sabina21: you'll see on most of it coming up soon. There will be a lot happening coming up so stay tuned for more.
LoveInTheBattleField: thank you.
kera69love: if by she you mean the evil princess, yeah she's a tool for sure but it was as you've been noticing getting egged on by figures above her.
3 reviews, nice, lets see how you all like where this is going, please let me know in the comments section!
The end in the beginning ch. 17
Usagi POV
We disperse off into different directions to further confuse it. As I land, I can't help but ask it, "How many times do I have to kill you?" it snarls at me. The anger clear, in its eyes as it starts to attack me and the rest of the senshi there. I know why it's doing this though. It's preventing us from being able to come up with a solution that MIGHT be available to get them out WITHOUT the girls inside exposing themselves to.
Which also meant we might have been close to an idea when she sent her lacky monster back to take care of her dirty work for her. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that could have been and the only person who could give us a clue is stuck unable to communicate or get her Mercury computer to work thanks to the force field that's closing in around them. I see the outers dodging the blast strike left and right.
The monster has upped its game as it's blindly and maliciously striking out at everyone at any given moment. The outers and I try leap frogging back and forth, throwing out power strikes when we can to, but the creature is too strong to be taken completely out by them. I look back at the dome and see it shrinking down again. That's when I wonder something. I had assumed the monster was destroyed the first time…and the second.
What if this is the same monster that she's just repeatedly bringing back to life? They look nearly exactly the same and now that I think about it, the monster was there first, then her, then it again… "I have an idea! Cover me!" I order Pluto as I leap out form hiding and run and jump around the parking lot. Pluto does as asked and hits it with her 'dead scream' a Uranus hits it with her space sword.
Both powers hit it but not a tremendous amount of damage is done to it. "HEY!" I scream at it, gaining it's pissed off attitude towards me. "That the best you got?" I egg it on as I stand directly in front of the dome. It narrows its eyes at me as it gathers a huge power hit before releasing it at top speed at me. I have a few precious seconds to make this work and recalling what happened last time…I use all of my momentum to sideways jump and allow the power strike to hit the dome with full force.
Not only is it enough to weaken it but it's also enough to slam back into the creature harder than any one of powers that's been inflicted on it has. The outers notice this to, "It's powering the dome and the dome to it." I tell them as we all work now to destroy it so we can free the people trapped inside. Unfortunately, it's now avoiding hitting anywhere near the dome again. Having learned its lesson from last time.
The dome is closing in as more people are being electrocuted. "We don't have much time left if at all." Neptune warns as the monster stands by the dome using it to power off of making it hard, so I try my moon rod and throw the attack at it with all of my anger and aggravation. However, while it does damage it and a great deal to, the monster is still alive and seems to be feeding from it now as the people inside begin to fall.
"Son of a bitch!" Uranus snaps, "It's using the dome now to feed off their energy to power itself up." We look at it as its clear now. The girls on the inside see it to. The people inside were going to get drained of their energy till someone died, or until they exposed themselves. Part of me wondered where Mamoru was and why he wasn't here yet when the dome closed in a few more feet, "There's no time left." Saturn concedes.
I'm determined not to let anyone down but most especially not to lose an innocent life. I forced the power of the silver crystal into the moon rod, wishing for it to destroy the creature, knowing that it's feeding the dome power and feeding from it as well. I build up a power boost and slam it into the creature as it gets slammed back into the dome. It gets electrified and with my moon rod still generating the energy is continuously pushed back into it.
Within seconds it explodes into dust. I'm definitely feeling weakened from suck a big attack, but I knew were not out of the woods yet. We wait a few moments for the dome to disappear, yet it doesn't. "Doesn't make any sense." I mutter feeling defeated and confused as I try to think about our tactics and what we might have missed till I hear, "Did you really think I was going to let you win this?"
