InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Prismatic ❯ Percipience - Part 2 ( Chapter 11 )

For all intents and purposes, building their ranks should have made life easier. It should have been a relief, knowing there was another sailor soldier to back Usagi and Ami if the enemy acted while she was gone. It should have allowed her to focus on her own mission on the other side of the well instead of worrying about leaving Usagi alone. Sailor Mars’ awakening should have marked a turning point that spoke of a path to victory for their team.

Although, that would have required them to act as a team to begin with.

Nonetheless, despite also seeming worried by the clear friction between the girls, a weary Luna did have a point when she’d requested they at least attempt to get to know each other on better terms. So, despite their rocky introduction and the resulting grudges that seem to have come of it, Hino was still offered an invitation to join their routine meet ups at the Crown Arcade when classes let out.

Hino Rei, for as poised and aloof as she seemed to like to believe herself, was not the most personable individual. The girl, raised a shrine maiden in a way that Kagome had ironically avoided throughout her life up to that point, seemed to have a grudge for Kagome in particular. Having met Kikyo, this didn’t particularly bother her. Having become friends with Inuyasha, the standoffishness was nothing new; she could roll that off her back easily enough.

The disdain towards Usagi, on the other hand, was less tolerable.

While Kagome ultimately ended up being the one to extend the invite to Hino to join their usual meetups, Usagi had also swallowed her own grudge and attempted to start over with the shrine maiden turned soldier. Usagi, Kagome had thought with a smile, was such a bubbly bundle of friendship and smiles that surely she could win over the other girl. That, unfortunately, hadn't been quite correct. Hino almost seemed determined to look down at the blonde's efforts at humor and friendship. Even Usagi’s attempts to find common ground over the most recent Sailor V comics had ultimately ended in an argument. Hino at least spoke to Ami with a semblance of respect, though their bookish friend didn't seem to know how to handle being caught in the middle of the conflict.

It was, to say the least, a rough first week with their new addition.

When Inuyasha had shown up to demand that she hurry up that following weekend, Kagome hadn't been sure whether to be relieved to have a break from the pointless tension or worried about leaving Usagi in the thick of it. In the end, knowing she had already neglected the time spent attending to her duty in the feudal era, she had waved Inuyasha to go on ahead of her and stayed behind just long enough to make a visiting Usagi promise to stay safe and head right over to the shrine if she needed anything.

Even if she couldn't be there to help Usagi, Kagome trusted her mother to take care of her friend. Mama loved Usagi. 

Perhaps, Kagome had thought, Hino might even be nice to Usagi if she wasn't riled up by the presence of a 'pretend' soldier. It seemed like a sensible plan. Kagome could step back to work on -hopefully- collecting a few shards and Usagi could have a chance to bond with Hino during their downtime.

It had been a perfectly good plan.

Reconnecting with Inuyasha after all that had happened was refreshing. Despite the tough front that he tried to present, Kagome had known him long enough to see through his dismissive attitude when she’d attempted to compliment the growth in his character.  Back when they'd first met he certainly wouldn’t have gone to such lengths, not of his own accord, to spare Kohaku's life or Sango's heart in the events only a few weeks prior.

“Yeah, well I only did it to get under Naraku’s skin. If we can manage to get Kohaku back alive, that ought to really tick him off.”

She had also known him long enough to see through the display of irritation when a boy ran up to them on the road calling for assistance. She had known him long enough to know that he hadn’t really thought there was a demon to be dealt with when he’d rushed to help the old man, and she knew him well enough to catch the way his posture softened ever so slightly when the boy gifted him his ‘treasure’ in return for his help.

It took more effort than Kagome would admit to keep her own reaction in check. It was rare to see villagers not only treat the half demon with a semblance of respect but to also appreciate his efforts, callous though he sometimes was in his execution. Inuyasha, despite their ups and downs, Kagome knew cared about people more than he would ever admit to. Of course, he didn’t have to. It was obvious, at least to her, in the little gestures. No matter how annoyed he tried to act over the little detour, she saw the way he’d glanced over his shoulder on their way out. 

She saw the sudden alarm in his eyes when a whiff of blood on the wind drew his attention back to the village they had just left, only to find a cloud of smoke on the horizon. She saw the way his posture tensed, hesitating for only a moment before he sprinted back the way they’d come. She saw the way his nostrils flared when the boy from before staggered out to them, an arrow protruding from his back as she caught him and he once more pleaded with them to help his grandfather.

