The Past has a Presence...
Japan Welcomes the Senshi Home.
Minako couldn't help but let a small, disappointed sigh escape
her lips. After everything that had brought her back to Japan she had
been hoping for something a little more exciting now that she was
here. Of course, it had been an unrealistic expectation, but still...
She was the only one of her friends who hadn't gone on to college
or university, so she was feeling left out now that they were all
cramming so furiously at the Hinos' shrine. For the first few days
she had been bored enough to join them, but it just wasn't as much
fun when they were all trying to be serious, Usagi included. That
left her with very little to do for the most part.
'So that's it...' she thought to herself. It all seemed very
anti-climactic. Come home just to get yelled at by her mother, have a
day playing around with Usagi and the others, and then nothing. She
had read through Rei's manga collection so many times that those
comics were no longer reason enough to head over there if she
couldn't at least have some fun distracting the others.
Even though she had been so fed up in Seiji, feeling so useless,
at least she had their company. She didn't remember her life feeling
quite so isolated before, and her meagre work didn't seem to be
enough to forget the fact that she missed just having them around.
But then she had been living under the same roof as the other four
for quite a long time now. She supposed it was only natural to feel a
little lonely now that they all had their own homes to go to, and
their own work to get on with.
Standing by Minako's chair, and watching her shifting expressions
with an amused little smile, Haruka finally broke the back-stage
silence. "What's wrong, Mina-chan. Don't tell me you're nervous."
That snapped Minako out of her reverie. "What? Me? Haha, I've
done this before." She gave Haruka a curious look. Or rather, she
gave Sailor Uranus a curious look. "Are you?"
Uranus - for that was who she was right then - shook her head,
her smirk growing. "Hardly, I've done this before too." Then she
looked down at herself, and at the blue edged sailor outfit she wore.
"It's the first time I've ever wished that this skirt was longer
though."
Minako giggled, "Heehee. Oh, you've got good legs. It won't hurt.
You should show them off more often."
Uranus just shook her head. "I'd rather not."
Minako heaved out a fake sigh. "Oh, such a waste..." Then her
face lost that joking edge and she gave her press conference partner
an embarrassed but genuine smile. "Thanks for agreeing to do this."
From the curtain that hung at the edge of the platform the
stagehands watched them with bewildered amazement. The Sailor Senshi
were almost urban myths, guardians and heroes whose appearances were
almost as much of a mystery as those of the monsters they fought.
They didn't even seem to exist beyond their battles for the lives of
the people of Japan, and indeed those of the Earth itself if the
stories were to be believed.
And here was this wannabe starlet, chatting with one of the
Sailor Senshi like an equal. What made her so special? What made her
so lucky? What on earth had happened to these schoolgirls and
superheroes while they had been gone that could have forged a bond
between such different standards of people?
"Aino-san, Sailor Uranus-sama, it is time to go on."
Minako nodded, put on her best smile, and smoothed down her
dress. It was one of her best, an eye-catching, red shoulderless one
that she saved for interviews and the most special of dates, and over
it she wore the tasselled, veil-like shirt of her Seijian dancing
costume. The two together looked nothing short of stunning, and just
a little foreign in the best of ways.
"Let's get this show on the road."
Minako smiled as she took the stage, the polite applause flowing
over her and the flash of cameras following her to her chair. Maybe
having her own work to worry about wasn't so bad after all. Rei and
the others didn't know what they were missing!
And then, of course, came her own little snatch of genius as
Sailor Uranus followed her onto the stage. None of the reporters had
been told that one of the actual Sailor Senshi would be making an
appearance, and at once the tall heroine was showered with attention.
Only her practice with cameramen stopped Uranus from squinting as
dozens of camera flashes bombarded her, and the applause that she was
greeted with was remarkable. Both the girls had long been seated
before either of them could be heard over the excited noise.
"Not bad, eh?" Minako whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
From a distance you couldn't tell, but up close Minako could see
that Uranus was trying not to laugh.
Then, when it came to it, Minako picked out the reporter that had
found them all at the Crown to ask the first question, just for his
good will. And so the story was spun from there.
***
Ami closed her eyes and slowly removed her reading glasses,
pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, why don't we take a break
now," she said, sounding tired.
"Ahh, at last!" Usagi exclaimed, draping herself over the
tabletop. "This is so hard..."
For once Rei didn't have a biting comeback for that. She had all
manner of excuses for why she held her tongue, but in truth she just
didn't feel like it. She was as mentally exhausted as the rest of
them, and she was glad of the company. If it hadn't been for the
others she would have given up already.
"Ami-chan," Makoto asked, "can we have the distraction now?"
Ami just smiled and nodded as she sat back on her cushion. "I
think we all need the blood sugar."
Usagi and Rei's eyes lit up as Makoto produced a box from her bag
and placed it on the table. "Exam cake!"
"Of course," Makoto replied, feeling proud of herself. "Ami-chan
just said that I should hide it, after all the time you spent
procrastinating with my cookies."
"Not fair," Usagi moaned, but she was the first to take a piece
of the lemon-iced cake for herself. "You're the best Mako-chan."
Rei nodded, and flopped over to lay her head on Makoto's knees.
"Aren't you just..."
Makoto blushed, but didn't complain, and picked off a small bit
of her own slice to feed to her girlfriend.
Usagi's eye's lit up at the sight and she gave them a sly smile.
"Ohhh, look at the lovebirds... And in public too!"
Ami had the decency to look embarrassed, as did Makoto, but Rei
just stuck her tongue out at Usagi. "Be quiet, idiot," she shot back,
though it was more playful than anything. "This is what new
girlfriends do, right Mako?"
Makoto just blushed. "Ahh, yes. I mean, I don't mind." She didn't
mind in the least, even if it was in front of their friends. She fed
Rei some more of her cake, which got her a very happy smile in
return. She barely even noticed Usagi's romantic turn as that smile
made her feel a little warmer inside.
"Ahh, I wish my Mamo-chan was here," Usagi moaned, looking
wistfully at the pair. "No fair that you two get to be all sappy when
you're together so often. I'm jealous!"
"Usagi-chan," Rei countered, "you get to live with him! You've
been sleeping in the same bed every night for a year!"
Ami cleared her throat, blushing brightly, and the other three
all gave her an apologetic glance as she changed the subject. "Mako-
chan, would you like me to help with anything? You have been very
quiet."
Makoto gave her an awkward smile. She hadn't told them about her
problems, but it must have been obvious that she wasn't working as
hard as Rei and Usagi. What was the point when she would have to re-
take the year? She could be there to try and support Rei and the
others, and do a little work of her own, but she couldn't tell Ami
that she had no chance of passing. "Ahh, no, it's okay. I understand
it, it's just getting through all the material."
Looking up from her lap Rei frowned and nudged her a little, but
Makoto didn't explain any further. Rei just didn't get it. They had
already talked about this, but Makoto was still afraid to admit that
anything was wrong? Why was she bottling it all up? It would just
make Makoto miserable, and Rei would end up worrying about her.
But as soon as the moment came it passed. "Well I still don't get
it," Usagi said, not noticing the cautious edge that Rei had seen in
Makoto's eyes. "How can I write about the reasons communism doesn't
work if I don't understand them?"
"That's because most people aren't as considerate as you, Usagi-
chan" Makoto replied.
Usagi's reflexes kicked in and her mouth had opened before she
had even registered what she had heard. "Hey, I am not... ah, that
was a compliment?" Usually when people singled her out it was for a
less than flattering reason.
Ami smiled as she watched her friends joking with each other, but
behind that smile she felt a little guilty. It wasn't their fault
that all their talk about romance made her so envious. She was glad
for them. Usagi had fought long and hard to keep Mamoru, against both
monsters and more human, familial threats. Likewise she had often
been there to sympathise with Makoto about the girl's lack of success
with relationships, so seeing her so flustered and happy was
wonderful. The fact that it also made Rei happy made it all the
better.
