Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Twenty One Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
“They’ve broken him. They’ve crushed his spirit.”
“I suppose I should be grateful?” Taro said tiredly, “I
suppose you think I would want to waste my life in that dump?”
Motoki gasped, “Kimi-kun!”
“Just go. I want to be left alone.”
For a while I thought that Kisho’s words were true. Taro
definitely wasn’t behaving like his usual self and I was beginning to get
really worried. Then something changed.
Taro almost laughed at this, “Then why didn’t you give in
to her demands?”
“You know I couldn’t have done that” Zoisite replied
quietly, “So how are you really?”
“Fine.”
“Are you sure? I know I wouldn’t have been.”
“You? You’re the Prince.”
Zoisite nodded, “And you heard what I said, that death
would be preferable. To be taken alive and come out of it ‘fine’ is incredible”
his gaze once more locked on Taro “Not to mention unbelievable.”
I don’t know what happened or what was said to him or by
whom, but Taro is really back to his old self now and is keen to leave the
hospital. It’s really strange, but I kind of feel like they are my
responsibility, even Zoisite-sama, and that I should have done something more
to help him. Of course, this doesn’t really matter now that we know Taro’s
going to be fine. It’s Masaki who concerns me. He’s been so quiet since it
happened.
“Mamoru--” Masaki started and then he cut himself off, and
paused just as they were passing the school.
Had that Youma not appeared I feel sure that he was going
to tell me something… something important. The Dark Kingdom Youma are becoming
weaker, too. This is not a good thing I am sure….
******
Act Twenty-Two:
“Dark Mars. I am willing to forget your failures for now.
Redeem yourself and gather more energy for Queen Metallia. Fail and you shall
answer to her.”
Beryl glowered down at the red fuku clad Senshi at her
feet, a furious scowl etched across her face as she recalled her earlier words.
Another failure… though the energy gathered was enough to appease the Great
Ruler for now, Beryl just couldn’t tolerate such failure. First with energy,
then with the Ginzuishou and finally…
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. It was this
rage that brought her back from the midst of her memories.
Twice now, Zoisite had avoided her
attempts to capture him and with Metallia’s awakening Beryl had come to realise
just how terrible a state her mission was in. Metallia would not tolerate these
failures. It was Metallia that gave Beryl the Dark Kingdom. She owed it to her
Queen to completely break the seal.
The enemy… the enemy was strong, Beryl
knew, but she had thought that her Dark Senshi were stronger. She must have
underestimated them.
Of course, Beryl had no intention of
forcing Dark Mars to answer to Metallia. Beryl dreaded to think how such a
miserable failure would reflect upon herself in front of the Queen and she
simply allowed Mars to leave, explaining that whereas the enemy had destroyed
her Youma, she had managed to collect enough energy to save her from Metallia’s
wrath. As always, Mars was grateful and was more than happy to leave the throne
room.
Now, Beryl stood before the Great Ruler
herself, watching the pulsing mass of purple light that was her leader. She
could feel the power radiating in the very room itself and sinking into her
flesh. Metallia may not be at full strength yet, but she was close… very close
and when she was finally set free nothing could withstand her.
The Prince… the Prince was the most
precious person to her, but she would allow him his freedom for a while longer
for then Beryl would have the element of surprise. She would let him think that
he had escaped for now, but the time would come when he would belong to her and
her alone, just as he should have done a thousand years ago.
******
“Before the daybreak
Two people and you are
Discovering”
Alone, Dark Jupiter wandered the halls
of the Dark Kingdom, listening to the sad and mournful notes of their leader
wafting down the endless tunnels that made up their home. The Dark Kingdom was
crumbling at the edges, Jupiter feared. It was the past… though she had chose
not to believe it. It was not the Prince’s doing, but Beryl’s own and she was
only glad that, for a time at least, their Queen seemed to have realised this.
“Sailor Moon?” Jupiter questioned, but Beryl’s triumphant
laughter stopped her in her tracks.
