Absence (part 45 of 60)

a Sailor Moon fanfiction by Kirika

Back to Part 44
Minako let out a puff of air while she cradled her head in her hands, 
with her elbows propped on her desk. She was bored. Her math teacher was 
ten minutes late, and while that was a cause for celebration since the 
Senshi of Love never really liked maths to begin with --even if she was 
in the easiest class along with Usagi-- she still had nothing to do. 
Sure, she was behind in a lot of her classes due to her days being 
occupied with guarding Makoto and Haruka, but she really didn't feel 
like doing any work right now. Or ever, if she could avoid it. She was 
too tired anyway; most of her guard shifts were all nighters. Maybe the 
blonde could use her teacher's tardiness as an opportunity to catch up 
on some sleep. The Senshi of Love hadn't been able to rest during the 
day at home; her mother consistently woke her up everyday, with the 
exception of Sunday, to go to school, and Minako had to appear as if she 
hadn't been spending all night wide awake watching over her injured 
friends. When her parents found out how much school their daughter had 
actually been cutting, she was going to be grounded forever.

Minako blinked tiredly and began tapping one finger on her cheek as her 
eyes idly wandered around the classroom, taking in the other students. 
She noticed a small group of individuals seated at their desks, studying 
quietly. Studying math, probably. Geez, didn't they know how to take 
advantage of a teacher's absence? Minako rolled her blue eyes and 
resumed her survey of the room, slowly scanning over numerous unoccupied 
people. She saw a small group of recently transferred students 
whispering off in one corner, most likely gossiping about who was dating 
who or something similar. Minako guessed it was easier for the new 
students to stick together, since they were all in the same situation. 
Ordinarily, she would be deep in the midst of a gathering like that no 
matter who made up the numbers, spreading her many titbits of 
'information' she had just so happened to pick up somehow and somewhere. 
She believed it was her obligation, no, *duty*, to help rum--news, along 
its merry way.

The blonde let out another bored sigh and angled her gaze to her fellow 
Sailor Senshi sitting at the desk next to her own. Of course, not all 
the gossip Minako heard was circulated throughout the student 
population-- the Senshi of Love did know when some privacy was in order. 
She had expected Usagi to be snoring away or using the time to eat lunch 
early, so the princess could have an excuse to scam more food off her 
later, but instead the girl looked quite pensive about something. Minako 
had a fairly good idea what that 'something' was.

The Senshi of Love got up from her seat groggily and then plodded her 
way to Usagi. She grabbed a chair from the desk in front of the Moon 
Princess's and turned it around to face her friend, before slouching 
backwards in it, exhausted. Minako took a second to let her drained body 
recover from the taxing, yet short, journey, and then leaned forwards, 
resting her forearms on Usagi's desk.

"What's eating you?" she asked conversationally.

"No one!" Usagi blurted out, Minako's voice seeming to startle the 
princess out of her troubled reverie. The blonde appeared confused for a 
moment at the sight of the Senshi of Love, and then blushed bright red. 
"I-I mean, nothing..." she amended nervously.

The longhaired blonde blinked at Usagi’s weird response for a brief 
instant, and then decided to ignore it and get on with the task at hand. 
"Well, I know what's on your mind!" Minako declared confidently while 
waving a pointed figure in the air, becoming invigorated with the 
prospect of relationship talk. "But don't worry, Minako, love counsellor 
extraordinaire is here to help you with all your love life woes!"

Usagi exhaled deeply and hung her head. "I don't think even you can help 
me," she said unhappily.

"Hah! There's never been a case the Love Goddess Minako can't help 
with!" the Senshi of Love said emphatically. "Just tell me all about 
it..."

Usagi raised her head and looked at Minako with a little amount of 
desperation in her eyes. The Senshi of Love schooled her expression into 
one of sympathy and understanding, hoping to comfort and support her 
'patient', while prompting the girl to talk about her problems.

"It's... Rei," Usagi began, lowering her gaze and fiddling with a pencil 
on the desk. "She want's me to tell Mamoru about us. But I'm scared, 
Minako. What if he hates me? What if he breaks up with me right on the 
spot? I don't think I could..." She trailed off, and then swallowed 
before continuing. "But Rei wants me to tell him. She's getting really 
impatient about it, and I promised her I'd tell Mamoru today after 
school." Usagi directed a pleading look at the Senshi of Love, seeking 
her guidance. "What should I do, Minako, what should I do?"

