Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Pretty Soldiers ❯ Act 05 - makoto : Sailorjupiter ( Chapter 5 )

       Rain fell steadily to the ground as Tokyo slept.
       In a recently rented apartment in Juuban, steam clouded the windows as its occupant bustled through the kitchen, humming a popular song on the radio beneath her breath. Hands sticky with vegetable juice wiped down the front of her apron, before she picked up a wooden spoon and began to stir a pot of soup on the stove. "Get reddy…get a chan-su, leddy…." She sang the few words of mangled English cheerfully before turning the heat off and removing the pot.
       Though it was well past midnight, the small but sturdy oak dining table was set for a fancy dinner for one; well-polished china plate, sparkling fork, knife, and soup spoon, and a spot-free water glass. Salad sat in a small wicker basket next to a similar one filled with rolls, and a small plate with butter. On a round place mat she set the soup pot, lid tightly hold the steam and heat inside.
       Hands were roughly scrubbed clean and dried.
       The apron was neatly hung on a wooden peg next to the doorway.
       And a beloved, framed photograph was placed at the head of the table.
       In her own way, Kino Makoto was eating dinner with her parents. Even before she sat down, she bowed respectfully to the two ghosts in the picture, kissing each tiny face in turn. Then, after settling into her seat, she lowered her head once more and whispered Grace.
       None of Makoto's previous classmates had ever known her parents had been Christians, finding Jesus after their daughter had been barely born after an extremely difficult birth. The religion had barely touched Makoto; after all, they lived in Japan. Belief was a many-splendored religion, and the brunette found more peace and understanding in the ideals of Shinto.
       But she had gone to church with them, sang hymns in both English and Japanese, and knew the correct way to make the Sign of the Cross. Pictures of a white bearded man hung inconspicuous in the main room; neither side of the family approved of the belief.
       And now, nearly nine years after their deaths - how rarely lightning brought commercial jets down to crash and burn - she still said Grace to appease their souls, whether in their Heaven or some other wonderful Paradise. It was the only time she ever did so.
       "Otou-san, Okaa-san…it seems like we only talk when I'm in trouble, ne?" Grace said, she picked up the salad and began to fork a generous amount of lettuce onto her plate. "I know you must be….disappointed in me, but it called me again. The wind.
       "I know you don't believe in what I say," she added in a soft mumble, spearing a few sliced cherry tomatoes before raising her tone again, "but it's true. I have to be here, waiting." Some light dressing and crumbled cheese were added to the mix before she took a forkful, crunching quietly.
       Lightning crashed outside, setting the lights to flicker. Green eyes regarded the white flash mildly, a sip of water taken. "I should fear the lightning because it took you away from me, papa." She looked away from the window to pick up her beloved photograph, touching the glass. "But I feel at peace with the electric tingle in the air, the rumbling noise….I feel as if it knows me, telling me the same secret as the wind."
       The rain started to pound harder at the glass, rapid in its fall. The brunette hugged her parents tight to her chest and began to rock slowly in her chair, listening to the weather as it washed Tokyo clean.

       Neither rain nor sleet nor more rain…. V thought ruefully.
       In all honesty, yellow the colour of canaries did not make for hiding well in the shadows. But, as catching cold would have been detrimental to the job, the long-haired blonde had wrapped herself in an oversized raincoat and fisherman's hat, galoshes loose over her high heels. She looked completely ridiculous, a yellow blob against the faded bricks of the bank she was using as a lookout point, and Artemis wasn't above reminded her of it.
       Shoving the pen in a thick rubber pocket had solved the problem.
       As usual, the criminal element was doing the intelligent thing, and staying indoors; no way in hell would some hoity-toity Yakuza lackey be caught dead wetting his expensive suit in this horrid weather. Even the petty thieves and scattered pickpockets (how rare they were!) stayed inside, most likely with a girl or five. Only the lone soldier of justice was stupid enough to be sitting in the pouring rain, waiting for a crime that wouldn't happen.
       "Artemis no baka," she grumbled under her breath, tilting her hat brim. A waterfall splashed onto her lap, dripping under the folds of the raincoat to soak her knees. "Baka, baka, baKA! I could be home, nice and warm and dry, reading my new manga, but noo!"
       "….nak….hear me?….nus…"
       "And of course there'll be crimes committed tonight to keep me busy!" Water was now sliding its way into her boots, soaking her high heels, making her itch.
       "Mi….uuban….VE…..S….."
       Water was just everywhere now, despite the layers of rubber. She was pretty sure it was soaking through her mask now, too! With a snarl of frustration, she ripped every bit of offending yellow off, flinging it over the edge. "I give up! Let the rain soak me, Artemis, you stupid ca-SHIMATTA!"
       "Sailor V, do you hear me!?" The pen, freed from its pocket by freefall, shouted up at her. In stereo. In pissed theatre surround sound.
       Golden chain spiraled out, snapping like a whip around the nearest flagpole, before the sailor-suited soldier leapt, dropping down after it.
       "Minako, for the love of the kami, what are you doing, taking a lunch break!?" Artemis sounded as if he were hoarse from screaming. "Minako, answer me!"
       "Eheh….gomen nasaaai, Artemis!"
       "What the hell kept you?! And just where are you now?"
       V looked up, squinting against the falling rain. "About five stories down…"
        "NANI?"
       "Nevermind! Everything's fine, Artemis!" Pen in hand, she swung with the wind four stories above the street, giving a stranded passerby a clear look beneath her skirt. Glaring, she continued talking. "So, what's so urgent you needed to scream about? Some foreigner try to leave a tip and get run over by a hit and run sushi chef?"
       That was definitely a pronounced tic in his eye. Yep. He needed to get it checked out one day. Biting back what would have amounted to an hour's long shouting match, he tapped a paw at the computer. "No, Minako. As a matter of fact, an usual amount of dark energy has concentrated at a location near you."
       "……….ah."
       "Would you mind, my ever-compliant soldier, checking it out for me?" The long-haired blonde eyed the pen suspiciously.
       "You're using big words on me, Artemis." That said, she stuck the pen between her teeth and began the long climb upwards as the white feline exhaled miles away.
       Eyeing the screen with a look amounting to plain ol' giving up, he paused to clean between his front right toes. "I wouldn't dare, Mina."
       One excellent attribute of the change was enhanced strength, and V used it to her advantage as she hauled herself back onto the roof again, muscles straining to compensate for the recent climbing. There was no way Aino Minako, everyday Tokyo citizen, could have climbed five stories up a slippery magical chain. Hell, as Minako, she couldn't even climb a rope for gym class, and she had been picked as the best athlete for the games weeks back.
       She took a moment to flex those muscles especially, making sure they were still limber, before she began her dart across the rooftops, a blue and yellow blur as she leapt from building to building. "Artemis, where exactly is it?"
       "Juuban district. A small store that just opened, I believe…a fortune teller."
       Arms and legs pumping, she pushed off from the last roof, spreading her limbs into a mock-airplane pose, riding the wind down. Despite the rain, she laughed joyously; she always loved the descent when she had the time to enjoy it.
       Then, the impact of landing in the alley; knee down, a hand braced against the ground, a fist pulled back and reading to aim an attack. No matter what, she always assumed the same pose, because the kami knew when someone - or something - could step out. Though once she surveyed the alley and found it empty of anyone else but her, she stood up.
       From the front, the store looked almost gaudy next to its plainly advertised neighbors. A lurid eye-in-pyramid design hung above the door, silhouetted with a red starburst. The brickwork had been recently painted over yellow - as if she needed more of it tonight? - and the name of the store, Eye of the Future, was painted in white English block letters on the window.
       But the aura was, to her soldier's sense, malevolent.
       Twilight blues glanced skyward, narrowing at the swirling clouds that seemed to circle around the very building. "Definitely evil, Artemis," she said, tilting her head down at the pen tucked into her collar.
       Nearby, a stray dog began to growl as she stepped closer to the window, trying to see inside. A gloved hand rubbed furiously at the rain and streaked dirt, clearing a rough hole, before her breath fogged it up again. "I can't see insid-"
       And in the next minute, she hit the ground with a startled scream, teeth firmly biting in her leg.
       Automatically, she kicked out with the other leg, heel aimed just right to catch whoever it was in the nose. She was rewarded with a howl, and she pushed off with the same leg to do a hasty roll forward. "Artemis, something bit me! A stray dog bit me…"
       No…not a stray. She stared past her mauled calf at the five glowing red eyes that stared at her, the youma in the rough shape of a dog, but not quite. Blood as blue as her eyes flowed from its nose where she kicked it, and its teeth were bared in a definite snarl. "Sailor V. Submit your energy to our great Queen, pathetic warrior."
       "Venus!"
