Sailor Moon Superstars
A Sailor Moon Story
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and ViZ Media.
A/N: I can't believe I'm on Chapter 10!
Chapter 10: Mamoru's Arrival! New Plans Set in Motion
"I know you have Nephrite's Star Crystal! Tell me where it is and maybe I won't kill you!" yelled Zoisite.
"I-I don't even know what you're talking about!" cried Naru, as she tried to pry his arms off of her neck.
Summoning a sword, he yelled, "Liar! I know you have it! There's no other way anyone else could've gotten their hands on—OW!"
Naru managed to punch him in the face, and she was able to gain a little distance on him while he held his nose in pain.
"H-how dare y-you!" cried Zoisite. His eyes watered from the throbbing in his nose, but despite this, he quickly recuperated and began running after her, "Get back here!"
Unbeknownst to Naru and Zoisite, Sailor Lead Crow and Sailor Aluminum Siren were secretly watching them from the top of a nearby building. Lead Crow crossed her arms and groaned.
She sighed, frustrated, "So much for spying on Zoisite and Kunzite's plan! I can't hear a thing from up here!
"Hm…"
Aluminum Siren was aloof as always and didn't seem to quite grasp the importance of what was unfolding below the two of them. This sort of spying didn't really interest her, especially when she'd rather be actually fighting or setting up a trap.
Lead Crow turned towards her, frowning, "You know, Siren, if this whole partner thing is gonna work out, you're gonna have to be more on your toes."
"My bad…I'm just a little bored. Why we are trying to steal their plan anyway?"
"We're not stealing their plan. I just want to see what they're up to. I have a feeling that they've deviated from Madame Galaxia and Beryl's orders," replied Lead Crow, as she helplessly watched Naru and Zoisite disappear from view, "but this is clearly getting us nowhere…"
Siren felt a little bad for Lead Crow, "Why don't we follow them?"
Sailor Lead Crow sat down on the roof, and Aluminum Siren instinctively followed. They looked over the glistening city as the afternoon sun began to sink lower and lower. Most people had already cleared the area below them, because of Zoiste, but the ambient noises of the bustling people and cars echoed around them.
"You know, if he hadn't made such a fuss I would've followed him. Though I'm surprised at his attack method this time; he honestly seemed like a more sneaky type," answered Lead Crow.
"I see."
Lead Crow shook her head and snickered to herself, "After drawing so many eyes, the Sailor Guardians are inevitably going to get involved," she turned towards her partner, "And I don't want to be a part of that right now. Maybe if it was a more secluded area I would, but I don't think we should reveal ourselves to so many people."
Aluminum Siren giggled, "That's a good point."
For a moment they sat in silence, both enjoying each other's presence, until Aluminum Siren sat up in realization of something.
"Hey, Lead Crow…"
"W-what is it?" Sailor Lead Crow looked towards her. Her face flushed as she thought of what Siren would possibly tell her, and she didn't know why she felt that way, which annoyed her.
"I think the girl that Zoisite attacked goes to our school! Maybe we could find her and see if she has a Star Crystal!" Aluminum Siren was proud of her observation, and was excited that she managed to contribute to their partnership.
"Oh! Y-yeah that's…that's a good point!" replied Lead Crow, flustered.
Siren put her hand on Lead Crow's shoulder, "And I'm certain we'll get more chances to lure in and attack the Sailor Guardians in a more secretive way later."
Lead Crow nodded in agreement, "I wouldn't be surprised if more of the Sailor Guardians have Star Crystals. We'll just have to observe them and see if any seem to have a strong desire to possess those certain traits, or whatever. We already have the Star Crystal of humility, which means that we should look out for compassion, love, truth and contentment, if I'm remembering correctly."
"Yeah," replied Aluminum Siren, whose face had changed to a more pouting expression, "I wish we just had to go after people who actually possessed those traits instead of a desire for them…it's too complicated."
Sailor Lead Crow shrugged, "It's tedious, but it's our job. So there's nothing we can really do about it."
"I suppose you're right," Aluminum Siren looked around, thinking of something to talk about, "Say, how do you feel about being at school anyways? I think I'm starting to enjoy it!"
