Disclaimer: No own sailor moon. (this is
getting tedious, ne?) ;)
Short part…just want to make it to twelve
chapters… ^^;;
(I know, strange excuse ;) )
Fate's Will
Chapter 10: Broken Memories
The ground was damp, after the evening
showers had successfully wet everything in
their path. The Senshi, two felines, and one
Tuxedo Kamen stood purposefully in the
alleyway.
"I still don't understand why you called
*him*," Makoto dressed as her alter-ego, Senshi
Jupiter, commented mockingly. She glowered at
Tuxedo Kamen with half-lidded eyes. "Hasn't he
done enough to her?" She shot a menacing glare
at Rei, making sure that she still remembered
the pain that Usagi had undergone after seeing
him with another woman.
Rei nodded understandingly. She still
remember the pained look that crossed the moon
Senshi's face whenever Mamoru's name was
mentioned. However, even at the risk of a
revolt, it was essential to introduce the rest
of them to Mamoru, or rather, Tuxedo Kamen. He
wasn't the most loved member of their makeshift
group, but they all realized that they would
need all the help they could get in this rescue
mission.
Mamoru, meanwhile, tried his best not to
look hurt behind his mask. He had feelings for
Usagi, just like the rest of them did. His, on
the other hand, felt ingrained within his very
being, and ultimately, his soul. How could
they think such preposterous ideas?! He knew
the answer to that self-given hypothetical
question though. Judging from his non-existent
relationship with Ryoko, and the events that
Rei told him about Usagi's 'opinion' of it,
he'd left a wound scoring deeply into Usagi's
heart. According to Makoto previous scolding,
he'd added salt to the wound without even
knowing that he'd hurt her in the first place.
"Who's up for some Senshi business?"
Minako remarked brightly, attempting to lighten
the atmosphere. She was immediately answered
with six pairs of eyes staring her down. She
scratched her head impishly. Why couldn't
these people understand the situation at hand
instead of settling in past events? What's
done is done. The best way to reconcile is to
grab their leader from her prison and deal with
these feelings later. Moping would do Usagi no
benefit.
Ami sighed, pulling out her computer. "I
took a scan of the city, and found something
very odd. Earlier, I was at the observatory
doing a late night school project…"
Makoto dropped her jaw in bewilderment.
"You're not telling me that you were doing that
astronomy project due next term, are you?"
Ami blushed crimson, hiding into the puny
computer.
"Ami! They were supposed to have us look
at stars during the summer!"
Ami scuffed her foot innocently on the
ground. "Well, I had some time on my hands."
She grinned innocently. "The teacher allowed
us to take earlier readings, if we'd like…"
Minako sighed, placing a hand on Makoto's
taller shoulder. "She'll never change..."
"Anyway, I was looking at this one star.
It looked normal enough to me, but it kept
changing it's coordinates. So, I was taking a
scan of it's energy with my computer and found
that—"
"—there was a similar reading around this
area. Namely, *that* building over there," a
voice interrupted, drawing everyone from their
attentive state of mind. All eyes turned to an
elderly, distinguished professor and a blond
with stormy gray eyes by his side.
Mamoru hardened his eyes. His teeth grit
together. It was *him*...What was his name?
Gyokuren? Gyokuren didn't seem to notice the
negative aura that was being generated from his
extreme left side.
"You came!" Ami replied cheerfully,
extending her greetings to both the professor
and Gyokuren. She turned to the Senshi,
answering their unasked question. "Oh, this is
the professor and his student, Gyokuren, who
happens to be Usagi's friend as well..."
*Friend*? Mamoru hissed, growing tense.
A tick formed and bounced on his cheek.
However, the rest of the Senshi nodded
understandingly, leaving Mamoru to be the only
one in a state of extreme dislike.
