Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Alone No More - Minako's Story ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Alone No More: Minako's Story
by Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 8

Minako stared dreamily out the window, pondering over the events from yesterday. Especially
near the end.

'It's good I beat the maiden enemy, Debrine, last time, but everyone's overweight figures
haven't returned to normal,' she thought. 'I'm at a loss. That mysterious man who appeared
before me and Ryo-kun. Who on earth could it be? Even through his mask, I knew. He likes
me. He was looking at me.'

"Aino!!" the teacher shouted as he spotted Minako's inattentiveness. "What was the name of
the military commander of Takeda, who lost the Battle of Nagashino on May 21st of the third
year of Tenshou's reign!?"

"I know, I know!" she said, not really paying attention to the question. Instead, she
answered one ofher own. "Like Superman, like Gekkou Kamen, or Ninja Kamui, or Golgo 13, or
Captain Harlock, or the Terminator, he was kind of young. The man who came to save me was
surely my prince!"

Ryoku winced at her answer. Not only was she not even close to being minutely correct, but
he knew what she was referring to... aside from the anime and movie references. That masked
man. Like her, he wondered who he was, but he knew an Aino Minako crush when he saw one. He
only hoped that she'd still be able to focus when they were needed. 'Now I'm starting to
sound like Artemis,' he thought with a grimace.

"Go to the back!" came the inevitable reply. "Now, Kino-kun...." He turned his gaze toward
Ryoku and grinned. "Why don't you answer the question? I'm sure you know the answer."

Ryoku froze. He didn't know; he'd forgotten what the question was. His mind must've also
drifted towards that masked man. "Anou...," he began penitently, "what was the question
again?"

The teacher's eyebrows lifted. It wasn't very often that Ryoku, who was one of his best
students, would faulter that badly. Maybe that Aino girl he was good friends with was
finally becoming a bad influence on him. He had hoped it would've been the other way around.

"To the back!"

Ryoku sighed and joined his friend at the back of the class. Minako gave him a silent,
consoling pat on the shoulder as he stood by her side and went back to thinking about the
masked man from yesterday.

**********************************************

"Jeez, Mina," Artemis said as he joined her and Ryoku as they walked home from school. "You
embarrassed yourself. The soldier of justice, Sailor V, forced to stand in the back of the
class. How low." He then glanced at Ryoku. "I'm more than shocked that the same thing
happened to you, Ryoku. Weren't you supposed to be one of the brighter students? And the
soldier of justice, Masked Knight, stood right by his partner... at the back of the class."
He sighed heavily. "It's a dark day for us."

Ryoku irritably rolled his eyes at the white cat. "Cut the melodrama, Artemis," he muttered
dryly.

"Besides, Artemis," Minako added brightly, "nothing you say to me now matters."

"We don't know what's up with that guy from last time," Artemis said insistantly. "Just
after he appeared, he vanished. Is he a new enemy, or an ally? Who is that guy?!?" Ryoku
silently nodded as he frowned thoughtfully.

"Mina! Ryo-kun!" Hikaru yelled as she ran up to them.

"Hikaru-chan!" they greeted back. Minako was the only one who waved as Ryoku was holding
Artemis.

"Want to go for some food at the Azabu Juuban shopping center?" Hikaru asked eagerly.

"Yeah, let's go!" Minako agreed as the two girls took off, leaving Ryoku to catch up with
them.

"Minako-chan! Hikaru-chan! Chotto matte yo!!!" he yelled loudly, trying to get them to slow
down. Artemis just sweatdropped as Ryoku ran after them.

**********************************************

"You 've taken that weight off nicely," Minako said to both of her friends. The two girls
had joined the three of them after seeing them in the shopping center. They had just
finished shopping for new clothes. The first girl had said that they wanted some new
clothes to wear after dropping all the weight from those rainbow chocolates that had made
almost everyone overweight during Valentine's day.

"Yes," Ryoku added, "you both look better. Back to your original sizes?"

She nodded. "That was strange, though. Those rainbow candies worked."

"Me too, me too," the other girl added. "Since I lost the weight, my skin's become soft."

"Thanks to that man and the rainbow candies."

"That man is really a friend of girls."

Ryoku's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Artemis glanced from him to Minako. 'Mina may not be
able to hear them, but I can,' Artemis thought. '"That man"?!? Rainbow candies?!?'

The group of five continued walking until they passed by an electronics shop. A bunch of
televisions were left on, allowing potential customers to watch outside on several
different televisions at once. This was mainly so that they could compare the picture
quality on the different sets, but a few people stopped just to watch TV.

