Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
(Mamoru’s POV)
When animals at the local zoo started acting strangely,
Taro and I investigated thinking that it was the work of a Youma.
“What is that?” Motoki cried, reaching for his camera,
“That is the strangest turtle I have ever seen!”
We were right, but it was only there to steal energy. I
tried to hide my disappointment, but we are no nearer to completing our mission
or finding the Prince.
And I’m still having these dreams. I don’t know what they
mean, but I have to keep them to myself. I don’t think the others would
understand. I don’t even understand myself.
The Prince… the one man that Beryl had ever felt was
worthy to stand at her side. She had loved him for over a thousand years and,
despite not being able to see his face, Beryl knew that she must find him
again.
The Ginzuishou and energy could wait. The Prince was what
mattered now…
Now it looks like the Dark Kingdom is targeting our
Prince. But how can we protect a man who we don’t even remember or know in this
world?
But we must make sure that we find him first because if
the Dark Kingdom get to him… I dread to think what will happen…
****
Act Six:
“I suspect” Tamura Kisho said slowly as he paced up and
down in front of the dozen or so robed students sitting down in front of him,
all staring up in awe at their teacher, “That most of you have come here
expecting to be breaking bricks with your bare hands and throwing each other
over your shoulders after the first lesson.”
As Kisho expected most of the younger boys nodded
enthusiastically to this and he sighed inwardly. There were few great karate
masters in the world today and whilst Kisho was competent enough to teach the
sport, he was nowhere near a perfectionists level. Indeed he had only met two
such men in his entire life.
Today, most people did not understand that karate was more
than a sport or even a way of defending ones self. It was an art and as an
appreciator of such art, Kisho liked to think that he passed this way of
thinking down to his students. For this reason, he was seemingly ruthless in
selecting whom he would teach. Most of these boys would not even pass the first
test; endurance.
He sat back down on the mat before speaking to them again.
“Karate is an art form. It takes many years to perfect and one must never think
otherwise. Yes, we will be learning the aforementioned, but not for many
months. For to become a true master, you must learn how to align your thoughts
into pure calm and learn to control your feelings.”
“How do we do that, Master Tamura?” one boy asked
nervously.
“Meditation”
Kisho almost sniggered at the looks of shock and disbelief
that passed through the group. Meditation for karate was, of course, just
ridiculous but Kisho had, had so many time wasters before in his class and
would stand for no more. The ones who came back after an hour and a half of
sitting in complete silence would be the ones whom Kisho would consider worthy
enough of his time.
Yet to give them credit, only two of the boys got up and
walked out then. Usually Kisho lost about half his class when even just
mentioning the meditation.
Trying not to let his surprise show, Kisho instructed them
all to sit down comfortably and close their eyes. At first, this type of
meditation bored even him, but now Kisho found it strangely relaxing. The hour
and a half would fly by for him, but he knew it would not do so for his
students.
*****
Beryl stared at the image that her crystal projected onto
the wall of the throne room. Indeed she had been studying the man in question
for a few days now, as though trying to trigger a spark of a memory. There had
been nothing, but Beryl was now convinced that this man was the Prince that she
was looking for. He wasn’t especially tall, probably only just taller than her
Sailor Senshi, but he had a commanding presence about him that Beryl admired
and decided that her Prince would also have this. His jet-black hair and high
cheekbones did much to accentuate this point giving him a regal like air and
his eyes were also a cold black, but there was still a spark within them that
Beryl had seen when he was around his only family; a sister she believed. He
had a gentler side and Beryl knew that her Prince would also possess such
qualities. He could fight, from what she had gathered. He taught karate at a
local youth centre and often practiced the art of sword fighting. Beryl was
sure that her Prince could fight. What Prince couldn’t?
She turned to Dark Mars who knelt before her, her head bowed
submissively until Beryl bade her look up at the image.
“What is this?” Mars asked slowly, her eyes showing some
confusion, “Does he know the whereabouts of the Ginzuishou?”
“You will forget the Ginzuishou for now” Beryl commanded,
“Your target is this man. You will send a Youma to test him. If he is the
Prince then he will use his powers to save himself. If he does so your Youma
will then capture him alive and bring him to me.”
“Alive?” Mars asked. She didn’t like the sound of this.