I know it's her voice in the air, yet we can't see her, "She's watching us from somewhere." Uranus spat as we look around and see nothing. We're probably looking weird right now to the camera's pointed at us but at this rate we could care less. "She's still powering it." I mutter realizing she never truly left. She after all wants to see our downfall. This must be like a popcorn movie moment to her.
Seeing her sworn enemies fall. That's when I see a resolute expression cross our trapped friends faces. I see them grab for their own transformation sticks, "No…" yet I know this is now the only way to save the people inside from certain death. I look back to the outers and suggest a desperate plan, "Can we try to teleport them all out of the shield?" Pluto looks over at it, "Even if we could there's too many people inside of it to do it." I look to her questioning what she means when she says, "They would have to be in the circle for the power to work."
I look back and see no room for anything more. There wasn't a way to teleport in without pushing more people into the dome's electrical barrier. I wasn't about to let that happen. "What about focusing on the people out here?" even Uranus looked skeptical, "It's never been done before." "We have to at least try." I order them as we join hands and form a circle focusing our powers to try to teleport the people out from inside the doom.
I can feel several of them starting to leave the dome giving me the slightest bit of hope till a surge of power hits the dome hard. It's enough to make the ground rumble beneath our feet as we try to maintain the hold but find that the connection was broken now that the dome has been strengthened, "No cheating." We hear, "It's called clever innovation." I muttered irritated and can practically feel her smirking at me.
"Tyrannical bitch." Uranus snaps. I look over to her and see her sneer towards the voice, yet I don't say anything, it's not like she's not right. "She wants to guarantee we fail." Saturn's voice is firm but sad. I look back and see their faces full of determination. They begin to transform, one by one as Mercury freezes the dome before Mars blasts it away with her fire, breaking it in its entirety. The breaking of it is entirely easy even for them telling me the princess orchestrated this in her favor.
She wanted us to be helpless outside and for only them inside to be able to get out. It also makes me wonder how she knew they were all going to be in one place today. I'd have to find that out later though as all of this gets caught on camera by many people as the dome is now destroyed. The people that were further from the inners take off in fear that another monster will be nearby, as least that's what I'm assuming as they run off. "Well, that was a pain in the ass." Mars grumbles as they meet us.
Its then that several new monsters show up. Seemingly out of thin air as we all prepare to fight them off. "Ready?" I hear Jupiter as Venus and Mercury take on a monster themselves while we each in teams of triple take on the rest. Thankfully these monsters aren't as tough as the first one we fought. That may have had something to do with the dome's power feeding it and now that it's gone there no extra power up for them anymore.
This was seen as a good thing as I knew we were getting tapped for energy. Especially the outers and myself, who fought the first one off. Mercury and Venus, combine their powers into Jupiter's, once they get done beating it at different angles to knock it off balance as their able to slam it into the heart of a creature. It gets hit from above by Jupiter who jumps midair and slams her 'oak evolution' into it.
Venus wrapped her chain around it to hold it in place before using said chain to channel her 'love and beauty shock' attack as it drives a hole into its heart before Mercury's 'aqua rhapsody' freezes what's left of it before Jupiter kicks it to icy dust. This disintegration looks cool and a bit disturbing at the same time. Yet I know that their still fired up from being locked away in the dome for so long.
As the monster they fought was the smaller of the several that were here, something I noticed now as we were all fighting, they join in to fight more and help out. As one monster was running full speed trying to swipe at and take out Uranus, a bad move on the monster's part as she was quick as the wind, Neptune distracted it with her power of 'deep submerge' before Uranus and Pluto combine their powers into a big blast.
It drives a large angry hole into the monster as it skids off and with Neptune's mirror gets blasted into seemingly a million little pieces much like the first one, I saw did. So, when the last monster stopped playing 'hide and seek' with Saturn and Pluto who were double teaming it while I was the one it chased. Nothing I wasn't already accustom to as I ran and ducked and dodged it from all around.
