"The stars know everything..." Nephrite reaffirmed to himself as he read through the astronomy. He had a new plan in mind, yet needed to solve the equation. "Leo shines in the southern sky. And the star, Regulus, presides over his strong leg. Show me the weakness of the sailor soldiers, our despised enemies."
A ray of light landed right on his forehead as he began to look through the past battles. Throughout those battles, Sailor Moon would be rescued by Tenebrae and Tuxedo Mask. And in the aftermath, it seems that there were hearts in the heroine's eyes.
When Nephrite opened his eyes, he narrowed them. "I have found Sailor Moon's weakness!"
As he chuckled, a whirl of petals formed right behind him as Zoicite appeared with his arms crossed.
"Nephrite, Queen Beryl is calling for you." Zoicite said.
Nephrite turned and frowned.
Nephrite stood before Queen Beryl as an audience was gathered.
"Nephrite, it seems that the collection of human energy is not proceeding very well," Queen Beryl said in a neutral tone.
The maroon Shitennou frowned. "The universe was not created overnight."
Beryl flared up in anger. "Do not talk back to me! If you cannot defeat Sailor Moon and the others, you shall be replaced and live with this disgrace!"
The youma gasped as the chatter began. Zoicite was right behind Nephrite, smirking with glee.
"Such a terrible punishment indeed," the effeminate general mocked.
Nephrite turned around to glare at him. "I am one of the Shitennou, Nephrite! I do not need others to order me around! I am already thinking of a way to defeat Sailor Moon and the rest."
Zoicite's smirk was wider. "I remember Jadeite used to say the same thing. I wonder if you can..."
Nephrite shifted his eyes in annoyance before turning to Beryl. "I swear that I will lure Sailor Moon out and kill her without fail."
Queen Beryl chuckled as she placed her hand on her cheek. Out of all the Shitennou, she was rather fond of Nephrite thanks to his charisma and intelligence. Sure he can be overconfident, but it was thankfully backed-up by his analytical mind. "Very well."
Nephrite turned around to face Zoicite. "And I already have a plan."
The throne room had echoed in his laughter.
Usagi was running back to her home after school was finished. It was a rather busy day. She had to go through those boring subjects and even had to get a stern talking from Haruna-sensei. All of it made her tired. Before she went through the front gate, she noticed a letter that was stuck by the lid. When she took it, she gasped in surprise while her cheeks began to blush.
"It's from Tuxedo Mask!" she exclaimed.
Taking it right inside her house and into her bedroom, she opened it and began to read. Luna was beside her.
"'I love you more than anyone else. Please meet me at the MS Department Store in Shinjuku tomorrow night.'," she read before she gushed and fell over her bed. "Wow! Alright!"
"Why the heck would Tuxedo Mask send you a love letter?" Luna wondered.
Usagi smiled. "You know why! Because..."
She read the letter again before burying her face in it, giggling.
"...he loves me!" she finished.
"But that's not right. How come he knows you're Sailor Moon?" Luna questioned. That was a valid question, indeed.
The odango girl raised her arm in victory. "Love conquers all! The power of love can solve all mysteries. In short, Tuxedo Mask's love is so strong, he saw through my secret!"
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Tuxedo Mask has always helped you, but we still don't know if he's on our side or not. Especially Tenebrae!"
Usagi stopped and widened her eyes as if realization struck to her, her letter falling off her hand.
"Oh, no! What would Tenebrae say? Will he hate me? Will he be heartbroken?! What if I betrayed him? But what about Tuxedo Mask?! What would both of them say?!"
Luna could only sigh at Usagi's self-dilemma.
The next day at school...
"NO! THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!"
It appeared that all the girls had the same exact love letters. Everyone in class were gathered to talk about it.
"But it is," Naru said as she showed her the letter. "I also got a love letter from someone named Tuxedo Mask."
"Me too."
"So did I."
"Who is Tuxedo Mask?" Naru asked another classmate.
"I have no idea!" all the girls answered in confusion.
Naru looked at the letter that was filled with pink hearts. 'I wish this love letter was from that person.'
