Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 10

Near the top of a steep mountain road, sat a fairly-sized
country mansion. From what Diane knew of the occupants of that
mansion, the building wasn't that big to begin with. In fact,
it started off as just another country house away from the city.
The owner of the mansion, Souichi Tomoe, was a friend of the
family. She loved to stop by every now and then, and visit, like
today.

Diane drove up to the front gate and pressed the button
underneath the intercom. It was one of those that was built onto
a curved metal pole so that all the visitor had to do was roll
down the window and talk out through the car window without
opening the door.

"Who is it?" a female voice asked on the other end.

Diane knew that voice. "It's just me, Ms. Olinite."

"Ah, Miss Silver. You've come to see Professor Tomoe again?" she
said in a pleasant voice. "Let me just open the gates for you.
Just a moment, please." A few seconds later, the gates opened
with noiseless ease. Tomoe always did like everything to be
well maintained. She quickly parked her car and made her way to
the front door where someone was waiting for her.

Kaye Olinite was not only Tomoe's assistant, but she was also
his 'domestic manager', as she liked to term it. She basically
took care of the place whenever he was too busy. Of course, she
didn't do everything - the whole mansion, not to mention the
outside gardens, was too big for one person - but she did a
great deal. One of the main reasons Diane thought she put up with
so much work was because she had a crush on Tomoe. It would also
explain the reason why she always wore such exquisite red dresses
that matched the color of her hair; not to mention the plunging
neckline that exposed a good deal of cleavage, though not enough
to be considered indecent.

"Welcome again, Miss Silver," Kaye greeted again. "Professor
Tomoe is in the middle of one of his experiments right now. If
you would be so kind as to wait here, I shall go tell him you're
here." She gave Diane a polite nod and left. Polite and formal
were two of Kaye's personality quirks. The only time she seemed
able to truly drop her formality was when she was around Tomoe.

Diane glanced around the room. Although she had been here several
times before, she couldn't help but admire the place. It had gone
through several changes through the years as Tomoe occasionally
expanded. The maple staircases on either side of the foyer led up
to the second floor where everyone lived. Even Kaye had a room up
there, since the mansion was a long way from the city. There was
a long, plush, purple carpet running from the entrance to a set
of double doors at the opposite end of the foyer, leading to the
dining room. There were also doors lining both sides of the
foyer, leading to other rooms or hallways leading to other parts
of the mansion. The bottom half of the room was unadorned maple,
just like the staircases. The top half, though, was painted the
purest white Diane had ever seen. Hanging from the ceiling was a
delicate crystal chandelier which looked like it took years to
create due to the dozens of small crystals circling around the
center, one ring inside another, and one on top of another. There
was only one 50 Watt light bulb in the center, but when the light
was refracted and reflected through the numerous crystals, it
could light up the huge room easily with a breathtaking display
of light made art.

"Diane-oneesama!" a young girl shouted from the top of the right
staircase. "I thought I saw your car from my window!"

"Hotaru-chan!" Diane greeted happily. Hotaru Tomoe was a slender,
fragile-looking girl, and indeed, she had been weak and fragile
when she was younger. Now, just a month past her 18th birthday,
she had finally strengthened herself to the physical ability of a
normal girl her age... with a little help from Diane. "It's good
to see you again. What's new?"

Hotaru all but hurtled down the stairs and almost ran over Diane
as she gave her dear friend a hug. "You'll never guess what
happened a few days ago!" she blurted out in an excited rush; her
slight Japanese accent clipping some of the words short.

"What?" she asked with a small grin. "A cute boy ask you out on a
date, or something?"

Hotaru's eyes widened. "How'd you know that?" she asked with a
confounded expression on her face. "Did Dad tell you?"

This time it was Diane's turn to be surprised. "You're serious? A
cute boy asked you out?"

"Hai, hai," Hotaru agreed, nodding excitedly. "He's a new transfer
student to my school. His family came from Japan, like we did. He
said my accent reminded him of back home." She sighed dreamily.
"He's so cute! His name's Ryoku Kino and he's the same age I am!"

Diane couldn't help but smile. "I'm so happy for you, Hotaru-
chan!" she said, giving the younger girl another hug. "So, when's
the first date?"

"Saturday night," she replied. "Dad's letting me stay out late
that night. He finally thinks I'm mature enough to take care of
myself."

"Saturday night, huh?" Diane repeated thoughtfully. "So you've got
to get ready for tomorrow, then. You've got plans on where you two
are going?"

"Ryoku's taking me to this club out in the city," she replied.
"It's supposed to be a great place to go out dancing, or so I've
heard. He says he's a pretty good dancer, but I want to see it for
myself," she added with a wink.

