Part Twelve: A Fighter or a Soldier? Makoto is in trouble
"How are you, Haruka?" Setsuna
asked quietly. It hadn't taken a genius to sense the tension in the blond
racer when she'd been in Sailor Orion's presence, and Setsuna was concerned.
Haruka scowled, and looked
down at the splintery wood of the picnic table. They were sitting in the
park together, all three of the Senshi from the outer planets. Haruka had
been reluctant to agree to this meeting in the first place, knowing that
Setsuna was going to want to discuss Orion. "I don't want to talk about
it."
Setsuna shook her head.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Haruka, you've had these negative
feelings around Orion for as long as I can remember." She sighed. "I'm not
old enough to remember why you feel this way"
"I said I don't want to
talk about it." Haruka met Setsuna's garnet eyes. "I'm surprised at you,
though." Haruka's low tones almost sounded accusing. "We don't know anything
about this Sailor Orion. She's an intruder she's not from our Solar
System. I can't imagine why you would trust her."
"I didn't, for a very
long time," Setsuna responded softly. "But when someone gives up their life
for the Moon Princess, they have the tendency to get on my good side."
Michiru's aqua eyes got
bigger. "You mean, that's true?" she wondered. "Orion really is going to
die for Usagi-chan?"
Setsuna nodded, and her
face was grave. "Yes. I'm afraid so."
Haruka shook her head
again. "I'll believe it when I see it. I still don't trust her. I wish odango
atama wouldn't get so close to her, either."
Michiru smiled slyly at
her partner. "Why Haruka, you almost sound jealous." The dark look that remained
on the taller girl's face told Michiru that Haruka was not in the mood to
be teased, and she regretted her words almost immediately. Haruka rose to
her feet, a shadow hovering in her gray eyes.
"I'm going for a ride,"
she stated brusquely, snatching her helmet from the table. Without looking
back, she stalked through the park to her motorcycle, parked at the curb.
Michiru watched her go with an
apology in her eyes. "I didn't mean to upset her," she sighed.
Setsuna laid a hand on
her shoulder. "I know. She'll be back but you know Haruka. Some things
she just has to figure out for herself."
Michiru twisted around
to look at Setsuna. "Are you going to tell us what all of this is about?"
she inquired. "Sailor Orion still hasn't told us what we're fighting, or
why. But you know, don't you?"
Setsuna nodded, her green
locks brushing her face gently. "Yes, I do. And believe me when I say that
this is one of the most important battles of all time. The enemy that we
are going up against is the most powerful member of the Negaverse in existence."
Then she smiled wistfully. "But I cannot say more than that. Sailor Orion
was right when she said that telling you too much now would put all of you
in danger. She's always chosen the time to reveal everything to you
and she hasn't been wrong yet. I trust her judgement in this."
Michiru nodded. "All right,
then." Her eyes were a bit clouded. "You know, though, something that Haruka
pointed out is bothering me now." She paused. "It's true that Sailor Orion
comes from beyond our Solar System. As guardians of the outer planets, we're
supposed to be protecting this planet from invaders. But it never even occurred
to me to be suspicious of Orion." Michiru shook her head slowly. "I never
even thought of it, until Haruka pointed it out. Doesn't that seem to you
to be a bit dangerous not being cautious enough about her?"
Setsuna gave a small smile.
"I'm not surprised, Michiru, that you didn't think to suspect her of foul
play. Orion tends to have that effect on people. The fact is, her power comes
from her purity of soul; and that pure soul makes it very difficult for anyone
to mistrust her, even when they don't know anything about her at all." The
timeless woman's eyes were gentle. "It's much the same as Usagi-chan
you would never suspect her of something evil either. There's just a feeling
surrounding them, of honesty and straightforwardness that can't be faked."
Michiru nodded. "You're
right. That's exactly how it feels, every time I see her. I scarcely know
her, and yet I would trust her with my life." Her aqua eyes flickered back
in the direction her partner had disappeared. "But I wish I knew why Haruka
can't feel it like we do."
"Come, my jaki. Show yourself
to me."
In the field outside the
city, the black stone monument was humming busily as another drop of black,
shiny liquid fell hissing onto its surface. The gooey stuff began to grow
and swell, slowly developing into the ugly, monstrous dark spirit that would
answer Narcissus' bidding.
"Jaki here, Lord
Narcissus," the thing hissed as it turned towards the opening in space above
it.
"I've got something for
you, my mindless little minon. Put it on." A golden medallion came flying
out of the gaping tear, and the evil spirit caught it. It stared at the medallion
for a moment a small gold disk with winglike extentions and a pale
blue symbol imprinted in the center. Narcissus repeated his command. "Put
it on, jaki."
The monster slipped the
delicate golden chain over its head, and to its astonishment, its body
disappeared, made invisible by the power of the medallion. The jaki
gave a hiss of surprise, and Narcissus laughed. "Sailor Aquila was kind enough
to lend me one of his Chaos Medallions," he declared.
"How'd you manage that
one?" This was Lady Slipper's voice.