"Anyway," continued the Senshi of
Mercury, "The professor's been studying this
star for ages, and knows far more about it than
the rest of us should. For some odd reason, he
also knew I was a Senshi..." The rest of the
Senshi gasped collectively. How would an
outsider know of their identities? How many
others would know of them? This was a serious
security issue…
"I'm a telepath," the elderly man
answered, sensing their apprehension. He
raised a weathered hand in surrender. He
wanted to pose no harm to anyone. "I don't
plan to hurt anyone. I'm quite harmless, if
you see it through my way," he smiled
genuinely, appearing to the Senshi like a Santa
Claus with his specs on. (That and the lab
coat that he perpetually wore. For some
reason, he felt odd when it wasn't on his
shoulders.)
"He and Gyokuren could see this green
lighting around that star I was telling you
about. It's a bit far to get specifics with my
computer. I could only get a general energy
reading, but, to the rest of us, the star
looked the same as any other star." Ami began
typing in more figures into her computer,
forehead creased in thought. The blue visor
appeared in front of her eyes, taking a scan of
the area. Digital figures and calculations
appeared in her transparent blue view that was
invisible to the rest of them. "There," she
pointed at a weathered down building, abandoned
long ago by it's inhabitants for a safer
section of town.
"Let's go take a look then," the silent
Mamoru murmured in a soft voice, sounding
strictly business-like. He'd get Usagi out of
there, regardless of sacrifices on his behalf.
He wondered if this "Gyokuren" would do the
same as he would.
"Wait—" Ami prompted, stepping in his
way. "There's a barrier around there. I
suggest a recon mission at first to check what
we're up against. After all, Usagi couldn't
handle it herself." Her eyes went downcast,
dropping her gaze to the ground in sorrow.
"Right," Mars answered, taking
initiative. "Let's go…"
***
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?
Some measly mice trying to confront a cat? We
might as well let them in…Shouldn't we,
*princess*?" A scornful voice said mockingly,
stressing her syllables on the last words,
namely, the word, "princess". The golden blond
could only stare at the non-existent ceiling
with empty eyes, ignoring the maniacal laughter
that ensued the speech.
***
The area looked normal enough; nothing
but the occasional rodent scurry around an
empty garbage can. There were no guards or
security precautions in sight. The place was
just simply…*empty*. The Senshi, however, knew
better than this. Empty didn't necessarily
mean safe. There were bound to be some sort of
defenses around, Mamoru was sure of the fact.
They approached the wall, however, when
they had stepped close to the area, a crackling
energy barrier arose, disallowing them access
to the grounds beyond.
Mercury's eyes widened substantially
behind her visor as digits flickered back and
forth in her vision. "Drat! We've been
spotted!" She hissed, before the Senshi and
Tuxedo Kamen dropped into a bottomless pit of a
portal. Only a pair of figures and cats were
left to stare at the asphalt ground that
swallowed up their cavalry and their only hope
of saving Usagi.
***
"Ugh..." Rei muttered, heaving herself
off the ground. To her horror, there *was no*
ground. She was bracing herself up on a flat
surface, yes, but it wasn't visible to her.
Her mind reeled, tossing logic out the window.
She looked up; there wasn't a ceiling either.
Were the others safe? She mused worriedly.
Another voice other than her own, grunted in
reply. Another to her right muttered something
incoherent, but she was sure it was profanity
of some sort, courtesy of Mako-chan. Someone
behind her yelped in surprise, probably
noticing the same floor—no floor factor just as
she did some moments ago. Was it just her? Or
was there a dripping sound in the distance?
"Awake? Finally?" A figure appeared
above them, scantily clad in a slip of a dress.
She brushed her fingernails on her garment. "I
was wondering how long it would take you," she
commented impatiently, continuing to admire her
shined, red nails. She wasn't the only one who
saw red.
Mamoru braced himself off the 'ground'.
A rose materialized in his palm, as he acted
upon instinct alone. With an animal snarl, he
hurled the pointed end toward the vain figure
above. "ARGH! WHERE IS SHE?!!!" (Even Mako-
chan was surprised with his 'enthusiasm'.)
