PINK REBELLION
Chapter Five: "First Blood"
By Bill K.
Usagi and Rei stood on the train platform. Rei's train was
just beginning to board.
"Good-bye, Rei," Usagi said, hugging her friend tight. "I'm
going to miss you."
"Usagi, I'm just going down to the inn," Rei scowled. "I'll be
back by tomorrow at the latest!"
"Well I'll still miss you," Usagi whimpered.
"You seriously need to grow a brain, do you know that?"
Shaking her head, Rei ventured into the train. Usagi frowned
and stuck her tongue out at the girl's back.
"I saw that," Rei said as the doors closed behind her.
"I was counting on it!" Usagi bellowed back.
She watched as the train pulled out. As it did, her anger
mellowed into a wistful melancholy. When the train sped up and got
out of sight, Usagi turned and wandered back into the station.
Pausing long enough to buy a couple of odangos from a station vendor,
Usagi headed for home.
* * * *
Usagi-chibi stood her ground as the four teenage boys
approached. They were openly contemptuous of her. But Hotaru
noticed Usa had assumed a defensive stance similar to one she
recalled seeing Haruka use during one of the woman's practice
sessions.
"Let's just take care of this intrusion, cutie, and we can
. . ." began the nearest boy. He couldn't finish, because a sweeping
roundhouse kick impacted with his mouth and knocked him down to the
sidewalk.
"Look, she thinks she's Michelle Yeoh!" snarled another of the
gang.
He lunged forward and snapped off a good facsimile of a right
thrust. But Usa blocked it with ease, then grasped onto the boy's
shirt sleeve, twisted her body and threw him down beside his friend
with a very compact hip toss.
"Hey, all we wanted to have was a little fun," said one of the
two youths still standing. He produced a switchblade from his jacket
and popped the blade. "If you want to fight, doll, we can fight."
Keeping her eye on the blade at all times, Usa stood her
ground.
"It's not too late to end this peacefully," Usa told him
firmly, but as non-threateningly as she could. "Put the knife away
and just leave and nobody gets hurt."
"I've got a better idea," said the boy with the knife as his
three companions closed ranks behind him. "You do just what we tell
you, cutie, and nobody gets hurt."
"Usa!" hissed Hotaru frantically. "Run! I'll try to hold them
off!"
Instead, Usa held her right hand up.
"Moon Prism Power Make Up!" she yelled. A pink and yellow
light bathed her. The gang stared in amazement as they watched what
occurred. Hotaru stared as well, but for wholly different reasons.
As the lights dissipated, in place of the pretty
fifteen-year-old with the pink hair was a gorgeous female in a white
fuku with pink accessories and a pink, yellow and white skirt. Her
shoulder length ribbons of pink hair blew in the breeze as she stood
proud and tall.
"You four who have nothing better to do than to inflict fear
and suffering on innocent people for your own amusement, know that
your time has come! I stand for love and justice and I stand in your
path! I am Sailor Moon! And in the name of the Moon, I will punish
you!"
"This is too weird," mumbled one of the gang.
"That's a nice speech, honey," sneered the boy with the knife,
"but we're still four to your one. Even if the demon-girl helps,
you're still outnumbered."
Sailor Chibi-Moon's response was to produce the Chibi-Moon Rod.
"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" she yelled. The heart-shaped sparks
produced by the rod struck the knife hand of the youth. Stung, he
dropped the knife and clutched his hand. Looking up angrily, the
youth was just in time to see the heel of Chibi-Moon's pink boot
strike him. He spun to the ground.
During the melee, Hotaru dived for the knife and retrieved it.
However, she wasn't fast enough to get to safety and one of the boys
grabbed her. Tearing away just enough, Hotaru flung the knife as far
as she could. The youth, though, only released her when a swift blow
from Chibi-Moon to the underside of his elbow broke his grip and a
palm thrust to his ribs put him down. Chibi-Moon pivoted, keeping
Hotaru behind her, to deal with any attack the others might make.
Unexpectedly, the air was cleaved by the swift motion of an
object. At first it seemed to be a small missile, but when everyone
looked down, they saw a single red rose sticking out of the cement.
"Women are here for men to cherish, not to abuse," and they all
turned to see a tall man in tuxedo and cape standing over them on a
wall of the schoolyard. "For any man to do anything else calls into
question his very manhood and invites the wrath of Tuxedo Mask."
