Revised
The Spawn of Satan or Thank God for Little Brothers
Chapter 3: After the Fight
* * are for emphasis
Thoughts are in these thingies ~ ~
Standard Disclaimers Apply, so don't sue me.
We know who everyone is by now, ne?
Notes at the bottom.
* * * * *
Dreading what he would see, Mamoru turned his head.
Sailor Moon stood there, back to them, arms flung out in an attempt to shield
them as fully as possible. A bright red stained her fuku as blood dripped down from the
wound in her side.
"Sailor Moon . . . " Mamoru whispered.
"Onee-chan . . . !" Shingo cried softly.
Sailor Moon collapsed to her knees, left hand smacking the ground in front of her
to break her fall, the right going to the wound at her side. Her face was pale, and she was
breathing as shallowly as she could to try and diminish the fierce pain shooting through her.
Struggling back to a kneeling position, Sailor Moon felt gentle hands encircle her
arms and help her sit up.
"Mamo-chan," she whispered, eyes glazed with pain as looked up at his face.
Mamoru felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. ~Did she just say . . .?~ he
thought in wonder.
"Daijoubu?" he asked aloud.
"Hai. I'm okay. But not for much longer, I think," she said, glancing at the youma.
The youma had withdrawn its tentacles, bunching them up for one mass strike at
the trio backed against the tree. Letting out a howl of triumph, its tentacles came flying
towards them.
~No miracle rose to save us this time~ was Sailor Moon's last despairing thought.
"FIRE SOUL!"
Sailor Mars' attack burned the youma's rapidly advancing tentacles to ash.
"Sorry we're so late," Sailor Venus said, as she and the other Senshi appeared
around the youma. "We had a little trouble finding you," she went on, gesturing at a
furiously typing Sailor Mercury.
"This thing's energy signature is different from any I've ever seen!" exclaimed
Mercury.
"Save it, Mercury," cut in Sailor Jupiter. "Just tell us how to dust it."
Mercury shook her head. "It's not a youma. I mean," she elaborated at the others'
confused looks, "it is, but it's a human who's been turned into a youma. And it's stronger
than anything we've fought before. We'll have to weaken it before Sailor Moon can turn
it back," she stated.
"Right, then," said Venus. "CRESCENT BEAM!"
"SUPREME THUNDER!" joined in Jupiter.
Sailor Mars had hurried over to Sailor Moon after releasing her attack to check on
the non-combatants and to move her notoriously inept leader along.
"Sailor Moon, come on, what are you – " she broke off and sucked in a breath at
the sight of blood on her friend's fuku.
"Daijoubu, Mars," said Sailor Moon, getting painfully to her feet. "It's just a
small cut."
Mars wasn't blind. She could see how much blood was seeping out from between
the fingers Sailor Moon had pressed to the wound.
"Small cut?!" Mars not-quite-screamed. "You call that a small cut?! Why, I – "
she was cut off as Jupiter yelled, "Hey, guys, a little help here, please!"
Sailors Moon and Mars looked over and saw Venus jump out of the way of the
charging youma, which by now had zero tentacles left.
"We can talk about this later, Mars," Sailor Moon said. "Right now, we've got a
person to save."
Sailor Mars nodded reluctantly. They waded back into the fray.
"FIRE SOUL!" shouted Mars.
"MOON TIARA ACTION!" Sailor Moon launched her tiara once again, being
careful only to wound, not dust, the human-turned-youma.
"That's got it!" Mercury's shout caught their attention. "SHABON SPRAY!"
She released her bubbles in a concealing mist. "Ima da, Sailor Moon!"
Ignoring the fiery pain in her side, Sailor Moon twirled out her Moon Stick.
"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"
The Senshi collectively let out sighs of relief as the youma was turned back into
a normal human man.
"Refresh!" he exclaimed before collapsing.
Mercury pulled out her computer again and checked the man over. "He's fine,"
she assured the others as they gathered around him. "Sailor Moon!" she yelled in sudden
alarm.
Sailor Moon's knees had given way under the pain of her wound. Jupiter,
standing next to her, quickly caught her before she hit the ground.
"Arigato, Jupiter," she said weakly.
Mercury was frowning as she scanned her leader. "She's lost a bit of blood, but
the wound isn't very deep," she told them all.
Mars' worry over Sailor Moon, her fear that she had been hurt worse than she
looked, and her relief that that wasn't so, all these emotions that Mars didn't know how to
handle combined to overwhelm her, and she took refuge in the only emotion she was
feeling that she figured was safe. Anger.
