Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Fifty Seven Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
“He’s sustained a severe blow to the back of his head,
together with some minor bruising on his chest and abdomen. There are also some
significant burns to his hands, mainly his palms, which will need to be treated
by the burns unit once we have the results of his scan to identify just how
serious his head injury is.”
“But he’ll be okay, won’t he?” Taro asked, his voice devoid
of all emotion now as he struggled with these facts, as did all of them.
Dr Miura sighed, “I can’t say for certain. I am concerned that he is still unconscious and the scan may reveal more permanent damage, but until we have the results I can’t tell you more than that. You can be rest assured that we are doing all we can for him at this stage.”
“But he will wake up soon?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you exactly when he’ll wake. I’m
afraid it is just a matter of waiting for the results of the scan.”
The new enemy attacked Seiichi at Studio Pento and now he
is seriously ill in hospital and I can’t help but blame myself for this. Had we
looked for the enemy to start with then, perhaps, this would not have happened.
“Shina needs to make a couple of calls” he started to add,
“I’m going with her and then--”
He was cut off by a scream from further down the corridor.
“What was that?” Shina asked softly as Mamoru and Kisho
exchanged glances. Ami felt Taro tense up beside her. She, too, recognised that
tenor of scream. It could only mean one thing; Youma.
“Shina-san” Makoto said gently as she stepped up to the
woman’s side, “Why don’t I come with you to make those calls?”
To make matters worse the two Youma from the day before
were still at large and attacked the hospital, killing several people.
“Usagi!” Endymion shouted, “Transform!”
The pigtailed Senshi gasped slightly and took her usual
stance before crying out, “Moon Prism Power… Make up!”
Nothing happened. Her locket refused to even glow to
signal the start of her transformation.
“What… what is this?” Usagi cried, “I can’t transform---”
her cries ended in a shriek as the Youma lunged for her. Usagi jumped
backwards, unable to defend herself in her current form.
“Usagi!” Endymion shouted again, but he was too far away
to do anything in time.
“Mamoru!” she screamed as the Youma raised its sword.
Usagi is now also unable to transform and then Masaki
revealed that he remembers what happened in the Dark Kingdom and what Metallia,
using his body, did.
“How dare you? After all we’ve been through! Why did you
lie to me? Why didn’t you tell me what I did?”
Taro struggled to keep Masaki back, hauling him further
away from Mamoru whilst demanding to know what was going on.
“I don’t know” Mamoru shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“Yes you do! Why must you keep up the pretence, even now?
I remember, Mamoru! I remember everything! I remember what I did. Why didn’t
you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that I killed him?”
I didn’t want to lie to him, but keeping the truth from
him was kinder, or so I had thought. As it stands now, Kisho and Seiichi are
both unable to fight and I don’t know what Masaki will decide to do now. One
Youma is dead, but I know that this new enemy will only send more while we are
at our weakest. We must find out who is behind these attacks and quickly for if
we don’t… I just don’t know what will happen.
******
Act Fifty-Eight:
“That I killed him. That I killed him and enjoyed it. That
I murdered my friend.”
“That wasn’t you! You died, Masaki. Metallia was living
through you. You couldn’t have done that to Seiichi. We all know that. That is
why we didn’t tell you. We didn’t want you to hate yourself for something that
you had no control over.”
“You’re a liar!”
“I’m not lying!”
“You are! I can remember laughing as he died. I can
remember how good his death made me feel. It was me. I killed him!”
Breathing hard, Masaki slammed the door to his apartment
shut behind him before leaning against it as tears blurred his vision. He could
hear himself constantly, his words to Seiichi of before and then his furious
and pain filled accusations to Mamoru-tachi.
They had lied to him… for four years they had been lying
to him. Why hadn’t they told him? Even when he had out right asked Seiichi, the
pianist had refused to divulge exactly what had gone on in the Dark Kingdom!
Why hadn’t they told him? He had a right to know!
But Mamoru said that it was Metallia…
Does he really mean that? Perhaps he really does blame me
and that is why they didn’t tell me?
Masaki exhaled sharply at this thought. That couldn’t be
true… could it? Surely Mamoru didn’t actually think that he did it? That
Metallia was just an excuse. This stopped Masaki cold. Why else would he be
having such thoughts now? It had been four years and, if he had truly died the
minute Metallia entered him, why was he remembering this at all?
He could feel it… the sense of satisfaction when he thrust
the knife into the Youma’s chest. As his friend died… he had been glad of this…
he wanted him dead…
Masaki stumbled away from the door, moving into the
kitchen as his misery heightened. After what happened today… with Seiichi so
seriously ill… Slumping back against the counter, Masaki swallowed hard as
blurred images swam before his eyes. He could see himself in the Dark Kingdom,
laughing at the misery and suffering he had caused. He could still feel the
cold and emptiness that had encased his soul as though it were still there and
perhaps it was? Perhaps there was no enemy? Perhaps a part of himself, deep
down, knew the truth? That he sent the Youma to attack Kisho? That he put
Seiichi in hospital?
