The Road Less ravelled
Black Beyond
black_beyond@hotmail.com
PG13
~'~
Oh, minna, I'm so sorry this is so late. I've been
trying to keep the cahpters coming nice and fast, but
the Holidays are hectic. That's my only apology. I've
had to spen the last few days babysitting for my
aunt, and she, unfortunatly, doesn't have anything
remotely similar to a computer.
I hope you like this chapter. It's got a few twists in
it that none of you saw coming, I'm sure.
~'~
It was hard to say who was more surprised, the
outer senshi duo or the Tsukinos, as a blood-splattered
Sailor Venus and a tall, black-clad man staggered into
the house, carrying Usagi, who looked worse than dead.
"She needs help." Venus said. "Two commanders
were going at her... the only thing they *didn't* touch
was her face."
"She's lost a lot of blood, and we can't take
her to a hospital, for they'd know in a second what she
really was." Raidon was also drenched in blood, but
like Sailor Venus, the blood that covered him was not
his own.
"I've got that covered." Hotaru said, walking in
behind them. "Get her on the couch, and I'll see what I
can do."
Raidon didn't waste any time, he moved quickly,
and Kenji slipped out of the man's way as he laid the
blonde on the sofa, and Hotaru knelt beside her, violet
light already shining from ehr palms.
"Well, Raidon. As usual, you show up when all
Hell breaks loose." Haruka couldn't believe she was
still able to make jokes at that moment.
"Yeah, you know me. Always running into gorgeous
women in need of assistance. It's a dirty job, and I
got blessed with it." He flashed a quirky grin in spite
of himself at the taller woman.
"Don't start, you two." Michiru said. "Ikuko-
san, Kenji-san, Shingo-san, this is Raidon, the shadow
spy." She motioned towards Raidon. "And of course, Aino
Minako, Sailor Venus."
"Hello again." Venus said. "Sorry about my
appearence... Hotaru, will she be okay?" She asked
anxiously.
"I think so..." Hotaru murmured. "Just a little
more..."
She fell back as the light died suddenly, as
Sailor Moon jumped up to catch her friend.
"Baka Hotaru!" She whispered. "The ginzuishou
was already..."
"It wouldn't have in time." Hotaru replied.
"Dehenshin, you're indecent, Odango."
Sailor Moon looked down, shrugged, and
dehenshined in a flash of light. Her fatigue was only
obvious now, but it was decidedly ignored as Venus
dehenshined also, the blood vanishing.
"Thank you, Minako." Usagi said, eerily calm for
the events that had taken place over the last hour.
"Just don't do it again, okay?" Minako said,
futilely attepting to sound pissed. "Hell creeps me
out."
"Hey... this is nice, and all that..." Raidon
was the first to speak. "But you've got these nice
folks who could probably use an explanation and I need
to get this blood off before I'm picked up by some
human cop." Raidon said, picking up his jacket. "I'll
see you, Princess. Probably in a few hours, if my
divination abilities are up to par."
He gave Michiru a saucy wink, making Haruka's
eyes narrow, and then let himself out the door.
"Where'd you dig up that guy, Usagi?" Minako
asked. "He's got the worst sense of humor."
"You don't want her to answer that." Haruka
growled. "Because she really did dig him up."
Minako's eyebrows quirked but she didn't say
anything more.
Usagi loooked wearily to the three humans.
"Well... I suppose those two have told you just
about everything...?"
"Oh, this is so cool! I KNOW SAILOR MOON! SHE
LIVES IN MY HOUSE!" Shingo was having nothing less that
convulsions. "OHMIGOD! THIS IS--"
"Shingo, time for bed." Ikuko crashed down on
her son's rantings like a boulder on top of a beetle.
Glaring at his mother for the simple fact she
dared command him to leave when five legendary sailor
senshi were standing in his living room, he trudged up
the stairs, muttering about the injustice of parents.
"Usagi, you must be tired. I'll make you some
tea, and you can sleep, if you'd like. We understand."
Ikuko said, as she was jsut as calm as Usagi was. "Or
you can go with your senshi."
"If... I'd like to stay... if that's alright..."
Usagi said hesitatly. "Sleep... would be very nice."
Haruka was dragged out, laughing, by Hotaru and
Michiru. Minako lingered a few more moments to make
sure the girl was as alirhgt as she could be before she
called a senshi meeting and headed for the temple.
It was only when Usagi had locked herself inside
her bedroom and sat, staring at her mirror, that she
finally let herself cry.
~'~
Ikuko had insisted that school wasn't necessary,
but Usagi said that she had to keep a normal life for
as long as she could.
"Please, Ikuko-mama." She'd said, pleading.
"This could be the last time I see them... Shadica
won't be pleased I've escaped."
Ikuko had relented, not that she had any choice.
Shingo stared at Usagi in awe, not quite believing she
was his idol.
"Usagi?" He asked, as she threw her notebooks
into her bag.
"Yeah?"
Shingo hesitated.
"Could-I-have-your-autograph?" He asked really
fast, and turned a bright red.
Usagi chuckled.
"Course you can. And if they don't believe you,
tell me and I'll make a special appearence just for
you, okay?" She said, not really knowing why she'd said
it as she dug out a piece of papaer and signed it 'From
Sailor Moon, to Shingo Tsukino. I'll always be there.'
He snatched it out of her hands and looked at it, wide eyes.
