DISCLAIMER: Kusanagi Jun belongs to me. The rest of the sailor moon cast belongs to Naoko Takeuchi-sensei respectively.
Once in a Blue Moon
The persistent ringing of the alarm clock broke the stillness of the quiet morning. It continued on for several minutes, until a hand came swatting down from under the cover, knocking the aforementioned alarm clock off the wooden table and shutting it off completely. The 2 batteries rolled off in different directions.
"Damn it…" a tousled haired blonde came out from her warm covers, blinking sleepily and yawning, until her eyes caught sight of what remained of her alarm clock on the carpeted floor. She sweat dropped.
"Ah…another one?" she sighs at herself as she got out of bed. That was the 5th broken alarm clock this month. Morning is obviously not her thing.
The slim figured girl went to her kitchen and cooked herself a decent breakfast. Toast in her mouth and bacon and eggs safely in a plate by her hand, she went to her telephone, in which green lights were blinking seductively. 'Voice messages' the blonde thought as pushed a button on the black cordless phone and sat on the couch, as attentive as any good student could be.
"MINAKOOOOOOO…!" A voice full of anguish shouted from the maximum-volume speaker. Minako gave a hard wince; her sunny-side-up egg slipped and fell with a splat on the floor "Where the heck are you?!"
The blonde raised an eyebrow "at home, obviously." She muttered, rolling her eyes. But the voice message didn't end there.
"WE got a case downtown, Kanazawa FYI, at that Hino Rei's apartment! The chief said everyone in the investigation department to come down ASAP and that means YOU!! Be there late, and YOU'RE FIRED!! Contact me as soon you get the message!!" with a long beep the message ended.
"The message was taken at 00.45 am" the sweet voice of the operator filled the silent room. By now bacons and toast had joined the egg on the floor, the plate hung limply in the blonde's hand. With a long over-dramatic gasp, she turned to the clock on her wall and gave a loud anguish 'NOOOOOOOO' that rang throughout her apartment. The birds flew off their respected trees in fright.
It was 08.28 am.
The message was received at 00.45 am.
She's late for…damn the math, she's late for heaven's sake!! Slipping over her food and sliding trough the corner of the room, the girl scrambled about her wits, getting ready for work. 20 minutes later, she emerged from her room, trying to pin her badge to the front of her shirt, snatching her car keys as she goes.
"OUCH! Dammit…where's my shoe? Where's my SHOE? Ah. There you are." Scrambling to her shoe and rechecking her things, it took a moment before she finally exit the room, slamming the door with a loud bang behind her. The force shook the wall, and the glass clock fell down with a shatter.
This is just one of those usual days for Aino Minako.
0.0
Minako ran through the hallway, muttering 'good morning' to the officers that chuckled or laugh at her usual morning antics. It was business hour, so apparently the elevators got full quickly and the tardy blonde was left in the basement, tapping her feet impatiently as she waited the elevator from the 6th floor to come down.
It was then her muttering was disrupted by a horde of loud machine rumblings. Turning her head around, Minako found the usual bulletproof police van, guarded by what looks like dozens of patrol cars, entered the dimly lit underground level. She raised an eyebrow. Which celebrity has gotten into such mischief to be guarded this heavily today?
She could watch silently as the armed officers came out of their respective rides and waited for the occupants of the van to come out. The side door slides open, revealing Minako's senior, Lieutenant Kusanagi Jun and her fellow officer, Sergeant Kino Makoto. But they are not the only ones there. Sandwiched tightly between the two of them was an unfamiliar figure Minako had never seen in her life. But the very same person had mesmerized her at the same time.
It was like time was being slowed down when the group went pass her. Minako barely reacted when Jun flashed her a smile, her attentions were fully on the person on his right, mind you.
She was handcuffed, and was guarded by at least 20 armed officers, yet that serene look on her face made Minako think that the woman was there to take a stroll round the Tokyo Police Headquarters.
