Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Eight Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
When Kisho learned of a Kuroki Mio contest, with the prize
giver being the Prince of the Diamond Kingdom, we thought that perhaps he was
the Prince that we were looking for.
He handed Mamoru the flyer and said, “Tell Kimura-san to
enter this. I’ll call you after the weekend to see how he did.”
At Kisho’s insistence, Taro entered the contest, as he is
the one who might have seen the Prince before when he was fighting against
Sailor Moon. Little did we know that it was a trap set by Dark Mars to kill
Sailor Moon.
“Good work” Dark Mars said coyly, “She fell right into our
trap.”
“Trap?”
I managed to reach her in time and rescue her from the
Youma’s clutches.
Sailor Moon winced as it raised its hand above her head.
She closed her eyes and prepared herself for death… the blow never came.
Cautiously she opened her eyes and gasped. Tuxedo Kamen
stood in front of her, his right hand clasped around the Youma’s wrist. Its
claws were still an inch away from his face, but Sailor Moon had little time to
worry for his safety. Snatching up the Moon Wand she quickly called out the
spell, even as the Youma threw Tuxedo Kamen to the ground.
The contest turned out to be another waste of time. The
Prince was only ten years old, and there was no way he could have been our
Prince! This didn’t please Taro, who is now convinced that Kisho set him up. We
really don’t need these pointless battles between ourselves and we’re no nearer
to finding the Ginzuishou either. If this carries on I might be forced to do
something drastic….
*****
Act Nine:
Our hands were joined
Because I won’t forget, right?
Someday you will hold me close, again.
Always, alw--”
“Venus!” Dark Mars snarled, as she entered the small room
belonging to the leader of the Senshi. Venus sat on a stool in the centre of
the darkened room. It was cold and Mars couldn’t help but shiver as she made
her entrance. The purple net curtains were pulled down over the windows whilst
shadows danced across the walls. The aura of the leader was strong and
threatened to overpower Beryl’s own. Venus stood as Mars entered, a smile
flickering across her face as she said:
“Do you like it?”
“Like what?”
“My song, of course.”
Mars frowned, “Beryl-sama grows impatient. Our plan to
kill Sailor Moon failed and all you can think of are songs?”
“I don’t have to worry” Venus said, getting down off of
the stool so that she could look Mars in the face, “My mission is to find the
Prince, remember?”
Mars snarled under her breath, “What about earning
Beryl-sama’s respect?”
For a second Venus appeared uncomfortable before
responding, “She wants the Ginzuishou, right?”
“Wait a minute! Mercury and I were assigned that mission!”
“And you have both failed. My plan is very much a simpler
one.”
“Really?” Mars was intrigued, despite herself.
Venus’s smile became a delighted grin at this, “The Kings
and Sailor Moon both also seek the Ginzuishou. I intend to let them find it
first and then steal it from them.”
“They won’t be so easy to defeat, especially if they do
find it first,” Mars warned.
“I know. That’s why I intend to kill them.”
******
Mamoru opened his apartment door for Hina as she leaned up
to plant a kiss on his lips. She had been thrilled to learn of ‘his’ win in the
contest and that the prize had been Kuroki Mio concert tickets. Mamoru supposed
that Hina was a little old to like the teen star, but everyone was different so
Mamoru guessed that it didn’t matter how old you were. He had hated every
minute of the concert, though he tried not to let it show. Kuroki Mio was
nothing special, in his opinion, and had the most obnoxious smile. It sent shivers
down Mamoru’s spine for reasons that he couldn’t fathom. When she had looked at
him, he had felt as though something far older was looking back through the
girl’s eyes.
“Mamoru-kun?” Hina asked as he paused, trying to shake the
image from his mind.
“Hai?”
“I had so much fun tonight. Thank you” Hina wrapped her
arms around him and pulled him into another embrace.
“I felt a little bad about forgetting about our date the
other day,” Mamoru admitted when she released him so that they might step inside
the apartment, “I’m sorry. I know you’ve been feeling a little lonely lately.”
Hina paused to take off her shoes and then turned back
round to face him, her eyes showing no blame and only concern, “You have been a
little distracted lately, but with work I suppose I haven’t been around much
either. Perhaps we could make this a regular thing?”
She must have seen the horror in Mamoru’s eyes as she
laughed gently and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I know, perhaps not Kuroki
Mio if you dislike her that much.”