And she had found herself wanting the same. Worse, she knew
exactly whose lap it was she wanted to rest her head on, and whose
flirting she wanted to be embarrassed by. She shook her head, well
aware that she was thinking too much about all the wrong things. She
had known it might be a little hard at first. She just hadn't
expected those feelings to linger like they had, or that they might
feel so acute.
"Ami-chan," Usagi asked, looking into the young woman's face with
concern in her eyes, "are you okay? I haven't been a pain taking up
all your time, have I?"
Ami just shook her head and let go of those thoughts. "No, not at
all Usagi-chan. I'm just tired. I haven't been studying properly for
a while, so maybe I'm out of practice!"
"What?" Rei said, once again upright and looking astonished. "You
made us all study like slaves in Seiji!"
"Well, besides that," Ami agreed with an embarrassed smile. She
didn't see it quite the same way that Rei obviously did.
Makoto on the other hand had not been too wrapped up in her own
worries to miss the cause of Ami's. She couldn't bring up her
suspicions of course, that would only make things worse, but she
could at least try to give her friend a little space if she needed
it. "Listen, Ami-chan, we don't have to work you so hard. We can try
and help each other for a while if you want a proper break. Plus, you
have your own tests to study for as well."
Usagi nodded in agreement. "We don't want to take up all your
time and tire you out! I mean, this isn't exactly like high school.
We're all studying such different things and everything."
That was what made them such good friends, Ami knew. Considerate
to a fault, that fault being that they did it even when it wasn't
necessary. "Really, that isn't a problem. You aren't stopping me
doing anything, and it's my pleasure to help. I like seeing all the
things you are working on!"
Makoto and Usagi just looked at her. "Strange girl..."
Ami giggled. "Rei-chan, may I make a little tea to keep us
going?"
"Of course." She thought a moment before standing up. "Actually,
I'll come with you. My legs are going numb."
Makoto raised an eyebrow at that. Rei was a master when it came
to sitting properly, so why the lie?
Rei on the other hand had been thinking about Makoto's reaction
to Ami. Makoto knew their genius friend better than anyone, and she
was worried about her. Rei was sure she could see patterns emerging
in the way Makoto spoke, especially about certain people, that said a
lot more that she actually put into words. In Seiji Rei had said that
she was always willing to listen if Ami needed her too, and if this
was one of those times...
"No, really Rei-chan, it's fine," Ami replied once Rei had asked,
the two of them alone as Ami filled the teapot. However, it was said
far too quietly, with a resigned sort of calmness to it. "Did Mako-
chan put you up to asking?"
"No," Rei replied as she handed Ami the tea for the pot. "But I
think she notices better than I do. I know you two have always been
close, even when the rest of us aren't there."
She sighed, knowing that Ami wasn't going to open up, but she
wasn't going to push. Ami was in a difficult situation. If she did
still have feelings for Haruka then Rei knew that, in truth, there
was little she could say that would help, but at least she could lend
an ear when it was wanted.
And then, Makoto was keeping her feelings to herself as well.
Simply admitting them to Rei wasn't going to help solve anything if
she didn't open up to the people that could actually help.
"You and Makoto are very alike," Rei finished. "Far more so than
I thought."
"What?" Ami asked, suddenly defensive. What was Rei saying? That
Ami was closer to Makoto that she was? "No, we're not Rei-chan, I
mean, not really."
Rei looked at her, confused by her reaction, before she realised
what Ami was inferring. "Ami-chan, I didn't mean it like that! I'm
sorry, I was just thinking out loud." She sighed, but soldiered on.
Ami might at least be able to help Makoto if she wasn't going to help
herself.
"Ami-chan, I know this might be a bit too much, but could I ask
for a favour?"
***
"I'm home!" Minako called. She slipped inside with a broad smile
plastered onto her face and left her shoes haphazardly in the
entrance hall. "Did you see me on the TV?"
"Yes," came the chorus of her parent's voices from the living
room. "We saw you on the TV Minako."
Minako giggled and danced her way in to join them, flopping down
on the settee next to her mother. "Well, what did you think?"
Aino Kikon did as she always did in such situations; she humoured
her. She had never shared any of her daughter's tastes and had been
wrong footed by Minako's impulsive enthusiasms more times than she
could remember, but Minako had done well. Her daughter always did
when she really put her mind to it, so in Kikon's mind that was
worthy of praise. It was a rare enough occasion, so she had learned
to make the most of any opportunity to encourage her when she did
well.
"You looked very professional, dear," she replied, much to
Minako's delight. "And to be seen with one of the Sailor Senshi..."
Kikon felt a quirk of maternal pride in her lip. "That made you look
very good indeed. Matsudaira-san even came by to talk about that
while the program was still on."
Minako nodded, very smug that they had gained so much face.
Having a busybody like Matsudaira come to hobnob with them because of
her was a sure sign of success. "I'm hot property now because of
that," she beamed. "Mikiyo-san says at least one brand name wants me
to star in their next advertising run!"
"I should hope so," her father said from across the room. While
her mother was willing to be impressed by Minako's turn of luck, her
father didn't share that view. "That's her job."
"Yokozuki!" Kikon admonished.
The Aino patriarch wasn't going to have it though. "It's a media
whim," he replied, "not a proper job. Those people are just latching
onto you because you had the bad luck to run into those crazy super-
heroines. Once they get bored of your adventure stories, then what?
You can't rely on those people Minako. It's not good for you."
"That's enough Yokozuki!" his wife said, getting to her feet, but
Minako was already on the way to the door with an angry frown on her
face. 'What does he know about show business?' Minako fumed. What did
he know about how hard she worked, just because she wasn't stuck in
an office somewhere? And who was he to call her crazy for risking her
life as Sailor Venus?
Once she had stormed out of the room Kikon sat back down, both
worried for her daughter and annoyed at her good for nothing husband.
"That was too far," she said, not bothering to disguise the distaste
in her voice. "You know how much this means to her."
"I know that you don't approve either," Yokozuki replied, putting
his paper down.
Then, to the surprise of both of them, Minako stormed back into
the room and shoved a small slip of paper into her father's face.
"That's what my no-good job gets me, and I worked hard for every
single yen!"
With that she spun on her heels and stalked out of the room
again, up the stairs, and slammed the door to her bedroom. Artemis
looked up from his spot on her bed, ready to comfort the scowling
girl after that little shouting match.
"I'm proud of you Mina-chan," he said, padding over to her and
leaning into her hand. "You did good, and you looked great in that
dress."
Minako just sighed, her frown fading a little as she petted him.
"Thanks Artemis."
Meanwhile, her father just stared at the cheque Minako had thrust
at him, and over his shoulder he heard a quiet 'Oh my,' as his wife
took a look. This whole fiasco was big news he supposed, even if it
wouldn't last, but that one press conference had earned Minako more
than he saw in a month. A lot more.
***
Michiru couldn't quite put her finger on it. She found herself
watching Haruka's expression as Haruka watched the fish swim behind
the glass screens. It was peaceful and curious - observant in a way
that she did not often see in Haruka's eyes.
"Is it just me, or are you actually growing interested in the
aquarium?" she asked.
Haruka's eyes left the swimming shoals and she gave Michiru a
slanted grin. "You should know, it's not the fish."
'Touche indeed,' Michiru thought with a smile as the two of them
moved past to the next tank.
And once again Haruka's eyes found their way to the floating
skates, and Michiru felt that slight strangeness again. Haruka was
connecting to the sight in a way that Michiru herself usually did,
and yet it gave birth to an unease inside herself. Haruka had
frustrated her before, even angered her, but never made her uneasy.
It was actually a little scary, and yet was it anything but her own
indefinable reaction to her lover's presence at her side again?
She took Haruka's arm, and leaned into her shoulder. "Haruka...
What do you see there?"
A small moment passed before Haruka chuckled at her question.
