You should know that I wanted to do this chapter forever but had a hard time starting it. You should also know that I have a horrible toothache and desperately need prayers that I'll be able to pay for it to be fixed. I'm fine with dentists and recovery, it's just being a poor, starving artist that kills me.
Anyway, this is dedicated to everyone who pestered me to keep going. Some serious requests are being granted tonight. Enjoy!
27 – Motivation
Dead ends. All she hit was dead ends for nearly a month! How did a little boy evade her so easily?! Iphanessa twirled a lock of hair as she muddled through her thought processes, completely ignoring the presentations going on before her. The pathetic act she had to put up all the time was growing on her nerves. Her cohort nearly had the moon wench in his hands, even she could see that now. The only reason no one objected to the obvious infatuation between the two was because of his powers persuading them otherwise.
As much as she hated to admit it, his plan was working and hers fell horribly apart. Where was Endymion?!
'At this rate, I'll have to do a city wide search.' She heard reports of Sailor Moon being out of commission, so the search would likely be successful. Her youma could take out the other senshi easily. It was the moon brat's purifying power she couldn't make a resistance against. Nothing could really stop her forces if she went all out. A city wide search –
'But what if he's being protected by Pluto?' That made her scowl in thought as the last group tied up their performance. The senshi of time had a place to run to she couldn't enter. That same senshi hadn't been seen in well over a week. If she had Endymion…
A plan started to form in her mind, drawing a smile to the surface. As Takami-sensei took center stage again, she hid its true meanings, adopting yet again her Sayuri identity. Should everything play out the way she wanted it to, the future would be bright indeed.
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Ren couldn't help but think Marian looked stress when she returned from school that day. Two bags of medical supplies weighed down her arms as she came in and she dumped them out on the coffee table almost immediately after entering. She didn't even take off her shoes. Fiddling with his ivy and mistletoe wreath (he was experimenting with other plants while she was gone), he came over to see what she was doing. "Welcome back."
"Hey." Eyes completely focused on her task, she fished out… medically approved restraints… and started casting spells. They started to glow a pale red color, making him worry.
"What… are you… What are those for?"
She didn't answer him until the glowing stopped and she set them aside. "Modifying them to grow with the body when I make you grow again. Pass me the gauze and plastic sheet."
Wary, he did as he was told, asking what they were for. "Blood loss during transition. Ren, let me work so I can put these away for when the spell happens and not scare you so much. There's a lot of prep work that needs to happen before I force you to grow rapidly. The process will not be pretty and it will hurt a lot. Then there's recovery…"
Looking away, with dread if he knew right, Marian took a breath and tried again. "Look, something is happening. Something that right now, if you knew about it, you would act rashly and likely be killed or discovered by your enemies. I've kept things, important things, from you for your own safety. Once you're an adult again and fully recovered from the regrowth process, I'll tell you everything and we can make a plan from that point on. If we're going to make things work out alright, I need to make you regrow tomorrow. Through that, your last memory spells are likely to snap and recovery will take a few days. You should be rational and coherent by Friday morning. I'll explain everything then, and we can put the whole farce to an end. I already have a plan on one of them. The other… I'll need your help. Because I have no idea who I'm dealing with and you do.
"I really need your help, Chiba Mamoru."
Dread and fear tried to pool in his stomach, but also came the fire of courage and anticipation. Something was happening. Something this powerful person who was protecting him from much more than he understood right then, could handle alone. Marian needed him as the man he was, and needed to be again. It hurt to know she was hiding things from him, but he understood she did it for his sake. He understood that long ago. Likely the important reasons for the change in plans had to do with Usagi and the others. She showed him a picture of the woman who kidnapped and hurt him before. Somehow they were mixed up with her, and things were getting bad.
Nodding, the boy gulped, steeling himself for what was to come. His time as Ren was coming to an end. "I'll do everything I can."
"Good. Now let me finished with this." She inclined her head towards the medical items, making him dread what was going to happen soon anyway. "It's not everything I'll need, but it's a start. After I'm done, I want to take you to the park and test your abilities. You'll be in the field again very soon."
Neither of them knew how soon.
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Usagi had detention again, but Kongou-sensei said she could serve it by helping him out with a few tasks around town. It was such a nice day, she couldn't help but to accept. Much better than paperwork anyway.
The errands ranged from getting supplies for a class demonstration to helping set up an order for a future event. She didn't quite understand everything going on, but even she knew what it meant when he took her to a nice Okonomiyaki place for an early dinner. "Daiki-san," she was calling him by his given name the entire afternoon, "is this a date?"