Doubling back towards a village under siege by a group of bandits wasn't part of the plan, but not so unusual an occurrence in the feudal era to derail them too much. The bandit leader turning out to be a demon in disguise was, if Kagome was being perfectly honest, about what any of them should have expected.

Inuyasha and Miroku getting captured while she tended the wounded boy under Sango’s guard, however, was most definitely not part of the plan. 

Miroku, for all his faults, was a tactician to his core. His quick thinking and practiced control of his spiritual power proved quite fortunate to their sudden predicament. Inuyasha’s separation from Tessaiga was less so. The carnage that she and Sango arrived to was unsettling and, if not for the chaos that erupted upon their arrival, Kagome might have been quite furious with the demon responsible.

Of course, the demon’s order for her capture came as a surprise to no one. The appearance of a full demon Inuyasha, however, did.

They had only seen him succumb to his blood once before, but the presence of his demonic energy hadn’t felt quite as overwhelming as it did in that moment. Neither the demon nor his bandits had stood a chance. Kagome had only just finished processing the entirety of the situation when it rapidly changed again. Her plan to run directly into a mass of panicking bandits in order to rush the dormant Tessaiga to Inuyasha was perhaps a bit reckless and earned her a slice to her forearm from a fleeing bandit. 

In hindsight, it wasn’t a very good plan.

It also did not account for Sesshomaru’s interference. The fight that ensued was short and very one sided. When she would look back on it later, Kagome would realize that what had taken place really hadn’t been a fight at all. In that instant, however, it was not only Inuyasha who was driven by instinct. Throwing herself between a fallen Inuyasha and an advancing Sesshomaru was definitely not among the top ten of any plans she’d ever had but she had been well beyond thinking ahead at that point.

Clearly any plans she had made that weekend were simply not to be.

She didn’t expect Sesshomaru to stay his hand. She expected his answer to Miroku’s questioning, both the answer itself and that he’d given one, even less.

“I will kill Inuyasha eventually. Why kill him now when he doesn’t know himself? There would be no point to it.”

They were more alike than even Kagome was bold enough to say out loud. Whatever any of them had thought about the demon lord or his motivations before that moment quite promptly went out the window. Of course, Sesshomaru left just as quickly as he had arrived, ultimately giving no allowance for further questioning.

Their first day back to a dedicated shard hunt ended scarcely hours after it had begun. They headed back to the village that night, with mercifully few questions from Kaede regarding their swift return. 

Inuyasha did not wake until morning the next day and Kagome nearly cried when he did. For all their ups and downs and a few lingering thoughts on what might have been, he was still her friend. Her heart broke a little when she saw the first flickers of recognition in his eyes. She barely got a glimpse of the horror on his face before he’d bolted from the hut. She’d needed to cover her mouth with her hand to swallow a sob when she followed him down to the riverbank only to find him scrubbing furiously at his claws, though the blood was long gone.

She knelt beside him, held his shoulders, and said nothing of the little trembles that she felt beneath her fingers. He allowed her to lead him back to the village once he had calmed and when Kagome announced that she was going back through the well to obtain medicine he didn’t argue. She would have preferred him to go with her, to recover in her - at least comparatively- safer era, but he’d only cut her off with a sharp refusal and she didn’t push.

Going home to pick up medicine and bring it back was a simple enough plan.

---

Kagome felt Usagi’s presence before she saw her, but only just. She wasn’t sure whether it was a testament to her own exhaustion or the utter sadness that seemed to weigh the blonde girl down that she hadn’t noticed until she’d opened the door of the wellhouse. Usually, she could feel the brightness that was Usagi without trying, especially so close. Now the girl felt dimmed, more like a flickering candle rather than the beacon of warmth and light that she’d grown so used to.

'What happened now?' Still reeling from what had already transpired, Kagome wasn’t sure whether she wanted to pull her hair out, cry, or simply scream at the prospect of something else to deal with. 

At a glance, nothing seemed amiss. Souta was practicing with a soccer ball in the courtyard near the Goshinboku while Usagi, though she seemed distracted, sat watching on the small bench beneath the tree’s shade, Luna perched beside her.

Whatever it was, it must not have been too serious, because Usagi almost immediately perked back up at the sight of her. Kagome barely kept her balance when the blonde tackled her with a happy squeal. The wound on her arm throbbed at the impact, but she still managed a smile -however strained- as she caught the other girl. "Hey, Bun."

