The Road Less Travelled
Black Beyond
black_beyond@hotmail.com
PG13
~'~
At last!
~'~
Sailor Moon cursed, and it was enough to make
Mercury flush as she wondered where a girl her age
could have heard something like that.
"Uranus, NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR BACKUP!"
Sailor Moon yelled into her communicator. "Ugly is a
gross understatment in this case!"
"We're on our way, stop screeching, Odango!"
Uranus yelled back. "Do what you do best!"
Sailor Moon clsoed the communicator with another
curse.
"Athena! Attack!" She called. Venus and Jupiter
screamed in fright as a huge panther jumped out and
knocked the youma senseless, before quickly retreating
back to the sidelines.
"Good kitty." Sailor Moon grinned. "Keep her
busy, Athena, while I check this out."
The four senshi and Athen awent back to
attacking the youma while Sailor Moon knelt beside the
victim and gazed into the shifting orb.
"Damn! It's not it!" She shook her head and
returned the soul to the owner. "Why can't they get a
good target once in a while?" She stood up.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"It's about time!" Sailor Moon yelled, as the
youma was nearly drowned. "It wasn't It, guys. Another
dud." She aimed at the youma. "Selene Crescent
Erruption!"
The youma discentigrated. Athena gave the pile
of dust one last glare before retreating out of sight.
"What took you so long?" Sailor Moon asked, holding
her shoulder, were a trickle of blood slithering out from
beneath her hand. "That was one of the fastest ones I've
met yet. It could outrun me... and maybe you, Uranus."
Uranus nodded.
"I'll believe you. We just got intelligence
reports that the enemy's upping their efforts because
you're here. We'll get Saturn to take a look at your
arm--"
"Not in the centuary we won't. My arm's fine.
Come on, let's go." Sailor Moon protested.
Neptune rolled her eyes.
"You have to be in top shape fighting."
"My arm's not going to slow me down."
"That's what you said last time. When you almost
fell off that cliff."
"Number one, it was a damned waterfall and
number two, if you had a Commander throw you over the
side of the said waterfall, I would say you'd have a hard
time from falling." Sailor Moon shot back. "Now, let's
go! I don't want to see if they also happen to have any
of those slimballs left--"
"Too late." Neptune whispered. Uranus swore
loudly, and the four senshi, who had started to walk
away, turned around and froze.
A man, taller than Uranus, standing about six
and a half feet, stood where the dust that had been the
youma lay. He wore a black uniform that was too similar
to that of the Dark kingdom generals for any one's
good.
"Well, looks like we've got a big load of
trouble." Sailor Moon said, picking up her commincator
once more. "Saturn, Pluto, I think we'll be needing
your help after all... apparently they can also cook up
a Commander." She closed the commincator and turned to
grin at the man.
"Hey, how'ya doin'?" She asked. "Nice to see one
of yuou again, really, it's just a dream come true."
He glared at her.
"I am Commander Kinaku."
"Really? Oh, that's really nice." Sailor Moon
smiled. "Well, I suppose you're after me... again..."
"Supreme Thunder!"
"Fire Soul!"
"Crescent Beam!" The inner sensi had seen
enough, and threrw their power at the commander. It
only singed his uniform and made him back up a few
steps.
And pissed him off.
"You will not escape this time, Princess!" He
growled, and charged at Sailor Moon.
Not only was she not there when he reached her,
but we was knocked to the ground by over one hundred
and odd pounds of angry panther.
"Space Sword Blaster!"
"Silent Glaive Surprise!"
"Dead Scream!"
"Submarine Reflection!" The new barrage sent him
flying back into the wall.
"Princess, we've got to get you out of here."
Saturn said, as the commander began to stand back up.
"Don't call me princess and I ain't budging."
Sailor Moon retorted. She looked over at the inner
senshi grimly, and at the two cats who had jioned them.
"Commander, tell your master I refuse to give her what
she wants. And if you leave now..." She pointed her
staff at him. "I won't kill you."
