Chapter Fourteen: Heavy Choices, Part I
She stood in the centre of the plaza, a silent, calming picturesque, fingering the shutter button of her camera as she watched people pass her by. Occasionally, she would raise it to her eyes, quickly adjust her lenses and snap: a picture of a young child excitedly accompanying his mother on a grocery run; a picture of a group of friends sharing an innocent, hearty laugh; a picture of a couple in a lingering gaze; a picture of a sitting puppy waiting for its owner. Random, candid photographs that meant nothing, and everything. It was hers, and she liked what she saw, and so she would take her photographs.
Her long blond hair stood out as her classmates set up for a school project behind her, her athletic figure impressive despite her middle school uniform. Beautiful, were the thoughts of passers-by; not quite like the infamous miko who spoke to the fire, but she was enthralling in her own right, with looks exotic to the Japanese people, a solemn, distant expression rarely seen on such a young girl. Her eyes spoke of a loss, of choices made and sacrifices offered. Of detachment.
And so she found another scene she liked and it became another picture in her vast collection of the current world.
Jadeite fidgeted beside him, unable to contain his excitement, the sheer anticipation of chaos and battle. He bounced, he stretched; his fingers sparked with yellow energy and his eyes gleamed wildly. He was like a child suffering through a short wait for the final gift.
On his other side, Zoisite was quiet, back to his taciturnity. He showed neither excitement nor repulsion at the common slaughter. He was in his own world, and not for the first time, Nephrite wondered what it was that went on in his fair head.
Behind him, his shadow stood small and hunched over, in angry mutters, vowing better strength and control in battle, questioning the useless chaos, desiring blood of the Guardians, complaining about the wastage of human energy, deciding the first kill, wondering how well it would go, promising vengeance. His shadow mirrored his thoughts, increasing their intensity. He despised the fact that they were going in without a plan, especially when the last time he did that, all went to hell for him. It did not help at all even knowing that he had brought thirty Youma, two of which—more demon than Youma—were arguably as powerful as the Shitennou, of the same unique calibre as Jadeite's demon bat, Nyx. Without a plan, they were no better than rabid dogs on the prowl.
"Now?" Jadeite asked for the third time, exasperation in his voice.
"No,"—and he would have to explain himself again—"at least three of the Guardians have civilian identities that correspond to middle school-aged girls. Until the school day is over, we will wait so that they are able to meet us." And reduce the number of wasteful human slaughter in the meantime.
Jadeite groaned loudly, kicking at his shadow in annoyance. Then his demeanour changed. "What say we write rules while we wait?"
Even Zoisite grew curious at that.
"Go on," he encouraged. Anything to get him to stop complaining.
"One, we leave the chaos to the Youma, while we engage the Guardians."
"What if Youma come across the Guardians?"
"The Guardians are not their priority. At first opportunity, they are to flee."
"And if, and I say this just as precaution," he said, "if we…face unrecoverable troubles with the Guardians, are Youma allowed to interfere?"
"No." Jadeite crossed his arms, expression hard. Zoisite nodded his concurrence. "We have chosen to face them as Shitennou, and we will not back down on our honour."
He was taken aback, his previous judgements on the revived general shattered. A wave of shame overcame him. "By the same token, we will have nothing to do with the humans."
"Exactly."
"Isn't that why you agreed to this engagement in the first place?"
"I agreed to chaos, I agreed to amusing myself with the sight of chaos; I did not agree to be directly involved with it."
Even as a shell of your former self you have such strength in your honour. He clenched his fists. Would he be able to accept death than relinquish his honour as easily as the others? He had failed once; he was not confident in himself for a second time.
"Two," Jadeite continued, "the red Guardian is mine. Both of you will not engage her, will not touch her, will not even look at her. The same goes for the Youma."
He frowned. "What do you plan to do with her?"
"She is mine," was all Jadeite said, threat in his voice. And it was unnerving how he only levelled his gaze at him, not Zoisite.
"All right." He crossed his arms, trying to meet Jadeite's challenge. "I agree to both these rules."
"Zoisite?"
The man sighed. "It seems to me," he drawled lazily, "that you created these rules solely for rule number two."
Jadeite growled.
"But I digress; I'm sure you'll keep your head when the moment requires it." He waved his hand. "I agree, too."
Jadeite returning to his side of the rooftop, a gleeful expression on his face signalled the end of the brief conversation. Despite the calmness that the other two exuded, Nephrite was wary; he didn't know which of the two, if at all, he could trust with this task now. Jadeite wasn't himself, and Zoisite… Well. No one trusted Zoisite when he was quiet with that sharpness in his eyes. No one except Queen Beryl, it seemed. A strange thing considering Kunzite was the eldest and most adherent to the Dark Kingdom, and Zoisite never did more than was necessary.
Yes. There was something wrong with the Shitennou.
Makoto took a deep breath to brace herself, and threw open the door to the roof garden in a pretentious show of joviality. She nodded to herself that the plants had survived the weekend downpours and turned the corner. Ami was already there, curled up on the floor.
"Hey," she nearly shouted, rushing over, "what's wrong?" She gingerly touched Ami's shoulder.
"Nothing of note." Ami's voice was muffled as her face was pressed into her knees. It was strained, but she thought it was different to the kind people had when they were crying. "Please don't worry."
