Chapter 9: Tea time and cartoons
At seven AM Thursday as told the senshi arrived at the Tokyo station and picked up their tickets. The schools had already been informed by an unnamed aunt of each of theirs and so they waited for their train. The train arrived at quarter after and took them five hours out of Tokyo. Once they got off a pink haired teenager met them. "Welcome, please follow me."
The senshi including Naru looked questioningly at this strange teen. "I mean no harm I am of relations to the Princess. She has asked me to assist you in getting where you need to be. You may call me, Serena."
"I don't get any bad vibes from her." "My computer won't scan her." "I feel a connection to my cousin through her." The senshi said back and forth. Naru just smiled, "I am Naru aka Sailor Pheobe."
"A pleasure, shall we go? There are others waiting for us." The group finally nodded and followed Serena to a waiting cab. "Please take us back to where you picked me up." The cab driver nodded and took them out of town about an hour and dropped them in what seemed to be the middle of no where.
"Is this some kind of trick?" Rei demanded from the teen.
"No, Harmonia. We need to be away from prying eyes to train with senshi powers do we not?" Serena asked.
"Harmonia, put my sister down. Now!" Came a males voice in the trees.
"Alexander, I am fine." Serena assured the boy approximately the same age. As Alexander did a once over checking her to make sure she was fine.
"If you will follow us, for the next 72 hours you will be in boot camp." Alexander announced. As he lead them into the woods to find four other sailors and one general. "These are Sailors Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn. General Sol, I believe you know."
"Now we will pair off. Uranus and Jupiter. Pluto and Venus. Neptune and Mercury. and Saturn and Mars. Pheobe you will work with me and Sol with Alexander." The outer senshi took the lead and began sparring off. The inners all thought, /this is going to be a long three days./
The senshi were correct they had to sleep in shifts and learn to work in teams they weren't comfortable with. It was the clash of the titans Senshi style. Finally Sunday morning they were awaken by an angelic ring. "Senshi of the Milky Way, you are no where close to where you need to be for me to return to your care but you have improved much in the past few days. I shall return you to your homes for now. Continue to practice what you have learned here for I am always watching." In a flash of light the inner senshi minus Pheobe and Sol were returned to Tokyo.
"They really still have that much farther to go?"
"Unfortunately, they need to be able to work completely as a team including the outers. With no suspicion or worry of a betrayal. I will organize more training exercises like this but for now, return home." This last one left Usagi alone with Pluto, Serena, and Alexander. "Thank you for allowing them to come and assist Pluto. To both of you as well, I appreciate this."
"It is only as you wish, Princess."
"It was our pleasure, mother." The two teens said with a bow. "Besides, it gives us training and practice as well."
"Til next time." Usagi said with a wave and in a flash of purple she was alone. She sighed and teleported home. Today she had much to do and it was only just begining...
Mamoru picked up the two cousins/siblings in the late morning Sunday and the trio spent the time in the park, getting ice cream and ended with lunch at the arcade before heading to the doll exhibit. The couple could tell that Shingo was uncomfortable and nervous but agreed that this was something he needed to do. So at quarter after one in the afternoon they entered the museum hosting the exhibit. They wandered through examining and complimenting the dolls on display. Soon Shingo spotted Tomoya and approached her, "Your exhibit is beautiful. How is Mika?"
Tomoya smiled saddly, "She is in the other room. Mika is intent on finishing the project a doll collector asked of her. You can go see if she is done, if you like." When Shingo nodded Tomoya directed him to where he would find Mika.
Usagi and Mamoru followed behind in case of trouble, which both had a sinking suspicion that there would be. Shingo cautiously opened the door to the back room that Mika was using as a work room. "Mika?"
"Finished. That is the last one." Mika said, suddenly the room was filled with a bright light and one of the dolls turned into a disjointed monster.
"Mika!" Shingo said pushing Mika out of the way as the monster grabbed for her.
In the hallway the couple nodded to each other and transformed before entering the room. "How dare you abuse the talent of an innocent girl, Moonlight Judgement!"
"Terran Slash!" Terran was surprised to find that the monster was made of blades disguised like parts of the doll it had once been. "Mars would be useful, with this."
"Mars Fireballs Charge!" The attack came so quickly it singed Terran's outfit. "Don't speak of me without my permission!"
/She never will change will she, Sere?"/
/Not so long as she has Martian blood in her veins./
"Venus Crescent Beam!" "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" the two attacks combined severely wounding the creature.
"Star Burst Burning attack!" and with that the monster screamed and turned to dust. Everyone fled except Tsukia and Terran who waited to make sure the young couple were alright.
Mika sat up, "Oh, Shingo. Are you alright?"
Shingo shook his head and nodded, "Are you?" Mika nodded and blushed. "I am sorry about your doll."
Mika all of a sudden looked down, "I am sorry I pushed you causing you to drop and break the gift you brought me."
"I forgive you if you forgive me," Shingo laughed.
