Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Past Lives ❯ Anything But Ordinary ( Chapter 4 )

Past Lives - By Kirika

 

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The fourth chapter. This time a bit of a Minako chapter.

 

- Kirika

 

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Chapter 4 - Anything But Ordinary

 

 

The chimes sounded; their melody as pleasant as what they signalled--that the prison also known as school was over for another day. It was as though everyone sighed in relief at once--right before the scramble to flee these hellish surroundings suddenly began with gusto. Minako was right there with her classmates, quickly shoving her books and stationery into her bag. Behind her she heard Usagi groan loudly--she had cleanup duty and thus was forsaken by all except those similarly cursed. Minako felt for her fellow blonde, but it was everyone for themselves. Anyway, Ami would be with the Princess--the Senshi of Water had been handpicked to suffer here longer as well. Knowing Ami though, she probably thought nothing of it.

 

Minako jammed a Maths textbook violently into her schoolbag, bending it so it would finally fit, and then joined the crush in the hallway outside the classroom, being swept along with it. Not everybody was heading home; some had club activities. `Some' just weren't smart. The `Going Home' club was the best club of all; who on earth wanted to stay *longer* at school? Nerds and idiots, the Senshi of Beauty supposed. Well she was neither nerd nor idiot. Besides, she had somewhere to be.

 

The crowd dispersed somewhat when Minako reached the ground floor, though if it had remained thick she still would have spotted Makoto waiting at the foot of the stairs. The brunette's height wasn't unique in Juuban High School unlike it had been in Junior High, but she still stood head and shoulders above most of the girls, and a lot of the boys, too. Plus she always waited in the same place every day once class had been let out, that hopeful expression plastered on her face. It didn't brighten for Minako--only Ami's appearance could do that. Makoto waited not for her friend, but for her girlfriend. Minako showing up solo was probably a disappointment.

 

The Senshi of Love brushed past a befuddled Makoto and waved an arm over her head as she walked on. “She has cleanup today~!” the cavalier blonde called and farewelled at the same time.

 

Makoto would rush to the classroom of course, barrel up those stairs, thinking nothing of spending more time in school--where Ami went Makoto followed. And why not. It was only natural. If Rei were here, she would be quick to go where Usagi was too, and not a second thought given. That was love, that craving to be near your special person.

 

Minako was happy for her friends; however the smile she wore was bittersweet. She wasn't a part of their happiness. She could have lingered as well, lending a hand at dusting and sweeping, the consummate friend--but just a friend. It was crowded up there in the classroom; no place for just a friend. Rei wasn't here, yet she still had a presence even if Usagi was by herself. You thought of one and you thought of the other. It was the same with Makoto and Ami. The couples were linked, as one, like two planets in orbit around each other, and in a universe all of their own. No one could breach that bond; it could only be understood by people similarly tied. Their hearts sang, but Minako didn't know the tune and would only foul it if she tried to join in. She was doing her friends a service giving them their space. She was happy for them, even though she couldn't be happy with them.

 

Minako opened her shoe locker and swapped her indoor footwear for her outdoor pair. She couldn't help looking over along the row of lockers to the far wall, to the memorial that her classmates walked past without so much as a glance. Maybe it was too deep for them; something a bit too weighty for a mere high schooler. Or perhaps life simply moves on. It had been months ago now when youma had stalked the halls of Juuban High School, killing indiscriminately, hoping that a Sailor Senshi became one of the victims. Or at least that was Minako's theory; she and her friends hadn't found out the `why' behind the slaughter. They'd never know, most likely. They'd never know why so many innocent people had had to die. Or maybe, that it might be because of them and what they were, *who* they were, they didn't want to find out for sure to save themselves the guilt. But Minako probably wasn't the only one who felt it anyway, someplace deep inside. Someplace, where she didn't have to acknowledge it.

 

There used to be photos and tributes on that wall; cards with heartfelt messages to the victims, flowers changed regularly dedicated to their memory, and students who stopped to say short prayers for the dead and gone. Now just the plaque inscribed with the names of the deceased persisted. People force themselves to forget, life moves on--it was inevitable; the world keeps turning, and life was for the living. Minako couldn't forget so easily, however. She had been there. In the chaos no one had noticed Minako Aino's disappearance or where Sailor Venus had materialised from, but if her identity had become public it wouldn't have mattered. It was the lives that had mattered. It was what Sailor Venus did. She had fought, she had done what she could; she had made a difference. But people had still died. Too many people. To those she had defended it was perhaps a victory, however Minako would remember that day as a failure, and a reminder that even heroes could falter.

 

Minako often wondered what the official explanation was for the carnage; what story had been fed to the sobbing families of the victims, or how any of the survivors had rationalised the otherworldly horrors they had seen. The media hadn't picked up the event, and no one had precisely mentioned what had taken place beyond the deaths. Plenty of mourning, yet no answers. It was probably for the better; however it left the blonde a little disconcerted. Ami had remorselessly shot down any conspiracy theories Minako, with Usagi's help, had dreamt up, but....

 

Minako abruptly shut her small locker and headed for the school's front doors. The past could be speculated on another time--it certainly wasn't going anywhere.

 

As Minako walked out of the school gates she heard her name being called in a sweet, soft, but earnest voice. For this friend the Senshi of Beauty did stop, and she looked back over her shoulder to the anticipated sight of Hotaru chasing her down. The blonde waited patiently until the frail girl had caught up to her, and smirked indulgently while the Outer Senshi panted cutely for a few seconds to get her breath back. Hotaru Tomoe was a Sailor Senshi, and the youngest of the present day's Senshi. Yet her age, shy temperament, and skinny body belied her strength--she was also the mightiest of Senshi, capable of delivering an apocalypse to a planet with her powers as the Senshi of Death and Rebirth, Sailor Saturn. Rarely was the Senshi of Silence summoned into battle unless she was truly needed--for one out of sympathy for her youth and introverted nature, and for the other to keep a destructive force in check. There was darkness in Hotaru, and a battle had to be bleak before Minako or Haruka would risk awakening it.

 

But on any other day Hotaru was a kind and endearing girl, if too timid for her own good.

 

Minako hadn't been expecting Hotaru, but she could imagine what had brought the Senshi of Rebirth to her--Chibi-Usa. It was the same story every time--something related to the pint-sized Princess had Hotaru an adorable bundle of anxiety once again. And it was Minako, Goddess of Love, whose job it was to forever offer soothing reassurances and wise counsel. Even Hotaru, young as she was, had her own private universe with someone, albeit a rather innocent universe of warm feelings, cute looks, and plenty of blushes--at least from the dark-haired girl. By the sound of it, her pink-haired partner was still clueless of what was in her best friend's heart... and in her own. It caused a lot of fretting on Hotaru's part; made of frequent irrational worries and concerns that she'd somehow ruin things with Chibi-Usa; to the point that Minako questioned whether she should have let the pair sort their feelings out for themselves naturally, instead of baring to Hotaru--in a roundabout way, mind--all she knew of the future Princess's heart.

 

But it had been during special circumstances. Minako had believed death had been imminent for them both as they'd fought alone together, facing an overwhelming horde. Instead Death had been on Minako's side, and Love had been on Hotaru's. Ever since then the Senshi of Love and the Senshi of Rebirth had been somewhat close, or at least much closer than they'd been before. Matters of life and death had a way of bringing people together.

 

Now because Minako had been the one to tell her about Chibi-Usa and the future of hugs and kisses and more together that possibly awaited them, the blonde was *the* authority on the Princess and love in general in Hotaru's ingenuous violet eyes. It wasn't entirely inaccurate though, and Minako didn't mind the younger girl's attention. It was nice to be looked up to. That Hotaru came to her for advice over Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna--Outer Senshi themselves and more or less the young girl's parents--was quite flattering. Then again, Minako wasn't the Goddess of Love for nothing!

 

“Min... Minako...” Hotaru breathed heavily, her voice coming out in spurts and sighs. She must've bolted out of class as soon as school had been over and ran all the way here. Whatever was bothering her must be serious this time, or it was to Hotaru. Juuban Junior High wasn't exactly next door to its high school sister.

 

“I need to get a taxi,” Minako said, smiling still, and gesturing with her head in the direction of the main road a few blocks in the distance.

 

Hotaru nodded, her dark locks bobbing just above her shoulders. She adopted a demure posture, her schoolbag held neatly in front of her, that anyone watching wouldn't have considered she'd been in a mad dash moments before.

 

Hotaru walked alongside the Senshi of Beauty silently for a little while, her head down. Love could be your whole world, and when it wasn't turning as planned, that world was rocked to its foundations and suddenly you realised how fragile it was--how swiftly and easily everything could fall apart, with you right there in the middle. It could be frightening. The loss of love was akin to death to many... but you could live without it. You could go on. Hotaru was still young and naive. Only experience would cure her of her fear... but Minako hoped she'd never have to learn.

 

Minako glanced sidelong at her friend, the girl's uniform taking her back to a time when some of her other friends had worn the same uniform. It hadn't been any easier in those days. The lessons of love had been learnt even then. She'd loved, she'd lost, and deep down she wondered if she'd ever been young and naive like Hotaru. Maybe before awakening; before the memories; before the battles--before the duty. That aspect of her still existed in every bubbly grin and upbeat comment; but was it really her? Or was it something she clung to from days of old; simpler days; days long gone. When she smiled, was it inspired by a cheerful spirit, or goaded by the remnant of one to mask what it had become?

 

“Chibi-Usa.... Sh-She talks a lot...” Hotaru began all of sudden, “...about Rei. Before, she didn't like her much, but now it's... different.”

 

“That's not unusual,” Minako said, pushing her reverie aside. “Rei is her mother. Uh, father. *Parent*.” Perhaps Setsuna might have been the better choice for Hotaru to talk to for this. Timeline stuff caused the blonde's head to ache.

 

“Mm...” the Outer Senshi hummed uncertainly. “It's so strange. But I'm worried. Rei and I... we.... When Chibi-Usa hated her, I didn't like her either. And now....” She turned to Minako, her expression distraught, and her formal demeanour shattered. “What if Rei secretly hates me still? Chibi-Usa's *mama*! I attacked her; we fought each other! I even hurt Usagi! What should I do, Minako?!”

