"There you are, Tohru, I've been looking all over for you!"
Natsumi said to Demande as she found him still inside the building.
Demande had just managed to raise himself off of the ground before she came but still felt weak and disoriented as he clung to the wall next to him.
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked, now noticing the loss of color on his face.
"I'm fine, I just feel sort of lightheaded." he replied.
"You poor thing." she said to him.
Natsumi moved his strands of hair that were covering his face and started to lightly caress his cheek.
The alcohol that emitted from her breath was apparent, which indicated that she had continued to drink after he had left her.
"You know, I don't live too far from here, we can always take this back to my place so you can lay down and...rest." she started to giggle as she finished the sentence.
Usagi suddenly walked inside the hallway where they were and stopped when she noticed the two that stood between her and the exit.
Demande hadn't taken notice of this as he pressed his fingers against his pounding temples, however, it was Natsumi who saw that she was watching them.
That was when Natsumi decided that now was the moment.
She gave a sneering grin in Usagi's direction before she placed one hand on the back of Demande's head and forced his face into hers as she kissed him passionately. This was so unexpected that Demande grabbed onto her in order to prevent himself from falling on top of her as she caused him to lose his balance.
However, from where Usagi was standing it looked as if he was returning her affections and was unable to keep his hands off of her.
When Natsumi slowly pulled away, she looked back over to Usagi, causing Demande to finally take notice of her and the disconcert she showed in the eyes that stared back at him.
"Usagi." he gasped.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to see...I should go." she said in a quivering voice as she brushed past them.
Natsumi started to giggle.
"Just as I thought, the little girl has a thing for Sensei. There's nothing like seeing your crush with another woman to bring out jealousy."
Demande started to walk after Usagi.
Natsumi grabbed onto his arm to stop him.
"Where do you think you're going? We're not finished here." she angrily said to him.
He ripped his arm out of her grip.
"Yes we are. I did what you asked me to do, now I say it's over." he said shortly to her.
"I don't know why you're so concerned with that girl, but I will go out there now and scream that name for all the world to hear if you leave me now. I'll especially make it loud enough for her to hear." she threatened.
Demande looked back to her furiously, and then shortly after relaxed his expression and even started to laugh to himself.
Who was she to blackmail him?
It had just occurred to him that this whole thing could of been avoided from the beginning. He really was becoming too much of a normal Earth man for his own good.
"Alright then, follow me." he said calmly to her.
He walked back to the entryway to the club and although, she was taken aback by his sudden change in mood, she smiled triumphantly and followed him.
The club had been completely evacuated after it had lost power, leaving both of them to be the only ones left inside. There was a room located in the VIP area that he could see was up the stairs which made it secluded enough for what he was about to do.
When he opened the door for her, he allowed her in and closed it behind himself once he was inside, turning the latch of the door while she wasn't looking.
He then pulled out his black crystal earrings and placed them inside his ears.
As he did that, Natsumi poured herself and Demande a drink from the minibar and then handed him his glass.
She downed it all in one gulp as he placed his down on a table next to him without taking a sip. When she was finished, she too, placed her glass down and started to look at him now with a hunger in her eyes.
He continued to lean against the door, indifferently, as she made her way over to him. She glided her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck as she placed her lips on his for the second time.
As she did this, Demande abruptly grabbed onto her shoulders and turned her around, switching their places to where she was now the one now pressed against the door.
The spontaneous gesture left her both bewildered and excited as she let out a nervous laughter before he cupped her chin and lifted it to where they were both staring intently into eachother's eyes.
Natsumi, in seconds, fell silent as her smile soon transformed into that of paralyzing fear.
Demande's third eye emerged from his forehead and the light from it blinked rapidly towards her.
There was no escaping his gaze.
"Listen to me now, you dispicable woman. You will leave here tonight without me and never seek me out again. If you ever happen to see myself or my brother out in public, you will say nothing. Unless I summon you for any reason, I will not exist to you. This goes for your little friend as well. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
Natsumi stared back with an expressionless face and answered, "Yes, Prince Demande-sama, I understand."
"Leave me." he said coldly.
