08
It was still early in the morning, as Andrus had just left the Hikawa Shrine. He was still nauseated by the talk he had with Rei, but he pushed forward, sensing it might have been working. It was only a gut feeling, but the boy had to hold on to it. He passed the coffee shop once more, surprised to find Makoto there, behind the counter. At first he hesitated, for he didn't expect to find her so easily. "Maybe someone is looking out for me, after all." He deeply sighed, as he entered the establishment.
"Good morning!" The girl said, cheerfully. "Would you like our special breakfast?"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" He spoke politely, trying to shrug off his meeting with Rei, taking a seat. "I already had breakfast. Could I get some coffee?"
"Sure!" It didn't take long for her to come back with a cup of coffee, and a piece of cake on the side. "This one is on the house!" Another act of kindness from one of the Sailor Soldiers, Andrus thought.
"This is delicious!" He was amazed as he tasted the cake. "Now I'm feeling uncomfortable, something this good shouldn't be for free!" He laughed, followed by Makoto. He was surprised to be treated that nicely, as he still looked like a mess.
"Don't let my fiancee find out, he says the same thing every time I bake him one!" Andrus noticed the ring on her hand, gasping with surprise.
"Wow! You're engaged!" He tried to sound enthusiastic, as he figured out what her dream consisted of. "Congratulations!"
""Thanks!" She blushed, covering part of her face with the tray. "It is like a dream, you know?" She said, infatuated. "I started working here, and found out the owner was a veteran from my old school that I had a major crush on, but was always too shy to even speak to him. Soon enough I was doing one of the things I like the most, for the person I like the most."
"What a lucky fellow!" His voice had a sad tone. "And what is the name of the lucky man?"
"Katsuragi-kun!" She spoke ecstatic. "He is so handsome, and so cool!" She held her hands to her face, embarrassed to speak those words.
"Maybe I've met him!" He lied, finishing his coffee. "What is his first name?"
"His first name is..." She frowned, looking at the ring. "His first name..."
"You were always too shy to even ask, right?" His serious tone made Makoto uneasy. "Even to the other students from your school."
"I..."
"When did you start working here, Makoto?" She looked at him, enraged. She never told him her name.
"Who are you?" The same reaction, every time. Andrus wondered if that happened because he was shattering their dreams, or if it was some prevention Sine made when she created that dream realm. He didn't discard the lack of his social skills. Either way didn't make the boy feel any better. He made a vow that the Dream Reaper's leader would pay for what she had done to those girls.
"You are also quite young to be already engaged, don't you think?" He stood up, as he predicted what was about to happen, seeing the confusion and anger in Makoto's face. "Like you said yourself: it's like a dream..."
"I think you have to go now, mister!" She pointed to the door, and he started to walk away.
"I'm going." He said, unsatisfied. "If you want some answers to those questions, Sailor Jupiter, come to the Juuban High School, this evening." He hoped that it was enough for her to inquiry about the inconsistencies of that dream realm, now he had to take care of the other three. He opened his backpack, taking out a piece of paper and a pen, writing two letters. One of them, he left at the record building where he auditioned the day before, destined to Minako. It took a long time and some money to convince the gatekeeper that the letter was important, and that Minako would want to read it. The second letter he left at the Hikawa Shrine, destined to Rei. She was more accessible, and he had higher hopes that she would read it. Both of them said the same thing:
"I'm deeply sorry for disturbing you once again, but I must beg of you: Come to Juuban High School this evening, and I'll give you the answers you are still seeking."
—Andrus Homura, Red Haired Weirdo.—
And then there she was: the only one left. Ami Mizuno wasn't at all impressed by his bravado, wondering what he had up in his sleeve that made him challenge her to a chess match. They walked to the chess club's room, as their battle was about to start. There didn't seem to be any club activities that evening, so the room was empty. Ami picked up a game board, setting it up on a table.
"You get to pick which color you want." She said, casually, not even making eye contact with him as she laid the pieces on the board. "It doesn't make any difference to me, as a matter of fact."
"Why are you so angry?" He helped her, setting the pieces on his side of the board. "Is it because I'm a troublemaker? Or is it because I had a fight with your boyfriend?"
"Both!" She stared at him, fiercely. "People like you don't take their studies seriously, and the fact that you pick fights for no reason is menacing to every one in this school!"
