Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Fifty Six Recap:
(Kisho’s POV)
“Kisho?” he looked up as Mamoru entered the room, gently
pushing the door shut behind him. He had wondered how long it would take for
his friend to come here. He gave a half smile at this and turned his attention
back to the outside as Mamoru took a hesitant step in his direction.
“I’m sorry” Mamoru said as he came to his side, “I’m sorry
about yesterday.”
I should have known that it would only be a matter of time before Mamoru came to try and make me feel better about things, but he does not know what it is like, for me, as the leader of the Shitennou to become completely powerless. How could he know? How could anyone know how I was feeling?
“There has to be a way to reverse it” Mamoru said, always
the optimist. “Masaki, Taro and Seiichi think that perhaps they could do
something.”
Kisho shook his head, “There is nothing they can do.”
“There must be something” Mamoru answered stubbornly, “Are
you just going to give up?”
“Of course not” Kisho snapped. Deep down… he didn’t want
to give up… how could he do that? This was his destiny and he wasn’t going to
let this new enemy take it away from him.
Still, I had resolved not to give in to this. If I did
then it would be giving the enemy another victory and this I do not want. Being
one of the Shitennou is something that I cannot escape from and I have no wish
to. Even without my powers I can still feel a connection to my former self,
even though being Kunzite is not who I truly am anymore.
“I do worry for Ayame” he confided, “We are rather
isolated now and sometimes she is left alone, but I wouldn’t have moved us
there if I thought that we would have to fight again.” He also added that
perhaps they should move back into the city.
“You have spent such a lot of time and money on the place”
Mamoru pointed out, “It would be a shame to leave now.”
I admit Mamoru’s philosophy surprised me. I had thought
that he would insist that we moved back to Tokyo, after all it is safer in the
city, or so we thought.
“He wouldn’t tell me. He just said that we should go to
the hospital in Minato.”
“Then we should go there. We’re not going to find out
anything just by standing here.”
I know, deep down, Mamoru already knew. He could feel it
as much as I could. Me being the leader and Mamoru being the Prince we feel
things differently. We can feel when something has happened to one of our own.
******
Act Fifty-Seven:
Mamoru hated hospitals. Being in them brought back the
pain of Hina’s death and caused him to remind himself how he had wronged her by
not admitting his feelings sooner and how he was somehow responsible for her
death.
He sat in silence, as did his friends. Kisho was seated
beside him in the relatives’ room, the quiet calm of the man was usually
reassuring but now that Mamoru was so on edge he felt as though he was
completely alone.
Masaki stood at the other end of the room, looking out of
the window that overlooked the hospital grounds, his left hand was trembling as
he pressed his palm up against the glass. His right hand was balled into a fist
at his side.
Only Taro moved, pacing wildly up and down the room before
sitting down again and leafing through a magazine set on the table in the
middle of the room before getting up and pacing again. Then finally, unable to
bear the waiting any longer he declared:
“I’m going to find out what is going on.”
“Sit down” Kisho snapped, “We will be told in good time.”
“So we should wait?” Taro retorted, his voice cracking
slightly as he paused in front of Kisho.
“Yes” Kisho answered gently, “For now.”
“You didn’t see him,” Taro whispered as he forced himself
to be still, “He was barely breathing. The blood… he’s going to die.”
“Shut up” Kisho warned, “Shut up and sit down. Shina-san
will be here soon. Can you imagine what she would think if she came in and
heard you talking like this?”
Taro, subdued, nodded and slumped down on a seat opposite
them and silence reigned again until Mamoru could bear it no more and asked:
“What happened?”
Taro cast a glance at Masaki, as though willing him to
explain, but when he gained no response from the younger man, he said, “I don’t
know. We came into the studio and he was lying in one of the recording rooms. I
was late. Perhaps if I had been on time--”
“Don’t dwell on ‘what ifs,’” Kisho advised quietly, “You
aren’t to blame.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Taro answered. No
one replied to this. Mamoru, also, felt as though he should have realised that
something was wrong sooner. Perhaps if he had called Seiichi back? If he had
just acted a little sooner…
“No one is to blame” Kisho said again. Mamoru did not
respond to this and they lapsed into silence again.
