Not Cool" off of her extended play Spicy 'n Sweet. Both the single and album topped the Gaon charts, and Takahashi became the fastest female soloist to garner a first win after just four days. She would achieve a triple crown three weeks later.

With over 10 million albums sold in total, Takahashi is one of the highest-selling musical artists in Japan as of 2024. On September 6, 2024, she released her eighth studio album, CHECK IT!, alongside the single "ESCALATE."

The album sold over 2,500,000 units within its first week, and its projected to be the highest selling album in Japan by the end of the year.

Takahashi is a lesbian, of which she's been open about since her debut in 2012. She has stated that she has known she was into girls since she was in middle school, stating, "I guess I've always been this way. I naturally gravitated towards girls more, but I think it really clicked when I was around 11. I never clicked with boys in a romantic sense."

Since 2014, Takahashi has been dating singer and DJ Elizabeth "Liz" Ronson. The two were in a highly publicized relationship for six years, until they publicly split in 2020. They remained apart for three years, but rekindled their relationship in 2023. In September 2024, Takahashi and Ronson announced that they were engaged after seven years of dating. The two live together in Los Angeles and own a cat, Matcha.

At the age of nine, Takahashi was formally diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Since the start of her career, she has been very open about her experiences with both, and has been an advocate for other neurodivergent individuals.

In 2013, nine years after their publicized divorce, Takahashi's parents were remarried at a small ceremony in France. Takahashi acted as the maid of honor. The year prior, she had seen her father in person for the first time since 2004.

In 2014, Takahashi founded the fashion brand Jazzy. Targeted at mainly teen and young adult audiences, the brand was based around Takahashi's own individual aesthetic, as well as around the gyaru subculture. In 2016, Jazzy expanded into cosmetics and began housing Takahashi's first of two fragrances, Electric Pink. The brand, now worth over USD$400 million, is well-known for its eyewear, handbags, and accessories.

Takahashi began deejaying in 2014, following a surprise set at Tommorowland. Since then, she has done sets at Glastonbury, Coachella, and at the Governor's Ball in New York City.

In 2014, Takahashi became the face for Moschino's Toy 2 fragrance, but left the brand shortly after. In 2016, Takahashi was named the global ambassador for the Italian luxury fashion house Versace, which was teased in an Instagram post in April of that year. She became the face of the brand's Crystal Noir fragrance shortly after, and has remained with them since.

In 2016, she became the ambassador for SK-II, the largest luxury skincare company in Japan. A year later, Takahashi was chosen as the face of MAC Cosmetics, signing a USD$10 million contract with the brand. She was later featured in a pictorial for their Viva Glam lipstick line in Vogue Japan.

Takahashi has also been named the global ambassador of Bulgari in 2018, and Hermes the following year, and Marc Jacobs in 2022. In 2020, she became the model for Chum Churum, a soju brand founded in South Korea.

The following year, Takahashi was named the ambassador for South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster. In 2022, she partnered with the brand to create her own limited edition line of sunglasses. The line, called Kashi x Gentle Monster, was sold for six months.

In 2023, Takahashi partnered with Push! Color, a colored contact lens brand founded in Japan, to release her own line of colored lenses, called DEJA U. Four separate colors, ranging from light blue to hot pink to gray to yellow, were released in May.

format entirely inspired by @venusvity ! ★

[carsonfilm]

E500 @ Azabu Juban

[city-cost]

On a walk from Azabu-Juban, climbing north to Azabudai Hills and the Reiyukai Shakaden Temple, and then west and downhill into the backstreets of Roppongi, mid March.

[stickydinosaurkoala]

Since Sailor Moon Crystal is a week away from its 10th anniversary, Usagi's birthday is on Sunday, and I must admit that the Saban Moon pilot really has to be surprising for Victoria to show up in Azabu-juban!

[sorakazeno]

Amishiro Park

90s Anime, Episode 1 of the Super season.

Fountain at the park taken on December 3, 2022.

R season swing set when Chibi Usa ran away.

Swing set in the park.

Swing Set In the Eternal Movie.

Cosmos Movie.

Not sure where all these trees came from in the Cosmos Movie.

Hekisho. The monument is a girl riding a phoenix over clouds and waves. It is supposed to represent soaring in the blue sky towards aspiring love, dreams, and coexistence with all living beings.

Playground in Eternal Movie.

Slide and signs.

Slide in the background in the left hand side.

Benches and sitting area.

Other side of the park looking back.

Sailor Moon Crystal Season 1 side view of the park.

View from the picture but on the other side of the park.

Park Safety.

This sign was really hard to get a good picture. Likely built when the park was in 1949.

I love the drawings that go with the rules!

Please don't feed the pigeons!

