InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Prismatic ❯ Renitence - Part 2 ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Humankind was such easy prey. They were vain, short-sighted, and oh so easily manipulated. It was almost too easy. Even for a man like Jadeite, who very much enjoyed things going to plan and getting his way, it did grow almost boring at times. They had been gathering energy for some time without issue, and Gym Shapely was his most successfully long running operation by far.

'These young girls' energy will make a feast for the Great Ruler.'

Until recently, he'd been able to let it progress slowly. Killing the prey that wandered into the trap wasn't the goal, after all. Allowing them to live and return of their own volition was much more profitable.

Humans so easily traded their lives for a moment of beauty. Teenagers, creatures of vanity, inexperience, and the foolishness of youth accepted it even more readily. All it took was a little poking and prodding, a gentle nudge against the right insecurities, and they were practically begging to sacrifice their life energy. Unfortunately, with the loss of several other sites of operation, he'd had to begin taking more. That schoolteacher, their best client by far, likely wouldn't last more than another day or two with the frequency that she visited.

Sailor Moon's appearance at least made the work amusing. She was clearly quite new to the role if his brief encounter with her previously had been anything to go by.

Jadeite remembered the sailor soldiers of the Silver Millennium. Sailor Moon had not been one of them, but that wasn't so strange. Back in that era, the moon had been the only other kingdom within the galaxy that did not have its own guardian. All the greater the insult that they'd commanded such authority over the rest of them.

His gaze drifted back to the energy chambers, and Jadeite could not help the way the corner of his lips drew upwards. They offered themselves so readily, won with little more than a flirtatious smile, gentle words of faux encouragement, and a little attention to make them feel special.

'But that other one…'

He'd never had one that was so skittish before. That wasn't to say that they'd never gotten a timid one once or twice, but even the shy ones had been easily reassured with a bit of attention and a few friendly words. The permeation of the dark energy had never had quite that much of an effect on their prey. Even the ones that had been sensitive to its ambient use had only been a bit more emotional.

The way that girl had stared at him had been more than the nerves of a first timer. It was strange. It usually took little effort to quell their doubts and make them sway into his grasp. For every tactic that made the others blush and swoon, she'd acted as if he were about to eat her.

'Well,' Jadeite mused, 'she wouldn't really be far off.’

He hadn't expected her to injure herself though. At least, he supposed, it had given him an easy excuse not to bring her to the energy chambers with the others. If she was so oddly affected just by the ambient energy used in the gym, he wasn't certain how she would react to the chamber. He wanted to keep this operation up and running for as long as he could before it drew attention from the sailor soldiers.

Still, curiosity nagged at him. So, as he ushered the trio of schoolgirls out of their 'relaxation pods', he supposed checking in with the girl would do no harm. Besides -he glanced to the top of the stairwell, suddenly feeling inspired- prey who didn't fall so easily into the trap was much more entertaining to play with.

He led the others up the stairs with a smile.

---

'They're not dead, they're not dead… you can still sense them, Kagome, they're not dead!' 

Kagome wanted to cry. She wanted to cry in a way that she hadn't since she'd met Sango. Her throat was tight with fear and unsounded sobs, and her stomach churned with a heavy pit of guilt and self-loathing.

'Why didn't I do something? What kind of priestess am I?! Kikyo wouldn't have-'

There was a sudden swell of dark energy from below, and Kagome sat upright so suddenly that the trainer icing her foot jumped and nearly fell over himself to catch her.

'Why… why am I thinking about that? This has nothing to do with… this isn't about…'

She pressed her palm to her forehead, feeling lightheaded. She suddenly felt as if she could breathe, as if she were suddenly coming up for air after being submerged for a long time. It was like coming out of a fog.

'...or a miasma...' Her eyes widened and a moment of clarity struck her all at once.

With the weight on her shoulders suddenly gone and her mind clear, she understood. She felt foolish. This was Naraku's favorite trick. She should have recognized it sooner, especially once she had known Jadeite was involved. When the pull that had drawn the ambient dark energy to gather downstairs lessened and it began to filter back into the air, she was ready.

'It's so subtle I didn't even notice…I don't know how but... it's been drawing out negative emotions this whole time!'