She thought back to that person, Masato Sanjoin. The tennis coach that showed her childhood friend, Rui, pointers in how to be a better player. She wondered if she would see him again soon.
"It's really strange," Umino said as he and Tsubasa were talking. "I mean, everyone got the same love letter at the same time. You don't think it's the same guy, do you?"
"Yeah...that is suspicious," Tsubasa pondered. 'And maybe it's the work of the Dark Kingdom.'
Ms. Haruna had just arrived in the classroom and slammed the English textbook on the desk to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone, you mustn't get tricked by the prank love letters," she said. "Ladies should always be modest. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" All the girls exclaimed, the boys looking rather puzzled. Usagi looked disappointed.
The teacher smiled as she continued. "That letter may have been sent by somebody vicious to tempt you. Do not go to the MS Department Store in Shinjuku. Do you also understand?"
"Yes!"
"Good!" she finished as she turned around to write on the blackboard. However, her smile turned into a scowl as soon as she faced the board.
'This is outrageous! Why didn't I get a love letter, too?!'
It was P.E., but Ami was around the corner with Luna as she was holding onto a basketball. The cat had told her about the love letter that was sent to Usagi. Now, it was being sent around to the girls of the school.
"See? Don't you think something's fishy?" Luna wondered.
"That's true," Ami said. "We should probably talk to Rei about this."
"Hmm? Someone named Tuxedo Mask is sending love letters?" Mamoru muttered while he was playing the crane game at the Game Center Crown. Unfortunately, the toy had slipped. "So close."
"It seems like lots of girls got one," Motoki said as he and Tsubasa watched him play the game. Mamoru moved aside and allowed the pinkette to have a turn.
"I wonder if it's some kind of promotion?" Mamoru wondered.
"Each recipient was rather specific. I doubt that a company would have a demographic towards teenage girls when it comes to the topic of romance." Tsubasa guessed with a scowl as he tried to move the crane around.
The clerk shook his head. "Who knows? Maybe it's a prank that someone's trying to pull."
Tsubasa managed to get a plush doll right through. The doors opened and all three boys turned to see Usagi with a despondent look on her face. She sighed.
"Hi, Usagi-chan!" Motoki greeted.
The odango girl continued to mope.
The trio looked at each other in worry and bemusement.
"What's wrong? You look upset." Motoki asked.
Usagi's answer was a sigh.
"I reckon she's still upset that all the girls in her class also got the exact same love letter," Tsubasa said as he placed the plushie in the plastic bag.
"Oh yeah. From that Tuxedo Mask guy!" Mamoru exclaimed as if he remembered it.
"It's terrible!" Usagi sobbed as she dropped her schoolbag. "How could Tuxedo Mask send love letters to those other girls?"
With that, she began to cry loudly, causing all three boys to almost collapse as if saying "That's it?!"
Tsubasa sighed and walked up to Usagi. "If it makes you feel better, would you like it if I gave you this instead?"
The odango girl looked down and gasped. It was a plushie of Tenebrae! Even came with a mini-scarf!
"You won this for me?!" she exclaimed dramatically.
"Er..." Tsubasa trailed off in confusion. 'Technically, I won this by a stroke of luck!'
She latched onto him in a bearhug! "Thanks a lot! You're the best!"
"ACK!" the ravenette gagged as he could feel the life flashing from his eyes.
Mamoru and Motoki flinched at the girl's grip. They were glad that they were tall enough not to get choked out.
"What? You're sick?" Ami said, surprised.
Rei was bedridden. "I caught a cold and a high fever, so I can't go out, even though I have an invitation from Tuxedo Mask." She coughed right under the blanket. "It's just awful."
Ami sighed and smiled as she felt her friend's forehead. "I'll take care of you."
"Thanks, Ami-chan."
Nephrite was in the department store, browsing through the diamonds through the display cases. He had a neutral look on his face, yet he felt anxious on the inside.
'She will come! I'm certain that Sailor Moon is in love with Tuxedo Mask.' He began to smirk. 'This is where she'll die.'
However, he frowned. 'Tenebrae.' The armored warrior was Sailor Moon's stronger ally. He was always there to aid those Sailor Senshi and was the one who finished off Jadeite. The thought of one of his comrades made him scowl. 'I have something in store for him.'
