Act One:
Her heart was pounding in her
chest, her breath was coming out in short, ragged gasps as her white-gloved
hand closed around the keys to the safe. Her brown eyes darted to the slumped
form of the security guard and a soft sigh escaped her lips as he continued to
snore loudly. Quickly, she moved, her breath now quickening as she turned to
the safe itself. She slipped the little silver key into the lock. It opened
with a painfully loud snap and the guard grunted, startling her. Frozen, she
could only crouch helplessly under the desk as he shifted his position and one
hand scratched lazily at his stomach, still in the fits of a dream.
Again, she exhaled and turned
back to the safe, her shaking hand now reaching inside and taking out a velvet
jewellery box. Her heart skipped a beat as she opened it to reveal a glimmering
silver gemstone.
“Is this the illusionary
ginzuishou?” she wondered to herself. Indeed the jewel was very beautiful. How
could it not be so? Making a decision, she stood and turned. This was easier
than she had dared to hope.
She exited the building the
same way that she entered, through the skylight. There had been no cameras, but
she would not have cared even if there had of been. No one could see through
her transformation. Now, out on the roof, she shivered and once again stared
down at the crystal.
Have I done it? Have I
completed my mission?
Then the alarms went off,
jolting her out of her thoughts. She quickly vaulted to the small staircase and
climbed down the metal ladder, keeping the jewel clutched tightly in one hand.
She would not lose it, not this time. She would not let him interfere.
But, even as she jumped the
last few rungs and turned, he was waiting for her. She stepped back, unsure of
herself and that he had seen her in the dark. He had done and held out his
hand.
She dodged the first shot of
purple light that was hurled her way; cartwheeling to safety and then striking
a pose whilst uttering her own attack. The magical tiara shot towards him, but
he used his cape as a shield and blocked it before it could strike home.
Now all she could think of was
escape. Rushing forwards, she cartwheeled again; this time spinning right
passed him. She landed on her hands and knees, her palms scraping painfully on
the gravel. Biting her lip, she silently cursed when he looked at her and
smiled, holding up the supposed ginzuishou by its silvery chain.
She had underestimated him
again, she always did. She could now hear the police sirens growing closer and
she spun away, leaping over puddles of rainwater and trying to assuage the
tears that stung at her eyes. He did not follow her. He had no need to. With a
flip of his cape he vanished into nothingness.
In the night’s sky, the
moonlight shone down upon the now deserted road…
******
“The illusionary ginzuishou…
please…”
The dark
haired man woke the same as he did each morning, thrashing about as though
trying to grasp a dream that escaped him, even as his consciousness returned.
It had always been that way. A woman was beckoning to him, yet he could never
remember what it was that she wanted, or a feature of her face. He bolted up
right, the dream had faded and now his sleep filled mind was focusing on the
usual sounds and smells of his one bedroom apartment in the Juuban District of
Tokyo, Japan.
In the
adjourning room, he could hear his fiancée, Hina, moving about and smell of
bacon and eggs wafted down the corridor and underneath his bedroom door. He
could also hear the annoying alarm clock that he had bought her one New Year
playing its usual wake-up theme. Annoyed, he slapped his hand on the top of it,
cutting the Moonlight Sonata off mid-note and sat up. He was
rubbing at his eyes, even when Hina re-entered the room, carrying his breakfast
to him on a tray.
“Mamoru-kun”
she smiled, setting the tray down on the bed before leaning over to kiss him
good morning.
Mamoru
returned her embrace with a little less enthusiasm. He was still struggling to
recall that dream. The dream made him feel uneasy. It brought about feelings
towards his fiancée that resembled doubt and the feeling that he was missing
out on something far greater. Studying her face, Mamoru knew that whilst Hina
was pretty, she meant more to him than just that. They had grown up together
and her parents lived in England. They had entrusted Mamoru with Hina and over
time, Mamoru had began to fall in love with her. Hina was smart and was
training to be a doctor as was Mamoru. He would always tell her how special she
was, but really Mamoru’s thoughts had been distracted of late. He often skipped
college and went for long walks by himself, trying to decipher his dreams.
“I made you
breakfast in bed” Hina continued, a shy smile upon her red lips as she spoke.
Mamoru did love her smile. It lit up her entire face. Hina, whilst appearing
very confident, was not so around people who did not know her that well. She
was polite to the point of being obsessive and this could often get on his
nerves. Mamoru had begun to notice the little things lately. He often snapped
at her and lost his patience, even when he knew that it was not her fault.