Next up will be Arisugawa Park and a very familiar fountain!

[pretty1npnk]

Ever since she hit the mainstream internet in 2017 through her ever-popular YouTube channel, Chouka Aikawa has been fashion's favorite It girl. However, fashion isn't the only thing she's good at. She's a designer, a businesswoman, a former ballerina, and more recently, an idol. And she's taken the industry by storm. From her debut in the States to her debut in South Korea, Chouka has proven that she can really do it all, positioning her as the world's next pop princess.

𝜗𝜚 ... BASICS.

BIRTH NAME ... Aikawa Chouka

ENGLISH NAME ... Love Rose Antoinette Aikawa

BIRTHDAY ... March 14th, 1999

BIRTHPLACE ... Milan, Italy

HOMETOWN ... Kyoto, Japan // Azabu-Juban, Tokyo, Japan

ETHNICITY ... Japanese

NATIONALITY ... Italian-Japanese-American

𝜗𝜚 ... PHYSICAL.

HEIGHT ... 5'8" 1/2 (174 cm)

WEIGHT ... 119 lbs (53 kg)

BLOOD TYPE ... O

PIERCINGS ... N/A

TATTOOS ... N/A

FACE CLAIM ... Minatozaki Sana

𝜗𝜚 ... CAREER.

COMPANY ... Republic Records // Flowerbank Entertainment S.Berry Media

DEBUT DATE ... April 5th, 2024

YEARS ACTIVE ... 2024–present

FANDOM NAME ... Rosettes (로제트 // ロゼット)

COLORS ... #FFA3B9 // #FFFFFF

𝜗𝜚 ... BACKGROUND.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🩰 … ONE. IF I WAS A RICH GIRL

Aikawa Chouka was born on March 14th, 1999 in Milan, Italy. And unlike most in her field, she was born into immense wealth and prestige. Her father, Aikawa Chujirō (also known as Michael Aikawa), is the current president and CEO of the Aikawa Group. Originally founded in 1969 as a technology conglomerate, the company sold its shares twenty years later for $20 billion, turning itself into a sprawling holdings company. Owning mostly luxury brands (including Versace), they also own multiple department stores in the United States such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s, and even Paramount. The Aikawa Group has been touted as the “Samsung of Japan,” and with a net worth of over $480 billion, the Aikawa family is the richest in the world.

Meanwhile, Chouka’s mother, Nakamura Aiko (also known as Liliane Aikawa) is an accomplished, London-born actress and designer, as the founder of luxury lifestyle brand Lily by Liliane, as well as a socialite, art dealer, and former model. Aiko was born into a family older and wealthier than her husband’s (or at least that would’ve been true in 1990), and is the only child of Nakamura Hiroaki, the president of the Nakamura Foods Company. Founded all the way back in 1909 (although the Nakamura family was rather high up in Japanese society generations prior), the food packing conglomerate is worth over $20 billion. Like her husband’s family, Aiko’s family also owns a department store, having acquired ownership of the Tokyu Department Store in 2009.

Obviously, Chouka grew up in the lap of luxury. Living in Milan for the first five years of her life, she attended a Japanese international school and learned her native language of Japanese, along with Italian and English. In 2004, Chouka and her family moved to Kyoto. And due to her family’s wealth, they would spend a lot of time moving.

During the summers of 2009 and 2010, they would live in three separate cities: Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris. Starting in 2011, they would live in Singapore for a year. And finally, in 2015, the Aikawa family would move for the final time to the wealthy and fashionable neighborhood of Azabu-Juban in Tokyo. Chouka completed her final two years of high school there, and was involved in quite a few extracurriculars. She was a cheerleader, a member of her school’s tennis team, and she served as editor-in-chief of its newspaper club. Chouka would move again in 2016, but without her parents this time. She spent that winter at a boarding school in Switzerland, like most rich girls of her caliber.

By then, Chouka was a seasoned ballet dancer. At the age of three, she was placed in classes by her mother at the request of Chouka’s grandmother. She attended two separate ballet academies at some point: the Dutch National Ballet Academy and the Paris Opera Ballet. For years, Chouka believed that she would become the world’s next prima, but the universe had different plans.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🩰 … TWO. DRESS TO IMPRESS

For the most part, Chouka’s childhood was normal. However, when you have a designer for a mother, you tend to get dragged to a whole lot of fashion shows. At the tender age of thirteen, she attended her first show for Dior. And it wasn’t just that, either. Chouka grew up watching her grandmother order couture from Paris and Milan, she would be gifted old pieces from her mother, and her father even gifted her Louis Vuitton for her tenth birthday. After that Dior show, however, Chouka’s entire world changed.

