Dark Thoughts, An Evil Plan; Break Apart the Senshi!

Shakaku tied her shoes as she looked up to see Katie and her twin sister Mandy chasing each other around the gym. "Get back here!" Katie yelled as she tried to run with one shoe; Mandy was holding Katie's other shoe.

"The boy's bathroom!" Tania, another girl from the volleyball team, yelled from where she sat on the bleachers. Mandy looked ahead of her and smiled. Indeed, the boy's bathroom was close by, and from the sound of it, there were boys in there. Mandy reached the door first, and she opened the door slightly, and she threw the shoe in quickly. Katie stopped running as she realized what her sister had just done.

A few seconds later, a couple of boys walked out of the bathroom, each of them were wrapped from the waist down in a towel. Mandy's eyes grew wide, and she turned around and ran. One of the boys threw the shoe at Mandy, and it hit her in the leg, and she fell.

"That's what you get," Katie said as she walked up to her sister, and she took the shoe with her as she walked away.

Shakaku continued to put her bag together until she began to think about the previous battle, and how her body had given up so quickly. It hurt Shakaku to consider that she was unable to help the senshi because she had been injured. Shakaku stopped her thinking when she noticed Meticka, who was walking towards her.

"Hey, girl," Meticka said as she climbed up the seats to sit next to Shakaku. "Is anything wrong? I noticed that you weren't playing like you usually do. You actually let Mandy get a block on you."

Shakaku turned to look at Meticka, who had a concerned smile on her face. "No, nothing's wrong, I just don't feel good that's all," Shakaku responded. "You know, the stomach flu is passing around."

Meticka was quiet for a moment before she spoke. "Are you sure? It didn't seem like that to me. But anyway, I'm sure that whatever is bothering you should be no problem to get over, right?" Meticka's smile turned from concern to confidence.

Shakaku thought about this, and as she did so, she looked directly into Meticka's eyes. Shakaku noticed that Meticka's eyes were the same color as Enzeru's, but Enzeru's were softer because she was blind. After a few moments, Meticka continued. "I know you might not know this, but I've always looked up to you, and I've always known you as someone who is not easily defeated. You're also very determined, and that's what's so great about you."

For the first time since Shakaku could remember, she blushed. No one had ever told Shakaku these things, and Shakaku felt better knowing that someone looked up to her hard work.

"You've never given up, and now is not the time to start," Meticka finished as she walked down the bleachers to where the other girls were sitting. Shakaku nodded, and she continued to pack her bag. As Katie walked back to the group of girls, Lori, the tallest player on the team, asked, "Does it have germs?" Katie smiled, and she turned around to look at Mandy who was sitting on the court pretending to pout. Jenico, the best passer on the team, walked over to Mandy, and she sat down right next to her.

"Traitor!" Katie yelled at Jenico, who stuck her tongue out at Katie.

"At least you got your shoe back," Gwen, another backup setter, said with a smile.

"But you're going to have to wash it," Keli, one of the two black girls on the team, said as she put her hand to her nose.

"Don't worry, I will," Katie replied even though she put the shoe on.

"I'd plan revenge if I were you," Lori said with a grin as she zipped up her bag.

"I plan to," Katie replied with a grin identical to the one that Lori had on her face.

"In your dreams!" Mandy called to her sister. "I know were you live!"

"I know where you SLEEP!" Katie called back. Mandy looked shocked, as if no one should know such knowledge.

"I'll tell your mother!" Mandy retorted after some thought.

"I'll tell YOUR mother," Katie replied quickly. Mandy, who was a blond at heart, had to think about this for a second before she took in what her sister was saying.

"I am your mother," Mandy said after she decided that it was Katie's turn to think.

Katie thought for a moment before she gave up with an exasperated sigh. Mandy laughed so hard that she rolled backward on the court, and she managed to do a back roll, but she did not get up. Katie shook her head, and she continued to pack her bag.

"She had sugar, didn't she?" Shakaku asked as she reached the bottom bleacher.

"I think she's been hanging around Kaichuu for too long," Katie replied.

"I second that," Kisha and Keli said at the same time.

"Kaichuu has that influence of people," Shakaku remembered with a shudder.

"I'm surprised she hasn't gotten to you yet, Shakaku," Gwen said. Shakaku smiled, and she thought the same thing.

"Lysol does the trick," Shakaku confessed.

"Down with Lysol!" Mandy yelled from where she continued to sit in the middle of the court.

"Bring it on!" Lori shouted back at her teammate. The two girls walked up to each other dramatically, and when Mandy realized just how far she had to look up to see Lori's face, she turned around and ran back to where she had been sitting.

"Down with duct tape," Gwen, Lori, Katie, Shakaku, Keli, Tania, and Kisha chanted together. At the same time, Shakaku felt a little better, and her worries about the previous battle began to slip away. The gym grew lighter as the door opened, and the soccer team walked in from practice, and the girls chanted even louder.

