A forgotten past and a new life. After two years would you want to go back to being who you once were?
Trapped in Yourself.
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Episode Two: Rules are meant to be broken.
Although she had promised to meet Makoto for lunch, Usagi had other things on her mind. Finally she saw the object of her current quest. "Taki-sempai!"
Looking behind her, Takiko saw a younger member of the Naginatado club. The older girl was curious as to what the dumpling haired blonde wanted. "Usagi, what can I do for you?"
"Ayame-sempai said that before you joined the Naginatado club last year, you tried recruiting some of its members for a Women's Kendo club. I was wondering if you could teach me how to use a sword?" Each Senshi's armor had a different purpose, different weapons, and hers was designed for physical combat. Luna once mentioned that when the super suit grew that she could get a weapon. Since the Metarians didn't have naginatas she was expecting to receive a sword. When the time came, she didn't want Sailor Moon being the weakest link.
"Sure I could teach you. Are you doing anything right now?" The second year didn't have any classes till much later in the afternoon, and she missed using her bokken. She'd be happy to teach her first year friend as much as she could.
"Well I'm having lunch with a friend, but we were going out, you're welcome to join us and we can train afterward." So long as Taki-sempai didn't hit on Mako, she couldn't see a problem with her coming along. Makoto didn't really seem like Takiko's type.
"Sure that could work."
"Great!" Usagi couldn't wait to begin training, but she also didn't want to miss a meal either.
WWWWWWWWW
Makoto waited at the place Usagi told her they would meet. She was sort of surprised the blonde wasn't already here; her friend was never late for a meal. Looking at the boys walking around the Campus one in particular caught her eyes. "SEMPAI! RYOGA!"
Ranma stopped dead in his tracks, who would refer to Ryoga as sempai? Turning around, he saw a girl, that like Sailor Jupiter the night before, looked much like the Makoto Kino. Looking at her aura he could tell she didn't just look like Sailor Jupiter, she was Sailor Jupiter. Now she was heading over to him and he didn't have the slightest idea how to react. He quickly decided it was best to go with his first instinct; he ran.
Why was her long lost Sempai running from her? Had the evil ponytailed boy polluted her sempai's mind so much that he now dreaded girls? She had to help her Sempai; she had to bring him back to the right side. With that decided she picked up her speed and chased after Ryoga, hopefully Usagi would forgive her for missing lunch.
WWWWWWWWW
The Earthlings of the continent of Us had an expression Zoisite found most interesting; 'Rules were meant to be broken.' He was about to break more than just one rule. As a rule; once relieved of command he was not to attack the earth any further. He would not wait for Kunzite, the battle suits had a weakness and he would exploit it now.
The second rule he was about to break was sending something other than a female monster. The monster he had prepared was male, and quite a powerful one at that. There would be collateral damage but he expected the King would be pleased he beat the Senshi despite that.
WWWWWWWWW
Ranma was hiding behind a wall, losing Sailor Jupiter was not easy. If he was going all out he would be able to lose her in a second, but Juban wasn't Nerima and people might question a person moving at such high speeds.
Somehow she must be tracking him, maybe the woman on the moon was helping her. The question was could the woman on the moon see him or was it some sort of radar. Looking up he really hoped he couldn't be seen 'cause if he didn't lose the Makoto look-alike soon, he was going to have to unseal his emotions and see if he could give her the slip as a she.
"SEMPAI STOP HIDING!"
Maybe he was a bit too hasty in taking the brown haired Senshi off the list of possible people Ryoga could be now. She seemed to have his level of strength, destroying the wall he was behind with one punch was no easy task. Getting up from the rubble he got back to fleeing.
"SEMPAI COME BACK HERE!"
WWWWWWWWW
Usagi stood waiting at the meeting spot for Makoto and wondered where the taller girl was. Mako-chan's previous class got out before hers; so the 'talented' Senshi should have been waiting for her. She was really starting to get annoyed, what was Makoto doing delaying her meal?
Although she was a little hungry herself, Takiko was more interested in training her young blonde friend. It had been a long time since she had used her bokken and longer still since she had a decent opponent. Given Usagi's skill with a naginata, it was possible she could be just as good with a sword once she was trained. "Your friend is running late."