The commander cursed as he vanished, bleeding
heavily.
"Anything else someone wants to blow before we
leave?" Sailor Moon asked. "How about I just waltz over
and-- GET THAT CAT AWAY FROM ME!" She jumped into
Uranus's arms as Luna walked over to her.
Uranus looked at the senshi she held in her arms
and laughed.
"You're such a coward."
"Bite me, okay?" Sailor Moon retorted and glared
at the black cat. "Shoo. Go away, stupid cat.
Atheeenaaaaa... help me...." She whined at the panther,
who was making a noise that sounded supiciously like
giggles.
Luna kept advancing. She stopped in front of
Uranus.
"Who are you?" Luna asked, a note of menace in
her voice. "Why do you call her princess, and what are
those things you fight?"
"Luna!" Venus gasped. Artemis shook his head.
"We need to know, Venus." He said softly.
"I am Super Outer Senshi Sailor Uranus. I hold
the powers of the heavens."
"I am Super Outer Senshi Sailor Neptune. I hold
the powers of water."
"I am the Super Sailor Saturn, dark messiah of
destruction."
"I am Sailor Pluto, gaurdian of time."
"I'm Sailor Moon, and that's all you need to
know, Luna." Sailor Moon glared down at the cat. "They
are my senshi, and I their leader. And that's all...
ACK!" Luna jumped up at her, and faster than a shot,
Sailor Moon ducked and leapt out of Uranus's arms,
backing away from Luna.
"Stop that!" She cried.
The cat advanced.
"Neptune, Queen's advisor or no Queen's advisor,
i'll kill her before she touches me." Sailor moon said,
still bakcing up. "The Dark Sun Warriors already know
too much, I don't need her sprouting off about it...
AHHH!" Sailor Moon cried out as Artemis landed deftly
on her shoulder. "Artemis!"
"My lord..." Artemis gasped, jumping off just as
quickly and landing beside Luna.
"What is it?" Luna asked.
"I..." Artemis looked up at Sailor Moon, who was
very pale. "Luna... I will swear by Queen Serenity
herself... that girl..."
"Don't say it..." Sailor Moon moaned. "Don't say
it..."
"Let's go, Sailor Moon." Uranus said, but Pluto
stopped her.
"They would have found out anyway." She said
softly. "Let him speak."
"But Usagi..."
"Haruka, please."
"Hn." Uranus sulked.
"Just say it, Artemis!" Mercury urged.
"She's the Moon Princess."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At first, there was no sound. They were all too
stunned to hear it said aloud to do anything. And
then...
"You're joking, surely, Artemis." Luna said
incredously, staring up at the frozen senshi. "Aside
from looks, she's nothing like Serenity."
"That's correct." Saturn said. "She's nothing
like Serenity, but she is. She is Serenity, our
princess."
Sailor Moon gave the senshi of destruction a
dirty look.
"I am not a princess." She said, inbetween
clenched teeth. "I'll be going now. I will be missed."
She was gone in a flash, Athena glaring at Artemis
before following her mistress.
"Damn, now she'll be sulking for the next
month." Uranus did not look happy. "We might want to
warn the punk population to look out."
"Let's just hope she doesn't get carried away
this time. Last time she did, she was thrown in jail."
Neptune shook her head. "When will she accept it?"
"Not for a while, I believe." Pluto answered.
"Come on. I'll be missed, also. I was in the middle of
a meeting."
"Hai." Saturn yawned and looked at the setting
sun.
"Wait a second!" Mars yelled. "Can't you tell us
what we're fighting, at least?"
Uranus roled her eyes as Neptune nodded.
"They call themselves the Dark Sun Warriors, but
we prefer to call them Shadows. You fought Beryl,
right?" At their nods, Neptune continued. "Well, the
commanders are what you call the generals of the Dark
Sun army. The youma are programmed to find a pure soul.
Our mission is to stop them."
"You've fought them before, right?" Jupiter
asked.