"What did you do *this* time, baka?" Mars exploded. "All you had to do was
distract that thing until we got here. I see you couldn't even do *that* right! How you
expect to stay alive long enough to find the Princess and defeat Beryl, I'll never know!
I have half a mind to – "
"Don't you yell at her!"
All five Senshi whipped around, startled, to see the momentarily forgotten Shingo
and Mamoru. Shingo was still on his feet, well, foot, the injured ankle being held a bit
off the ground. Mamoru was standing also, staring at the girls. He had just realized who
they must be since Usagi was Sailor Moon.
But it was Shingo who had spoken. "It wasn't her fault," he went on, clearly
trying not to cry. "She . . . she was trying to protect me. It was my fault," he whispered
brokenly, losing the battle with his tears.
"Shingo," Sailor Moon breathed. She pulled away from Jupiter's support and
made her way slowly over to her brother, brushing away the other girls as they moved to
assist her. Laying her hands on his shoulders, she willed Shingo to look at her. When he
continued to stare at the ground and sniffle softly through his tears, she spoke forcefully.
"Shingo, it wasn't your fault."
He shook his head. "Yes it was! If I hadn't . . ." he faltered. "If I had listened
to Mamoru-san, you wouldn't have tried to protect me. If I hadn't been here at all, you
wouldn't have gotten hurt," he sobbed out. (AN: Sure, he can be a brat, but Shingo *is*
younger, *and* he's her brother. Of course he loves his sister. But it was still his fault.)
"Stop that, Shingo." She shook him gently. "I'm Sailor Moon, remember? This is
what I do. Protect people. Like you. And you know what?" She waited until he'd
tentatively raised his eyes to her face. "Even if I wasn't Sailor Moon, I would have done
the same thing. You know why?" He shook his head in the negative. "Because I couldn't
let some stupid youma hurt my only brother." She smiled at him.
She brushed away his tears as a smile slowly spread across his own face.
"Besides that," grinned Sailor Moon, "it was my idea to cut through the park, so if
it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
"That's right!" Shingo actually laughed. "I didn't wanna come through the park
anyway."
"I should have listened to you, I guess," she agreed. "But if you try to tell anyone
I said so, I'll deny it," she grinned.
Shingo grinned back, then launched himself at his sister and hugged her for all he
was worth.
She winced at the pain his squeezing caused her, but hugged him back just as
hard.
He pulled back, still grinning through his blood-streaked face, and announced,
"My sister is Sailor Moon! This is so cool!"
"I know," agreed a deep voice. Sailor Moon winced again. She had forgotten all
about Mamoru.
She looked back and forth between them both and said worriedly, "You can't tell
anyone, you know that, right?"
"Aww, but why?" complained Shingo.
"Well, first," she ticked off on her fingers, "if you tell someone, it'll get back
to the enemy, you can count on that. Then they'd be after me every second of the day.
If they can capture me or kill me," she gulped a little nervously at this," that'd be one
less fighter for love and justice in their way. But I can protect myself, so that means
they'd most likely use my friends and family, meaning you, Shingo, as well as Mama and
Papa, to get to me. I'm sure you don't want them to get hurt, and I know you don't want
to go through anything else like what happened tonight," she stated.
"Yeah, I guess," Shingo said reluctantly.
"Promise you won't say anything to *anyone*," she stressed.
"Okay, okay, I promise," Shingo surrendered. "Man, so much for bragging
rights."
Sailor Moon looked askance at Mamoru.
"I promise, too," he said. He gave her a look she didn't understand.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Sailor Moon?" came
Venus' voice from behind her. She turned to see the other Senshi staring at her in
amazement. She blushed.
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.
"You sound like you've actually thought about this," Mercury said.
"Are you feeling all right?" Jupiter questioned.
"Come on, minna," Sailor Moon said defensively. "I know how serious what we
do is, even if it doesn't always seem like it. I *do* care about my family's safety, you
know." It had occurred to her that that strange look Mamoru had given her was probably
about the way she had sounded when listing the reasons for Shingo to keep quiet. She
realized she hadn't sounded a thing like plain old Usagi, or even Sailor Moon. She had
sounded – and felt – much more mature. ~Maybe Luna's training is starting to pay off~
she thought.
"Ya, right!" Mars snorted disbelievingly. "So how did they find out who you are
in the first place, *Usagi*?" Mars stressed her name, making Sailor Moon wince.
"Ah, I had to, um, henshin in front of them?" she ventured hesitantly.
