Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Twenty Six Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
Now that the Princess has been revealed, the Dark Kingdom
seeks to steal the illusionary Ginzuishou from her.
“Dark Jupiter” Beryl said, causing the Senshi to look up,
“Venus can no longer fight so I leave things to you. Find the Princess and kill
her and return the Ginzuishou to me.”
Jupiter stood, bowing once before replying, “As you wish,
your majesty. Come the sunset, the Ginzuishou will belong to the Dark Kingdom.”
I want to protect her, but we are all divided over what to
do about the Princess. The Princess destroyed the planet and is, therefore, our
enemy.
“Kisho, I don’t want to fall out with you over this”
Mamoru stated softly, “But I won’t hurt Usagi.”
“I didn’t say I was going to kill her,” Kisho snapped
back, almost defensively. “The Princess gains her powers from the Ginzuishou.
If we take the Ginzuishou from her…” he trailed off when he saw the look on
Mamoru’s face. “What? Surely you don’t have a problem with that?”
Kisho is afraid and I understand this, but how can I hurt
Usagi? I love her but she is in love with the Prince… my Prince.
Now even the Shitennou’s loyalty to Zoisite-sama is
wavering.
“I’m not, and I don’t feel guilty. Given the choice I
would do the same thing again. My loyalty lies with you, not Zoisite.”
As Masaki knows who Zoisite-sama really is I asked him to
speak with him. Masaki seemed reluctant and I did feel bad for putting him in a
position where he was the go-between us and our Prince, but Zoisite-sama had,
to some extent, created this mess and he’s now leaving me to sort things out. I
know the leader shouldn’t complain so much, but I never asked for this.
“Yes” Masaki snapped, “I’ll speak to him. Just get off of
my back about it, okay?”
“Fine” Mamoru held up his hands, “But I don’t understand
your reluctance.”
“Do you think I want to give one of my friend’s the third
degree over this? Do you think I like being the go between you and him?”
“No, I just--”
“Just forget it.”
I feel as though I am slowly losing control of the
situation and I hate feeling this way. Why can’t we all be united in our goal?
Surely Zoisite-sama trusts us to protect him? I don’t know… I just don’t know
if I even trust him anymore…
*****
Act Twenty-Seven
“Daijobu?”
“I-I’m fine…”
He nodded, and Usagi shuddered at the coldness of his
gaze.
She broke contact and slowly reached out to grasp her
transformation locket. During the battle it had been kicked towards her and now
lay open between them. The Ginzuishou shone brightly in the sunlight, until her
shaking hand curled around it. Usagi held her breath, expecting another fight
as Jadeite stared upon it.
Then, taking her completely by surprise, he stood and
turned away.
“Usagi-chan! Good morning!”
Usagi jumped slightly as her mind relived the fight the
day before and she blushed slightly as one hand curled around her locket as
Naru-chan raced up to her.
It was a school day and a chance for Usagi to forget about
the Ginzuishou and the Prince and she readily welcomed this. She had missed
hanging out with Naru-chan after school, too, and this could be the perfect
opportunity to catch up.
“Did you learn those English verbs that we were supposed
to last night?” Usagi wanted to know after the greetings were out of the way.
Usagi had become so behind in her schoolwork lately that she dreaded to think
what Haruna-sensei would say.
“Mou, Usagi-chan” Naru mock pouted, “Of course I did, but
don’t worry, if we have a test you can copy my answers again.”
“Arigato, Naru-chan!” Usagi smiled happily and then gasped
as she remembered something, “Here’s the CD you lent me!” she pulled the latest
Komoro Seiichi single out of her bag and handed it to her friend.
“Oh” Naru said, a little blankly as she reached out to
take it, “Thank you.”
“I loved it” Usagi continued eagerly, “The music was so
beautiful and--”
“It was okay,” Naru allowed before adding, “Have you heard
the latest Kuroki Mio single?”
“Kuroki Mio?” Usagi frowned slightly. She didn’t think
Naru-chan liked Kuroki Mio. Usagi certainly didn’t. There was something about
the girl… something cold and Usagi didn’t like her one bit.
“Here” Naru produced another CD from her bag, “You should
listen to it” the way she said it, it was though it was the most important
thing in the world and this made Usagi uneasy. She shook her head and handed
the CD back to her friend.
“That’s all right. I’m not really a fan.”
“Oh” Naru said, a little taken aback and a horrible tense
silence fell upon them before the girl brightened and added, “Well that doesn’t
matter. We should hurry or we will be late for class.”
Usagi hesitated slightly as Naru ran ahead and up the
steps towards the school building.
For some reason the name sent shivers down Usagi’s spine.
She didn’t like it… she didn’t like it one bit…
*******
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. Kunzite 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 Kunzite 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
Kunzite’s throat as he recognised two of his friends lying lifelessly on the
ground.
“Jadeite…
Nephrite…” he whispered. Kunzite stepped forwards as his gaze locked upon a
third person lying further away. In all the dust and smoke, Kunzite 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… Kunzite screamed until
his throat was hoarse and searing in pain from the tiny dust particles that
clouded the air around him and found their way into his mouth. He coughed,
sinking to his knees as he choked on the air around him.