Lord Narcissus' tone was
full of haughtiness. "I asked him for it."
"There's got to be more
to it than that. Aquila doesn't do favors for anyone." The woman's voice
was suspicious. "What did you give him in return?"
"None of your business,"
Narcissus retorted a bit defensively, and there might have been a hint of
embarrassment in the tone.
Lady Slipper giggled.
"Never mind, then. I'm not sure I even want to know." There was a pause.
"So what do you plan to do this time, oh great admiral?"
"I plan," Narcissus responded,
a bit irritated with Lady Slipper's sarcasm, "to find the Silver Dagger.
The Chaos medallion will fill everyone that the jaki touches with
our negative power, amplifiying their aggressive tendencies. Pretty soon,
all the humans will be stabbing one another in the streets. The blood will
run rivers through their happy little city, and we'll find the host of that
Dagger in no time flat."
"What about the Sailor
Senshi?"
"What about them?"
Lady Slipper clucked her
tongue derisively. "Tsk, tsk, Admiral. Don't tell me that after everything
you've been through with them you're still going to continue to underestimate
their abilities."
"Oh, shut up, Lady Slipper,"
Lord Narcissus retorted, his frozen tones echoing out over the empty plain.
"My jaki had six of those lousy Scouts chained up the first time we
went after Orion. If it could catch them once, it can do it again. You there,"
he said, addressing the evil spirit still standing on the monument's edge,
"listen to me. I want you to creep among the humans, touching as many of
them as you can. Don't take their blood unless you can do it without being
seen I don't want the Sailor Scouts to be aware of your presence until
it's too late for them to stop it. You understand?"
The creature nodded and
grinned, showing its three gleaming fangs. "Jaki understand." It turned
to the edge of the monument and made a great flying leap, rolling into a
ball in midair so that it could bounce in the tall grass. The monster made
three bounces in order to build up momentum, and then it was flying into
the sky, moving in a perfect arc towards Tokyo.
Narcissus gave a grunt
of satisfaction. "With every single human in that city attacking or being
attacked, they're going to do all our work for us. Now, we just stand back
and wait for the Dagger to come to us."
Lady Slipper still sounded
amused. "Oh, I hope you're right, for your sake, dear Narcissus. I'd hate
to think what Aquila might do to you if anything happened to his medallion."
She began to laugh again, and it was not a pleasant sound.
Haruka revved the
engine of her bike again, and as the light changed she squealed the tires,
racing down the street, her racer's mind staying super-focused on her
surroundings despite her speed. She was more than just a fast driver; she
was a good driver. She hadn't been in an accident yet, despite all the speeding
she did in town. But today, her concentration was not as keen as usual. Michiru's
words were running through her head. "You almost sound jealous"
Haruka growled to herself. I'm not jealous, she insisted mentally.
That's not it at all. I just don't like Orion-Shinzui-whoever the hell
she is. But the little voice inside that liked to argue with her decided
to speak up. Well fine, then, Haruka. You don't like her. But why not?
You don't even have a decent reason. She frowned again. Why do I have to
have a reason? I've always had good instincts when it comes to people
But is this the kind of person I want to be? Am I just making excuses? Every
time I see that girl, I want to kill her. I hate her!! And I have no reason.
It doesn't make sense. Haruka was beginning to feel dizzy with all the
swirling, conflicting thoughts arguing in her head. I've got to stop thinking
about it for a while just drive. Just drive.
The wind whipping her clothes
as she sped down the street seemed to be challenging her. Haruka grinned
in response, and went even faster, feeling the bike beneath her growl powerfully
as the acceleration made them blur together, becoming one being Haruka's
mind and body, the bike's wheels and engine. She felt her heart racing, dancing
within her as it always did when she raced the wind itself. I want to
be like the wind
Suddenly there was a loud
honking and squealing noise, as Haruka realized that she'd come around the
corner too fast and there were some pedestrians crossing the street. She
hissed out a curse and slammed the brakes of the motorcycle, veering to the
side so that she'd miss the people. The bike slid sideways, smashing into
the ground, and Haruka felt herself tossed across the sidewalk, the cement
raking through the tough motor jacket she wore, scraping into her skin. For
a moment everything in the world seemed to be upside down and noisy. Then
she felt hands on her shoulders, and a voice calling her name.
"Haruka-san! Haruka-san,
are you all right?"
Haruka removed her helmet
carefully, making sure that she didn't have any head injuries, and raised
a hand to brush the short sandy locks from her eyes. It took her a second
to figure out where she was; and realized with surprise that she had practically
crash-landed onto the front lawn of Juuban High School. She looked up to
meet two very familiar faces, and she couldn't help a rueful grin when she
realized who it was she'd almost hit.
"Hey, Ami-chan
Mako-chan." Haruka looked at the brunette and cocked an eyebrow. "I somehow
feel the strangest sense of déjà vu at the moment."