“So you’re saying that they’ll attack blind at some point
and that is the time to confront them?” Mamoru asked, keen for Kisho’s input.
In the past life, Kunzite had always been able to see beneath the surface and
second-guess the enemy on many occasions and Mamoru hoped that it was the same
in the present. The fact that they were, again, fighting an unseen enemy did
not appeal to Mamoru despite his want to wait for them to make the next move
and he said as much.
Kisho shook his head, cracking a small smile as he did so
and was about to reply when Mamoru’s phone rang.
“Seiichi” he commented for Kisho’s benefit before
answering the call, “Hello?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few
seconds and Mamoru heard a clatter and the phone went dead. Frowning, he
glanced up at Kisho and shrugged. “He must have dropped it. I’m sure he’ll call
back in a few minutes.”
Despite Kisho’s words, Mamoru still couldn’t help but feel
responsible and this guilt was slowly gnawing away inside of him. He should
have called him back. He should have felt some concern for Seiichi instead of
dismissing what happened. The worst part of it was that Mamoru was pretty sure
that the call from his friend had been a call for help and he had not
responded. He hadn’t done anything and Mamoru wasn’t sure that he could forgive
himself for this.
“You weren’t to know” Kisho murmured quietly, guessing his
thoughts.
“But I should have known” Mamoru replied, “I should
have known, Kisho.”
As he said this, the door opened and a doctor stepped into
the room. Mamoru recognised her as Dr Miura, the doctor whom had ushered him
and Kisho to the waiting room when they first arrived at the hospital.
“How is he?” Taro said, immediately getting to his feet.
Dr Miura gently closed the door behind her and gestured for
him to take a seat again.
Taro refused, “Tell us what is going on? How is he?”
Sensing that Taro was too upset to do as she asked and
that none of the others had the energy or will to try and make him be seated,
Dr Miura gave in and answered, “He’s doing as well as can be expected.”
“And what does that mean? What’s wrong with him?”
“Taro, let her finish” Kisho said quietly. Taro sighed and
nodded, apologising but still refusing to sit down.
“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.”
“Can we see him?” Mamoru requested, swallowing hard after
he spoke to try and dislodge the lump that was stuck in his throat as he
struggled to absorb this information and assuage his own emotions long enough
to ask this question.
“His mother is with him at the moment” Dr Miura answered,
“I’m sorry but unless she says otherwise it is strictly family only.”
Mamoru nodded and she repeated that they were doing
everything they could and then left. As soon as she did so, Mamoru stood up.
“Where are you going?” Kisho asked softly, the look in his
eyes telling Mamoru that he, too, couldn’t quite believe that this was
happening.
“Someone has to tell Usagi-tachi what has happened” he
replied, “Whoever… whatever did this is probably still in Tokyo. They have to
be on their guard. I’ll also see if I can speak to Shina. She might allow us to
see him” he faltered off after stating and hurried from the room for Mamoru
couldn’t bear to be in there for a second longer. How could he be when this was
all his fault?
******
“So” Usagi said as she tucked into her third bag of crisps
and leaned back against the wall of the shrine, “How are we going to find this
Senshi Sword?”
After her initial protests, Rei found that Usagi had
relented far quicker than they had anticipated and appeared quite keen to
assist them in their search for the sword, although Rei had to admit that she
had no idea where to start looking. A quick glance in Minako’s direction
confirmed that she also didn’t know.
“It was cast down to Earth” Ami said thoughtfully, “But no
one knows exactly where?”
Rei nodded, “The Queen believed in us, that is why she did
what she did.”
Ami smiled, “Then it stands to reason that the sword must
be somewhere in Japan. It would make sense that the Queen would send it
somewhere where, one day, we could get to it. Otherwise it could be in a
foreign country and then we would have no way of getting to it.”
