Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Twenty Three Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
“It is the last day of the Cherry Blossom viewing
tomorrow” Venus announced to them, “There will be lots of humans wasting their
energy viewing pointless nature” she accentuated this by crushing the petals in
her palm and letting them fall helplessly to the ground, “We shall attack a
corner of the park each. Even if the Shitennou appear they cannot fight us
together if we separate.”
The Dark Senshi targeted the last day of the Cherry
Blossom viewing in Ueno Park and separated to steal energy.
Kisho looked up, unable to suppress a small gasp of
surprise from escaping him. The clearing they had come too was occupied.
Several people lay sprawled under Cherry Blossom trees, their energy sapped
from them. In the midst of it stood Dark Jupiter. A ball of energy floating
just above her palm as she turned around to face them.
Dark Mars seemed annoyed but not surprised that he was
present and attacked quickly, sending a burst of fire in his direction. Jadeite
blocked this and sent the attack straight back at her. Both glared at each
other and got ready to fight again.
“What is this?” he whispered, even as the Senshi stepped
out of between some trees and walked purposefully towards him.
“I am the Senshi of vanity and unrequited love, Dark
Venus. On behalf of the beautiful Dark Kingdom, I shall punish you!”
To make things worse, Hina was caught in the middle of it.
If anything happened to her…
“I had expected that you would turn up” Dark Venus said
coyly, “Venus love-me… chain!”
Tuxedo Kamen could only stare in shock as the chain
whipped towards him, unable to do anything but close his eyes and wait for the
impact… that never came.
Opening one eye, he saw another fuku clad figure standing
in front of him, blocking Venus’s attack with her own weapon.
“Sailor… Moon?”
I came up against Dark Venus, but luckily Sailor Moon was
there to save me. Tsukino Usagi… how can I have feelings for her and Hina? I
don’t know what to do and now Usagi knows who I am!
“Chiba Mamoru” Sailor Moon whispered, her voice flat and
expressionless, “Then… it is as I expected.”
*****
Act Twenty-Four:
Taro was the first out of them to pull away to catch
breath, though Mercury’s arms stayed wrapped around him whilst he did so. Then
the full impact of the situation hit him. He had kissed one of the Dark
Senshi. Taro pulled away completely, a little roughly as Mercury fell back a
few steps.
“Kimura-san?” she whispered, the hurt clear in her voice,
but Taro did not care, or so he tried to tell himself.
“This is wrong,” he snapped as she reached out towards
him, “We’re supposed to be enemies!”
“I know” Mercury replied, letting her arm fall to her side
once more, “I know.”
“This was a mistake” Taro continued, trying to force himself
to believe the words that he spoke and not focus on her pained expression as he
said them, “It was a spur of the moment reaction. It didn’t mean anything.”
Deep down Taro knew that this was not true. She had saved
his life and, as he stared upon her, Taro was beginning to realise just how
deep his feelings for the Senshi were. This frightened him. They were enemies.
One day he might have to destroy her.
No! This could never be! It was an impossible situation.
Slowly this realisation began to dawn in Mercury’s eyes
and she stepped away. “I understand,” she whispered before hurriedly
teleporting back to the Dark Kingdom.
Taro could only stare at the space that she had occupied
moments before, wondering if he had made the right choice.
*****
The clashing of metal rang loudly in Kunzite’s ears as
again he struck at the Senshi before him. Dark Jupiter was good, he admitted to
himself, but he was confident that he could defeat her. Casting a wild glance
over his shoulder, Kunzite saw Ayame looking anxiously on. Her face showing a
flood of different emotions; fear, wonder and anger.
Kunzite forced himself to block her from his mind as again
his blade struck Jupiter’s weapon. She leapt backwards as he slashed at her,
narrowly avoiding getting skewered in the process. She was tiring, that Kunzite
could see, but just as he raised his hand for a final blow, she cartwheeled to safety
and struck a pose.
“Well, that was fun” she said coyly, “But I’ll have to
forfeit this time. I hope we get a chance for a rematch” and with this she
teleported away. Kunzite was angry at her cowardice, but decided not to let it
show. He de-transformed and Ayame ran to him.
“Nii-san, you were awesome” she smiled happily. Kisho
returned her smile, but already his gaze was scanning the surrounding area.
There were police cars and paramedics being directed towards the centre of the
park.
“What is it?” Ayame demanded.
“I’m not sure. Wait here.”
Ayame was about to protest, but Kisho had already hurried
away. Weaving his way through the tightly knit trees until he reached the
clearing in the centre of Ueno Park. It was chaos. Policemen and paramedics swarmed
over the area. The paramedics treating those who had, had their energy sapped.