“No… it is the awakening!”
“Awakening?”
“At last” Beryl crowned in delight, “The Great Ruler stirs
from her slumber after a thousand years.”
“The Great Ruler?” Mercury gasped in disbelief.
“Queen Metallia!” Beryl cried.
Metallia’s awakening was enough to put things back into
perspective for the Queen, but Jupiter feared what Beryl might do. The
Ginzuishou… if she obtained the Ginzuishou then the Great Ruler would be truly
free and perhaps take a hand with the Queen who was costing them the mission.
Jupiter nodded to herself. The Ginzuishou… this would become her new mission.
She would find the Ginzuishou and use it to free Metallia… this she would do at
all costs…
*****
“Motoki?”
“I fear you are mistaken… Sailor Moon.”
“But I don’t understand. Kimura-san works with Motoki-kun.
How can he not be you?”
“I’m not him.”
“Then who are you? How did you know where to find me?”
Usagi slumped down onto her bed, as she recalled her
conversation with Tuxedo Kamen. Never before had she felt so stupid. Motoki was
Tuxedo Kamen? Now that she knew that he wasn’t, Usagi realised just how
ridiculous that seemed. Motoki was a nice enough person, but he was too busy
fawning over Kamekichi to really notice anything else that might be going on
around him and Usagi certainly did not feel attracted to him.
But I’m not attracted to Zoisite either, and he’s the
Prince I have been dreaming about!
“Baka!” Usagi cried to herself. Thankfully Luna was
nowhere to be found as the plushie had thought that she was still at school.
School had been cancelled when the teachers came round and blamed the mass
fainting on someone turning the heaters up too high. Usagi had gone along with
this and when she got home Ikuko had immediately banished her to her room to do
some studying owing to her recent bad grades.
Of course, the last thing Usagi could think of was study,
especially after the events at the school.
“How’s your friend? How’s Kimura-san?”
“Fine”
“I’m glad.”
“Here’s so cold towards me…” Usagi whispered, “Just like…”
“Itai!” Usagi squealed as she hit the floor, dropping her
books all over the pavement. Scrambling to her feet she clapped her hands
together and cried out: “I’m so sorry!”
The man she had bumped into frowned and in that instant
Usagi recognised him.
“You again!” Usagi exclaimed loudly as she stared at the
black haired man. With him this time was another man, about the same age with
lighter hair, but an equally annoyed expression on his face.
“Do you know this kid?” the other asked the black haired
man.
He sighed and rolled his eyes, “Fortunately no, lets go.”
“You are so rude!” Usagi pouted after them.
“Now way!” Usagi declared loudly, “There is no way that
Chiba Mamoru is Tuxedo Kamen!”
“Where did you go the other day? I was made to clean up
that mess with the paint all by myself! I should have known that a pig like you
would leave me to do all the work!”
“He did disappear just as Tuxedo Kamen turned up” Usagi
mused out loud and then violently shook her head again, “No! I won’t believe
it! Chiba Mamoru is not Tuxedo Kamen, Chiba Mamoru is not Tuxedo Kamen!”
“Usagi!” Ikuko heard her cries and called angrily up the
stairs, “Are you studying?”
“Hai!” Usagi called with a slight pout. Studying actually
seemed like a good idea. It might help take her mind off things.
Tuxedo Kamen… Chiba Mamoru… there was no way that they
were the same person, was there?
*****
“Mamoru!” Masaki hurried to keep up with his faster paced
friend as they left the scene of the Youma attack. Having de-transformed as
soon as they were out of sight, Mamoru had not stopped witness the ambulances
arriving or even to see if everyone was all right as he usually did.
“What’s the rush
for?” Masaki pouted as he finally managed to catch up as Mamoru turned a corner
and put the school very much behind him.
“Nothing” Mamoru snapped, a little defensively, “I just
wanted to get clear before the police and paramedics turned up, that was all.”