When I slid under a car and jumped out the other side Saturn knocked it down with her scythe just before it reached me as Mars lite it up on fire, burning it to distraction as I power my moon rod into it turning it to, to dust. Were all winded at this point but we all know we've been through worse. Thankfully we were able to keep the battle away from the innocents that were just now waking up.
Once their out of harm's way we take things in for all of a few seconds before the police become overwhelmed with the new crews that came out. It seems the battle double the amount and while more police were sent out to the reporters started to slip in from different angles to get around the police and get towards us. So, when we go to take off both Mars and Jupiter along with Uranus and Pluto get cameras and microphones shoved in their faces.
I'm towards the middle yet I have the mics on those elongated sticks trying to get in the middle and get a word from me. All the senshi, as were surrounded at this point are trying to avoid hurting anyone despite their pressure to get closer and have their many questions which at this point are blurring into each other answered. We just keep responding, "No comment." Though it doesn't seem to dissuade them as their not stopping.
We try to move here and there but without pushing them back were stuck. I can just see the many light bulbs going off from the high-end camera's taking pictures of our tired, disgruntled, bloodied, dirty faces as we try to get out of here. Pluto merely looks back at me with a signal that were not walking or running out of here. I nod as I give the signal to the rest of the girls and we all jump up and high, angling ourselves to be away from the news crews and take off for our respective homes.
I keep going. Taking to the rooftops as I ignore the protests of the reporters and hope to hell that the girls aren't exposed from this. Hopefully they can get away with NOT having their identities out there like mine is. I keep going and even though I know I can slow down I don't want to. A part of me is still running just to run out the anger I have in me from this. Wishing that I could have done something more.
There should have been another option. There always is. How is this princess seemingly one step ahead of us at each turn? With all that we've dealt with and handled how is she beating us? I keep running, wanting to scream out my frustration by I don't want to alert anyone to my presence. I don't stop till I've officially slipped into my bedroom from the window and shut it to avoid even hearing the reporters talk outside.
I can feel my heart pounding beneath my ribcage as I de-transform and drop down to sit on the floor, exhaustion hitting me full swing as I lean against the frame of my bed. As exhausted as I am though I'm too worried and wound up to sit on my bed and take comfort in its softness. I saw on my way home once I got within range that there are even more reporters out front there than before all this started.
Things only got worse now. I know now that the girls will only be under the same scrutiny as I am if their names get exposed as mine did. Then it hits me, I got kicked out of school. Yes, I'm doing online courses but Ami's top of her class and never misses a course, Makoto's already been kicked out once from the school system. Would they do it again and if so, how would she finish off school since it would be kicked out of two schools.
Rei's grandfather would be disappointed by this, not in her mind you but in the school and how it's treating us and Minako's parents would flip…though they might just be more upset that they'd have to come home to help her situation out. I'm sure all of them will have new difficulties in their lives over this. I knew this would happen if they were exposed and yet we couldn't figure out how to kill the dome in time.
I grab my phone and call Mamoru needing to hear from him. "Usa…?" he sounds sleepy. To sleepy. Especially for this time of the day. "What the hell happened?" I nearly demand, my anxiety over what happened still high as I wonder why he wasn't there to help us. Even with communicators down our special bond should have woken him up from whatever sleeping beauty slumber he was in…it always woke his ass up in the past.
We could have used his aid and his brains; this might have been avoidable. "What do you mean I just woke up. Still really tired to. Strange though considering." He replies as he sounds like he's super groggy. As I hear him and how sluggish he sounds something occurs to me. This isn't usual for him. "Considering what?" I asked as he replies with sleep still etched in his voice, something he's not keen on.
"I slept find overnight, then went to get a coffee today, yet once I got home to do some schoolwork I passed out." This was definitely strange, "Coffee doesn't make you sleepy." I tell him, especially NOT him. He relies on it daily to wake him up so there's definitely something up. "I know it's why I feel strange almost as if…" he doesn't finish the sentence though as I do and with good reason.
