A/N: Apologies for the delay in updates, but real life is like that at times. Anyway, onward we go:

9 | The Amazing Mr. Grayson

Minako sported a tepid smile as she departed from midday lunch with Makoto in an ultimately vain attempt to conceal her melancholy. At some point, their conversation had shifted to what she and the shrine maiden could do to win back Usagi's trust and affections. She always ended up feeling that way whenever she contemplated the effectively nonexistent relationship she had with her princess, one she desperately wanted to repair yet had no clue how to go about doing it. Makoto was of little help. Granted, the brunette was fortunate enough to not be as big of an idiot as she and Rei had been. Nevertheless, such foresight also meant not having any useful experience to dole out. As far as she knew, a miracle would have been necessary if she were going to become friends again with Usagi.

A piercing shriek tore the girl from her almost robotic motions and piqued her vigilance. She sensed it came from somewhere very close to the street along which she meandered, but she could not tell exactly where. In any case, somebody was in serious trouble and she needed to check it out at the very least. If it were a youma attack, one that seemed to be quite rare in recent days, then it was her duty to defeat that agent of darkness. She could not afford to neglect her duties no matter how miserable she felt. On the other hand, if it were not one of those hated monsters, then she could at least be in position to alert the local authorities. Though not necessarily one of her responsibilities it would at least demonstrate her conscientiousness. It would prove a bit of her worth as both a senshi and a human being.

It was the second yell, one far more bloodcurdling than the first, which told her where she needed to sprint. A chill shot down her spine as she realized the shout could only come from someone much younger than her. After a quick check of her surroundings, one that showed her unusually isolated for a public street just after noon, she doubled her pace and dashed into the nearby alley. There she found that her suspicions were horrifyingly correct.

A young girl, who Minako guessed was no older than ten, cowered against the wall of the alley, her body trembling in fear and despair. The girl's torn blouse suggested that she had been caught in some kind of struggle, but otherwise she was uninjured. Surrounding her were a handbag and a jacket far too large to fit her, both recently abandoned. Something tremendous had occurred, and Minako was too late to prevent it.

Dammit. What the hell kind of senshi am I to let somebody get hurt like this, youma or not? She focused her gaze upon the crouching brunette. At the very least I should see what I can do for this poor girl.

She slowly approached the girl and tenderly placed a hand on her shoulder. The girl yelped and frightfully winced, but when she saw who had touched her she immediately seemed to calm down. Minako cautiously smiled as she looked over the child.

"Don't worry. You're perfectly okay now. I'm going to go get some help. Could you tell me what happened to you?"

"My mom and dad were taken from me," the young girl hoarsely whispered. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she spoke. "Monsters came by and grabbed them."

"What kind of monster?"

"I-I don't know. It was big, way bigger than my dad. There were several of them. He tried to save my mom and me but the monsters made him disappear. They made my mom disappear too. But, they ran away before they could hurt me."

So, it was a youma after all. Or multiple youmas it seems. Minako momentarily looked upward at the sky as the thoughts ran through her mind. What the hell are they trying to do now? In any case I should go and transform and track the things down. From what she said they couldn't have gone far. I'll tell the others as well since I don't think I can take on more than one by myself.

"Thank you."

"What?" The girl's sob-filled words of appreciation caught the contemplative blonde unaware.

"They ran away because you came for me."

"I'm sure your parents will be just fine." She gave the girl a sympathetic smile. "In the meantime, we should get you out of here and call the police."

"What about the Sailor Senshi? Should someone call them as well?"

"Um… I don't think you can call them, really. It doesn't quite work that way." She chuckled, and then cursed herself for how nervous it sounded. "They just… know when these sorts of things happen, I guess. But, don't worry. They'll definitely find the monsters and rescue your parents."

The young girl solemnly nodded. "I hope so."