Mika nodded and hugged him, spotting two shadows out of the corner of her eye she said, "Look."
Tsukia and Terran smiled, "Friendship is a gift, cherish it.""Take care of each other." and with that they leaped out the window.
!!
Somewhere in Tokyo to aspiring animators were meeting with the producer of the new Sailor V movie. "These are pretty good but I want profection." The two animators , Hitomi and Kazuko are very disappointed but race back to the studio to work on their drawings.
Monday morning Usagi was almost ran over on her way to school by a pair of teenage girls. In their rush one of them dropped a folder, "Mamoru, this looks like something important and the address is the new art studio. Think you could drive me over after school?"
"Sure, that was something you were interested in doing wasn't it? being an artist or cartoonist?"
"What do you mean "was"? I am still interested in it, even royalty can have a hobby." Mamoru chuckled and the couple continued on to school.
Meanwhile, Shingo sat at his desk. It had been two days since the attack and Mika still hadn't returned to school but then again according to her mother she hadn't slept for like a week before that. "Shingo? This is for you." She said placing a figure of Tsukia and Terran on his desk and kissing his cheek. "Be more careful with this one, ne?" Mika laughed. Shingo smiled and hugged her.
That afternoon Mamoru and Usagi picked Shingo and Mika up after school to see if they wanted to come to the studio with them. The two politely accepted, "Maybe we can meet Sailor V."
As the quartet arrived Usagi and Mamoru notice Nephlite pulling away and on of the young girls from this morning enter the studio. "Excuse us."
"Oh, hello. My name is Kazuko, how can I help you?"
"My name is Usagi and this is Mamoru, Shingo and Mika. We just came to return this, we found it on the street today." Usagi explained.
"Oh, thank you. You found Hitomi's sketches. Hitomi, they found your sketches." Kazuko said as she waved the group to follow her.
"Who dares disturb me while I am working."
"Hitomi? It is me, Kazuko. I thought I would bring you supper and these nice people returned your sketches." Kazuko explained.
"What? Those doodles? pah! who needs them? With this pencil I can do anything... hahaha." Hitomi said holding up her pencil which looked like it was glowing.
"That is one of our special pencils..." Kazuko said shocked.
"GET OUT! I need quiet to work." Hitomi screamed as she shoved the group out of the studio.
Outside Kazuko looked from the door to the group. "I guess I should explain what I can. Hitomi and I have been in school together since grade school and applied to the studio together." Kazuko sighed as she seemed to be getting lost in the memory. "The day we got accepted to the studio we went shopping for pencils and we found this really nice expensive set that all the professional animators used. They were to expensive for us to both get a set so we split them and promised to only use them in special cases, and that we would let each other know when we were going to use them."
"Come on let us drive you home." Mamoru offered. Kazuko nodded and the five pilled into the car.
/Looks like we missed it this time./
/Don't worry Usako. We will fix this./ Usagi nodded.
The next day when Mamoru and Usagi stopped by to see how Kazuko and Hitomi were doing they found out that Hitomi had locked herself in an office and hadn't come out for anything or anyone. Kazuko was in a state of frenzie. Mamoru offered to take her home while Usagi would stay and watch over Hitomi. After some convincing Kazuko agreed. After waving good-by to Mamoru and Kazuko, Usagi called Naru, "I need back up and my intuition says that your the best for this situation."
"Say no more, where are you?" Usagi gave Naru directions and both girls transformed.
Sailor Pheobe arrived to find Tsukia on the roof facing a dark haired teen that lay unconscious and twin youma. "Gemini!" The two youma screeched. "Twin attack!"
"Pheobe, want to come up with some twin attacks of our own?" Tsukia asked.
"Sure," Pheobe nodded and both senshi called out, "Lunar Duo Judgment!" The light blinded an caused the Gemini to fall back. The twin youma jumped into the air and as they were about to physically attack the two lunar senshi. "Lunar twin attack!" The lunar senshi called out as they back flipped out of the way and completed handsprings with kicks to the Gemini twin's faces before back flipping back to their feet.
"Senshi Mirror Reflection!" "Twin Moonlight Judgement!" The Gemini caught off guard by the mirrors blocking site of their opponents had no time to block the second attack.
Hearing the other senshi come up behind them, "That is the kind of team work I and the Princess expect from her guard. Train harder and maybe one day she will return to your care." Tsukia said without looking back at the senshi. "Pheobe, Thank you for your assistance tonight. You are a well chosen warrior for the Princess."
"Thank you, Tsukia." Pheobe said with a low bow. Tsukia disappeared into the night.
On a rooftop not to far from the senshi, "You did well tonight, Usako. I am proud of you."
"Thank you, Mamo-chan. I only hope that Hitomi and Kazuko will be friends again."
"I believe they will. I also believe that your senshi may be opening their eyes to what they are missing. Let me help you relax." Tsukia nodded and let her transformation fall. Mamoru then led her back into his apartment.