Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 5

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

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 5


Shishu Headquarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 4, 1992. 12:37 P.M.


Usagi hummed to herself as she swept the mop back and forth along the floor, doing her best to avoid
missing any spots. She had dusted up on the high shelves and on top of the hanging lamps, then swept so
that the mop wouldn't get too dirty too quickly. After all, she only had two other mops left in the
cleaning storage room; one for stripping wax off of the floors, and one for re-waxing them. They were
labeled as such by the tape on the mop handles. Judging from the stiffness of the strings, they hadn't
been used in months, which was a good indication of how long the building went without a good cleaning.

As she came to the end of the room, she paused as a sudden realization hit her. She had just mopped
herself into a corner with no way of getting out other than stepping on the freshly mopped floor. She
considered stepping on it anyway, but decided against it, since she could just wait until the floor
dried enough for her to step on. Fortunately, there was a chair within arm's reach, so she grabbed it
and dragged it over to where she could sit in it.

She yawned as she leaned back, stretching in her chair as she waited. Cleaning was hard work,
especially since she was the only one doing it. She had just finished straightening up the current room
she was in - since it was a mostly unused office, all it needed was a little dusting, sweeping, and so
on - so a short break seemed to be in order. So far, she had experienced no mishaps of any sort,
amazingly enough. Sure, there wasn't anything particularly important in there, but still the
accomplishment was there.

"That's one room down," she sighed wearily. "Just a couple dozen more to go." Another yawn. "I didn't
think cleaning one room would be so much work. Maybe this would be easier if I wasn't so tired...." She
yawned again as her eyes slowly began to grow heavy. "Maybe they wouldn't mind if I rested my eyes for
a few minutes while the floor dries...."

Usagi's eyes closed for a few moments while her breathing began to slow down. Within moments, she fell
asleep. She remained that way for a few minutes before slowly waking up again. Glancing down at the
floor, she noticed that it was still slightly damp except for a few dry patches here and there. She
glanced around the floor, searching for other dry patches and found that there were quite a few forming
here and there. Apparently, she hadn't mopped the floor as evenly as she had thought. With a self-
deprecating sigh and shake of her head, she picked up her mop and hopped from dry patch to dry patch,
easily reaching the other end of the room where she left the mop bucket.

"Not bad," she said with a wry smile as she looked over the room. "And here I thought it was going to
end up worse than before." She nodded satisfactorily to herself as she dunked the mop back in its
bucket and started pushing the wheeled bucket on to the next room.

"But really, trapping oneself in a corner?" she muttered reprovingly to herself, shaking her head
partly in amusement as she left.

The room next to the previous office wasn't quite as dusty, having shown signs of being used more
recently than the first office she had finished deep cleaning, but this office was going to need a lot
of work as well. From what she could tell, the office was similar to the last one; very spartan with a
stark, almost sterile feel to it, somewhat akin to the rooms in the Medical building Ami had shown her
the last time she had visited the mute nurse-, or rather, doctor-in-training. Maybe it was because this
room was built for its intended purpose, rather than comfort; the same purpose as the building itself.

War.

She almost expected one of the palace guards to come up to her and demand she state her purpose for
being there. But, there were no palace guards here.

A stray memory.

Yes, exactly that. A memory.

"Is something wrong, Usagi-san?" a voice asked behind her. Usagi almost stumbled to the floor, but was
saved as Mamoru reached out and steadied her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's all right," she said as she turned around. "Thank you...." She trailed off as she stared at
Mamoru's face, noticing something for the first time.

"Usagi-san?" he asked, confused by the strange look she was currently giving him.

"En-" she started to say, but stopped herself with a shake of her head. "No," she said quietly to
herself. "Not anymore."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, Mamoru-san," she said with a small, wistful smile. "Just recalling some old memories. That's
all. I'm all right."

Mamoru gave her a concerned look for a few moments, then nodded and smiled. "I understand. Well, if you
ever want to talk with someone about it, I'd be more than happy to listen."

"Thank you, Mamoru-san," she said gratefully. "But, it's really nothing to worry about."

"If you say so," he relented with a shrug. "Anyway, I came to see how you were doing." He glanced over
to the office she had just finished cleaning. "Is that one done?"

"Yes," she agreed. "I just finished not too long ago. I think the floor's still wet."

He nodded in acknowledgement. "That one hasn't been used in almost a year," he said as he walked over
to the office and poked his head inside. "It was really dusty in there." He stepped back and nodded to
himself, satisfied. "Good job, Usagi-san. It looks habitable again. I know it's hark work, but please
keep it up."

"Yes," she nodded.

"I'll leave you to your work, then," Mamoru said as he smiled to himself and continued down the hallway.

Usagi continued to watch him leave until he turned the corner and was out of sight. "Could it be?" she
breathed to herself. "Endymion? Could it be you've been reborn as well?" She placed a hand on her chest
over her heart. It was still racing.

Endymion....

"Thank you, Mother," she whispered as she wiped a small tear from her eye. "Thank you for sending him
to me."

Even though he had no memory of her at all, it still felt like she had been speaking with her beloved
from so long ago. His face, his voice, his mannerisms; they had all been carried over into this current
incarnation, just like with Jovan and Ryoku.

Speaking of Ryoku, she wondered if he was regaining any of his memories of his past life yet. He would
certainly be of great help in locating her fellow Sailor Senshi if he did. All she had right now was
her mother's two cat advisors - well, she supposed they were hers, now - both of which were injured and
exhausted. They wouldn't be up to reviving anyone even if they knew who to revive.