Diane nodded; she knew the place she was talking about. It never
got too rowdy due to the fact that it was more tailored to dancing
than to serving alcohol, like most of the others. She was a little
impressed by Hotaru's date's choice in location.

"Miss Silver," Kaye said as she walked back into the room,
"Professor Tomoe is a little busy with his experiment and can't
leave it right now."

"I see," Diane said, slightly disappointed.

"Instead, he's asked if you wouldn't mind joining him while he
finishes up what he's doing," Kaye finished.

"Oh," she replied. "Well, I wouldn't mind."

"I'm coming, too," Hotaru added. "I haven't seen Dad all day today
and I wanna say hi."

Kaye nodded. "Well, if you'd please follow me?" she asked and
turned to leave throught one of the doors at the side of the room.
Diane and Hotaru wasted no time in follwing her.

She led them through one of the long hallways that circled around
what used to be the orignal outside wall of the old house. The last
time she had asked Tomoe about the layout of his mansion, he told
her that since some of the rooms were used as the labratories of
some of his various experiments, they were intentionally isolated
in case any hazardous accidents should occur. The rest of the
mansion was just add-on rooms: libraries, studies, entertainment
rooms, an interior pool, and so on. Working freelance for various
multi-million dollar companies definitely had its advantages.

Kaye stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway. "In the
room beyond this one is a clean room. We're going to have to put on
some special clothing before going in."

Hotaru nodded as if it was nothing new to her, opened the door, and
walked in with Kaye following behind her. Diane just shrugged as
she followed. When she saw them grabbing some white, plastic-
like clothing and shoes, she looked for a pair for herself. She
spotted a spare garment on a rack behind Hotaru, so she grabbed it.

"Will this fit?" she asked.

"That one's a multi-sized clean suit," Kaye explained. "Professor
Tomoe keeps at least one in each clean room should he get visitors,
like yourself. The suit's adjustable; just tighten this strap right
here." She pointed at a strap hanging at her waist. Diane wasted
little time in getting into the suit, though she had just a little
trouble at first.

"They take some getting used to," Hotaru commented with a small
giggle. Diane scowled at her, which made her giggle more.

"Now that you have the suit on," Kaye continued when Diane was
done, "put on the shoes. They go over your own shoes, so you don't
have to take them off. The legs go underneath the legs of your
suit. There are buttons on the sides of the shoes that go with the
ones on the suit." Diane buttoned up the legs so that nothing was
sagging. "Good," she continued. "Now grab a cap and a mask and a
pair of gloves. The caps and gloves fit any size and you need to
put all your hair inside the cap. Also, make sure the mask covers
your nose and mouth. It doesn't have to fit perfectly, but it does
have to cover your nose and mouth. Ready?" she asked after Diane
had finished.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Let's go," Hotaru added. She had been ready long before she had
been, but she had done this many more times before.

Kaye nodded wordlessly and opened the door to let them in. As soon
as Diane stepped inside, she began to shiver slightly.

"Oooh! It's so cold in here!" she commented.

"A lot of electrical equipment runs in here constantly," Kaye said
over her shoulder as she continued looking for Tomoe. "It keeps
everything from overheating."

"I only use it in the rooms that have running equipment," a male
voice said overhead. "You couldn't imagine the price of my
electrical bills!"

"Dad!" Hotaru called out, glacing up overhead. "Where are you?"

"Up here, Hotaru-chan," Tomoe said. As soon as he spoke, a hand
waved past at the top of some black, metal structure.

"Ah, there you are, Souichi-san!" Diane shouted from below.

"Diane-san!" Tomoe shouted back. "So you're the visitor Kaye told
me was here to see me. I'll be right down as soon as I finish up
this last bit of programming... got it! Okay, I'm done! I'm coming
down!"

Tomoe stood up from where he was leaning over and shut the door
that covered whatever he was working on. Diane noticed that he had
pocketed something as he straighted himself. Tomoe adjusted his
glasses, then started to descend the nearby ladder. "Kaye, would
you please contact Mr. Jade and tell him that the final one has
been completed?" he asked as he climbed down. "After that, would
you mind joining us in the first floor study?"

"Of course, Souichi-san," Kaye said eagerly as she hurried out.

Diane glanced over at Hotaru, who just rolled her eyes. Of course,
Hotaru might not be too keen on some woman trying to get too close
to her father, but she didn't seem to dislike Kaye, either. Either
way, Diane wasn't about to pry.

"What do you say we get out of this cold room?" he asked as soon
as his feet touched the floor.

"I'm all for it!" Diane said enthusiastically. "Lead the way!"

Tomoe chuckled. "Of course, Diane-san," he said in an amused tone
as he bowed his assent.

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

"O kay!" Amy shouted as the scene ended. "Places for the next
scene!"