 

Oh boy. “Rei doesn't hate you,” Minako said in her best consoling voice. “She never did, really. She's not like that. Usually. I mean, not with her friends!” She turned away and cringed. “Rei doesn't hold a grudge against you,” she tried again, her grimace wiped in favour of a supportive smile. “She apologised, didn't she? Everything's forgiven. If anything, she's probably worried *you* hate *her*.”

 

“R-Really?” Hotaru said hopefully, blinking wide eyes at the Senshi of Love. “But.... But what if she *hasn't* forgiven me, what if she's just pretending, and she doesn't like me seeing Chibi-Usa?!”

 

“Come on, that, ah, `spat' between you was months ago,” Minako blew off, and prayed she sounded convincing doing so. “Trust me. She's never even mentioned you.” She winced again when she saw Hotaru's alarm. “Not that that's a *bad* thing! She certainly doesn't *hate* you.”

 

Hotaru frowned and seemed to digest what Minako had said. “I don't know what to say when Chibi-Usa speaks about Rei,” she said softly a few moments later, her head lowered again.

 

“That's alright,” the blonde reassured the younger Senshi. “A lot of times girls just want someone to listen to them.” She winked at the other girl. “Like now.”

 

“Ohh...” Hotaru murmured, nodding intently as though Minako were revealing the secrets of the cosmos. “I... I normally like to listen.”

 

“That's great!” Minako grinned. “Chibi-Usa likes to talk, and you like to listen. A perfect match!” That seemed to please Hotaru immensely, and she beamed brightly at the blonde, leaving the Inner Senshi feeling rather pleased as well.

 

By then the pair had reached the end of the sidewalk and found the main road, where Minako flagged down a passing taxi with some frantic waving and a bit of hopping. “I've got an appointment with my new manager,” the Senshi of Beauty explained to Hotaru as the cab halted at the curb, the rear passenger door popping open. As nervous as ever, Mr. Kats had phoned her in the morning to awkwardly arrange the meeting as she was walking to school, though the blonde didn't recall providing him with her mobile number. That was no doubt Setsuna's intervention. If the Guardian of Time happened to be hanging around at the entrance of Starlight Talent's office as well, it wouldn't come as an unexpected sight.

 

“Oh no! What about Setsuna-mama?” Hotaru exclaimed as she recoiled with her schoolbag lifted up to her chest.

 

Minako looked over her shoulder at the horrified girl, her face screwing up in bewilderment. “Uhh... what about her?”

 

“Isn't *she* your manager?”

 

“No, she's... um.... You know, if you hurry back, you might bump into Haruka and Michiru,” Minako said with some clumsiness, but it was better than clarifying her relationship with Setsuna when she wasn't really sure what they had herself.

 

Hotaru shook her head. “Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama aren't in school today.” That was right--Minako couldn't remember seeing the Outer Senshi couple in the halls of Juuban High all day. They too knew the joys of escaping class thanks to a celebrity status, and much more often than Minako did. The women probably milked it whenever they could. Lucky. “But I should go and meet Chibi-Usa and Shingo; they're probably waiting for me. Good luck with your appointment, but don't forget about Setsuna-mama. And thank you.” The Senshi of Rebirth bowed, prim and polite again.

 

Minako bowed slightly in return, a lot less formally, and then winked impishly. “Anytime.” For a handful of seconds she watched Hotaru walk briskly back the way they had come; back towards Juuban Elementary School; likely with images of Chibi-Usa filling her head. One side of the Senshi of Love's mouth curved into a poignant smile. Minako was grateful for the love around her, despite that she couldn't share in it.

 

The blonde got into the taxi, the door shutting automatically once she was inside, and she handed the driver Mr. Kats' business card, instructing him to go to the address printed on it. She had expected to be taken to some busy business district lined with skyscrapers; however the trip ended on a normal and sleepy street with a few convenience stores, realtors, and apartment blocks. A rather amateurish placard above a lone doorway marked the dubious entrance to Starlight Talent. Well, Mr. Kats had hinted at being smalltime.

 

Minako left the cab, and after a steeling breath and a brief mental reassurance that she hadn't made a massive mistake, she ventured through the doorway into the rundown corridor past it. The floor was concrete, and the bare plaster walls lacked any distinction except for being as unremarkable as the floor. Skirting trash and hoping there weren't any creepy-crawlies lurking in the filth to ambush her; Minako followed where the corridor led until she saw another doorway, this one with an actual door. It had a frosted glass window with `Starlight Talent' printed on it in flaking black block script. It was more than enough of an invitation to get out of the junk-filled hallway and get the meeting over with.

 

The Senshi of Beauty knocked on the door as she opened it, glad that it was unlocked. She stuck her head uncertainly around it. “Um, hello?”

 

“Ms. Aino! You're here!”

 

Behind the door there was life, and the garbage was stacked more orderly. There were desks; there were file cabinets; there were electric fans humming and an ancient television crackling as it struggled to deliver a stable picture. The floor was concrete still, but the walls had bulletin boards and posters sprucing up the grey plaster; posters of popular idols and movies and television shows--probably the wishful thinking of Mr. Kats. It was an office alright, cramped and untidy, but an office. This was the place. If Minako was in the *right* place, however.... Didn't offices usually have phones ringing all the time?

 

The blonde didn't see Setsuna anywhere as Mr. Kats--in a suit, and by the looks of it the same one Minako had seen him in before if her memory was correct--and three other people not so well-dressed hurried over to her, the latter needled into action by sharp mutterings and waves from the balding man. There was a young guy in a t-shirt and jeans, a middle-aged woman who could have passed as a school lunch lady, and a girl who seemed not much older than Minako--the talent agency's staff, the Inner Senshi presumed.

 

“Y-You look lovely, Ms. Aino!” Mr. Kats fawned as he stood before Minako, his stern manner for his employees abruptly transformed.

 

“Thanks. But it's just my school uniform,” the Senshi of Beauty answered wryly. She glanced around the room. “Is Setsuna, is she...? I mean, is Setsuna Meioh here?”

 

Mr. Kats appeared confused in addition to being nervous, now. “Uh, no. Should she be?”

 

Minako shook her head slightly and smiled reassuringly. “No. It doesn't matter.” So she was on her own. That was good. She'd wanted this, after all.

 

The Senshi of Love sighed quietly. Why did she have to start missing Setsuna already?

 

“I'll take that for you,” the young guy said, reaching for Minako's schoolbag. The blonde let it be taken from her grasp with a soft word of thanks.

 

“Would you like something to drink?” the middle-aged woman asked cheerfully.

 

“I'm fine,” Minako declined. The friendly atmosphere relaxed her, yet she still didn't feel right. Where was Setsuna anyway?

 

Mr. Kats shooed his gawking staff away with insistent arm gestures and quickly turned his grovelling attention back to Minako. “Let's talk in my office. This way!”

 

He directed the girl behind a couple of big whiteboards which seemed to have been used to divide the room into several smaller ones. The boards blocked out most of the light from the windows too, making his `office' a gloomy little nook. A battered brown leather couch slouched near the front of his desk, and once he had slapped off the empty juice bottles and old newspapers, he motioned for Minako to take a seat.

 

“Now, you've done good work with Timeless; *good* work,” he said as he scrounged around on his cluttered desk for something. “But we don't want to confine you, do we?” Drawers scratched open and banged closed. “So I've been making calls, meeting people, calling in favours--and I've gotten you scheduled for some magazine shoots featuring other labels. We have to move you away from Timeless.” He looked up and grinned broadly at the Senshi of Beauty, but it was more an anxious showing of teeth. “The more exposure the better!” He blinked, and suddenly looked shaken. “I-I mean; n-n-not that I mean *exposure* exposure--it's all very tasteful! *Some* bikini shots, but that's nothing bad.... Ah... where did I put that schedule?!” He dashed out of his office, and Minako heard him yelling at his employees to help him behind the whiteboards.

 

Minako flopped back, sinking into the couch, and blew out a puff of air. More magazine photo spreads was good, she guessed. If they were with other fashion labels she didn't imagine Setsuna would be there. It would be okay, though. It's not like the work would be any different to what she'd done so far under the Senshi of Time's watchful gaze. Minako could look after herself--she'd always been good at doing that.

 

“Hey.”

 

Minako looked to the opening between the whiteboards and saw the youngest member of Mr. Kats' staff standing there. She was slim and had straight light brown hair just past her shoulders, and was rather pretty but for an unfortunate large nose.

 

“I'm Akari.”

 

“Minako,” the Senshi of Beauty said. “Nice to meet you.”

 

“You're really pretty....” Akari suddenly sighed and picked at a whiteboard's metal frame with a fingernail. “I bet you're starting to reconsider signing with us. Anyone who Mr. Katsuyori can get through our door eventually does.”

 

“No,” Minako said as she looked away, shrugging as though she hadn't a care in the world slovenly sprawled there on the couch. “All good so far.”

 

“He does the best he can, though,” Akari said, as though she hadn't heard the other girl. “You can count on him. He won't let you down if he can help it.” She wandered into the office and after some dithering staring at the walls and the posters there, sat gingerly on the messy desk. “It's been hard on him. He doesn't show it; he's not the type; but he's struggling. First this business and now his brother is missing.”

 

“His brother?” Minako repeated, perking up as she became interested.

 

“Mm.... He fell on hard times. Fired or something, and too old for any corporation to consider hiring him. He ended up living in the park not far from here, with the other homeless. Mr. Katsuyori tried everything he could to get him out of there, but his brother, Eiji, was too prideful, and Mr. Katsuyori is in financial dire straits himself.”

 

Akari picked up a photoframe from amid the desk's clutter, and after looking at it a second, turned it so Minako could see. The Guardian Senshi leaned forward, seeing a man that looked like Mr. Kats but with more hair and the addition of glasses.

 

“So he's missing?” the blonde pressed.

 

Akari nodded and replaced the photo. “For three days now. I helped Mr. Katsuyori look, but no one's seen Eiji.” Suddenly Akari smiled timidly and blushed. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you this. I don't know why I did.”

 

“It's alright.” Minako said absently, gazing through the other girl. “Sometimes I have that affect on people.”

 

“I found it!” Mr. Kats happily exclaimed as he popped back into the cosy nook, waving a piece of paper in his hand. “Akari?” he then questioned, seeing the girl there.