The long dark mane that moves in sync with her body, gracing a beautiful visage with such dignified expression that made her looks queenly. But the serene look on her face clashed with the lavender eyes the woman owns. The orbs were blazing so enormously that in might combust anything she stares at into flame. It was just Minako's luck that made the regal woman chose particularly that moment to stare the blonde straight in the eyes.
Minako gasps.
It happened so suddenly that it took a moment for the blonde's brain to catch up with what's happening. All too soon, the raven haired woman and the group of armed officers passed her and walked away, leaving the dumbstruck blonde in their wake. It was sudden, but in that fraction of a second, Minako had read the brief emotions that were blazing across the lavender orbs.
Anger. Confusion. Suspicion. Deep, deep pain…and Loneliness?
The beautiful orbs were clouded with thoughts that Minako wished she had spent more time reading. The dangerous flame that she thought would burn her at their brief eye contact, actually engulfed her with such a warm feeling right there in her heart. She was drawn to those eyes, like a moth was drawn to flames, luxuriating in the glory of the heat. It took a moment for the blonde to realize that someone had been calling her name over and over and over again.
Minako turned to the tall person beside her, who sighed as she shook her head.
The blonde gave a wide grin and make a peace 'V' sign with her fingers "eheheh…sorry, Mako-chan. I dozed off"
The tall brunette could only let out a chuckle "yeah, I realized that. What are you doing here? You're supposed to report in ages ago!" Minako could only cringe as she remembered the voice message Mako-chan left in her phone.
"Well, many things happened…" Minako's words trails off into nothingness and Makoto can only catch the word 'alarm' in the monologue the blonde was babbling about. Seeing the expression of disbelief in her companion's face, Minako cleared off her throat in a business-like manner.
"SO! Putting that aside…," she moved her hands from one side to another to emphasize the point she was talking about. Minako was speaking in a tone that tell Makoto that the blonde was now in an all-business-no-fun mode "who is that just now? What did she do to get such treatment?"
An eyebrow could not be help from lifting up in disbelief upon the brunette's visage as she lets out "did you not listen to what I said in the voice message?"
"I- I did!" Minako defended herself indignantly before something clicked into place "wait, wait a sec. T-that was Hino? Hino Rei of the Black Ravens?"
"Finally!" Makoto almost kissed the ground in relief "yeah, that was Hino."
"But, I thought her house was in Kanazawa! Wasn't she supposed to be in the Kanazawa Prefectural Police Station instead?" Minako's eyes were wide in wonder how did such beautiful person be responsible of all the greasy, horrible underground business she'd heard so much about.
Makoto scrunched her face as she ponders her answer "I know. But we had orders, no, pleas from the Kanazawa station to transfer her here instead and the Chief agreed. Do you think it's because that in case her boys attacked that she needs to be heavily guarded?" she asked her blonde companion, who shrugged thoughtfully. The Tokyo Central Police Headquarters, or TPH for short, has the most heavily guarded prison in all Japan after all.
"I suppose that's possible…" Minako's brain was busy digesting these new information in one go "so, you and Jun are in charge?" a picture of the athletic built man with green eyes that passed her earlier flashed across Minako's mind.
The brunette nod, patting the thick notes in her right hand "yeah. Jun and I were the only ones in when someone calls from the crime scene. Someone, in particular, did not answer my calls and slept in until 8 hours later. " Minako grinned guiltily at how much pressure Makoto put in those words. The brunette let out a sigh.
"So, wanna come and report to the Chief together? I've got stuff to report in too." Makoto raised her notebook before Minako's nodding head and together they enter the lift that had waited patiently for them to finish their talk.
0.0
"Ah, Sergeant Aino," Chief Chiba Mamoru grinned as the 2 women entered his office. The good-looking man was leaning back in his chair, reading important looking-documents at their entrance. His eyes caught sight of a slightly nervous blonde officer that was obviously late to report in.
"I've been wondering when you'll be reporting in." he gave a smile as his blonde Sergeant flushed and gave a guilty laugh.
"Sorry, Chief. Sergeant Aino Minako, reporting for duty." The Chief nodded before he turned to the other Sergeant in the room "Sergeant Kino. What news do you have for me?"