Minako was quiet while she mulled over the Moon Princess's dilemma. Two 
good-looking people fighting over Usagi... some girls had all the luck. 
The Senshi of Love frowned faintly and shooed away the envious thought 
from her mind. Her friend needed her help; now was not the time to get 
jealous.

"Hmm..." Minako mumbled thoughtfully. "I'm afraid I can't see any way 
around this, Usagi," she confessed, making the princess's hopeful face 
fall. "It wouldn't be fair to either of them if you didn't tell Mamoru 
about Rei. I know it's not what you want to hear, but--"

"I know," Usagi sighed, interrupting Minako. "It's the right thing to 
do. But I've... done things, with Rei," she added and then averted her 
gaze, her cheeks turning red.

"'Things?'" Minako repeated, puzzled. "What kind of-- oh." There was an 
uncomfortable silence between the two girls and the Senshi of Love 
fought the absurd urge to giggle hysterically. The longhaired blonde 
coughed uneasily and clamped down on the curious part of her mind that 
wanted to ask what it had been like with the Senshi of Fire. 
Unfortunately, her imagination started to conjure up all sorts of wild 
scenarios, each one more intense than the last, causing sweat to bead on 
her forehead.

"Minako?" Usagi said, the girl's silence and distant look worrying her. 
She touched the Senshi of Love's hand timidly. "You're not... disgusted 
with me, are you?"

"What?" Minako said sharply, the princess’s voice saving her from her 
overactive imagination. "Of course not, Usagi," she assured her friend 
quickly, squeezing the blonde’s hand lightly. "Though Mamoru on the 
other hand, I'm not so sure of. He definitely isn't going to like this."

This was apparently not something Usagi wanted to hear, but Minako had 
to be truthful. Besides, it had to be pretty obvious to the princess 
that Mamoru would not appreciate his girlfriend cheating on him with her 
best friend, even if Rei were a girl. Usagi let out a small whimper and 
hung her head in despair. Just as Minako was about to say something 
comforting to her friend to raise the girl's downcast spirits, she 
noticed that one of the transfer students was giving her sideway 
glances. Hmm, so she had an admirer. Minako discreetly observed the boy. 
He wasn't too bad looking, but nothing special. Still, she shouldn't 
dismiss him entirely because of just that. The blonde then frowned when 
she realised *all* the transfer students were looking at her, the girls 
included. Minako knew she was attractive, but this was a bit disturbing.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom slid open, revealing the missing 
math teacher. The Senshi of Love saw that she was staring directly at 
her, or more specifically, at her and Usagi. Oh god, was the teacher 
ticked off by her and her friend's less than stellar test results? She 
would probably inform Minako's parents, and then the blonde would be 
done for. How could she fight evil if her mother and father locked her 
up in her bedroom for the rest of her life?

"Minako," Usagi murmured apprehensively. "I think something's..."

Minako’s eyes widened as the math teacher grinned demonically at her, 
and then started to *change*. There was a crack of bones and a sickening 
squelch sound as the teacher's body altered, ripping out of her clothes, 
leaving the tattered remains on the floor. A collective frightened gasp 
rose from Minako's fellow classmates when their teacher's true form was 
made apparent. The former math teacher now looked like some sort of 
alien thing with a dark purple, almost black, chitinous exoskeleton. It 
was humanoid, but with four arms; the bottom, two vaguely human, ones 
tipped with sharp nails, while the top pair had only three fingers on 
each hand, but with an incredibly long and wide blade-like talon 
attached to each thick digit. The creature's legs were long and 
possessed multiple joints, appearing ideal for fast runs and long jumps. 
Its bulbous head was a putrid purple colour, like rotting plums, and the 
youma's large maw was filled with several rows of needle-like teeth. As 
Minako watched, a long pink tongue snaked out of its mouth, causing a 
trail of drool to drop to the floor. The youma's beady blood red eyes, 
one on either side of its big head, rolled in their sockets and focused 
on the Senshi of Love. It licked its lips revoltingly, leaving 
glistening saliva all over its face. Minako's breath caught in her 
throat as terrible realisation dawned on her. It knew who she was, who 
she and Usagi were.