       "I'm alright, Artemis!" the long-haired blonde yelled, pointing her finger as the youma sprang. "Crescent Beam!"
       The force of the beam shoved her backwards, as she only had one leg to brace herself with. As she hit the wall, elbow and head cracking with the impact, she heard the youma howl in pain, giving her a reason to smile. "Submission? Never!"
       Despite her growing injuries, she pushed herself upright to glare at the creature. "Sneaking up on a soldier when her back is turned? Your big bad boss may condone it, but I sure as hell don't!" She pressed herself firm against the wall, bracing herself for another attack. "Codename: Sailor V! I don't give up that easy, dog boy! Crescent BEAM!"
       The second missed as the youma leapt, blood mixing with the rain upon her face as the wind carried it towards her. She spat and crouched, ignoring the screaming pain in her leg, to leap just above the creature's head as it neared, landing on her good leg on its head.
       Again it howled. But even its injuries didn't slow it down, and it grabbed her ankle before she could leap again, flinging her across the street and through a window. She screamed as glass cut and re-cut her, bouncing across the linoleum tiles as she landed. Artemis was yelling her name outside, her pen having falling out of her pocket in mid-air. "V! V! Answer me, Venus, please!"
       "Our kingdom will be victorious with your death, girl-child." The youma was dripping blood nearly as much as she, though it walked seemingly without pain through the wall. All five eyes gleamed through the darkness as she madly scrabbled and clawed her way behind an aisle shelf - she noted vaguely that she'd shopped in this store as early as three hours ago - trailing red across the floor.
       Something was dripping into her eyes.
       Pressed against the shelf as she was, weak from blood loss and who knew what else, she simply waited, cursing silently. She hadn't fought a true youma in almost a year, and she was so out of her league it was pathetic. And she had been the one to take on those first minions solo! Her inner monologue was not pleased with her, and was giving her a solid thrashing when the shelf simply splintered behind her.
       Adrenaline sent her flying into the main aisle, the youma's claws coming within mere inches of her uninjured leg. She hit the ground rolling, grabbing the first heavy, throwable object she could find, and flung it with what was, for her, uncanny accuracy.
       She'd thrown a metal paperweight, solid and thick. And the sound it made when it made contact with two of the creature's eyes was pretty damn nasty, all wet and syrupy. But it stopped it long enough for her to do a hasty jog for the window, diving back out into the slackening rain to grab her pen. "Artemis, I'm in trouble!"
       "Can you handle it, Minako?" The white feline sounded anxious and scared, despite being safe underground. But he would come running if he had to; she knew it.
       The youma was getting up; she could hear it. "I-I'm trying…but I hit my head, and I haven't fought them for so long, I…"
       Lightning flashed, illuminating them both in the street: the youma, running, and she, too tired and nauseous to even run, frozen in its path. Her leg buckled just as they connected, flying back across the street as its clawed hand reared back, ready to rip her face off.
       And she slammed her crescent compact against its face, whispering the words as she hit a wall for the second time, too weak to even concentrate the power through her hands. Light flashed brilliant against her eyeballs as the compact did its work within seconds; and she slid down, alone, to the ground. "…..baka."
       Dimly she recognized that Artemis was screaming.
       The rain had slackened off during the fight; now it was merely a soft patter as the long-haired blonde crawled to her feet, unsteady. Taking a breath seemed like a chore, and she forced herself to inhale deeply just to remind herself she could.
       "Mina! I'm coming to find you, dammit, if you don't answer me!"
       "Don't shout, Artemis, you sound like an old woman," she replied cheerfully, her voice faltering on the last syllable. Tucking the pen back into her collar, she started to walk slowly, painfully, down the road towards the Crown, leaving incomplete bloody footprints in her wake. Thank the kami it was only a block away… "I guess the enemy is growing stronger, ne?"
       Artemis smacked a paw against his forehead, grinding his fang teeth together. "You could've been killed, Mina! Stop being so happy, I won't allow it on the job!"
       "Ara ara, Artemis…Sailor V, die? Never!" She sounded a hell of a lot cheerier than she felt. Despite the abundance of building walls to lean on, she almost collapsed on the sidewalk just before the Crown's door. No, scratch that; she did collapse, though inwardly as the door slid open for her, unlocked and powered by the underground computer.
       Cool tile floor, mopped in the last five hours. She rested her forehead gratefully against the wonderful coolness before pulling herself forward on her belly. The door slid shut behind her feet as she crawled towards the Sailor V console, even as it slid back to reveal the entrance beneath it.
       All she needed was a few hours' sleep; her soldier's body, seemingly perfect in all ways, recharged itself quite easily. It was the various injuries she'd have trouble explaining to her mother in the morning…
       And thank the kami she didn't have to explain the blood smears on the floor to the management.

      Morning came foggy to Tokyo. It obscured the view from the window as Usagi stared outside from her desk, pouting. Around her, her classmates talked candidly in their small groups, waiting for the next teacher to come in and start class.
      "Why do Naru-chan and Moriya-chan have to be sick on the same day?" the odango-haired blonde whimpered, tapping her fingers on her desk. Ami, in her classroom, was too busy reading books all of the time to hang out between class, leaving Usagi thoroughly alone and bored senseless.
      So, property damage it was.
      Taking up her pen, she began to trace a thick line around the outside of an already-finished pen scribble on the corner of her desk: a top hat, goofy smile, mask. Little hearts were added in a circle once she was finished. Then, she began to carefully inscribe the words "Tuxedo Kamen" above, though she couldn't remember the kanji for the second word to save her life.
      "Tsukino-san, did you hear about Naru-chan?" The pen dropped as her classmate peered over her shoulder, and she dove forward across her desk.
      "I, ahh, I wasn't….wait, Naru-chan?" Crystal blue eyes stared wide at the girl addressing her; Naoko? "What about Naru-chan? I heard she was sick."
      The girl slapped her hands on the front of Usagi's desk, using it to lean on as she said, dramatically, "You didn't hear? Oh, it's most serious, a mystery!"
      Class conversation ceased as Usagi gulped, leaning back as her classmate leaned forward. "I heard she was cursed by the fortune teller last night!"
      Silence.
      A cricket chirping would've been cited for disturbing the peace.
      Notably, several girls gulped.
      Then, one of the boys, who fancied himself a tough guy, busted out laughing. "Oh come on, Naoko, that's stupid!"
      "Yeah, really dumb!" another added.
      "But what if it's true?" a random female classmate moaned, looking reasonably distressed along with her little group. "We have to be careful about whom we ask the secrets of the future from…."
      A rather wet snort echoed across the room, coming from the male's corner.
      Usagi tittered as Naoko turned away to join the group of now-terrified females, their whimpering secluding itself near a window. "Uso…Naru-chan getting sick like this…" Fingers touched her brooch unconsciously, clasping it tight.
      Then, the door slid open finally as their teacher walked in, greeting several students as they all filed back to their desks quickly but orderly, putting a stop to the talking.
      Come lunchtime, however, it started up again. The rumour of an evil fortune teller was spreading faster than the fog still lazily, if weakly, drifting outside.
      The odango-haired blonde fled post haste to the courtyard, bento in hand, crystal blue eyes unfocused as the thoughts whirled in her brain. Fortune tellers cursing Naru-chan? But why? The brunette had the usual disposition of a princess in Usagi's opinion; not many could conjure an ill thought in their mind about her.
      But what if it hadn't been a random attack?
      What if….
      As uncustomary as the odango-haired blonde was to deep thinking, she quite literally ran into one of the other students outside. The impact, light as it was, took them both down; obviously, the other student hadn't been paying attention either, and once those swirly lenses stared back at her, she realized why. "Umino!"
      "Shhh!" Normally the geek was content to babble and confuse his listeners to death, once he'd cornered them. But this time he felt the need to silence her, and slapped a hand over her mouth, fingertip to his own in the universal gesture of silence. "Be quiet, Usagi-chan, I'm in observation of a deadly new species!"
      He removed his hand - which, oddly enough, smelled like prunes and other strange, medicinal things - so she could respond. Which she did, after she'd wiped her lips once he turned around. "A deadly new species? At Juuban?" she queried, sounding doubtful. Her fallen lunch was rescued, and she tiptoed over to her classmate's side to peer around the tree he had hidden behind.
      At first, all she saw was a brown ponytail.
      Well….not quite brown. More like a lovely, rich auburn just this side of brown.
      Wavy, too. And since perms were not allowed, it had to be natural.
      Then she recognized the slope of shoulders around it, in white, rolled-up shirtsleeves, a tan sailor's collar with two solid stripes. "Nani? That's not our school uniform," she muttered, squinting her eyes.
