A/N: Finally got around to updating this one, and I'm going to start focusing a little bit more on Usagi and Mamoru. As always, R&R!
Chapter Four – Fiery Predictions
Usagi, Ami, Makoto, and Minako put the rest of their day on hiatus as they walked to Usagi's house to pick up the cats and were on their way to the Hikawa Shrine. Since the sun was out and the air was warm, they opted to walk instead of taking the bus, which gave them more space to talk about the most recent youma and who had taken it out before they could.
"Are you four telling me that you never even had a chance to fight the youma because another Senshi killed it first?" Luna asked as the girls finished explaining what had happened.
"She was dressed in the same uniform, except it was all black, which I've never seen before and her powers looked like they came from darkness," Usagi added as she adjusted the straps of her new pink bunny backpack. She almost always took it with her everywhere she went. The other three nodded and the cats looked extremely puzzled for they had never, in all their years, seen or heard of a Senshi wearing a black fuku or having those kinds of powers.
"What do you think, Artemis?" Minako asked her pet. He shrugged; as best a cat could for he had no idea either. Makoto looked frustrated and also like she wanted to punch someone's face in.
"Why can't we ever have a break from fighting? Last time we were attacked by three elves and some rotten candy, and now a dragon the size of a skyscraper and then some Senshi obliterates it in one fell swoop?" She pulled on her ponytail in agitation. "There's gotta be something more to all of this," she said as they climbed the stone steps to the shrine.
"Got to be something more to what?" Rei asked, as she happened to be in earshot when the comment was said. She had long returned from her shopping trip with Setsuna when the older woman told her that she had something else to attend to. The raven-haired teenager stopped sweeping when she saw the looks on her friends' faces and put her broom away. The priestess then motioned for everyone to follow her inside to her room where they could talk privately. As they slid their shoes off at the entrance, Rei went to the room of the Sacred Fire and started to put herself into a trance. The other four kneeled on the floor behind her as she chanted quickly: "Rin, Pyo, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" The fire roared, sending out a blast of heat that the girls had to shield themselves from and two dark shadows appeared in the flames. The only things visible was the fact that one was male, one was female, and they had glowing orange and sky blue eyes, respectively. Rei focused again to get more information, but the fire returned to its normal size and the shadows vanished.
"And here I thought we were finally able to have normal lives. I guess that just goes to show that you shouldn't hope for too much." Usagi seemed especially sad by the fact that the shadows were obviously evil and that they'd have to fight once again. The others held sympathetic looks for their long-time friend since all any of them wanted was a normal life, but that was never going to happen in this lifetime. Wiping the sudden sweat from her forehead, Ami spoke:
"I guess we'll have to wait until the next youma or one of these people appears before we can do anything because my computer didn't get any data from that dragon-creature." The rest of them sighed.
"I'll try another reading tonight, but I highly doubt I'm going to get anything else from the fire." Rei said, feeling dejected; She always felt that way when the fire didn't tell her what she needed to know. Minako looked at her watch, making note of the time.
"Since it's almost 4, I suggest we call it a day. Besides, I've gotta get home to help my mom with dinner," she stood up to leave. "She's trying to get us to act like a family." The blonde rolled her eyes at the notion, making her friends giggle.
"Speaking of dinner, I've gotta get home and start cooking something for myself since my mother's working late again." Ami followed Minako and Artemis out, leaving Usagi, Luna, Makoto, and Rei. The thunder Senshi let out a groan of frustration.
"Fighting again. I'm getting so damn sick of this. I know it's our duty, but sometimes, it'd be nice to go for a couple months without something like this happening." Rei and Usagi nodded in agreement and Luna just shook her head.
"I know it's hard for you all, but it will pay off in the end. Setsuna has told you that and Chibi-usa is living proof of it." Usagi blushed slightly at the mention of her future daughter and that suddenly made her wonder how the little brat was doing. Makoto then stood up and stretched.
"Well guys, I'm gonna get going here too. Need to do some homework and have some dinner myself. Keep me updated, all right?" The remaining two Senshi nodded and the tall teenager exited the shrine.
"Usagi, speaking of homework…" Luna began and the blonde just rolled her eyes. She knew what her cat was hinting at, but she didn't want to do it.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're going, Luna," She reluctantly stood up. "Rei, call me if anything pops up, okay?" The priestess nodded. "However, before I go home, I'm gonna go see if Mamoru's off work yet. Haven't seen him for a while." Usagi grinned widely at the thought and Rei couldn't help but share in her friend's mirth. Luna, on the other hand, just groaned in aggravation. Sometimes that girl just couldn't keep her mind on anything.
"I'll see you later, Usagi-chan," Rei said as Sailor Moon left the shrine with an enthusiastic wave. As the sun was beginning to set, Sailor Mars turned to go back inside, but not before giving a glance to the changing sky. "I hope we'll be able to make it through this one," she said to no one in particular.
Usagi skipped happily down the street in the direction of the Starlight Tower where Mamoru's apartment was, hoping that he was home from work already. She entered the luxurious building, rode the elevator up to the top floor, and keyed her way in, just to find the place empty. Although disappointed, she shrugged and went inside anyway with Luna following her.
"I really wished you'd go home to get your homework done, Usagi," The cat spoke in a motherly tone. Usagi just scoffed and waved a hand dismissively at her guardian.
"Come on, Luna. Do you really think I haven't learned a thing or two in my time as Sailor Moon?" The cat raised an eyebrow at her, but dropped her jaw when she saw her mistress produce her assignments from the pink bunny backpack she'd been carrying. As she laid them out on the coffee table in the living room, she smiled, "I am gonna be in high school soon and since you and Ami have been harping on me to get my grades up, I finally decided to do something about it." Luna was absolutely shell-shocked and still was even when Chiba Mamoru walked in to find his surprise sitting on his couch, and doing her homework no less!
"Usako? What brings you here?" She grinned when she heard the pet name he used for her and put her pen down to give him a hug.
"I haven't seen you for a while, Mamo-chan and decided to stop by for a visit," she kissed him passionately and he returned it just as intensely. "Plus, I could use some help with my homework. I've gotten pretty far on my own, but you know math was never one of my better subjects." Mamoru placed a hand on her cheek and she closed her eyes as he caressed her smooth skin.
"Are you sure that's all you had in mind?" he asked her mischievously. Still sitting on the floor, Luna decided it was time to make her exit and slid through the door that was still slightly open. Out in the hallway, she pushed the door closed behind her with a paw and made her way to the stairs leading to the ground floor and outside.
Opening her eyes, Usagi saw that her cat was gone and smiled deviously at her boyfriend.
"Did you have something else in mind, Mamo-chan?" she asked, although she knew full well what he was hinting at. His blue eyes sparkled as he locked his apartment and gave her a mind-blowing kiss that made her knees weak.
"I suppose I could think of a few other things we could be doing." With her homework forgotten, the couple joined hands and went to the back bedroom.