Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Alone No More - Minako's Story ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

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


Chapter 14

"Aw, come on, Ryo-kun...," Minako whined. "Can't we keep looking around some more? I saw a
beautiful designer dress that would've looked gorgeous on me...."

"I'm sure you would've looked stunning, Minako-chan," Ryoku said patiently as he dragged
her out of yet another fashion boutique. "But, honestly, Minako-chan, do you think you can
afford a £500 dress?"

"£500?!?" she exclaimed in surprise. "No way! It'd take me a year to save up enough for
that!"

"Besides," he added pointing toward Big Ben, which showed 6:12pm, "we're supposed to be
meeting someone in a half-hour. Remember?"

"All right, all right," she huffed irritably. "I know." She sighed as she gave the boutique
shop one last longing look over her shoulder, then turned and walked away, leaving Ryoku to
follow behind her.

"Gomen, Minako-chan," he said penitently after a little while. "I didn't mean to be a wet
blanket."

"That's all right, Ryo-kun," she replied, smiling at him over her shoulder. "If you hadn't
dragged me out of that store, I'd probably have stayed there till it closed. Those dresses
were so beautiful...."

"And expensive," he added flatly.

"You're ruining the mood, Ryo-kun!" she exclaimed crossly. "You worry too much about
details like prices. Can't you just appreciate the fine beauty of the dresses without
worrying so much?"

Ryoku merely shrugged. "I'm a guy," he replied simply. "I guess it's just in my nature to
worry about things like price when it comes to dresses."

Minako sighed as she shook her head. "And here I was hoping that you'd be different and not
like most other guys...."

"Minako-chan," he said quietly, "do you know how long we were in that store?"

"Anou...," she began as she blinked and glanced skyward in thought. "Twenty minutes?"

"Almost an hour," he replied flatly. "Now, you tell me how many guys would actually remain
inside a store like that, without complaining?"

"Hey! You did complain once!" she retorted.

"That was when you brought me over to the lingerie department," he said dryly. "And I only
protested once. After that, I had to endure both people staring or winking knowingly. I
suppose they thought that I was your boyfriend and... well, I think you get the point."

Minako's blushes told him that she did. "Ehehehehe.... I guess I did kinda forget about
that," she admitted. "It's just... they would've looked fabulous on me!"

Ryoku sweatdropped at he glanced at Minako. "I think you were getting a little too carried
away back there. I mean, we're still just in junior high, right? Don't you think that stuff
was a little too... adult... for you to wear?"

"Well, yeah...," she admitted. "But still, I thought that they were pretty...." She
stopped, then turned and smiled sweetly at him as she put her hands on his chest and leaned
forward against him. "What you think, Ryo-kun?" she asked in a low, smoky tone. "How do you
think I'd look in clothing like that? Should I try and model one for you?"

This time, Ryoku facefaulted. "Nani...?" he gasped nervously.

"Oh, come on, Ryo-kun," Minako said, giggling as she winked playfully at him. "I was only
joking. I think you were the one taking all of this way too seriously. I just wanted to
take a look while I was there. My mother wouldn't allow me to look around at stuff like
that whenever we went to stores like that, so I figured that this would've been the perfect
opportunity."

"Oh...," he said, trying to hide the obvious relief in his voice and failing miserably.
This only made her laugh harder, which slowly began to infect him. Soon, they were both
laughing over the whole thing.

"Oi, Ryo-kun," she said as soon as she got herself under control. "We're almost there. I
think we'd better change. After all, Katrina doesn't know who we are yet."

"Right," he replied with a nod as he reached behind his back and pulled out his Star Sword.
"There," he said, nodding toward an isolated alley. They both hurried toward the alley
while making sure that no one was either watching or following. "We're safe," he reported
when they had made it inside.

"All right, then," she said as she held out her transformation pen and Ryoku held up his
Star Sword. "Let's change."

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

K atrina wandered around the agreed upon area, watching and waiting for Sailor V and Masked
Knight. She glanced up at the huge face of Big Ben, looking at the time. 6:43pm. It was
almost the agreed upon time. 'I hope they come,' she thought to herself. 'I've been trying
to fine the answer behind these attacks for weeks. I could use any help I can get, even if
it comes from a pair of school kids in strange fukus wearing masks over their eyes.'

"Katrina-san?" she heard a young male's voice call out to her.