"Really? You will?"
She looked at him solemnly.
"I will. I swear to you, by the House of Selene
and by river of Styx, I will always be there if there
is breath in my body." She said.
"Oh, that-is-so-cool-thank-you-so-much-onee-
chan!" He said.
She shook her head.
"I've got to go, Shingo-onii-baka." She said.
"I'll pick you up from school... or will Sailor Moon?"
"Please?"
"Okay, Sailor Moon will be there." Usagi
grinned. "Maybe with company." She added, backing out
of the door.
She wasn't surprised when, halfway down the
block, a tall figure dressed in black fell in step
beside her.
"I don't believe I thanked you." She said, after
they had walked for a while.
"There was no need. Was it wise, Hime-chan, to
give that oath? What if one day you cannot be there?"
Usagi looked up at him with venom in her silver
eyes.
"That day shall never come." She said, and then
her voice softened. "I now have a link to them. I shall
be able to follow it if they are in need."
"How did you do that?"
"In their sleep, Raidon. They've been too
kind... I did it a long time ago." She smiled. "Perhaps
it was foolish, but I've never been known for wisdom."
"Shadica's on the warpath." Raidon remarked,
after a few more moments of silence.
"I know." Usagi said, as the gates of her school
came into view. They stopped before them, and Usagi
leaned up and gave Raidon a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Stop calling me princess."
"Okay, princess."
"I'll see you, Raidon. And don't tell me when,
either."
"After school, Usagi."
"I hate you."
"Love you too." He smirked at her, his dark brown
hair falling into his gold-colored eyes as he
walked away. Usagi grumbled about what a cute jerk he
was as she entered the schoolyard.
And was promptly attacked by Minako.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" She asked, her blue eyes
worried. "You were an awful mess when we got you out of
there."
"Hotaru and the you-know-what have just about
got me up to normal, Minako. I'm just a little tired...
thank you." She looked behind Minako to see a sulky
Makoto and a cheerful Ami. "Did you have trouble?"
Minako grinned.
"You bet! They're furious with me because I
won't tell." She said, in a low voice.
"Minako, I dont' want to get you in trouble. I
don't mind." Usagi looked up at the pair. "They were
nearly as close to me as you, Minako. You should... we
should... tell them."
Minako nodded, now sober.
"How's Raidon?" She asked.
"He's fine. You'll remember him soon, I believe.
He's going to meet me after school..."
"Hello, Usagi-chan." Ami finally broke into the
low conversation their friend and the silver-haired
girl was having.
"Hello, Ami-chan. Mako-chan. I believe we've got
a little time.. I think I need to talk to both of
you... in a more private area, please." She said,
shooting a look around the school yard.
Minako didn't wait for a reply. She grabbed her
friends' wrists and dragged them off to the side of the
building.
Usagi followed, and faced the two girls, Minako
retreating a few steps away.
"Well, I know you're both angry at Minako
because she won't tell you what she knows about Sailor
Moon."
Ami paled and Makoto flushed.
"I don't want the inner senshi broke up over
something as trivial as that. I realize I haven't been
here very long, and if I'm intruding, so be it. I knew
who you were after seeing you a few times. After all,
your disguise magic wasn't intended to hide you from my
eyes. So, considering all hell's breaking loose anyway,
no pun intended, I suppose I'm at liberty to screw with
your minds."
"Who are you?" Makoto demanded, her anger rising
quickly.
"I'm Sailor Moon."
~'~
At first, neither of them knew how to react to
that statement. Who would? The quiet, violent girl that
took on a small army of goons single handedly was also
Sailor Moon.
It clicked in Ami's head almost immediatly, and
for a moment she wondered how she had been thick enough
not to get it. It made so much sense it was abonimable.
Makoto's eyebrows raised to a point of
impossibility.
"You're joking?"
"No." Usagi replied. "Just as you are Sailor
Jupiter, I am Sailor Moon."
"But..."
"We saw you being captured." Ami spoke up.
Usagi fell silent as Minako stepped forward.
"She was, Ami-chan." Minako said quietly.
"That's where I was last night, and that's why i was so
torn up. I went into the Dark Palace, and with a little
help, we got Usagi out of there. It was almost too
late."
"Hardly." Usagi said. "Shadica was going to keep
me alive, though everything. She wanted to hurt me more
than she already had." Usagi's eyes held a deadened
look. "She knew that I hated to see others hurt when it
could have been me in their place."
"Well..." Makoto began, but the clanging bell
cut her off. "Rei's gonna be surprised."
As they headed off for class, Usagi called over
her shoulder, "And I know you call me psycho!"
"You are!" Makoto yelled back.
"So?"
"Ga..." Makoto threw her hands in the arm as she
stalked inside the school building. Ami rolled her eyes
and followed.
"You really are psychotic, Usagi." Minako said.
Usagi grinned.
"I have to be. Only psychos can do what I do.
Did you ever see a sane person jump at a youma with
only a stick?"
"No."
"There you go then. See you, Minako."
~'~
Usagi drummed her fingers nervously on her
desktop and shot another look at the clock. School was
almost out and there hadn't even been a hint of a youma
attack. It was strange, compared with past results.
And it was almost making her as jumpy as a cat.
She jumped up as the bell rang, adreniline rushing
through her body before she calmed herself down,
carefully ignoring the strange stares from her
classmates.
She grabbed Makoto in the hall.