Makoto knew what she was
talking about the first time she had met Haruka, it had been almost
exactly like this. Haruka's bike had nearly hit Usagi, and Makoto had shoved
both of them out of the way. Makoto remembered this, but she did not smile
back; she was staring at Haruka's shoulder worriedly. "Haruka-san, you're
hurt."
The racer looked down
at her shoulder, where her jacket had been torn away by the rough asphalt.
The white sleeve of the tee shirt she was wearing underneath was already
beginning to turn a brilliant scarlet color, and the brisk December wind
didn't help, either. Haruka reached over and pulled up the sleeve to survey
the damage. "I'm fine," she declared, observing the wound. "Just surface
scratches." She met Makoto's green eyes mischievously. "I seem to have a
habit of running into you, pretty girl."
Makoto blushed. Haruka,
ever the flirt, still had the ability to fluster her. But before she could
respond, another voice cut in. "Hey, dude, you should watch where you're
going."
Makoto spun around to face
the big high school student. He was one of the most enormous boys Haruka
had ever seen at least six and a half feet tall, and probably weighed
around 280 pounds, all muscle. He was built like a train engine, with huge
shoulders and a massive neck, and he seemed to have the bullheaded confindence
of a person who breaks down doors with his head for fun.
"Shut up, Junko," Makoto
barked angrily, not seeming intimidated in the least. "Haruka-san could have
been killed."
"Hey, he's the one who
nearly killed us," the boy responded with a sneer. He glared at Haruka. "If
you can't drive any better than that, you shouldn't be on the road."
Haruka rose to her feet
in one smooth motion, her eyes glittering like gray glass. But her voice
remained calm. "My apologies," she said in a voice that did not sound very
apologetic at all. The huge boy, Junko, took a step forward, sensing the
challenge in her voice. But then his attention was captured by the small
blue-haired girl standing quietly off to one side. His eyes narrowed, and
he turned to face her instead.
"You're Mizuno Ami," he
declared.
Ami was surprised that
this giant of a boy would take an interest in someone like her, but she managed
to stammer, "Uh yes. I am."
Junko glared at her. "You're
the little genius girl, huh? The one who always takes the top marks. You
planning on coming to Juuban High?" There was a threat in his voice that
Makoto didn't like, but before she could step in to respond, Haruka was speaking
quietly in her ear.
"Who is that?" Haruka
asked quietly, jerking her thumb towards the enormous boy.
Makoto's green eyes were full of sparks. "That is Ishibata Junko captain
of Juuban High School's football team, and captain of the chess team too,
believe it or not. He thinks he's so smart but Ami-chan has always
beat him during the intervarsity chess matches."
"I I don't know where
I'm going to attend high school," Ami responded a bit uncertainly.
"Well, if you know what's
good for you, you'll stay away from Juuban," Junko sneered at her. "We don't
want cheaters in our classes or on our chess team."
Makoto's hand balled into
a fist.
Ami's eyes widened. "But
I don't cheat," she protested. "I study very hard"
"Sure you do," the large
boy retorted.
"Ami-chan is not a cheater,"
Makoto declared firmly, stepping in to join her friend.
Junko was not impressed
with the angry brunette. "Oh, chill out, Kino-san. Everybody knows that Mizuno
Ami cheats. No one who was being honest could get perfect scores all the
time."
"That's not true," Ami
breathed, and Makoto turned in dismay to see her friend's eyes filling with
tears. "I've never cheated on anything in my life."
Haruka stepped in then
as well, not about to let her friends get picked on. "Listen, dude, I don't
know who you think you are, but you'd better back down. Now." She stared
at the taller boy coolly.
Junko narrowed his eyes
as he looked back at her, surveying her up and down. He frowned. "I say what
I like, when I like," he answered haughtily. Casting one more nasty look
back at Ami, he began to walk away. "Mizuno-san, you better be on your guard
at the Christmas district championships, because I'm going to mop the chessboard
with you." With a nasty laugh, he strode off in the opposite direction.
"Are you all right, Ami-chan?"
Makoto asked, her eyes still following the bully as he left.
Ami nodded. "Yes, I'm
fine. Junko is just rough like that but it's all right. It's not like
I haven't been accused of cheating before." The blue-haired girl shrugged
it off, her tears already disappearing.
Haruka shook her head.
"That doesn't make it right," she responded, her low tones firm. She picked
up her helmet and strapped it on, and straddled her bike. "Mako-chan?"
Makoto looked back at
her, and Haruka nodded towards Ami. "Look after her," the biker admonished
as she kicked the motorcycle's engines to life. Makoto nodded with understanding,
her green eyes filled with determination. Haruka grinned from behind her
helmet. "I'll see you two around," she said. "Ja ne!" Pulling out
into the street, she headed back to the apartment she shared with Michiru,
blissfully forgetting all about Sailor Orion for the moment.
Makoto watched the racer
disappear down the street. She was startled suddenly by the feel of a cold
hand on her arm, and she shivered as she looked down to see who it was. There
was no one there. That's odd, she thought, wiping her arm. I was
so sure I felt something it even felt sort of slimy. How weird.
She looked up at Ami, who didn't seem to notice anything wrong, and Makoto
shrugged it off. Must have just been my imagination.