“And it had nothing to do with Sailor Moon?” Masaki asked,
a little boldly, which was unusual for him and gave Mamoru cause to halt and
turn to face him.
“Of course not.”
Masaki shrugged, “Fine. Whatever.”
“What is with you?”
“What?”
“This? I know something’s bothering you.”
“Nothings wrong” Masaki said struggling to keep his voice
even, despite the guilt that was threatening to overcome him.
“I won’t tell them. I won’t tell them who you are.”
Mamoru shrugged, “Masaki. I know you don’t like to talk
about things. We are very much the same in that respect, but until Zoisite-sama
fights alongside us properly I’m the leader and if there was anything…” he
broke off for a moment, as though reluctant to get out his next words, “We are
friends. I won’t hold whatever it is against you.”
“I know who Zoisite-sama really is” Masaki blurted out and
then averting his gaze feeling both ashamed that he had betrayed Seiichi’s
trust and that he had kept such important information from his friends to begin
with.
“You do?” there was some surprise in Mamoru’s voice, but
no anger and that made it worse somehow.
“I’ve known for a while now.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“He asked me not too. He felt it might put you all in
danger if you knew who he really was… but that didn’t stop them from taking
Taro, did it?”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened to him” Mamoru
told him, “And I’m sure Taro wouldn’t blame you either. Beryl was just looking
for a way to get to Zoisite-sama. She would have captured any of us.”
“I know” Masaki paused before admitting quietly, “That
doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Does Zoisite-sama know this?”
“No.”
“I have to admit that he’s put you in an unfair position,
but I wouldn’t dwell too much upon it if I were you.”
“Why not? Don’t you want me to tell you who he is?
“Not if he doesn’t want us to know.”
“You’ll accept that? You’ll just accept what little he has
told you?”
Mamoru shrugged and then added, a little uneasily, “I
think there is much that he hasn’t told us, but I don’t think his intentions
are bad if that’s what you mean. He trusted you and so do I.”
“What about Taro?”
“Taro’s alive, though I don’t think he or Kisho need to
know about this conversation.”
“More secrets?” Masaki asked doubtfully, though a big part
of him was relieved that he wouldn’t have to face Kisho’s angry countenance when
he found out.
Mamoru smiled slightly, “It’s the only way forward I can
think of without causing more arguing. We need to be united in our fight
against the Dark Kingdom. Zoisite-sama told us from the beginning that we
needed to forge strong friendships with each other as are now as well as in our
Shitennou forms.”
“He says that nothing he does in the present matters. Is
that true?”
Again Mamoru shrugged, “I don’t know. I would like to
think that there is more to us than our past selves. Perhaps it is different
for him.”
Masaki did not reply. He hoped his friend’s words were
true. Before his father started beating Tori, they had been happy. Masaki would
like to think that there was more to this happiness than just echoes of his
past life. Seiichi was a very successful pianist. Surely he didn’t believe that
he was nothing than a vassal for his past self? He couldn’t truly believe that…
deep down, could he?
*******
“I met her. I met Beryl.”
“She’s terrible, isn’t she?”
“I lost it, okay? When she looked upon me… I felt like
nothing. She made me feel completely worthless. I’d never felt like that
before… so helpless… so… pathetic…”
Taro was getting sick of the hospital and staring at the
same four walls that made up his daily existence. The whiteness of the room
made his eyes ache and he longed to be at home, where at least he would have
some distractions.
Zoisite-sama’s unprecedented visit had brought him
comfort, especially as the young Prince didn’t seem to hold him responsible in
anyway.
“So how are you really?”
“Fine.”
“Are you sure? I know I wouldn’t have been.”
‘Fine’ hadn’t been the correct word to describe both his
emotional and physical state. He had needed a blood transfusion when he arrived
at the hospital and his burns would leave scars. Of course, this would barely
be noticeable thanks to modern medical treatment and this didn’t really bother
Taro in the slightest. He knew that he was lucky to be alive and even his
doctor was amazed at his speedy recovery.
