Chapter 23
Wish Upon a Star: Naru's First Love
At the swimming pool, Naru was feeling despondent about Nephrite, who was using his Masato Sanjouin persona, when Usagi burst from the water splashing a few droplets on her. Behind Naru, Sora could sense her inner turmoil within her heart, and was growing worried about her.
"You act like such a kid," she said, turning her back on her.
"Well, I try my best," replied Usagi.
"So, uh, what's up with you Naru?" asked Sora.
"Oh, you wanna know why? 'Cause I know what it's like to be a grown up in love," replied Naru.
Usagi was confused, but Sora somehow understood a bit.
"But wait. Are you really in love with someone?" he asked.
"Oh, come on, guys. Why of course I am," Naru said blissfully.
"Who then? Is it Umino!? Hold on, it better not be Tuxedo Mask or Motoki, I've got dibs on those two!" cried Usagi.
"No, not them. I'm not a kid anymore. Alright, I might as well tell you. It's Mr. Sanjouin," she said.
Usagi and Sora were shocked by this.
"What was that? Are you overreacting because he's not a boy? I know he is a little old for me, but that doesn't matter when it's love," said Naru.
"Oh boy," muttered Sora and Usagi.
"Listen to me! I know all about him! He's no good!" cried Usagi.
"Oh forget it! I shouldn't have told you!" snapped Naru, and she stormed off to the dressing room.
At Hikawa Shrine, Luna, Rei, Ami, Usagi, Sora, and their friends had all gathered for an important meeting.
"This is getting pretty complicated," said Luna.
"Yeah," replied Usagi.
"No kidding, Luna," added Sora.
"We have to tell Naru, that Masato Sanjouin is actually Nephrite before it's too late," said Rei.
"Shouldn't we just wait and see before it becomes a problem?" asked Ami.
"Naru feels so strongly about him, she might not believe what we tell her," said Usagi.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Usagi's right, for three reasons. 1: If we did tell Naru that Nephrite's been using the name Masato Sanjouin to try and get close to her, it could break her heart. 2: We must be cautious around Naru, otherwise she might be very upset that we betrayed our friendship with her, which could lead to her bond with Usagi being severed. And 3: If Nephrite does reveal that he's working with the Dark Kingdom to Naru, it'd only fill her heart with despair. That's why we need to be careful when talking about Nephrite, or in her case, Masato Sanjouin. Either way, I can sense that Naru's conflicted about her friendship with us, and her connection to Nephrite," explained Sora.
"Well unless we do tell her, it won't matter if she does believe us or not!" snapped Rei.
"Calm down, Rei! Unless you want us to remind you of what happens when you let anger cloud your judgement," said Aqua.
"What should we do, you guys?" asked Ami.
"The only thing we can do is to tell Naru to be careful," said Roxas.
"I agree with what Roxas said, everyone," piped in Luna.
"Don't worry, I'll think of something! Let me handle this, okay?" said Usagi.
"That's right! Usagi and I will talk to Naru together!" added Sora.
"Go get 'em, you two!" cheered Kairi.
In the dark throne room, Queen Beryl seethed with impatience.
"Where is Nephrite!? No matter how many times I've summoned him, he refuses to show up!" she snapped furiously.
Her anger suddenly grew so intense that it made Pete cower in fear of her fury.
"Uh, oh. Queen Beryl seems pretty angry," he murmured to Maleficent.
"That's it! Sephiroth, Nephrite is a traitor!" she said to the One-Winged Angel.
When Zoisite heard what Queen Beryl had said, a wicked smile appeared on his face, as Sephiroth marched off to find Nephrite in his manor. At the same time, Nephrite decided that he had no need to collect energy, and decided to find the Silver Crystal on his own terms. Behind him, Zoisite and Sephiroth appeared in his manor chuckling malevolently.
"You again!? What do you want?" growled Nephrite.
"Now, that's a rude way to welcome someone with news," remarked Zoisite.
"Queen Beryl has granted me permission to brand you as an ignorant traitor, Nephrite," added Sephiroth.
"Kunzite sent the two of you to spy on me, didn't he?" said Nephrite.