She became quite obsessed with fashion, and she would spend hours flipping through fashion magazines or rummaging through her mother’s closet. All the balls and launch parties and red carpet events that Chouka would attend with her family changed her outlook on fashion, and after she was scouted by a modeling agency at fifteen, her interest only grew. She attended Fashion Weeks in Tokyo and New York, and modeled for brands like Betsey Johnson.

Chouka kind of knew that her career as a model was temporary, though, and her “true calling” was a fashion designer or journalist (courtesy of her mother). With the rise of the beauty guru, Chouka’s interest in fashion blogs, and all the time she spent on Instagram, however, she decided that, instead, she would become social media famous.

In 2015, Chouka launched a blog of her own: Love Moda. This was unusual for her family, as like the real-life, Japanese rendition of the Young family from Crazy Rich Asians, they were notoriously private. They would sporadically appear in news articles, Aiko would give the occasional magazine interview solely for brand reasons or to promote a new project, and Chujirō mainly limited his media appearances to business publications. Obviously, though, Chouka had vastly different aspirations. Love Moda was mentioned in an editorial she did with Tatler, and that kind of exposure—plus the fact that she had money—made interest in her blog skyrocket. By 2016, it had amassed over 10,000 readers.

By the next year, Chouka had cemented herself as a somewhat of a “baby influencer.” Despite the invites to Paris fashion shows and the articles being written about her in Vogue, however, she was far from mainstream. Her small legion of fans wanted her to be, though. Chouka was asked to start a YouTube channel by one of them, and so on May 19th, 2017, she did.

Chouka was already a bit of a “micro-celebrity,” so by the summer, her sizable following had transferred to her new channel. Her YouTube gradually begin to grow larger than her blog as the beauty community gained traction themselves, and her status as the “Aikawa Group heiress” was definitely a selling point, alongside her feminine, “rich girl” fashion and peculiar accent. By the end of 2017, the brand deals were beginning to roll in, and everyone was gradually starting to know her name.

In early 2018, a particular video of Chouka’s suddenly went viral. What followed afterwards was the exact mainstream fame that she’d been looking for. She moved to Los Angeles from New York and was scoring ambassadorships with the likes of Kate Spade, Nina Ricci, and even Prada. She was getting invited to award shows, launch parties, and was a seasoned Fashion Week attendee at that point. And by 2019, Chouka blew up even further. She was named “fashion’s newest It girl,” she made her way into the acting industry, and it was pretty much impossible to escape her.

2018 was also a rather difficult year for her, though. At that point, Chouka had been a ballerina for sixteen years. But with her rising career online, she knew that she couldn’t pursue her lifelong dream of prima stardom without giving up her YouTube career.

Although ballet would always have a special place in her heart, her career aspirations had obviously changed. Even then, though, Chouka was still training, and she still wanted to attend another ballet academy. But balancing that and what clearly transformed from a hobby into her way of life was asking for too much. So that year, Chouka hung up her pointe shoes and bid goodbye to ballet. That decision was a difficult one, but it was probably for the best, as her career as an influencer has done more for her than a ballet career ever would. And there was still a whole lot more in store.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🩰 … THREE. ALL THE INFLUENCE IN THE WORLD

Within the next five years, Chouka would grow to become one of the best fashion influencers on the planet, with 11 million subscribers, over twenty brand deals, and countless successful business ventures to her name. Even with a billion dollar bank account, though, she—like most influencers nowadays—couldn’t help but branch into the music industry.

In late 2023, Chouka suddenly signed to Republic Records, unexpectedly promising her fans a music debut by the next year. And on April 5th, 2024, she fulfilled her promise. Debuting with the single “Girls Don’t Cry,” her debut was a smash hit. Surprisingly, it was received far better than the music of other influencers, nearly becoming a No. 1 hit and turning Chouka into an up and coming pop princess. Months later, she signed to Flowerbank Entertainment, which was definitely... a choice. Chouka was pretty much the only active artist under the label, but her debut was still fully-funded and massively successful. However, she only had two full comebacks afterwards, before she jumped ship herself. Immediately after her departure, Flowerbank was no more.

In October 2024, Chouka founded S.Berry Media, her very own entertainment company. As of now, she's the only artist underneath the label, but like everything she touches, it could quickly grow into something much bigger. But with complete control over her career and a vision like no other, Chouka's not leaving the industry anytime soon.

Flowerbank Entertainment belongs to @pinkscaped // @venusvity ... 𝜗𝜚

[japanesedoramaandanimelover91]

#SHO

Otonoha 2024.06.15

Vol.250

Prologue to the First Half of the Year 2024

Hello. This is me.

The first half of the year 2024 has come early, in the middle of June.