She bit her lip. "It's a little difficult to do that when you look like…" She finally realised what was wrong when she noticed Ami had stuffed both her arms between her midsection and thighs. "Let me see."
"No."
"Mizuno!"
"There is nothing you can do."
"I can help fix it up."
"Do you have bandage on you?"
"No."
"I reaffirm that there is nothing you can do."
"I'll help you confront them."
"No."
"Are you afraid of them?"
"Of course not. But unless you have a permanent solution, it is not worth it."
She huffed exasperatedly. "You're impossible!"
"If I am impossible, then so are you and the rest of the universe."
"You know what I mean."
"I prefer that you not make me guess."
"That wasn't something that required guessing," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
"You know what I mean."
And suddenly, her exasperation faded away and relief washed over her. Though Ami's physical situation was nothing to be relieved about, their interaction was back to normal and it was enough to almost make her smile. But then Ami turned her head, and in her eyes, there was nothing of the familiar triumph she usually associated to her after a banter.
"Kino-san."
"Yeah?"
"If you had a choice between doing what is best for everyone, and what you think you want to do," Ami said softly, "what would you choose?"
She sat back on her heels, trying not to let the unexpectedly swelling of concern show. "Can you give me a context?"
"What is best for everyone is exactly that, it keeps them safe; but it distances you." Ami frowned to herself. "What you think you want to do is uncertain; you may or may not like it in the end, it takes time to adjust, it makes you slow and therefore puts the others in danger. You are only somewhat partial to the potential it holds."
"It sounds like you've made your decision already," she said carefully.
"It does," Ami said with a sigh, "yet I haven't."
"Do you want to take the plunge?"
"I don't know. Would you?"
She couldn't help but turn away. "I would have. Before." The last word came out barely a whisper, and she hastily cleared her throat of the non-existent irritant. "Maybe you should talk to someone about it instead of being all cryptic."
This time, Ami was the one to look away. "I can't."
"Why not?"
"I am afraid," she muttered into her knees.
Makoto found herself speechless; it seemed as if the ever assured Mizuno Ami had just admitted to caring about what others thought of her. So she spoke what had always applied to her. "It only matters to those who matters. I wouldn't, and you know Usagi is just not capable of judging people."
Ami lifted her head, with a stare that told Makoto she got it wrong. "I don't care if people judge me," she said. "It is pity that I cannot bear. I despise being viewed as a broken thing."
Makoto was confused. "Why would—"
An alarm beeped loudly and shrilly into the afternoon sky.
Usagi breathed a sigh of relief when Haruda finally let her go. While she had reminded herself this morning to keep her thoughts hidden and had been portraying her playfully dense self for the whole school day, it had not fooled the teacher and she was subjected this time to a more probing talk and an almost-threat to the guidance counsellor. She really had to get her act together soon before her family was involved.
She was surprised to find Naru still waiting for her outside the classroom. The talk had gone for nearly half an hour and she was so very late to meet up with Ami and Makoto.
"Naru, what are you still doing here?" she asked, trying not to sound distant. She was worried about angering the others for being late and not telling them, but it wasn't Naru's fault.
"I said one day, didn't I?" Naru reminded, and began walking down the hallway.
She nearly let out a whimper; how was she to tell Naru without sounding like she was brushing her off?
Naru stopped when she realised she wasn't following her. She kept a straight face when she spoke again. "You're not getting out of this. We'll talk in front of the teacher if you don't want to move."
"No," Usagi stammered. "it's not that."
"Then what?"
"I…" She swallowed. "There's something I have to do."
"Like what?" Naru demanded firmly.
"I have to meet Ami and Makoto now," she said softly.
"Again?" The tone was accusatory and almost contemptuous. Then Naru's eyes widen and she slapped a hand across her mouth. But only moments later she dropped her hand, eyes hard and mouth set tight. She did not apologise for her remark.
"Naru, I…" Usagi pleaded, taking the hand that refused to hold her back. "Please understand, Naru. This is really important."
"Oh." She pulled her hand back.
"No, you're getting it wrong! It's not like that!"
"Then tell me," Naru said, her composure breaking. "Tell me what's going on with you and them? Tell me where I stand. Tell me they're good for you."
"What?" Usagi gaped, blinked, and she chose the wrong question to answer. "Of course they're good people, Naru. Why would you think that?"
Immediately, Naru's hand whipped out and lightly, but surely, clapped her on her sore side. She hissed, turning away.
"I don't like this, Usagi," Naru whispered, her eyes tearing. "Maybe I am a little insecure, but it's more than that. I can handle it if you choose them over me. I really can. But ever since you started hanging out with Mizuno-senpai, and now Makoto and Hino-san, you're always getting hurt."
"They're not the ones hurting me," she quickly defended.
"I know that!" Naru snapped. "But whatever activity you all are doing gets you hurt. And don't tell me it's because you all do something normal like…like American football or something. You're doing something dangerous and bad and you've been depressed lately and I want you to tell me I'm wrong, Usagi!" Her voice turned pleading. "I'm worried for you, Usagi. I'm scared you're doing something you'll regret."
Usagi knew what Naru was getting at, and it was very easy to tell her what she wanted. It would not be a lie; Naru was wrong about the specifics, be it drugs or something else normal people might do. But it wouldn't end just telling her that. Because Naru was right about everything else, and as long as the Dark Kingdom existed, there was always the possibility of her getting hurt. But it was better her, the one with magical powers and the ability to survive injuries, than Naru. Than any normal person.