That was enough. The four youths turned and ran without even
looking back. Sailor Chibi-Moon turned and looked up to her future
father and protector.
And said, "Daddy! I was handling it!"
It was the first time Hotaru could recall seeing Tuxedo Mask
startled.
* * * *
Makoto led the Amazoness senshi down the street. The quartet
were transformed back into their non-senshi forms. The idea was so
they didn't stand out; however, the combination of their unique
hairstyles and their thirtieth century fashions didn't do much to
accomplish that goal.
"Do you really think we need Sensei Venus . . .um, Minako?"
asked Cere-Cere.
"If we're going to track down Chibi-Usa, she's the one to do
it," Makoto replied. They stopped in front of the arcade.
"So why are we here?" asked Jun-Jun.
"Well, she and her mom had another fight, so this was the next
logical place to look." Makoto grinned at the teens. "Remember I
said Minako was probably occupied with 'higher pursuits'?"
The five entered the arcade and looked around. Spotting Motoki
behind the counter, Makoto led the Amazons over.
"Hey, Motoki," Makoto waved, then noticed the stiff manner in
which he was standing. "Something wrong?"
"I'm just a little sore," Motoki grimaced.
"What happened?"
"We had a little trouble here yesterday. You wouldn't believe
it if I told you, though. Heck, I don't even believe it and I was
here." He noticed the Amazons, particularly Cere-Cere, who was
giving him a lustful glance. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a
lustful glance from one of the younger patrons, but never from
someone who dressed so strangely.
"Hey, have you seen Minako in here?" Makoto asked.
"Does the day end in 'y'?" grinned Motoki. "She's in here
somewhere."
Makoto nodded and went off to look for her. As the Amazons
followed, Palla-Palla nudged up against Cere-Cere.
"Cere-Cere's in love," the girl teased.
"Oh be quiet," grumbled Cere-Cere, her cheeks coloring.
Even though it was the last day of junior high, it seemed a few
students decided to get a jump on the break. Even with that, it was
simple to pick out a sixteen-year-old blonde amid twelve and
thirteen-year-olds. Palla-Palla pointed her out with a squeal of
delight; Minako was still trying to conquer the Formula-One video
game.
"MMMmm!" Minako groaned, gritting her teeth as she tried
unsuccessfully to negotiate a hairpin turn on the screen. In shock,
she watched her virtual race car spin out, go airborne, then crash in
flames. For a solitary moment it looked like her fist was going to
go through the screen, but she reined in her emotions and accepted
her defeat peacefully, if not gracefully.
"Wipe out again?" teased Makoto. "Warn me when you get your
driver's license, huh? I want to move to another country."
"Watch it," Minako said through gritted teeth. "I am in no
mood to be heckled." She glanced at the Amazons. "Baby-sitting, I
see." Jun-Jun and Ves-Ves shot acid glares her way.
"If you can tear yourself away from embarrassing yourself
further," Makoto told her, "we need to track down Chibi-Usa."
"Chibi-Usa's back in town, huh? Did you try Usagi's place?"
Minako suggested.
"Duh! She's not there."
"Hmm. Mamoru's?"
"Wrong again."
"OK," and Minako began to ponder. As she did, Ves-Ves watched
her, soaking up everything the girl did. "How about Haruka and
Michiru's place? If she's in this time, she's bound to hook up with
Hotaru sooner or later."
Makoto rolled her eyes and smacked her forehead. The gesture
brought a satisfied smirk to Minako's face.
"Your apology is accepted," the blonde smirked. Turning back
to her game, Minako noticed Ves-Ves in the seat next to her. Her
eyebrow arched. "Thinking of challenging me, little one?"
"Yeah," snickered Ves-Ves. "I doubt I could be as bad as you
are and I've never played this game before."
"You little . . ." blustered Minako.
"Ves-Ves," sighed Jun-Jun. "We have work to do. Come on!"
Expelling an exaggerated sigh, Ves-Ves got up and followed the
others out. As she left, she glanced back at Minako and pointed.
"You got lucky this time," Ves-Ves bragged.
"Anytime you want a piece of me, kid, I'm here," Minako called
back. Only after the girl was gone did Minako allow herself to show
her amusement.
* * * *
"You were very brave, Usa," Hotaru smiled at her wistfully.
Usa had abandoned her Sailor transformation and walked with her
friend. Mamoru trailed the pair at a discreet distance. "Where did
you learn to fight like that?"