"What do I see? I can see skate, plaice, sole... There are some rays
in the next tank too," she finished with a cheeky smile.
"You silly fool." And when Michiru was trying to be serious as
well. "I mean what are you seeing, when you gaze at them like that.
Or are you just trying to humour me?"
Haruka shrugged, but it wasn't entirely non-committal. "I see
lots of thing. Things that seem as foreign to me as the fish are to
the air. But it's worth it, because I can see things that remind me
of you. You swim more beautifully than any fish."
Michiru felt that familiar warmth spreading out through her
breast, and she turned Haruka away from the tank, looking deeply into
her eyes and stroking away that overlong hair. "Never mind."
People stared as they kissed, and the pair paid them no mind at
all. Maybe Michiru was imagining things and maybe she wasn't, but
what did it matter?
Haruka gave her a pleased but curious look as Michiru finally put
the tips of her high heels back on the ground. "What was that for?"
Michiru just smirked at her. "I could have asked you the same
thing." She backed away to their usual, respectable distance, merely
walking arm in arm. "You can be so awkward."
Haruka nodded in agreement. "And you can be so fickle."
Michiru also agreed. And then she watched as Haruka's gaze grew
distant once again, more slowly this time, but distant all the same.
Michiru could see her eyes following the ghost-like rays as they
floated and soared through the deep blue waters. What did those
aquatic phantoms become behind Haruka's eyes? What uncertainties did
Haruka see that escaped Michiru's sight?
That was what they were, Michiru realised. Uncertainties. Haruka
had told her as much, if in a much more poetic way. Haruka was not a
woman who was uncertain. She might have disliked being certain of
herself, of her choices and beliefs, but certain she had always been.
Even as a Senshi that had always been the same. As Uranus she was
steadfast and unwavering. She might have agonised over her orders,
but she always followed them through to the end.
Michiru was the complement to that. As both Kaioh Michiru and as
Sailor Neptune she made her decisions far more swiftly. She could see
what was needed, and she set herself the path.
Then, once on the path, she would waver. She knew it. Her
conviction was strong, but her will would falter when faced with the
reality of what she had chosen. She had made them promise to each
other that, should anything happen to one of them, the other would go
on regardless. Uranus had been so reluctant to agree, but it had been
Neptune herself who had broken that promise when the time came.
Michiru was the decisive strength to set them moving, and Haruka
was the unwavering strength to follow through.
And now she could see that, as Haruka gazed at these undulating,
ethereal creatures, her lover had found a reason to waver. A reason
that she dared not share. It had been so long since Haruka had chosen
to hide anything from her, and that was the source of Michiru's
unease. Not since before they had become partners had Haruka chosen
to fight her personal battles alone when Michiru had offered her a
helping hand.
But Haruka was allowed her privacy. It would make Michiru worry,
not knowing what it was that her girlfriend deliberated on, or what
had caused it, but Haruka would tell her when it was time. Surely she
would.
***
How many years had it been, Mizuno Katsura wondered, since she
had last eaten a meal with her daughter? Certainly not since Ami had
enrolled in medicine at university. Most likely it was some time
before the last Great Battle of Tokyo. Katsura had practically been
living at the hospital after that, tending to the injured that she
had been brought in the wake of that cataclysmic battle between the
Sailor Senshi and their invading pretenders.
It was all too easy to see, she had realised. Such things had
started a trend. Katsura would have to make excuses so that she could
work and Ami would accept them, saying that she also had things to
do. Surely one would have thought that, after such an event, family
would band together, glad that they had not been caught up in that
madness.
Yet for the two of them, it was quite the opposite. It gave
Kastura work that she could not put off, and gave Ami the chance to
spend time with her friends as they comforted each other after the
fact.
Katsura couldn't help but think that, at long last, she was
living out the correct cliche. Only after losing Ami had she realised
just how much she could have done for her, and never had the chance.
So, now that everything had been put right, she had found the time.
She had made her excuses and had left the hospital at a proper hour,
ready to have their first real meal together in several years.
And it felt so awkward. She had not expected that. Together at
the table they knew they were both making the effort, but what little
small talk they had managed could never have lasted through a meal.
Ami was not a shy schoolgirl any more. If anything she was the one
teaching others now. Katsura had always been proud of Ami for her
intellect and her obedience, and it flattered her that her daughter
wanted to follow her footsteps into medicine, but what did Katsura
have to talk to her about any more?
What were her hobbies? What books was she reading? Ami was an
adult, and she didn't need her mother's help or permission in the way
that she once did. Katsura didn't have that parental window into her
daughter's life any more. Ami was living her own life, and had been
for a long time.
"How are your friends coping with catching up?" she asked,
breaking the uncomfortable silence.
If there was one constant about Ami's life, it was her friends.
Those girls had made Ami into a happier person, and even the
separation of university had not been able to break the bond between
them. Even if she knew nothing else, Katsura could be sure that they
would always have a place in Ami's mind.
Ami looked up from her plate and gave a small, polite smile.
"They are managing. I should say *we* are managing. It is quite a
challenge for all of us, with so little time before the end of the
semester."
Katsura nodded. "I'm proud of you for taking the time to help
them. Your reports always said you had a faculty for it."
"I have already written my draft dissertation," Ami replied, "so
I can spare the time. It won't be perfect, but given the
circumstances..."
Katsura sighed. It was a shame, but, "It can't be helped. It is
better that they are not penalised for circumstances beyond their
control."
Ami was glad that her mother understood, even if it was
disappointing. Her mother was a driven woman after all, and she knew
her mother expected the same of her. Not that she had ever
disappointed her. Ami had been a star student by any reckoning, and
had been put on an accelerated course when she had first applied for
her degree.
Of course, what was there to say about that? Her mother had
already blazed that trail, albeit at a more normal pace. No, Ami was
not going to try hunt for attention or praise. She was just doing
what she should be, to the best of her ability.
But Ami found the air uncomfortable as well. Her mother had
specifically made time for her, and Ami could do nothing but make
small talk. How was work at the hospital? Was she taking enough time
for herself? A few compliments on the food and the wine.
Ami genuinely smiled at the thought there. She remembered the
meals they used to have, and the glass of wine she had been allowed
even before she had reached drinking age. They had used to talk a lot
more. About school, about the many things her mother saw in work,
about Ami's medical and intellectual fascinations...
Ami had not realised that so much had changed since then. Now
Ami's fascinations had found themselves buried beneath more immediate
concerns, and their stories had all been heard before.
Ami realised then that she was the source of that quiet. She
wanted to spend more time with her mother, and yet her mind was
wandering. Her mother was trying to engage with her, and Ami wasn't
able to do the same. "I'm sorry Mother. I know you made time for me,
and I end up feeling out of sorts."
Katsura looked on with concern as Ami finished the last of her
meal and rose from the table.
"I'll clean up. The meal was wonderful," Ami said, putting on a
smile.
"Okay. I will find us something to watch." Katsura paused,
"Unless I am pushing you."
Ami shook her head as she gathered up the plates, trying to put
her mother's mind at ease. "No, I'd like that."
Katsura smiled at that. "Alright. I'll find something girly and
nostalgic. And..." she ventured, "it is alright to talk to me, if it
would make you feel less 'out of sorts'."
Ami's expression grew reflective and her smile became more
sincere. "Rei-chan said that as well today. I must look bad."
"Just a little," her mother admitted. "If you, or your friends,
need help then I will do what I can. You grew too quiet and
melancholic as a child. I don't like to think of those feelings
coming back to you again after so long."
Ami nodded, trying to put on a brave face. Even so, she couldn't
find her voice to answer. She felt this way because she couldn't do
anything but soldier on, and because of the things that she couldn't
even tell her own mother, or Usagi.
But, as her mother turned to leave, she realised there was one
thing she could do. "Mother!"
Katsura stopped in the doorway, caught off guard my Ami's urgent
voice. "Ami, what it is?