This idea terrified him and Masaki slowly felt a renewed
sense of panic and misery overtaking him. They might have lied to him because
they knew what he was doing. Perhaps they were simply waiting for him to slip
up? Masaki certainly didn’t remember harming anyone, but how could he trust his
memories anymore? He couldn’t, he realised. He couldn’t trust his memories and
he couldn’t trust his friends. He was alone.
This last thought allowed his fear and pain to overtake
him completely and, wildly, Masaki pulled open the drawer under the cabinet
that he had been leaning up against not seconds before. Trembling and sobbing,
his hand closed around the hilt of a kitchen knife, the blade glinting in the
light from the window as he held it up, now feeling calm as he brought it down
to his left wrist, poising the edge of the knife exactly over his scars of
before. He allowed it to hover there for a few minutes before, with an element
of frustration, he turned and hurled the knife across the room, watching
through blurred vision as it connected with the wall and then fell harmlessly
to the ground.
Slowly, Masaki slumped to the floor, his strength drained
from him as he gave into his despair.
******
For Mamoru, the afternoon passed almost painfully slowly.
He, Taro, Usagi and Ami were finally allowed out of the room set aside for the
police after two and a half hours. Almost constantly, they had continued to go
over everything that had transpired that afternoon and they were more than a
little irate. Taro, especially, was on edge and still obviously hadn’t forgiven
Mamoru for what happened earlier.
“You’re a coward! You just don’t want to fight. You want
to live your cosy little life with Usagi and nothing more.”
His words still stung and Mamoru had fought long and hard
against retaliating. What good would another confrontation do? So he said nothing.
Instead, he allowed his mind to go over the interview
again. The police seemed to think that Seiichi had been deliberately targeted,
owing to the burns to his hands. They also said that his head injury was caused
by him being thrown back into the piano with considerable force. This, Mamoru
couldn’t help but think, was ironic.
Of course, Mamoru knew better than the police. He could
assume that the burns were caused by Seiichi trying to defend himself from an
attack, an attack that had almost killed him.
Knowing this made him want to find this enemy and make
them pay, but again Mamoru forced himself to crush all thoughts of this from
his mind. What good would charging in blind do? He just hoped that Taro would
have enough sense to realise this.
Upon getting back to the ward, Mamoru saw that Kisho was
still there with Shina, but the girls appeared to have gone. Also there was
Tetsuya, although he sat back from Seiichi’s mother, but stood upon seeing
their arrival.
Mamoru went over to Shina and quietly requested to know if
they knew anymore. She gave him a weak smile and expressed firstly her
gratitude that they were here supporting her before answering that the results
of the scan had come back an hour earlier. There appeared to be, as yet, no permanent
damage, but they wouldn’t know more until he came round. Also, his burns had
been assessed and they were mostly superficial and had been treated. Again,
there appeared to be no permanent damage done. However, the doctors had
expressed some serious concern that Seiichi hadn’t woken up. Mamoru had been
secretly hoping that they had been keeping him sedated, but this was not so.
Despite this, Shina was trying to keep positive, after all, his vital signs
were good and his condition hadn’t worsened at all.
Shina was going to stay in a hotel within five minutes
walking distance from the hotel. She hadn’t wanted to leave Seiichi alone, but
Kisho had offered to stay with him whilst she got a few hours sleep. Tetsuya
had been at the hospital for a little over two hours, trying to get rid of the
media circus outside and then supporting Shina.
Artemis, Mamoru also noted, had put in an appearance, and
the white plushie was nestled between a plant pot and the wall, keeping a low
profile and thus reminding Mamoru that he hadn’t seen Luna for a few days and
turned around to question Usagi on this, but found that she was missing.
“It’s okay” Ami said softly when she saw his concern, “She
said she was tired and wanted to go home. I think she’s upset about earlier.”
Mamoru nodded, feeling bad that he hadn’t had a chance to
speak to her properly and decided to call round at her place on the way home.
Ami then added that she and Taro were going to call it a
night. The latter extracting a promise from Kisho that he would call them if
there were any further developments.
Mamoru and Taro exchanged a very curt ‘goodbye’ before he
left and Mamoru decided to stay on awhile.
Seeing this, Kisho offered to walk Shina to her hotel.
She, very reluctantly, agreed to this, firstly going to see her son one last
time before allowing Kisho to lead her from the ward, leaving Mamoru and
Tetsuya alone.
He took a seat on one of the plastic chairs outside the
door beside Seiichi’s manager, unsure of whether or not he could actually go
into the room where Seiichi lay sleeping or not. A part of him still felt
deeply responsible for what happened and Mamoru desperately wanted a chance to
make things right again.