Shakaku refastened her shoes, said goodbye to all of the girls, and she turned to leave the gym.

***

"He's been acting like this all day," Kerai said to herself about Kyuuteki, who was sitting on his throne; he had not moved from there all day. The few lanterns that were in the room grew dimmer, and the large room grew steadily darker.

Kerai slowly walked up to where Kyuuteki sat, and she cleared her throat. "Is anything wrong? You have not left your seat for the entire day," Kerai said quietly.

"I have been thinking," Kyuuteki began, and Kerai winced. The last time Kyuuteki began a speech like that, the outcome was not good. "If we cannot attack the senshi physically, then we must attack them mentally; am I right?"

Kerai stared at Kyuuteki for a moment, yet she nodded when he looked at her. "What do you mean by this? I thought the plan was going along well."

"You know as well as I know that if a person, senshi or not, has enough negative thoughts, then it is possible for me to get some dark energy flowing in them," Kyuuteki said. Although Kyuuteki seemed excited at his idea, his voice remained low.

"And who might this senshi be?" Kerai asked with a tilt of her head.

"Sailor Phoenix's mind is still clouded over with thoughts from the last battle. I could use those thoughts and try to convert some of her thoughts into negative energy," Kyuuteki said, his voice became lighter, and he no longer spoke in the hushed tone that he had just used.

At that moment, Kerai realized it. Kyuuteki's plan was not to injure the senshi physically, but he intended to try and get them to come to the Dark Realm. Kerai said nothing, and she looked down at the dark marble floor in order to avoid Kyuuteki's gaze. "Why not another?" Kerai dared to ask. She did not like working with Sailor Phoenix in any way. Even though Kerai was intelligent, Sailor Phoenix had managed to hurt her more times than one.

The room fell completely silent until Kyuuteki took a deep breath. "She is the easiest," Kyuuteki stated flatly. He chuckled softly to himself at this statement. "I know it may not sound right, but that is true. With so much hatred built up inside, it could be just a matter of days before Shakaku snaps, and she won't know what to do.

Kerai considered this for a few moments; her eyes once again fixed on the marble floor. Kerai drew the conclusion that even if they managed to get Phoenix on their side, she would have no part in it.

"You are dismissed," Kyuuteki said moments later, after he realized that Kerai would say no more.

Kerai bowed and left the room, and she raced towards Kaboku's room. She knew now what Kyuuteki was planning to do, and she knew that Kaboku would be no more thrilled than she was at the thought of having Phoenix in the fortress. When Kerai reached the door to Kaboku's room, she knocked; when he did not answer, she let herself in. Kerai would have never have opened the door under any other circumstances, but she knew that Kaboku would be grateful for the news.

Kerai walked in to find Kaboku at his desk, and he was hunched over a book. Kaboku did not turn around, but he spoke. "What is it?" he growled.

"Kyuuteki has just informed me," Kerai began, and Kaboku raised an eyebrow, "that he wants to attack Sailor Phoenix mentally."

The two were silent for a few seconds before Kaboku said anything. "That doesn't surprise me. Kyuuteki has always wanted Phoenix to join him," Kaboku said the senshi's name quickly and hatefully as if the name itself carried a disease.

"But doesn't it bother you that if we manage to get her, she would be running around the Dark Realm?" Kerai added. Kaboku thought about this for a minute before he changed his mind.

"I'd be fine with that if she is tied up in one of the rooms in the basement where I wouldn't have to look at her," Kaboku replied a few seconds later. Kerai smiled as she realized that Kaboku hated the senshi so much that he wasn't joking.

"I think Kyuuteki wants to tell you himself what his plan is," Kerai paused. "He sure as hell didn't want to tell me anything about it."

Kaboku got up from his desk, and as he walked past Kerai he said, "It's because you're a girl." Kerai's eyes widened as she realized this, and she followed Kaboku as he made his way to the great hall.

***

Shakaku walked out of the gym as she slung her bag over her shoulder. The cries of a flock of birds caught Shakaku's attention, and she looked up to see a group of small birds fly from a tree at her approach, and they all flew off in the same direction. Even though Shakaku usually liked birds, today she was not in the mood.

Shakaku knew that she could have done better at volleyball practice that day, but she wondered what was keeping her from playing her best at her biggest obsession. Shakaku thought passively about a few things that she could improve on, but what Meticka had said still stuck in her mind. She had never known that Meticka had admired her, but she felt as though she had let Meticka down at practice. Meticka looked up to someone who did not let anything bother her, yet here she was thinking about a few little accidents that occurred in practice.

Meticka's positive attitude reminded Shakaku of Enzeru, who always looked on the bright side of things, even if there was no such side. It was people like them who kept others' spirits lifted instead of letting them give up. Shakaku wished that she could have been there to help Hoshi and Dorei when they had needed her during the previous battle, but her physical limitations had set a barrier on that. She just could not comprehend that.