 

“Just getting to know our new client!” Akari squeaked, before hastily excusing herself and leaving her boss and Minako alone.

 

“Okay, Ms. Aino, here you go! Try not to be late for any of them. I'll be there waiting at each one for you, so don't you worry!”

 

Minako smiled faintly and took the modelling schedule from her energetic manager. “Call me Minako,” she said.

 

******

 

“Bye, Rei!”

 

“Rei! Bye-bye!”

 

“See you tomorrow, Rei!”

 

Rei nodded civilly to every classmate in her immediate sight who farewelled her as she walked by, until it felt like her head was on a spring. She decided to ignore the rest, despite how ill-mannered it might seem. Somehow she didn't think it would dent her image. Indeed, the gauntlet of well-wishers continued unabated, from her classroom to the hallways, to the academy's grounds and the gates. Not everyone had something to say, but every girl had a particular look for the Fire Senshi and to call it friendly was a gross understatement. She was like a fish in a bowl. The word was out--Rei Hino had a girlfriend; she was `that way'. But it still felt like a powder keg yet to go off; the fuse was lit and burning down, classmates' inhibitions flittering away a little more each day while it did, and with Rei oblivious to when it would all explode. Mercifully no gushing `suitorette' had approached her yet, confessing... whatever. There were whispers wherever she went however; behind her back or behind cupped hands; and of course the eyes forever boring into her from every direction, every pair sparkling or outright aflame, the miko's presence setting off a fire inside them. Rei could see and hear everything; their excited scrutiny, their agitated chatter; but she pretended not to while everyone else pretended she couldn't either.

 

The Senshi of Passion wished the T*A Private Girls' Schools' students would pick someone else to obsess over. What they didn't know was that she was only `that way' with Usagi. If not for her Princess, Rei wouldn't have bothered with romantic entanglements involving boys *or* girls. Love was too often a flawed concept, and she had no interest in the flawed kind. *True* love; the sort that could shake your world, that could redefine you, that could conquer anything, that ate you up inside and left you hungry, *starving*--that was the only sort she believed in. Why settle for something less, subjecting yourself to a `love' barely envisioned, devoting yourself to someone you could not devote yourself wholly to. So many relationships Rei had seen were frauds; two people together who kind of liked each other; enough to tolerate one another and sacrifice what was easy to sacrifice. Was that love? Maybe it was for them... but Rei couldn't live like that. All or nothing--the love of her life or an eternity alone. She had seen what a lesser love had inflicted upon her mother... that the feelings only went so far, when love was needed more than ever. In the end Rei's mother had died alone, with a lonely heart. It would have been better had she not opened her heart at all.

 

Sometimes it couldn't be helped, though. Sometimes someone came along with the key to your heart. And sometimes the love that followed was what you had been waiting your entire life for.

 

A flock of girls were waiting to ambush the Senshi of Fire just before she cleared the school gates, the group moving forward together as a single entity. It was a rather disconcerting sight. “Will you be at Muse tonight, Rei?” one asked; the bravest of the bunch no doubt. Ever since being seen at the club it was apparently her number one hangout.

 

“We'll see,” Rei responded coolly, not slowing her pace or even looking at the admirers. She wondered if Minako had this problem at Juuban High School, especially with her new fame. The blonde probably revelled in it, though.

 

Putting the school behind her was a relief; however she soon noticed something else to pick at her temper. As Rei walked down the street, at the opposite side some metres back from her a sedan trundled along, sticking out like a sore thumb as it matched walking speed--*her* speed, and had done since she'd left the school's grounds. The girl recognised a government vehicle when she saw one; she had experience in the area. Black, expensive, tinted windows with men in suits behind them--not at all conspicuous in the slightest, of course. It was here for her naturally, at the whims of her father. It wasn't near her birthday, and he seldom requested her appearance then anyway, so he probably suddenly wanted a daughter for a political concern. His situation had to be grave; he was risking life and limb contacting her, and Rei didn't think he had become so stupid as to forget her hatred. The answer was no, whatever he sought. His government lackeys were an irritation, however not one that couldn't be summarily ignored.

 

Rei walked the familiar daily route that would take her halfway to Juuban High School, already in a happier mood from thoughts of who she was about to see. Lost in pleasant dreaming and even more pleasant memory, time passed quickly and before long there were two other girls walking on the sidewalk towards her. The shortest of the pair suddenly had a big silly grin on her beautiful face and started flailing an arm enthusiastically in the air over her head. Rei exhaled slowly and deeply but her face ached from the smile of her own that emerged unbidden and inexorably, the blonde girl's unadulterated cheerfulness infectious. Rei at least hoped she didn't look quite so giddy as Usagi, though on the inside the Fire Senshi was a bouncing, waving, grinning girl just like how her Princess appeared.

 

“Hi Rei! You weren't waiting, were you?” Usagi said, hopping forward the last step to stand eagerly before Rei. Abruptly her expression dropped dramatically, along with her merriment. “I had *cleanup* duty,” she revealed, as though there was no other fate as grim.

 

Rei quietly shook her head, still unable to cease smiling. She moved even closer, sharing the same space as her Princess, the same air, her left cheek brushing against the blonde's as her lips neared the other girl's ear. The Senshi of Passion's eyes were closed as she took a deep breath, filling her senses with her girlfriend's unique and lovely scent. She snaked an arm around the small of Usagi's back, bringing the heat and softness of Usagi's body flush against her own, and nuzzled the blonde's neck, laying small kisses while revelling in the clean and fresh flavour of her Princess's skin. Rei felt Usagi's arms go around her own waist, welcoming the affection and inviting it to continue, and for a moment the surrounding street; the noise of passing cars and other pedestrians, the birds in the trees and flying in the sky--the entire world--dimmed, fading from the miko's senses. The day had been particularly trying, but Rei could miss Usagi even on the most wonderful of days. But then, a day couldn't be called wonderful if Usagi hadn't been a major part of it.

 

Usagi turned her head and placed smacking kisses over and over again on Rei's cheek, more playful than passionate, but there was no complaint from the raven-haired girl. Instead she let her arm around the blonde's waist slide lower, over the healthy rump, and her hand was not shy in determining just how healthy it was.

 

“Rei!” Usagi chastised, twisting awkwardly as the Senshi of Passion's fingers dimpled the supple flesh beneath her blue skirt. “Makoto is standing *right* there, watching! Anybody else could have seen that, too!” The blonde looked about anxiously, as though expecting to discover a leering audience suddenly surrounding them.

 

“It's never stopped us before,” Rei shrugged off. She slapped her Princess's bottom lightly, and the only semblance of a leer around happened to be found on her face.

 

“Only because *you* can't be stopped,” Usagi grumbled, stepping away and smoothing her skirt over her abused backside. “You act like you're polite and proper and everything, but you are shameless! I bet Makoto doesn't do things like that to Ami in broad daylight!”

 

“Erm...” Makoto vacillated, looking a bit uncomfortable as her and her girlfriend's intimacies were thrust under the spotlight. Rei was pretty certain she hadn't felt that way much at all before Usagi had dragged her and the Senshi of Wisdom into the situation.

 

“*See*?” Usagi exclaimed, as though the brunette had somehow said it all. She folded her arms haughtily and looked away. “You're just a big pervert, Rei,” she declared all high and mighty, before not-too-circumspectly shifting her eyes back to her longsuffering girlfriend, probably to witness any reaction.

 

“I... suppose I get weak when I'm near you,” Rei reasoned, considering for a second if perhaps she had taken after her Grandpa and was somewhat of a letch. Perish the thought. No, Usagi was just being difficult as usual, trying to push her buttons. There was no shame in expressing her love for her Princess, regardless of where they happened to be at the time. Besides, if Rei was a pervert, then she wasn't the only one. “Alright, I'll keep a `polite and proper' distance between us from now on. Will that make you happy?” the raven-haired girl stated--baited--matching Usagi's stuffiness.

 

Usagi stared at her, and then blinked a couple of times as she unfolded her arms. “Umm, no, don't do that,” she said with a little worry in her voice. “Just.... Don't do anything embarrassing when anybody I know is around! Like people from school... and my parents!”

 

Rei smiled smugly, chin in the air. But she had no trouble agreeing with the `parents' clause. In the company of anyone else, however....

 

The Senshi of Passion stepped forwards and kissed Usagi on the mouth without restraint. The blonde didn't hesitate in parting her lips and meeting Rei's tongue--ultimately it took two to tango.

 

When the couple came up for air some seconds later, Rei turned to Makoto. “Did Ami already leave for cram school?”

 

Makoto, who had been respectfully centring her attention elsewhere, flinched, taken off guard to suddenly be included. “Uh... mm,” she mumbled in the affirmative, nodding. “I'm not sure why Minako isn't here. She left in a hurry, though.”

 

“She probably had modelling commitments or something,” Usagi surmised, still standing near the Senshi of Fire, the fingers of her right hand loosely entwined with the fingers of Rei's left. “She's a celebrity now, remember!”

 

“Mm...” the brunette hummed, but she didn't sound convinced.

 

“Oh! Makoto!” Usagi abruptly piped up, bursting with excitement. “Rei and I are double dating tonight with Naru and Umino!”

 

“No we're not,” Rei tried to cut in, but was utterly ignored by her Princess.

 

“We should double date with you and Ami sometime, too!” the blonde went on. “I can't believe we haven't. You could cook for all of us!” She beamed like it was a great idea and not rudely presumptuous in the slightest.

 

“*Usagi*...” Rei wearily scolded.

 

“It's okay because Makoto likes to cook, right?” Usagi rationalised, her bright smile and demeanour undaunted as she looked to the brunette for vindication.

 

“Makoto, prepare something with plenty of vegetables,” Rei said, speaking with feigned sincerity to the Senshi of Courage while deliberately disregarding the odango atama. “Like carrots. Lots of them. And carrot cake for dessert.”

 

“*Why* would you say that, Rei?!” Usagi despaired, gazing at the miko like a kicked puppy.

 

Rei merely smiled faintly, unrepentantly, smug again, and folded her arms slowly and precisely in satisfaction. In contrast to her name, Usagi hated carrots. Of course Rei had been well aware of that.