"Shinzui-san!"
Shinzui smiled at the
excitement in the boy's voice as Hitoshi entered her studio at the Banpuku
center. She was so pleased with the growth that Hitoshi had shown since he'd
begun to stay with them here. The former drug-dealing street kid was almost
impossible to recognize now that he'd been cleaned up and straightened out,
and it was obvious that he was so much happier being with friends his own
age and the caring adults at the center. After Christmas break, he was going
to begin to attend school again, too. Shinzui tilted her head towards the
child. "What is it, Hitoshi-kun?"
"You'll never guess
it started snowing!" The boy's orange eyes glowed with pleasure. "We're gonna
have a white Christmas this year, I'll bet. Isn't it great?"
"Yes, it is," Shinzui responded
with a fond smile. She rose to her feet then, putting weight on her ankle
carefully. The sprain was nearly gone now, as she only felt a slight twinge,
and her smile became a bit rueful. Sailor Pluto had been right when she said
that Shinzui healed quickly it had only been about 48 hours since the
injury had occurred and it was already barely noticeable. She stepped around
the desk to ruffle the ten-year-old's yellow hair.
Hitoshi grinned up at the
blind girl. "So what do you want for Christmas, Shinzui-san?" he asked, changing
the subject.
Shinzui raised an eyebrow
and gave him the same response she'd been giving all the children for the
last few weeks. "Hugs and giggles, Hitoshi-kun. I want lots of hugs and giggles."
The boy frowned. "But that's
not a real present," he insisted. "Isn't there-"
There came a knock at her
office door. "Come in," Shinzui responded, and the door opened. In stepped
a giant of a man, with snow-white hair and brilliant amythyst-colored eyes.
Shinzui recognized the footsteps at once, and smiled delightedly. "Oberon,
my friend! It's so nice to see you again!" She extended her hand, which the
huge man took in his own with a smile.
"And it is good to see you as well, child." For being such a giant, his voice
was astonishingly quiet, almost like a whisper.
Hitoshi stared at him with
enormous eyes. And I thought Shinzui-san was tall! Standing next to
him, the six foot blind girl looked small and fragile, and the boy shook
his head. I didn't know people could get that big. He's gotta be, like,
eight feet tall!!
Shinzui turned to Hitoshi.
"Oberon, my friend, I'd like you to meet a young acquaintance of mine. This
is Hitoshi." With eyes as big as orange peonies, the boy made a small bow,
and Shinzui smiled. "Hitoshi-kun, this is Oberon, a very dear old friend
of mine. He is the new superintendant of Juuban Junior High School, where
you'll be entering after Christmas."
The giant snowy-haired
man smiled down at the child. "I'll be looking forward to getting to know
you, then," he whispered, his voice sounding like the rustling of leaves
across pavement. Then he turned to the blind girl. "Shinzui-san, I'm actually
here today on business, of sorts. We've had some diciplinary problems with
one of our students, and she's in need of some serious counseling, preferably
from one of her peers. You are going to want to handle this personally, I'm
sure."
Shinzui caught a note of
mischief in the soft voice, and raised an eyebrow. "Who is it?"
"Her name is Kino
Makoto."
"Say no more." A slow smile
crept over the pale-haired girl's face. "You're right, I do think that a
personal touch is best with this particular young woman. Who did she beat
up this time?"
Oberon shook his head with
a serious expression. "She attacked some high school kid twice her size,
and a notorious bully. Knowing Junko, she probably had every reason to be
angry with him, but it was foolish of her the kid just tossed her off
like a rag doll, and she landed on her arm. She broke it in two places."
He sighed. "And from what I understand, she got right back up and was ready
to go after him again. She would have, too, if her friends and teachers hadn't
stopped her and taken her to the hospital. I tried to talk to her myself,
and I honestly think she was considering attacking me as well. I just don't
know what to do with a turbulent spirit like that. I was hoping you might
know what to say."
Shinzui nodded slowly.
"I'll do my best, old friend." Then she turned to Hitoshi. "Would you mind
going to play in the game room for a while?" she asked sweetly. "I need to
talk to some people." The boy grinned and scampered out the door.
Oberon then put his head
out the door. "Come in now, Kino-san."
Makoto's voice was irritated
as she stomped into the room, indifferently brandishing her arm, which had
been encased in a cast and sling. "I already told you, I don't need counseling!"
she growled, sounding almost angry. She stopped short when she recognized
the blind girl behind the desk. "Shinzui-san!" For a moment the brunette
froze with surprise.
The huge amythyst-eyed
man made a slight bow. "I'll let you two talk for a while," he whispered,
and backed out of the room. Makoto was left staring at Shinzui.
Shinzui frowned. There's
something wrong here, she realized as the irate girl entered her music
studio. There was no mistaking the violence roiling through Makoto's mind
at the moment. Turbulent spirit is right. I've never felt so much negative
energy in her emotions. What's going on? This just reeks of Narcissus.