"... Rei-chan said that Mako-chan needs help. You know she lives
alone. She's being proud and silly, but she's not doing well, money
wise. She didn't even admit why she isn't studying properly, because
she doesn't want us to know that she has to re-take the year."
A glimmer of understanding appeared in Katsura's eyes. "She
doesn't want you to think that she is letting you down."
Ami nodded. "I think so."
"She has very good friends," Katsura said. "I think we might be
able to help her, if she wants us too. As long as she wouldn't be
embarrassed by accepting it."
Ami's face lit up. "Thank you Mother. I'll talk to her."
Katsura just smiled and nodded, glad to finally have aired some
of Ami's worry. Even if it was only, as she was beginning to suspect,
a small and very recent part of it.
***
The next morning Rei found herself putting on her shrine maiden's
garb with a little trepidation. Thankfully she would have to be at
her college for midday, but she could only wonder how much more
lunacy the general public would be able to inflict upon her during an
entire morning. She could already hear people milling outside,
burying her grandfather in questions or trying to play with the
resident pair of crows.
"Who would have thought I'd be getting bored of being famous?"
she wondered out loud. Normally she would have been lapping it up,
but the weave of public lies was getting bigger by the day. Minako
and Usagi were having a ball, as expected, but the pressure of
keeping up the act was getting to everyone else. It showed all too
clearly at their cram sessions.
Makoto was just choosing to keep as quiet as possible so that she
didn't say anything that might blow the gaff, and was generally
retreating from the world outside her studies, her work, and what
time she could spend with Rei and the others. Of course, with
everything that was going on they were being recognised far too
often, so as much as Makoto seemed to want to make good on that
promise of a real date, it didn't seem as though she was going to go
through with it. At least not for a while.
That annoyed Rei more than anything else. Fame was fine, but it
was intruding on her life, and making her girlfriend reluctant to go
out.
And Makoto was worried about Ami, which didn't help matters. She
wasn't admitting as much, but it was so very obvious. Usagi and Rei
had had a long chat on the subject, but Makoto's unwillingness to
meddle was enough to keep the pair of them from doing any more. After
all, Ami's natural reaction to all the attention had been to hide
away in her own personal shell, and even Usagi had to admit that the
girl would come out when she was ready, and only then. At least she
was finally getting to spend time with her mother as a result.
Rei had barely seen anything of Haruka in the week and a bit
since they had returned to Japan. It was a shame, because Rei had
come to enjoy her company again after everything they had been
through together. Haruka had been an inspiration to stay strong after
the things Rei had done.
But she could understand it. Haruka had a partner and child of
her own to return to, so it was no wonder that she wanted to spend
every possible minute with them. Both Haruka and Michiru had been
surprisingly low key about the whole thing, so the media was trying
to have a field day just using the scraps that the pair said and the
few, fleeting shots that the odd photographer could get. Being as
famous as they were already, both for their early professional
successes and for being perhaps the highest profile lesbian couple in
Japan, the gossip magazines wanted everything they could get.
Of course, for the couple in question it seemed like water off a
duck's back, but from what little Rei had seen on the television she
had no idea what they really thought of it all. It was a surprise
that they had not made any kind of acknowledgement for the cameras.
And Rei herself... She wanted to enjoy it, but it didn't feel
right. She felt a little like a criminal, taking all the attention
when all she had really done to deserve it was lie. And she had taken
someone's life. More than one person's in fact. Criminals were
famous, but she didn't want to feel that kind of fame. That's how it
felt, even if nobody but her friends and her grandfather knew.
How could Minako smile for the cameras so easily when she had
done the same? Rei had seen the conflict and the grief behind the
strong front Minako had put up when she had been forced to slit that
Seijian soldier's throat. Was Minako really so much more mature than
Rei when it came down to dealing with it?
But Rei wasn't going to dwell on the past. She had lived through
it, and come out a wiser person. She had her friends, she had her
studies to get on with and she had her Grandfather to help at the
front of the shrine. As she left her room she couldn't help wondering
what Makoto was doing right then. She was probably at work, cooking
away at the back of the noodle shop with that cute white scarf over
her hair to keep it all tucked away.
All in all, Rei decided, she was better off than she deserved to
be.
"Grandpa!" she called as she emerged from the side entrance of
the shrine. "You are behaving out here aren't you?"
Grandpa Hino was leading an unusually large group of people in
one of his meditations that, as usual, looked less that
contemplative. "Rei, my darling Granddaughter, come and help me
strengthen the souls of our customers!"
Then from the gates a suddenly energetic looking man with a
notepad made a beeline for her. He had been there yesterday as well,
and had gathered a few more people in his wake this time. "Hino-san,
I've just heard that you used to sing in high school - and even
before that - with much success. Can you give any credence to the
rumours that you might use your new high profile to return to the
stage?"
Rei felt her eyebrow twitch as she looked back and forth between
the two groups. 'Give me strength...'
***
Minako had raised her hand to the doorbell of the
Kaioh/Tenoh/Meioh household when, to her surprise, the door almost
opened right into her.
"Oh Minako-san, I'm so sorry!" Hotaru gasped as Minako tottered
back down the path, having narrowly missed getting the door in her
face.
For her part Minako just grinned and waved it off. She was in far
too good a mood to say anything about it, and even if she hadn't been
Hotaru was one of those lucky people that it was impossible to take
offence to. At least for the people who knew her. "Heh heh, don't
worry about it," Minako said once she had regained her balance.
She watched with a smile as Hotaru's parents poked their heads
around the door, both wondering why they weren't leaving. "Hotaru?
Oh, Minako-chan," Michiru said as she delicately threaded herself
past her adopted daughter, before bowing a little. "Thank you for
taking care of Uranus-chan last week."
Minako could feel Haruka's petulant frown before she saw it. "Oh,
that's not a problem Michiru-san, she behaved herself very well."
"Oi oi, are we going to the park or are we going to poke fun all
day?" Haruka groused, though it was a good natured little moan.
"But you looked so darling!" Hotaru added, leaving Michiru to
giggle and Haruka just sighing in embarrassed dismay.
"I wonder who she gets *that* from," Haruka said, looking
pointedly at Michiru and trying to conceal her grin at the thought.
Minako just nodded in Michiru's support. "She has the duty to
raise a proper princess after all!"
Then Minako let her amusement go and turned her mind back to the
reason she was there in the first place. "Haruka-san, here, I have
your share," she said as she produced a cheque from her handbag.
Haruka took it with due thanks before she handed it to Michiru,
for safe keeping. "That should keep out Hotaru in tutelage for a
little longer."
Hotaru didn't think much of that, but accepted the comment in the
spirit that it was meant. "It is such a shame that I can't skip it
all like my parents and jump straight into professional stardom," she
lamented jokingly.
"Yes," Haruka noted in the same sarcastic way. "You'd love it,
wouldn't you?"
Minako knew just what Haruka meant by that. Hotaru was a
brilliant pupil, several years ahead in high school already, and she
would probably get into university early as well. However, to go with
that intellect, one on par with Ami's if you took into account their
age difference, she had been cursed with a distinct discomfort
towards her parents' more public lives. She was a quiet girl when
left to herself, and given more to using her unnatural academic
talents for the enjoyment of it rather than reaping any kind of
reward.
Minako couldn't blame her either. As friendly as she was, it was
hard for the girl to actually make real friends. Her strange, deep
aura made her seem older than her accelerated years, and the power
that came with it made people afraid. It was ironic in a way. Sailor
Saturn, the soldier of death and destruction, had the largest cult
following of all the Senshi. She supposed it was her young innocent,
appearance put into contrast with the awesome, dominating power she
wielded. And yet, as a civilian it was her psychic power to heal that
made people afraid of her.
"Well," Minako said, "when she wins that Nobel Prize then she can
have those words for dinner!"