“It’s not that” Mamoru frowned. He couldn’t explain it. It
was really strange. Forcing this out of his head, he said: “We can if you want
too. Is there any other groups or singers you want to see perform?”
Hina started listing some and Mamoru sighed to himself.
Either he was going to have to get another part time job or win lots of
contests. He grimaced at this thought. Taro would not ever go near any sort of
competition again after what happened yesterday.
Mamoru frowned and asked Hina if she had known this. She
shrugged, enquiring to know where this strange question had come from.
“It’s nothing” Mamoru replied, “We should go to bed. You
have college tomorrow, don’t you?”
“So do you” Hina replied as she shrugged off her coat, “Or
are you going to miss it again?”
“I’ll be there” Mamoru assured her.
“Good. You’ve worked to hard, Mamoru, I would hate to see
you throw it all away. It’s still what you want, right?”
“Of course.”
“Good” she smiled, “I’m going to bed. Are you coming?”
“In a minute” he replied, “There’s something I have to do
first.”
Hina nodded and went into the bedroom, shutting the door
behind her. For this he was glad for it meant that he would not be disturbed.
Mamoru hurried over to the computer and switched it on. He was concerned that
the noise might cause Hina to come and investigate, but she was obviously tired
and there were no further sounds from the bedroom.
Quickly, Mamoru opened his emails and scanned through the
one unsent item in his ‘drafts’ folder. He had read this a hundred times and
had never had the courage to send it until now. In fact, he had written the
email when he first learned of his mission. It seemed fine to him and Mamoru
hurriedly clicked on send before he could change his mind. After all, what
better way of finding something was there than advertising it to the media?
****
Kisho was in no hurry to get up that morning. It was
Monday and Ayame had school, but his class wasn’t until later on in the
afternoon and his part time job was only four days a week so he was granted a
lie in on a Monday, a lie in that Ayame was desperately jealous of and it
usually resulted in her hurrying into his bedroom to wake him. This, however,
was not the case this morning and instead Kisho could hear her crashing about
in the adorning room.
Slowly he opened his eyes, his first thoughts were to do
with the mission and he wondered how Kimura-san had got on with the contest. No
one had called so he assumed it was a waste of time. That was a pity, Kisho
mused. Had there been something in it then it would have been a perfect way of
making amends with Kimura-san without losing face.
As it stood now, Kimura-san probably hated him even more
for leading them on a wild goose chase. Kisho sighed and sat up, rubbing the
sleep from his eyes as an even bigger crash was heard from the next room. He
looked at his alarm clock. It read 07:30. What was Ayame doing?
Getting up, Kisho located his white bathrobe and slipped
it on before venturing out into the hallway. He knocked loudly on Ayame’s
bedroom door and demanded to know what she was doing.
“Nothing” came the reply and Kisho had learned only too
well that ‘nothing’ usually meant something. Sighing at the so-called maturity
of 14-year-old girls, Kisho opened the door and looked into her room.
Every single piece of jewellery that Ayame owned lay
scattered over the bedroom floor. The girl in question was knelt over the
jewellery box that had belonged to their mother and was searching through it,
picking up different necklaces and bracelets and then dumping them on the floor
as she looked again.
“Ayame? Have you lost something?”
“Nii-san?” Ayame jumped up, almost guiltily and smiled a
small smile, “You’re awake.”
“Hai” Kisho took a step towards her, whilst trying not to
tread on any jewellery as he did so. “What is this?”
“Look at this one” Ayame beamed and held up a diamond on a
golden chain, “Do you think this could be it?”
“Be what?” Kisho recognised the piece. Ayame’s father had
given it to their mother. Looking at it reminded Kisho of the life they used to
have. Frowning he took the piece from his sister’s hand.
“What are you doing?” he asked again in a softer voice.
“I’m looking for the illusionary Ginzuishou” Ayame
replied.
“The illusionary Ginzuishou?” Kisho repeated, unsure of
whether he had just imagined it or not, but when Ayame nodded his concern
deepened. “Why?” he asked, aware that his reaction had worried her somewhat.
“Because…” Ayame continued, “Everyone is. It could be
anywhere and I thought that perhaps…”
“That perhaps our mother had it?” Kisho finished for her
and when Ayame nodded he added, “Put all of this back and get ready for school.
I don’t want you talking of the Ginzuishou again.”
“But, Nii-san!” Ayame hurried pushed passed him and ran
into the front room, “Look!” she pointed to the television screen.
