Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Regency ❯ Chapter 3

Regency

By: InitialA

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: If you haven't noticed, I am mixing anime and manga canon excessively. ^_^ Updates will run less frequently in November, between work and NaNoWriMo, but I do have a small buffer built up to help. Thanks for reading!

The sun was casting an orange light into the apartment when Usagi's tired voice called a greeting from the foyer. “They let me off early since I stayed so late last night… Oh, everyone. You're still here,” she said, her tired eyes lighting up with happiness. “Only you three could come?”

Minako patted the empty couch seat next to her, before helping herself to another cookie. “Yup. Rei had two weddings to officiate, Mako-chan was working, and Ami has finals coming up. And since I don't do anything, I was free to come!”

Usagi kissed her husband chastely, for once, and then sat next to Minako. “Don't tell me you got fired again, Minako?”

“Usagi! You doubt me!” Minako cried, throwing her hand against her forehead dramatically. “And you didn't even follow my show! We got picked up for another two seasons, we're just between tapings!”

“Ohhh, Mina-chan! I'm so happy for you!” The other woman flung her arms around her guardian. “I'm sorry we missed your show, it's just so crazy around here!”

Hotaru smothered her giggles behind a hand. Setsuna cleared her throat gently. “Usagi, have you any new information?”

The mood sobered quickly. Usagi fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “Nothing worth our time, or that I can say without being reprimanded. I'll bet the news knows more than I do, though; they kept me busied with department transfer papers for most of the day… The enemy is terrestrial, I can say that much.”

“Are you absolutely certain?” Hotaru asked. She repeated what she had said earlier about her father. “I don't want to make another mistake with that kind of situation.”

Usagi nodded. “Michiru said she would call if anything came up, and I sent Rei an e-mail to do a fire-reading… If neither of them have Seen or had premonitions, I think we're safely dealing with more human idiocy.”

She beat her fist against the side of the chair suddenly; her expression was uncharacteristically hard. “Damn them! To use such a weapon… all of those innocent people, and for what?! Political gain! Fear!”

All of them, even Mamoru, could count the number of times Usagi had ever sworn out loud on one hand. Even Setsuna's steady nerves were tingling uncomfortably. “Princess…”

Usagi sighed, running her hands down her face. “I'm sorry. It's just… so frustrating. I'm sorry to have involved you further, everyone. Until Michiru or Rei say differently, this isn't a senshi matter…”

“You were rightfully worried, Usagi-sama. And even if it turns out otherwise, we're prepared,” Hotaru said.

Minako raised an eyebrow. “You're like a bog with a rabbit on that, Hotaru.”

“Dog, Minako, not bog!” Mamoru corrected.

“Whatever!”

Hotaru didn't meet her eyes. “I don't want to exclude any possibilities. It's a difficult thing to see, whether the problem lives in your house or is in another country.”

Usagi nodded. “Hotaru's right. And if we're casting the net wide enough, there are a lot of people to look for. I just wish I could sense these things more clearly. Bad vibes aren't enough when dealing with terrorists.”

The phone rang just then. Mamoru got up to answer, and Usagi took that moment to beg her daughter off of Hotaru. “As much of a brat she grows up to be, I need a few cuddles now while she behaves herself,” she explained.

Setsuna had her mysterious look on. “I seem to recall a different Princess long ago with some of those same bratty tendencies…”

Hotaru laughed outright at this new information; Minako grinned at Usagi, who was sticking her tongue out in a most un-Princess-like manner. “Well, can't you be more specific than that?!” Mamoru exclaimed suddenly.

The four women immediately looked at him; Mamoru was visibly agitated, gripping the phone and the doorframe tightly. “No… No, I apologize, that was uncalled for. I know you're doing the best you can, Michiru, and for that I am grateful. I will let Usagi and the others know… Yes. You too.”

He hung up, and his posture slumped. “Mamo-chan?” Usagi ventured cautiously.

“Michiru… Michiru looked into her mirror; she said that another bomb will be going off in another major city sometime this week. She can't see any more than that,” his voice was quiet. Usagi noted the slight edge of fear in it. Tokyo definitely qualified as a major city.

Hotaru's eyes grew wide and round. “That's all? Do you know how many major cities there are in the world? Just in this hemisphere?!”