"I knew it!" Mars threw up her hands in vexation. "Why don't you tell the
whole world, while you're at it? Better yet, tell Zoisite the next time he shows up. Just
get it all over with at once. By the way," she continued, ranting and raving while stalking
about the clearing, "did you tell them who we are, since you were giving away secrets?"
"No, she didn't," broke in Mamoru. "But once you know one, it's easy to figure
out the others . . . Rei," he added.
Mars/Rei winced. "Great, just great," she muttered.
"Well, what do we do now?" asked Jupiter/Makoto.
"I think we should patch Sailor Moon up before we do anything else, " answered
Venus/Minako. "Shingo isn't looking too hot either."
"I concur," seconded Mercury/Ami.
Mars was still muttering to herself. "How did Sailor Moon get hurt in first
place?" she burst out angrily. "Where was Tuxedo Kamen when this was going on?"
No one noticed Mamoru flinch slightly at the accusation in Mars' voice.
"Ya know," remarked Jupiter before Mamoru could admit his guilt, "that's a good
question. You didn't see him at all?" Jupiter directed this towards Sailor Moon, who
mutely shook her head.
"Maybe he's still mad at me 'cause I lost the nijizuishou to Zoisite the other day,"
she murmured sadly.
Mamoru was about to vehemently deny this, when he was cut off yet again.
"Sailor Moon, no," protested Venus in a soft voice. "I'm new, but from what I've
heard from you guys about him, Tuxedo Kamen wouldn't hold a grudge at the risk of
someone's life."
"Yes, and you're forgetting that he was there the day we met Venus," Mercury
reminded them. (AN: YES, he did show himself originally in the anime episode where
Venus first showed up. I know because I've seen the original. Where, you ask? Ah, the
joy of fansubs. DIC cut quite a few bits from that single ep. No, he was never injured in
this fanfic, and he never lost his mask, so Zoisite never found out who he is and there
hasn't been any duel. Yet. ^_~)
Mars looked closely at her friend, then, seeing how pale and drained she was,
made a visible effort to squash her anger. "Maybe he was delayed," she offered half-
heartedly.
"Anyhow," Jupiter brought the conversation back on track, "we should get Sailor
Moon and her brother fixed up."
"Power down?" asked Mercury, glancing at Shingo and Mamoru.
"It hardly matters now, does it?" grouched Mars. She untransformed, followed
quickly by the others.
"Cool!" Shingo exclaimed as he watched.
When she was Usagi again, her strength seemed to desert her, and she sighed,
then slumped over. Shingo caught her, and his worried "Onee-chan!" had everyone
hurrying to them.
"Gomen . . . " she murmured, and passed out.
"Usagi!"
"Usagi-chan!"
"Ne, Usagi!"
"Usagi, shikkarishite!"
Mamoru bent down and picked up the fallen girl amidst the scared voices of her
friends.
"Makoto." He attempted to get the tall girl's attention. "Makoto!" he called more
sharply. She jerked her eyes away from Usagi's limp figure and stared up at him. "Can
you carry Shingo? I think his ankle's sprained, and he took a blow to the head."
"I can walk." Shingo protested being carried like a baby, and by a girl, no less.
Sailor Jupiter or not, it was humiliating. No, *especially* by one of the Senshi. A guy's
got to be able to keep his pride, after all. He put his foot down and immediately gasped
in pain.
Mamoru gave him a LOOK. (AN: YOU know the one. ^_^)
"Come on, Shingo, I'll help you," Mako said. She turned her back to him and
knelt down. "Up you go," she told him.
"What about him?" Mamoru asked Ami, glancing at the unconscious man on the
forest floor.
"Nani? Oh, he'll wake up soon," Ami said distractedly.
"Then I guess it's okay to leave him here," Mamoru concluded. (AN: I don't know
what to do with that poor guy now. He's got no use as a regular, boring ol' human.)
Once Shingo was settled piggyback style, the troupe set off on the way back to the
path. During this little walk, Mamoru had plenty of time to start thinking again,
something he had been trying desperately not to do.
~Usagi is Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is Usagi. All this time . . . ~ That thought
trailed off, to be replaced by another. ~Do I tell her? Tell them?~ He glanced at the
other girls. ~How would they react if they knew *I* was Tuxedo Kamen? How would
Usagi react? She gets hearts in her eyes whenever Tuxedo Kamen shows up, but all
Mamoru does is tease her. Does she love Tuxedo Kamen and hate Chiba Mamoru? But I
*KNOW* I heard her clearly when she called me Mamo-chan. I know I did. That wasn't
just my imagination. Was it?~ He glanced at the unconscious girl in his arms, studied
her pale face. ~Usako. Gomen. I should have transformed. I should have protected you
better. I know I should have made you run the moment we saw that youma. You were
wrong. This is all *my* fault.~ His heart twisted and ripped at the thought that she even
might . . . she might . . . He couldn't even think it. And all because of him.