She sighed in defeat as she left the mop bucket in front of the next office door and went back to get
the cart with the rest of her cleaning supplies. Usagi was still fast asleep and it wouldn't do for
Mamoru to see her sleeping on the job her very first day.

"Honestly, the poor girl needs all the help she can get," Serenity grumbled to herself. "How in the
world did I end up reincarnated as someone like her, anyway? I was never this scatterbrained during the
Silver Millennium!"

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 4, 1992. 12:43 P.M.


Ryoku silently endured Minako's sympathetic look, Rei's annoyed stare, Ami's quiet gaze and Hotaru's
worried expression all while wishing that Setsuna would stop smirking at him. He could almost swear
that she was enjoying his discomfiture. Damn her.

Basically, it was all the same thing. Each one wanted to express their sympathy in their own manner.
Understandable, especially in light of his shutting himself in his room like he had. However, it wasn't
because he was upset about his current situation. No, that was nothing more than he deserved. Besides,
it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. It was only temporary, anyway.

"How long are you going to just sit there, Ryo-kun?" Rei snapped as she continued to glare at him. "At
least SAY something, dammit!"

"Rei-chan...," Minako said as she glanced at her from her seat next to Ryoku on his bed, then back at
him again. "Ryoku-sama, please don't ignore us," she pleaded as she placed a comforting hand on his
knee. She got an annoyed glare from Rei and a small frown from Ami, but Ryoku did not raise his gaze
from the floor.

"Ryo-niichan...," Hotaru said worriedly as she sat on his other side.

"Well, Ryoku-san?" Setsuna said suddenly, speaking for the first time since they had entered his room.
"Aren't you going to say anything? You were the one who said they could come in, so aren't you even
going to talk to them?" Her voice was starting to get terse, as if she was slowly getting upset as his
continued silence.

He sighed softly. "I know you're all upset about what happened to me, but please do not worry about it.
I made a mistake. Disciplinary and corrective measures are being taken. Simple as that. Nothing you can
do or say will change Mamoru's mind."

"How can you be so fatalistic about this?" Rei demanded hotly. "You saved two lives yesterday! Doesn't
that mean anything?"

"I may have saved two lives, but I could have just as easily lost three instead," he replied coldly.
"At any rate, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Why?"

Ryoku went silent again.

Ami stood up from her chair and knelt down beside him, looking up at him as he continued to stare at
the floor. She gave him a sad, perplexed look that seemed to give him the impression that she thought
that he wasn't telling them everything. It was a pleading look, almost as it she might start to cry if
he continued on as he was doing.

He looked up toward Minako, then Hotaru, Rei, and finally, Setsuna. Minako and Hotaru seemed to share
Ami's expression. Rei was still glaring at him, but her glare was more of a mixture of concern and
exasperation. Setsuna was giving him a level look, as if she was waiting for him to continue.

He couldn't tell them.

They wouldn't believe him anyway.

What could he say? That he might be planning on throwing away his career... no, his heritage because of
something as foolish as a dream he had last night.

No. It wasn't just a dream. It felt more like a sign. Thanks to that dream, he was starting to remember
small bits and pieces of his old life as Jovan. He needed to have a talk with either Serenity or one of
the two cats later.

But still.... Why did it feel like he was about to betray both Mamoru and his entire family?

"I wish Mako-chan was here...," he whispered softly to himself.

_________________________________________________________________


Shishu Headquarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 4, 1992. 2:42 P.M.


"There!" Serenity declared with a nod of satisfaction as she closed the door to the last office in the
hall. "That's one hallway done." She turned back toward the cleaning supply cart and wheeled bucket
sitting side by side and half-smiled/half-grimaced. "I never had to do anything like this back then;
there were always cleaning servants doing this kind of work all the time."

She cocked her head slightly as she gazed thoughtfully at the bucket full of dirty water. "They were
always working, never getting in the way of others, always beneath everyone's notice. The only time I
ever remember really noticing one of them was when one of them did something wrong." She frowned
wistfully as she turned her mop upside-down and stuck the handle into the cart. "I suppose I was too
busy being the Moon Princess to really notice. Perhaps it really takes a day in the life of the other
person to really understand." She gave a slight sigh as she reached down and grabbed the handle of the
bucket and started to drag it to the nearest room equipped with a deep sink. "I almost wish I could go
back and thank just one of them."

There were more men's restrooms than women's restrooms in the Shishu building, she noticed. It was
probably due to the fact that the only women that worked in the Shishu building were personnel like
her: support personnel such as cleaning personnel, administrative personnel, and so on. There were no
female Blades, at least according to Usagi's memories.

At any rate, since she was cleaning personnel, there was no reason why she couldn't go into the men's
restroom. Right? After all, it was the closest room with a sink of any kind. The bucket was very heavy
due to the amount of water in it. She was just strong enough to lift the bucket to the sink, provided
it wasn't too high. Working in the slave cells had given Usagi some muscle, but she had definitely put
too much water in the bucket. Didn't she know how heavy water could get?

Serenity paused for a moment before entering the men's restroom. It was strange, but she knew that
before, there would have been no way that she would've set foot in such a place, even if the nearest
women's restroom was up on another floor, rather than on the other side of the building. Of course,
that was before she had assimilated with most of Usagi's memory.

Upon rolling the bucket to the deep sink on the far side of the restroom - after placing a sign stating
that the restroom was closed for cleaning - she squatted down in order to get a good grip on the bottom
of the bucket. Once she felt she was ready, she took a deep breath and lifted.

Or rather, attempted to lift.