If Kagome weren't so angry, she might have admitted it was a clever ploy. If she was right, not that she was about to waltz up to Jadeite to confirm her theory, the faint layer of dark energy in the air was drawing out the negative feelings of the people who came to the gym, and since most who came for the 'body transformation' programs that Shapely had suddenly advertised so aggressively, keeping the likely feelings of desperation and shame at the forefront practically guaranteed return clientele.

'And a guaranteed energy source…'

When Usagi's classmates re-emerged from the lower level of the gym, a lingering weight of guilt and fear left her with a sigh of relief. Although, as she looked them over more closely, Kagome worried a bit at how utterly drained they seemed. It was as if the very life had been stolen from them. She supposed it had.

Her throat tightened and she bit her lip when they only cheerily turned to the blond 'trainer' with a promise to return the next day. With any luck, as exhausted as they were, perhaps they wouldn't remember making such a promise when they woke up in the morning.

'At least they're still coherent enough but…can they get home on their own though?'

Thankfully, Naru had the presence of mind to suggest sharing a taxi, so Kagome didn't have to worry long.

“It was nice to finally meet you, Higurashi.” The words were tired and a little slurred, but Naru still managed to offer a tired mutter of ‘ja ne’ and an exhausted looking smile that Kagome strained to return before the redhead herded the other two out. It wasn’t until she heard the distant sound of the car door slamming shut that she let out a breath of relief.

Unfortunately, that moment of respite was not to last.

“Feeling better now?”

This time, when he took the liberty of settling so close to her, Kagome did not flinch. He arched a brow at her and tilted his head in question, and she pursed her lips. “Yes, I am.”

‘No thanks to you, you…you creep!’

He blinked at her, looking a little surprised for a moment at her clipped tone. Then he smiled and if Kagome hadn’t known better, if this had been only a few months earlier, she might have swooned. He had a pretty face, she had to give him that much. He didn’t have the ethereal beauty of a demon -he was certainly no Sesshomaru- but other humans never did. The thought caught her by surprise and as she looked him over, she furrowed her brows thoughtfully.

Though the dark energy that drifted through the air had a taste of demonic taint to it, he only commanded it. His own, however buried it seemed to be now that she was actually looking, was still the aura of a human. ‘I didn’t really think about it before but…even though the youma we’ve fought have been demons…he really is just human.’

“-sure you’re alright?”

The tips of his fingers touched her chin, snapping her out of her musings and back to the very real threat at hand. The contact was gentle, just as it had been before, but there was still that underlying sense of danger to it. Kagome yanked her head back with a huff, opting to scowl at him through her bangs when he only looked amused.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to startle you. May I check your injury?”

She had to resist the urge to slap the smug look off his face. The way he looked down at her was thoughtful and dismissive all at once. Inhaling through her nose, Kagome grit her teeth and shifted away from him. “That’s okay. I’m fine.”

“Oh?” His gaze raked over her and she felt the chilling sensation of a predator’s gaze as he sized her up. “You didn’t seem as new to the environment as your friends.”

Kagome looked at him with a blink, then furrowed her brows again, her shoulders tense. ‘He could tell that much just from watching me in the gym? Am I really…that obvious?’

Denying it, she decided, would only be suspicious. So, she only offered him a curt nod and a nonchalant shrug. “I’ve been doing a lot of hiking lately. Just used to being more active, I guess.”

If he thought she was lying, he didn’t say it, only looking her over appraisingly once more.

“What brings you to the gym then miss…?”

“Higurashi.” Almost immediately, Kagome cursed herself for the slip, inwardly damning the manners her mother had instilled in her to be polite. At least he would assume her resulting grimace was only related to her motivations. “And I just wanted to…work on my strength.”

“Ah…well, we won’t focus so much on the cardio next time then.”

Kagome wasn’t sure whether the assumption that she would be back spoke of confidence or arrogance. More likely, it spoke of both. She had made no such promises, thank you very much! She huffed. “Yeah, well…I don’t think this is really my thing, actually.”

He looked surprised by that, his eyes widening behind his glasses in a way that made her wonder if he’d never been turned down before. In this context, she realized, he probably hadn’t.

“Is that so…” His gaze was searching, a curiosity to it as he looked her over that made Kagome shudder. “Well, that is a pity then, Miss Higurashi. You showed such promise.”