"Mostly from Makoto-san, although I picked up a few tricks from
Minako-san as well," Usa grinned. "I kind of had to, since my Sailor
attack is so puny. And it's so embarrassing, too. I hate to even
use it sometimes." The pair walked along. "Do those guys pick on
you a lot? And what's with that 'demon-girl' stuff?"
"They have long memories," Hotaru replied cryptically. Usa
continued to stare at her with concern. "I'm just the outsider, I
guess." She shrugged. "Every class has outsiders - - people who
don't seem to belong. I don't get picked on any more than anyone
else. I suppose you get used to it." Suddenly a fear seemed to grip
Hotaru. "Please don't say anything about this to my folks."
Usa looked at her uneasily. "Sure," she whispered finally.
"After all, you're keeping my secret. I owe you that."
They arrived at Hotaru's school. Hotaru paused at the gate and
hugged Usa fervently. When she heard the bell, the girl tore away
and scampered for the door. Usa watched with a heavy heart as her
friend disappeared into the school. Then she sensed Mamoru behind
her. She turned to him, but did nothing to end the awkward silence
between them.
"You've certainly grown since I've seen you last," Mamoru
offered. "You're almost as tall as I am now."
"Thank you," Usa replied in a very small voice. She wouldn't,
or couldn't, look at him.
"Why are you in the past?" he asked.
"Well, I'm," she began haltingly, "on a mission - - as Sailor
Moon. I-I'm Sailor Moon now. And I wanted to visit Hotaru."
"Both worthy goals," Mamoru said. He put his arm around Usa's
shoulders and they walked down the street. "I apologize if I
interfered."
"I'm sorry if I was short with you," Usa replied penitently.
"It's just that you're kind of going to make a habit of doing that in
the future."
"Ohhhh," nodded Mamoru. "Well, if I'm anything like I am now,
I won't be able to help it. I have this urgent need inside me to
protect the two women I love most of all. All I can do is ask you to
bear with me."
"Man, why is it so much easier to talk to you than it is to
him?" Usa scowled.
"Age, maybe? We're only, what, four or five years apart now?
Maybe I don't intimidate you as much as he does."
"I don't know about that," Usa muttered to herself, trying to
expel thoughts from her brain that she didn't want to be thinking
right now, particularly with the close proximity she was in to
Mamoru.
"So what convinced me to let you go into the past again?"
Mamoru asked.
Usa tensed. She could feel herself blushing and wasn't able to
stop it.
"Or did you convince me? Is that why you sought out Hotaru
first and not me or Usagi?" Mamoru asked.
"Don't be mad," grimaced Usa. She felt Mamoru's hand stroke
the hair on the back of her head.
"I'm more disappointed than anything," Mamoru told her.
"Either you ignored good advice to satisfy your own whims or I've
become so rigid that it forced you to this. Neither alternative
thrills me."
"You don't understand," Usa replied with the agony of youth.
"I'm willing to listen."
Usa sighed helplessly. "I can't, Mamo-chan. You're not
supposed to know. I shouldn't have even told you this much."
"I see. You're probably right. I guess I'll just have to have
faith in my beautiful, smart daughter." Mamoru leaned over and
kissed Usa on the cheek. "I think I can do that."
Mamoru watched Usa's reaction. She didn't say anything, but he
could see her chest swell. It made him feel good.
"I do think you should drop by and pay Usagi a call, though,"
Mamoru added. "She's very worried."
"Do I have to?" groaned Usa.
* * * *
Climbing the path to the Pension Adams Inn, Rei wiped her brow.
The journey hadn't gotten any easier in two plus years. At least the
woods were less ominous when the day was sunny and not clouded with
an approaching storm. And she wasn't lugging bags or listening to
Usagi whine this time, either.
Clearing the woods, she looked up the hill to where the Inn
should have been. Instead, Rei found ruins.
"Oh my goodness!" gasped Rei. She quickened her pace and
headed toward the wreckage.
The closer she got, the more Rei could see that it would be a
miracle to find anyone living. The walls were all caved in, save
part of the wall that faced the ocean. Strewn amid the rubble were
fragments of broken furniture and bent appliances. The wreckage
looked like the result of a tornado, with the twisted pattern the
debris had, but Rei couldn't recall hearing about any tornadoes in
recent times. Standing on the stone walk that led to the inn, she
wondered if she dared go further. Then Rei sensed a presence. It
wasn't here now. It was more like the lingering residue of something
that had been here. It was something extraordinarily powerful - -
and familiar.