"Oh, Mr. Sanjoin!"
Nephrite turned around to see a brunette girl with a white bow.
"It's me!" She called out before looking down, feeling her face heat up a bit. "Um, well...I'm a member of the Juuban Junior High's tennis club, Naru Osaka."
The man blinked as he recalled a girl similar to her appearance within the crowds at the school tennis court when trying to steal Rui Saionji's energy. He smiled.
"I remember now. Are you out shopping?" Nephrite asked as he walked towards Naru.
"Yeah..." Naru answered meekly before looking at him (or at least trying). "Would you mind if I asked you a question?"
"What is it?"
"You wouldn't happen to be Tuxedo Mask, would you?"
"What?!" He narrowed his eyes before quickly keeping his cool and playing coy. "Why do you ask?"
She looked down at her feet. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just wishing you were. It's just something that crossed my mind."
He felt tension in his body rising. And it was a more alarming one. 'Could she be aware that I'm the one who sent those love letters by using Tuxedo Mask's name? Could...'
'Could this girl be Sailor Moon?!'
"I'm sorry for asking you a silly question." Naru said as the heat on her cheeks began to rise.
"Naru-chan," Nephrite began.
"Yeah?"
"I think that you're the cutest girl at Juuban Junior High," he said.
Her eyes widened in joy. "What?"
'Tell me I heard what I thought he said!'
"I've been interested in you for a while now. I'd like to see you tonight." Nephrite asked as he began to leave. "See you."
"Tonight?" Naru wondered. "By tonight, does he mean..."
She took out the envelope out of her purse and re-read the letter.
'It's really him!'
Naru stood by the rooftop of the mall as she looked out towards the view. Her eyes were still sparkling as she remembered those words he said.
"You're the cutest girl at Juuban Junior High. I've been interested in you for a while."
She hugged the letter and blushed.
"Masato Sanjoin-sama..."
"Why..." Usagi lamented in her bedroom. "Why did Tuxedo Mask send love letters to all those people? I don't get it!"
She stood up in determination. "I'll just have to ask him in person!"
She opened up her closet and began to dress herself nicely.
Tsubasa looked at his watch as he waited by his bedroom.
"Soon..." he muttered as he held onto to Shadow Helmet.
The night had arrived as Naru waited at the closed department store. Suddenly to her surprise, the shutters began to rise up and open the store. She slowly walked into the darkness.
"Tuxedo Mask?" she called out. "Tuxedo Mask? Oh, no..."
She wasn't deathly afraid of the dark, but that Morga incident left her a bit shaken.
"Masato Sanjoin-sama, where are you?" Naru called out once more, feeling her legs shake.
"Here!"
In an instant, the lights went up and she looked up the escalator. It was Tuxedo Mask! Naru gasped in excitement.
He took a step and descended towards Naru's position. "Welcome."
"That voice..." she started. "So you are Masato Sanjoin-sama!"
Nephrite pretended to sound shocked. "You can recognize me by my voice?"
"Of course!" Naru replied, her hands clasped together. "Your voice and the way you carry yourself, you're none other than Masato Sanjoin-sama!"
"Do you love Masato Sanjoin that much?" he asked.
"Since I heard what you told me this afternoon, I have become a prisoner of love!" she confessed.
Nephrite's demeanor had shifted to that of hostility as he leaped off the escalator. "Sailor Moon!" He landed and moved his cape. "Reveal yourself! Show me who you really are!"
With a jab at the center of her chest, Naru gasped as she felt her cheeks become redder.
Usagi walked through the crowded streets as she sighed. "Maybe I should've told Ami and Rei after all."
Suddenly, her communicator beeped as she took it out to see that it was Ami. "Where are you, Usagi-chan?"
The odango girl slapped her forehead. "Sorry, Ami! I'm in Shinjuku."
On the other line, Rei gasped as she quickly sat up.
"Is she going on a date with Tuxedo Mask behind my back?!" she accused before coughing.
Naru stepped back. "Sanjoin-sama..."