And that meant that, no matter how much she wanted to tell her best friend, she couldn't. Naru would only worry more; she could put herself in the line of danger even.
"I'm sorry," was all she could say.
Naru looked like she had been slapped. Repeatedly. Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. Usagi wanted to cry. She put on a blank face.
"What happened to you?" Naru finally whispered.
Usagi couldn't bring herself to find an untruthful answer. So they just stood there in silence.
She didn't know how long it had been—maybe only mere seconds—before a loud curse sounded and the classroom door burst open and Haruda stomped out.
"You two are still here?" Haruda shook her head, her phone in her hand. "Never mind that. Don't go into town today. Tell all your friends, even those who have to pass by to get home. Heard me?" She ran off without listening to their answer.
More running footsteps took over as Haruda's faded. At the far end of the hallway, Makoto skidded to a stop when she spied her. "Usagi," she shouted, agitated, "we have to go!"
Usagi took a step forward, and saw Naru looking at her in horror.
"Usagi!" Makoto gestured wildly. Ami came into view next to her, looking grim. "Come on!"
Usagi ran toward them without another glance at Naru.
It was chaos in the city: people running and screaming everywhere; people lying, unmoving, on the ground; paramedics working futilely on the comatose bodies; police trying and failing to control the crowd, setting up barricades. The first Youma they came across ran away the instant it saw them. It had surprised them to the point that it got a fair lead on them and they wasted several minutes on the chase. Makoto managed to blow it up, but she also got a good chunk of the side of a—fortunately vacated—building.
The next two Youma they found with the help of Ami's scanners ran off in opposite directions.
"What the hell?" Makoto growled. She hurled a bolt at the bigger one, missed, and ran off after it.
"Jupiter, wait!" Ami was too slow to hold her back.
Usagi quickly threw her tiara at the other Youma still in view, and then they rushed off to join Makoto, who had once again left a hole in another building.
"At least say you got it." Usagi eyed the smoking destruction warily.
"I got it," Makoto said distractedly, glaring at her hands that sparked with erratic pulses of electricity.
"You can't control your powers," Ami noted. "Are you using the attack phrase?"
"Yes, but it still comes out weird and difficult to control."
Usagi yelped when a chunk of concrete fell close to her feet. "How many Youma are there? Maybe Ma—Jupiter can skip this one until she learns to control her attacks."
"Screw that," Makoto protested. "What better way to learn than in real-time combat?"
"Simulated dummies in a place where you won't accidentally hurt people," Ami retorted.
"And where will we get the simulated dummies?"
"If you hadn't nearly blown us up last night, you would have known."
"Hey!" Usagi jumped in to push them apart. "This is not the time to be arguing."
Ami huffed, taking out her supercomputer. Makoto stepped back and returned to focussing her powers into her hand. Usagi was left wondering why they were so disjointed. Maybe it's because you're not good enough to hold everyone together. She grunted and slapped at her cheeks, willing the dark thought away. This was not the time to doubt herself.
She saw Makoto watching her. They shared an encouraging smile.
"Thirty foreign entities," Ami said, calling their attention. She showed them a map of the area, pointing out the blinking dots that were the Dark Kingdom agents. "Twenty-seven are spaced out in a circle, in the same manner as the last time."
"A battleground," Makoto said.
"Yes." Ami tapped at the three dots in the middle. "This one is the shadow. I don't know the second one, but it is safe to assume he is also Shitennou by his position. The other…" Ami frowned. "Jadeite?"
"What?" Usagi exclaimed.
"Who's Jadeite?" Makoto asked.
"Isn't he dead?"
"Apparently someone in the Dark Kingdom has the power to revive the dead," Ami said. "Then the second one must be the man we saw take that stone out of Jadeite's body. Or the fourth Shitennou."
"Who the hell are you talking about?" Makoto asked again.
"The Shitennou," Ami explained simply. "They are like the man we saw came out of the shadow. But I believe they each have a unique power aside from the general energy attacks."
"So we only have to worry about one shadow," Usagi asked.
"But Jadeite can create a different dimensional world. If he is able to create more than one, I worry that he might be able to separate us and trap us in different worlds." Ami rubbed her chin contemplatively. "Without my scanners, you two will not be able to find the escape."
"So what's the plan?"
"If only we had sniping skills."
"I have a good range with my attack," Makoto offered.
"But your aim is terrible."
"While you work on a strategy," Usagi quickly cut in before another argument escalated, "what do we do about the Youma?"
"These three are nearby, you can go for them. But don't chase them too far away from here or toward the inner circle."
"Does it seem to you that the Youma aren't actually hurting anyone?" Makoto wondered aloud.
Usagi tilted her head, unsure of what the taller girl had been seeing. "What do you mean?"
"Aren't they just, like, going around scaring people until they faint or something?"
"They don't need physical contact to drain life energy," Ami explained. "It is somehow innate in their presence and any human that comes close to them gets their energy drained. But you are right; these Youma don't seem to have particularly violent tendencies. I suspect they are more concerned with obtaining energy, and hurting humans majorly depletes the energy resource."