Minako turned her head toward the alley's entrance to better see what she had barely glimpsed from the corner of her eye. She caught a peek of something or someone suspicious—she couldn't exactly tell which one it was—dashing away at great speed, though she heard no footsteps. Whatever it was, it caused her to pull away from the girl and run off investigate. Maybe it was one of the youmas or maybe it was something else. Unfortunately, she never had an opportunity to find out as the moment she was a few steps away from the young girl she felt something smash into her back, knocking her face-down into the ground. At the same time, she heard the girl's earsplitting scream.

"The monsters! They're back!"

She pushed away from the hard concrete and twisted around to lay her eyes on the beasts, but by the moment she was in a position to see anything she could see nothing at all. The entire alley was shrouded in complete darkness. Given the brilliant sun and cloudless sky, the last thing she expected was an inky blackness that was inappropriate even for nighttime. In her mind, she was convinced it was the work of those youmas, as were her pounding headache and churning stomach. If she couldn't see anything then neither could anyone else, and thus she thought it safe to transform. However, it did not mean she was alone. She could plainly hear light footsteps slowly creeping away from her and muffled whimpers of distress. Also, the blast of dark energy that tossed her into a nearby wall reminded her that the monsters were also still there.

It required about a minute for senshi of love and beauty to recover from that strike. Her head still felt as though it was about to explode, she still felt like vomiting at any moment, and though her vision had returned the most she could see was murky mess of brown and gray. Worse, she no longer could hear the girl's muted sobbing. By then, it seemed she truly was alone, and her anxiety began to skyrocket.

What the heck just happened? Did those things take her too?

Pushing herself to her feet and turning around, she could see a large, swirling patch of blue, but not much more than that. Was that the exit to the street? She was determined to find out, as soon as she could steady herself. One outstretched hand found a wall to her right, while the other grasped nothing but air. She made sure her fingers remained in contact with that rough surface as she cautiously made her way forward. Blue continued to fill her vision until it practically was the only thing she could see at all in that direction. It was clear to her that she had not reached the end of the alley. Disappointment reigned, though that emotion quickly gave way to curiosity. She cautiously extended her left hand in front of her. It proved to be a mistake. Merely touching that blue mass brought her immense pain, as though her fingers were on fire. She swiftly yanked her hand away and waved it about to remove the burning sensation. Luckily, it worked.

I guess that's also those youmas' fault, right? What the heck am I up against?

Those creatures, whatever they were, didn't give her time to ponder the answer to that question. Instead they pressed their attack, sending another blast at the defenseless warrior. That one caught her in the back and threw her straight into that painful barrier. Fortunately, it had enough energy behind it to cause her to bounce off the obstruction and land somewhere in the middle of the alley. The attack was not strong enough to knock her out, but it blinded her yet again and left her feeling woefully dizzy.

What should I do? I can't see where anything is!

The sound of the young girl's weeping broke through the silence, driving up her already intense nervousness. What in the world could she do to save her poor victim from unknown assailants when she couldn't see any of them? She trusted in her first instinct, which was to move closer to the source of the crying. Maybe that way she would be in position to protect the girl from any attacks even if she could not counter them. With great determination, she shuffled toward the sorrowful sound.

That was how she found herself lying face-first on the hard ground after taking only three paces, the result of yet another blast of negative energy from places unknown. Her entire body ached as she once again pushed herself to her feet. The crying, interrupted by a reverberating scream upon that attack, was louder, so quite possibly that infernal beast had done her the favor of knocking her closer to the child. However, it was apparent she wasn't close enough, and the next strike only ensured she would face an uphill battle in reaching that young victim.

—|1|2|3|—

"Why are we here again?" Haruka's disinterest was palpable as she stood in front of the door with arms akimbo. "There are better things I could be doing—things we could be doing right now."

Michiru responded to her lover's obstinacy with a pout. "Oh, cheer up, Haruka-chan. You know Meiou-san wouldn't ask us to travel all the way here without a good reason."

The reply was met with a loud scoff. "And the reason is?"

"I'm sure we'll find out soon. Just stay patient."

"Great."