      Umino's whisper was something close to a chicken scratch and a squeak, but at least it was within the range of acceptable quiet. "A new transfer student; the rumour is that she was kicked out of her old school for fighting!" No doubt every single detail about the poor girl was being mentally filed away for his extensive knowledge. "She's tall, and can't even fit into our uniform; that's why she's wearing her old one."
      "Sugo-oi." New students were always a sure source of exciting news. "What's her name, Umino?" she added in question, even as she kept inspecting the girl.
      Then, as he began to answer her, the girl turned her head just enough for Usagi to see - and recognize - a pair of beautiful, if clip-on, rose earrings. "Kino-san!"
      "-Kino Makoto, in class….ne? Usagi-chan! You know her?" Swirl-lensed glasses found themselves staring at empty air. The nerd twisted his head around the trunk, spying a pair of blonde ponytails dancing through the air as she skipped towards the new arrival. "Usagi-chan!" he sputtered.
      This was turning out to be a good day after all. Usagi positively glowed as she came closer to Makoto, intent on surprising the girl. Coming to a new school was difficult but she, Tsukino Usagi, Bearer of Goodwill, would make the transition easier!
      Or so she kept humming to herself.
      As she got close, she was suddenly aware of shouting going on to the right of her. The baseball field shared space with the common grounds where the students ate lunch, and at the moment, some of the students were playing a friendly practice game.
      But why were they shouting?
      Something hummed behind her, growing louder, and she turned to see what it was, only to have someone else loom up behind her. She shrieked, falling backwards onto her butt in the still-damp grass, as Makoto's outstretched hand held a softball that had been the source of the hum. The impact of it must've hurt like a bitch, but the tall brunette showed no sign of it. Instead, she brought her arm around, leg bracing like a pro, to throw the ball back where it came from. "Heads up!"
      The softball team was in positive shock as the ball came back towards them, a few scrambling with their gloves to catch it, others shouting out praise. Once it had left her hand, however, Makoto just turned away towards the odango-haired blonde. "Konnichiwa, Tsukino-san," she said, smiling.
      Hands dusting themselves off, the tall brunette then offered one to Usagi.
      But something in her stance was slightly tense, as if expecting a blow. She knew Umino had been spying on her; knew her reputation preceded her. It seemed as if she expected Usagi to follow suit along with the rest and turn away from the troublemaker.
      Knowing the nerd was going to faint or at least go into shock, the odango-haired blonde took the hand without hesitation, breaking into embarrassed laughter. "Kino-san! Gomen nasaaaaai, I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that!" Turning bright red followed. It was all part of the Usagi cycle.
      Makoto pulled her up, her smile easier now. From the front, Usagi could also now see the rest of that unusual brown school uniform, though she realized it was more tan than brown. Laces pulled the shirt closed, though it was a sweater type of top that didn't seem very enhanced by a lace closure. The skirt, however, was long enough to nearly reach the girl's ankles, a length that would have drowned Usagi by inches.
      Fallen nearby was the odango-haired blonde's well-beaten lunch, the bag untied to spill a bit of the contents out; apparently, the carton had opened on the last impact. "Iyaaaa, my lunch! Mama's special pickles!" Usagi dropped to her knees beside it, wailing forlornly at her now unpalatable meal.
      Then she grew uncomfortably conscious of the fact that Makoto was staring at her, blinking in surprise at the outburst. Red once more colored her face as she scooted back, laughing loudly. "I mean, ah, I don't eat very much anyway! Hardly a bite at each meal!"
      "You're funny, Tsukino-san," the tall brunette chuckled, looking considerably brighter in mood. She smiled brightly, motioning back at the bench she had occupied - and vacated in haste - a few minutes previous. "Would you join me? I haven't quite finished my lunch yet…"
      "Hai!" Usagi chirped, bounding over to sit on the bench with what she managed to salvage of her bento. She smoothed her skirt beneath her thighs with a quick swipe of her hand, settled, then looked over at Makoto…
      ….who had already sunk her chopsticks into the most delicious and pretty lunch Usagi had seen outside of a commercial.
      Crystal blues widened in the slow appreciation only a true connoisseur could do.
      Then she began to drool.
      Makoto paused in lifting a small rice ball, blinking at the odango-haired blonde. "What is it, Tsukino-san?" She plucked another rice ball out, holding it out for the other girl to accept. "If your lunch is truly ruined, you can share mine."
      "Oh no, no, I don't eat much really," Usagi started to stammer. She didn't want to pig out in front of the tall brunette, but her food looked so good…
      The rice ball hovered in the air for a minute longer. "Are you sure, Tsukino-san?"
      "Wellmaybejustalittlebite-" Gone. Usagi barely took a second to breathe before inhaling the rice ball, which was as scrumptious as it had looked. The tall brunette barely escaped with hand intact, fingers flexing to assure themselves they still existed. "Ahhh, so delicious! Your mother makes lovely food, Kino-san!"
      Chopsticks paused as Makoto picked at her rice. Usagi, still licking her fingers in appreciation, missed the vague look in her friend's green eyes. "I made it myself, Tsukino-san, actually. I like to cook."
      One last finger, and crystal blues looked back to the tall brunette. "Ne, really? It was wonderful, Kino-san! And very beautiful too!" she added, motioning to the small pink heart design half-eaten atop the rice, and other small embellishments.
      "A-arigatou, Tsukino-san," the tall brunette murmured in return, sounded so surprised Usagi did a double-take.
      Green eyes stared out over the courtyard as Makoto silently and simultaneously cried for joy and in pain. "I try so hard to be womanly," she whispered faintly, looking down at her hands. Usagi surprised her again by sliding one of her own atop, and squeezing.
      They looked at one another, and Usagi smiled.
      One smile seemed to be all it took, as Makoto returned it, seeming to mentally open up like a flower to the sun. She squeezed Usagi's hand back before saying "So, Tsukino-san, do you know any grocery stores in Juuban I can shop at? Maybe, some arcades?"

      The school courtyard vibrated with the sound of pounding feet and the last bell.
      Atop the wall, Luna sat like the prim cat she was, tail curled comfortably around her paws, brown eyes scanning the crowd of schoolchildren. More than a few passing by - all girls, though one boy with a girlish giggle as well - tried to meow pitifully at her, their idea of enticing the feline down. She ignored them with her usual ear flick, though it never failed that she'd roll her eyes.
      "Humans and their horrid attempts to be feline," she grumbled under her breath as one particularly grating meow was hurled up at her. "If they were born to purr or meow, they'd be born with rough tongues and hairball problems."
      Finally, however, a familiar head of short blue hair appeared, moving slowly out from the main entrance. Alone, Luna noted with a snort of disappointment. No doubt Usagi had detention for the fourth time this week. Though Ami was not nearly as new anymore, only those matched to her intellect and test scores dared to talk to her; otherwise, she walked alone.
      A textbook was up in front of the blue-haired genius's face as she carefully placed her steps, intent on the words but aware enough of her surroundings to spy the black feline. Once she cleared the wall, she turned to the left, Luna doing a light jog above her to keep up.
      Once they cleared the crowd, however, Luna dropped, skillful enough to land on Ami's shoulder and curl herself without disrupting the girl's walk. "A little light reading, Ami-chan?" she queried, whiskers wiggling as the book brushed their tips.
      "It would be nice, wouldn't it, Luna?" the blue-haired genius sighed softly, tipping the book so Luna could see the cover: Modern Surgery. "If I want to achieve my dream, I must keep my brain full of pertinent knowledge."
      Up ahead was the crosswalk, and the usual motley crowd of businessmen, punks, schoolchildren, and what looked to be a very manly woman. Ami stopped a good couple of feet behind the group, turning a page with a finger of the same hand that held the book. Luna had noticed earlier on that the blue-haired genius avoided people when at all possible; the perfect stance for a soldier who could do nothing but defend in battle.
      "Your dream, Ami-chan?" Luna finally asked after the light failed to change for an ungodly amount of time.
      Ami smiled lightly at the sensation of a paw tapping in frustration against her shoulder. "Hai, Luna. To be a doctor like my mother…a lifesaver. To falter means to fail."
      "I wish Usagi-chan had that attitude in battle," the black feline grumbled under her breath, mentally directing a particularly nasty curse word at the walk sign. Most assuredly it had company from the rest of the crowd.
      "Usagi-chan is like an angel, Luna….perhaps, as ill-suited to be a violent soldier as I am to be a magical, violent soldier." There was a soft tremble to Ami's words that stilled Luna, though she stared at the girl nonetheless. "Perhaps, she is terrible at fighting this war, but she can win because she is good-hearted."