Lead Crow's jaw dropped, astonished at what Siren had just said, "You like school? I think it's obnoxious there. Everyone is so annoying!"
Aluminum Siren was disappointed to hear that her friend thought so differently of it than she did. Embarrassed, and not knowing what else to say, she replied, "Oh…"
"As long as we're working together, I think that's all the social interaction I'll ever really need…"
At hearing this, Siren's sad expression soon changed to a beaming smile, "Really? You like being with me?"
Lead Crow blushed and looked away from Siren, "Well you're probably the most bearable person I know, so…
"TUXEDO MASK?!"
Everyone on the scene looked up to see his silhouette standing on top of a close-by streetlight. The cape billowing in the wind and the top hat made him instantly recognizable.
Tuxedo Mask lifted an arm from his cape and pointed it towards the two perpetrators, "Free time is a precious thing! Especially for school students! I cannot forgive those who take away from that time!" Despite having no idea what was going on, he was proud of himself for coming up with that speech on the fly after it had been so long.
Sailor Moon let out a gasp of relief.
"God, I can't stand this guy…" muttered Zoisite to himself, as his lips curled up in disgust. Kunzite looked upon the masked man silently, as he was focusing more on keeping the senshi in their trap, but he was clearly annoyed. He despised Tuxedo Mask. Especially after he had replaced Zoisite following his untimely death.
Tuxedo Mask jumped down from where he was perched and walked towards Zoisite, who by that point had inched himself closer to where Naru was as he picked up his crystal weapon. Neither of them broke eye contact with one another.
"Kunzite and Zoisite…" said Tuxedo Mask, "didn't think I'd be seeing your faces again." He carefully reached for his cane as he prepared to attack and retrieve Naru.
"Hmph," sneered Zoisite. He hadn't seen him since the incident at the Starlight Tower, where he had found out that he was in fact a man named Mamoru Chiba. That's right! thought Zoisite, I know his true identity! And I know Sailor Moon's too! He had been so caught up in sabotaging Nephrite and Sailor Tin Nyanko that those memories had evaded him.
Until now.
"Tuxedo Mask, help!" cried Sailor Moon, who, along with all the other Sailor Guardians, was becoming weaker and weaker.
Hearing this, he quickly made a move to run past the younger Shitennou towards Kunzite instead, in an attempt to disable his trap. He managed to dodge a 'zoi!' attack and jumped into the air as he threw a wide array of roses toward Kunzite.
The white-haired general lifted his arms to try and block his face from the attack, but this backfired as the stems of the Roses hit his hands and arms, deactivating the orb trap that he created. "Augh!" Kunzite stumbled backwards in pain.
"Kunzite!" cried Zoisite. He tried to run to his lover, but Sailor Uranus stopped him.
She grabbed him by the front of his jacket, knocking the sword out of his hands, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Oh please…" groaned Zoisite, "You think you can scare me?" He summoned a shard of ice and stabbed her in the arm.
"Auugh!" groaned Sailor Uranus, in pain. Despite this she managed to conjure up enough strength to garner one more attack.
"…World…SHAKING!"
The attack hit Zoisite dead on, flinging him a good distance backwards before he crashed into the pavement, gasping for air.
"Uranus!" cried Neptune as she ran over. She cradled her in her arms and looked at her wound.
"You're going to be alright!"
Sailor Uranus smirked, "Heheh…yeah, I know."
Sailor Moon ran over to Naru, who was still lying down, unconscious. She picked her up and ran for it, trying to find a place to hide.
At the same time, Kunzite managed to get up, and before Tuxedo Mask could attack him, he shot an energy blast, throwing the other Sailor Guardians in all different directions. Just as he did this Tuxedo Mask hit him with his cane, and in retaliation Kunzite threw his boomerang at him, cutting the side of his face. They continued to battle it out.
Even with her whole body sore and weakened, Sailor Jupiter managed to slowly bring herself to her feet and ran over to Sailor Venus to help her up.
"You okay?" asked Jupiter.