From her own fragmented memories she could recall Beryl having an infatuation
with a Prince. This obsession led them all to ruin before. Mars was reluctant
to allow that to happen again, especially after only just awakening but the
will of the Queen could not be ignored.
“Yes, alive” Beryl snapped, “I believe that Tuxedo Kamen’s
group are also seeking the Prince. You might want to use this as an opportunity
to rid ourselves of them as well.”
Mars nodded, agreeing with Beryl and saying that she would
do just that though in reality she was not too sure about this at all.
*****
Masaki sat in silence at the dinner table, not daring to
speak, even as Tori placed his evening meal down in front of him and then moved
to serve his father. Haru had been drinking again, Masaki could smell the
alcohol even from across the table and his mother knew this, too. She shook as
she set the plate of chicken down in front of Haru and when she moved to sit
back down, he clasped hold of her wrist.
Masaki tensed, as though expecting a fight and Tori did
too, only she lowered her gaze, trying to hide her bruising under a curtain of
black hair.
“Thank you, darling” Haru said finally, after allowing the
silence to continue for a moment or two more, “This is a wonderful dinner.”
His supposed kind words did nothing to relax either of
them. Masaki knew this game well. Haru liked to frighten his mother so in this
manner. Nervously, he picked up his knife and fork and was about to start
eating when the telephone started ringing. Dutifully, Tori obeyed Haru’s cold
stare and hurried to answer it.
“Hello? Oh? Yes, he’s here. Masaki-kun?” she called, “It’s
for you.”
Casting a wary glance in his father’s direction, Masaki
got up from the table and hurriedly took the phone from his mother.
“Hello?”
“Masaki-kun?”
“Mamoru-san?” Masaki frowned and lowered his voice as he
asked, “Did you find anything this afternoon?”
Mamoru was evidently alone as he replied: “No. The Youma
was just interested in energy this time. There was no sign of the Ginzuishou or
the Prince.”
“So what now?”
Mamoru sighed, “It looks like we’re back to square one.
Have you remembered anything more?” he added hopefully.
Masaki frowned as he thought back to that day.
“Our mission” Jadeite continued, stumbling away from the
tuxedoed hero, “Our mission is to find the Prince.”
“The Prince?” Mamoru repeated doubtfully. “What about the
Princess?”
Jadeite shook his head, his blue eyes suddenly widening in
a look of horror at even uttering that word.
“No. Not the Princess. The Princess will bring destruction
upon this world…”
He did not know why he had said those things. Even Taro
had not received such memories. But were they even memories? Masaki wasn’t
sure. He only knew them to be true.
“I haven’t,” he answered truthfully.
“I see” an awkward silence followed before Mamoru added,
“I’d better go. We’re meeting at Crown tomorrow after college. Will you be
there?”
Masaki glanced back at the dinner table and then looked
away as Haru met his gaze, “I’ll be there.”
“That’s good” Mamoru replied, “I’ll see you tomorrow
then.”
“Ok. Bye.”
Masaki hung up and went back to the table. Instantly his
father’s gaze was upon him again.
“Who was that?”
“Someone from college?”
“He called for you yesterday, too, didn’t he?”
“So what if he did?”
Haru made a small noise in the back of his throat, “You
know I don’t like people calling the house during meal times.”
“He didn’t know.”
“Well make sure he does in future,” Haru suggested icily.
Masaki stood up again, “I’m not hungry,” he murmured when
Tori protested. Ignoring the pleading look his mother gave him, Masaki walked
from the room and up the stairs to his bedroom. He just wanted to be alone.
****
Kisho walked home slowly that evening, absently watching
the night sky and not really paying too much attention to the path in front of
him. He liked the silence and darkness that overtook the Juuban District of
Tokyo when the sunset. There was something fascinating and mysterious about the
darkness that captivated the older man so. After an hour and a half of
meditation, it was unwise to rush into anything as your body was still relaxed
after the session, so Kisho had taken the back way through the park to get to
the small apartment that he shared only with his younger sister, Ayame.
Ayame was fourteen years old, and Kisho was twenty-four.
This was a huge age gap, but Kisho’s mother had, had him young. Kisho and Ayame
had different father’s, but this had never meant that he treated her any
different, especially as they were all each other had in the world now.