"Minako-san!" Hotaru exclaimed as she blushed furiously. She was
also chronically modest when she was paid a genuine complement.
Haruka just smiled at the display. "Say, Minako-chan, are you
busy? Do you want to come to the park with us?"
Minako looked to Hotaru with a confused air. "Aren't you a little
old to be taken to the park to play?"
Hotaru sighed. "This isn't to 'play' Minako-san. This is study."
"For her school club," Haruka explained.
"Oh, the art club? So you're getting Michiru-san to help you!"
Minako said, faking her shock. "Hotaru-chan, are you cheating?!"
"No!" Hotaru exclaimed, before she put on a pout as she realised
that Minako was having her on. "Oh, you all make fun of me!"
"Now now," Haruka said, mollifying her daughter. "I think it's a
good idea, choosing to paint a painter. And now you can paint a D-
list would-be television celebrity too!"
"Hey! Who are you calling D-list *Tenoh-san*?!"
***
Despite the slight against her aspirations to stardom Minako
found herself enjoying the morning as she sat next to Michiru on the
slope at the south edge of the park, watching out of the corners of
their eyes as the two of them were painted.
"She really likes art, huh?" Minako said, making conversation as
they posed. "I bet that feels good."
Michiru had to agree. "Yes, it does. She lacks spontaneity, but
her work is developing a good style." Of course that hadn't been what
Minako had meant. "It is nice having something to share with her. And
that she has people in the club to share an interest with. She
disliked me quite a bit when I made her sign up for it."
"It was all for the best though, right? You just wanted her to
have friends."
"Yes." Michiru found Minako's optimism infectious. And, as the
morning wore on, it also occurred to her that she had someone with
her who most likely knew the truths that had remained hidden
concerning Haruka's time away.
"It took me a while to notice after all that time," she said,
purposely oblique as she began to explain something so personal. "I
think it must be easy to miss the signs when you think you have
already reached the goal."
"Michiru-san?" Minako asked, utterly confused, before Hotaru once
again admonished her from the distance for moving.
"There is a distraction in her eyes," Michiru continued,
remaining motionless in her casual pose. "A distraction that I did
not think anything of. I was too busy enjoying her return."
"You mean Haruka-san..." Minako noted. Warning bells were going
off in her head, and they did not go unnoticed by Michiru.
"So you do know. She has always had secrets Minako-chan. She is a
woman far too complicated for her own peace of mind. It might only be
a lie of omission, because I don't know what questions to ask, but
she has not kept things from me for as long as we have been together.
Her worries have been mine for all that time, and now there is
something inside her, keeping her thoughts inside herself."
"I don't know what you mean," Minako half-lied. She didn't know,
but that didn't mean there were not possibilities that she could
guess at. "She seems okay to me. But isn't it a woman's prerogative
to have a few little secrets?"
Michiru found Minako's frankness amusing, but she didn't buy the
answer. "There was a time, not too long ago, when I seemed to be the
only person that she was truly comfortable around. Would you believe
me if I said that, now, she only seems to relax when not alone with
me?"
She sighed. "Naturally she has her secrets still, but Haruka is
no ordinary woman. I like to think that I know her, and now I find
myself at a loss. Is she simply wondering what new motorbike parts
she would like to buy? If it is so unimportant, why does it seem to
pervade her mind so deeply? Does she feel too guilty, too ashamed or
too angry at something to tell me? There is a shade of seriousness
there that makes her bite her lip before a joke that she might
otherwise have made. That hesitant tenderness that appears now when
she takes my hand.
"It is as you say. I have my own secrets, as is a woman's
privilege, but she knows that. She permits me to have them because,
if they were ever to become important - if they ever became something
that truly affected either of us - then she knows that I would tell
her."
Michiru bowed her head. "But Haruka has always allowed me to see
these things. It has been a part of *us*, because it was how I came
to know her, and how I saw her grow into the woman she is. Because
she permitted me to know those deepest, inner secrets of hers."
Minako didn't respond for a while, as Hotaru called to her mother
to keep her pose. Minako could see her friend's point, but it was not
her place to voice any of the reasons that came into her head. And,
even if she did, how could she know which one of them might be the
cause of what Michiru described.
But, most of all, Haruka was allowed her privacy. It was her
choice what to say and what to keep hidden, and it was not Minako's
place to meddle. At least, not when the results would betray their
confidence. The deaths, the loves, the dark results of the forces
they had tapped into, any one of those could damage the lives that
they had reclaimed now that they were home. They all had reasons to
hold their tongues, no matter how great or how insignificant those
reasons might have been.
But then, didn't everyone? Their situation was unusual and
extreme, but everyone kept secrets, and many would never matter
because that exactly what they were. Secret.
"Don't worry Michiru-san. I mean, you know her better than me, so
I can't really say but... If it really matters, I'm sure she will
tell you. We all went thought a lot, but we're back now."
She smiled sadly at the memory as she stared off into the
distance. "You know, when we were going through everything, I
thought, 'What if we can't get back? Would it be so bad?'. I thought
that, if it wasn't for being manipulated by everyone, we could have
had an okay life in that world. But I was wrong. I was weak, and I
gave up too soon. And d'you know what Haruka-san said? She said she
was sorry for not giving up along with me, but all that she wanted
was to come back to you and Hotaru, and be a family again."
"Minako-chan..." That was a revelation for Michiru. She knew it
had been hard for them, Haruka's stories had not been sugar coated,
but the idea that Minako could have lost hope - that really gave her
pause for thought.
"I'm sure it's okay," Minako said again. "Maybe you're making a
meal out of a molehill?"
Michiru nodded, feeling a smile return to her face as she
pictured that mangled image. Of course, Michiru was a perceptive
young woman, and she didn't miss the undercurrent of tension beneath
Minako's words.
"Thank you, Minako-chan. I am sorry that you were put through
such trials and tribulations."
Minako shrugged, looking over to Haruka and Hotaru to see if she
could move again. "It's not like anyone said being a champion for
justice was easy." Then as Haruka and Hotaru both gave her a warning
look, she let out a sigh. "We can't move yet? My leg's gone to
sleep!"
"I did warn you not to sit at such an angle," Michiru quipped,
even as her thoughts began to turn over in the wake of their
conversation.
***
Behind her makeshift roadside stall, Myoshiya watched as the
bustle of Tokyo suburbia passed back and forth. These humans had been
rushing from place to place all day, and the day before that, and the
day before that. She had never expected there to be so may of the
creatures out away from the city centre, or that she would have been
able to blend in so inconspicuously with just a little magic.
Myoshiya wasn't even very good at disguises, but her sisters had
assured her that even her own meagre skill at illusions would be
enough, and they had been right.
Aretsuki had been partnered with her this time, and Myoshiya
watched with a morbid sort of fascination as the young girl
effortlessly served another of the ignorant human women who came to
gawp at her wares. Her youngest sister did it with such ease.
Myoshiya had barely been able to restrain her fear and loathing at
each and every one of those customers as they approached her, intent
on handing over more of their money in exchange for silver and gem
studded adornments. She wanted to reach out and pluck their energy
right out of them, if only to avenge herself. If only to protect
herself. If only to make them go away.
So Aretsuki, ever optimistic, had taken over the counter, and let
her get on with their jewelling. Myoshiya was good at it after all.
Even in her clumsy human guise the nimbleness and precision of her
fingers shone through in the brooches she made. In her true form she
could have moulded and carved the metal directly, but even relying on
tools she created brooch after brooch in a fraction of the time it
would have taken a human artisan.
And what brooches they were. The silver tendrils wrapped back and
forth around each other, with simple and yet carefully detailed
leaves folding across the surface, giving the delicate jewellery
enough strength so that its vine-line base did not simply snap as it
was handled. Then, in the centre of each, was the gemstone, each one
a subtly different colour from the last, set into the middle of a
silver flower.