She set the
tray down upon his lap and continued to smile down at him. Mamoru was unnerved
slightly, until he realised that she wanted him to thank her and he did so,
earning another smile before she announced that she had a call to make and left
the bedroom.
Now she had
gone, Mamoru’s stomach turned at the sight of the full breakfast before him. He
hated eating when he had just woken up and the smell of the bacon was making
him nauseous. Grimacing, he forced himself to cut off a sliver of bacon and
take a bite. It tasted like cardboard in his mouth and Mamoru had to drink half
of the glass of orange juice before taking the next bite.
Again, the
last of the orange juice followed this and he set the knife and fork back down,
deciding against eating anymore. Hina wouldn’t mind, and if she did Mamoru
would just eat the rest to make her feel better as he was that sort of person.
Today was
Saturday and Mamoru was in no particular hurry, as he got dressed, pulling on a
pair of old jeans and a white T-shirt. Whilst doing so, he mulled over what he
had to do that day. This afternoon he was going to work at Crown Karaoke.
Mamoru’s best friend, Motoki, worked there and often needed a hand on Saturday
afternoons when there were kids parties being held there. Mamoru sniggered
slightly recalling that all the children would run rings around his
good-natured friend.
This morning,
however, Mamoru didn’t really have to be anywhere. Hina, he knew, was going to
work. She did voluntary work in the hospital on weekends as part of her course.
Mamoru was supposed to be, too, but he had so many other commitments and had
been losing interest lately…
Ever since I had that dream…
“Mamoru-kun! I’m going now. I’ll see you
later” Hina broke into his thoughts once again and Mamoru called out a reply
and waited until he heard her locking the front door to their apartment, before
venturing into the small kitchen.
When they had
first moved into the apartment, the kitchen had been nothing more than a rusted
sink, a couple of broken chairs and a wooden table. Over time, and the fact
that Hina’s parents had money, it meant that they had gradually refurnished the
entire apartment. The kitchen was now painted a shade of vibrant yellow, had a
white tiled floor and new cupboards, sink, cooker, shelves and utensils. Hina
loved to cook, especially meals from Western cultures, and could spend hours
preparing culinary delights for them both. Breakfast, however, had always been
a trial. Mamoru smiled at this, it was only because he loved Hina that he would
put up with it. She made him happy and they had been together for a long time.
Despite Mamoru’s present problems, he knew that she would always be there for
him.
He washed up
the breakfast things and decided to go for a drive. Mamoru owned a motorbike.
It was cheap to run and only had room for one passenger so he was not roped
into giving rides to all his college friends after a night out partying. The
bike gave Mamoru a sense of freedom. Some days he would feel as though the
entire world was closing in on him. He needed that escapism. Though, as he
picked up his helmet and locked the front door behind him, Mamoru was starting
to wonder if things were ever going to be the same again. Looking back, he
would have called it a premonition, had he believed in such things then. Mamoru
used to laugh at destiny. Now he knew better.
Mamoru drove
slowly through the bustling suburbs of the Juuban District, keeping well within
the speed limit. Too many lives were lost by careless driving and Mamoru had to
intention of being added or adding too this. As he drove along, he couldn’t
help but let his thoughts wander back to the dream. He had, had it most nights
for the past year. It was always the same. The woman was always calling him.
Begging him for something that he did not have, or have the capability to
understand. For some reason this dream shook Mamoru to the core. There was
something about it. It differed from his usual dreams. It was as though it had
the potential to throw everything he knew into chaos.
A shape
stepping out in front of him caused Mamoru to jolt out of his thoughts and
swerve, narrowly avoiding coming into contact with a 14 year old girl. She
squealed in surprise and looked up, as though noticing for the first time that
she had stumbled out in front of him. Always being a gentleman, Mamoru was
concerned and stopped to see if she was all right. Well, that was his intention
anyway. What he actually said couldn’t have been further from his mind.
“You stupid
kid! Watch where you are going! You could have been killed!”
She glanced
up in shock at his words and Mamoru was stunned at the harshness behind them.
The girl had a sweet face, her eyes narrowing angrily at his tone and for some
reason Mamoru smiled. She flipped her ridiculous pigtails over her shoulders
and pouted loudly before continuing on her way.