"Everyone's saying, 'I want to meet that man!!'" one TV blared suddenly as the group was
about to walk past.

"Eh?" Ryoku said as his right eyebrow raised curiously. They all stopped and turned toward
the shop, looking at the biggest TV in the middle of the display.

"Today's person is at the peak of popularity," the man stated. "'That man' is a friend of
girls!"

Ryoku blinked in surprise. Those were the same words used by one of Minako's friends.

"Hey, what's this show?" Ryoku asked.

'That man?' Artemis thought to himself.

"Oh, oh!" Minako exclaimed to Ryoku as a silhouette of a young man appeared. "That man from
before had the same silhouette!" Moments later, dozens of rainbow candies were flung into
the air, filling the TV screen with candy. "Hey! A storm of candy!"

An ace of hearts suddenly flew through the air on TV, and was caught by a the masked man as
the camera focus turned on him. "I am Kaitou Ace!" he proclaimed as he flourished the
playing card.

"Look at the TV!" the first girl said, pointing at the TV. "It's Ace!"

The second girl smiled as she nodded. "I watch every week! 'Kaitou Ace'!"

'Kaitou? Mysterious thief?' Ryoku thought to himself. 'Strange name for a friend of
girls....'

"You seen it, Mina?" Hikaru asked, turning toward her friend. "It started recently. A new
show starring this kid, 'Kaitou Ace'!"

"What!?" Minako asked, blinking. "A TV show!?"

"Yep," she replied, nodding. "A new idol in the world of television, Kaitou Ace. He fights
alone against the evil order, Jack. A soldier of justice, veiled in mystery. But, he's not
an ordinary soldier. He's very sweet. He gives stolen jewels to girls; he goes on dates
with girls who can't get them; if a girl doesn't have a dress for the date, he gives her
one; he looks for lost pets; he does your homework while you sleep. He helps suffering
girls. He's a girl's best friend: Kaitou Ace!!"

Ryoku yawned boredly. Another idol. By now, he was very wary of idols, having had to deal
with the many idols of the Dark Agency. He didn't want to have to deal with yet another
one. He was growing sick of idols.

"Starring in this new program, in the role of Kaitou Ace, is Saijou Ace-kun," the man
continued.

"Hello," Ace said with a small bow.

"No way!" Minako exclaimed excitedly. "That's him!? He's a hit, a hit! A big hit!!" Ryoku
glanced at Minako and sweatdropped.

"I think any girl can be pretty," Ace continued. "If all girls were pretty, I'd be happy.
So, I want to help them with it."

'I'm sure you would,' Ryoku thought coldly. There was something about that guy he didn't
like... and it wasn't just his wariness of idols.

"You're talking about the beauty candy you developed yourself," the man pointed out. "Your
Kaitou Ace brand rainbow candy is a big hit! Congratulations!"

"Ehehe. You're embarrassing me," Ace replied humbly. "It's good that everyone can become
pretty."

'Those candies from before?' Artemis wondered. 'Were those rainbow candies!?'

"We were lucky to be on the film set before!" the first girl said, turning toward the other.

"Yeah! From the roof of that building, Ace sprinkled that rainbow candy. We got lots for
free!" She paused for a moment in thought. 'Actually, my memory before that is a little
foggy....'

"When we saw him before, it was a TV shoot?" Minako whispered over at Ryoku.

He shrugged in reply. "That would explain why he was there." He frowned slightly. "I don't
know, though. I mean, didn't the timing of that 'shoot' seem a little too... convenient? He
appeared right after we finished off Debrine...."

Minako glanced at Ryoku for a second. 'Was it just my imagination, or did he just sound
like he was....' She shook her head as she turned back toward the TV. 'No, not Ryo-kun. I
can't see a guy like him acting like that.'

"Oh, Kaitou Ace! He's cool! There's no one like him! A friend of girls! Kaitou Ace!"

"He says such nice things! Just like he says, I want to be pretty!!"

Artemis glanced at the two girls from Ryoku's arms, then over at the TV. 'That guy from
before was from a TV show.... But I'm worried about the rainbow candy. What if they turn
out to be like Debrine's rainbow chocolates?'

"Kaitou Ace!" Minako sighed dreamily. "Artemis, Hikaru-chan, what should I do? He's
perfect. Can I chase after him?"

Artemis and Hikaru looked at Minako and sweatdropped. Ryoku said merely shrugged and said
nothing, but continued to stare at the TV screen. Artemis glanced up at his face.

Although his expression was neutral, Ryoku was staring hard enough at Ace to bore a hole
right through the TV.