“He was supposed to be leaving on Saturday” Tetsuya said
suddenly, breaking the silence.
“Nani?”
“On Saturday. He was supposed to be picking up the rest of
his England tour, but he asked me to cancel it.”
This was not news to Mamoru. Kisho had already explained
that Seiichi had made the decision to stay and fight. Whether he had chosen to
go or not, Mamoru knew that this wouldn’t have stopped him from being attacked
and he said as much to Tetsuya.
“Perhaps not” Tetsuya agreed quietly, “The police won’t
find who did this to him will they?”
“No” Mamoru answered honestly, not seeing the point in
lying to the man, not when Tetsuya already had a pretty good idea as to what
had harmed Seiichi.
“Will you find it?”
Mamoru nodded, a little unsure where this conversation was
heading.
Tetsuya seemed to sense this and added, “Seiichi means a
lot to me. I just want to make sure that he’ll be safe now.”
Even after all this time, it would seem that Tetsuya
hadn’t forgotten his promise to Zinan, and Mamoru couldn’t help but admire the
man for that and reiterated that they would do everything in their power to
find whatever was behind this. Satisfied, Tetsuya, too, was forced to call it a
night. He still had some phone calls to make and had to update the studio as to
what was going on, he explained and, after stepping in briefly to see the
pianist again, he left Mamoru alone.
“I can remember laughing as he died. I can remember how
good his death made me feel. It was me. I killed him!”
“We were all wrong. We were all fools and now Seiichi’s
paid the price for it! Who will it be next time? Are we just going to sit
around and wait for this unseen enemy to pick us off one by one or are we going
to fight?”
Mamoru, in truth, didn’t know what to do about the present
situation. His first instinct was to go and see Masaki again and to try and
explain, but Kisho was right. In the state that Masaki was in now, Mamoru knew
that he would only make a bad situation worse.
Taro was also right. The enemy was targeting them
individually, but how could they fight against the unseen? There was still one
Youma at large and they should concentrate on finding that first. Then,
perhaps, it would lead them to their true foe. Only then could they fight.
Comfortable with his decision, Mamoru decided to await
Kisho’s return and then head for home. His friend would call him if there were
any new developments and Mamoru wanted to call in and see Usagi on his way. He
suspected that the true reasoning behind her want to leave was that she was
trying to be strong and hide just how much not being able to transform had hurt
her.
Still… there was something… Mamoru wasn’t sure what but he
had felt something different about her today. He just couldn’t decide what it
was…
******
Kuroki Mio, in her Usagi guise, observed silently as
Mamoru left the ward. It was passed 8.00pm when he did so and, despite Usagi
being eighteen, Mio was conscious that Ikuko would start to wonder where her
‘daughter’ was. Mio was also anxious that Mamoru would stop by on his way home
and find that she wasn’t there, which was why she had instructed her remaining
Youma to put in an appearance before he got to the Tsukino household. Of
course, it was not to harm him, only keep him distracted for as long as Mio
needed it to.
This, she estimated, would not be too long. Shortly before
Mamoru left, Dr Miura had come round to check on her patient and had requested
that both Kisho and Mamoru exit the room for a while. Mamoru had taken it as
his cue to leave and Kisho, thinking that their friend would be safe enough
with the doctor around, had decided to go and get a coffee. Fortunately for Mio
the coffee machine in this section of the ward was out of order and Kisho was
forced to go further afield to get a drink.
She watched Dr Miura from across the corridor; the
curtains shielding the windows of the room from view had been pulled back now
that visiting hours were over. As Mio watched, Dr Miura checked Seiichi’s
temperate before consulting the array of machines that he was hooked up to and
scribbling down some notes on a clipboard. She then set this down and began to
prepare the drug dosage to give him as specified in the chart at the foot of
the bed. Then just as she snapped open the packet, which contained the syringe,
her pager went.
Consulting it, Dr Miura sighed and set the equipment down
and hurried from the room, pausing only to shut the door tightly behind her.
Mio waited until she was sure that the doctor wasn’t
coming back before moving swiftly towards the room. Entering quietly, she
hurriedly pulled the curtains across the windows before approaching the bed.
Her smirk widened as she looked down at the former Tennou,
knowing that he was completely at her mercy. He lay on his back, soundly sleeping
and unaware of her presence.
Knowing better than to linger for longer than she had too,
Mio reached out and picked up the syringe. Of course, Dr Miura had taken the
drugs with her when she left the room, but that was no matter. The doctor had
really made this too easy for her, she mused as she pulled the plunger back to
the hilt, filling the syringe with air before turning her attention back to
Seiichi again.
Tentatively she reached out, her hand closing around his
left wrist, seeing already several puncture marks in his skin and her free hand
lined the needle tip up with the most recent mark.
“What a shame” Mio said out loud, her smile widening
further as she prepared to press the plunger down, to force the air into his
vein.