The screams suddenly turned from general fear to cries for help. Usagi immediately ran out of the alley they were in, staggering when people ran into her. Makoto stood in front of her, expertly manoeuvring people around them with her size and a grace unlike that of a martial artist.
"Where is it?" Usagi yelled, trying to see among the throng of panicked people, blind to anything but their own safety. She bent over to help a fallen woman up, only to be shoved away after.
"There!" Makoto raised her arm, sparks crackling at the tip of the index finger as she took aim.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Ami fiercely shouted, pulling her arm down. "What if you hit people?" Makoto looked annoyed, but didn't respond. "Sailor Moon, get up onto the roofs and track it. Jupiter and I will engage it on the ground and chase it into a more isolated area. You will attack it then."
"Okay." She braced herself, and leapt, overestimating the strength needed but making it safely to the rooftop. She ducked low, only keeping her head high enough to keep the Youma in view. It was a different one, more human-like than any she had seen. Like the child demon, its gender was distinctly female. Dressed in a black suit, tall and muscular, this demon was bald and lacked eyebrows, and her eyes were pure black. She sauntered about in the middle of the street, emitting an aura so terrifying that people ran before even seeing her eyes that were the only true indication of her Youma kind. Occasionally the Youma would grab someone, study him or her, as if looking for something, then lose interest, but would only release her victim after they had fallen comatose.
Usagi kept going until she was to the back of the Youma so that she could stand up to full height for an easy attack, but quickly ducked back down when she saw the single eye at the back of her head.
"Damn it!" Usagi shivered at the eeriness of the sight. Backtracking, she found a spot that faced the Youma's side, and she peered over the parapet, waiting for the others to engage her.
Makoto reached the Youma first, and though people gave her a wide berth, she didn't throw another bolt. Instead, she kept the attack charged in her hands, and began engaging the Youma in melee combat. Usagi could only be momentarily impressed at her skill in martial arts, for however good Makoto looked, the Youma was ten times better. She didn't have to run because Makoto couldn't lay a single hand on her.
Makoto screamed angrily and released her attack into the ground near the Youma's feet. She merely leapt away, unharmed. The melee continued while Ami looked on thoughtfully.
Usagi saw wisps of fog beginning to pool around them and readied her attack. Ami carefully ventured closer to the two, angling herself to the side of them. She crouched, and when the fog burst out in full obscurity, she tackled Makoto away from the Youma. The Youma stiffened, reached out for where Makoto had been, and finding nothing, froze again. Usagi arched her arm.
And the fog dissipated. A man appeared—the long-haired blond one—and charged toward the two as they hurried to their feet. He launched a kick at Ami, sending her through the wall of a building. He aimed another at Makoto, but she was quicker to defend, bringing her forearms up to take the brunt of the kick, standing her ground. She tried to counter, but the man disappeared.
Usagi got over her shock—fortunately quicker than the Youma—and threw her attack at the remaining enemy. A yellow beam shot it away. She whirled around, readying another attack, but Jadeite merely stood with his arms crossed, unfazed.
"Ungrateful girls." He sneered. "We prepared a field for you empty of the distractions of humans for your convenience and you make us wait. Don't make us regret it."
Then he vanished.
Usagi climbed over the parapet and dropped down to the ground. The Youma had now disappeared and the people that still milled about now looked upon her with shock and awe.
Makoto came out from the wrecked hole in the building.
"I can't find her anywhere!"
Ami groaned, clutching her head and curling into herself, her midsection screaming in pain from the force of the kick. A hand roughly grabbed her arm and threw her onto her back. She forced herself to look at her assailant through watery eyes.
"No deals today?" she said through gritted teeth.
He shook his head. "Today I'm under orders."
"Whose?"
"I can't say."
"What do you want?" She tried to get up, but he stepped on her injured hand, prompting another fresh spasm of pain.
"Tell me everything you know." There was a certain pitch to his voice that threw a haze over her, but it was immediately gone.
"Why should I?"
He knelt down, digging his knee into her upper arm as he leant closer. His voice pitched lower and again, the haze overwhelmed her. "Tell me all about the Guardians."
Her mouth moved without her control. "What, specifically, do you want to know?"
"Who are you?"
"Mizu—"
"No, not your civilian identities," he said quickly. "Who are the Guardians? What are your main duties?"
"We protect the Princess." She blinked. Isn't that a secondary role? Why did that come out first?
He raised an eyebrow, one corner of his lips curled in intrigue. "Who is this Princess?"
It was on the tip of her tongue, and her lips moved noiselessly, desperate to speak the name that was becoming clearer. "Se…"
Stop! You can't say her name.
Why not? she asked herself.
You have to protect her from them.
But he wants to know, she argued. And stopped. Why did he have to know? He was the enemy, wasn't he? And the more she questioned his presence, the more the haze faded. Question by question, she remembered herself, regained control of her mind.
He chuckled when she broke out of his control and glared up at him, closing her mouth. "You're a strong one, aren't you?" Then he sighed and wrapped his fingers around her throat, bringing his face close to hers. "What is the identity of the Princess?" he asked softly, impassively.
I can't speak when you are choking me, she thought. The haze that returned disappeared again.
"Is she the keeper of the Silver Crystal?"
The haze returned every time he spoke. She could only gasp for breath. And she soon learned that questioning him got rid of the haze. But it wouldn't matter for much longer if he didn't release her. Her vision was beginning to dim and she had to think fast to distract him.