**********************************************

At the Dark Agency's office, two pairs of eyes were watching the same program that the
others were watching.

"I think any girl can be pretty," Ace said. "If all girls were pretty, I'd be happy. So, I
want to help them with it."

"This is him?!?" the woman exclaimed in a slightly appalled tone of voice. "This? This
talent's strategy is to go after girls' ultimate desire. We don't need to yield to him,
too, Danburite-sama.

"I am the final trump card of the Dark Agency, Heroine Maker," she proclaimed proudly. I am
Fande, and it seems my turn is finally here. I will sell off the last and highest real
estate of the Dark Agency. Then, we will surely rebuild our Dark Agency."

"With our repeated failures, we've been forced into a difficult situation...," Danburite
said with a sigh. "You were the most clever one of the Dark Agency. Let's see what you can
do." With a grin, Fande bowed and disappeared. After Fande left, a slow, wide grin slid
across his face.

"It's almost time...."

**********************************************

At the Metropolitan Police Board, Chief Natsuna Sakurada sighed as she sat down at her
desk. "Ohh, what now.... I have so much time, since Wakagi's gone.... I can't release all
my built-up stress without fighting with him. And most of all, I can't talk to him about
V-chan and Knight-kun. How boring."

She grimaced as she spun in her chair so that she was looking out through her window. "I
guess that good-for-nothing was helpful.... Speaking of which, I haven't heard about V-chan
and Knight-kun's exploits lately. I wonder what they're doing now. I'm bored."

Natsuna spun back toward her desk and slid open a drawer on her left and pulled out a
remote control. 'Think I'll watch TV,' she thought with a small grin as she turned the TV
on.

"I am Kaitou Ace!" Ace announced on TV as he entered the room.

"What?" Natsuna murmured to herself as her attention fixed onto the screen.

"Ace!" the woman cried in relief as the TV show continued.

"Princess!" Ace said as he approached the girl. "I came here for you. I handed over that
kidnapper to the police!" He stopped in front of the girl and smiled down at her as he
helped her to her feet. In gratitude and relief, the girl flung her arms around Ace in a
warm hug. "I'll forever watch over you from afar," he quietly told the girl in a soft,
soothing voice.

"I had forgotten!" Natsuna exclaimed suddenly. "This excitement! The lively feeling of
telling Wakagi about V-chan and Knight-kun! Kaitou Ace...." She grinned as she continued to
watch the show. "Fabulous.... He's just like Sailor V or Masked Knight!"

**********************************************

" Hmph...," Boss said as Artemis completed the scan of the rainbow candy he had brought to
the command center.

"It's not showing any abnormal readings," Artemis reported. "Looks like normal candy, Boss.
Rainbow candy." Ryoku had given him that piece of rainbow candy; in fact, he had suggested
scanning the candy in the first place. Sure, he would've done it himself eventually, but
since Ryoku had already given him a piece of rainbow candy....

"It does look that way," Boss agreed. A short period of silence ensued as both of them
pondered on his findings. "That Kaitou Ace TV show was pretty good," she said, breaking the
silence.

Artemis blinked in surprise. She saw the TV show, too? That reminded him of how Ryoku was
starting to behave whenever someone mentioned Kaitou Ace. He would suddenly become quiet
and his expression would turn neutral, as if he didn't want anyone to know what he was
thinking. Artemis was sure that Ryoku didn't like Ace, but whenever he asked him, he would
say nothing, but there was a look in his eyes that screamed of his distrust and suspicion
of Ace.

"But, if Ace exists," Artemis said, almost to himself, "he's already displaced Sailor V and
Masked Knight from the world. He's been taking on himself all the stuff they've been doing
before...."

The monitor screen Boss used to communicate from seemed ominously silent.

'No, no,' Artemis argued with himself; his gaze dropping to the floor. 'There must be a
reason Sailor V and Masked Knight have a mission. They're being swept away by fashion.
But.... Decide, decide! Agree, agree!' Artemis looked back up at the monitor screen.
"Boss, don't you think it's been quiet lately?"

"Hmm...," Boss said thoughtfully. "Maybe the calm before the storm.... Don't drop your
guard."

"That's what I say, too," Artemis agreed, nodding.

"How're Mina and Ryoku?"

"Lately, Mina's just been chasing after Ace. Since no enemies have shown up lately,
frankly, she's been slacking off. Yesterday, she left her compact behind on her desk when
she went to school.... She was lucky that Ryoku noticed and brought it to her. As for
Ryoku, he's still as vigilant as ever, but ever since Mina's been chasing after Ace, he's
been acting strangely whenever anyone mentions Ace's name around him. It's almost like
he's... well, jealous of Mina's infatuation with Ace. Kaitou Ace...," he murmured
thoughtfully. "Something's up...."