"I will go now." she replied robotically.
Demande let go of her shoulders and his third eye disappeared.
She continued to look out at nothing through her eyes that lacked any sign of pupils and then proceeded to calmly turn around and walked out of the door, closing it behind her.
He smiled to himself and nonchalantly walked over to the drink he had set down moments before and picked it up, swirling the liquid around inside the glass.
"Well, that takes care of that." he said aloud before taking in generous sips until it was empty.
Despite that small inconvenience, it didn't at all hinder his mood because the occasion actually called for a celebratory drink.
Sapphir was correct in his assumption that the present timeline has been altered and he couldn't be happier about it. Everything he had ever wanted, was now more attainable than ever before.
With King Endymion out of the picture once and for all, there was no one left to stand in his way in getting all he had ever wanted.
Just then, the image of Usagi dancing with Seiya suddenly came to mind.
His happiness quickly turned back into that of anger.
'Want to know Seiya's...true identity?'
What did Sailor Iron Mouse mean by that exactly?
He knows Seiya is not a normal Earth man, but, what exactly is he? She wouldn't taunt Sailor Moon with such information unless it would somehow conflict with her in some way. Which meant that who Seiya was would inadvertently be a problem to Usagi without him even realizing it.
It's possible that he even could be working for Sailor Galaxia.
His smile started to creep back.
"Wouldn't that be something." he said to cheerfully to himself.
Now that King Endymion was out of the way, it was only a matter of time before Seiya would have to be dealt with, for he was his only obstacle left.
It ended up being around midnight when he returned home from the long and arduous day it turned out to be, but it would soon become apparent that it wasn't over just yet.
He had expected for Sapphir to be fast asleep in his room by now, but instead, ended up walking through the front door to find the living room lights still on and his brother waiting for him.
"Nii-san, where have you been?" he jumped from the couch and made his way towards him.
Demande was taken aback.
"I was out." he answered unapologetically. "What's wrong?"
"It's the gems. They've started to give a reaction." Sapphir said anxiously.
"How do you mean?" Demande asked.
"When I had returned home a few hours ago from the carnival, I noticed a strange buzzing noise ever since I had stepped through the door. I couldn't quite trace it at first as it would only happen every once in a while, but as the night when on, it became more frequent and grew louder. Eventually, I found that it was coming from on top of the fireplace. They've been giving off vibrations all day!"
"I don't believe it…" Demande said.
"Yes, only, it stopped just moments before you came home." Sapphir informed him.
"Where are they now?" Demande asked.
"Here." Sapphir gestured. "On the coffee table.
Both leaned over the gems and looked upon them in complete silence.
Unfortunately, they sat quiet and motionless on top of the satin pillow they laid on.
Demande picked up the gems in his hand and concentrated his energy to channel both the ruby and the emerald, but there was nothing.
"Did you see them give off a light by any chance?" he asked Sapphir.
"To be honest, there were a couple of times where I thought I had." he answered.
So Usagi wasn't imagining it after all. What she saw the night before really was Rubeus and Esmeraude's life force trying to make themselves known. He was only fortunate that they had only briefly glowed to her, passing it off as only them reacting to the light.
"We must watch these carefully from now on and continue to grow the Jakokuzuishou before it is too late to bring them back." Demande stated.
Sapphir looking concerningly to his brother, but eventually gave a firm nod back to him.
"I'll do my best."
The next day came and went with no change in the gems that continued to lay ordinary.
Soon after, it was back to the normal school week.
It was the usual mundane schedule that held very little excitement. That was, until Usagi would typically stop in, after classes were done for the day.
But, curiously enough, she never came. He figured there had to be a reasonable explanation for this because, although, her book report was finished with, he knew that wouldn't stop her from continuing to spend her time after school with him.
The next day was the same.
Then the next.
Then the next one thereafter.
During the entire school week, she never showed once.
He saw her briefly in the hallways from time to time but as usual, she was always surrounded by her friends.
He would even wait outside his door once the bell rang when the students were dismissed and would try to say a greeting to her when he'd spot her. But each time she would brush past him without even so much as a glance in his direction to leave each day as if she were in a hurry to go somewhere.