"Hai, we have. We destroyed their stronghold, I
guess they took root in another place. But they never
found the Pure Soul, and neither did we."
"What happens when they find the pure soul?"
"If they find it? The world ends. If we find it?
The world's saved. The pure soul has the power of the
universe when combined with the ginzuishou... which our
princess does have."
"That's where the nijizuishous went." Venus
whispered. "I wonder if they know Endymion's dead..."
She decided that they did not and she wasn't about to
break the news, not with them as pissed off as they
were.
The outer senshi began to walk away, when
Mercury, of all senshi, spoke again.
"We're all senshi!" She said. "Why won't you
tell us who you are? Or at least who Sailor Moon is?"
"Yeah!" Jupiter agreed.
"Because," Uranus said, an oddly amused
expression on her face. "We do not wish you to know.
It's as simple as that. And Sailor Moon makes up her
own mind, we simply save her can once in a while."
"And she saves our's." Pluto reminded the sora
no senshi. "Now I really must leave." She and Saturn
took off down the street, oppisite the way Athena had
run.
Uranus looked to Neptune, who nodded. Together,
the jumped off onto the roof of a nearby building and
raced away.
Jupiter uttered a curse and dehenshined.
"I can't believe it." Luna shook her head.
"Princess Serenity, a warrior. It doesn't make sense."
"Luna, we have no idea what kind of childhood
she has had in rebirth. It could have changed her."
Artemis said. "We have to be accepting. She is strong."
"If only we could be sure of her, though." Luna
sighed. "Come on, girls. Let's go home. Senshi meeting
tomorrow, after school. And Ami? Watch that Usagi girl.
Alert us if she does anything strange, and if you can
without anyone seeing, try to get a reading of her with
your computer."
"I'll do my best, Luna."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usagi was out for blood. It was easy to tell.
One could just look at her chilling silvery eyes and
see the murderous look in them.
She glared at anyone who came too close to
her... too close as in her terms. Meaning anyone who
stood within a ten-foot radius got a death glare that
sent them running.
She even tried to glare Makoto away, without
much success.
"Com'on, girl. What's wrong?" Makoto asked, as
Ami stood a distance away, trying to to be too nervous
of the glares Usagi was throwing her way.
"Go away." Usagi muttered, glaring at a red-
haired girl who passed by.
"I'm not that easy to scare, Usagi. Tell. Or
I'll pound it out of you." She said, jokingly.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Usagi brightened
up almost instantly. "How much time do I have before
the bell?"
"The bell? About fifteen minutes." Ami answered,
stepping closer to take refuge behind Makoto. "What
for, Usagi-chan?"
Usagi just gave her a funny half-smile.
"Where's Minako?" She asked.
"Probably late; why?"
"Oh, darn. She's got moves on her. Oh, well. Ah,
look. There's my old buddy Ryco! And he's coming this
way! With ten buff looking guys, no doubt!" Usagi
rubbed her hands together in a way that disturbed Ami
and made Makoto nervous. "Ryco! Ol' buddy! How ya
doin'? I heard your bitch-- oh, I'm sorry, your mother,
was sick. That true? I hope she gets worse-- er,
better." Usagi grinned.
Ryco advanced.
"You're going to pay for that scene a few weeks
ago, Tsukino." He said, his voice made to chill the
bone marrow.
Usagi's eyes flashed.
"Let's get one thing straight, shall we?" She
said, the pleasantnes gone now, replaced by a smooth,
emotionless voice that The two girls swore they'd heard
before. "My name is not Tsukino. I am Usagi, and simply
Usagi. If you've got a problem with that, take it up
with me."
"Gladly. But you'll have to go through them..."
Ryco motioned lazily to the ten brutes, who took a step
forward. "First."
"Ah, I was looking for some exercise." Usagi
cracked her knuckles. "Alright." She looked over to
Makoto and Ami. "You two might want to step back."
CRACK!
Ami gasped.
