Power Transcendent
Sailormoon Fanfiction by Jessica
------------------
Chapter 5
Tuesday. And Minako was going a little stir crazy. Yesterday, after she
and Ami had finished their study session, Minako had gone straight home
and spent the rest of the day moping about in a most pathetic way. Even
Artemis had gotten fed up after awhile and had left to spend some time
with Luna and Diana. She was determined not to do *that* again today.
"It's not like we're joined at the hip, right?" She muttered to herself
as she put the finishing touches in her hair before leaving for school.
"I can get through a few days without hanging out with Ami! I mean,
after Friday she won't need to study with me anymore, and things will
probably just go back to normal." That was a rather depressing prospect,
and not one Minako was ready to deal with yet.
In all honesty, everything they were doing at this point was pretty much
review anyway. Ami had learned virtually everything Minako had to teach.
And Minako had learned quite a bit from Ami in the process. She had no
worries about Ami's performance in the next practice exam.
She sighed again. "She doesn't need me anymore..." At that moment, the
bell rang. She peeked out the window. "Well, speak of the devil." Ami
was standing there, smiling up at her. And in what had become the usual
fashion, Artemis hopped down on her shoulders to say hello. Minako
smiled at she looked down, a smile not at all feigned. As much as she
might worry about their relation...their friendship when they were
apart, when she and Ami were together it was hard for Minako to be
anything but happy.
She came downstairs and greeted Ami at the door, who responded with a
smile that had a touch of concern to it. "Are you feeling up for school
today?" She asked. "Artemis was just telling me that you closed yourself
in your room after we said good bye yesterday and didn't come out."
Minako glared at Artemis, who suddenly looked rather frightened and
found a passing dust mote to be fascinating. "Artemis needs to mind his
own business!" She said brightly, turning back to Ami with a warm smile.
Artemis sighed deeply in relief. "I'm fine, Ami-chan. I just...wasn't
feeling too well yesterday. But I'm absolutely fine now."
As they started down the street for school, Minako glanced back at
Artemis with a look that promised retribution. The white cat wilted.
"Maybe I should see how Luna's doing today..." He muttered to himself.
"Like, for the entire day...maybe the whole week."
Ami took a deep breath and let it out, noticing the wisps of vapor that
came out as she did so. "It's getting colder." She noted. "It might snow
early this year."
Minako smiled. "Good...I like snow. I think it's beautiful."
"So do I." Ami agreed in a soft voice. They walked along in silence for
a few minutes. "So, what did you have planned for today?"
"Well, I guess you still have to head back to crunching numbers after we
finish studying?"
Ami made a rueful face. "I'm afraid so...but it's going more quickly
than I thought it would. I might have a few likely spots by the end of
the day. And once I have a couple, finding the others should be much
easier."
The blonde girl nodded. "That's good..." She sighed. "Well, I haven't
been to Crown for awhile...maybe I'll see if Usagi wants to come with
me."
"Somehow, I don't think Usagi would be against a little trip to an
arcade." Ami noted with a giggle.
Minako smiled in return. "Probably not!" There was a certain awkwardness
to this conversation that hadn't been there before. There were too many
things going unsaid, Minako decided. She wanted to tell Ami how much
she had missed her yesterday. She wanted to tell her that she wanted to
keep spending time with her, even after they didn't need to study
together anymore.
-But would she think that was weird? Would she even want to spend that
much time with me anymore? She's always been a solitary person...she
might be getting tired of all the company.- Minako shook her head and
sighed deeply.
"Are you sure you're alright Minako-chan?" Ami asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure." She smiled and winked. "Just a little tired, I
guess."
Ami smiled and nodded. The remainder of their short walk passed in
silence. "Well, I'll see you after school, right?" She asked as they
reached the high school building.
Minako nodded. "Of course!" She said with a cheery smile and a wave. She
dashed off too quickly to see the faintly worried frown that appeared on
Ami's face at her rapid retreat.
------------------
Yet another cavern, this one a low chamber with a twisted, abstract
shape. It was well-lit from shining lamps in the ceiling, but there were
many nooks and crannies lost in inky black shadow where light could not
reach.
Muon gradually appeared in the rough center of this room, his body
slowly solidifying like mist into ice. He looked around carefully.
Abruptly his eyes narrowed and he spun around, making his robes billow
around him as he raised his left palm and created an aura of blue light
around it. A slim knife clattered off his hand and fell to the ground
harmlessly. He peered into the dark corner from whence the knife came.