      The light flashed green, and everyone began to parade across the road, putting Ami in the middle. Unable to respond vocally, the black feline instead stared ahead, a worried furrow in her brow. She didn't like the way Ami put it, how she sounded the tinniest bit angry at the fact magic had invaded her world. Or was it confusion?
      And once they crossed, Luna still was unable to ask, as a couple of schoolgirls from the high school across the ward showed up behind them, laughing to one another. Close enough for her to smell their fruity lip-gloss, and for them to hear if she dared utter a word. Ami seemed not to care, her eyes intent on her book, though she was inwardly relieved.
      In silence they made it the last few blocks to the Crown, the two girls passing on by when Ami stepped through the door. Her hand deftly snapped the book shut with a small snap, only for both feline and girl to stare, startled, at a familiar set of odango at the Sailor V game.
      But Usagi wasn't playing. "Oooh, so that's how you beat the the villain!" she cooed, stabbing a finger at the console screen as Makoto jerked the joystick.
      "It's just a simple combo: charm, get a chance, hit him with the death move." Buttons were hit with emphasis, and the little pixilated V did a bouncing dance of victory.
      "Usagi-chan, you made it here before us-me?" Ami asked as she came up behind the two, the startled look having left her face. It came back for a split second as Makoto turned around. "Kino Makoto-san!"
      The odango-haired blonde beamed as if she'd just been plugged in, grabbing a hand from each girl. "Isn't it wonderful, Ami-chan? Mako-chan, the talented cook, finally transferred to our school!"
      Only Usagi could list a person's cooking skills as their only talent and leave everything else out, Luna mentally grumped. Outwardly, however, she purred in greeting at the tall brunette as Makoto flushed. "It's not really a big thing, Tsukino-san…."
      "Usagi-chan, I told you! You let me call you Mako-chan, so I'm Usagi-chan! And this is Ami-chan, the genius of Japan!" She brought their hands together, pulling them forward in the process to nearly knock heads, or, rather, head and chin.
      They shook hands, both managing somewhat graceful bows this time. "Mizuno Ami."
      "Kino Makoto, though we've met, of course."
      "Hai, but it's rude not to introduce oneself," Ami replied with a soft smile.
      Makoto pulled her hand back, smiling slyly, though it still managed to be friendly. "You're much more talkative now than when we met at the games. Is Usagi-chan driving you to insanity and giving you no choice?"
Luna nearly fell off Ami's shoulder, body quivering, as the odango-haired blonde and blue-haired genius both blinked. Then, Ami started to laugh, Usagi's mouth dropping open as she finally digested what had been said. By that time, Makoto had joined Ami in the laughter, and Usagi was thusly defeated. It was when another voice, and male at that, joined in, that both girls stopped.
      Furuhata grinned at them, holding his broom. "Gomen gomen, but she's right about that!"
      "Onii-san, that's not fair!" Usagi protested, folding her arms as she pouted. It would have worked, had he not been around her enough to know her moods.
      "Gomen!" he laughed, holding up a hand in protest, before turning it over and out towards Makoto. "And is this pretty girl another friend of yours, Usagi-chan? If you keep bringing them here, it'll be a girl's club soon enough!"
      Makoto blushed, actually fidgeting. Instead of taking his hand, she bowed quickly. "I'm Kino Makoto. I just transferred to class six, of the eighth grade, at Juuban Junior High. Hajimemashite…?"
      "Furuhata Motoki," he answered easily. Then, using his broom as a leaning post, he peered around her shoulder. "Hey, you're pretty good at Sailor V, Makoto!"
      There was that blush again.
      Ami tilted her gaze down at Luna, catching the black feline's return stare; the high score hadn't gone unnoticed. But Luna looked more confused than intent, looking away from Ami to stare at the score, then at Makoto.
      "So, onii-san, your name is Furuhata Motoki? Is that what everyone calls you?" Usagi was asking as the feline finally turned to the conversation.
      He thought for a moment, smiling. "Call me Furu-chan; everyone at college does," he finally answered, before picking his broom up. "I have to finish cleaning the store, now. Have fun, girls!" With a whistle, he was merrily sweeping his way down the aisle.
      Makoto stared after him with an unfocused look of adoration. Ami followed his walk as well for a moment, before shaking her head. "Ne, Usagi-chan, have you heard the rumours?"
      "Rumours?" the odango-haired blonde replied quizzically, scratching her head. The idea of Ami even discussing the idea of one was enough to throw her for a momentary loop. Once she got past it, however, she realized what the blue-haired genius meant. "Oh, oh! You mean the fortune teller!"
      The tall brunette turned away to enter her name into a list of high scores as Ami nodded succinctly. "Hai. The new one, just a few blocks away." Subterfuge was not on her list of talents, but she tried anyway. "Maybe we could…just the two of us…go and…um…have our fortunes read?"
      "Ano, Ami-chan, I thought you hated that sort of stuff?" Usagi scratched her head again, totally oblivious to the wince Luna and Ami shared. "Hey, Mako-chan, want to come with us?"
      Thankfully Makoto still had her back turned, not seeing the frantic stare cat and student gave the odango-haired blonde, trying to mentally fire their plan into her head. "Why not? That is," and she turned, Ami re-assuming a pose of utter innocence, Luna licking her paw, "if you'll let me come, Mizuno-san."
      No, Ami was not suited for this, at all. She stuttered out an affirmative, unable to be rude.

       The three trooped down the sidewalk, Usagi casually looped around an arm each of her two friend's, skipping despite their stilted walk. "Look, someone splashed paint on the sidewalk!" she yipped, pulling them sharply around a pale red streak on the concrete.
       "Usagi-chan, who would spill paint on the sidewalk?" Makoto laughed, finally getting into the mood and skipping alongside the odango-haired blonde. Poor Ami was just being dragged bumpily along, Luna's claws nearly dug into her skin.
       At least the day had improved. The fog had finally released its hold on the city, and sunlight was beginning to shine through, drying patches of ground. Usagi's happiness finally won Ami over just as they neared the building, and the blue-haired genius began to move faster, smiling casually and joyfully. Even Luna seemed easier, happier.
       Everyone, in fact, seemed to be happy around them as well. Crowds that had been muttering bitterly a block back were now smiling, joyous. A group nearby even burst into song, if badly off-key. It followed the trio into the shop, Luna hopping down to wait outside without even needing to be told. "Ara ara, so beautiful!" Makoto gasped.
       Other people milled within, though sparse enough for the girls to take full view of the vibrant painted walls, hanging crystals and silks, elegant lamps. It was as if they'd stepped into a jeweled temple, complete with several different Japanese mythological statues here and there. A lucky black cat waved its tail and paw above a glass case, marking the time as five o'clock.
       Usagi left the huddle to dance through the shop and people, her gasps of shock and pleasure managing to echo. With her absence, Ami rubbed at her arms, feeling the smallest bit cold; Makoto, as well, seemed to be lost. Still, they began to look around curiously, happiness coloring their demeanor as they came closer to the case.
       "Ooo….Mako-chan, Ami-chan, it's so pretty!" Usagi pushed between her two friends as they leaned to look into the glass, hands cupping her ears. "Ne, ne, listen to the music…" she sighed, eyes closing.
       "It's very nice, Usagi-chan," Ami mumbled.
        "Hai, hai, pretty," Makoto added. Her fingerprints left a trail of smudges on the glass, adding to countless others already smearing it cloudy. The pendants inside were nothing spectacular, just melted glass, but obviously interesting enough for almost every visitor to take a look.
       And did one just glow?
       The blue-haired genius felt disoriented, no longer so happy, as she eyed the necklace that had flashed. An almost generic swirl design, it was now as dead as anything else. She squinted; it did nothing. She deliberately let her eyes unfocus, staring at the darker colours of the case, trying to catch another flash. It was a trick her father had shown her, an artists' attempt to see only the darkest parts of a picture, to better gauge shadow and shade. Nothing.
       "Ami-chan, the fortune teller is going to tell Mako-chan her fortune!" Usagi's voice cut into Ami's unfocused study, and she startled, releasing a sharp breath. The odango-haired blonde took her hand, yanking her along towards the door next to the counter, leading presumably to the back room. "She says our auras were super special, isn't that neat?"
       "Usagi-chan, don't you think something strange is happening?" the blue-haired genius whispered haltingly, even as she was unceremoniously pulled into a dark room where Makoto and a robed woman already sat at the table. No longer feeling happy, Ami let her face fall into a generic, bland, studious stare as she sat next to Usagi. Being an ostracized genius had its advantages, when one wanted to dismiss attention.
       The look seemed to upset the woman, despite her smile. "Is something the matter, miss? You seem unhappy." The last word seemed to hang in the air, as if something terrible had been uttered.