Annoyance set in quickly, and she began to tap her foot against the stone walkway, earning her a sharp glare from Michiru. Her partner was mere moments away from delivering a full rebuke when the door opened. Their attention immediately was drawn to the woman standing before them.

"I'm pleased the two of you could make it here on such short notice." Setsuna gave the pair both a genial smile and shallow bow before stepping away from the threshold.

"Well, we weren't really busy to begin with, so it's no big deal," Michiru said, grinning playfully at Haruka.

The blonde shook her head and chuckled, albeit mirthlessly. "Nope, not busy at all. Just preparing for an upcoming race—at Suzuka, no less. That's it. Nothing truly important."

"Haruka-chan!"

"Don't worry, Haruka-chan." Unlike the previous laughter, Setsuna's muted giggles were purely jovial. "I'm all but certain you will do absolutely fine in your first race there."

"You really think so?" Her eyes widened with nervous anticipation. "Could you tell me how I'll finish?" She was not deterred when the time senshi shook her head. "Please? Not even a tiny hint?"

"Even if I could predict the future with perfect accuracy, I wouldn't dare tell you. Besides, how can you derive any pleasure from the experience if you already know the outcome beforehand?"

Haruka muttered something inaudible before shrugging and resigning to defeat. "Meh. I guess you're right on that point."

"That I am."

Setsuna grinned at Michiru's amusement and Haruka's more obvious petulance before inviting the pair to take a seat at a nearby sofa. She sat across from them in a separate cushioned chair. Waiting for them on a nearby table was a teakettle and three already-filled cups, along with an assortment of scones. The presence of refreshments seemed to soothe the blonde's exasperation.

"Anyway, it would be very impolite of me to invite you all to my humble abode without making an honest attempt at being a decent hostess. Please help yourself to anything you'd like—within reason, of course."

"Thank you. And, on the contrary, your place is actually quite beautiful," Michiru said as she took one of the teacups. A polite smile toyed with her lips. "I might actually say that I'm slightly jealous of some aspects of your decorative design."

"You might say it's a taste borne from experience." She lifted the remaining cup from the table and took a small sip, grinning with delight before a more serious expression fell across her visage. "So, you might be wondering why I invited you all the way over here."

"You could say that," Haruka said.

"Well, for one, working in that hospital at all hours of the day or night only to return to an empty house does make me feel somewhat lonely." A very genuine pall of depression seemed to fall over Setsuna as she spoke, although subdued optimism soon displaced it. "Even if you aren't the same women I knew before and to whom I had grown accustomed, I absolutely do enjoy your company nonetheless."

"So, you're saying this is nothing more than a social visit?"

"Come on, Haruka-chan." Michiru's fury was starting to emerge, though she managed to catch herself in time before exploding at the other woman. She turned to Setsuna and bowed. "I'm sorry for my partner's continued rudeness, Meiou-san."

"Please call me Setsuna. You never have to be so formal with me. Also, I truly don't mind her antics, as I can understand her mindset." She grinned at Haruka, who clearly appeared startled, though it was unknown whether her reaction from the sudden attention or the gesture. "Suzuka is a very dangerous racetrack, especially for a beginner, despite your prodigious talent. That, combined with our most evident concerns, can make for quite a bit of pent-up stress, right?"

"I'm perfectly fine." Her defensive posture only led to even more suspicious stares from her two companions. "No! Really, I am!"

"Of course." Setsuna shook her head and smiled again, although that time it was a more cryptic expression than the one that preceded it. "Anyway, I do hope for some more opportunities in the future where we can meet as normal individuals—or as normal as a trio of senshi could ever be. But, for now, the main reason I called you two over is because I have some important news I want to share with you."

"I'm very eager to hear what you have to say," Michiru said, turning a quick but utterly fierce glare toward Haruka, who merely shrugged in reply.

"Well…" There were a few seconds of silence during which Setsuna slowly took in and released a deep breath, settling her nervousness in the process. "You cannot reveal anything I'm about to say to anyone, not even to our princess. Do you understand?"