The police were cordoning off a large section of the park, where a stage had
collapsed.
“What happened here?” Ayame asked as she came up beside
him.
“I thought I told you to stay back there?”
Ayame shrugged, “You did and I ignored you.”
Kisho was about to reply when he heard someone calling his
name.
“What are you doing here? You are supposed to be resting”
Kisho pointed out when he saw Taro. The other man glowered at this and replied:
“Don’t you start. I’ve already had an earful from Kanaye.
He’s over there with Michie – his girlfriend – she was caught in the attack,
too.”
“Attack?” Ayame repeated and both men turned to look at
her. Throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation she declared that she was
going to wait a little way off. Kisho was torn between allowing her to leave
and wanting to keep her near him in case of another attack. Taro guessed this
and said:
“Don’t worry. The Dark Senshi are long gone. But we’ve got
bigger problems.”
“Such as?”
“Hina, Mamoru’s fiancée, was hurt, too. Mamoru saw it
happening from the TV in Crown. He went to help her and was followed by Sailor
Moon. Sailor Moon knows who he really is.”
“I see” Kisho was carefully trying to show no outward
emotion to this, but inwardly he was fuming for reasons he did not know. Sailor
Moon always brought about such dark thoughts within him. He hated the girl and
yet he did not know why.
“That’s not all” Taro added, “I called Masaki’s house
earlier today and his mother said that he had come to the park, too, and Mamoru
saw him battling Dark Mars from the TV. As soon as I got here, Mamoru asked me
to look for him whilst he took care of Hina, but I couldn’t find him.”
“Did you try his mobile?”
Taro pulled a face, “Of course I did, but it was switched
off.”
“So, he went home?”
“No. I tried there again. Tori is beside herself and I
don’t blame her. What if…”
Taro broke off, not wanting to finish his sentence, but Kisho
understood the meaning behind his words. What if the Dark Kingdom had captured
him?
“He must be around here somewhere,” Kisho said, despite
his own concerns. “There are still lots of people here. We can split up and
look for him.”
Taro was about to agree when Kanaye came storming over to
them. Kisho smirked slightly at the furious look on Taro’s brother’s face. His
temper far outclassed his younger sibling’s.
“They are taking Michie into hospital for overnight
observation” Kanaye announced, “I’m going with her. Taro-kun, I want you to go
home. You are still not fully recovered yet.”
“I--- I’m not a child!”
“Please don’t argue” Kanaye snapped, “I have more than
enough on my plate with Michie without having to worry about you. Just go
home.”
“I’m not a child!” Taro repeated angrily.
“I know” Kanaye said quietly, “But I don’t want to worry
about you, too.”
“We’re just looking for one of our friends” Taro
explained, “He was caught in the accident, too.”
Kanaye nodded, giving his approval before hurrying back to
the awaiting ambulance. Kisho glanced at Taro, but guessed that his friend
didn’t want to say anymore on the subject and they split up to look for Masaki.
******
“Chiba Mamoru” Sailor Moon whispered, her voice flat and
expressionless, “Then… it is as I expected.”
She stood, letting the mask fall from her fingertips as
she did so, and turned away.
“Usagi” Mamoru whispered to himself. He had let her leave.
He had not been able to find the words to comfort her. How could he? He loved
her… even the admission of this caused him yet more heartache. It was his love
for her that allowed her to pull the mask away and see who her true ally was.
She had known all along, Mamoru thought uncomfortably, or at least she had
guessed.
He now sat in the back of the ambulance. Hina was still
being seen to by a paramedic, but she had only twisted her ankle when she was
running away so it was hoped that she could simply go home with Mamoru. Did he
love Hina? Mamoru knew he did, but at the same time his love for her wasn’t the
same. He loved Hina because she did not demand too much from him; she was like
his younger sister. Usagi was different. Mamoru loved the vibrant and somewhat
foolish girl in a different way. When he looked at her he knew that he had
found the person that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and this
terrified him.
Mamoru sighed. This was such a mess. At times he wished
that he had never walked into Crown that day and awakened his powers. He hated
being Tuxedo Kamen and just wanted his old life back. A wave of shame washed
over him as he thought this. Did he truly want that? Taro, Masaki, Kisho… they
were the closest friends that Mamoru had ever had. Did he really want to lose
their friendship? No, he decided, but he was tired of being the leader. He
wanted someone else to take charge. He couldn’t take the responsibility
anymore.
“We can’t find him” Kisho’s voice stirred Mamoru from his
bitter daze. Mamoru was glad to see Taro with Kisho, but it only served to
remind him of his missing friend.