"No kidding, Minako is normally the directionless member of our group, Makoto's just really strong."
"I used to have a 'friend' who was both really strong and had no sense of direction." Well Ryoga wasn't exactly a friend, but they had fought alongside one another against a shared foe from time to time. Given what happened to the lost boy; was it possible that either of Usagi's friends were him?
WWWWWWWWW
Luna stood in the control room of the Crystal Palace wondering what sort of person Makoto was having her track. The pony-tailed Senshi's prey was a very unique individual. Most of the time he displayed no out of the ordinary readings, but from time to time he would go from normal readings to abnormal ones. She assumed he was using these abnormal abilities whenever he was out of site from the brown haired girl.
Maybe he was from Nerima; from time to time there was a fair bit of abnormal readings from that ward of Tokyo. Many times she had confused the humans there for monsters sent by one of the generals. Looking over some of the other readings from Juban the Metarian didn't like what she was seeing.
Quickly she hit the alarm. Zoisite had broken the rules, he sent a male monster to earth, and this one looked dangerous according to the readings.
WWWWWWWWW
As the alarm tones went off on her communicator watch, Ami ducked into an alley and took out her transformation wand. "Mercury Power! Make Up!"
Water washed over her body and he clothes were replaced by her armor. Once transformed Sailor Mercury pulled out her micro computer and located the monster. She was the nearest to its location, so she would be on her own. Sailor Moon always considered herself the weakest of the Senshi because of her Frisbee tiara, but in truth that was useful from time to time, all she could do was make a fog. Given that the recent monsters could see through the fog, she hoped she wouldn't be alone for long.
WWWWWWWWW
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, Sailor Jupiter had finally given up her chase. Extending his sense to make sure she was a decent distance away, he saw why; another monster was on the loose. Maybe he should have brought his Tuxedo Kamen costume with him.
Taking to the roofs to hurry back to his apartment, Ranma had to wonder about the Makoto look-alike. She was strong, not as strong as Ryoga, but then again his own female form wasn't as strong as his male without ki assistance. Could she be Ryoga?
Although Makoto Kino did look like sailor Jupiter, as far as he knew Kino was a boy. He also knew Ryoga believed the same, but for the last two years he had always assumed Ryoga hit his head or something after his transformation into a girl and didn't know who he was.
It was possible the brown haired boy and Ryoga were related, and upon seeing someone looking like Makoto, Ryoga's mind created a faux history for the new body based on his memories of their classmate: the pony-tailed boy had trained under the lost boy, and at Ryoga's request he called him Sempai rather than Sensei, Makoto seem to have an unhealthy affection for Ryoga.
Sure it was a rather complicated possibility, but since when had his life ever been simple.
WWWWWWWWW
Zoisite sat in his office smiling at the monitor. Normally the Senshi would arrive on the scene as a group. This time Sailor Mercury arrived by herself. As the only Senshi on the scene fighting his Goliath, she was getting pulverized. The five Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen wouldn't stand a chance against his monster; a lone Senshi was as good as dead.
It was a pity that it was Mercury who would be the first to die, but he had a duty to his king, he could not allow himself to care for her the way his counterpart did in Naoko Takeuchi's story. Before Kunzite arrived he would bring about the downfall of Sailor Senshi and redeem himself in the eyes of King Adelite.
Hmm, Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter had just arrived. They appeared just in time to delay Sailor Mercury's death for a few minutes at least. Goliath was made very similar to Desdemona, but was even stronger, and had a greater defense, all the Senshi would be dead soon.
WWWWWWWWW
As Tuxedo Kamen had the night before, Sailor Jupiter tried taking the statue-like monster on her own. As Jupiter did that, she made her way to Sailor Mercury. The blue haired Senshi collapsed upon their arrival, and she didn't look good; her uniform was torn in several places, and her body was covered in cuts and bruises. Looking back at the pony-tailed Senshi, she was surprised she was holding her own, but for how long would that continue. "Jupiter, be careful!"
Being careful was all she could think about, well not all she could think about, her Sempai was still on her mind too. Makoto's fist hurt each time she pounded the monster, and her body ached whenever it hit her. She did have one advantage; the stone guy wasn't as fast as the monster they faced last night. Last night she was afraid to try hand to hand combat against the monster, but as strong as she was normally she should be even stronger in her sailor suit, she could do this. She would prove to Ryoga that she was worthy of him.