"Tachyon." He said in his accustomed monotone.
A small violet light appeared in the darkness. "I knew you'd catch it,
Muon." A tiny voice giggled. "You're so much fun to play with."
"I have something to ask you, Tachyon." The violet point of light
expanded, illuminating the small figure in the shadows. Tachyon appeared
to be a beautiful child, perhaps eight years old, though Muon knew for a
fact she had had that appearance for many, many years now. Her skin was
like flawless porcelain, and her face was absolutely angelic. Her light
purple hair streamed out behind her, almost touching the ground as she
walked.
She wore black stockings under a sheer purple skirt that spread very
slightly around her, with a split up the front that revealed her legs to
just past her knees. Above that, she had on a vest of the same color of
the skirt that hugged her tightly and left her shoulders and arms bare.
Her hands were encased in black gloves that extended to just past her
elbows.
She was peering down at her hands, cupped around the gleaming point of
violet light that illuminated her corner. "Lady Meson said I should keep
my mind on my duties." She said in a soft, singsong tone. "She wouldn't
let me help poor Gluon."
"But will you help me?"
"Oh yes..." Tachyon replied, raising her head. Her large, lavender eyes
glittered with a barely restrained madness. "Lord Hadron told me to
always help you however I could. So I will."
Muon nodded a bit. "Tell me..." He made a waving motion with his hand,
and a map of Tokyo appeared before him. Tachyon stood and stepped
lightly over to look at it curiously. The child's powers of time were
impressive, if rather unpredictable. It was their uncontrollable nature
that kept her body and spirit forever restrained to a child's form. And
it was that imprisonment that had broken her mind, filling her with a
frustrated, never ending rage.
Such things, however, were of no real concern to Muon. "Tell me." He
repeated. "Where should I attack to bring the one called Sailor Saturn
out of hiding tomorrow?"
Tachyon looked at the map for a long moment. Her eyes unfocused as her
mind wandered through the eddies of the timestream. Her small hand
lifted, and her hand came down on the map at a particular point. "Here."
She said absently. "She will appear if you attack here...though she will
not be alone."
Muon took note of the location and nodded. "You said I would make my
greatest discovery upon this world. Will this lead me to it?"
"Yes...but there are many bends in the path...I can't see...where..."
Her eyes focused again and she smiled brightly. "That's all." Muon
nodded, and Tachyon knelt down to pick up her knife. "The Sailor Senshi
are so pretty..." She murmured. "Are they truly strong?"
"Yes." Muon replied.
"Good..." Tachyon giggled, lightly drawing one gloved finger over the
knife's blade. "I hope Lord Hadron will let me play with them...my other
toys break so easily..." Still giggling mindlessly, she vanished again
into the shadows of the room. A moment later, Muon faded away.
He had much to do.
------------------
Ami's apartment was unusually quiet, given its current inhabitants.
Normally Ami and Minako chatted and laughed as they helped each other
study. But today, both were quietly going over their respective
assignments, asking only occasional questions and receiving short, to
the point answers.
Finally, Ami set down her English book and looked over at Minako until
the blonde Senshi felt her eyes and looked up as well. "Minako-
chan...are you upset with me?"
Minako blinked in surprise. "Upset?" She shook her head emphatically.
"Of course not, Ami-chan. Why would I be?"
Ami looked worried. "You're just...different today. I know something's
upsetting you. But I don't know what." She tilted her head. "Can you
tell me what's wrong?"
Minako paused for a long moment. "I guess I..." She sighed. "No, I
can't." At Ami's hurt look, she winced and shook her head. "Please don't
take it like that. It's not that I don't trust you or anything, I
promise." -I don't think so, anyway.- Her mind chimed in unhelpfully. "I
just don't understand what's wrong myself." There, that was honest
enough.
Ami thought that over for a moment. "I think I understand."
"I wish you could explain it to me then." Minako chuckled softly,
drawing a smile out of her blue-haired friend. She smiled. "I'll tell
you what...as soon as I figure this out, I'll talk to you about it. I
just need some more time to think. Okay?"
"Okay." Ami said, smiling shyly. She took a deep breath and stretched.
"Well, I guess we're not going to get much work done today, are we?"
Minako shrugged and smirked. "No...I guess not." She kicked her feet out
a bit.