"Mind helping me with something?" She asked in a
low voice, carefully pasting a cheerful look on her
face to foil any observers.
"Depends." Makoto replied suspiciously. "What
had you in mind?"
"Shingo wants Sailor Moon to pick him up from
school, and I thought company would be nice... whadda
say?" Makoto sent a look around the hallways, and then
nodded.
"Alright, then. Lead the way, oh great Usagi."
~'~
Shingo glanced up one more time at the clock.
Several of the more cynical of his classmates were
huddled in a group, while others looked at him in
admiration. Oh, to know Sailor Moon...
"Hey, Shingo! Psst!" A familar voice hissed. He
spun around, and saw two sailor-suited figures and a
tall man at the side of the courtyard.
"Princess, the things you do for family." Raidon
commented, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, Raidon!" Jupiter and Moon both
snapped. Raidon muttered something under his breathe
before looking at Shingo.
"We're here!" Jupiter announced, catching the
school yard's attention quickly. "Sorry about the
delay... we ran into a little trouble."
"You mean we ran into a leather-clad imbecile."
Sailor Moon corrected, jabbing her thumb in Raidon's
direction. "Mr. This-Is-A-Really-Bad-Idea."
"Sailor Moon, I'd like to introduce you to
Mika..." Shingo pushed a shy girl towards the sailor
warrior. Sailor Moon crouched until she was eye level
with Mika.
"Hello, Mika. You're a friend of Shingo's?" At
the girl's awe-filled nod, Sailor Moon smiled. "Well,
then, you can call me Ren. How would you like that? And
this is Sailor Jupiter."
"That isn't Sailor Moon!" One of the cynics
yelled. "She's a fake!"
"A fake?" Sailor Moon stood up, and her staff
appeared out of thin air. "I think not, kid. Selene
Crescent Erruption!"
Suddenly, a tree no longer existed.
Every single child looked from the pile of ash
to the grinning Sailor Moon.
"Oh, wow! Can we have your autograph?!" They
cried, crowding around the trio.
Sailor Moon inched closer to Raidon.
"Now will you tell why this wasn't a good idea?"
She asked, sighing a piece of paper for a little girl.
"What's your name, sweetie?"
"Otomeko."
"Okay... To... Otomeko... Friends Forever...
From... Sailor Moon... there you go!" She handed it to
the girl who ran off giggling.
"I'm not allowed." Raidon's eyes followed
Otomeko with a pained look on his face. "I must go. I
will see you."
With a whirl of black, he stalked away. Sailor
Moon shrugged.
"So, you're Toruh-kun, eh? Alright, here you go.
Having fun, Jupiter?"
"hehe, You bet!" Jupiter looked like she was
standing in Utopia as she was bombarded with pieces of
paper or bookbags.
Sailor Moon shook off the slight uneasy feeling
in the pit of her stomach as she winked at Shingo.
"Alright, alright! Make a line, please! You'll
all get an autograph, I promise!"
~'~
Usagi walked into school the next day with a
smile. She'd never felt so happy before. The
children... Athena was right. The more she didn't think
about the past and the more she was around the
innocent, she felt like she could fly.
She smiled at her teacher as she walked into the
classrom and took her seat in the front row, for once
glad to sit there. The teacher smiled back, tentative
at Usagi's new mood. All the times he'd seen her, she
was scowling and ready to jump.
Teraguicki-sensei waited until the class had all
arrived and the bell rang before picking up a piece of
chalk and writing on the board.
"Copy these down neatly on a piece of paper and
hand them in. The Headmaster is requiring every class
do this. Apparently all the schools are." He said,
before Umino could ask why. "I do not know why."
Usagi looked at the words.
"Friends forever... moon... jupiter...
thunder... see you again... maiden? Sir, what
relevenace do these words have?" She asked, writing
them down in her neat, tight writing.
"Your guess is as good as mine." He smiled at
her as she handed in her paper. "After you're done, get
out your Algebra homework and your red pens while I
give these to the Headmaster, excuse me."
As the last student added their's to the pile,
he picked them up and left the room, muttering about
'stupid petty investigations'.
Usagi frowned. There was something strangely
familar about those words...
She shrugged them off and ran a finger over a
deep, jagged cut, only beginning to heal, on her arm.
This one was new. Sighing, she pushed her sleeve down
over it and looked at her paper and forgot about the
words on the board.
It was halfway through her next class, Advanced
Chemistry II, one she had with Ami, that a messanger
from the office knocked solemnly on the door.
Kiko-senshi opened the door and conversed with
him angrily for a few seconds before straitening up.
"Tsukino, you're wanted in the office." She
snapped, pointing to the door. Usagi gave Ami a
questioning look but the blue-haired genius gave no
indication she knew anything except a slightly brooding
shrug. Disguising most carefully through years of
practice her confusion and suspicion, she picked up her
bag and put it over her shoulder, slipping one hand
inside to finger the blade she knew was there as she
walked to the door. She almost stumbled in surprise as
she saw Makoto standing slightly behind the messengar.
She smiled benignly to the sensei, as if to say,
"Oh, yeah. I know what this is all about." before
following the pair. She waited util she heard the door
shut and they were around a corner before moving with
the speed and grace that were reserved for the large
jungle cats, grabbing the collar of the boy's uniform--
never mind the fact he weighed much more than her-- and
pinned him up against the wall.