Corona, however, materialized away from
harm's way, and returned to her previous spot
midair after the rose whizzed past. She glared
at Mamoru with slit eyes. "You want her royal
highness? She's right there," Corona hissed
between clenched teeth. A stream of light
appeared in the direction that her extended arm
pointed toward. Their eyes followed the path
the beam of light, eyes finally falling on the
prone figure lying on the ground, arms spread
about her. The party looked horrified at the
unmoving figure, immediately thinking the
worse.
"She's alive," Ami breathed, after taking
a brief scan. "Life's slipping out of her
grasp though. She needs to see a doctor." The
Senshi sighed in momentary relief. However,
Mamoru still wasn't convinced. He rushed past
them, leaving behind a scent of freshly cut
roses, and bent down to take the limp form in
his grasp.
She felt cold in his hold, as he laid her
head on the crook of his arm, as if he'd hold a
small infant. Her eyes were wide open, seeing
him and beyond. Even though her gaze was set
in his direction, she didn't see him. She saw
nothing except the fear, the dark, the night…
He drank in the sight of her battered figure,
and his heart sent wave after wave of guilt
within him. He'd caused this, he scolded
himself. How could he not see the love that
appeared so frequently in his eyes? How could
he take her friendly nature for granted? He
bent his head in submission. He'd done her a
great wrong—a sin that she might never forgive
him for. However, the most important issue at
hand was to keep her alive. It was the least
that he could do.
Gently, he laid her on her back, letting
her settle once more on the ground.
"I'll be back for you," he whispered, not
receiving an answer.
He strode purposefully toward the
smirking figure above, detesting the sight of
the scantily clad woman. She showed more leg
than he'd care for, anyway.
"You did this to her," he pointed at the
still, battered figure of Usagi. He snarled,
lurching toward her, elbow stretched to knock
the breath from her body. He zeroed in on the
abdomen, seeing the exposed spot, waiting for
his attack.
Split seconds before he was about to
reach his desired goal, his target disappeared,
leaving him to jab at mid air. Corona appeared
elsewhere, watching as Tuxedo Kamen landed with
the agile grace of a cat on the ground, his
gloved hand supporting him from falling flat on
his face.
Before she was able to bask in her own,
small victory, wave after wave of lightening
and fire came her way. They'd underestimated
her. Corona was far more agile than any of
them were. She had millennia's worth of
experience, after all. She dodged every attack
with lightening speed, not caring to watch as
the attacks exploded into firework displays
behind her.
"Pitiful," she sneered, gathering an
attack of her own in the form of a crackling
green sphere. Gliding backwards, she rose the
ball above her head, hurling the energy
concentration at the group below.
The force of the blow met the Senshi
head-on in a catastrophic boom. Screams of
agony were heard, as Corona watched the battle-
scarred party rose themselves shakily from the
ground. Some stumbled forward, only to fall
once again on the ground.
"I commend you. You're persistent."
Corona mused from her reclining position in the
air. Her sour compliment turned rotten.
"Frankly, you're annoying me…" She readied
another fireball in her palms, intending to
toss them around a bit before finishing them
off. A sadistic grin creased her thin lips.
Her train of thought was cut short as a blast
of cold, impenetrable fog obscured her vision.
She turned her head frantically from one side
to the other, as the phrase, "Shabon Spray!"
echoed in her ears.
A searing pain tore at her upper right
arm as another one of those blasted red roses
sped past, cutting her flesh with its razor
sharp tip. She touched the wound with her
other hand gingerly, surveying the damage.
Blood soaked her fingers, tinting them a
crimson red. Gritting her teeth in anger, she
concentrated energy into her palms, ignoring
the pain in her arm. She hurled it down,
waiting for the sounds of their demise hit her
ears.
***
Faint howls of pain reached Usagi's cold
ears, as she lay unmoving in her spot. They
sounded familiar…she agreed, still staring
vacantly upwards at nothing in particular. She
expressed no emotion as she heard the cries of
agony, one after the other. Each time, they
grew weaker, after every successive earth-
shattering blast.