The dark energy in the air curled over her a little tighter in that instant and Kagome grit her teeth. She knew what he was doing. She wouldn’t fall for that trick again; she was ready this time. She caught his gaze, unable to keep the heat of her own as she scowled at him, fresh anger surging through her. If this continued, she realized, she might not be able to avoid a confrontation with him. Her resistance alone already seemed to have drawn his suspicion and when he drew a little closer, she hunched her shoulders.

She stood and realized quite rapidly that the hasty change in position had been a mistake. Her foot protested the sudden weight and she wavered.

Once again, it was only the firm grip that caught her by the shoulders to keep her upright. Her throat tightened and she hunched her posture when their eyes met again; his gaze was amused in a way that left her uncertain whether she’d thrown off his suspicions or if she ought to be preparing for a fight.

“Kagome-chan?”

It was just the distraction she needed.

'Usagi-chan! You're okay!' Immediately brightening, Kagome turned so rapidly that the motion made Jadeite slacken his grip in surprise.

Opting to ignore him to focus on Usagi instead, Kagome shrugged off the hand still on her shoulder to scurry over to the blonde. “Usagi-chan! I was waiting for you. C’mon, let's go get changed. The others already left.”

Usagi blinked at her, clearly confused by the sudden excitable behavior, but Kagome couldn’t have rightly cared. The priestess took Usagi by the arm, much the way the other girl had done to her not an hour earlier, to usher her from the room; thankfully, she only followed to the lockers with a puzzled blink but without a fight.

---

Kagome changed hastily, all too eager to be out of enemy territory. She wasn’t certain whether to be concerned or count them lucky that they did not encounter Jadeite again as she rushed them out the front door. “C’mon, Usagi-chan…Luna hangs out at the Crown Arcade, right?”

“Y-yeah, I think. But why-“

“I need to ask her something, let’s go.” It wasn’t until they were a solid four blocks away that Kagome finally allowed her pace, still pulling a bewildered Usagi alongside her with a grip on her sleeve, to slow.

“Um…Kagome-chan? Is everything okay?”

Kagome turned to her friend and the innocent wide-eyed look of confusion that met her only served to deflate what remained of her adrenaline rush. Her posture wilted as she exhaled.

“Yeah…yeah, it’s fine now.” Taking a breath to steady herself, Kagome dragged her fingers through her hair with a sigh. “That place was just really uncomfortable…what on earth made you want to join a gym so suddenly anyway?”

“Oh, well…” Usagi looked down then, and Kagome frowned at the timid way the blonde twiddled her fingertips.

“Usagi-chan?”

“Well… Miss Haruna looked so good after only a few days so I thought the gym would help and…and I started a diet but,” Usagi paused to sniffle, peeking up through her bangs to look at Kagome tearfully, “I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday and it’s so hard not to because it’s all I-“

“What?!” Kagome couldn’t help her horrified shriek, her head snapping to the side to look at Usagi in alarm when the girl swayed. “You mean you haven’t eaten anything all day?! Usagi-chan!”

Dark Kingdom plots notwithstanding, something more was clearly going on with Usagi than the sudden motivation to get in shape that Kagome had assumed. She didn’t have time to question the matter further though, because Usagi suddenly crumpled. 

“Usagi!” Kagome barely caught the other girl before she could hit the ground, the effort only serving to remind her of her own earlier tumble when a shock of pain shot up her calf.

“Usagi-chan? What happened?”

Adrenaline still pumping, Kagome thought she heard her neck crack when she turned to look at the man who’d appeared. She had only seen him in passing before, but she knew he worked there and had watched him chat with Usagi a few of the times they had used the café section of the arcade for brief study sessions. He was taller than the two of them and looked around college age. He was nice at least, from what little she had seen of him, and appeared genuinely concerned for the downed Usagi as he relieved Kagome of the effort in holding her up. She righted herself with a grimace, reminded again of her own injury when her ankle throbbed unhappily, and looked at him apologetically.

“We just came from the gym and…well, I don’t know what Usagi was doing while we were there, but she said she hasn’t eaten all day. I’m sorry…um…”

“Furuhata Motoki. Don’t worry about it, come inside for a bit. We’ll get Usagi-chan something to drink.”

Kagome followed him in without complaint, grateful to have someone else take the reins, if only briefly. She stayed with Usagi as he disappeared into the kitchen, thinning her lips as she looked over her friend’s unconscious features. ‘What drove you of all people to refuse to eat, Usagi-chan?’

