Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 3

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

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 3


Lower Grounds - Sendai Hill, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 7:28 A.M.


"Good morning, Usagi-chan!" Minako called out as her friend arrived.

"Good morning, Minako-chan," Usagi said and yawned.

"Long night?" Minako asked, her head tilted inquisitively.

"Ryoku-san had everyone clean the place top to bottom last night," she explained. "We didn't finish
until 1:00 A.M."

Minako winced. "Why?"

Usagi frowned irritably. "Because of that idiot, Ken! He thought it would be funny to start a food
fight last night. That dummy got a third of the boys involved before Ryoku-san put a stop to it."

"But why did everyone have to clean up?"

"He wouldn't say. However, after we were finished, I went down to his room and asked him again. He said
that the mass punishment was to serve two purposes. The first was to remind us of how precious our food
supply is and that we shouldn't waste it by throwing it at each other. The second was to ensure that
this never happened again by making everyone blame their punishment on the ones who started it." Usagi
let out an angry grunt. "Well, we're all mad at Ken and his friends right now, so I don't think they'll
ever do it again."

Minako laughed. "I wish I could've been there to see it." She turned and motioned for her friend to
follow her. "So, how're you faring so far? Is life here becoming easier for you, yet?" Usagi nodded.
"I'm not surprised. After all, you've got Ryoku-sama as your mentor." She sighed enviously. "You're
lucky, you know. It's rare for Shishu Blades to act as mentors, since they're so busy, not to mention
the sad fact that you never know when another Blade will die fighting the Dark Kingdom."

"Well, I only asked because Chiba-san made Ryoku-san cut back on almost all of his duties until he was
completely healed," Usagi explained. "I thought that he would be bored out of his head while doing
nothing but recovering, so I asked him if he could be my sponsor."

Her friend stopped and looked at her askance. "Are you sure that's all?" she asked.

Usagi blinked, unsure if there was a double meaning in that question. "Is something wrong, Minako-chan?"

"Wrong?" Minako said, laughing sheepishly. "Ah, nothing, nothing. Pay no attention to me...."

She gave the short-haired blonde a bewildered look, but decided to drop the subject. "At any rate,
Ryoku-san told me that we would be deciding where I'm supposed to work today."

"Oh, it's that time already, huh?" Minako said knowingly. "So, where do you think you want to end up? I
don't think you want to work with the Builders or Farmers. Too much work if you ask me. The Builders
are always fixing some building, or putting up a new one because there's no more space in the old one.
The Farmers are worse; there's always a need for food and not nearly enough land or livestock to
produce it with."

Usagi grimaced and nodded as she started following Minako again. Neverending work? Sounded too much
like the slave cell.

"The Medical Corps is full up. Good luck trying to get in. The only reason either Ami or I am in is
because Ami's mom is the lead doctor and I work in the Garden."

"The Garden?"

"Yeah, it's really cool. I'll tell you more about it later. Anyway, you're not old enough to be a
Teacher, and we have more than enough Cooks and Repairmen...." Minako stopped as she reached the top of
the stone stairs that lead to the top of Sendai Hill. "All that's left is the Path of Religion," she
said as she gestured toward the cluster of religious buildings ahead of them.

"Religion?" Usagi repeated as if trying out the word. "You mean, like Rei-chan?"

"Well, yeah, I guess, but there's more than just Shinto, which is what Rei-chan practices. There're all
sorts of different religions, although Rei-chan's grandpa often says that it didn't use to be that way."

"Huh?" Usagi asked, both confused and curious.

"Hino-sama once told me, when I was visiting with Rei-chan, that there used to be mainly three
different religions in Japan: Shinto, which is what Rei's family practices; Buddhism; and Catholicism.
Now that the Dark Kingdom has pretty much taken over the world, there's a little bit of every religion
everywhere." Minako made a sweeping gesture with her right hand, indicating all the buildings in front
of her. "Even here."

Out of the main building of the Hikawa Jinja, Rei stepped outside, wearing her usual red and white
shrine miko garb. When she caught sight of the others, she smiled and waved to her friends, then
started to walk toward them. "Good morning, Minako-chan, Usagi-chan."

"Good morning, Rei-chan," Usagi replied.

"Mornin', Rei-chan!" Minako also replied. "Feeling any better this morning?"

"Much better," the raven-haired miko agreed. "Thanks for those herbs you gave me. The pain's all gone
today."

"Good, good," she said, nodding her head in satisfaction. "And Nurse Minako cures yet another patient."

Rei resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. "It was just a headache. Don't blow it out of proportion."

"Aw, you're no fun," Minako pouted, then turned to Usagi. "Anyway, I've got to get to work soon. I
wanted to show you the Garden, but that can wait until later. After all, since you're going to be
choosing where to work today, why not ask Rei about religion? I'd tell you more about the Garden, but
we're all full up and I don't wanna get your hopes up for nothing."

"Oh, is it that time for her already?" Rei asked, surprised. She then turned to Usagi. "So, have you
figured it out, yet?"

Usagi shrugged helplessly. "Not really...."

Rei stared at her incredulously. "You've got to be joking. You've spent days with Ryo-kun learning
about this place and you still haven't figured out what you want to do?"

"That's another reason why I brought her here," Minako interjected.

"Oh, I see," Rei said, nodding to herself. "You figure that if you can't make it elsewhere, you could
always settle for the Path of Religion, right?" She turned a cold glare at Usagi. "I hope you're not
thinking that it would be easy. If that's what you're thinking, I advise that you forget it and just
become a Builder or something. This path is serious and full of hard work. And it's the same with
Shinto as it is with Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Muslim, and so on."

Usagi almost sighed to herself. More hard work. She should've known. Well, it couldn't hurt to ask. At
least, then Rei would think she was at least serious about wanting to find out about it and not just
giving up because it sounded too hard. That speech of hers was one of the main reasons behind this
decision, too.

"Well, it's not like most people follow the Path of Religion because they're religious," Rei continued
with a vexed sigh. "Mostly, the people who follow the Path end up helping to maintain the barrier that
protects us."

"Isn't the reason why the barrier is as large as it is, is because of the number of people helping to
maintain it?" Usagi asked.

"That's partially right," she agreed. "However, it's mainly because of the holy grounds that we
maintain that keeps the Dark Kingdom out. It doesn't matter which religion that does the blessing; as
long as the land has been ceremonially blessed, the Dark Kingdom cannot enter. It is with the combined
will of all the religious practitioners that we can extend the barrier as far as we have."

"And in order to keep the barrier up at all times, they have to have people awake at all times,
concentrating on keeping up the barrier," Minako added. "It's a really boring job, right, Rei-chan?"

"Really boring," she huffed, nodding emphatically. "Nothing but sitting in a room other priests,
everyone concentrating their will on the barrier and chanting. But it takes a lot out of you sometimes,
especially if you have border duty late at night, like at midnight."

"How long do you usually have to do border duty?" Usagi asked, feeling a little sorry for the
raven-haired miko for having to stay up late at night so often, from the sound of it. After having to
stay up so late, even if it was only until 1:00 A.M., she could understand how hard it was to go
through something like that.

"Border duty shifts are six hours long," she stated with a slight grimace.

"You mean, you sometimes have to stay up from midnight to 6:00 A.M.?!?" Usagi exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Every eight days, actually," she replied with a shrug. "We stand our duty days every other day, moving
one shift each day."

"And her duty day is tomorrow, too," Minako added.

"Don't remind me," Rei grumbled, then sighed ruefully. "And it's a midnight shift, too...."