"What if I wanted to change?" Honesty got through his speech, and she noticed. "What if I realized that I was wrong, and apologized for all the trouble I have ever caused? Would you give me that chance?" They stared at each other for a long time until she sighed.
"Let's play." Ami said, conflicted.
"Okay." The disappointment in his voice was evident. "Let's make this a best out of five matches, then! Agreed?"
"Whatever. I'll end this quickly enough!" She looked at his side of the board, realizing he had pieces in the wrong position. "You put the bishops in the place of the knights. And your king and queen are reversed, the white queen goes in the white spot, and the king in the vacant spot next to it."
"Oh!" He corrected the board, embarrassed. "I haven't played this in a long time, sorry!" The genuine attitude made him look friendlier for Ami, but she still wouldn't trust him. "I'll start, then!"
"Go on!" They started playing. She didn't go full force against him right at the start, as she wanted to know the extension of his abilities. He wasn't half-bad, but was far from a challenge to Ami. "So what did you want to speak with me?"
"I just wanted to get to know you better." He made a move, wondering if that was the best play he could make. "Like, who are you friends with here in this school?"
"You can't do that!" Ami said, startling him.
"It's just a question..."
"No, I mean the move you made!" She pointed to the board. "If you move that piece, you'll leave your king in the way of my bishop, you can't put yourself in a check!"
"Oh, right!" He remade his move. Ami was unimpressed, as she couldn't really figure out what was his plan. Was he truly being honest about wanting to redeem himself, and about just wanting to know her? "So, about my question..."
"Well..." She made her move, putting him in a check, despite his effort to stop her. "There is Urawa-kun, of course!"
"Of course!" He was concentrated, trying to figure out a way to escape. "Anyone else?" He sacrificed his knight to protect his king.
"No..." She sighed. It was always very lonely when Ryo had to train with the kendo club, but why did she had the impression she was forgetting of someone?
"I see!" He tried to take a more offensive stance in his plays, but as soon as he let go of the rook he just moved, he realized he had messed up.
"Check mate!" Ami said, relentless. "Just two more and we can finish this!" They rearrange the pieces, starting the second game. "But why did you ask that?" She was curious, after all.
"I just imagined that a girl like you had more friends. Someone more cheerful to boost your spirit in the hard times." He started once more, going for a different strategy this time.
"I have Ryo for that!" She seemed offended, as she moved her piece, predicting his move.
"It's not the same!" He shrugged, trying to think ahead while he played. "Love can come and go, but true friendship takes longer to wane." That talk was disturbing the girl, she just wanted to end this and go home. She couldn't believe that boy's move, opening himself in such a rookie mistake.
"Check mate!" Ami spoke once again, bothered. "You'll have to do better if you want to pose as a challenge!"
"Wow! I didn't even see that coming!" He laughed, reorganizing the pieces once again. "You're awesome!" Those words. She felt like it wasn't the first time she heard those words in his voice. She was getting nervous as the time passed.
"Let's just play, Andrus!" She said, surprising them both when she called him by the first name. "This..." She hesitated, trembling. "This will be the final match, and I'll never have to see you again, right?"
"If you win." He started the game for the third time. If there was a moment for him to put his plan in course, it was now. "So, tell me, how did you meet Urawa-kun?"
"It was..." Ami thought of the conversation she had with Ryo earlier that day, right before Andrus showed up. If it wasn't the incident with the bike, then how was it? "He transferred to Juuban, and his grades rivaled my own." She played in an autopilot mode, reacting to Andrus' moves. "I was so excited to meet someone who could challenge me, and then I found out that he...what?" Ami couldn't believe, but Andrus had her in a check for the first time. She had to pay more attention.
"What did you found out? Something about him?" He asked, friendly. She was starting to feel more comfortable around that yankee, and realizing that slightly annoyed her.
"It doesn't make much sense." She was having troubles breaking Andrus' defense, as she scanned the board with her eyes. It felt like she couldn't focus. "I don't know why, but I have this faint memory of him being so good at the exams because of some psychic power."
"That's odd. But weird things happen." He made a final, confident move, announcing it with a smile: "Chek mate, Mizuno-san!" She was at a loss for words. How was that even possible? Was he holding back when they played the first two rounds?