“I agree” Makoto nodded, “It must be in Japan, but where…”
she frowned, “Where would we start to look?”
Rei shook her head, unsure. She had hoped that one of the
others would remember something from the past life, which would lead them to it.
“We should start with Tokyo” Minako suggested, sensing how
lost her friend was, “What about trying the local shrines? Rei, can you use
your powers to find out some more information about it? Usagi-chan, perhaps you
could speak to Mamoru-san. Perhaps he or one of the Shitennou remembers
something about it?”
Usagi nodded and was about to reply when her phone started
to ring. “It’s Mamoru,” she cried happily when she checked her caller ID.
“Good timing” Makoto commented, “You can ask him now.”
Usagi gave no answered to this and took the call, “Mamoru?
How are you? You’re where? Why? What’s happened?”
Rei, like the other girls, had not been paying that much
attention to Usagi’s call until the tone of her voice suddenly changed. Looking
up, Rei saw the smile on her face fade and be replaced with a look of concern
and some fear. Her voice became strained as she continued to speak in a low
voice, but just loud enough to them to hear her.
“Do you want me to come down there? I understand that, but
I want to be there for you. Hai. Okay.”
She ended the call and set the phone back down on the
table, raising her head to meet the four questioning gazes of her friends.
“Usagi-chan?” Ami prompted after she was silent for a few
minutes. “What’s wrong?”
“Mamoru” Usagi said slowly, “He’s at the hospital.”
“Is he hurt?” Makoto said when she refused to elaborate on
this.
Usagi shook her head, “Mamoru’s fine.”
“Then what?”
“There was some sort of accident at Pento Studios.
Seiichi-kun is--”
“What is it?” Minako asked softly, even as Usagi suddenly
leapt forward and wrapped her arms tightly around the idol’s shoulders.
Taken aback by this reaction, Minako did not speak and did
not return the embrace. Rei could see that her friend was trembling and quietly
requested to know what was going on. Upon hearing the slightly cold tone in her
voice, Usagi released Minako and stood up, worrying her lower lip for a moment
or two before saying.
“Mamoru-tachi are at the hospital. He said that Masaki-san
and Taro-san found Seiichi-kun collapsed at the studio. He wouldn’t say what
was wrong. That means that its bad, doesn’t it?”
No one had an answer to this and Minako stood up, making
her way towards the door. “I’m going to find out what’s happened” she said,
struggling to keep her voice neutral but her feelings for Seiichi had always
been obvious to all of them.
“We’ll go with you” Usagi said, again hurrying over to
Minako and pulling her into another hug. Makoto also stood and announced that
she would call for a taxi for them, as it would be quicker than public
transport.
Rei frowned as she
watched the antics of their younger Princess. There was something… she just
couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Rei-chan?” Usagi questioned, seeing the frown on her face
and Rei smiled slightly and shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
Satisfied, Usagi went back to comforting Minako but Rei
still felt uneasy.
Usagi… what’s wrong with you?
******
It fell to Ami to lead the girls down the seemingly
endless corridors once they reached the hospital. As part of her training to
become a doctor, Ami had work experience one day a week in this very building
and more or less knew the hospital inside out. Mamoru had told Usagi which ward
they were on, as he didn’t think that they would even get passed reception
otherwise.
As soon as they had reached the hospital they had all
lapsed into more or less silence. Minako, outwardly, refused to show just how
worried she was, but Ami could see the pain in her eyes. Usagi, too, had noted
this and had not left her friend’s side since she had told her.
What exactly had happened? Ami did not know. Whether
Mamoru-tachi could shed some light on the situation or not, she didn’t know. By
the way Usagi had been speaking Ami got the impression that it was more than a
simple accident.