"They have four shifts," Minako explained to Usagi. "Midnight, Morning, Noon, and Evening. Midnight to
6, 6 to noon, then noon to 6 and 6 to midnight again."

"Oh...," Usagi said thoughtfully as she took that information in.

"Usagi! Where are you?" a voice called out from the bottom of the stone steps.

"Ah! Ryoku-san! I was supposed to meet him by the Shishu training grounds after his physical
examination this morning," Usagi explained hurriedly as she started to leave.

"I heard from Ami-chan that Ryo-kun's supposed to be off light duty today," Rei mentioned as she
followed Usagi to the stairs. "Mind if I come with you, Usagi-chan? I want to ask him how his exam
went."

"Hey, wait for me! I'm going, too!" Minako added and started after them.

"Don't you have to go to work, Minako-chan?" Rei asked pointedly. "Midou-san won't like it if you go to
work late again."

"Kyaa! You're right!" she realized and spun around toward the direction of the Garden. "Usagi-chan, let
me know later how it turned out, okay?" With one quick glare at Rei over her shoulder, she dashed
around the corner of one of the many religious structures and disappeared from view.

"And this round goes to me," Rei said quietly to herself under her breath as she grinned victoriously
toward the spot Minako had vanished from.

"What was that, Rei-chan? I didn't hear what you said."

"Never mind that. Ryo-kun's waiting for you. Let's go."

_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds - Sendai Hill, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 7:54 A.M.


"Usagi!" Ryoku called out as he made his way toward Sendai Hill. "Where are you?" She wasn't at the
training grounds where he asked her to meet him after the physical, so he went looking for her.

She wasn't back at the Orphans' Quarters, nor was she down near Stores. He would've thought that she
would've went there, since she had complained to him about having barely any clothing to wear besides
what she arrived in, which was slightly tattered as well. He had briefly mentioned that place to her,
telling her that she would be able to get various items from there. He hadn't gone into very much
detail, as he was planning on explaining the place in more detail once the various items he had already
had requisitioned for her as her mentor became available.

Well, she wasn't there, so the next logical choice would be to see if she was with any of her friends.
Since she didn't have very many friends at the Orphans' Quarters - although he was pretty sure that
Osaka girl was starting to make friends with her - he went to Sendai Hill, since that was where he
could usually find either Rei, at her shrine, or Minako, at the Garden. He had already seen Ami at his
physical, so he knew she wasn't with her.

"Ryoku-san!"

"Usagi?" He turned toward the stone stairs and looked up in time to see Usagi coming down the steps
with Rei trailing not too far behind. Bingo. Third time's the charm, as they say. "Good morning, Rei,"
he added, bowing slightly to her.

"Good morning, Ryo-kun," Rei replied, bowing back and smiling.

"I'm sorry, Ryoku-san," Usagi apologized. "I-"

He raised a hand, quickly cutting her off. "Forget about it. I'm not upset."

"Really?" she asked, relieved.

"Really," he nodded. "Actually, while I was searching for you, I happened to remember something that we
really need to do today."

Usagi gave him a curious look. "What's that, Ryoku-san?"

"That will come later," he told her, holding up an admonishing finger. "First thing's first; he need to
see about finding you a place to work."

"How was your physical exam, Ryo-kun?" Rei asked, still smiling.

"I'm 100 percent better, Rei," he stated with a reassuring grin. "All my injuries have healed and I can
be put back on normal duty again."

"Does this mean that you'll be too busy to be my mentor, now that you'll be on regular duty again?"
Usagi asked worriedly.

He shook his head. "Mentors aren't just a temporary thing, Usagi. Even when the person becomes
knowledgeable enough to become self-sufficient, there will always be times when that person will need
help, advice, or even if it's just someone to talk to when things get hard." He placed a reassuring
hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Besides, we live under the same roof. You know that my door is always
open if anyone wants to see me. Especially you or any of my other friends. Right, Rei?" he asked,
glancing over toward her.

Rei had been frowning at seeing him place his hand on Usagi's shoulder so casually, but quickly wiped
it from her face as they both turned to look at her. "Right," she quickly agreed, nodding. Her
annoyance dissipated when she saw Usagi's worry lift from her face, replaced by the smile that she gave
both her and Ryoku. He was only trying to make her feel better; that was all. Now she felt a little
silly for getting worked up over nothing.

"Ryo-kun, do you mind if I join you and Usagi-chan?" she asked. "I don't have anything that needs to be
done for most of today, so...."

"Sure!" Usagi said happily. "It's all right. Right, Ryoku-san?"

"If you say so," he agreed. "After all, we're all friends here, right?"

"Okay!" she cheered, her spirits lifted. "Rei-chan, Ryoku-san, let's go!" She grabbed Rei's hand in her
right hand and Ryoku's hand in her left, then took off running, dragging the two behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing, you idiot?!?" Rei shouted as she tried to regain her balance after being
yanked off her feet. "I'm not a rag doll, so quit dragging me like one!"

Ryoku was having a better time of keeping his balance. "Do you even know where we're supposed to be
going?" he asked, then sighed. Best to let her get it out of her system first.

It looked like it was going to be one of those days.

_________________________________________________________________


Lower Grounds, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 1:41 P.M.


After spending most of the morning going from workcenter to workcenter, Usagi was beginning to become
disheartened. Every place that Ryoku or Rei had brought her to had explained about what they did and
hand given her a kind of aptitude test to see if she could work there.

The results were... not quite satisfactory, to say the least.

"How can someone be so clumsy?" Rei asked, still astonished after seeing Usagi fail yet another test.
"You can't cook, can't sew, can't farm, can't write kanji, can't-"

"We get the point," Ryoku muttered as he closed his hand over Rei's, which had been open after each
finger ticked off the number of things that Usagi seemed to have difficulty in doing.

Usagi, on the other hand, looked to be on the verge of tears. "Can't I do anything right?" she wailed
looking desperately at both Rei and Ryoku.

Rei's expression softened as she went over to her friend and took her hands in her own. "You shouldn't
give up yet, Usagi-chan," she said encouragingly. "Not until you've done everything you can. And even
then, you shouldn't give up. Not while Ryo-kun and I are here to help you find your way."

"Rei-chan...."

"Rei's right, Usagi," Ryoku added. "We haven't tried everything, yet." He looked thoughtful for a
moment, then turned and motioned for the girls to follow him. "I think we should give it a rest for
now. There's still something that needs to be done today."

"Where're we going?" Usagi asked as she released Rei's hands and quickly followed with Rei right behind
her.

"Stores," he replied over his shoulder. "There are some things there that you'll need to pick up."

"Stores?" Usagi repeated, surprised. "I thought that-"

"Remember when I said I'd go more into depth over what Stores is?" he asked. "Well, I'll do it now.

"Stores is our main distribution center. Everything that we make, from food to clothing to tools and
repair parts can be found there, except for medicinal items. The only exceptions to that are things
that help cure common ailments like headaches, common diseases like colds or the flu, and bandages.
Anything else, you have to get from Medical Stores, and only by prescription.

"If Stores doesn't have an item you need, then an order can be made to make the items that you need.
However, everything that you can get from Stores costs a certain amount of credits. Right now, you
don't have any, which is why we need to find you a place to work. After all, since you're over
thirteen, you're now considered to be over the minimum allowed working age."

Usagi nodded. "Yeah, I know," she said as they started to approach the Stores building. "But why would
Stores have something for me? I didn't order anything."