"What's wrong?! Transform into Sailor Moon!" Nephrite demanded.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, feeling flustered yet confused at the same time.
"Are you not Sailor Moon?!" he questioned as he moved his finger to her forehead.
"I love you..." Naru trailed off as she started to feel dizzy.
Nephrite gasped as he felt a huge amount of energy being absorbed. "What tremendous energy!"
"Mr. Sanjoin..." she muttered as she fell unconscious. Nephrite was quick to catch her as he continued to consume the energy.
Usagi had just walked in on time, only to gasp in shock as to what was happening. "Naru-chan!" She snuck out of the scene in order to hide.
"Why is Tuxedo Mask..." the odango girl whispered before peeking out of the corner to witness it. She noticed that Tuxedo Mask's hair was longer and wavier. "That's not Tuxedo Mask!"
She narrowed her eyes. "Naru, wait for me!"
"Moon Prism Power! Make-Up!"
In an instant, she transformed into Sailor Moon!
Mamoru was on the way back after he picked up some textbooks. All of the sudden, he dropped them as he fell to his knees.
"Ngh..." he felt the same headache as he did from before. "I-It's happening again! My head..."
In a bright flash, he became Tuxedo Mask.
Nephrite held Naru in his arms, bridal style.
"This girl was not Sailor Moon, but I've obtained an unexpectedly vast amount of energy!" Nephrite declared.
"Release Naru-chan!"
"Hm?" he looked up, only to drop his jaw. "Who are you?!"
(Sailor Moon's Theme from Sailor Moon Crystal OST)
Sailor Moon stood right in front of him as she glared.
"A tuxedo is not fitting for a monster who toys with a girl's love!" she exclaimed.
"You're..." Nephrite muttered, finally coming to the realization that the target was right in front of him.
"For love and justice, Pretty Sailor Senshi...Sailor Moon!" She announced before going into a pose. "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
"How were you able to tell that I am not Tuxedo Mask?" Nephrite questioned.
"It's the intuition of a girl's love!" Sailor Moon answered. Of course, she wasn't going to tell him to get a hairdresser. It would make him get a better disguise! She ran towards him...
"Sailor Moon Kick!"
Nephrite managed to crouch, but had his top hat knocked off.
"If you want this girl," Nephrite began before throwing Naru's unconscious body at Sailor Moon. "...you can have her!"
The heroine had fortunately caught her in time. "N-Naru-chan!" She laid her best friend down gently.
(End OST)
Nephrite leaped up before throwing his disguise away and right into his Shitennou uniform.
"You're Masato Sanjoin!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.
He took off the mask with an irritated look. "I am Nephrite, one of the Shitennou of the Dark Kingdom!"
"Nephrite?!" Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes.
"Sailor Moon, I became Tuxedo Mask to lure you out," With a motion, everything turned dark as multiple Nephrites began to pop up.
She gasped as Nephrite began to recite the words. "O Regulus, star of Leo, shining in the southern night sky. Grant me your power!"
The Nephrites transformed into stars as the Leo constellation began to brighten up. The stars brought the representation to life, one that of a lion.
ROAR!
"AAAH!" Sailor Moon screamed in terror.
"I'll tear your body to pieces!" Nephrite exclaimed as Regulus materialized.
"No! No!" Sailor Moon cried out as she tried to run away. The lion youma began to chase her like a predator in wild life. Unfortunately, the heroine tripped, causing the the lion to leap right at her.
SLASH!
A rose had hit the lion as it knocked him back.
"Who's there?!" Nephrite exclaimed as he landed. Sailor Moon turned around and gasped.
(Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon Crystal OST)
There stood Tuxedo Mask, his foot on the elevator door. From his mouth, he was pissed.
"So, you sent those love letters using my name in order to lure Sailor Moon?" Tuxedo Mask began before scowling. "Unforgivable!"
Sailor Moon stood up as she gushed. "Oh, he's the real one! So gorgeous!"
"Tuxedo Mask..." Nephrite growled.
"TOU!" The heroic gentleman leaped up into the air as he stood right in front of Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon! Go now!"
"Okay, real Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon replied cheerfully as she ran back.