       Ami, however, simply smiled a generic, bland smile to go along with the stare. "No, merely a tiring day. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with my friends," she said smoothly, folding her hands. Maybe she could get better at subterfuge after all.
       "Mou, Ami-chan, you need to relax!" Makoto laughed. The personal suffix had Ami's eyebrow rising a notch, and the smile wavered. The tall brunette, however, seemed not to notice. "Tell my fortune, please, I need luck!" she added, clasping her hands in begging to the fortune teller.
       Two small crystal balls, instead of the usual singular, sat in front of the woman, and she set a hand on one of them. Fingernails painted crape myrtle purple tapped the glass to produce quiet, echoing rings. "Please touch the other magical crystal, Kino-san," she purred. "I need to see your aura."
       Ami was glad her rolling eyes weren't noticeable in the darkened room.
       Usagi leaned close enough to practically touch her nose to the crystal nearest her as Makoto complied, resting her hand lightly on the smooth surface. It began to darken, swirling with neon colours. "Ara ara, you have a vibrant aura! A most lucky sight, Kino-san!"
       There went Ami's eyes again. Her two friends, however, were mystified.
       Magic was, as Luna had long noted, dismissed in her life.
       When the fortune teller began her long, practically trademarked spiel of how Makoto would have a long, happy life, Ami let her vision drift around the room, looking at the silks hung over the unpainted walls. Her earlier elation was totally stifled and gone, leaving her suspicious as hell, and trying to find any clue as to the source of her changing mood. But if the enemy was the source of it, she could feel nothing. Not the persuasive happiness; it was as if once she fought it, it forgot her existence.
        Now the woman was babbling on about auras again, though she had already long since taken her hand from the crystal. She was instead holding out a pendant to Makoto, the reason for Ami caught the tail end of: "….focus your energies. Your luck will be immense and bountiful, immediately!"
       The blue-haired genius slowly shook her head, closing her eyes with a sigh. More waste. She opened her eyes just as Makoto settled the chain around her neck, the pendant lost within her blouse. "It's so pretty, are you sure I should have it?"
       "Of course! Only the luckiest auras are deserving of such a piece, and you should take it with goodwill!" the woman replied, clasping Makoto's hands. Though, she did slide a look towards Ami's frown. "Even if your friend there disbelieves me."
       "Ami-chan, aren't you enjoying this?" Usagi asked, looking…well, surprised. With the surprise came the smallest flicker of hesitancy and doubt in those crystal blue eyes.
       Smiling tightly, Ami stood up. "I'm sorry, Usagi-chan, but I believe Rei is expecting us….? Perhaps we should let her get back to her other customers." It was a genial statement, but still, at the core, it was a dismissal, and the fortune-teller knew it. She glared with open hatred at Ami as she stood as well, smiling with joy in the next second just as easily at Makoto.
       "I enjoyed our time, Kino-san, but I suppose it must end. Come and visit me again, I would love to repeat this."
       Makoto looked almost devastated. She grabbed the woman's hands as Usagi and Ami moved for the door, pumping them enthusiastically. "I will, I will! Thank you for making me feel beautiful…."
       "Makoto-san, we should be going," Ami stated a bit harder than she meant, and opened the door pointedly. The tall brunette slowly opened her hands after a minute, and nodded. With a bow, she followed Usagi through the door, letting Ami close it behind them. Once her hand left the knob, however, she quickly slid her palm against her skirt, trying to rid herself of the slimy sensation.
       The room was stifling now, though the crowd had thinned. Ami walked with brisk steps for the front door, scooping up Luna with a practiced swoop once she was on the doorstep outside. Luna, purring with joy still, melted into her arms as Ami waited for Makoto and Usagi, who was beginning to look a bit disoriented. "Let's hurry; we can make the 6:15 bus to the temple if we walk fast," the blue-haired genius said, already beginning to walk.
       "Wasn't it wonderful?" The tall brunette wasn't even paying attention. Hell, she was turned entirely away from them, staring blissfully into the sky. Usagi had to grab her arm and literally yank her around.
       "Mako-chan, we have to visit a friend, Hino Rei, you remember?"
       "Hino-san? Oh…sure…."
       "Do you want to come with?"
       Ami was a block away by this point, and Luna was looking confused. Usagi looked back at them, then at Makoto, who had turned away again. Taking it as a yes, the odango-haired blonde started to pull and cajole her friend down the sidewalk.
       Makoto was humming something beneath her breath as she was pulled along, uncaring. Though once they made that block, the tall brunette quieted down. In fact, she stopped dead in her tracks, something Usagi hadn't expected. As she had been pulling hard, she was snapped back like a rubber band, smacking into Makoto and rebounding off. "Itaaai! Mako-chan, tell me next time!"
       "U…Usagi-chan? Where are we going?" Makoto looked around, confused and worried. "Oh….Hino Rei-san's, right? I can't go, I have to go shopping."
       "Ano…alright. I'll see you at school tomorrow, then?" the odango-haired blonde asked, looking up at the girl curiously. Makoto stared down at her for a good minute before reaching out to help her up, as though she'd had to put a lot of thought behind the action.
       Something seemed to flash beneath the tall brunette's uniform.
       "Sure, Usagi-chan. Tell Hino-san I said hi." Some of her sparkle seemed to return as she smiled, waving as she walked away into a different part of Juuban.
       Usagi watched her walk for a long minute, before she ran to catch up with Ami and Luna at the bus stop.

       Darkness. Usagi, bottomless stomach that she was, had settled herself into Rei's bedroom with ease, gorging down a tray full of muffins. Despite the dark-haired shrine girl's displeasure towards her new ally's ditzy demeanor, she had caught on right away on how to keep her occupied.
       It left her, the blue-haired genius, and the black feline outside on the porch, watching the city lights. Rei was dressed in the usual miko outfit of red and white, a radical departure from the Catholic uniform Ami was familiar with. She was sweeping lazily with a straw broom, thought the courtyard was essentially spotless by now. "I could feel it as I walked home from school, today, an aura of something amiss. But no rumours like that," and the distaste was obvious in her voice, "have spread through my class."
       "And no one missed school today, Rei-san?" Ami ventured, hands clasped in her lap. Luna nodded in agreement to the question, though bathing her paw was a priority at the moment.
       "There were…a few absent…." the dark-haired shrine girl admitted, looking towards the screen door of her bedroom. "But they were all sick from the flu, except for one."
       Luna swiped her paw over her brow, shaking her fur into a neater, fluffier state. "The flu could merely be a lie, Rei-san. If the fortune teller is behind this, how could any parents aptly describe the problem?" The black feline swiveled her head to fix both of them beneath her stare, catching their attention. "Our enemies desire energy which, when drained, leaves the person in a state not unlike flu. If all of the children missing from Juuban called in with the flu as well…"
       "….then it could be a possible epidemic," Ami whispered softly. "But so many people visiting a fortune teller?"
       The dark-haired shrine girl shrugged, pausing in her sweep. "We are an influenced society, Ami-san. You should see the lines of people coming here for charms and prayers; people take such things very seriously in this city." A hand motioned down at her outfit as if to make her point. "It doesn't seem too surprising that so many would see this woman, wanting to be bestowed with lucky futures."
       "People make their own luck, Rei-san," the blue-haired genius stated in reply, a bit stiffly. "Not charms or potions. It saddens me that so many would believe that foolishness, but we're not here to discuss that." She carefully avoided both their gazes, instead looking down the newspaper folded in her lap. "So many reporting in sick…."
       The fusama that separated Rei's room from the outside slid open, omitting a still-munching Usagi. A few crumbs trailed in her wake, and around her, the mess she'd left on the table was visible. Rei visibly bit back the coming yell as Usagi asked, innocently, "Has anything happened?"
       "No, Usagi-chan. We were just discussing the problem, not the solution quite yet," Luna replied a bit tartly, eyeing the mess inside.
       "But, Luna, we need to stop this person! Everyone says Naru-chan saw her, and she's sick now, and, and, Moriya-chan didn't meet me today for school…" Her words were like a spring brook, babbling one over the other until even Ami looked perplexed. "And why do my friends keep being hurt by these people? They aren't even soldiers, it isn't fair!"
       The swish of Rei's broom was the only sound.
       Then, Ami reached up to take her friend's hand. "Usagi-chan, that's why we were chosen, to fight the battle. Because innocent people are hurt by evil all of the time." She smiled weakly, gently guiding the odango-haired blonde down to sit. "Remember, my mother was hurt by them. Even though the methods are unorthodox, I'll still fight with you."