The extreme apprehension her two guests felt was justifiable, but they both slowly nodded, wishing to hear her explanation out of sheer curiosity if nothing else. Upon their answer, she spent a few more moments gazing at her feet, indubitably deep in thought, before slowly turning an intense stare in their direction.

"I will be gone one month from now and there will be no way to contact me, nor will I be able respond to any attacks against our princess. My absence will last for two weeks. As much as I wish to, I cannot tell you where I am going or the precise reason why. It's… just better that I keep it a secret until the time when its revelation is absolutely necessary. But, I need you two to make sure that our princess is absolutely protected during that time."

"That's nothing you'd have to worry about," Haruka said with confidence. "I'll be damned if anything bad happened to my Koneko-chan."

"Is there some specific threat against her?" Michiru's voice was deep and full of worry.

Setsuna hung her head and sighed. "None that I know about, but the Dark Kingdom is always a threat. Sazaratha even more so."

"Nevertheless, we will do whatever we can to ensure Usagi-san's safety," Michiru said.

"Good." A faint smile appeared on Setsuna's lips. "I guess I just needed to get that off of my chest. It has been perturbing me for so long." She stood from her chair and slowly walked behind it. "That's all I really needed to tell you, unless you don't mind staying here and listening to me babble about this guy I met a few days ago."

Her last line, intended as a throwaway statement and delivered so nonchalantly, immediately piqued Michiru's interest.

"What guy? How did you two meet?"

"You could say I ran into him as I was getting dinner, though it's more accurate to say that I ran over him instead." She began to chuckle, a feeling of levity that proved infectious when the ocean senshi soon joined her in laughter.

"Hmm… that's quite a unique way of introducing yourself."

"Indeed, though he seemed to take it all in stride. In fact, I would say that he was rather happy for the encounter."

A lively grin spread across Michiru's lips. "Looking at you, I can't say that I blame the guy for feeling that way."

"I fully appreciate the compliment, though I must admit that my appearance is quite different during those times I'm going back and forth from the hospital. Or, to put it another way, I wasn't exactly looking my best then."

"Well, I hear there are some men who find that look more attractive."

Haruka, who until then had paid little attention to their banter, groaned loudly in annoyance as she stood from the sofa. "Sorry. I'll be outside if anyone needs me."

Though it was the sudden movement that initially captured her attention, Michiru was soon drawn to the expression of boredom scrawled across her lover's face, frowning in response. "Oh, don't be that way, Haruka-chan. Setsuna-san's a great hostess and an even better person, and you should be more interested in what she has to say." That grimace disappeared as she turned a telling look to Setsuna while continuing to talk to the blonde. "Besides, there's much more to this conversation than what Setsuna-san's letting on right now, something that I suspect will involve the two of us."

"You're absolutely correct, Michiru-chan. Though I do find Mr. Grayson—that's the name of the gentleman in question—somewhat intriguing, it's not in the way you'd originally suspect given the course of our discussion. After all, it's true that I'm far too busy for dating, and I told him that much."

Haruka shrugged as she looked at Setsuna in confusion. "So, what's he got to do with anything then?"

"Well, after we departed the restaurant I took the liberty of surreptitiously following him. It turned out my suspicion was correct that he was not a visiting businessman as he had claimed." She stopped and took a long sip of her tea before looking at her guests with a far more solemn countenance. "As I told you earlier, the Dark Kingdom is always a threat."

Michiru's eyes immediately widened from shock. "Dark Kingdom?"

"As far as I could tell," Setsuna said with a nod. "Remember that there are a number of normal humans associated with them, as we had seen in our last battle. As such, they don't give off any sort of energy signal as they lack magical powers. However, I felt a weak amount of negative energy emanate from the house he entered, and other nodes of such energy surrounding the place. Those probably come from reconnaissance-type youmas that are keeping watch."