One of the bigger boys had took a few running
steps and his fist connected with Usagi's jaw with
force that would have broken anyone's bones.
Usagi turned to stare at the one who had thrown
the punch.
"That," She said, wiping the blood from her
bleeding lip with the back of her hand. "Was a very
stupid thing to do. You're about to get a crash course
in terrorism, boys." She moved forward quickly.
This was just like fighting very slow, stupid
youma.
The one who had unched her was down and out
within a minute. The second went down with a staff that
Makoto sworn had not been on the ground where Usagi had
grabbed it. Then third and fourth also fell victim to
the staff, Usagi fighting with a rage she'd been
bottling up ever since the first Shadows had came.
"Die!" The fifth never saw the hand that hit the
base of his neck. He went down and didn't move; Ami was
afraid Usagi had really killed him.
Number six went down with a gash across his
face. Seven, Eight, and Nine took a hint and ganged up
on her, and Usagi disappeared beneath a flurry of fists
and kicks.
The trio were thrown off, Usagi's shirt now
ripped and she was bleeding and bruised in more than
one place, her silver hair undone and flying in the
breeze as she grinned insanely at ten and Ryco.
"This has been most invigorating." She said,
pointing the end of the staff at ten. "But I'm not in
the mood to play anymore."
She leapt forward, and caught ten in the stomach
with the end of the staff. He went down clutching his
stomach, screaming.
AMi saw her chance. Ryco and Usagi were staring
at each other murderously, neither paying attention to
her. She took out her computer, and--
"Usagi! No!" Hotaru came running across the
courtyard, shoving her way through the ring of students
that had collected with the first sounds of a fight.
"Damnit, don't do this!"
"Get away, Hotaru."
"Usagi--"
"THAT WAS AN ORDER." Usagi said tersly. "Back
off." Hotaru looked stunned, but stepped back.
"If you kill him, Usagi, you'll have to run
again." Hotaru said pleadingly. "You can't kill
anymore. Damn you, you promised! After that last one,
you promised you wouldn't kill anyone else!" The crowd
was silenced with the meaning of her words.
"Who in the name of Hecate said I'd kill him,
Hotaru?" Usagi said, as Ryco took a step backwards. "I
just want to hear him scream a little."
"Usagi-chan, don't!" A familiar blonde appeared
beside Hotaru. "Please, Usagi-chan. Ryco is just an
asshole. You're hurt already, and you'll be hurt even
more."
Usagi hesitated at the sound of Minako's voice,
and smiled sadly at the memory of that voice, only the
one she remembered was a bit more mature and a bit
older, and full of mirth...
"Okay, Minako-chan." Usagi said, handing the
staff to Saturn. "You may go, Ryco. Unless you want to
end up like them?"
Ryco swallowed his dignity and did the onl;y
thing he could-- run.
"Thanks, Usagi." Hotaru said.
"Usagi, I'm so relieved! I thought you'd be
hurt!" Minako hugged her silver-haired friends.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Minako. But these last
few days have been a bit much." Usagi whispered,
hugging Minako back.
"Usagi, I'm following you around today, okay?"
Hotaru said, after most of the students had vanished
and a duo of male teaqchers were heading for Ryco, who
wwas promptly being yelled at by Makoto, and Usagi, who
nodded swiftly to Hotaru.
"I sense bad energy." Usagi said, as she pushed
Ami, Minako, and Makoto towards the doors. "Go on," She
said to them. "You don't need to get in trouble also."
They nodded and ran.
Hotaru observed the ten unconscious or close-to-
it boys.
"Be on gaurd." She said, and ran too, to
transform and take up a post.
"What happened?" One of the teachers demanded,
while the other knelt to take pulses of the injured
students.
Usagi smirked at him.
"Oh, I thought that would be obvious, Sensei.
Ryco and his goons decides they'd like to fight me. I
merely demonstrated that they did not." She smiled
sweetly at Ryco. "Isn't that right?"
Ryco scowled, but nodded.
"Office! NOW!"