“This way” she murmured softly as they took yet another
turning. No one replied and Ami didn’t expect one. They all just wanted to find
out what was going on as soon as possible. Ami was also aware of how long it
was taking them to get to the correct ward. They had no choice but to enter the
hospital from a different wing as, already, the press had got wind of what had
happened and some hopefully reporters were gathered outside the main reception
looking for a story.
Then, finally, they entered the ward. Almost immediately,
Ami spotted the guys. Taro was leaning up against a wall, next to a water
cooler, and stared right at her, not registering that she was there for a few
seconds as he was lost in his own worried thoughts. Upon seeing her, Taro went
to Ami’s side. She hugged him tightly, not saying a word until they drew back
from their embrace.
Kisho and Masaki were standing a little way back, the
latter not reacting at all to the girls presence. Ami wasn’t sure what to make
of this at all. He appeared more than upset… almost angry, too, and Ami was
unsure as to why.
Makoto went to Kisho and said something inaudible. Kisho
nodded to this and they spoke quietly for a few moments until Usagi asked:
“Where’s Mamoru?”
“He’s in there” Taro answered her, indicating the room
directly in front of them. The door was tightly shut and had curtains pulled
all the way around so that no one could see in.
“Shina-san didn’t want a lot of people to see him right
now” Kisho offered as an explanation, “Mamoru was the only one of us who could
go in.”
“I see” Usagi bit her lip, “He’s alive then?”
“Of course” Taro sniped, and even Ami had to admit that it
was a pretty tactless statement, even for Usagi.
“What happened?” Minako asked, breaking her silence.
Taro shrugged helplessly, “I don’t know. I found him in
the studio after it happened.”
“After what happened?”
“He was attacked” Taro obviously didn’t want to describe
the scene in great detail and Ami silently willed Minako to stop questioning
him, but the idol was insistent.
“Look” Kisho said, taking over from the taller man, “We
only know what Dr Miura told us. That he’s still unconscious due to a severe
blow to the back of his head. He’s had a scan but they can’t tell us anymore
than that at the present time or if there will be any long-term effects. He’s
also got some minor burns and bruising to his body, which will be treated
properly at a later stage. Shina-san is with him at the moment and will only
allow Mamoru in to see him.”
Minako nodded mutely and Rei put an arm around her
shoulders in a gesture of comfort.
“Do they know what caused this?” Minako then asked, her
voice now becoming strained, “Do they know what happened to him?”
Kisho shook his head, “They don’t. We’re not likely to
find out what happened until he wakes up.”
“If he wakes up,” Usagi murmured, just loud enough for
them to hear.
“What do you mean?” Taro snapped sharply and the pigtailed
girl took a step back.
“Nothing” she lowered her gaze, “I’m sorry.”
“He’ll wake up” Taro said, more to convince himself than
the others and then added, “And when I find out who or what did this to him
I’ll kill them.”
“Taro” Ami soothed, placing a hand on his shoulder,
understanding his pain and wishing that there were something that she could do
to make him feel better. Of course, Ami knew that she could only be there for
him and nothing else.
As she did this, the door opened and suddenly all eyes
were on this doorway as Mamoru exited, his arm around Shina’s shoulders and it
took the distraught woman three or four tries to get the door to shut behind
them.
“How is he?” Taro asked immediately.
“Resting” Mamoru said, although from his expression Ami
could tell that it was worse than he was willing to let on in front of
Seiichi’s mother.
“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?”
Shina nodded, forgetting about the scream and uttering a
quiet sob before listing the people whom she needed to get in contact with.
From what Ami could recall, Seiichi had a brother and sister and when Shina
didn’t mention a father, Ami assumed that this meant that Shina either didn’t
see Seiichi’s father anymore or that he was dead.
Mamoru gave Makoto a grateful look as she started to guide
Shina down the corridor, away from the direction of the scream by saying, “I
think I passed a public telephone back here on the way in.”
As soon as she had gone, Mamoru, Taro, Kisho and Masaki
started in the other direction, towards the source of the scream. Usagi, also,
started to follow them, ignoring Mamoru’s request for her to stay back with a
stubborn:
“I can fight, too.”