As the first half of the year is coming to an end, I would like to share with you the goals I have secretly set for the year 2024 and where we are now.

(...I didn't know there was such a thing. Hurry up and tell me.)

Take the train as much as possible. Smoothen the train ride.

I'm going to take the train as much as possible.

(What do you mean?)

One day, I suddenly had an idea,

I wanted to put a lot of "If you want to get to exit X at X station, you need to take X car.

I wanted to put a lot of "If you want to get out at exit X at station X, you need car X" into my head.

So, recently I have been looking at the paper on the station platform very much.

Well....

One day when I was spending my time doing that.

I took the Ginza line to Shibuya. The place is Miyamasuzaka.

I have been going there since I was a child...

(There was an episode when you had a fight with your mother in Shibuya when you were little and went home by yourself.)

(When I was in high school, I used to say that I was in Shibuya 8 days a week.)

He knew the area well, so to speak, and it was his "garden.

I can't tell you how many times I walked back and forth along the now-defunct "Toyoko Noren-gai" (Toyoko Goodwill Street)....

I also went to Shibuya for my electone and piano lessons when I was a child.

I can't tell you how many times I passed by the now defunct Tokyu Cultural Center, which used to have a planetarium.

It is one of the towns that holds many memories for me.

I got off at Shibuya.

The doors of the Ginza Line open.

Go out of the ticket gate.

... No, seriously, where is here?

(If you sympathize with me, please don't be silly!

I don't understand at all.

I can't go outside I can't go outside I can't go outside !!!!!!

(Image with echoes)

Guruguru. Giggle, giggle, giggle.

I keep getting lost while looking at the former Tokyu Bunka Kaikan (now Hikarie) outside.

......... Okay, let's go outside.

Let's go outside.

Anyway, once we get outside, we're all set.

After all, it was once a "garden.

First!

Outside!

......... Got it: !!!!

...The statue of Moyai!South entrance!!!! The exact opposite of Miyamasuzaka!

(If you sympathize with me, pucha-henza!)

Oh no. It's very difficult to get around Shibuya.

In the end, I managed to get to my destination by going from the south exit to Hachikou-mae to Miyamasuzaka.

and somehow arrived at the destination.

Then another day.

I boarded the Namboku Line from Meguro Station.

I was a user of the Inokashira Line and the Toyoko Line when I was a child, so I was a little nervous to take the Namboku Line, which I was not so familiar with.

(A man in his 40s, in a state of "Hajimete no Otsukai" by himself.)

The destination was Azabu-juban.

(rattling) Passing through Shirokanedai.

Passing through Shirokanedai.

(clattering)

Passing through Shirokane-Takanawa.

(clattering)

All right. That's the train.

It's so fast.

If you get off at the next station, you will be in Azabu...

No!Koko Sanda! !!!!!

What?

Why?

Where is this warp going?

Sakurai gets off in a hurry.

The first time he went to the Otsukai, he was unsuccessful.

Sakurai looks around.

...This is the Toei Mita Line, isn't it?

The body of the train is not green. This is blue, isn't it?

(For those who sympathize with me... ... are you there? I'm not sure...)

As a result, we returned to Shirokane-Takanawa, changed to the Namboku Line, and arrived at Azabu-juban Station without incident. Congratulations!

(This is a Tokyo local story, sorry if I didn't convey it well.

I am sure that many of you may have noticed this after reading this article.

Yes, I did.

I am enjoying this happening very much.

If you get on car x, exit x is closer to exit x."

It will be a while before I can master "If you get on car No. x, the exit is closer to exit No. x.".

I have renewed my determination to make this my goal for the second half of 2024.

Thank you for your continued support in the second half of the year.

June 15, 2024

Sho Sakurai(Ichiro Seike)←Talk about it!

[spei-sidus]

Moonlit Musings

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

No Archive Warnings

Written for UsaMamo Week 2023, Day 7

Usagi was on her way back from Tokyo Tower, where she had been unwinding during the night, when Mamoru's out on a jog. Mamoru's protective instincts lead him to ask Usagi out on a date. Centered around Tokyo Tower.

I tried to get this out on time, but it struck midnight on me - irony of ironies. Well here you go. Thanks for reading.

I spent the day researching Azabu Juban, Tokyo Skytree, and Tokyo Tower...there's a lot I don't know yet. I've been an avid fan of Sailor Moon fanfiction for years, but I never really delved into the depths of the settings in which these stories take place, something that I was starkly reminded of when reading stories by FloraOne, for example. I'm really grateful I managed to complete this week's prompts, for my first ever usamamo week. It's been a dream of mine for a while, but I never thought I'd stumble into one shortly after I started writing fanfiction! So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Chapter 1

Sailor Moon perched upon one of the upper ledges of Tokyo Skytree. The youma battle had taken them further east tonight. Sailor Moon was feeling contemplative and in no hurry to head home. The battle had stopped a little after Tokyo Skytree went dark at 11 PM. She was going to linger for a while and then head towards Tokyo Tower, the tower that was the beacon to her little home in Azabujuban, hopefully timing it so that she’d get there at midnight. Sailor Moon could linger under the veil of darkness and think to her heart’s content.