"Kago-chan?" Clearly, she hadn’t done a good enough job in hiding her weariness, because Usagi looked up at her then, brows furrowed in visible concern. "Are you okay?"

Kagome came back to reality with a jolt. "Y-yeah, I'm fine!"

Usagi gave her a look that quite plainly displayed just how much the other girl believed that. Judging by her expression, that amount was nil.

"We just had…well…" Kagome floundered for a moment longer before heaving a defeated sigh. "No, actually, I…I'm worried about Inuyasha."

In a way, retelling the events that had transpired was more difficult than it had been to live through it. It might have been because it was still so fresh, it might have been because Kagome was still trying to process all that had happened, or it might have been because she feared that it wasn’t actually over yet.

Even Luna, ever stern and mission focused, seemed to soften at the tale. "That is quite a lot to happen in just a few days…"

Usagi, contrary to the usual annoyance she held for the half demon, inched a bit closer to peer up in concern. "Is he still hurt?"

In all honesty, Kagome dreaded the answer to that question.

"His wounds are healing but…that's not what worries me." Her throat tightened a little, recalling the wide eyed look of horror she’d seen on his face that morning. "I've never seen him look afraid before. Not like that."

Usagi shifted uneasily beside her, looking torn between uncertainty and a clear desire to help without knowing exactly how. Kagome was too worn with her own concerns and clocking too few hours of sleep to be very reassuring. There was a stretch of silence. For a long moment, the only sounds to be heard was the distant hum of traffic and the quiet patter of Souta’s practice across the courtyard.

After a moment, Kagome perked up, all at once realizing that something was missing from the otherwise comfortable scene. "Oh…where's Ami-chan?"

"Hmph. Out with Rei-chan." All at once, Usagi’s soft expression of worry and compassion dissolved. She sat up with a huff, crinkling her nose with a frown and crossing her arms with such an air of irritation that Kagome could not help but to wonder what had happened in her absence. 

"You know, I just realized something." Souta paused in his practice, tucking his soccer ball under his arm and turning to frown at them thoughtfully. "This cruise competition seems really similar to that talent spotting event last month."

"Yes,” Luna furrowed her brows, suddenly looking concerned, “it does have a suspicious similarity."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Souta straightened then, grinning in a way that made Kagome stiffen in alarm as he tossed his soccer ball back towards the old storage shed.

"Souta, you're not-"

Her brother, clearly anticipating her protest, spun around with a stubborn expression not unlike her own. "Hey! I'm the one who figured it out, you are not leaving me behind!"

Souta coming along wasn’t part of the plan. Then again, neither was having to deal with demons on her brief trip back.

---

Whatever Kagome was expecting to find when they reached the docks, it was not the corpse of a ship that sat before them. "This can't be right…"

Usagi turned to look at her with a blink. "What's the matter?"

"The ship…it's…" Kagome trailed off, biting her bottom lip as she furrowed her brows.

Usagi blinked and Luna frowned suspiciously from her perch on Souta’s shoulder. "What about it?"

"You can't see it?" Kagome couldn’t help her bewildered expression as she turned to look at the three and waved a hand towards the structure perched at the end of the docks. "It's a shipwreck."

When they only continued to stare at her, just as baffled, Kagome huffed and continued forward. She paused at the gate separating the city sidewalk from the docks and furrowed her brow. "It feels like it's covered in demonic energy…that must be why nobody can tell."

"Huh…" Souta pulled out his phone, his own brow furrowed as he tapped at the screen before looking up with a huff. "Yeah, looks like it too."

Usagi looked between the two of them, nose crinkled for a moment before her eyes darted back to the ship. "But there are people on board…"

Kagome had neither the energy nor the inclination to question her sight, how Souta could confirm it by looking at his phone and only dragged her hand through her hair with a weary sigh. "Yeah…and we need to get them all off."

“Alright.” Souta straightened, a serious look on his face that made Kagome drag a hand over her own. "Let’s get-"

"No, Souta. You're staying here." At least this part of the plan, whatever it even was at this point, Kagome wasn’t about to compromise on.

Souta hunched his shoulders, clearly ready to argue. "But-!"

"No buts. This is way too dangerous.” Kagome set him with a look that made him pause mid-step and set a hand on her hip as she pointed to the bench that sat beside the dock entrance. “Now stay here and keep watch. Big sister's orders!"