“It was almost as though he received some sort of
attention before he was brought here.” His doctor had
told Kanaye.
Taro drifted in and out of consciousness. Hazed images of
Dark Mercury flashed before his mind’s eye. Sometimes he would imagine that she
was taking care of him… and other times she would simply be watching him
intently under her azure gaze.
Mercury… why had she done that? Why had
she helped him? Taro almost smiled at the memory of the gentle look in her eyes
as she took care of him.
“Just hold on for a little longer… your friends are
coming…”
“She is the enemy,” Taro reminded
himself out loud as though to accentuate this. Still, his voice wavered
slightly at his words. Was she… she had been one of the Princess’s guardians
like the Shitennou were Zoisite-sama’s. She had been good at one time… how
could they fight against her?
The Princess destroyed the planet…
Even so… Taro frowned weakly. He just
didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“Kimi-kun!” he glanced up, somewhat
angrily, at the uttering of his nickname as the door swung open and Kisho
entered. Noting Taro’s frown, he couldn’t help but laugh and sat down in the
chair beside the bed before depositing some magazines in Taro’s lap.
“How are you feeling?”
Taro had to admit he was surprised to
see Kisho. The man had visited a few times with Mamoru, but not on his own
accord and certainly not with this much cheer in his usually stoic demeanour.
“A lot better” Taro replied to his earlier
question before glancing down at the aforementioned magazines. Nature? He
frowned again and looked up at Kisho.
“I thought you might need some reminding
of what the outside world looked like” was the explanation offered and Taro
grudgingly thanked him. He hadn’t been outside since it happened. Kanaye had
taken him as far as the hospital cafeteria but that was about it. His brother
did tend to be slightly overprotective at times.
“The doctors said that I could go home
at the end of the week” Taro added, unsure of exactly what to say to Kisho. He
did not want to get into an argument with him and seeing as arguing was all
they did normally anyway, he decided that it was probably inevitable.
“That’s good” Kisho nodded, then giving
Taro a wicked grin, added, “I’ll bet Motoki is really missing you?”
Taro scowled, “He won’t stop fussing
over me. He’s spoken to the Manager of Crown and they’ve cut my shifts down so
that I don’t over do things. How stupid is that?”
“Seems sensible to me” Kisho said thoughtfully
and then, on seeing Taro’s angry look, abruptly changed the subject by saying,
“Has your brother been in today?”
Taro nodded, “He’s hardly left me alone,
but he has to be in Court this afternoon so he didn’t really have a choice.”
“You should be glad that he cares” Kisho
commented.
Taro immediately took offence to this
and snapped back, “I am! It’s just being here… it does my head in.”
“The hospital or the room?”
“Both. Kanaye doesn’t want me to over do
it, or so he says.”
Kisho smiled slightly and stood up,
“Well, why don’t I see if we can change that?”
“What do you mean?” Taro asked
suspiciously, but Kisho had already left the room.
He sighed and leaned back against the
pillows. Why was Kisho being so nice to him anyway?
The healing beams of light struck the Youma and she winced
under the spell, swiping at it until she finally yielded. She fell, Ayame once
more and Kunzite ran to her side, kneeling down beside her and cradling the
girl in his arms.
“Nii-san?” Ayame whispered groggily before lapsing into a
faint.
She would be ok, this Kunzite was sure of. Sailor Moon
smiled at the concern in his eyes and turned away, content to let them be.
“Kunzite?” Nephrite approached slowly, unsure of what to
say, but the older king cut him off by saying:
“Thank you.”
Perhaps he didn’t have to wonder after all…
A few minutes later Kisho came back into the room.
“Kimi-kun, good news. I’ve persuaded the lovely nurse on duty that you wanted
some air and that I can take you outside for a bit.”
“Outside?” Taro repeated, wondering if he was hearing his
friend right.
“You are feeling well enough?” Kisho prompted.
