Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Successor ❯ The Two Who Are One ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven: The Two Who Are One

 

The mysterious Mazarin sat atop a tall building as the dusk slowly declined. He moved his green crystal around in his hand. It was now glowing faintly.

 

"No longer devoid of power, the crystal can now be a tool of focusing and detecting energy... It'll guide me down the path I need..."

 

He reached to his head and removed his black hood, trimmed at the opening with yellow. Revealed was a countenance basically identical to Hiryu's, though his hair and eyes seemed different. The eyes contrasted the dull, mossy green of Hiryu's with a vivid bright green one would almost describe as neon. His hair held itself differently than Hiryu's as well, seeming less subordinate to the forces of gravity. These features were enough to make him look different at a glance, but close inspection would drive one who knew them both to the swift conclusion that they are the same person.

 

So far, though, no one knew them both...

 

Mazarin leaned himself against a compact, protruding structure, whose door led to the stairwell into the building. His head sank a little as he began to rest. The cold night air blew across him, but he seemed ignorant of it. His hair hung over his eyes as he let out a sigh and uttered the word, "Soon..."

 

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

 

Usagi turned about in her bed. The image of that Oni was haunting... like the monsters she had faced in the past, yet somehow so much worse... "Uhh... Mamo-chan, protect me..." she mumbled in her sleep.

 

She sat up suddenly. What was it? What about that Mazarin and his Oni were so upsetting?

 

"Usagi, you'd better get some sleep..." said Luna, surveying the girl with one opened eye.

 

"Hey, I just can't help think about what happened today... Yesterday?" She looked to the alarm clock, though her senses were too hazed to see the time. "And I know what you did to the clock, Luna..."

 

"Mrr..." Luna faked a snore.

 

"Gahhhh...." moaned Usagi, her head drifting back and hitting the pillow safely.

 

"Hmm..." whispered Luna. "Can't really blame her. After the peace we've enjoyed, conflict's back again. It's tough..."

 

"Luna... the clock..." said Usagi.

 

"Mrrr..."

 

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

 

A drizzly, rainy day. White heaps of water splashed off the ground in random directions as large, thick drops bombarded it. Ami walked to school, her pleasant temperament slightly dampened by the weather, but not enough to spoil it. Arriving at the school, she made her way through the openings in the large masses of students, seeing that, as usual, she was first to her homeroom. Even the teacher was not yet in.

 

"Ami-chan!!" called a voice from behind her. It wasn't immediately familiar, but it had a uniqueness and warmth she found exciting. Yes, it was...

 

"Urawa-kun!" she said excitedly, turning around. Yes, it was in fact Urawa Ryo, the boy she liked so much, who knew her secret as a Sailor Senshi and who always seemed to be moving.

 

"You can just call me Ryo-kun if you like," he said timidly. "We're close enough for that, right?"

 

"Yes, sure, of course we are," she agreed, her voice seeming to pump out more consent than she actually felt. "Ryo-kun, why are you here?"

 

"I didn't get a chance to tell you yet, it was so sudden, but..." he lost control to a pleasant grin. "We've moved back in town indefinitely! As far as my experience goes, indefinitely means at least a month, but who knows... my dad got promoted, you see. He'll be holding a new management position that will probably be a local function."

 

Ami's eyes glittered. "That's great news, Urawa-kun! I never get to see you. I'm glad I will now."

 

The two shared a smile and the warmth of the poorly hidden feelings for each other. They soaked in the warmth of the moment, oblivious to the noisy hallway chatter. Ami noticed something. Well, someone. It was Hiryu walking down the hall. He noticed her as well, as she gestured to him, a bit of a wave.

 

"Oh! Hiryu-san, good morning," she said politely.

 

"Good morning," he replied, shifting his eyes to Ryo and back.

 

"This is Urawa Ryo; Ryo, this is Tsukamaru Hiryu."

 

"How do you do?" Ryo said politely, though his expression was confusing.

 

"Nice to meet you," Hiryu replied. The two tried to avoid the fact that the other was sizing the one over. It all took place in a matter of a couple seconds, but Ryo made the last of the glances, as Hiryu stared humbly at the floor.

 

"Well, aren't you two shy?" Ami joked, giggling a little. Ryo chuckled, and Hiryu let out a sigh-like laugh, nodding slightly.

 

"Excuse me," said Hiryu, turning and walking away.

 

"A little difficult to talk to," Ami commented. "But he can't help that. He just doesn't seem like.. Ryo-kun?"

 

Ryo fixedly watched the spot where Hiryu had been, as if he were still there.

 

"I don't know what it is," Ryo said, "But I don't trust that guy."

 

Ami looked sad and defensive. "Don't be hard on him. From the way he acts, he's probably seen more than enough of that. Guys like that need friends. Let's give him a chance."