“It could be anywhere. It could be in your jewellery box
right now” a man in his late twenties was saying. He wore a smart grey suit
with a nametag pinned to the right lapel. He smiled a knowing smile as he
finished the sentence. The smile made Kisho uneasy.
“That was Professor Izono” Ayame explained, “He’s a
Ginzuishou expert.”
“A Ginzuishou expert?” Kisho frowned. These hacks would
cash in on anything if they thought there was money involved. The Ginzuishou
was as old as the Earth itself. How could he possibly claim to know anything
about it?
“Yes” Ayame said a little impatiently, “He says if anyone
finds the Ginzuishou then they must let him know straight away so that he can
come and see if it is the real one.”
“Why would anyone want it?”
“Because there is a five million Yen reward for the person
who finds it of course!”
“And who is offering this reward?”
“A man called Tuxedo Kamen.”
****
Taro looked up as Tamura Kisho pushed open the double
doors to Crown, almost smashing them back against the wall in his eagerness to
get inside. Frowning, Taro remembered that it was Monday and that both Masaki
and Mamoru would be in college. Motoki thankfully was in the storeroom looking
for some turtle food, and Taro was glad of this. He did not want Kisho hearing
his Boss’s ‘kawaii’ little nickname for him.
“What do you want?” he demanded of Kisho, still feeling a
little annoyed about the events of the weekend, “If its to humiliate me again
then you can just leave now.”
“Don’t flatter yourself” Kisho sniped back, “Just turn on
the television.”
“Why?”
“Just do it?”
Normally Taro would hate being told what to do by anyone,
especially Kisho, but there was something in the other man’s voice that made
him do as he was told.
“The illusionary Ginzuishou could be anywhere,” the news
reporter was saying, “It could be sitting in your jewellery box right now.”
“What the…?” Taro hissed and added some choice swear words
under his breath, “What is this?”
“There’s more” Kisho added, “They are claiming that Tuxedo
Kamen is offering a five million Yen reward for the person who finds it first.”
“That’s insane! Mamoru wouldn’t do that!”
“I know” Kisho replied a little impatiently, “It is the
Dark Kingdom,” with that Kisho turned and started to walk out of Crown.
“Wait!” Taro lunged forward and grabbed hold of the other
man’s arm, to both of their annoyance. “Where are you going?”
“There is this so called Ginzuishou expert called
Professor Izono. He’s telling people to bring suspect Ginzuishou’s to his house
in the Ginza District. Obviously he is working for the Dark Kingdom. If someone
does bring him the real Ginzuishou…” Kisho let the rest of the sentence hang
and added, “I intend to put a stop to this before it gets out of hand.”
“What about Mamoru and Masaki?”
“They’re in college” Kisho shrugged Taro’s hand off of
him, “It’ll be a Youma and Dark Mars at the most. Nothing to bother the others
with. I suggest you get back to your cleaning” he added acidly as he left. Taro
let him, his face burning with a mixture of humiliation and fury.
How dare he? Taro clenched a fist to hard that his hand
hurt when he uncurled his palm. Kisho had no right to… the man was also a fool.
The Ginzuishou would attract more than just a Youma. Dark Mars and other
enemies could also be present, as well as the possible Prince and Sailor Moon.
How could Taro let him go alone?
Still, he was loath to go after him. Kisho would not
welcome his help. Taro frowned, would Kisho accept Mamoru’s help? The two seemed
to have become firm friends so perhaps… and Mamoru needed to know what was
going on!
Making his decision Taro called out to Motoki that he was
going out for a while, ignoring the man’s angry cries at being left so
suddenly. If this was a Dark Kingdom trap then Kisho had just walked right into
it.
*****
Usagi paused outside the huge iron gates of the Izono
mansion. She hadn’t expected it to be this big… sighing she pulled out her cell
phone. There were guards everywhere. How was she supposed to get in? Even with
her transformation phone it was going to be difficult.
“Usagi-chan, don’t give up!” Luna urged from her place on
Usagi’s shoulder. The pigtailed girl had missed school for this and whilst she
didn’t like school very much, it was going to be difficult explaining her
absence to Haruna-sensei and her mother.
“Remember!” Luna continued, “The mission is counting on
you! You need to obtain the Ginzuishou to free the Senshi and find the Princess.”
“The Princess?” Usagi repeated apprehensively, “What about
the Prince?”
She could have sworn Luna turned pale at this and then the
feline shook her head, “I don’t know. The Princess is who matters. Usagi-chan!