“Kunzite?”
a voice caused him to look up as two shadows appeared among the ruins. With the
sun blotted out by the evil that surrounded him, Kunzite could only see
outlines of the pair who moved slowly towards him, hand in hand.
“Master…”
he whispered, his voice having a hardened edge to it as he spoke, “Princess…
All of this… how many more will suffer? Jadeite, Nephrite, your own people!
When will it end?”
The
Prince had no answer and Kunzite stood, unsheathing his sword, he took a step
towards them, “Is this how it will be? Then so be it”
He turned
away; he could never strike down his Prince, but all of this… He would never
forgive him. The Earth’s destruction was caused by the one man who was supposed
to defend it.
Kisho shuddered slightly at the recollection of his most
terrible memory and struggled to concentrate on continuing his karate lesson.
His head swam with all these different thoughts. The destruction of the Earth
in the past life, the Princess, Sailor Moon… Mamoru… Kisho found it difficult
to concentrate on anything anymore. He scowled slightly, and dismissed the
class. A few boys complained, but when they sensed the mood that their sensei
was in they quickly exited the building.
Kisho, relieved, sat down and closed his eyes. Meditation
used to help clear his head, but recently all it had served to do was cause him
more grief. Every time he shut his eyes the memories of the past life haunted
him. He could see his friends lying dead before him.
Jadeite… Nephrite and then Zoisite with the Princess.
Kisho frowned slightly at this, wondering briefly why Mamoru was not there,
too. Perhaps he escaped the destruction, Kisho reasoned and this seemed like a
reasonable assumption. After all, he had done, too, though Kisho bitterly
wished that he hadn’t.
The bang of the door slamming loudly back against the wall
caused Kisho to open his eyes.
“Taro-kun?” he questioned when he saw his friend pausing
by the open door, as though unsure whether or not to enter.
Taro smiled slightly and stepped into the room, shutting
the door behind him.
“I was thinking” Taro said as he made his way other to
Kisho and sat down beside him, “Do you remember when we first met?”
Kisho nodded silently and Taro continued.
“I didn’t think that you could be trusted and now we
understand each other.”
He smirked, “Let me guess. Mamoru-kun told you to come
here and tell me this and then tell me that it is the same with Zoisite-sama,
right?”
Taro scowled, “Well it is!”
“No. It is not. All the Prince cares for is the Princess.
He has proved this in both lives.”
“That isn’t true and Mamoru didn’t tell me to come here. I
do not like your attitude.”
“The Princess--”
“Destroyed the world and, yes, we should keep Tsukino
Usagi away from Zoisite-sama, but she needs the Ginzuishou to save her Senshi.”
“The Ginzuishou is the most powerful tool in the universe.
Are you saying that we should let her keep it?”
“I don’t know.”
Kisho stood, “Then what are you saying?”
“That we should trust Zoisite-sama.”
“You seem to forget that he couldn’t care less when you
were captured. He would not even stay to see if you were all right!”
“He did” Taro said quietly, “You recall how bad I was
afterwards. Zoisite-sama helped me. I trust him.”
Kisho snarled under his breath and turned away, “This is
just great. Does the man have no honour? Why can he not tell me all this
himself?”
Taro shrugged, “I’m not here to fight in his corner. I’m
here because we have to be united as the Shitennou of the Earth Kingdom. If the
Dark Kingdom sees that we are weakening… Mamoru-kun is our leader so let him
decide what is best. When the time comes I am sure that he will let us make up
our own minds.”
Kisho frowned. Something had changed in his friend. He
could almost sense it. Taro had never cared about Sailor Moon or the Dark
Senshi before now. Perhaps his time in the Dark Kingdom had affected him more
than he let on? Still, deep down, Kisho recalled his agreement with Mamoru.
That they would wait and see what Zoisite-sama had to say about the Princess.
Whereas Kisho did not trust Zoisite, he did trust Mamoru and would be content
to leave Sailor Moon be… for now. But if the choice came between her and his
friends, Kisho wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.
Taro smiled, as though sensing this and said: “Mamoru did
send me to find you, though. He wanted us to meet in Crown.”
Kisho nodded in agreement to this.
He would let things lie… for now at least…
******
“Class. Today I would like to introduce a new friend to
you” Haruna-sensei said brightly as she placed her hands upon the girl who
stood in front of the class’s shoulders.
“I am Kuroki Mio,” the girl declared and a stunned silence
befell the class.
Usagi stared with them. Her mouth hanging slightly agape
as she locked gazes with the pretty idol. Kuroki Mio? In their class? Usagi
felt a chill go down her spine as Kuroki-san smiled wolfishly and Usagi’s
classmates, including Naru, erupted in excited screams as they raced forward to
get Kuroki Mio’s autograph or simply to shake her hand.
All the while this was going on Usagi simply sat at her
desk, ignoring the screams of her fellow classmates.
“Here” Naru produced another CD from her bag, “You should
listen to it” the way she said it, it was though it was the most important thing
in the world and this made Usagi uneasy. She shook her head and handed the CD
back to her friend.