"Do you know where they're located?" Unlike Michiru, Haruka's eyes were narrowed as she felt a new sense of purpose and the impending joy of defeating yet another threat to her princess.

"Certainly. It's a small house located in Adachi—"

Haruka didn't wait for Setsuna to complete her explanation, grabbing her car keys from her pocket as she started for the front door with an impressive gait. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait, Haruka-chan! Shouldn't we at least hear Setsuna-san out, in case there's more to this besides just a few people in a house?"

"Why? Unless Beryl happens to be there, I doubt any of them would last very long against the three of us."

"Maybe so," Setsuna interjected, her tone far calmer than what either of her guests had presented, "but you'd have to imagine the attention we'd receive when we attack some random house for no apparent reason. The Sailor Senshi murdering a bunch of innocent civilians would not make for good publicity."

"Yeah, but they're not innocent, and I don't care what people will think about us." Haruka's complexion seemed to grow redder by the second. "I'll be damned if I let those bastards sit around and build strength if I have the chance to stop them now."

Setsuna shook her head but otherwise maintained her composed appearance. "I don't particularly agree with our princess's mantra, but I do believe that right now is not the best time to strike. Besides, Beryl might not be there, but I did feel the aura of someone who might be nearly as strong."

"Sazaratha wouldn't be with them, as she has her own goals that conflict with Beryl's." Consternation initially dominated Michiru's features before it was instead twisted by perplexity. "It certainly can't be Kunzite since he was purified by Usagi-san."

"That's true, and the other Shitennou are either dead or permanently disabled, unless there were more than four," Setsuna said. "That alone is a reason we can't just rush in, since we don't know what we're dealing with."

Haruka emphatically punched her open palm with her fist, but when she loudly exhaled a frustrated sigh a few seconds later it was evident that she had accepted defeat. "Okay, so we can't go after them now. What do we do?"

"Right now, I suggest we keep an eye on them and monitor their activities so we can determine what they're doing here. It probably will be difficult with your racing duties, Michiru-chan's upcoming recital in Belgium—both of which I'm sure will be rousing successes—and my own departure, but I believe that impediment can be overcome."

A glint of deviousness shone in Setsuna's eyes when she turned her gaze to Haruka, one the blonde immediately noticed. That same sentiment shone through in the slightly lower tone she adopted when she spoke once again.

"Oh, and just because we're not going in with guns blazing, so to speak, it doesn't mean we'll idly sit by and allow them to gather strength. There are plenty of ways we can frustrate them without being obvious about our presence or our motivations."

Haruka slowly nodded. "I understand."

A light and yet wholly mischievous smile toyed with Setsuna's lips as she bowed before the other two women. "Anyway, I thank you two once again for coming here, and though I'd sincerely love for you to stay around a bit longer, I have to prepare for work. Granted, my shift does not begin for another few hours, but I think it's good if I went for an early dinner before then." Her grin widened. "Who knows? I might just run into Mr. Grayson again. I'm sure he would consider that worth his while."

—|1|2|3|—

Tired was only one of the words that described Minako as she delicately rolled onto her side and ultimately onto her stomach so she could push herself up from the oily ground. The attacks were not horribly menacing to her, and she had seen and felt much, much worse, but the inability to deal a blow against her attacker ensured that the unanswered strikes added up. She winced in agony as she finally made it to her feet. It was a routine that was played out in her mind, one she had just repeated for the eighth time within a ten-minute stretch. It didn't help that she was effectively blind that entire time, or that her vertigo and nausea continued to mount. That was why aggravated also could have described the weary warrior.

The solid blackness that ensconced her began to fade, but it did little to actually help her see the world around her. Instead, everything was blurry to the point that she could hardly recognize anything. The most she could make out was three dark blobs towering over a smaller, lighter-colored blob all against a field of gray and brown. However, it was enough for her to understand what was going on. That smaller blob had to be the young girl, which meant the larger ones were the youmas trying to attack her once again.

"Help me! Please!" she heard the girl fearfully shout.