"Perhaps almost as if you have been drugged." It's not even a suggestion. Somehow, I just know she is responsible for this. "That can't be possible." He disagrees yet he doesn't refute that he feels that way. "Didn't you get your coffee at the arcade?" I ask him, "Yeah but Motoki was off, and his sister was busy so there was another girl working the counter. I only remember because she was overly friendly." I was pissed now.
"Let me guess the barista who handed it to you looked a tad familiar." I try to avoid barking at him seeing as he was obviously drugged by her to be UNABLE to help us, that wasn't fair to him, "A little but I couldn't figure out why, why what happened?" now he was concerned, "There was an attack that's what happened." I tell him everything that occurred in the last few hours that he'd been in dream land.
"Holy!" he sounded fully alert now and was pacing himself. "Are you all okay?! The civilians?!" he asks his voice is now more upset the more information he gets, "Yeah we are but the escape came at a price." I admit to him. One that I wished we hadn't had to pay yet we had no choice. It was either pay it or let innocents die and that wasn't an option for us. It never was and this 'tyrannical bitch' as Uranus put it was using that against us.
Mamoru POV
"I think that she posed as the one behind the counter to drug you so you couldn't be in the fight today." Once I hear these words it makes complete sense. This is now the second time that a fight has occurred where I was pulled out of the ring before it even started. "She must have slipped me something in the drink without me noticing because I got the cup to go." I was cursing myself now for not paying more attention.
"Once I got home, I started up on some work and started feeling a little tired, so I figured to take a nap." In hindsight that was a red flag for me. I didn't take naps during the day; I even took pain pills if I had a headache to AVOID taking day naps. Truthfully last time I slept past 10am was due to a hangover after a high school party for graduation. I wasn't going to count having Usagi over for the morning after.
We were awake for that. No what that girl drugged me with made me NOT think about it and I slept away an entire battle. My love was in trouble and not even our bond woke me up. How was that possible? "Wait wouldn't our bond have woken me up?" I asked her as she put me on speaker, "Luna's here." She explained as Luna jumped in on the conversation. I needed some answers and I needed them now.
"This vile creature…" I had a feeling she meant the bitch princess that was stirring up loads of trouble for everyone, "Has access to ancient dark magics that go back to before you two were even born. It doesn't surprise me that she found a way to temporarily suppress your bond long enough to do what she did." It doesn't really help to hear this, "What can we do about it?" I nearly demand of her.
I didn't want to be kept form being able to be there for Usagi again. I was already upset that I missed out on two fights cause this mystery princess wanted me out of it. What was she going to try to do next? "I don't want to be kept out of the loop and this is the second time she's taken me out of the fight." I urge as Usagi adds, "It does tell us though that she knows our routines." That stops me as she has a point.
She knew exactly where I was for coffee and she was there to meet us that evening when she got Usagi to expose her identity to. "She knew where you went to for coffee. That mall she had her minion attack was one that we girls and you and I have been to several times before for shopping. Which means she had to have been here for a while already…she was studying us." This knowledge is unsettling.
"Perhaps we can try to use this to our advantage." Luna suggests, "How?" Both Usagi and I ask, "We know that she has a limited time before the darkness she's using destroys her right?" she confirmed. "Yes." We both say again, "We use the fact that she knows where you all go to against her. You'll know to look for her to set up a trap." While it's a valid plan to offer up there's still a problem though.
"Yeah, but every place we go to is heavy with civilians. We can't enact a plan on her with so many people around. It's too dangerous for them." I tell Luna, "Mamo – chan's right Luna. We have to be smart about this and NOT get people caught up in the crossfire." Usagi agrees with me as I suggest, "Let me come over. We can talk more in person." I suggest as I head for the door of my place.