Taro nodded, “Just give me a minute to get changed,” he
indicated the blue pyjamas that Kanaye had brought him to wear, “I am not going
outside in these.”
Kisho smirked and again exited the room. Once he was gone,
Taro climbed out of bed. It was only the second time that he had done so and
the room swirled before his eyes as he struggled to get used to the sensations
of standing and then walking a few painful steps to the small wardrobe in the
corner of the room.
He selected a pair of black jeans and a
matching black shirt from the wardrobe, as they seemed to suit his current mood
well. The shirt’s long sleeves also helped hide the bandages and Taro did not
want to be reminded of his ordeal. Though he was feeling a lot better about
what had happened, it was still a sore subject and not one he cared to talk
about with anyone else.
“I don’t need your pity. And if you think that you turning
up here and telling me that you don’t blame me for what happened is going to
make a difference…”
“It already has.”
“It is what you needed to hear. You shouldn’t dwell upon
it, Taro. If you do then Beryl truly will destroy you.”
“Zoisite-sama---”
“I’m glad you are feeling better”
Zoisite did care… no matter what Kisho
might think…
“Taro-kun?” he jumped slightly at the
knock on the door, “Are you ready?”
“Yes” he replied softly. The dizziness
seemed to have waned again and Taro was beginning to feel a little stronger.
“Just hold on for a little longer… your friends are
coming…”
He shook his head, as though to clear
this memory from his mind and took a step towards the now open door. Some fresh
air would do him some good, Taro reasoned, and he would be home by the end of
the week.
“Okay?” Kisho asked when he saw the
slight confusion in Taro’s eyes.
“Fine” Taro replied as he followed his
friend from the room, “Just fine…”
*****
Mercury watched in some amusement at the
screaming and panicking of the humans in the Tokyo National Museum as they
tried to flee from Jupiter’s Youma. The cat-like creature stood tall on two
legs and moved with the speed of lightening as it sucked the energy from all
who tried to escape before turning its attention to the shimmering silver
gemstone set upon a velvet cushion in the centre of the museum. With a low
growl, it bounded towards the display and punched its fist through the glass,
wrapping a hand around the jewel.
Then it was off, leaping and bounding
over the fallen humans until it reached the glass double doors. Without
pausing, the Youma smashed its way through and Mercury listened in satisfaction
to the screams of the humans who happened to be passing by.
She followed it, eager to see how her
fellow Senshi’s mission would fare. Jupiter didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight
and the Youma moved quickly, sapping energy from all who got in its way.
As she clasped his left wrist tightly in her palm in order
to clean the wound, Mercury felt Taro stir. She gasped slightly and held her
breath as his eyes slowly opened. He stared at her dully for a few minutes,
seemingly unable to register the situation.
“What… what is this?” he whispered softly and then,
realising how close she was to him, Taro struggled to pull away.
“Don’t move” Mercury commanded, not as a warning, but
simply because she was afraid that he would hurt himself more. Taro was not as
strong as he was in his Nephrite form.
He obeyed, mostly out of fear, but partly, Mercury hoped,
because he understood that she was trying to help him.
Taro settled back against the pillows and Mercury resumed
the task of cleaning his wrists, despite the occasional moan of pain from her
prisoner.
“Why are you doing this?” Taro asked, his voice strained
and wavering in places. Mercury did not reply. How could she when she didn’t
even know herself why? She raised her head to look at the man before her and a
shy smile spread across her lips. When she gazed upon him… Mercury blushed and
dipped her head as she finished her task.
Mercury’s heart caught in her throat as
she realised where the Youma was heading; towards the hospital.
******
“You know” Kisho said thoughtfully as
they slowly walked through the gardens of the hospital, “It isn’t too bad out
here.”
Taro nodded, glancing around at the
small water fountains and neatly trimmed hedges that made up most of the
gardens. The hospital had recently been given some money to do up the gardens
and Taro had to admit that it was money well spent. One could almost forget
that it was a hospital garden all together.