Sailor Venus nodded, "Yeah." She brushed some of the dirt off of her legs before lifting her head up to observe where the other Senshi were, along with Tuxedo Mask and their enemies, "Man…I forgot how strong Kunzite was. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Definitely," replied Sailor Jupiter as she checked on Sailor Saturn, who didn't seem too injured either.
Saturn looked around, "One of us should go look for where Eternal Sailor Moon and Naru went to hide."
Sailor Mercury felt pains all over her body from hitting the ground so hard. She groaned as she rolled over to get up. To her right, she saw Tuxedo Mask and Kunzite fighting.
"Guys!" she called to the other senshi, "We need to help Tuxedo Mask!"
In a nearby ally, Sailor Moon laid Naru down onto her lap, gazing over her with sympathy.
"I'm sorry you keep getting involved in this Naru…"
It seemed like a fate she couldn't escape. Naru was a magnet towards the Dark Kingdom's youma, and now Sailor Moon had no idea what had happened to her in these last few days. She felt like crying, but her sorrows were interrupted when Tuxedo Mask cried out to her.
"Sailor Moon! Behind you!"
She whirled around to see Kunzite looming over her, letting out a small gasp as she lunged back with Naru in her arms.
"Hand the girl over!" he yelled.
"No!" she cried. As she got up to run she heard Sailor Mercury shout:
"Bubble Spray!"
Kunzite laughed as a misty fog filled the whole area, "You think that will fool me? There's no where to hide here!"
He lifted his hand to fire a blast of dark of energy at Sailor Moon, but Tuxedo Mask jumped in front of him. He spun his cane to deflect most of the attack, but its power still pushed him back.
"Dammit!" cursed Kunzite, to himself. In an attempt to dodge another attack, he teleported out of the ally and searched for Zoisite, to see if he was okay. Much to his relief, he found his lover sitting up on the ground. His hand was pressed against his forehead.
"My love! Are you okay?" asked Kunzite, as he knelt down next to him and picked him up.
"I think so…" said Zoisite weakly, "Are you?"
"Yes. Don't worry about me," answered Kunzite, "We should abort this mission. There are too many Sailor Guardians on us right now."
Zoisite closed his eyes and nodded, "Okay."
The mist cleared just as they were about to leave, revealing Eternal Sailor Moon holding her Moon Power Tiare above her head, much to the surprise of the other Sailor Guardians.
She yelled, "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"
Kunzites eyes widened as he shielded him and Zoisite with his cape. As the light from her power subsided they were gone. He had teleported away.
Jupiter tightened her fist, "Damnit! They're gone!"
"Wh-what? Where did they go?" asked Sailor Moon, as she lowered her Tiare.
Sailor Saturn walked up to her, "They must've teleported away."
Everyone stood silently, presumably thinking. The street filled with chaos mere seconds ago was now still. There wasn't a sound.
Sailor Moon looked towards the ground, fiddling with her weapon, almost as if she didn't want to say anything. Lifting her head, she turned around towards Tuxedo Mask with tears in her eyes.
Her lip quivered, "Mamo…" The second she spoke, everything that was built up inside her let loose. She ran towards Tuxedo Mask and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his chest. He held her in his arms and ran his hand down the back of her head.
The senshi watched, happy to see the two of them together again. Even though they knew Galaxia hadn't attacked Mamoru on his way to America this time, it was still comforting to see his face again. It was like a new motivation for all of them to keep fighting.
After a short moment, Sailor Mercury spoke, "Mamoru, aren't you supposed to be-"
"In America?" he added, completing her question, "Yeah…but I kept getting a bad feeling that something was going on back here."
Uranus grinned, "Well you got that right."
Tuxedo Mask glanced down towards Sailor Moon, "And you weren't really calling or writing back… and when you did call there was something in your voice, even though you told me everything was fine, I could just tell that you were really concerned about something."
Sailor Moon clenched his cape tighter, "I'm sorry…it's just…"
"Rei was killed," said Sailor Venus abruptly, as if she wanted to get over saying it as fast as she possibly could.
Tuxedo Mask's eyes widened, "Rei? Oh my god, that's…" He didn't even know what to say. He knew that something bad must've happened, but never in a million years would he have suspected that Rei Hino, of all people, was killed while he was gone. On top of that he still knew nothing of why Kunzite and Zoisite had returned and why they were attacking them.