**********************************************

As usual, Minako met Ryoku after school. Ever since the first time Ryoku walked home with
her from school, she had always looked forward to his company on the way home. He told her
that the way to her house was on the way to his, but she didn't believe him. She had a
feeling that her house was nowhere near his, but that made his company that much better.

"Ah, like Ace says, girls are really supposed to be pretty," Minako continued, not noticing
that Ryoku was now staring straight ahead and wasn't smiling anymore. "Ohh, I want to be
pretty! But to be pretty, what can I actually do? Of course, I'm eating Ace brand rainbow
candy, but...." She paused and grimaced. 'They're not having a big effect.... Maybe plastic
surgery....'

"If I told you that you were pretty," Ryoku began quietly, "would you believe me?"

"Nani?" she asked as she looked at him. "What are you saying, Ryo-kun?"

"Do you really think that those candies are the answer to you becoming pretty?" he asked,
his expression showing nothing. "The way I see it, what matters is whether you and the ones
who you care for and who care for you think you're pretty. Now, answer my question."

She blinked for a moment in surprise and confusion. "Question?"

"If I told you that you were pretty, would you believe me?"

"You think I'm... pretty?" Minako asked, staring incredulously at Ryoku.

Before Ryoku could reply, a bunch of their friends walked up to them, interrupting their
conversation. "Mina! Ryoku! Wanna come check out the new building in front of the train
station?"

"Why?" Ryoku asked.

"You'll see," one of them said as they all headed for the train station.

**********************************************

" Fashion Building Heroin?" Minako said in a perplexed tone of voice as she read the
building's sign.

Ryoku sweatdropped in chagrin. "That's 'heroine', Minako-chan," he corrected flatly. He
turned to the group of girls with questioning look on his face. "This's a beauty shop," he
pointed out. "Unless you're all mistaken about my gender," he paused as a few of the girls
giggled, "why exactly did you ask me to come as well? I mean, I'm the only guy here. Do you
think I need a makeover or something?"

"Well, the way you talk sometimes makes us wonder...," one girl said quietly as a couple of
girls beside her giggled.

"Nani yo?" he said, blinking as he pointed to himself. "Watakushi? What about the the way I
talk?"

This time all of the girls, including Minako, started laughing out loud. "Oh, no,
Ryoku-san," one of the girls explained when they got themselves under control. "It's not
anything like that. It's just that since we're going to make ourselves pretty, it'd help if
we had a guy's opinion as well. Since you're best friends with Mina...."

"You want my... guy's opinion, ne?" he finished for her. All of the girls nodded. He
sighed, but nodded as well, indicating that he'd do as they asked.

"Hello there!" a woman greeted as the group entered the shop. "Welcome to Fashion Building
'Heroine.' I'm Liquid Fande, in charge of cosmetics on the first floor. Here you can become
a beautiful heroine all by yourself. We have an abundant assortment of goods to fill your
beauty needs. Also, you can visit our other departments for total coordination, and become
a more beautiful heroine."

"First floor: Cosmetics," Ryoku said as he read the sign. "Second floor: Wardrobe. Third
floor: Tableware. Fourth floor: Customer Service Tour Conduct." He glanced at the sign
again and blinked. 'Tableware???'

"Which floor would you like?" the woman asked.

"I want cosmetics to make my face pretty."

"I want new clothes, to change my image. How about you, Mina?"

Minako glanced at Ryoku for a second, then sighed. "Ohh..., I don't have the money to go
shopping.... And Ace has two live appearances this month. To become pretty, I'd have to get
next month's allowance...."

Ryoku shook his head as he looked at Liquid Fande. "No, I'm not here for shopping, so don't
you even suggest it." Her mouth closed quickly as she turned towards another girl.

Most of the others had already went searching for cosmetic items. On the 2nd floor, another
woman greeted the small group of girls. "Thank you for shopping here. I'm Water Fande, of
the second floor. For our opening, we're presenting small gifts to you. Which would you
like?"

"I'll take the CD!" one girl shouted.

"I'll take the video game!" another added.

"Pots are just what I wanted!"

"I'd like underwear. Lingerie."

"From here, your desire of heroine beauty is only a step away," Water Fande said as she
handed the gifts to the girls for them to try.

"I think I'll listen to the CD. I wonder which one it is."

"Yes! I beat the game! Now for the ending."