It was strange, she thought, looking at the expanse below. Both had amazing views, but Tokyo Skytree - the tallest tower in the world and double the height of Tokyo Tower - made the world distinctly diminutive. Looking at Earth from such great heights seemed very familiar to her - as if staring at the Earth from space should seem familiar.

She loved the night. It made her energized. It made her tingle with awareness. She attributed it to her connection to the moon, the source of her power. She believed she’d happily be a night person if she didn’t have to go to school early in the mornings. She’d rather be up with the moon drawing or reading manga or trying some delicious food. Who knows what she would do if she had the optimal timeframe in which to exist? No, she had to conform to a Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM schedule, with homework on top of that. She slept in bits and pieces because she had to – and because it was broken sleep, it was never enough, so of course she looked like she was a sleepyhead all the time. It was frustrating to have the others chide and mock her for her sleeping habits without being able to explain why. Or if she did explain, they’d probably minimize it and tell her to get over it somehow. As if magic worked that way. Maybe it did? The other Senshi were certainly more in tune with their powers and sleeping habits. It was only her that was out of sorts. Did they ever get issues if their planets entered a certain place in the zodiac chart? She didn’t think she could ask Ami about it without letting her in on her struggles.  

Tonight was a Friday night. No school tomorrow – she could sleep in all day. Or would if her mother didn’t whack her awake by noon. Good habits and all of that. Nonetheless, noon was certainly better than seven. She was going to take advantage of it. This was going to be her time, away from Luna and the girls and annoying, gorgeous upperclassmen that made her think things probably no girl her age should. Oh, who was she kidding? She was a teenager, fifteen, for goodness’ sake. Her hormonal body vacillated between her nemesis and her savior without care even in one night of fantasies and self…care. They both made her tingle with a different kind of awareness. She didn’t understand why it had to be with two different guys – and two unattainable guys at that: one taunting, insulting, and generally denigrating towards herself; the other, while chivalrous and inspiring, was also distant and insistent she treat him as an enemy since they had different goals.  

She started heading out towards Tokyo Tower at 11:45 PM, wondering if she’d get there at midnight. She decided to make a game of it, dashing from rooftop to rooftop with an exuberance that had her rolling after some leaps. She half thought to hold back a little, but she was having too much fun – it was so much like her morning dash to school. She needn’t have worried – she got there just after the tower went dark.

Perfect.

She settled in, staring out from her familiar vantage point, smiling softly at the city below. They were her people, and she was proud to protect them. She hoped they were getting decent sleep, without nightmares. She worked hard to give them hope despite the terrors the youma were causing daily. No matter how terrified she was and underqualified she felt, she was proud to be in a place to do something good for the world. It was worth losing sleep over, getting even worse grades than before, getting scolded by nearly everyone. She knew everyone, in their way, wanted her to be her best self. She wasn’t very good at balancing everything like her Senshi, but she wasn’t going to give up, because to give up would mean to let Tokyo – all of what she could see from up here, and more – down.

She didn’t know everyone in Tokyo (or in the world, for that matter, but Tokyo was the only place terrorized for whatever reason), but she loved them, loved them blindly with the abandon that only Tsukino Usagi would do. Like the moon; she loved them, protected them, and shone the light needed to navigate the darkness, all without discrimination or reservation. She wanted to affect change, as the moon made waves, while being unwavering herself. Strong in her devotion. Strong in her ability to protect. Strong to always love no matter what.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, her mind wandering under the moonlit sky, but when she finally shifted to leave, she felt rejuvenated, uplifted, and calm.

She surreptitiously dropped her henshin shortly after descending from the tower, deciding that she would enjoy a good, meditative walk. As she wove through the light traffic of pedestrians and bicyclists, she came across someone she’d never thought she’d see at that time of night. “Mamoru-baka?” she asked incredulously.

He started. “Odango Atama?!” He checked his watch. “It’s 4 AM and you’re not in bed? Are you sick?!”

“I’m perfectly fine, baka,” she said with a scowl.

“Then what are you doing out at night like this?” he said with a scowl of his own.

“Walking,” she said shortly, “and judging from your attire, you’re jogging.”

He blinked. “I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to do my jog earlier than I usually do.”

“Jogging in the morning sounds like such a you thing to do.”