Could it be her senshi duties prevented her from being able to have the extra time after school?
But then he remembered that her fellow senshi continued to attend their club activities, so, that couldn't be it either.
The fact that she hadn't stopped by to say 'hi' or anything the entire week started to cause him to worry.
She couldn't be mad at him for what had occurred the other day, could she?
Now was not the time for things to move in the wrong direction. It is crucial that nothing go wrong or he may lose his only chance to win her affections.
Demande let out a grunt in frustration and slammed the last of the books he was putting away for the day on it's shelf in an uncareful manner. This caused the book that stood behind it to fall with a loud 'thump' on the other side to another aisle.
"Perfect." he sighed and rolled his eyes.
Once he'd fix this small matter, he could finally call it a day and head home.
He walked around the long set of bookcases and looked to the small, black book that fell to floor.
As he bent down and picked it up, he noticed that the book was tattered and didn't seem to have a title or any form of illustration on it's front and back cover.
When he opened it up to investigate further, he had to catch the pages that were so worn out and old that they disconnected from the spine that should've secured them in place.
What was an old book such as this doing here?
It wasn't a published book like all the others for the pages were all handwritten. On the inside of the cover, it had an inscription that read:
'Property of Junsei Takamine'
Demande didn't recognize the name but he decided to read the paragraph beneath it.
'These are the final words of, I, Junsei Takamine, ruler of Nemesis, the rightful 10th planet of the Milky Way Galaxy. Here lies the story of it's true origins, and of my long life that will shortly be coming to an end. It is important that whomever may find this, know what the truth is in order correct what has been wronged to my people…'
Demande raised himself up into standing position and brought the book closer to his awestruck eyes and reread it to make sure that his vision wasn't playing tricks on him.
"Tohru-chan?" a voice sang playfully to him.
He abruptly closed the book shut and looked up to find Miss Kurogane who was peeking through the library door.
"Y-Yes. What is it?" he said in an unusually heightened tone.
"Some of us were grabbing a bite to eat at the cafe down the street. Want to come?" she asked.
"Oh. I'm afraid I can't, there's... something I have to go do." he answered.
She smiled and rolled her eyes at the same time.
"Still as anti-social as ever I see. Well, have a good weekend, don't forget we have a meeting on Monday."
"Thanks for reminding me, you have a great weekend as well."
When Miss Kurogane exited the room, Demande carefully placed the book inside his jacket and left the school, hurrying his pace to head home.
There seemed to be fewer people on the streets than usual which was odd for being a Saturday, but it made it much quicker and easier to navigate through.
With just another street to go down until he would make it home, it just so happened that Usagi was coming from the opposite way towards his direction.
Both suddenly stopped when they realized each other's presence.
Soon enough, they eased in closer to one another.
"Usagi, it's good to see you, how is your day going?" he asked casually.
"Tohru-chan." she said in surprise. "Fine."
"I've been curious on how your report turned out." he commented.
Usagi's expression brightened, "I made an A!"
It didn't appear at this point that she seemed to be mad at him like he had thought.
"I'm so glad to hear that. With how much effort you put into it, you definitely deserve it." he told her in praise.
The compliment caused the heat to rise in her cheeks.
"It's because of you it was possible. I'm sorry that I haven't stopped by to thank you properly." she said.
"Don't worry about it, I know now that you're done with your project, there's not much of a reason to hang out in the library anymore since you have more free time now." he assured her.
"Well, there has been a reason for that actually…" she trailed off, looking down at her side.
Suddenly a little girl peeked out from behind Usagi's legs. The girl was so tiny, she had been completely concealed the entire time.
She looked to be about 3 years old and wore a sailor styled school girl outfit even though she was far too young to be attending any school. Her hair was a bright magenta color that was done up into two odango buns just as Usagi's, only, her's were done in a heart shape rather than rounded. Her eyes, rather, her whole face looked to resemble every feature of Usagi's.
Suddenly, he had remembered the little girl in his dream, the one the Queen had called, Small Lady Serenity. Aside from the haircolor, it was like she was this little girl's clone.