"M-Michel," she choked out.
He raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"Michel Laurent," she wheezed, using her free hand to coax his fingers loose.
He dropped his hands and sat back, accepting the distraction.
"That is your name, isn't it?" she continued through hacked coughing.
"Hmm, yes, I am finding myself more concerned about how you derived this information," he said airily, rubbing his face. Then to her surprise, he began to laugh wearily, muffling the sounds through his palms. The tremor of his laughter shook the knee that pressed into her arm and she bit her lower lip against the pain, tasting blood. As suddenly as it'd come, he stopped and slapped her cheek lightly, playfully. "My name is Zoisite, little girl. Michel Laurent doesn't matter anymore."
As if only just realising he was stepping on her hand, he made a curious sound and slid off, picking up her hand and inspecting it. "My, my. Did Nephrite do this to you?"
Nephrite, the man in the shadow.
"If only he'd told Kunzite he was at least successful in incapacitating a Guardian," he continued in a bored tone, "he wouldn't have had such a scolding."
Kunzite. He must be the last Shitennou; the leader, possibly. Her breath caught warily. Was he indirectly telling her things again?
He noticed her stiffening. "You really are a smart one, aren't you?" He grinned, pressed her palm to his chest, leaned in. His voice pitched low again, but the haze wasn't as strong as before. "Tell me, Sailor Mercury. Do you think you're you?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"I don't know your civilian identity," he said, "but Nephrite says you look different in Guardian form when your glamour magic hasn't been cracked."
She wanted to pull her hand away; he was beginning to crush her wrist. "I wouldn't know. I have always looked like me last I checked."
He leaned in closer, her palm pressing harder into his chest, a strange look in his clear eyes. "Maybe you're not you when you're transformed. How do you think we know you as Sailor Guardians even though you've never introduced yourselves to us that way?" He began whispering in a mocking conspiratorial tone. "It's all in the past."
"What—" She cut off in a strangled scream, her arm burning. Unable to take the two-way interrogation any longer, she called up her powers. At the same time, he released her hand, and her power surrounded him, encased him in solid ice. She rolled over to her side, clutching her arm, trusting her powers to keep him trapped for at least a few minutes.
Vaguely, she heard the distant sound of a phone ringing. She slowly fumbled for her phone.
"Ami," Usagi cried on the other line, "where are you? Are you safe?"
"Yes." Her voice was hoarse.
"Tell us where you are," Usagi continued worriedly. "We'll come find you."
She looked around, but the only things she recognised were the shelves and stocks of an empty convenience store. "I don't know." Stifling a groan, she struggled to her feet, careful not to touch the ice. She checked her computer. "I am inside the circle, less than two hundred metres northeast of where the Shitennou are waiting. Start heading in my general area; it will be easier if I look for you."
"Okay," Usagi relented. "Be careful."
She spared one last look at the encased Zoisite, only a little surprised at what she saw. His eyes were closed, but there was an expression of small satisfaction on his face. She still didn't quite know what he was up to, why he didn't want her to answer his questions and accepted the distraction, why he wanted her to escape. She didn't like it. But she knew he was telling the truth. She knew he had given her many hints about the Guardians and his organisation. She didn't know what yet, but she would find out.
Makoto brushed the blood from her eyes, grumbling angrily. It was just plain humiliating that she was hurt from debris caused by her own attack. Stringing curses from her lips, she shook off the rest of the concrete dust and shards. Usagi helped her for a short while before insisting that they moved on quickly to meet Ami.
They travelled by rooftop, and while the motive seemed to be to avoid being seen by the enemy, Usagi always ran down to engage a Youma whenever she spotted one. It was contradictory and time-consuming. There were just too many Youma to make a difference now; take down one, people just stupidly ran back to another one. Common sense said that if they defeated the Shitennou, the Youma would leave; so the faster they got to the centre, the better everyone would be. Usagi knew that. Hell, she was the one who said that. But she wasn't listening to herself, and Makoto could only follow, playing backup or distraction with her destructive play of magic, watching Usagi distress herself more checking on fallen victims that were barely breathing. It didn't help at all that they kept encountering Youma as they rounded the circle to get to the northeast end.
They were now up on the roof of an office building, taking added precaution as they neared the centre of the empty field. She was surprised at how true to their word the Shitennou were; there hadn't been anyone running about for nearly a kilometre now, and only few bodies lying on the ground. This battleground was certainly for the Guardian versus Shitennou affair.
Usagi stopped, holding up her phone. "Ami?" She turned to her left and peered over the edge of the rooftop. "Okay, I see it." She replaced her phone and turned to Makoto. "Ami's in a pharmacy nearby. Come on."
Makoto followed behind silently, musing the peculiarity of Usagi's leadership. As far as she'd seen, whenever Ami was around, Usagi frequently deferred to her for the next steps. Yet, on her own, she put up an impressive figure and was more confident in her decisions. If only you knew your strengths…
It was an eventless run toward the pharmacy. At the opposite end of the street, they checked for signs of the enemy before leaping down in front of the door and quickly ducking in. They found Ami at the right end, behind the prescription counter, struggling with a particularly stubborn tape on her fingers.
"Ami, are you okay?" Usagi rushed over. "What happened?"
