Chapter 1 (Continued!)
Disclaimer: This fanfic brought to you by Hiryuu.
Hiryuu. Constantly striving for the best in spelling,
grammar, and semi-innovative plotting.
Yes, it was a beautiful day in Azabu Juuban as the train pulled into the station. A perfectly normal day. Of course, this was Azabu Juuban we're talking about, so we all know that a "normal" day is defined as something VERY different than the rest of the world does.
Train Station
The train from Nekomi Technical Institute pulled into the station and slowly came to a stop. On board, Hino Mikado and Chiba Mamoru stopped talking for a moment and gathered up their bags. The two young men seperated then, one heading for one exit, and the other for another. Outside the train, a group of high school girls were waiting to welcome those two passengers as soon as they deboarded. Outside the universe, something watched them all. But no one knew that yet, of course. As Mamoru exited, it was rather obvious who was waiting for him.
"MAMO-CHAN!!!" Usagi joyously cried out, running towards her destined love.
"Hey, Usako!!!" Mamoru returned her embrace and greeting, though at about a quarter of the volume level. The other four girls turned away for a moment to give the two a moment of privacy.
"So, Rei, where's this cousin of yours?" Makoto asked curiously, glancing around the semi-crowded station.
"I have no idea..." Rei replied, a bit of frustration clearly evident in her voice. "He was SUPPOSED to be on this train. That'd be just like him, remembering what he used to be like, to tell me he was on this train, but not actually show up. When I get my hands on my cousin, I'm gonna..."
"You're gonna what, Rei-chaaaaan?" A male voice drawled from about two inches behind Rei's head. Rei, rather predictably, jumped about two feet in the air, crying out in surprise. As she turned around, a young man was laughing hysterically, pointing at her. "Oi, oi, Rei-chan. You really need to loosen up! I mean, two feet at THAT?! I was expecting maybe two, three INCHES at most!" And with that, he began chuckling again. Rei turned red with anger as she noticed Minako stuggling to hold back her giggles at the sight.
"Mikado, you haven't changed a bit." Rei sweetly smiled at him. "You still have the maturity level of a six year-old."
"Very true, Rei-chan. But, on the other hand, I find life to be far more enjoyable if you don't take it seriously. Something that you still haven't figured out." Mikado retorted lightly.
"Excuse me, Mikado-san?" he turned around to see a blond girl smiling at him. "I was just curious--you came from Nekomi Tech? We were just wondering about that-"
"Yep. Finished my first year of classes there." Mikado replied with a strong hint of pride.
"But you're our age!" A girl with brown hair in a ponytail said in surprise.
"Yeah, well, I passed all the tests to graduate high school my junior year. So, I figured, why not, and managed to get into Nekomi. And there I am."
"Wow, Ami. Looks like he might be a match for you!" The blond said jokingly. Mikado looked over and saw a girl with short blue hair giving him an odd look. Their eyes met for a split-second--
--Mikado stared into a
pair of deep blue eyes. He raised one
gloved hand to the lady, which she took, still holding his gaze. He had never seen eyes that shade of blue
before, that utterly perfect shade of blue. Even with a mask on, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen. It was as if he, in a tuxedo, and
she, in her evening gown, were the only two people alive. He couldn't pull himself away from those
deep, hypnotic eyes, and quite frankly, he didn't think that he wanted to--
Mikado shook his head frantically for a second. The girl--Ami?--was doing the exact same thing. Man, he thought to himself, that--what WAS that? It was like when I used to do the fire readings, but so much clearer, and vivid! Quickly, he decided to change the subject. "So, Rei-chan, who're your lovely friends here? I know Ami--Ami's name, and obviously I know you, but your other friends are a relative mystery!"
"This," Rei gestured, "is Aino Minako..."
"Hi!" Minako shook his hand firmly for a moment, smiling an infectious grin at him that he felt obligated to return.
"And my other friend is Kino Makoto." Rei pointed to the brunette, who reached out to shake his hand. As he returned the gesture, she gave him an oddly predatory smile. Mikado responded with his usual grin, but he was a little uncomfortable with her--he had the oddest sensation of being a slab of meat on display at the butchers for a second. "Oh, and Mikado, don't call me Rei-chan."
"But why not, Rei-CHAN?" Mikado asked sweetly. "After all, we are cousins. Or would you prefer your old nickname, ka--"
"No." Rei snapped. "Don't even THINK about it."
"All right, then, Rei-chaaaaan." he grinned. Yep. Reaching blowup point in about 5--4--3--2- (Un)Fortunately, Mikado's attempt to gauge Rei's point of anger release was interrupted by a ferocious bellow coming from the other end of the station. Everyone turned to see a large, black, spiky demonic creature growling at the crowd.
"SHIT!" Mikado cursed loudly. "I didn't think that those things actually EXISTED!! I mean, there were tabloid reports and stuff, but no real evidence--crap. OK, Rei, you guys take this exit out!" He pointed towards the nearest exit. "I'll take the next one, and we'll meet outside!" With that, he headed for the next exit down, actually heading towards the beast as he struggled to make his way to the exit. Rei probably would've protested, but her cousin had just unknowingly given them a perfect chance to transform without worrying about their identies being learned. A moment later, after several cries and transformation sequences, the Sailor Senshi headed into battle once again.