"I did," he told her. "You came here with very little besides the clothes on your back. As your mentor
and as the head of the Orphans' Quarters, it's my responsibility that all the new residents have
everything that they need." He led the girls into the Stores building and headed straight for the front
counter while leaving the others to look around.

Usagi stared at all the things laid out on display. Boxes of food, labeled to show what they contained;
clothing items like socks, underwear, undershirts, shoes, and more; cases of assorted tools; and so on.
A rack of bokken in the corner caught her eye, so while Rei was busy looking through the clothing items
for something, she made her way over to the rack and picked one up.

The bokken were expertly crafted and looked just like the swords that the Shishu Blades use except
that, unlike bokuto, they had crossguards on their hilts, just like regular swords do. She remembered
that Shingo was always asking Papa for a bokken, but Papa couldn't afford one at the time. So Shingo
had tried to make his own version of a bokuto and practice with that. He was always saying that when he
turned thirteen, he would start working for his bokken, unlike his lazy sister who didn't want to work
until she turned sixteen. That damn brat. She wasn't lazy; she just didn't know what she wanted to do
yet.

She still didn't.

A small tear rolled down her cheek as she continued to stare at the bokken. Shingo would never get his
bokken now.

She had been thinking over that night over and over again whenever she couldn't sleep, which was still
quite often. It wasn't that long ago, after all. At first, she wanted to blame herself for what had
happened. She wasn't fast enough and slowed them down so that the Youma sentries were able to catch
them. She hadn't kept quiet enough, and it was her scream that made the sentries chase them. She had
even talked with Ryoku, and even Chiba-san, since he had come to visit at the time. They had both
assured her that she wasn't at fault. Chiba-san had even told her that from what he had seen that day,
even if she had run twice as fast, they wouldn't have made it before the Youma sentries could leap out
of the shadows and slaughter them. In fact, her warning scream had bought them some time, since they
had taken the time to leap out of the shadows earlier than they had planned, slowing them down a bit.

Hearing that had made her feel a little better, but there was still something inside her that wasn't so
forgiving. The arrow through Mama's chest. The negative energy sphere that swallowed Shingo in its
darkness. The arrow through Papa's throat. The Youma sentries did that to her family. They killed her
family. Jadeite sent the Youma. Jadeite killed her family. Jadeite was a part of the Dark Kingdom. The
Dark Kingdom killed her family. They all tried to kill her, too. They tried to kill her, but they
failed. She was still alive. She was still alive and she would find a way to make them pay! She
would....

"Usagi-chan?" Rei said in quiet, calming voice as she came up behind her. "Are you all right,
Usagi-chan? Usagi-chan?"

"Hm? What?" Usagi said, blinking as she turned toward Rei while shaking her head to clear the feeling
of disorientation from it. "What's wrong, Rei-chan? You look upset."

Rei stared at her. "What's wrong with ME? What's wrong with you? You didn't see the look on your face."

"Huh?" she said, completely perplexed. "What look?"

"You looked like you wanted to kill someone," she said quietly as she glanced over her shoulder toward
where Ryoku was gathering several items together. "Look at your right hand."

Usagi almost gasped when she noticed her hand. The knuckles were all white. She noticed then that her
hand also felt a little tight as well, as if she had been grasping something for a long time. Slowly
and deliberately, she peeled her hand from the bokken's hilt and replaced the wooden sword in the rack
where she had got it from.

"Are you all right, Usagi-chan?" Rei asked again, very concerned for her friend. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Usagi murmured. "I picked up the bokken, then started remembering my little brother,
Shingo. Then, I started remembering about the night I lost my family. Then, after that.... After
that...."

"After that?" Rei prompted.

Usagi put a hand to her head and frowned worriedly. "After that... I can't remember. It's like I
blacked out for a moment. All I can remember is hearing you calling my name." She turned a worried look
to her friend. "Rei-chan, is there something wrong with me?"

Rei stared down at the ground, thinking. "I think you should ask Mizuno-hakase about this. She might
have a better idea."

"What would Mizuno-hakase have a better idea about?" Ryoku asked, carrying a huge box in both hands.

"Um.... Ryo-kun, that looks heavy!" Rei exclaimed as she went to grab the other end of the box.

"Are you trying to change the subject?" he asked sternly. "Please don't. If something is wrong, I want
to know. I won't be able to help, otherwise." He noticed Usagi and Rei exchange looks. "All right,
then. We can wait until we take these back to Usagi's room. We can talk there. Is that better?" Usagi
nodded. "All right. Usagi, there's a smaller box still on the counter. You can carry that. Now, let's
go."

They were silent all the way back to the Orphans' Quarters.

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 1:41 P.M.


"I see...," Ryoku said quietly as Usagi went into the bathroom to try on one of the new outfits that he
had gotten her. He hoped that he had gotten her sizes right. Later, she could go get her underclothes
herself. The remaining credit he had left with the Storekeeper should be enough for what she would need.
"I think I know what she's going through."

"You do?" Rei asked.

"I've seen this happen with a couple of people that had been rescued from Dark Kingdom slave cells with
family, only to lose them in the middle of clashes between us Blades and the Youma sentries," he
explained loud enough for Usagi to hear inside the bathroom. "We don't have the manpower we used to,
and more and more people die at the hands of the sentries, despite all of our efforts to save them. We
can't save everyone," he said bitterly. "We're just not strong enough.

"Sometimes, the survivors see something that reminds them of what, or rather, who they lost. They think
about their lost loved ones and grow sad. However, occasionally something inside these people won't
feel at ease unless they have vengeance. Some of them are aware of this desire, others are not, but it
exists on one level or another, deep in their minds and hearts. Anger at the Dark Kingdom builds inside
of them, turning into rage."

"Anger? Rage?" Usagi said from inside the bathroom. "I don't feel anything like that."

"Not now, at least," Ryoku agreed, "but what about when you blacked out? Almost everyone that are not
aware of their 'inner rage', as we tend to call it, tends to release it whenever they black out. It's
as if they don't want to admit that they have those types of emotions, so they black it out from their
own minds. But, deep down, it's still there, waiting for something to trigger it."

"Are you sure, Ryoku-san?" Usagi asked as she exited the bathroom, wearing a white shirt and light blue
trousers with a black belt. "I mean, it could just as well be something else, after all."

Ryoku sighed. "You could be right," he relented. "Anyway, how do you feel now, Usagi? Like your new
clothes? I hope I got the sizes right."

"It's a little loose around the chest and waist, but otherwise it's fine," she told him as she went
over and hugged him. "Thank you so much for the new clothes. You have no idea how much I wanted to get
out of those," she said, gesturing toward the discarded clothes still lying on the bathroom floor. She
stood back up and spun around in a circle. "So, how do I look, Rei-chan?"

"Like a guy picked out your clothing," Rei joked. "Otherwise, you look much better." She gave her
friend a thoughtful look. "Have you ever considered wearing your hair up?"

"Huh? Well, I used to wear it up in odango before the Dark Kingdom captured us," she said, running a
hand idly through her hair. "It's been so long, I'm not sure I remember how to do it."

"I'll tell you what," Ryoku said as he stood up. "Why don't you and Rei work on that and put away your
stuff while I check in with Setsuna-san. We can try again when you're ready."

"Okay," Usagi agreed with a bob of her head.

"Then, I'll see you later," he said as he headed for the Nurse's Office. She would be there at this
time of day, rather than her room.