They had not had much time to set up their operations, but
Aretsuki had suggested the flowers, as they were something that
Myoshiya herself took great pleasure in. While she feared and hated
the humans, she had taken a loving care over their brief studies of
the flowering plants that appeared around the city. The humans had a
hidden power, a power that had somehow destroyed her people, but the
flowers were honest. A beauty untainted by envy or jealousy or
ambition. Even her sisters were not without those vices, but Myoshiya
did at least trust them.
Looking at the new customer at the stall, Myoshiya saw everything
that embodied what she disliked about humans. This one was tall and
carried herself with an undeserved, self-important pride, which she
tried to hide behind veils of respectability and politeness. Her suit
was expensive and cut close to her figure, no doubt to reinforce her
tall stature and to show off a curvaceous form that was rare in a
Japanese woman. This one had to be more powerful and more beautiful
than those around her. There was a weight of responsibility in her
deep brown eyes, and she rewarded herself for it by tailoring herself
to be the superior of those around her. Her tan might have made her
appear loose or wilful to some eyes, but she had put together her
image so that everyone would see only the proper lady that others
aspired to be; affluent, powerful and presentable, yet still
desirable. More so than most.
The woman seemed to study each piece intently before moving on to
the next, as if looking for something intangible that she would only
recognise when she finally found it. All the better as far as
Myoshiya was concerned. The longer she stood at the stall the greater
the chance that she and Aretsuki could siphon off that trace of
energy from her. And if she bought a brooch then all the better.
"Excuse me, is this genuine garnet?" the lady asked.
Aretsuki blinked at the question before turning to her older
sister.
"Of course," Myoshiya answered, holding her tongue as best she
could. Aretsuki was talented with the humans, but at her age such
things were still a little beyond her knowledge.
The woman gave her a smile, one that made her feel unpleasantly
uncomfortable.
"No wonder your jewellery has become so popular so quickly," the
lady said. "They are such a good price for the workmanship, and with
such exquisite gems."
Myoshiya felt a small bloom of pride despite herself, and she
forced the feeling down as she accepted the compliment. "T-thank you.
You have good taste Miss. That particular stone would contrast your
hair very well."
"My thoughts exactly," the customer replied, handing over both
the money and her business card to Aretsuki.
"Meioh... Setsuna... You're a fashion designer?"
Setsuna smiled and nodded. "Yes. And I do like your work. It is
my business to know jewellery after all."
'As well as to know the value of gemstones,' Setsuna thought to
herself. 'Something that these two have no clue over.' Having them
admit it had almost been too easy. True, this was the most beautiful
garnet she had ever seen, but those stones could, and would, be
bought by the dozen by any fashion student. This jewellery was priced
for the connoisseur, worth it for the craftsmanship rather than the
gem, and this pair didn't even realise it.
"It is such a shame that people here don't have the same
enthusiasm for clothing and accessories recently," Setsuna lamented,
making sure not to actually wear the brooch, but instead getting a
paper bag for it. After all, the local women's apathy was not just
limited to fashion, and now Setsuna had just confirmed her suspicions
as to why. The timing, with the appearance of the stall, was too much
of a coincidence.
Of course, they might just have assumed she was completely
ignorant and chosen not do disillusion her about the value of the
gem, but in that case seeing her business card should have got them
sweating bullets, trying to put one over on a professional. No, she
was sure, and it fitted a pattern that they had seen many times
before. Whoever or whatever this jeweller was, she was the one
responsible.
***
Ami had forgotten the fearful thrill of being Mercury. With
Sailor Moon, Venus and Mars beside her, the four of them leaping from
rooftop to rooftop, the sense of power was overwhelming. The power
was back within the depths of her body where it belonged. She did not
have to scour her past, dredging up all the memories she had so
carefully buried. Her friends were her courage, her Sailor Suit was
her armour, and the ice was running through her veins - not lonely
and cold - but both stimulating and serene. The fear of impending
battle felt small and unimportant in the shadow of that chilled and
heady cocktail. Had she missed this rush so badly? How had battle in
Seiji terrified her when, in her heart, she had always been one of
the Senshi?
Beside her Sailor Mars let out a whoop, and the staring people
below replied with a cheer. Mercury smiled. So she was not the only
one who felt like that.
"I never thought I would have missed this!" Mars said, clearing
another alleyway in one well timed leap.
"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon asked as she too made
the jump. "You forgot what it's like already?" She sighed as they all
ran. "And really, in the middle of the day too... Why can't the
monsters ever attack when I'm not caught up in something?"
"Wouldn't that be convenient!" Jupiter asked, careering up from
the fire escape they were passing and joining them in their charge.
"Jupiter!" Sailor Moon fawned, taking her hand and pulling her
into step with them. "I thought you wouldn't come!"
Jupiter just frowned and gave a shrug. "I managed to get away
okay, it wasn't busy at work. Though that's because we have a
competitor right opposite us, and they're stealing all our
customers!"
Sailor Mars smirked and danced across to run beside her. "Well
you'll just have to start advertising then. Wear your green sports
top and shorts, and that tight apron..!"
Sailor Jupiter's eyes bulged a little. "What!? No!"
However, as the others laughed Minako stared straight ahead,
looking for the turning. "Guys, this is where Pluto said!"
Sailor Moon blinked, putting on her brakes before she overshot
their target. "What, already? It feels so long on the train!"
Dropping back down to the street proved Venus correct, and a
little way down the rows of sparse shops stood the stall, just as
Sailor Pluto had described. From a distance it looked like a fortune
teller's place, draped in deep blue cloth and hung with tassels.
However, as Sailor Mercury noted, most of the women in the area did
indeed wear one of the flower brooches that they had been warned
about.
Of course, their appearance had not gone unnoticed. Slowly the
street came to a halt as everyone simply stood and watched as five
bona fide super-heroines walked their way towards the stall. Super-
heroines that only ever appeared when people were in danger. Even
before a single move was made, every man and woman knew that this
street was about to become a battlefield, and they gradually either
found themselves a safe place to watch or stood in awe, ready to bolt
at the first sign of any danger headed their way.
Then, as the stall's two owners looked around, wondering what was
going on, another Sailor Senshi appeared from behind the makeshift
shop front. "Thank you for coming so promptly, Sailor Moon."
"Pluto!" They exclaimed, and they jogged over to greet their
eldest member. "Where have you been?" Sailor Venus asked. "We haven't
seen you since we got back."
Sailor Pluto just smiled. "I am glad to see you all again. The
future had been a much darker place while you were away." Seeing a
genuine, happy smile on her face was a surprisingly rare thing, but
the fact that she was happy to see them again, and not simply calling
them to a fight, lifted all their spirits.
In their stall, sitting deathly still, both Myoshiya and Aretsuki
watched it all play out from the corners of their eyes. "It's
them..." Myoshiya whispered, feeling the sweat of fear roll down her
brow.
Beside her Arestuki was trying not to shake too much. "This is
not good. This is very, very not-good."
Then, with their little reunion over, Sailor Moon strode to the
stall, standing no more than twelve feet from it. She cleared her
throat.
Both the Dark Kingdom sisters had heard about this more-than-
human champion, but nothing could compare to seeing it.
"Accessories are the glimmer of a girl's heart, bought with her
hard earned money for... for..." Sailor Moon paused, standing in the
middle of the street and holding her pose.
Myoshiya's awe suddenly came crashing down, and shattered around
her ankles. "She's an idiot..."
"You didn't prepare your speech?!" Sailor Mars asked,
disbelieving, as Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto all sighed.
"I couldn't help it!" Sailor Moon cried back. "I've got all that
Tolstoy going around in my head!"
An idiot, Myoshiya realised, in love with her own image as a
'hero' for these worthless, powerless humans.
"Sailor Mercury," Pluto asked diplomatically as their princess
bickered with her best friend, "could you please analyse the stall
and the intruders. I have not yet managed to determine their origin,
or the exact method they are draining people's energy."