"My, my, someone seems to be having a bad day today, is everything alright?" sneered Zoisite.
"That's none of your concern, now get lost!" barked Nephrite.
"Here's some friendly advice, I'd suggest you give all this up before you make Queen Beryl even angrier," said Zoisite.
"Ridiculous! I'll acquire the Silver Crystal, and I'll rub it in your face!" snapped Nephrite.
Sephiroth chuckled menacingly, making Zoisite glance at him.
"If that's what you believe, Nephrite, then by all means, see if you can attain that pathetic rock before we can, you ignorant traitor," he said.
"What are you saying!? Finding the Silver Crystal is my job!" gasped Zoisite.
"Hmph… it may have been a task for you, but I sense that Nephrite's conflicted about where his loyalties lie," replied Sephiroth.
"There is no conflict, Sephiroth! But whoever finds it first wins! If I get hold of that crystal, I'll be able to redeem myself!" Nephrite said furiously.
"Very well, let's see if you're truly as fast as you say you are," smirked Sephiroth.
"So be it, Sephiroth!" scowled Zoisite who vanished in a flurry of dark petals.
"To think that I'd let the likes of Zoisite get to me," he said, as Sephiroth turned and walked off.
Once he had left, Nephrite began to look at the stars above him, he began formulating his plan to obtain the Silver Crystal, and thus began creating a new item to help him called the Dark Crystal. Great bolts of dark lightning erupted from Nephrite's hands and the globe soon turned into the Dark Crystal, which landed on the ground with a clatter. Carefully picking it up, he wondered if this new item would help him find the Silver Crystal first, when it began to glow with an eerie darkness, revealing Naru.
"It's that girl. Does this mean she has the legendary Silver Crystal?" he asked himself.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth had arrived to see Zoisite and Kunzite sitting in a darkened corridor, where he saw Maleficent with them.
"I can't stand him! Such a jerk," whined Zoisite.
"Ah, let Nephrite do what he wants," replied Kunzite.
"And what if he's able to locate the Crystal first?" asked Maleficent.
"If Nephrite manages to find the Silver Crystal, we'll just steal it from him," said Kunzite.
"Ah, that's a great idea Kunzite," said Zoisite.
"It's an excellent plan, but we'll need to make sure that he's weakened enough to stake a claim of the Dark Crystal in his possession," agreed Sephiroth.
"Meanwhile, we'll have some of your monsters keep an eye on him," said Kunzite.
"Yasha, get to work. You heard what he said," Zoisite called to one of his minions.
"Yes, as you command lord Zoisite," Yasha said from the shadows.
"In that case, I'll join Yasha on this mission," said Sephiroth, as he disappeared into the darkness.
Inside Naru's house, Usagi was hesitant about talking to Naru, while Sora and Luna looked at her with disappointment in their eyes.
"I can't do this," she said.
"Come on, Usagi. You made it sound pretty easy the first time," replied Sora.
"Yeah, what's the matter with you?" asked Luna.
"Well, I just changed my mind. That sort of thing happens," said Usagi.
"It happens all the time with you," grumbled Luna.
"Look, let's go ask Motoki and Mamoru if they have any helpful advice for us," said Sora.
"Hey, that sounds like a really good idea!" cheered Usagi.
"Uh, why am I thinking train wreck?" muttered Luna.
They soon arrived at the arcade to see Motoki helping a player try and beat Ami's high score, making Usagi squirm. But then they heard Mamoru's footsteps coming up from behind them.
"Hey, how's it going you guys?" he asked.
"Hey Mamoru, we're just here to ask you and Motoki if you have any helpful tips to talk to Naru," replied Sora.
"Oh, I see," said Mamoru.
He then looked at Motoki.
"Hey Motoki, these guys want to ask you if you have some good advice for them," he called to his friend.
"Uh, yeah what that other guy said!" Usagi said quickly, making Sora laugh.
"Hey, you guys. Sorry I didn't see you come in," Motoki said as he walked towards them.
"It's no big deal," replied Sora.
"Hi Motoki," said Usagi.
"I'm all done with my shift. Do you guys want to get some coffee?" he asked.