Unfortunately for them, the battle was not going well. The creature seemed able to shrug off most of their attacks, and simply dodged all of Sailor Moon's attempts to blast it. Even Tuxedo Kamen's roses weren't slowing the thing down. Now, the battle was stretching to nearly twice the length of most of the Senshi's previous battles, and things were rapidly going from bad to worse.
"Look out, Jupiter!" Mars yelled. Reacting on long-honed battle instincts, the lightning-wielding Senshi dodged a powerful blow as Mars launched a blast of searing flames. Again, though, the demon simply ducked out of the way, moving faster than a hummingbird on a case of Jolt. "DAMMIT!" Mars cursed. "It's too fast! Can't we slow it down any?"
"Well, yeah, sure, we can." A new voice came from above. Everyone, monster included, looked upwards to see a second tuxedo-clad figure looking down on the battle. This figure was marginally different from Tuxedo Kamen, though. His cape's interior was a deep blue, rather than a blood red, and his mask matched that shade of blue; also, his hair blew free in the breeze, unconstrained by a top hat of any sort. Taking advantage of everyone's momentary surprise, the newcomer pulled a naginata out of thin air, and looked down on the battlefield for a second. Then, without a second glance, he hurled the weapon through the air. It went straight through the demon, embedding itself in a wall. The demon struggled, screaming its displeasure as it wriggled like a bug on a pin.
"Hit it NOW, Sailor Moon!" their ally called down, with a hint of gentle mockery in his tone. As she launched her attack, the man jumped down and landed lightly on his feet, walking towards the battle. As the remains of the monster drifted down to earth, he casually reached out and yanked the polearm from the wall, then began walking back through the astonished Senshi, calling out as he did.
"Jeez, Endymion. ROSES?! I mean, come on! Yeah, they look good, but when it gets right down to it, ya need something you can do some serious damage with!" Tuxedo Kamen chuckled for a second as a memory floated to the surface of his mind.
The two of them dueled fiercely,
then both plopped down on the cool grass. As his opponent lay down his naginata, polishing the blade as he sat,
Endymion chuckled and lay back on the ground.
"Jeez, Endymion. A CANE and ROSES?"
"Hey, you use your weapon, I'll
use mine. Besides, I can take my weapons
anywhere and still be able to use them without any trouble. I'd like to see you try and bring that
thing," he waved at the polearm, "into the Palace without any
trouble."
"You do have a point
there." His opponent allowed.
"And anyway, they worked
decently against you, didn't they?" Endymion grinned at his friend.
"That's just because you know
my moves!"
"Well, Kenshiro, whose fault is
that?" Endymion smiled that
infuriating smile of Kenshiro's right back at him--that smile he had seen
everytime he had ended up sprawled on the ground of their impromptu sparring
rings. With a growl, Kenshiro leapt to
his feet, brandishing his naginata.
"All right then, ROSE-BOY! Let's see if you can beat me this
time!" With that, the two of them
gleefully resumed their attempts to beat the crap out of each other.
"Yeah, Kenshiro, well, it's worked up until now!" Tuxedo Kamen retorted playfully. The other tuxedo-clad warrior turned for a second and grinned back.
"Well, Endymion, if it doesn't work any more, maybe you oughta try something new, hmmmm???" With that, he leapt atop a building, and was gone.
A few moments later, the girls and Mamoru were outside, where an anxious Mikado was awaiting them.
"Kami above, where WERE you guys?!" He cried out. "I've been looking for you for the past ten minutes!!"
"Er...the exit we were in was blocked about halfway through," Rei explained. "So we had to wait for the battle to be over before we came out the way you did."
"Battle?" Mikado looked at them oddly for a moment.
"Yeah, with the Sailor Senhi, the champions of love and justice!!" A second blond girl exclaimed.
"Er...they exist?" Mikado asked uncertainly.
"You better believe they do!" the girl replied forcefully.
"OK....um, Rei, who's your sugar-high friend here?"
*Sigh* "That's Usagi, and the guy next to her is--"
"Hey, Mamoru-san! Is this the girlfriend you were talking about?"
"Mikado-san?" Mamoru blinked for a second. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. After all, you are Rei's cousin; I guess I should have expected to see you here with her."
"Yeah, and considering that you told me about your friends with the same names as Rei-chan's friends here, I could have made the connection. Guess the monster attack distracted me. Out of curiousity, does that sort of thing happen often around here, Rei-chan?"
Rei was tired, and frustrated from the battle with the monster. That final "Rei-chan" had been her personal last straw. Unfortunately, Mikado didn't know that.
"DON'T CALL ME REI-CHAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!" With that, she began chasing her cousin down the street, intent on doing him some serious bodily harm. Everyone else merely sweatdropped as they watched the two of them running down the street, Rei attempting to pound the chuckling Mikado, who seemed to regard this as a great joke. After a moment, Makoto spoke, summing up what all of them were feeling at that point.
"I
really, REALLY hope that Juuban can survive them..."