"They aren't using the brooches?" Jupiter asked. It was a simple
enough assumption to make, and they had seen many of the same styles
of attack in the past. Venus was amused to note that several of the
women watching quickly unfastened their own brooches as soon as
Jupiter had said that.
"I had thought so," Pluto agreed, "But I have not been able to
find any proof."
Meanwhile, as both Moon and Mars argued, Myoshiya felt a low
growl emanate from her throat. "An idiot," she finally said out loud,
"that killed my sisters, my queen, my Goddess... FOR THESE SPINELESS
CATTLE!?"
That stopped Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars in their tracks. "Eh?"
"ENOUGH OF THIS FACADE!" Myoshiya screamed, pitching the stall
aside and ripping free from her disguise. As her dress was shredded
another two pairs of arms appeared from her sides, her false hair was
cast aside to reveal a naturally hairless head, and her skin
blossomed into a delicate shade of blue as her illusions faded away.
"Aretsuki," she growled, "we need not be afraid of these tyrants."
Then a voice, handsome and refined, drifted out of nowhere.
"Tyrants? Women who fight so selflessly against those who would prey
on the innocent and the unprepared?"
Tuxedo Kamen hopped down from his perch on top of the broken
stall roof, his trademark rose held in his gloved hand. "Against
monsters like yourselves?"
"Kamen-sama," Sailor Moon said gently, feeling more than a little
embarrassed. "I do appreciate the compliment, but we've kind of done
the speeches bit..."
"Half done."
"Mars!"
Myoshiya felt herself boil as she righted herself after that
interruption. "You..."
"Heralded by a new age, Sailor Uranus, appearing elegantly!"
Aretsuki balled up her trembling fists by her sides as another
two Senshi appeared. "How many of you are there!?!"
"Likewise, Sailor Neptune, appearing gracefully!"
"You people..." Myoshiya bit out, her thin and wiry eyebrow
twitching violently. "Innocence, grace, elegance, how self-satisfied
can you be?"
"You know, I do sort of agree with her there," Sailor Saturn said
as she followed Neptune and Uranus. "Those introductions do sound a
little egotistic."
"Really?" Uranus asked. "I always thought they had a sort of
punch to them."
Neptune nodded. "Grace and elegance under pressure prove that you
are not a soldier to be trifled with."
"By the way," Venus said, leaning over the capsized stall, "I
know this might seem a bit much, but can I ask who you two are? I
mean, do we have a new enemy organisation to be worried about or is
this just a one off sort of thing? Oh, and those extra arms must make
things really convenient for you!"
That was it for Myoshiya's patience. She had always been
embarrassed at having more limbs than her sisters. "You will learn
humility..." she seethed. "And if I must be the one to teach you,
then so be it!"
So saying she lashed out with one of her many arms, her long and
pointed fingers missing Venus' face by mere inches as she darted
away.
However, as her older sister attacked Aretsuki just stood
petrified. "Big Sister, there are more of them than us!"
A truer word had never been spoken as, from Myoshiya flank, both
Uranus and Neptune focused their magic in their hands.
"Deep Submerge!"
"World Shaking!"
The agile monster twisted at just the right moment, the joints in
her legs collapsing in all the wrong ways, like a folding chair in
the midst of a hurricane, but still she cried out as the two opposed
balls of magic scorched her many shoulders. "Aaargh! Your
arrogance..!"
That was distraction enough for Jupiter to slip behind her,
catching as many of the creature's arms as she could and forcing them
behind her back. From instinct born out of so many battles one of her
friends was ready to make the most of the opening, and Venus let off
a crescent beam dead centre into Myoshyia's unprotected chest.
"Big Sister!" Aretsuki cried. She leapt to her sister's defence,
discarding her disguise in the blink of an eye, and she jumped onto
Jupiter's back before any of the others could react. She dug her
claws into Jupiter's sides, her three huge, bushy tails flailing to
help her balance on the nimble girl, and she bit down hard into
Jupiter's shoulder.
Myoshiya felt the hold on her arms grow slack and, just as she
had with her legs, she slipped her elbows this way and that, sliding
free of Jupiter's hold as her other two hands clutched at her burning
chest.
Sailor Moon was not idle however, and swung at the animal-girl
with her baton. "Get off my friend you fox-demon-thing!"
Aretsuki gave a keening cry as she was dislodged, the baton
smacking hard into her head.
It was only then, as she narrowly dodged the razor sharp rose
that zipped past her ear, that Myoshiya realised the depth of her
mistake. These people were arrogant, prideful and self important, but
they had also destroyed her home with the powers they wielded. Even
if she took down one of them, there would be eight others with
Aretsuki and herself in their sights.
A vast ball of electricity slammed into her, and she fell
twitching to the floor. "Aretsuki! Run!"
The animal-child took one look at her sister before she did as
she was told, and sprinted away just as Sailor Moon levelled her
sceptre at her. Myoshiya herself seemed to become boneless as she
twisted and weaved past a frustrated Sailor Pluto.
But the Senshi were prepared, and Mars was ready. "Flame..."
She levelled her burning bow at the retreating monster, and her
hands froze. She would release her arrow...
'I can't,'
...and that faux Shiva would be consumed in flames...
'No!'
...to become one more death in her name.
All the Senshi's eyes turned to her when the arrow of fire didn't
come, and Sailor Mars found the tears pouring from her eyes as she
looked down the line of her Flame Sniper. "I..."
"Mars! They're getting away!" Neptune yelled, but as she prepared
an attack of her own the fleeing pair had already reached their
escape route. Sailor Moon watched with a queasiness in her stomach as
the multi-limbed monster seemed to dislocate all six of her shoulders
as squeeze herself through the sewer opening set into the curb,
followed by the nimble fox-girl.
"I knew about people with double joints, but ewww!"
That was the least of her worries though, as Sailor Pluto and
Sailor Neptune both turned their full attention to Mars. "What was
that about Sailor Mars?" Pluto asked, a devastating trace of
displeasure in her voice. "You could have ended it. Now we will have
to hunt them out, or worse wait for them to strike again."
"I'm sorry," Mars said through her tears. "I just..."
"It's okay, right Mars? We can always get them next time," Sailor
Moon said, trying to get between her friend and their older comrades.
"Besides, they were kind of weak. I mean, I felt bad for hitting the
little one. It was almost like I was bullying her."
Mars didn't say anything, but when Jupiter took her hand the
Senshi of flame just threw herself into her girlfriend's arms,
weeping into her chest.
"It's okay," Jupiter comforted, watched by their worried allies
and unconcerned by the minor wounds she had suffered as Saturn tended
to them. "It's over."
It was almost sympathetic as Sailor Moon took Tuxedo Kamen's
hand, and leaned into him.
In the end Sailor Pluto just shook her head, content to leave
explanations for another time. "Mercury, did you have enough time to
discover their origins or methods?"
Mercury nodded, glad that she could take the attention off her
friend for a while. "The brooches are harmless. It was the jewels in
the stall decorations that were absorbing energy. The longer a
customer browsed, the more energy they would inevitably take."
Venus could see the logic in that. "And the more people that
bought the brooches, the more they were advertising the stall. At
least they weren't draining them dry this time."
"This time," Pluto echoed as she walked over to the toppled
booth, bringing her staff down on each of the large, disk-like gems
set into the backing cloth.
"It doesn't matter," Mercury said. "The energy is gone, and they
seem inert now. They must have been able to take the energy with them
somehow. I'm more worried about *who* they were."
"Oh?" Sailor Moon asked. "You know them?"
"We all do. At least, the five of us do," she said, meaning
herself and the rest of the 'Inner' Senshi. "They had the same energy
signature as the DD Girls, and as Thetis. They were youma."
"You mean, an in *Youma* youma," Venus asked, her eyes wide in
surprise. "As in Dark Kingdom youma?!"
Again Mercury nodded.