       "You truly dislike magic, Ami-san?" Rei sounded incredulous, breaking the tender moment before it had even truly been born. For her, a girl raised among a religion that spoke of worship of natural forces that couldn't always be seen and a psychic in her own right, it was nearly blasphemy. "But it exists in everyone, everything, even if you don't see it. You can't deny it-"
       "Does it, Rei-san?" Ami replied, calmly. "A force that cannot be seen, or tested? Science can be proven. What doctors do every day can be a miracle witnessed by the eyes, and that I do not question. But magic? Hai, I dislike it, because I couldn't prove its existence not even a few months ago." Her eyes, usually so square and studious, took on a sharp tilt of anger, which the odango-haired blonde pulled back from.
       But Ami seemed not to notice. Instead, she smiled bitterly. "I was secure in my belief of science and structure, Rei-san, not touched by anything miraculous. My father was the dreamer, the one with his head in the clouds about art and magic and belief. But now…? Now, instead of worrying about my exams and my books I have to constantly worry that one of these battles will kill me. I have to remember a few choice words that will, despite my disbelief, convert my molecules to a super-heightened state, my clothes to a skimpy fuku."
       "But there's your proof, Ami-san!" Rei motioned towards the blue-haired genius almost foppishly, taking control of the conversation. "Magic has proven its existence to you, given you powers beyond humanity, yet you question it? Science can be just as surreal as magic; hypotheses can be disproved, long-held standards destroyed by a few new calculations. Even now, another human skeleton is being found that refutes evolution!"
       Usagi was, wisely, for once, quiet. Luna padded her way into her lap, staring with unbridled curiosity at her two allies as they stared down one another.
       And Rei still continued before Ami could open her mouth, shushing her with a jab of finger. "But still you hold fast to your belief that science is everything, the answer to all? Yes, maybe it answers some questions, but not everything is meant to be known in this world. The things we can do, the powers we can wield….! Will you lock yourself in your room and study yourself, transform and pierce your skin to calculate how fast you heal?"
       The look of disgust, mild loathing, was visible on both faces. Usagi, however, held a look of open astonishment, though it was tinged with a veneer of sorrow. In her lap, the black feline was rigid with tension; in all of her preparations and searching, never had she once considered finding a soldier so at odds with her magical destiny. Nor one who may have had such strong doubts that she could have, sensibly, tried to experiment on herself to find the cause.
       If Ami hated her new form enough….maybe even a cure.
       But the blue-haired genius was furious now, though fury looked out of sorts on her usually mild face. "How dare you? I've accepted myself now, if with hesitancy and doubt, enough to fight our enemies!"
       "But there's still doubt! And doubt doesn't win wars, Ami-san." The smile that rose was smug, triumphant. "Perhaps we chose our forms in our own way; perhaps that is why you wield nothing but cold, numbing fog. All the better to hide yourself with."
       Someone was crying.
       Surprisingly, two.
       Though the tears that dripped down Ami's cheeks were silent in comparison to Usagi's hiccuping sobs, both of them cried nonetheless. The dark-haired shrine girl, her victory no longer in doubt, looked hesitant. Apparently, she hadn't meant to produce the result she had, and immediately she held out her hands. "Ami-san, I….gomen nasai…I didn't mean for you…"
       Luna was flung out into the courtyard as Usagi leapt up, doing what Ami should have done for herself, and the echo of hand hitting cheek was painfully loud. Even though the odango-haired blonde was not an experienced fighter, she managed to put all her weight behind the blow, throwing Rei to the ground. "How can you do such a thing, Rei? You're terrible, terrible to say those things to Ami-chan!" Her nose had begun to drip thickly, and she swiped at it with her sleeve messily. "You're cruel, mean, and you don't care about anyone but yourself! At least Ami-chan is trying her best!"
       The blue-haired genius looked lost, staring at Usagi with a slightly gaped mouth. Rei, spilled in her ungrateful heap, looked even more confused and disoriented. "I don't like being a soldier either; I can't fight very well, and I'm a crybaby, and I keep being hurt, but I try! And if you don't like Ami-chan and me being soldiers, then you can do it alone and see how well you do!" she yelled, scrubbing at her face with her sleeve. Then she promptly all but leapt on Ami, hugging the girl tight with a fresh sob.
       "Some soldiers of justice and love," Luna's bitter voice said from across the yard, where slitted brown eyes glittered amidst the blackness. "I know periods of adjustment have to happen, but this is ridiculous."
       Incredibly, Ami giggled.
       It was an instant icebreaker.
        The black feline gaped dumbly as all three suddenly broke into spontaneous laughter, going from bitter sobbing to gaiety in less time than it takes to change a light bulb. Ami and Usagi hanging onto one another were joined by Rei, the three rolling across the ground in each other's hold, laughing joyously.
       When they finally stopped rolling, still giggling, Luna jogged over to jab her paw into Ami's side. "I suppose this is some human bonding ritual I'm still unaware of?"
       Ami, her blue hair tousled and arrayed with bits of leaf, smiled. "Perhaps, Luna. I guess we all just realized how silly we're being. Ne?"
       Rei, her robes now gray and darker magenta, shook some of her own hair out of her face. "Hai, hai. Questioning Ami was silly of me; despite her doubts, she's as strong as soldier as me."
       "Though I do doubt magic, Luna, that's true. But I accept it."
       "Itaaai, someone's on my arm!"
       Both girls rolled away to reveal Usagi, her odango slightly lumpy and squashed, blonde ponytails darkened by dirt and leaves. She cradled her injured arm, sniffling piteously as Ami nodded to Rei. "Besides, we have Usagi to protect, ne?"
       "She definitely needs it." This time, there was no hint of malice or bitterness, emotions which seemed to have previously coloured her speeches about the girl. She stood up, brushing at her dirtied robe as Luna hung her head.
       "Isn't that the truth….nani?"
       The black feline cocked her head as Ami helped Usagi up behind her. Pointed ears tipped forward, only to sharply pull back as she did the same with her paws, stepping backwards towards the girls.
       Atop the red torii that marked the entrance to the shrine, something landed.

       Just as the sun was setting, Mamoru felt the unease. But it was wispy, inconsequential almost, leaving him restless. Restless enough that studying was out of the question, despite the pile of textbooks on his table that spoke of far too many hours needed.
       He removed his reading glasses, toying with them over and over again in his hands. In setting them down, he picked up something else; a picture, framed, of two adults and a little smiling boy. Tucked into the frame outside of the glass was a newer snapshot of the same boy, grown a littler older, grinning as he held a baseball bat alongside a younger, red-haired girl. Though both were banged up, she had the bigger bruises.
       The memory never failed to induce a smile, even now.
       But even after he set the picture back, he couldn't entice his mind to study, or even attempt to. The entire day had been bugging him, and it had started right after he'd found out Ittou had stayed home ill. Nothing serious, but he hadn't been the only one sick. His fifth hour class had been reduced to a self-study for lack of students.
       And now, for some reason, he had the urge to visit his old friend. "You reminisce too much, Chiba," he grumbled, though good-naturedly. Just the travel time alone would deprive him of a good half-hour. He looked at the pile of books, imagining how his night would go; study Chemistry, study Geometry, write History paper, study English, write English paper.
       He was dressed and stepping out of the door in record time, even with the little voice in his head shouting at him to do his work. A quiet bout of whistling tuned it out, and he stepped into the elevator, nodding pleasantly at his neighbor.
       It was in his car that the voice disappeared, only for a face to take place of it. A lovely, if shadowed face, dress streaming in the wind. And the same whispered plea over and over again, like a beautiful song in repetition. How the hell was he to know what a 'mystical silver crystal' was, anyway? And even if he did, how could he find it?
       Usually he pictured it like a diamond. He'd even taken to visiting jewelry shops, looking at each and every stone, hoping that if he saw it, it would give a sign. Grow arms and wave, maybe, or flip him off. And in the night…
       He frowned, cutting himself off mentally. The thief he had…followed had been, astonishingly enough, looking for the crystal was well, but he was positive by now that finding it wouldn't take theft or retail bargain hunting. He had told the girl as much, as he'd found her attempting to find it once last time, after Sailor V had interrupted them. She'd laughed, calling him naïve.
       A motorcycle cut him off, bringing his focus to the present again, and he beeped the horn angrily. A sandy-blonde head looked back at him, smirking, before revving and cutting off another car ahead of his. He scowled. "Someone always needs to spoil a good hobby."
       He then realized, embarrassingly, that he'd driven past the turn for the orphanage blocks back. A coloured curse filled the interior of the car as he took the next exit, exiting a U turn on a vacant street to go back. "Thank the kami for side streets," he sighed, turning his signal on again as he approached the correct turn.
       The first thing he noticed as he pulled into the parking lot was that no one was playing outside. Unusual, as the courtyard had a light for nighttime basketball. As he turned the engine off, everything settled into the dark twilight of the evening; only one light, over the main entrance, burned brightly. Juggling his keys, he stepped out of the car and locked it.