The black
haired man sighed softly to himself and got back on his motorbike, whilst
pondering over his actions. There was something about that girl… something
familiar and this disturbed Mamoru the most.
He shook his
head and looked at his watch. He did not have to be at Crown for at least four
hours. He needed a nice long drive, Mamoru decided in the end. It would help
him get things into perspective a bit better. Paying no more attention to the
strange girl, he continued on his way.
******
“I just don’t
know what to do anymore” Tsukino Usagi sighed to herself as she walked down the
road towards her home, a delicate yawn on her lips as she finished this
sentence. She was tired… no, exhausted and she had every reason to be. Memories
of the night before were still etched into her head and her palms shook, even
as she struggled to ease her breathing into a regular rhythm. Up until two
weeks ago, Usagi had never stolen a thing. She was 14 and went to Juuban Junior
School; she received passable grades, was well liked among her classmates and
had a mother and father who would support her in anything. Now, all of that
seemed irrelevant. Ever since she had met Luna the talking cat plushie who had
given her, her transformation necklace and lipstick.
Usagi’s
fingers were toying with the heart shaped locket pendant now, as her mind
recalled the first time she had shouted ‘Moon Prism Power Make-up’ and had
begun her mission. A mission that filled her with sorrow. Usagi had never done
anything truly bad in her life and stealing was something that she would not
even contemplate had there been any other way.
Luna would
not even tell her what her mission was. All Usagi knew was that she had to find
the illusionary ginzuishou. The ginzuishou held the key to everything, or so
Luna said. The ginzuishou was a powerful weapon and one that, if it fell into
the wrong hands, could be deadly. Usagi did not know who the wrongs hands were.
Even Luna was not sure. Were the wrong hands, that of the man who always
appeared to challenge her for her prize? He was strong, his magical abilities
far outclassed Usagi’s own and he always won. Usagi hated letting Luna down and
even the plushie was starting to lose patience. But what could she do? He
always knew when she would appear and exactly how she would flee the scene. He
always outsmarted her and always got away with the crystal. Luckily none had
been the ginzuishou, but it was only a matter of time.
Usagi was so
preoccupied that she did not even realise that she had stepped off of the
safety of the pavement and into the road until she heard the screeching of
tires. Shocked, she let out a shriek and jumped backwards, even as the rider
brought his motorbike to a halt and jumped off. Usagi’s heart thumped loudly in
her chest as he flipped his visor up and yelled out.
“You stupid
kid! Watch where you are going! You could have been killed!”
Usagi’s
cheeks flushed a bright red at this and the fact that passers by had stopped to
stare at her. Her hands trembled at the knowledge that she could have easily
been on her way to the hospital or worse and the fact that this jerk could only
care about his bike and would call her names. Tears blurred at her eyes. She
wouldn’t have even done something that stupid under any other circumstances!
So she did
the only thing that she could think of to do. Usagi whirled away from him,
flipping her hair over her shoulders and made a noise of, what she hoped to be,
indifference as she walked passed him. Still, she felt a strange sort of thrill
as their eyes met and his narrowed disdainfully. That man… Usagi thought
uneasily. There was something about him… He seemed familiar somehow. Shaking
her head, Usagi knew that she had to get home. Her mother would be worried
about her. She knew that Ikuko was aware of her sneaking out at night. She
often approached Usagi and asked her what was wrong. This distressed Usagi the
most. When she was little she would always confide in her mother. Now she was
way in over her head and she couldn’t even turn to her family for help.
As Usagi walked
slowly back down the road towards her home, she had never felt so alone. It was
as though she was missing something important and she did not yet know what it
was. This pained her more than anything.
*****
Motoki sighed
to himself as he ushered yet another stream of giggling children into one of
the karaoke rooms. Seconds later he heard a crash, which indicated that
something valuable had again been broken. Slumping down beside Kamekichi’s
tank, Motoki looked at his watch. Mamoru wouldn’t be here for another two hours
and Motoki didn’t know how much more he could take. The manager insisted that
children’s parties were huge moneymakers and that was true. It was not that
Motoki did not like children; children did not seem to like him. Mamoru seemed
to have a way with them. Motoki hated to admit that he couldn’t cope, but the
mess afterwards was simply a nightmare to deal with alone. He sighed and dipped
his hand into the turtle tank and petted Kamekichi’s shell. He had been
advertising for a cleaner for the past three weeks, but no one wanted the job,
and Motoki couldn’t really blame them.