Without further ado, Makoto opened her notes and began reading her reports "These were the information gathered in Raven's Den Casino at 01.00 am last night. Seijuuro Genzou and Takeyama Keita are both killed by a direct shot to the heart. Time of death is approximately at around 00.12 am. There were no traces of gun powder or any sign of self defense from the two victims, so it was presumed that the suspect had shot them immediately. There were liquors in the victim's blood flows, but not the enough amounts to cause intoxications."
"The weapon?" Mamoru narrowed his eyes at the news.
Makoto nodded as she flipped to the next page "a hunting riffle was found lying 15 meters off the crime scene. The bullets found in the victims' body, matched the bullets that was used by the riffle"
"What's the evidence against Hino Rei?" Minako decided to be productive and get on the case as well. Besides, she's curious about Hino Rei.
Makoto looked at her strangely before answering her questions "well, her fingerprints were found all over the riffle. And the riffle and its ammo were actually imported from Hong Kong to Japan illegally under the name of Hino Rei. That all was found, sir." Makoto turned to her thoughtful-looking boss "the forensic department under Doctor Mizuno is further examining the bodies at present."
Minako frowned, that's not really a strong evidence to put someone in jail. Something in her knew for some reason that Hino Rei was innocent.
Mamoru nodded his acknowledgement "Good work, Sergeant Kino. And – "
"But, don't you think something is strange, sir?" Mamoru and Makoto turned abruptly to their blonde companion. Minako's face was set and there's this determined look in her baby blue eyes that Mamoru found rare that prompted him to ask about what his blonde subordinate was talking about.
"Well, for starters, those evidence were not enough to land someone in central prison, and guarded this heavily too," Minako raised a hand to her chin and narrowed her eyes in thought "according to criminal law number 1233-"
"1323." Makoto hissed under her breath. Minako flushed and grinned
"He-heh…sorry…uuh, where was I? Oh, yeah, according to it, the minimum number of evidence needed to land someone in high security prison is 5. And from what I heard, I think the number of evidence against Hino Rei were still under the minimum number to put her here in TPH cell…" the blonde detective brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully, her blue eyes clashed against Mamoru, who's thinking hard himself "how many were the evidences?"
"The hunting riffle, the bullets on the victims' bodies," Makoto stated, frowning slightly "and her fingerprints all over the gun…so, there are 3."
"There was no evidence gathered from the security cameras?"
Makoto's frown ceased "well…from all the cameras, only one managed to catch the suspect's figure from behind…" the brunette trails off as she remembered the tape. Minako raised an eyebrow.
"So? Does that count against her?"
Mamoru looked excitedly at his 2 subordinates as the tall brunette shook her head slowly "well, it was too blur to be confirmed if it is indeed Hino or someone else. But either way, "Makoto continued quickly "there were many cases against her in the works of illegal weaponry imports enough to land her in a cell here."
"Yes, but that is a completely different matter." The blonde stated finally, glad that she'd make her point. Somehow she's a bit glad that she's been able to defend Hino Rei, though for what reason she doesn't know. She turned to her boss who had a wide smirk on his face "what do you think, Chief?"
"I like your reasoning," he nodded, impressed, at Minako who swelled up with pride "well Sergeant Kino, please bring the tape later and look for more evidence on the crime scene and Hino's residence. Anything counts. We'll see what we do with Hino afterwards."
"Yes sir"
"And please tell Lieutenant Kusanagi to come into my office. You may go now." Makoto nod her head in acquiesce before she excused herself from the room. Minako was about to follow suit before the Chief's next words halted her in her steps.
"Why?"
"Eh?" Minako turned to the good looking man in question "why what? I mean, pardon?"
Mamoru smiled and leaned back in his comfortable leather chair "why are you so insistent in proving Hino's innocence? It seems to me like you know her from a personal level indeed…"
The blonde blinked before shaking her head vigorously "no, sir. I haven't met her before and so I have never ever spoken to her before. I didn't even recognized her when Jun and Makoto brought her in just now!"
The Chief's eyebrows rose up in quiet demand of 'then, why?'