Sailor Mars arrived hurrying over to Mercury and Moon. The smart Senshi looked bad; no monster before had ever actually hurt them, the super suits had always been enough to protect them. "Sailor Moon what do you want me to do?"
"Use your recall device and take Sailor Mercury back to the Crystal Palace. Sailor Jupiter and I will try to contain the monster until Tuxedo Kamen gets here."
"Do you think he can beat it?" The Senshi of Fire didn't like leaving her teammates behind, but she also didn't want to end up like Sailor Mercury.
"I hope so, because I don't think we can." Since each monster was always stronger than the last; they hadn't even tried their Senshi attacks, but Sailor Moon had a bad feeling they wouldn't work. Tuxedo Kamen had a power different than theirs so hopefully he could succeed where they failed. As Mars and Mercury disappeared she grabbed a sign out of the ground and prepared to join Jupiter.
WWWWWWWWW
Minako sat in class annoyed with herself, while the other Senshi were fighting whatever monster Zoisite sent, she was just sitting pretending to listen to her teacher.
It seemed their luck had finally run out. Before, the monster attacks always happened when they were all available to combat the trouble. This time however the Senshi would be short herself and Rei. Maybe the former miko was better at escaping her class than she was.
WWWWWWWWW
Tuxedo Kamen finally arrived at the site of the monster attack and was somewhat surprised by what he was seeing. It seemed his actions last night inspired the Senshi to try direct combat against their opponent. Jupiter was further demonstrating her knowledge of Ryoga's family style, and Moon was using a traffic sign as a pole arm. They didn't seem to be hurting the male monster, but they were keeping it from hurting others.
Why was it only the two of them though? Where were the others? He'd ask those questions after the battle, right now he needed to end this fight. A Shi Shi Hokodan should work again, and he didn't want the enemy knowing what else he could do. "Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, please move aside!"
WWWWWWWWW
"AGAIN!" Once again Tuxedo Kamen's unique ability destroyed his monster. Zoisite was surprised enough that the two Senshi were able to hold their own against Goliath, but then the masked man arrived and destroyed it with ease.
"It was a good try my cousin, but Tuxedo Kaman seems to have more power than we can endow into a single monster."
"Since you've broken the rules anyway; how about tomorrow, once the modifications are complete, we try sending two beasts to fight the Senshi."
"Jadeite, Nephrite, how long have you been there?" When had the other two generals arrived in his office?
"Only just now, I hacked your door code just in time for the two of us to see your defeat." The first general knew they were not supposed to be damaging the planet they were trying to conquer, but he was tired of their constant defeat as well. According to the bridge sensors, one of the Senshi was badly hurt.
"I'm rather surprised you went so far. Congratulations." To disobey orders from the king, the third general was brave. Nephrite would never do so himself. However he had no problems encouraging the fool to continue.
"Sailor Mercury is near death and it seems that something was preventing the Senshi from gathering completely. I would call this a success." Even if Tuxedo Kamen had snatched his victory from him, the damage done and the intelligence gathered would help procure their future victory.
WWWWWWWWW
Once again Ranma found himself on the moon. This time he actually wanted to be here. There were questions he had for the alien Advisor.
"LUNA! Why didn't you teleport Sailor Mercury out of there sooner!" Sailor Moon was mad; her roommate could have been killed.
"She used the Mercury Computer to block my lock. I couldn't retrieve her, please trust me I tried. She didn't want the monster to go unchallenged; its rampage was unlike any other before, people were getting hurt." The Metarian wanted to pull Ami out as soon as her instruments read she had a bruised rib, but the short haired girl wouldn't have it.
"How bad is she?" Makoto knew that Ami pushed herself harder than any of them. She had a feeling her blue haired friend might one day get hurt, but she never thought….
"I can help her."
"You can?" The dumpling haired blonde hadn't noticed Tuxedo Kamen had come with them to the Crystal Palace again. Still if he could help Ami, she was glad Luna grabbed him.
"I would be grateful if you could. The Crystal Palace has an infirmary, but I am a scientist not a healer and I do not know how to work much of the equipment. For now she is in a stasis chamber." The real reason she brought the masked boy was she wanted him to train the Senshi, but having Ami back to full strength was more important."