Nephrite smirked. "Fool! Do you think you can get away from me?!"
Tuxedo Mask spread his cape out as he took his cane out. "Come on!"
(End OST)
Nephrite gave the order. "Sic 'em!"
Regulus roared as it leaped towards Tuxedo Mask.
Sailor Moon turned around as she gasped. "Tuxedo Mask, watch out!" Thinking quickly, she took off her tiara.
"Moon Tiara Action!"
She tossed it at Regulus, but it only knocked back the lion youma as it landed gracefully.
ROAR!
"No way! It's not working like usual!" Sailor Moon muttered in disbelief.
"Sailor Moon! Get to the elevator!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed as both of them ran towards it. When they turned around to see Regulus running towards them, the lion youma had disappeared in a flash as the doors closed shut.
Nephrite laughed. "You fell for it!"
"No! It's a trap!" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed as he tried to open the elevator door.
"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked.
"This elevator will go up to the roof," Nephrite's voice went over the intercom. "What do you suppose will happen when it gets to the top floor?"
"So, what will happen?!" Sailor Moon exclaimed in a challenging tone.
The elevator shook heavily.
"By the law of Earth's gravity, the elevator will fall!" Nephrite answered. "Your bodies will be flattened into pancakes!"
Sailor Moon began to bawl. "I don't wanna be a pancake!"
As the elevator went up, the odango heroine turned to Tuxedo Mask. "Tuxedo Ma-"
She stopped and blushed, trying to restrain herself.
"We have to do something," Tuxedo Mask said.
'What's going on? My life is in danger, but my heart is pounding like crazy.'
"Sailor Moon."
'A k-kiss?'
Tuxedo Mask turned with a quizzical expression. "What are you doing? We're getting out of here!"
That snapped out of her daydream as she turned to him and pretended (yet failing) that it happened. "Er, right!"
Tuxedo Mask opened the hatch with his cane before climbing up. He grabbed Sailor Moon's hand and helped her up.
"It's the top floor! Jump off!" Tuxedo Mask instructed.
"Right!"
Tuxedo Mask grabbed onto the ledge, but Sailor Moon missed, causing her to almost fall if not for Tuxedo Mask's free hand. The elevator began to plummet with full velocity as it crashed. Sailor Moon was struggling to hold on.
"I can't hold on!" she cried out.
Tuxedo Mask looked down. "Don't give up! We'll get out of here somehow! Until then, we should distract ourselves by talking about something."
"O-okay," Sailor Moon complied. "Let's see...why do you always rescue me?"
"My blood roars and it makes me want to rescue you," Tuxedo Mask answered as he himself was struggling to hold on. Slowly, he was trying to find his footing. "I've secured a foothold! Can you get on my back?"
Slowly, Sailor Moon climbed onto him as she tried not to move erratically that would shake them off. Fortunately, she managed to get there.
"You rescue me because you love me," she realized what she said and blush before trying to backspace. "Oh, I can't believe this! I'm spouting nonsense!"
She began to wonder. "Let's see. Who are you?"
Tuxedo Mask couldn't answer as he tried to get up.
"I think I can guess who you are." After a brief period of silence, she continued. "You're Motoki, aren't you?!" She backspaced, since she might've caused an embarrassing moment. "Oops! I've said something silly again!"
"Sailor Moon."
"Yes?" she asked.
"I can't help but feel that I knew you somehow long, long ago," Tuxedo Mask said. "Something is stirring in the corner of my mind, but I just can't remember it."
Just as he was about to climb up, the platform crumpled and fell into the dark pits of the elevator!
"Ah!" Sailor Moon cried out. "We're gonna fall!"
"Calm down!" Tuxedo Mask soothed, albeit urgently.
"O-okay." Sailor Moon agreed. "Let's see. What's your hobby? Favorite foods? Oh, I'm so stupid! I keep coming up with weird questions! It's just sad!"
She began to wail, which did not help Tuxedo Mask as he could feel his fingers slipping. Fortunately, the elevator doors were opened as they saw their saviors. Two sailor senshi and a cat.
"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars exclaimed as they helped the hero up.