"Alright, alright…" Souta crossed his arms with a huff, looking disgruntled as he dropped onto the bench. "Geeze, no need to pull sibling rank on me."

Luckily, beyond the state of her health and the nature of her extracurricular activities, Souta wasn’t the sort to lie. True to his -reluctant- word, he did not try to leave the bench they left him on as the three of them snuck on board. Not so luckily, Usagi was still Usagi, and quite quickly distracted by the illusionary sights that Kagome could not see. When the gushing over the decorations shifted to a squeal of delight over an announcement that lunch was being served in the dining hall, Kagome knew they were in trouble.

"Usagi-chan…it's not…" The words, however, fell on deaf ears and Kagome heaved a sigh as the tips of Usagi’s blonde buns vanished into the remaining crowd. "Luna?"

"I know." Luna heaved a sigh as she hopped down off her shoulder to follow the other girl. At least Luna would be able to see the supposed dining hall in order to find her.

Kagome heaved an irritated huff and closed her eyes. There was demonic energy all over the place, so it was hard to pinpoint just where it was coming from, but she also might have just been too tired. A flicker of energy from below drew her away from the dangerous thoughts of her weariness, and Kagome glanced at the stairwell leading to the lower deck with a frown.

The crowd was thinner as she pushed through the masses, headed in the opposite direction than she was. If they were going so far as to make announcements for a meal, the dining hall was likely a trap anyway. Kagome bit her lip anxiously, thinking of an enthralled Usagi rushing straight into it and hurrying down the remainder of the stairs. The power was stronger down here, thick enough in the air to make her shudder, and she wondered if this was where they were storing the captured energy or the source of the magic that controlled the ship.

Perhaps if she found it quickly enough, she might be able to put a stop to it before whatever trap they had planned could even take place. The idea filled her with a renewed flicker of energy and Kagome sped up, focusing more firmly on the thrum of power that she could sense.

Her haste, as it turned out, was a mistake. When she rounded the corner, foolishly thinking everyone was already upstairs, she was not prepared to find another person heading in the opposite direction. She reared back with a yelp, only kept on her feet by the hands that reached out to grasp her by the shoulders. "Ah! I'm so sorry, I-"

"Oh, no harm done." Her breath froze in her throat as she looked up, and the friendly smile that the man offered did little to comfort her. 

If not for his eyes, she might not have recognized him. The tan of his skin and the dark color of his hair was such a stark contrast to the fair skinned blond that she was used to that it seemed out of place, though Kagome supposed that was likely the point. ‘Because who else would it be?'

Running directly into Jadeite was definitely not part of the plan.

---

For all that he thought of Thetis, too emotional and girlish for her station, Jadeite could admit, if only to himself, that she was clever. The demoness served directly beneath the queen for a reason. Her ploy wasn’t exceptionally complicated, but the simplicity of it was perhaps what allowed him to begrudgingly admit that her plan was a clever one.

Drawing the masses to an event had already been proven a simple enough endeavor in his own operations. The arrival of the summer months meant no one batted an eye at the advertisement of a new cruise line at the city docks. Even Jadeite could admit that Thetis was nothing if not talented in her use of magic. The way she seamlessly recovered a long sunken ship from the depths of the sea and revitalized it to appear new and inviting was, at the very least, admirably resourceful.

Luring their targets onto a vessel out in the midst of her element was, strategically speaking, brilliant.

The specific targeting of energy fueled by feelings of love was less so. Humans were fickle. Even among the couples that had been lured aboard, Jadeite found it unlikely that such flighty, shallow creatures would all hold such genuine emotion for their partners. He supposed that was the reason that the demoness took such care to make the atmosphere a romantic one. They only had to think they were in love, after all.

Though that was just as likely to be because of her not-so-secret infatuation with him.

It was annoying perhaps, but useful. Jadeite had never been the sort for political maneuvering, not the way his fellows were, but he understood the benefit in remaining on friendly terms with the queen’s second in command, or at least in not scorning her entirely. It was a particularly wise decision, he supposed, when the queen was so irate over the developments regarding the sailor soldiers. 

‘If it had been any soldier but Mars…’ Jadeite dragged a hand through his hair with an annoyed sigh. Though he could not recall the particulars behind the animosity, they all knew the queen’s opinion regarding the soldier of fire. His stomach clenched uncomfortably and he grit his teeth, his own ire flaring at the thought. Unclenching his fist, uncertain when he’d grown so tense, Jadeite exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment.