Motoki came before she could spend too much time wondering, and Kagome stepped out of the way to let him work. Usagi was limp as he sat her up to press a bottle to her lips, orange juice judging by the label, and Kagome thinned her lips.

“…so warm.”

Usagi’s mumble made her look up with a jolt and Kagome nearly leapt from her seat to dive over to the girl. Motoki was unbothered, only offering her a brief reassuring smile before he turned his attention back to a now blushing Usagi.

“Oh, good, you woke up. Now, what’s this about you not eating all day?”

“Oh…well…” Usagi looked down then, and Kagome frowned, watching the emotions that shifted in the other girl’s eyes. Her lips pursed, ready to question it further but Motoki beat her to it.

“What, your mom not let you eat because you got another bad score?”

Kagome froze, her gaze darting to the blond man in alarm. ‘For him to say such a thing, even as a joke…has Tsukino-san…?’

But at least in this instance, that couldn’t be it. Usagi had been nothing if not reliable in making her upcoming tests known, if not by panicking over the nearing date then by dramatically complaining about having to study. She was fairly certain Usagi had no such test so recently.

“N-no I just thought…I’d go on a little diet…”

Motoki choked on what sounded like laughter, and Kagome sputtered, unable to help her bewildered interjection. “Usagi-chan, you don’t need to go on a diet…Furuhata-san, I’m sorry – would you mind if I asked for something to eat? Those dumplings Usagi-chan likes?“

He smiled knowingly and nodded a wordless agreement before vanishing back to the kitchen. Almost as soon as the door clicked shut, Usagi sniffled.

“I’m getting fat, Kagome-chan!”

The wail was so loud and sudden that Kagome jumped, only able to stare at the now sobbing blonde girl wide eyed. “Wh-what? Usagi-chan, why on earth would you think-“

“I gained two pounds!” Kagome opened and shut her mouth, not sure what to say and her friend wailing too dramatically to notice anyway. “Mom and Dad even say I…I eat too much!”

‘Oh…’ Kagome frowned, her brow creasing with the ire that suddenly twisted in the pit of her belly. “Usagi-chan, you’re not-“

“Even Luna made fun of me!”

That surprised Kagome a bit, and she tilted her head. Luna seemed to be a very guarded sort of personality but nurturing in a way that reminded her of Kaede. It only seemed fitting that the feline would share the elderly priestess’ teasing sense of humor to a degree as well. She couldn’t imagine Luna being purposefully cruel to Usagi though, even with the way she had seen them banter.

“But Usagi-chan…”

“So, I have to lose weight!”

Usagi looked ready to cry all over again, leaving Kagome torn between the urge to comfort her friend and storm out to rant angrily at the girl’s family. Motoki’s quiet laughter thankfully distracted both Usagi from her tears and Kagome from her building anger.

“Usagi-chan, you certainly don’t need to lose weight.” He looked her over pointedly, an expression that was warm and affectionate in a way that spoke of genuine concern. “You could stand to gain a bit, really.”

Kagome had to cover her mouth with her hand at the way Usagi rapidly perked up, an enamored look on her face at the declaration. She wasn’t sure whether it was over the kind words or the pack of dumplings that the man held. Kagome suspected it might have been a bit more the latter when Usagi looked ready to cry as Motoki passed them to her instead.

That was an improvement to the girl not eating, at least. So, Kagome smiled and inclined her head towards her friend. “This is a bit much for me by myself though. Share them with me Usagi?”

Usagi brightened so visibly that Kagome could have squealed in success, but only giggled when the blonde eagerly snatched the offered dumpling.

---

A flicker of familiar energy drew her attention away from a happily munching Usagi, and Kagome glanced out the window. Catching sight of the cat that sat on the sidewalk just outside the window reminded her exactly why they had originally come here. Thankfully, when she turned to Usagi with the suggestion to finish their treat in the park, the girl didn’t bat an eye and only leapt to her feet, visibly pleased with the idea. They bid Motoki goodbye, Kagome more verbally than Usagi, who had her mouth full with another dumpling, and began an even pace down the sidewalk.

Luna joined their stride seamlessly and for a few blocks they walked in relative silence, only Usagi’s happy mumbles to be heard. Kagome glanced at the girl and her expression softened, her lips quirking into a tiny smile; Usagi’s happiness really was infectious.

“You eat a lot.”