Do your best!”
“Hai!” she gave her a policeman style salute and quickly
flipped open the phone. “Change!”
Seconds later her school uniform was gone and Usagi found
herself wearing a policeman’s uniform. Giggling she did a little twirl. Still…
I have to get inside…
Usagi shrieked as she was roughly pushed aside. She
sprawled back onto the pavement as the man pushed past. “Watch where you’re
going!” she called, but choked on her words as she recognised the man.
“Kunzite?” she whispered as he drew his sword and charged it with a blue light
before slashing it at the gates and remaining guard, knocking them all to the
ground. Usagi grinned to herself despite the situation. It looked like she no
longer had to worry about getting inside.
“Usagi-chan, don’t let your guard down.” Luna warned, “The
kings are also after the Ginzuishou! We must hurry!”
“Ok!” Usagi beamed and climbed over the unconscious
guards, “I’ll be right back. Wish me luck!”
Luna shook her head as she watched her young charge hurry
in the wake of the older man. She just hoped that Usagi would be all right.
*****
When Mamoru got to college he knew there was something
wrong, even before Masaki raced up to him and held a paper with headlines that
read ‘The Greatest Treasure hunt of the 21st Century. Find the
illusionary Ginzuishou and receive five million Yen!”
“What is this?” he asked in a low voice as they walked
down the corridors. Every where Mamoru looked girls were comparing glittering
jewels to pictures that Ginzuishou ‘expert’ Professor Izono had sent out to all
the media in Tokyo.
Mamoru sighed, seeing no point in denying what he had
done, “I thought it would be a good idea. If more people were looking for it…”
he trailed off, “I was desperate!” he sniped when he saw Masaki’s doubtful
expression.
“And the five million Yen?”
“I didn’t say anything about a reward or a Ginzuishou
‘expert’. I don’t know where they got that from!”
Masaki frowned, unsure of what to say when another person
joined them.
“Taro-kun?” both men were surprised to see him. He must
have run from Crown, Mamoru realised as his friend was still dressed in the red
overalls.
“I take it you’ve heard” Taro said, sounding angry as
usual, “What fools! As if we would be stupid enough to advertise the Ginzuishou
to anyone! This is obviously a Dark Kingdom plot!”
“That’s just what we were saying” Masaki replied and
Mamoru shot him a grateful smile. He was beginning to regret his actions though
it seemed that Masaki also thought it would be best if Taro didn’t know the
truth.
“That’s not the worst part!”
“It’s not?”
“That idiot Kisho realised it too and after coming into
Crown and giving me grief over it he charged off to the Izono mansion to
confront the Youma or whatever the Professor is!”
“Alone?” Mamoru demanded. If it was a trap then it was
obvious that the Dark Kingdom would have more than a simple Youma waiting for
them. “Taro, why did you let him?”
“Why do you think I’m here? As much as I despise him I
don’t want him to get himself killed!”
“How good of you” Masaki put in sarcastically, infuriating
the other man more.
“I suggest we go to this Izono-san’s mansion and find
Kisho before he does something stupid” Mamoru put in, but Taro stopped him as
he turned to leave the college.
“Mamoru-kun, you should stay here.”
“Why?”
“Because the police are on the look out for Tuxedo Kamen.
If they see you then we’ll have to deal with them and a Youma” Taro explained,
“The best thing you can do is wait here for us.”
Mamoru frowned, his regret deepening at this and the
knowledge that because of his foolish actions he would be unable to fight.
“I’ll come to Izono’s” he said at last, “Perhaps I can
provide a distraction like this so that you can get in?”
He would not be moved on this subject and Masaki and Taro
were forced to yield.
“Just don’t transform” Taro advised him.
“I won’t” Mamoru promised as they hurried from the
college.
I have no intention of messing up like this again, Mamoru
added to himself.
*****
Kunzite surveyed the unconscious servants inside the mansion
with a curious calm. It was as he had expected; a Youma.
The mansion had many rooms and two wings, but Kunzite
could sense an evil aura and this place simply radiated evil. There was also a
Senshi present. Dark Mars? Kunzite frowned, the aura was similar, the same
twisted evil, but somehow different. He paused by the third room that he came
to. The aura was strongest here. Kunzite drew his sword and used his powers to
blast the door off of its hinges. Upon hearing no reaction from within, he made
the mistake of venturing into the room himself.