“That's what I said, as you heard,” he replied grimly. “She also said that if it was any condolence, she's still suffering from jet lag and it may be affecting her abilities, and she would try again for more details.”

Minako pulled out her senshi communicator. “We need Rei, and fast.”

Usagi held Chibi-usa closer, her grip firm as she attempted to keep her emotions in check. Setsuna placed a calming hand on the younger woman's knee. “We'll do what we can, when we can, Usagi-chan. Fear does us no good when there's work to be done,” she said, keeping her voice at a low, soothing tone.

“Minako checking in!”

“Rei responding. I'm a bit busy at the moment, Miss TV Superstar, make it quick.”

Minako frowned. “Well, this needs to be bumped up higher on your queue, Miss Know-it-all. We need a fire-reading, and as fast as you can serve it up.”

“I know; I got Usagi's e-mail. Bug Michiru about it if you're so desperate, I can't make any predictions right now.”

“That's the problem.” Minako explained the situation as bluntly as possible, hoping that would light the metaphorical fire under Rei. Silence followed the explanation for several tense moments, before they all heard Rei's response, “If you need it fast, I'll need someone to help. Weddings are more spiritual than people think, and I'm worn out.”

Setsuna stood. “Rei, if you need my strength, I can help. My powers to see into the time stream may be of assistance if they're focused through a different medium than myself. You may be able to see more than I am able to.”

“Alright. I'll prepare my end of things while you head over. Rei out.”

The older woman bowed slightly to her friends. “If you'll excuse me, this should be handled as soon as possible. I'll keep you informed. Hotaru—”

“I can make my own way home, Setsuna-mama. I have my keys.”

“We'll even feed her before she goes,” Mamoru said with a half-smile.

“Thank you,” Setsuna bowed again, and left swiftly.

When she had gone, Minako sighed, pushing her bangs out of her face. “Someone will need to let Mako-chan and Ami know… preferably after Ami's exam. I don't want to be responsible for her first-ever B-plus.”

She was grinning, trying to get them to share in the joke. Usagi smiled weakly. “I'll call Mako-chan later. And Ami's test is tomorrow evening, so we can let her know after. Though with how much time she's been in the library lately, it wouldn't surprise me if she had no idea what was going on…”

Mamoru got up while mumbling something about needing to do something with his hands, and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Hotaru folded her hands neatly in her lap, and stared at the carpet absently; her eyebrows were furrowed slightly. Usagi suspected she was attempting to do her own special brand of future-seeing; she knew the girl possessed some precognitive abilities, but the extent of which were still unknown or so broad that they didn't always apply all at once. The blonde princess bit her thumb in agitation. “I'll need to find a way to introduce this new information to my boss… we don't want another mistake like Ho Chi Minh City…”

“Aren't you supposed to have all of these mysterious `sources' to fall back on?” Minako asked.

Usagi gave her the eye. “A freshly-caught administrative assistant who has recently been promoted to information support assistant to the director having sources? You've been watching too many crime dramas, Minako-chan…”

“I'm just saying! Claim you were… I don't know, cultivating them for when your big break came!”

“National security doesn't exactly come with `big breaks'.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Shh!” Hotaru hissed, holding up a hand.

The older women gaped at her. Hotaru's expression was a mixture of rage, confusion, and fear. She was still staring at that spot on the carpet, but something began to materialize in the air above it. It was like a small patch of fog. Dark images, unfocused, flashed through it. Usagi saw a figure that looked distinctly like her, but the others were more difficult to make out. Beads of sweat formed on Hotaru's forehead and temples; the young woman began to shake as she tried to make the fog patch clearer. Suddenly, bright beams of light shot out of the fog, and the entire thing vaporized before they could make sense of what had happened. Hotaru slumped against the couch, her eyes slightly unfocused and half-closed. Minako dropped to the floor next to her, resting her hands on her shoulders. “Hotaru-chan?”

“I see… turmoil. And I see nothingness. Emptiness,” Hotaru whispered. She turned those dull eyes on her princess. “Our darkest days are yet to come.”

*~*

The next few days passed into the weekend, and they tensely began preparations for the unknown. Sunday saw Usagi in the office all afternoon, attempting to draft a discreet but to-the-point letter describing what her `sources' had told her. After six hours of alternating typing and backspacing and hitting her head against the desk, she slipped a sealed envelope under the director's door, and went home to her family.