"Zoisite happened," Ami replied distractedly, her voice hoarse. She was surprisingly uncoordinated with her right hand, Makoto noted with quiet amusement.
"Who?"
"The long-haired blond one." She grumbled at the now bunched up tape that had somehow found its way between her fingers. "Damn it!"
Makoto resisted chuckling out loud and proceeded to remove the offending object as Ami succumbed to a strange coughing fit. Looking around for the rest of the tape, she happened to glance at the floor behind the counter and felt sick. Several empty bottles of distilled water lay strewn in a bloody puddle at Ami's feet, a sight she was clearly trying to keep from Usagi. Then Makoto noticed the bruises on her neck and the opened packet of painkillers. Ami shot her a look and kept her chin down as she continued to answer Usagi.
"By the way, the guy in the shadow is Nephrite."
"How do you know all this?" Usagi pressed. "What did Zoisite do to you?"
She hesitated. "I don't really know."
Usagi paled. "What?"
"It isn't what you think," she quickly amended. "It was an interrogation of sorts. But he is in ice for now. So…"
So what? Makoto thought. So let's change the subject?
Usagi didn't pick up the subtle redirection. "You're sure you're fine?"
"My wounds reopened, so I would be grateful if you could help me with the tape."
"I'll do it," Makoto spoke up when Usagi looked lost.
"It's been two days," Usagi said worriedly, "why is it still so bad? The ones from the playground Youma were almost gone in two days."
"Well, those were just scratches. These lacerations are a lot deeper," Ami said. "There were also a couple of incidences before that kept aggravating it."
Makoto winced. "Sorry."
"It is not just you." She cleared her throat, subtly rubbing her neck.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it, Usagi." She brought up her computer, quickly changing the subject again. "Now, I don't really have a strategy in facing the Shitennou on account of the fact we three are not coordinated enough to work together. But—"
"Hey, come on." Makoto frowned when she began typing. "You'll aggravate your wounds again. You can't be that extreme of a lefty."
"I am." Still, she slowed down her typing, glancing over at the packet of painkillers before deciding against it. Three images projected into the air in front of them, with the associated observations of the three Shitennou. Makoto glanced over Nephrite's, before focussing on the other two she didn't know. "Anyway, Usagi, I want you to take on Jadeite. You have fought him before and know his moves."
Usagi scowled. "The annoyingly quick one."
"So be prepared for abrupt manoeuvring of your tiara. Kino-san, you handle Nephrite since you have some experience with him. Your attacks are destructive enough to hold him back even if you don't hit him, and you are able to separate him from his shadow. I suspect he becomes more vulnerable without his shadow. You know his fighting style?"
"Yeah."
"Good. And I will back both of you up, so long as Zoisite hasn't or doesn't escape from his ice prison while we are still engaging the other two."
"Can you take him on if he does?" Makoto wondered, having seen up close how easily the one called Zoisite had kicked her through a building.
"His unique ability is the power of suggestion, potentially strong enough to mirror direct mind control." Ami looked like she wanted to say something else, but stopped herself. "I believe, from experience, that by questioning his suggestions, I can overcome them, and as long as I avoid melee combat, I should be able to keep him at bay at least."
When Ami didn't say anymore, Usagi giggled nervously. "So, that's it? We're off to fight for our lives now?"
Ami clenched her jaw. "How did I get from research to this?" she muttered.
"What about Jadeite's world thing?" Makoto added.
Usagi shook her head. "If he really wanted to use it, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble with this battlefield thing."
"True," Ami agreed.
Another moment of silence passed.
Usagi rubbed her arms. "God, I'm scared."
"We all are," Makoto mumbled.
"Yeah, well…" She trailed off. "What does yours say?"
She was talking about the dark thoughts, Makoto knew. "That I'm going to kill everyone, including you guys, because I can't control my powers. Yours?"
"I'm going to trip over my own feet and let everyone get killed."
"We're fantastic people, aren't we?" Makoto said wryly.
"Oh, we're just the best," Usagi replied just as sarcastically.
Ami fixed them both with an irate stare. "Usagi, every time we faced a Youma, who killed it?"
"Well, you killed the last one at the playground."
"Other than that."
"Me," Usagi said somewhat reluctantly.
"So you do realise I rely on you immensely in every battle?" Ami pressed. "And you have never let me down at every single one. Without you, we wouldn't be alive right now."
Usagi's mouth flopped like a fish, wanting to object but couldn't.
"So why are you questioning yourself when there never has been any reason to?"
"The shadow…"
"You are only susceptible to it because you believe in it," Ami continued. "Now I am telling you there is no reason to believe it; ignore it. And you,"—Ami jabbed at Makoto's chest—"I don't know the details of your past, but we are not as fragile as your friend. You've already exploded your powers in our faces and we are still in one piece. Get over it."
"You haven't experienced it," Makoto protested. "It's not as easy as you think."
"Did you even try? Or did you just crawl into your corner crying about it?"
"You're going too far," she warned.
"These are our lives we are risking here," Ami warned back. "I have my own problems but at least I am giving my all right now to survive. You—both of you—are happily deluding yourselves into thinking you are useless. This is not a game, all right? You doubt yourself, you die."