******
“We were all wrong. We were all fools and now Seiichi’s
paid the price for it! Who will it be next time? Are we just going to sit
around and wait for this unseen enemy to pick us off one by one or are we going
to fight?”
Kisho frowned into his cup of coffee as he walked slowly
back towards the ward. It was just quarter passed eight and Kisho knew that he
was in for a long night. He, earlier in the evening, had called Ayame to let
her know what had happened and that he wouldn’t be home. Normally Kisho would
not have even thought of leaving Ayame but, as luck would have it, she was
staying at a friend’s house for the night.
He had decided to alternate his evening between keeping an
eye on his friend and then checking up on Shina. The poor woman said she wouldn’t
be able to sleep, but Kisho had felt that a break would do her good and had
insisted on it. Shina had very reluctantly agreed, feeling rest assured that
someone would be here with her son for the duration of the night.
Kisho had to admit he also didn’t like the idea of leaving
his friend here alone and this unease was a little irrational as Seiichi was in
the best and safest possible place. He sighed softly; they were all on edge
after what had happened. It didn’t help that they were all at each other’s
throat. Kisho knew Taro was right, they should have been doing something before
now and he had felt the same way! Even Seiichi had been feeling doubtful
allowing the enemy to make the next move. Now, however, Kisho knew that they
couldn’t afford to do anything foolish. He could no longer transform, Seiichi
was injured and Masaki… Kisho sighed. He just didn’t know what they were going
to do about Masaki. They should have told him, despite how difficult it would
have been. They had thought that they were protecting him, but, upon seeing his
reaction, Kisho now realised that they had been doing the exact opposite.
It was hard to believe that not a week ago they had been
getting ready to celebrate Mamoru’s marriage to Usagi. It had all gone wrong so
quickly, Kisho mused. The wedding itself had been fated and now, it would seem,
their future happiness was also at stake.
He paused outside Seiichi’s room, frowning slightly. The
curtains hadn’t been closed before. Perhaps Dr Miura was still in there? This
was the mostly likely possibility, but Kisho still felt uneasy enough to open
the door and step into the room.
As he did so, Tsukino Usagi whirled around, the colour
almost draining from her face as she took a step away from Seiichi, the syringe
in her hand dropping, unused, to the floor rolling harmlessly under the bed.
“Usagi-san?” Kisho asked quietly. What had he just seen?
He knew what he thought he had seen but Usagi wouldn’t harm Seiichi.
What possible reason would she have?
“Kisho-kun” she greeted him, smiling nervously as she
explained, “Dr Miura was called away. She left the needle on the side and I--”
“Daijobu” Kisho forced himself to smile reassuringly at
her, “You were just putting it somewhere out of the way, right?”
“Of course” Usagi nodded, “I came to see how Seiichi-kun
was, but there was no one here.”
“I’m here now and I will be all night,” Kisho said
pointedly.
Usagi smiled again, “He’s lucky to have so many people who
care about him. I just wish… I just wish that I could transform and help you
fight. With you not being able to transform either and Seiichi-kun injured we
are at a bit of a disadvantage at the moment.”
“We’ll manage” Kisho assured her steadily.
“I’m sure you will” Usagi replied brightly, before giving
a small cry and adding, “I should go! Mamoru said that he would come round to
see me. I don’t want Mama giving him a grilling about the wedding again. Please
tell Seiichi-kun when he wakes that I hope he’s feeling better and that I will
come to visit him again soon.”
“I will” Kisho nodded, keeping his voice as cool as he
could without giving too much away.
Usagi, seemingly content, smiled again and made he exit.
Once he was sure that she was gone, Kisho hurriedly went
to Seiichi’s side and took hold of his left wrist, examining it closely and
sighing in relief when it appeared that the puncture marks in his skin were old
ones.
Kneeling down, Kisho then looked under the bed and
recovered the syringe, exhaling sharply when he saw that the plunger had been
pulled back to the hilt, filling the syringe with air.
Just what was she trying to do? Kisho was pretty sure that
he knew the answer, but just quite why he wasn’t so sure about.
At that moment, Dr Miura came back into the room. Kisho
handed her the syringe, explaining that he had found it on the floor. Not even
giving it a second glance, she tossed it away in the medical bin at the back of
the room before moving to again take some readings from the monitoring
equipment.
“How is he?” Kisho enquired to know.
“He’s doing as well as can be expected” was the reply.
“What does that mean exactly?”
“That it is early days yet” she answered, “He’s stable
which is a good sign. I’m just going to give him something to make him more
comfortable.” She added as she took out a fresh syringe and proceeded to draw
out about a couple of centimetres of clear liquid from a vile in her free hand.
Kisho forced himself to look away as she injected his friend, not wanting to
admit that he had a slight phobia when it came to needles.
