Half Demon Swordsman
Chapter Eleven: What's The Hurry?

Asagi

The day after Amy joined the team, we went to the mall and hit every store there.

I made Serena get some practical workout clothes (she wasn't too happy about that), I got a couple outfits for weekends and after school, and Ai got some fabric and thread to help fix her clothes, and her sister Ray's clothes too.

Finally, we hit the bookstore. I of course went straight to the section where I could find a good American fantasy novel, preferably The Magician, sequel to The Alchemyst, which I'd finished a couple days ago.

"I've got my comic books, ready to go?" Serena asked Amy, who had a large book in her hand. What Serena saw in comic books I would never know.

"Oh I could stay here all day." Amy answered.

"What's that book you've got Amy?" Ai asked curiously.

"Advanced physics." Amy replied happily.

"Advanced physics? Wow." I said with a low whistle. "Oh, speaking of school subjects, Sensei probably didn't have you do this since it was your first time last time, but you're supposed to bring your report card for him to inspect. If you get anything below a C-minus, you get extra conditioning. And not only do you get extra conditioning, but we get extra conditioning as well. Oh Amy, now that you're a Sailor Scout, you'll probably have to come to Sensei's training."

Amy blinked as we paid for everything. "How come?"

I shrugged as we walked outside. "Well I think that Sensei wants the warriors who are defending our world to be competent fighters. Of course me, Ai, Roku, Shion, Shiori, and Dai were all going to his dojo for training long before me and Ai—"

"Shouldn't you say Ai and I?" Amy corrected before making a face. "Okay never mind. That sounds weird."

I grinned. "So it does. Anyway, the seven of us were training at InuYasha's dojo long before me and Ai became Swordsman and you and Serena became Sailor Scouts."

"Hey look at the crowd at the clock store." Serena commented. "We should go check it out, I need a new alarm clock. It's broken again."

"Yes, that was the first thing they told me at school; you're always late." Amy said with a laugh. I agreed with that. If I had a penny for every time she was late, I'd be rich.

"Serena will probably try to tell you they're exaggerating and she usually makes it by the bell," I teased. "But that would be a lie. She's always late."

"But an alarm clock would help." Serena objected.

"I'm tired." Amy said. "I'm not an experienced mall traveler like you, and I don't have the same endurance that you half demons do."

I shrugged. "Girl's got a point. Maybe we should go. Day after tomorrow is class after all, and the end of the month, which means that you've gotta bring in your report card."

Serena pouted. "Come on, just one more store?"

I sighed. "Oh alright. But just this one."

My nee-chan cheered, grabbed Amy's hand, and dragged her into the clock store.

"Come on in ladies." The store clerk said. "Please, feel free to look around."

As she gestured to the watches, I got an uneasy feeling from her.

"Wow, they're gorgeous!" Serena gasped.

"Yes, but they're so expensive." Amy pointed out sensibly.

Serena sighed. "Some day when I'm rich, I'll get myself one of those."

I smiled and shook my head. "Keep dreaming nee-chan, keep dreaming."

We looked at a few alarm clocks, and found one that was a black cat. It looked exactly like Luna, except it had no crescent moon.

Serena wanted to buy it, and the clerk said it was quite a fortune, but for her it was ninety percent off. She looked in her wallet and discovered she only had ten dollars.

I sighed. "Nee-chan, sometimes I swear you'd lose your head if it weren't attached."

"How about I come and get you on my way to school." Amy suggested.

I grinned mischievously. "Or I could dump a bucket of cold water on you to make you wake up." I suggested innocently.

She ignored that and hugged Amy. "Thank you!" She cried. "You're the best friend in the whole world!"

After that we walked home, where Mom had something for Serena. She apparently saw it at the mall, and knew it would be perfect for her.

"What could it be?" Serena wondered. "A new blouse, a dress—"

"No Serena, hopefully it'll help you get yourself to school on time." Mom said happily.

I grinned. "An alarm clock." I looked at it. "That's the one Serena was going to get earlier at the mall."

"Got your dad one too." Mom added. "Help him get to work on time."

Later that night, we showed that clock to Luna, who was totally jealous of it, not that she'd admit it. Around midnight though, I got woken up by a light shining from Serena's room. The clock Mom got for her was glowing.

"Huh. Weird. I'll chuck that thing in the morning." I said, and then went back to bed.

The next morning, Serena got up and absolutely rushed to school, much to my surprise. She wasn't the only one. Turned out, everyone was in such a rush. I had no idea why.

Luna came bounding up to us where we waited for Serena at the bus stop, the new alarm clock tied to her back. "Asagi! Amy! I need to talk to you!" She panted. "Something strange is going on. It could be the Negaverse."

"What's that you've got there Luna?" Amy asked.

"Hey, it's that clock that Mom got Serena yesterday. Luna, did you notice it glowing last night?" I asked curiously. "Or was that just a figment of my overactive imagination?"

She shook her head. "No, it wasn't."

We took it to the park, but didn't see anything weird about it.

"I know what I saw." I said stubbornly. "I know it was glowing."

We sat there for a moment, when Luna thought of something. Doing a back flip, a small handheld computer with the sign of Mercury appeared.

"What's this?" Amy asked.

"It's a data computer." Luna answered. "It can analyze just about anything."

"Are you sure? What if Sailor Sun or Neptune Warrior or Moonlight Warrior need it?" Amy protested.

I shook my head. "I'm not as good with computers as you are Amy, and I doubt that Ai is either. Besides, it's got the Mercury sign on it. You should have it. I insist."

"Thanks Asagi, Luna." She said gratefully. "How does it work?"

"Just point it at the alarm clock." Luna replied.

Amy took a piece of the back, and a sphere of some sort flew out. "What was that?"

"I don't know since it flew off before the computer could get a read on it, but it has something to do with the Negaverse, and it's affecting time somehow." I said. "Have you noticed how almost everyone seems to be in a rush? Even Serena got up early today. Two hours early."

We set off to find Serena. We checked all her favorite spots, but she was nowhere to be found. She wasn't even at the video arcade, and that was strange enough by itself. CRASH!

A bus crashed into the telephone booth by where we were waiting.

A bunch of people got off, cursing the driver. Serena was one of them.

"Nee-chan?" I asked. "What are you doing here? Oh yeah, got another case."

"Alright, let's go!" Serena declared.

I looked at her, surprised. "What's the rush?"

"I'm way behind schedule." Serena answered. "I've still got to do all my homework, have my favorite snack, read my comic books—"

I sighed. "Calm down nee-chan. You know, I'm surprised we haven't seen Darien yet. He always seems to appear before we have a battle with a Negaverse goon."

"Doesn't matter." My nee-chan said dismissively. "Let's go! Sun Prism Power!"

I sighed and called Ai on my communicator. "Hey Ai, come on. We've got a battle, and Serena's extremely inpatient."

"What, seriously?" My longtime friend asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, so get over here. We're about to go in."

"Okay. I'll see you in just a few minutes. Until then, try to keep your nee-chan from busting in." Ai said. "See ya in a minute."