"She's beginning to lose it," Kyuuteki told Kaboku and Kerai as they watched Shakaku step out of the school grounds and onto the street where she began to walk along the sidewalk.

"She doesn't look too good," Kerai observed. Kyuuteki nodded, and the three of them continued to stand quietly, although each of them had the urge to create some form of chaos.

"Now would be a perfect time to attack her," Kaboku pointed out. All three of them knew that Shakaku was alone, but they also knew that if she were angered enough she would be able to stand her ground.

"No, we have to wait. It would be better to let her dwell in her thoughts for a while," Kyuuteki said as he quickly devised a plan in his head. As they let a few moments pass by in silence, each of them observed that Shakaku was getting more and more aggravated with herself. When she started to get out of range, the three of them began to walk slowly along with her, although they did not make it obvious what they were doing.

"She is not alone," Kaboku sneered as he looked up. Kyuuteki, with his height advantage, was able to spot what Kaboku was talking about quickly, but Kerai had to rely on the others' explanation.

"Aquaria and another have just joined Phoenix," Kaboku informed Kerai after he was sure of what was going on. Although he knew whom Aquaria was with, he did not bother to mention that person's name to Kerai. However, without the mention of a specific name, Kerai was able to grasp who this person was, and she listened as Kyuuteki explained further.

"Someone's ray of hope is leaving," Kyuuteki said after he explained that Phoenix and the other two had crossed the street, and they were now walking at a slow pace, so the three did not have to walk to keep them within range.

Kerai had just looked up to see what Kaboku would say next when she saw his mouth tense, and she knew that someone wrong was happening with the people that they were watching. Kerai could only infer that Phoenix had spotted them, or they had turned a corner, but Kaboku did not seem happy with whatever change had just taken place.

"It won't be long now," Kyuuteki said as a smile grew on his face; Kerai shuddered. The last time that Kyuuteki smiled, the outcome was not good, and she had been put in a position that she did not want to be in.

"They parted," Kaboku informed after a few minutes of standing on the sidewalk without saying anything. Apparently, as far as Kerai knew, nothing of importance had happened until just then, so she did not both to ask what was happening.

"Who is going where?" Kerai prompted the two. From experience, Kerai knew to look at every detail, even if it was as fine as a piece of string.

"Phoenix is alone again, and Aquaria and her friend are heading in the direction that they were going in to begin with," Kyuuteki said, and he finally turned back to the two of them. Kerai noticed a few people walking by that looked at them strangely because they were merely standing on the sidewalk, and they looked suspicious looking at another side of the street. Kerai tried to blend in as she stood closer to the two, but their heights overpowered her that it did not matter what she was doing; no one would be able to see her either way.

"Turn around," Kerai heard Kyuuteki hiss as he turned to look the opposite direction.

"We cannot stay any longer," Kaboku warned. Kerai knew that they had been seen, and she turned with the other two as they pretended to walk like the other people who were heading in their direction. However, Kyuuteki knew that his height gave him away, so he tried everything possible to not let anything else give him away.

"Shakaku!" Kaichuu called as she and Kumori walked up to where Shakaku was waiting to cross the street.

Shakaku smiled at Kaichuu, but when she looked at Kumori, the smile faded, and she returned to the black expression that she just had on her face. "Were you going anywhere?" Kumori asked, trying to make polite conversation. Shakaku shook her head, but she had been heading home to either play volleyball or practice her saxophone for comfort from her awful day.

Kaichuu knew Shakaku's expression all too well, but for the sake of the conversation, she did not say anything. The three crossed the street together with a large group of people. Shakaku kept a black expression on her face, but she wanted to tell them that she wanted to be alone. She turned her head back to look at the two, and they were holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. She was disgusted, but she did not want to be rude, so she stayed longer to see if they would try and talk with her again.

She was wrong. Kumori touched Kaichuu's hair a few times, and then he put his arm around her waist. "I'll see you at the apartment; Kumori just invited me to go do something," Kaichuu said. Shakaku did not want to get in Kaichuu's way, so she nodded, and she watched the two leave. Kumori leaned close to Kaichuu, and they began to talk as if Shakaku hadn't even been with them a second ago. She wondered if this what love did to someone. Does love mess with your mind? Shakaku thought to herself. After deciding that she did not want to go through that, she continued to walk towards the apartment building.

Shakaku tilted her head up, and she looked behind her as she walked. Shakaku laughed to herself as she saw Kyuuteki sticking out like a sore thumb in the crowd. She would have locked her eyes with his, just to let him know that she had seen him, but it was too late because he had seen her look his way, and he knew that he stuck out in the crowd. Shakaku wondered why Kyuuteki just didn't attack her, but she did not want to push her luck, so she got away from there as quick as possible.