“Thank you” he said quietly to the
shorter man, “I was going mad being cooped up inside all day.”
Kisho smirked, “I thought as much. I
would do, too, in your place.”
An awkward silence followed and Taro
realised that he was at a complete loss as to what to say to Kisho. Just
because they had known each other for a while now didn’t mean that they were
close.
“How’s the karate lessons coming on?” he
asked at length, recalling something about Kisho being a teacher at the local
community centre.
Kisho seemed surprised that Taro would
know this or even bother to comment and replied, “Fine. Most of them will never
become true masters.”
“Unlike you?” he couldn’t help but
tease.
“Quite the opposite” Kisho surprised him
by saying, “I can appreciate a true Master and I have only met two such men in
my lifetime.”
“You are only 24” Taro pointed out.
Kisho did not reply to this. He had
stopped in his tracks, his forehead creased up into a frown.
“Kisho--” Taro started when he
recognised it, too. That aura… it made his skin crawl… it could only be one
thing; a Youma.
“Stay here” Kisho instructed as he
turned away from Taro. This made the latter angry.
“Why?” he demanded, “I can fight, too!”
“Can you?” Kisho asked softly.
Taro nodded and took a step in the
assumed direction of the beast when a wave of fatigue overtook him. He gasped
slightly as the world spun before his eyes and Kisho had to grab hold of him to
stop him from falling.
Grateful and at the same time annoyed,
Taro scowled as his friend wrapped an arm around his shoulders and helped him
to a nearby bench. “Stay here” he repeated.
“But--” Taro protested weakly.
“If you fight in this state then you
will only get in my way.” Kisho’s voice softened as he added upon seeing the
hurt look on Taro’s face, “If you over do it then you won’t be able to go home
this weekend. You don’t want that, do you?”
Torn, Taro opened his mouth to protest
again. He supposed that he had already over done things this morning, but how
could he allow Kisho to go and face the Youma alone? Of course, Kisho was
stronger, but that didn’t mean…
Angrily he clenched a fist in
frustration, reluctant to admit that he could barely focus on transforming let
alone fighting.
“Stay here” Kisho repeated.
“You should get Mamoru and Masaki” Taro
again struggled to protest, his pride finally accepting that he was too weak to
fight, but he didn’t want Kisho going alone. Last time Taro had gone alone…
Taro’s line of thought was cut off when he heard a scream
close by. The sound cut through the night air and the pitch of the cry was such
that Taro immediately assumed that it was a Youma who had caused this. He broke
into a run, transforming as he did so, feeling strangely glad for the
distraction.
It was, indeed, a Youma. As Nephrite raced round the
corner and into an alley, he saw the beast standing over the fallen shape of a
girl. The girl appeared to be about fourteen years old, but in the gloom
Nephrite couldn’t make out any features of her or the Youma that he would have
to fight.
This did not bother him in the slightest; he had fought
his first Youma alone and had managed perfectly fine and, besides, his pride
wouldn’t let him go for help.
“It is only a Youma” Kisho replied to
this and then, when seeing Taro’s obvious distress, added, “It will be gone by
the time either of them gets here.”
Taro nodded and uttered no more protests
as his friend turned away. “Be careful,” he whispered to himself. He wasn’t
sure if Kisho had heard this or not. Indeed the man gave no sign that he had
done and hurried in the direction of the Youma.
Taro sighed and leaned back against the
bench. His unease was still there, though somewhat muted, but he couldn’t shake
off the feeling that someone was watching him…
*****
Kunzite raced from the hospital grounds,
transforming even as he ran, determined that Taro should not be forced to fight
when he was obviously not back to full strength. Inwardly, Kunzite was shocked
at how protective he felt towards his friend.
Shakily, the masked man knelt down beside him, “Taro-kun?”
he whispered even as Kunzite growled in fury and slammed Dark Mercury up
against the wall, placing his sword once more to her throat.