However, they didn't have time to discuss that revelation, as the
crowd that had been watching from the relative safety of the shop-
fronts and alleys had emerged. To them all that mattered was that all
the Senshi were back, and they had already driven off a monster. It
did not take long for the cheers and chanting to start up, leaving
the girls to make their hasty exits before they were mobbed. The news
vans were already setting up as quickly as they could, hoping to
catch more footage than their rivals before their subjects
disappeared again.
But, needless to say, the girls had a lot to think about as they
left. It had been many years since they had defeated the Dark
Kingdom, and it had cost them dearly the first time around. Granted,
they had become many times more powerful since then, but still, had
it not been for the power of the Silver Crystal, none of the younger
girls would have survived it. And as many of them knew, death was not
an easy memory to shake.
***
Rei ran. In the pitch black it didn't matter where she was or
where she was going, as long as she was running. Somewhere in that
obsidian gloom it was watching. They were watching. Somehow they
could see her in that darkness, while Rei could not even see the
ground beneath her feet. They could see them all. Usagi ran beside
her, as did Makoto, and Minako, and everyone else. They ran from
those unseen eyes and away from the malice they held. Away from the
fangs that promised exquisite pain and the lips that twisted into
smiles which held no happiness.
Then Rei was running alone again. One by one her friends had
disappeared. Had they made that fatal stumble? Had they been picked
off as they had lagged behind? Had they found the unseen ground
beneath them vanish before they had toppled into the inescapable
blackness?
Rei could feel herself tiring. No matter how hard she gasped she
could not get enough air to keep her going. Her muscles burned and
her joints felt as though they wanted to scream, but still she tried
to run. Because if she stopped running, they would get her. She would
get her. It would get her.
Then she felt the hand fall lightly on her shoulder, and in that
instant her very skin was set afire. She wanted to scream, but no
sound came from her lips. All she could do was shudder as the dream
shattered around her.
The second that she realised she was awake Rei tried to move, to
scramble away, but all she could manage was a terrified spasm. Unable
to move her arms or legs she began to panic, but only moments later
she recognised her fear for what it was. It was just a nightmare, and
she was safe. Soon her muscles relaxed themselves, and she lay
gasping on her futon, sweat rolling down her forehead.
That had not been a nice dream. It had almost had that prophetic
edge that all her worst nightmares had, but as usual it made no sense
to her, and it probably wouldn't until it was needed. Rei blew out a
sigh and looked up at the ceiling, calming the rest of her nerves.
Her prophecies were always rather useless like that. Of course, the
appearance of a new enemy was more than reason enough for them to
start.
Not that she wanted to think about that. She had let her friends
down, and let their enemy escape. It was so silly. She had helped to
kill hundred of creatures like that before. They were monsters,
praying on the unsuspecting public.
But, Rei thought, they were also people of a sort. Should she be
allowed to kill them so easily? She shook her head and rolled over.
It didn't matter. She had already shown that she couldn't do it,
regardless of whether she should or not. She never wanted to feel
that guilt again. She didn't want to see people die at her hands any
more, even if they weren't human. She would have to find a way to
make it up to everyone, but she was going to have to pass the grim
duty onto someone else. Usagi would take it, if only for the chance
to redeem those youma, if it was possible. None of the 'Outers' would
turn down the responsibility either. They were too sworn to their
duty to let something silly like guilt stop them, if they even felt
it.
"And you'd do it too, wouldn't you," she asked, lying on her
front as she watched Makoto sleeping in the futon that was head to
head with hers. "You could be noble in my place."
Rei had fallen in love with Makoto all over again that night.
After slipping further from her as she retreated away from the
attention they were being lavished with, Makoto had come back to
catch Rei as she had fallen.
They had been together for what had remained of the afternoon, in
each other's arms as often as not even after night had fallen. Rei
still could not bring herself to go the distance, but she had been in
no shape to try. She had wept for a full hour, comforted by her tall,
protective girlfriend while Rei's grandfather had done what he could
to ease her mind. And, when they had been alone, the kisses they had
shared had meant everything to Rei. Makoto's lips were soft and
gentle in a way that Rei knew her own had never been. Where her own
passion was reaching and almost forceful, Makoto's simply flowed as
it was needed. It slowly soothed, accepting Rei's touch and yet never
forcing herself back against that passion. Instead Makoto caressed,
and only when Rei had retreated back into her regret had Makoto's
lips taken on the strength that she was capable of. A romantic
strength that wiped Rei's slate clean of all her fear and sorrow,
with the simple assurance that it didn't matter. Makoto was there for
her regardless.
Rei reached over with a sad smile, and gently traced her fingers
across Makoto's sleeping cheek, brushing back her hair and making the
girl shift on her pillow. "Makoto," Rei whispered, "I wonder what it
is you saw in me. I don't know any more, but I'm really grateful.
I'll try to make sure that I deserve it, because I don't think I want
to give you up. I won't keep you waiting long. I promise. I'm just
scared."
She leaned down and lay a careful kiss on Makoto's sleeping brow.
"And I'll help you too. You don't think about yourself enough, silly
thing."
***
Outside, sitting on the wooden walkway around the shrine, Grandpa
Hino looked up at the stars, wondering about his granddaughter. To
come home in tears, and insist that her friend be allowed to stay,
even as she protested that Makoto had better things to do...
And to make such obvious excuses too. "Just a sleepover, Rei? Are
you okay with that? Is she?"
He cracked a small, honest smile. "Am I?"
***
Ami stood in the darkened hallway of her mother's apartment,
resting her back against the wall and looking up at the ceiling, away
from the moonlight that shone in through the window of the front
door. The phone was cradled against her ear, but she wasn't listening
to it.
"Of course you're not there," she said to herself, the dull
ringing repeating over and over, "you have a girlfriend now. Goodness
knows that she needs you tonight. You are so responsible Mako-chan,
even if you don't think anything of it."
Ami said it with a strange sort of smile on her lips. That night
she had had something of a revelation; one that had eased her mind in
its own strange way. She knew what depression was after all. Her
early years at school had not been happy for her. She had always been
the smartest, but that had isolated her from her classmates. They saw
her as something else, something to be belittled, because she had
achieved a level of success that they had not. Her teachers had
praised her, but it had never been without the constant urging to do
even more. To perform even better. Somehow her happiness at hearing
that praise had been laced with a feeling of inadequacy. She had
known she was intelligent, she had permitted her ego that much, but
that constant pressure had been given no outlet.
In the end she had found her ways of coping. Taking up swimming
as more than just a survival skill had been among the best. Actually
talking about things with her mother had been another.
But Ami had realised a very important fact that evening. She was
not coping now. She could start taking the time out to visit the
leisure centre, but simply exhausting herself and forgetting her
troubles in the water would not help solve her problems. Only
postpone them.
But she couldn't talk to Makoto or Rei. Both were willing, she
knew, but they needed each other right then. Minako knew, but as sad
as it was to say, the two of them had never really talked heart to
heart. They were such different people. What was common sense to Ami
would miss Minako completely, and vice versa. She might have gone to
Usagi, just as she might have gone to her mother. Both of them would
listen and neither would judge in the least...
But how could she admit the causes to them? Ami didn't want them
to know. She didn't want to see the disappointment or that sympathy
for a confused child in their eyes.
She pressed the disconnect button on the phone, and dialled
again. It was not the best last resort, but at least it was safe. At
least now she knew that she needed help Ami could be content to ask
for it. It was such a weight off her mind, even if it meant admitting
to her friends that she was genuinely unhappy.
"Hello? Ah, hello Hotaru-chan, it is Ami... No, there isn't an
emergency... I know, I'm sorry for calling so late. Is Haruka-san
there?.. Ah, that's good, could I speak with her?.. Thank you."
***
To Be Continued...
***
Please send any comments and constructive criticism to me.
They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward
for a writer than to hear back from the readers.
Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.
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