"Ryo-niichan!" Hotaru greeted as he came down the stairs to the ground floor. "How are you feeling
today? I heard from Setsuna-mama that you went to get a physical exam so you could go back to full duty
again."

"That's right, Hotaru-chan," he agreed as he regarded the young girl that he thought of as his younger
sister... well, youngest sister. "I'm 100 percent better and ready to stomp Youma heads again."

Hotaru was the first person that he had rescued from the Dark Kingdom by himself, back when he was
still twelve years old. She had been nine years old at the time and had just lost her parents when one
of the few remaining shrines besides Hikawa Jinja and Meiji Jinja were still active. It was when one of
those shrines fell that he had saved her life. Since she seemed especially small and frail to him, he
had even helped Setsuna raise the girl whenever he had the time between patrols and battles. It was
during that time that little Hotaru had become another younger sister to him. He still missed Makoto
and prayed constantly for her to awaken, but until that time, he still had Hotaru. He was sure that
once Makoto woke from her coma, she would come to love her as much as he did.

Hotaru smiled at Ryoku's confident boast. "Well, just be more careful next time, okay, Ryo-niichan?
You always seem to be the one taking the most injuries."

"That's not true," he complained. "Who told you that?"

"Mamoru-san."

Ryoku grimaced. "He told you to say that, didn't he?"

Hotaru stared at him in shock. "How'd you know...?"

He shook his head. "Never mind," he sighed tiredly, then smiled down at her. "I'll be more careful. I
promise."

The younger girl nodded and smiled again as she hugged him. "Thank you, Ryo-niichan!"

"Hotaru-chan, is Setsuna-san in her office right now?" he asked after she released him.

"Yes, she's taken care of someone right now," she told him. "Nora-chan fell down the stairs an hour
ago."

He sighed again. That half-American girl was ever so accident-prone. "Thank you, Hotaru-chan," he said
as he went to go see Setsuna. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" Hotaru waved and ran off.

"Setsuna-san?" he called loud enough to be heard through the closed door. "May I come in?"

"Enter," came the softer reply.

Ryoku walked into the Nurse's Office and sat down. Setsuna's office was like any other Nurse's Office
he had ever seen; the same medical books and charts, with the same medical instruments and so on.
However, what made Setsuna's office different was two-fold. One, she was neat. Very neat. One would be
hard pressed to find something out of place or a speck of dust in this office. And two, she had a pot
of water that was always kept hot and ready for making tea.

It was almost impossible to imagine Setsuna without tea.

"So, what did Mizuno-hakase have to say, Ryoku-san?" she asked as she looked up from the paperwork she
was currently filling out.

"Clean bill of health," he reported with a smug grin. "However, both she and Mamoru seem to be of the
same opinion that I take way too many risks out on the field."

"They're not the only ones, you know," she told him. "A lot of people think that way. That you're going
out of your way to hunt down and kill Youma, that is."

"It's my job," he replied simply.

"But you're overdoing it," she told him. "One man can only do so much. One of these days you will reach
too far and get yourself killed. Do you know how that would make Hotaru feel? Or Ami, Rei and Minako
for that matter? What about all the children here who look up to you as a hero? How do you think they
would feel if you died?"

"Okay! Okay!" he snapped, then sighed and lowered his head. "I get the point."

Setsuna regarded the young Blade calmly for a moment as she reached over toward a tray that held her
favorite teacup and a few extra cups. "Would you like some tea, Ryoku-san?" she asked. "I've got some
green tea, but I can prepare oolong or some Earl Grey if you prefer."

"Green is fine," he replied quietly.

She nodded and took her cup and one extra as she started to prepare the tea. "You know, both
Mizuno-hakase and I have been speculating on why you seem to throw yourself into your work as much as
you do," she told him. "The most obvious reason would be for vengeance, of course. Even if you deny
that you wish to seek it, you still desire it unconsciously. After all, they took everything from you;
your old life, your old home, and your family. Even if Makoto is still alive, until she wakes from her
coma, it's just as if she is dead. More than enough reason to desire vengeance."

"Tell me something I don't know," he muttered sourly.

"All right. We think we've been seeing a pattern of sorts," she explained. "When you first started
fighting as a Blade, you almost never got injured. But, as we lost more and more Blades, you started
getting injured more and more often. At first, we thought that it might have been because you felt that
you wanted to punish yourself for failing to help your fellow Blades, but we dismissed that idea. It
didn't seem to fit your personality." She poured out tea for herself and for him and handed him his cup.

Ryoku accepted his cup and nodded his thanks. "So, what is my reason, then?" he asked pointedly after
sipping from his cup.

"We think that you're trying to take up the slack that the deaths of all the other Blades had left
behind. In other words, you're trying to do the work of many Blades instead of one, which is why you
always come back with so many injuries. You take on way too much and sooner or later, that is going to
kill you." She gave him a cold, hard stare. "If you die, then where do you think we will be? Mamoru
depends on you as his best fighter. If he loses you-"

"Enough," Ryoku cut her off and stood up, setting down his cup.

"Ryoku-san...."

"I know what you're trying to say, Setsuna-san," he said as he turned toward the door. "And you may be
right. But, unless we start gaining more Blades, then what has to be done, has to be done. I promised
Hotaru-chan that I would be more careful. I don't intend to go back on that. However, I can't promise
that I will back down. I won't. Our safety and even our lives depend on it.

"I know that I could die any day. Every Blade knows that. We can't control that. What we can control is
how much effort we put into protecting our loved ones." He walked over to the door and opened it.
"Setsuna-san."

"Yes?"

"Please tell Nora-chan that I said that she should be more careful when going up and down the stairs,"
he told her, then left.

Setsuna glanced down from the door to the half-empty teacup that Ryoku left behind and sighed sadly.
After she threw the leftover tea out the window, she set the used cup aside and refilled her cup, then
went back to finishing her report. Nora would have to stay off her left foot for the rest of the week,
but otherwise she was fine. She was lucky to have gotten just a sprained ankle and not a broken leg.

Wait. How did he know about Nora?

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 1:52 P.M.


"Rei-chan, do you really think that what Ryoku-san said is true?" Usagi asked after a long while.

Rei paused after tying up the right side of Usagi's hair into an odango and regarded her seriously.
"He's dealt with a lot of people who have lost family to the Dark Kingdom, including myself. I think
what he's said is pretty much true. I know I felt that way after Dad was killed and Mom followed him
afterward."

Usagi stared down at the floor. "Rei-chan, can I tell you something?"

"What?" she said, staring at her without understanding. "What are you taking about? Of course you can
tell me something. You can tell me anything."

"I mean, can you promise not to tell Ryoku-san?"

Rei stared at her as comprehension sank in. "...I see," she finally said. "Usagi, I promise I won't
tell him."

"Today wasn't the first time that that has happened to me," Usagi admitted.

"Is that your big secret?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought it was going to be more serious
than that."

"I'm not finished," she told her. "It was a few days ago. I was having a nightmare where my family was
being killed over and over again in front of my eyes. Not only that, but everyone I ever met was being
killed, too. You, Ryoku-san, Ami-chan, Minako-chan, Chiba-san.... Everyone. There was so much blood
everywhere...." Tears were starting to form in Usagi's eyes. "It was so horrible. And when they were
done with them, they turned their eyes toward me. That was when I woke up, sitting straight up in bed.
I'm still surprised I didn't scream.

"It took me a while to calm down, but eventually I did. However, those horrible images wouldn't go
away. They stayed in my mind, torturing me. After a while, I felt myself black out. I don't know what
happened during the time I blacked out, but when I regained consciousness, I found myself standing
outside near the border with Ryoku-san's sword in my hand."