"What's going on?" Makoto asked, before Usagi
could. All the better, for the words Usagi had in mind
were much less kind and a lot more agressive.
The boy stammered as he looked into the pair of
silvery eyes that held nothing but anger and suspicion
at that moment, and the pair of confused emerald eyes
behind them.
"I-- I-- don't know!" He said in a rush. "They
just told me to come and get you; there's a couple of
cops in Headmaster's office, and none of them look very
happy."
"Oh, this is terrific." Usagi let the boy go. He
stood there, unsure. "Makoto, d'you think Shingo narked
on us?"
"No, he only knows you. Not me." Makoto shrugged.
"And he's not the type, Usagi, really. Maybe it's
something else. I mean, you and I don't have the best
of records."
"If it helps, they just finished going through
those papers everyone had to write." The boy offered.
"Those papers?" Usagi frowned. "What on earth
could that have to do with anything? Well, at least
they're not going to procecute me for first degree
murder, com'on, Mako."
With false conidence she told the boy to lead the
way. He looked at her doubtfully. It was only widely
known that her sanity didn't stretch far. He led them
to the only too familar office and left them in front
of it with instructions to go on in.
Makoto looked at Usagi.
"Ready for a fight?"
"Maybe there won't be one."
"Is there isn't, I'll start one." Usagi grinned,
and pushed open the door.
She and Makoto looked warily at the two uniformed
men, who, instead of the blue uniforms they'd been
expecting, wore very expensive suits and looked like
something out of the American move MIB, before entering
the room. Makoto closed the door ebhind her, and Usagi
lookd questioningly at the Headmaster, who cleared his
throat and stood up, an amused smile on his face.
"Tsukino, Kino, these two gentlemen belive that
you are two of the legendary Sailor Senshi. They say
they have handwriting samples from the senshi Jupiter
and Moon and and matched it to you."
Makoto paled.
"That's absolutely ridiculous." Usagi said,
smiling. "Of course, who wouldn't want to be, but if I
were Sailor Moon, then I'd be in a lot better shape
than I am."
Both the Headmaster and Makoto gave her dubious
looks. Usagi was in better shape than most professional
athletes.
"And the Sailor Senshi aren't even real. There's
no way I could be Jupiter." Makoto interjected, perhaps
a bit to quickly.
"We didn't say who we thought was who." One of
the suited men said slyly. Usagi's smile faltered a bit
and Makoto slapped herself.
"You can't do anything about it." Usagi switched
tones. Her voice was soft and dripping in venom, with
cool, calculated calmness. The headmaster sat, his mind
reeling. "I could blow this whole place up with the
flick of my wrist."
"It's not illegal to save the world." Makoto
glared. "It isn't like we asked to the job."
"It is illegal when you destroy public and
private property. Ice damage, fire damage, etc.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars." The other suit
snapped.
Usagi narrowed her eyes. Crossing the office in a
couple of well measured steps, she came face to face
with him.
"Sit." She said, pushing him down into the chair
behind him. "Listen here, buddy. You want to discuss
damage to the earth? You're lucky there's still an
earth to be bickering about. I only showed up a few
months ago but I was fighting long before that. Without
the sailor senshi you would have been dead a thousand
years ago. We're the only thing that kept you from
being a slave to God only knows what evil deity. If you
want to yell at *us* for your petty damage bills, you
give the word and we're off this planet, and I'm dead
serious. There's eight other planets and a hundred
moons I can make livable with four words."
"Of course, you won't have long to celebrate."
Makoto's confidense picked up after Usagi's speech.
"Shadica will devor this planet in a second. It doesn't
matter to us, really. We're not even human, you know.
We don't care." The lies fell so easily from her lips
she wondered if they were even lies at all.
"I wouldn't put it past them." The headmaster
backed them up. "You've reviewed their records. How
many more of you attend this school, Usagi?"
Usagi frowned. "Two more." She looked to Makoto,
who shook her head slightly.
"And are they as violent as you?" One of the suits
asked haughtily
Usagi growled, and opened her mouth to answer,
but Makoto beat her to it.
"We haven't had the kind of history Usagi has, so
we're not as agressive, thank you. Usagi, we don't have
to take this. Let's just go."
"I don't think so." Usagi and the two police said
at the same time. "And you will do what about this?"
Usagi retorted. "Alright, Makoto. I see your
reasoning."
"You can't go!"
"Yes, we can." Usagi said dangerously. "Unless
you want to try to stop us. And then you can get a
taste of just WHY your planet hasn't been taken over
yet." Her eyes narrowed.
They hesitated. Usagi flung open the door and
pushed Makoto out ahead of her and shut it behind her.
The messengar boy stood there, looking stunned.
"Lemmee guess. You eavesdropped." Usagi rolled
her eyes. "Makoto, it was one of those stupid kids.
God, if only Raidon wasn't so fucking cryptic." She hit
the wall so hard it shuddered.
"I figured. Should we get Ami and Minako?"
"Might as well. They're human, not stupid.
They'll figure out that the two people you're always
with are Sailor Senshi, and then they'll nab 'em" Usagi
nodded. "Alright, kid. You're going to go around and
pull our friends out of class."
"And if I don't?" He had no idea where those
words had came from.
"Then you won't have a long life."
~'~
Not that big of a cliffhanger, if at all. You'll live until
the next chapter is written.
Ja!