Ayame was not very academically inclined and only ever
managed to get an average pass on all her subjects at school. She preferred
looking through a fashion magazine than studying and often went out with
friends on school nights. Kisho couldn’t honestly say that he was happy about
this, but he had learned that everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses
and as long as Ayame was happy then it shouldn’t matter. He did, however,
insist that she worked hard when the exams were coming up. Ayame had a good
head on her shoulders and could learn things quite easily if she put her mind
to it.
She did like sports and was an active member of the local
gym as well as sometimes taking part in Kisho’s karate lessons. Ayame, like her
brother, also loved nature and the outdoors and could often be found wandering
the parks in Tokyo simply marvelling at the beauty that surrounded her. For
this reason, Kisho regretted that they lived in an apartment block. His ideal
home would be a house over looking a lake and a forest. Ayame also shared this
dream and this was part of the reason that they had remained as close as they
had done, despite the age gap between them.
As Kisho turned the corner that would lead out of the park
and towards home, he absently became aware of someone behind him. Being quite
well built and knowing that he was more than capable of defending himself meant
that Kisho was not at all bothered by this whereas another type of person might
have been. He did, however, pick up his pace slightly as though to test his
pursuer and, as he had suspected, they also increased their gait to match his.
Whoever it was, was making no effort to be quiet and
crashed loudly through the undergrowth, every so often allowing what sounded
like a low growl to escape his or hers throat. Frowning, Kisho wondered if
perhaps it was simply an animal and picked up his pace even more.
The creature sensed this and with a mighty bound, leapt
onto the path in front of him. Kisho stopped, not being able to make out
anything more than an outline shadow. The beast appeared to be standing on two
legs, its hands ending in razor sharp claws, but he couldn’t see anything in
the way of detailed description at all.
Another growl escaped its throat before it lunged forward.
Kisho jumped backwards and it flew harmlessly by before skidding to a stop a
few metres away and then turned to continue its assault upon him.
When it lunged again, Kisho moved, but not quickly enough.
It slammed into him, knocking them both to the floor. Winded, Kisho only just
managed to roll to the side as it raised a clawed hand and then slammed into
the ground, grazing his arm as it did so. Kisho felt the claw tear through his
jacket and then winced as a sharp pain spread up his shoulder causing tears to
form in his eyes. Momentarily stunned, the beast took advantage of this to lung
forward again. Kisho raised a hand with the intention of pushing it away, but
as he did so his agony became worse. He gasped in a mixture of surprise and
pain, as the feeling seemed to travel down his arm and into the palm of his
hand. Then a brilliant white light lit up the entire park. Kisho fell back
down, shielding himself as light engulfed the beast before him. It let out a
whimper and turned, bounding back the way it had come.
Once gone, the light faded. Kisho struggled to sit up, but
he suddenly felt unwell. The park seemed to be spinning. Dizzily he sank back
down, closing his eyes as he willed off this nausea and tried to ignore the
burning pain in his arm.
******
“Mamoru-kun?” Hina called, waving a hand in front of her
fiancé’s face causing the man to snap out of his daze.
Shaking his head, he smiled and asked her to repeat what
she was saying. Again he had drifted off into his own world, but it had been
different this time. Whereas before Mamoru thought of a past he could not
remember, this time he had thought of the present.
It was already dark outside and yet he found himself
crossing their front room to the window and staring out at the night sky. A
moment ago… Mamoru had felt something. He wasn’t really sure how to describe
this feeling. Something was happening out there. Was it a Youma? Mamoru did not
think so. He did not sense any Youma aura. Still, Mamoru was uneasy. So uneasy
in fact that he picked up the phone and dialled Taro’s number.
It was late, and he must have been in bed because he took
an age to reply and when he did so he sounded annoyed.
“Taro-kun?”
“Mamoru?” he did not bother to hide the surprise in his
voice, “What is it? Trouble?”
“No, no” Mamoru assured him, glancing into the kitchen
where Hina was now washing up the cutlery from their late dinner. “At least I
don’t think so. I don’t know… I felt some kind of strange energy. Did you feel
anything unusual?”
Taro took a moment or two to reply, “I’m not sure. Shall
we check it out?”
Mamoru looked back towards Hina, “I can’t really, but…”
“You would like someone too” Taro guessed, “Do you want me
to go?”
“Alone?”
“When are you going to learn?” he said a little haughtily
“I can look after myself.”