“That’s all right. I’m not really a fan.”
“Oh” Naru said.
Usagi shivered again, but was quickly interrupted from
such thoughts when Naru grabbed her arm.
“Usagi-chan, come on!” she indicated that Haruna-sensei
was just about to take a photo of the class with the pop idol. Usagi hesitated
slightly, but Naru’s grip on her arm was firm. She found herself being dragged
towards Mio’s desk where the other students were pushing and shouting, as
Haruna-sensei got ready with the camera.
Naru beamed and struck a pose, letting go of Usagi as she
did so. Hurriedly, Usagi moved away, to the back of the class and watched
uneasily as her friends continued to surround Kuroki Mio. She didn’t like this…
she didn’t like this at all…
*****
“I wanted to see you.”
“Why?”
“I think you know why.”
“This is insane! This whole damn thing is insane! You are
my enemy! Why are we even having this conversation?”
“We are enemies,”
“So you keep saying. But we were only told that by our
Masters. What do you want, Taro?”
“I want. You. I want you.”
Mercury smiled to herself at the memory of Taro’s kiss. It
had been so much different than before. The first time he had seemed so
reluctant… so afraid… but this time things had been different. He was
different. He loved her… he had good as said so and Mercury loved him, too.
There had been no time for regret. No time to lament over
how wrong their relationship was, but now, now she was once more in the Dark
Kingdom, Mercury couldn’t help but worry if Taro would change his mind. She was
the enemy.
She blushed in shame as this thought entered her head.
Taro was not like that. He had assured her that he cared enough for her to risk
everything. They were on different sides, but it did not matter. Suddenly the
war seemed to be no longer a part of Mercury. She was detached from it. She no
longer wished to appear before Beryl and try to win her Queen’s praise. It was,
as if by doing so, a betrayal of the trust that Taro had placed in her.
“Mercury?”
She paused, unaware that she had somehow stumbled into her
leader’s quarters.
Venus was seated in the corner of the ever-dark room,
toying with a strand of blonde hair as she did so. Something had happened to
Venus… something had changed. The Kingdom was changing and Mercury knew that
even though it was for the better, the Senshi would suffer for it in the end.
Jupiter had illusions of grandeur and was striving towards
her goal of achieving Metallia’s awakening. Mars wanted leadership of the
Senshi and would do anything to obtain this and Venus… Venus had changed. When
the Ginzuishou had shone upon her the Venus of the Dark Kingdom had disappeared
and left only a shell behind. This shell was a much gentler being and one that
Mercury left she could trust… almost.
“What are you doing?” Venus asked softly when she saw the
doubt in her fellow Senshi’s eyes.
“Doing?”
“You look so lost… I know how that feels.”
“The Ginzuishou?”
Mercury and Jupiter stood stock still, fear paralysing
them to the spot as they gazed upon their dying leader. A slight smile twisted
Mars’s mouth as she turned and teleported away, leaving Venus to her fate.
The departure of the Senshi of fire was enough to spur
Jupiter and Mercury into action. They quickly abandoned their fallen leader;
only Mercury paused slightly before teleporting away.
“Perhaps” Venus stood, brushing her hair back from her
eyes and once again there was a flicker of the former Dark Senshi beneath those
troubled pools. “I need to see… I need to decide whose side I truly belong to.”
“Venus---”
“You should, too” the way she looked at Mercury then… the
blue haired girl almost blurted out the truth to her leader but managed to bite
her tongue just in time. It was as though Venus was staring into her very soul.
Did she know? Mercury was not sure.
“You should, too” Venus repeated, “Before its too late”
with these words she was gone. A faint sparkling of orange light lingered for a
moment as her teleport took hold of her.
Mercury stayed still, almost mesmerised by the departure
of her leader. Venus would not be the same person when she returned… this
Mercury was sure of.
******
“So” Mars whispered to herself as she watched the display
between her fellow Senshi, “Venus is going to make her choice. This could prove
quite interesting…”
******
Usagi ached all over. Her limbs felt as though they were
on fire as she trudged wearily back from school, only half listening to
Naru-chan chattering on about how great it was to have Kuroki Mio enrolled at
their school.
Usagi didn’t think it was so great and she was beginning
to really dislike the idol and she had a feeling that this like was mutual.
Usagi sighed softly, wondering what on Earth she had done to cause Kuroki-san
to hate her so. During volleyball she had constantly, and deliberately, slammed
the ball into Usagi knocking her down and then, at the end of the lesson, she
had kicked her.
The pigtailed heroine paused to rub subconsciously at her
ankle as she recalled that moment. No one, not even Naru-chan, had noticed and
Kuroki-san had immediately apologised for her actions, though she still glared
coldly at Usagi and, for the first time in her life, Usagi was really dreading
going to school the next day.
“Tsukino-san!” and it would seem that her ordeal was not
over just yet.
Usagi paused, as did Naru, and waited, very reluctantly,
for Kuroki Mio to catch up with them. That famous sly smile was etched across
her face and Usagi trembled slightly for she recognised it for what it truly
was, unlike her friend.
