Betrayal tastes like stardust and broken promises.
One moment, Heather Tsukino was a Sailor Guardian with dreams of eternal love. The next, she was nothing more than a discarded shadow, watching her younger sister Usagi claim both the moon princess...
The World Over Yonder was a dream spun from the pages of an ancient legend and stitched together by chaos. It looked like Feudal Japan had collided with a supernatural carnival—paper lanterns floated midair with no strings, tengu soared above in dark flocks, and a kappa casually hawked cucumbers from a bamboo stall. A parasol twirled itself beside him, dancing to music no one else could hear.
Heather gawked as she adjusted her pink glasses. “Okay. This is definitely not in any Sailor Scout training manual.”
"Welcome!" Onikiri and Kotetsu beamed, practically vibrating with excitement. They tugged her through the bustling yokai marketplace, dodging ogres in yukata and spirits that looked like walking clouds.
“I’m dreaming,” Heather muttered. “Or I hit my head. Or I’m stuck in a Studio Ghibli film.”
Eventually, they arrived at a traditional tea house tucked between a fox mask vendor and a haunted mochi stand. Without even knocking, the spirits burst in.
“Master Tomoe!” they cried.
Inside, Tomoe lounged on a floor cushion, flanked by two beautiful yokai women who clearly adored the attention. He looked bored out of his mind until the spirits interrupted him.
“You want something?” he said, voice cold as frostbite.
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“You’ve abandoned the shrine!” Onikiri huffed.
“And Lady Heather Tsukino is the new Land God!” Kotetsu added. “She came all this way—and you don’t even care!”
Tomoe scoffed, his fox ears twitching with disdain. “A human? As Land God? Ridiculous. Humans are fragile. Fickle. Weak.”
“She’s not just human,” Onikiri snapped. “She’s Sailor Scout–adjacent! With ice powers!”
“She froze half the floor back home!” Kotetsu added proudly.
That got Tomoe’s attention. His eyes narrowed with new interest. “You brought her here? To this realm?” He stood abruptly. “Are you both mad?”
That’s when Heather stepped into the doorway.
She’d heard everything.
Frost crackled around her fingertips as fury welled in her chest. “Excuse me?” she said, her voice trembling—not from fear, but restrained power. “You think I wanted this job? I was trying to help someone. Your someone!”
Tomoe’s jaw clenched.
“I didn't ask to be marked,” she continued, voice rising. “I didn’t ask for your shrine. But it’s mine now. Because you abandoned it!”
The air dropped several degrees. Ice spread in lacy tendrils across the wooden floor with each step she took backward. Her brown eyes sparked behind her pink glasses.
“And for the record?” she snapped. “I’m stronger than you think.”
She turned on her heel and stormed out. A frosty breeze followed in her wake.
Inside the tea house, a stunned silence settled.
Tomoe’s gaze lingered on the frost she left behind.
“She’s... different,” he murmured.
Onikiri and Kotetsu exchanged knowing looks.
The World Over Yonder wasn’t ready for Heather Tsukino.