"Now why would you think such a thing?" He winked playfully at her as he picked out some ingredients to put on their okonomiyakis. "I'm just treating my favorite student to a meal as a thank you for all her help today. Would you prefer carrots or radishes?"
"Radishes." She picked out a few other toppings to use and let the waiter take the menu away. She blushed a little at the young man's knowing smile before looking back to her teacher. "Sensei, are you really sure we should be here? I'm supposed to be in detention and –"
"That ended about ten minutes ago," Kongou stated easily. "This is a treat. Really Usagi-kun, do I need to justify my actions? It'd be justifying the sun rising or your beautiful hair. I want to treat you Usagi-kun. Please let me."
"I'm not denying you anything Kongou –"
"Daiki. Please." He took her hand, careful not to hold it too close to the hotplate on the table. Usagi's blush deepened.
"Daiki-san… I just…" She looked away for a moment, almost remembering what someone said that day about how they weren't acting appropriately. It made sense and yet… Her head felt fuzzy as she tried to make sense of it all. She really liked her teacher, and it should stay at that, but she felt drawn towards him so strongly, it just didn't matter. It really didn't matter. She had to follow her feelings… She shook her head. "It's nothing. I just was worrying about some small details."
A smile grew on his face, pleased beyond anything she could understand. He gave her hands a tight squeeze, warming her quite pleasantly. Daiki was truly an amazing man. So wonderful. Dare she even…
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"Okay, that's enough." Marian waved a hand, mumbling three words Ren couldn't identify, and stopped everything he made from growing and going after her. Roses littered the ground, along with debris of other plants. They felt the best way to test his abilities was for them to fight, powers only.
Well it was more like Ren threw whatever he could make at her and she deflected them. Occasionally she threw a glowing ball at him, but not one of them hurt. It was more like a pleasant energy came to him, and when it touched him, it energized him and gave him strength. And it stopped plants and smoke in midair. At least it did just then. She hadn't done that before. A smirk appeared on her face as she looked at him, forcing him to close his mouth and scowl at her instead of just being amazed. "What? Did you think you knew all my bags of tricks already?"
"No…" Still he tried to not be so impressed at her power. For some reason everything seemed to go gently backwards towards where they came from and start to dissipate into the ground. It was really weird to watch. "But… what are you doing?"
"A simple reversal of damage incantation. We do it all the time back home so it's almost like breathing now." Marian shifted her stance and brought her other hand into the near dance they made. "Thankfully there isn't a lot and everything is natural already so it's a lot easier than most days. Repairing concrete buildings and electrical wiring is trickier and –"
"What do you do back in your world again?" She never gave many specifics, but it really made him wonder if she was just another version of Sailor Moon from another universe. An opposite universe. Yet she was good, so that couldn't be right.
The girl laughed, her earlier tension gone. She must really like magic practice or combat if it relaxed her this much. "Are we talking professionally, scholarly, familiarly, socially, or for fun? I have a lot of jobs and tasks back home. But the main one is to protect everyone in front of me. And dealing with other people's screw ups. And there are a lot of screw ups."
Within moments the field was covered with flowers of every kind and new trees were in place. The smoke he created every now and again – an attack he remembered from his battles as Tuxedo Mask – was used on the plants to encourage their growth before disappearing. Everything was going back to nature, and it seemed most natural. Between the light she threw at him and the way she handled returning his attacks to the Earth, he could only guess her powers were similar to his and Usagi's, but nowhere near the same. "So you do this often?"
"Yep." She put her hands down to her sides and let out a breath. "We also learned how to contain the damage and keep the monster in a certain radius. Took a few years, but we managed it. Learning to control a situation is a large step forward in protecting the people around us."
It almost felt like she was criticizing the senshi and he on their performance, but it was hard to tell. It was always hard to tell if she was observing something as she saw it or criticizing everything. He prayed it was the former option. "So… how did I do?"
"Very well." She looked over the field, admiring the work they did. "More than half of these flowers are impossible to grow in this region, but here they are. And I'm sure a Palo Verde couldn't grow on its own here." She gestured to the green tree off near the bushes. He may have gone a little overboard in making plants. "Your creation powers are really phenomenal."
"Creation powers?" That Ren couldn't hope to comprehend. He thought he just made plants and smoke and healed. What's this about creation powers?