“I know” Mamoru frowned. As the leader he often felt like
he should protect them, which was crazy as Taro and Masaki were far stronger
than he was in. His Tuxedo Kamen form did not even have any magical
capabilities at all. Mamoru found that a little strange, but Taro’s suggestion
that his powers had yet to awaken seemed like a fair enough assumption so
Mamoru had chosen not to dwell upon this fact.
Taro decided that he would go and see if there was a Youma
attack, and Mamoru almost told him to call Masaki as well, but he knew that
Taro would not thank him for this. The older man was too proud to ever admit to
needing help.
Mamoru did, however, insist that Taro gave him a call back
when he had found the cause of the disturbance.
“Who were you calling?” Hina enquired softly as she came
back into the room carrying two mugs of hot chocolate.
Mamoru smiled gratefully and took one of the mugs from
her, “Just a friend.”
“Really? You should introduce me sometime?”
Again he nodded and Hina, satisfied, sat down on the sofa
and patted the space beside her. “Sit” she bade him. Mamoru did as she said and
Hina snuggled up beside him content to just enjoy his company. Mamoru’s
attention, however, was not focused on the woman he loved but rather of what
might be going on outside…
*****
Taro walked quickly through the silent streets of Tokyo’s
Juuban District. Shivering, he wrapped his arms around himself for extra warmth
and idly wondered why he had volunteered for this. Of course, to this he
already knew the answer. Kanaye’s girlfriend was round and Taro had gladly
welcomed an excuse to leave the house. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his
brother’s girlfriend. He just hated the way that he was always the little
brother. He had never felt that comfortable with the fact that his brother was
perfect, and even his mission did little to ease this when he was in civilian
form.
Taro had been sitting in the front room with them all
night making small talk and Mamoru phoning had been a welcome distraction. Now
Taro was beginning to regret this. It was so dark. Whereas he did not feel
particularly vulnerable, he hated the feeling that something was about to
happen. He was right.
He whirled round when he heard the sound of alarms going
off dangerously close to where he was. Breaking into a run, Taro raced round a
corner and found himself outside one of the local jewellery stores. Pulling
back, he pressed himself up against the wall as he managed to make out two
shapes standing in front of the shattered window. One Taro recognised. The
outline of the odango shaped hair was too much of a give away, even before she
cried out:
“Moon twilight… flash!”
The attack shot towards the other person, but he blocked
it with his cape before sending an attack made up of blue energies straight
back at the champion of love and justice.
She cried out and fell onto the pavement, an array of
jewels falling from her free hand as she did so.
Is she stealing them? Taro wondered. He had been
a little suspicious of Sailor Moon, but he couldn’t imagine her doing something
like that. Indeed, if anyone else had told him, he would not have believed it.
His gaze then travelled to the man she was fighting. He
was in the shadows and Taro could only make out the occasional flash of silver
or white as he stepped back and once again Sailor Moon attempted to defend
herself.
Taro took a step forward, debating whether or not to go
and help. He was torn. Sailor Moon had saved Mamoru’s life, but she had also
been the one to cause him to risk it to start with. But who was this other
person? Taro frowned and took another step towards them. He felt like he knew
them… something… he wavered slightly as the battle drew to an end. Sailor Moon
turned and started to run as a police car swerved round the corner. Taro pulled
back into shadow once more, pausing long enough to see the man teleport
away.
The aura of change still hung in the air, but Taro knew
that he would not get anywhere with the police present so he just decided to go
back home. Still, he couldn’t help but think that he had witnessed something
important. Though one thing he could be sure of; Sailor Moon could not be
trusted.
*****
It was coming close to midnight when Tamura Kisho finally
managed to stumble home. Their apartment, as luck would have it, was only on
the second floor so he had managed the stairs with surprising ease, despite the
agonising pain in his right arm. Kisho gritted his teeth as he fumbled for his
keys, using the door as a support and thus practically falling into the room
when he at last managed to get the door open.
As he tumbled into the room, Ayame sprang up off of the
sofa and raced to his side. Evidently she had been waiting up for him. Her
magazine was discarded in an instant as she knelt down beside him.