There were two figures standing by the window. The first
was Izono himself. He smiled a feral smile when he saw Kunzite. The other gave
no sign of having noticed the king. She had her back facing him, but Kunzite
knew that she too was a Sailor Senshi.
Kunzite held his blade out in front of him as Izono glowed
and then slumped to the floor; a Youma emerging from the man. The Youma stood
on two legs and was colourful like a chameleon. Its hands were more like ivy
branches and its legs like roots of a tree. Delicate fronds sprouted from body
and, as Kunzite watched, some fronds sprung from the main body of the Youma and
wrapped themselves around his sword. Angrily, he struggled to rip his weapon
from its grasp, but the Youma was quicker. It jerked backwards, the force of
this pulling Kunzite to the floor. His weapon clattered to the ground several
feet away, beside the Senshi.
Kunzite stood, holding out a hand with the intention of
flinging an attack of raw power at the Youma, when the Senshi stepped forward
and held out a hand. A beam of yellow light shot forward from her fingertips
and Kunzite had to turn his attack into a shield to absorb this new onslaught.
He had to turn his back on the Youma; he had no other choice and it took
advantage of this. Fronds shot out once more and entwined themselves around
Kunzite’s throat, forcing the king to his knees.
“Now” the Senshi grinned as the Youma started to sap his
energy, “When your friends get here the real fun can begin…”
*****
Usagi wandered through the grounds, vainly searching for
Kunzite. The mansion had fallen silent, which Usagi knew couldn’t be a good
thing, but she was loath to go in there alone. If Izono were a Youma then
surely it would be better to wait until the rest of the kings showed up and
then go to attack it? This made perfect sense to Usagi, who wouldn’t admit to
being just a little afraid and rightly so! She was only one Senshi! Without her
teammates to help her she could be killed before the mission was complete. That
is just an excuse, she sighed to herself. I should really go in there and see
if Kunzite is ok at least.
Usagi shrieked as she was roughly pushed aside. She
sprawled back onto the pavement as the man pushed past. “Watch where you’re
going!” she called, but choked on her words as she recognised the man.
“Kunzite?” she whispered as he drew his sword and charged it with a blue light
before slashing it at the gates and remaining guard, knocking them all to the
ground.
“He’ll be ok,” she said to herself as she remembered the
violence of the strongest king.
Then Usagi heard some rustling in some bushes just off to
her left. She squeaked in surprise and ducked behind a wall, just as a dark
figure stepped out of the shadows.
“Tuxedo Kamen!” Usagi gasped. He was here? Was he crazy?
The entire police force was looking for him! And, to the girl’s horror, she saw
some policemen moving towards where Tuxedo Kamen stood.
“He’s always saving me,” Usagi said to herself, “So it’s
about time I returned the favour!”
Holding up the cell phone she grinned to herself as her
transformation was complete. Maybe if she saved him he would finally reveal his
true identity to her!
*****
Jadeite and Nephrite had transformed as near to the
mansion as they could without risking being seen and Mamoru kept running with
them until they were well inside the grounds of the Izono mansion. It turned
out that all the guards had been knocked out, probably by the Youma, so there
was no need for Mamoru to provide a distraction. Jadeite knew that his friend
hated feeling so useless, especially when Nephrite told him that he couldn’t
come any further. The police aside, Jadeite also knew that if there was a
battle then Mamoru could get hurt. As it was he had already been injured even
in Tuxedo Kamen form. Reluctantly, Mamoru had agreed and they left him making
his way slowly back out of the grounds to await their return.
Now inside the mansion, it was easy for the two remaining
kings to follow which way Kunzite had taken.
“Not exactly subtle is he?” Jadeite commented, trying to
raise a smile from his serious companion. Nephrite glowered darkly, and
replied:
“He’s the fool.”
Jadeite shrugged. “We’ll see.”
And they did a moment later. Jadeite was first to enter
the room; though the door was lying at an angle so ‘entered’ might not have
been the right word.
Even Nephrite was shocked as their eyes took in the scene
before them. Kunzite was slumped on the ground, barely managing to keep himself
conscious and a Youma stood over him. The vines around Kunzite’s neck were
sucking his energy and when Jadeite stepped forward, raising his own sword with
the intention of freeing his friend, the Senshi stepped forward.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she said, waving a
hand at them. She was dressed very much like Dark Mars, except for her fuku was
orange and the bow at the front was a dark blue. Her hair was blonde and fell
down her back in curled waves. Her eyes narrowed and to accentuate her earlier
threat the Youma tightened its grip on Kunzite, causing the man to cry out in
pain as the tiny hairs on the vines dug into his throat.