~'~
REVIEW!!
Black Beyond
black_beyond@hotmail.com
PG13
~'~
At last!
~'~
Sailor Moon cursed, and it was enough to make
Mercury flush as she wondered where a girl her age
could have heard something like that.
"Uranus, NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR BACKUP!"
Sailor Moon yelled into her communicator. "Ugly is a
gross understatment in this case!"
"We're on our way, stop screeching, Odango!"
Uranus yelled back. "Do what you do best!"
Sailor Moon clsoed the communicator with another
curse.
"Athena! Attack!" She called. Venus and Jupiter
screamed in fright as a huge panther jumped out and
knocked the youma senseless, before quickly retreating
back to the sidelines.
"Good kitty." Sailor Moon grinned. "Keep her
busy, Athena, while I check this out."
The four senshi and Athen awent back to
attacking the youma while Sailor Moon knelt beside the
victim and gazed into the shifting orb.
"Damn! It's not it!" She shook her head and
returned the soul to the owner. "Why can't they get a
good target once in a while?" She stood up.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"It's about time!" Sailor Moon yelled, as the
youma was nearly drowned. "It wasn't It, guys. Another
dud." She aimed at the youma. "Selene Crescent
Erruption!"
The youma discentigrated. Athena gave the pile
of dust one last glare before retreating out of sight.
"What took you so long?" Sailor Moon asked, holding
her shoulder, were a trickle of blood slithering out from
beneath her hand. "That was one of the fastest ones I've
met yet. It could outrun me... and maybe you, Uranus."
Uranus nodded.
"I'll believe you. We just got intelligence
reports that the enemy's upping their efforts because
you're here. We'll get Saturn to take a look at your
arm--"
"Not in the centuary we won't. My arm's fine.
Come on, let's go." Sailor Moon protested.
Neptune rolled her eyes.
"You have to be in top shape fighting."
"My arm's not going to slow me down."
"That's what you said last time. When you almost
fell off that cliff."
"Number one, it was a damned waterfall and
number two, if you had a Commander throw you over the
side of the said waterfall, I would say you'd have a hard
time from falling." Sailor Moon shot back. "Now, let's
go! I don't want to see if they also happen to have any
of those slimballs left--"
"Too late." Neptune whispered. Uranus swore
loudly, and the four senshi, who had started to walk
away, turned around and froze.
A man, taller than Uranus, standing about six
and a half feet, stood where the dust that had been the
youma lay. He wore a black uniform that was too similar
to that of the Dark kingdom generals for any one's
good.
"Well, looks like we've got a big load of
trouble." Sailor Moon said, picking up her commincator
once more. "Saturn, Pluto, I think we'll be needing
your help after all... apparently they can also cook up
a Commander." She closed the commincator and turned to
grin at the man.
"Hey, how'ya doin'?" She asked. "Nice to see one
of yuou again, really, it's just a dream come true."
He glared at her.
"I am Commander Kinaku."
"Really? Oh, that's really nice." Sailor Moon
smiled. "Well, I suppose you're after me... again..."
"Supreme Thunder!"
"Fire Soul!"
"Crescent Beam!" The inner sensi had seen
enough, and threrw their power at the commander. It
only singed his uniform and made him back up a few
steps.
And pissed him off.
"You will not escape this time, Princess!" He
growled, and charged at Sailor Moon.
Not only was she not there when he reached her,
but we was knocked to the ground by over one hundred
and odd pounds of angry panther.
"Space Sword Blaster!"
"Silent Glaive Surprise!"
"Dead Scream!"
"Submarine Reflection!" The new barrage sent him
flying back into the wall.
"Princess, we've got to get you out of here."
Saturn said, as the commander began to stand back up.
"Don't call me princess and I ain't budging."
Sailor Moon retorted. She looked over at the inner
senshi grimly, and at the two cats who had jioned them.
"Commander, tell your master I refuse to give her what
she wants. And if you leave now..." She pointed her
staff at him. "I won't kill you."