Then there was silence…save for the
strange sound of 'dragging'. She wondered at
what it could be. The dragging continued,
always followed by the grunt of a painstaking
effort.
One drag…
Two drags…
A hand brushed the side of her cheek as
her head was lifted from the ground to settle
elsewhere…a place that smelled strongly of
roses.
"Usagi," the voice croaked, stroking her
hair. "Can you hear me?" Deep breaths clung
to his chest from the still-present battle.
"Wake up, onegai?" the voice wheedled, much
like a small child begging.
She heard none of it. She only smelled
the roses.
She felt her head being turned to the
direction of the sound of the voice.
"Don't you see me?" Mamoru whispered
desperately, grasping on whatever energy he had
left to support her body. He was responded
with Usagi's empty stare and mute silence.
"Usagi? Say something? Onegai?" He murmured,
as if coaxing a child. His voice rose several
decibels. "Damn you! WAKE UP!" He shook her
shoulders, attempting to bring a response—any
response—from the limp blond that gazed
frighteningly at him with empty eyes.
Dead eyes…he murmured to himself, the
guilt washing over him, stronger. High tide,
he realized.
"Wake up, princess," Mamoru murmured, not
quite sure what he was saying. He was out of
hope, relying on the last thing he had left—his
heart. "Onegai? For me?"
An empty silence settled between them as
none of them uttered so much as a word or
movement.
The weakening cries of pain were finally
heard, reaching Usagi's senses with frightening
velocity. Her Senshi were dying…she finally
realized as a breath of clean, fresh air
entered her lungs. She inhaled deeply once
more, feeling the flicker of life she had spent
so long to keep from slipping away grow
stronger.
She turned her head—and her gaze at
Tuxedo Kamen's bent head. His hat had blown
off sometime during the battle, revealing a
head of silken, ebony locks to fall in front of
his mask. She saw him gasp, probably sensing
her weak movements. For some reason, she knew
his eyes were wide open behind the mask of his…
Gently, she raised a battered hand to his
face, grasping hold of the edge of the
forbidden mask. He didn't refrain her, nor did
he shrink away. He simply let her take the
article off his face.
The mask fell away in her grasp quietly,
to be replaced by a pair of cobalt blue eyes.
Such truth…Usagi thought, matching his
gaze with equal intensity.
"I thought I smelled roses," she smiled
weakly, before falling into a lapse of
unconsciousness...
***
Corona was having a grand time,
sadistically torturing these spineless 'Senshi'
until they were no more. After all, they were
in liege with the moon princess, which in turn,
the Moon Kingdom—a place that had massacred her
homeland of their life source. They had left
them to starve, with their resources drained
from their land. She was in the midst of
kneeing another Senshi as a commanding voice
echoed from the other end of the void.
"STOP!" Gyokuren ordered, not feeling as
strong as he might have sounded. He wasn't
quite comfortable with unnecessary violence,
but he would do whatever would be necessary of
him.
"What? How did you two get in here?!"
Corona stared pointedly at both the professor
and his student. She hesitated before
finishing off what she had deemed to be a minor
annoyance, dropping a limp Senshi that was in
her arms to the floor with a painful 'oomph!'.
There was something about that voice that
seemed familiar...
Quickly, she materialized in front of
them, as her eyes widened in astonishment.
Dropping to the ground, she ran toward
Gyokuren, grasping his face in her palms.
Looking over his surprised expression, her eyes
dimmed to a lighter color, hints of gray
speckled within the depths. She stood, staring
into Gyokuren's eyes, before whispering a word
that she hadn't uttered in millennia.
"Onii-san..."
***
Like? ::shrugs:: Yes, I'm losing it. Did I
ever have it?
::namida snorts and shakes head::
...anyways, the usual:
Comments? Questions? Flames? Send to:
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com
ooh...got an updates mailing list. You visit:
http://www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami
to join...I don't remember what the URL is now,
since it's merged with another company... the
box at my site should take you there.