Black Beyond
black_beyond@hotmail.com
PG13
~'~
Oh, minna, I'm so sorry this is so late. I've been
trying to keep the cahpters coming nice and fast, but
the Holidays are hectic. That's my only apology. I've
had to spen the last few days babysitting for my
aunt, and she, unfortunatly, doesn't have anything
remotely similar to a computer.
I hope you like this chapter. It's got a few twists in
it that none of you saw coming, I'm sure.
~'~
It was hard to say who was more surprised, the
outer senshi duo or the Tsukinos, as a blood-splattered
Sailor Venus and a tall, black-clad man staggered into
the house, carrying Usagi, who looked worse than dead.
"She needs help." Venus said. "Two commanders
were going at her... the only thing they *didn't* touch
was her face."
"She's lost a lot of blood, and we can't take
her to a hospital, for they'd know in a second what she
really was." Raidon was also drenched in blood, but
like Sailor Venus, the blood that covered him was not
his own.
"I've got that covered." Hotaru said, walking in
behind them. "Get her on the couch, and I'll see what I
can do."
Raidon didn't waste any time, he moved quickly,
and Kenji slipped out of the man's way as he laid the
blonde on the sofa, and Hotaru knelt beside her, violet
light already shining from ehr palms.
"Well, Raidon. As usual, you show up when all
Hell breaks loose." Haruka couldn't believe she was
still able to make jokes at that moment.
"Yeah, you know me. Always running into gorgeous
women in need of assistance. It's a dirty job, and I
got blessed with it." He flashed a quirky grin in spite
of himself at the taller woman.
"Don't start, you two." Michiru said. "Ikuko-
san, Kenji-san, Shingo-san, this is Raidon, the shadow
spy." She motioned towards Raidon. "And of course, Aino
Minako, Sailor Venus."
"Hello again." Venus said. "Sorry about my
appearence... Hotaru, will she be okay?" She asked
anxiously.
"I think so..." Hotaru murmured. "Just a little
more..."
She fell back as the light died suddenly, as
Sailor Moon jumped up to catch her friend.
"Baka Hotaru!" She whispered. "The ginzuishou
was already..."
"It wouldn't have in time." Hotaru replied.
"Dehenshin, you're indecent, Odango."
Sailor Moon looked down, shrugged, and
dehenshined in a flash of light. Her fatigue was only
obvious now, but it was decidedly ignored as Venus
dehenshined also, the blood vanishing.
"Thank you, Minako." Usagi said, eerily calm for
the events that had taken place over the last hour.
"Just don't do it again, okay?" Minako said,
futilely attepting to sound pissed. "Hell creeps me
out."
"Hey... this is nice, and all that..." Raidon
was the first to speak. "But you've got these nice
folks who could probably use an explanation and I need
to get this blood off before I'm picked up by some
human cop." Raidon said, picking up his jacket. "I'll
see you, Princess. Probably in a few hours, if my
divination abilities are up to par."
He gave Michiru a saucy wink, making Haruka's
eyes narrow, and then let himself out the door.
"Where'd you dig up that guy, Usagi?" Minako
asked. "He's got the worst sense of humor."
"You don't want her to answer that." Haruka
growled. "Because she really did dig him up."
Minako's eyebrows quirked but she didn't say
anything more.
Usagi loooked wearily to the three humans.
"Well... I suppose those two have told you just
about everything...?"
"Oh, this is so cool! I KNOW SAILOR MOON! SHE
LIVES IN MY HOUSE!" Shingo was having nothing less that
convulsions. "OHMIGOD! THIS IS--"
"Shingo, time for bed." Ikuko crashed down on
her son's rantings like a boulder on top of a beetle.
Glaring at his mother for the simple fact she
dared command him to leave when five legendary sailor
senshi were standing in his living room, he trudged up
the stairs, muttering about the injustice of parents.
"Usagi, you must be tired. I'll make you some
tea, and you can sleep, if you'd like. We understand."
Ikuko said, as she was jsut as calm as Usagi was. "Or
you can go with your senshi."
"If... I'd like to stay... if that's alright..."
Usagi said hesitatly. "Sleep... would be very nice."
Haruka was dragged out, laughing, by Hotaru and
Michiru. Minako lingered a few more moments to make
sure the girl was as alirhgt as she could be before she
called a senshi meeting and headed for the temple.
It was only when Usagi had locked herself inside
her bedroom and sat, staring at her mirror, that she
finally let herself cry.
~'~
Ikuko had insisted that school wasn't necessary,
but Usagi said that she had to keep a normal life for
as long as she could.
"Please, Ikuko-mama." She'd said, pleading.
"This could be the last time I see them... Shadica
won't be pleased I've escaped."
Ikuko had relented, not that she had any choice.
Shingo stared at Usagi in awe, not quite believing she
was his idol.
"Usagi?" He asked, as she threw her notebooks
into her bag.
"Yeah?"
Shingo hesitated.
"Could-I-have-your-autograph?" He asked really
fast, and turned a bright red.
Usagi chuckled.
"Course you can. And if they don't believe you,
tell me and I'll make a special appearence just for
you, okay?" She said, not really knowing why she'd said
it as she dug out a piece of papaer and signed it 'From
Sailor Moon, to Shingo Tsukino. I'll always be there.'
He snatched it out of her hands and looked at it, wide eyes.
"Really? You will?"