 

Makoto chuckled lightly, accustomed to her two friends' frequent warfare, and the back and forth ribbing it entailed. “Since it's only the three of us, I think I should leave you two alone today,” she proposed once her amusement had died down.

 

“Aww, no, Makoto!” Usagi immediately protested, darting forward and grabbing onto the taller girl's forearm, as if the brunette were about to make good on her idea right then and there.

 

“I don't want to get in the way of you guys,” Makoto clarified, her face pained. “It's okay; I don't mind. I understand.”

 

“I have to agree with the odango atama on this one,” Rei said, sharing a look of perfect understanding with her girlfriend.

 

“You're our friend, Makoto,” Usagi explained, her expression and her tone heartfelt. “We're here to keep you company when Ami can't.”

 

“Not because we should, or have to, but because we want to,” Rei added, her smile now supportive and for her friend.

 

“Thanks guys,” Makoto said, obviously touched as she returned the warm looks.

 

“Anyway, it's nice to have someone to complain to about Usagi,” the Fire Senshi remarked, turning her mirthful gaze to her Princess.

 

“More like *me* complain about *you*!” the blonde huffily retorted. “Makoto's on *my* side!” She tugged the Senshi of Thunder towards her, almost pulling the other girl off her feet.

 

“No one's on your side, odango atama,” Rei deadpanned.

 

As the girls laughed and at last headed off to the Hikawa Jinja, none of them spotted the digital eye of a camera blinking repeatedly from across the street at one specific girl, the lens poking out of a tinted rear passenger window belonging to a black, expensive, sedan.

 

******

 

“Minako...” the white feline whined. “Haven't we seen enough yet?”

 

Minako made a face and started to wish she hadn't gone home to change out of her school uniform and pick up her furry companion, Artemis. He sure did like to nag. But she supposed it was better than wandering around the park alone. In spite of the shantytown of cardboard boxes and makeshift tents, and the dirty, shifty looking people who inhabited the trash-turned-domiciles, the blonde didn't feel in danger. It was instead depressing, like a heavy cloud of gloom hung over the place; a place removed from the rest of the city, yet existing right smack in the middle of it. The people who dwelled here were unfortunates, not degenerates. The man with the thick beard and the layers of threadbare coats may have once been a successful businessman; the other man next to him wearing what had been an expensive suit before grime and time had brought it to the level of rags, cooking instant ramen over a portable camp stove, could have been Minako's father in another life. There were dozens like them, mostly men, and each with their own hard luck story--but a story they kept to themselves. There was no begging as Minako passed through the `streets' of their town; no hands reaching out for charity, no predatory eyes hoping for more than spare change, or even jealousy at her clean clothes and evident good fortune. Some actually appeared scared of *her* when she stopped to ask questions. For the most part they simply ignored her, the outsider, when they could, preferring to maintain their privacy. There was dignity in their destitution, although it was all they had left to their name.

 

Minako thought about doing something to help--it was hard not to, surrounded by people that truly needed compassion--however there was very little she could do. She had money--she was getting paid for her modelling endeavours, after all--but not enough to make a difference beyond guaranteeing a couple of individuals a meal for the next few nights--certainly not enough to turn their lives around and deal them a new hand from fate. It was Sailor Venus who could make a bigger difference by finding Eiji, Mr Kats' down and out brother, or what had happened to him, and ultimately determining if there was a threat to the homeless scratching out a living here in this park. In this task Minako was one of the few that actually had the power to make an impact, and she intended to make full use of her power. The fates of the men and women here truly were beyond salvation if someone or something was taking advantage of them in their misfortune, and in the most violent way possible.

 

An hour or so into it though and no one had seen anything, heard anything, or knew anything. A handful had known Eiji; a bitter man who typically spurned his brother's donations; but they didn't know where he had gone. One day he simply hadn't been in the park anymore. He had left his meagre belongings too; his cardboard shelter and newspaper bed; but they weren't treasures nor anything that couldn't be replaced if he'd settled somewhere else. Minako prayed Eiji really had just moved on without telling a soul; perhaps too shamed to include even Mr Kats' in his plans; or had wanted to get away from his brother's pity once and for all or something like that. It was possible... however in her gut the girl didn't quite believe it. Maybe the Senshi of Beauty had been around the grim and the terrible too much--her optimism in these sorts of matters was virtually non-existent.

 

“We still haven't checked over there,” Minako said as she nodded towards a distant section of the park, her tone intentionally upbeat just to irk Artemis. The cat slumped in her arms, resigning himself to more investigating. The blonde grinned and scratched behind one of his ears as compensation.

 

Minako walked onwards, picking a path through the random crisscrossing streets of cardboard and tarp, occasionally lingering to inquire if anybody could tell her about Eiji. Not everyone was happy to talk, but they did, though still they said nothing that could assist her. Meanwhile Artemis took many deep breathes, and spent just as long in releasing them. It *was* beginning to feel fruitless.

 

Minako meandered past some trees and a swing set, seeming out of place here despite it being a park, and bumped into another outsider, if the quality of his clothes was an accurate indication. He too was questioning the homeless, and from the way he ground the palm of a hand into the side of his head in frustration, mussing his white locks, he wasn't having much better luck than Minako was. The man turned--and Minako blinked as recognition sparked in her blue eyes.

 

Toshio jerked to a sudden halt as he recognised Minako in the same instant she did him. Artemis too raised his head, his whiskers twitching and his ears turning towards the police officer. It had been... years. Toshio Wakagi looked the same as in Minako's memory; dressed in a suit and tie; slightly dishevelled; and with a visage that was somewhat stressed. More old memories flooded back with his image; old battles, old enemies, old friends, old loves. And an old hero in a red mask.

 

“What are *you* doing here?!” Toshio abruptly burst out with, angrily stabbing a pointed finger in the Senshi of Beauty's direction. He then frowned, cocking his head to the side uncertainly. “You're not homeless, are you?”

 

“Do I look homeless?!” Minako cried incredulously, agape. “Look at my outfit! It's expensive!” Then it was her turn to frown. “*You're* not homeless, are you?”

 

“*No*! I'm on an official investigation!” Toshio snapped. If he was here in that capacity, then perhaps there was something for the homeless to worry about. And perhaps something... unnatural. Toshio used to be a Special Officer of the Metropolitan Police, heading a taskforce to solve suspicious occurrences in Tokyo. Minako wondered if the taskforce was still in operation, or if her old acquaintance was here for more mundane police business. Either way, it wasn't good news for the park's residents.

“Wait, what *are* you doing here?” Toshio demanded to know, his green eyes narrowing in suspicion. He had never been much of an admirer of Minako's first alter-ego, Sailor V, and was well aware that the two blondes had been one in the same. He knew now that Sailor V had been on the side of good and that had curbed his criticism a bit, but not completely. If not an enemy, then he had apparently felt that Sailor V had been in direct competition with the Metropolitan Police, with the masked hero ending up on top more often than he'd liked. Every time Sailor V had beaten the police to the punch Toshio had taken it as a humiliating, and oddly personal, defeat.

 

“Ahh... I was just... umm...” the blonde floundered. Suddenly she was conscious of the warm bundle in her arms. “I was just looking for my cat!” She lifted Artemis up for emphasis. “See?” The girl glowered theatrically down at the white feline. “Bad cat; stop running away!” she admonished while Artemis wearily stared into space through half-lidded eyes.

 

“Hmm...” Toshio murmured. He leaned closer, studying Minako's furry companion, his distrust unrelenting.

 

Quickly Minako covered the crescent moon symbol emblazoned on Artemis's forehead with her hand and laughed nervously, favouring Toshio with--hopefully--a disarming smile. The Senshi of Beauty prayed the man wouldn't recall her `pet' cat, and the feline's special nature.

 

The police officer clicked his tongue and straightened, apparently satisfied for now, if only barely. Minako breathed a small sigh at the mercy.

 

“So, what's this official investigation about?” the girl not-so-subtly probed.

 

Toshio sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his head, looking out across the park's shantytown. “Missing persons reports. Normally we don't bother much with the homeless--they tend to move around a lot; get taken in by family; or get back on their feet--but recently enough have vanished that people are starting to take notice. It's not just here, or only among the homeless; we've been getting reports from all over the city. Most of the missing are the homeless however, and so here I am.” He frowned again, and skewered Minako with a skeptical look. “Wait... why are you interested? You *have* retired, haven't you?”

 

“J-Just curious,” Minako said, trying to grin away his suspicions.

 

“You don't have anything to do with those other Sailor Senshi, do you?” Toshio continued nevertheless. “I almost had a heart attack when so many popped up. But at least they stay out of matters that should be left to the police!” He glared at the blonde pointedly.

 

“Not at all!” the Senshi of Love and Beauty chirped, waving away his notions with a hand. “Never heard of them!”

 

Toshio stared at the girl for a few moments longer, as though he didn't believe a word, and Minako began to itch under this gaze. But eventually he seemed to deflate, sighing again. “She's still your number one fan,” he said softly.

 

“You mean... Big Sis?” Another old friend the Inner Senshi hadn't seen in so very long. Natsuna Sakurada had been the Superintendent-General of the Metropolitan Police when Minako had known her, and a huge proponent of Sailor V. She was also privy to Minako's masked identity, and used to call the blonde weekly to beg her to join the police force. The calls had stopped years ago, when Sailor V had become Sailor Venus, head bodyguard to the Moon Princess.

 

Toshio nodded uncomfortably. “The Superintendent-General doesn't talk about you, but... I can tell she hasn't forgotten. And... I....” The police officer coughed. “You should think about becoming a police recruit after you graduate,” he suggested brusquely, “and legitimise your meddling!”

 

“I don't meddle; I help!” Minako huffed, before glancing away. “I mean, I used to....” She struck a pose as though she were in front of snapping camera, smiling coyly. “Anyway, I have a career. Haven't you seen me in all the magazines?” She leisurely brushed some of her blonde locks off her shoulder.

 

“Huh?”

 

Minako sighed and her shoulders slumped while she directed a disparaging stare at Toshio. This modelling thing really better pick up.

 

“Look, just go home,” Toshio ordered, shoving his hands into his pants' pockets. “And stay retired!” he shouted as he walked away.