Ja!
mizu-chan
Feb. 10/01
getting tedious, ne?) ;)
Short part…just want to make it to twelve
chapters… ^^;;
(I know, strange excuse ;) )
Fate's Will
Chapter 10: Broken Memories
The ground was damp, after the evening
showers had successfully wet everything in
their path. The Senshi, two felines, and one
Tuxedo Kamen stood purposefully in the
alleyway.
"I still don't understand why you called
*him*," Makoto dressed as her alter-ego, Senshi
Jupiter, commented mockingly. She glowered at
Tuxedo Kamen with half-lidded eyes. "Hasn't he
done enough to her?" She shot a menacing glare
at Rei, making sure that she still remembered
the pain that Usagi had undergone after seeing
him with another woman.
Rei nodded understandingly. She still
remember the pained look that crossed the moon
Senshi's face whenever Mamoru's name was
mentioned. However, even at the risk of a
revolt, it was essential to introduce the rest
of them to Mamoru, or rather, Tuxedo Kamen. He
wasn't the most loved member of their makeshift
group, but they all realized that they would
need all the help they could get in this rescue
mission.
Mamoru, meanwhile, tried his best not to
look hurt behind his mask. He had feelings for
Usagi, just like the rest of them did. His, on
the other hand, felt ingrained within his very
being, and ultimately, his soul. How could
they think such preposterous ideas?! He knew
the answer to that self-given hypothetical
question though. Judging from his non-existent
relationship with Ryoko, and the events that
Rei told him about Usagi's 'opinion' of it,
he'd left a wound scoring deeply into Usagi's
heart. According to Makoto previous scolding,
he'd added salt to the wound without even
knowing that he'd hurt her in the first place.
"Who's up for some Senshi business?"
Minako remarked brightly, attempting to lighten
the atmosphere. She was immediately answered
with six pairs of eyes staring her down. She
scratched her head impishly. Why couldn't
these people understand the situation at hand
instead of settling in past events? What's
done is done. The best way to reconcile is to
grab their leader from her prison and deal with
these feelings later. Moping would do Usagi no
benefit.
Ami sighed, pulling out her computer. "I
took a scan of the city, and found something
very odd. Earlier, I was at the observatory
doing a late night school project…"
Makoto dropped her jaw in bewilderment.
"You're not telling me that you were doing that
astronomy project due next term, are you?"
Ami blushed crimson, hiding into the puny
computer.
"Ami! They were supposed to have us look
at stars during the summer!"
Ami scuffed her foot innocently on the
ground. "Well, I had some time on my hands."
She grinned innocently. "The teacher allowed
us to take earlier readings, if we'd like…"
Minako sighed, placing a hand on Makoto's
taller shoulder. "She'll never change..."
"Anyway, I was looking at this one star.
It looked normal enough to me, but it kept
changing it's coordinates. So, I was taking a
scan of it's energy with my computer and found
that—"
"—there was a similar reading around this
area. Namely, *that* building over there," a
voice interrupted, drawing everyone from their
attentive state of mind. All eyes turned to an
elderly, distinguished professor and a blond
with stormy gray eyes by his side.
Mamoru hardened his eyes. His teeth grit
together. It was *him*...What was his name?
Gyokuren? Gyokuren didn't seem to notice the
negative aura that was being generated from his
extreme left side.
"You came!" Ami replied cheerfully,
extending her greetings to both the professor
and Gyokuren. She turned to the Senshi,
answering their unasked question. "Oh, this is
the professor and his student, Gyokuren, who
happens to be Usagi's friend as well..."
*Friend*? Mamoru hissed, growing tense.
A tick formed and bounced on his cheek.
However, the rest of the Senshi nodded
understandingly, leaving Mamoru to be the only
one in a state of extreme dislike.