His supposed daughter, that is…
The small girl smiled indifferently up at him and began to wave.
"Well, well, well, who is this?" he asked.
"Chibi." the little girl said back to him.
"This is my….little sister...Chibi Chibi." she said without looking him in the eyes.
He looked back down at the little girl who continued to smile.
"Chibi." she said again.
Demande tried to hide his confusion as best he could, but it was difficult.
"A sister? I wasn't aware you had a sister." he told her.
"Oh, yes, she just came back from staying a few months with my aunt, who lives out of town. I'm pretty sure i've mentioned it to you before.." she said with a nervous laugh forced out at the end of the sentence.
She knew that it was going to be hard for him to buy a story like that.
Chibi Chibi had come into their lives the day after the incident at the club and even Usagi, herself, had no idea of the little girl's real identity. Her initial assumption was that she had arrived from the future, just as Chibiusa had, and that she could even be a younger sister to her. In fact, she had even brainwashed her mother, father, and brother much in the same way Chibiusa had done 2 years prior, into thinking that she was apart of their family.
But Setsuna had quickly debunked such an idea for as the former guardian of Time, she knew all there was to know about her future, and Neo Queen Serenity will only ever bear one child.
Usagi's father happened to go on a business trip the day after this happened, leaving Usagi's mother too busy to be able to pick Chibi Chibi from daycare, so Usagi had been going in her place straight from school everyday until Usagi's father would return from his trip.
And yes, Usagi was correct, Demande didn't believe one word of what she had just told him. Not only had she never mentioned to him of having a younger sister, it was a fact from Sapphir's research, that she only ever had one sibling.
But he remembered that they were now living in an altered timeline that had breathed new life 2 years ago, a timeline where the King who was set to rule Crystal Tokyo was dead as well as his future descendants. Which would mean that there would have to be a new line of descendants…
As he compared the little girl and her resemblance to the daughter in his dream, he found the way that she stared back at him quite peculiar. To anyone around them, she appeared as normal as any other little girl, but, the way she looked at him, no, looked through him suggested that she knew something about him that he, himself did not. There was a wisdom that lied behind her eyes, that no ordinary 3 year old could possess.
He decided that he would play the fool and go along with Usagi's lie because there was no use in backing her into a corner over it. The little girl's identity will reveal itself in time.
"Yes..now that I think about it...you had said something about it months ago." he said forcing a laugh at the end.
She looked surprised at his response but then laughed as well, going along with it.
"Yes, she hasn't been home in so long, I guess I hadn't brought her up since that time."
"I can definitely tell you're related." he commented.
Demande then moved closer towards the little girl and started to lower himself to become eye level with her.
"It's very nice to meet you, Chibi Chibi." he said sweetly to her.
Chibi Chibi retained her cheerful smile towards him and even held out her hands to Demande indicating she wanted to give him a hug.
"Chibi?" she said to him.
"Wow she seems to really like you." Usagi said in amazement. "Usually she's shy around strangers."
He smiled and held out his hand to her.
Just then, the old book that he had found in the library, accidentally fell out of his jacket pocket and onto the ground with a loud thump.
Chibi Chibi looked down at the old, tattered book and suddenly changed her expression.
Her eyes widened in terror and she ran behind Usagi's legs to hide.
"Chibi Chibi, what's wrong?" Usagi asked her.
"Chibi! Chibi! Chibi Chibi!" she cried hysterically as tears started to pour down her face.
She motioned for Usagi to pick her up off of the ground and Usagi did so.
Demande swiftly picked the book up and shoved it back into his pocket.
"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to upset her." he said taking a step back from them.
"She probably just wants to get home and take a nap, you know how kids are." she sighed. "I should probably go."
"I understand, I need to head home as well, have a pleasant weekend." he said before he looked back to Chibi Chibi.
"It was nice meeting you little Princess, I'm sorry if I startled you." he said while maintaining a distance.
She had stopped crying now and only continued to stare back at him with a blank expression. Not exactly at him but rather his jacket pocket which held that book.
"Usagi?" a voice called out.
They all three turned to a lady with long wavy hair carrying a handful of groceries on each arm walk towards them.