"I don't want to make you come out here, not with the increased press right now. It seems the attack made more of them come out here than ever before." She says but I can hear the stress in her voice and frankly I need to see her to. I need to hold her close and feel her skin on mine as we comfort each other, "Either I go over there now, or you come here now." I warn her, ready to leave regardless if she doesn't answer.
She sighs, "I'll be there in twenty." She ends the call as I prepare her something to eat. I didn't want her to stress about this anymore than she already has. I'm still upset with myself for not thinking about it earlier. I knew the girl behind the counter looked familiar, yet I couldn't place her. The coffee even tasted off, but she merely said, 'new type of sugar' and through Makoto I know there's various types of sugars as there are salts, so I didn't think much of it. I regret that a great deal now.
It's nearly 45 minutes later when Usagi comes over and she looks worn down. Her emotions are drained as she is mentally. She kicks off her shoes and lets me guide her to the living room as I have two mugs of hot cocoa prepared. She begins to sip at it. "That is nice…soothing." She mutters warmly as she curls her legs under her tight little butt and sits comfortably on her feet as I slip into her side and drink mine to.
"Yeah…" I agree, "I ah would have been here sooner but…" I look at her as she holds her warm mug, "I went to the arcade first. Trying to see if she was still there." It occurred to me I should have thought to do that to. After all I was the one drugged. "And?' I didn't bother to get on her about NOT using backup as she was obviously physically fine. Plus, that was the last thing I wanted her to feel right now.
Bereted and judged for her actions when she just did some investigating. "Motoki said he didn't hire someone knew to be behind the counter, actually he said that since the evening crowds are thinning out, I can be back as a waitress again and not all of my time will be in the back. When I spoke to his sister about it, she said the girl convinced her that she was to work there temporarily but when she found her gone less than a half hour later, she couldn't figure out how she got convinced of it to begin with."
I nod realizing Motoki's sister had her mind scrambled by the mystery princess and once she left, or rather once she did what she wanted to do the effects wore off and she left. "Yeah, the bad guys are known for mind tricks and temporary hypnotism for whatever they deem fit." I admit as she says, "They're on alert now for whenever she comes back in to let us know but till then its null." She tells me.
I kiss the top of her head, "You're smart Usako…you've got an amazing heart…" I pull her chin up to make her eyes meet mine, "I'm lucky to have you by my side both in the last, this current life and the next. We will get through this and that…" I have to hold my anger back as thoughts of making that princess pay for today and the dinner come to mind. Then Usagi touches my face, "I know…we'll make her pay for all of it…somehow…I just don't know how yet." I can see the slight defeat in Usagi.
As strong as she is even, she needs love and support shown to her. I put our barely drunken mugs down knowing we can always reheat them and pull her further towards me. She curls up into my lap, "We need to work on strengthening our bond again." She says as I look down at her determined face. "We will. Let us tonight though just be with each other." I suggest even as she pulls away just a little bit.
"Mamo – chan, we need to. We can't afford this to happen again…only the outers and you are left…if the inners get named then it's only a matter of time. We can't let our bond grow weak. We have to be strong." I understood her need to so as we kissed, I held her palm in mine and held her close as I felt the power flowing from myself towards her as hers flowed back towards mine, both of ours meeting in the middle.
It's been a while since we've done this bond, but it feels soothing for us both. Like a warm blanket that feels like each other is over us. The kissing grows more intense and the bond itself intensifies. I can feel things getting more heated up and while I didn't think now would be a good time for our passions to get the better of us perhaps this is necessary right now. To allow ourselves these moments.
The treasured ones that bring us closer together. Especially as our clothes begin to fall off as the love making becomes more powerful. Like our bond is being feed by our actions. Strengthening it in a new way as we feed the bond from both sides and each other. Before either of us know it we on the rug in the living room naked as I kiss every inch of skin I can find and lick at her soft pebble like nipples.
I can't seem to help myself as I touch and kiss her all over. Knowing what that princess yet again tried to take from us makes me a little bit rougher than usual. I feel nearly possessed with need to make her mine over and over again. I pull her legs to wrap around my waist as I plunge into her without warning. She gasps at the fast-paced intrusion but doesn't stop me as she pulls at my hips to keep me going.