“Have you searched the rest of the park?” Mamoru demanded.
“We have” Taro confirmed, “He’s not here.”
“He might just have gone home?” Mamoru suggested, “Can one
of you check?”
Hina needed him, Mamoru knew, and he couldn’t abandon her
despite his concerns for Masaki.
“I’ll check” Kisho said, “But I don’t like it. Surely he
wouldn’t have left without telling us?”
Mamoru shrugged, suddenly unsure what to think anymore.
******
The private waiting room in the hospital was dark and its
two occupants sat in complete silence and had done so ever since they had
arrived. Masaki sighed to himself and cast a glance at his companion, unsure of
what to do or say to him. Seiichi had lapsed into this silence since the
ambulance had arrived.
“You don’t have to come with us,” he had said.
“No, but I want too.”
A nurse had hurried them into this room after Tetsuya had
been admitted and neither of them had heard anything more. Masaki had surprised
himself by opting to go with Seiichi to the hospital. He had tried telling
himself that it was because Seiichi was the Prince and then that it was because
he didn’t want to go home early and face his dad. In actual fact, Masaki
realised, it was because he was worried about his friend. He had never seen
Seiichi like this before and it frightened him slightly.
Getting up, Masaki hurried over to the coffee machine at
the far end of the room. He supposed that Seiichi could be in shock and debated
calling for a doctor. He dismissed this quickly and decided that Seiichi was
probably only concerned about Tetsuya.
Masaki returned to his seat and held out a cup of coffee
to his friend.
“Thank you” Seiichi took it, smiling gratefully, but only
stared down at the brown liquid, even as Masaki said:
“He’ll be okay you know.”
Seiichi shrugged, “I should have transformed. If I had
done so then Tetsuya wouldn’t have been hurt.”
“And everyone would have seen you” Masaki pointed out,
“You had no choice.”
“I should have done something, but instead I let him get
hurt.”
Masaki shook his head; he was no good at this sort of
thing. “You didn’t let him. From where I was standing it looked as
though Tetsuya saved your life and you should be grateful for that.”
“I am” Seiichi snapped back, “But he shouldn’t have done
it!”
Masaki shrugged and observed casually, “It seems to me
that he cares about you a lot more than just as your manager.”
Seiichi hesitated before replying quietly, “He was my
father’s best friend. We’ve known each other for years. He promised to look out
for me when… when my father died.”
Inwardly Masaki cursed. The subject obviously caused
Seiichi a great deal of pain, even now, and Masaki wasn’t one to ask such
personal questions under any other circumstances.
He did volunteer the information Masaki
struggled to remind himself whilst trying to think of something to answer his
friend. In the end he settled on: “Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Don’t worry about it” Seiichi shrugged lightly, “I guess I’m--”
he did not finish that sentence as the door opened and a doctor entered the
room.
“How is he?” Seiichi asked almost immediately as he stood
up. Masaki stood as well, though unsure of what to say or do.
“Ikuhara-san was very lucky” the doctor replied, “He has a
broken arm and some broken ribs along with mild concussion from the gash on his
head.”
Seiichi sighed in relief and immediately asked if he could
see him. The doctor replied that he could and Masaki decided that it was his
cue to leave.
Seiichi didn’t seem to mind and once Masaki had received
several assurances that he would be okay, he hurriedly left the hospital.
Outside, Masaki saw a media circus and several nurses trying to shoo off the
eager reporters. Shaking his head, Masaki slipped passed them unnoticed. The
last thing he needed was to be caught here. How would he explain that to Mamoru
and the others?
Masaki cursed loudly as he realised that he had completely
forgotten about them. He had seemingly disappeared from the battle! How the
hell was Masaki going to explain that? Sighing, he quickly changed his
direction and started walking in the direction of Mamoru’s apartment. He would
rather explain a part-truth to Mamoru than tell a complete lie to his other
friends.
*******
Hot tears poured down her cheeks, her breath coming out in
ragged gasps as she fled down the marble steps of the palace. All she could see
was the image of her Prince in the arms of another. All she could hear was the
sweet laughter of the unforgivable Princess who had tempted her love away. The
Princess. Beryl’s heart clenched in rage as she thought of her. Then she
turned, just to look at them once more, though it hurt her so much to do. Beryl
glared daggers at the back of the Princess until she slowly turned around, a
smile on her lips as their gazes met…
Beryl gasped in shock and horror at the clarity of this
memory and what it meant. An enraged scream stuck in her throat at the image of
the Princess, which played before her mind once more. So perfect… so pure… and
so detestable…
Glancing up at the liquid glow of her Queen, Beryl knew
that Metallia was getting stronger, but time itself was running out. The
Princess had been right under their noses for all this time and this angered
Beryl further. Yet, in the back of her mind was a stab of fear. A fear for the
Prince that Beryl had been trying to make her own. If the Princess remembered
him… The hateful brat would try to steal him from her again! This Beryl would
never allow.