Just like that, the mood was shattered. Kagome stopped so suddenly that she nearly stepped on Luna, Usagi fumbling to halt her pace beside her. This time, to her relief, Usagi seemed ready to tell the man off rather than apologize to him.

At least he wasn’t wearing that fashion disaster he called a coat this time, Kagome supposed as she stepped forward to hiss at him angrily. “Excuse me? What do you think-“

If he heard her, he didn’t seem to care. His gaze zeroed in on Usagi and the pack of dumplings that she carried. “Oh, eating your friends I see, Odango-atama.”

“Leave me alone! It’s none of your business!”

Inwardly, Kagome preened a little, her chest fluttering with pride when Usagi so readily argued back at the man. ‘You tell him, Usagi-chan!’

“Keep eating so much and you’ll turn into a dumpling too, you know.”

Usagi looked ready to spit fire and reeled back as if to throw the dumpling still in her hand directly at his face, but Kagome couldn’t hold back long enough to give her the chance.

“Now wait a damn minute!” Unable to rein in her anger any longer, Kagome stepped between them, eyes ablaze. “Do you really have nothing better to do than harass teenage girls over a few dumplings?”

The man stammered a bit, not unlike their first encounter, but Kagome’s ire was stayed neither by his undignified sputtering nor Usagi’s quiet sound of surprise behind her.

“Who the hell do you think you are? Usagi-chan does not need your approval!”

She straightened her posture, the lingering twinge of her wounded ankle forgotten as she took a step towards him, somehow looking down at the man despite her shorter stature.

“I don’t want to see you ever bothering Usagi-chan again. Understand?” He opened his mouth, but Kagome didn’t give him the chance, uninterested in hearing whatever it was he thought he could say to argue or defend himself. “Now leave us alone!”

It was Usagi’s gentle touch, the girl’s hand hesitantly reaching over to grasp the elbow of her blouse, that drew Kagome’s attention from the shell-shocked man. Softening as she turned to the blonde, she shot him one last dirty look over her shoulder as they resumed their pace down the sidewalk.

---

By the time they reached their usual nook in the park and settled at one of the tables, Kagome had finally calmed down. As the rush of anger and apparently still raw insecurities faded, the priestess could only flush in embarrassment instead. Usagi, for all the bubbly and excited energy she had possessed earlier, only sat across from her quietly and waited for her to speak. Luna was equally quiet, though Kagome was not unaware of the measuring look the cat watched her with.

She shifted awkwardly after a moment. “Um…I’m sorry, you guys. About back there with…whoever that guy is…”

“He’s a jerk, that’s who.”

Usagi’s quiet mumble almost made her giggle and Kagome peeked at the girl through her bangs. When Usagi deflated from the puffed up expression of ire to look at her curiously, she almost grimaced.

“But you were so angry, Kagome-chan…”

Kagome sighed and set her chin in her palm, propping herself up with her elbow on the table. “Y-yeah, he…he really set me off. Was a bit too familiar I guess…”

Usagi only tilted her head, but Luna set her with a probing look. “Familiar?”

“You…remember the half demon I told you about, Inuyasha?”

This conversation might have been easier, Kagome supposed, if she hadn’t glossed over the details regarding her position with Inuyasha from the start. She had kept so busy, so distracted with duty and studying and helping Usagi, that she supposed she had never really dealt with the wrench that had been thrown into their relationship.

“Well, you know we weren’t really friends when we first met.”

Usagi nodded her head, uncharacteristically attentive compared to the rest of the day’s behavior. Kagome smiled at the girl, but the expression grew strained.

“And you know how I’m supposedly Kikyo’s…reincarnation.”

Usagi shifted a little, furrowing her brow but opting to let the priestess speak uninterrupted.

“He thought I was Kikyo when we first met. And because of Naraku’s trick, he acted like he hated her. But even when he realized that I wasn’t her…”

“Kikyo was cuter. Much cuter.”

Kagome shook her head with a sigh, realizing not for the first time that day that dwelling too long within her thoughts would do little good. “We kind of became friends after he saved me a few times…after the fight with Sesshomaru, really. But even before Kikyo was revived…I was never really…good enough.”

“I don’t care what the old hag says! You are not Kikyo!”