"Anyway," continued the Senshi of
Mercury, "The professor's been studying this
star for ages, and knows far more about it than
the rest of us should. For some odd reason, he
also knew I was a Senshi..." The rest of the
Senshi gasped collectively. How would an
outsider know of their identities? How many
others would know of them? This was a serious
security issue…
"I'm a telepath," the elderly man
answered, sensing their apprehension. He
raised a weathered hand in surrender. He
wanted to pose no harm to anyone. "I don't
plan to hurt anyone. I'm quite harmless, if
you see it through my way," he smiled
genuinely, appearing to the Senshi like a Santa
Claus with his specs on. (That and the lab
coat that he perpetually wore. For some
reason, he felt odd when it wasn't on his
shoulders.)
"He and Gyokuren could see this green
lighting around that star I was telling you
about. It's a bit far to get specifics with my
computer. I could only get a general energy
reading, but, to the rest of us, the star
looked the same as any other star." Ami began
typing in more figures into her computer,
forehead creased in thought. The blue visor
appeared in front of her eyes, taking a scan of
the area. Digital figures and calculations
appeared in her transparent blue view that was
invisible to the rest of them. "There," she
pointed at a weathered down building, abandoned
long ago by it's inhabitants for a safer
section of town.
"Let's go take a look then," the silent
Mamoru murmured in a soft voice, sounding
strictly business-like. He'd get Usagi out of
there, regardless of sacrifices on his behalf.
He wondered if this "Gyokuren" would do the
same as he would.
"Wait—" Ami prompted, stepping in his
way. "There's a barrier around there. I
suggest a recon mission at first to check what
we're up against. After all, Usagi couldn't
handle it herself." Her eyes went downcast,
dropping her gaze to the ground in sorrow.
"Right," Mars answered, taking
initiative. "Let's go…"
***
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?
Some measly mice trying to confront a cat? We
might as well let them in…Shouldn't we,
*princess*?" A scornful voice said mockingly,
stressing her syllables on the last words,
namely, the word, "princess". The golden blond
could only stare at the non-existent ceiling
with empty eyes, ignoring the maniacal laughter
that ensued the speech.
***
The area looked normal enough; nothing
but the occasional rodent scurry around an
empty garbage can. There were no guards or
security precautions in sight. The place was
just simply…*empty*. The Senshi, however, knew
better than this. Empty didn't necessarily
mean safe. There were bound to be some sort of
defenses around, Mamoru was sure of the fact.
They approached the wall, however, when
they had stepped close to the area, a crackling
energy barrier arose, disallowing them access
to the grounds beyond.
Mercury's eyes widened substantially
behind her visor as digits flickered back and
forth in her vision. "Drat! We've been
spotted!" She hissed, before the Senshi and
Tuxedo Kamen dropped into a bottomless pit of a
portal. Only a pair of figures and cats were
left to stare at the asphalt ground that
swallowed up their cavalry and their only hope
of saving Usagi.
***
"Ugh..." Rei muttered, heaving herself
off the ground. To her horror, there *was no*
ground. She was bracing herself up on a flat
surface, yes, but it wasn't visible to her.
Her mind reeled, tossing logic out the window.
She looked up; there wasn't a ceiling either.
Were the others safe? She mused worriedly.
Another voice other than her own, grunted in
reply. Another to her right muttered something
incoherent, but she was sure it was profanity
of some sort, courtesy of Mako-chan. Someone
behind her yelped in surprise, probably
noticing the same floor—no floor factor just as
she did some moments ago. Was it just her? Or
was there a dripping sound in the distance?
"Awake? Finally?" A figure appeared
above them, scantily clad in a slip of a dress.
She brushed her fingernails on her garment. "I
was wondering how long it would take you," she
commented impatiently, continuing to admire her
shined, red nails. She wasn't the only one who
saw red.
Mamoru braced himself off the 'ground'.
A rose materialized in his palm, as he acted
upon instinct alone. With an animal snarl, he
hurled the pointed end toward the vain figure
above. "ARGH! WHERE IS SHE?!!!" (Even Mako-
chan was surprised with his 'enthusiasm'.)
