Happy 4th of July!
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A Train heading towards a Lake in the Mountains
Usagi was sitting in a window seat, looking out at the landscape. Chibi-Chibi was sitting next to her, and the girls were in the group of seats opposite from Usagi. Usagi took in a deep breath and smiled. (Finally, a break from everything. We can relax and not worry about school, but also avoid the enemy. Maybe we will better understand the situation when we aren't directly in the middle of it.)
She continued to gaze outside the window, until she realized the emptiness she felt beside her. When she turned to see why she felt that way, she saw two little red buns bobbing away down the aisle of the train, giggling as they went.
"Chibi-Chibi! Come back!" Usagi yelled as she got up to grab Chibi-Chibi. When Usagi was just within reach, Chibi-Chibi decided to sprint to the other side of the train, wreaking havoc as she went. "Of course, just when vacation starts, I'm stuck babysitting." Usagi muttered to herself as she continued trying to catch Chibi-Chibi.
Ami and the others were watching Usagi's failed attempts to catch her supposed little sister. Mako-chan was the one who turned back first. "It sucks that Usagi has to deal with this during her vacation." she said as she motioned her hand towards the mess in the aisle of the train. "I agree, but maybe the resort will help ease her stress and occupy Chibi-Chibi." Ami said. "I can't wait to get there. I have a good feeling that there will be romance in the air." Minako said dreamily. "Minako, I'm not sure if we'll see a lot of other people. We are going to be at a camp ground, not a resort." Rei said. "Way to kill the mood, Rei." Minako said as she glared at Rei. Rei teasingly stuck her tongue out at her.
When everyone had quieted down, Rei glanced outside. The land was so familiar to her that memories came flashing back. Her hand flew to the necklace she was wearing. (I can't wait to get there. I can see Kengo again.) She settled in and closed her eyes, knowing that the moment of seeing her cousin was slowly getting closer.
The Campgrounds
The girls had just arrived at the outskirts of the campsite and were walking on a trail leading to where they would be staying. They were giggling excitedly and talking about how they were ready to have a relaxing vacation when a local park ranger on a bike pulled up beside them. "I just wanted to let you know to be careful during your stay in the park. There have been some incidents involving ransacked campsites. Other than that, enjoy your vacation." And as quickly as the park ranger came, he was gone.
The girls exchanged looks but decided to continue towards the campgrounds.
In another part of the campgrounds, an action movie was being filmed. An evil monster was attacking some people who were camping and three protagonists showed up to stop it. The people playing the superheroes were the Three Lights. Seiya was the red captain, Taiki was blue, and Yaten was yellow.
The three of them had been filming all day, and were happy when the director decided to call a break. The boys headed over to chairs with their name on them and collapsed. "I've never felt so hot in my life." Seiya said as he pulled on the neckline of his costume. "I agree." Taiki said as he mopped his face with a towel. "I just want to get out of this stupid costume before I melt." Yaten complained. Seiya and Taiki nodded. Then Seiya stood up. "Since we're here, why not go swimming? We are at a gorgeous lake and we have a break. Let's not waste any time." he said as he started walking towards the trailers.
The Girls' Campsite
They had just finished pitching the tents and setting up the rest of the campsite. Usagi, Minako, Ami, and Mako-chan were in their respective tents changing into their bathing suits but Rei was standing around, looking the forest, or something beyond it. "Hey guys, I think I'm going to go for a walk. Catch up with you later?" Rei said loudly. There were certain sounds made, none of which sounded like protests, so Rei took that as her chance.
She chose a trail that she knew as well as the back of her hand and arrived at a hut within twenty minutes. When she rounded the corner to see the front of the house, she smiled. (I'm back, finally.) As she walked closer though, she noticed something was off. The front door was wide open and when she walked inside, the hut was empty aside from bits of smashed pottery. (Where is Kengo? What happened here? Did he leave?)
Rei explored the surrounding area but found no other trace of her cousin, so she decided to head back to the campsite.
While Rei was out on her walk, the other girls were emerging from their tents, wearing bikinis and holding towels. "The best way to start off vacation is to have a nice, cool swim." Mako-chan said. She dropped her towel in the sand and ran into the lake. When the water was up to her waist, she let herself fall and be immersed by the cool lake water.
Usagi, Minako, and Chibi-Chibi followed Mako-chan's lead. Ami was still standing on the shore, letting her feet become accustomed to the cold temperature of the water. (I'm glad that everyone is enjoying themselves, but I am a little worried about what the park ranger said. What will happen if someone decides to disturb us?) Ami let that thought wonder after a while and slowly started walking deeper into the lake. She saw Minako and Usagi having a water fight, while Mako-chan and Chibi-Chibi were floating on the surface. She was taking in the scene, when she spotted three shadows in the water that were approaching Usagi and Minako.