She inched her way closer to the congregation of monsters. As time progressed her vision steadily improved to the point that she could make out some distinct features. Her hand raced to her mouth to stifle a gasp as she noticed something strange about the creatures attacking that girl. Namely, they clearly were human forms, not the monsters she had expected. If those three were people, then what happened to the youmas? It was a question that she shoved to the back of her mind as she noticed their menacing postures. She swallowed hard and purposefully strode toward the three individuals. They would move away from the girl, by force if necessary. Then she heard the girl scream once again.

"Help! These are the monsters that attacked my parents!"

The blonde skidded to a stop as a bemused expression covered her face. There was no possible way that could have been true. However, she quickly changed her mind when she saw the bodies of all three men emit a brilliant gold light, one that did her poor eyes no favors. When the light dimmed, the figures she saw were only vaguely humanoid in shape, a far cry from what preceded it. The most obvious detail was that they were much taller than any normal human, and she could somewhat see that they were a sickly gray color. She didn't need any more information to know that they were evil and needed to be stopped immediately. Besides, they had blinded her and made her sick to her stomach, and she was not going to let them live for any longer than necessary.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

The golden links of pure energy shot from her hands and encircled the three youmas. She aimed the attack high enough so that, when she tightened the lasso around those beings it wouldn't inadvertently capture the girl. The child, for her credit, had enough of her wits about her to scurry away from the monsters, though only to the other side of the alley.

"I'm sick of dealing with evil creatures that stoop low enough to attack children!" Minako's rage, combined with her determination to defeat what she considered the scourge of her existence and do a great deed for the young girl gave her the power to call her ultimate attack.

"Rolling Heart Vibration!"

The intensely glowing multicolored heart leaped from her outstretched arms and corkscrewed toward the hapless youmas. They struggled to free themselves from their bindings but somehow lacked the energy to do so. Whether they expended it all on attacking her or on creating the barriers and oppressing darkness was a question for which she didn't care to learn the answer. All she wanted was to see three dead youmas. When the massively energized heart made contact, she was thrilled to know she was not disappointed.

"Yes!"

It was a weak exclamation, however, and she soon collapsed to her knees in exhaustion. Her chain disappeared and its warm energy vanished, but its work was done anyway. For the next few seconds she did little more than sit with her eyes closed and breathe heavily, occasionally swallowing hard in an attempt to assuage her nausea. Once she felt sure she was not going to vomit, she languidly turned her head to where she had last seen the girl. Her resulting gasp could be heard from the street. The space was completely empty. The girl was gone.

Where did she go? I could swear she was right there? Did she run away the moment I killed those cruel beasts?

Suddenly her eyes widened in horror and pallor once again covered her face. She rapidly rose to her feet and swiveled her head about as she began a frantic search of the alleyway.

Where are her parents? They should have come back once I defeated those things… right?

The question weighed on her throughout her fruitless examination of the passageway. It didn't help that she had no clue what they looked like, and the one person who could assist her with that no longer was there. However, not all hope was lost.

Where's that purse and jacket? I could probably find out who they are if there was some form of ID left in either one.

Strangely, when she returned to the spot where she remembered initially finding the little girl, there was nothing there. There was no purse, and there was no jacket either. She tilted her head slightly to the side as confusion once again washed over her.

Did she take them? I swear they were right here.

She was forced to shelve any further consideration of that issue as she had yet another recollection, one that was prompted by the distant sound of a ringing bell. It reminded her of the bell from her school, which in turn caused her to nearly have a heart attack.

"Oh my God! I'm completely late for math class! And we have a test today too. Dammit!"

She hurried out of the alley, making sure to remove her transformation before she broke the threshold. The probability of her making it to the room in time for her to actually be allowed in and take the exam with her classmates was zero. However, that didn't mean she would not try to make it back to her school in record time. There always was a chance of her faking some kind of ailment and getting an official excuse from the school's nurse. She would do anything to avoid the inevitable agony that disappointing her mother with a failing grade would bring her.