"Why don't you go on to the arcade, Minako-chan?" Ami said gently. "I
need to get back to work."
Minako opened her mouth to speak, then sighed and shook her head. "Maybe
that would be a good idea." She finally said. She stood up and gathered
her things before heading to the door.
"Minako-chan." Ami's voice stopped her as she placed her hand on the
knob. "I want you to be able to talk to me about what's bothering you.
And I want to do the same with you."
Remembering Artemis' words, Minako turned back to Ami with a geniune
smile. "I want that too, Ami-chan." Ami smiled back just as warmly, and
Minako let herself out.
Once out on the street, Minako sighed as her feet led her towards Crown
Arcade. "I do want that." She said to herself. "But how can I be sure
that's really what she wants? I don't want to bother her...but I don't
want to ditch her either. She's always too nice and too shy to speak up
if something's annoying her...and I really don't want to do that. But I
don't want to go back to the way things were, either."
She continued cycling the problem in her mind as she walked, going over
the same series of points over and over, unable to reach a conclusion.
When she arrived at the Arcade, she saw Usagi already there, along with
Makoto. The two were taking turns with the new Sailor V game, of course.
"Hi Usagi-chan, hi Mako-chan!" She waved.
"Hey Minako-chan." Makoto smiled as she saw the other girl. Usagi was
too engrossed in the game to reply. "Want to play after Usagi?"
Minako shook her head. "No...I think I'm going to race for a little
while."
Makoto nodded. "Sure..." She smiled oddly at Minako, who smiled back
uncertainly, not sure what was going on. She decided to forget it and
just headed towards the racing simulator. She sat behind the wheel,
inserted a few coins, and started to race.
It was clear early on that this wasn't going to go well. Normally, she
was able to use games as a chance to relax and forget about her problems.
This time, thoughts of Ami kept making her mind wander. She crashed
several times because she wasn't even watching the screen, her mind
miles away on a certain blue-haired Senshi.
The last time she lost she pounded the steering wheel with her palms and
sat back angrily. "Not really on your game today, huh?" A deep, familiar
female voice said from behind her. Minako blinked and turned her head to
look. Tall, her blonde hair cut short, wearing jeans and a leather
jacket...Minako was certainly not mistaken.
"Haruka-kun! When did you get back?"
Haruka took the seat next to Minako's and dropped a few coins into the
machine. "This morning. Michiru's back home taking a nap. I don't get
jetlagged, so I thought I'd head here." She smiled over at the shorter
girl. "Wanna race?"
Minako grinned and put her hands back on the wheel. "Sure...but don't
think you can get away with giving me a head start anymore...you'll be
sorry."
Haruka smirked teasingly. "The way you were just racing, I barely need
to touch the wheel to beat you." Minako just glared and slammed her foot
on the gas when the green light blinked. After just a few minutes, her
car spun out of control and crashed into a building. Minako shut her
lips tightly, holding back a muffled scream of frustration and gripped
the wheel so lightly her fingers turned white. Haruka looked at her in
surprise and let go of the wheel, folding her arms over her chest and
looking at Minako.
"You can't play like that." She said softly, in a chiding tone. Her
forgotten car smashed into another and 'game over' appeared on the
screens. "You can't do anything when you're this wound up. What's the
matter Minako-chan?"
"Nothing." She replied shortly. Haruka just shrugged and closed her eyes,
settling back against the seat. After a moment, Minako sighed and looked
around. Usagi and Makoto were still playing, and there was nobody in ear
shot. "It's Ami." She said, staring at the screen.
"Ami?" Haruka asked. "Setsuna told us how much time you two were
spending together lately. Did you two have a fight or something?"
"No..." Minako shook her head. "She...needed my help with something.
That's really why we've been together so much. But soon, she won't need
me anymore. And I don't want things to go back to the way they were with
us."
"Why not?"
"Because..." She closed her eyes and shook her head. There was too much
there...far more than she was able to deal with now. "Because I think
we've gotten a lot closer. And I don't just want us to be on the list of
each other's friends."
"So what's the problem?" Haruka's casual, laconic questions were
irritating Minako for some reason.
"She's Ami!" She replied in a short tone. "She's a solitary girl. I
don't think she wants me tagging along with her all day everyday. She
probably can't wait to get rid of me!"
Haruka made a small chuckling sounds and Minako bristled. "What?"