"You're the one who took it?!?" Rei gasped, staring wide-eyed at her.

"You heard about it?" Usagi asked sheepishly.

"Heard about it? Ryo-kun was furious when he found his sword missing! Practically the entire Lower
Grounds could hear him tearing the Orphans' Quarters apart searching for it."

"I put it back in his room while he was searching for it. Please don't tell him, Rei-chan," she pleaded.

Rei stared at Usagi for a moment, then laughed. "When I think about it, it seems almost like you pulled
a practical joke on him. Anyway, don't worry about it. I won't say a thing."

"Thank you, Rei-chan!" Usagi shouted, hugging her friend.

"All right, already!" she shouted, prying Usagi off of her. "No need to go that far. Still, why didn't
you say anything to anyone about your problem then? Why wait until now?"

Usagi stared sheepishly down at the floor again. "I guess with Ryoku-san getting so angry over his
sword and with everything else that happened... I, um... I sort of... well...."

"Please don't tell me that you forgot," Rei said, frowning.

"Okay," she complied.

Rei sighed as she got started with the other half of her hair. "You really are hopeless; you know that?"

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 1:54 P.M.


Ryoku was about to knock on Usagi's door when a thought suddenly occured to him. Mamoru! He was always
complaining about how cluttered the Admin Office was getting - not to mention their other offices - and
how one of these days they were going to have to clean house. Well, perhaps he had a possible solution
right here. There was only one way to find out.

"Come in!" Usagi called out after he knocked. When he opened the door, he paused in surprise.

"What do you think?" Rei asked, noting the reaction.

"I think she looks like a brand new woman," he said, giving Usagi an appraising look. "You did a
marvelous job on her hair, Rei."

"Thanks," she said, then turned to Usagi. "Do you think you can remember how to do it now?"

"I think so," Usagi said, feeling one of the hairbuns on her head. "Thank you, Rei-chan."

"Usagi, I think there's another place we can try," he told her. "After that, I think we should give it
a rest for today. All right?"

"Okay," she agreed. "Where're we going now?"

"Shishu headquarters, Administration Office."

"Shishu?" Usagi repeated curiously.

"You'll see," he replied, then turned to Rei. "Are you still coming with us, Rei?"

The raven-haired miko shook her head as she stood up. "As much as I would like to, I'm going to have to
pass."

Ryoku nodded. "Oh, right. Midnight shift, tomorrow morning, right?" Rei nodded. "Well, I'll be sure to
let you know how it goes, then."

Rei smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Ryo-kun."

"No problem," he replied, then turned to Usagi. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically as she jumped to her feet. "Let's go! I know I'll get this one!"

"We can only hope, Usagi," Ryoku replied. "Let's go."

_________________________________________________________________


Shishu Headquarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 2:11 P.M.


Usagi hadn't realized it before, but the Shishu headquarters building was right next to the training
grounds. She felt kind of stupid for not noticing it before, but she quickly let it go. Now was not the
time for feeling stupid.

"So, how is our young Master Blade doing today?" a voice called from one of the second-story windows.
"Did Mizuno-hakase finally say you can come out and play?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sanzou," Ryoku called back. "Hey, is Chiba in there? I need to see a man about a job."

"A job?" Sanzou asked, then noticed Usagi behind him. "Ah. I see. Wait, I think he's in. Let me check."
He poked his head in for a moment, then stuck it back out the window. "Yep! He just went into his
office."

"Thanks," he said, then turned to Usagi. "Well, let's hope for some good luck."

"Right," she agreed as the two entered the building.

Usagi glanced around as Ryoku led her through the building. Compared to the Orphans' Quarters, this
place was filthy. The place looked as if it hadn't been swept or dusted in a couple of months. In some
of the rooms it looked like someone tried to keep it in order, but failed to keep it up for long. The
second floor looked better than the first, but here, too, were signs of neglect. Not that she thought
it was intentional. With the number of people they had, their busy schedules, and the size of the
building, it was amazing that it was in the condition that it was in. Ryoku had told her what kind of
job he hoped that he could get her, but she didn't think that she would be able to take care of all
this by herself, even working all day.

Finally, they reached the Admin Office. "Ready, Usagi?"

"I hope so," she replied nervously.

Ryoku stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Enter," Mamoru's voice called from within. "Ryoku!" he
said, grinning from his desk as soon as he saw his friend. "Good to see you're back!"

"It's good to be back," he replied. "One measly little border patrol just wasn't cutting it for me, you
know.

"Anyway, as much as I would love to hear about everything that has been going on in my absence, I am
here for another reason," he explained. "Remember when you told me that you thought that we needed some
help in maintaining this place?"

"I remember," he replied. "We're going to start hiring people tomorrow."

"Well, could you possibly look at one person today?"

Mamoru glanced behind him at Usagi. "Her?"

"Yes."

"I don't see why not," he decided with a shrug. "We need the help anyway. She can clean, right?"

"Well...," Ryoku hesitated.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "I know that tone of voice. Don't tell me she can't."

"I'm not really sure," he admitted. "She's a bit clumsy, but very enthusiastic. I'm sure she'd do a
good job if you give her a chance."

He gave Usagi a scrutinizing glance before turning back to Ryoku again. "Let me guess; you've already
tried several other jobs, right? No good?"

"No good."

He nodded knowingly and turned his gaze back to Usagi. He studied her for a while before turning back
to Ryoku again. "All right. I'll let her work here on two conditions. One, she has to show improvement
within two weeks. And two, Ryoku, since you are responsible for her, you will have to ensure that she
improves. So, for two weeks, you are off of patrol duty."

Ryoku went wide-eyed. "W-what?!? You've got to be joking!"

Mamoru gave him a serious look. "No joke." His expression softened slightly. "You want to make sure she
succeeds, don't you? Then, you can do this for at least two weeks. It's not that bad. Think of it as a
vacation, or something."

Usagi glanced between the two Blades, looking very nervous. "Um... I don't want to be a burden on
Ryoku-san, Chiba-san...."

"Don't worry, Tsukino-san," he stated as he rose from his desk. "I know what you're thinking, but this
is for more than just his taking care of his ward." He paused, waiting until he had Ryoku's full
attention, then grinned. "We have new recruits, Ryoku. And you're going to train them."

"Me?!?" the younger Shishu exclaimed. "Now I KNOW you've got to be joking! No one's gonna listen to a
fifteen-year old kid teach them how to fight, 3rd class or not!" Ryoku flung an arm behind him,
gesturing outside the office. "What about Sanzou? He's better teaching material than I am anyway!"

Mamoru shook his head as he stepped over to his friend and placed his hands encouragingly over his
friend's shoulders. "Look, Ryoku. Regardless of your age, you are a 3rd class Blade. Not only that, but
you are also functionally the third-in-command for our Shishu forces. If Sanzou and I die, you're it.
It will be up to you to lead Shishu, just like your father did before you, and your grandfather before
him. You have a legacy to live up to."

"Dammit, Chiba," he muttered sullenly. "Haven't I told you that I don't like people treating me like
I'm my father's son? I am Kino Ryoku, 3rd class Blade; not Kino Ryoku, Colonel Kino Ken's son or
General Kino Tenmei's grandson."

He nodded soberly. "I know that all too well, my friend," he replied as he dropped his hands to his
sides. "But if Kino Ryoku is going to be his own man, then he's going to have to forget that he's a
fifteen-year old boy teaching older students, and remember that he's a 3rd class Blade teaching new
Recruit Blades."