 

"Hmm..." said Ryo.

 

"Come with me, I need to go to the library," Ami said. "We can catch up on some more things on our way."

 

The two left, Ryo still looking about with a feeling of uncertainty.

 

Hiryu had ducked into the bathroom, and withdrew his crystal, which glowed a brighter green than it had the last time he checked. "Strange energy signals from that one... He's worth following a little more closely." He repocketed the crystal and left the bathroom.

 

"Hey there, Hiryu-kun!!" Makoto said out of nowhere, patting him on the back firmly.

 

"Hi," Hiryu responded, sounding a little stunned.

 

"Sorry about that. Anyway, what's going on?"

 

"Um..." A bead of sweat trickled down his head in the moment of silence... what was he supposed to say here? He didn't know much of anything. "Ami seemed real excited, about Urawa Ryo being here," he told her.

 

"Oh really? Lovebirds... Didn't know Urawa-kun was gonna be in town," Mako said, her arms folded behind her head as she walked.

 

"Seems he is," Hiryu added softly. Maybe this conversation stuff wasn't so hard.

 

"Speaking of lovebirds," said Mako deviously, leaning forward and staring down Hiryu like a hungry dog. "What's going on with you and Minako-chan?" Her tone suggested she was taunting him...

 

"Uh... what? She, um, showed me around yesterday," he explained.

 

"Sure, sure... that can't be it. Do you like her?"

 

"Like...? Uh..." Hiryu looked off in another direction. Like, as in love? As in feelings? For these people? Him, with feelings? What a strange question.

 

"Don't be silly," he snapped back. "And don't ask things like that of me. It ultimately means nothing." The whites of Mako's eyes took up more than their share of space as she watched the young man change directions and walk off. "Well geez," she said loudly, "guess I offended him! Guess even guys like him lash out sometimes!" She sighed and kept going. He wasn't worth the trouble, probably wouldn't even know what was going on anyway if she argued with him.

 

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

 

"Hiryu-kun!" called another voice. He lifted his head from his arms. He looked up to see the legs of Minako. High white socks and slender legs--well, he looked the rest of the way up, and saw her staring down at him.

 

"Why are you lying there like that?" she asked, sitting down in the grass. He shrugged as he sat up, and acted as if lifting his head upright were some sort of difficult task. "Don't feel like doing anything else," he replied lifelessly.

 

"Mako-chan said she's not mad at you or anything," Minako told him. "You guys argue or something?"

 

"Uh, something like that," he said disinterestedly, staring past her as he talked. The pleasant blue shade of her eyes dragged his attention back to her somewhat

 

"Hmm..." she said, seeing his apathy. She had a topic she wanted to switch to, and the tone of her hmm worked to help glide into it. "Um, we're going out to eat after school today, to welcome back Urawa-kun. Won't you come, please?" She knew something she did displeased him, perhaps making her words sound like friendship of pity, or like she was speaking down to him, like a child. She purposely used a different tone of voice than before, as a sort of experiment.

 

"I..." he didn't answer at first, unsure of what to do. Her eyes seemed to plead with him, and her lips seemed ready to expel words of excitement at a positive response.

 

"I'll go," he concluded at last. Her eyebrows raised a bit, and she smiled.

 

"Good, we'll have fun," she promised. She felt happy. She wanted to pretend he'd never reacted the way he had the other day. Try, try again, and she'd still have a chance; she'd convinced herself of this, and she was right.

 

"Time to get to class," he said suddenly.

 

"Oh? Did I miss the bell?" she responded surprisedly.

 

"Yeah, just rang."

 

"Oh... Okay, you meet up with Ryo at the end of the day and he'll show you where we're going to meet. We already called our other friends, they'll meet us there."

 

"Ok."

 

"See you later Hiryu-kun,"

 

"Yeah, bye."

 

As Minako walked away, she wondered what made her interested in this guy. He hardly spoke, he was occasionally rude when he DID speak, and he showed little interest in social engagement. But she thought he seemed nice anyway, and wanted to crack the shell he put up against the rest of the world. Who was he? She just had an urge to be with him, and to find out.

 

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

 

The halls echoed with the blissful conversing of students at last liberated from their school day, ready to go home. The rain was cleared and the sun was shining its way through the scattered clouds.

 

"Hello again, Hiryu-san," said Ryo, standing outside the gym locker room. Flustered with his hatred of this 'gym' class, Hiryu hardly noticed. "Oh, yeah, it's you, Ryo."

 

Ryo nodded. "Ready to go?"

 

"Let's," Hiryu replied, following him, his hands in his pockets and his head way down as usual.

 

"Something not right..." Ryo said under his breath.

 

"Something different about him," Hiryu whispered to himself.