The commander cursed as he vanished, bleeding
heavily.
"Anything else someone wants to blow before we
leave?" Sailor Moon asked. "How about I just waltz over
and-- GET THAT CAT AWAY FROM ME!" She jumped into
Uranus's arms as Luna walked over to her.
Uranus looked at the senshi she held in her arms
and laughed.
"You're such a coward."
"Bite me, okay?" Sailor Moon retorted and glared
at the black cat. "Shoo. Go away, stupid cat.
Atheeenaaaaa... help me...." She whined at the panther,
who was making a noise that sounded supiciously like
giggles.
Luna kept advancing. She stopped in front of
Uranus.
"Who are you?" Luna asked, a note of menace in
her voice. "Why do you call her princess, and what are
those things you fight?"
"Luna!" Venus gasped. Artemis shook his head.
"We need to know, Venus." He said softly.
"I am Super Outer Senshi Sailor Uranus. I hold
the powers of the heavens."
"I am Super Outer Senshi Sailor Neptune. I hold
the powers of water."
"I am the Super Sailor Saturn, dark messiah of
destruction."
"I am Sailor Pluto, gaurdian of time."
"I'm Sailor Moon, and that's all you need to
know, Luna." Sailor Moon glared down at the cat. "They
are my senshi, and I their leader. And that's all...
ACK!" Luna jumped up at her, and faster than a shot,
Sailor Moon ducked and leapt out of Uranus's arms,
backing away from Luna.
"Stop that!" She cried.
The cat advanced.
"Neptune, Queen's advisor or no Queen's advisor,
i'll kill her before she touches me." Sailor moon said,
still bakcing up. "The Dark Sun Warriors already know
too much, I don't need her sprouting off about it...
AHHH!" Sailor Moon cried out as Artemis landed deftly
on her shoulder. "Artemis!"
"My lord..." Artemis gasped, jumping off just as
quickly and landing beside Luna.
"What is it?" Luna asked.
"I..." Artemis looked up at Sailor Moon, who was
very pale. "Luna... I will swear by Queen Serenity
herself... that girl..."
"Don't say it..." Sailor Moon moaned. "Don't say
it..."
"Let's go, Sailor Moon." Uranus said, but Pluto
stopped her.
"They would have found out anyway." She said
softly. "Let him speak."
"But Usagi..."
"Haruka, please."
"Hn." Uranus sulked.
"Just say it, Artemis!" Mercury urged.
"She's the Moon Princess."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At first, there was no sound. They were all too
stunned to hear it said aloud to do anything. And
then...
"You're joking, surely, Artemis." Luna said
incredously, staring up at the frozen senshi. "Aside
from looks, she's nothing like Serenity."
"That's correct." Saturn said. "She's nothing
like Serenity, but she is. She is Serenity, our
princess."
Sailor Moon gave the senshi of destruction a
dirty look.
"I am not a princess." She said, inbetween
clenched teeth. "I'll be going now. I will be missed."
She was gone in a flash, Athena glaring at Artemis
before following her mistress.
"Damn, now she'll be sulking for the next
month." Uranus did not look happy. "We might want to
warn the punk population to look out."
"Let's just hope she doesn't get carried away
this time. Last time she did, she was thrown in jail."
Neptune shook her head. "When will she accept it?"
"Not for a while, I believe." Pluto answered.
"Come on. I'll be missed, also. I was in the middle of
a meeting."
"Hai." Saturn yawned and looked at the setting
sun.
"Wait a second!" Mars yelled. "Can't you tell us
what we're fighting, at least?"
Uranus roled her eyes as Neptune nodded.
"They call themselves the Dark Sun Warriors, but
we prefer to call them Shadows. You fought Beryl,
right?" At their nods, Neptune continued. "Well, the
commanders are what you call the generals of the Dark
Sun army. The youma are programmed to find a pure soul.
Our mission is to stop them."
"You've fought them before, right?" Jupiter
asked.