Corona, however, materialized away from
harm's way, and returned to her previous spot
midair after the rose whizzed past. She glared
at Mamoru with slit eyes. "You want her royal
highness? She's right there," Corona hissed
between clenched teeth. A stream of light
appeared in the direction that her extended arm
pointed toward. Their eyes followed the path
the beam of light, eyes finally falling on the
prone figure lying on the ground, arms spread
about her. The party looked horrified at the
unmoving figure, immediately thinking the
worse.
"She's alive," Ami breathed, after taking
a brief scan. "Life's slipping out of her
grasp though. She needs to see a doctor." The
Senshi sighed in momentary relief. However,
Mamoru still wasn't convinced. He rushed past
them, leaving behind a scent of freshly cut
roses, and bent down to take the limp form in
his grasp.
She felt cold in his hold, as he laid her
head on the crook of his arm, as if he'd hold a
small infant. Her eyes were wide open, seeing
him and beyond. Even though her gaze was set
in his direction, she didn't see him. She saw
nothing except the fear, the dark, the night…
He drank in the sight of her battered figure,
and his heart sent wave after wave of guilt
within him. He'd caused this, he scolded
himself. How could he not see the love that
appeared so frequently in his eyes? How could
he take her friendly nature for granted? He
bent his head in submission. He'd done her a
great wrong—a sin that she might never forgive
him for. However, the most important issue at
hand was to keep her alive. It was the least
that he could do.
Gently, he laid her on her back, letting
her settle once more on the ground.
"I'll be back for you," he whispered, not
receiving an answer.
He strode purposefully toward the
smirking figure above, detesting the sight of
the scantily clad woman. She showed more leg
than he'd care for, anyway.
"You did this to her," he pointed at the
still, battered figure of Usagi. He snarled,
lurching toward her, elbow stretched to knock
the breath from her body. He zeroed in on the
abdomen, seeing the exposed spot, waiting for
his attack.
Split seconds before he was about to
reach his desired goal, his target disappeared,
leaving him to jab at mid air. Corona appeared
elsewhere, watching as Tuxedo Kamen landed with
the agile grace of a cat on the ground, his
gloved hand supporting him from falling flat on
his face.
Before she was able to bask in her own,
small victory, wave after wave of lightening
and fire came her way. They'd underestimated
her. Corona was far more agile than any of
them were. She had millennia's worth of
experience, after all. She dodged every attack
with lightening speed, not caring to watch as
the attacks exploded into firework displays
behind her.
"Pitiful," she sneered, gathering an
attack of her own in the form of a crackling
green sphere. Gliding backwards, she rose the
ball above her head, hurling the energy
concentration at the group below.
The force of the blow met the Senshi
head-on in a catastrophic boom. Screams of
agony were heard, as Corona watched the battle-
scarred party rose themselves shakily from the
ground. Some stumbled forward, only to fall
once again on the ground.
"I commend you. You're persistent."
Corona mused from her reclining position in the
air. Her sour compliment turned rotten.
"Frankly, you're annoying me…" She readied
another fireball in her palms, intending to
toss them around a bit before finishing them
off. A sadistic grin creased her thin lips.
Her train of thought was cut short as a blast
of cold, impenetrable fog obscured her vision.
She turned her head frantically from one side
to the other, as the phrase, "Shabon Spray!"
echoed in her ears.
A searing pain tore at her upper right
arm as another one of those blasted red roses
sped past, cutting her flesh with its razor
sharp tip. She touched the wound with her
other hand gingerly, surveying the damage.
Blood soaked her fingers, tinting them a
crimson red. Gritting her teeth in anger, she
concentrated energy into her palms, ignoring
the pain in her arm. She hurled it down,
waiting for the sounds of their demise hit her
ears.
***
Faint howls of pain reached Usagi's cold
ears, as she lay unmoving in her spot. They
sounded familiar…she agreed, still staring
vacantly upwards at nothing in particular. She
expressed no emotion as she heard the cries of
agony, one after the other. Each time, they
grew weaker, after every successive earth-
shattering blast.