"Rrrrgh!" she grunted as she managed to lift the bucket past her knees. "Damn you, Usagi!" she growled
as she lifted it up to her waist. It was almost high enough for her to start dumping the water. She
tried to maneuver her body under the bucket to help get enough leverage to start tipping the bucket
into the sink, however, that was when she lost her grip on it. Instead of tipping over into the sink,
the bucket tipped over on top of her instead.

"Aaugh!" Serenity screeched as she jumped up and sploshed over to the nearest mirror. As she thought,
there was not one inch of her that was now drenched in dirty water. "Usagi, you idiot!" she growled
seethingly as she attempted to bore holes in the mirror with the intensity of her glare. "Look at what
you made me do, you stupid, fucking moron!"

She immediately clasped both hands over her mouth in utter shock. 'What did I just SAY?!? Did I just
SWEAR out loud right now?'

She had no idea it was getting this bad so quickly. She could hold it back before, but for her to just
lose her temper like that....

"This is bad...," she muttered as she stared at her bedraggled state. "I'll definitely have to speak
with Luna about this."

As she started to wring out the water from her clothing, she paused as she felt a familiar stirring at
the back of her mind. "Ah, so she starts to wake at last," Serenity snorted as she let her hands drop
to her sides. A slow smirk began to creep up her lips as she turned toward one of the empty stalls.
"Well, maybe I should teach you what happens to those who fall asleep on the job."

Carefully, she knelt down in front of one of the toilets and leaned forward so that her head was just
over the water. Both lids were up, so there was very little obstruction between her and the bowl's
opening. She continued to lean forward until she could barely keep herself from falling in.

Slowly, she could feel her consciousness fading. Slowly, she could feel herself falling asleep. Just
before she could fall completely asleep, she let herself tip forward. A spiteful smirk crossed
Serenity's lips before darkness took her.

_________________________________________________________________


Usagi jerked backward, coughing and sputtering as she wiped the water from her face. Once she regained
her composure, she took a look as what she fell into.

This induced another fit of coughing and sputtering. Not to mention gagging, rinsing, and spitting.

Fortunately, the restroom seemed to be mostly unused, like the office she had been cleaning.

"That reminds me, how did I get here, anyway?" she asked her reflection. "I wonder if I'm starting to
sleepwalk, or something?" She looked behind her at the bucket that was overturned on the floor,
surrounded by a large puddle of dirty water.

"Did I do this?" she wondered as she set the bucket back on its wheels. "Aah, what a mess...," she
sighed as she turned toward the exit and spotted her supply cart outside. "Eh? I'm not only
sleepwalking, I'm sleepcleaning, too?"

"Are you in there, Tsukino-san?" Konno asked as he poked his head into the restroom. "Hey, is one of
the sinks leaking or something? How come you're all wet?"

"Ah...," she dithered, not wanting to tell him what happened.

"What, did you fall into a toilet or something?" he asked with an amused smile.

Usagi managed a faint laugh. There was no way she was going to tell him that that was what actually
happened. "Sorry about the mess. I... um, had trouble with the bucket," she said as she gestured toward
the overturned bucket.

"Let me guess, you put too much water in there, didn't you?" he asked, smiling in amusement.

"A little," she replied with a small shrug as she moved to wring the water out of her clothes, only to
notice some wrinkles in her shirt near the bottom where her hands were moving toward. Apparently, she
had already started to wring out her shirt without realizing it.

"I just got off of patrol, so I have a little bit of free time. If you want, I can help you clean this
water up," he offered.

"Thanks!" she said gratefully. "I know you're really busy, so I appreciate the help."

"Don't worry about it," he said as he grabbed a mop from the cart and entered the restroom. "I know
this's your first day and you're the only person on our cleaning staff so far. I don't want you to
overwork yourself on the first day.

"You know, seeing you like this reminds me of my eldest daughter," he said after a few moments as he
wringed the mop in the bucket's squeezer.

"Your daughter?" she asked as she looked up from where she was mopping up a stray puddle of water. "I
didn't know you had a daughter, Konno-san."

"I've got three children," he said proudly. "My eldest daughter, Chise, is sixteen. My second daughter,
Chihiro, is thirteen. My son, Hiro, is ten."

"You said I remind you of your eldest daughter?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. Chise is a kind, hard-working girl who means well. However, she's a bit clumsy and tends to mess
up a lot." He chuckled softly to himself. "The problem is that she tries too hard. She overcommits
herself to one task and forgets about everything else. And when she finally realizes she's forgotten to
do something, it's already too late." He shook his head wryly as he mopped up the last of the puddle.
"Ichigo worries about her a lot, but I keep telling her that this is something that she has to deal
with herself, or else she'll never learn."

"Ichigo?"

"My wife," he told her with a wistful smile. "She's a wonderful person, even if she's a bit of a
worrier."

"There you are, Konno!" Yamada said as he poked his head into the restroom. "Sanzou wants to see you."
He stepped into the doorway and nodded politely to Usagi. "So, you're the new cleaning staff member?
We're grateful for your hard work."

"Thank you," Usagi said and bowed politely. "My name's Tsukino Usagi."

"I'm Yamada Gen," he said as he turned to leave. "Come on, Konno. Sanzou's waiting."

"All right," Konno said as he followed him out. "I'll see you later, Tsukino-san," he said before he
left.

Usagi merely waved as he left, then turned back to her bucket. There was less water now, so she could
easily dump it and get some fresh water. Less than before, of course. She might as well, finish
cleaning the restroom as well. After that, maybe she could ask Mamoru if it would be all right if she
could go change her clothes. Perhaps it would be a good idea to bring an extra set of clothes to work,
just in case.

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 4, 1992. 5:08 P.M.