Jadeite paused, as did Nephrite, both ignoring Kunzite’s
gasps that they should just kill the Youma and Senshi.
The Senshi liked this and smirked before stepping forwards
to introduce herself.
“I am the Senshi of vanity and unrequited love, Dark
Venus. I hear you’ve been giving my friends Mercury and Mars quite a hard time
between the lot of you. I really don’t understand why. My Youma easily
overpowered this one” she nodded to Kunzite. “Now, if the pair of you don’t
drop your weapons then my Youma will kill him.”
Jadeite glanced at Nephrite for guidance. What did they
do? They couldn’t surrender to her, but they couldn’t let Kunzite die either.
Slowly, the red haired man unsheathed his sword and then
placed it down in front of him before kicking it towards Dark Venus. Jadeite
followed suit and the Senshi grinned gleefully.
“Now, which one of you has the illusionary Ginzuishou?”
“What are you tal--” Jadeite started, but Nephrite
silenced him by stepping forward.
“Its here” he uncurled a gloved hand to reveal a
shimmering glass stone lying in the centre of his palm.
Jadeite’s eyes widened in shock to stare upon it and even
Kunzite was unable to suppress his astonishment at this unprecedented turn of
events.
“Give it to me” Venus commanded reaching forwards, but
Nephrite stepped back.
“Release Kunzite first.”
“You are in no position to make demands!” Venus retorted
sharply, “Give me the Ginzuishou or he dies!”
“Then take it” Nephrite said, drawing his arm back and
then hurling the stone out of the open window.
“No!” Venus cried, racing forward as though to catch it.
As she moved, so did Nephrite. He dived forward and snatched up his blade, the
sword slicing through the Youma’s arm that held Kunzite. It screamed as green
blood sprayed from its severed limb and fell backwards. Kunzite tore the
remaining vines from around his neck and grabbed up his own weapon as Nephrite
struck again, stabbing the Youma in the back. It died instantly and fell at
Venus’s feet.
“You!” she seethed, “You’ll regret this!” and with a flash
or orange light she teleported from the room.
Jadeite stood still for a moment, partly in shock at
underestimating his comrade, even as Nephrite sheathed his sword and extended a
hand to help Kunzite up. The man took the offered palm, staggering once before
gaining his footing. As he did so, he de-transformed and Jadeite supposed that
the effort of keeping the transformation going whilst having his energy drained
was simply too much.
“Daijobu?” Nephrite asked, his voice breaking the spell
between them. Kisho frowned angrily and practically ran from the room.
Nephrite laughed at this, “A thank you would have been
nice!” he called after him.
“Now that would just be pushing it” Jadeite replied for
him, “Where did you get the fake Ginzuishou from anyway?”
“Some woman was selling them in the college grounds”
Nephrite shrugged, “I thought something like this might happen. Why?”
“You surprised me, that’s all.”
Nephrite laughed again, “I surprised myself” he admitted,
“Though I wonder how long it will take him to get over the fact that I saved
his life?”
Jadeite sighed. He had dared to hope that because of this
the two of them might finally put their differences behind them. He had
obviously thought wrong.
*****
Usagi ran, Tuxedo Kamen’s hand clutched tightly in her own
as she fled the police.
“Hurry!” she urged him as they rounded another corner. It
had been a good idea to use the cell phone to transform into a Tuxedo Kamen
look-alike and distract the police, a good idea at the time that was. Now with
half the police force chasing them, Usagi was beginning to regret it.
She turned another corner and thankfully the police raced
passed. Sighing in relief she leaned back against a wall to catch her breath
before peering round at her companion, waiting to receive his thanks for saving
him.
“Ano…” he grunted, a smirk twisted his lips as a hand
reached out to her one that was still clutched around his wrist.
“Eh?” Usagi blinked, unable to believe her eyes when
Tuxedo Kamen, with one quick movement, ripped off his mask! He then proceeded
to pull of his right glove before a fine fingered hand moved to Usagi’s own
hand and pulled the glove down before rubbing against the bare skin of her
wrist almost teasingly.
“Hentai!” she screamed, pushing him backwards. This wasn’t
the real Tuxedo Kamen at all! She had saved an impostor!
The police heard her screams and tore round the corner,
pouncing on the fake Tuxedo Kamen before he could get away. Usagi smiled in
satisfaction until they saw her and a cry went up from the officers not
restraining the fake one.