She looked at him solemnly.
"I will. I swear to you, by the House of Selene
and by river of Styx, I will always be there if there
is breath in my body." She said.
"Oh, that-is-so-cool-thank-you-so-much-onee-
chan!" He said.
She shook her head.
"I've got to go, Shingo-onii-baka." She said.
"I'll pick you up from school... or will Sailor Moon?"
"Please?"
"Okay, Sailor Moon will be there." Usagi
grinned. "Maybe with company." She added, backing out
of the door.
She wasn't surprised when, halfway down the
block, a tall figure dressed in black fell in step
beside her.
"I don't believe I thanked you." She said, after
they had walked for a while.
"There was no need. Was it wise, Hime-chan, to
give that oath? What if one day you cannot be there?"
Usagi looked up at him with venom in her silver
eyes.
"That day shall never come." She said, and then
her voice softened. "I now have a link to them. I shall
be able to follow it if they are in need."
"How did you do that?"
"In their sleep, Raidon. They've been too
kind... I did it a long time ago." She smiled. "Perhaps
it was foolish, but I've never been known for wisdom."
"Shadica's on the warpath." Raidon remarked,
after a few more moments of silence.
"I know." Usagi said, as the gates of her school
came into view. They stopped before them, and Usagi
leaned up and gave Raidon a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Stop calling me princess."
"Okay, princess."
"I'll see you, Raidon. And don't tell me when,
either."
"After school, Usagi."
"I hate you."
"Love you too." He smirked at her, his dark brown
hair falling into his gold-colored eyes as he
walked away. Usagi grumbled about what a cute jerk he
was as she entered the schoolyard.
And was promptly attacked by Minako.
"Are you okay, Usagi?" She asked, her blue eyes
worried. "You were an awful mess when we got you out of
there."
"Hotaru and the you-know-what have just about
got me up to normal, Minako. I'm just a little tired...
thank you." She looked behind Minako to see a sulky
Makoto and a cheerful Ami. "Did you have trouble?"
Minako grinned.
"You bet! They're furious with me because I
won't tell." She said, in a low voice.
"Minako, I dont' want to get you in trouble. I
don't mind." Usagi looked up at the pair. "They were
nearly as close to me as you, Minako. You should... we
should... tell them."
Minako nodded, now sober.
"How's Raidon?" She asked.
"He's fine. You'll remember him soon, I believe.
He's going to meet me after school..."
"Hello, Usagi-chan." Ami finally broke into the
low conversation their friend and the silver-haired
girl was having.
"Hello, Ami-chan. Mako-chan. I believe we've got
a little time.. I think I need to talk to both of
you... in a more private area, please." She said,
shooting a look around the school yard.
Minako didn't wait for a reply. She grabbed her
friends' wrists and dragged them off to the side of the
building.
Usagi followed, and faced the two girls, Minako
retreating a few steps away.
"Well, I know you're both angry at Minako
because she won't tell you what she knows about Sailor
Moon."
Ami paled and Makoto flushed.
"I don't want the inner senshi broke up over
something as trivial as that. I realize I haven't been
here very long, and if I'm intruding, so be it. I knew
who you were after seeing you a few times. After all,
your disguise magic wasn't intended to hide you from my
eyes. So, considering all hell's breaking loose anyway,
no pun intended, I suppose I'm at liberty to screw with
your minds."
"Who are you?" Makoto demanded, her anger rising
quickly.
"I'm Sailor Moon."
~'~
At first, neither of them knew how to react to
that statement. Who would? The quiet, violent girl that
took on a small army of goons single handedly was also
Sailor Moon.
It clicked in Ami's head almost immediatly, and
for a moment she wondered how she had been thick enough
not to get it. It made so much sense it was abonimable.
Makoto's eyebrows raised to a point of
impossibility.
"You're joking?"
"No." Usagi replied. "Just as you are Sailor
Jupiter, I am Sailor Moon."
"But..."
"We saw you being captured." Ami spoke up.
Usagi fell silent as Minako stepped forward.
"She was, Ami-chan." Minako said quietly.
"That's where I was last night, and that's why i was so
torn up. I went into the Dark Palace, and with a little
help, we got Usagi out of there. It was almost too
late."
"Hardly." Usagi said. "Shadica was going to keep
me alive, though everything. She wanted to hurt me more
than she already had." Usagi's eyes held a deadened
look. "She knew that I hated to see others hurt when it
could have been me in their place."
"Well..." Makoto began, but the clanging bell
cut her off. "Rei's gonna be surprised."
As they headed off for class, Usagi called over
her shoulder, "And I know you call me psycho!"
"You are!" Makoto yelled back.
"So?"
"Ga..." Makoto threw her hands in the arm as she
stalked inside the school building. Ami rolled her eyes
and followed.
"You really are psychotic, Usagi." Minako said.
Usagi grinned.
"I have to be. Only psychos can do what I do.
Did you ever see a sane person jump at a youma with
only a stick?"
"No."
"There you go then. See you, Minako."
~'~
Usagi drummed her fingers nervously on her
desktop and shot another look at the clock. School was
almost out and there hadn't even been a hint of a youma
attack. It was strange, compared with past results.
And it was almost making her as jumpy as a cat.
She jumped up as the bell rang, adreniline rushing
through her body before she calmed herself down,
carefully ignoring the strange stares from her
classmates.
She grabbed Makoto in the hall.