“But not you,” he countered, getting the conversation back on track.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” she said with a shrug, “so I was hanging around Tokyo Tower.”

“In the dark, alone?”

“Sure. It’s very peaceful there.”

“Why not go when it’s lit?”

“I like it better in the dark.”

A moment passed. “The next time you want to go, do you want me to go with you?”

The weight of that offer fell onto the both of them. Usagi’s mouth went dry. “Um, sure. We can wait until after the lights go out before, you know, going.”

“Right,” he said gruffly. “Unless you’d rather go early to get as much time as possible?”

“So…get there at midnight?”

“...That would be what I’m saying.”

“Wow,” Usagi managed, her heart galloping at a fast rate. “You - you’d do that - with me?”

He nodded, wide eyed, as if he didn’t realize what he’d let slip and was barely catching up to that fact.

She smiled. “Okay,” she said. “It’s a date.”

To Be Continued…

Chapter 2

Date, she had said, finalizing the symbolism of what they were about to do. Only couples went to see Tokyo Tower at midnight.

He stared at her, speechless for once. Had he really, finally, asked her out? Although going to Tokyo Tower at midnight was a bit too intense, too rushed for a couple that was just barely getting together. Or were they? “Do you mean a date date?”

She frowned. “Didn’t you?” she asked in utter confusion.

“I did,” he admitted, releasing the truth he’d masked for so long now. “But perhaps you’d like an actual date first?”

She gaped as everything caught up with her. “You really are asking me out,” she said incredulously.

“I only asked you initially to keep you from getting hurt at night, Odango. You really shouldn’t be out this late at your age-”

“What kind of date?”

The question threw him. He hadn’t expected her to accept. “Well, we could visit the tower beforehand. The second level has good views.”

“It does,” she said with a smile. “But that will only hold our attention for so long. I wouldn’t mind hanging out at Momiji Waterfall for a bit. I’m a lover of nature.”

“So am I,” he said with surprise. He never would’ve thought whirlwind Odango would be interested in the peacefulness of nature.

“Of course we have to go to that curry place nearby, CoCo Ichibanya. I love curry, and it’s not that expensive. I think it’ll be open until midnight, too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mamoru said with a smile.

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “This is weird, don’t you think?”

He shook his head slowly. “No, I’d say this was a long time coming. I promise it’ll just be fun.”

“Okay,” she said, trying to picture it. “I bet we’ll fight like cats and dogs though.”

He smirked. “I’m okay with that. It’s our thing.”

Our thing. She blushed. “So...when do we do this?”

“It’s already Saturday morning. Have you even slept?” When she shook her head, he frowned. “Then I don’t think we should do this today. What about next Saturday? We’ll make a day of it.”

“Okay,” she said shyly, butterflies erupting in her stomach. She was going to go on her first date! With Chiba Mamoru! “Well, I’ll see you then!” she said as she turned to walk away. He automatically followed her. She stopped and waited. “Sorry, I forgot you’d want to walk me home.”

“I don’t know why you’d think otherwise,” he retorted as he matched her stride. “I’m not leaving my girlfriend out in the middle of the city when it’s not even dawn.”

“Girlfriend?” she echoed faintly, her heart thundering in her chest. How many shocks could her body handle in one day?

“Okay, maybe that’s going too fast,” he relented. “But you get what I mean.”

“Yeah, okay,” she said dumbly, leading the way to her house. They walked in silence. When they got to the corner of her street she turned to him awkwardly. “See you around,” she said lamely.

“Arcade this afternoon? Or will you still be sleeping?”

“Oh, I’ll be up by noon. Mama won’t have it otherwise. I’ll be there.”

He nodded in satisfaction, gave a mock salute, and jogged away, leaving one dumbfounded Senshi of the Moon.

To Be Continued…

Chapter 3

Usagi went to bed feeling like everything that had just happened was nothing more than a daydream concocted from her wandering imagination while she sat a little too long on that ledge of Tokyo Tower. It’s gotta be. She’d only imagined something like this, oh, hundreds of times, so how could it be that reality even remotely matched up to her dreams?

She must have fallen and hit her head somehow. Although that would’ve hurt a lot longer than it would take her Senshi healing to fix it.

She was close to hyperventilating. Only consideration for her slumbering feline guardian kept her from fully freaking out right there and then.

How was she supposed to act now? Everything was moving so fast. She went from worst enemies to dating! The arcade was their usual haunt for their verbal battles. She didn’t know how else to interact with him. She reminded herself that he did say it was their “thing” to fight. So maybe another verbal battle would be in order? Business as usual…mostly…

She was so tired. Sleep beckoned her, causing her to squash her worries under its weight. She’d deal with it later. Much, much later. 