Ryoku's expression turned introspective as his feet idly took him to the window, where he could stare
outside and think. Mamoru glanced over toward Usagi and gestured for her to follow him outside. "Is
something wrong, Chiba-san?" she asked as she followed him out.

"No, and you can call me Mamoru, if you don't mind," he replied as he closed the door behind him. "It's
just that this is a big responsibility I've placed before him and he knows that. What he teaches those
new recruits could very well mean the difference between whether they live or die on the battlefield.
That's a lot for one person to take in at first."

"Are you sure that he can handle it, Mamoru-san?" she worriedly as she stared at the door to the
office. "I know I could never do it."

"I wasn't lying when I said that if Sanzou and I die, he would be in charge," he told her. "I need him
to be ready in case that should never happen. This is one of the first steps toward that goal."

"I see...."

"Tsukino-san?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning to look at the Shishu leader. "Oh, and I don't mind if you call me Usagi,"
she added with a small smile.

Mamoru smiled back and nodded, then turned to look at the office door. "I know this may sound a little
cold, but I sincerely hope that he never becomes leader of Shishu," he said with an expressionless look
on his face.

Usagi gave him a confused look. "Why is that, Mamoru-san?"

"I never became leader because someone chose me, Usagi-san," he told her. "I became leader because
someone made a wrong decision and was killed in battle because of it. I don't want him to take command
with that on his conscience. It's not something that's easy to live with."

Usagi was about to say something in response when the door opened, revealing Ryoku with the most sober
expression she had seen on the young Blade. Her heart went out to the poor boy because of what his mind
must be going through and she tentatively reached out to touch his arm. His gaze followed her arm until
it reached her face. His expression lightened enough for him to smile gratefully before turning to
regard Mamoru.

"How long until I start?"

"You begin tomorrow, 0630."

Ryoku nodded and turned to Usagi. "You know the way back, right? I need to be alone for a while, so
could you please go back without me?"

"O-okay," she agreed uncertainly, giving her friend a concerned look as he shuffled past her. She
continued to watch with Mamoru as he turned around the corner at the end of the hallway and left their
sight.

"He needs time to sort it out in his head," Mamoru said as he turned back toward his office. "He's a
strong kid. He'll be fine. Trust me."

Usagi followed him back into his office. "Um, Mamoru-san, when am I supposed to start work? You haven't
told me yet."

"Oh, right," he said as he reached over and opened one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a ring
of keys. "This is a copy of every key you'll need to get into any of the rooms in this building," he
told her as he handed her the keyring. "This is supposed to go to the person I was going to put in
charge of the janitorial division-" He paused to smile at Usagi, "-but I think I'll leave it with you
instead. I have a good feeling about you, Usagi-san. I think you'll do fine."

Usagi stared at the ring of keys in her hands for a moment before giving Mamoru a beaming smile. "Oh,
thank you, Mamoru-san! I promise I'll do my best so I won't let you down!"

"Well, we'll see how it goes," he replied as he sat down at his desk. "You'll come in tomorrow at 7:30
A.M. and start work at 8:00. Understand?"

"I understand," she acknowledged seriously.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

_________________________________________________________________


Hikawa Jinja - Outer Grounds, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 6:23 P.M.


"Hey, watch out!"

One young boy turned around and reflexively ducked just in time for the thrown baseball to pass where
his head had previously been. "Hey, ya jackass! Watch where you're throwin' that thing!"

"Tohru-kun! Watch your mouth!"

"Yes, Osaka-senpai," Tohru grumbled.

Naru sighed boredly. Why did she have to get stuck watching the smaller kids play outside? Sure,
Meiou-sensei couldn't be everywhere. Sure, she had volunteered to work as an assistant for
Meiou-sensei. However, did she HAVE to deal with Tohru? That little runt had quite a mouth on him for
being so young. That last bit of profanity was considerably mild for him, but that was because she was
out here.

After all, there wasn't an eleven-year old boy alive that would admit that he got his butt kicked by a
girl, even if the girl was four years older than him.

"Hey, Rei-kun's up! Everyone move in!"

"Shut up!" Rei shot back as he took a few practice swings.

Naru watched as most of the outfielders moved in several meters and shook her head. It wasn't the boy's
fault he was a horrible batter. They always had to tease him about that. And his name. They liked to
tell him he had a girl's name, too. Okay, so the poor boy got teased a LOT. It didn't help that they
were kind of right on both counts, but still, they didn't have to tease. Well, she was here to make
sure it didn't go too far.

The pitcher threw the ball and Rei swung. Strike one.

Same pitch, same miss. Strike two.

Well, maybe some encouragement was in order. "Come on, Rei-kun! Knock it clear past the border!"

"Fat fucking chance!"

"Say that again, Tohru-kun, and I'll knock YOU clear past the border! Get me?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Naru couldn't help but grin. Ah, that felt good.

She could see Rei's expression set in determination as the pitcher began his wind-up. The ball was
released and, with a loud roar, Rei swung the bat as hard as he could.

Everyone stared as the ball sailed over their heads, straight over center field.

"Holy shit...," Tohru murmured in complete disbelief.

Naru watched the ball as it flew, idly walking over to Tohru at third base and smacking him upside the
head. Her eyes widened as she realized how far it was going. "Rei-kun, when I said to knock it past the
border, I didn't mean it literally."

"Sorry, Osaka-senpai...."

Naru shook her head. "Well, it's kinda my fault, too. I shouldn't've let you guys play this far out."

"But we'd hit buildings if we didn't come out this far!"

"Kino-sama said he'd make me eat my glove if I broke another window!"

"Hey, aren't you gonna get the ball? That's my ball, you know!"

"Does this mean the game's over?"

"Shut up, stupid! Osaka-senpai's just got to get the ball back, that's all. Then the game'll go on."

"Yeah, you just wanna quit 'cause your side's winning."

"No, I don't!"

"You do, too!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Shut up!!!" Naru roared, silencing all the boys at once. "What makes you think I'm gonna get your
ball? You hit it, you get it."

"But, Osaka-senpai, Kino-sama and Meiou-sensei don't want us going near the border."

"Yeah, they say it's too dangerous."

"You're the tough bi- I mean, girl," Tohru added. "So, you can do it." He smirked at her. "Unless
you're scared."

Naru just looked at him. "Do you want to say that again?"

Tohru swallowed. "No."

She turned in the direction of the ball's flight path and sighed. "All right, fine. But if I get the
ball, the game's over and we go back home. Got a problem with that?"

"No." "Yes."

"It's settled, then," she stated, ignoring them before they could start arguing between them. "I'll be
back with your ball, then we're going home afterwards." With another sigh of long-suffering
frustration, she marched off in the direction of the ball.

"Think a Youma'll get her?" one boy asked when she was out of hearing range.

"Hell, no!" Tohru replied with a snort. "I'd bet that bitch'd kill a Youma with her bare hands. I
almost feel sorry for the Youma."

_________________________________________________________________


Outside Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 6:31 P.M.


"Are we there yet?"

"Shh! You idiot! Do you want those drooling beasts to hear us again? We just barely got away that last
time!"

Artemis glanced at his companion and fought of a wince. He had to do that every time he looked at Luna.
She looked more red than black with all those patches of blood-matted fur. If she looked that bad, he
definitely didn't want to see what his sorry state must be. He was limping on his front right leg AND
his hind left leg. That was why this trip was taking so damn long.