“What happened?” she cried when she gingerly touched
Kisho’s wounded arm. Unlike her brother, Ayame was delicately built. She was
thin, almost to the point of being unhealthily so despite consuming enough food
for both of them. Her hair was long and dark like their mother’s and was
usually tied back in a ponytail with a silk, blue ribbon. Her face was soft and
unblemished; her eyes a chestnut brown and sparkled when she smiled, which was
often enough. She loved dresses and always wore shades of pinks and blues.
Today, for instance, she was wearing a light pink halter-neck top and a long
blue gypsy style skirt that trailed on the floor when she walked.
She let out a surprised cry when she removed an elegant
hand from her brother’s wound and found her palm was bright red.
“Nothing” Kisho insisted, not wanting to alarm her.
Despite her outward maturity, Ayame was still a child really.
“Who did this?” she was also fiercely protective, which in
itself was laughable as Kisho was more than capable of looking after himself.
“No one. Will you stop fussing?” he sniped a little
irritably. Ayame ignored him as she was used to his coldness and hurried into
the bathroom to obtain the first aid kit.
Kisho sighed and realised that he was not going to
persuade her to leave him be and sat down on the sofa, taking off his coat and
shirt so that Ayame could get a better look at the gash upon her return.
Kisho winced as the fabric of his clothes scrapped the
torn flesh. It did not appear deep, but now under the artificial light three
separate scratches were clearly visible, each had blood leaking from them and
running down his arm onto the sofa.
“What did this?” Ayame repeated her question, but
realising that this was not the work of a human changed the ‘who’ to ‘what’ and
then stared expectantly up at her brother.
Kisho frowned. He wasn’t even sure himself.
He gasped in a mixture of surprise and pain, as the
feeling seemed to travel down his arm and into the palm of his hand. Then a
brilliant white light lit up the entire park. Kisho fell back down, shielding
himself as light engulfed the beast before him. It let out a whimper and
turned, bounding back the way it had come.
What had happened? He clenched his fist and even as he did
so he felt a tingling sensation burning away at his palm. He winced, tears
springing into his eyes as he uncurled his fist. As he did so the entire flat
was plunged into darkness.
Ayame jumped slightly and then said out loud, “A power
cut?”
Kisho did not reply. His head was starting to throb.
Placing his uninjured hand to his forehead, Kisho voiced his desire to sleep.
To this Ayame replied:
“You can’t go to sleep until I’ve looked at your arm. If
you do you’ll bleed every where.”
He had to smile. Sometimes his sister reminded him so much
of the mother he had lost. As he processed this thought the lights came back
on.
“That was weird” Ayame murmured more to herself than to
Kisho.
He nodded in agreement. Turning back to the matter in
hand, Ayame set about cleaning his wound. Kisho let her do this, despite his
pride telling him otherwise. Ayame only cared about him and she was right, the
wound would get worse if it were not treated.
Kisho frowned. What had done this? A wild animal? He
wasn’t sure, but one thing he did know was that he was sure he would see the beast
again before long.
*****
Tsukino Usagi walked slowly towards Crown, her eyes glued
to the pavement beneath her feet as she lapsed into deep thought. Again, last
night had been a complete failure. She was no nearer to finding the Ginzuishou
and, all of a sudden, she was starting to wonder whether she truly wanted to
continue with her mission. Luna had been as cagey as ever concerning the reason
behind her wanting Usagi to obtain the Ginzuishou, but the champion of love and
justice could only think about Tuxedo Kamen and the fact that they were both
after the same thing which made them enemies.
Tuxedo Kamen sighed and turned away even as she called out
“Are you also after the Ginzuishou?”
“It will help us with our mission,” he allowed, “And make
no mistake, I will do whatever it takes to get it.”
“Whatever it takes” Sailor Moon repeated brokenly, “But I
thought you were on my side?”
Tuxedo Kamen did not reply. He would not reply and simply
walked away.
As he left, Usagi had felt her heart break. Why did she
always have to be alone? She sighed again. Usagi had been feeling so lonely and
when Tuxedo Kamen appeared she thought that she had finally found someone to
trust and who would help her. Now it looked like she was alone after all.
“Well” she said to herself, forcing a smile upon her face,
“I just have to do my best won’t I?”
Grinning she tried to make herself believe this as she
hurried towards Crown once more. Usagi was meeting Naru there now that school
had ended.
Her grin widening at this, Usagi broke into a half-run and
promptly knocked into someone.