Kagome didn’t quite intend to, but when she looked up to find the concerned stare of Usagi’s blue eyes, she cracked. She launched into a retelling of the story that she had given the pair of them not so long ago, at this very table in fact, until she had to bite her lip to stifle the urge to cry. She told Usagi everything. She told Usagi not only about her progressing, and promptly derailed, relationship with Inuyasha, and not only her budding feelings for her protector, but every little fear and insecurity that had come with them.

“I…I think I was falling in love with him, Usagi-chan. But…” Kagome sighed, and a fresh sting of sadness tightened her throat. “I don’t think he would have ever been able to look at me without seeing her…and I’m afraid. I don’t think I’ll ever measure up to Kikyo-”

“Well, he sounds like a jerk!” Usagi’s declaration was so decided and firm that Kagome could only look up at her in surprise. The blonde had clambered to her feet, hands fisted at her sides and cheeks puffed out angrily. “It’s not fair to compare you to her! She grew up there!”

It was said so matter-of-factly that Kagome could only blink.

“You didn’t even know you had powers! And it’s only been…” Usagi paused, crinkling her nose as she counted on her fingertips. “Three months!”

To hear the actual amount of time that had gone by made Kagome take pause. Despite having already told the story once before, it had felt like much longer. Hearing it so plainly stated was almost startling.

“Kagome-chan is the strongest person I know!” Usagi’s shoulders were hunched up as she turned to look down at Kagome more directly, a serious look on her face. “And if that Inuyasha ever shows his face around here, I’ll show him what for, the jerk!”

Usagi waved her fist theatrically, and for a long moment Kagome could only stare at it, mesmerized. Then a quiet giggle slipped out, only one at first, before a few more followed and Kagome had to clutch the table to keep upright as she doubled over laughing. After a moment, Usagi’s righteous fury faded enough for the girl to join her, and they laughed together. Eventually the sounds of laughter faded and much lighter and more comfortable quiet settled over them.

Kagome hated having to break it.

“Um…so about today, Usagi-chan. The gym…” Luna visibly perked up, as did Usagi, though clearly for different reasons. Usagi leapt upward, immediately launching into a ramble of things she would try the next time she joined Naru and the others, deaf to Kagome’s attempts to bring her back on topic.

“Oh! But its late already! If I’m late Mama probably won’t let me go!”

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, Kagome wanted to say, but when Usagi turned to her so excitedly she could only heave a resolute sigh. Usagi was much livelier than she had been before, but it was still probably best to let her have the night off.

“I’m going to head home so Mama won’t get mad. Will you come tomorrow, Kagome-chan?”

“Yeah. I’ll come meet you after classes, okay? I’ve got a stop to make on my way back.” A glance at Luna told her that at least she wouldn’t be alone, and Kagome smiled. When Usagi only gave her a bright smile and an excited shout of ‘see you tomorrow!’ as she bolted from the park, Kagome shook her head.

“You noticed it too, didn’t you Kagome-chan?” Luna turned to her once they were alone, and Kagome nodded solemnly.

“Yes, while we were there today. I didn’t notice at first, actually. I might not have but…” she frowned, pursing her lips as she met the feline’s gaze with a serious expression. “That man we fought…the one who disarmed Usagi…Jadeite was there.”

Luna looked startled by the information and turned to the priestess in alarm. “Why didn’t you tell Usagi-“

“I don’t want to ruin her good mood now.” Kagome frowned and stood, shrugging off her backpack to fish out the disguise pen. “Besides…she spent the day upset over her supposed weight gain, to the point that she didn’t eat all day. She already fainted once. I’m not going to drag her into a fight.”

Luna ducked her head a little at that, a guilty expression on her face. She only nodded and didn’t argue as she followed the priestess out of the park, their own pace a much calmer one than the blonde before them.

---

They found themselves outside the looming structure of the gym all too soon.

Kagome grimaced a little as she watched the people still coming and going, her hopes of not having to risk civilians fading very quickly. At least it seemed that the activity was more from people were coming out than going in. Kagome almost rekindled that hope that she might be able to avoid civilian presence when a tall, very slender looking woman ambled inside.

She looked far too exhausted for the gym.

“That’s Miss Haruna.”

‘Usagi-chan’s teacher?’ Recalling the bits of gossip that she had heard between Usagi and her classmates earlier, Kagome knew that intervening was no longer a choice.