Cautiously picking her way through the rubble, Rei searched for
something she couldn't name. Her guard was up and she was ready at
the first provocation to transform into Sailor Mars. Her search was
coming up fruitless until she entered the area of what had been the
back office where Sakiko and her father lived.
Laying on the remnants of the floor was Sakiko's father. Rei
didn't have to look closely to see he was dead; her nose told her
that much. Covering her nose with her hands, Rei noted the pattern
of the debris around him. It seemed to fly away from him, forming an
almost perfect circle around him.
"Like this was ground zero," Rei whispered. "Oh, please don't
let this be what I'm thinking."
Suddenly Rei's second sight was tickled by the aura of another
presence. She turned suddenly. No one was there, but she didn't
expect anyone. The sensation was in that direction, but away from
the ruins of the inn.
Carefully, but determinedly, Rei made her way out of the
wreckage. She walked from the inn, across the lawn in a straight
line, to the denser foliage of the surrounding woods. As she walked,
the sensation got stronger. So, too, did the sound she could just
barely pick up. It sounded like whimpering.
Approaching a tree cautiously, Rei peered around. Huddled at
the base was a woman. She was about thirty-five, with long black
hair that had probably been silky several days ago. Her black dress
was tattered and soiled. The woman shivered and Rei wasn't sure if
it was from prolonged exposure or fright.
"Um, ex. . ." Rei began.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" shrieked the woman. She whirled around to
get a look at Rei, cowering in a fetal ball.
"Please, don't be afraid!" Rei gasped. She stayed at a neutral
distance, not wanting to further spook the woman. "Wait, aren't you
the maid from Pension Adams?"
The woman, eyes still wide in fear, nodded.
"I didn't recognize you without the Lady Dracula makeup," Rei
smiled timidly. That caused the woman to really look at Rei.
"I," she began, searching through a still-traumatized brain.
"You're that girl. The one who was here - - with the quiet one and
the loud, clumsy blonde."
"That's me," Rei smiled sheepishly.
"You were here the last time . . ." and suddenly the maid
couldn't go on. Her face contorted with another fearful flashback.
"What happened here?" Rei asked. Rather than answer, the maid
just gripped her head and shook it violently. Rei crouched down next
to her, grasping the woman's shoulders. "Please, I have to know! We
found Sakiko in Tokyo . . ."
The mention of Sakiko froze the woman in shock. "Run!" she
gasped, holding her quivering hand out to Rei. "You must run from
her! Tell your friends to run from her! Too much! Too far! She
can't be stopped!"
"You mean Sakiko did all of this?" gasped Rei. The maid nodded
furiously. "And her father?"
She nodded again. "He said he'd be good. He said he'd change.
But it was too late. The genie was out of the bottle. It would come
back - - whenever she was angry or afraid - - he tried to control
her. He tried his trick with the watch - - tried to command her as
her father. Finally . . ." and the maid couldn't go on.
"What happened?" Rei prodded.
"He struck her," the maid whispered. "He lost his temper. She
wouldn't obey him. She was stronger than him! She didn't have to!
Not anymore! So he hit her - - to make her afraid of him again. He
hit her and he hit her and all he did was make her angry."
Rei rocked back onto her bottom, stunned. She flashed back to
the body she saw in the ruins and just couldn't reconcile that result
with the shy little girl she remembered meeting two years ago. It
couldn't be.
"T-The others?" Rei asked vacantly.
"Dead," sobbed the maid. "She killed them all. She destroyed
the inn. I barely got into the woods with my life." Suddenly a
fervency seized the woman. She turned to Rei and grabbed her by the
arms. "You have to warn your friends! She's not human anymore! If
they cross her, she'll kill them all!"
Ice formed in the pit of Rei's stomach.
Continued in Chapter 6
Chapter Five: "First Blood"
By Bill K.
Usagi and Rei stood on the train platform. Rei's train was
just beginning to board.
"Good-bye, Rei," Usagi said, hugging her friend tight. "I'm
going to miss you."
"Usagi, I'm just going down to the inn," Rei scowled. "I'll be
back by tomorrow at the latest!"
"Well I'll still miss you," Usagi whimpered.
"You seriously need to grow a brain, do you know that?"