When she had finished, Kisho turned back around, suddenly
deciding what he had to do. “Is there a pay phone on this ward?” he asked
quietly.
Dr Miura nodded, “It’s just around the corner. “
“I see” Kisho answered, “I wonder if, perhaps, I could ask
a favour? His mother… she doesn’t want him to be left alone and I have to make
a call. Could you stay with him? It would only be for a few minutes.”
The doctor nodded, perhaps sensing the hidden urgency in
his voice, “Of course. I have some more tests to run first anyway.”
Kisho, still feeling a little apprehensive about leaving,
hurriedly exited the room. That aura blanketing Usagi… it had felt familiar
somehow… a familiarity that filled Kisho with dread. Whatever it was, one thing
was for certain; Usagi was not Usagi anymore.
******
Taro shifted his position on the sofa and again picked up
the TV remote and flicked between channels. In the kitchen he could hear Ami
getting their dinner ready, but, for once, he wasn’t hungry. He couldn’t seem
to concentrate either. His mind was constantly replaying that afternoon in the
hospital over and over. All Taro could think of was the conversations, the hurt
and the pain, and revenge. How could Mamoru tell them to wait? He had, at the
hospital, decided that waiting would be the better option but after that police
interview… after learning their estimated version of events at Studio Pento,
Taro felt that he couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. Not when two of his
friends had been hurt. Was he supposed to wait until the enemy came after him…
or Ami? He had an added duty, as a father to their unborn child, to ensure that
the world she or he was born into was safe. He had to protect them both.
A call from Ami to say that dinner was ready gave him
cause to switch off the television and make his way into the kitchen. Ami
smiled at his presence and indicated for him to be seated. Taro did so, staring
down at the traditional Japanese cuisine and not eating.
“You should eat something,” Ami said softly.
“I’m not hungry.”
“I know but I worry about you.”
Taro was grateful for her concern but shook his head and
pushed the plate away, “I can’t. Whatever… whoever this is… they’re not going
to rest until they have hurt us all. Mamoru cannot see that. This enemy is
stronger than the Dark Kingdom and now that there is only the three of us.”
“You killed that Youma today.”
“And it exhausted me to do so. We cannot continue like
this.”
“Taro” Ami set down her chopsticks and got up, moving to
his side, “I want you to promise me that you won’t go looking for a fight. I
don’t want anything to happen to you, not again.”
“It won’t” Taro answered her, knowing that this was a
promise that he simply couldn’t make. “I’m sorry. I’m really not hungry. I
think I’ll go and sit quietly for a while.”
Without waiting for a response, Taro got up from the table
and hurried back into the front room where he sat down on the sofa once more.
Listening, he could hear Ami begin to clear the plates away, obviously losing
her own appetite now.
Ami… I have to protect her… How can I sit there whilst
Youma roam the streets? How can I do nothing after my friends were attacked?
Angrily, Taro stood up again; feeling more than a little
restless and with this restlessness came an element of fury and this fury was
slowly starting to take hold of him, and Taro had no wish to stop it.
Ami had always said that his anger was destructive and
Taro supposed that she was right, but he still found himself walking slowly to
the door, one thing only on his mind now. He had enough games. He was sick of
fighting blind. Taro intended to put an end to this; he intended to find the
enemy.
******
“Taro?” Ami called out as she heard the front door slam
shut, giving her cause to hurry over to the window. Her heart skipped a beat as
she could make out his shadow making his way down the road.
Ami knew, with a terrible certainty, just what he was
going to do. “Taro” she whispered, the plate in her hand trembling.
******
Mamoru stared down at the coffee cup in his hands, whilst
trying to ignore the fact that Usagi was clinging, somewhat childishly, onto
his arm, her head resting against his shoulder. Since he had arrived at the
Tsukino household, Usagi had been acting strange… almost subdued and all she
seemed to want to do was hold onto him and, Mamoru had to admit, her clinginess
was starting to bother him.
It hadn’t helped that he had been late to start with. The
Youma, the one from the hospital, had all but ambushed him once he had left the
hospital grounds, although it was strange how, Mamoru mused, it had simply
allowed him to chase it all over Juuban before finally teleporting away. The
only reason behind this, that Mamoru could think of, was that after seeing its
comrade killed it had become wary of them. This, however, didn’t really ring
true. There was another reason behind its behaviour and Mamoru had yet to
understand just what this was.
Shifting his position on the sofa, Mamoru gently pulled
away from her grasp and Usagi sat up, her eyes showing some hurt. Pretending
not to be aware of this, Mamoru finished his coffee and set the empty cup down
on the table in front of him before saying:
“It is getting late. I should be heading back now.”
“Now?” Usagi repeated softly, “Why? It is only 10.00pm.”
“It’s been a long day” Mamoru stated simply, reluctant to
bring up the events of the passed day when they already constantly repeated
themselves in his mind over and over.