Infuriated, she summoned Dark Venus to the throne room.
The Senshi appeared quickly, obviously terrified that she would be punished for
their failings, yet the mission could not be further from Beryl’s mind.
“Venus” she said, her voice practically shaking in anger
and fear as she spoke, “The mission has changed. You will now target Sailor
Moon.”
“Sailor Moon?” Venus repeated softly, raising her head
slightly. “Why?”
“Do not question me!” Beryl sniped furiously, “I am your
Queen and you will obey me. You will take the other Senshi back down to the
Earth realm and lure Sailor Moon out. Then you will kill her.”
Venus nodded and slowly stood up to exit the room. Beryl
allowed her to leave. Sailor Moon would die… As far as Beryl could gather
Tuxedo Kamen was the only one to care for the Senshi of love and justice. If he
came to her aid, then the Dark Senshi would kill him and once leaderless, the
Shitennou would be vulnerable.
Beryl scowled to herself, recalling bitterly how they had
thwarted her plans to capture Zoisite and how they had cheated the Senshi so.
The only reason they lived, despite her knowing their Earth identities, was
that one of them knew who Zoisite was and if he died then so did that
information.
“Do not kill the Shitennou” Beryl called after Venus, “If
they appear you must defeat them but not kill them for they alone know the
identity of my Prince.”
“As you command” Venus replied, though she held a strange
look in her eyes and Beryl did not like it one bit.
******
“Venus! I will heal you this time!”
“I think not, Sailor Moon. Sayonara!”
Dark Venus somehow made it out of the throne room in one
piece. Beryl’s mood had been strange and not at all furious with their latest
failure. Still, the cries of Sailor Moon echoed in Venus’s mind and as they did
so other images began to form in her mind’s eye. She could see them as clear as
day.
She was training, as were her fellow Senshi. Her love-me
chain struck its wooden target many a times and from different angles. Mars was
to her left and Mercury to her right and Jupiter beyond her. They were
surrounded by beautiful gardens and rolling hills. The sun shone down brightly
upon them and illuminated the atmosphere in a warm and comforting glow. Venus
paused, wiping the sweat from her brow as she sensed the presence of another
person behind her. She whirled around, holding her chain in one hand as a
weapon and looked up--
“Whoa!” Dark Mars leapt back in time to avoid the love-me
chain that Venus practically hurled her way. Feeling a little foolish, Venus
stepped back, lowering her weapon as the images faded before her eyes. She
surveyed the scene and saw Mercury and Jupiter standing a little way off.
Jupiter was frowning, but Mercury only appeared troubled. Venus scowled at the
latter, recalling that Mercury did not even both to try and gather energy. This
insubordination was unforgivable and as the leader of the Senshi, Venus knew
she should punish Mercury for this. Of course, after they had completed their
new mission that was.
“You’re a little jumpy” Mars observed calmly, “Queen Beryl
was not happy with your failure?”
“Our failure” Venus corrected her. There was no way that
she was taking the blame for all of this! “But that is not important now. We
have a new mission.”
To this, Mars rolled her eyes, “The Prince?”
“No. Sailor Moon. Beryl wants us to kill her.”
Mercury looked uneasily at her leader, “Kill her? Is that
wise? The Shitennou will surely come to her rescue?”
Jupiter snorted in contempt at this, “I very much doubt it
and if they do it is a perfect opportunity to kill them as well.”
“No” Venus snapped, “Beryl has ordered them unharmed.”
“The Prince” Mars whispered angrily, her fists clenched at
her sides, “Will she never learn?”
“No” Jupiter replied for her, “Which is why we must awaken
Queen Metallia to her full greatness as quickly as possible. Only Metallia has
the power to stop Beryl now.”
“Be quiet” Venus hissed, angered that they had wandered
off of topic, “We must kill Sailor Moon” she twirled a piece of blonde hair
around a finger as she added slyly, “I know Beryl said not to kill the
Shitennou, but accidents can happen…” she let the sentence hang. The Dark
Senshi would derive their own interpretations from this. It was merely a
suggestion, after all. Jupiter and Mars smiled coldly at the hidden meaning
behind their leader’s words whilst Mercury’s uneasiness deepened. Venus
glowered at the weakest Senshi. She did not like this. She did not like this
one bit.
