Chapter 24: Interrogation

Demando sat silently on his throne watching the TV monitors closely. He didn't even pay attention when Emerald appeared into the room. She took a seat on one of the arm rests and watched the screens too.

"What are you doing master?" she questioned.

"I know what Sailor Star Shooter's civilian form is." Demando answered softly. "Maybe this will help me in finding out everyone else's." he added.

"And this way..." Emerald smiled.

"I will be able to see what makes them all weak." He continued. "And I'm thinking of using Sailor Neptune first." He added while pressing a button on a remote. The screens all turned to Sailor Neptune.

"How will you be able to tell who she is in civilian form?" Emerald questioned.

"Rewind." Demando said while pressing the rewind button on his remote. He rewound his monitors and watched as Michiru transformed into Sailor Neptune.

"Why should we use her to get to Star Shooter?" Emerald asked. Demando sighed and pressed another button.

"I can't believe Star Shooter would attack her like that."

"Why are you standing up for her?"

"How can I help?" she asked. Demando finally looked up at her and smiled.

Usagi and Seiya walked hand in hand down the hallway of the school towards the front doors. They were silent, but loved each others company. Seiya was enjoying her warmth while Usagi was thinking about her fight coming up.

'Why, oh why did I choose to fight Rei?' she thought with a small groan. 'There's no way I can win. What am I going to do?'

"Everything will be alright Usagi." Seiya squeezed her hand. She looked up at him in shock.

"How did you-" Usagi started. Seiya smiled and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. You're going to win." He answered. "You're the strongest person I know." He added. The two walked over towards her car and leaned against it waiting for everyone else to join them. Usagi looked at her watch and frowned.

"I wonder what's taking everyone so long." She muttered. A yellow convertible pulled up behind them. Seiya noticed and rolled his eyes.

"Hey there Odango." Haruka called out. Her eyes rested on Seiya and her voice had a slight edge to it. "...Seiya." she added.

"Haruka." Seiya answered while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Have you seen Hotaru?" Setsuna questioned.

"I meant to tell you." Usagi slapped her forehead. She smiled apologetically. "She left to go and meet up with Chibi-usa. They went to the park." She answered. Michiru unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car.

"I'll see you two later." She said while grabbing her purse and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Bye Michiru." Setsuna said while getting into the front seat.

"Good luck." Haruka added and backed up out of the parking space. She then drove out of the schools parking lot and into the traffic.

"How come you aren't going with them?" Seiya asked.

"I have some business to attend to." Michiru answered coolly. Yaten, Taiki, and Karou all ran up to the car.

"Gosh you guys. I was getting ready to leave without you." Usagi said.

"Sorry we took so long." Karou panted. She took a couple of seconds of deep breaths before straightening up. "Rei and them cornered us." She added.

"What did they say?" Seiya demanded.

"They warned us to stay out of their way and once they defeat Usagi they'll defeat us one by one before they get to Demando." Yaten answered. Taiki remained silent and crossed his arms over his chest. Stephie-chan ran up a couple of seconds later.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late." She apologized. "I was at a dance meeting." She added. Taiki turned towards Michiru.

"So why are you here?" he asked. Yaten and Karou had then noticed her and waited to hear her explanation.

"I came to talk to Stephie-chan." Michiru answered while placing her hands behind her back.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" Stephie-chan raised an eyebrow in suspicion. She reached up and started to tug on her necklace. She cocked her head to the side and waited for an answer.

"Come with me and you'll see." Michiru replied.

"I'm not going just because you want me to." She snapped.

"I have something that you might want." Michiru sighed.

"She's not going with you." Karou spat.

"I can take care of myself." Stephie-chan said softly. "If anything goes wrong I can just transform." She added.

"...I just don't want to lose you again." Karou smiled softly while holding her close. Stephie-chan smiled into her warmth.

"I'll be fine." She re-assured her while pulling away.

"Contact us if anything goes wrong." Seiya ruffled Stephie-chan's hair. Everyone climbed into the car and drove off leaving Michiru and Stephie-chan on the sidewalk.

"You don't have anything for me do you?" Stephie-chan asked without looking up at her.

"No," Michiru shook her head with a small smile. "I figured it was the best way to talk to you." She added.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Stephie-chan demanded.

"Mom, I'm home." Usagi called out as she and the starlights entered the house. Chibi Chibi ran over to them and grabbed Princess Kakyuu by the legs. She smiled.

"How was school today?" Ikuko asked while grabbing onto her necklace. Usagi placed her school bag by the door and took off her shoes.

'It was great. How was everything here?" she asked. "Where are dad and Shingo?"

"They went to a game." Ikuko answered and headed for the stairs. "Honey, I need to talk to you." She called over her shoulder.

"I'll be right back you guys." Usagi told them and headed up the stairs behind her mother. She followed silently into her mother's bedroom and took a seat on her bed. "What's up mom?"

Ikuko took a deep breath and sat next to her daughter. "A couple of days ago when you and your friends were at the Tokyo Harbor some guy from your class came and was looking for you." She answered.

"Umino was looking for me?" Usagi cocked her head to the side. "I haven't heard from him in years." She muttered.

"No it wasn't him." Ikuko shook her head.

"Then who?" Usagi asked.

"Some guy named Demando Masa." Ikuko answered.

"..."

"You wanted to talk to me but you take me to an aquarium." Stephie-chan spat while looking at the many different types of fish swimming behind the glass.

"Humans are like sea creatures..." Michiru muttered. "They need to stay in their environment or else they'll die. They reproduce and when their mission is completed they die." She sighed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Stephie-chan stormed over towards her and grabbed her by the shoulder. She then started to shake her furiously. "Why did you bring me here? What do you want?" she demanded.

"I want to know about your secret." Michiru said calmly.

"My secret?" Stephie-chan took a step back.

"The secret you told Luna." She answered.

"How do you know I confided in Luna?" Stephie-chan whispered as she paled slightly.

"I have my ways." Michiru smirked. Stephie-chan glared and quickly re-gained her posture.

"Why should I tell you anything?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Because if you don't..." Michiru leaned foreword and whispered something into the smaller girl's ear.

"Is that a threat?" Stephie-chan crossed her arms over her chest. Michiru only smiled and nodded slightly.

"What did he want?" Usagi questioned.

"I offered him some tea and then we got into a talk about sacrifice." Ikuko shook her head and looked at the floor. She had a slight pained look on her face.

"Sacrifices?" she asked.

"Yes." Ikuko nodded. "He asked me what you thought about them. He said he was worried about my safety." She added.

"And then I told him to leave. It was then he saw this necklace around my neck and he asked where I got it. I told him and then he left. Do you know anything about this?" Ikuko finished and turned to look at her daughter.

"No, I don't mom." Usagi slowly shook her head. "I've never seen him at school."

"He must have something to do with Sailor Moon." Ikuko suggested. Usagi placed a hand on her chest and looked down at the floor. "I hear on the news about some sailor senshi defeating a guy named Demando a couple of years ago. I thought it was the same thing. It's strange because whenever she shows up you disappear. Have you ever seen her?" she questioned.

Usagi quickly looked away and out of the window. The sun was starting to set and the golden light flooded into the room. She felt warm. "No, mom I haven't. Not in a while." She whispered.