Makoto's first instinct was to continue arguing, but she held back her tongue, Ami's voice of reason becoming louder in her head than the dark thoughts. However much the corner beckoned for her, she had never liked it. It was a place for a weakness she wasn't comfortable with, yet couldn't help embracing because it had always been there. She couldn't ignore it even if it had now become the one coaxing the darker thoughts out of her. But Ami was right; if she couldn't ignore it, she had to get over it.
"Tell me how to control my powers," she said softly. Prove one doubt wrong at a time.
Ami looked satisfied. She turned to Usagi.
"I can't, yet." Usagi looked at the ground. "But I know my priorities. I won't let anyone die."
Ami inhaled stiffly, as if calming herself. "Fine." She returned her attention to Makoto. "How have you been using your powers?"
"Like you guys do, I think," Makoto replied. "I say or think the attack phrase, and then I throw. But it goes weird every time I say the phrase."
Ami tapped her chin contemplatively. "Show me."
"In here?"
"Why not?" She looked down at her hidden puddle. "In fact, come back here."
"Are you serious?" Makoto gaped. "Haven't I destroyed enough buildings already?"
Ami just continued to beckon impatiently, shoving the rest of the unused pills and dressing and their packaging to the floor. "Securing our identity is a good enough cause."
She huffed, staring at the sloppy pile on the floor. "Doesn't our shielding magic protect everything? Including blood spilled?"
"It does," Ami said. "But since it can be broken, I am not leaving anything to chance. Now, all you need is a small blast there, enough to disintegrate everything."
"What's there?" Usagi asked.
"Old dressing. Small," she repeated.
Makoto shrugged. "I'll try. But I've already said I can't control it."
"Hold on." Ami quickly patched up the cut above her eye, then pulled Usagi back.
Makoto watched them until they were comfortably far enough away. Then she raised her arms over the intended target area, palms down and focussed. She tried to estimate how much power she would need, tried to conjure it up. But as always, it was too difficult. The magic would never rise up to the level she wanted no matter how much she concentrated and pushed. The sparks began to appear. She was the closest she could get to the level she wanted. Ami yelled. She said the phrase and released.
The explosion destroyed the whole right half of the store. When she finally managed to pry herself out from under a pile of rubble, another wave of shame and anger came over her. Someone, somewhere, was cursing through the ringing in her ears.
"Get up," Ami was yelling, pulling at Usagi. "Quickly, they've heard us!"
Her eyes widened. Outside, someone howled.
Her breath hitched in her throat, a natural reaction of her body whenever she sensed something out of the ordinary. It was as if in that moment, everything had stopped for her, allowing her mind to catch up to the real world after assimilating the psychic sensations. It was a long moment for her this time, and she was only dimly aware that she had forgotten to breathe. Evil and fear swirled together in a pool of crimson and ebony in her eyes, calling her, warning her away. A sensation all too familiar to her in the past months; it was as horrifying as the nightmares, as frightening as the ghostly visits.
"Did it sound right, Hino-san?"
It was a few seconds later before Rei could reply the other girl. "Yes. Though I suggest you take this fingering; it'd lead to a smoother transition."
Yui tried it, then nodded enthusiastically.
"Would you like to play the whole piece once more?" Rei asked, yet she was hardly listening as her thought returned to the psychic senses that overwhelmed her earlier. Though she wasn't unaccustomed to these flashes, ones as strong as that always took longer for her to decipher. Her feelings and experiences in the past month screamed supernatural—Dark Kingdom, possibly—yet her head, her practicality, demanded more than just clairvoyant flashes, which were already vague to begin with. It essentially became a choice of what she wanted to believe.
"Good," she said distractedly when Yui had finished.
The girl beamed, blushing. Then her smile dropped. "Are you really going to quit the choir, Hino-san?"
"Yes." Rei pretended to scan through her notes that laid down added instructions to be given to the replacement pianist she was grooming for when she would tell the rest of the choir members.
"May I ask why?" Yui caught herself. "I mean, I know you have so many things on your plate already. I'm sorry, I guess I… I've always loved hearing you play. Your definitions are incredible, and the emotions you add to the piece when you play…"
"Thank you." She smiled softly. "But you're right. I have important things going on. It's a little selfish of me, but playing accompaniment for the choir…isn't one of those important things."
"Oh. I understand," Yui said quietly. She began rummaging through the leaflets of scores, jotting down more notes or just humming the tunes to herself.
Rei answered the few questions while Yui prepared herself, but was mostly left to her own devices. She found herself checking her phone often, disappointed—maybe relieved—to find her inbox empty, yet having fear mounting within her as time went on.
"What's this?" Yui muttered.
Rei had to stop herself from uncharacteristically snatching the papers from her. She had bunched up all the loose paper scores she had together that she hadn't even considered that she might have accidentally included her own pieces. "That's not part of the choir's."
Yui frowned at the notes. "This reminds me of Rachmaninoff. But the choir isn't doing Russian choral works this season, right?" Her eyes widened when she finally noticed the manuscript was hand-written. "Is this your original composition?"
Rei hesitated. Though the style was inspired, the basic melody came entirely from her own head. Yet there was also something reminiscent about it that made her unable to claim it as her own.
Yui played a few bars despite Rei's obvious discomfort at her finding out about the piece; though she gave her due respect, Yui was one of the few girls who did not put Rei on a pedestal, for which Rei was glad. A normal relationship instead of the gushing admirers and annoying harassers. But that also meant the girl could be quite blunt without thinking. "Doesn't sound right," she said, looking disappointed.