 

Minako watched him go. At one time she'd had a crush on him. Now... the feelings were like a faded photograph, worn and creased and the colour all but gone; an old love that existed solely in her memory, beyond restoration--an old flame that had been snuffed out.

 

“Maybe we should leave this to the police,” Artemis advised once Toshio was out of earshot.

 

“Don't chicken out, Artemis,” Minako said. “This is what we *do*.” She took a tired breath, watching the figure from her past as he knelt down to grill another homeless man. “It's what we used to do,” she whispered.

 

******

 

“Ohh~! Check *him* out!”

 

“Where? Where?”

 

“Over *there*--red shirt, great dancer, perfect body....”

 

“Mm, nice, but give me his *friend*!”

 

The voyeuristic pairing of Usagi and Naru broke out into mischievous giggles, leaning into each other as though the subjects of their shallow appraisals might overhear them if they didn't. Meanwhile Rei took yet another sip of her fruity drink as her patience frayed a little more, and wished, once again, that she was old enough to be served alcohol, or rebellious enough to have a fake ID. The raven-haired teenager looked across Usagi and Naru to Umino on the far side of the curved booth, and saw the boy sitting there like a zombie, as if the entire will to live had been drained from him. Poor guy. Rei couldn't help pitying him. If she had a lesser will she might have looked just like him; heart broken and spirit crushed; but she was not a slave to insecurity. Usagi could feast her eyes on anybody she wanted and spew her lustful accolades--Rei was immune. Her faith in her Princess was unshakable; her trust inexhaustible. Rei was the one who Usagi *loved*--not some vacuous lump of muscle that happened to dress nice.

 

“He could take me on the dance floor any night he wanted! I mean *to* the dance floor, *to*!”

 

“Usagi~! You're so bad!”

 

Rei's glass slammed down onto the booth's metal table, sending a deluge of juice splashing out all over her hand, and ice-cubes flying everywhere else. What liquid remained inside quickly leaked out and formed a puddle, the glass's base ruptured by several cracks.

 

Conscious of everyone looking at her, Rei nonchalantly released the abused glass and carefully laid her hands in her lap. “I'm fine,” she assured, although her voice was harsh through her clenched teeth.

 

“Um, Usagi, maybe we should...” Naru apprehensively began, staring at the Senshi of Fire like a lit stick of dynamite in her midst. She glanced at Umino sitting on the other side of her, and did a double take when she saw the state he was in. “Gurio? Gurio?! Are you alright?!” The redhead shook her unresponsive boyfriend anxiously.

 

Rei hadn't been too mad when she'd learned Usagi had invited Naru and Umino on their clubbing investigation, even though the miko remembered saying something against the couple's inclusion. She supposed even if she had expressly forbidden Usagi's classmates tagging along they would have turned up anyway--a `strange coincidence' or what have you, with the suspect blonde nervously laughing off the raven-haired girl's disbelief. Maybe Rei was growing accustomed to her girlfriend being such a... such a... *odango* atama that she unconsciously planned for the inevitability. Or was it her just being a sap again--a sucker for that beautiful, cheerful, face and that innocent, charming, disposition?

 

In any case, Rei couldn't have made a big deal about it in front of Naru and Umino--it wasn't their fault Usagi was so irritating, and the Fire Senshi didn't want the couple feeling unwelcome. It was important to get along with her Princess's pals--the ones that didn't transform into guardians of the world. If danger did manifest in this thriving club atmosphere they'd have to be ditched however no matter how rude it was. Being Usagi's long time school chums though, Rei imagined that they were well acquainted with that behaviour. She'd leave Usagi to give the explanation and the apology in the aftermath if it came to that. On second thought, maybe Rei wouldn't.

 

Rei could tell it was Naru and Umino's first time in a nightclub. The redhead had arrived at the Tsukino house beforehand wearing a rather floral dress better suited for afternoon tea on a Sunday, while her bespectacled boyfriend was overdressed clad in a tuxedo and frilly shirt. They had been nervous when they'd had to line up to get into Muse, and had gushed once inside like a pair of country-bumpkin tourists in the city for a day. But Rei wondered if she and Usagi had been much different two nights ago when Minako had introduced them to this loud and lively scene.

 

In contrast the two Senshi knew how to dress for the nocturnal revelry. Usagi had relied on her Disguise Pen to clothe her a second time, and the device plus an appropriate fashion magazine from her bedroom had conjured a passable ensemble, if a little girlish with its excess of pink and glitter. She apparently liked mini-skirts, stockings, and platform boots as they were back again, the latter lifting the blonde to nearly equal height with Rei. And as for the Senshi of Passion, she had a style of her own too and knew how to look good, especially when her clothes actually fit. Short black leather high-heeled boots and scandalously short black dress shorts left her legs mostly bare, while a sparkly red sleeveless top with a baggy, drooping neckline exposed much of her chest. Rei hadn't overlooked her makeup either, going for her usual sultry look. All in all she felt she was worthy `armcandy' for her Princess. Or at least she *had*....

 

“What else are we supposed to do when you won't let us dance, Rei?!” Usagi griped, turning in her seat to scowl at the Senshi of Fire.

 

Inwardly Rei wearily sighed as it dawned on her she even found that scowl adorable. “*You* can dance all you want; *I'm* here to keep an eye out, *remember*? I have to stay alert,” the raven-haired girl nevertheless argued back, and even though Naru and Umino were no doubt overhearing her true purpose for being in Muse tonight. But she didn't care--instead she ground her teeth a moment and looked away. “Why don't you dance with that guy if you want to dance so badly,” she grumbled under her breath, yet loud enough that the blonde certainly could hear it.

 

“I want to dance with *you*, stupid!” Usagi exasperatedly exclaimed.

 

“U-Usagi! It's th-that guy!” Naru suddenly squeaked.

 

Sure enough, the man, frankly too old for Usagi, in the red shirt, who was supposedly a `great' dancer with the `perfect' body, was coming towards the booth. Both Usagi and Naru were abruptly gripped with a strange anxious silence while they stared at the man's approach. Rei pressed her red lips together viciously, vowing not to lose her head and give the odango atama the satisfaction. How could anyone be jealous of *that* guy?

 

To the girls' surprise, the man's eyes went to Rei. “Hi there,” he said smoothly, smiling a little afterwards.

 

“Um, hi,” Rei replied lamely, taken aback while Usagi and Naru stared at her now, the blonde incredulous.

 

“Care to dance?”

 

“Oh, ahh....” The raven-haired girl thought about accepting just to rile her Princess, but didn't have the heart. There was a big difference between talking and doing, and Rei would never do anything to truly hurt the one she loved. “No thanks,” she declined, raising a forestalling hand.

 

“I'll be over there if you change your mind,” the guy said with a wink, rolling with the rejection as though it didn't bother him. For some reason Rei remembered the speech about `certain men' to watch out for her Grandpa had given her when she was younger.

 

“You suck, Rei,” Usagi grumbled like a genuine sore loser once the man had melted back into the dancing throng and the darkness surrounding them.

 

“Do you want me to call him back for you?” Rei said with a smirk, no longer annoyed as she had been. “I can totally set it up.”

 

Usagi merely crossed her arms and turned her head--and the fuming pout on her face--from her lover's growing grin.

 

“Um, why don't we dance, Gurio?” Naru said quickly, sensing the mood. Not waiting for a response, she dragged the comatose boy out of the booth and into the swarm of clubbers gyrating to frantic music under beams of multicoloured lights. Rei hoped they'd be alright by themselves, but she was grateful to be left alone with Usagi. Not that the other couple's presence would have derailed her doting any....

 

Rei sidled closer to Usagi and reached over to touch the other girl's leg with her fingertips, in the gap between stocking and skirt. She leaned close so her lips; made the lusher with her dark red lipstick; were by the sulking blonde's ear. “I only have eyes for you, always,” she whispered breathily into the delicate shell. “Everyone else here may as well not exist.”

 

The Senshi of Passion dipped her fingers under Usagi's mini-skirt, stroking the thigh underneath lightly with fingertips still. “You make me so mad....” She captured the blonde's earlobe in her teeth and let it drag slowly free again, through her lips. “...But it's only because I love you so much. I want you all to myself. I want to be the only one who makes you happy.” Rei's hand on Usagi's leg slid between the girl's thighs, feeling heat and the fabric barrier that kept it at bay. “I want to be the only one who knows what you sound like....” The miko's tongue darted out to lick her girlfriend's earlobe briefly. “...When you cry out in pleasure....”

 

Rei's lips dropped lower, pushing against Usagi's throat. She parted them, lapping at the flesh between them for a second, and then sucked. Hard.

 

Usagi's mouth opened gradually and a weak, strangled moan escaped her lips at the vacuum Rei created, unable to preserve her moping under the loving assault. It was pleasure spiced with pain, the first heightened by the second, and although the blonde might whine later, the Senshi of Passion knew her Princess liked it. And Rei too liked to make her mark.

 

Rei released Usagi's throat and slowly and gently licked the red blemish she'd caused on her love's skin, a fresh one to make up for the others that had already all but faded. Meanwhile her hand under the blonde's skirt drew nearer to the fabric barrier. A finger dared, pressing against the cotton and rubbing up and down the crease behind it until dampness seeped through. Rei smiled in smug satisfaction.

 

Abruptly Rei withdrew her hand and casually sat back in her seat, lightly folding her arms. “I guess I do suck,” she remarked with a feigned sigh. Then she couldn't hold back her wide grin any more. She turned her head to Usagi and added a wink to her rakish smirk. “Just the way you like it.”

 

Usagi looked back at her girlfriend, panting with a pink complexion, and clearly pained for the Senshi of Passion's not so tender ministrations to have come to a premature end. But they *were* on a mission, after all. “Can.... Can we dance now?” she asked breathlessly. “Or... do you want to, umm....” The blonde looked shyly down at her lap.

 

“Usagi, I told you we aren't here for dancing,” Rei answered patiently, her attention on the clubgoers now. “I'm sorry, but we do need to keep focused.” Anyone of them could be what she was on the lookout for, although she hadn't sensed anything otherworldly yet. Maybe they should switch tables to one on a different side of the club for a new perspective.

 

Usagi raised her head and looked at the miko in disbelief, and then anger. Suddenly she squirmed out of the booth and stood up before Rei, her expression incensed. “I'm going to the bathroom!” she announced. “*Alone*!”

