LOVE AND OBSESSION
Chapter 1: "First Halting Steps"
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.


Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2015 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2015 by Bill K.


The guard at the front door of the Crystal Palace opened the door warily. He was new on the job - - the entire palace security staff was new, though many of them were transfers from the staff that guarded the Prime Minister in the old regime - - and no one was quite certain what constituted a threat in this brand new society. But when he saw it was Minako Aino, disguised in her black wig, on the arm of her current romantic interest, Kyou Byakugou, the guard stepped back to allow them entry. Minako and Kyou, though, lingered at the door.

"I had fun," Minako said, looking up with barely contained arousal at the burly, light-haired young man. "I don't think I've danced that hard in a while."

"When can I see you again?" Kyou asked, his massive arms keeping Minako pinned to his chiseled frame. She traced his strong jaw with her finger.

"I'd like to say tomorrow," Minako replied, her heart fluttering from the sheer physical presence of the man. "But I don't know what my schedule is yet. We're still trying to get this new government running smoothly. And I'm talking to a film producer tomorrow and I don't know how long that will take."

Kyou leaned in to kiss her. Startled, Minako started to pull back. But she could only go so far in the grip of his arms and when he captured her mouth, she shrugged her shoulders and returned the gesture. When they finally parted, Minako looked up at him, breathing heavily. She saw the confident look in his hard, handsome face, his light hair tousled into his eyes, clearly pleased with the situation at the moment.

"The Hell with my schedule," Minako grinned. "Tomorrow it is."

"Pick you up here?" Kyou asked.

"I'll be waiting," Minako rumbled lustily. Only then did Kyou release her. He nodded, pleased with himself, and headed back to Tokyo proper. Minako watched him leave, then dramatically whirled and fell back against the wall, fanning herself with her hand. "Why, I do believe that man has gone and given me the vapors!"

She noticed the guard smiling at her performance. Another fan. Then she noticed Luna staring at the scene curiously.

"What's the matter, Luna?" Minako asked, pushing herself off the wall jauntily. "Haven't you ever seen a girl in LOVE before?"

As she passed, Minako reached down and ruffled the fur on Luna's head, then bounced up the ornate staircase to the second floor living quarters. The gesture only drew a passing scowl from the black cat. She seemed to be preoccupied with other matters. Luna sat at the foot of the staircase for a few moments, lost in thought. Then seized by a notion, she ascended the stairs, leaving the front door guard to wonder if his friends would believe the story when he told it to them.


On a morning news program, one of the anchors was interviewing Dietman Jinro Takahashi. Though Endymion and Serenity were the acknowledged absolute rulers of Japan, they had kept the Diet in place to continue to legislate the laws of taxation, conduct and governmental procedure. All legislation was subject to review by the King and Queen after passage and could be vetoed without override, a power the two monarchs had yet to exercise. To some, it was business as usual in the legislative body.

"If you look closely, though, the Diet is just a puppet for the monarchy," Takahashi said in response to the anchor's question. "We all have to line up behind the will of Queen Serenity because they can dismiss any piece of legislation that doesn't conform."

"Critics have dismissed your concerns as bitterness and political gamesmanship, Dietman," the anchor responded. "If you find the process so abhorrent, why participate? Many of your fellow Dietmen from both parties resigned in protest when Endymion and Serenity took power."

"I believe in democracy," Takahashi answered. "Someone has to stand in opposition to something that is fundamentally wrong. Investing this much power in one person is a recipe for disaster. Look at the corruption and abuse that affected the country under the rule of the Shogunate. Look at where the country strayed after Emperor Meiji's rule ended: a legacy of militarism and repression. It's dangerous to concentrate power like that. It inevitably leads to something dire without democratic checks and balances."

"Some of those same criticisms were leveled against the old Diet, even with your democratic checks and balances in place."

"I'll grant you that the old system wasn't perfect," Takahashi conceded. "It didn't prevent corruption and abuse, but that abuse was diluted so that the basic human failing of greed or ego wasn't able to negatively effect the entire nation. What many people seem to forget is that Sailor Moon has those human failings as well. Mix those human failings with concentration of power and perhaps you see my concerns. We've already seen her unilateral decisions to suspend due process, appropriate public funds for the maintenance of her palace, her grandiose monument to her own ego, and generally ignore long-standing business relationships this government had in favor of businesses sympathetic to her and her supporters. And unless something is done, it will only get worse."

Just then Makoto entered the room. She saw Jinro Takahashi on the television and her anger rose. Then she noticed her daughter Akiko at her computer, completely ignoring the program. Akiko was just ten years old but already bigger and more broad-shouldered than any girl Makoto could recall seeing, aside from a young girl situated between her own mother and father in the photos in her cherished photo albums.