Chibi Chibi wiped the tears from her face and perked her expression up, holding her arms out toward the lady.
"Chibi!" she yelled cheerfully.
"Mom." Usagi said to the lady.
Demande stiffened his posture as his nerves began to set it in.
This lady was Usagi's mother…
She and Usagi looked nothing alike but the lady was still very much attractive in her own way. The non-resemblance wasn't unusual considering she wasn't really her biological mother and was more of a "carrier" to bring about the reincarnation of Princess Serenity.
"I'm glad I ran into you, I just came from the store and need a little bit of help bringing these home." the woman said as she handed Usagi a couple of shopping bags.
"Oh, um, sure." Usagi replied.
"Who is this young man you're talking to?" she asked.
Demande took a deep swallow as his mouth suddenly felt dry.
"This is the librarian who works at my school." she said appearing somewhat nervous herself.
Her eyes suddenly widened at this information.
"You're the Librarian at Juuban High?" she asked him raising an eyebrow.
"Yes ma'am." he answered.
She then softened her expression. "My, my, things sure have changed since I was a student."
He started to relax. She seemed to have a very nurturing and maternal personality about her that made him feel more at ease.
"It was a job I took on short notice when I moved into town. Tohru Satoshi, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." he said while giving a bow.
She suddenly looked to Usagi, and then back to him.
"Goodness, so you're the famous Mr. Satoshi-san I've been hearing so much about?" she asked enthusiastically.
Usagi's eyes bulged out of her head toward her mother.
"Mom!" she yelled.
"Chibi." Chibi Chibi said with a snicker.
Demande answered,"I didn't know my reputation was so well regarded."
"Oh yes, that's all I hear nowadays: 'Mr. Satoshi-san said this, Mr. Satoshi-san taught me that.' it's definitely a recurring topic at the dinner table." she smiled.
He looked over to Usagi who was clearly mortified as she set the small Chibi Chibi down who then ran to the lady's side.
"My name is Ikuko Tsukino and I must say, Mr. Satoshi, I owe so much to you."
"I don't know how you mean." he replied.
"Usagi's grades have been rising in all her subjects at a rate I've never seen before. All of her homework is being turned in on time and her attitude towards her education is changing for the better and I know that a lot of it is because of you. Not very many other educators have had the patience to work with Usagi." she said with raw emotion.
Usagi pouted to the side as they talked as if she were a small child intruding on a grown up's conversation.
"Thank you, but, I think you give me far too much credit." he answered with a nervous laughter.
"I hope she hasn't been any inconvenience to you as I know this isn't really in your job description." she said.
"Not at all. I see a lot of potential in Miss Tsukino and she can come to me anytime she needs help with schoolwork. To be honest, the librarian position is only temporary until they can find a teaching job for me so I am definitely more than qualified in putting out the best results."
Ikuko mama gave an approving look towards Usagi and then back to him.
"With the way you make things sound, it actually makes me optimistic for Usagi to be able to get into college." she looked with a brightened expression.
Demande then swiftly cupped one of her hands into his and looked into her eyes.
"Mrs. Tsukino, if I'm around at this high school long enough, I would be able to guarantee that your daughter would be able to get in, not just any college, but the college of her top choice." he said with confidence.
Ikuko froze for a moment before bringing her other hand to shield the overwhelmed expression on her face.
"My goodness, you shouldn't tease an old woman like that." she told him.
"That is hardly what I would describe you as, and I'm absolutely serious when I say this." he responded charismatically.
Ikuko looked to Usagi again as if she could visualize the diploma in her hand at that moment.
"Usagi, I give you permission to spend as much time in the library as needed just as long as you don't get in Mr. Satoshi's way. In fact, I encourage it."
Usagi looked back to her dumbfoundedly.
"I'm afraid we've taken up enough of your time and I really need to get these groceries home. I'll have to have you over for dinner sometime as a thank you for your generosity." Ikuko-mama gleamed.
"I look forward to it, she has told me what an excellent cook you are. Good evening." he said and bowed to her.