They started the fourth match, and Ami felt even more uneasy as she gave thought to what she had just said about Ryo. An image of him turning into a monster shook her mind, mostly because she had no idea of what that meant. "Do you remember how we met?" Andrus asked, as he moved one of his pawns.
"You came out of nowhere and grabbed my arm! I was really scared of you!" She sighed, confused as to what was happening.
"And with reason!" He softly laughed, mostly because his plan seemed to be working out the way he intended. "A roughed up stranger comes out of nowhere and call you by your name! That must be terrifying!"
"So you do understand." She smiled, as she plotted a trap for him.
"Of course! But that's not how I remember meeting you." He was still in a defensive stance, for he couldn't lose this match.
"Tell me, then!" She said, seeing through his strategies.
"It was the day I transferred to Juuban High School." There was a nostalgic tone to his voice, as if it happened years ago, even though it had been mere days. "I was really nervous, and thought I was going to be late." Those familiar words, in that familiar voice, once again, made Ami rise her eyes, facing him directly. "In my hurry, I ended up I falling hard when the bike chain broke. It must have been funny though, as some kids couldn't stop laughing." She was trembling, as the memories she had with Urawa were being replaced by Andrus. "Good thing is I always carry some bandages in my backpack, so I could stop the bleeding in my arm." He made a move with his queen, loudly putting the piece to the board. "Check mate, Ami-chan!"
"What is happening?" She cried, laying her shaking hands on the table.
"Ami, look at the board." He commanded, and when she gazed upon the table, confusion took over: Andrus' pieces and hers were all scrambled in an impossible way. His check mate was made with her own queen, and she didn't even notice. "In the dream realm" He spoke in a friendly voice. "if you don't pay attention, your mind will fill the gaps so you won't notice any conflicting or inconsistent incident. All I had to do was distract you enough with hard questions, and you wouldn't care if I made an illegal move, or if I played using your own pieces. That's how I beat you twice!"
"What does that mean?" She felt like calling Ryo, but it didn't feel right. She felt like calling one of the other girls, but who were those girls?
"I'll explain it all to you, if you care to listen!" They were both surprised by a direct punch to Andrus' face. He fell off his chair, as Ryo had his fist extended in his direction.
"I had this feeling you would try to hurt my girlfriend, yankee!" Urawa was angry, moving next to Andrus and dropping all the chess pieces as he bumped into the table.
"Did you?" The red haired boy provoked. "Or did you feel that her memories were returning, and that meant you would fade away?"
"Shut up!" Urawa meant to attack once more, being held by Ami. "Ami-chan?"
"Urawa-kun didn't like to fight!" His fighting spirit vanished in that same moment. "He was never part of the kendo club!" The shinai strapped to his back disappeared immediately. "And he was the sweetest person I ever met!" Ami had tears in her eyes, as she saw the boy started vanishing, leaving no trace. "You're not Urawa-kun!"
Andrus was amazed. Ami stood tall, with a fierce look in her eyes. She had an imposing aura surrounding her. She crouched near him, and hugged him tight. He wrapped his arms around her, muffling her cry. "Andrus! I'm so sorry!" She said, fighting her tears.
"Don't worry!" He said, trying to cheer her. "I don't really care if I'm not the sweetest person you ever met!" She laughed, holding him tighter.
"You're a fireball, Andrus!" They both laughed, until they heard a loud noise coming from the outside. They swiftly stood up, running towards the schoolyard. Pieces of the sky could be seen dropping to the ground, startling the students. Rei, Makoto and Minako had just arrived, watching the sky crumble with a terrified look in their eyes. They reunited, staring at each other with a feeble confusion in their minds. As the four Sailor Soldiers got together, their memories seemed to slowly return.
"A dream?" Rei said, gripping her hands in a fist.
"Sine..." Makoto had a raspy voice, as she realized her desires had been used to trap her.
"Usagi..." Minako looked up, remembering the fight in Naru's dream. "USAGI!" She yelled, seeing her friend appearing behind the cracks in the sky. All of them looked up as well, seeing not only the Princess of the Moon Kingdom, but also King Endymion. Usagi and Mamoru seemed to be the ones powering that dream realm.
"Our enemies used them to create this prison." Minako realized, angry.
"After all, Usagi is the one that knows all of our dreams and hopes!" Makoto added. None of them realized the glowing spheres in front of them.