"Yes?" she answered as she turned around. Sailor V and Masked Knight were both standing
behind her. 'Amazing...,' she thought to herself. 'I never heard them arrive....'

"It's us again," Sailor V said with a grin.

"So I see," Katrina said, smiling as well. "I'm glad you two came. Now, would you two
please explain to me about the attacks that have been occuring here for the past few
weeks?" she asked, her expression turning serious. "You both said that you knew who were
behind the attacks and that you have dealt with them before, right?"

"We have," Masked Knight replied just as seriously.

"And we do know who is behind these attacks," Sailor V added.

"Can you please tell me?" Katrina implored.

"This is a long story," Masked Knight told her, "but we will try to make it as short as
possible. Sailor V?"

"All right, I'll start," she said with a nod. "Our enemies are known as the Dark Agency.
Their goal is to gather as much human life energy as possible in order to take over the
Earth."

"Dark Agency?" Katrina repeated incredulously. "Take over the Earth?"

"Right," Masked Knight confirmed. "The Dark Agency, however, is only a branch of a much
larger force, known only to us as the Dark Kingdom. As far as we know, the Dark Kingdom
isn't fully operational yet, so they need the Dark Agency to supply them with human life
energy."

"Dark Kingdom???" Katrina said in disbelief.

"I think we're going a little ahead of ourselves," Masked Knight said with a thoughtful
frown. "Maybe we should go into a little bit of our own history?"

"Okay," Sailor V said with a nod. "I was the first to be awakened to my powers as a soldier
of justice. Codename: Sailor V. The soldier of justice and the sailor-suited beautiful
soldier, Sailor Venus. My powers come from the protection of the planet Venus."

"As for myself," Masked Knight added, "I accidently learned of Venus' secret, but instead
of just keeping it to myself, I decided to fight alongside her as her partner. Only later
did I learn that I, too, had the power of a soldier of justice. Codename: Masked Knight.
The soldier of justice and the sailor-suited handsome soldier, Sailor Knight. My powers
come from the protection of the Earth itself."

"We would fight one enemy of the Dark Agency after another," Sailor V continued. "The fight
never seemed to end, and there were a few times when all I wanted to be was an ordinary
girl...." She glanced at Masked Knight's pointed look and sighed in chagrin. "Okay, LOTS of
times!" she shot at her smirking partner. "Happy?"

Katrina couldn't help but laugh. "You two must be very close," she noted. "I can tell by
the way you act around each other."

"We have each saved the other's life so many times that we can no longer count, nor do we
care to," Masked Knight told her.

"At any rate," Sailor V continued, "a few weeks ago, we had taken care of who we thought
was the last of the Dark Agency and set out to find our allies who would aid us in our
fight against the Dark Kingdom. But we soon learned that the Dark Agency still lived and
had made their way here."

"Now, we must finish off the Dark Agency," Masked Knight concluded. "Only then can we go
back home to Japan."

"I see...," Katrina said somberly. "So, the victims of all those attacks...?"

"They're life energy had been drained," he confirmed with a nod.

"And that monster you two had taken out earlier...?"

"The Dark Agency," Sailor V confirmed.

"Let me help you both," Katrina offered. "I've been trying to find out who's been behind
all these attacks for the longest time. Now that I know, I don't want to sit idly by as you
both do all the work."

"It's too dangerous, Katrina-san," Masked Knight told her. "You might get yourself
killed...."

"Knight," Sailor V said softly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I still remember when I told you the exact same thing," she told him. "Remember what you
said to me?"

"You mean, 'somehow, I feel as though I have to do this'?" he asked, then sighed. "I guess
if that's the way she feels about it...."

"I risk my life everyday," Katrina told them. "It's part of my job. I know what I'm getting
myself into. Trust me."

Masked Knight stared at her in surprise for a few moments. "Trust you...," he murmured to
himself. "You know, I said that to her as well, when I first became her partner...." He
nodded slowly as if coming to a decision, glanced around, then changed back to his normal
form.

"Somehow...," he said with some slight uncertainty. "Somehow, I do trust you, Katrina."

Katrina stared at Ryoku in shock. She never expected for him to just reveal his identity to
her, especially when she hardly knew him and he hardly knew her. But, he did say that he
trusted her.... She got her second shock when Sailor V changed back into her ordinary form
as well.

"If he trusts you that much," Minako said after changing back, "then I can trust you as
well. Especially since we're going to be working together."