"Akiko, why do you have the TV on if you're not watching it?" Makoto asked. Her daughter shrugged.

Emitting a sigh of disgust, Makoto walked over and turned the television and Jinro Takahashi off.


Jiro Motojima was a detective with the Tokyo Metro Police Department. He'd been a detective in the robbery division for nine years. There had been some excitement here and there, but the majority of his time on the force consisted of interviewing complainants and witnesses, researching leads and sorting through criminal files for likely suspects. His brother was a middle manager for Toshiba and their jobs were remarkably similar. He produced defendants for the court system. His brother produced electronics.

Extortion cases fell under Jiro's jurisdiction as well. That was the case he had today. As he approached the tea shop tucked away in a sleepy corner of Chiyoda-Ku, he wondered about the prospect of getting enough evidence to lead to a trial. Too many times extortion cases were "he said/she said" affairs unless the person attempting to extort money was stupid, sloppy or over-confident. Entering the shop, Jiro found the proprietor. He was Masahiro Hirano, eighty-one. The man was withered with age, but still spry enough to maintain the shop with the aid of his fifty-
three year old daughter Kasumi. Jiro got a hopeful smile from both until he identified himself as a police detective. Then the smiles dimmed. He got that reaction more than he liked.

"I'd like to hear what happened," Jiro asked them.

"We told the officers," Kasumi fussed. "Didn't they make a report?"

"Yes, Hirano-San," Jiro nodded. "I've read the report. I just want to hear it from you, to make sure the report is accurate."

"It was terrible!" Masahiro spoke up bitterly. "No respect! No respect for elders in this generation! No respect for other people! If I'd done that when I was a boy, my father would have knocked me across the room!"

"Yes, Sir," Jiro nodded. "How did they act?"

"They were very business-like at first," Kasumi related. "They came up and said they were from the newly reorganized Ministry of the Treasury."

"Did they show you any identification?" Jiro asked.

"Yes, but I really didn't look at it," Kasumi frowned. "Then they demanded money! They said a new tax on businesses had been instituted by Sailor Moon and it was to be collected immediately!"

"Hoodlums were what they were!" Masahiro added. "They were just like the American soldiers who came in here after World War II when my father ran the shop! Destroying things, pushing my father around!"

"Oto-San, please!" Kasumi hissed.

"Did they make any threats?" Jiro asked. "Was there any physical contact or property destruction, or any verbal attempts at intimidation?"

"Well, when I questioned them about when this new tax had been put into effect, they said that it wasn't healthy to question the government," Kasumi related. She swallowed. "They said that they would close down our business if we didn't pay! Can they do that?"

"Did you get either of their names?" Jiro questioned. Kasumi shook her head. "Did they say when they would be back to collect?"

"No," Kasumi replied. "They hinted that it would be soon. Can they really close us down for not paying? I thought Sailor Moon was supposed to help people!"

"We first have to confirm that these two men are part of the Ministry of the Treasury," Jiro told her. "It very likely is a scam using the new government's authority for intimidation purposes. We'll try to track them down. Meanwhile, if they come back, call the police."

"But," Kasumi ventured anxiously, "what if they really are from the Ministry of the Treasury? Everything is different now that Sailor Moon is Queen."

Jiro didn't have an answer for that. Things were changing, and if you believed critics like Jinro Takahashi, not all for the better.


When Ami entered the shrine built in the Crystal Tokyo Palace, she found Rei sitting on a bench, staring at nothing in particular. Concerned, for this was a sign of one of several things, the doctor walked over and sat on the bench next to the priest. It was only then that Rei seemed to realize Ami was there. She glanced at her friend, startled for a moment, and in that moment Ami glimpsed some of the terror that being surprised now held for the priest. Rei relaxed immediately, but Ami hadn't imagined what she'd seen.

"Were you having a vision?" Ami asked. Rei clouded over with melancholy.

"No," her friend confessed. Then she sighed. "I just couldn't work up the motivation to move. It's a fine day, but I can't seem to get excited about it."

"Rei," Ami began, mentally choosing her words carefully, "have you given any thought to getting some help? You're showing dangerous signs of clinical depression. I'm growing more and more worried about you. We all are. I understand you want to try to beat this by yourself, but there's no sign of weakness or inadequacy in admitting that you might need help."

"Don't worry, Ami," Rei said softly, her eyes focused on her hands resting on her knees as she sat. "I've decided to try to talk things out. I thought I could do it - - hoped I could do it would probably be more accurate. But it's not working. My sight hasn't returned. I'm not a fit companion for Derek. I'm a burden on all of you. And I just - - don't enjoy life anymore." She exhaled again. "I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and let someone in. It's going to be hard, but it can't be harder than looking at Serenity look at me and know that I'm breaking her heart."