"That doesn't make much sense." She turned her head to look over at the
younger girl. "Think back...has Ami ever, ever shown any indication that
she doesn't want to be around you?"
"I...no." Minako finally said.
"In fact, I'll bet she's been just the opposite."
Minako remembered how happy Ami seemed when the two of them were
togehter, and how sad Ami had looked that day she thought Minako had
left her at school. "I guess so." She replied in a thoughtful tone.
"Hmph. So maybe it's not Ami that has the problem with the two of you
together at all. Maybe it's you. Maybe...you're scared."
Minako blinked in surprise. "Scared? Why on earth would I be scared?"
The look Haruka gave her at that was far too piercing for her taste, and
she quickly looked away. "I wonder..." The older woman said softly, as
if Minako already knew the answer. Minako squirmed in her seat
uncomfortably.
Haruka smiled. "Hey, didn't mean to upset you Minako-chan. But I think
you need to decide what *you* want to do about Ami. Don't you?"
Minako sighed a bit. Looking back on it, her worries about Ami seemed
kind of silly. But why was she still so jumbled up? "Yeah...I guess
you're right." Haruka stood then, and smiled.
"I guess I've been away from home long enough. Think about it, okay
Minako-chan?" She turned to leave. "Oh..." She turned her head with that
knowing look again. "And when you decide you need to talk about this
some more, Michiru and I are always ready." She slipped quietly out of
the arcade. Minako wandered back over to where the other two girls were.
"Hi Minako-chan, how was Haruka?" Usagi asked as she approached. "We
were too busy playing to talk."
Minako smiled. "Oh, she's fine. She's still a little tired from her trip,
I guess."
"What were you two talking about?" Makoto asked over her shoulder.
"Nothing much..." Minako blinked. "Hey, when did Motoki get DDR Remix in
here?" She exclaimed with enthusiasm only half-faked. "It's about time!"
She rushed over to the game and began dancing. The other two girls
watched in bemusement as a crowd formed around the Senshi of Love as she
proceeded to set a few arcade records.
------------------
Minako left the arcade a couple of hours later. Talking with Haruka
actually set her mind at ease about a few things, and she was soon able
to loosen up. After decimating DDR for awhile, she went back to the
racing game and did much better, defeating both Makoto and Usagi handily.
Usagi had had to leave at that point, but Makoto stuck around to watch
Minako play as her alter ego in the Sailor V game.
She and Makoto left at about the same time. "So how are things, Minako-
chan?" She brunette Senshi asked.
Minako grinned. "Great! Did you see me take out that final boss?"
Makoto smiled. "That's not really what I meant. I mean, how are you?"
Minako smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you know I'm always
great Mako-chan."
"Yeah, I guess so." Makoto chuckled. "Do you know how Ami's been? She's
been working so hard lately."
"Oh..." A little quaver crept into Minako's voice, but her smile didn't
crack. "I saw her this afternoon. She's fine...a little overworked, but
she's just fine."
"That's good..." Makoto paused for a long moment, and the two kept on
walking in silence. "You two sure have been spending a lot of time
together lately."
"Yeah...I guess we have." Minako smiled softly at that. Makoto glanced
over at her and was able to barely suppress a grin.
"Been having fun?"
"I have...we have." Minako took a deep breath. "She's a really good
friend."
Makoto nodded a bit.
"In fact..." Minako continued. "I think she wanted to talk with me about
something." She smiled over at the Senshi of Thunder. "Think you can
make it home without me?"
Makoto grinned. "I think I'll be okay." Makoto continued to grin as she
watched Minako head up a street that lead to Ami's apartment building.
"I knew it!" She whispered gleefully.
------------------
Ami was getting a glass of water when the bell rang. Her computer
continued to process its data of the city quietly. Right now, it only
needed occasional input from her to gather its finding in a way she
could use. She glanced at the clock. It was getting sort of late...her
mother would be home for dinner soon. But then, she wouldn't ring the
bell, would she?
When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Minako standing there.
"Minako-chan!" She stepped aside. "Come on inside."
"Thanks." Minako said. Once she was inside, the two of them looked at
each other for a long moment. "Um...Haruka and Michiru are back in
town." Minako finally offered.
"Oh...good." Ami smiled. "We'll need all of the Senshi together to look
after all the faultlines."
"Yeah..." There was another long pause. "Ami-chan..." Minako took a deep,
steadying breath. "When your test is over, and you're finished
studying...we can still hang out together, right?"