“Mio-chan” Naru greeted her enthusiastically, “Did you
enjoy your first day?”
“I don’t know” the idol lowered her gaze sadly to the
ground, “I don’t think Tsukino-san likes me.”
“What? Usagi-chan? That isn’t true, is it?”
Usagi mentally flinched as Mio’s gaze once again rested
upon her, as did Naru’s. She didn’t like Kuroki Mio. In fact Usagi knew that
the intensity of her feelings bordered on hatred and she didn’t, for the life
of her, know why. Of course, she could hardly say anything with Naru-chan here
and quickly shook her head.
“No, I do like you, Kuroki-san.”
“Really?” the shark-like smile was back now and the few
tears that had been building up in the girl’s big brown eyes seemed to have
vanished without a trace.
Usagi, again, nodded reluctantly and Mio’s smile turned
into a delighted grin.
“I’m so glad!” with this and forced her way between Naru
and Usagi and asked them where they were headed now.
“We were going to Crown” Naru, it would seem, had no
problem with Mio and was perfectly happy to allow her to accompany them.
Usagi sighed as Mio declared that she would do so. The
pigtailed girl hated feeling this way. She wasn’t usually like this at all.
Usagi always liked to give others a chance, despite any first impressions that
they might give and no matter how bad they were.
“I love karaoke!” Mio squealed excitedly, “I first started
out in a karaoke parlour!”
The conversation headed that way for a while and Usagi was
content to ignore them. She was bitterly disappointed, as she had wanted to
spend the afternoon with Naru-chan alone as she had missed her friend and just
doing something normal for a change.
Even Luna had thought that this was a good idea, but Usagi
couldn’t help but grasp her locket tightly in one hand as her thoughts drifted
back to what happened yesterday.
“Daijobu?”
“I-I’m fine…”
He nodded, and Usagi shuddered at the coldness of his
gaze.
She broke contact and slowly reached out to grasp her
transformation locket. During the battle it had been kicked towards her and now
lay open between them. The Ginzuishou shone brightly in the sunlight, until her
shaking hand curled around it. Usagi held her breath, expecting another fight
as Jadeite stared upon it.
Then, taking her completely by surprise, he stood and
turned away.
“We’re here” Naru’s voice cut into her thoughts once again
as they stopped outside Crown.
“This brings back so many memories,” Mio lamented as they
stepped inside.
“Princess. Usagi…”
Serenity paused, her gaze lowering to Zoisite’s hand,
which was still tightly clutched around her own.
“The Prince…”
Usagi felt a blush rising in her cheeks as her gaze fell
upon the men standing just inside Crown. Kimura-san was standing behind the
counter whilst Ueda-san and Tamura-san sat on chairs near the door. Mamoru-baka
stood leaning against the counter itself. Motoki was nowhere to be seen.
“Konnichiwa!” Naru greeted them, before casting a sly
smile in Usagi’s direction when she noticed Mamoru. “Where is Motoki-kun
today?”
“He’s had to take Kamekichi to the vet” Kimura-san
replied, with some annoyance detectable in his voice. “He thinks that he has
got a cold. A turtle with a cold? That is ridiculous!” he declared loudly.
Usagi smiled slightly, but her smile faltered when Naru
pushed Mio forward and excitedly introduced her to the men.
If they had heard of her, they were completely indifferent
towards her. Mamoru-baka mentioned that Hina liked Mio’s songs, but neither
Kimura-san nor Ueda-san paid her much attention. Only Tamura-san seemed the
slightest bit interested in her and enquired to know why she was attending a
normal school.
“Why not?” Mio replied, with a shy smile.
“It seems a little strange, that’s all.”
Usagi frowned slightly. Was it possible that Tamura-san
had picked up on the same bad vibes that she was getting from Mio? She thought
about asking him when his cold words when she awakened came flooding back to
her.
“Princess, surrender the Ginzuishou unless you wish to see
her die again”
Usagi could now feel his eyes on her, staring at the
locket around her neck. Evidently Ueda-san had told them of the Ginzuishou and
Usagi tensed, as though expecting a fight.
Of course, they would not do anything here and Usagi
followed Naru and Mio as Kimura-san directed them to one of the karaoke rooms.
Once there, Naru immediately raced for the microphone whilst Usagi slumped down
on one of the chairs, sighing in relief. Mio parked herself next to her and
gave her another sly smile.
“Who were those guys?” she asked innocently.
“One of them works here” Usagi replied, struggling to
sound indifferent.
“They don’t like you very much do they?” Mio observed
lightly and when Usagi opened her mouth to protest she realised, with a great
sadness that Mio was right and fell silent. They were on the same side! The
Dark Kingdom was the real enemy and yet they hated her so. If they worked
together…
“Usagi-chan! Mio-chan!” Naru interrupted her thoughts yet
again, “Come on! We’re supposed to be having fun.”
