I own neither the characters nor the settings mentioned in this fic.

Glimpses from the Past and Future
by minamimegumi

Wind rushes by as a bird glides through the air and into a train through an open window. The compartment's lone occupant offers the bird a bite of her sandwich, and hops onto her shoulder. It looks up startled, as it hears the girl's voice in its head.

I suppose you want to know who I am, right? That's not important at the moment. What IS important is that I am currently on a train, halfway across the globe, waiting to continue my assignment. My assignment, my torture... and the world's salvation. Why a member of group of young vigilantes needs to traverse the globe to fulfill another destiny, I'm still not sure. But here I am, and thanks to my background and mission, I have been placed in a group I should not, under any circumstances, have the right to claim membership in. I have been using my disguise powers to play the part of a girl years younger than my actual age, and I have had to change my behavior so no one would suspect me-after all how could one comport herself in a way that ran counter to the stereotyped persona of one's group, without arousing suspicion?

This is such an odd deviation from my usual life, and that is saying a lot. Since I was a young teenager, I have been battling various evils. I learned and honed my fighting skills the hardest way of all – "fight or die, and by the way, the whole world will come with you if you do die, without realizing why." And all while trying to be a typical student.

I look down at the odd clothing I have been forced to don, and let out another sigh. At least the Japanese uniforms were not as... out of place in everyday society. I stand and wander to the walkway to see if the lady with the candy cart is coming. She is not, so I turn to go back into my compartment. I hear footsteps stop behind me and a girl's voice rings out a friendly greeting.

I turn around and give a spacey greeting before returning to my own compartment, deep in thought. I hate to study, and yet my mission has forced me squarely into a group known for brilliant, inquisitive students. I keep pretending to be a certain friend in my mind, so I can keep my story straight. My friends are fighting to keeping our home safe and pursuing their own dreams, and here I am, stuck in a train car, watching a bunch of children go through growing pains to make sure they can defend themselves when the time comes. My mission is for the sake of my future post in life – I must learn to not react to everything, and it is a hard lesson indeed. I must watch things unfold and cannot interfere unless certain events outlined to me cannot happen without my direct interference.

To do this, I have assumed my new identity. The group I have been assimilated into is far more suited for my friend, the number one girl genius student in Japan. I have many friends back in Japan, some of which are reincarnated princesses of a long-gone empire. But all were expressly forbidden from accompanying and even contacting me. They have to keep our home safe, while waiting for the Great Ice to usher in the age of Crystal Tokyo. Thankfully, Chaos had been defeated several years prior, and the time I will spend on my assignment should be clear of any major external threats.

The future is not set in stone, and that is why I am here. This last push before the Great Ice is to be spent learning and ridding the world of internal threats that would prevent the rise of Crystal Tokyo. A few of us have been sent on separate assignments across the globe, supposedly to groom us for our roles in the future, and mine happens to be this. Those of us who had the desire to pursue specific careers have followed their dreams, and spend their time stationed in strategically beneficial locations – one is in Germany, studying medicine, and another is in France, studying to become a world-class chef. Whether these locations are beneficial to their own careers or to our future, I'm still not 100% sure. A core group remains in Tokyo to defend against any lingering threats from our past enemies. And of course, we have the advanced warning system, the soldier of time.

Now that little Hotaru has grown up, Michiru-chan and Haruka-chan have spent quite a lot of time traveling around the world to nip future threats in the bud, and aid those of us on assignments. But because of the level of espionage I have had to entrench myself in, they are unable to aid or contact me, even if they are in the area, and only scant miles away. I must be alone in this mission. No one is supposed to know exactly where I am, and those here do not know my true identity. Setsuna-chan has taken care of that. I have no backup. I left my communicator and henshin item at home, in fear of being discovered. All I have is my celestial power that I can hopefully tame well enough to use without transforming.

The train ride is now over and I depart from the train. The moon shines down on the Earth as I let myself get swept into the crowd in the rush as I contemplate what I am to do this year. Supposedly the one who will have to defeat the threat here is holding his own in the few skirmishes that have occurred, and it looks like he is well on his way to defeating the threat on his own. So all I am to do is keep a low profile, remain here and wait; wait until this threat has been suppressed; wait until the British magic community has achieved peace; wait until Harry Potter defeats Voldermort; wait until I am no longer needed as Hogwarts student Luna Lovegood; wait until the Great Ice freezes the world; wait until the ice melts away; wait until the Sailor Senshi assume the mantles of royalty once more; and wait until Crystal Tokyo needs its Queen.

The bird chirps and flies away, not even noticing that its memory of the past 45 minutes had been completely destroyed as the last traces of long, dark green tresses flow through an intricately carved doorway that disappears.

Author's Notes: This is meant to be a one-shot used as an exercise to explore a simple what-if. It can be placed smack into the middle of the HP canon plot and the tail end of SM canon with little to no problems, and that is the way it was meant to be. I'd like to see someone else's take on what happens if Cartman from South Park ever met one or more of the Weasleys from Harry Potter... :)

Edit: It has now been turned into a two-shot.