"But we think there might…" added Sailor Saturn, intently, "there might be a way to bring her back."
Sailor Jupiter sighed, composing herself before speaking, "The enemy took her Star Crystal, so if we just find where they're keeping it then we could revive her…or something like that." She reverted her gaze back down.
"What's a Star Crystal?" asked Tuxedo Mask, who was now more confused than he was before, "Is it like a Heart Crystal or Star Seed or…"
"We don't quite know," answered Sailor Mercury, "But since the core members of the Dark Kingdom have been revived, they might be some sort of object that contain large amounts of energy and power."
Baffled, he asked, "About that, how is the Dark Kingdom back?"
She let out a small laugh, knowing that she really had no answers for him, "We don't know that either. On top of that Sailor Galaxia is evil again, and her Sailor Animamates were brought back too."
Before he could ask any more questions, Naru woke up. They all turned towards her as she sat up to get off the ground. Sailor Moon let go of Tuxedo Mask and ran towards her. She knelt down by her side.
"You were unconscious for a while, are you injured anywhere?" asked Sailor Moon gently.
Naru shook her head, exhausted and fatigued from everything that had been going on. She was glad the bad guys didn't actually hurt her this time, "No, I think I'm fine. Thanks…thanks for saving me Usagi." She covered her mouth, not knowing what would happen if she let it slip that she knew who Sailor Moon really was.
Sailor Moon's eyes widened. Everyone stood around the two of them in shock. They were all thinking the exact same thing: how does she know her true identity? Naru looked up at all of them worriedly. She hoped they weren't mad at her.
"I'm the only person who knows! I haven't told anyone else! Honest!" blurted Naru, to try and lighten the tension she had accidentally created.
"H-how do you…" Sailor Moon trailed off. She didn't know what to say. In a panic, she thought of ways Naru could've found out. Her mind raced as she remembered that Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, Sailor Aluminum Siren, and Sailor Lead Crow had found out her true identity at some point.
It couldn't be one of them! thought Sailor Moon nervously, If they remembered I was Usagi they would've come after me now, right?
Naru felt her eyes getting hot. She didn't know if it was from the embarrassment she was experiencing or that fact it was Nephrite who had told her. It was probably both.
"It was Nephrite…who told me," confessed Naru.
"Nephrite?" Sailor Moon was shocked by this, but also relieved to find out that her suspicions about what had happened to Naru were confirmed.
Sailor Mercury stepped in, "Naru, if it's not too hard for you, could you please tell us what happened?"
Naru nodded, hesitantly, "…I don't know how he came back to life, b-but I found him in one of the school's janitor closets completely knocked out. He almost looked…dead. But he was in his the uniform he wore when he first told me his real name, so I knew it was him. Then I put this cuff-like thing that was on the ground onto his wrist, because it looked like it might've been his, and he woke up. And then we…oh.." she paused.
It made her chest hurt thinking about how nice it was being with him again while it lasted. She took a deep breath and continued, "Then we had chocolate parfaits. And that's when he told me who you were, Usagi. After that, we went to his old mansion and he showed me all these pretty stars. Everything was great until this cat girl and that guy with the ponytail who attacked me today showed up. And…and after that I…I don't quite…remember. There was fire and then Nephrite and the cat girl…died."
Everyone looked at her with varied emotions. The Outer Senshi seemed more perplexed by the relationships between the enemies than anything else. Jupiter and Venus looked at one another, shocked at what they had heard. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury, the only ones besides Naru who saw Nephrite die for the first time, were mostly just sad for her. Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask was still trying to grasp what was going on, and how all of these enemies had come back in the first place.
"I'm just…a little confused and freaked out by what's been happening…"added Naru. She touched her face and felt tears on her cheeks. "Heh, I was so focused on my story I didn't even realize I was crying," she forced a smile; in hopes they wouldn't end up feeling too bad for her.
Sailor Moon pulled Naru into her arms in hugged her. She embraced her as her best friend, not as a Sailor Guardian.
"Don't worry! We're all here for you."