“Please stay a little longer” Usagi all but pleaded, “I
hate being alone.”
“Ikuko and Shingo are upstairs” Mamoru pointed out but
found himself sitting back on the sofa once more.
“I know but I like spending time with you” Usagi answered
as she leaned her head against his shoulder once more. “You do like spending
time with me, don’t you?”
“Of course” Mamoru assured her, “But I just think it’s
late. I want to go up to the hospital again tomorrow morning.”
Usagi drew back at this statement, “Why? His mother is
there. You don’t have to be with him all the time as well.”
“I know” Mamoru said patiently, “But I want to be there.
You’d feel the same if it were one of the girls, wouldn’t you?”
The look Usagi gave him was almost murderous as she sprang
to her feet and stated, “You’ve always cared more the Shitennou than me,
haven’t you?”
Stunned, Mamoru was about to reply when his phone rang. It
had been ringing throughout the evening but Usagi had constantly, to his great
annoyance, cancelled the calls. Grabbing it before she could get to it, Mamoru
answered it.
“Where have you been?” Kisho snapped at him, the relief in
his voice very obvious.
“I’m at Usagi’s house” Mamoru said, walking over to the
other side of the room so that he could speak without her overhearing the
conversation on the other end of the phone.
The pigtailed girl pouted loudly at this and flounced off
into the kitchen without another word.
Mamoru sighed, “I’m sorry” he apologised to Kisho,
“Usagi’s been in an funny mood all evening.”
“She was here earlier,” Kisho said, cutting straight to
the point.
“At the hospital?”
“Yes. She was acting strange. She…” Kisho paused.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I caught her trying to put an
air bubble in Seiichi’s vein.”
“That is crazy. Usagi would never do that!”
“Look” Kisho said, “That is only what it looked like. I
might well have been mistaken. I just think that you should watch your back
around her.”
From the tone of his voice, Mamoru could tell that Kisho
did not feel that he was mistaken, but was reluctant to openly accuse Usagi of
this.
Mamoru’s initial reaction to this was to have a go at his
friend. Usagi wouldn’t hurt anyone! The notion was ridiculous. Usagi was acting
a little strange but that was no reason to think that she might hurt someone.
“I’ll speak to her” Mamoru said finally, “I’m sure she can
explain.”
Kisho began to protest, but Mamoru had, had more than
enough today and again reiterated that he would deal with it and hung up. Then,
leaving his phone on the table, he made his way into the kitchen.
Usagi was standing at the sink, chewing apprehensively on
her lower lip as Mamoru approached. Cutting to the chase, he quietly requested
to know why she hadn’t told him that she had been back to the hospital.
“I didn’t feel the need” Usagi answered, “And you didn’t
ask me.”
“I’m asking you now. Kisho saw you there. He thinks… he
thinks you tried to hurt Seiichi.”
“What do you think?”
Mamoru shrugged and Usagi’s eyes narrowed slightly, “You
believe him over me?”
“That isn’t what I meant” Mamoru snapped, “Kisho isn’t one
to make up such a thing that is all. I suspect there has been a
misunderstanding.”
Usagi turned away again, putting her back to him as she
said, “There’s been no misunderstanding, Mamoru-kun.”
“What do you mean?”
“I tried to kill him and twice I failed”
“You…” Mamoru swallowed hard, barely believing what he was
hearing, “You tried to kill him?”
“And I allowed Jadeite to regain his memories of what his
body did when Metallia occupied it. My Youma also attacked Kisho and took away
his ability to transform.”
“You did all that? Who are you really?”
“Why, I’m Tsukino Usagi”
“No” Mamoru shook his head, “Usagi wouldn’t have done
this. Who are you really?”
‘Usagi’ sneered and refused to answer as she backed away,
towards the door and Mamoru realised that she was getting ready to flee.
Realising this, he knew that he should transform but how could he raise a hand
to the girl who looked exactly like his fiancée?
“They deserved it” she hissed vehemently, “The Shitennou
took everything from me, but now they know how I’ve suffered for these last
four years.”
Mamoru stayed where he had fallen, feeling numb with shock
and pain. Just how long had Usagi not been Usagi for? Since the wedding? Or
perhaps it had been even longer? A year? Two years? Mamoru shuddered. How had
he been so blind?
Forcing himself to get to his feet, Mamoru knew that he
had to get Kisho and that they had to go after her. If Usagi was still alive
then Mio could lead them to her.
Racing into the front room, Mamoru picked up his phone
again just as it started to ring.
“Hello? Kisho?” he answered without even checking who it
was on the other end.
“No, it’s Taro. I can’t talk for long, but I think I’ve
found the enemy’s hideout.”
“You have no idea how glad I am that you’ve said that.”
“Nani?”
“I’ll explain when I get there” Mamoru said to this and
then proceeded to ask where exactly ‘there’ was.