"Why don't you sit down for a minute, Makoto?" Shinzui suggested sweetly,
indicating the folding chair near her keyboard.
Makoto threw herself into
the chair, still gazing up at the blind girl with an expression of near-defiance.
"Look, Shinzui-san, I'm telling you, I don't need any counseling. I'm perfectly
fine."
"Are you?" The blind girl's
words were soft. It's best not to aggravate her until I know what's going
on. "I understand that your arm is broken."
Makoto shrugged it off.
"It'll heal," she replied casually.
Shinzui had to hide a smile. The
princess of Jupiter's attitude towards injuries had always reminded her of
her own. "Why don't you just tell me what happened?"
The brunette rolled her
green eyes. "Look, it's not such a big deal, all right? Ami-chan beat Ishibata
Junko at the Christmas district chess championships last night, and so he
was being a jerk to her. He said she was cheating and all sorts of dumb stuff,
and he made her cry. So I decked him. Got sloppy and landed on my arm
that was my own stupid fault. It won't happen next time." Makoto became so
agitated that she stood and began to pace. "Besides, even Haruka-san told
me to look out for Ami-chan, and that's just exactly what I was doing. I'll
do it again, too, if I have to, and next time it isn't going to be me at
the hospital. I swear when I get my hands on him, I'll make him sorry he
ever even frowned at Ami-chan."
Shinzui shook her head.
"Makoto, that's not like you. Defending your friends is one thing, but picking
fights is quite another."
"Are you defending him?"
Makoto barked suddenly, leaning over the blind girl.
"No, of course not. I'm
only saying that-"
"You are. You're defending
him. If you're not on my side, then you're on his, and I don't tolerate anybody
who talks bad about my friends." The brunette's eyes had gone dark, almost
black, and her voice shook with rage.
"Makoto-chan, that's not
it at all-"
"Shut up! Just shut up!"
With her thousand lifetimes
of fighting experience, Shinzui could sense the fist coming towards her,
and she dodged out of the way just in time. Makoto lunged into the keyboard,
knocking it over onto the floor and scattering the carefully stacked Braille
music every which way. The furious girl straightened, and prepared to attack
Shinzui again.
"Makoto! Makoto, listen to me."
But Makoto didn't stop coming, and the young blind woman ducked again as
another fist went over her head. "Makoto, stop. You've got to listen. This
isn't you. It's not your anger. Narcissus has done something to you
I don't know what it is yet, but you've got to fight it." The green-eyed
brunette took another swing at Shinzui, which she only barely managed to
escape.
"You're lying," Makoto
responded, backing the blind girl into a corner. "I hate liars."
"I'm not lying, Makoto-chan."
But it was obvious that Makoto was not able to listen to her. Shinzui could
feel it now, the twisted dark vines of chaos that had entwined themselves
into her friend's spirit, and she knew that there was only one way to get
through to her now. Turning to her guide dog, Shinzui called, "Centauri!
Now!"
Centauri didn't argue,
as he knew that in her current form Shinzui would be unable to defend herself
from Makoto. He concentrated an instant and then exclaimed, "Orion Constellation
Power! Make Up!" Makoto froze in mid-punch as Shinzui's slender body was
lifted off the floor by the power of her bracelet. For a moment, the room
was lost in gentle peach light and music as the Sacrificial Soldier transformed.
Sailor Orion landed on the floor in a crouching, defensive position before
Makoto.
The brunette sneered. "Oh, you
want to do this the fancy way? Sounds good to me. Jupiter..." But she didn't
get the chance to finish calling out her transformation, because the Orion
Music Sphere was already humming before her eyes.
Orion looked at Makoto
with compassion in her gaze. "It's all right, Makoto-chan. You can't beat
this one on your own. I'm going to help you." Then she sang. "Heavenly Symphony!"
But this time, the melody that erupted from the Sphere was different. It
was an upbeat sort of sound, with a strong rhythmn that sounded like punching
and made Makoto feel like she wanted to start beating the wall to the music.
Then, Sailor Orion began to sing.
"Now what's the point of arguing, of
getting in a fight
Tell me does it really matter who is
wrong and who is right
A simple disagreement
doesn't have to lead to hate
And it doesn't mean you
gotta seal somebody else's fate
"So don't let pride get in the way
Don't let your ego take
control
If you want to stand
for goodness, got to listen to your soul
Got to turn the other
cheek
Got to learn to take a joke
Cause the fighting's
never worth watching your life go up in smoke
"So when someone makes you angry and
you clench your fists in rage
And you're picturing
their face on the obituary page
When you want to smash
their face in, cut their heart out with a spoon
You'd better think about
it carefully and don't react so soon
"So don't let pride get in the way
Don't let your ego take
control
If you want to stand
for goodness, got to listen to your soul
Got to turn the other
cheek
Got to learn to take
a joke
Cause the fighting's
never worth watching your life go up in smoke
"If you make every argument a personal
crusade
And you launch a one-man
war to make sure every hurt's repaid
It's only logic that
one day you'll pick a fight with someone new
He'll be bigger, he'll
be stronger-- You will end up black and blue
"So don't let pride get in the way
Don't let your ego take
control
If you want to stand
for goodness, got to listen to your soul
Got to turn the other
cheek
Got to learn to take
a joke
Cause the fighting's
never worth watching your life go up in smoke."