“I’m so sorry!” she cried out until she looked up and saw
who it was.
“You again!” she cried out in disbelief.
The man looked equally displeased to see her.
“Why don’t you ever watch where you are going?” he sniped
angrily as he bent down to pick up the books he had been carrying. As he did
so, Usagi leaned over to have a look at the name printed neatly on the front of
covers.
“Chijou...Ei?” she asked,
frowning.
“Are you completely stupid?” he
demanded, “It’s Chiba Mamoru.”
“Oh” Usagi, for reasons she
could not comprehend, found herself blushing.
“And you are…” he said,
snatching one of her books from her hand, “Tsukino Kobuta” he grinned and Usagi
felt two kinds of emotions. One was immense anger but the other was hard to
place. It was almost as though she was suddenly short of breath. Blushing again
she lowered her head and managed to get out:
“It’s Usagi, not piglet! You
are so stupid, Mamoru-baka.”
He turned, with the intention
of leaving when something gave him cause to stop in his tracks. Mamoru looked
around, staring at the people walking on each side of the pavement and then off
into the distance, at the Juuban Park.
“What now?” Usagi asked.
“I-I’ve forgotten something” he
trailed off and turned, quickly walking back the way he had come.
Usagi felt a surge of
disappointment as he left, but this was short lived as Luna came racing up to
her.
“Usagi-chan! Youma!”
“Again?” the champion of love
and justice pouted. Youma always came along at the most inconvenient times!
Sighing, she ducked around
corner and called out her transformation all thoughts of Chiba Mamoru had been
forgotten.
*****
Kisho cancelled his class the
next day. His arms still throbbed and he had no desire to continue with the
lessons anyway. Something had changed inside of him. He could feel it burning
at his soul, even as he walked back down that familiar path that he had walked
last night in the hopes that the beast would have left some clue as to what was
happening to him.
Kisho was in no doubt that he
had, somehow, manipulated the power last night and indeed this morning when he
tried to do the same thing it had worked. This did not frighten him. Kisho had,
had a difficult life and nothing surprised him about himself anymore. He had
always known that he was different to Ayame. He had a greater purpose and after
years of preparing himself for it, it had finally started to happen.
The beast was connected with
this. It was most probably a test and one that Kisho intended to pass. He would
find it and kill it and only then would his true powers awaken.
Now, however, the park looked
somehow very ordinary in the daylight and only the bloodstain that marred the
ground existed to prove that it hadn’t all been some fantasy that his tired
mind had concocted.
Wincing, Kisho gingerly touched
his injured arm, reminding himself that it was real, that his pain was real.
Even as he did this, Kisho heard the now familiar growling that indicated that
the creature was nearby. He turned, preparing himself for the attack that he
knew to be coming.
Kisho gasped in shock as it
rushed him in a flurry of teeth and claws. It knocked him to the ground as it
had done previously, but he was ready for it. Kisho lashed out, catching it
round the snout with a fist. It yelped in pain and sprang backwards giving
Kisho, for the first time, a good look at it.
It walked on two legs though
its entire body was covered in shaggy grey fur. Its face resembled a wolf,
though its teeth were longer and more pointed and its eyes lacked the
intelligence and gracing beauty that linked the domestic dog to its wild
ancestors. Kisho took a step back, wondering for the first time if his actions
were somewhat foolish. The park was deserted, all visitors having seen the
beast and fled. Kisho was now alone.
He took a step back glancing
wildly around for a weapon, but there was none to be found. The beast had timed
its attack well and lunged forwards again. Kisho braced himself for the blow
that never came.
He opened his eyes, unaware
that he had even shut them, to see a man standing in front of him. He was
dressed in a black and white tuxedo and was using his black cane to hold off
the beast’s jaws from their intended target.
“Tuxedo Kamen?” the words burst
from Kisho’s mouth before he knew where they had come from. He knew this man?
Impossible? Was it? Then why was the familiarity almost frightening?