"That's our cue," Tanya said with a grin as she gave Darien a
playful nudge with her elbow. "You ready?"

"All set," he confirmed with a nod.

"Then, let's get to it," she said with a grin.

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

Jack trudged into his office, dead on his feet. He would've gone
home, but the office was closer. Either way, he didn't care at that
moment.

"Long night, Jack?" a female voice asked from across the room.

"You could say so, Tira," he replied after stifling a yawn. "I've
been up all night keeping tabs on Erwight. So far nothing as to
what he and his girlfriend are up to, but tomorrow's another day."

Tira sighed. "I figured as much. By the way, Elanye came by
yesterday and paid her bill with us, and Chief Garret called me to
let me know about the details of your little deal you made
yesterday." She shook her head as she sighed again. "Look, you're
too tired, Jack. I knew you'd either go home or come here, so I
made up a little cot for you in the back. Get some rest."

Jack blinked as he looked at Tira. She was only 19, but by the way
she held herself, one would think she was ten years older and ten
inches taller by the way she was looking down at him now. She had
been that way for as long as he knew her, even before he agreed to
let her work for him as a secretary. She could be very persuasive
when she wanted to be. She combed one chocolate-brown hand through
her long, jet black hair irritably as she tapped her foot in ire;
the expression on her face showing some slight exasperasion.

"Thank you, Ti," she said as he headed for the back of the office.
"You'll let me know if anything important comes up?"

Tira gave him a glaring look. "I've been your secretary for over
a year now," she said sarcastically, folding her arms angrily over
her chest. "You would think that I would have the routine down by
now."

Jack blinked in surprise. "Oh... uh, sorry about that, Ti. You know
I didn't mean it like that."

She dropped her arms to her side as she shook her head penitently.
"I know you didn't mean it like that, Jack," she said as she walked
over to him and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry for snapping at you like
that. It's just that... your case wasn't the only thing I talked to
Chief Garret about," she admitted as she slowly started to cry.

"What do you...," he began when it hit him. "Oh. Listen, Ti, I've
told you time and again why I'm not going back to being a cop. I
don't want to keep repeating myself on this. You know how hard it
is for me to remember."

"You think it's not hard for me?!?" Tira all but screamed through
her tears. "You think you're the only one with a scar on your
heart? You think I don't know why you quit? I know exactly why you
quit and I still think you're wrong! If Daddy were still here, he'd
tell you the exact same thing and you know it!"

Jack sighed sadly. "I was there, you weren't. I know what happened,
you know what everyone else has told you. Maybe your father could've
convinced me differently, but I can't." He bent down slightly to give
Tira a small kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry, Ti. Now, I'm going
to get some rest, okay?"

Tira choked back the rest of her tears as she wiped away the tears
already on her face. "All right," she agreed as she gave him one
last squeeze then let him go. She continued to watch him until he
went into the back office and closed the door behind him.

"Sweet dreams, Jack," Tira whispered quietly.

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

D iane couldn't help but admire the room and its splendid
furnishings. The small couch that she and Hotaru were sitting on
was very comfortable; enough to fall asleep on. The carpeting was
thick enough so that if she rubbed hard enough on it in her socks,
she could build up a static charge strong enough to really shock
somebody. Hotaru had shown her that the last time she was here; she
could still remember the shock.

There was one protrait on the wall above the granite fireplace at
the wall at the far end of the room. It was the only portrait in
the entire room, but somehow, it seemed that putting any other
portraits or pictures on that wall, or any wall in the room, would
be superfluous. That portrait was of Hotaru's mother and Tomoe's
late wife, Mariko. She looked almost exactly like Hotaru, except
she had longer hair. She was painted in a serene pose, with her
hands resting in her lap. She wore a plain white dress, but on her
it seemed the most extravagant, luxurious dress in the world. If
she was any indication of how Hotaru would look in full maturity,
she would make some guy a very fortunate man.

Kaye had just left to go get some refreshments from the kitchen a
few minutes ago. Tomoe was standing in front of the fireplace,
staring at the picture of his wife with a wistful look on his face.
A short time later, he turned away and walked over toward the
bookcase.

"I'm sure you'll want to see this again," he said with a small
laugh as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "You ask me to
see it every time you come here."

"I know," Diane agreed sheepishly. "I can't help it. It's so
beautiful!"

Tomoe nodded as he turned toward the bookcase. In the center of the
bookcase was a glass panel in front of a display of precious jewels.
They all belonged to his wife, but now they belonged to Hotaru... in
name only. Only when she turned 21 would he give her the keys. Once
the display was opened, he reached in and took out the jewel in the
middle of the display. It rested on a velvet pillow, almost like a
museum display.

"Even now, I can hardly believe that something like that belongs to
me," Hotaru whispered to Diane.