Not being in the mood to argue, Mamoru gave him, but then
the pigtailed girl turned to face the others and said, “Minna, please stay
here. It could be dangerous.”
Rei looked as though she was about to protest, but Minako
simply nodded and slumped down onto a chair near the closed room door. Ami,
also, didn’t want to leave Taro to fight but reminded herself, whilst
subconsciously placing a hand on her stomach, that she had a responsibility to
her unborn child. She couldn’t fight, not in her condition, and, if she were
truly honest, she didn’t want Taro to either. If something happened to him…
Or so Ami forced to reassure herself as they hurried off
down the corridor in search of the source of the scream.
Once they had gone, Ami turned back to Minako, but the
idol was no longer seated. She paused when she realised that both her friends
were watching her, one hand poised on the door handle as she locked gazes with
Ami.
Ami could understand Minako’s desire to see him, but to go
against the wishes of his mother?
“Minako-chan” Ami began gently, “Shina-san doesn’t want
anyone to go in there. If he is that badly hurt then maybe you shouldn’t.”
Minako shook her head, dismissing her, “I have too. I have
to see him.”
“Then go” Rei encouraged her with a saddened smile, “Just
don’t be too long in there.”
Minako nodded, silently thanking her friends before
pushing the door open and slipping quickly into the room.
******
“Minako.”
She hesitated and then reluctantly turned around to meet
his gaze. “Don’t go” Seiichi requested softly.
“Why?”
“Because I like being here with you.”
“You do?” he nodded and then let go of her wrist.
For a moment neither of them spoke until Minako murmured
quietly “I like being with you, too.”
Slowly, Minako entered the room. Gently pulling the door
shut behind her before daring to raise her head to look at him as she couldn’t
help but recall their conversation of before and she felt tears building up in
her eyes before she forced them down. She had to remain strong. If she broke
down now…
Hesitantly, Minako approached his bed, shocked at his
appearance. He had various lines in, all of which were hooked up to an array of
machines behind the bed. Minako recognised one as being a heart monitor, but
the others she was unsure of. He was wearing an oxygen mask to help him
breathe. His breathing appeared to be stable, a little laboured perhaps, but he
could breathe more or less with ease, which was a good sign, Minako told
herself. She could see that the back of his head was heavily bandaged as were
his hands, some blood still seeping through and Minako hesitated slightly, her
hand hovering above his own. Then, making her decision, she took a seat on the
chair next to the bed and gently touched his wrist. He was cold and Minako
automatically pulled the blanket over him some more as she felt tears blur her
vision again.
“Seiichi” she whispered as again screams were heard from
outside and her grip on his wrist tightened. He didn’t react to her presence
and Minako had not been so foolish as to disillusion herself that he would wake
upon hearing her voice. She had known that it was serious, just from the look
in Usagi’s eyes.
“Who did this?” Minako spoke out loud again. She had read
once that when people were unconscious and seriously ill it was good to have
someone in the room and talking to them, just so they knew that they weren’t
alone. “Who did this to you?” and would they come back to finish the job? He
had not been injured in a battle. Someone had gone to the studio to kill him
and they only reason that they hadn’t was because Taro and Masaki had found
him. Minako shuddered, suddenly feeling vulnerable, as another thought crossed
her mind. What if whoever it was had come back to the hospital to finish the
job?
With the battle moving further away again, Minako knew
that she could only stay with him. Not being able to fight and defend him, she
knew that she had no choice but to leave things to Mamoru-tachi… for the time
being at least.
******
Taro ran in the direction of the screams, concentrating on
the battle at hand and secretly pleased to have something to vent all his pain
and anger on. Although, he did feel some slight apprehension as he recalled
what had happened last time.