Usagi yawned as she trudged down the path toward the Orphan's Quarters, glad that she had changed out
of those wet clothes earlier. She would've been freezing if she was still wearing them with the breeze
that was blowing.

"I'm home," she said as she came through the entrance. It wasn't as if there was anyone waiting for her
to return; it was just that it was a comforting ritual in itself. She always said that whenever she
came back from whatever her masters at the slave cell was making her do that day. Her mother was always
there waiting for her to return and respond with a warm, heartfelt "Welcome back" which always made
everything she had gone through and everything she was feeling melt away.

There wasn't anything like that here.

With a heavy sigh, Usagi continued on her way to the stairwell closest to her room. She was tired and
she didn't really feel like talking to anyone right now.

"Hi, Usagi-oneechan!"

Usagi paused as she reached the door to the stairwell and glanced back to see who was calling her. "Oh,
hi, Hotaru-chan," she replied, smiling back at the young girl. She liked Hotaru; she was such a sweet
and cheerful girl. She was always hanging around either Setsuna or Ryoku, which was unsurprising, since
she treated them as her surrogate mother and older brother, respectively.

"You look tired, Usagi-oneechan," she said as she came up to her. "Did you have a tough time at your
new job?"

"Oh, you knew about that?" she asked, surprised.

Hotaru nodded. "Ryo-niichan told me about it."

"Well, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be," she sighed with a weary shrug. "I just hope
that they get more people to help me soon. It's way too much for just one person." She turned back to
the stairs. "Well, I'll see you later, Hotaru-chan. I need to get some rest."

"Okay, I'll see you later," Hotaru replied, sounding slightly disappointed.

Usagi climbed up the stairs to the second floor and shuffled down the hall to her room. She yawned
again as she reached for the doorknob and opened the door. Once inside, she closed the door behind her,
hobbled over to her bed and flopped down on it, almost catapulting Luna off the opposite side,
coincidentally waking the black cat up in the process.

"Couldn't you find a gentler way of asking me to move?" Luna grumbled from her sprawled position at the
foot of Usagi's bed.

Usagi stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. "You know, I'm still not used to this whole talking cat
thing," she muttered as she rolled onto her back.

Luna snorted. "Well, you really should start getting used to it," she grumbled as she tried to get
comfortable again.

Usagi sighed contentedly as she let her eyes close. "Why, Luna?" she asked in the middle of a yawn. "I
hope you're not going to try and convince me to fight the Dark Kingdom. I already told you my answer."

"It's not that," the black cat retorted. "It's just that with Artemis injured and spending most of his
time with Ryoku, I have no one else to talk to."

She glanced back at Usagi wistfully. "You're supposed to be Princess Serenity's reincarnation," she
said quietly after noticing that she had already fallen asleep. "Why can't you accept your duty?"

"It's because she's afraid," Serenity said as she opened her eyes. "She's afraid that she'll just end
up dead like the rest of her family."

"Princess Serenity!" Luna said as she leaped to her feet.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," she chided. "Well, I guess I can't have you call me Sailor
Moon when I'm not transformed, now can I?" She tilted her head and shrugged one shoulder lazily. "Well,
I guess just 'Serenity' will do, then.

"So, have you been feeling lonely without your boyfriend, Luna?" she asked as she sat up and gave her a
teasing smirk.

Luna's tail shot up straight. "W-What? A-Artemis isn't my boyfriend!" she retorted insistently.

Serenity let out a hearty laugh. "Don't get so excited, Luna! I was only kidding!"

"Th-that isn't something you should be joking about!" she huffed as she turned her back to her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a sincere smile. "Forgive me?"

"Of course."

Serenity kicked her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to her feet. "Come on, Luna," she
said as she knelt down and held her arms out to her. "Let's go. I need to speak with Artemis and
Jovan... I mean, Ryoku."

Luna nodded and padded over to her mistress, leaping into her arms as soon as she reached the edge of
the bed. She left her room and made her way down to the hallway to Ryoku's room just in time to see
Setsuna leaving his room. Judging from her expression, she was both upset and worried for some reason.
Just as she was about to head to her own room, she caught sight of Serenity out of the corner of her
eye.

"Have you come to see Ryoku-san, Usagi-chan?" Setsuna asked as she turned toward the girl.

Serenity nodded. "I need to speak with him about something important."

Setsuna turned and knocked on Ryoku's door. "Ryoku-san, Usagi-chan is here to see you. She says it's
something important."

"I'm not feeling well, Setsuna-san," came the reply from behind the door. "Could you possibly handle
whatever it is?"

"Ryoku," Serenity said in a stern tone as she stepped up to the door, "if you're not up to speaking
with me, then perhaps I should speak with Artemis. I know he's in that room with you."

"Artemis?" Setsuna said, looking at her in confusion. "That white cat? What are you talking-?"

"Fine," he muttered as he opened the door and stuck his head out. "You wanna speak with me? Then, get
in here before I change my mind."

"Ryoku-san!" Setsuna said reproachfully as Usagi stepped into the room without a word. Usagi had a grim
look on her face that looked almost like it belonged on another person. But before she could say
anything, Ryoku was already closing the door.

"Setsuna-san, could you please make sure that no one disturbs us?" he requested. "This is something
very important and I don't want to be disturbed for anything save an emergency."

"All right, but may I ask what could be so important?" she asked with some concern.

"It's not up to me to say," he replied. "You'll have to ask her."

Setsuna nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you." With that, he closed the door behind him and turned to regard the girl that was sitting on
his bed next to the two cats.