"Usagi was the one that cared the most for our desires!" Rei stood her hand out, and the bright light turned her into Sailor Mars. Soon after, the others followed. A rush took hold of Andrus, overjoyed that they were back.
They held their hands, and in a flash of light they beamed themselves up, grabbing Usagi and Mamoru. The final pieces of that nightmare reality crumbled, as they could see their two friends waking up. A bright light shone upon the Sailor Soldiers, and that dreamland was no more.
They woke up in a coffee shop. The same one they were before that whole incident. It was deserted, but that didn't matter, they were all together, finally. The girls crushed Usagi in a hug, and the blonde girl couldn't decide if she laughed or cried, doing both. Andrus sighed, letting himself go in the coffee shop booth, laying down exhausted. Every single one of them were tired beyond reason.
"Girls!" Usagi tried to speak, but they wouldn't let go of her. It took them a while to pay attention to their leader. "Girls, I'm only giving you trouble." The joy of being together was replaced by a sadness that took hold of her. "I get captured, and then you rescue me, only for me to get captured again! I don't want this anymore!"
"We won't let them harm you anymore, Usagi!" Rei said, fiercely.
"We promise!" Minako added, resting her hand in Usagi's shoulders.
"It's not just that!" She spoke, anguished. "I can't bare to be a burden anymore!"
"Don't be silly!" Andrus said, still lying down in the booth, only his hand could be seen pointing out. "The Dream Reapers must have focused so much on you because they thought you were the bigger threat, and they were right!"
"What do you mean?" Usagi asked, not really following.
"They made the mistake of using you as the vessel for that dream realm. A person always concerned about their friends." He rose, sitting down at the booth. "Myself included. For all the hard time Sine gave me in the dream realm, you gave me enough chances to break the spell, even if it took a lot of work! Don't ever think you were a burden, Usagi! That's exactly what Sine and her Dream Reapers want!"
"Yeah!" Makoto said, positively.
"She also made the mistake of punishing the wrong reforming yankee!" Usagi said, which made every one laugh. Andrus was right: even though Sine used Usagi's desire for her friends to be happy, the fact that Andrus was suffering in that dream realm was enough to make Usagi strive to rescue him, no matter how hard that would be. She wasn't a burden. As they cheered, Luna crawled out of Ami's purse, wondering why she had to reappear there of all places, and gazed outside the windows.
"Girls!" What she saw froze her blood. Dozens of people were unconscious on the streets, and a glittery dust seemed to be drained from them. There didn't seem to be a single soul awaken in the whole city, as there was absolute silence. In the center of the city, a large ivory castle could be seen. Sine and the Dream Reapers made it to the real world, and were feeding of everyone's dreams.
"What do we do?" Ami said, exhausted. "We have to take them down! But how?"
"We can't do anything right now." Andrus pleaded, as he was also tired. "We have to gather our energies!" He stood up, watching the door. "Let's go to the Hikawa Shrine, rest, and think of a definitive plan." No one disagreed. They were all devastated by the gauntlet that was fighting the Dream Reapers. Even though the thought of sleeping was a dreaded one, it was still the thing they craved the most.
They marched to the temple, passing through hundreds of people knocked out. It was evident that they were being used by Sine. They felt guilty for not facing the enemy right away, but the fatigue was immense. Ami walked beside Andrus, concerned.
"Are you sure it is safe to sleep?" She asked, troubled. "Look at all these people!"
"We can take turns, watching over each other dreams." He wasn't so certain of his plan, but there wasn't much more they could do in that state. "But I think we're safe. With all those people she's been draining, it will probably take a while for her to figure out we escaped."
They stopped at Minako's house, only to find Artemis, the other moon cat, passed out just like the townspeople. Seeing him like that was anguishing for them. Minako tightened his fingers in a fist, angered. They took him with them, as they felt it was better to bring him along to the temple, in the feeble hope that he could wake up.
When they arrived, Rei lent clothes from the shrine, so everyone would be able to freshen up. They bathed, eaten, and then discussed what they should do.
"We fought the demon guards more than once, and they always come back!" No matter how much better Makoto felt, that thought deeply irritated her. "That's infuriating!"
"Tell me about it!" Rei intervened, crossing her arms, annoyed. "I can't stand to look at Cendrillion's face anymore!"