"Hai, we have. We destroyed their stronghold, I
guess they took root in another place. But they never
found the Pure Soul, and neither did we."
"What happens when they find the pure soul?"
"If they find it? The world ends. If we find it?
The world's saved. The pure soul has the power of the
universe when combined with the ginzuishou... which our
princess does have."
"That's where the nijizuishous went." Venus
whispered. "I wonder if they know Endymion's dead..."
She decided that they did not and she wasn't about to
break the news, not with them as pissed off as they
were.
The outer senshi began to walk away, when
Mercury, of all senshi, spoke again.
"We're all senshi!" She said. "Why won't you
tell us who you are? Or at least who Sailor Moon is?"
"Yeah!" Jupiter agreed.
"Because," Uranus said, an oddly amused
expression on her face. "We do not wish you to know.
It's as simple as that. And Sailor Moon makes up her
own mind, we simply save her can once in a while."
"And she saves our's." Pluto reminded the sora
no senshi. "Now I really must leave." She and Saturn
took off down the street, oppisite the way Athena had
run.
Uranus looked to Neptune, who nodded. Together,
the jumped off onto the roof of a nearby building and
raced away.
Jupiter uttered a curse and dehenshined.
"I can't believe it." Luna shook her head.
"Princess Serenity, a warrior. It doesn't make sense."
"Luna, we have no idea what kind of childhood
she has had in rebirth. It could have changed her."
Artemis said. "We have to be accepting. She is strong."
"If only we could be sure of her, though." Luna
sighed. "Come on, girls. Let's go home. Senshi meeting
tomorrow, after school. And Ami? Watch that Usagi girl.
Alert us if she does anything strange, and if you can
without anyone seeing, try to get a reading of her with
your computer."
"I'll do my best, Luna."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usagi was out for blood. It was easy to tell.
One could just look at her chilling silvery eyes and
see the murderous look in them.
She glared at anyone who came too close to
her... too close as in her terms. Meaning anyone who
stood within a ten-foot radius got a death glare that
sent them running.
She even tried to glare Makoto away, without
much success.
"Com'on, girl. What's wrong?" Makoto asked, as
Ami stood a distance away, trying to to be too nervous
of the glares Usagi was throwing her way.
"Go away." Usagi muttered, glaring at a red-
haired girl who passed by.
"I'm not that easy to scare, Usagi. Tell. Or
I'll pound it out of you." She said, jokingly.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Usagi brightened
up almost instantly. "How much time do I have before
the bell?"
"The bell? About fifteen minutes." Ami answered,
stepping closer to take refuge behind Makoto. "What
for, Usagi-chan?"
Usagi just gave her a funny half-smile.
"Where's Minako?" She asked.
"Probably late; why?"
"Oh, darn. She's got moves on her. Oh, well. Ah,
look. There's my old buddy Ryco! And he's coming this
way! With ten buff looking guys, no doubt!" Usagi
rubbed her hands together in a way that disturbed Ami
and made Makoto nervous. "Ryco! Ol' buddy! How ya
doin'? I heard your bitch-- oh, I'm sorry, your mother,
was sick. That true? I hope she gets worse-- er,
better." Usagi grinned.
Ryco advanced.
"You're going to pay for that scene a few weeks
ago, Tsukino." He said, his voice made to chill the
bone marrow.
Usagi's eyes flashed.
"Let's get one thing straight, shall we?" She
said, the pleasantnes gone now, replaced by a smooth,
emotionless voice that The two girls swore they'd heard
before. "My name is not Tsukino. I am Usagi, and simply
Usagi. If you've got a problem with that, take it up
with me."
"Gladly. But you'll have to go through them..."
Ryco motioned lazily to the ten brutes, who took a step
forward. "First."
"Ah, I was looking for some exercise." Usagi
cracked her knuckles. "Alright." She looked over to
Makoto and Ami. "You two might want to step back."
CRACK!
Ami gasped.