 

Rei sighed for real this time and slouched back in the booth's plush seating, watching her Princess storm off. Didn't people normally go to the bathroom alone? Rei wished Usagi could be more dedicated to their duty. She guessed it was harder for Usagi since the other girl couldn't detect the unnatural like she could; it likely felt more futile more quickly; however the Fire Senshi was beginning to tire as well, especially now that she had ticked off her girlfriend again, and so soon after making up with her. They had been lounging around in this booth sipping on overpriced sodas and juice for quite awhile.

 

“Hi there, Rei!”

 

As if things couldn't get any worse, all of a sudden an array of girls stood before Rei, dressed to the nines and with colourful drinks in their hands. But underneath the makeup and the flashy clothes they were high school girls. Rei didn't recognise any of them, but they obviously knew her, and the way each of them grinned at her rather disturbingly removed all doubt--they were from her school, and seemingly like every student there, were diehard members of her tedious fanclub. The miko wasn't sure quite what it was about their smiles, but she felt pinned beneath them--suddenly she was out of the bowl; a fish on a chopping board, waiting to be gutted.

 

“Where's... `Usagi', is it?” one of the girls asked, pretending to be ignorant. Of course she was well aware of Rei's girlfriend's name. The Fire Senshi would be hard pressed to find someone in T*A Private Girls' School who didn't.

 

“She didn't dump you, did she?” another said. “Oh, you poor thing!”

 

“She just walked out on you, didn't she! How dare she!”

 

“*No*,” Rei stated sternly, a little bit riled by the implication. Why didn't they think *she* had dumped *Usagi*, at least?! “She just went--” She looked towards the club's restrooms, trying to get a glimpse of the doors through the crowds, while willing her Princess to be coming out of them right that instant to rescue her from her `admirers'. She frowned then, turning her head back to her schoolmates. “Wait, have you been spying on me?”

 

The five girls had the decency to look uncomfortable, their smiles waning under Rei's dark glare. Or perhaps they simply weren't very good at appearing innocent. “O-Of course not!” one laughed, her friends soon joining their nervous chuckles to hers. “Um, mind if we join you?”

 

Before Rei could open her mouth, the group had regained their aplomb and were sliding their bottoms around the booth's seating on either side of the Fire Senshi, effectively trapping her in there. The girls' drinks were suddenly on the table in front of Rei, as though a claim had been staked, and the miko eyed them with trepidation. Then she glanced towards the restrooms again, fearing long queues were behind those doors.

 

The girls all smiled at her while she drew her arms in, feeling claustrophobic. Rei could have sworn the two T*A girls nearest her on either side were getting closer.

 

In unison everyone who wasn't a penned in Sailor Senshi picked up their drinks and started taking shy sips through straws, nary a word spoken, the T*A girls' daring seeming to shrivel when so close to their obsession. Or so Rei initially thought. She soon realised the shy sips were nonchalant sips, and the girls--*all* the girls--were indeed creeping closer, the legs of the two nearest ending up pressed against hers. Rei considered if it was acceptable to climb over the back of the booth, or leap over the table. She could say she needed to use the bathroom. Urgently.

 

“You know...” the girl on Rei's right spoke up, putting her drink down with a somewhat tremulous hand, “...*Rei*....” The way she said the raven-haired teenager's name was akin to a gasp of ecstasy, as though it was bliss simply to utter it. The girl leaned towards Rei, forcing the miko to lean back to get away, only for her to bump into the other girl next to her, reminding her of her confines. The audacious T*A girl was unswayed by Rei's attempt to escape or the Inner Senshi's abject alarm; the latter which had to be clearly seen with her face pushed up into the raven-haired girl's--traditionally far too close for anyone but a lover. “I've always--”

 

“Usagi!” Rei blurted, her Princess's sudden appearance at the booth a godsend. That was until Rei saw her face. She wasn't sure if Usagi looked more hurt or mad, however she was definitely upset--more so. “These are girls from my school,” the Senshi of Fire quickly clarified, her voice quite bubbly in her panic. The innocent act was unfortunately ruined by practically being in one girl's lap while another loomed over her, breathing on her lips. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet it wounded Rei to look at her Princess's distraught visage. It wasn't the anger she saw there that did it, but the hurt. Usagi had to know that Rei's earlier declarations had not been hollow; that she would not betray her, least of all with *these* girls. She had to. Usagi knew *Rei*. Still... the Senshi of Passion felt like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

 

“Che!” the aggressive girl spat at the sight of Rei's girlfriend, and retreated from atop the miko. The rest of the fanclub slithered away with her, their eyes downcast to avoid Usagi's gaze; like a pack of succubi foiled and banished back to the darkness. And into the darkness they went, where the partying throng could hide them... until next time. Rei really hoped there wouldn't be a next time.

 

Usagi sat down in the booth--at its edge, far from Rei; as far as possible. With her stiff posture and folded arms, and how she wouldn't even look in Rei's direction, it didn't take a genius to conclude that the blonde was not happy.

 

Rei swallowed, and then leaned across the table towards her Princess. “Usagi,” she said sweetly, delicately, and a little desperately, “would you like to dance?” Dancing, and the possible distraction it posed to their investigating, didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

 

“I don't want to.”

 

“...What?” Rei said dumbly after a moment.

 

“You missed your chance,” Usagi said in a clipped, matter-of-fact tone. “You missed your chance for a *lot* of things.” She at last turned her head to Rei. “Why don't you dance with one of those `girls from your school',” she suggested, and then turned crossly away from the Fire Senshi again.

 

“Oh... kay...” Rei said tentatively as she slinked back to her side of the booth, recoiling like a dog with its tail lodged firmly between its legs. She sighed and slumped into the cushioning, letting her head loll back. If there was something evil lurking here in Muse, she was going to beat the living hell out of him, her, or it for putting her through this.

 

Rei cast her gaze downwards from the club's psychedelic light-streaked ceiling, and was surprised to find that Usagi was no longer on the other side of the booth. Instead the blonde was crawling on hands and knees up to her over the plush seating, looking glum. Usagi knelt beside Rei, and gently took the other girl's hand.

 

“I'm sorry, Rei. Please don't be sad,” Usagi said solemnly, gazing into the Senshi of Passion's amethyst eyes. “I didn't mean any of it. I *do* want to dance.” She brought Rei's hand up to her lips and kissed the palm softly, still staring intently.

 

“I'm not sad,” Rei said, however she was taken aback when her voice came out unsteadily, and shyly. She swallowed hard, and ludicrously felt her eyes moisten under the blue open skies of her Princess's gaze. Yet she couldn't break the look, nor could she stop the tears. She felt very foolish; angry at herself even for being so pathetic. But the rage petered out, and didn't help stem the quiet flow.

 

“Oh Rei,” Usagi whispered, and touched her forehead to the raven-haired girl's. Her mouth pushed forwards several times, depositing small kisses against Rei's lips, each a balm for the tears. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry,” she earnestly avowed between every one. Then, “I love you. I love you.”

 

Rei smiled contentedly when the kisses eventually ceased and Usagi's arms continued the tenderness, insisting she be near, holding her to the blonde's chest, fingers running through her hair. It was okay to feel as she did. It wasn't the first time her Princess had stripped Rei of her strength, her pride, her bravado. Usagi had always been good at that. But it was okay to be vulnerable in front of her. It felt right. It felt like... it was how it was supposed to be. Rei felt like a lowly subject, loved by someone far above her station, far above her in every way; loved so deeply, so wholly; the love of a Princess--her Princess--like nothing else in this world. She felt small in Usagi's arms, basking in her affection. Rei was reminded of her childhood for a moment, when everything had been alright and the world had seemed... kind. It was no wonder Usagi would rule that world one day, instilling that kindness Rei had forgotten. Only an angel could. Only her.

 

“I love you too,” Rei said softly. “I'm sorry too.”

 

They simply held each other for a while, their thoughts the same, the feelings in their hearts the same. When they parted, the hurt, the tears, and everything else that didn't belong in a perfect world, in a dream come true, had gone.

 

Usagi gaped at Rei. “Rei, your mascara! Don't worry, I'll fix it!” The blonde dug around in her tote bag, and pulled out a tube of black mascara and a tissue. “Hold still.” She licked the tissue, and taking Rei's chin in one hand, she carefully wiped at the dark streaks beneath the raven-haired girl's eyes her crying had caused.

 

Rei sat there quietly, happy to let her Princess dote. She stared unblinkingly at Usagi when the girl reapplied mascara to her eyelashes, smiling faintly at the blonde's concentration and the cute expression it conjured.

 

“There! Done!” Usagi snapped the applicator wand back into the tube and threw it back into her tote. “Back to beautiful!” She blushed and looked down. “Umm.... Y-You're always beautiful, though....”

 

Rei smiled broadly. “Thanks. But we both know who has the looks between us.”

 

“What?” Usagi exclaimed, raising her head. “No, Rei, you really are beautiful!”

 

“Am I?” Rei teased.

 

Usagi nodded vigorously, but then suddenly gave the Senshi of Passion a frown. “You just like hearing me say you're beautiful, don't you!” she accused.

 

Rei smirked. “Well, I'm so often ignored when I stand beside you.”

 

Usagi's blush returned, but this time she held her girlfriend's warm and indulgent look. “Let's... find Naru and Umino and have some fun,” she said, knowing implicitly where things were heading between herself and her lover if they didn't stop now, just as Rei knew. They'd pick up where they'd left off later; they'd be more than happy to remind each other.

 

Rei offered her Princess her hand to take, and then led the blonde out of the booth and onto the dance floor. Naru and Umino weren't hard to locate despite the press of people and the disorientating swirls of light and the endless beat of frenetic music pounding on everyone's senses. The couple hadn't let the booth leave their sight apparently, and were found not far from it. The attention of his girlfriend had snapped Umino out of his stupor, although after seeing his dancing Rei wondered if it would have been better if he had remained a zombie.