Usagi smiled and stood, as did Mio. The idol promptly
pushed passed her and hurried to Naru’s side. Usagi’s face fell as they started
to sing ‘Change of Pace’ and again she sat down. It was going to be a long
afternoon…
******
“Masaki?” Mamoru said, a little impatiently now, “Will you
speak to Zoisite-sama?”
“Yes” Masaki snapped, “I’ll speak to him. Just get off of
my back about it, okay?”
“Fine” Mamoru held up his hands, “But I don’t understand
your reluctance.”
“Do you think I want to give one of my friend’s the
third degree over this? Do you think I like being the go between you and
him?”
Masaki frowned as he recalled his heated conversation with
Mamoru. After saving Sailor Moon from the Youma, Masaki had not gone to the Okura.
He hadn’t been able to face Seiichi and he didn’t really feel like
demanding the truth from his Prince like Mamoru wanted him to do. Hells, the
only reason he was at the hospital now was because Masaki was confused. He
should have taken the Ginzuishou whilst he had the chance, so why did he allow
Sailor Moon to keep it? Why didn’t he let the Youma finish her off? Masaki did
not know and hoped that Seiichi might be able to shed some light on this.
Of course, when relaying what happened to his friends,
Masaki had not mentioned that he had the chance to take the Ginzuishou. He
would rather not face their questions until he had answers… answers that he
hoped that they would want to hear.
Casting these thoughts from his mind, Masaki hurried
ducked around a corner and transformed. Mamoru had discouraged them from
transforming for trivial reasons, but he doubted that the hospital would let
him in to see Tetsuya or Komoro Seiichi.
Jadeite smiled to himself as he recalled the first time he
had managed to teleport. It had been just before Taro had been captured by the
Dark Kingdom and the three of them – Masaki, Taro and Kisho – had got together
in Crown to learn how to teleport. Taro and Kisho had seemed to want to keep
this between themselves and not let on to Mamoru, as their leader was still
sensitive about his own powers not awakening. Their first few attempts had not
been as successful as they had hoped. Kisho managed to teleport all the way
across town and couldn’t teleport back and ended up having to catch a train and
three bus connections back to his apartment and didn’t get there until 4 in the
morning. Taro was too afraid of teleporting and getting stuck in a wall and,
therefore, it took him a good few hours to learn. Masaki did not have any such
concerns and simply trusted his powers and that he controlled them. It seemed
to work though he had the habit of appearing in the wrong place; Masaki was
easily the most used to teleportation out of the three of them.
Because of this Jadeite found it easy to teleport inside.
He had reappeared in the bathrooms on the second floor, which happened to be
the same floor that Tetsuya was on. Artemis had told him that Tetsuya could go
home in a few days, but would need to rest. Artemis had also let slip that
Tetsuya knew who Seiichi really was. This surprised Jadeite somewhat as he had
always thought that Seiichi would be more careful.
De-transforming again, Masaki made his way from the
bathroom and started to walk down the corridor, hoping to find the right room
before one of the nurses on duty noticed him. As luck, or fate, would have it,
Seiichi just happened to be coming out of one of the private rooms as Masaki
turned a corner. The young star seemed surprised to see Masaki, but hid this
with a shy smile and enquired to know how he was.
“Fine. How’s Tetsuya?” Masaki hated to sound so cold, but
he was a little nervous and Seiichi picked up on this.
“You know Tetsuya” was his reply, “He hates to complain
about anything to do with himself. He was more concerned about missing all the
press conferences and television interviews.”
“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.”
Masaki refrained from commenting and, together, they
started to walk back down the corridor as Seiichi explained that he was about
to leave for the evening.
“Visiting hours are over” he added, “How did you get in?”
“I flew. How do you think?” Masaki winced at his tone and
the sarcasm that came with it.
Seiichi smiled slightly, “Why are you here? I know it
isn’t just to see me.”
“You’re astute today.”
He stopped, his
good humour rapidly fading and Masaki couldn’t blame him, “What is wrong?”
“What the hell do you think?” Masaki hissed, “I’m tired of
your little games, Seiichi-kun. Do you know why I’m here? Mamoru-kun sent me.
Don’t worry, he doesn’t know who you are but he knows that I know. Why can’t
you just tell them who you are? I am sick of being the go-between!”
“You know I can’t do that. If Queen Beryl--”
“Queen Beryl, yes. Why does she hate you so much? Why did
you and the Princess destroy the planet?”
“Masaki--”
“No. No excuses this time. Just answer the questions. Even
just one would be a start. They don’t trust you and even Mamoru is getting sick
of defending your actions. Do you really want them to turn on you?”
Seiichi sighed, “Okay.”
“What?” Masaki frowned; stunned that he would give in so
quickly.
“Queen Beryl doesn’t hate me.”
“Then why is she after you?”
“In the past life the Princess was the Princess of the Moon
Kingdom and I was the Prince of the Earth. We were in love and Beryl hated
that. Her jealousy tore both kingdoms apart and the Princess, in her sorrow,
destroyed the world, both ours and the Moon.”
Masaki stopped walking, struggling to get his head around
this. The Moon? The Moon? He stared at Seiichi, looking for signs that
he was lying and found none.