"Right," Katrina said with a smile. "And, thank you both for trusting me enough to do this.
Oh...," she gasped in realization. "I don't even know your names...."

"Atashi wa Aino Minako," Minako said with a huge smile.

"Boku wa Kino Ryoku," Ryoku said with a small grin.

"So, Minako-san and Ryoku-san...," Katrina began with a nod.

"Minako-chan."

"Ryo-kun."

"All right, then," Katrina ammended with a smile. "Minako-chan and Ryo-kun."

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

"What do you think of Katrina, Ryo-kun?" Minako asked as she and Ryoku started for home.
They had been talking with Katrina for over an hour, basically just getting to know the
Interpol officer. "She's nice, ne?"

"Very," Ryoku replied with a nod as he glanced up at a nearby street sign and compared the
name with the map in his hands. "Still, even though I understand what she's feeling, I
can't help but feel a little uneasy about letting her take the same risks we do. I know we
already agreed, Minako-chan," he said quickly, forstalling a possible arguement from
Minako, who had just started to open her mouth, "but it's different with her."

"Oh?" Minako asked flatly. "How is it different, Ryo-kun? When you first started to fight
at my side, you had no powers. You didn't even have your sword."

"Katrina doesn't have the powers we do," he said calmly.

"You had no powers, either, when you started," she countered quickly.

"You think that Katrina might be a soldier of justice like us?" he asked facetously.

"It's possible," she told him. "You became a soldier of justice, didn't you? Who knows,
Katrina might be one, too."

Ryoku merely shrugged. "It's possible, unlikely as it is," he conceded. "Well, when she
does become a soldier of justice like us, that is when I'll stop feeling uneasy."

Minako frowned slightly at him as she turned her gaze down the road. "I have faith in
Katrina," she said certainly.

"I never said that I didn't have any faith in her," he told her patiently. "I believe in
her just as much as you do. But that doesn't mean that I can't feel uneasy as well. Did you
ever feel uneasy having me fight alongside you before I became Masked Knight?"

Minako looked at him in surprise. She wasn't expecting that question to come up. "Anou...
now that you mention it...," she began with some slight chagrin, "I think I see what you're
talking about. Still, I have no worries about Katrina fighting with us."

"I know that she's an Interpol officer with plently of experience," he said with a sigh as
he folded up the map and put it away. "She also carries a gun, which I'm sure she has had
plenty of training on and experience in using, but I'm not sure if guns and law enforcement
training will be enough against the Dark Agency." He turned to look at his partner, his
eyes showing the uncertainty he was feeling. "Minako-chan, tell me that I'm worrying too
much about all this."

Minako looked back at him, then turned away and shook her head. "Now, I'm not as sure,
Ryo-kun," she told him. "You've made some good points. But still, we said that she could
help us."

"I know, Minako-chan," he said, nodding slowly. "She knows about the risk she's taking. I
certainly hope that she isn't getting in over her head...."

"Me, too, Ryo-kun...," she sighed as they reached the house. The lights were on and they
could see Alan waving at them from his upstairs window. "Me, too...."

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

" So... they have found us all the way here...," Quartzite murmured thoughtfully as he gazed
out into the night sky. The building where he had set up the Dark Agency's base of
operations was an old abandoned warehouse near the river. He never bothered to learn the
river's name since he wasn't going to stay here that long.

The Dark Kingdom was already in operation thanks to his efforts in London, and at the rate
the Dark Kingdom was building its power, when he was done Queen Beryl would surely promote
him to the rank of General. But, now that Sailor V and Masked Knight were here....

"I think I should step up my operations a bit," he said quietly to himself as he continued
to stare up into the starry sky. "If they're going to keep trying to stop me, then I'd like
to have more than enough energy to deliver to Queen Beryl, in case I have to make a hasty
retreat." He quietly scowled as he turned to go back into the warehouse.

"Then again," he said with a sudden grin as he was about to step through the door, "if I
managed to do what even Danburite failed to do - to kill Sailor V and Masked Knight - then
Queen Beryl would surely promote me on the spot! I would definitely become a General!"

He silently weighed his options. On the one hand, he would retreat when he thought that it
was prudent, keeping his life intact, but he would lose face with Queen Beryl even if he
gave her a tremendous amount of energy on his return. On the other hand, he would risk his
life to destroy Sailor V and Masked Knight, securing his rise to the venerable rank of
General.