A girl screamed from Minako’s right and the Sailor Senshi risked a 
fleeting look to the side. All the new transfer students were undergoing 
the same metamorphosis that the teacher had gone through. Adrenaline 
started to pump in Minako's veins as the number of the youma surrounding 
her and the Moon Princess registered in her brain. Far too many. Muffled 
shouts came from outside the classroom, no doubt from other rooms. There 
was a loud crash and then shrill screams from the floor below her, 
signalling to the Inner Senshi that probably even more youma were in 
Juuban High School. Definitely far too many.

Without warning, as if a silent cue had been sounded, the remaining 
students in the room began screaming and running for an exit. But there 
was only one exit that didn't involve a five-storey drop, and a 
grotesque creature was barring the way. The youma gave a semblance of a 
smile to Minako, and then in a sudden burst of motion, sprinted towards 
her and Usagi, slicing through any poor person who got in its path 
without pity. The Senshi of Love heard Usagi cry out in horror as their 
classmates' blood was made to run freely from their gouged bodies.

"Usagi," the head of the Moon Princess's personal bodyguard said grimly, 
"stay behind me." She whipped out her Crystal Henshin Wand and stood up, 
preparing to transform, the thought that her fellow students would learn 
her secret identity never even crossing her mind. All eight youma 
charged and then leapt towards the Senshi of Love and the princess, each 
emitting a piercing shriek as they directed their taloned hands down at 
the girls.

******

Sailor Jupiter dived over the hospital bed and curled into a roll on the 
floor, the youma's nearly invisible whip-like weapons gutting the wall 
behind where she had once stood. She hastily twisted around to face the 
enemy and noticed that Sailor Mercury was beside her, the blue-haired 
genius having also managed to successfully evade the creature's opening 
attack. The brunette spared her love a quick glance, and then stood up 
with a slight smirk on her features, Mercury joining her.

"SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!"

"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"

A pillar of water shot out of Sailor Mercury's hands directly at the 
youma, closely followed by a white energy ball that crackled with static 
electricity. The creature nimbly strafed to the left, allowing the blue 
geyser to smash into the hospital room door and part of the wall, 
encasing the area in a layer of ice. He then ducked, moving like a well 
oiled machine, causing Jupiter's attack to soar overhead and crash into 
the already weakened wall, blowing the entire thing outwards, sending 
debris scattering all over the outside hallway.

Sailor Jupiter squinted her green eyes as she tried to see through the 
thick dust cloud that had erupted from the explosion, searching for the 
youma. Suddenly realising the foolishness of what she was doing, the 
brunette abruptly leapt up onto the hospital bed and dived recklessly 
off it into the cloud, just as multiple wires shot out of the grey dust 
beneath her, stabbing at the area where she had once stood. Jupiter 
collided hard with something that she assumed was the youma, and then 
burst out of the back of the dust cloud, into the hallway. She landed on 
top of the now revealed enemy on the dirty floor, face to face with the 
creature. Jupiter immediately delivered a solid right hook to his head, 
causing it to snap to the left with the heavy impact. But before she 
could initiate a follow up strike, the youma grabbed the front of her 
fuku with one hand, displacing the unique weapons sprouting from his 
fingers, and then slammed the top of his forehead into her face in a 
brutal head butt. The force of the blow pushed Sailor Jupiter off of the 
would-be assassin, and ended up sprawling the girl on her back.

The youma flipped onto his feet and lashed his wire weapons in the air, 
preparing to slice the senshi lying before him wide open and expose her 
insides to the air. There suddenly was a shout from the other side of 
the grey dust cloud, and a column of water tore through it, blasting the 
dust particles aside and revealing Sailor Mercury in her attack stance, 
standing in Jupiter's hospital room. The youma reflexively darted to one 
side, but not before he was clipped in the arm by the geyser, freezing 
the limb solid. He staggered backwards and grunted in obvious pain, his 
impassive facial expression breaking for just an instant.