"Huh? Strange steam is coming from the pot...."

"Tight.... It's like this underwear is cutting into me."

"Using all means, you are making efforts," Water Fande said cryptically. "There is one big
condition to your becoming beautiful heroines. And that is... Defeat Sailor V and Masked
Knight!"

"If we defeat Sailor V, we can become beautiful...," the girls chanted in a flat monotone.
"If we defeat Masked Knight, we'll be beautiful heroines...."

Water Fande grinned wickedly. "Third floor: Powder Fande. Fourth floor: Solid Fande. I
wonder how many heroines will be born in our game...."

**********************************************

Later that day, Minako came home, but only to drop off her school stuff. As soon as she
stepped into her room, Artemis rushed up to her.

"Mina!" he said chidingly. "I thought you were coming home! Where are you going?"

"W-well, to the TV station, to see Ace live...," she admitted reluctantly.

"Mina!! What'll you do if enemies show up?" he rebuked. "You've just been lazy lately!"

"It's not like I'm going by myself!" she retorted. "Ryo-kun's coming, too. It's fine, it's
fine. When that happens, we'll do it." She then, quickly turned and left the room so she
wouldn't have to continue arguing.

"Mina!" Artemis shouted, but she had already left.

**********************************************

Ryok u stared up at the banner adorning the TV station building. 'Kaitou Ace' Public
Filming. He grimaced in disgust. If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't trust Ace one
bit, he would never have come within ten city blocks... no, ten miles of Ace willingly. His
distrust of Ace increased tenfold whenever Minako was involved, but she wanted to see his
live performance. She would've gone whatever he said - the Aino Minako crush still held
fast - so he just grinned... or rather, grimaced and bared it with silent dignity.

"Hehe! We're here!" Minako said excitedly. Ryoku nodded silently; he wasn't about to dampen
her joy with his misgivings... yet. He inwardly frowned at the stupid 'Kaitou Ace' T-shirt
she was wearing over what had on before. They were being handed out everywhere. He had
silently refused one for himself.

Nearby, Natsuna grinned excitedly to herself as she played with the edge of the 'Kaitou
Ace' T-shirt she was wearing. "Oh, coming to live filming at this age...," Natsuna said as
she rose on her tiptoes, trying to look over the huge crowd in front of her, but was having
very little luck seeing much. Minako was having the same problems.

'From the bottom, I can creep up to the front!' both Minako and Natsuna thought at the same
time. 'That's the only way!'

Ryoku watched as Minako began crawling in what he assumed she thought of as a stealthy
manner. He blinked as he noticed an older woman doing the exact same thing, only slightly
better than Minako.

'Amateurs,' he thought to himself with a little amusement as he glanced around. He knew
where they were headed, but he just spotted a way to get there without having to resort to
crawling. One of the security guards had left a jacket laying on a chair, unnoticed by
anyone else. He walked over, picked it up, and slipped it on, then walked up to the front,
all the while asking the crowd to make way for him. He easily made his way to the front,
where he settled in to watch Minako make her own way to the front.

"Uh-oh," Natsuna murmured as she spotted the security guard watching her sneak up to the
front. "Maybe I wasn't as sneaky as I thought...."

"Ryo-kun?!?" Minako exclaimed as she spotted her friend grinning at her. She grimaced as
soon as she spotted the security guard jacket he was wearing, then grinned slyly. "So,
that's how you made it here before me. You... borrowed... a security guard jacket and
pretended to work for security, just to get up front."

"I wanted to see the look on your faces when you saw how easy it could be to sneak up front
compared to what you two were doing," he replied, grinning at both Minako and Natsuna as he
removed the jacket and tossed it to Natsuna.

Minako looked over at Natsuna as she caught the jacket. When she and Natsuna saw what the
other was wearing, they each pointed at the other.

"You!" Natsuna exclaimed.

"Ara!" Minako exclaimed.

"We're a match!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yare, yare...," Ryoku muttered under his breath as he sweatdropped in chagrin.

The three of them turned to watch Ace as he arrived - or rather, just Natsuna and Minako
were watching; Ryoku merely glared. Ace waved at the group as he walked past and entered
the TV station.

"Oh, Ace was cool!" Minako said as the doors closed behind Ace.

"That's it! From now on, I'm chasing after Ace!" Natsuna added.

"Me too!" Minako agreed, not hearing the barely audible sigh uttered by Ryoku. "Now, after
the appearance, they said we could see the filming, but how are we going to get in the
studio?"

"You can't come in yet!" a security guard was yelling at a group of girls trying to make
their way into the TV station. "Babies!"