One of the bigger boys had took a few running
steps and his fist connected with Usagi's jaw with
force that would have broken anyone's bones.
Usagi turned to stare at the one who had thrown
the punch.
"That," She said, wiping the blood from her
bleeding lip with the back of her hand. "Was a very
stupid thing to do. You're about to get a crash course
in terrorism, boys." She moved forward quickly.
This was just like fighting very slow, stupid
youma.
The one who had unched her was down and out
within a minute. The second went down with a staff that
Makoto sworn had not been on the ground where Usagi had
grabbed it. Then third and fourth also fell victim to
the staff, Usagi fighting with a rage she'd been
bottling up ever since the first Shadows had came.
"Die!" The fifth never saw the hand that hit the
base of his neck. He went down and didn't move; Ami was
afraid Usagi had really killed him.
Number six went down with a gash across his
face. Seven, Eight, and Nine took a hint and ganged up
on her, and Usagi disappeared beneath a flurry of fists
and kicks.
The trio were thrown off, Usagi's shirt now
ripped and she was bleeding and bruised in more than
one place, her silver hair undone and flying in the
breeze as she grinned insanely at ten and Ryco.
"This has been most invigorating." She said,
pointing the end of the staff at ten. "But I'm not in
the mood to play anymore."
She leapt forward, and caught ten in the stomach
with the end of the staff. He went down clutching his
stomach, screaming.
AMi saw her chance. Ryco and Usagi were staring
at each other murderously, neither paying attention to
her. She took out her computer, and--
"Usagi! No!" Hotaru came running across the
courtyard, shoving her way through the ring of students
that had collected with the first sounds of a fight.
"Damnit, don't do this!"
"Get away, Hotaru."
"Usagi--"
"THAT WAS AN ORDER." Usagi said tersly. "Back
off." Hotaru looked stunned, but stepped back.
"If you kill him, Usagi, you'll have to run
again." Hotaru said pleadingly. "You can't kill
anymore. Damn you, you promised! After that last one,
you promised you wouldn't kill anyone else!" The crowd
was silenced with the meaning of her words.
"Who in the name of Hecate said I'd kill him,
Hotaru?" Usagi said, as Ryco took a step backwards. "I
just want to hear him scream a little."
"Usagi-chan, don't!" A familiar blonde appeared
beside Hotaru. "Please, Usagi-chan. Ryco is just an
asshole. You're hurt already, and you'll be hurt even
more."
Usagi hesitated at the sound of Minako's voice,
and smiled sadly at the memory of that voice, only the
one she remembered was a bit more mature and a bit
older, and full of mirth...
"Okay, Minako-chan." Usagi said, handing the
staff to Saturn. "You may go, Ryco. Unless you want to
end up like them?"
Ryco swallowed his dignity and did the onl;y
thing he could-- run.
"Thanks, Usagi." Hotaru said.
"Usagi, I'm so relieved! I thought you'd be
hurt!" Minako hugged her silver-haired friends.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Minako. But these last
few days have been a bit much." Usagi whispered,
hugging Minako back.
"Usagi, I'm following you around today, okay?"
Hotaru said, after most of the students had vanished
and a duo of male teaqchers were heading for Ryco, who
wwas promptly being yelled at by Makoto, and Usagi, who
nodded swiftly to Hotaru.
"I sense bad energy." Usagi said, as she pushed
Ami, Minako, and Makoto towards the doors. "Go on," She
said to them. "You don't need to get in trouble also."
They nodded and ran.
Hotaru observed the ten unconscious or close-to-
it boys.
"Be on gaurd." She said, and ran too, to
transform and take up a post.
"What happened?" One of the teachers demanded,
while the other knelt to take pulses of the injured
students.
Usagi smirked at him.
"Oh, I thought that would be obvious, Sensei.
Ryco and his goons decides they'd like to fight me. I
merely demonstrated that they did not." She smiled
sweetly at Ryco. "Isn't that right?"
Ryco scowled, but nodded.
"Office! NOW!"
~'~
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