 

Nevertheless, Rei and Usagi joined Naru and Umino, and the fun they appeared to be having. Rei and Usagi's intimate embraces and provocative touches they worked into their dance routines raised the other couple's eyebrows, but they seemed to get used to it. The Senshi of Passion's heels didn't hold her back; when you were a master of fighting in them, dancing in them wasn't much of a challenge. Neither did the prospect of something preying on the other dancers deter Rei; really, her concerns about dancing and losing focus were unwarranted. Her senses were *always* focused. If something wicked and not of this world were to come, she would know. But until then, she intended to have fun with Usagi; with her Princess--with her love.

 

“Usagi! What happened to your neck?!” Naru asked in alarm.

 

******

 

There was a click in the darkness, and suddenly the screen of Minako's mobile phone lit up the blonde's tired features, its pasty glow a lone light in--if the time on the device was correct, and she was pretty sure it was--the absolute dead of night. Or was that early morning now? Shops had closed, the park lights had turned off, and everyone that lived here at least had gone to sleep in their crudely improvised beds that nevertheless looked rather attractive to the Senshi of Love and Beauty right now. She had forgotten how quiet it could be at night, when all but those that thrived in the dark withdrew from the world until the light returned. All, except *her*. Minako was still here, still awake, still watching over the men and women that made their home in this park. She had lost count of the hours, but it didn't matter. Late nights didn't bother her. This was old times.

 

Her phone beeped softly as a practiced thumb danced rapidly over the keypad, checking for missed messages. There were none, but she hadn't expected to find any. Minako had meant to go out tonight--the usual; dinner and drinking; well, she didn't actually drink--however Setsuna hadn't called or sent her a text message wondering why she hadn't showed. Why would the woman wonder, though. Of course she knew, being who she was. For a moment Minako considered if she had been missed, by the Outer Senshi or even by Mamoru or Motoki, then decided it was best not to think about it. Not even the Senshi of Love's parents had called her. Minako guessed it was old times for them too.

 

The girl slowly closed her phone in her hand, musing whether she should have made the calls or sent the messages instead. But it would have been unnecessary. Setsuna was wise to everything, and her parents were used to her gallivanting at all hours. It made things less complicated anyway, being overlooked. Minako wouldn't have said no to that dinner, though, if she could have eaten it here. Dinner for her had been vending machine junk food scoffed down while sitting against a tree and worrying Toshio would catch her still loitering. Thankfully the police officer had left some time ago, allowing Minako to patrol in peace from then on.

 

Minako petted the fuzzy mound beside her, hearing it purr unconsciously under her affection. The blonde smiled fondly. She wasn't alone at least. Artemis was rusty however; he had fallen asleep, and his whining about giving up and going home hadn't ebbed much since the afternoon. But maybe she was rusty as well. The girl hadn't seen anything strange whatsoever. Perhaps her instincts had been wrong? Perhaps whatever had been abducting the homeless had moved on from this area and her dedication had really been nothing more than a big waste of her time and energy. In a few more hours it would be daybreak. No matter her doubts, Minako couldn't leave it before then. As long as it was dark, there was still a chance that something was skulking in that gloom, be it human after all, or something else entirely.

 

Minako laid her hand on Artemis's back and shook the feline gently. “Artemis,” she whispered. “It's time to make the rounds again.”

 

The white lump moaned, and for a second the Guardian Senshi didn't think he was going to get up, but then he stretched like only a cat could, and lazily blinked his eyes open. “Minako... I really don't think anything's here....”

 

“Let's make sure of it,” Minako said, as chipper as though she were as fresh as a daisy, when in fact she was far from it. “You know I need your eyes. Anyway, you shouldn't be tired. Aren't cats supposed to be nocturnal?”

 

“Minako...” Artemis started to whine again, but suddenly his head perked up, the fur on his back standing on end. He was wide awake now. “I think I see something.”

 

“Where? Where?” Minako breathily inquired, gripped and agitated by a sudden surge of adrenaline herself. She strained to pierce through the dark with her gaze; however vague outlines and indistinguishable shapes of what could be an army of monsters for all she knew was the best her eyes could come up with, her imagination having to fill in the rest... or a certain feline.

 

“Someone is walking around,” Artemis said, his voice hurried and hushed, and adding to Minako's excitement. He didn't turn his head from the sight somewhere in the distance; from what only his animal eyes were able to see.

 

“Maybe they just need to use the bathroom,” Minako pointed out, still striving to see through the darkness; squinting even and bringing her head down to Artemis's level, close to the ground; in spite of knowing the futilely of her efforts.

 

“No....” The cat turned then to the Senshi, and even in the pitch black she could detect the change in his demeanour. “They're carrying someone.”

 

Artemis bounded off, his paws silent and quick on the ground, and Minako was left to bite off a yelp as she struggled to go after him, shoving her phone into her pocket. “I can't see!” she hissed, running blind and terrified of tripping over some poor slumbering homeless fellow and blowing their stealthy pursuit. “Artemis! *Artemis*!”

 

Minako grunted when she felt something hit her in the chest, and realising it was her feline companion, grabbed him in her arms.

 

“Straight ahead,” Artemis's whispered guidance came. “Wait, go left! Watch that bush! That flagstone's uneven there!”

 

The Senshi of Love and Beauty stubbed her toes, banged her shins and knees into trashcans and benches, stumbled and almost fell over numerous times, but eventually Artemis led her to the suspicious character; close enough that even the girl could make him--or whatever it was--out. He was still a shadowy figure, but Minako could follow him without Artemis's dodgy directions, which was a relief for all concerned.

 

The blonde heard a heavy metal scraping sound, and then silence, and then the sound again. The figure had vanished after that.

 

“You're not going to like this...” Artemis bemoaned, and Minako could practically hear the cringe in his voice.

 

“Please tell me that wasn't a manhole. Tell me it wasn't!”

 

“Ahh....”

 

Minako sighed heavily but nevertheless ran up to the sewer entrance. She hated the sewers. Who wouldn't? Wading through an entire city's human refuse was not something people lined up to do. Bad guys seemed to love it down there amid the foulness and the bazillion rats, and the nests of bugs, and everything else horrible that made a home in filth. The network of tunnels were a good way to move around Tokyo undetected, but the Senshi of Beauty wished the creatures of the night would learn something about personal hygiene, and maybe something about self-respect. That this guy had chosen the sewers to make his escape gave him a tick in the monster box rather than the human one; even criminals had standards, with few willing to traipse through poop unless it was a last resort or they were especially sick.

 

Artemis hopped out of Minako's arms as the girl crouched down at the manhole, sighing once again. She felt for the holes where a crowbar or another lever would go, pushing her fingers through, and then heaved with all her might, leaning back to put her weight behind it.

 

“Come on, Minako!” Artemis urged unhelpfully.

 

Minako's arms quivered and she groaned and grumbled and grunted in the back of her throat, as unladylike as she'd ever been, but at last iron scraped against paving again as the cover shifted. She fell back onto her backside, the muscles in her arms aching and her fingers stinging.

 

“Hurry!”

 

Minako eyed Artemis dryly while she sat there on the ground, regaining her breath and wiping the grime and rust from her hands--although where she was going it was a pointless act. Artemis was right. She hadn't done this much, and come this far, to lose her only lead to Eiji and the other homeless disappearances now. The Senshi crawled over to the manhole, pushing the cover completely out of the way; easy to do now it was loose; and then felt for the ladder. She clambered down into darkness that was even deeper than that in the park above, with Artemis flopped over her left shoulder like a rag.

 

When her feet were enveloped in water, Minako winced in disgust and internally shrieked. She tried not to imagine what was floating *in* that water, but her mind wouldn't listen and didn't stop terrorising her. She had liked these shoes, too. Artemis wisely stayed draped over her shoulder. He had it so easy. At least he had to suffer the putrid, nauseating, downright awful smell just as she did.

 

Fighting the impulse to retch or even outright hurl, Minako blindly pressed onwards, Artemis's whispered guidance in her ear keeping her on track. She couldn't see him anymore in the exhaustive murk, but the cat assured her that the mysterious figure and his victim were dead ahead, the latter slung over the figure's shoulder much like Artemis was over the Senshi of Beauty's. The blonde could hear however the splashes the figure caused as he walked, apparently heedless of noise now that he was below ground where normal beings seldom braved. It worked to Minako's advantage; she was meticulous with her steps, such that the disturbance she made in the sewer water shouldn't be picked up over his lumbering. She could follow him. Confronting the figure would come later; the big picture had to be served first--Minako had to uncover his agenda, and from that determine whether there were other victims besides the immediate one that weren't beyond saving. For the sake of Mr. Kats' brother, the girl hoped there were.

 

“M-Minako!” Artemis suddenly squealed, his claws digging into her top.

 

Minako felt her footing give way as though a rug had been pulled from under her; however there was no rug hidden in the sewer water, but some sort of debris that had snagged her ankle. She registered all this in a split second, right before she landed face first in the grossest liquid imaginable. “Aww, *no*!” the girl spluttered, gagging as her mind struggled to wrap around the horror of her situation. In hysterics, she spat and spat, frantic to purge every droplet of sewer water from the inside of her mouth. She tried to remember if she had swallowed any, and panicked as she considered the worst possibility. Would she get some disease? Did they have pills for that? Would she have to go to the hospital? Then she felt the tainted water soaking into her clothes, plastering the once designer gear to her skin, contaminating her body, and with another horrified retch, she hurried to stand up.

 

“*Minako*~!” Artemis squealed again, and for a moment the blonde thought he had taken a dunking in a toxic cesspool as well. But his concerns turned out to be different. “Th-Th-The--! He's changing! *It's* changing! It's big! *Big*! It's the size of the tunnel!” So much for stealth.

 

A bestial roar erupted like a siren; long and loud; and Minako could feel the smelly underground air blast into her wet face. The sewer tunnel shook; and dust, pebbles, masonry, roaches, rats, *whatever*--hard little things--rained down on her head. Raining vermin would have ordinarily had her in fits, but creepy-crawlies and feral rodents, the filth on her clothes and sticking to her hair, the stench of the sewers and the muck around her ankles--none of it mattered to her any longer.

 

“*Youma*~!” the flustered feline cried, as if there was any doubt left.

 

The Inner Senshi wiped her mouth and spat a final time. This was what she did. Minako's Henshin Stick materialised in her hand, spinning in her grasp with timeless familiarity before she grabbed it properly and thrust it in the air.

 

“VENUS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!”