Taro rounded the corner, seeing with horror that it was
indeed the Youma of yesterday. One already had a young nurse tightly around the
neck. She was still alive, barely, and weakly clawed at the hand that held her
as her energy was drained. Several patients already lay on the floor, and Taro,
from where he was standing couldn’t tell if they were alive or not.
As Taro followed Mamoru’s lead and transformed, the Youma
holding the nurse swung around letting fly a bolt of black energy. This struck
Nephrite in the stomach, throwing him back against the wall. He gasped in pain
and fell down, doubling over as Usagi ran to his side.
“Daijobu?” she cried, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Nephrite nodded, wanting to take a moment to draw breath
but, as he glanced up at the battle, he knew that this wasn’t going to be
possible.
After attacking him, the Youma had let go of its victim
and Kisho now had her in his arms, being unable to fight but at least being
able to help civilians. She was hardly breathing and he hurriedly turned her
over to another doctor before checking the people who already lay on the ground.
Looking up to meet Nephrite’s gaze, he slowly shook his head and Nephrite’s
rage heightened. Drawing his sword he lunged forward, seeing out of the corner
of his eye that Endymion and Jadeite were fighting the other Youma together
and, for the moment, were able to hold their own.
Nephrite swung his sword in a downward arch, catching the
Youma by surprise. It snarled in pain as it grazed its flesh, doing only mere
surface damage but the sight of its blood was enough to spur Nephrite on. He
struck at it again, this time finding his weapon blocked by the Youma’s own
blade. Nephrite leapt back in order to gain a better footing and this time
conjured a ball of red magic in his hand hurling it at the Youma’s chest.
Before it could make contact, it lashed out with a hand, striking the energy
and sending it back towards the stunned Tennou.
Nephrite barely managed to avoid this blow and felt it
graze his shoulder, tearing a hole in his uniform. Ignoring the burning
sensation that came with this, he gripped his sword tighter and braced himself
for the next attack. When it came it was as powerful as he had anticipated and
Nephrite allowed the full force of it to strike the hilt of his weapon.
Standing his ground, he grit his teeth and compelled himself to take it,
absorbing the energy into his sword, before casting it out to slam into the
Youma’s chest. It fell heavily, and Nephrite wasted no time in casting a
further attack at it, before embedding his sword in the Youma’s chest. As he
did so, it lashed out with its hand, catching him a blow round the face.
Nephrite, again, was thrown backwards, hitting the floor, as the Youma died,
its body turning to dust before his eyes.
He exhaled sharply, aware that he was trembling and he
felt blood running down the side of his face, and lay where he had fallen, his
strength all but spent.
Raising his head slightly, Nephrite gradually became aware
that the battle wasn’t over. Endymion and Jadeite, too, were gaining the upper
hand when it happened. The blonde suddenly drew back, clutching his head in
pain. Endymion paused, demanding to know what was wrong. Jadeite looked up at
him and shook his head, but this pause gave the Youma the chance it need. Endymion
took most of the force of the blow, stepping forward to shield Jadeite somewhat
as the blonde was obviously far from all right. Both men hit the floor, landing
near Nephrite as the Youma turned around, and took a step towards the
unprotected girl standing behind it.
“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.
As she screamed, Nephrite leapt to his feet, taking but a
few steps before he felt his transformation shimmer and fade away under this
extra exertion. Stumbling, he raised his head just as the Youma struck.
“Usagi!” Endymion cried out, racing forward although they
both knew that he would be too late.
Hardly daring to look, Taro saw the Youma take a step
back, its gaze fastening on the body of its comrade before invoking a teleport
before their very eyes.
Looking passed the spot that it had occupied, Taro saw
that Usagi was on the ground, trembling under Kisho’s body as the man stood,
before extending a hand to help her to her feet. She took this hand and
stumbled up before racing to Mamoru. He held her tightly whilst softly thanking
Kisho. The older man smiled slightly to acknowledge this.
For a moment no one spoke, until Taro’s gaze slid passed
Mamoru and Usagi and to the man leaning heavily against the wall behind them.