"It's not really that bad," Artemis replied to Luna's question. "That nice, quiet girl took a look at
me. The short-haired girl said that she thinks that I'll be fine within one or two weeks."

"Apparently, he only has light to moderate wounds," Ryoku clarified. "They said that since he had so
many, he was mostly weak due to blood loss. He would be able to recover from that in no time, but the
actual injuries would take longer." He looked from the cats to his other visitor. "I assume you're
Sailor Moon now?"

She nodded. "'Serenity' will do as long as I'm not transformed," she amended. "Is something wrong,
Ryoku? You sound almost... hostile toward me for some reason."

He gave her a puzzled look for a moment, then sighed. "No. I'm not upset with you." He paused for a
moment and put a hand to his head and rubbed his temples. "Well, in a way I am, maybe, but not
directly."

"Not directly?" she repeated, thoroughly confused.

He shrugged uncertainly. "I know how it sounds, but it'll make more sense after I explain it." He
hesitated for a moment. "It's something that can wait. You had something important you wanted to talk
with me about, right? It can wait until after that."

"Actually, I'd like to hear about how it's my fault that you're so upset, yet it's not directly my
fault," she said flatly.

"It's not that important, Serenity," he replied dismissively. "It can wait until later."

"I'd like to hear it now," she stated coldly as she stood up. "If you don't mind, that is."

By now, both Ryoku and the cats were regarding her wearily. "Serenity, are you all ri-"

"Dammit, Ryoku! Out with it!" she yelled as she balled her fists at her sides.

"Princess Serenity! Calm down!" Luna shouted as she leaped at Serenity, causing her to reflexively
catch the cat in her arms.

"Wha...? Luna?" Serenity said as she visibly calmed down. "I... I'm sorry. I don't know what came over
me."

"I've never seen you so furious before," she said as she gazed up worriedly at her mistress. "And for
such a small, trifling reason at that!"

Serenity still seemed a little shaken, so Ryoku led her back to his bed and sat her down while he sat
down on the couch. "I know I haven't known you for very long, but I know that this isn't like you,
Serenity. Something's wrong. That's why you've come here."

"I don't understand why I'm feeling all this anger," she said quietly. "It feels as though it's not my
own, somehow. I don't understand what's happening to me...."

"Princess Serenity, there is something that I've been meaning to do ever since I found out that you
share consciousness with Usagi-chan in her body," Luna said as she padded over to where Artemis was
lying on Ryoku's pillow. "But with Artemis in his current condition, it might have to wait until he
recovers."

"What are you talking about?" Serenity asked, bewildered.

"Don't worry about me," Artemis said as he pushed himself up to sit on his hindlegs. "If you're
planning what I think you are, I think can handle my end."

"I don't want you to push yourself, Artemis," Luna chastised. "That's how you got yourself into this
condition in the first place!"

"I'll be fine, Luna," he assured her. "Trust me."

"I can get Setsuna-san in here if we need her," Ryoku stated. "If this will help Serenity, I say we
should try it. Whatever it is."

"Ryoku-san says it'll be all right," Artemis told her.

"Fine," Luna relented. "But if you over-strain yourself, it'll be your own fault, you fool!" With a
huff, she padded over to sit beside Artemis and peered intently at Serenity. "Princess Serenity-"

"Serenity," she corrected. "I'm not a princess anymore. Remember?"

"Yes, you are," Luna retorted. "It wouldn't be proper to call you anything else!"

"Fine," Serenity grumbled. "You can call me 'Princess Serenity', if you want. What about you, Artemis?
Got any objections to dropping my title?"

"I don't mind calling you Serenity," he said with a small shrug.

"Artemis!" Luna sounded scandalized.

Serenity smiled. "Thank you, Artemis!"

"If you three are finished...?" Ryoku interrupted dryly.

"At any rate," Luna said as she turned back to Serenity, "please try to concentrate on me. Look into
my eyes and concentrate on me."

As Serenity complied, a pencil-thin beam of yellow light issued forth from the symbol on Luna's
forehead and connected with the center of Serenity's forehead. A second later, a second beam issued
forth from Artemis' forehead, joining with Luna's beam in mid-stream. The two beams melded together,
forming a thicker and stronger beam of light. Where the beam shone on Serenity's forehead, a symbol
similar to the one on the cats' foreheads appeared. As the symbol shone brighter, Serenity's expression
seemed to grow more vacant.

"Serenity?" Ryoku called out, but with no response. "Hey, is this all right?" he asked the cats, but he
received no response from them, either. "Hey!" He was about to reach over and shake Serenity awake,
when the beam slowly faded away, leaving Serenity slightly disoriented and Artemis breathing heavily.

"See?" Artemis breathed as he caught his breath. "I told you... I could do it. I'm not as... weak as
you thought."

"All right, all right. I'll give you that," she admitted. She then turned to Serenity and Ryoku, who
was now trying to help her reorient herself. "Princess, I think I have an idea of what happened."

"What did you learn?" Ryoku asked.

"Yeah. What's wrong with me?" Serenity added, still sounding slightly dazed.

Luna gave her a concerned look for a moment, then continued. "We know that right now, you have two
separate personalities within you: yourself and Tsukino Usagi. You have all your memories of the Silver
Millennium and the Moon Kingdom intact, whereas Usagi doesn't even know you exist yet. As far as she
knows, she's fast asleep.

"Do you remember when you first came into consciousness in this time, Princess?" Luna asked.

"I think it was just before Usagi came to the Hikawa Jinja, when she was attacked by all those Youma,"
she replied.

Luna nodded. "It was during that desperate flight for her life that Usagi unconsciously called to
Serenity for help," she explained.