I couldn't stop now even if I tried. The need to have her bound to me for life was nearly overwhelming to feel. Her walls clenched around me like she was desperate to keep me inside of her. If I could I'd never leave her warmth. I kept her close to me as I moved inside of her, gaining sped faster than usual before I hauled her up into my lap and stood up. I felt a need power me as I walked over and pushed her up against the balcony door.
I heard her gasp from the cool feeling of it before I continued to power drive myself into her. Her legs wrapped around my waist only to have me pull them apart and pressing her legs up to her knees into the window, not giving her much space to thrust back towards me. Instead, she hooked her arms around my shoulders and used the flexibility she had to power herself back towards me only to get nearly smashed into the glass door as I thrust into her harder than usual, wanting to never leave her.
I could see the expression in her eyes, the question if I was okay, "I need you...my love...my light...you will never stop being the other side of who I am..." I tell her as my pace begins to slow down. Yet the power behind the thrusts are, still there. "I will always love you...Usa...my Usako...now and forever..." she smiles as a tear forms in her eyes, "Mamo...you are the other half of me to...even if the past didn't exist for us, I would still love you and go to the ends of the earth for you..." her words make me almost tear up.
"I'd go to the depths of hell for you...the devil himself wouldn't stand a chance against me." she sees the smirk rising on my face as I feel her muscles clench around me, "You my sweet, wonderful Mamo...would make the devil shake in his seat." I couldn't help but smirk back as I pushed in harder and faster now. The pace increasing once more as I thrust home hard inside of her, "Please!" she begged me.
Allowing her legs to wrap back around my waist I planted both my hands on the glass and powered the rest of my thrusts into her. The pace was frantic as I pulsed and pushed into her. I could hear her cries for more as I slammed home into her. I knew if anyone out there had a telescope right now we were giving them one hell of a show. Yet I didn't care. I pushed harder into her as my pace began to lose its control.
I felt the glass begin to protest at the pressure we were placing on it and this was tough glass for a high rise. I could feel that she was putting her senshi strength into the pace as I was using my tux strength to. We needed this more than ever. I felt the seed rising within me as I heard her passionate cries for more. I couldn't not give her more as it was what I wanted from her to me, "YES!" I roared as I felt her muscles contracting around me.
It was nearly too intense as she came clenching around me. Her muscles stealing away my very breath as well as the seed that was now exploding inside of her. Her own cries as her orgasm hit her hard crashed through us as I felt her milking all of what I had to give her. It was the most incredible feeling in the world to be with her and have her as mine. I wasn't going to let anyone take that away from us, "I love you...to the depths of my soul Usako." I managed to mutter as she spoke in soft tones, "I love you to Mamo...to the depths of my soul to."
It was later on the next day after we went to school, well university for me, online schooling for her to which she asked Rei to cover for her being away from home. She just needed to be away for a little while and I understood to a degree the need to feel normal again. Even if in just a small way. Just by being away and not seeing reporters out front gave her that small semblance of it while she did her schoolwork.
The day wound up flying by as I worked at the hospital. It was one of the few times where I wasn't working a full shift, so I was able to get out on time and go home to Usagi. Which that in and of itself was a treat for me. I enjoyed coming home to see her, even if it was a midday thing it was still nice to have her greet me and begin to look happy again. Granted neither of us were in a big place to be happy but for these few moments where we were, I felt the smallest tinges of happiness to have her here.
I could see it in her face to as she greeted me. It made me realize how I'd love to be able to come home to her at the time. Not just a few nights out of the week but having her live with me, full time. This thought made me wonder if we were ready for that part in our relationship yet. I smiled thinking that maybe we were, "What's got you happy all of a sudden?" she asked as I kissed her as she came up to me.