Sailor Mercury ran out of the hospital room and knelt by Sailor 
Jupiter's side, but kept her eyes focused intently on the youma. Jupiter 
sniffed, feeling blood trickle out of her nose. Oh, he was going to pay 
for that. However, as the brunette and her girlfriend watched, the 
creature looked at his frozen arm dispassionately and then smashed it 
against the wall, the strength of his strike enough to demolish the ice. 
The youma flexed his now free right arm experimentally, and then affixed 
his cold gaze on the two Sailor Senshi.

In a lightning quick move, the creature fired all ten of his piano-wire 
weapons at the pair of girls. Sailor Jupiter pushed Sailor Mercury out 
of the way and then rolled backwards, attempting to dodge the abrupt 
attack. But the fraction of a second it took to protect Sailor Mercury 
was enough for the youma's wires to wrap around her body, as if each 
strand had a life of its own. Jupiter gritted her teeth as each one of 
the threads started to bite into her flesh, causing lines of red to 
slowly appear on her fuku, the seeping blood a stark contrast to the 
white outfit. The youma gathered five razor sharp wires in each gloved 
hand, and then pulled firmly on the bundles, drawing the trapped girl's 
arms outwards. Sailor Jupiter's face contorted in pain mixed with 
determination as she flexed the muscles in her arms into tight cords, 
holding her forearms in a vertical position as she tried to stop the 
limbs being ripped clean off.

"No!" Sailor Mercury cried from where she had been pushed aside by 
Sailor Jupiter, only to be promptly kicked viciously in the stomach by 
the youma. The blue-haired girl opened her mouth in a silent sob of 
pain, and then had her ribs stomped on by the merciless creature, 
driving her form down flat on the floor. He held the writhing senshi 
under his foot, grinding his heel maliciously into Mercury's back.

"Leave her alone, you bastard," Sailor Jupiter forced out through 
clenched teeth, her arms trembling with the tremendous effort is was 
taking to not let the wires tear past her taut muscles to the bone.

Her youma assailant narrowed his eyes and pulled on the other numerous 
sharp threads tangled around her torso and legs, making red rivers run 
down the girl's body. Sailor Jupiter moaned in torment and scrunched her 
eyes tight briefly, before opening them again to glare at her torturer. 
The experience vaguely reminded her of the soundwave vice that had 
almost killed her before, but this was many degrees more painful. At 
least the last time the senshi had blacked out. Juptiter could make out 
people through her blurry tear-filled vision watching the test of 
endurance with awestruck and fearful expressions, standing in front of 
their rooms or in the hallways, all seeming transfixed by the morbid 
scene.

Sailor Mercury whimpered as the youma continued his rough treatment of 
her body, remorselessly crushing the poor girl underfoot. Sailor Jupiter 
saw a few tears leak out of her lover's pain wracked eyes, and felt her 
resolve to punish the youma for his actions heighten to a great extent. 
The tall senshi let out a short angry bark and straightened her arms 
--the razor threads flaying a thin layer of skin off of her forearms-- 
and then grabbed the bundle of strands connected to them. Sailor Jupiter 
roared furiously and pulled as hard as she could on the wire bundles, 
only remotely aware of the weapons cutting onto her palms. The youma was 
taken by surprise and was almost knocked off his feet as he stumbled 
towards the enraged Sailor Senshi, his abuse of Mercury forcibly ceased. 
Just as the creature came within range, Jupiter delivered a devastating 
kick to his jaw with her right leg --the wires around it now slack-- 
causing the youma's head to fly back. The tall senshi didn't let up, and 
quickly jabbed him in the stomach with her left fist and then in what 
she guessed was the kidney area with her right. Not giving her adversary 
even a moment to counter, Jupiter then grabbed the youma's head and 
forced it down to meet her rising knee, hearing the crunch of cartilage 
at the impact.

The blue suited youma fell backwards, the threads connected to his 
fingertips detaching and left behind on Sailor Jupiter's bleeding body. 
The Inner Senshi gave Mercury a quick concerned look and saw that the 
girl was gradually climbing to her feet, using the wall for support. The 
Senshi of Water met her girlfriend's concerned look with one of her own, 
no doubt taking in the tall girl's slashed up and bloody form, the coils 
of sharp strands responsible for her condition still hanging limply 
about her body.