“The people of the Moon created the Earth” Seiichi
continued, keeping his voice low as he spoke, “There was much resentment on
Earth because of this.”
“The Moon?” Masaki shook his head, “How am I supposed to
tell them that? They’ll think I’ve gone mad! And if the Princess is in love
with you then why won’t Sailor Moon give you the Ginzuishou?”
“That is--” Seiichi started, but suddenly trailed off.
Masaki frowned and glanced up at him, noting that the
young man’s face had suddenly drained of all colour. His hands were shaking as
he clenched them into fists and he would have fallen had Masaki not grabbed his
arm, steadying him.
“Seiichi?”
He didn’t reply and Masaki felt his trembling worsen.
Glancing wildly around the deserted corridor, Masaki wondered if he should call
for help. Then he spotted some plastic chairs beside a water cooler and
practically dragged Seiichi to them. Forcing him to be seated, Masaki went to
the cooler and got him a cup of water. Seiichi accepted this, though did not
drink and simply stared into the cup for several minutes as his trembling
ceased and he started to regain a bit of colour.
“You okay?” Masaki asked, allowing none of the concern
that he was feeling into his voice.
Seiichi nodded and set the cup down on the floor, but,
when he offered no explanation, Masaki felt inclined to ask for one.
“A panic attack” was the reply given, “It happens
sometimes when I’m stressed out. I’ll be fine now.”
“Are you sure? Do you want me to get someone?”
“No. It’ll only worry Tetsuya and he feels bad enough
already. Anyway, I thought you were here because you wanted me to prove to you
that I can be trusted?”
“I was, but--”
“Right then” Seiichi stood, his momentary weakness
seemingly forgotten, “Let’s go and ask Sailor Moon for the Ginzuishou.”
Masaki shook his head, “I don’t think you should be
fighting in your state.”
“I’m fine” Seiichi brushed his concerns aside and smiled,
though it seemed forced.
“Seiichi--”
“Let’s go.”
Masaki sighed to himself and followed Seiichi’s lead. A
part of him, in fact a big part of him, felt very uneasy about confronting
Usagi. If the Ginzuishou was as powerful as Seiichi seemed to think it was then
it could be dangerous. Not that Masaki was scared; he doubted that Tsukino
Usagi was capable of hurting anyone. He just felt uneasy about the entire
situation and Seiichi’s suddenly reckless attitude wasn’t helping.
Mamoru had said that they should wait until they knew what
their Prince wanted to do and Seiichi had made his motives clear. He wanted the
Ginzuishou and Masaki was sure that his answers were not ones that Mamoru would
want to hear.
“What do you know about Kuroki Mio?” Masaki asked
suddenly, wanting to focus his mind on something else and thus his thoughts
wandered to the strange pop idol. Kisho hadn’t liked her… then again Kisho
didn’t like anyone…
“I’ve met her a few times” Seiichi allowed, a little
cagily, “Why?”
“It is probably nothing, but she’s enrolled in Tsukino
Usagi’s school. She came into Crown this afternoon.”
Seiichi nodded, “I see. You might want to watch your back
around her.”
“Why?”
Again the wall was back up and Seiichi shrugged, “I don’t
know” he replied.
******
Usagi sighed to herself. If she heard ‘A change of pace’
one more time… there they went again. Mio and a very out of tune Naru singing
the same song. Didn’t Mio tire of hearing herself sing? Evidently not. Usagi
blushed in shame at her thoughts and decided to start humming the Moonlight
Sonata instead.
Mio ceased singing and pulled a face, “Mou, Usagi-chan.
Why won’t you join in?”
“I am” she replied, a little nervously as Mio’s gaze
narrowed slightly, “I just wanted to sing something different, that’s all.”
“Usagi-chan is right” Naru nodded, “We have been singing
your songs a lot. We don’t want you to get sick of them, Mio-chan.”
“No chance of that” Mio smiled shyly, “Naru-chan, thank
you for today. You really made me feel welcome. In exchange would you both like
to come to the set of my new video tomorrow after school”
“Amazing!” Naru cried, jumping up and down. An act that
reminded Usagi so much of herself. She sighed and turned away when a movement
to her left caught her attention.
“Naru-chan! Mio-chan! Watch out!” Usagi screamed as she
recognised the form that suddenly leapt towards them.
“Moon tiara… boomerang!”
The weapon shot in the vague direction of the Youma and
Sailor Moon was rewarded by a gasp of pain from the beast in question. She cheered
and held out her Moon Wand for the final blow when the creature darted away,
too quick for the eye to follow and in moments it was lost among the crates and
boxes that littered the ground like a maze.
“No” Sailor Moon wailed, “It got away.”