Naru bit her lip, trying to suppress any more tears. She knew if she said anything she'd just start crying in front of everyone again. Resting her head on Sailor Moon's shoulder, she let out a small and shaky, "Thank you…"
Sailor Moon squeezed her tighter before letting go. She stood up and reached a hand towards Naru, to help her to her feet.
Smiling warmly, she said, "Let's get you home."
"Okay," replied Naru, quietly.
Everyone de-transformed around her, now knowing that she wasn't a threat to their identities. She looked at everybody and laughed to herself, "How did I not even notice the similarities until now?"
They all walked out of the ally onto the street. Haruka and Michiru went back to the café, where their car was parked, to go back to their place. Setsuna and Hotaru went with them. Ami, Makoto, and Minako walked back with them, planning to spend some time at the café's neighboring arcade. Once they were gone, it was just Usagi, Mamoru, and Naru left.
"Hey Naru," said Mamoru, as he turned towards her, "My apartment is only a few buildings down from here. If you'd like I can pick up my car and take you guys home."
Naru nodded, "That'd be great, thank you!" She forgot how nice it was being able to talk normally to other people. It was a breath of fresh air after not really talking to anyone for the last few days.
Usagi looked at Naru and smiled. She was happy to see her in a better mood, especially after everything that's happened to her. But she just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Nephrite was able to remember his previous life.
I wonder if anyone else has remembered that…thought Usagi worriedly.
As she pondered this, it dawned on her that some of their enemies would actually know her identity if they somehow regained their memories. Even though this thought frightened her, she kept to herself, in hopes that she wouldn't cause Naru or Mamo any extra stress for now.
A few moments later, Mamoru pulled up in his car. Usagi sat in the passengers seat and Naru seated herself in the back.
Naru leaned her head against the window as they drove off to her house. The sun was beginning to set. The warm evening light reflected off of the city's buildings as if it was putting on a small show before falling below the horizon. She wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep, but decided against it when she heard Usagi and Mamoru start talking. Looking out the window, Naru silently listened to their conversation.
"I'm sorry Mamo…" said Usagi sadly.
Mamoru looked at her before focusing back on the road, "What's the matter, Usako?"
She leaned her head back and sighed, "I don't know… I guess I just feel bad for causing you to leave school."
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it all sorted out later. For now, our problem at hand with these enemies is my priority," he paused and then chuckled to himself, "About that, do you mind telling me a little more about what's going on with them and these Star Crystal thingies?"
Usagi tilted her head, "Well, none of us know much about how these bad guys came back, I just remember Sailor Cosmos telling me they had all revived and that was that." She turned around in her seat and looked back to Naru, "Hey, Naru. Did Nephrite ever tell you anything about how he was brought back?"
Naru jolted in surprise, not expecting Usagi to talk to her, "Oh! Uh…no I don't think so…Sorry."
Usagi smiled warmly, "That's alright! I was just curious." She turned back around.
"We know a little bit more about the Star Crystals," continued Usagi, "but still, not much. And I think you've already heard everything we know…"
Mamoru grinned nervously, "Well I guess we'll just have to figure out more about them together…right?"
They fell into a contemplative silence.
"…do you know what they look like, by any chance?" added Mamoru, awkwardly.
"Do I know what they look like…" mumbled Usagi, re-asking the question to herself, "Yeah! I think so!"
They fell into another silence.
Mamoru looked back to Usagi a few times, wondering if or when she was going to elaborate.
"Usagi?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you tell me what they look like?"
She looked back at him, "Yeah, sure! Well, for one, they're very, very shiny and bright.
Naru sat up and glanced towards Usagi. This caught her attention. Could that be what Nephrite left behind…? She watched intently, waiting to see if the rest of Usagi's description matched what she had.
"It kinda looked like a Heart Crystal because of how pointy it looked. Though it was more shaped like a star; not like a normal 5-point star, but one with like 9 points…I think."
"So, an enneagram?" added Mamoru.
"No…more like a star with nine points," she paused for a moment, "Wait, is that what an enneagram is?"
Mamoru smiled, "Haha, yeah."
Naru's eyes widened. That has to be what I found! she thought to herself, I mean, what else could that thing have been?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the fact that they had reached her house.