“I’m at the harbour. There are some disused warehouses.
It’s the last one as you turn into the harbour itself. There are two Youma
guarding the entrance, like the ones we faced today, and at least two more
inside. As you can imagine even I’m a little wary of going in without someone
else with me.”
“Don’t go in” Mamoru ordered, “Taro, it’s not just the
Youma. The one sending them is Kuroki Mio.”
“Kuroki Mio?”
“She was here”
“What? Are you alright?”
“I am” Mamoru assured him, “Just don’t do anything until I
get there.”
“I won’t” Taro answered.
Satisfied, Mamoru hung up the phone, pausing only to grab
his jacket before leaving his apartment. Now that Mio had been discovered,
Mamoru knew that she would return to her hideout and debate her next move and
he dreaded to think what she would do if she found Taro there alone when she
returned.
******
Taro switched his phone off and slipped it into his pocket
after finishing his call to Mamoru.
“Just don’t do anything until I get there.”
What did Mamoru expect? Kuroki Mio had killed him once
before. Did Mamoru really expect him to challenge her alone now?
After making his decision to go and locate the enemy, Taro
had spent an hour or so wandering the streets of Tokyo before spotting the same
Youma that had attacked the hospital today. Rather than fight it, he had
decided to follow it. The Youma had led him to a series of abandoned warehouses
in the harbour and it was here that Taro had discovered that there were two
more Youma guarding the entrance. The Youma that he had been following slipped
inside the warehouse and another one was also inside. Taro knew that, had these
been normal Youma, the odds would have been stacked against him, but with these
stronger and faster Youma he knew that there was no way that he could face them
alone. Also, past experiences had taught him that one should never fight alone.
Still it was a little frustrating, especially as Taro had
come here with the mindset to make someone pay for all the hurt and pain that
these Youma had caused.
Sighing, he leaned back against the wall of the building
that he was hiding around, when he became aware of a presence behind him.
Taro swung around as he felt a hand on his shoulder,
already transforming even before he realised whom it was.
Ami took a step back at his reaction, her eyes widening
slightly and Nephrite allowed the ball of red energy in his palm to disperse as
he whispered:
“What are you doing here?”
“I was worried about you” Ami answered softly. “So I
followed you.”
For the first time since they had got together, Nephrite
felt really angry with Ami as he saw, out of the corner of his eye, that the
two Youma had heard the commotion and were coming to investigate.
Getting in front of her, Nephrite drew his sword to block
the first attack. He stumbled slightly at the force of the energy and threw it
wildly back in the direction of the second Youma. It was struck in the chest
and stumbled but did not fall. Instead it drew its own sword and lunged at him.
Nephrite brought his weapon up to block this, parrying for
a moment or two before leaping clear and throwing an attack of red magic at it.
Holding out a hand, the second Youma caught this attack
and threw it back at him. Nephrite evaded this by jumping to one side and the
wall that he had been hiding behind cracked with the force of the attack.
Moving back again, still keeping Ami behind him, Nephrite
grit his teeth as they both advanced towards him and he prepared himself for
the joint attack that he knew was coming.
The energy struck the hilt of his weapon, burning through
his gloves and forcing Nephrite to drop it to the ground.
Gasping, he fell back further as the first Youma lunged
straight at him, slamming one hand into his stomach and causing him to double
over in pain.
“Taro!” Ami cried out and made to run to his side when
Nephrite shouted back at her:
“Don’t be a baka! Just get out of here!”
Ami paused, torn, when the decision was made for her. The
second Youma made a move in her direction.
“Ami!” Nephrite all but threw himself at the Youma,
placing his body between them. The Youma snarled and slammed into him, throwing
him painfully back against the wall and pinning him in place.
“Taro!” Ami cried out again, but this cry was one of
terror. Glancing up at his girlfriend, Nephrite was horrified to see the first
Youma advancing on her.
“Run!” Nephrite shouted again as he conjured another ball
of red energy in his palm and slammed it into the Youma holding him. It gave a
scream as his fist connected with its chest, staggering back and releasing him
before slumping to the floor, dead as it hit the ground.
Upon seeing that Nephrite was free, Ami made to run, but
the Youma leapt in front of her, drawing a fist back and striking her round the
face. Ami shrieked and fell down onto the concrete as Nephrite reached them, his
sword now back in hand.
Furiously and taking the Youma completely by surprise,
Nephrite thrust his weapon into the creature’s chest, embedding it to the hilt.
His anger giving him strength that he didn’t know that he possessed, Nephrite
then ripped the sword from the Youma and allowed it to fall to the ground,
joining its comrade.
Ignoring its death cries, Nephrite knelt down beside Ami
and took her in his arms.
“Daijobu?” he asked, one hand gently touching her split
lip. Ami nodded, badly shaken, and wrapped her arms around him, burying her
face in the folds of his jacket, “I’m sorry.”