"Just thinking." While I know she'd love to live with me and start a life together, right now during all of this mess that was going on, I wasn't sure if it was the best timing or the worst with how her parents were feeling about things. Either way though I truly did feel the need to converse with her about this and her parents to. I wanted to be respectful and not have them feeling like I was stealing her away from them.
"About what?' she asked, "You." I answered honestly. She smiled to as I kissed her, "All good thoughts I hope." The joke wasn't unnoticed as I told her, "Their always good thoughts about you." I assure her before I notice the time. "We should get you back home. We can tell your parents that I picked you up from Rei's so we could hang out for a bit before dropping you off." I tell her as she nods.
"Yeah I don't want to lie to them but there's a bit of a difference between being honest about senshi life and how close we really are. My dad just isn't ready for that yet. He still has this thing where I'm his little girl. Learning I'm a senshi only made him upset that there was a part of my life he wasn't aware of and he felt betrayed by it." I can see the sorrow in her eyes at this, "I know in his heart that he knows why I did it but it doesn't take over or erase that I did in fact lie to him, to all of them about it for years."
Her grip on our hug loosens, "You had a good reason to though, one of which you've expressed a few times now." I tell her, "Doesn't matter…dad sees himself as the protector. The father. That he's supposed to be the one who cares for us in sickness and everything else since he's the 'provider'." He puts quotes around it as she lets her grip on me go and hugs herself before looking at me.
"You didn't see the last time he looked at me. It was when the battle was happening. He even told me I was grounded." I almost snorted in a laugh of anger as she continued, "Then I saw the look on his face. Like he saw a part of the Usagi that he knew die off as I stood up to him. Like I was no longer his daughter, or the daughter he thought I was. To be honest it crushed a part of me." I felt for her now.
She was close with her parents and while I may NOT have parents to share that connection with hers have been the closest, I've been able to have that with, so I know that they're a good set of parents. Her father, he's just very old school and to know that his daughter is sailor moon of all people must make him feel torn between feeling proud of her and a sort of egotistical shame for the very reasons she just presented.
It was a sad truth when your own upbringing was so archaic in thought that it could hurt your best relationship and hurt your loved ones. Kenji loves his family more than anything but when you find out your daughter possesses the ability to protect better than you ever could it's not just a father's sense to protect his family, it's a sense that the next generation that hasn't even hit the age to drink in America is more capable than yourself.
I'm sure there's a sense of ego in it to but I don't want to think ill of Kenji. He's a loving father and a good husband to Ikuko whom showcase that although their marriage isn't perfect, they make it work and are happy together. "Like he gave up on me or something. All part of me wanted to do was go to him, hug him and assure him I was still his little girl, but I knew that I had to get to the battle." I watched her brush a tear from her eye.
"I ignored his feelings and even though I know I did the right thing considering everything that happened I still feel like a tool for leaving him when he was clearly going through emotions himself." I pulled her into another hug as she embraced me back, "You did the right thing and deep down he knows it to." As I held her close, I suggested, "Let's go back to your parents place and take a seat with them." She pulled back as if it ask why.
"We'll get everything out in the open that they're not aware of. Senshi wise." I amended as she giggled, "The big bad tuxedo mask afraid of Tuskino, Kenji?" I laughed, "He's your father and I respect him a such. Doesn't mean that I don't hold a tinge of fear that one day he'll haul that shot gun out at me one day." Tales have been told about that gun he has and while I haven't seen it, yet I'd rather NOT be on the receiving end of it.
Don't get me wrong, I can hold my own for sure and Kenji wouldn't stand a chance to be honest but due to my respect of him as a good father and husband I wouldn't dare strike him unless he were to harm someone I care for which I know wouldn't ever happen. So yeah…a shot gun aimed at me was less than thrilling. "He'll only haul it out if you break my heart but that's never going to happen." I smiled at her words.