The blonde shy down from her chief's scrutinizing gaze as she suddenly found her shoes to be mildly interesting, her mind pondered also.
"I…don't know to be honest."
Mamoru stayed quiet, he knew she wasn't finished yet.
Minako's hands clasped and unclasped in nervousness "it's just…I had this feeling, you know? When I look into her eyes…it just hit me right at that moment that someone like that would never kill someone so mercilessly…" she trails off.
"What do you see in her eyes?"
Silence filled the air as the blonde hesitates in answering. Mamoru notices his subordinate's uneasiness and smiled "gut feeling?"
Minako looked up at him at the word and lowered her head in guilt "I'm sorry…" gut feeling is not enough to reason a defense against an underground gang leader wrapped up in a murder case. But to the blonde's confusion, the smile on Mamoru's chief never cease. It was like he knew something she doesn't, and Minako doesn't like that.
"I see. You're free to go then."
Minako nodded "good day, Chief" and closed the door firmly behind her.
The second the blonde closed the door, Mamoru heaved his legs and rests it upon his expensive-polished office desk. He brought his hands behind his head as his eyes strayed towards the sky outside his double window.
"Well, what do you know, Rei. Someone you never know before defended you from this mess," a smile crept up upon his face "the world is not such a bad place after all, huh?" his blue eyes moved towards the door in which Minako had disappeared from seconds before.
"As expected from the best graduate of the Police Academy in 35 years…" Mamoru gave a small laugh "Aino Minako. Would she be the angel that will bring you salvations, or will she be the demon that will pull you even deeper to the depths of hell?" he closes his eyes as he let out a sigh " Tell me old friend, which one is she?". A sudden flow of nostalgia hit him again, bringing him back to the past…
0.0
The raven haired woman sat hunch back against the cold wall of the underground cell. Damn her bad luck to land her in this exceptionally fucking mess. Sure, she'd been worse, but either way she just doesn't grasp the idea that trouble seems to follow her the more she tried to avoid it.
"Fuck it." She mumbles silently as her hand gripped her hair. A nasty stench reached her nostrils. The conscience at the back of her head laughs out at her misery.
"Fuck prison toilets." She muttered a bit louder, silencing the stupid voice that kept laughing louder by the minute.
"Hey."
"Fuck stupid conscie-" 'wait a sec, that's not my voice.' Rei looked up at the sound that startles her and was even more surprise to see a pair of gorgeous cornflower blue eyes gazing back at her.
The owner was standing tall right across the steel bars separating the two of them. Brilliant long golden blonde hair cascades down her back, its fringe framing her small face perfectly. The warm smile upon the woman's face felt so out of place in this grim underground cell, Rei found herself thinking. The stranger was only dressed in simple t-shirt and jeans, with her jacket draped over one arm, but she was…glowing. Looking so angelic and gorgeous, that even the raven haired woman felt sorry that such lady had to come down in this lowly cell that wasn't fit for someone like her. The sight mesmerizes Rei so that she was rendered speechless for a long minute.
'It certainly felt good to see someone so beautiful after spending hours of looking to dozens of ugly police officers' the raven haired woman nodded unconsciously to herself.
"Hey," the call snapped Rei back from her reverie. Bringing her amethyst eyes to those blue orbs once more, she waited for the blonde to speak "um, can we talk?"
A frown appeared on the gang leader's face before she nods slowly, finding the blonde slightly familiar from somewhere "sure…"
And for that word of agreement, a wide brilliant smile was awarded in her way.
A/N :Blasted brain…I found several spelling mistakes in the last chapter. Forgive me; I'll edit them out sometimes in the future. I am soooooo sorry for the long update, I've just finally got a place of my own and moving in my stuff apparently needs a long…long time to get done. It's still not done now…T.T. By the way, the stuff about criminal law is fictional, I made it up and I got so confused that it might sound a bit stupid…(-.-'). Finally, Rei and Mina meet! Yeah! I was looking forward to writing this particular chapter. It kills me not to put the two of them in one page .. Please bear with the grammars once again, I'll do my best next time (grins).And so, don't forget to leave a review!!