The youma, taking advantage of any loss of focus no matter how brief, 
leapt to his feet and rammed his fist into Sailor Jupiter's face, 
catching the girl off guard and making her stumble back a few steps. He 
then causally stabbed his elbow backwards, striking Sailor Mercury 
solidly in the forehead. The power of the blow was enough to throw the 
senshi off her feet and onto the floor, landing painfully on top of a 
small pile of masonry from the destroyed wall. New sharp, murderous 
threads burst from the creature's fingertips and snaked around Mercury's 
prone and vulnerable body, encircling the girl tightly in their deadly 
embrace.

"You-- GARRGH!!" Sailor Jupiter's statement of defiance was turned into 
an anguish-filled scream as the youma whipped the remaining wires 
attached to his left hand across the senshi's face, gouging tracks along 
her features. Jupiter clasped a hand over her face as she cried blood, 
the red liquid streaming out between her fingers.

"Makoto!!" Sailor Mercury yelled as her love stumbled about blindly with 
a hand still held over her ruined visage.

The youma roughly wrenched his right hand upwards, lifting Mercury off 
the floor like a puppet on strings except with an emotionless maniac as 
a nightmarish puppet master, causing the clear strands tied around the 
girl's body to break her skin. The blue-haired genius gasped as a wire 
around her neck was drawn tight, her own body weight effectively 
garrotting her.

Sailor Jupiter glared with one furious green eye through her blood 
covered fingers, seeing the cruel treatment of the one she cared more 
about than anything else in the world.

"Pitiful Sailor Senshi," the youma said coldly to the brunette. With his 
free hand, he tweaked one sharp thread that went around Mercury's 
midsection, making the suffocating girl spasm in pain. "I only have to 
tug on this wire to disembowel your mate. What are you going to do?" he 
mocked.

"Kill you," Sailor Jupiter spat out viciously in response. She glanced 
with her eye down at her suffering girlfriend, feeling her heart ache at 
the horrific sight. Mercury blinked, squeezing teardrops out of her blue 
eyes to run down her almost equally blue face.

Sailor Jupiter took her hand away from her torn face, presenting an 
appalling weeping mess of exposed raw flesh, and then moved into a 
combat stance.

"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"

A volley of sharp green leaves fired like bullets at the youma 
puppeteer, at close range, giving the creature no chance to dodge, the 
fast attack taking him unawares. The barrage of blade-like leaves ripped 
into the youma, tearing holes in his blue suit, making rivulets of a 
sickening yellow fluid splatter out of the tattered openings. More 
plant-green projectiles sliced into the fine wires that hung from the 
creature's right hand, snapping the taut threads and releasing Sailor 
Mercury from her torturous suspension. The Senshi of Water fell to the 
floor, landing flat on her stomach as she inhaled a shuddering breath of 
air into her burning lungs.

The bleeding youma's features contorted into pained rictus as he was 
pushed backwards a few footsteps by Jupiter's powerful assault, the 
shredded remains of his weapons attached to his right hand's fingertips 
fluttering in the air as he staggered. He suddenly let out a sharp yell 
and moved like quicksilver, launching the razor sharp wires sprouting 
from his other hand at his tall assailant, tangling the tools of murder 
around the severely wounded girl's neck. Sailor Jupiter reacted as 
quickly as she could, managing to slip her fingers under the threads 
before the youma pulled sadistically on his weapons, causing the wires 
to cut into Sailor Jupiter's restraining digits. The force of the pull 
was enough to wrench the Inner Senshi off of her feet and onto the 
floor. Jupiter scrunched her eyes and furiously tried to release the 
pressure on her neck with her fingers as she was dragged through the 
rubble from the demolished wall that littered the hallway, parts of the 
ice-encased plaster now lying in wet puddles.

Sailor Jupiter whimpered in pain, her hands becoming even more blood 
soaked while she attempted to free her throat from the deadly noose, 
nearing panic. Any second now her fingers were going to be cleaved clean 
through, and then it would be a race to see whether she would die by 
strangulation or by blood loss as her jugular was severed. Jupiter had 
never really given dying any thought, preferring not to think about it 
ever happening to her. But now, that Death was upon her, she realised 
she didn't want go. Not now. Not when she had actually found someone 
that loved her as much as she loved them. It was kind of ironic that 
after keeping such a careful look out for potential boyfriends for such 
a long time, the person for her had been right in her midst all the 
while. Sailor Jupiter was happy being with Sailor Mercury, despite that 
it had taken the tragedy of Rei's 'death' for her happiness to come 
about. It wasn't fair that it was to end. She didn't want to leave 
Mercury all alone in the world.