On Monday morning there was a voicemail from Michiru, saying that she and Haruka would be flying home that Thursday after investigating a few leads in Germany and Italy. Usagi's heart grew less heavy with the knowledge that everyone would soon be home. Work that day was just as busy as it had been the previous week, but an underlying sense of urgency seemed to motivate everyone further. The director inclined his head to her at one point, and she took it to mean that her information had been welcome.

Tuesday saw an evening visit to the Hikawa Shrine. Rei's face said everything. Usagi, Makoto, and Chibi-usa sat with her as the priestess offered more prayers to see the way more clearly, but still nothing more came of it.

Wednesday came and went. Thursday saw a text message from Michiru saying they would meet the following day to discuss all of the details she and Haruka had discovered.

Usagi was starting to feel more hopeful, like Michiru had been wrong. The part of her that was a battle-hardened warrior scoffed—Michiru and Rei were hardly ever wrong—but her unwavering optimism was building up despite of it. She arranged for a lunch meeting with Rei, Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru that Friday; she figured that between the four of them, someone would have discovered something.

Lunch was drawing nearer; a car bomb had detonated in Tel Aviv, so Usagi was worried that she may have to work through lunch while their informants relayed their findings. She was charged with helping sift through all of that for any nuggets of real information, anything that might point to a link to the bombs. She sighed in mild frustration as she glanced at the clock again; the young man seated next to her shot a wry grin. “Going to turn into a pumpkin, Chiba?” He kept his voice low enough to be audible, but not much more.

Usagi's lips twitched with the urge to smile in return. “No… More wondering why we're doing this when we supposedly have an intelligence agency that's more skilled than we are,” she replied, her voice at the same level.

“Now, now, Chiba. Security and intelligence work hand-in-hand these days, especially under these dire circumstances.” The man, Iwamura, had an easy, joking manner about him that Usagi appreciated in this workplace.

This time Usagi couldn't stop the smile. “Stop mimicking the director, Iwamura, or I'll have to do something drastic.”

“What, giggle at me? And then I'll have to stand in the hallway for disrupting class?”

The urge to laugh was strong. Fortunately, Mr. Fushikenwa was walking by, and lightly tapped Iwamura on the head. “Holding two buckets of water, no doubt, Iwamura. Perhaps three, if I can have it arranged.”

Iwamura had the grace to at least look sheepish, though the furtive look he shared with Usagi said that he knew Fushikenwa would be easy on them. “Fushikenwa-san, the maintenance department may complain if their buckets go missing.”

“Not if you're using them to scrub floors.”

“Sir!” Iwamura feigned dismay.

“You're a cheeky good-for-nothing, Iwamura,” Fushikenwa said. Usagi was biting her finger to keep from laughing. “Tell me you have something, or I'll think twice about that punishment.”

The younger man handed over the short stack of papers he and Usagi had come up with over the last few hours. “I do know when I'm allowed to have a little fun, sensei,” Iwamura said, leaning back in his chair was some remaining boyish grace.

Fushikenwa peered at the pair of them from over his glasses; the lenses reflected the computer screens on the walls. “Hmm… Recess might be in order, children. I'll look over these and pass it on to the director while you take lunch. Hopefully you can return and be a bit more concentrated to the task this afternoon?”

“Yes, sir,” they chorused.

Usagi glanced at the clock and saw with relief that she wasn't going to be late for her lunch date. In fact, she was about to be uncharacteristically early, something Rei was undoubtedly going to hold over her for the rest of their lives. She could hear it now: “What is it with you, Usagi, you hit your once-every-twenty-years punctuality mark already? Can we expect it again when you're forty-three?”

Grinning to herself, she turned to leave just as a man's panicked yell sounded across the control room. She whirled, eyes wide with fright. Another man began shouting, and a woman. The papers slipped out of Fushikenwa's hands. “Three? No—”

Two more shouts of panic. Usagi felt her heartbeat pulsing all over her body, she was so numb. There was a roar in her ears that overtook the growing panic around the room, as the wall-mounted monitors began changing to show the destruction happening around the world. She whispered a feeble `no', and then shrieked it at the top of her lungs.

Warmth bloomed at her chest as the Silver Crystal appeared. “NOOOOOOO! PLEASE, FIX IT!” She shrieked.

Silver light burst forth. Usagi was soothed momentarily by the crystal's power, and then knew no more.