"Sailor Moon, you should never have come here without telling us!" Mercury scolded.
"S-sorry!"
Mars coughed into a surgical mask. "That was close. Thanks to Tenebrae, we managed to rescue you two on time!"
(Before that...)
Nephrite laughed as he relished in this victory.
"I did it!" He exclaimed as he began to laugh...
BOOM!
...only for it to get cut short by a energy blast.
"AARGH!" Nephrite yelled in pain as he was struck in the chest. Looking up, he saw that it was a familiar armored warrior.
(Phantom Gentleman Who Never Sleeps by Nash Music Library)
"Tenebrae..." he scowled as the scarfman stood in his pose. Regulus appeared once more, looking ready to kill. "Your allies are already dead. Now you're all alone. Eliminate him!"
ROAR!
The lion youma leaped towards Tenebrae who grabbed Regulus by the teeth before tossing it in another direction. The lion stood back up and jumped at him with a claw ready to strike. Tenebrae rolled away and quickly got up to grab Regulus by the headlock. Several punches to the head before he let go, but not before delivering a kick to the maw.
Gathering an amount of energy, he summoned the Disembering Halo and tossed it at Regulus. The beast had only been knocked away by the projectile. Regulus managed to recover and deliver a quick swipe into the arm.
"RAH!" Tenebrae growled as he felt the scratch onto the arm. The lion bit right into the shoulder.
"EGH!" the armored warrior growled as he managed to pull the beast away with full force.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Nephrite smirked as he could feel the victory at hand. The shadow man wasn't as strong as they thought.
"Tenebrae!"
Both of them turned to see that Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars and Luna had arrived. Nephrite frowned as he quickly escaped through the portal.
Before they could step in, Tenebrae halted them.
"Are you crazy?! You need help!" Mars exclaimed.
Tenebrae shook his head as Regulus was about to leap at him. Fortunately, he grabbed it by the headlock and used one of his free arms to motion them that Sailor Moon is inside the elevator shaft by a couple floors up before pointing at the unconscious Naru.
"But what about you?" Mercury asked in worry.
Tenebrae gave a thumbs-up before tossing Regulus away like a rag doll. Mercury widened her eyes. This was no coincidence!
"Let's go!" Luna exclaimed as she ran up.
"But..." Mercury trailed off.
"He'll be fine! I promise," Mars assured her comrade. After all, she could feel assurance from that armored man himself.
Mercury looked back and saw that Tenebrae was doing well with the beast. She looked back at Mars with a nod as they helped up Naru over Mercury's shoulders before running up to the top floor.
There was a huge distance between the two enemies. Regulus ran and leaped right at Tenebrae. However, it was caught on the armored warrior's shoulders as it was hoisted up.
"Spinning Hurricane!"
Tenebrae tossed the lion youma up in the air before gathering an amount of energy to shoot out the Shadow Stream.
"SHEAH!"
The shot impacted...
BOOM!
Regulus was no more.
(End OST)
Tenebrae knelt down and breathed heavily. He could still feel the wounds from Regulus's attacks.
Tuxedo Mask, Luna and the Senshi were on the rooftop.
"Thanks for rescuing us." Usagi said, feeling grateful.
"I have a cold, you know," Mars reminded before coughing. "How dare you take that chance to go behind my back and drape yourself all over Tuxedo Mask?! It's not fair!"
"Oh, it wasn't like that!" Moon tried to convince.
"Stop fighting!" Mercury exclaimed.
"Not you too, Mercury! You're going to side with Sailor Moon?!" Mars accused.
"No! I just want to quickly take Naru to thee hospital and see if Tenebrae is fine!" Mercury exclaimed in frustration.
"Tenebrae was here?! Where is he now?" Sailor Moon exclaimed in worry, though a part of her felt scandalized as if she was going behind Tenebrae's back (eventhough nothing was going on.).
A beeping sound could be heard in the distance as everyone looked up into the sky to see a silhouette flying over the moon. They all had relieved smiles as they recognize the flowing shadow of a scarf.
"Tenebrae!" Sailor Moon called out.