They’d left the docks by now and Thetis’ plan was about ready to be put into action. It wouldn’t do to frustrate himself when they still had work to do. He was, after all, expecting the damnable sailor soldiers to come rushing in once the energy draw caught their attention.

He wasn’t expecting to round the corner and collide with a girl.

Jadeite caught her out of reflex, his hands darting out to catch her by the shoulders before she could fall. Her expression was just as surprised as his when she finally looked up at him, wide-eyed and mouth agape. He knew this girl.

‘Higurashi, wasn’t it?’ Well, he supposed that saved him the trouble of tracking her down. Though the destruction of the clock shop was unfortunate, it had proven fruitful in less expected ways. He’d thought her sensitivity to the ambient power at Shapely a bit unusual, but not overtly strange. When she’d wandered into Ramua’s clutches only to be entirely unaffected, it seemed too unlikely that it was a coincidence. That she was here could pose a problem.

Jadeite straightened and softened his expression as he looked down at her curiously. "You are a ways away from the crowd. Have you gotten lost?"

"Y-yeah, kind of…" She shuffled, her shoulders hunched in what he supposed was embarrassment when she ducked her head to avoid his gaze.

"Allow me." Jadeite offered his arm and found himself almost tickled by the baffled expression on the girl’s face at the gesture. Her fingers trembled a bit when she finally set her hand in the crook of his arm, and he flashed her a friendly looking smile as he led them back towards the upper deck. "I am surprised your boyfriend would have allowed such a lovely lady out of his sight, much less to lose your way."

She fumbled beside him, and Jadeite had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her flustered expression.

"Wh-what? Uh, no…I don't have a… boyfriend." Given her disposition at merely offering his arm, he actually found that quite easy to believe. Inwardly, Jadeite wondered if the little thing had ever even been on a date before. She was pretty enough if a bit skittish. She shifted next to him, and his gaze slanted downward to watch her expression when he felt her fingers flex nervously against his arm. "I'm uh…here with a friend."

He felt the first stirrings of the energy draw and hummed thoughtfully. It seemed a waste to let this little oddity go, but he would have to move quickly if she were not to end up a corpse alongside the rest of the passengers. The draw of power strengthened and he blinked when she wavered beside him, wondering at how she could be affected if not here with a lover before she straightened and shook her head, as if it had been naught but his imagination.

If he hadn’t known better, Jadeite might have thought it was. For the time being, he pretended not to notice the way she’d stumbled.

"Oh? Well, then. Allow me to-" A scream sounded above them, and they turned to look up just in time for the increasingly familiar form of Sailor Moon to come crashing through the observatory window. Glass rained down on them as he lifted an arm over their heads, shielding them both. He felt the frantic pattering of her heart in the fleeting moment she was pressed to his chest, as he reached around her to yank open the door to an adjacent cabin and shove her inside.

Clearly not expecting it, the girl tumbled back into the room and landed with a yelp. "Ah! What are you-"

"Stay here." Jadeite straightened his posture, his eyes raking over her form, still in a heap on the ground. She blinked at him a few times and he thinned his lips as he turned with a grunt, finding himself oddly unable to meet her bewildered stare. "I will see what is happening and return for you when it is safe."

---

It took Kagome a long moment to really process what had just happened. She wasn’t certain if it was the stress of the weekend setting in or the absurdity of the situation, but she simply could not parse what had just occurred. 'Uh…excuse me? Who the hell do you think you're fooling, mister?'

"Wow…the valiant gentleman act really doesn't suit that guy." Kagome sat up and rubbed her backside with a wince. Already aching from the chaos in the feudal era, she really hadn’t needed to get tossed into a rusty old cabin. ‘Seriously, tetanus anyone?’

The startled shriek and sudden roar of fire that sounded from outside drew her back to the matter at hand.

'Usagi-chan!' Kagome popped to her feet, soreness and lack of sleep forgotten. She could wonder at Jadeite’s split personality and the fact that the fake tan and black hair really didn’t suit him later, preferably when everyone was safe on dry land. The magic wove around her before she even realized she had reached for the pen and the door burst open with a flick of energy before she had even realized she’d conjured it.