"Never again will I ever put you in pain. Frankly it shouldn't have happened in the first place but that's old news." I tell her as she gets ready to leave out. I'm still in my scrubs so it works out for our cover story on where we were. Once we leave out I keep her hidden from view a bit to allow her to still feel free to walk down the street without fear of someone recognizing her and thankfully no one pays her any mind so that gives me a bit of comfort to see her for a least a little while able to roam about without fear.
When we get to her parents place the reporters are out there in droves still irritating me and making me wish there was something I could do. So, when her father ignores us once inside in favor of us study her mother tells us, 'Don't mind him, the demotion was made official today for not going with the story. Now some new reporter from America has taken over all publications of reporting on the senshi." She fills us in.
"Story?" I ask in confusion. Usagi realizing she didn't tell me says, "Sorry, got so wrapped up in other things I forgot to tell you, my dad's job basically told him if he didn't give them an exclusive on the senshi, he'd get demoted. He refused so he could keep us out of it, and I guess today they made it official." She finished. "Damn sorry to hear that. Maybe we can investigate this reporter ourselves and see what their like. Maybe we can get your dad back in the running." I suggest to her.
She shakes her head no, "The only way they'll let him back at his old job is IF he does the story and he's not doing it so he can protect us. Protect me." She amends at the end. I know she wishes she could help her dad and now so do I, so I pull her in close and suggest instead, "What if we gave them something then?" she looks up to me in question before taking my hand in hers and pulling me towards her father's study.
He lets us in with a weary sigh, so I start, "Sir, we have a proposition for you. You do the story okay, but it's only the selective tidbits we give out. We can actually even use it to fight this new enemy that wants to come after us. Use the media sources to rally behind us instead of against us as she's trying to do." I can see the wheels turning in Usagi's mind as she hears this, "Could that work?" she asks trying not to get her hopes up.
"I'm not letting my daughter become some exploitation for the masses to comment on." Kenji rejects a heartbeat later, so I add on, "Sir with all due respect, she's going to be in the spotlight regardless of what you print or don't print, at least this way you and we get to control what gets printed about her. About all of us." I can tell he wants to object again but declines as he sees the points, I'm making are valid ones.
I see the wheels turning in Kenji's mind to, "It might just work. I just don't like the idea of having you be in this situation. Regardless of how I feel about you as a 'senshi' you're still my daughter and it's not just my duty to protect you, but it's my right as a father. I've done it all of your life and now to find out that you've been protecting all of us since these monsters came in…" he mutters towards the end of his little tirade.
Usagi goes further towards him, "Dad it's because of your strength and mom's that I had the initial courage to fight to begin with. Yes, Mamoru was there to help me and show me that it was possible to do so even in my frightened state but you taught both Shingo and me to stand up for what we believe it and we do. Just in different ways than imagined." She expresses her feelings on the matter.
He seems to accept this though he doesn't seem to like it, "I'll call my boss right now." he agrees as he gives his boss the accept terms and idea we presented. Once the call is done with three minutes later, he ends it, "I had to talk him out of wanting you to be present at the actual newsroom." He looked as agitated by that as Usagi looked frowning at the attempt to get any of them in a newsroom.
It's clear as day that Kenji didn't like the idea of his boss trying to exploit them for their own benefits to try to get them in the newsroom but managed to get it knocked down to just the articles. Like father like daughter, "Its fine, we'll do the questions we feel are okay and you can give it to him. Only if this guarantees your job back. I'm not doing this if that new reporter, or anyone other than you is involved." For the first time since all of this started, I see a small smile appear on Kenji's face.
I see Usagi give one to especially as he comes around the desk to give her a hug. I can see both of their bond as father and daughter in the hug. How he feels like she may not be the child that he once knew but as a growing adult that he can respect and get to know. It's a new stage of their relationship that they will both have to get used to. As they part ways Kenji I know is getting back to work as we leave out, "Thank you for the idea." She tells me, "I'm just glad it worked out." I assure her.