Ikuko lifted up Chibi Chibi and set her on her hip as she took a couple of bags from Usagi and placed them on her free arm.
She waved goodbye to Demande and started to walk ahead without her. Even Chibi Chibi seemed to have forgiven him as she, too, turned around and waved cheerfully.
Usagi looked to Demande with a slight embarrassed look on her face.
"Sorry about that. She can get carried away sometimes…" Usagi mumbled to Demande.
"There's nothing to apologize for. You're lucky to have such a sweet and caring mother like that, believe me." he placed a hand on top of her hand.
She was reluctant to agree with him at first but then looked up to him and smiled.
They continued to smile at one another, both seeming to not want to say their goodbyes to each other just yet if they had a choice.
"Have a good weekend, Usagi-chan." he said before ending her name in a whisper.
"See you after school, Tohru-can." she whispered back and giggled as if she were telling a secret.
She hurried ahead, groceries in hand, to catch up to her mother and they disappeared around the street corner.
He smiled triumphantly to himself. Demande knew he had succeeded in charming her mother which was always an important step in courting a future bride for it made things all the more easier.
The realization of the small book in his pocket came to mind again.
He pulled out the book and stared at it's blank cover.
The little girl had reacted so strangely towards this.
His fingers started to graze vertically along the cover, feeling the roughness of it under his fingertips that began to grow hot and vibrate mildly. There was a strange energy that emitted from it.
That was when he decided the he needed to get home as quickly as possible and find out what answers lied inside that book.
When he arrived home, he stormed through the door and removed his jacket and set it on the hook next to their front door.
Just as he reached in it's pocket to remove the book, the doors that led to the secret room opened with Saphir hurrying out.
"Nii-san, you must come in here right away." Saphir told him breathlessly.
Demande removed his hand out of the pocket, leaving the book inside, and followed his brother.
When the door shut behind them, the room was it's usually endless darkness with only the sheens of the black crystal and purple aura to lighten it up. However, two powerful lights, being one of green and red, flickered on and off which illuminated in the center.
Demande approached the lights, which were so bright that he had to squint and cover his eyes the closer he got.
He knelt down with his brother at his side, and placed the gems into the palm of his hand.
At once a vision of both Rubeus and Esmeraude appeared in his mind but only briefly.
"Prince Demande!"
They both desperately called out to him as the vision ended and followed with an intense pulse of energy, causing Demande to be knocked backwards.
The stone's flashes of color vanished and they fell to the floor laying dull and lifeless as they were before.
"Nii-san, are you okay?" Saphir asked in concern as he bent down to help him.
"I'm fine." Demande answered as he lifted himself up.
"The stones starting reacting like that about half an hour ago. It was strange...I felt compelled to bring them in here, closer to the Jakokuzuishou. But, I heard their voices, Nii-san, they really are inside those stones as you said" Sapphir exclaimed.
Demande started to grin.
"Sapphir, it's all becoming a reality. We'll all be reunited very soon, I can feel it."
"I must admit, it is a relief to know that bringing back the Jakokuzuishou wasn't all for nothing." Sapphir said.
"Of course not. The Jakokuzuishou is under our complete control and cannot be corrupted by any outsiders this time. You forget, that it's power is our birthright and survives only to serve us, from Nemesis."
Sapphir glanced nervously away.
Demande placed his hand on his shoulders.
"Brother, please know how much I am grateful to you for helping me achieve this. This will not all be in vain, I promise. Once we are all together again, things will truly begin for us, you know?"
Sapphir smiled reassuringly back to him.
'I have to type up a report for my class, so I'll be on the computer if you need me." he said before walking toward the sudden light that burst in the room as the door opened itself up to them.
"While you do that, I'll be in my room...resting up." Demande replied following him out of the secret room.
As Sapphir sat down at his desk, staring into the bulky, brightly lit monitor while Demande discreetly walked over to his hanging jacket and was finally able to grab the book inside his jacket pocket.
Demande then went inside his room and immediately locked the door behind him.
He sat down on his bed and looked to the blank, front cover of the book, becoming hesitant on what he would find inside.
But after taking a deep breath, he opened the book's front cover and turned to the first page.