"I will need to be alone with her. What I must do cannot be witnessed. I have not asked for the identity of the Senshi and I would like to keep mine a secret as well." To heal Sailor Mercury he'd have to unseal his emotions and would be forced to be female during the healing. The technique required compassion and although it disturbed him that one of the Senshi was in such a bad condition he had no compassion at present. Hopefully the blue haired Senshi would remain unconscious until after he was finished.
"That can be arranged. Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter take Tuxedo Kamen to the infirmary and then leave him to help Sailor Mercury." Looking over at the control console Luna noticed she had a communication from someone she wasn't ready for the Senshi to meet.
WWWWWWWWW
Beryl smiled as her friend finally answered her communication. She didn't know how much longer she had until her husband returned again, so she would have to make this brief. "Luna, how are the Senshi?"
"Mercury is hurt badly, but Tuxedo Kamen says he can help her. Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter aren't hurt that badly, the battle suits will able to take care of their wounds. Mars was kept out of the fight and Venus never made it to the battle."
"I wish I could be there, but even though I don't agree with what my husband is doing, my place is by his side." Because their people mostly used monsters to fight their battles there was little need for a healer on their warships, but in the Crystal Palace she could be more than just an accessory to her husband. "Luna, I know that in the past I've dissuaded you from attacking the ship, but given what happened today…."
"How many times have you reminded me about the failsafe Artemis installed in the battle suits? The Senshi's power would be cut in half if they were to face Metarians rather than monsters. After today I see your side of things. It would be too dangerous for the Senshi."
"Luna, it may be too dangerous for them not to. I'm sure my brother and husband are encouraging Zoisite to continue breaking the rules of engagement set by the king. Think about it, tomorrow, the Senshi could have two opponents, and then next day three. The monster banks are full of beast that can be modified." Their warships contained a limited number of female monsters, but a vast number of male ones. In the past the Senshi often had to wait for more monsters to be created, but the third general could easily overrun the earth's protectors with the male variety. "Look, Kunzite is on his way as well and you know his relationship with Artemis."
"Kunzite is on his way? Then Zoisite…Beryl can you help me?"
"I'll do what I can without arousing the suspicion of my husband, but you must act quickly. With the blame falling solely on Zoisite; who knows how far Jadeite and Nephrite will push him." As the door to her quarters opened she placed her hand upon the disconnect switch. "Give my love to Azurite mother."
Jadeite watched his wife quickly end her communication. He was grateful she shut it off before he got in the room; he did not get along well with her mother. "How is your baby brother?"
"He is doing well. He will be graduating soon; the King is looking at him to fill my former position." Before accepting temporary exile to be by Jadeite's side, she had been King Adelite's personal healer. It had been her that warned Luna of the king's odd plan to take over the planet Earth. "My mother once again request that you stop picking on my older brother."
"That old crone, I have not picked on Nephrite since we were children. She knows full well it was because of your brother that I am one of the Four. I owe much to your bother, including you." Moving to his wife he kissed her forehead gently. It was the second general who told him how Beryl felt for him and until that time he had always thought his feelings were one sided. "We may soon be returning to Metaria. Zoisite will continue to ignore the king's directives."
"So much chaos and destruction; you know the king did not want the humans harmed."
"What must be done, must be done." Personally he did not see any reason for taking Earth. Its technology was far behind theirs, and its galaxy it had no strategic value. The Terrans did have remarkable imaginations, but that didn't justify what they were doing to him. "You know, I'm surprised you don't want harm to come to the Terrans after how you were portrayed in that manga."
"Yes well, I will feel no sorrow should Naoko Takeuchi become a casualty of war, but the other humans of this world do not share her guilt." If she ever got the chance to have a lengthy conversation with Luna she would ask he friend why the writer portrayed her as she did; the Beryl of the manga looked more like her mother than herself. She was not that old, and unlike her mother her hair was only shoulder length.
WWWWWWWWW
Ranma finished her healing of Sailor Mercury, and then resealed her emotions. Now male again he needed to get out of the palace quickly. Helping the blue haired Senshi as he did took a lot out of him. Staying conscious with so little energy left took a lot of will power, it was only a matter of time before that will power failed him. Exiting the room he found Sailor Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and now Venus waiting outside. "She will be okay."