"The power of creation," she stated again as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You know, what you do to make everything here. Out of almost nothing." The boy continued to give her blank looks, getting her to sigh. "Okay, the nature of powers. Power has to come from somewhere. Matter can neither be created nor destroyed, just reformatted, right? That law of science is universal. Magic is just a science we can't explain that easily. I could go into the details of how I make a light appear out of near nowhere through my will scientifically, but that would take hours to explain. Basics of it all is how nothing comes from nothing. My light comes from the energy within myself. Wind hopping is merely redistributing atoms from one place to another. Got that?"
He nodded, feeling like she was treating him like an idiot. He nearly remembered all his magic lessons as Endymion now. Everything had to come from somewhere, even on the subatomic level. Easy enough to understand. Marian continued. "So how are you making physical items, complex structures found in nature, from nothing?"
For a moment he just stared at her, not sure what she was suggesting, before it hit him. All the senshi, including Sailor Moon, had an energy based attack. The water, fire, and electric attacks were the closest to nature any of them got with their attacks. He though threw roses. "Uhh…"
"You have the power of creation," She stated simply. "It's a very rare power for a single individual to have. Usually two people have to come together to create anything like this. To create a kind of life from near nothing. I have to use materials around me in order to make plants grow, from the ground. You make a rose appear without soil or seeds or water around you, without thinking. A solid life form. On your own. You can, without realizing it, reorganized the atoms around you to make another life form.
"I think all I've contributed was an expansion of what you can use. I mean… Tuxedo Mask was known for only making roses. I see ivy, bougainvillea, lilies, mint…" She shook her head at the sight of it all. "And all the ways you used them… You've gotten better in a lot of ways with your creation powers."
"What else can I make?!" Excitement and awe sparked in Ren's face. He could make anything! No wait… there was a reason he stuck to plants… wasn't there? Marian seemed to think so the way her mood changed to conflicted.
"Well… you've been creating new cells in your own body when it was damaged, and since you can make plants outside of yourself, I think you can create new cells in other people's bodies too. That explains your healing powers. Bet you could even make new nerve cells. Sheesh… Even Phoenix can't do that."
"Who?"
She ignored the comment as she scowled in thought. "Then there's always everyone's joint creation powers of course. That's probably the limit of your abilities. I have no idea how you'd make animals suddenly appear out of nowhere without making monsters. There's a reason the power of creation is rare after all. Probably best to stick to anything that can come out of the Earth naturally and helping beings continue living than press too far with those abilities.
"Oish… Creation powers and highly attuned empath… And I'm not even sure what that smoke attack means. You're a lot more powerful than anyone gave you credit for Mamoru."
It was hard to not grin as he tried to deflect the praise. "Not hear as powerful as you, really! All those things you did –"
"I learned from years of study and are limited to access to the world around me." She gave him a small smile, saying he was cute and being silly. "I leave Earth, any Earth, and my powers are halved. I start drawing from my reserves and will only be able to use powers and a few universal spells. This is where I'm most powerful, that's all. Creation powers like yours aren't limited by location. They're limited by imagination, your energy, and… well…" She shrugged. "I don't know all the rules, but certain powers are given to certain people for a reason. There must be a reason you were given this one. It's a hefty responsibility and should not be thought of lightly.
"Mamoru, to have the power of creation is to be a king over Earth, the planet of life." She looked at him seriously, sobering him up for the moment. "I've only known of two mortals with that power, and one wasn't mortal for long. The other… there's been debate for centuries if he's mortal anymore. You're going to have an interesting future Mamoru, no matter what happens soon."
"Why do you make it sound like it's a bad thing?" It was starting to be doom and gloom after such a happy time. He learned so much about his powers, when he had so little knowledge of them before. Now she was hanging such a heavy weight around his neck.
"Because neither of those men had an easy life. They had false friends, enemies on every side, were tortured and defamed by those they protected, and many people still deny they have the same power you do." Marian looked at him as if she knew the pain they went through first hand, and it really made him wonder exactly what she did in her own universe. What was her position that made her seem wiser than she had years? "They did everything they could for humanity, but humanity didn't care.
"They did though have some very loyal followers." She smirked to herself proudly. "And we've benefited from their actions greatly. Everyone did really, but we see it more. One of them helped me get started on my path, and supported me every step of the way. There was this one time he…" She trained off in thought, smiling slightly yet still pained by a memory. Shaking her head, the lady finally changed tones. "Anyway, your life is going to be interesting. I don't need to see the future to see that."
"Can you?" Trying to shake off all her vague allusions to a world he did not understand – each one making him scared for his future and worried about her life in her world – Ren tried to change the subject. "Can you see the future?"