"As long as Sine lives, she probably can bring them back at her own will!" Minako wondered, resting against one of the guest room walls.
"So we should take her out as fast as we can." Andrus joined the conversation. Ami stared at him, with a worried look that went unnoticed by the boy. "If we raid the castle, we'll probably have to face the demon guards once more. But we can take them!" He tried to boost their morale. "We've beaten them before, we can surely do it again!"
"They must be stronger since Sine's return!" Ami interrupted him, with a serious gaze in her eyes.
"So are we!" He said, laying back. "Look at us! Look at what we endured by ourselves! Now they'll have to face us as a whole!"
"Maybe you shouldn't come with us." Ami said, plainly. All of them had thought about that at some point, but they all figured it should be Ami the one to say it.
"Don't worry!" He stroke a pose, confidently. "I can handle myself! If you'd like, I can even dress in a tuxedo, like Mamoru, and call myself 'Masked Kamen'! What about that?"
"Don't those words mean the same thing?" Minako mumbled, while Andrus and Ami continued to argue.
"You have to stay back, Andrus!" She fiercely said, much to his surprise.
"Come on!" He stared at her, displeased. "Why are you so adamant about that?"
"You are strong, Andrus, and you have an amazing power!" She didn't hesitate, her voice didn't fail at any moment: she was gravely serious. "But you are only human!"
"That's ridiculous!" He stomped the floor, agitated, as he stood up. "I'm involved in this crap since day one, and you say that I can't go?"
"Chenelle almost killed you!" She confronted him, not intimidated by his fit. "Scáthach easily overpowered you!"
"You can't stop me from going!"
"I can't stand to see you die, you idiot!" She stood up, facing him directly. They have never seen Ami so exalted. "We already lost you once in a battle that Sine just toyed with us! Do you think she'll have any mercy the next time she meets you?" Andrus was speechless. He wanted to refute, but there were no words. He stormed off, leaving the guest room. Ami held back her tears. It was better if he hated her, if that made it easier for him not to go. The awkward silence in the room was disturbing, as no one knew what to say, or what to do. Rei left soon after, searching for the boy.
She found him sitting by the stairs, gazing at the sky. She sat beside him, still thinking of what to say. To her surprise, Andrus was the one to break the silence:
"I know." He sighed, frustrated. "Ami is right: I'm actually terrified of Sine, and I'm really afraid to die! But I don't want to stay back." The fear in his voice was palpable.
"She's just concerned about you, Andrus!" Rei stared at the sky as well. It didn't feel right. Sine's corruption seemed to affect even the stars above. "We all are!"
"You guys are great!" He laid down, intertwining the fingers of his hands behind his head. "Even though this was one of the worst situations I've ever been, I had a blast meeting you all!" He stared at Rei for a while, as there was something he meant to say since they left the dreamland. "Rei...I'm really sorry for using your father against you!" It still bothered him that he broke the dreams of those girls, and his own situation with his father made him feel even worse for what he did to Rei.
"Don't worry!" She said, flustered, trying to shrug it off. "You did what you had to!"
"I guess! Doesn't make it any easier to cope, though. I just wanted you to know that you don't have to face it all by yourself. I've been through something similar..." He felt like there wasn't any reason to bring this up, feeling awkward. "and you'll always have your friends!" He stood up, meaning to go back.
"You're right about that!" She smiled, seeing someone approaching them. "Thank you, Andrus!"
"I guess I'll go back and apologize to Ami." He turned around, softly bumping into the blue haired girl. They exchanged embarrassed looks, which Rei took as her cue to leave. He stared at Ami for a long while, before he could gather the courage to speak. "I'll stay back, and wait for you to return with the victory!"
"Really?" She said, with a smile on her face. Usagi had convinced her to talk to Andrus once more, as she thought Ami was right and had good reasons. She didn't expect him to change his mind that fast. Maybe she underestimated him.
"But I'll see you guys to the castle, and we'll keep in contact as much as we can!" He held his cellphone up high, with a determined gaze. "Anything goes down, I'll join in and kick some Reaper's butt!"
"That won't be needed, right?" She teased, imitating his pose. "After all, just look at what we endured by ourselves!" They laughed, returning to the temple. It would be a long night, but they had to try and get some sleep, as the final battle approached.
Next: For Those Who Love to Live