At least, Kagome supposed as she sprinted out onto the deck, she had enough adrenaline left to draw on for this fight. The demons that greeted her as she ran into the fray, however, were not like the ones that she’d seen before. They moved aimlessly and while their numbers seemed to be giving the other soldiers trouble, there had to be one controlling them given how mindless they seemed to be.

She had to focus to steady her hands as she knocked an arrow, still unnoticed by the horde of mindless creatures as the soldiers fought them off. Her gaze drew upward when she heard the familiar cry of her friend, and she caught a glimpse of Sailor Moon as the blonde soldier dove to the floor to avoid a pillar of water.

When it dissipated, Kagome saw the demon that hovered over the forward. 'There!'

The demonic power made her shudder, but at least she could be certain that this was the one controlling the others. Her arm still stung and she wasn’t certain if she could make such a long shot with the limb throbbing so badly. Thankfully, she seemed to have remained unnoticed as she inched closer to the fight, arrow knocked and at the ready and her back pressed firmly against the wall as she crept towards the middle deck, just below them.

Her plan to get closer was promptly derailed when the demon’s gaze suddenly darted down to look directly at her. Acting mostly out of a cocktail of instinct and adrenaline, Kagome lifted her bow and watched the arrow sail through the air before she realized it had left her fingertips. The demon’s eyes widened, but she did not move in time to avoid the shot entirely.

The arrow caught the back of the demon’s collar and the sounds of battle paused as her shriek echoed around them only for a moment before she hit the water, silenced as she was dragged beneath the surface.

The battle renewed all at once, both sides seeming to realize simultaneously that the other still stood. From above, Kagome distantly heard a shout of ‘Fire Soul’ before a burst of heat soared overhead, casting the charred remains of the lesser demons onto her own level.

"Ack!" Narrowly diving out of the way of the fallen remains of a roasted demon, Kagome heaved a breath of short-lived relief. When she realized that the heat had not dissipated with the fading of Sailor Mars’ attack, she swore and shoved herself back to her feet. Flames licked the edge of the ship, small in size but spreading swiftly over the already rotted material of the ship’s true form.

A familiar head of blue hair popped into her line of sight and Kagome could have cried in relief. Thankfully or unfortunately -she would decide later- she didn’t have the time for that. She cupped a hand to the side of her mouth as she abandoned her hiding place to shout towards the upper deck.

"Sailor Mercury!" The soldier’s head swiveled to look down at her, and Kagome waved her hand, still clutching a conjured bow, at the growing flames that licked edges of the deck. "We need to put out the fire!"

Mercury looked confused, but they certainly had no time for Kagome to figure out exactly why she could see the vessel for what it was, much less to explain it. "The ship can't take it! Too many people will be hurt!"

She turned to rush towards the stairs to the upper deck, thinking the widening of Mercury’s eyes to be a look of understanding. She realized her mistake too late, when the hand that latched onto her wrist hauled her back off the stairwell.

---

For as little as he thought of them, Jadeite had never denied that the sailor soldiers were a problem. For as much as her infatuation annoyed him, he had still warned Thetis of their likely interference. However, he’d been hopeful that with the queen’s second in command involved they might finally have a chance to be rid of the sailor guardians, save for the one unfortunate enough to have garnered the queen’s interest.

He almost pitied the girl. That nameless soldier was almost respectable. The others, while admittedly improving as he watched them fight, were more harried than they were controlled. Sailor Moon and Mercury worked well enough together, and Mercury seemed dangerously analytical, but there was still a lack of experience that shined through as uncertainty in the way they fought. Sailor Mars, contrarily, seemed too certain of her moves. His brows furrowed as he watched Thetis’ thralls surround the soldiers.

The nameless soldier was nowhere to be seen.

The ship rocked beneath him and Jadeite diverted his gaze from the fight to glance downward, thoughts drifting to the odd little human he’d been so impulsive as to hide from his comrade. A flicker of familiar power drew his attention back to the fight just in time to see the arrow sail through the air. His eyes widened and he rushed forward, fear twisting his stomach as the demoness shrieked. 'If Thetis-!'

Her form vanished beneath the waves before he could finish the thought. Jadeite clutched the railing beneath his fingers before he turned in a burst of energy. Everyone knew that, position of second in command notwithstanding, Thetis was the queen’s favorite. If he wanted to keep his head in the wake of her defeat, he needed to bring something to the queen.