*******
Seiichi felt on edge as he approached the room where
Tetsuya was. He chewed nervously on his lower lip, pausing to glance at Artemis
as he did so. He had not spared a thought for the plushie after all the goings
on of the afternoon, but the cat had appeared now and seemed to be concerned
about him. Seiichi frowned at this and the half recollection of the words he
had thought he had heard Artemis utter.
“Where are you going now?”
“I’m not a child, Artemis”
“I know, but I worry about you…”
Shaking this off, Seiichi broke Artemis’s gaze and entered
the room. A part of him was afraid that Tetsuya would blame him for what
happened. An even bigger part of Seiichi blamed himself, he thought
uncomfortably as he approached the bed. Tetsuya smiled when he saw him and
gestured for him to take a seat with his uninjured arm.
He looked better than he had done this morning, Seiichi
noted, but he couldn’t shake off the terror of seeing his manager in such a
way… not after what had happened before…
“How are you?” they both asked this question at the same
time and Seiichi answered:
“You should be more concerned with yourself. You could
have been killed!”
Tetsuya laughed softly at this, “Don’t be so melodramatic,
Seiichi-kun. In a few weeks I’ll be just fine.”
“You still shouldn’t have done it” Seiichi answered,
“Thank you.”
Tetsuya smiled, “I made a promise to your father.”
“No” Seiichi shook his head, “You’ve kept it. It would
probably be better if you were no longer my manager. Bad things are always
happening to me, Tetsuya. You would be better off back in Kamakura City.”
“You just had a little bad luck” Tetsuya shook his head,
“Honestly, Seiichi-kun, what are you thinking?”
Seiichi stood, “You don’t understand.”
“I do” Tetsuya snapped, his own anger becoming apparent
now.
“No, you don’t.”
“Don’t I, Zoisite?”
A deadly silence befell them. Seiichi wanted to leave. He
was furious with himself. How had Tetsuya known? Why hadn’t he been more
careful? Seiichi frowned at Tetsuya and decided to simply deny everything. It
would be safer that way…
“Don’t” Tetsuya shook his head as Seiichi opened his mouth
to protest.
The young star sighed and sat back down, suddenly too
tired and too defeated to argue, “What do you know?” he asked quietly.
“Not a lot” Tetsuya admitted, “I saw you transform once
and followed you. I saw you fight.”
Seiichi was unsure what to say. What could he say? He had
thought he had been careful not to give the slightest clue as to his other life,
no, his real life, Seiichi corrected himself. This life, his life as
Komoro Seiichi was a façade and nothing more.
“Tetsuya--” he started, but again his manager cut him off.
“I won’t tell anyone, I won’t get involved and I’m
certainly not angry. I know if Zinan was here he would be proud of you and--”
“No” it was Seiichi’s turn to interrupt. “He would not
be proud of me.”
“Okay” Tetsuya sighed, stifling a yawn as he did so, “I’m
tired, Seiichi-kun.”
“Of course” he stood again even as Tetsuya added:
“I can finally get some sleep now that all those reporters
have finally gone. They were making a hell of a racket out there.”
Seiichi smiled slightly, “I know. The nurse on duty was
complaining about them, too, and asked me to get rid of them.”
“Really?” Tetsuya raised an eyebrow in surprise, “But you
hate talking to the media?”
“I don’t hate it” Seiichi corrected him, “I gave
them some story about the stage collapsing and there being a stampede. I’ve
also arranged for everyone who was hurt to get a copy of my album, signed, of
course.”
“Seiichi--”
“You should sleep. I’ll be back tomorrow. I have all those
CDs to sign” he smiled slightly at this and Tetsuya shook his head:
“I don’t care what you say, Zinan would be proud of you.”
Seiichi didn’t reply and quickly left the room. Artemis
was waiting for him and had obviously heard their conversation as he was
frowning angrily.
“Don’t worry” Seiichi assured him, “Tetsuya won’t say a
word.”
“I know” Artemis hissed, “But if a normal human has seen
you, then who else knows?” and with that he bounded off down the corridor.
Seiichi sighed and did not bother to go after him.
“Where are you going now?”
“I’m not a child, Artemis”
“I know, but I worry about you…”
It would seem that the feline guardian did not care every
much after all.
*****
When Masaki arrived at Mamoru’s apartment he was a little
shocked to find that Taro was there, too. When Mamoru had let him inside he was
immediately met by a barrage for questions, most that he was unable to answer.
Masaki sat down on the sofa, as Mamoru indicated and was
assured that Hina was not here, as though they thought that this might be the
reason for his silence.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you and Kisho’s still
out looking now” Taro said, making no effort to hide the concern in his voice,
“Where the hell have you been?”