As Orion sang,
she could feel the darkness that had encapsulated Makoto's heart begin to
relax its grip, weaken, and very slowly fade away. Makoto felt it too, as
the healing, calming melody seemed to rinse her spirit from the fury and
rage of a few moments ago. By the time she'd reached the last verse, the
evil influence seemed to have vanished completely.
Makoto stared at
Orion in complete surprise, as the tall Sailor Scout detransformed. Her fuku
shimmered away and was replaced by her usual skirt and sweater. The Orion
Music Sphere also disappeared, and Shinzui's eyes clouded over as her vision
once again left her. The two girls were left facing one another for a long,
awkward moment of silence. Makoto wasn't sure what to say.
"Gosh, Shinzui-san,
I I'm really sorry." The brunette looked down at the cast on her arm,
as she remembered all of a sudden why it was she was in Shinzui's studio
in the first place. "Man, they were right when they said I needed counseling.
I even wanted to hit you! And I can't believe I really tried to deck the
captain of the football team!" Makoto shook her head. At this statement,
though, Shinzui could not hold back the giggles. Makoto tilted her head
curiously. "What's so funny?" she demanded.
The young blind girl
calmed her mirth and took a deep breath. "I was just thinking that they sent
you to the wrong person for counseling," Shinzui replied with an amused grin.
"To be honest, if I'd seen him treating Ami like that, I probably would have
done the same thing."
Makoto's eyes lit
up. "Yeah," she agreed. "I mean, I knew you were a fighter when I saw you
hit that guy down in Hell's Mouth even before we found out that you're
Sailor Orion. I wish you'd been there when Junko was saying all that junk.
We could have really straightened him out, you and me."
Shinzui's expression
grew serious again, and she shook her head. "No, Makoto, I'm not a fighter.
I'm a soldier, and there is a definite difference." She could tell that the
younger girl was a bit confused by her words, and she sighed. "There was
a time, Makoto, when I was a fighter. I didn't care who or when or where;
if someone crossed me, I wiped them out. No mercy, no compassion, and no
regrets I just destroyed. But I eventually came to realize that being
a fighter was dangerous and even foolish. People that you love can get hurt,
and you can get hurt and even when you're fighting for the right reasons,
if you go about it the wrong way it won't mean anything even if you do win.
You can't defeat the darkness by becoming darkness yourself." Shinzui's voice
was very gentle. "A soldier, Makoto, knows when to pick their battles. They
fight fire with water, not with more fire."
Makoto nodded. "I
think that's what Usagi was trying to say to me yesterday, at the hospital.
But she didn't put it quite so eloquently." Makoto's tone was a bit
mischievous, but she was surprised when a sudden wistfulness crossed the
blind girl's features.
"As a matter of fact,
it was the Princess who taught me this," she said quietly. "If it hadn't
been for her unconditional faith in love and peace, I would probably still
be the fighter I once was." Shinzui shook her head slowly. "I would never
have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. But the Princess somehow
manages to defeat her enemies, not with violence, but with love. Even when
they are so much more powerful than she is, even when she doesn't stand a
chance in combat against them, she still manages to win, because her faith
in love is more powerful than the strongest of enemies. I've seen it happen
more times than I can count and now I believe in it as well." Then
she winked one of her vacant eyes at Makoto. "But my faith isn't quite as
strong as hers, so sometimes I have to cheat and use my fists."
Makoto smiled back
at her, but there was a note of sadness in the girl's voice that kept her
from finding it truly funny. She felt remorse fill her as she recalled the
events of only a few minutes before, when she had been chasing Shinzui around
the room with her own fists. Well, the uninjured one, anyway. "Listen,
Shinzui-san, I'm really sorry about before. I don't know what came over
me."
"I do." Shinzui's
voice was quiet. "Narcissus has once again got some trick up his sleeve.
I intend to find out what it is."
"Not without me,
you don't," Makoto declared with a grin. "We soldiers have to stick
together."
Shinzui grinned back
at her. "Well, all right then," she acknowledged before turning to her golden
retriever. "Centauri, my friend, it would seem I'm going to need your assistance
once again."
"What happened
here?" Sailor Jupiter gasped, surveying the streets of rioting people. Everywhere
on the ground were unconcious bodies, bleeding and broken, lying in the rapidly
accumulating snow. As she watched, some motorist tried to run down a couple
of squabbling women who just barely managed to get out of the way. One of
them pulled a knife on the other, and began to swing at her with it. All
around them there were people fighting; some had baseball bats and knives,
and Jupiter could have sworn she heard gunshots. The usual silence that came
with the snow was broken over and over again by angry bellowing.
Sailor Orion shook
her head. "I still don't know, but this just reeks of the Negaverse. Jupiter,
call the others. I'm going to start cleaning up this mess."