The door went
again, and Motoki looked up expecting yet another gang of screaming youngsters
and overworked parents.
This was not
the case. He stood up, marvelling at the beauty and the strangeness of the girl
that stood before him. At a glance, Motoki would have guessed her to be about
fourteen or fifteen, but it was hard to tell as she sported a bright, short
blue hairstyle. Motoki blinked a couple of times as his gaze travelled down to
her clothes; consisting of a dark blue pleated short skirt, complete with a
matching light blue bow tied round to the back and another on the main white
bodice of her uniform. She wore knee high dark blue boots and a golden and blue
tiara across her forehead.
Despite her
outward appearance, Motoki’s first impressions of the girl were good ones. She
had an innocent face and it lit up into a delicate smile when she saw that she
had his attention.
Placing the
lid back on Kamekichi’s tank, Motoki hurried towards her, eagerly wanting to
know if she were here for a party. Then he realised this mistake.
The corners
of her mouth tugged upwards in a delighted grin as she reached out with a
white-gloved hand and her fingers encircled Motoki’s neck. He gagged and
crashed to his knees, one of his own hands desperately clawing at the vice-like
grip as his vision started to drain. Now his arms flailed around in helpless
panic. Motoki gasped and reached out for anything that would save him. His
hands knocked into the array of CDs standing beside the desk, causing them to
clatter to the floor. As they did, Motoki felt another pain, a blinding pain in
his chest. It felt as though she had dug a knife into him and was twisting it.
Yet she had
let go of his throat and Motoki fell forward onto his hands and knees, his
breathing ragged as his vision swam before his eyes and the floor of the
karaoke parlour rocked gently back and forth. His forehead was pressed to the
lineal as slowly the pain receded, and with that Motoki started to calm. His
breathing evened out and he stood, slowly brushing some dust off of his
uniform, his gaze carefully raising just enough to fix on her chin.
“Go” she
spoke, her voice had a steel edge to it, despite her outward friendliness,
“Gather energy for the Great Ruler.”
Motoki felt
himself moving, slowly dragging one foot after another as he moved down the
corridor towards the first room that he would come too. Inside he could hear
children laughing and playing. They had a lot of energy. Queen Beryl would be
pleased. A hand, not his own, reached for the door as the last of the old
Motoki was driven back to the very depths of his consciousness.
He had a
mission to complete. The Great Ruler needed energy…
Behind him,
Dark Mercury teleported away. She need not stay here now. Her Youma would do
the rest…
*******
Mamoru felt
relaxed as he pulled up outside of Crown. His drive had been long, and after
the encounter with the strange girl, had been uneventful. For this, Mamoru was
glad. He now felt a little better about things.
As he took
off his helmet and took a step towards Crown’s doors, Mamoru was suddenly
struck by a sense of foreboding. He paused, frowning in confusion. He could see
nothing wrong. Motoki was inside, talking to Kamekichi as he normally did. The Moonlight Sonata was playing on the sound system at full volume as per
usual.
Mamoru shook
his head, he was starting to get paranoid, he thought. Then, just as he reached
the door, his cell phone started to ring. This startled him and then Mamoru
berated himself for being so jumpy.
“Hina!” he
exclaimed loudly when he answered it and heard the sweet voice of his
fiancée.
“I wanted to
see how you were” she replied softly, “I missed you this morning and when I
called the apartment I got no answer.”
“I went for a
drive.”
“I see.”
“Is there
something wrong?” she sounded to forlorn that Mamoru almost had the urge to get
back on the motorbike and go racing down to the hospital to see her. He hated
it when Hina was down.
“It is
nothing.”
“It doesn’t
sound like it.”
“Just some
work stuff. I can’t really talk about it.”
“Confidentiality
rules?” Mamoru guessed with a smile, “Hina, you take working there too much to
heart. You cannot save everyone.”
“I know” she
paused, “So, will I see you tonight?”
“Yes.”
“See you
then. Love you.”
“Love you,
too”
Mamoru hung
up and slipped the phone back into his jacket pocket, the overwhelming urge to
go to her threatening to override his duties where Crown was concerned. Still,
Motoki had seen him and was frantically beckoning Mamoru to come inside. He
smiled and shook his head. Motoki always got himself wound up over the simplest
of things.
Pushing open
the door, Mamoru was, at first, aware of the silence. The Moonlight Sonata had ceased to play and he could hear no children laughing
from the adjourning rooms.