'I want to get in first, for the front row,' Natsuna thought to herself as she headed for
the door. 'I'll take my best shot!' Upon reaching the security guard, she reached into her
pocket and pulled out a small leather case. She held it up to the guard and flipped it
open, flashing her police badge. "Excuse me! Please let me through."

"Oh!" the guard exclaimed in surprise as he moved aside. "Go ahead."

"What!?" Minako shouted indignantly. "Oh no! That lady cut in front; in front of all these
followers! I'll show her!"

Ryoku grimaced. He hoped she wasn't going to do what he thought she was going to do. "Now,
Minako-chan," he began, "it was just one woman. I think that...." He cut off as he spotted
the compact that she had pulled out of her pocket. "Oh, no...," he groaned as Minako
dragged him with her into a spot hidden from the crowd's view.

"All right! Crescent Moon Power Transform! Turn us into hairdressers!" Instantly, two
hairdressers were standing where Ryoku and Minako were standing before.

"Hey you!" Minako shouted as they ran, past the guard, after Natsuna. "Aren't you
Kobayashi-san from the office? The Momoko club photo shoot is this way!"

"What?" Natsuna blurted in surprise as she spun around to see who was speaking to her. She
spotted two hairdressers, one female and one male, running past. The female was waving at
her like she wanted her to follow them. She started after them, but soon lost them. "Huh!?"
she murmured to herself. "They're gone! Where'd they go?"

"Oneesan!" a familiar voice shouted from behind. "Oneesan!"

"Oh, it's you!" Natsuna said as she saw Minako and Ryoku walking up to her.

"Oneesan, you're a beginner at idol chasing, right?" Minako asked with a friendly wink.
"You can't cut in front of everyone. But, you seem nice. Let's do this together again." She
pulled out a piece of paper and wrote on it. "Here's my number," she told her. "I'm Aino
Minako."

Natsuna smiled as she took the paper. "And him?" she asked, nodding at Ryoku. "Is he your
boyfriend?"

Minako blushed at the remark, while Ryoku laughed in chagrin. "Not really," he replied
embarrassedly. "I'm her best friend, Kino Ryoku." He smiled as he glanced over at Minako.
"I guess you could also say that I'm her partner."

"Oh, really?" Natsuna asked. "Well, I'm Sakurada Natsuna. Actually, until now, I've been
following Sailor V-chan and Masked Knight-kun. But don't you think they haven't done much
lately? I wonder where they are; what they're doing."

'I'm right here...,' Minako thought to herself as she frowned dispiritedly.

"This fading away of theirs," she continued, "I wonder if they're washed-up?"

'V-chan!!' Minako's mind screeched in a panic. 'This is a shock! Is my popularity going
away? People aren't following others! They can't!' She glanced at Ryoku, who seemed to be
unaffected by what Natsuna had said. 'How can he just stand there like that? Can't he see
what's going on?'

"Hey! Looks like Ace's show's starting!" Natsuna exclaimed as she pointed towards the stage.

Silence fell as the lights turned toward the stage. Overhead, one of the stage lights
suddenly snagged on its own cord and ripped itself off of the ceiling. A girl began to
scream as the stage light fell directly towards her.

"Look out!" Ryoku shouted as he leaped forward, rushing towards the girl.

"Minako-chan?" Natsuna called out as she noticed that the girl had disappeared. She turned
her gaze back toward Ryoku, who was trying his best to make it to the girl in time.
Unfortunately, he wasn't going fast enough. He wasn't going to make it in time.

By now, Minako had already transformed into Sailor V. 'This calls for an idol soldier! I'll
remove my disgrace and regain my honor!! This is my chance!!' Sailor V rushed past Ryoku,
scooped up the girl, and carried her safely away as the light crashed into the floor.

Ryoku slowed to a stop and grinned. 'Sailor V to the rescue,' he thought proudly.

"Sailor V!" the girl exclaimed in shock.

"You okay?" Sailor V asked.

"It's Sailor V!" one man shouted.

"It's been a while," another added.

"Say, where's Masked Knight?" a third said.

"Hey!" the girl shouted as Sailor V put her down. "Don't interrupt, Sailor V! I'm supposed
to be saved by Kaitou Ace! I don't want you!"

Ryoku winced. 'Boy, talk about gratitude....'

"Hey, Sailor V!" the director shouted as he ran up to her. "Get out, get out! I'm trying to
do a shoot here!"

"Wait! Sailor V!" Ace shouted suddenly.

Sailor V's head whipped towards Ace. "Kaitou Ace?"