From the irritation in Luna's voice, the pace of this trip in such obviously hostile territory was
taking its toll on her nerves. Not to mention the three Youma attacks that they had managed to stumble
their way through. The third time was definitely NOT the charm.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he sighed. "I don't mean to be such a burden on you."

"Artemis, you're always a burden for me," she muttered. "But even so, I still can't leave you behind."

"Luna...."

"But, if you would just learn to keep your mouth shut, we wouldn't keep getting into these messes!" she
chided. "Now, let's get going. I think we can make it there by sundown if we hurry."

Artemis sighed again and nodded. There was just no dealing with her at times. But, at least they were
almost there.

The last few weeks since they had awoken from suspended animation had been hell. Utter, utter hell. The
destruction of the Moon Kingdom hadn't been half as bad, from what little they could remember. When
they had woken up, they had practically choked at the amount of negative energy they could sense. It
permeated the very air down to the ground they walked on. Everything was covered in it. Soaked with it.
It was everywhere.

It was like a nightmare, only they were wide awake.

It was easy to find each other. Just find the one thing out there that wasn't evil. Life energy stood
out like a beacon in contrast. And two stood out like a towering bonfire, which was why they were first
attacked when they reunited.

At first, they headed toward the Meiji Jinja, due to their sensing such a large area of sacred ground
nearby. But, upon finding only ruins, they tried to find out where the survivors might have fled to.
Reading through the diary of a woman named Kino Umi told them much of the history of what had happened
since they had woken up. It had also given them a name: The Hikawa Jinja. Perhaps the one they were
searching for was there.

And so, here they were, so close to their destination, but because of their injuries, the distance
might as well be five times the distance going uphill.

"Artemis!" Luna hissed urgently.

"What?" he asked tiredly.

"Look out!" Her gaze pointed upward.

"Huh?" he asked and glanced up just in time to- "Mmrrrooooooooooww!"

...get beaned by a baseball.

"Only you could get flattened by a ball from out of nowhere," Luna grumbled as she tried to slap her
partner awake. "You had better pray that no one heard you."

A low grumbling started sounding from a short distance away, causing the hairs on Luna's tail and back
to stand on end. She slowly glanced back toward the way they had come and swallowed. It was moving
closer.

"Artemis! Get up now, damn you! They're coming again!"

"What? Huh?" he asked, still trying to throw off the effects of a baseball-induced concussion.

"Artemis, move it or we'll die!" she screamed at him.

"Hey, is someone out here?" Naru asked as she stepped over the top of a mound of old building rubble
and glanced down at the two cats. "Oh, my God! What're you two doing here?" she gasped as she ran down
toward the cats. "You're a mess! You two're lucky to still be alive, you know. There're evil Youma out
here that'll eat ya up if you aren't careful."

She reached down to grab the baseball and pocket it, then reached down to pick up Artemis. "Aw, it
looks like your boyfriend's all banged up," she said to Luna. "I know someone that'll help him. We'll
get you all cleaned up, too. What do ya say?"

"Meow!" Luna said, glancing toward the direction of the approaching Youma, then padded toward the
Hikawa Jinja.

"Okay, okay," Naru said with a laugh as she started back the way she came. "No need to get so excited.
It's not that far. Besides, there aren't any Youma around here...." She trailed off as she began to
hear something in the distance.

"Meow! Meow!" Luna said again, this time more urgently. 'Come on! Let's go already!'

"I think we'd better go...," she said as she turned to run back toward the jinja. However, Luna hadn't
gotten out of the way in time, and accidentally caused Naru to overadjust her step to avoid stepping on
her and stumbled down the mound of building rubble.

"Ow...," she muttered as she glanced down at the white cat in her arms. He was severely scratched up and
looked to have two twisted or broken legs - she was no vet, after all - but no other injuries. "Sorry
'bout that," she told him.

"Meow." 'It happens.'

Naru tried to stand up and stumbled again as her left leg gave out on her. "AAH!" she yelped as she
fell. "Damn, I must've twisted or broken something." She reached over and grabbed a long, slightly bent
metal pipe and tried to use it as a make-shift crutch while carrying Artemis in the other hand. "Gotta
get going," she said, panic starting to show in her voice. "The border isn't that far. We'll be safe
there."

As soon as she said that, the Youma sentries suddenly broke from their cover and started charging.

_________________________________________________________________


Lower/Outer Grounds Border, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 6:48 P.M.


Ryoku stared out at the desolate expanse spread out beyond the border. Even though it was invisible,
most Blades could sense the barrier's presence within a couple of kilometers. From his understanding,
it had to do with the number of times a Blade passes through the barrier; they get attuned to it, in a
sense.

Whenever he had a heavy load on his mind, he preferred to ponder his weighty thoughts while gazing
through the barrier at the outside. Even if there was noting but ruin out there, it was calming. On the
surface, there was nothing there. No people, no animals, no sound, no motion.... Nothing. That
perceived nothing helped him to relax, clear his mind, and think. Not many people could see it that
way - they mostly saw just death and destruction - but he could, and often did.

He was just about to head back when he saw Usagi running up to him. Well, considering how easy it would
be to spot him from the second floor of Shishu headquarters, he wasn't all that surprised that she
found him. "Congratulations, Usagi. You've finally got a job," he said with a smile.

"Ryoku-san," she began, slightly out of breath from running, "you don't have to pretend you're not-"

"Not upset?" he interrupted, finishing her sentence for her. "I'm not. He was right; I'm a 3rd class
Blade. I should act like one. To do otherwise would make that rank meaningless, and myself as well." He
flashed a V-sign and gave her a confident grin. "Just wait 'til tomorrow. You'll see. I won't let
anyone down."

"Ryoku-san...," Usagi said, staring at him, then smiled and nodded.

"AAAAAAAHH!"

Both Ryoku and Usagi spun toward the scream in unison. "That sounded like it came from outside," he
said as he started running in the direction of the scream. "Usagi, go tell Sanzou and Mamoru what's
going on! Hurry!"

"Right!" she shouted back and started running for Shishu headquarters.

"Tsukino-san! Tsukino-san!"

Usagi saw several children she recognized from the Orphan's Quarters running up to her. She was about
to run past and tell them to talk to her later when she noticed something that made her slow to a stop.
She remembered hearing from her friend, Naru, that Meiou-sensei wanted her to watch over this group of
children for today.

She saw the children, but no Naru.

"Hiro-kun, where's Naru-chan?" she asked one of the boys. "Wasn't she supposed to be with all of you?"

"It's all Rei-kun's fault!" Hiro shouted, pointing at him. "If he hadn't hit the ball so far-!"

"It's not my fault!" Rei retorted angrily. "All of you moved in! One of you could've caught it before
it went out of the border!"

Usagi whirled toward Rei. "The border? Then... Naru-chan...?"

"Osaka-senpai went after the ball for us, since Tohru-kun all but dared her to go after it," he accused.

"All of you, go to Shishu headquarters and tell either Sanzou-san or Chiba-san that Kino-san has gone
after Naru-chan and may need help," she told the children, then turned and ran toward the direction she
had heard the scream come from.

"Tsukino-san!" the children called out again, but Usagi was already out of earshot.

_________________________________________________________________


Outside Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 6:50 P.M.


It was fortunate that there were only three Youma sentries coming after her when there could have just
as easily been more, or worse, Youma Hunters. Of course, that still didn't change the fact that there
were still three Youma sentries coming after her. Even worse, her injury was hindering her forward
progress greatly. She could've been to the border by now, if she wasn't injured.