Ami was getting worried. (Those shadows are too big to be fish. I have to warn them.) "Usagi, Minako! Turn around! Look behind you!" she shouted but they didn't hear. They were yelling too much for them to hear anyone else. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to get their attention, Ami ran into the water and started to swim towards the shadows.
Before she could get there, the three shadows emerged out of the water and splashed Usagi and Minako. When Ami arrived, she saw the three shadows were actually the Three Lights.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ami asked while Usagi and Minako rubbed their eyes and wrung their hair out. "We're taking a break." Seiya responded. "Taking a break, my ass. Now I'm really cold, and I think I swallowed at least a bottle's worth of lake water." Usagi grumbled. She grabbed Minako's arm and started pulling her towards the shore. Chibi-Chibi swam after Usagi, and Mako-chan swam after Chibi-Chibi. Only the Three Lights and Ami were left in the water.
"I'm sure she just wanted her towel. Come on, lets all dry off on the sand." Ami said. The Three Lights nodded and swam after Ami.
Once everyone was on shore, they settled in a semi-circle near the water. "So, what are you really doing here?" Usagi asked. "We are filming an action movie nearby and decided to go for a swim during our break." Yaten said. "You're in a movie? That's so cool." Minako said as she grazed Yaten's arm, purposely. Yaten immediately slid back a little, to avoid Minako's adventurous hands.
"Wait, so you three play the superheroes?" Usagi asked. Taiki nodded. Usagi started laughing uncontrollably. "What's so funny, Odango?" Seiya asked. "What do you think? If you're a superhero, then we're all doomed." Usagi said as she continued to laugh. "What's that supposed to mean?" Seiya asked glumly. "Nothing." Usagi said as she patted his back. "Whatever." Seiya said and turned back to the rest of the group. "Anyway, the movie goes like this. There is a monster that is terrorizing these campers and we are the ones who save the people and defeat the monster." he continued.
"Sounds like what the park ranger told us this morning, about someone ransacking various campsites." Mako-chan mused. "What are you talking about?" Taiki asked. "When we arrived here, a park ranger stopped us and told us to be careful because someone has been targeting campers." Ami said. "It sounds like the movie." Yaten said. "I'm so scared, Yaten." Minako whispered and slid closer to Yaten.
Seiya noticed how worried the girls looked when the monster idea came up. (This is perfect. We can set up a joke and scare them.) "You know, the park ranger may be right. I've heard stories about a monster roaming around in this area. It some serious stuff." "What?!" Usagi said. "You're kidding right?" she asked. Seiya shook his head no. "Oh look at the time. We have to go." Seiya said. "See ya." The Three Lights got up and started walking towards the film site.
"So, what was that monster thing about, Seiya?" Yaten asked. "I came up with this great idea to scare the girls." Seiya said. "So you're playing a joke on them?" Taiki asked. "Right. So, are you guys in or am I doing this alone?" Seiya asked. "We're in." Yaten answered. "Great, this is going to be hilarious." Seiya said while rubbing his hands together.
Back at the girls' campsite, everyone was getting ready for dinner. Mako-chan and Ami were fishing, Minako was unpacking the plates and utensils, and Usagi and Chibi-Chibi were looking for firewood. While Usagi and Chibi-Chibi were looking for wood, they heard sticks break and birds cawing and flying away. Usagi grabbed Chibi-Chibi and pulled her close to herself. "Chibi-Chibi, if you see a monster, run." Usagi explained as she knelt next to Chibi-Chibi. "Chibi." Chibi-Chibi said and nodded. Usagi and Chibi-Chibi stood still as the noise got closer and closer until Rei emerged out of the woods.
"Geez, Rei. You scared the crap out of us." Usagi yelled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Rei apologized. Usagi noticed that Rei looked different. She was no longer exuding confidence and there was a look of worry on her face. "Rei, is everything ok? Did something happen on your walk?" Usagi asked. Rei stood silent for a minute, then looked back to where she came from. "I went to go see my cousin that lives in this area, but when I got to his house it was empty. All that was left were little bits of broken pottery he had made. I don't know if he left or if something happened to him." she replied sadly.
Usagi walked over to Rei and gave her a hug. "Don't worry Rei. Maybe he's just gone for the day. If you're still worried tomorrow, I'll come with you and help you look for him." Usagi said. "Thanks." Rei said quietly. Usagi smiled and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go back to the camp. I think Chibi-Chibi and I got enough firewood to last us a week." With that, the three girls headed back to the clearing in front of them.
When they got back, they put the firewood down in a pit and lit it. Chibi-Chibi thought it would be cool to take a stick that was on fire and run around with it. Usagi noticed what Chibi-Chibi was doing and started chasing her, trying to get the burning stick out of her hands. They both ran up the trail a little bit before Chibi-Chibi abruptly stopped and dropped the flaming stick, which went out. "Oh thank g-d." Usagi said and then she saw why Chibi-Chibi stopped. "Yaten, Taiki? What's going on?" she asked as they ran towards her. The other girls heard the commotion and ran to see what was going on. When everyone was there Yaten and Taiki explained that the monster had appeared and was now ravaging the entire camp.