__________________________________________

When she awoke, she was back to panicking.

“Usagi-chan, what’s wrong?” Luna asked.

She shook her head. Luna wouldn’t want to hear about her impending date, not when she was always going on about Senshi duties. A love life was just insignificant compared to their mission. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “Just a nightmare.” She pulled her clothes together and headed to the bathroom while Luna settled back into her earlier position. A quick shower refreshed her. She kept her outfit simple and normal: a pink dress that went to her knees, one she had worn many times. She wanted to look cute without trying too hard. Or so she told herself. She still half thought this was all just a weird dream.

A quick gathering of her things and she was off, walking to the arcade, her nerves getting the better of her. What if he’d just been impulsive? What if he’d changed his mind? What if he’d remembered all the things he’d called her in the time since they’d met and realized she was still very much undateable? She blinked away her tears and carried onward. She wasn’t going to know until she faced him. So with the strength and confidence she showed a youma in battle, she carried herself down the street and through the arcade doors. She found him sitting at the counter in his usual place, nursing his usual cup of coffee. She approached slowly, warily, as if he would suddenly turn around and shout, “Gotcha!” while laughing, rejecting her in the process. No, Mamoru would never do that to her. He was more of a gentleman than that.

“Hello,” she croaked as she stood behind him.

“Hello,” he murmured, turning slightly to face her.

She woodenly sat in the stool next to him, her bag tumbling carelessly onto the ground. “How was your day?” she asked awkwardly.

“I’ve been trying to stay busy the last few hours. I’ve tried to read. I’ve tried to write a paper due soon.”

“Oh,” she said, shuddering. Homework was an anathema to her. 

“I can’t focus,” he confessed after taking a sip. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here since I got here after Motoki opened this morning.”

She shivered. “So this morning did happen?” she whispered.

His gaze darted to hers. “Yes it did.” Then hesitantly, he added, “Do you regret it?”

“No,” she said, a bit too forcefully. He winced. “No,” she said more softly. “Do you?”

“No,” he said vehemently. “As I said, it’s been a long time coming.”

“How long?” she asked. How long have you liked me?

“It’s come on so gradually I don’t even know.”

“It’s the same for me,” she admitted quietly. “The fights, they are…”

“Fun?” he suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” she said sheepishly. “I’ve never done anything like that before with anyone else.”

“Exactly. It’s our thing.”

“So…what happens now?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I need to order food first.” She opened her mouth to wave over Motoki but Mamoru beat her to it.

“Oi, Motoki-kun! Odango needs to fill her bottomless pit!”

Motoki walked swiftly over while Usagi started turning red like a tomato. “A bottomless pit?! You JERK!”

“Get her a double cheeseburger, a large fry, and a strawberry milkshake. Oh, and a strawberry mango smoothie with boba. My treat.”

Just like that, her anger diffused. “You’re buying me food?”

“Yep,” he replied like it was the most normal thing in the world - and, she supposed, it would be for a boyfriend to do for a girlfriend, but they weren’t even quite dating…yet.

“Can’t you call me by my real name?” she settled on, still peeved.

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“It’s unique and it’s our thing.” He tugged on one of her hair streamers.

She just blinked at him. He was acting so differently today, and yet, not - and she had no idea how to act around him.

“Relax, Odango. I’m not going to bite.”

She snorted. She thought of an image of a Mamoru-like youma biting her with amusement.

Her food came, and she was inhaling it in short order, hyper-aware of the male profile next to her, of the barest brush of his knee against hers. 

“Thank you,” she got out after she’d finished off her smoothie - she was really stuffed from everything. She normally didn’t have the allowance to afford as much as he’d ordered for her.

“You’re welcome,” he said sincerely, glancing at her with tenderness. Her heart caught in her throat. He’d never looked at her like that before, and it made her feel funny inside.

The girls walked in then. Reluctantly, she slid off her seat, whispering, “I have to meet up with the girls. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

He regarded her with amusement. “Yes, indeed. Now run off to your friends. I have some studying to do.”

“Jerk,” she said, although the insult lacked any heat. She grabbed her bag in a hurry and started tripping. A hand shot out to steady her, to her mortification. His hand.

“Try not to trip all over yourself,” he breathed before releasing her.

The look in his eyes befuddled her brain. Whatever retort she had was lost. With a firm shake of her head she walked off to the booth where her friends sat impatiently waiting. Usagi tried desperately to keep up with the flow of the conversation, especially as pertaining to Senshi business, but her thoughts and her gaze kept straying to the upperclassman sipping coffee at the counter.

Chapter 4

Usagi avoided the arcade on Sunday. She needed time and space to think things through. It was all so sudden. She could hardly believe it. She could barely be in the same room as Mamoru without wanting to look at him.