Jupiter could hear
the music of the Orion Sphere behind her as she slipped behind a building
and flipped on her communicator. Snowflakes drifted past her cheeks as she
spoke into it. "Usagi-chan? Ami-chan? Minako-chan? Rei-chan? Everybody listen
up. Something really weird is going on down here. You'd better get over here
right away." There was a chorus of affirmative responses as her friends got
the message. As she snapped the communicator shut, Jupiter heard a familiar
deep voice.
"World Shaking!"
Sailor Jupiter's
eyes widened as she realized that the golden attack was headed straight for
Sailor Orion. "Orion, look out!" she yelled as loud as she could, racing
towards the tall Sailor Senshi. Sailor Orion looked up just as the planet-shaped
burst of power approached her, and she threw herself out of the way. Uranus'
attack went past her and crashed into a streetlamp, knocking it over and
sending a shower of sparks out over the unconcious people in the snow.
Jupiter stared up
at Sailor Uranus, who was glaring sullenly down at them from atop a nearby
office building. "What the heck are you doing?" she demanded furiously before
turning to the peach-and-black Soldier. "Orion, are you all right?"
Sailor Orion nodded
as she rose to her feet, brushing the cold white stuff off of her
fuku. "It's all right, Jupiter. She couldn't help it." Orion looked
up at the Magnifiscent Soldier of Uranus with a gentle expression. She summoned
the power of the Music Sphere again. "Heavenly Symphony!" As the melody again
filled the streets, clearing the Negaverse's energy from the souls of the
people, the riots began to calm. Uranus and Neptune leapt from the building
to the street, landing right in front of Jupiter. A moment later they were
joined by Pluto.
"Sailor Orion," said
Pluto in that timeless voice of hers, "what is happening here?"
Still concentrating
on her powers, Orion shook her head. "I'm not sure yet," she replied. "We
need Mercury's computer. This has all the marks of a Negaverse attack. With
all this snow, you'd think a jet black evil creature would be rather conspicuous,
but I don't see a jaki anywhere."
"That's because it's
wearing something that renders it invisible." The Scouts turned to see Sailor
Mercury and the others come running up behind them. Mercury was busily punching
buttons on her mini-computer as she scanned the area. "My readings say that
there is a jaki here, and that it's got some sort of device that transmits
negative energy through touch."
Sailor Venus stepped
forward to peer over her shoulder, though she couldn't make any sense whatsoever
of the numbers and diagrams flickering across the little screen. "So, what
does that mean, exactly? Like this thing is going around touching people
and making them go crazy?"
Sailor Orion's silvery
eyes darkened. "Of course. I should have known."
"What do you mean,
Orion?" Mercury inquired, looking up at the pale-haired senshi.
"Aquila's Chaos
Medallion. That jaki is wearing one of Sailor Aquila's medallions."
She shook her head. "The invisibility, the aggression I don't know
why I didn't recognize it before."
Mercury frowned.
"Sailor Aquila? Who's that?"
Orion sighed. "No
time to explain now. His powers are from the Realm of Air, like yours, Sailor
Mercury. So"
"So I should be able
to negate the effects of the medallion," Mercury finished for her, catching
on quickly. She turned to scan the area once again. "It's over there," she
declared after a moment, pointing towards a dark alley. Snapping her computer
shut, Mercury lifted her hands above her head. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" she
cried, sending a glittering attack in the direction that she'd indicated.
For a moment it was impossible to see anything, but then a black translucent
shape came darting from the alley.
"There's our boy,"
Sailor Orion grunted with satisfaction. Sailor Pluto leapt into the air,
landing right in front of the jaki so it could not escape in that
direction. The Revolutionary Soldier nodded to Orion, and Orion grinned back.
"Heavenly Symphony!" she sang out, as the Orion Sphere began to pulse with
light again. The evil creature covered its nonexistent ears, but it was no
use. With a screech of fury, the creature melted away into the snow-covered
pavement of the street, returning to a dark puddle of oily stuff that was
aborbed into the cement in a manner of moments. It left behind a small golden
medallion, glittering among the snowdrifts. Sailor ChibiMoon ran over to
the medallion and looked at it, then she looked back at Orion uncertainly.
"Can I touch it?"
she inquired first, remembering how the sun dust that had belonged to Sailor
Pheonix had been dangerous to touch, and she'd come close to losing her hand.
But this time, Orion nodded.
"Yes. Mercury's attack
has numbed its effects for a while. Here, give it to me."
The pink-haired
senshi-in-training picked it up and brought it to Sailor Orion, placing it
in her palm. Orion looked at the symbol imprinted on it. "This is Aquila's,
all right. Which means that we're going to be seeing Lord Narcissus in
approximately" she paused, then began to count. "Three two
one"
"Give it back!"
Orion turned with
a snide smile as the apparition of the Negaverse admiral appeared before
them. "Right on time, Narcissus. I suppose you've come for this." She dangled
the medallion from her fingertip.
"Give it to me, Orion."