"Not if I can help it." The statement was sealed with her picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "And not in this world. So happy about that. Come on. I'll buy you a steak dinner, with lots of greens on the side. You'll need a lot of iron for tomorrow."
He cringed at the idea of a lot of meat. Though he understood medically why she he had to eat that, he didn't like it. The boy quickly caught up to her and took Marian's hand before they left a shielded off area of the park. Marian set up a magical barrier to ensure their privacy, complete with a 'zone of inhibition' spell so they wouldn't be detected by magic searches either. The second they exited their hiding place, it was gone and everyone would be able to see his thrown together garden, with plants from around the world.
The sun was just starting to set as they walked towards the more populated part of the park, headed towards the restaurants nearby. His caretaker was mumbling to herself and probably him about what they should eat for the next twenty-four hours. Milk was high on the list, along with dark greens, red meats, bananas, and carrots to his surprise. It sounded quite expensive to him, but considering how she described what was going to happen when he regrew to adulthood, it made sense. Though lacking in many nutrients, for immediate growth, those foods covered the necessities.
They were almost to the edge of the park when he recognized a pair of blond odangos. Giddy, Ren slipped out of Marian's grip and ran towards her. "Usa-"
He stopped just short of calling out to her when he saw something he could not believe.
A man was next to her, an older man. Silver hair longer than it should be and pale blue eyes behind glasses, he looked like he belonged behind an office desk if it weren't for the muscles peeking out from his sleeves.
Sleeves Usagi had her arms around.
His Usako was laughing with him. Hanging on his arm.
How could she…
An uncontrollable burning starting in his chest took over his body, pushing him into a dead run at them. His eyes blazed, focused on only one target. There was something about him he really didn't like, screaming danger in the back of his mind, but none of that was comprehendible in his rage. Missing Usagi's gasp of surprise, he launched himself at the man's middle, toppling him over and giving sound bruises to his gut and groin area in one go.
"HEY!" "REN-CHAN!" "REN!"
He only got a couple more blows in before the man caught his fists, glaring at him in annoyance more than anger. His glasses had toppled off and it only made a nagging part of Ren's mind echo more. Before he could get out of his grip or figure it out, a pair of arms wrapped him around his middle and yanked him off the guy, yelling all around him.
"Ren-chan! What are you doing?!" "What the hell?! Who is this kid?!" "What in blue blazes are you doing Ren!"
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Fighting whoever was holding him, he only glared at the man who was after his only family. "DON'T TOUCH MY USAKO!"
"REN-CHAN!" Usagi's voice became easier to hear after a moment, especially since it rarely had a reproving tone like this. "You can't just go around attacking people like this!"
"Calm down!" Hearing the voice behind him, Ren realized Marian was trying to stop his onslaught. After a moment her arms tightened and she forced him to put his feet on the ground, turning him around to face her. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"He's stealing Usako!" Wrenching a hand out of her steel grip, he pointed to the man he now loathed more than anyone. Why was she stopping him from tearing him apart?! "I have to stop him!"
Marian looked up at who he was pointing to, her face slowly changing from stern correction to realization. She understood the situation perfectly in an instant. The others around them though didn't seem to have a clue. "Ah…"
"What an unruly child." The man in question got off the ground with Usagi's help, adjusting his glasses as he focused a glare on the boy. "A relative of yours Marian?"
"Not –"
"Ren-chan is the son of Marian-chan's host family," Usagi explained quickly, fawning over the man's messed up shirt. The same way she used to fond over his after a battle. It pulled Ren's heart apart seeing it. Did she really care about this man? Of did she do this for everyone? "He's usually not like this Kongou-sensei. He's usually quite nice."
"A boy that age would be nice to the girl he has a crush on," Kongou stated coolly, getting another rise from Ren. Marian pulled him back, giving a sharp no as discipline. Wasn't working. They ended up glaring at each other with loathing neither girl wanted to acknowledge. So this was the great Kongou-sensei Usagi loved to talk about so much… "Doesn't he know it would never work? The age difference –"
"Like you're any better you old pervert!" He was not too young for Usagi! He wasn't too old either! Mamoru was twenty! Usagi was seventeen! How old was this guy?! And a teacher to boot! Everything about this arrangement was wrong!
"Ren-chan!" Usagi's quick rebut made him stop and look at her for once. There was no kindness in her eyes, only a stern glare she gave to Chibi-Usa whenever she took her parenting role seriously. "That was very mean! Apologize to Sensei! Right now!"
"Usagi…" Marian looked conflicted, maybe trying to plead his case, but it didn't register in Ren's brain.