“Masaki?” Taro asked, suddenly unsure and he took a step
towards his friend.
Masaki shook his head, even as Mamoru released Usagi and
went to his side. “Daijobu?” he requested softly.
The younger man raised his head to meet Mamoru’s gaze
before drawing back a hand and punching their leader in the stomach. Mamoru,
not expecting this blow, doubled over, gasping at the force of the blow.
“Daijobu? You bastard! How dare you ask me that?” Masaki
screamed before launching himself at Mamoru.
Taro, expecting this, raced forward and grabbed hold of
his friend, pinning Masaki’s arms at his sides as he continued to scream.
“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?”
“Killed him?” Taro whispered, feeling his hold on Masaki
slipped but this no longer mattered as he had ceased struggling as Mamoru
replied:
“How could we tell you that? You didn’t remember. We felt
that it was better that way.”
“So instead you lied to me” Masaki said bitterly, “You
lied to me.”
“No” Kisho shook his head, “We were trying to protect
you.”
“You knew too?” Masaki whispered before lunging at Mamoru
again. Taro grabbed hold of him once more, having to pin the younger man back
against him as Masaki fought to get at Mamoru whilst screaming again:
“Who else knew? Did she know?” he demanded, turning his
gaze to Usagi’s. The pigtailed girl nodded, a little tearfully, and hid further
behind Mamoru.
“What about you?” Masaki suddenly broke free of Taro and
whirled around to face him. Taro took a step back, never before had he seen the
lambent fury in Masaki’s eyes like this and not liking it one bit.
“Know what?” he asked, forcing his voice to steady, “What
are you talking about?”
“That I killed him. That I killed him and enjoyed it. That
I murdered my friend.”
“That wasn’t you!” Mamoru shouted in protest, “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!” Masaki screamed back, shaking and a few tears
had trickled free to run down his cheeks as he forced out his parting words, “I
can remember laughing as he died. I can remember how good his death made me
feel. It was me. I killed him!”
“No, Masaki!” Mamoru started to go after him when Kisho
grabbed his arm and shook his head.
“Let him go. Let him calm down. You won’t be able to get
through to him like this.”
“He’s right” Usagi whispered, wrapping her arms around
Mamoru as she spoke.
“Is it true?” Taro asked softly, “Did Masaki kill
Seiichi?”
Mamoru nodded wearily, “After you died, Kisho went after
Kuroki Mio and Seiichi and I came up against Beryl. We fought and then Masaki
appeared. He killed Beryl, but he was different. Beryl, before she died, told
us that Metallia had been infused into his body so that she might be killed.
Once Metallia had entered him, Masaki had died. Metallia killed Seiichi and
then we fought. I managed to kill her but it cost me my life in the process.”
“More secrets” Taro stated quietly. “Even after all the
lies had cost us in the past.”
“It was for his own good. You saw how he reacted. How
could we have told him knowing how he’d react?”
“You should have told him” Taro snapped, “You should have
told me!”
“We hoped he would never find out, but now that he had,
when he has calmed down, he will see that it wasn’t him. That he was dead long
before it happened.”
“You really are a baka, Mamoru” Taro shouted, allowing his
anger to get the better of him, “Of course he’s going to blame himself! As far
as he’s concerned, he murdered his friend and there is nothing that we can say
that will make him think otherwise, not now. It’s been too long!”
“I was only doing what I thought was right!”
“Rather it was the easy way out” Taro retorted bitterly,
“We have a habit of doing that, don’t we, Mamoru? Had we gone after those Youma
to start with then Seiichi wouldn’t be in here!”
“You wanted to wait as well,” Kisho pointed out softly.
“I was wrong” Taro shot back, “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?”
“We don’t know who we are fighting.”
“You’re a coward! You just don’t want to fight. You want
to live your cosy little life with Usagi and nothing more.”
“That isn’t true!”
“Isn’t it?”