He reappeared behind the nameless soldier just as she started up the stairs and, were he not caught between such intense sensations of anger and fear, he might have thought it odd that she did not seem to notice his approach. He caught her by the wrist before she could reach the third step and hauled her down to face him.

“Ah!” Uncharacteristic tears rimmed her eyes and her hand trembled as she clawed at his grip. "Let go!" 

'She…' Not expecting her to scream, Jadeite faltered and released her in surprise. Something in him shifted uneasily. Even when he’d thought to kill her, when he’d cornered her at Shapely, before the queen’s interest ensured her life, she hadn’t cried. 

When she stumbled back against the wall he’d caged her against, his throat tightened when he saw the growing patch of red in the white of her glove as she clutched the limb to her chest. His gaze darted to his hand and his eyes widened at the stain of his own gloves. He hadn’t seen her at the fight. Thetis had been focused solely on the other three, far too busy playing with Sailor Moon to have injured this soldier that she hadn’t even sensed. The thralls certainly weren’t such a threat. 'Who-?'

Jadeite narrowly leapt out of the way as Sailor Moon’s tiara suddenly flew between them, forcing him away from the nameless soldier. He spun to face the damnable girl with a scowl, pooling his own energy into the palm of his hand as the other two rushed up to flank her.

“It seems I underestimated you.” He ignored the indignant shouts of outrage as he tilted his head back, looking down at them and chancing a glance at the fallen soldier behind him in the same motion. If the situation he suddenly found himself facing weren’t so dire, the demand to prepare himself might have been amusing. “You have grown more powerful. But you’re no match for me.”

He drew his hand back, energy swirling to life in his palm as he readied to end them. He wasn’t planning on the hand that caught his own from behind nor the shock of pain that rolled through him when her pure energy clashed with the dark magic he’d been preparing to unleash. For a long moment he could only stare down at her, caught in the glare she leveled him with despite the shaking of her bloodied hand. Jadeite wrenched his hand from her grasp, clenching his jaw as his palm itched uncomfortably.

When he tried to call on the dark power again, it only fizzled briefly in his grasp. Fortunately, his power to teleport seemed undamaged. Unfortunately, the only victory it seemed he would claim this night was Sailor Mars’ screech of frustration as he slipped from their grasp.

---

The ship lurched beneath them the moment Jadeite vanished. Kagome had suspected as much but she had certainly hoped the magic might have taken a bit more time to fade. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

"Ah!" Sailor Moon yelped and flailed to keep her balance. "What's happening?!"

“It’s the ship!” Kagome grit her teeth as she strained to stand. “There's no more magic to hold it up!"

Sailor Moon’s eyes widened and, as the ground beneath them suddenly tilted, she rushed to the edge. She leaned over the railing for a moment before looking back at them in alarm. "We're sinking!"

"Hurry! We have to get the people off!" Kagome’s arm still throbbed, but her reopened wound was the least of their problems. The rear of the ship was the closest point to the docks and a large panel of metal that had fallen away from the crumbling vessel left a convenient, if likely short lived, bridge back to safety. Conjured bow long gone, she waved her uninjured arm towards the aft. "This way!"

With the imminent threat to life and limb, the others at least seemed able to work together well enough to corral the crowd. The evacuation, as heart pounding and chaotic as it was, surprisingly went as well as could have been planned.

Being greeted by a cluster of news crews just as they stepped onto the docks wasn’t exactly what any of them had been expecting. In truth, Kagome didn’t know what she should have been expecting any more. Nothing about this weekend had been predictable in any sense of the word.

"Who are you?"

"What happened here?"

For the most part, Kagome was perfectly happy to let the others take the spotlight. Sailor Mars seemed perfectly comfortable with the limelight and Sailor Moon seemed equally happy to dramatically introduce herself as the ‘soldier of love and justice’. Kagome didn’t notice the attention shift to her until the microphone was shoved under her nose.

"And you? What's your name?"

"M-me? I-I'm…" Heart pounding, Kagome glanced across the docks, her eyes landing on Souta who gave her a helpless look of his own. He shook his head at her, arms crossed over his chest as he frantically gestured to the news van from his hiding place behind a street map, a poster advertising the newest Sailor V game staring back at her almost mockingly.

Tokyo News

‘Tokyo….’ Straightening with a jolt, Kagome grinned a bit awkwardly as she turned back to the awaiting news crew. "I'm Sailor T!"