The Youma sentries were closing in very quickly now. In one corner of her frightened mind, Naru figured
that at her present pace, they would catch up to her before she could reach the border. She had tried
to pick up her pace, but in doing so, she stumbled and almost fell, but caught her balance at the last
minute. That was close. Falling would've doomed her for certain.

Panic was starting to overtake her senses as the lead sentry flung a small sphere of negative energy at
her. However, in its eagerness, it loosed its dark missile way too early and the attack flew way too
wide. However, the attack wasn't without its psychological effects.

"AAAAAAAAHH!" Naru screamed as she fumbled a step and fell, almost landing on Luna in the process.

"Mrroow!" Artemis grunted as he was forcefully ejected from Naru's arms from the force of the landing.
"Mmmnnn...," he groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but slumped back down when he saw that Naru
wasn't moving. "Luna!"

Luna got to her feet and ran over to where red-haired girl lay motionless. "She hit her head pretty
hard, Artemis. Her forehead is bleeding," she told him, shaking her head.

"So, this's it?" he asked, shoulders slumped in defeat. "We come all this way, just to die when we're
this close to safety?" He sighed, then gave her a solemn look. "Luna, just leave me here. You have to
continue on and find the one we've been searching for."

"Artemis!"

"If we both die, then the world will eventually follow," he continued forcefully. "You have to live and
make sure that you find the one that can stop the Dark Kingdom or everyone will die!"

"Artemis...."

"You know I'm right," he said with a calm smile as he turned to watch the Youma sentries draw closer.

Luna struggled with her emotions for what seemed to be an eternity before she clenched her eyes shut
and started running toward the border.

"Thanks, Luna...," he sighed as he laid his head down and closed his eyes. If he had to die, then he
would face it like a man... er, cat. He would wait and prepare himself. He just wished he could've
spent more time with Luna doing more than just running for their lives.

The sounds of his demise were drawing steadily closer. Even if he was lying still, they would still be
able to sense his life energy from that distance. It was only a matter of time. He winced as he heard
the loud roaring of the Youma as they prepared to attack.

The sound of what he thought might be a human yell caused him to snap open his eyes and stare in
disbelief and immense relief. Help had arrived! But his hope slowly began to turn into alarm. This
warrior was a young boy! And he was alone, too! One boy against three Youma? He would be killed!

Artemis struggled to get back to his feet again. If he was doomed to die, then dammit, he might as well
help this young warrior fight back. With a loud yowl, Artemis lunged for the closest Youma and tried to
bite its leg. His distraction was enough for the boy to thrust his sword through the Youma, killing it.
The boy spun around to face the other two Youma and swung at the nearest one.

A whip snapped from out of nowhere, catching the boy around his arms.

"What the?" the boy exclaimed and let his gaze follow the whip to its owner. He swallowed as a
Whip Hunter stepped out of the shadows. "From bad to Hell," he muttered under his breath.

'My thoughts exactly,' Artemis thought.

_________________________________________________________________


Outside Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 3, 1992. 6:53 P.M.


Luna ran as hard as she could, ignoring the searing pain in her muscles and joints. She had to reach
the border. She had to reach safety. For Artemis' sake, if nothing else. She fought back tears at the
thought of having to abandon Artemis to die, but this mission was too important. Everything - the
future - depended on it. They both knew that.

But she still felt like a traitor for doing it.

Ahead of her, a blonde-haired girl with twin ponytails raced toward her, running as fast as her legs
could carry her. There was a determined look in her eyes that caught her attention as she came closer.
From the girl's gentle facial features, it was almost as if that look belonged on another person.

As the girl passed by her, Luna froze in mid-stride and stumbled to the ground. She scrambled to her
feet and stared after the departing girl as if seeing something else.

That girl! Her life energy signature felt similar to the one they were searching for! It felt a little
off, but it was too close to ignore.

Besides, she seemed to be heading toward where she left Artemis and that young girl. If she was heading
toward danger, then it was her job to see to it that this girl didn't get herself killed. Not that she
needed any more excuse to go back, anyway.

She paused only long enough to jump into the air, with a somersault in the middle. As she landed, she
caught the brooch that appeared in the space where she had somersaulted, and took off running.

After all, it was best to always be prepared, even if she wasn't 100% certain about this girl.

_________________________________________________________________


If anyone were to ask her if she was crazy, or if she knew what in the hell she was doing, Usagi
wouldn't be able to answer, save for saying that she felt that if she didn't go, her friends would die.
She didn't know how she knew, she didn't even know if she was right.

None of that mattered, anyway. Her friends were in danger. She felt like she needed to do something.

So she ran. Ryoku, and even Mamoru, would scold her later, saying that what she did was both foolish
and dangerous, both to her and to Ryoku, who would probably be distracted by having to fight and
protect her at the same time. She was sure that if she had stopped to think everything through, she
wouldn't have done this. However, she tended to be a person that thought with her heart rather than her
head.

And so, she sometimes did stupid things like this. Even if it didn't feel stupid at the time.

As she ran, she passed by what she thought was a red-furred cat, only to realize a moment later that
the red was blood. Her heart started racing even more at the thought that the Youma were already
attacking, hurting, and possibly killing both Naru and Ryoku, so she tried to run faster. She hoped she
could make it in time.

"Ryoku-san! Naru-chan!" she cried out as she crested a mound of dirt and rubble, and stopped dead in
her tracks. Naru was lying motionless on the ground, her forehead bleeding very badly, and her left leg
looked very bruised and swollen. Ryoku had both his hands tied up by what looked like a larger,
stronger version of the Youma sentries carrying a whip. She reached the top of the mound just in time
to see one of the two sentries stab its sword into Ryoku's right shoulder, causing him to bellow in
pain.

"Usagi!" Ryoku gasped as the sword was pulled free from his shoulder. "What are you doing here? Run!"

The white cat that was limping near Ryoku tried to lunge at the second sentry to keep it from attacking
him, but it was blasted away by a negative energy burst.

"Artemis!" the black cat that she had passed by earlier screamed as she reached the top of the mound.

Usagi heard the cat talk, but by now she was too far gone to notice. The blood oozing out of Naru's
head.... The Youma sentries stabbing and blasting her mentor and friend.... The screams of pain and
anguish.... It was just like before....

That night....

"Usagi-chan, quick!" the black cat called to her, having overheard her name earlier. She tossed
something at her which she easily snatched out of the air. "Use this to...."

Whatever else the black cat had to say was lost to her as she clenched what felt like a piece of
jewelry in her right hand. She felt something pulse from it. A familiar feeling. A feeling of... power.
The power to punish those who would try to kill her friends.

The black cat said something else to her, but it didn't matter anymore. The darkness had her now.


=================================================================


Author's Note: After many a long night of trying to get this finished, it is finally done! Chapter 3 is
now complete! Joy! Well, now how is that for the introduction of Sailor Moon? Well, of course she would
have to get her brooch from Luna. I mean, her just having it as a family heirloom and learning of its
power by accident seems kinda lame. I like it this way. Well, now that the cat's out of the bag (*pauses
to dodge sharp, pointy objects thrown at him for the bad pun*) Chapter 4 will deal with the aftermath.
How will Ryoku, or even Usagi herself, deal with the knowledge that she is Sailor Moon?


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.

Questions? Comments? Anything?
Email: jasonulloa (at) hotmail (dot) com

Copyright© 2004, 2007 Jason C. Ulloa
All Rights Reserved.