“Motoki?”
Mamoru asked hesitantly, “What is going on?”
“Nothing” his
friend shrugged, his excited demeanour had suddenly changed. Mamoru did not
know what to make of the sly smile forming across Motoki’s lips. He only knew
that he did not like it one bit.
Crown wasn’t
a particularly big Karaoke Parlour. It had about four rooms, plus the main
reception and a storeroom at the back. The walls were painted white, but most
had posters of various pop stars and musicians stuck on them. These were
beginning to fade with age and some were pulling away from the walls now.
Motoki wanted to get the place done up, but working there alone he did not have
the time to do so.
Mamoru
supposed that Motoki did get lonely working there alone with just Kamekichi for
company. Motoki was obsessed with the turtle. He treated it better than most
humans treated each other.
Now, however,
Motoki was looking at the turtle with distain, and, with a quick hand movement,
struck the tank. It slid off of the counter and would have crashed to the floor
had Mamoru not dived forward and caught it.
“Such a puny
creature” Motoki said scornfully, “It is hardly worth the air it breathes. Why
did you save it?”
Mamoru stood,
placing the turtle tank on a stuffed chair behind him, out of reach and harms
way.
“Motoki? Did
something happen?”
Mamoru took a
wary step in the direction of the nearest karaoke room. That sense of
foreboding was back and his heart thumped loudly in his chest as he pushed open
the door. A gasp caught in Mamoru’s throat as his gaze locked upon the scene
before him.
The room was
a mess. Tables and chairs were upturned; CD players and various karaoke
equipment littered the floor, all broken. Even the curtains had been pulled off
of the curtain rails. But, the most disturbing thing was the occupants of the
room. Everywhere Mamoru looked, children lay unconscious. Some were slumped
over chairs and tables, but most lay on the floor, some still clutching their
parents’ hands.
“What is
this?” Mamoru whirled around as he felt Motoki’s grip on his shoulder, “What
has happened here?”
“They were
wasting so much energy” was his friend’s darkened reply. Mamoru struggled to
shrug him away, but Motoki’s fingers were now digging into his shoulder,
causing Mamoru to wince in pain.
“Energy?” he
gasped.
Motoki smiled
as Mamoru, with a sudden burst of strength, pulled away from him. “All life on
this planet has no purpose but to give their energy to the Great Ruler. Their
existence is meaningless.”
“Meaningless?”
Mamoru repeated, “Motoki?”
The black
haired man took a step back, not liking the look in his friend’s eyes.
“Even you”
Motoki explained, “You, too, shall sacrifice your energy.”
Mamoru opened
his mouth to speak again, but Motoki lunged forward and grabbed him by the
shoulders, slamming him into the wall. Mamoru gasped in shock as the force of
the blow knocked his breath from his body. How could Motoki have that kind of
strength? Even as this thought was processed, Mamoru suddenly felt a wave of
fatigue overtake his body. As Motoki pinned him against the wall, he could
sense another dramatic change in his friend. He could feel the energy pouring
forth and causing Motoki to shudder. It felt like pinpricks, as it crawled over
Mamoru’s skin.
In those few
seconds, Mamoru saw true terror in his eyes, before the misted over and crazed
look replaced it once again. Motoki’s form started to shimmer and then, right
before Mamoru’s eyes, it fell away. The true Motoki fell to the floor, either
unconscious or dead, but Mamoru had no time to check on his friend.
He slowly
looked up at the creature before him. It appeared to resemble a giant hand,
though it was glossy and transparent like glass. Tiny orange fibres shuddered
throughout its being at it towered over the terrified youth, flickering like
flames in a dying hearth.
It lunged
forward, almost as though it were a striking snake, but Mamoru quickly jumped
to the side, feeling the wind as its hand brushed right in front of his face.
He had no time to feel afraid, or even think that such a thing should be
impossible and that there was no way that the being before him could be real.
It was and it meant to kill him.
Mamoru
stumbled back further, ducking and dodging blows that were sent his way. It
crashed after him, smashing into various shelves and punching holes in the
walls as it went. Mamoru looked wildly around for a weapon, but what could he
possibly use against this creature? Then it was over, his back hit the wall at
the end of the corridor.
Mamoru’s
heart thudded loudly in his chest, as he pressed up further against the wall,
his gaze darting around for something, anything that would save him. There was
nothing… Mamoru raised his arm across his face to shield himself from the swipe
that was directed at him and he braced himself for the end.