"Mind helping me with something?" She asked in a
low voice, carefully pasting a cheerful look on her
face to foil any observers.
"Depends." Makoto replied suspiciously. "What
had you in mind?"
"Shingo wants Sailor Moon to pick him up from
school, and I thought company would be nice... whadda
say?" Makoto sent a look around the hallways, and then
nodded.
"Alright, then. Lead the way, oh great Usagi."
~'~
Shingo glanced up one more time at the clock.
Several of the more cynical of his classmates were
huddled in a group, while others looked at him in
admiration. Oh, to know Sailor Moon...
"Hey, Shingo! Psst!" A familar voice hissed. He
spun around, and saw two sailor-suited figures and a
tall man at the side of the courtyard.
"Princess, the things you do for family." Raidon
commented, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, Raidon!" Jupiter and Moon both
snapped. Raidon muttered something under his breathe
before looking at Shingo.
"We're here!" Jupiter announced, catching the
school yard's attention quickly. "Sorry about the
delay... we ran into a little trouble."
"You mean we ran into a leather-clad imbecile."
Sailor Moon corrected, jabbing her thumb in Raidon's
direction. "Mr. This-Is-A-Really-Bad-Idea."
"Sailor Moon, I'd like to introduce you to
Mika..." Shingo pushed a shy girl towards the sailor
warrior. Sailor Moon crouched until she was eye level
with Mika.
"Hello, Mika. You're a friend of Shingo's?" At
the girl's awe-filled nod, Sailor Moon smiled. "Well,
then, you can call me Ren. How would you like that? And
this is Sailor Jupiter."
"That isn't Sailor Moon!" One of the cynics
yelled. "She's a fake!"
"A fake?" Sailor Moon stood up, and her staff
appeared out of thin air. "I think not, kid. Selene
Crescent Erruption!"
Suddenly, a tree no longer existed.
Every single child looked from the pile of ash
to the grinning Sailor Moon.
"Oh, wow! Can we have your autograph?!" They
cried, crowding around the trio.
Sailor Moon inched closer to Raidon.
"Now will you tell why this wasn't a good idea?"
She asked, sighing a piece of paper for a little girl.
"What's your name, sweetie?"
"Otomeko."
"Okay... To... Otomeko... Friends Forever...
From... Sailor Moon... there you go!" She handed it to
the girl who ran off giggling.
"I'm not allowed." Raidon's eyes followed
Otomeko with a pained look on his face. "I must go. I
will see you."
With a whirl of black, he stalked away. Sailor
Moon shrugged.
"So, you're Toruh-kun, eh? Alright, here you go.
Having fun, Jupiter?"
"hehe, You bet!" Jupiter looked like she was
standing in Utopia as she was bombarded with pieces of
paper or bookbags.
Sailor Moon shook off the slight uneasy feeling
in the pit of her stomach as she winked at Shingo.
"Alright, alright! Make a line, please! You'll
all get an autograph, I promise!"
~'~
Usagi walked into school the next day with a
smile. She'd never felt so happy before. The
children... Athena was right. The more she didn't think
about the past and the more she was around the
innocent, she felt like she could fly.
She smiled at her teacher as she walked into the
classrom and took her seat in the front row, for once
glad to sit there. The teacher smiled back, tentative
at Usagi's new mood. All the times he'd seen her, she
was scowling and ready to jump.
Teraguicki-sensei waited until the class had all
arrived and the bell rang before picking up a piece of
chalk and writing on the board.
"Copy these down neatly on a piece of paper and
hand them in. The Headmaster is requiring every class
do this. Apparently all the schools are." He said,
before Umino could ask why. "I do not know why."
Usagi looked at the words.
"Friends forever... moon... jupiter...
thunder... see you again... maiden? Sir, what
relevenace do these words have?" She asked, writing
them down in her neat, tight writing.
"Your guess is as good as mine." He smiled at
her as she handed in her paper. "After you're done, get
out your Algebra homework and your red pens while I
give these to the Headmaster, excuse me."
As the last student added their's to the pile,
he picked them up and left the room, muttering about
'stupid petty investigations'.
Usagi frowned. There was something strangely
familar about those words...
She shrugged them off and ran a finger over a
deep, jagged cut, only beginning to heal, on her arm.
This one was new. Sighing, she pushed her sleeve down
over it and looked at her paper and forgot about the
words on the board.
It was halfway through her next class, Advanced
Chemistry II, one she had with Ami, that a messanger
from the office knocked solemnly on the door.
Kiko-senshi opened the door and conversed with
him angrily for a few seconds before straitening up.
"Tsukino, you're wanted in the office." She
snapped, pointing to the door. Usagi gave Ami a
questioning look but the blue-haired genius gave no
indication she knew anything except a slightly brooding
shrug. Disguising most carefully through years of
practice her confusion and suspicion, she picked up her
bag and put it over her shoulder, slipping one hand
inside to finger the blade she knew was there as she
walked to the door. She almost stumbled in surprise as
she saw Makoto standing slightly behind the messengar.
She smiled benignly to the sensei, as if to say,
"Oh, yeah. I know what this is all about." before
following the pair. She waited util she heard the door
shut and they were around a corner before moving with
the speed and grace that were reserved for the large
jungle cats, grabbing the collar of the boy's uniform--
never mind the fact he weighed much more than her-- and
pinned him up against the wall.