"Often, before a princess becomes Sailor Senshi, whenever she gets into a life-threatening situation,
she may instinctively call upon the powers of her Guardian Planet," Artemis added. "However, in Usagi's
case, Sailor Moon does not have a Guardian Planet, as her powers come from the Ginzuishou. Therefore,
she would have to call upon the powers of the one who controls the Ginzuishou."

"Wait," Serenity interjected. "My mother was the one who controlled the Ginzuishou during the Silver
Millennium. So, why-?"

"You were being groomed to take over someday, weren't you?" Luna countered. "Therefore, you would
have had to learn how to handle the Ginzuishou as well. Besides, Usagi is your reincarnation. It would
be more appropriate for her to call on your power than on your mother's, don't you think?"

Serenity and Ryoku exchanged uncertain glances. "I suppose so," she agreed.

"That is what happened when Usagi was attacked by those Youma," Artemis explained. "That is how she
managed to survive mostly unhurt when she was hit by... what was it again, Ryoku-san?"

"A negative energy sphere."

"Right. According to Ryoku-san, a normal person would've suffered heavy injuries or even death after
getting hit with one, yet Usagi lived. This was because she unconsciously drew upon your power as
Princess Serenity in order to protect herself."

"However," Luna added, "something went wrong. Usagi drew upon too much power all at once and
inadvertently drew your consciousness along with your power. Afterwards, when your power returned, your
consciousness did not, as your body had perished long ago."

"So, what you're saying is that when Usagi drew Serenity's power, she took Serenity's consciousness
with it, and since Serenity's original body is dead, there's no place for her consciousness to return?"
Ryoku asked. "Is that why Serenity is now in Usagi's body as a separate personality?"

"That's about right," Artemis agreed. "However, instead of manifesting as a separate personality, she
should've merged with Usagi, becoming a part of her, just like Jovan is a part of you. I'm not quite
sure why they remained separate."

"Not to mention why I'm fully aware of her, and she's oblivious to me," Serenity grumbled.

"Serenity, you said you're fully aware of her, right?" Ryoku asked. "Does that include when Usagi's
active and you're dormant?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"How does that work?" he asked. "If you're both conscious at the same time, then she's bound to notice
you, so how can you be aware if you're unconscious?"

"It's because I've assimilated my memory with most of Usagi's memory," she replied. "This way, whatever
she remembers, I can remember, too."

"That makes even less sense," he remarked. "Something like that should work both ways. So, why doesn't
Usagi know you exist?" He suddenly froze as a realization hit him. "Wait. She mentioned periods where
she had blacked out and couldn't remember what she had been doing."

"I remember that," Serenity said. "You were telling her something about how some people develop an
'inner rage' and lash out whenever they black out. Do you think that...."

"It's possible that Usagi might be unconsciously imposing her anger on you so that she wouldn't have
to deal with it," he concluded.

Serenity scowled fiercely as she indignantly leaped to her feet. "That.... That.... That bitch!!!"

"Princess Serenity!" Luna shouted reprimandingly. "You must not use such crude language!"

"Easy, Serenity," Ryoku said soothingly. "No sense getting so upset. After all, what are you going to
do? Kick her butt? She's you, remember? Besides, that's not you talking. That's Usagi's anger speaking.
Not yours."

She glared at Ryoku for a moment before sitting back down. "Okay, so that explains why I have all this
excess anger." She pounded a fist into Ryoku's bed in frustration. "Dammit, I don't know what to do
with all of this anger!"

Ryoku grinned confidently. "That, I have experience with. Leave that to me."

"That reminds me, earlier you said that you were upset at me for something that wasn't directly my
fault," she added. "What did you mean by that?"

His grin faded away as his gaze fell to the floor. "I had a dream last night."

"A dream?" she repeated flatly. "You're upset because of a dream?"

"It's more than that," he snapped as he whirled toward her. "I'm starting to remember things now! After
I had that dream, I'm starting to remember small pieces of my life as Jovan."

"That's wonderful!" Serenity said happily. Her cheer faded slightly as she saw his expression. "Isn't
it wonderful, Ryoku?"

"It could've been," he said as he rested his head in his hands. "However, things have become a little
more complicated for me."

"What are you talking about?" Luna asked as she leaped off the bed and started padding toward him.

"Duty," Artemis answered for him.

"Duty?" Serenity and Luna repeated, perplexed.

"His duty from his past life," the white cat explained.

Ryoku nodded. "As Jovan, my duty was to fight on behalf of the Moon Kingdom. Whether for defense, or
for vengeance, it was all the same. There was more to it than that, but that's all I remember right now.

"Ever since I met you, Serenity, I've felt this compelling urge to go and slaughter anyone and everyone
I can find that's aligned with the Dark Kingdom," he added as he hung his head. "I've got no problems
with killing Youma and the like, but I have my duty to Shishu and everyone here at Hikawa Jinja to
consider." He raised his head, giving Serenity a pleading look. "I can't go out on a personal Youma
hunt. This Shishu command is so undermanned, we can barely spare enough people to go out looking for
escapees anymore. Usagi might've been the last person we were able to save." He hung his head again,
staring sullenly at the floor.

Serenity sat silently for a moment while carefully regarding him. "Your duties conflict with each
other," she said quietly after a while. "Ryoku, if you could give up one set of duties - yours or
Jovan's - which one would you choose?"

Ryoku's head whipped up. "What?"

"Whose duties would you be willing to give up?" she asked again, her expression completely neutral.

"Are you serious?" he asked as he stood up and started walking toward his desk.