“The illusionary ginzuishou…
please…”
That voice…
he could hear it even now… it brought him comfort even when faced with death. A
great calm descended on the young man. His breathing started to even out and
his heartbeat slowed to its normal rate once more. He felt strange all over.
His skin was tingling with a peculiar sense of unreality and unspoken magics.
Mamoru slowly
lowered his arm and a gasp caught in his throat. Gone were the tatty old jeans
and white shirt that he had put on this morning. In their place was the most
curious of attire. He was now bedecked in a black and white tuxedo, complete
with a black and red cape that trailed down almost to the floor. Mamoru, in
complete disbelief, raised a gloved hand to his face, his other hand gingerly
touching the mask that covered his eyes. What was this? It filled him with a
familiarity… as though it were a part of himself that had remained hidden for
so long and had just now come to light.
He stood, not
even having realised that he had fallen down. Even the beast before him had not
moved a muscle, as though it, too, was dazzled by his sudden transformation.
Youma… Mamoru
knew the creature’s name. A Dark Kingdom Youma. Sent by whom and what for? He
slammed a hand against the wall in frustration as that, too, like his dreams
was within his grasp but slipped away just as easily, like a leaf in the wind.
“Moon
twilight… flash!” Mamoru leapt backwards; narrowly avoiding being caught with
the Youma as a third person joined this strange gathering, sending an attack of
light straight at the beast. The Youma winced in pain and fell back, away from
Mamoru as the girl announced her presence.
“I am the
pretty suited soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon. In the name of the Moon
I will punish you!”
“Sailor
Moon?” Mamoru whispered as she struck a pose after speaking. Had Mamoru seen
her before his own bizarre transformation, he would have been stunned. As it
was, he felt that he was accepting the situation with apparent calm and that,
in itself, was frightening.
Her clothes were familiar, too. She wore a
simple, yet short, blue skirt over a white leotard. A pink bow was tied at the
back and another adorned her chest. Set in the middle was a heart shaped
locket, encrusted with two crescent moons. Her hair was long and fell down
almost to her waist in neat pigtails. Odango shaped buns sat almost atop her
head and were decorated with two matching red and gold slides. Yet it was her
face that captivated Mamoru so. Her eyes were a gentle brown, but determination
burned inside them and echoed the fire in her speech and the meaning behind her
words. She noted him staring and a smile formed on her lips, before she turned
back to the Youma.
Her hand went
to the tiara around her forehead and she pulled it off with one quick movement
and called out:
“Moon tiara…
boomerang!” the golden tiara shot from her hand with deadly precision. It
struck the Youma and the creature exploded in a shower of golden light. The
tiara returned safely to Sailor Moon’s hand. She smiled again and jumped up and
down in excitement.
“I did it!
Luna, did you see me?”
“Well done,
Sailor Moon”
Again, under
any other circumstances, Mamoru would have been stunned to see a small black
plushie cat with a gold crescent moon on its forehead come walking out of its
hiding place and move towards the heroine.
As she did
so, Mamoru noted another movement. Before he knew what he was doing he dived
forwards, knocking into the shocked girl and pushing her to the ground, using
his new cape as a shield. He heard Sailor Moon gasp softly when her gaze
drifted away from his face and to the ice shard that was imbedded in the ground
where she had been standing moments before. As Mamoru watched, the figure
hiding around the corner cursed and slipped away back into the shadows.
“You…” Sailor
Moon breathed, “You saved me.”
“It was
nothing” Mamoru managed to get out. He could not take his eyes off of her.
There was something about this girl… something special. She had been in danger
and his first instinct was to save her, and for the life of him Mamoru did not
know why.
“Thank you”
she whispered as Mamoru stood and then found himself extending a gloved hand to
help her to her feet.
“The illusionary ginzuishou…
please…”
He winced
slightly at this recollection and suddenly just wanted to go home. Mamoru’s
gaze flickered to Motoki. The man was beginning to stir. He would be all right,
this Mamoru knew deep down.
Letting go of
Sailor Moon’s hand, Mamoru turned with a flourish of his cape and moved towards
the exit, stepping carefully over several broken CDs as he did so.
“Wait!”
Sailor Moon cried, taking a step in his direction, “What is your name?”
“Tuxedo
Kamen” Mamoru replied, without even knowing why.
*****
“Motoki-kun?