"Even if your popularity is gone, don't worry! You have life!" he told her.

"Haha," Sailor V muttered. "Thanks, Ace."

Ryoku was barely able to keep himself from marching himself right over to where Kaitou Ace
was standing and start beating him senseless. Not only was he insulting his partner, but
his best friend, as well. Now, he really didn't like him.

"The depressed Sailor V with waning popularity being consoled by Ace," the director
murmured to himself as he watched them. "Now that's good television!"

Ryoku was about to go up and tell the director exactly where he could shove his good
television, when a crowd a girls suddenly started to force themselves toward the front.

"Sailor V!" they chanted in a flat voice. "Sailor V! To become beautiful heroines, we must
defeat Sailor V!"

Powder Fande watched the scene from a distance and smirked. "Seems Sailor V's appeared,"
she said into a communications device. "Solid! Liquid! Water Fande! Head for the TV
station!"

"Mina! What's wrong!" Artemis said as he ran up to her. "You transformed at the TV
station?" He glanced around. "Where's Masked Knight?"

"Artemis...," she sighed sadly. "The Sailor V and Masked Knight boom has passed.... This is
the time of Kaitou Ace.... I've lost my self-confidence. I don't think that I can make it
as V."

"What?!?" Artemis exclaimed in shock.

"What?!?" Ryoku exclaimed as he walked up to them. "I can't believe that, Sailor V! You'd
just quit being a soldier of justice? What about your partner, Masked Knight? He wouldn't
want you to quit on him. He needs you!"

"And what about everyone else?" Sailor V spat as she flung an arm towards the girl she
'rescued'. "For all that, Kaitou Ace!" She closed her eyes and sighed. "Seeing him so
close... it was great. He held my hand. It's good to be Sailor V...." She sighed heavily.
"Oh, Ryo-kun, what should I do...?"

In her mind, a vision of a scale with Minako at one end and Sailor V at the other formed.
'I'd be an ordinary, cute girl,' Minako said. 'I could simply follow Ace. I'd have a life.'

'I'm an idol soldier,' Sailor V said. 'I might be able to get close to Ace. But V-chan's
washed-up....'

The scale began to tip toward the Minako side.

"I've decided!" Sailor V declared. "I'll leave the job of idol soldier to Ace. Mina will
return to an ordinary girl!"

"Mina!?" Artemis exclaimed.

"Never mind, Artemis! Ace can have this job!"

"Minako-chan?" Ryoku said questioningly.

"Oh, Ryo-kun," Sailor V said as she hugged her friend. "I know the main reason you wanted
to become Masked Knight was because you wanted to help me. But now that I'm not going to be
Sailor V anymore, you won't have to risk your life as Masked Knight anymore! We can both
live as normal teenagers again!"

"Mina!" Artemis shouted again.

Ryoku frowned dubiously. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked quietly.

She nodded quickly. "Well, since I've decided, I'll hurry and undo my transformation. I
have to get back to Ace!"

As Sailor V headed towards a vending machine, Natsuna walked up to where Ryoku was
standing. "Ryoku-san, have you seen where Minako-chan went?" she asked.

"Where is Sailor V!?" Powder Fande exclaimed as the other Fandes joined her.

"I'm going to the bathroom...," Ace said as he glanced around, looking for a restroom.

All three gasped as they spotted Sailor V ducking behind the vending machine... and Aino
Minako stepping out from the other end.

"Minako-chan!?" Natsuna gasped incredulously. "It can't be.... Minako-chan is... Sailor
V?!? No way! I can't believe I saw that!"

"Chikuso...," Ryoku growled to himself. "Now she's done it."

Natsuna then turned her gaze toward Ryoku with a look of realization. "You...," she
whispered. "If Minako-chan is Sailor V, then Ryoku-san must be...."

"Hai," Ryoku nodded reluctantly with a sigh. "Masked Knight."

"...," was all Ace could say.

"Wait!" all four Fandes shouted. "Sailor V! You won't escape!"

"Shimatta!" Minako muttered irritably. Her secret identity was no longer a secret and
seeing how Natsuna was staring at Ryoku, his identity must've been blown, too.

"Mina! Ryo-kun!" Artemis shouted as he ran towards them.

"Mina! Ryoku!" Boss' voice yelled from Minako's pen.

"I know, Artemis, Boss!" Minako said as she glanced towards Ryoku. He looked back at her
with determination in his steady grey eyes. "We have no choice. Moon Power Transform!"

Ryoku's Star Sword appeared as he brought out his own transformation item. "Star Sword
Power Transform!"

