Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Super Sailor Mercury: Shattered Ice ❯ Chapter 35

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

Shattered Ice: Super Sailor Mercury
Thirty Five

The lady called Iron Mouse swept the stones carefully, the small woman having some difficulty with the broom. Still, the activity was oddly soothing to her, her silver hair blowing in the breeze. The shrine in Tokyo was a busy place, with students coming and going, but there was also a aura of serenity about it, a feeling of safety.

“Thank you,” Grandfather Hino smiled as he walked up, having leered enough at the band of giggling schoolgirls.

“You're welcome,” Iron Mouse nodded. He was old, yet there was a aura of unearthly power around him, a kind of spiritual energy. Along with that was a lingering grief, sorrow that had settled into his very bones.

“You don't have to do this,” Hino nodded to where a young man ran a stand selling the shrine's charms, “I can just have Yuchiro do it.”

“No,” Iron Mouse shook her head, “I want to earn my keep somehow.”

It had been over a week since Sailor Mercury had defeated her, in the process freeing Iron Mouse from the sway of Galaxia. Somehow the pure energy of the Sailors had cleansed her of the darkness, and for the first time in years she was fully in control of her actions. But along with freedom had come crushing guilt, the memory of all the wrongs she had committed and lives she had taken. To do what little she could to make up for her sins Iron Mouse had told the Senshi everything she knew about Galaxia, but she also knew that wasn't nearly enough.

Hino looked at her with a surprising degree of wisdom. “I saw the news,” he noted as he leaned on a battered wooden cane, “you fought the Sailor Senshi.”

“Yes,” Iron Mouse admitted, “I was under another's control, but....”

“You remember it all,” Hino acknowledged, “you feel guilty, even though you couldn't control what you were doing.”

Iron Mouse looked at him in surprise, “Yes, exactly! How did you know...?”

“It happened to me once,” Hino admitted, telling her a story about a bestial transformation and mysterious heart crystals. “I forgot at first,” he mused, “but eventually the memories returned. Probably around when I realized by Granddaughter was one of the Sailor Senshi.”

Iron Mouse looked off into the distance. “It's hard to make them understand Galaxia's cruelty... she made sure I was fully aware of what I was doing, even as I carried out her bidding,” she mused.

“We'll just have to stop her before she can do that here,” Hino squeezed her shoulder gently.

“You're more optimistic than I am,” Iron Mouse smiled at him wryly. “I truly don't see how we can win this fight. Right now, the best I'm hoping for is to die in battle and not be enslaved again,” she confessed softly.

Hino chuckled softly as he said, “They'll find a way. They've faced every threat, and no matter how they hurt, they win in the end.” Silently he added, 'But the losses....'

Iron Mouse felt the pain in him and met the old man's eyes, “I'm sorry. You lost someone precious to you?”

“My Rei,” Hino smiled sadly, telling her about his brash, black haired daughter who had fought evil with a fiery spirit, only to be slain by misguided evil.

“I'm sorry,” Iron Mouse repeated softly, this time squeezing his shoulder.

“You would have liked her, I think,” Hino sighed. He got up from where he had sat on the steps, stretching a bit. “Well, back to work,” he said as he walked off.

Iron Mouse looked after him, her own expression thoughtful. 'So many worthy people here,' she thought, 'not just the Senshi but ordinary people too.' Her eyes narrowed in determination as she thought, 'I will not let Galaxia take this world.'

Sometimes, Seiya Kou wished their manager wasn't quite so enthusiastic. “All right,” the slim black haired man said as they waited outside the office, “run this by me again.”

“Seiya,” Ritsuko Takahata sounded frustrated as the older woman she ran a hand through her long, blond hair, “I don't get why you're having a problem with this.”

“I'm curious too,” Taiki admitted, his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He was flipping through a novel as they waited, scanning the pages rapidly.

Seiya sighed as he sat down in one of the comfy chairs beside Yaten and Taiki. “Galaxy Television calls up out of the blue, offers much more than our usual rate, they have no planned events we're preforming for..,” Seiya muttered, “did they want us on a whim? What's going on here?”

Yaten looked thoughtful as the white haired boy conceded, “It does sound kind of strange when you put it like that.”

Ritsuko gave all three a exasperated look, “We don't have to be concerned about their motives. Your job is to preform.”

Taiki gave her a frown at that. “Even as preformers,” he said dryly, “we have a responsibility to avoid being involved in a underhanded or deceptive activity.”

“We don't know that it is underhanded,” Ritsuko said through grit teeth.

“Look,” Seiya opened his hands in a calming gesture, “we jusy want you to do a little digging, all right? Put some feelers out and see what you hear.”

Ritsuko made a face but nodded. “All right,” she conceded reluctantly, “but I think you're making too much of this.”

“If I'm wrong I'll be happy to see it,” Seiya said honestly.

“The production meeting is ready to see you,” the brown haired secretary smiled sweetly, her full breasts bouncing under her blouse. That, along with her short skirt seemed nearly designed to distract and confuse men, tho Seiya and the others were mostly unaffected.

“Thank you, Miss...?” Seiya asked charmingly.

She blushed slightly as she led them in, “Asahina, Mikuru Asahina.”

“It's nice to meet you,” Yaten smiled as they went in.

Ryouko Asakura got up from her seat, the representative of the animation company smiling coolly. There was something off about Ryouko, Seiya felt, some missing dimension in her personality, but she seemed good at her work and had treated them fairly so far.

“Seiya, Yaten, Taiki,” Ryouko gestured to a table loaded with prototype merchandise as the blue haired woman continued, “we have a lot to talk about.”

“I still think a Three Lights anime is jumping the gun,” Taiki noted mildly as Ryouko ran through the possible tie in products.

“Idol stars are the next big thing,” Yuki Nagato noted calmly, her brown-gray hair falling into her face. “the singer Aya Hirano has already starred in a concert tour, as well as her own animated special.”

Ryouko punched the table excitedly, “That's why we need to get you animated now!”

“What sort of project are we looking at?” Seiya asked dryly.

“We'll introduce you as guest characters in the Adventures of Sailor V,” Yuki said calmly, “as three magical idols.”

“Magical Idols?” Yaten looked amused.

“We'll then spin you off,” Yuki calmly ignored the interruption and continued, “into a Three Lights animated special. If that does well, we'll consider a full series or half season show.”

“Ah,” Taiki said neutrally. He gestured to the table of Three Lights merchandise, “And what is all this stuff?”

“We have to have the merchandise designed before we air the show,” Ryouko told them cheerfully. “Please look through them so we can decide if you approve.”

“Why is this action figure pink?” Saeiya wondered after a moment.

“There's some debate which brother gets to be the Uke....” Yuki admitted dryly.

All three boys chimed in, “Rejected!”

To be continued....

Note: Just a pointless cameo of the Haruhi cast. I needed someone to represent the anime company, so I used them.