"Sure, there's actually something we'd like to talk to you about," replied Usagi.
"Yeah, coffee sounds good, let's go," added Mamoru.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go!" said Sora.
They soon went to a cafe and sat down.
"Here's the deal, Usagi's friend Naru is in love with a guy who's working for some kind of evil Organization. But for whatever reason, she doesn't think he's got darkness in his heart," Explained Sora.
"So what should we do? I mean, I don't want to hurt her, but if I tell her the truth about him being bad…" added Usagi.
"I'd say just wait and see if it becomes a problem," suggested Motoki.
"Okay," replied Usagi.
Both Sora and Usagi remembered that it was the same kind of advice that Ami would give them.
"Waiting and doing nothing won't solve the problem. The right thing to do is to tell her the truth," said Mamoru.
"Yeah, Mamoru's advice is probably right," piped in Motoki.
"Yeah, I guess. But still, even if we did tell Naru the truth that Masato is actually one of the bad guys, it would break her heart. That's something Sailor Moon would find to be extremely unforgivable, and the worst thing she'd do is hate me forever," said Sora.
"I know what you mean, Sora. but in this situation, a true friend would have the courage to explain how they feel, and what they're concerned about," explained Motoki.
"Thanks, now that we've gotten that out of our system, we're starving," smiled Usagi.
Soon she and Sora called the waiter to give them some food, which made Mamoru and Motoki embarrassed.
"Motoki, do you have enough cash?" asked Mamoru.
"I thought you were paying," replied Motoki.
"Don't worry guys, consider it on us," said Sora.
"Yeah, you two, we'll treat you guys today," added Usagi, until she ordered more food.
Then, they marched up to Naru's room where they would tell her what they knew about Nephrite. When they rang the doorbell, Naru walked out to see them.
"Oh, Hi, guys. What's up?" she said.
"Listen Naru. I know you'll probably mistrust us for saying this, but Masato Sanjouin is actually far more dangerous than you can possibly imagine. If you see him, be very careful around him. Now that he knows who you are he might do something that could seriously hurt you," explained Sora.
"But why should I?" asked Naru.
"Just give up on him, okay?" answered Usagi, who raced off down the stairs.
Poor Naru was conflicted about what she had heard Sora and Usagi say to her.
"I see, so you told Naru the truth," said Luna.
"Yeah, well, we did ask Mamoru and Motoki for some helpful advice, and it must have helped us out," replied Sora.
"So how did it go?" asked the cat, making them confused.
"You're probably not gonna like this, but, she's rather conflicted about what we said to her," said Sora, as he placed his hand onto his chest.
"How can you tell she's feeling conflicted?" asked Usagi.
"I can sense it in her heart, Usagi," replied Sora.
Then he turned to Luna.
"Listen, We're really sorry we didn't stick around with Naru long enough. But still, no matter what happens, she needs to be careful around Nephrite," he said.
"Oh, I hope you know what you are doing," groaned Luna.
Back in her house, Naru was conflicted about what Sora and Usagi said about Nephrite, unaware that Masato Sanjouin was actually an alias to cover up his true agenda, when she heard the phone ring.
"Naru, you have a call from someone named Sanjouin," called her mother.
Naru smiled and went to answer the phone.
"Yeah, sure, so meet you at Sankaku park? I'll meet you there soon," said Naru.
She hung up the phone, then told her mother that she would be heading out of the house to meet up with Nephrite, which made her worried.
"Sorry to drag you out at such a late hour Naru," Nephrite said, when she arrived, and sat next to him on the bench.
"Oh, it's fine. I was so happy when you called," replied Naru.
"Well, I came here to say goodbye," said Nephrite, as he glanced away from her.
Naru was confused, but she nodded her understanding.
"Oh, I see. I must be a real nuisance, is that it?" she asked.
"No, it's nothing like that. It's just, I don't want to put you in any danger," Nephrite said quickly.
Naru wanted to know why.
"You see, I'm being threatened by some bad people right now, and I don't want to get you mixed up in it. Glad I got to see you one last time," he explained.
"Wait, if there's anything I can do to help you, please tell me now!" she said, as he was about to leave.