Masaki shrugged, “Around.”
“What happened at the park?” Taro insisted, “Where did you
go?”
“I defeated Dark Mars” Masaki answered coolly, “And then I
went home.”
“No, you didn’t because we called your house.”
“Why do you want to know anyway?” Masaki snapped
defensively, casting a pleading look at Mamoru as he did so. He could hardly
say that he had been with Zoisite-sama, could he?
“Taro” Mamoru started, “The main thing is that Masaki is
safe, right?”
“I suppose” Taro grumbled, sensing that he wasn’t going to
get anymore out of his friend. He murmured something about going to call Kisho
so that he knew that Masaki had turned up and left the room. Once he had gone,
Masaki decided that he should make a move. He still had to find out how his
parents dinner went and if it had gone badly then Masaki knew that Tori would
pay the price.
Mamoru seemed almost disappointed of this and when Taro
came back Masaki found out why.
“I thought we could hang out and do something normal for a
change” Mamoru said, holding up a selection of videos, “Hina has gone to her
parents; their over from England for a bit. I guess what happened in the park
scared her a little.”
“Something normal?” Masaki repeated, torn as to what to
do.
Taro seemed quite enthusiastic about this and Masaki
couldn’t help but wonder if his friend was hiding something. Taro had seemed a
little on edge since he had arrived.
“Yeah that would
be good” Masaki decided.
Masaki sighed to himself as he again recalled his father’s
words. Suddenly he didn’t care about the dinner party or even if it went badly.
All he wanted to do was forget about everything for a while.
“Great” Mamoru smiled, though he held Masaki’s gaze for
longer than the other man would have liked. Did he suspect? Was that why he was
going easy on him? Masaki never could tell with Mamoru and decided to let the
matter go. The last thing he needed was more questions being asked.
******
“Chiba Mamoru. Then… it is as I expected.”
Usagi walked and walked. She had been walking all day. She
did not know what else to do. Her worst fears had been confirmed. Chiba Mamoru
was Tuxedo Kamen and she was in love with him.
“Baka!” Usagi cried out to herself, tears stinging at her
eyes. Chiba Mamoru was engaged! He could never love her! He hated her! He had
been mean to her more times than Usagi could count! She was supposed to love
the Prince! It was all such a mess.
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.
“I love the Prince” Usagi whispered to herself and, true,
she felt the same sort of giddy excitement and happiness whenever she thought
of that dream. Then there was the fire… it would all end in fire… Usagi shook
her head. She would not let that happen. Not again…
“Usagi-chan!”
“Luna?” she blinked as the cat plushie came racing up to
her. Usagi had forgotten about her feline guardian.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you” Luna said, allowing
a faint purr when Usagi knelt down to pet her between the ears.
“I… I wanted to be by myself for a bit” Usagi admitted
quietly, “Chiba Mamoru is Tuxedo Kamen.”
“I know.”
“You knew? Luna! Why didn’t you tell me?”
The plushie shrugged, a move that seemed very unnatural
for a cat and added, “I saw how you looked at Tuxedo Kamen and I saw how Chiba
Mamoru treated you. I don’t want you to go near either him or Zoisite, do you
understand?”
Usagi nodded silently, feeling too disheartened to argue.
“Let’s go home,” Luna said after a moment’s silence
between them, “Ikuko-mama will be getting worried.”
Usagi, again, just nodded and forced a smile.
It was funny, but it never occurred to Usagi just how
dangerous her situation. She had wandered far out of town, away from people and
any help that passers by might be able to give her should she need it. The sky
was starting to darken as she turned to walk back towards the main city, but
suddenly four shapes blocked her path.
“I am the Senshi of vanity and unrequited love, Dark
Venus”
“The Senshi of wicked flames and evil passions, Dark Mars”
“I am the Senshi of icy hearts and wild water, Dark
Mercury.”
“I am the Senshi of thunder and lightning, Dark Jupiter.”
“Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter” Usagi whispered in a
pained voice as the four Senshi stepped out from the shadows.
A stab of pain clutched at her heart as Usagi remembered
Luna’s words of before. The Senshi were supposed to be her friends…
“Sailor Moon” Venus said, taking a fighting stance,
“Prepare yourself.”
Usagi did not want to fight them, but what choice did she
have?
“Moon prism power… make up!”
*****
Mamoru sighed to himself and struggled to keep his attention
focused on the TV screen. After much arguing between Kisho and Taro they had
finally decided on a movie to watch, but by then Mamoru was wondering if it was
such a good idea after all. Still, he had welcomed this chance for them to just
do something normal and it was a welcome change from the pressures of the
mission. Glancing to his left, Mamoru noted that Masaki didn’t seem to be
relaxed either.