“Getting in shouldn’t be hard since I’ve already been there. I’ll just tell them that I forgot something in the lockers.” With any luck, Kagome hoped to simply sneak down to the basement, purify whatever it was they were hiding down there to feed on people, and get out.

As it stood, Kagome was right. Getting inside was easy. There wasn’t anyone in the way of staff watching the door, the only sounds of life coming from the main area of the gym where the trainers encouraged a few evening visitors. Jadeite, to her great relief, was nowhere to be seen.

Haruna was, luckily if not a bit worryingly, sluggish as she’d made her way through the gym, allowing Kagome to follow her with little effort. Unsurprisingly, the woman headed directly for the basement stairs and Kagome thinned her lips. She looked down and exchanged a glance with Luna before she ducked out of sight, taking refuge in an adjacent supply closet.

Disguise pen in hand, Kagome could not help but shudder at the sensation of magic that washed over her as she hurriedly whispered the incantation. “Disguise Power – turn me into a sailor soldier!”

When she felt the swell of dark power from below that spoke of another feeding, Kagome burst from the closet and rushed the stairwell.

She practically flung herself down the stairs, barely coming to a stop in time as she reached the landing. Heaving a breath, she looked up and froze. The room was like something out of an eldritch horror. The taint of demonic power and dark energy was thicker here, likely a result of the horrifying chambers that sat in the center of the room.

Long tendrils trailed over the room, coating the walls and the floor with what looked like pulsating vines or tentacles. After a moment of staring at them, Kagome realized they were the conduit for siphoning their victims’ energy. The draw was so potent that Kagome had to steel herself, and her gaze darted to the single occupied chamber in alarm. ‘Haruna…if they take much more, she won’t make it!’

Kagome darted for the chamber, hands alight with purification. She stopped in front of it, brows furrowed for a moment before she reached out grab at the pulsing tentacles that kept it shut. She wasn’t sure how to open it, but she could at least interfere with the energy draw, if maybe not purify the horrifying thing entirely. At least that was her intent.

Instead, Kagome found herself violently ripped away from the chamber. The sudden grip on the back of her sailor uniform made her choke, and she was unable to keep her balance when she was flung roughly to the floor. Realizing she had been found out, she pushed herself up by her palms and was still catching her breath when a familiar pair of black boots strode into her line of sight.

Kagome grit her teeth and met his approach with a glare. “…Jadeite.”

---

It didn’t surprise Jadeite when he sensed the first inkling of an intruder. There was something in the air disturbing the usual energy. Given how much they had needed to ramp up production, he knew it was only a matter of time before that Sailor Moon caught on. It was just as well that it happened now; once this little schoolteacher was spent it would likely be much more difficult to coax a profitable amount of prey into the chambers again. At least he would have some entertainment tonight if he got to fight the little slip of a sailor soldier and that other strange girl. When he heard the harried footsteps in the stairwell, he stepped back and waited for the little blonde soldier to appear.

He was not expecting a soldier with a head of black hair and a uniform of blue accents to storm in instead.

For a moment, he could only stare, left to wonder at yet another soldier that he did not recognize. He watched as she took in the sight of the chamber, torn between amusement at her clear horror and suspicion at the understanding that colored her expression. She was more analytical than Sailor Moon, at least carrying herself in a way that spoke of experience.

Well, that was problematic.

When she suddenly sprinted for the chambers, he came back to his senses. The energy that suddenly wafted off of her made his skin prickle and he ran for her. The conduits feeding on the schoolteacher hissed in protest when she touched them, but he didn’t give her the chance to do much else.

He grabbed her by the back of her uniform and she made a choking sound as he flung her away from the chamber.

Standing between the nameless sailor soldier and his soon to be spent prey, Jadeite paused when she looked up at him. All at once, he recognized the glare that she pinned him with, the same heated expression that she had met him with only a few nights prior. ‘But she hadn’t been a sailor soldier then…’

Yet, as he looked down on her fallen form, it could only be her.

“…Jadeite.”

That she knew his name only confirmed it, but the energy that swirled around her, warding off the dark taint, was unmistakable. Perhaps she’d been caught without her transformation item the last time. “Oh? Little ‘not-a-soldier’, here by yourself?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and Jadeite tilted his head mockingly.

“Yeah, well, ya know…” She shrugged, her nonchalance almost surprising him, and Jadeite arched a brow as she sat back on her knees. “Nothing like fighting creeps and demons to keep in shape!”