The beast snarled and, with a
snap of its jaws, hurled the masked man to the ground. As it did so, Kisho felt
immense pain bursting from his wound. It travelled up his arm and seemed to
fixate on his heart. He doubled over, clawing at the ground as the beast lunged
again. He was powerless to do anything except give a small cry as it knocked
him onto his back and went for his throat…
*****
When Masaki entered Crown, he
was surprised to see that he had beaten Mamoru there despite the fact that
their leader had finished college slightly earlier and should have been there
first. As he stepped inside, Masaki was greeted by the usual shouting that
indicated that Taro was arguing with Motoki again and, sure enough, Masaki
found them shouting over another puddle of muddy water on the floor. He had to
laugh, however, when Taro swung the mop at the rather dim-witted man and Motoki
had to jump backwards to avoid being smacked in the face.
“Kimi-kun” Motoki complained
loudly, “Why are you so restless?”
“Don’t call me by that funny
name!” Taro roared in reply.
Motoki ignored him upon seeing
Masaki and waved, “Masaki-kun! How are you?”
“Fine… I think” Masaki cringed
when he saw the murderous look Taro shot Motoki.
“I’ll be feeding Kamekichi out
back!” he cried out, realising that it would be safer if he just left and,
after collecting his beloved pet, did just that.
“Where’s Mamoru?” Masaki wanted
to know as Taro reached down to retrieve the bucket and then put it away in the
small cupboard at the back of the reception.
“He’s not here yet” Taro seemed
a little different, almost solemn. Despite his usual spat with Motoki, Masaki
could sense the change in demeanour. Whereas Mamoru might have called Taro on
it, Masaki was content to let Taro volunteer the information when he felt like
it and, when they were sitting down on two chairs in the reception he did just
that.
“I saw something” he admitted,
“Last night. Mamoru asked me to check things out after he sensed a Youma and…
it was Sailor Moon.”
“Sailor Moon?”
“Did you hear on the news about
the robbery of the local jewellery store?” Masaki nodded and Taro continued,
“It was Sailor Moon. I think she was looking for the Ginzuishou.”
“Did she find it?”
“No. She was stopped.”
“Stopped? Did the police get
her?”
“No. There was someone else
there. I couldn’t really see him that well, but I think he’s after the
Ginzuishou as well.”
“Someone else” Masaki
considered this, “What is so important about this Ginzuishou?”
Taro shrugged, “I’m not sure,
but we need to act quickly. If either of them get a hold of it… or if the Dark
Kingdom…”
Taro did not finish. He trailed
off and stood, as did Masaki.
“Youma” Masaki said, as he felt
the air around them begin to change. It was now icier, though a normal human
would not notice the difference. He felt as though his senses were on fire… it
was close…
“Let’s go” Taro was the first
to hurry from Crown, ignoring Motoki who had come out to see what all the fuss
was about. Masaki followed him. The aura was coming from the park.
****
“Moon tiara… boomerang!”
The beast squealed in pain as
the magical weapon belonging to the Senshi of love and justice struck it,
knocking it away from Kisho yet he hardly realised this owing to agony that his
own body was in.
He could only lie helpless as
the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen stepped between him and the beast. Gradually
Kisho’s vision started to drain and he gasped as the air was sucked from his
body. When he opened his eyes again the scene had vanished.
Smoke seared at his eyes,
pouring down his throat as he cried out for his comrades, though the screams of
the dying blocked out even his own voice. Kisho ran faster, icy panic gripping
at his heart as his eyes darted wildly to the destruction around him.
The
kingdom… the beautiful marble palace lay in ruins. The people crushed
underneath fallen masonry. Smoke now covered the sun and blotted out the sky.
It gave Kisho a chill to behold and at the same time was familiar. With it came
anger. Anger so immense that he almost crashed to his knees. The Princess… all
was her doing…
“No!” a
strangled cry escaped him as he halted in the palace grounds, staring at the
huge marble pillars that had fallen during the battle. A scream caught in
Kisho’s throat as he recognised two of his friends lying lifelessly on the
ground.
“Jadeite…
Nephrite…” he whispered. Kisho stepped forwards as his gaze locked upon a third
person lying further away. In all the dust and smoke, Kisho had trouble
recognising him or even recalling his name. His sorrow deepened as he stared
upon them.
The
Princess had led them all to ruin and would do so again… Kisho screamed…
The scene vanished and Kisho
gasped, as he was jolted back to the reality of the battle before him. It was
strange… he no longer felt in pain. In fact, he felt in control as he stood.
Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon were losing the battle. The Youma, that was what
the beast was, blocked every attack that they sent at it.