“What happened at the park? Where did you go?”
“I defeated Dark Mars. And then I went home.”
“No, you didn’t because we called your house.”
“Why do you want to know anyway?”
“Taro. The main thing is that Masaki is safe, right?”
Where had he been? The only reason that Mamoru had
told Taro that he leave the subject be was because of the possibility that
Zoisite-sama had been the reason for Masaki’s evasiveness. Still, it did not
mean that Mamoru wasn’t going to ask Masaki. He decided that he best wait until
the other two leave, just in case.
“Chiba Mamoru” Sailor Moon whispered, her voice flat and
expressionless, “Then… it is as I expected.”
She stood, letting the mask fall from her fingertips as
she did so, and turned away.
Mamoru could only watch her leave, feeling as though his
heart had been torn in two, which it had been and all by this one girl. Sailor
Moon…
Mamoru exhaled loudly. Sailor Moon… Tsukino Usagi… he did
not want to think of it, that and the fact that she knew his true identity.
Unfortunately, his discomfort did not go unnoticed by his
friends. “Mamoru? Daijobu?” Kisho asked, allowing no concern into his voice,
though Mamoru could see it clearly in his eyes.
“Just a little tired” Mamoru allowed.
“I see” Kisho nodded, not really accepting this, but not
wanting to force the subject. It would seem that he was also tired from the
battle, though he would not admit it.
“Where’s Ayame?” Mamoru wanted to know in a bid to change
the topic of conversation.
“At a friend’s house. She was still shaken by what
happened, not that she would admit it.”
“Scared?” Masaki scoffed, “Of a Senshi? Nothing but a
bunch of silly girls in strange costumes and ridiculous hairstyles if you ask
me.”
“Really?” Taro said softly, “You’d be a fool to underestimate
them” there was some hurt in his voice as he said this and Mamoru mentally
winced at the back-handedness of Masaki’s remark despite it not being a direct
reference to Taro or his capture by the ‘silly girls in strange costumes and
ridiculous hairstyles’.
Masaki, of course, did not say anything to this and simply
went back to staring at the television.
“I wonder if we will ever fight as a team” Mamoru mused to
himself, trying to dissipate the tension in the air and then instantly
regretting his choice of words.
“What do you mean?” Kisho asked curiously, “We are already
a team.”
“No. There are five of us,” Mamoru pointed out mildly.
Kisho shrugged, “I am sure that Zoisite does not see it
that way. We are his guardians remember? We don’t work as a ‘team’, we are
supposed to protect him whilst he gives orders.”
“You don’t like him much do you?” Masaki asked softly,
“What has he ever done to you?”
Kisho frowned, “He destroyed the world, remember?”
“You said he destroyed the world, not him.”
“He wouldn’t deny it.”
Masaki shook his head slightly, “I think you’re being
unfair.”
“Since when were you so loyal?”
Mamoru came to Masaki’s rescue by asking if they could
drop the conversation and watch the end of the movie.
Kisho grudgingly agreed to this and they spent the next
half an hour or so in almost complete silence. Mamoru attempted to concentrate
on the plot of the movie, but his mind kept wandering back to the events of the
afternoon. Kisho had not mentioned the fact that Usagi knew who Mamoru really
was and he had not really expected him too. After all, Usagi knew who Kisho and
Taro were and even she should be able to work out who Jadeite was after that.
Mamoru knew that Zoisite-sama would be disappointed in him and for this he felt
strangely angry. He was the leader and he couldn’t even keep their identities a
secret! He was always letting them down. He hadn’t realised that Taro was
missing; he wasn’t able to find the Ginzuishou… Mamoru sighed. He didn’t want
this anymore… he wanted Zoisite-sama to take the responsibility from him.
Finally the movie seemed to have ended and all without
Mamoru really taking a note of the plot.
“Now what?” Taro wanted to know.
Masaki shrugged, “I should go. It is late.”
Kisho laughed, “It’s only 9.30!”
Mamoru shook his head, “You didn’t ring Tori did you?” he
asked accusingly.
“Should I have?”
“She was worried?”
“Now you’re sounding like her” Masaki chided, “Why
do you think I want to go now?”
Despite Masaki smiling slightly after speaking, Mamoru
detected an underlying annoyance to his voice and let the matter be and walked
to the door with him whilst the other two argued over which movie to watch
next.
Listening to their shouts, Masaki said: “I pity you being
stuck with those two for the rest of the evening.”
Mamoru shook his head, “They seem to be getting along
better. Perhaps one good thing did come out of Taro’s ordeal after all.”