Usagi was siding with him. With another man.
She was with another man.
Not him.
Heartbroken and starting to hyperventilate, he did the only thing his seven year old mind and body could do. He pulled completely out of Marian's grasp and ran away, crying. He didn't hear his caretaker call out after him and he didn't care.
Usako didn't care about him anymore.
He may as well be dead.
In his run, Ren didn't see Marian get up, glare back on Kongou and Usagi at his side, ready to fight them too. Instead she huffed at them. "Some parenting skills. I hope you get caught."
"Marian-cha-" Usagi didn't get a full word in before Marian ran after the kid, ensuring his safety. Sighing to herself, the blond turned to her teacher. "I am so sorry about that Daiki-san. I knew Ren-chan had a crush on me, but I didn't think he'd take it so seriously."
"Some boys take love more seriously than others," the man stated easily, watching the two's backs retreating into the park. Suspicion rose within him faster than anything he dared show. "It's hard for them to recognize the difference between love and infatuation."
"Will he ever see the difference?" Some worry came to her voice for the boy, so he decided to brush it away, along with some strands of hair on her face.
"In time. I did." Calling her eyes back to his, he could see her concern for the boy disappear and be replaced with only thoughts of him. Just as it should be.
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Ren ran until his legs and lungs gave out, barely managing to grab onto a tree to keep himself upright. Stars tried to light up his eyes as he gasped for breath, but it was hard to see anything but Usagi's reproving face as she sided with someone he knew, knew, was hurting her somehow. Nagging sensations filled the back of his mind, telling him the man was no good, but he couldn't pin it down! Somehow the idea of that man having some control over Usagi, making her like him and hang onto his arm, didn't seem farfetched in his mind.
Didn't stop it from hurting him deeply.
"Mamoru…" A gentle hand brushed his back, easily snapped back when he slapped it away. He heard an exasperated sigh between his sobs and heartache. His burning lungs and limbs weren't helping much either. "She's not thinking clearly. That man… he's got some kind of… hypnotism going on. I noticed it when I first became part of the class. He's the project I was working on before you appeared. He only got a good opening recently… His control over her will end when you –"
"Make me big again."
"Mamoru –"
"Make me big again now!" Turning fiercely, his eyes stayed on Marian's, making sure he knew this was a command, and she would obey. "I can't wait until tomorrow! I need to get Usagi back! I need her back! I can't let him win! I can't…"
More tears overtook his voice and he covered his face in grief. How could she forget him so easily? Did all that time, all those years, not matter to her? He died for her! So many times! He would die for their child! Give up everything for them to be together! Usagi had her friends and family to turn back to at any time. All he had was her! This just couldn't…
He didn't see nor sense Marian kneel in front of him until she pulled him into a strong yet gentle hug. Her hand brushed through his hair and down his back, calming his sobs slowly. Her tone stayed gentle and understanding, taking away his aches and pains if he let her. It was very difficult to do. "This is the reason why I didn't tell you what was happening. I didn't want you to do anything rash like this. Mamoru, I'm not sure if you can handle –"
"I'll handle it." He looked up at her, determined to do this more than anything. "I can take it. I've died before. And I would rather be dead than lose Usako. Especially to him." Hatred so pure came from his lips. That man could never have his princess. He stopped him once right? He would do it again.
Sighing, Marian gave a resigned nod. It was sooner than she planned, but it would have to do.
A/N: Yeah, heavy chapter isn't it. So Sayuri is starting to act a little differently adn thinking a little more so expect more from her towards the end (though I think her ending is rather weak). Kongou Daiki (twenty points if you can figure out what his name roughly translates into!) is pulling out al the stops now with usagi, and you have an idea on how he's doing it. Marian's stressing out because she's seeing all sides of it, adn Ren... Well, next chapter is the last of Ren. He's gonna grow into an adult again!
I think I'll torture you witha small chapter later covering that spell adn a little extra, but not much more. Liked the magical theory going on? I decided that Mamoru had the power of creation more than other powers. He makes flowers out of nothing! Fire, water, electricity you can explain those away with science. Flowers? nuh uh. Creation. if you can guess who I aluded to in marian's talk about that power, you get a cookie. The planet of life is somewhat cannonized by DC comics with teh blackest day/brightest night arc. Plus I thought of it first. Being the planet of life, or the source of where the power of life came from throughout the galaxy, everyone's after it. hence all the alien invasions.
Rambling now. Hope you liked! Leave a comment below and keep watching! they're gonna do some tricks!