"Thought so." Rei tried laughed it off.
Yui looked horrified; nevertheless, her apology was in response to her brashness than her statement, Rei knew, and happily accepted. Yui smiled shyly, collecting the unneeded manuscript and returning it back to her. "If you'd like my opinion, Hino-san…"
"I'd be very grateful for it. You don't know how long I've been stumped on finding the right style."
"Perhaps the problem is that you're classically trained."
She frowned. "Please don't say modern pop."
"No." Yui chuckled. "But there are many forms besides those of the classics. Have you tried traditional folk? Or medieval?"
"Really?"
"It's just a suggestion," Yui said. "I think you may be stuck because you're insistent on using your own personal preferences, rather than what suits the melody. Oh. I don't mean to sound like I know more than you, Hino-san. I don't even know what you've tried."
If there was one thing Rei could really say she knew about herself, it was she was not the best at everything. Try as she might, at so many different activities, there was always someone better. It used to frustrate her when she was younger. Now, at least she was aware this problem is in major part her own fault; perhaps if she had just focussed on one thing instead of playing with so many others, she would've found something she was best in. Sure, she excelled in them; but it was one thing to be a master, and another to be the jack. She was unfulfilled.
"It's fine, Yui-san," she said. "You're absolutely right."
"If you ever want some help with that, Hino-san…"
Yui was an excellent pianist and had great knowledge of music, both theoretical and practical. The only reason Rei was chosen to be the choir's pianist instead of the other girl was because Yui had very low confidence in herself and choked the day of the auditions. She had since grown and Rei wanted her to be the one to replace her.
"Oh, I'll definitely come to annoy you with that soon," she said, grinning.
Yui returned the laugh.
"So, are you confident?" she asked. "Even with my recommendation and your many performances for the school, they will still want to hold a school-wide audition, in fairness to other potential candidates, and because of your past audition."
Yui winced. "That was horrible."
"Don't worry. You're a better pianist than any I've heard off. You just need to show confidence to shake off their slightly skewed judgement of you now."
She nodded, tapping her chin in thought. "I know the choir's list, and with another week of practice, I'm sure I can play them all by heart."
"That's good."
"Would you mind if we go through the more difficult pieces of the list again?"
The next fifteen minutes was spent listening to Yui play almost flawlessly. So easy was her task that Rei found herself drifting often, getting agitated. Something was happening, and it was bad.
The music room's door slid open and the student council president for the middle school division poked her head in.
"Ah, Hino-san," she said, "I thought I'd find you here."
"Was there an emergency meeting I didn't know about?" Rei asked.
"No. Well, there kind of is one now." She looked anxious. "Something's gone down in the city. I need your help to get the message to the other students."
Rei stood, fists clenched. "What happened?"
"Well…" She hesitated. "You know that monster thing that was on the news last weekend?"
Rei had packed her bag and was halfway across the room before she had finished her sentence.
"Wait, where're you going?" The older girl grabbed her arm as she passed her in the doorway. "I need you to send the email out."
She turned back, about to automatically comply and quickly find a computer, when she saw him. Oh god, how did you get in? Standing casually at the end of the hallway, leaning comfortably against the wall, his blond hair was pulled back from his eyes lazily, his grin soft, sweet. He waved, tilted his head, not uttering a word. A false show of humanity.
False, she told herself, again and again. He was not human. A demon you extinguished. A ghost you have to ignore. A guilt you should not be letting haunt you.
"Hino-san?" Yui called from behind her.
Rei shook her head. He stood straight, nodded his head toward the outside, beckoning.
"You know where the email password is kept," she said to the president. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
She ignored the cries of her schoolmates, the angered lectures of passing teachers. She ignored the man that taunted her at every corner she turned, at every hour since the start of the week. But she couldn't ignore him when he greeted her at his last appearance at the entrance to the school building.
"I'll be waiting for you, my love."
And she saw why he was able to enter the school grounds despite the pains she'd taken to prevent it.
"What the hell, witch," a girl said, tall and pretty, waving a torn-up piece of paper—the ofuda she had stuck behind a noticeboard by the door. "This is a fucking Catholic school."
The little clique behind her snickered. The Ayame group was harmless; prone to verbal harassment, some backstabbing and rumour-spreading, perhaps, but generally harmless. She gave them her infamous glare that almost everyone attributed to describe 'I'm in no mood today, so shut up and I won't curse you'. Sometimes, taking advantage of the fear her other half drew out of people worked best, even if she didn't like doing so.
She rolled her eyes as they tried not to be so visible in shrinking back. Ayame tried to cover up with a shaky retort; she ignored her, she didn't have time to play with them. Usagi was fighting the Dark Kingdom; her friends were currently risking their lives to fight against a larger evil than the world. So, even if the world denounced her for what she could do, it was a lucky bastard that she would save because her friends were in it.
A/N: Thank you all for reading, and I do hope you'll enjoy this (despite some unfortunate lack). Special thanks to my previous reviewers, PrincessAnnastacia (now Sacagewea?), Vipaka, LoveInTheBattleField, Firery Ice and Kaylen Cooper; your thoughts really meant a lot to me, I'm really glad this story is to your satisfaction. Thanks!