"You can't perform both duties at the same time, can you?" she asked, her expression growing concerned.
"Unless you choose one or the other, you won't be able to go forward. You'll be stuck trying to find a
way to do the impossible."

He stopped in front of his desk and glanced down at the pictures that sat there. There weren't that
many, but they were very important to him. There was one of his grandfather, Tenmei, with his
grandmother, Umi. Another one of his father, Ken, with his mother, Misaki. Another with just him and
his sister, Makoto. His gaze stopped at the last picture, one where he was sitting with Makoto while
his parents stood on one side and his grandparents on the other.

"I've been thinking about that all day," he finally said. "My duty to Shishu is not just about me. I'm
a third-generation Blade. This is my heritage. My life. It's not something I can easily throw away." He
turned to face Serenity and the cats. "But, I was also Jovan. I know that now. You were the Moon
Princess and I was sworn to serve you. That is also something that cannot be easily thrown away."

"Ryoku...," Serenity said as she stood up, walked over to him, and put a comforting hand on his
shoulder.

"I can't quit either, Serenity," he told her without taking his gaze from the pictures. "Both duties
are too important. It doesn't matter that they're from different lives; they both amount to the same
thing."

"It might not be as impossible as it seems," Artemis interjected.

"What do you mean?" Ryoku asked as he turned toward the white cat. "How?"

"Can't you get special permission or something?"

Ryoku snorted. "Oh, yeah. Like that'll happen," he said sardonically. "Hey, Mamoru, would you mind if I
went out on a crusade to wipe out the Dark Kingdom? I know there's thousands of them and only one of
me, but you don't have to worry about that, because I'll be fighting alongside a magical girl named
Sailor Moon."

He glanced over at Serenity. "No offense, but you're sharing that body with someone who's not even
aware of your existence yet. What if she starts to wake up in the middle of a fight? Are you going to
force her back to sleep? Maybe steal control of her body or something? What happens to Usagi then? One
thing's for certain; she'll definitely know you exist then."

Serenity scowled at him for a few minutes before sitting back down on the bed. "Those are all questions
I've thought of, Ryoku," she replied pensively. "If she wakes up in the middle of a fight, then it will
be up to her to save her life. I cannot... no, will not rob her of control of her own body," she stated
emphatically. "I'm only borrowing her body while she's asleep; that's all. I won't do any more than
that."

"Does Mamoru-san know about Sailor Moon?" Luna asked.

"No. He arrived after she turned back into Usagi." He gave her a thoughtful look as he sat back down on
the couch. "Are you thinking of having him 'meet' Sailor Moon?"

"That might help. Especially if he was able to see what she can do."

Serenity nodded eagerly. "I'll be sure to put in a good word for you, Ryoku. After all, I can't have
you stuck in training when you could be doing something more useful."

"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically. "I'll let you know where they usually have their patrols and when.
Just be careful out there," he added concernedly. "You died once. I don't want to have to deal with you
dying again."

"Thanks for your concern," she said as she scooped Luna into her arms and stood up. "I'll be all right.
I promise."

"That's all I can ask," he replied as she left.

"Artemis, why do things have to be so complicated?" he sighed as he flopped down lengthwise on the
couch.

"If life was simple, it wouldn't be worth living," Artemis replied sagely from his spot on
Ryoku's pillow.

Ryoku raised his head slightly to regard the white cat. "You're full of it, you know that?" he remarked
cynically.

_________________________________________________________________


Outer Grounds, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 12:03 A.M.


Mamoru checked the blade in his sheath one more time. Just like before, it was clear. He was feeling a
little tired, but that was to be expected. Everyone had to pick up Ryoku's slack, himself included,
since he was out of action for a few days.

Damn that kid. Always trying to do more than he was capable of. That boy would end up killing himself
one of these days due to overextending himself. That idiot needed to be brought down a peg or two.
Maybe Sanzou would help him to realize that he was part of a team. He couldn't do everything by himself.
Especially now that every Blade was needed to keep the command manned in case of another Dark Kingdom
invasion.

And there was another one coming. It was imminent. After all, Jadeite wouldn't hesitate to press his
advantage of strength and numbers. Everyone here was tired and overworked due to long hours of watch and
patrols. Himself, included.

The new Recruit Blades would alleviate a lot of the heavy load that they were carrying right now. They
could only manage to keep watches by having them overlap each other so that there was always two people
on watch, someone standing by in case of emergencies, and someone resting. It would be hard to train the
recruits with that kind of a schedule, but it had to be done. Improperly trained Blades would be worse
than no Blades at all.

Improperly trained Blades could get other Blades killed. That was something that they couldn't afford.

He came to a stop and sat down on a large piece of concrete that hadn't been cleared due to the distance
from the safety of the Hikawa Jinja. The border was only a few hundred meters away; an ever-present
sensation at the back of his mind. He couldn't see it, but he knew it was there. Always there,
protecting them from the miasma of dark energy that blanketed the rest of the world.

The strap of the rifle slung across his chest was starting to cut into his neck again, so he adjusted it
once again. He hated wearing the damn thing, but it was necessary, nonetheless. Rifles were better than
swords because there was a better chance of surviving a Youma attack from a distance than up close. He
could understand Ryoku's preference for close-quarters combat - killing with a sword was more personal
than with a rifle, not to mention infinitely more satisfying - but it was more important to stay alive
rather than die in combat.

A gentle breeze blew from the northwest, picking up some loose dirt as it played across the desolate
wasteland that used to be Tokyo. It carried some of the sickly taint of negative energy, but not very
much. The border also served as a filter of sorts, cleansing the wind of the dark taint that permeated
the very air outside. Since he was so close to the border, he could feel some of the evil blight as it
seeped through, although it would eventually dissipate into nothing before reaching the Lower Grounds.