"The Silver Crystal. If only I had it," he said.
"So why do you need the Silver Crystal?" asked Naru.
Nephrite tried to explain what was happening, but thought better of it.
'Wait a second," said Naru, as she remembered what her mother had in the box she showed her.
She glanced back at Nephrite.
"Mr. Sanjouin, I need to get something. I'll be right back! Just wait here!" she said, and raced back to her house.
Nephrite stood, a maniacal grin on his face, as he watched Naru returning home. Once she had returned home, Naru opened the vault to her family's jewelry box, and found the box containing the crystal that Nephrite believed he wanted. Suddenly, Naru's mother appeared to see Naru, but the poor girl quickly raced out of the house without another word, making her even more worried. At the same time, Usagi, Luna, and Sora stood on the street looking for Naru.
"Luna, I'm still not sure about this," she said.
"What are you talking about, don't you want to know how Naru's feeling?" asked Luna.
"And besides, we're her friends, Usagi. But we failed to tell her the whole truth which means that we didn't explain the situation about Masato actually being Nephrite in disguise," added Sora.
"Hey, I did the best I could," protested Usagi.
But they suddenly saw Naru's mother walking out on the streets looking for Naru.
"Have you seen my daughter?" she asked them.
"What? Why, did something happen to her?" Sora and Usagi replied together.
They quickly raced through the streets, after hearing that Naru wasn't acting like herself, making Usagi and Sora furious.
"That creep's taking advantage of the feelings Naru has for him!" she said.
"In that case, it's time for Sailor Moon to join the battle!" declared Sora.
Luna nodded, and Usagi soon turned into Sailor Moon as they continued their search for Naru.
"Come on, guys! Let's go!" she said.
"You got it!" agreed Luna and Sora.
Meanwhile Nephrite was displeased that the crystal he was searching for wasn't the one that Naru brought him, even though she had no idea that she was being used. But then the dark crystal began to react to Naru's feelings towards him, making Nephrite confused, but decided that he still needed some help from her.
"There's something else I want you to help me with. Could you come with me for a little bit," said Nephrite.
He gently placed his hand on Naru's shoulder and was about to walk away, when Sora and Sailor Moon arrived.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he shouted, making them turn to face them.
Nephrite saw both Sora and Sailor Moon.
"How dare you take advantage of a young girl's heart! I'll arrest you for your sneaky scam!" Sailor Moon said.
"You'd better back off," warned Nephrite.
"I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and for justice! I am Sailor Moon! And on behalf of the Moon, I'm punishing you!" she said.
"Sora and Sailor Moon, why are you guys here?" asked Naru.
But Sora didn't hear a word, as he pointed his keyblade at Nephrite.
"You're going to pay for deceiving Naru, Nephrite!" he snapped furiously at the dark hair warlord.
"Wait Sora, what are you saying?" she asked him.
"It's just like Sora said, Masato Sanjouin isn't human! He's Nephrite, a member of an evil group known as the Dark Kingdom!" replied Sailor Moon.
"No way! You're lying! He isn't that type of person, he's very kind!" protested Naru.
"So help us, Naru! We're going to get through to you! And if this is the only way, then so be it!" Sora said darkly, as he charged at Nephrite.
But when Nephrite saw Sora charging towards him, he tried to blast him with a powerful burst of darkness from his hand, which whooshed past Sora and struck at Sailor Moon.
"Stars of the Universe, Lend me your power now," he said, as Sora rushed back to Sailor Moon's side.
He could see the projectiles coming towards them, but he deflected them with his Keyblade, making Usagi smile at him.
"Why don't you fight me like a man without that Keyblade, Sora?" he asked.
"Oh it will be my pleasure," replied Sora, tossing his weapon aside and began punching and kicking Nephrite, in a blind fury.
"Both of you stop this!" cried Naru.
"You don't get a say in this!" snapped Sora.
"Urgh, I thought you weren't going with someone else!" Nephrite said as he tried to blast Sailor Moon with a Starlight Attack, which was deflected by Roxas who had joined them.
"You may have stopped that one, but next time, you through," he said.