“You bitch!” he snarled out, “What have you done to him?”
If Kunzite were honest with himself he
would admit that seeing Taro lying there like that had scared him. Seeing the
most lively and fiery of them so muted and pathetic… if the Dark Kingdom could
do that…
Of course, Kunzite and Taro rarely saw
eye to eye on anything, but Kunzite was at last beginning to respect him. His
ordeal had obviously distressed him more than he wanted to let on, even now.
“They’ve broken him,” Kunzite stated, keeping his voice
steady as he did so, “They’ve crushed his spirit.”
His fears had been ungrounded. Taro was
fine… a little weak, but fine nevertheless.
Kunzite paused as he turned the corner
out onto the main street. A woman lay directly to his left, unconscious. A man
lay a few metres away from her, also unconscious. It was the same for as far as
Kunzite could see.
“What the hell?” it was so random… never
before had the Dark Kingdom pulled a stunt like this…
Kunzite drew his sword and started to
walk slowly down the street, keeping an eye out for any kind of movement that
would betray the Youma’s hiding place.
“So” a voice to his left caused Kunzite
to whirl around. His eyes widened as Dark Jupiter smirked at his shock at the
fact that she was standing right in front of him.
“The Shitennou are also after the
Ginzuishou” Jupiter continued, her eyes narrowing as she spoke these words,
“What a nuisance.”
Kunzite cursed when he saw the
shimmering jewel hanging from a chain in her left hand and he pointed his
weapon at her.
Jupiter’s smirk only widened at this and
she let the stone fall to the floor where is shattered upon contact with the
pavement.
“That wasn’t the Ginzuishou, but I can’t
allow you to get away with following me” Jupiter said, even as a green teleport
started to take hold of her, “I’ll let my Youma take care of the rest.”
Youma? Kunzite barely had time to turn
around before Youma struck him, knocking him to the ground.
******
“If you fight in this state then you will only get in my
way. If you over do it then you won’t be able to go home this weekend. You
don’t want that, do you?”
Mercury stared Kimura Taro, safely
hidden at a distance, she felt comfortable that she could observe him from her
position behind a tree without the worry of being disturbed. It pained her to
see the obvious look of distress on his face that he couldn’t go and help his
friend. Of course, to couple this was his equally obvious exhaustion.
Still, it somehow calmed the irregular
beating of Mercury’s heart to see that he was safe and seemed to have that
spark of life back. If anything had truly happened to put that out completely,
she would never have forgiven herself.
A part of her was terrified as she
looked upon him. Kimura Taro awakened feelings inside of her that Mercury never
truly realised that she had. Her heart fluttered when he smiled, it cried out
when he was sad… it hurt her to be near him and away from him all at the same
time. She recalled the gratitude in his eyes when she bathed his wounds. How
she had put the coverlet over him to keep him warm… the touch of his skin
against her own…
Mercury bit her lip so hard that she
drew blood in an effort to assuage the mountain of conflicting feelings that
were bubbling up inside of her.
“So” she said nonchalantly, “You found a way in.”
She had even risked her life to lead the
others to him. She had defied her Queen… Mercury lowered her gaze. He was just
a dirty human! Why should she feel as though she was drawn to him? That she
might feel something for him…
Mercury shook her head, as though by
doing so it might erase such thoughts from her mind. In reality it did little
to help her and Mercury continued to feel torn by her emotions. She held her
gaze, despite the longing and desperation in her heart. She wanted to go to
him, but she knew that Taro would not welcome her presence. She was the enemy,
after all.
Was she? Was she truly? Mercury did not
know. She only knew that she served Beryl in this world. It did not matter what
Sailor Moon said. Even if her words were true, Mercury would still be on the
wrong side. She turned away, invoking a teleport as she did so. They were on
different sides. Nothing could ever come of her feelings that Mercury was sure
of.