Everyone was shocked but no one was more shocked that Rei. "Why didn't I think about it before? Usagi, what if my cousin was kidnapped by this monster?" Rei asked. All the girls huddled. "What are you talking about Rei?" Mako-chan asked. Rei told everyone what she had told Usagi in the woods, that her cousin might be missing and that she thinks it has something to do with the monster.
While the girls were huddling and discussing what they were going to do, Yaten and Taiki were silently smirking. "It's working." Yaten smirked quietly. Suddenly, everyone heard shouts from nearby campers. "Wow, Seiya is doing such a great job, he's scaring other campers." Taiki whispered. "You do realize he is just showing off." Yaten countered.
After more screaming, silence crept it. The girls huddled closer together and waited until they heard movement from the woods. Breaking branches and rustling leaves made the girls more and more scared until this figure emerged, looking like it was covered in mud and carrying around a long-handled hammer.
The girls didn't have second thoughts. They started running as fast as they could while the monster chased them, yelling "Failure!" Along the way, the monster tore apart the tents the girls pitched and spilled all the food they were cooking for dinner. They continued running until Yaten and Taiki could no longer see them.
As this was happening, Seiya was taking his time walking to the girls' campsite. He was wearing the monster costume from the movie set and was carrying a chainsaw. He heard a bunch of rapid footsteps go by him but ignored it and continued walking. (I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when I scare the crap out of them.) When he saw the clearing ahead, he turned on the chainsaw and ran towards the camp, growling and roaring. When he arrived, all he saw was Taiki and Yaten and a ransacked camp. "You can stop now Seiya. You did enough." Yaten said as he walked up to Seiya.
"What do you mean I did enough? I just got here." Seiya said. "Anyways, where are they?" he asked. Yaten and Taiki exchanged confused looks. "You just got here?" Taiki asked. "Then that means what attacked the girls.." Taiki said. "Was the real thing." Yaten finished. After exchanging one more look, the two of them ran in the same direction as the girls and the real monster that was chasing them.
"What just happened?" Seiya asked himself then ran after Taiki and Yaten.
The Woods
The girls were running as fast as they could away from the monster. Usagi and Rei were towards the end of the group and got left further behind when Rei tripped on a tree root. "Rei, are you ok?" Usagi asked as she went to go help up Rei. The monster came running up the trail at the moment and was swinging his hammer wildly. Rei got up just in time to miss being crushed by the monsters hammer.
"Usagi, we have to transform!" Rei said. Usagi nodded and they grabbed their transformation pens. "MARS CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!" Rei yelled while Usagi yelled "MOON ETERNAL MAKE UP!" Once the transformation was complete Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon stood in their places.
After the usual introductions, Sailor Moon and Mars made a move to confront the monster. The monster began forming objects from his body and pelting them at Mars and Sailor Moon. After dodging a couple flying pottery pieces, Mars froze. (It can't be. The pottery, him yelling failure, it all sounds like Kengo.) "Mars, what are you doing? Move!" Sailor Moon yelled. When Mars didn't respond, Sailor Moon flung herself at Mars so she avoided being hit by the flying pottery. They landed on the ground painfully but managed to get up. "Mars, what's wrong?" Sailor Moon asked. "Why couldn't you hear me or see the flying pottery?" "I think that monster is…my cousin." Mars said. Sailor Moon looked stunned. "Are you sure that's him?" she asked. Mars nodded. "Kengo, snap out of it. I know you. You aren't like this."she shouted. As he continued to attack both her and Sailor Moon, tears gathered in Mar's eyes. She summoned her flaming bow and arrow and aimed it at Kengo's stomach. (I'm sorry cousin, but it's the only way to save you.)
Sailor Moon saw Mar's flaming arrow pierce the monster's stomach and understood that Mars was doing that to immobilize him and give her the chance to purify him. Without needing to be told, Sailor Moon summoned her tier and aimed for Rei's cousin. As she watched the beam hit him, she prayed. (Please let him be ok, for Rei's sake. Please.)
After the light disappeared, Mars ran to the purified Kengo and hugged him. "Thank g-d you're ok." She whispered as he lay unconscious in her arms.
The Starlights were watching the scene from up above, in the trees. "Looks like the Sailor Soldiers handled this one themselves." Healer said. "Ya, but how did they know to come here? This is far from where the enemy attacks. They must have been here before the attack happened." Fighter thought aloud. "Apparently, the phage had been attacking people for a week. I'm not surprised the Soldiers came. They must have heard the rumors and come. It is their job to protect the people of this planet, not ours." Maker said. "You're right." Fighter said. "Let's go. There's no reason to stay here." Healer said. Fighter and Maker nodded and the Starlights jumped out of view.