"Thank you for helping her. Thank you for helping us." Usagi didn't know how to say how grateful she was to Tuxedo Kamen for helping them achieve their victory both last night and today and for taking care of Ami. Whatever his mission was she hoped he'd be able to continue to aid them.
"I do what I can." Heading to the control room, Mars, Jupiter and Venus went in to the room to see Mercury, but Sailor Moon followed him. "You're not curious about your friend?"
"This afternoon I asked a classmate of mine to teach me how to fight better, the monsters are only getting stronger. After what happen to Ami, maybe all the Senshi need to learn, you could teach us." Tuxedo Kamen said he was a martial artist; he probably had a lot he could teach them. The dumpling hair blonde couldn't see anyone better for the job.
"If you are trying to get me more involved by telling me who you really are that won't work." He couldn't teach in the state he was in.
"We need to get stronger, and right now it seems like you're the only one who can help us achieve that." Usagi frowned, he saw through her trick. Manipulation had never been her strong point.
"I'm sorry I can not train anyone until my own mission is complete. Until I've found my friend who's trapped in himself I cannot help you any further than I currently do." In his emotionless state he'd be a worse teacher than his father, and he wasn't about to spend the time needed to train them in his female form. "I must go now."
The Senshi of the moon watched Tuxedo Kamen push past her to the control room. What did he mean by finding a friend trapped in himself?
WWWWWWWWW
Ryoga looked at a wall of pictures; each picture was someone he knew. Because he got lost so much he knew a lot of people; Monks of Sangria La, Priest of Atlantis, Anguirus, and the other more normal people. Looking at the wall he picked a face to re-familiarize himself with.
Since he chose to view his memories of the giant monster the day before, he decided to go with Makoto Kino today. Today, the day before, for all he knew it was the same day, but to think of it otherwise helped keep him sane. Or at least he thought he was sane. Back to Makoto Kino, touching the picture he relived a random moment of his time Makoto.
~ one day after school ~
Makoto stood before him showing off what he already knew of the martial arts. Ryoga was actually impressed. He wasn't that bad. "You know you're pretty talented. Are you sure you want me to teach you?"
"I'm not talented yet. I hope to one day be as talented as my mother though."
"What? You're mom's a martial artist?" The lost boy was more than a little curious just how talented his classmate's mother was. "Mine practices a little. She used to be a priestess, but after she married my dad she rarely ever found her way to the temple again and she just gave up."
"Your mom started getting lost after she married your dad?"
"Yeah it's a family curse. Anyone, whether born into the family or by marriage is doomed to have no sense of direction for the remainder of their days." His dad had met his mom by visiting her father's shrine hopping to get the cursed removed.
"I wonder if that will happen to me?"
"What?"
"Never mind. So are you ready to teach me Sensei.?"
Sensei? That didn't sound right. "Um, how about Sempai? It be too weird if you called me Sensei."
"Sempai then."
~ back in the house ~
Makoto would say weird stuff he didn't get all the time. He also seemed very jealous when he started hanging out with Ranma instead of him. That Jealousy was the reason he stopped hanging out with the brown haired boy. It was uncomfortable although not as uncomfortable as getting beaten up by his brother Motoki and Motoki's friends. If Ranma hadn't helped him he could have been hurt a lot worse since the older boys weren't unarmed.
TTTTTT
Complaint Department:
-First things first; Thanks again to Daniel Thomas Stack and James Axelrad for pre-reading this chapter
-This chapter came to me as I was writing the first one but it's gone through quite a bit of revisions.
-Takiko is not Ryoga, but I'm sure some of you can guess who she is.
-Zoisite is saying the word "us" rather than U.S. Why will be explained in a future chapter.
-Daniel suggested I make a disclaimer that the Naoko Takeuchi in the story is not the Naoko Takeuchi who really created Sailor Moon. The one in the story is the pen name used by Usagi and Ami. (Usagi is the writer Ami is the artist.)
-If you like this story or even if you don't; please let me know. Any input about how good or bad it is would be greatly appreciated.
-UPDATE 3 March 2011: I've made some alterations to the last Scene with Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon to slow the story down a little.