"What's going on?" Makoto asked, before Usagi
could. All the better, for the words Usagi had in mind
were much less kind and a lot more agressive.
The boy stammered as he looked into the pair of
silvery eyes that held nothing but anger and suspicion
at that moment, and the pair of confused emerald eyes
behind them.
"I-- I-- don't know!" He said in a rush. "They
just told me to come and get you; there's a couple of
cops in Headmaster's office, and none of them look very
happy."
"Oh, this is terrific." Usagi let the boy go. He
stood there, unsure. "Makoto, d'you think Shingo narked
on us?"
"No, he only knows you. Not me." Makoto shrugged.
"And he's not the type, Usagi, really. Maybe it's
something else. I mean, you and I don't have the best
of records."
"If it helps, they just finished going through
those papers everyone had to write." The boy offered.
"Those papers?" Usagi frowned. "What on earth
could that have to do with anything? Well, at least
they're not going to procecute me for first degree
murder, com'on, Mako."
With false conidence she told the boy to lead the
way. He looked at her doubtfully. It was only widely
known that her sanity didn't stretch far. He led them
to the only too familar office and left them in front
of it with instructions to go on in.
Makoto looked at Usagi.
"Ready for a fight?"
"Maybe there won't be one."
"Is there isn't, I'll start one." Usagi grinned,
and pushed open the door.
She and Makoto looked warily at the two uniformed
men, who, instead of the blue uniforms they'd been
expecting, wore very expensive suits and looked like
something out of the American move MIB, before entering
the room. Makoto closed the door ebhind her, and Usagi
lookd questioningly at the Headmaster, who cleared his
throat and stood up, an amused smile on his face.
"Tsukino, Kino, these two gentlemen belive that
you are two of the legendary Sailor Senshi. They say
they have handwriting samples from the senshi Jupiter
and Moon and and matched it to you."
Makoto paled.
"That's absolutely ridiculous." Usagi said,
smiling. "Of course, who wouldn't want to be, but if I
were Sailor Moon, then I'd be in a lot better shape
than I am."
Both the Headmaster and Makoto gave her dubious
looks. Usagi was in better shape than most professional
athletes.
"And the Sailor Senshi aren't even real. There's
no way I could be Jupiter." Makoto interjected, perhaps
a bit to quickly.
"We didn't say who we thought was who." One of
the suited men said slyly. Usagi's smile faltered a bit
and Makoto slapped herself.
"You can't do anything about it." Usagi switched
tones. Her voice was soft and dripping in venom, with
cool, calculated calmness. The headmaster sat, his mind
reeling. "I could blow this whole place up with the
flick of my wrist."
"It's not illegal to save the world." Makoto
glared. "It isn't like we asked to the job."
"It is illegal when you destroy public and
private property. Ice damage, fire damage, etc.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars." The other suit
snapped.
Usagi narrowed her eyes. Crossing the office in a
couple of well measured steps, she came face to face
with him.
"Sit." She said, pushing him down into the chair
behind him. "Listen here, buddy. You want to discuss
damage to the earth? You're lucky there's still an
earth to be bickering about. I only showed up a few
months ago but I was fighting long before that. Without
the sailor senshi you would have been dead a thousand
years ago. We're the only thing that kept you from
being a slave to God only knows what evil deity. If you
want to yell at *us* for your petty damage bills, you
give the word and we're off this planet, and I'm dead
serious. There's eight other planets and a hundred
moons I can make livable with four words."
"Of course, you won't have long to celebrate."
Makoto's confidense picked up after Usagi's speech.
"Shadica will devor this planet in a second. It doesn't
matter to us, really. We're not even human, you know.
We don't care." The lies fell so easily from her lips
she wondered if they were even lies at all.
"I wouldn't put it past them." The headmaster
backed them up. "You've reviewed their records. How
many more of you attend this school, Usagi?"
Usagi frowned. "Two more." She looked to Makoto,
who shook her head slightly.
"And are they as violent as you?" One of the suits
asked haughtily
Usagi growled, and opened her mouth to answer,
but Makoto beat her to it.
"We haven't had the kind of history Usagi has, so
we're not as agressive, thank you. Usagi, we don't have
to take this. Let's just go."
"I don't think so." Usagi and the two police said
at the same time. "And you will do what about this?"
Usagi retorted. "Alright, Makoto. I see your
reasoning."
"You can't go!"
"Yes, we can." Usagi said dangerously. "Unless
you want to try to stop us. And then you can get a
taste of just WHY your planet hasn't been taken over
yet." Her eyes narrowed.
They hesitated. Usagi flung open the door and
pushed Makoto out ahead of her and shut it behind her.
The messengar boy stood there, looking stunned.
"Lemmee guess. You eavesdropped." Usagi rolled
her eyes. "Makoto, it was one of those stupid kids.
God, if only Raidon wasn't so fucking cryptic." She hit
the wall so hard it shuddered.
"I figured. Should we get Ami and Minako?"
"Might as well. They're human, not stupid.
They'll figure out that the two people you're always
with are Sailor Senshi, and then they'll nab 'em" Usagi
nodded. "Alright, kid. You're going to go around and
pull our friends out of class."
"And if I don't?" He had no idea where those
words had came from.
"Then you won't have a long life."
~'~
Not that big of a cliffhanger, if at all. You'll live until
the next chapter is written.
Ja!