"Sorry about the wait, Sailor Moon," Roxas said, making her smile.
But we're here to help you all the same!" added Sailor Mars.
"Because we won't sit back while you're on your own!" finished Sailor Mercury.
The others nodded in agreement.
"So you all managed to show up! Now I'll get rid of all of you at once!" smirked Nephrite.
He was about to charge up another Starlight Attack, when Sailors Mercury and Mars stopped him, just long enough to keep him distracted.
"Are you okay?" asked Naru.
"What, she's still here?" gasped Nephrite.
Sailor Moon removed her Tiara, transformed it into the golden discus, and prepared to use her Moon Tiara Action attack, when Naru jumped in its path. Everyone was shocked, but Sora quickly jumped between the discus and Naru, and deflected it with his Keyblade.
"Sora, what's gotten into you?" asked Usagi.
"Just what were you thinking Naru!?" Sora shouted at Naru.
"Stop trying to hurt Mr. Sanjouin!" cried Naru.
"Look, we can't let him get away with what he's done!" said Sailor Mercury.
"Now get out of the way!" snapped Sailor Mars.
"Never! You'll have to kill me to get to him!" protested Naru.
"Are you kidding us, Naru!? Why do you plan on risking your life for Nephrite, even though we care about your safety!? The only reason I stopped Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Action attack, was to save you!" snapped Sora.
"Why are you risking yourself to protect that man?" asked Ami.
"Because I love him! I love him with all my heart! And I'll defend him, even if it costs me my life!" replied Naru.
"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!? You think you can just do as you please!? Well, I'm sick of it! Go ahead, you just try and protect that guy! But, I'll make sure that Xion knocks some sense into you, NARU!" screamed Axel, as he readied his Chakrams.
Poor Usagi was lost, until Nephrite's crystal began to react to Naru's feelings, until Yasha and Sephiroth arrived.
"Is that the legendary Silver Crystal?" she asked, as she attacked him.
This caused Nephrite to drop it, and land at Naru's feet as she picked it up only for Yasha to try and attack her. But Nephrite blasted off Yasha's mask revealing her true form, making everyone surprised that he saved her life.
"Cursed Nephrite, why are you protecting that human!?" demanded Nephrite.
"Deal with the traitor, Yasha. I'll end Naru's life," said Sephiroth.
"SEPHIROTH!" shouted Cloud, who charged at him.
As Cloud and Sephiroth fought furiously, Nephrite, Sailor Moon, Sora, and their friends knew that they had to forge an uneasy alliance against Yasha.
"Traitors like you must perish!" she shouted.
"Get her, Sailor Moon!" called Sora.
"Moon Tiara Action!" cried Sailor Moon.
Yasha glanced behind her, and was instantly reduced to dust and ash. Then everyone glanced at Nephrite, as Sora saw that Cloud and Sephiroth had already left them behind, just as the dark-haired warlord returned the crystal to Naru, and prepared to leave.
"Hold it, Nephrite. Why can't you understand the feelings that Naru has for you?" asked Sailor Moon.
"I did save her," replied Nephrite.
"LIAR! You're nothing, but a heartless Devil who loves himself! You have no soul, and you have no heart! But next time we meet, I'll kill you myself, with my own two hands!" snapped Sora.
"That's enough Sora!" called Ami.
"You shouldn't say those things, even if you're angry," added Rei.
"No, Sora's right! I am a Devil. When I finally get my hands on the Silver Crystal, the entirety of the Realm of LIght will belong to me," said Nephrite.
"If you do manage to get this Silver Crystal, we will defeat you! And we will end your story!" replied Riku.
Luna and Usagi were surprised to hear Riku and Nephrite speaking about it.
"Just know that you all won't be able to play hero any longer. But keep blabbering on about your silly love and justice. Farewell," Nephrite said, as he walked off into the distance.
Sora glared at where he stood, until his anger finally exploded.
"You coward! I'll make you pay for this with your blood!" he shouted furiously.
As Naru slowly stirred from unconsciousness, Sailor Moon noticed a shooting star, and wished that Nephrite would no longer have any darkness inside of his heart.