"You're making sport of girls' desires to be pretty and fan mentality, which they've held
for 4 million years since the dawn of man. I can't ignore this!" Sailor V stated.

"You're deluding young girls into believing that they aren't pretty enough, when all
that truly matters is how they themselves feel. I won't condone this!" Masked Knight
announced.

"Codename: Sailor V! The soldier of justice, the ally of girls. I am the sailor-suited
beautiful soldier, Sailor Venus!"

"Codename: Masked Knight! The soldier of justice, the friend of girls. I am the
sailor-suited handsome soldier, Sailor Knight!"

"Mina! You're doing it!" Artemis said encouragingly.

"Sailor V! Masked Knight!" Natsuna cheered. "Minako-chan! Ryoku-san!"

"How sweet, Sailor V and Masked Knight!" the Fandes sneered. "To be heroines, girls will do
anything. We're doing our job!"

"To become pretty, we'll wipe out Sailor V and Masked Knight!" the crowd of girls droned.
"Wipe out Sailor V and Masked Knight!"

"There's no way you can overcome our Heroine Maker system!" the Fandes declared. "Girls
have limits!"

"But I am an incarnation of the goddess of beauty!" Sailor V retorted.

"And she doesn't need to be any prettier than she is now!" Masked Knight shouted.

"The coup de grâce!" Sailor V yelled. "Crescent Beam!"

"Earth Thrust!"

Masked Knight's attack quickly sailed past Water Fande, but Sailor V's attack never
materialized.

"Huh? My compact didn't work?!? No way!" she gasped as she opened the compact. "What? The
mirror is becoming black!"

"Oh no! Is the battery cut?" Artemis asked.

"That thing uses batteries?!?" Masked Knight asked questioningly.

"Wait!" Sailor V exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "I haven't been charging it at
all! I'm in a pinch! It's too late!"

Masked Knight facefaulted. "Nan... nan da?!?" His eyes narrowed as he turned towards the
four Fandes. "Then, I'll have to take them on." He held his Star Sword out in front of him
and prepared to rush their attackers.

"Are you sure about this?" Sailor V asked worriedly.

"No other choice," he replied over his shoulder. "Iku zo!"

Masked Knight dashed forward, his Star Sword raised to deliver the first attack as the four
Fande stood waiting. Before he could reach them, a voice suddenly shouted, "Delicious
Four-Card Shot!" Four aces flew through the air, cutting through the bodies of the four
Fande and embedded themselves into the floor behind them.

Instantly, the crowd of girls snapped out of their trance. "Huh? We...!? What on earth...?"

Masked Knight picked up one of the cards and tossed it to Sailor V. "They're all the same,"
he said in a flat voice.

"This is... the ace of hearts!?" Sailor V exclaimed. "This card...." Out of the corner of
her eye, she caught a glimpse of movement. "Who's that? It can't be.... It can't be...."

"It is," Masked Knight muttered grumpily.

"Ace...?!?" she called out. "Kaitou Ace!?"

As soon as she called out to him, he turned and bolted off.

"Ace!!" she cried out, hoping that he would at least let her thank him.

'Good ridance!' Masked Knight thought as he nodded in satisfaction.

"Kaitou Ace...," Sailor V wondered aloud. "Who on earth.... Who is he!?" She turned to her
partner with a confused expression on her face. "Who is he, Knight?"

"That is a question I also wish I had an answer to, Venus," he replied thoughtfully as he
glanced toward the direction Ace had run off in.

"Sailor V! Masked Knight!" Natsuna cheered happily. "Minako-chan! Ryoku-san!"

**********************************************

At the office of the Dark Agency, Danburite sat with his hands folded thoughtfully.

"Sailor V. Masked Knight. You've shown all you can do. At last, it's my turn."

A small smile curved his lips for a brief second, then vanished into the darkness.

**********************************************

Back at her house, Minako happily pointed towards the TV as she was being shown with Ace.
"Artemis! Look! Look! V-chan is on TV with Ace!" she giggled excitedly. "I'm so happy! I
can't quit being an idol soldier now."

Artemis merely looked at Minako and sweatdropped. "...."

She sighed to herself as a thought popped into her head. "Too bad Knight-kun couldn't make
it into the scene, though...."

"I'm sure that he didn't mind at all," Artemis replied blandly.

**********************************************

D isclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs
to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs me, so I would appreciate it very much if you would ask for permission before
posting it anywhere else. Thank you.

The Question and all stories included are:
Copyright © July 6, 2001 Jason C. Ulloa.
Manga translation by Alex Glover © 1996
All Rights Reserved.