Then there was silence…save for the
strange sound of 'dragging'. She wondered at
what it could be. The dragging continued,
always followed by the grunt of a painstaking
effort.
One drag…
Two drags…
A hand brushed the side of her cheek as
her head was lifted from the ground to settle
elsewhere…a place that smelled strongly of
roses.
"Usagi," the voice croaked, stroking her
hair. "Can you hear me?" Deep breaths clung
to his chest from the still-present battle.
"Wake up, onegai?" the voice wheedled, much
like a small child begging.
She heard none of it. She only smelled
the roses.
She felt her head being turned to the
direction of the sound of the voice.
"Don't you see me?" Mamoru whispered
desperately, grasping on whatever energy he had
left to support her body. He was responded
with Usagi's empty stare and mute silence.
"Usagi? Say something? Onegai?" He murmured,
as if coaxing a child. His voice rose several
decibels. "Damn you! WAKE UP!" He shook her
shoulders, attempting to bring a response—any
response—from the limp blond that gazed
frighteningly at him with empty eyes.
Dead eyes…he murmured to himself, the
guilt washing over him, stronger. High tide,
he realized.
"Wake up, princess," Mamoru murmured, not
quite sure what he was saying. He was out of
hope, relying on the last thing he had left—his
heart. "Onegai? For me?"
An empty silence settled between them as
none of them uttered so much as a word or
movement.
The weakening cries of pain were finally
heard, reaching Usagi's senses with frightening
velocity. Her Senshi were dying…she finally
realized as a breath of clean, fresh air
entered her lungs. She inhaled deeply once
more, feeling the flicker of life she had spent
so long to keep from slipping away grow
stronger.
She turned her head—and her gaze at
Tuxedo Kamen's bent head. His hat had blown
off sometime during the battle, revealing a
head of silken, ebony locks to fall in front of
his mask. She saw him gasp, probably sensing
her weak movements. For some reason, she knew
his eyes were wide open behind the mask of his…
Gently, she raised a battered hand to his
face, grasping hold of the edge of the
forbidden mask. He didn't refrain her, nor did
he shrink away. He simply let her take the
article off his face.
The mask fell away in her grasp quietly,
to be replaced by a pair of cobalt blue eyes.
Such truth…Usagi thought, matching his
gaze with equal intensity.
"I thought I smelled roses," she smiled
weakly, before falling into a lapse of
unconsciousness...
***
Corona was having a grand time,
sadistically torturing these spineless 'Senshi'
until they were no more. After all, they were
in liege with the moon princess, which in turn,
the Moon Kingdom—a place that had massacred her
homeland of their life source. They had left
them to starve, with their resources drained
from their land. She was in the midst of
kneeing another Senshi as a commanding voice
echoed from the other end of the void.
"STOP!" Gyokuren ordered, not feeling as
strong as he might have sounded. He wasn't
quite comfortable with unnecessary violence,
but he would do whatever would be necessary of
him.
"What? How did you two get in here?!"
Corona stared pointedly at both the professor
and his student. She hesitated before
finishing off what she had deemed to be a minor
annoyance, dropping a limp Senshi that was in
her arms to the floor with a painful 'oomph!'.
There was something about that voice that
seemed familiar...
Quickly, she materialized in front of
them, as her eyes widened in astonishment.
Dropping to the ground, she ran toward
Gyokuren, grasping his face in her palms.
Looking over his surprised expression, her eyes
dimmed to a lighter color, hints of gray
speckled within the depths. She stood, staring
into Gyokuren's eyes, before whispering a word
that she hadn't uttered in millennia.
"Onii-san..."
***
Like? ::shrugs:: Yes, I'm losing it. Did I
ever have it?
::namida snorts and shakes head::
...anyways, the usual:
Comments? Questions? Flames? Send to:
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com
ooh...got an updates mailing list. You visit:
http://www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami
to join...I don't remember what the URL is now,
since it's merged with another company... the
box at my site should take you there.
Ja!
mizu-chan
Feb. 10/01