The head of the silhouette turned and blinking red could be seen as his arm gave a thumbs-up. This widened everyone's smiles yet it was also Tuxedo Mask's cue to leave.
"Everyone, be good to each other," he whispered softly as he leaped off into the night.
"Oh, please wait!" Sailor Moon called out as she and Mars ran after him. "Tuxedo Mask..."
What they didn't know was that the gentleman himself was hiding right underneath the ledge.
"I don't deal well with girls fighting," he muttered to himself.
Back in the Dark Kingdom, everyone was gathered in the throne room so that Queen Beryl could evaluate Nephrite's performance.
"Queen Beryl, Nephrite boasted that he would defeat Sailor Moon," Zoicite began. "But in spite of it, he was not able to kill her. Not only that, his strongest youma, Regulus, was also defeated by the shadow man himself. I suggest that you demote him and leave the plans to me."
Nephrite grit his teeth when he realized that Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were rescued. Not only that, Regulus, who happens to match Tenebrae in power, had been destroyed.
Fortunately, Queen Beryl looked pleased. "The energy that Nephrite brought back has enormous power. In light of that, I will not punish him this time."
Zoicite's jaw dropped in disbelief. "N-No way..."
Nephrite's confidence came back as he smiled.
"Besides, I can punish him anytime I want." Her smile turned into a scowl as her hair flared up. "Zoicite, stop worrying about about others and tend to your own business! Hurry up and find the Silver Crystal!"
The effeminate Shitennou almost jumped out of his boots and quickly bowed. "Y-Yes, my queen..."
Nephrite's hidden smirk was wide. It was satisfying to see that smug fool get his just desserts.
Zoicite could feel that smirk. He growled as he felt shame upon him. The Silver Crystal was small, so it could be anywhere at this point! However, that Tenebrae really did a blow on Nephrite's strongest youma.
'Hmm, a little research wouldn't hurt,' he thought. With a hidden smirk, he disappeared within a petal of cherry blossoms.
Nephrite was back in his mansion as he read through the stars. "All humans become focused on something at least once in their lives and produce an enormous amount of energy. That girl, Naru...the powerful energy she produced was unbelievable."
He stared at the image of Naru Osaka. "It seems that she is enamored by my disguise as Masato Sanjoin."
Nephrite smirked. "What a foolish girl!"
The mansion was echoed by his laughter.
Ami was walking to school as it was another ordinary day. She couldn't help but worry what happened to Tenebrae. If she had been there sooner, then he wouldn't have been hurt badly. The beeping sound on his helmet was an indicator as to how damaged he was.
Just as she looked up, she noticed that Tsubasa was riding through his bicycle once more. However, upon closer look, her eyes widened slightly. There were bandages on his arm! Not only that, there were also bandages around his neck and under his uniform!
"Good morning, Ami!" Tsubasa called out.
"Tsubasa!" the genius called out as she walked up to him. "Where did you get those?"
"These?" he repeated as he showed his arm. "Bicycle accident. Almost ran into someone and fell over."
Ami would've believed it, if it weren't for how bandaged he was. A bicycle accident would mean a skid mark on one part when he lands via impact. However, he was heavily bandaged in two separate areas!
Usagi happened to arrive and notice her friends. "Good morning, Ami-chan! Tsubasa-kun!" She noticed the bandages on Tsubasa's body. "Oh my gosh, what happened to you?!"
"Bicycle accident," he quickly answered.
She sighed and tsked. "I'm not surprised. You really need to be careful! Remember the time when you almost bumped into me?"
He chuckled as he got off his bicycle to move on foot. "That was the first time we met."
Usagi giggled at that memory. While the two were talking, Ami was in deep thought at those wounds. A bike accident sounds a little too overboard for two wounds in separate positions. And if she remembered, these were the exact parts where Tenebrae was attacked.
"Ami-chan! Are you coming?" Usagi called out. Blinking, the bluenette quickly hurried by their side. She'll have to wait for her investigation.
A/N: I wanted to include a fight between Tenebrae and Regulus since it gives him something to do. I'm trying to find good episodes for Tsubasa to have relationships develop with the senshi. Anyway, give your thoughts.