Jupiter looked up into her murder's dark dispassionate eyes, perhaps 
hoping to see some mercy in the cold orbs, but was only met with grim 
purpose. The doomed Sailor Senshi gasped out a wordless cry from her 
nearly tightly closed off throat, her vision becoming shadowed in the 
upper left hand corner.

"You will stop this now!!" Sailor Jupiter heard her love shout fiercely 
from a ways behind her. "MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!"

As the tall, half-suffocated senshi watched, her youma opponent was 
engulfed in a blue ball of water that crackled and sparked with an 
electrical current. Jupiter could hear the creature's muted, tormented 
scream come from inside the electrified watery sphere, before the globe 
disappeared, leaving the youma totally drenched. The wires connected to 
his fingertips flaked away to nothing, granting Sailor Jupiter life as 
the threads became loose around her throat and fingers. The heavily 
injured senshi looked behind her to see a bloodied but determined 
Mercury standing unwaveringly in the hallway, the girl's hands both 
outstretched together, still in the position of her recent attack. Her 
attack... Jupiter didn't think her girlfriend could perform that 
particular attack anymore.

The horrendously wounded youma put one hand against the wall to steady 
himself as he wobbled on his feet, the combination of Sailor Jupiter's 
earlier assault and Sailor Mercury's recent one apparently too much for 
him to bear. The creature glared at the two girls hatefully and then 
spat on the floor, before turning tail and running as best he could down 
the hall.

"We have to get him!" Jupiter said in a croaky voice as she climbed 
exhaustedly upright, preparing to chase after the fleeing youma. There 
was no way he was going to get away with what he had done. She glanced 
back to Mercury who was looking at her torn up body dubiously. "What are 
you waiting for?! Let's go!"

Sailor Jupiter charged after the youma as he sprinted along Minato 
Hospital's hallways, bowling over staff and patients alike in his effort 
to escape the Sailor Senshi's wrath. The brunette found herself 
breathing hard as she ran, with Sailor Mercury hot on her tail, the 
blue-haired girl panting laboriously. Jupiter leapt over a knocked down 
doctor and then vaulted over an abandoned wheelchair as she continued 
her pursuit of the would-be assassin. She spared a look over her 
shoulder and was pleased and relieved to see that Sailor Mercury was 
still with her, having also successfully navigated the obstacles.

Just as the youma ran past an open hospital room door, a large light 
pink energy ball flew out of the doorway, and then smashed into the 
creature and exploded, sending him crashing through the wall opposite. 
The youma scrambled to his feet hastily and dived out of the way as 
another ball of energy sailed out the open doorway, barely missing the 
routed enemy and flying through the new gigantic hole in the wall. 
Jupiter heard a tremendous explosion as the second ball detonated, 
shaking the very foundations of the building. How the youma could even 
move after a hit of that magnitude was unbelievable. But somehow, the 
youma, his suit now in tatters, resumed his flight to freedom, bolting 
down the hallway with only a hint of a limp in his gait.

Sailor Jupiter ran after her adversary, briefly looking in the hospital 
room the pink energy attacks had originated from. As she had expected, 
Sailor Pluto was sitting upright in her bed, holding the shaft of her 
Time Staff in her right hand while she used the forearm of her left as a 
prop for the pole weapon, to help steady her aim.

"Hurry, there is still a chance for you to catch him!" the Guardian of 
Time called to the two Inner Senshi as they passed by her doorway.

Jupiter saw the youma dart swiftly into a hallway on his right, leaving 
her line of sight. The tall senshi forced an additional burst of energy 
out of her nearly drained body, and rounded the corner at breakneck 
speed. All too late she saw the glint of light off of the razor sharp 
web of wires blocking the other corridor. Sailor Jupiter desperately 
tried to halt her fast movement, flailing her arms wildly, even though 
she knew it was useless. However, she suddenly felt something tug 
backwards on her fuku, slowing her momentum enough for the girl to avoid 
running into the eviscerating trap. The tall brunette breathed a sigh of 
relief and gave Sailor Mercury a grateful smile as her lover let go of 
her fuku.