"Mamoru-san." He felt a small hand on his arm and looked over into Ami's
concerned blue eyes. "It wasn't your fault Usagi-chan was hurt," she said quietly.
He managed a wane smile. "Am I that easy to read?"
The shy girl blushed slightly. "No, but any other person who had just discovered
the identities of the Sailor Senshi would probably be asking a million questions by now."
"Probably," he agreed. ~Except I already know most of the answers~ he added
silently.
"Ami-chan's right, you know," Minako said. "It's nobody's fault when one of us
gets hurt. Just bad luck on that day."
"HA! Yeah, right," Rei broke in sarcastically. "Bad luck that Tuxedo Kamen
couldn't be bothered to show up the one time Usagi really needed him." Again, Mamoru
winced at the accusation that it was his fault. This time though, he agreed with Rei.
"Now, Rei-chan," began Minako.
"Don't 'Rei-chan' me, Mina. It's the truth! He's always been there before, so
there was no reason not to believe he'd be there this time," Rei raged.
"That's true," Mamoru said, startling the girls, who had gotten so wrapped up in
their argument they had, once again, forgotten he was there. "If anyone's to blame,
Tuxedo Kamen is," he said harshly.
Minako, puzzled by his tone, was about to answer that, when suddenly they broke
out of the woods and found themselves back on the path.
"Which way now?" puffed the up-'til-then silent Makoto.
"Home's not too far away," Shingo informed them. "Can you carry me, or do you
want me to try walking again?"
"Don't worry kid, I can take ya." Mako smiled over her shoulder at him.
They started out again. No one spoke after that. Everyone was too wrapped up in
worry over Usagi and his or her own thoughts about Tuxedo Kamen.
* * * * *
End Chapter 3
Happy Easter, or, whatever you people do for this vacation.
For this fanfic, I draw on the way Sailor Moon-tachi were originally portrayed in the
manga, as well as the way the animators characterized them in the anime. Personally, I
think the anime sucked when compared to the brilliance of the manga, but the anime had
its high points, so don't flame me. I'm entitled to my opinions (even tho I'm right).
And you gotta admit that the anime was aimed at younger viewers while the manga . . .
was not. No matter what Mixx says.
In the manga, Usagi *was* more mature and she fought a whole lot better than in the
anime. Also, Usagi and Mamoru *never* fought in any way, shape, or form in the
manga. They fell in love *before* finding out about the whole Princess/Prince thing, and
they were the sweetest couple. That thing with Mamoru's star watch and Usagi's
handkerchief . . . sigh. Oh, and by the way, for those who don't read Japanese, Mixx
screwed up the manga almost as much as DIC screwed up the anime. So, learn Japanese
and get the original imports. Light-years better. Trust me.
OK, you don't want to get me started on *THAT* subject.
Um, let's see. What else? Oh, right. High points. The duel was kinda neat, and I might
work that in somehow. But no promises. And, um, this may be a little late, but it
obviously takes place after Minako shows up, because I love Minako, and in the manga,
Usagi has a really close relationship with her that is so beautiful that I wanted to work
that in. They're so close because Minako is the personal protector of the Moon Princess.
She's the decoy princess.
And when the guy who was a youma said 'Refresh'? That's what they all said when they
were turned back into humans.
Can't think anymore. Been typing for hours. E-mail me with anything else.
maiyav@yahoo.com
"Just as white light consists of colored rays, so Reverence
for life contains all the components of ethics: love,
kindliness, sympathy, empathy, peacefulness, power to forgive."
~Albert Schweitzer
Arigato
MaiyaV ^_~
Japanese Word Key:
Fuku – 'Uniform'
Ima da – 'Now'
Nijizuishou – DIC's 'Rainbow Crystals'. That's the translation. You remember. That
'Tuxedo Melvin' episode when Zoisite got the yellow nijizuishou from Sailor Moon.
Ne – Either 'Hey' or 'Right'. Example: "Ne, Usagi-chan!" could equal "Hey, Usagi-chan!"/
"Ne, Usagi-chan?" could be "Right, Usagi-chan?" Sometimes vice versa.
Shikkarishite – 'Hold On' or 'Don't Give Up'
Is it really this short?