She rocked back onto her feet with the declaration, and he wasn’t prepared for her to so suddenly launch herself from the floor directly at him. He narrowly dodged, recognizing the flare of her energy only a moment before she would have hit him. The tingle of her power trailed over his skin as she sailed by him instead, narrowly catching her footing and turning to glare at him as he narrowed his eyes.

They hadn’t really fought the last time, but now Jadeite was able to get a much closer look of the girl. She was more assured in her movements than Sailor Moon, but still very green in actual hand to hand combat. ‘Barely trained and fighting one of the Four Kings? How amusing.’

He dodged her attacks easily enough, and when he finally saw fit to return them in kind, he realized his mistake. She was much more talented in defending and deflecting.

The blowback from another of her wards made Jadeite hiss, the tingle of her energy leaving a burning sensation as it trailed over his skin. His own energy twisted uncomfortably at the contact, and he had to duck when she threw one of those cursed ofudas at him. The spiritual energy sizzled through the air above him as it flew by, and he could not help his growl of frustration when it only landed on the chamber behind his head, ceasing the draw on the unconscious schoolteacher. The brightened expression on her face told him that he had never been the actual target and Jadeite scoffed.

‘Clever…’ She was smart, tactical to an extent that he could almost respect, but he was decidedly done playing. He had observed her enough.

She anticipated his retaliation, and that was her mistake. When she made to counter him, lurching forward with another ofuda, he feigned to the right. When she made to follow, he twisted around her instead, drawing a cry of surprise from the little soldier when he caught her opposing wrist, taking advantage of the way he had seen her favoring that leg.

He didn’t give her time to process her folly as he turned, using their momentum to pivot the both of them and send her flying. She crashed into an open chamber with a yelp, too dazed to move for a moment. By the time she came back to her senses enough to realize what was happening, Jadeite had already given the order. The chamber slammed shut around her, blocking her escape just as her eyes widened and she made a leap for it.

She bounced off the barrier and he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes when she turned to stare at him through the glass.

“Let me out of here!”

Her shout was muffled, and he stared down at her in disdain. It was almost a shame to kill her. She had been so much more entertaining than Sailor Moon. He watched the chamber come to life with a hum and almost sneered at the look of horrified realization that colored her face. At least she was smart enough to realize what was about to happen, if her frantic flare of energy was any indication, but it was too late.

A grin curled his lips. “Expel as much as you like in there. We thank you for the donation, ‘not-a-soldier’.”

“No!”

Her refusal was almost humorous. It was easier when the prey was unaware but more entertaining when they fought. At least, he could give her this much credit, she had fought well enough. She might have been a real threat if someone had deigned to train the girl properly. She threw herself at the glass then, the thump of her body echoing loudly enough to make him arch a brow. The desperation was oddly unsettling.

“Let me out!”

For a long moment, Jadeite only watched. The energy that came off of her was greater than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was simply that she was a sailor soldier, but a regular source of energy like hers was such a feast on its own that he could likely have shut down half of his still ongoing operations and still been more than profitable. He wondered idly exactly how deep the well ran. He wondered if Beryl might prefer her alive. His gaze drifted back to her when she shouted at him again, the sound of her fist against the glass weaker this time, and he frowned. The girl was fading.

“Jadeite!”

His stomach churned uncomfortably. She slumped forward, her palm flat against the glass in an attempt to keep herself upright and his throat tightened with a sudden sense of panic that he did not understand. He approached the chamber to check on her and realized her intent too late, not that there was anything he could have done about it.

The swell of raw power made him swear, and his eyes widened as the tingle of it ran over his skin from even there. He looked at her with a start, realizing that the chamber had probably saved his life if the power was so great even then. He shuddered a little as it began to fade. When he looked down at her face once more, her eyes were half lidded as she stared blearily back at him

“ …Jade…ite..”

She wavered then, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her body sunk down against the wall of the chamber. His fingers twitched and it was only in that moment that he realized his hands were shaking. Her energy fluttered weakly around her when he looked her over, and he realized she wouldn’t last much longer at the intensity of the chamber. He took a few hurried steps towards her before he’d realized what he was doing. His hand was on the chamber, in the middle of undoing the seal when it hit him. ‘What am I…?’

 “Moon Tiara Action!”

 The captured energy burst from its confines as the chambers shattered around him.