Slowly he stood, marvelling at
the transformation that he had undergone. His jacket had been replaced by a
longer one shaded in a contrast of black and brown with a gold lining. Ornate
clasps held the front flap closed and Kisho reached up to them with a hand, now
covered by a white glove. Shocked his other hand gently touched the gold and
blue cape that was now draped around his shoulders. His trousers were the same
colour as the jacket and he now wore black leather boots in place of his
trainers. His hair had grown longer and was darker in colour. A sword was
sheathed at his side and Kisho’s hand now clasped around this new weapon as he
faced the Youma.
“Run!” Tuxedo Kamen started to
shout out a warning until he saw the transformation that Kisho had undergone.
“You are…” he trailed off and
glanced helplessly at Sailor Moon, as though unsure of the words.
Kisho held the sword out in
front of him and ran his hand down the blade, and where his fingers touched it,
it began to glow in a bluish light. The Youma lunged forward again just as
Kisho slashed the sword out in front of himself. The blue light slammed the
Youma into the ground where it burst into flames.
Stunned, Kisho dropped his
weapon to the ground, starting slightly at the clatter it made as it fell.
His powers… he had always known
that he was destined for this…
“Kunzite?” Tuxedo Kamen stepped
forward, a little warily as two more figures appeared behind him.
“Tuxedo Kamen” Kisho repeated
his earlier words and then glanced to the other men and almost cried out.
“Jadeite? Nephrite?” he frowned
and looked over their shoulders, as though expecting to see someone else, but
Kisho, for the life of him, did not know who.
The two parties continued to
stare at each other, as though lost for words. Tuxedo Kamen was the first to
break the stand off between them. He knelt down and retrieved Kisho’s sword and
held it out to him, a gentle smile etched across his face, “Here.” He said,
“You’re one of us.”
For some reason this disturbed
Kisho somewhat. He took the weapon and turned away.
“Where is he going?” Nephrite
exclaimed loudly and somewhat angrily.
“Leave him” Kisho heard Tuxedo
Kamen command, “He just needs some time.”
They were wrong… Kisho did not
need time. He knew who he was and he knew of his mission, but he could do
nothing against the memories. With a flip of his cape he walked away,
de-transforming when he reached the edge of the park.
The
Princess… all was her doing…
Kisho had now found his true
powers and mission… the Princess… she would not lead to the Earth’s destruction
again…
*****
She stood, hidden in the shade
of a tall oak tree, watching as one by one they left. Her mouth curled up in a
sly smile of satisfaction. Beryl had been wrong… this man was not the Prince.
Whereas he was very handsome, he lacked the mannerism and charisma of a true
leader; they all did. She was sure that Beryl would find the Prince among the
humans on Earth. From what she had remembered of her past life, the Prince was
a mortal, unlike the Moon Kingdom filth… She would bide her time. Beryl would
soon become impatient and then she would be given the opportunity to strike
against the Prince. For now she would keep an eye on the humans. The true
Prince could not stay hidden forever and, when he finally did show himself,
Dark Venus would be ready…
Laughing to herself, she
turned, flipping a stray piece of blonde hair over her shoulder and returned to
the Dark Kingdom.
******
Act Seven Preview:
“Dark Mars!” Beryl whipped round the face the terrified
Senshi who knelt before her. “I count three times that you have failed me! And
twice two more enemies have appeared. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Only that I am terrible sorry, Beryl-sama, and that I
implore you to give me another chance. This time I won’t fail you! I shall
obtain the Ginzuishou and eliminate the enemy.”
~~~~~
“If you think this is worth investigating” Mamoru said
slowly, “Then we will.”
“I do. If the Prince is in danger then it makes sense that
we find him first.”
~~~~
“Tamura Kisho?” he said breaking the silence between them.
“Yes” his eyes were now narrowed in suspicion, “Who wants
to know?”
“I’m Chiba Mamoru. We met yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“At the park.”
~~~~~
Kisho stood up and walked slowly and deliberately towards
Taro. The other man backed up slightly, despite the fact that he was several
inches taller than Kisho, he recognised the hidden rage inside the man and
wished to keep a respectful distance.
~~~~
“Sailor Moon” Dark Mars said, taking a step forward
towards the champion of love and justice. “On behalf of Queen Beryl-sama, I
shall chastise all that is pure and good from this world. Starting with you…”
~~~~