General Quartzite... that would show Zoisite and Kunzite. He never really liked those two
very much. Nephrite and Jadeite were more friendly to him, especially since they remembered
the rank he used to hold, first among the Dark Kingdom, just below the four generals. The
only reason he was bumped down to working in the Dark Agency under Danburite was because of
a botched attempt to attain an artifact that he thought would assure his rise to the rank
of General.

He shook his head as he turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand. To stand, or to
retreat...? To return in defeat with his life intact, or to risk it all to obtain the
sweetest prize...?

Who was he kidding? He would do anything if he was sure that it would make him a General.

With his mind firmly set on his new strategy, he went back inside the warehouse. He had a
lot of planning to do. Sailor V and Masked Knight would die. He would make certain of that.

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

Ryok u sighed to himself as he gazed up at the stars from the top of Alan's roof. It had
been a few days since the first meeting with Katrina and he had a lot on his mind that he
didn't want to burden Minako with.

He had just checked in with Artemis as Minako lay asleep in their room just underneath him.
He had never told her that he had also configured the communicators to be able to contact
Artemis back in Tokyo... well, his at least. He and Artemis had come to an agreement that
it would've been better if he was the only one to know of the progress that was going on
back home. Minako had enough on her hands with the Dark Agency without having to worry
about her unknown ally back home... or, rather, her two allies, since Artemis had just
reported that Luna had just found Sailor Mercury.

Ryoku smiled to himself at being able to finally know about their new allies back home,
even though Artemis never mentioned any names other than Luna, who apparently was a cat
just like him, only black and female. All he knew about his allies were the names they went
by after transformation, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. Sailor Senshi, just like they
were. 'Sailor Senshi...,' he mused to himself. 'I think I like that better than "soldier of
justice". It has a nice ring to it.'

He sighed to himself, upset at having to keep secrets from his partner when he wanted to
tell her everything. She would be so excited... which was probably why Artemis didn't want
her to know. Artemis knew that she tended to get distracted very easily, which was
something that he had been trying to help her get over... with very little results.

Artemis seemed to be very surprised over the news that he had given him. Like him, Artemis
doubted very highly that Katrina could possibly be a Sailor Senshi, especially since the
Sailor Senshi were supposed to be found in Tokyo, not London. Artemis also said that he
didn't think that it would be a bad idea if the Interpol officer did help, since she
obviously knew London better than they did and could aid them in finding the remains of the
Dark Agency.

"Thinking about something, Ryo-kun?" Minako asked as she climbed up onto the roof and sat
down next to him. "You look like you're deep in thought."

"I was just thinking about home," he told her. "You know, about how Artemis must be doing
without us."

"Oh, I'm sure that he's doing fine," Minako said dismissively. "You know him; he's probably
getting into trouble somewhere or just sleeping in the sunlight in my room."

Just as he was about to speak, a breeze began to pick up, sending a wave of chilled air
over the rooftops. Since Minako was wearing her light pajamas and Ryoku was only wearing a
pair of sweat pants, they both began to shiver slightly at the drop in temperature.

"Ryo-kun, why'd you come up here without wearing a shirt?" she asked as she scooted closer
to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You must be cold, being shirtless like that."

Ryoku could feel Minako shivering as well as she held him. He knew that she was giving him
some of her warmth, so he wrapped his arms around her, giving her back some of his warmth
in return. He could feel her shivering slowly subside as he held her.

"Feeling better, Minako-chan?" he asked as he smiled down at her.

She silently nodded as her eyes held his. "I don't even feel cold anymore...," she murmured
quietly as she leaned into him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Mmm... this feels
so good, Ryo-kun...," she yawned as she slowly began to fall asleep in his arms.

"I think we'd better go back inside, Minako-chan," he said to the tired blonde he held
gently in his arms. "It's starting to get a little colder out here and I don't think you
want to spend the night outside...." He stopped as he noticed that she had fallen asleep.
"Minako-chan...," he sighed fondly.

Without jostling the sleeping beauty, he slowly stood up and shifted Minako so that she was
riding piggyback. Slowly and carefully, he made his way down from the roof and back into
their room and placed her back in her bed without waking her once. He gently tucked her
into her bed and kissed her lightly on her forehead before going to bed himself.

"Oyasumi nasai, Minako-chan," he whispered as he settled himself into his blankets and
slowly fell asleep.

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

Di sclaimer: 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.
All Rights Reserved.