“As long as you’re okay” Nephrite reassured her as he
stood, pulling Ami up with him.
“Nephrite?”
He looked up when he heard Mamoru’s voice. Already
transformed into Endymion, he looked reproachfully at the two dead Youma and
said: “I thought we agreed that you would wait for me to get here?”
“We were ambushed” Nephrite answered him, “What was I
supposed to say? ‘Please can you wait a minute or two for my friend to get here
before trying to kill us?’”
“Very funny. You said that there are at least two more
Youma inside?”
“Hai.”
Endymion drew his sword, “Then shall we greet them?”
Nephrite, still wanting revenge for what happened to Ami,
grinned and nodded.
“Stay behind us” he instructed her as they moved slowly
towards the warehouse, “If there is any trouble run, promise?”
Ami, still shaken up, nodded mutely.
Leading the way, Endymion forced the lock on the door into
the warehouse. It was dark inside, the only light coming from a lantern set on
the floor at the back of the room and that flickered more often than not and
threatened to go out completely.
Endymion stepped inside fully and Nephrite followed suit,
making sure that Ami was shielded behind the both of them. The door blew shut
behind them, causing Ami to cry out slightly in fear. Her hand found Nephrite’s
own and she clung to him tightly, feeling more than a little vulnerable in her
human, and only, form.
Strangely enough, the warehouse appeared to be empty. Why
the two Youma had abandoned their leader’s hideout, Nephrite wasn’t sure but
couldn’t help but nervously joke to Endymion:
“It looks like we scared them off.”
Endymion nodded, allowing a small smile and then stated
that they shouldn’t let their guard down just yet as his gaze fastened on a
shape lying huddled at the back of the warehouse.
Squinting under the rapidly dimming light, Nephrite saw
that the shape was actually a person lying half hidden under some grey
blankets.
Moving together, they crossed the room, whilst keeping
their senses tuned to the aura around them. Despite the warehouse being
vacated, the Youma aura was still heavy in the air and this made Nephrite
uneasy.
Kneeling down beside the shape, Nephrite pulled the
nearest blanket aside.
“Kami-sama” he exhaled when he recognised the girl lying
before them.
“Usagi!”
“Usagi-chan!”
Endymion did not appear overly shocked to find her, more
relieved than anything else as he knelt down beside her, gently shaking her.
Usagi was bound, the ropes around her wrists digging a
little into her skin, and a gag was around her mouth, the roughness of the
fabric cutting into the corners of her mouth. Freeing the gag, Endymion pulled
her into his arms as Usagi opened her eyes.
“Mamoru” she smiled gently as she registered who held her,
“I knew you would come,” she murmured before her eyes slid closed again and she
fell forward in a faint.
“Usagi!”
“We need to get her out of here” Nephrite said as Endymion
cradled her still form in his arms, “Who knows what that bitch did to her?”
“She can’t go home” Endymion stood up, Usagi still in his
arms, “Ikuko cannot see her like this.”
“She’ll need medical attention.”
“Ami?” Endymion turned to the worried young woman staring
anxiously at his fiancée, “We can’t take her to a doctor. How can we explain
this? Everyone has seen Usagi the passed week or so. No one can know about
this.”
“We’ll take her back to your apartment” Ami answered
quietly, “I suspect she’s dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion. When she
wakes up we can give her something to eat and drink and look at these cuts and
bruises, but if she’s no better by morning then we will have to take her to a
qualified doctor.”
Endymion nodded in understanding of this but didn’t add
anything to Ami’s words. Nephrite understood his pain at seeing someone he
cared about in such a way and did not comment on this. Although, deep down, he
was really worried. It was becoming clear that Mio was strong, stronger than
she had been four years ago…
******
Usagi opened her eyes slowly, allowing her vision to come
back into focus and adjust itself to the soft light of the lamp next to the bed
that she was lying on.
She felt weak, horribly so and drained and her body shook
slightly under the duvet that was pulled up to her chin.
“Are you giving up already? Where’s the fun in that?”
“It is not a case of giving up. Mamoru will be here soon.
I know he will.”
Mio scowled at her undying faith, “Mamoru is oblivious to
my true form.”
“That’s what you think, but I know he’s looking for me.”
“Mamoru?” Usagi whispered, looking and smiling weakly at
the man seated beside the bed.
“Usagi. How are you feeling?”
“Fine” she wanted to say, but in actual fact all she could
muster was a small choked sob. Immediately, Mamoru took her in his arms and
Usagi clung to him, allowing her tears to fall and soak his shirt.
For a while they stayed that way, neither moving until her
tears subsided somewhat, leaving Usagi feeling rather ashamed.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly as she pulled away.
“Why?”
“For being so foolish as to allow myself to be captured.
For putting you through all of this.”
“Usagi” Mamoru answered, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, “What happened is not your fault. It