       Someone had heard the door slam, because the front door of the building opened before he even got to the stairs, spilling light from the foyer out onto the street. "Mamoru? What are you doing here at this time of night?"
       "Sakkaku-san? And here I thought the place was deserted!" Mamoru was relieved, and it was obvious by his voice. But as he got closer, he saw the worried look on the woman's face despite the shadows. "What's wrong?"
       The woman pursed her lips, stepping aside to usher him in. "You haven't heard about the epidemic, Mamoru? It's terrible, and it's spread here! Moriya is…very sick."
       That alone was enough to spur his footsteps faster. Moriya was hardly ever sick, and when she was, it was usually a light cold. But Sakkaku's tone spoke of something much worse. "How sick? You know Moriya; she'd beat a cold to death if it even set eyes on her," he said laughingly, though it was a bit forced.
       Sakkaku, however, didn't laugh. She just shook her head, hurrying down the hall. At the end he could see the door, still familiar despite the fact he no longer had to pass through it daily. "I'm worried, Mamoru. Almost half the building is ill, but Moriya is so much worse, as if she has no energy to even breathe."
       She missed the look in his ocean blue eyes; they grew steely, sharp. "As if she has no energy, ne?"
       The door opened before him as Sakkaku stepped aside, letting him go first.
       Inside, the room was as empty as the last time he'd seen it, save for the last bed. The blankets were in disarray over a lump in the very middle, a few pillows on the floor. A few straggles of red hair were visible against one of the white sheets. "Kami-sama…Moriya," Mamoru whispered faintly, moving towards the bed.
       Once he got there, he realized the lump wasn't Moriya at all; the girl in question was slumped beneath the half-open window, as if she'd tried to crawl out. She'd pulled on some black jeans and a matching sweatshirt, though she was pale to the point of opacity, and sweating.
       "Chouno Moriyakumi, what in the name of the kami and their devils are you doing?" Sakkaku gasped behind him, rushing around to haul the nearly unconscious girl up. Moriya was like a rag doll, her head lolling on her neck. Though once she saw Mamoru, her eyes fixed steadily on him.
       "Need help on your homework, Mamoru-chan?" she asked, trying for jest, and getting what sounded like broken glass over iron grating.
       Something glowed out of the corner of his eye; a glass pendant, sitting on her desk. A soft fog hung about it, like a smoker's cloud. "It's from the fortune teller in Juuban," Moriya answered without needing to be asked. The black-haired man turned away graciously as Sakkaku undressed his friend, studying the necklace in silence.
       The fog around it was thick, heavy; he brushed his hand through it, feeling a small rush through his body, as if he'd just done a quick run down the street. Energized. "I'm sorry you feel sick, Moriya…I'll go then, because you need some rest."
       "No problem, Chiba…." She sounded sarcastic, though grateful, as he left her room without another word. Though she noted the pendant was now gone, she said nothing as Sakkaku tucked her into bed, even though they both knew she wouldn't get any sleep again tonight.
       Outside, Mamoru stood in the unlit courtyard. The pendant, held by its cord, was dropped onto the asphalt; he brought his heel down to shatter the glass into a hundred tiny pieces.
       The rush of energy that flew past him towards a certain window in the building made him smile.
       Another twist of his ankle ground the glass into powder, leaving only the cord it had hung by as proof of its existence. That accomplished, he smiled into the night, eyes closed as he felt the surge through his veins of another sort of energy. It was brought on not by emergency, but choice; he didn't need to open his eyes to know the domino mask was again on his face. The wind whipped the ends of his cape into a frenzy, nearly carried off his top hat.
       He'd never brought the change on by his own choosing. But, he supposed, knowing that evil was at work and that someone needed to stop it was enough. He jingled his keys, smiling at the irony of Tuxedo Kamen driving to find the soldiers.
       Thank the kami his change brought with it an internal homing device, or he would have been driving semi-blind. He knew where they were by simple concentration, and within forty five minutes he parked a block away from the Hikawa jinja, staring at the red torii that towered over the trees. A running leap brought him onto the branch of the nearest oak, another to the next, and so on, until he felt his feet touch the hallowed wood of the arch.
       And down below he heard the sudden cry of "Tuxedo Kamen-sama!"

       Luna was thanking every god in the pantheon that the girls were shadowed by the temple, or three secret identities would have been blown to hell. As it was, the black feline stared up at the tuxedo-clad man atop the torii, whiskers twitching. "Konnichiwa, koneko," he called down. "May I borrow your soldiers for a few hours?"
       "Mrrroowww," she crooned in return, affecting her innocent kitty pose. Behind her, she could hear the trio scrambling for Rei's bedroom, hopefully - if her gods were listening to her prayers - to transform. When she realized Tuxedo Kamen was waiting for her to respond, she cursed. "Meeoow?"
       He doffed his hat, though it was difficult to distinguish against the sky. "Gomen ne, koneko, I was assuming you would share your ability to speak Japanese with me. Does another cat have your tongue, or should I try English? I warn you, though, it's terrible."
       A small wind ruffled her fur, and she knew without turning that multicolored lights were flashing through the fusama. Giving it all up, she stood on all fours in an attack stance. "You could be our enemy. Why would I simply allow you to take my soldiers with you?"
       "He can't be the enemy, Luna," Usagi, no, Sailor Moon, whispered behind her. Tuxedo Kamen jumped down to the stones below as the three soldiers emerged from what seemed to be a nearby bush, Mercury and Mars slightly ahead of Moon. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama, why are you here?"
       The smallest smile curved his mouth upwards. "I need a cure for an epidemic, Sailor Moon. A fortune telling epidemic."
       "You have proof she's causing it?" This from Mercury, who took a step forward.
       "I have ways."
       Mars spoke for Luna when she said, "How do we know this isn't a trap?" She was the only one in an openly defensive stance, hands ready to call her flames.
       Tuxedo Kamen took a step back, doing an incredible leap back atop the torii that would have made an Olympic athlete salivate and sell their soul. "Your leader trusts me. And besides, we don't have all night to debate the subject." He disappeared down into the trees that lined the hill, though the sound of his departure lingered.
       Luna frowned, shaking her head as she turned around. "I don't trust him. We shouldn't just rush of--Sailor Moon?"
       Both girls started, turning around violently as Luna bounded towards them. The space behind them was empty, and had it not been such a tense situation, the black feline would've been proud that the girl had managed to leave so quietly. "Shimatta!"
       Yards over the courtyard wall, a familiar pair of blonde ponytails darted between the trees, before the soldier finally made it to the sidewalk. Just within her sight she could still make out a black blur racing across the trees, leading her, though she knew how to make it to the fortune-teller on her own. But it was a small pleasure to know Tuxedo Kamen had found her, needed her help despite her clumsiness in battle.
       She rounded the corner and saw the Crown up ahead, along with another familiar figure, who was slumped against the door of the fortune-teller's with a cloud of energy surrounding her head. An open can of soda lay at her feet, as if she'd dropped it. "Mako-chan? Mako-chan!"
       "Nani…?" The tall brunette looked up as Sailor Moon approached, eyes heavily lidded. She was shaken, though not hard, the cloud of energy not even disturbed. "Sailor…Sailor Moon? So pretty…"
       Tuxedo Kamen dropped silently next to the soldier, doing the most unorthodox thing imaginable; he jerked open the ties on Makoto's shirt, exposing a plain white bra and a glowing glass pendant. Sailor Moon shrieked, the pendant not even registering in her mind as unusual as she smacked the man across the arm. "Ecchi! What are you doing to Mako-chan!"
       "Saving her!" he yelped, grabbing his arm where she'd hit him. Then, intent on his task, he turned back to grab the pendant by the cord, lifting it over Makoto's head. The energy cloud followed it like a puppy on a leash, and he stood, stepping back. Sailor Moon had to hold the tall brunette upright as she fell over, no longer strong enough to even sit properly.
       Someone hissed within the building as Tuxedo Kamen dropped the pendant onto the concrete, shattering it in much the same way that he had the first. The rush of energy was not as strong as the first time, but it still jarred him as it blew past, absorbing itself back into Makoto's body. "Sugoi," Sailor Moon murmured. "How did you know…?"
       More glass shattered, but this time, it was the windows of the building. They blew outward and past the two girls who huddled safely on the doorstep, and below Tuxedo Kamen as he leapt upwards and onto the roof of a nearby building. He could hear Mercury and Mars' shouts of surprise as they ran up the street, hearing and seeing the explosion.
       And then, something that had once been the fortune-teller stepped out.