Ami blinked in surprise. "Well...of course!"
Minako looked a little taken aback at her matter-of-fact affirmative. "I
just worried...I mean...I know you like your privacy and I didn't want
to bother you..." She trailed off awkwardly, blushing.
Ami blinked at her again, then smiled softly, covering her mouth with
one hand as she began to laugh. Minako looked at her. "What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry." Ami said, giggling happily. "It's just...was that what had
you so worried today?"
Minako blushed even deeper. "Well...yes."
Ami sighed happily and reached over and took Minako's hand in hers,
smiling. "Minako-chan..." Minako actually managed to blush a bit deeper
at that. "Listen...you've always been my friend."
"And you've always been my friend, Ami-chan."
Ami nodded. "Yes...but I've really gotten fond of you since we started
all of this." She smiled. "There's really nobody I'd rather hang out
with than you. You're my best friend." She said simply.
Minako's hand began to tremble very slightly in Ami's, and Ami released
it. "You're my best friend too." Minako replied in almost a whisper. She
took a few deep breaths and began to come back to herself, the redness
in her cheeks fading away.
"So." Ami asked in a teasingly severe, maternal tone. "Are you going to
be okay, Little Miss Minako?"
Minako looked a little more lively as she replied back in a petulant,
child-like voice. "Oh, I guess...but can I have a cookie too?"
Ami burst out laughing at that, and Minako joined her. When their
laughter finally subsided, Minako stretched and smiled. "Well, I'd
better head home."
"I should get ready for dinner...Mother will be home soon and we're
going to make curry together."
"That must be nice..." Minako said wistfully. Something in her tone
suddenly made Ami feel rather sad.
"You're welcome to stay and help, if you want." Ami offered. But Minako
just shook her head.
"Nah...I don't want to intrude. And besides, Artemis is such an old lady.
He must be worrying about me already." She grinned. "Thanks Ami-chan."
Impulsively, she reached out and gave Ami a warm hug. Ami looked
surprised, but returned it after just a moment. The time began to
stretch out, and the two slowly started to embrace each other more
tightly.
Finally Minako froze. She released her friend as quickly as she could
without being obvious about it, and both turned their heads to hide the
flush on both their cheeks. "Well..." Minako said in a voice that shook
very slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
"Of course!" Ami replied, that same tremble in her own voice. As soon as
Minako had closed the door behind her, Ami sped into the kitchen and
took everything out of the cupboards for dinner with incredible speed
and efficiency. Then she began chopping vegetables. Her mind was blazing
in a thousand directions at once initially, but soon she was able to
drop everything else into the background.
-Chop chop chop...finished. Chop chop chop. Chop chop chop...finished.-
There really wouldn't be too much for Ami's mother to do at this rate,
but Ami found the repeating motion of the knife so soothing. An annoying
voice in the back of her head told her that there was something she
needed to stop and think about, but she ignored it. There were too many
complications in her life already.
------------------
Minako rushed out of the apartment building and collapsed into a bus
stop bench as soon as she could, laughing. She honestly couldn't
remember ever feeling this way before. Her hands were shaking, her
insides felt like jelly, and she just could not stop laughing.
Ami...how could she have ever imagined anything could be wrong between
the two of them. Silly Minako. Slowly, her laughter started to subside.
She felt so incredibly good right now...nothing could bother her. There
were still issues to be decided, still questions she couldn't deal with.
For that matter, there was still a new enemy who could attack at any
time. They could all be dead tomorrow.
But none of that mattered. She sprawled back on the bench, a big, goofy
smile plastered over her face. -Haruka's right.- She acknowledged to
herself. -I *am* scared. I don't know of what, but I am. But I don't
care right now.- Right now, the fear welling up inside her was the fear
of a person on a rollercoaster, slowly coming up that first big hill.
Terrified, but so very eager to see what happened next.
Minako heard her stomach rumble, and decided it was probably time for
her to grab some dinner as well. She stood and headed home, practically
dancing as she walked.
------------------
AUTHORS NOTE: Hi all! I thought I'd try this new format for the notes.
I'm trying to keep an even pace with things between Ami and Minako...not
too fast, but not keeping it too slow, either. And of course, it has to
keep pace with the action of the story! ^_^
Well, keep on reading, and I hope you're liking it so far. Speaking of
action...big fight next time...probably the biggest so far!
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