Once Mars and Sailor Moon assessed that her cousin was safe, they transformed back. As they went to go wake Kengo up, they heard footsteps and saw Ami, Minako, Mako-chan, and Chibi-Chibi walk into view. "We thought we lost you guys." Mako-chan said. "I tripped but then we dealt with the phage. I'm glad I was there to do it too, considering it was my cousin." Rei said. "The phage was your cousin?" Ami asked. Rei nodded. "Well, then we should probably get him back to his place." Usagi pitched. "Ya, I was just about to go wake him and see if he could walk on his own." Rei said.
She walked over to where her cousin was silently lying and started shaking his arm. "Kengo, Kengo, please wake up. Wake up." Rei said soothingly. After a bit of coaxing, Rei's cousin opened his eyes. "What am I doing here? What happened?" he asked. "I don't know. We were looking for you and we found you laying here." Rei said and she continued kneeling by his side.
"Rei, thank you." Kengo said. "For what?" she asked. "For worrying about me." Kengo replied. Rei smiled. "Come on. Let's get you home." she said and she offered her hand to Kengo once she stood up.
All the girls and Kengo headed back to his hut in peaceful silence. When they arrived, he apologized for the state of the house saying he got messy when he was frustrated. Everyone laughed and introduced themselves to Rei's cousin. After that, everyone got settled in quickly. They were enjoying spending time with each other and with Rei's cousin. They were going around telling funny stories about Rei to her cousin when they heard a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Usagi cheered as she stood up. When she opened the door, she smiled. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" she asked. "We got worried. When you guys ran off, we went looking for you." Taiki explained. "So now we found you guys. Can we come in?" Yaten asked. Usagi opened the door wider and motioned for them to come in. Taiki and Yaten stepped inside and introduced themselves to Rei's cousin, but Seiya stayed outside. "Odango, can I talk to you for a second, outside?" he asked. "Sure." Usagi said, slightly confused. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "What's up?" she asked.
"I wanted to explain to you what happened today." Seiya said. "Oh, and what happened?" Usagi asked as she stepped off the porch. "Well… the guys and I wanted to play a joke on you, so I dressed up as a monster and went to your camp to scare all of you. I missed my chance seeing as all of you had disappeared." Seiya explained. Usagi laughed. "Of course you would pull something like that. I'm not offended. I knew you would do something like that, plus someone beat you to it." she said. "Oh and you know me so well?" Seiya asked as he stepped off the porch and walked towards Usagi. "I do, Seiya." she said quietly.
Now they were standing close to each other. Usagi looked up at the night sky for a minute and then back at Seiya. She had never realized just how blue his eyes were until now. "What are we doing here, Seiya?" Usagi asked. Seiya gazed at her intensely. "I don't know, you tell me, Odango." He replied in a whisper. Slowly he leaned closer and closer until their faces were inches apart. "You can always tell me to stop or pull away, Odango." Seiya said seductively. "How do I know this isn't a joke?" Usagi asked breathlessly. Her heart was pounding and she was having trouble breathing. (I'm so close to him, I can even smell his cologne. And I feel that warmth again.) "I thought you said you knew me, Odango." Seiya said as he rested his forehead on hers, bringing their faces even closer. The moment skin met skin, an electric current passed between them. Usagi knew that everything was telling her to explore this possibility and that it was now or never.
So she took it. She wrapped her arms around Seiya's neck and pulled him towards her. In that moment, when their lips first met, it was so good it was almost painful. Usagi had never felt like this before. With each kiss, she felt Seiya project his feelings to her. Each breath they took was shared and it was wonderful. She was gentle at first, hesitating, unsure of the feelings in her heart. But kissing Seiya was natural to her, more than anything else in the world. She could feel this warmth envelope her and she drew Seiya tighter and tighter until they both fell backwards. Seiya was laughing silently while Usagi tried to catch what remained of her breath. " I never knew you were that strong, Odango." Seiya smirked. Usagi's face turned bright red. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean.." she started to say but was cut off by Seiya leaning down to kiss her again. This kiss was gentler than the first. Usagi relished every moment of it, feeling her body become as light as air. Gently, she pushed Seiya back.
"Not that I didn't enjoy that, but this ground is a little uncomfortable and you are heavier than I am." Usagi said. Seiya laughed gently and stood up, offering a hand to Usagi. She took it and was pulled up to her feet in moments. When she was balanced enough, she leaned towards Seiya and hugged him. She rested her head in the crook between his shoulder and neck. "I don't know what it is about you, but when I'm with you I feel safe and happy, like I've never felt before." she whispered. "Good," he whispered back, "because I will always treat you like you're loved. I will never hurt you and I will keep you safe. I promise."