"I know you've heard it a million times, Hotaru-chan," Diane
whispered back, "but I'm so jealous of you."

Hotaru gave her a triumphant smirk. "I know that, Diane-oneesama."

Tomoe walked back to where Diane and Hotaru were sitting and placed
the pillow down of the coffee table between them before sitting down
in his recliner. "One of a group of the most rare jewels in the
world," he said with a dramatic wave of his hand over the gem, "the
Orange Nijizuishou crystal! Only six others like it in the world
exist, each another color of the rainbow: red, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet.

"I still remember when I got this crystal," Tomoe continued in a
reminiscent tone of voice. "It was back in Japan, when I taught at
Mugen, a school in Tokyo. It taught students from 1st grade up to
the university level. That's where I met Mariko.

"She was a new staff member there; a student counselor. We met, fell
in love, and eventually got married. We got married a week before
that year's senior class graduated. One of my students - I believe
her name was Tamashiro Kimiko - brought her grandfather to meet me.
She told him that I was her favorite teacher and that if it wasn't
for me, she would've never graduated. Well, I may have given her a
little bit of tutoring," Tomoe added, "but I wouldn't've gone as far
as to say that. Anyway, her grandfather thanked me for assisting her
granddaughter. After that, Kimiko told him that I had just gotten
married to Mariko. After he congratulated me and Mariko, he gave
Mariko a small box and said it was a wedding present from him.
Later, after she opened it, we discovered that it was the Orange
Nijizuishou crystal! Mariko went and asked the man if he
accidentally gave her the wrong box, he replied that it was no
mistake. He was getting old and he didn't want it anymore. No one
in his family knew he had the crystal and he preferred it that way.
He also knew that if Kimiko had the crystal, then she'd either sell
it for way less than it was worth or it'd get stolen from her and
she might possibly get hurt in the process, so he wasn't going to
give it to her. As for why he gave it to us, he figured that we'd
likely know how to take care of it responsibly.

"We both thought that the man might of been a bit senile, or looney,
but we decided to keep his gift. After all, it was both out of
gratitude for helping his granddaughter and a newlywed gift. How
could we refuse without insulting him?"

Diane bent over the crystal to take a closer look. The orange gem
was shaped and cut like a traditional diamond, all the way down to
the point on the bottom. She thought that it might be like a diamond
in that it could cut anything. It certainly looked like it could. A
gem like this would worth several millions of dollars easily. It
seemed foolish to keep it locked up in just a glass case where
anyone could just break the glass and take it, but Diane knew better.

Since Tomoe worked on several different companies' projects, there
was always the possibility of someone trying to break in and steal
important information and documents. He made sure that everything
was protected with an advanced security system. Only he, Hotaru, and
Kaye had access to the security system.

When Tomoe took the pillow with the crystal and put it back into the
display, Diane gave off a small sigh that was echoed by Hotaru.
"Thank you, Souichi-san," she said with a respectful bow. "I always
enjoy admiring that crystal, even for a little while."

"Hey, Dad," Hotaru began as Kaye came back with a tray that held
a teapot and four cups, "since you're finished with your work, would
you mind telling me some more stories about Mom?"

Tomoe gave Hotaru a warm smile. "Of course, Hotaru. I know you never
got to know your mother since the accident took her from us when you
were very young. Would you mind pouring us some tea, Kaye?"

"Of course, Souichi-san," Kaye said as she reached for the teapot.

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

"C all for you Mr. S," Max's secretary said over the intercom. "It's
Mr. J."

"Patch it through," Max ordered promptly as he flicked off the
intercom, then picked up the phone. "Talk to me."

"I've finally made it back to the States, Max," Jed told him. "I'm
in New York waiting for a transfer to D.C."

"Any problems?"

"Not a hitch," Jed replied smugly. "I was out of there before
they even knew it was gone."

"Excellent," Max said eagerly. "So, when're you hitting the next
target?"

"I've already scoped out the security systems of the Tomoe manor when
you sent me there to close the research project deal with him," he
replied. "It'll be difficult, but I should make it in and out with
minimal fuss. I'm planning the aquisition on Saturday, around
midnight. The risk is minimal then."

"I've already received a report that the project is completed and is
ready for shipping. Since I'm having it moved out tonight, there's no
reason to have to take special precautions with Tomoe. If he gets in
the way..."

"I know what to do, Max," Jed reassured him. "I know what to do."

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

To Chapter 11

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

Author' s Note: And so ends another chapter. The plot begins to pick
up now, both in the movie and in the fic, so hang on as I get ready
to bring it up a notch. Next chapter: The Orange Nijizuishou crystal
isn't the only thing taken from the Tomoe manor; Diane gets furious;
and the Evans twins report to the set.

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.