 

Minako's sodden street clothes faded from her body, stripping her naked, but not for long. Orange ribbons of energy suffused the air around her, bringing with them vestments that were as ancient as they were comfortable; a uniform that fit like no other outfit could. Where the ribbons touched her skin a Sailor fuku sparkled into existence; blue and yellow bows tying, and an orange skirt swirling around her waist. White gloves flowed down her arms to her elbows, and orange heels found her feet. The transformation was over in a blink of an eye, and where Minako had been Sailor Venus now stood, Senshi of Love and Beauty.

 

“I'll need your eyes, Artemis.” Her voice had changed; it was more direct, filled with purpose.

 

The girl felt her companion's firm nod, his furry face brushing against her cheek. He still clung to her, his claws finding purchase in her Sailor fuku.

 

The roar sounded again, and Artemis's claws sank deeper, pricking the blonde's flesh. “I-It's charging straight for us!”

 

“CRESCENT BEAM!”

 

A yellow shaft of energy exploded from Sailor Venus's pointed finger, lighting up the tunnels for an instant as it burned through the air towards her invisible target. For that instant she saw it, the creature--the youma--a remnant of an invasion that had taken place and been thwarted months ago. She saw grey leathery skin and impossible muscles, and her attack nevertheless burrowing through it all, but that was it before darkness descended again. The youma bellowed and the tunnel shook again, the crunch of a brick wall giving way and clumsy, heavy footfalls, behind its wounded cry.

 

“It didn't stop it!” Artemis yelled. “Move!”

 

Sailor Venus flipped backwards, legs scissoring and her hands dipping into the sewer water as she tumbled deftly head over heels, putting space between herself and the youma. Artemis somehow managed to hold on, on the ride of his life, but wasn't above wailing his distress.

 

The blonde felt the air move behind her as she continued her acrobatics, disturbed by some monstrous limb or appendage. Artemis wailed louder, and Venus wondered a second if the feline would have preferred to be the one who couldn't see in the dark.

 

“CRESCENT BEAM!”

 

Sailor Venus fired another blast into the pitch black, her flips becoming cartwheels as she balanced on one hand upside down while still maintaining her hasty retreat. Again there was a flash and a glimpse of a beast, and another howl of agony. But the pounding footsteps and the loud splashes that accompanied them kept coming.

 

Once upright the girl leapt back, knowing she couldn't keep up her gymnastic feat forever while blind. She wasn't privy to where the tunnel might suddenly turn, and there could be more junk waiting in the water to trip her up. “Artemis!” she shouted.

 

“Duck!” the cat directed urgently.

 

Sailor Venus obeyed without the slightest hesitation, her trust in her long-time friend and companion, and his judgement, absolute.

 

“Step back! Roll left!”

 

The Senshi of Love could sense the youma's swings, and every time she held her breath, questioning if she'd moved far enough, or heard Artemis correctly. She couldn't keep this up either--it only took a single mistake--and defence without counterattack was doomed to fail sooner or later.

 

“You should not have come yourself, little Senshi!” the creature spoke, its words virtually said in one long growl. “I have no fear of you! I will not go easily!”

 

“But you're still gonna go,” Sailor Venus quipped cheerily, winking, and hoping the youma could see it.

 

Apparently it had, for it roared again, and Artemis babbled a variety of commands to keep Venus from being torn apart or crushed, or whatever it was this youma did to its enemies.

 

“I need an opening, Artemis~!” the blonde nagged in an impatient singsong.

 

The feline's instructions kept coming, until-- “Now! Dive forwards! Low--through its legs!”

 

Venus did as directed, but wasn't exactly on time in following Artemis's longwinded prompting. She dived, but something sharp cut into her right calf--a claw, a spine--the pain searing, as though she'd been touched with a hot iron. It was not a pain she was unused to, nor was it an injury she had never sustained before in her long past. She ignored it, forcing herself onward through the sewer water, through the youma's legs, sliding past it to the other side of the tunnel.

 

She heard the creature snarl over her shoulder; however the murderous anger in its voice was replaced with furious panic.

 

“It's stuck!” Artemis squeaked excitedly. “It's too big to turn around! Go, Minako~!”

 

“CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER!”

 

The ray of light from the Senshi of Love's fingertip split apart into an array of beams--a barrage true to its name as it peppered the youma's defenceless back. She caught a look at its face during the lightshow--its giant, hairless head, peering over a meaty shoulder, and its one large milky eye above a slimy maw. And that solitary eye's incredulity before a streak of energy melted clean through it and out the other side of the youma's skull, just one of several bolts that speared the creature's hide.

 

“It's... It's down...” Artemis breathed with relief, pawing up the girl's shoulder to collapse over it. “It's over. You did it.”

 

Sailor Venus slowly lowered her outstretched hand and allowed herself a heavy, relieved sigh too. Score one for the good guys. Then she recalled the victim in all this. “Where's the... the guy or whatever? The person it was carrying?”

 

“Oh... I saw him get thrown over there. Um, turn around, walk about... fifteen steps?”

 

Following Artemis's guidance yet again, Venus located the homeless man the youma had kidnapped, tossed aside like garbage... or a hunk of meat. He had probably been destined for the creature's belly. She would never really know, however; not tonight at any rate. She had blown it. There could be a nest of hungry youma survivors preying on the populace down here; there could be not just one but half a dozen; a *dozen*; *more*; but she didn't know one way or the other. It was a failure on Venus's part; in the old days she wouldn't have dropped the ball so badly. But at least one life had been saved.

 

“Is he okay?” Sailor Venus asked.

 

“He's breathing, but unconscious. He's got a head wound....”

 

“Better safe than sorry then.” It meant an ambulance. “I don't think I'll get a signal down here.” She sighed. “It's going to be a pain dragging this guy all the way back.” And then there was the manhole's ladder! It wasn't like she was some big burly fireman. It would go over better with the authorities if the man wasn't found deep in the tunnels, though. “You just lie there, of course,” Venus said dryly to her longsuffering cat on her shoulder, knowing perfectly well there wasn't anything he could do to help out.

 

“Minako...” Artemis whined guiltily nonetheless.

 

Sailor Venus's fuku vanished in a shower of orange sparkles, and the girl reverted back to plain old Minako Aino, the blonde that was drenched in people's bodily waste. She felt for the homeless man's arms and tucked hers underneath his, then began the arduous task of hauling his lifeless butt to the manhole opening. Minako grunted a lot, and muttered complaints, but inside she was thankful. Every life was important, and she'd made a difference tonight. If only every night could be as blessed.

 

But she prayed her bumbling hadn't damned future nights, and condemned other people to grim fates. And she prayed that Eiji wasn't one of those people.

 

******

 

Chamista gritted her pointed teeth, her lips curling back in annoyance as she breathed a sharp sigh. She sensed the presence instead of actually seeing it with her eyes, for the latter were bathed in beauty that she was not inclined to turn away from, especially not for *her*. “What?” she tersely demanded, speaking through her clenched fangs; otherwise fixated on her study. The crystal garden glistened before her; irresistible; almost whispering to her, *pleading* for her attention. It was constantly growing. You had to watch closely, but new spires sprouted and existing shards slowly lengthened; dark flowers budding and blooming. Its appetite had grown as well. There was no end to the number of humans it was willing to consume; if the pace could not be kept perhaps youma too would have to be sacrificed. The useless ones, of course. The weak and the dissenters; those that could be spared. Yes... they would better serve that way.

 

“One did not come back,” Shuthiru said quietly, and meekly. It was an insult that she and Chamista were the same species--they were nothing alike. Shuthiru cowered where Chamista stood proud, and was a disease for the eyes while Chamista was ambrosia for every sense. Shuthiru's dirty yellow hair was too like a human's, her eyes were an ugly shade of jade, her tail was thick and stubby--in fact, she was probably the runt of her litter, with her stunted horns and diminutive body. It was fortunate for her that Chamista was so generous, allowing her to serve someone far greater than she, and in that, allowing her a chance at survival. “Heupheus.”

 

“I don't know who that is,” Chamista gruffly replied. “A deserter?”

 

“It is unlikely. He was part of Lord Khairephon's army.”

 

In other words, `Heupheus' had been a blood-crazed maniac, like nearly all of that slain demon's former soldiers. Not a deserter then--those youma were too dumb for freethinking; fighting and dying was what they did, following their Lord into any manner of abyss, screaming joyously even as certain doom descended upon them. They should have been grateful Chamista now led them; their deaths would have value at last.

 

“Then...” Chamista murmured. “Jadeite!” she immediately summoned, finally pulling herself from the purple crystals and the ethereal glowing in their facets. “Where are you? *Come*!”

 

From the deep shadows in the back rooms the human came, and for a moment the image of him seemed unclear, as though Chamista were seeing him through liquid. But there was no mistaking the youma's hound. She may have loosened his leash a bit, but *only* a bit.

 

“The Sailor Senshi. You said you would take care of them.”

 

“I did, and I am,” Jadeite said, barely veiled resentment in his voice. Hmph. His tongue would lead him astray one day. If he didn't need it, Chamista would have bitten it out and made a meal of it by now.

 

“Then *why* has my horde been weakened?! *Why* do I have less one youma at my disposal?! Tell me this!”

 

“If you have a need, then take a replacement.” Jadeite, unflappable as ever, made a flourish, extending an arm towards the crystal garden. “You have many to choose from. However, picking a flower before it has fully blossomed.... Suffice to say I can't guarantee its majesty.”

 

Chamista followed his arm, looking back at the crystal shards erupting from the ground. So that's what it was. An army indeed. Yet there was something else about it... something more. It had a connection to the earth it grew from... something ancient. Something powerful. Power and mystery--two of Chamista's favourite things.

 

“Away, human,” the youma spat, satisfied for the time being. She turned to Shuthiru. “Bring me half of tonight's catch,” Chamista ordered.

 

Shuthiru bowed, and then shuffled off towards where the cattle had been gathered, snivelling and trembling as they all seemed to do in the presence of their betters. At least there wasn't a shortage of humans. They always seemed ripe for the taking.

 

******

 

To be continued....

 

 

Author's ramblings:

 

I figured I'd use `Big Sis' in place of onee-san.

 

Sailor fuku = the Sailor suit outfit