Sailor Jupiter returned her attention to the hall in front of her as the 
youma she and Sailor Mercury had been chasing after stepped out from a 
doorway. He looked at Jupiter coldly, challengingly, and then lifted one 
ravaged arm upwards, shredded strips of his ripped clothes hanging 
downwards from the limb as he pointed directly at the tall girl. Jupiter 
knew what he meant. She glared back with equal challenge in her green 
eyes.

"Until we meet again..." she mouthed silently. The Sailor Senshi knew 
they would.

The youma then ran along the hallway, weaving in and out of numerous 
bystanders before he was out of Sailor Jupiter's sight. The tall Sailor 
Senshi hung her head, resting her chin on her chest as she let her 
intensely beating heart calm down. Unfortunately, without the organ 
frantically pumping adrenaline through her veins to nullify certain 
feelings, the pain of her many injuries gradually made themselves known. 
Jupiter ground her teeth at the unpleasant sensations and leaned back 
against a wall, and then slowly slid down it into a sitting position, 
leaving a red smear on the whitewashed plaster behind her. Sailor 
Mercury knelt in front of her, the blue-haired girl almost collapsing to 
her knees due to the extent of her own wounds.

"You require immediate medical attention," she said as she carefully 
touched the side of her lover's blood encrusted face.

"You and me both. It's a good thing we happen to be in a hospital," 
Sailor Jupiter said with a faint smirk. "...How bad is it?" she asked 
tentatively after a slight pause, hoping that her face wasn't 
permanently scarred.

"He missed your eyes only barely, but I'm confident you'll heal nicely," 
Mercury said sympathetically and comfortingly. "If you weren't a Sailor 
Senshi, however..."

"But I am, and I'm okay," Sailor Jupiter said reassuringly to her 
girlfriend. "It's all part of the job, I guess. How are you holding up? 
I'm sorry I let that guy hurt you like that."

Sailor Mercury smiled slightly and shook her head gently. "As you said; 
it's part of the job. And I'll be perfectly fine. Most of these cuts are 
superficial." The Senshi of Water then sighed in resignation. "But they 
are enough to keep me from going after Rei to help Usagi and Minako."

"I know," Jupiter agreed, shifting her gaze over her lover's shoulder, 
noticing several doctors and nurses running towards them. She would have 
to check out of this hospital as soon as possible; the carnage had 
originated from her room, which meant that her alter ego as a Sailor 
Senshi could be in danger if any of the staff pried into the patient 
records. Maybe Mercury could do something with the computer files. "If 
what that youma said was true, then Usagi and Minako probably have their 
hands full right at this very minute," she went on gravely. The tall, 
sliced up senshi then smiled wryly, lowering her head. "But if I know 
Rei, I think the youma at Juuban High School are in for one hell of a 
fight, no matter how many there are."

Mercury frowned faintly at her girlfriend's comment. "What do you mean?" 
she inquired.

Sailor Jupiter grinned up at her blue-haired love, hoping that it didn't 
make her ruined face all the more awful looking. "Let's just say that if 
you were in there, I would be doing the exact same thing as Rei. And no 
amount of youma would stop me."

But still... sometimes a temper could be detrimental in a battle, and 
Jupiter hoped Mars would be able to keep it together for their friends' 
sake. And if by the time the Fire Senshi arrived Usagi had been hurt or 
worse, then the brunette feared what the hot headed miko would do. It 
wasn't just their fellow Sailor Senshi in that school; there were also 
teachers and students, innocent bystanders. Mercury had told her that 
Mars wasn't exactly how she used to be anymore, that the Senshi of Fire 
had changed-- and Jupiter had noticed that fact too. While Sailor Mars’ 
fury would most likely help her to fight off the 'army' of youma, if the 
raven-haired girl's rage got too far out of control... then perhaps the 
occupants of Juuban High School had one other even more dangerous and 
merciless thing to worry about.

******

To be continued...


Author's ramblings:

I made Mercury use her attack from that special episode of Sailor Moon 
because I felt it was sort of appropriate.

No Rei in this chapter, but she will be the focus of the next.

Onwards to Part 46


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