“Taro!” he paused as Ami cried out, stepping between the
two men. He had been so angry that he hadn’t even realised that the former
Senshi were present.
Placing a hand on his arm, she shook her head, “Please.
Please don’t argue, not here.”
Ami had an uncanny way of making Taro’s anger just
disappear and in this case it was no exception. He instantly felt terrible for
making things worse between them. Yes, Mamoru had lied, but he was right. How
could he tell Masaki that he had killed his friend? Taro, in Mamoru’s position,
doubted that he would have been completely honest about what happened. Still,
it didn’t make him any the less upset that they hadn’t at least told him the
truth, in fact, they had gone out of their way to lie to him about the entire
battle.
“I’m sorry,” he offered at length, and Mamoru nodded
appreciatively.
The tension was still there and Taro looked passed Ami to
see that Rei, Makoto and Minako were also present; the latter was very subdued
as she explained quietly that Shina was back now and that Dr Miura was speaking
with her.
“We should go, too” Kisho said quietly, “If they know more
then perhaps Shina will need someone, she is, after all, alone.”
“No” Makoto shook her head, “Wait.”
“Why?”
“The police are here. They would like to have a word with
you” Makoto explained.
“The police?” Usagi asked, suddenly on edge for reasons
that Taro didn’t understand, “Why?”
“This wasn’t an accident as we all know” Mamoru explained
to her in a low voice, “There will be a police investigation into this.”
Usagi chewed nervously on her lower lip as Mamoru then
asked Makoto whom the police wanted to see.
“Taro-kun and yourself” she answered, “And Ueda-san” she
then added uncomfortably.
“We’ll tell them that Masaki wasn’t feeling well and went
home. Kisho? Perhaps you will go and see if Shina needs anything?” Mamoru
asked.
Kisho nodded and silently started to walk back down the
corridor towards Seiichi’s room. Minako followed suit and, after a moment’s
hesitation, Rei and Makoto went after her leaving only Usagi and Ami behind.
Ami slipped her hand into Taro’s own and expressed that
she would come with him to the interview and Usagi agreed likewise.
Fleetingly, Taro wondered if the police would have any
objections and then dismissed this concern and tightened his grip around Ami’s
hand. Even if they did, he was past caring. He only wished fiercely that this
was all a dream and that he could wake up and it would all be over. Sighing
softly to himself, Taro knew, deep down, that this was not going to happen and
all they could do was wait… for the time being at least.
******
Mio held tightly onto Mamoru’s hand as they were led down
the corridor to the small interview room where the police were waiting. She
felt a little apprehensive, but was also more or less confident that they
wouldn’t suspect anything. After all, who would suspect an 18-year-old girl of
almost killing a 25-year-old man? In her Tsukino Usagi guise, Mio lacked the
strength to harm anyone. She nearly curled her lip back in disgust at this. She
hated feeling so weak… so pathetic.
“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.
Having to go through her normal form before taking on
another glamour meant that she had to pretend that she could no longer
transform and had to allow that fool Kunzite to save her. Mio hated this. She
hated being so helpless and even more so that they had managed to kill one of
her Youma. Of course, it had taken it all out of them to accomplish this feat
so she was not too worried. With Kunzite and Zoisite being unable to fight, and
now that Jadeite had left the group, she felt more confident than ever in her
ambitions. It was also an added bonus to be able to get this close to Mamoru
and be able to also observe the effects that her revenge was having on the
Tennou at the same time. Jadeite would never have remembered what his Metallia
self had done, had Mio not made it so. How could he when he was dead at the
time? One by one they were all suffering and for this Mio was glad.
Still… she bit her lower lip in worry. Seiichi had not
died. If he woke then he would tell Mamoru about her and Mio could not allow
this. Of course, with the former Senshi and Kisho guarding him, she knew that
getting to him would be almost impossible without revealing her true form. But
she would have to find a way to get to him before everyone found out who she
really was.
******
Act Fifty Eight Preview:
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?”
~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~
“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.