Masaki smiled and turned to leave, but Mamoru couldn’t
help himself from asking:
“This afternoon? Was it Zoisite-sama?”
Masaki paused, unsure of what to say and in the end
settled for ‘no’. Mamoru knew he was really saying ‘yes’, but decided to let
the matter drop. As he opened the door Mamoru froze as a piercing scream tore
through the still-ness of the night. It sounded far away, but it was not so far
that Mamoru couldn’t tell whom it belonged too.
In his heart, Mamoru knew it was her who had screamed.
Gasping in shock he felt his transformation take hold without him even willing
it and his fears were confirmed.
“Mamoru?” Masaki frowned, “What is it?”
Mamoru couldn’t answer. Suddenly all he could think of was
getting to Usagi. Ignoring his friend’s calls, he raced off down the street in
the direction of the screams.
*****
“Usagi-chan…” Luna whispered helplessly as Venus’s attack
struck her charge and the Senshi of love and justice fell to the ground,
another pained cry escaping her lips. Sailor Moon refused to fight the Dark
Senshi who had once stood by her side and thus they kept attacking her and
their orders were to kill.
The Moon Wand had long since been knocked from Sailor
Moon’s hand and lay discarded on the concrete beside the plushie. All she could
do was keep it safe, though if something didn’t save her, Luna knew that Usagi
would never need it again.
“Usagi-chan! Fight back!” Luna pleaded as the girl barely
managed to dodge a fireball sent at her by Mars.
“No!” Sailor Moon cried, “I can’t!”
“Usagi-chan…” Luna trailed off as Jupiter landed a
well-aimed kick to her stomach and Sailor Moon fell, sprawling backwards on the
pavement. Then Jupiter got ready to use her supreme thunder. This was it… this
was the end…
******
“This is just typical” Nephrite complained good-naturedly
as the four of them raced down the darkened streets of Tokyo towards the sounds
of the screams.
“What is?” Jadeite wanted to know as he ran alongside his
friend.
“We’re missing a perfectly good movie, not to mention a
chance to do something normal for a change, in favour of racing around in the
dark, dressed like this to fight some Youma or whatever.”
“I thought you loved a good battle?” Kunzite called over
his shoulder as they struggled to keep up with Mamoru.
Nephrite shrugged, “I do. Just not when--” he faltered off
as they turned a corner out of Tokyo City and came across the sight they were
expecting and yet Nephrite was secretly dreading.
The four Dark Senshi were standing over a fifth figure.
The fifth figure was none other than Sailor Moon.
Nephrite winced slightly as his gaze met Mercury’s and she
took a step backwards, as though she was afraid.
Though Nephrite hung back, the rest of them did not.
Tuxedo Kamen darted between Sailor Moon and Dark Jupiter just as she got ready
to use her supreme thunder attack on the weapon-less girl.
Kunzite slashed at the Dark Senshi with his sword, the
blue light knocking them back.
As they stepped away, Kunzite used this to also stand
between Jupiter and Sailor Moon. She scowled and sent a ‘flower hurricane’
attack at him. Kunzite blocked this and took another swipe at her with his
sword.
Nephrite still hesitated, even as Jadeite and Mars began
to fight and then Tuxedo Kamen against Venus.
Mercury now stood before him, doubt flickering in her eyes
before she quickly drew her hands together and called out ‘shine aqua…
illusion!’
Nephrite hurriedly shielded himself from this attack, but
was astounded at how weak it was. He had barely felt it let alone needing a shield.
Confused, he threw an attack of red light back at her, it being almost as weak
as her own and simply striking the ground at her feet rather than hitting her.
Mercury smiled slightly and repeated her strike, but
deliberately missing her target.
“This is wrong,” he snapped as she reached out towards
him, “We’re supposed to be enemies!”
“I know” Mercury replied, letting her arm fall to her side
once more, “I know.”
“This was a mistake” Taro continued, trying to force
himself to believe the words that he spoke and not focus on her pained
expression as he said them, “It was a spur of the moment reaction. It didn’t
mean anything.”
“What are you doing?” Jadeite demanded when he saw
Nephrite’s pathetic attacks. Nephrite ignored him and was grateful when Mars
cartwheeled away, distracting his friend as she struggled to get to Sailor
Moon. The blonde was simply lying on the ground, too stunned to get up and
fight back.
Nephrite glanced at the fight around him and then back at
Mercury. He couldn’t hurt her… he couldn’t… no matter what happened…
Mercury, it would seem, had similar doubts and the two of
them just faced each other unsure of what to do and Nephrite could only hope
that the battle around them would end soon.