She cried off going, using her homework as the excuse. The girls were shocked, but gave her the benefit of the doubt. Usagi put on some nature soundscapes then settled into her desk chair, pulling out her homework.

Luna watched, stunned speechless. Usagi ignored her, wanting desperately to prove herself - not only to her Senshi, but also to Mamoru, Mr. Straight A student. She felt her flaws now more than ever. She also had a theory she wanted to test…

She set a timer for twenty-five minutes, then set to work on her English assignment. She wrote notes. She brought out different colored highlighters. She drew. But she did get some sentences in. When the timer went off, she set a ten minute timer, then pulled out some manga.

“What are you doing?” Luna asked curiously.

“I’m trying something out that might help me study.”

“You’re turning your homework into art and barely getting anything done. Now you’re taking a break?”

“Hush, Luna. It’s part of the plan.” Luna huffed and turned away. Usagi tried to shrug off Luna’s dismissal. Usagi didn’t want to talk about it, but she suspected she had ADHD, and if true, then there were ways she could work around that issue to get things done - like homework. She was terrified to be wrong, though. What if the others thought it was just an excuse? What if she was making up things? 

Well, there was no harm in just trying out some methods, right? It wasn’t the official diagnosis that was important, she reasoned. If the methods worked, maybe then she could confess her suspicions - because then it wouldn’t look like a bunch of excuses, at the very least.

How she was supposed to work around ADHD while being Sailor Moon she had no idea. 

She set another twenty-five minute timer and worked some more on her English homework. She got frustrated halfway through the assignment though, so after her second break she pulled out her math homework. Three problems into that she gave up and started working on her Japanese. It wasn’t a lot that she got done, but she put in effort that she hadn’t before, so she counted that as a win - no matter how much Luna sighed.

“I’m going to Tokyo Tower,” she told Luna tiredly.

“It’s Sunday and almost midnight; shouldn’t you be going to bed?”

“I won’t be gone long. I just need to unwind.”

Luna grumbled under her breath about Usagi ‘unwinding’ already with manga. Usagi studiously ignored her.

“Moon Prism Power, Make Up!”

Then Sailor Moon was off, racing across the rooftops until she reached the top. Then she did a double take. “Tuxedo Kamen!”

“Sailor Moon,” he acknowledged from where he sat, as if it were normal he should be hanging out there, and at that time of night. “Youma?”

“No. I just wanted to relax.”

“By all means.” He indicated the area beside him. She accepted the invitation, leaving a few feet between them.

“I’ve not seen you here before.”

“Do you come here often?”

“I do,” she admitted. “I like to see the view.”

“It is nice,” he admitted. 

They fell into silence. Sailor Moon felt hyper-aware of his presence, his slight movements. Her heart rate picked up its tempo, and she felt so warm, even in the cool air, that she wanted to fan herself. She reminded herself sternly that she had just accepted going on a date with another man. But it was Tuxedo Kamen! He was always swoonworthy. But due to her hyper-awareness, she noticed that he seemed to be scanning for something. “What’re you looking for?” she asked curiously.

He started. “Just making sure the people below us are safe,” he said.

How sweet! Even when there wasn’t a youma, he was still caring about people. “You’re a good person,” she said reverently. Here she would use the tower to take breaks, not scope out dangers!

He looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. Silence fell over them again until he spoke.

“So, what did you do today?”

Such a mundane question. “Homework,” she said truthfully, proud to be able to be honest with him. “You?”

“Same.”

“What wonderful lives we lead,” she said sardonically.

“Well, we need normalcy to balance out the ‘Saving the World’ stuff.”

He had a point. “I’m not sure what good school does for me, when I have to be committed to saving the world.”

“We might not be saving the world forever.”

She started. “If that happened, would I ever see you again?”

He tensed. “It depends,” he said carefully.

“Oh.” That hurt. She couldn’t imagine living her life without ever seeing him again. “I hope, when it comes down to it, that we become friends,” she said sincerely.

“Me too,” he said just as sincerely. “You should treat me as an enemy now, but maybe someday we won’t be.”

“I’d like that,” she whispered fervently. “Well, see you at the next battle?”

“Of course.”

She jumped away, feeling flustered. She didn’t get much sleep that night.

Read more:

[shiroomo]

Lions Stage Azabu

https://www.athome.co.jp/mansion/1021136192/

This is the Minami-Azabu of dreams. Lives behind Keio University, a bit beyond the Italian Embassy, around Azabu Juban station and the Korean Consulate. There are many hills, but the quality of the walk is high end, a fun time. 84.8 million yen, built in 1999, 3 minutes from Azabu Juban on the Namboku Line, 51m2 2LDK 7F