"Well, we're here!" said Mamoru. Him and Usagi got out of the car and he opened door for Naru. They walked to her front door.
As she went to open the door, she paused for a moment, before turning back to Usagi and Mamoru.
"Do you guys want to come inside for a bit? There's something I want to show you."
The couple looked at each other before looking back towards Naru.
They nodded, "Sure!"
She brought them inside and they took off their shoes. Then she led them up the stairs to her room. Her mother was out for the time being, so the house was dark, with the exception of some natural light peaking through the windows.
"What is it you want to show us, Naru?" asked Usagi as they traveled up the stairs.
"You mentioned something about those Star Crystal things, right?"
Usagi and Mamoru looked towards each other again. Neither of them really knew what to expect.
Naru opened her bedroom door and walked to the other side of her dark room, where she pulled open one of her dresser's drawers and began shuffling through the clothes. Mamoru and Usagi stood politely in the doorway.
"Here it is!" exclaimed Naru as she pulled out a brilliantly shining Star Crystal from underneath all the clothes.
Usagi's jaw dropped, "Naru, w-who's Star Crystal is that?" She was baffled at the fact that Naru had managed to get her hands on something like that. It soon crossed her mind that perhaps she found it at Nephrite's mansion after he had died. Which meant that it had to be…
"…Nephrite's, huh … " answered Naru, mesmerized by the glowing object in her hand, "I realized it must've been on the car ride here."
She paused. Her eyes felt hot.
"The way you talked about it made me realize you probably need it way more than I do … so here," she closed her eyes to push back the tears and held out the Star Crystal to Usagi. It hurt giving it away like that, especially since it was the last piece of Nephrite she really had left.
Usagi took the crystal and examined it. It felt warm in her hands. She almost had to squint looking at it.
"Wow … I can't believe that this is Nephrite's," said Usagi, "I totally thought that only Sailor Guardians could have something like this …"
She gently handed it to Mamoru for him to examine. Then she brought her gaze back to Naru. Noticing that she seemed really sad giving it away, she added, "Don't worry Naru, we're not going to use it up on anything. The only thing we want to do with these Star Crystals is return them back to their rightful owners."
Naru's face lit up, "Wait, really? But Nephrite's body disappeared … how can you …" There was a part of her that was excited to hear this news, but another that didn't really think something like that was possible.
"I'm not really sure …" answered Usagi, "But I don't think it will hurt to try."
Mamoru looked up from the crystal in his hand, "We can try to figure something out at my place. I think it would be more convenient to do it there rather than here or at Usagi's house."
"Agreed," said Usagi.
Naru glanced back and forth between the two of them before asking, "Could I come to see what happens?"
"It might be dangerous," replied Usagi, "and I would hate to bring you over with the idea we'd come out of it with Nephrite being alive and then have it not work out."
"Even if that's the case, I still want to go!" insisted Naru. She felt a wave of desperation surge over her, and she was surprised it had such grasp had on her. She knew she's been a burden to Usagi and the Sailor Guardians, and she'd still be a burden going with Usagi this time too. It was probably just the selfishness in her holding on to that little shred of hope she had to see Nephrite again, she thought. Naru hated herself for that. She hated that she let Nephrite die twice, that she kept attracting enemies wherever she went and that Sailor Moon always had to swoop in and save her. And now, she was making Usagi drag her along to some dangerous mission that she shouldn't have even be involved with in the first place. She wanted, so badly, to not be such a burden anymore, and yet, she wanted more than anything to do the exact thing that would make her one. All because of her impatience to see Nephrite again.
Usagi hesitated, she knew how pained Naru would be if this didn't work, but there was a part of her, deep down, that knew it would be okay to bring her along. That maybe, this could be the first ray of hope in the Sailor Guardian's new battle.
She put her hands on Naru's shoulders, "Alright, but you can't talk about it anywhere," she smiled, "Does that sound good?"
Naru looked at Usagi. She now felt even guiltier for getting her way, but the look in her best friend's eyes told her that she didn't have to worry.
Because she was going to be okay from now on.
Naru smiled, and the tears built up in her eyes fell down her face, "Yeah … sounds good!"