"I'm sorry it took this much pain to lead you to this decision," Ami said, patting Rei on the hand, "but I think you've made the right choice. I've been studying up on depression and post-traumatic stress. While I confess that I'm not a professional, I'll certainly try to do everything I can for you."

Rei looked at Ami in confusion. This confused Ami.

"Um, I was going to talk it out with Makoto," Rei said cautiously.

"Oh," Ami responded, caught off-guard.

"It's nothing personal," Rei assured her. "I'm not denigrating your skill as a doctor. It's just that I've always found it easy to talk to Makoto, to let my guard down and not worry about being judged."

"No, Makoto is an excellent choice," Ami replied quickly. "She possesses a great deal of intuitive wisdom. She relates to people on their own level and reaches very logical, very workable solutions through common sense applications. I-I would trust her implicitly to be sympathetic to your problems and concerns, and to give you sound advice." She grasped Rei's hands. "The important thing is that you get help for your problem. You couldn't be in finer hands than Makoto's."

"Let's hope," Rei replied with a weak smile. "I'm tired of living in a gray world. I want to feel its colors again."

In their quarters in the palace, Hayami was reading a book. When he heard the door slide open and then close, he looked up. His wife, Ami, was at their bookshelf searching for a title. Not finding what she was looking for, Ami sat down at her desk and brought her personal computer online.

"Looking for something?" Hayami asked.

"I'm thinking of expanding my field," Ami replied as she typed. "Getting into psychiatry, perhaps - - at least familiarize myself so that I can, well, practice effectively if the need arose."

Suddenly she stopped and just stared at the screen. Hayami looked at her curiously. Without warning, she turned to him and peered at him over her glasses.

"Hayami," she inquired earnestly. "Do I come across as judgmental?"


"Going out with 'Kyou' again?" Artemis asked, specifically using the man's first name to show his disrespect.

"Jealous?" Minako asked with a smirk as she expertly applied eyeliner.

"Only if you grow a tail," Artemis shot back. "I'm more concerned with you letting your duties in this new government slide."

"What makes you think I'd do that?" Minako demanded.

"Your entire secondary school career, your younger adult life, your current adult life," Artemis responded. "You are notorious for putting self ahead of obligations."

"It's Kyou-Chan's fault," Minako said, then smiled dreamily. "He brings out the hedonist in me."

"The morning alarm brings out the hedonist in you," Artemis scowled.

"The man is irresistible, Artemis!" Minako protested. "He's so - - primal. Just being in his arms makes me feel more like a woman than almost anything I've ever experienced."

"I thought Toshihiro was better for you," Artemis told her. Minako stopped applying the eyeliner and stared at the mirror. The white cat regretted speaking.

"Toshi was a partner," Minako said soberly. "Kyou is more of an experience. Maybe it won't last. Maybe I'll find a way to screw this up just like I've screwed up every relationship I've ever had." A smile dawned on her lips. "But until then, I'm going to ride this for everything I can get." She grabbed a hairbrush and brandished it like a microphone. "Because he makes me feel like a na-cher-rul . . ."

As Artemis rolled his eyes, Minako senshi communicator went off.

"Hey, Serenity," Minako answered. "S'up?"

"Well," Serenity began haltingly. "Could you come to the Royal Receiving Room, please?"

"Is it important? I kind of got a hot date tonight."

"And normally I wouldn't interfere with something that important," Serenity pleaded, "but - - you really should be here to hear this. Please?"

"I see you're still having trouble with this 'Royal Command' stuff," grinned Minako. "OK, be there in two shakes of a stick."

Artemis grimaced at the malaprop. "That's 'two shakes of a lamb's tail'," he corrected.

"I thought you wanted me to grow a cat's tail," Minako replied. "Man, you are weird, Artemis."

At the Royal Receiving Room in the palace, Minako was met at the door by Serenity. She could see something had the Queen upset.

"What's going on?" Minako inquired.

"Well, Endymion and I were hearing an appeal from, um, someone," Serenity explained haltingly. "You see, he wanted legal charges against him dropped and he hoped that I, well, that Endymion and I, well, would . . ."

"What's the big deal?" Minako asked. "You've already let a few people out of prison that you decided weren't a threat to society. And you've always been real big on forgiveness and second chances. Why do you need me here?"

"Well," Serenity grimaced, "I think you need to talk to him."

Mystified, Minako allowed Serenity to usher her into the room. Standing to one side was Endymion in his pastel gray tuxedo. She turned to the other man in the room. Her breath caught short.

"How nice it is to see you again, Minako," smiled Saijou Takeda, also known as Kaitou Ace.

Continued in Chapter 2