******
Kunzite winced as he struck the ground,
his sword falling from his hand as the breath was knocked from his body. The
Youma growled triumphantly and lashed out at him with a razored paw. It
resembled a cat, though it was a lot bigger and its eyes were too close
together and glinted a steely blue in the daylight.
Rolling aside, Kunzite managed to snatch
up his blade once more and use it to block the second attack. Kicking out at
the Youma, he managed to scramble to his feet and fend off another attack.
“It is only a Youma”
Kunzite, in truth, was actually
beginning to regret not calling one of the others, though his pride would not
allow him to admit this. Though he was the strongest of the Shitennou, he was
still fairly new to his powers and controlling them.
Still, when the Youma lunged for a forth
time, Kunzite used its flight to his advantage. It grabbed a hold of his sword
and he swung it round, hurling the Youma against a wall. It squealed and went
down, giving Kunzite the opening he was looking for. Running a hand down his
blade and calling upon the familiar magics, Kunzite sent a blast of blue energy
at the fallen creature. It screamed again and exploded in a shower of grey
dust. As it did so, the energy it had stolen once more returned to its rightful
owners. Kunzite smiled in satisfaction and sheathed his sword, before
de-transforming.
He quickly hurried away, back to the
hospital grounds before the unconscious civilians could wake. He was confident
that they would be all right and Kisho was anxious to check up on Taro.
Taro was where he left him, his face
showing some unease until Kisho approached him.
“Dusted” he said with a smile, “It was
after the Ginzuishou.”
“Did it get it?” Taro replied softly.
“No” Kisho shook his head; “Luckily it
was not the real thing… this time.”
Taro nodded darkly, “But it could have
been.”
“I know. We have to tread carefully. If
the Dark Kingdom gets the Ginzuishou…”
Kisho let the rest of the sentence hang.
Taro was obviously tired, no matter how much he tried to hide this. Sighing,
Kisho stood, “Let’s get you back inside” he offered, “I will speak to Mamoru. I
think by now it is obvious that we need answers.”
“Answers?” Taro asked, a little warily.
Kisho nodded, “I think Zoisite knows
more than he cares to let on and when he next appears I intend on asking him.”
Taro did not reply to this, his expression
becoming somewhat guarded at the mention of their Prince. Kisho sighed to
himself. Was he the only one who did not trust him? The love between the Prince
and the Princess destroyed the planet. How could they trust Zoisite-sama
knowing all this? They couldn’t, Kisho decided. The past would repeat itself…
unless he did something to stop it…
*****
Act Twenty Three Preview:
“Aren’t you going to try to kill me?” she questioned after
another silence between them.
“Why? For saving my life?”
“We are enemies.” Mercury pointed out.
~~~~~~
“I can help out, too” she said to Motoki.
“You?” Mamoru asked. “Why?”
Usagi felt her blush deepen as she snapped back, “Why not?
I can look after the children and look after the reception, too!”
“Just as long as you don’t try to sing karaoke like a
silly little child”
~~~~~
“Mamoru-kun, I know it’s none of my business but I’ve seen
the way you look at Usagi-chan.”
“Usagi?” Mamoru repeated, struggling to keep his voice
even, “I don’t know what you mean.”
~~~~~
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.
“So” she began nonchalantly, “We meet again, Kunzite.”
~~~~~
Civilians were running from the Dark Senshi and those who
were too slow had already collapsed, their energy stolen. Usagi felt her heart
clench at the sight, though a part of her was amazed that the television studio
had continued to record throughout this. Then the camera swung back to the
stage, just in time to see it collapse. Usagi gasped softly even as the camera
cut and switched to a studio reporter.
“Hina!” Mamoru-baka repeated and jumped up from his seat.
“Where are you going?” Usagi called after him as he raced
towards the door.
“To find Hina!” he called over his shoulder before
disappearing outside.
Usagi, too, raced outside and dashed the way that
Mamoru-baka had taken, even as she called out her transformation.
“Moon prism power… make up!”