Usagi gasped as she recognised the Youma, though now it
was daylight she could see it properly. Though it stood on two legs, it
reminded Usagi more of a wild animal than humanoid. Its body was covered in
long shaggy dark brown fur, though its arms were coated in what seemed to be
metal steel plates. It’s from the ends of its fingertips sprouted long knife
like fingernails, which were glinted silver, even in the daylight. Its feet
were like talons and they gripped the ground, cracking the concrete as it walked
towards them. Its face was the only thing vaguely human about it. Its skin was
a milky white, a stark contrast with its blood red eyes. It had no nose that
Usagi could see and its mouth consisted mainly of teeth, no lips. Its ears were
pointed and twin horns twined the top of its head. Brown hair cascaded down its
back in a tangled mass that had various leaves and other debris entangled in
it. Yet the feature that captivated Usagi most was a large scar that marred the
armour on its right arm, near the shoulder. She flinched slightly as it stared
directly at her, as though angered with her for gazing upon it. Usagi wondered
if she had done that, but the injury was curved ever so slightly so there was
no way that her Moon Tiara Boomerang could have inflicted such a wound.
Naru’s scream brought Usagi back from her thoughts and she
whirled around, in time to see the few passers by who were unlucky enough to be
in the path of the Youma drained of their energy. Now the beast turned to the
three of them.
It lunged forward and wrapped a hand around Naru’s throat.
Usagi cried out and looked wildly around for someone to help. She couldn’t
transform here! Naru screamed again and then fell to the ground as her energy
was drained.
“Naru-chan!” Usagi dropped to the floor beside her friend.
Naru was unconscious but Usagi knew she would live.
“Naru-chan, I’m sorry,” she whispered. How many more times
would the Dark Kingdom hurt the people she cared about?
“Mio-chan!”
Usagi suddenly remembered the idol and sprang to her feet
once more, glancing around for her. Evidently Mio had tried to run and the
Youma had followed her. The pop idol was backed against a wall of a restaurant
and the Youma reached out with a hand to grab her as it had done Naru.
“Mio-chan!” Usagi cried out again. It didn’t matter
anymore… she had to transform! “Moon pris--”
She broke off as the strangest thing happened. The Youma
suddenly paused, the hand that was wrapped around Mio’s throat started to
tremble, as did the being that it belonged too. It spun away, even as Mio
collapsed to the ground in a faint.
Usagi frowned, not quite understanding exactly what had
taken place and not really caring as the Youma made to turn in the direction of
a pre-school.
“Youma! On behalf of the Moon, I will punish you! Moon
Prism power… make up!”
******
“Do you think I want to give one of my friend’s the
third degree over this? Do you think I like being the go between you and
him?”
“No, I just--”
“Just forget it.”
Mamoru sighed to himself; his conversation of yesterday
with Masaki was constantly ringing round inside his head. His friend had left
Crown a little earlier and Mamoru could only assume that he was going to see
Zoisite-sama, though he could hardly ask in front of Taro and Kisho. The latter
had opted to stay at Crown with Taro as there was another party booked for
later that day, but Mamoru just wanted to go home. He longed for tomorrow when,
hopefully, Masaki would have spoken to Zoisite-sama and they could get this
entire mess straightened out.
When Mamoru saw the Youma he was not best pleased. Of
course, Sailor Moon was there. Newly transformed the Senshi of love and justice
brandished her Moon Wand at the beast when it happened.
The ground in front of the Youma exploded in a shower of
stars and magics, whilst the Youma itself remained untouched. It gave a squeal of fear and teleported away
before Sailor Moon could stop it.
“Jadeite. Zoisite-sama” Mamoru whispered to himself as he
transformed. “What is this?”
The two of them stepped forward, Zoisite-sama obviously
taking the lead whilst Jadeite hung back slightly as though he was afraid.
“Prince?” Sailor Moon murmured as Zoisite stopped in front
of her.
“Sailor Moon” he replied as he drew his sword, “Give me
the Ginzuishou.”
“What?” she cried out, the pain in her voice unmistakable
and it felt like a dagger in Tuxedo Kamen’s heart to hear her sound so afraid.
“The Ginzuishou” Zoisite repeated, “Give it to me.”
“No. I need it to save my Senshi!” she refused and backed
away in confusion and fear.
“You do not know its true powers.”
Sailor Moon shook her head; “I won’t use it for anything
bad. I just want it to help my friends.”
Zoisite’s eyes narrowed and he took another step towards
her, “The Ginzuishou is affected by the heart of the wielder. You have a weak
heart and will only bring destruction to this planet.”
The look in her eyes as he spoke these words… Tuxedo Kamen
gasped slightly as the agony of what the Prince saying tore through her very
being. Sailor Moon took another step away, tears filling her eyes as her back
hit a wall. There was nowhere else for her to go.
Before Tuxedo Kamen even knew what he was doing he moved.
He found himself standing between his Prince and Sailor Moon.
*******
When Tuxedo Kamen stepped between Zoisite and Sailor Moon,
Jadeite was already questioning the wisdom of his Prince’s decision to confront
the Princess. Zoisite was obviously still feeling unwell and this showed in the
unsteadiness of his sword hand and the way his attack had completely missed the
Youma and allowed the creature to escape.
A panic attack… Jadeite didn’t quite belief this. Seiichi
had always seemed so calm and in control. Then why yield so easily? Why give
Jadeite all the answers he wanted without too much protest? He wasn’t sure.