Motoki-kun?”
Motoki awoke
to the sound of a girl calling his name. Groggily, he opened his eyes and found
himself staring into the worried face of Tsukino Usagi. He reached up with one
hand and placed it against his pounding forehead.
“What…” he
whispered, more to himself than the teenage girl before him. Crown was a mess.
CDs littered the ground, magazines were torn and strewn across the floor and
even the carpet itself had some burn marks etched into it. One wall had a chunk
of plaster ripped away and Motoki groaned when he saw it.
“Kamekichi?”
he murmured as his eyes drifted to the vacant space where his turtle tank had
once occupied.
“Its ok”
Usagi smiled and handed him the tank, “He was over here” she indicated a chair.
“Arigato”
Motoki replied, still feeling a little dazed. It was funny that the entire
afternoon seemed to be a complete blur.
“You were
burgled” Usagi explained. “You confronted them and they ran away.”
“I did?”
Usagi nodded
and smiled shyly, “I don’t expect you remember much about it?”
Motoki
shrugged, his face contorted in a frown as he struggled to recall the events
that Usagi spoke of. Nothing… he just felt tired.
“Every one
has gone home” she continued, “I was going to help you clean up, but if you
would rather you can just go home. The manager told me that you can sort things
out tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow”
Motoki repeated. Sleep sounded like a good idea so he allowed Usagi to take him
by the arm and lead him from Crown. It was funny how he did not recall a thing…
******
Mamoru walked
slowly back to his apartment, having left his motorbike round the back of
Crown. He felt unsteady on his feet and did not honestly feel that he would be
safe riding it home. Home… how he craved just the little things now. He wanted
the morning to start again. Mamoru wished for nothing more than to awake to one
of Hina’s breakfasts and this to all be a dream.
Tuxedo Kamen…
he exhaled at the memories of his transformation and the strange blonde girl who
came to his rescue. Sailor Moon…
Mamoru did
not want this. His life was far from perfect, but right now it seemed pretty
inviting. It was safe and familiar. Mamoru was not a hero. The closest he had
ever got was breaking up fights when he was still in school.
The pain of
losing his parents so young had finally healed and Mamoru suddenly started to
miss their guidance. He could picture his father in his mind’s eye. A strong
man, very stubborn, but with an authority and presence about him that used to comfort
Mamoru so. If Mamoru had ever needed advice he had gone to his father. They had
died when Mamoru was ten and he still missed them, but over time the wounds had
healed. Mamoru had been able to accept that Kami-sama had spared him and he had
moved on. Still, he could remember nothing about the accident or how he managed
to get out of the car before it went over the cliff. Mamoru had always felt
guilty for this, though he could not possibly be to blame. A cruel twist of
fate had taken away his parents, but fate had also saved him that day.
Fate… Mamoru
did not believe in such things. But now everything he thought was real had been
turned upside down. He no longer knew what to believe in.
“The illusionary ginzuishou…
please…”
Did he
believe in her? Could dreams become reality? Mamoru did not know. He only knew
that he wanted to remain a normal person. He would leave the battle against the
Youma to Sailor Moon. He would not again be a victim of fate, not this time…
*********
Act Two
Preview…
“You missed your English lesson
last night” Hina said softly, “And you’re grades haven’t been as high as they
should be. Is there anything the matter? If there is, I would like to help
you.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid.
There is nothing wrong. I don’t always have to get straight A’s and I don’t
have to go to class if I don’t want too.”
“I know” Hina began, taken
aback by this, “I was just saying…”
“Well don’t!”
~~~~~
“I had things to do” he did not
like the way she had grabbed a hold of his arm. Mamoru shivered and pulled
forcefully away.
Takara smiled, “That’s ok. I
can forgive you this time. I’m having another one in the library tonight. Will
you be there?”
“I have things to do.”
“Such as? Say you’ll come.
Please.”
“I’ll be there,” he promised.
~~~~~
Ueda-san laughed, “There’s
nothing going on if that’s what you mean. Look” he leaned forward, “Maya-chan
was having some trouble with an ex boyfriend. He’s the one I got into the fight
with. She’s a nice girl and I was helping her out. He thinks we’re an item and
will keep away as long as he thinks we are together.”
“Are you really that lonely?”
~~~~
“You must listen to me! The
Princess will only bring destruction down upon this world! Using that, Metallia
will…”
“Jadeitou!”