There was a note of near desparation in the Negaverse Lord's voice, and the
other Senshi looked at one another with surprise. Was he really-begging?
Sailor Orion swung
the medallion casually from her finger. "Oh, I don't know, Lord Narcissus.
I was sort of thinking of adding it to my collection. It would look simply
lovely with this little light blue dress I just bought."
"Give it back to
me. You have to."
Orion could see the
fear in the admiral's eyes, and she knew full well that he had every reason
to be afraid. If Aquila didn't get his medallion back, Narcissus was as good
as dead. And Narcissus knew it. Orion didn't hold any love for the admiral,
but she had seen what happened to those who got on Aquila's bad side. And
she wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy. Still, she wanted to make Narcissus
sweat a bit. "I don't see why I should give it back to you. Finders keepers,
you know. If you want it so badly, why don't you just come take it from
me?"
"I can't right now,"
Narcissus answered, his voice sounding piteously close to a whine. Sailor
Mars and Sailor Venus snickered behind gloved hands.
Orion's silver eyes
widened innocently. "Oh that's right, you can't, can you? Not without some
jaki's body to take over." She pretended to consider for a moment.
"Tell you what. Why don't you go get one of your little evil spirits, bring
them over here, and then we can fight for it? I'll wait."
Narcissus shook his
head, his lavender hair falling into his eyes. "There's no time," he insisted,
beginning to sound a bit panicked. "Aquila has to have that back in one hour,
or"
"I see," Orion responded,
sounding almost disappointed. "Such a shame. I would have enjoyed stomping
the stuffing out of you again." She sighed in that tinkling, bell-like way,
and looked down at the medallion in her hand again. "It's awfully pretty,"
she mused slowly, antagonizingly. "But I suppose this shade of blue doesn't
really go with my eyes." The silver-gray eyes locked to the pale purple ones.
"I suppose I'll let you have it back."
Narcissus seemed
to breathe a sigh of relief as he reached out to take the necklace from her
hand, but Orion snatched it back. "Ah, ah," she said, shaking her head with
a patronizing smile. "What do you say?"
The admiral glared
at her, but managed to choke out stiffly, "Thank you."
"That's better."
She handed the Chaos Medallion back to the Negaverse Lord, and he vanished
abruptly. The other Scouts looked at one another and began to giggle.
"Well, if it isn't the brave little girl with the broken arm."
Makoto and Shinzui
looked up as Ishibata Junko approached them through the falling snow, an
expression of derision on his face. Makoto frowned. "What do you want, Junko?"
She and Shinzui were on their way back to the Banpuku center to meet with
Oberon, and she was not in the mood for this.
The huge boy grinned
at her unpleasantly. "Nothing much. Just wanted to make sure you learned
your lesson last time." He held out his arms triumphantly. "Don't go against
the master."
Shinzui spoke up
then, her delicate voice echoing prettily in the frosty air. "Makoto learned
a lesson, yes. But it wasn't from you."
Junko regarded the
blind girl with contempt. "And just who are you?" he spat out. "Boy, Kino-san,
you sure are a champion when it comes to picking friends. Cheaters, crybabies
and know-it-all blind chicks you have such refined taste."
Makoto's muscles
tensed, but she felt Shinzui's gentle hand on her arm, and she did not try
to hit him again. Shinzui regarded Junko with her opaque, vacant eyes for
a moment, and then responded quietly. "She does have good taste, doesn't
she? After all, she could have made a real mistake, and started hanging out
with the real riff-raff like football players."
Junko glared at her,
and reached out, intending to seize Shinzui's wrist. "Just who do you"
But Shinzui sidestepped his advance, and the enormous boy stepped right onto
a patch of ice. His weight worked against him, as he was now off balance,
and he slipped. His chin landed a few inches away from Shinzui's boot, and
she giggled; a light, airy sound.
"You should be more
careful," she said with amusement. "A person could break their arm, falling
on the ice like that." Shinzui and Makoto smiled at one another as they continued
down the sidewalk towards the youth center, leaving the big bully behind
to pick himself up out of the snow.
"What's the
matter, Haruka?" Michiru took a seat on the window bench, facing her
friend.
Haruka stared down
at the street, at the cars moving slowly through the snow, the windshield
wipers beating back and forth. "I attacked her." Her tones were low. "I actually
attacked her."
Michiru shook her
head, her teal curls bouncing. "Don't worry about it, Haruka. Remember what
Mercury said? That medallion thing was making everyone act a little crazy.
Besides, Orion didn't seem to worry about it too much."
Haruka smiled at
Michiru as best she could, and turned her gaze back to the window. "I guess
you're right." She tried to make her voice sound cheerful, but she couldn't
keep the shadow from her eyes as she looked down out of the window at the
snow-covered world below. She still doesn't understand, Haruka realized
as the watched the creeping cars. I attacked Orion before I knew what
I was doing but I'm certain that the jaki never touched me.
Outside, the snow continued to fall, and the neon Christmas lights winked
at her merrily. Haruka did not wink back.
Back
to Part Eleven
On
to Part Thirteen
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