There was something else…
Jadeite felt ashamed when Tuxedo Kamen stepped between
Zoisite and Sailor Moon. This wasn’t right. No matter what happened in the
past… she was still only a child really.
“Zoisite-sama, perhaps we should--” Jadeite started, but
Zoisite ignored him.
“Zoisite-sama?” Tuxedo Kamen spoke, his voice wavering in
places, “What are you doing?”
“We want the Ginzuishou” Zoisite replied coolly, “And I
intend to get it.”
“No” Tuxedo Kamen shook his head, stunning all of them, “I
can’t let you do that.”
“You don’t know what you are doing. Stand aside” Zoisite
ordered.
“No.”
“The Ginzuishou is a deadly weapon. It must not fall into
the wrong hands! Have you forgotten the mission?”
“And have you forgotten the past? You loved her!” Tuxedo
Kamen shouted angrily, indicating Sailor Moon “You loved her enough to give up
the planet! Do you still love her in this world?
Zoisite looked away unwilling to answer this question and
said instead: “The Ginzuishou--”
“The Ginzuishou will remain with Sailor Moon.”
“I cannot allow that. Step aside.”
“Or what? Will you fight me?”
“If I have too”
Jadeite shook his head as he watched the two men… his
friends. What the hell was Mamoru doing? It was obvious that he loved Tsukino
Usagi, but to go against his Prince… Jadeite couldn’t watch this. Taking both
of them completely by surprise he pushed between them.
“Don’t get involved” Zoisite warned him, but Jadeite paid
him little heed and spoke to Mamoru.
“Let it go. She won’t give him the Ginzuishou.”
Zoisite cursed under his breath as Tuxedo Kamen nodded and
took a step away, falling into a step beside Sailor Moon.
Their Prince turned to leave but Tuxedo Kamen’s next words
halted him in his tracks, “Why did you make me the leader? How can I lead if we
don’t share the same mission? How am I supposed to unite us?”
“I had hoped it would awaken your true powers” Zoisite
replied, the regret eating into his voice as he spoke. Tuxedo Kamen took this
as though he was regretting his choice of a leader, but Jadeite had the feeling
that Zoisite hated fighting with Mamoru.
Tuxedo Kamen considered this for a minute and then
answered, “Well I don’t want this. I don’t want to be the leader. How can I be
when none of you wish to follow my lead? How can I make decisions when I don’t
even know who my Prince is?”
“Very well” Zoisite turned away with a flip of his cape,
“Jadeite. You lead.”
With those words he teleported away in a flash of blue
light leaving the two Tennou and Sailor Moon stunned. Shyly the blonde heroine
sidled up to Tuxedo Kamen and expressed her thanks for defending her.
“Don’t thank me” he snipped back coldly, “I already regret
my decision.”
He left, too. Walking away and neither Sailor Moon nor
Jadeite had the heart to follow him.
“Very well. Jadeite. You lead.”
Jadeite sighed. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
*******
Act Twenty Eight Preview:
“Matte!” Usagi
cried.
The blonde Senshi smiled softly, “Princess… I must return
to the Dark Kingdom.”
“Why?” Usagi asked desperately, “What is there for you
there?”
~~~~~
Seiichi shrugged, “I shouldn’t allow the present to hinder
the mission. I had wanted the Shitennou to get to know each other in this life
so that they may work together better as a team, but it would seem that they
now care more for the present than they do the past life. They don’t seem to understand
that nothing in this life matters. We were reborn to stop the past from
repeating itself and nothing more. Out of all of them Kunzite understands this
the most.”
“They won’t like it” Artemis warned him, “Especially
Mamoru.”
Seiichi bit his lip, struggling to assuage some of the
pain that came with his next statement, “Nothing in this life matters. I had to
accept that a long time ago, Artemis ”
~~~~~
Mio nodded sadly and a sob escaped her, “You ran off and
left me when that… that creature attacked me.”
“Usagi-chan? Is this true?” Naru asked softly.
“No…” Usagi protested but trailed off halfway through her
sentence. What could she say? That she was fighting? She lowered her gaze, “I
didn’t run away,” she mumbled in the end.
“You did, you did” Mio accused, her lower lip wobbling
dangerously, “Just because you hate me.”
~~~~~
“Princess!” Venus commanded as the Youma now turned their
attention to Usagi once again, “Run!”
She struggled to her feet as she said these words, but the
fatigue was clear in her eyes. As she said these words, one Youma turned. It
held up a frail and gnarled hand and magics shot from its palm, striking Venus
in the chest. She flew backwards, slamming into the nearest tree and falling to
the ground.
“Venus!”
Usagi took a deep breath and raised her hands above her
head as she called out her transformation sequence. She felt the Ginzuishou
strengthening as she spoke the words:
“Moon prism pow--”
~~~~~~
“Zoisite, daijobu?”
“I-I’m fine” he whispered through gritted teeth, even as
he fell further forward until he was on his knees. Usagi stumbled with this
added weight and fell down beside him. “I’m fine,” he repeated, even as his
eyes slid closed and he lapsed into a faint at her feet.
“Zoisite-sama!”