       She was damn ugly. Her body was now twisted and pitted, furry in patches here and there. The robes she had worn earlier was now a simple loincloth; hell, she was no longer a 'she,' but a 'he.' "More of you irritating little girls? Tch. You already destroyed my watchdog, which is worthy of punishment enough." A sickly greenish glow began to form in the youma's hand, and Sailor Moon, for once sensing the danger beforehand, pulled Makoto with her off the doorstep and just out of the way of a stereotypical bolt of energy.
       Already Mars was bringing up a counter-attack, fire racing to impact with the green glow to detonate with enough force to blow Sailor Moon and the tall brunette down the alleyway, and the youma backwards into the store. "Gomen!" the dark-haired soldier said immediately to Mercury and Luna's displeased stares.
       Both soldiers ran into the store, leaving Luna with the task of finding the third. She turned away as Mercury called out her attack, and even from the street, she could feel the fog creeping its way through the store, cold and thick. Down the alley she darted, though it was so dark she slammed into, and tripped over, Sailor Moon's leg. "Sailor Moon, you have to join Mercury and Mars to fight the enemy!"
       "Ooohh, my head...ne? Luna? Where's Tuxedo Kamen?" the odango-haired blonde asked instead, though she quieted at the stare the cat gave her.
       "He could still be the enemy, Sailor Moon; don't trust so casually!" She swatted at the offending leg with a paw, producing a yip. "Now go help Mercury and Mars fight the fortune-teller!"
       Beside Sailor Moon stirred Makoto. She blinked oak green eyes lazily, though coherently, at the black feline. "The fortune-teller is evil?" With the pendant smashed, her energy had returned, and she was quicker to stand then Sailor Moon. "She led me astray?"
       The heat in her expression was enough to make Luna step back. Sailor Moon stood as well, though she was slightly unsteady. "She was leading everyone astray, Mako-chan…"
       Luna scratched her leg quickly at the slip, though the tall brunette didn't even noticed. She clenched and unclenched her fists, staring at the side entrance with a fierce set to her jaw. Then she put one of those fists through the small window in the blink of an eye, the door swinging open. Sailor Moon jumped and shrieked, not stopping Makoto as she ran into the building.
       Human and cat stared through the doorway in shock. Then, hesitantly, the odango-haired blonde ran inside as well, Luna at her heels. They emerged in a back room full of boxes upon boxes of the same swirled glass pendants Makoto had been wearing. "She must have been giving everyone one of these," Luna observed, tapping a claw against one on the floor. But it lay dead, not even bothering to try and suck out her energy.
       Without some sort of trigger, apparently, they were as lifeless as normal glass.
       They left the boxes untouched, running through another door to find themselves in the small room the fortune-teller had used. The door had been hidden behind an opaque silk hanging, which Sailor Moon promptly tripped on and ripped off the wall. "What a lousy place for a door!" she whimpered, untangling the silk from her legs as Luna yowled in exasperation, running on ahead of her.
       Picking up one of the glass balls to throw, the odango-haired blonde stepped into the main room and promptly slid to her ass again as she stepped on another smaller, round crystal. Her cry of pain went unnoticed as a spate of fire flew over her head, neatly melting a few other silks, but missing the youma.
       But the real surprise was Makoto. Hell hath no fury like a brunette pissed, and she was dodging the youma's now-clawed hand like a whirlwind, going so far as to pick the creature up and lobbing it across the room. "You trickster! You lied to me!"
       Mercury barely had time to duck and dodge as the youma hit the window frame, screaming in anger and pain as broken glass cut its back.
       The tall brunette stood, panting and furious, awash in a warm green glow. Against her forehead glowed a green sigil, which faded as she started to cool down a little bit. "Of course! Our fourth ally!" Luna whispered, taking a step back. She closed her eyes to concentrate, ignoring Moon's yell as she threw her tiara across the room.
       Makoto turned as she felt Luna work her magic, only to have a green pen flying at her face. She caught it automatically, staring in confusion between the pen and the cat. "Am I supposed to scribble it to death?" she asked quizzically.
       "No, no, say the words, Makoto!"
       "The…words…?" The pen felt warm between her fingers as she stared hard at it, warmer still as a burst of recognition overtook her. She knew the symbol atop, knew it had flared into existence on her forehead a minute ago. "Jupiter. I'm Jupiter."
       Across the room, the youma had Sailor Mars by the arm. She was airborne a second later, though both Mercury and Mars interposed themselves between her and the wall as fast as they could, stopping her flight with their bodies. All three went down in a tangle of limbs and yelps of pain, even as Mercury called up more fog with a hurried gesture.
       Lightning flashed across the sky outside.
       Then it hit the building.
       The fog cleared as if a giant hand had brushed it aside, revealing a Makoto clad in the green fuku of a soldier standing between the youma and the girls. "You tricked me, and countless other innocents. I won't let you live for that!"
       "Yare yare," the youma sighed, picking at its teeth with an especially long nail. "Your speeches bore me. How you snuck up on me is unimportant, but you'll be destroyed the same as they!"
       It barely had the time to bring up an attack before lightning had it airborne, flying through the wooden door and out onto the street, smoking. Luna smiled proudly. Mercury, Mars, and Moon gaped in rather unladylike fashion. "I guess I'm Sailor Jupiter, minna," the tall brunette announced grimly, before she ran towards the splintered door. She jumped out, fist catching the youma in the chin before it could get up.
       But surprisingly, this time it didn't put up a fight. Before Jupiter's astonished eyes, the creature seemed to shrivel and shrink, leaving behind what looked to be a crude…doll? "Nani kuso? It's a fake!" she shouted, kicking it.
       "You destroyed it, Jupiter?" Mars questioned as the trio came up behind her, though various cuts and bruises slowed them down. The black feline came around to sniff at the doll, nudging it with her nose.
       "I think it was a decoy," she announced gravely a moment later.
       "Of course it was a decoy, you silly little animal. Look upon the face of your death, sailor soldiers, I'd hate for you to miss it!"
       Four faces turned up to the roof, where Nephrite stood, arrogantly balanced on the edge. A dark nimbus of energy surrounded his head, jagged with spikes. It was an ugly sight. "It doesn't take much to fill such a thing with my shadow. All the better to lead you into my grasp with no real effort!" The general's laughter was triumphant and harsh as he stood, arms folded.
       Jupiter stepped forward before Mars could speak, cutting her off. "So you're the cause of all of this!" Her hands came up, pink energy forming its own circle around her fingers. "Flower Hurricane!"
       Despite the name, the flower petals that slammed into Nephrite were anything but gentle. He screamed, bringing his arms up to cover his eyes in pain. "My eyes! You little bitch!"
       "I'm not finished yet! Jupiter, my guardian, hear me!" She was on a roll. Her allies watched in stunned silence as lightning arced down from a now-cloudy sky, connecting with the antennae that graced her tiara. As Nephrite busied himself with flailing the petals away, she gathered the lightning between her hands. "Supreme Thunder!" she shouted, letting it go.
       The impact was blinding. Only Jupiter didn't look away, staring resolutely as the general screamed one last time, a charred body falling from the roof to hit the sidewalk, dispersing into chunks of ash.
       Silence descended, only to be replaced by the gentle sound of wind carrying off the ash. "This…is my destiny?" Jupiter whispered softly.
       "Hai, Makoto-san. You hold the power of Jupiter, the powerful giant. Like everyone else, you have your special powers as Sailor Jupiter," Luna said briskly, padding up to the tall brunette. She seemed to be the only one not slightly shell-shocked by the fact Makoto had just charbroiled Nephrite in much the same way Mars had Jadeite.
       Her head turned carefully away, Makoto felt tears fall down her face as she stared at her hands. Lightning. The same element that had brought down the plane…kami-sama, was this some sort of celestial mockery? "I…I knew I had something calling me here, but I didn't know…I didn't know…."
       "Daijoubu, Mako-chan. You have us now!" Sailor Moon said happily, hugging the tall brunette from behind. She allowed it, though she kept her head away. Her vision was blurring rapidly to the point of near-blindness, and she swallowed a sob.
       Because of it, she didn't see the sudden glow Luna was now giving off, until the silence grew to be too much, and she looked around. Sailor Moon, still holding onto her, exhaled sharply at the sight. Mars stared dully, Mercury with piqued interest. But Luna had eyes for no one but her odango'd charge, and it was towards her she stepped.
       "Sailor Moon. You have four of your allies, now; something in my heart tells me now is the time."
       "Ano…why are you glowing, Luna?" Mercury finally asked. The black feline tilted her head to look at the blue-clad soldier, the glow so bright now that the girls had to shield their eyes and step back.
       The glow then took shape, solid, on the concrete in front of Luna, forming a small stick with a crescent at the end. "You are the leader now, Sailor Moon. To protect our princess, to find the Ginzuishou!"