Usagi gasped and fled, the police hot on her trail. Her
heart pounded painfully in her chest as she ran. She was relatively fit, but
she had already been running a lot today and already her legs were starting to
burn with the added exertion.
What if they caught her? How would she ever explain that
to her mother? It was a stupid thing to think of at a time like this, Usagi
knew, but she was scared. Luna would be furious also if she knew.
Then suddenly and without warning, Usagi felt a hand clamp
down on her wrist and jerk her aside into some undergrowth. She hit the ground,
the breath being knocked from her body as she did so. She opened her mouth to
scream for help, but a gloved hand pressed against her mouth, forcing her to be
silenced. The police ran passed and the hand was removed.
Usagi took a deep breath and turned to face her attacker.
“Tuxedo Kamen?” she whispered. This was the real one and
Usagi berated herself for ever thinking that the impostor came close to
resembling the real thing. The real Tuxedo Kamen had a truly gentle smile that
Usagi would go to sleep thinking about night after night.
“Thank you” she said shyly, “It seems you are always
saving me, doesn’t it?”
He smiled that smile now before standing and turning away
with a flip of his cape.
“Wait!” Usagi cried, and the sadness that entered her
voice caused the masked man to turn around. “Why are you after the Ginzuishou?
Why does it mean so much to you?”
He frowned, his forehead creased in thought before he
answered, “The Ginzuishou will help us with our mission.”
“Your mission?”
“To find the Prince and protect him.”
“The Prince…” Usagi whispered, her own thoughts drifting
back to her dream.
A part of her knew deep down that it was a dream. The
meadow that they were sitting in was too lush and green to be situated in the
city and the sky was too bright and blue to be anything more than a fantasy.
Despite knowing this, Usagi did not care. She was happy, a playful grin etched
across her face as she bit into the slice of cake that was handed to her. The
man sitting to her left laughed as she managed to get crumbs down the front of
her pure white dress. Usagi giggled again, raising her head to look at her
companion. She could never see his face. This saddened her. Obviously he meant
a lot to her and she could only see his shadow.
Then he leaned over and took her hand in his own as he
pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
Tuxedo Kamen turned away again feeling, perhaps, that he
had told her too much.
“And who is this Prince? Do you know him?”
Tuxedo Kamen shook his head, “I do not, but he is my
Master and once we find him and obtain the Ginzuishou everything shall fall
into place. You, too, are after the Ginzuishou. This might mean that we become
enemies.”
“Enemies? I don’t want to fight you!”
Tuxedo Kamen tossed his cape over one shoulder and walked
away, casually calling back to her: “Then don’t get in my way!”
“It can’t be…” Usagi whispered, “Enemies… I can’t fight
him… I can’t…”
Slowly she turned and started to walk towards home, her
heart heavy as his words rung in her ears and what they might mean.
*****
Act Ten Preview:
Venus smirked and held out some sheets of paper, “I have
finished my song. I’ll use this to find the Prince and earn Beryl-sama’s
respect. She won’t tolerate failures like you, Mars.”
“And what makes you think that you will succeed?”
“The kings have an advantage over us that they too know of
the Ginzuishou, right? Well they know nothing of the Prince. We are on equal
ground and this time” her expression darkened, “This time I won’t loose.”
~~~~~
“The heir to the Diamond Kingdom, Prince Thaia, has been
rushed to hospital after collapsing at home” the news presenter announced.
“Prince Thaia is the third Prince to fall ill with symptoms varying from
dizziness, sickness, or headaches. Even the country’s leading physician is at a
complete loss as to what could have caused this.”
“Coincidence?” Masaki wondered.
“I don’t believe in coincidence” Kisho murmured darkly,
“Someone is after the Prince.”
~~~~~
“That’s as far as you go, Sailor Moon.”
“What?” Sailor Moon skidded to a halt as a figure stepped
out of the shadows. It was clear that the blonde, fuku clad girl before her was
a Sailor Senshi, too and this knowledge made Sailor Moon’s heart ache. They
were meant to fight together!
“I can’t have you interfering with my strongest Youma” she
continued, “I prepared it especially for them. This is as far as you go. Venus
love-me… chain!”
~~~~
“Usagi-chan!” Luna warned when she recognised the steely
determination in her charge’s eyes, “You must keep away from Tuxedo Kamen! You
cannot trust him!”