Mamoru quickly jumped to his feet as the sound of softly crunching concrete and asphalt pieces cut
through the night air. "Who's there?" he called out as he whirled in the direction of the noise, his
hands ready at his weapons, should he need either one.

From behind the remains of an old ruined building, a slender figure stepped out into the open. "A
friend," she replied as the breeze played with the twin ponytails that streamed down her back in the
moonlight. "I assume you are Chiba Mamoru, 1st class Blade?"

Mamoru dropped his hands to his sides, but only relaxed his guard slightly. "Who are you?" he asked as
he tried to see who he was talking to. It was a clear night and the moonlight shone brightly, but it was
still too dark to see any details clearly enough. All he could make out was the hair and clothing; some
kind of bodysuit and mini-skirt combination with knee-high boots. Altogether, it looked quite ridiculous.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded as he carefully approached. "Don't you know that it's dangerous
here? Go back to the Lower Grounds at once."

Sailor Moon tilted her head and smiled as she regarded Mamoru. "I thank you for your concern, but it's
really not necessary."

"Not necessary?" he repeated, his eyebrow raised doubtfully.

She nodded. "Remember those four Youma that Ryoku fought when he saved Tsukino Usagi's life? I killed
two of them," she added with a smirk.

"Is that so?" Mamoru said skeptically as he eyed the girl cautiously. "Funny. I don't remember seeing
you there." He frowned as her smirk took on a mischievous quality. "Look, you shouldn't be out here," he
told her as she took off her tiara. "It's too dangerous...." He trailed off as her tiara started to glow
with a soft white light. From the light, he could feel a gentle, yet intense power. It felt almost...
familiar... somehow.

"I think I can handle it," she replied as the glow faded from her tiara.

"Who...?" he breathed as he reached out slowly toward the tiara.

"My name used to be Serenity, Princess of the Moon Kingdom," she said as she placed the tiara back on
her head.

"Moon Kingdom?"

"Yes," she said with a slight nod. "That was my home before the Dark Kingdom destroyed it." She sighed
sadly. "But that was several millennia and another lifetime ago. What's important now is that the Dark
Kingdom that destroyed my home is here destroying yours." She paused as she swept her gaze across the
desolate landscape. "And by the look of things, they're almost finished with this world as well."

"I know," he replied soberly. "But things aren't this bad everywhere, though. It's only because we're so
close to Ground Zero that we've been hit so hard. I'm sure if you were in America, or a European country
like England, things wouldn't look as bad." In fact, he had recently heard from the last Shishu courier
to pass through that the new Shishu command headquarters was at the Vatican in Italy. Of course, that
was six months ago. A lot could change in six months.

"I see," she said as she glanced toward the border with a contemplative expression on her face. "Well,
if this is where the infestation has taken root, then this is most likely the best place for me to be
right now."

"Are you insane?" he asked incredulously. "This is the worst place to be! Not only are there thousands
of Youma here, one of the four Generals has his headquarters in this area! Jadeite has already taken out
our previous headquarters at Meiji Jinja. The only reason why he doesn't finish us off is that he has
other targets that pose a bigger threat than we do. How can you say that this is a good place to be?"

She frowned at him for a moment. "You misunderstand me," she said flatly. "I didn't say this was a good
place to be. I said that this was the best place for me to be," she explained. "I intend on destroying
the menace that destroyed my home and my life," she added fiercely. "If I'm going to stop the Dark
Kingdom, this's the best place for me to be."

"Stop the Dark Kingdom?" Mamoru repeated in utter disbelief. "And how do you expect to do that by
yourself?"

Sailor Moon was about to reply when a huge bolt of green energy struck the border, sending visible waves
of energy rippling out in several directions. The bolt was followed by a second, then a third, each
striking the barrier and sending waves of energy rippling across the shield. "What...?"

Mamoru stared at the border with a look of fear spread across his face. "No...," he whispered. "Not now.
Please, not now...." Four more bolts of dark green energy struck the barrier, each within a dozen meters
of each other. The waves of energy grew slightly larger as the shield was put under more stress, but it
held just the same.

"Mamoru-san?" Sailor Moon asked wearily.

Mamoru reached down underneath the rifle and unfastened the gun holster at his hip. He quickly drew the
gun and pointed it up toward the center of the Lower Grounds in the general direction of Shishu
headquarters and fired. A bright red warning flare rocketed into the sky and exploded loudly, bathing
the air above the Lower Grounds in a crimson glow.

"What was that, Mamoru-san?" she asked as she took up a defensive fighting stance beside his own and
faced the border.

"That was the invasion flare," he replied as he unslung his rifle and removed the safety. "Jadeite's
finally ready to take us on."


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


Author's Note: Finally, the next chapter is completed! Sorry for the long delay, but I've have so much
going on in my life right now that I can't help taking time away from my writing. And another thing, you
many have noticed that I've changed Makoto and Ryoku's mother's name from Miko to Misaki. It's mostly
because I don't want to confuse it with the word 'miko'. Anyway, now that Jadeite has finished with his
business in Okinawa, he has turned his sights onto the Hikawa Jinja. With only five Blades and a handful
of Recruit Blades to defend against the Dark Kingdom onslaught, how will the addition of Sailor Moon
affect the outcome of this battle? And when will the other Sailor Senshi awaken? Who will awaken first?
What about our two missing Sailor Senshi? Where are they? All these questions will be answered in due
time. For now, enjoy the newest chapter of The Brooch.


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.