Shaking her head, Rei ventured into the train. Usagi frowned
and stuck her tongue out at the girl's back.
"I saw that," Rei said as the doors closed behind her.
"I was counting on it!" Usagi bellowed back.
She watched as the train pulled out. As it did, her anger
mellowed into a wistful melancholy. When the train sped up and got
out of sight, Usagi turned and wandered back into the station.
Pausing long enough to buy a couple of odangos from a station vendor,
Usagi headed for home.
* * * *
Usagi-chibi stood her ground as the four teenage boys
approached. They were openly contemptuous of her. But Hotaru
noticed Usa had assumed a defensive stance similar to one she
recalled seeing Haruka use during one of the woman's practice
sessions.
"Let's just take care of this intrusion, cutie, and we can
. . ." began the nearest boy. He couldn't finish, because a sweeping
roundhouse kick impacted with his mouth and knocked him down to the
sidewalk.
"Look, she thinks she's Michelle Yeoh!" snarled another of the
gang.
He lunged forward and snapped off a good facsimile of a right
thrust. But Usa blocked it with ease, then grasped onto the boy's
shirt sleeve, twisted her body and threw him down beside his friend
with a very compact hip toss.
"Hey, all we wanted to have was a little fun," said one of the
two youths still standing. He produced a switchblade from his jacket
and popped the blade. "If you want to fight, doll, we can fight."
Keeping her eye on the blade at all times, Usa stood her
ground.
"It's not too late to end this peacefully," Usa told him
firmly, but as non-threateningly as she could. "Put the knife away
and just leave and nobody gets hurt."
"I've got a better idea," said the boy with the knife as his
three companions closed ranks behind him. "You do just what we tell
you, cutie, and nobody gets hurt."
"Usa!" hissed Hotaru frantically. "Run! I'll try to hold them
off!"
Instead, Usa held her right hand up.
"Moon Prism Power Make Up!" she yelled. A pink and yellow
light bathed her. The gang stared in amazement as they watched what
occurred. Hotaru stared as well, but for wholly different reasons.
As the lights dissipated, in place of the pretty
fifteen-year-old with the pink hair was a gorgeous female in a white
fuku with pink accessories and a pink, yellow and white skirt. Her
shoulder length ribbons of pink hair blew in the breeze as she stood
proud and tall.
"You four who have nothing better to do than to inflict fear
and suffering on innocent people for your own amusement, know that
your time has come! I stand for love and justice and I stand in your
path! I am Sailor Moon! And in the name of the Moon, I will punish
you!"
"This is too weird," mumbled one of the gang.
"That's a nice speech, honey," sneered the boy with the knife,
"but we're still four to your one. Even if the demon-girl helps,
you're still outnumbered."
Sailor Chibi-Moon's response was to produce the Chibi-Moon Rod.
"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" she yelled. The heart-shaped sparks
produced by the rod struck the knife hand of the youth. Stung, he
dropped the knife and clutched his hand. Looking up angrily, the
youth was just in time to see the heel of Chibi-Moon's pink boot
strike him. He spun to the ground.
During the melee, Hotaru dived for the knife and retrieved it.
However, she wasn't fast enough to get to safety and one of the boys
grabbed her. Tearing away just enough, Hotaru flung the knife as far
as she could. The youth, though, only released her when a swift blow
from Chibi-Moon to the underside of his elbow broke his grip and a
palm thrust to his ribs put him down. Chibi-Moon pivoted, keeping
Hotaru behind her, to deal with any attack the others might make.
Unexpectedly, the air was cleaved by the swift motion of an
object. At first it seemed to be a small missile, but when everyone
looked down, they saw a single red rose sticking out of the cement.
"Women are here for men to cherish, not to abuse," and they all
turned to see a tall man in tuxedo and cape standing over them on a
wall of the schoolyard. "For any man to do anything else calls into
question his very manhood and invites the wrath of Tuxedo Mask."
That was enough. The four youths turned and ran without even
looking back. Sailor Chibi-Moon turned and looked up to her future
father and protector.
And said, "Daddy! I was handling it!"
It was the first time Hotaru could recall seeing Tuxedo Mask
startled.
* * * *
Makoto led the Amazoness senshi down the street. The quartet
were transformed back into their non-senshi forms. The idea was so
they didn't stand out; however, the combination of their unique
hairstyles and their thirtieth century fashions didn't do much to
accomplish that goal.
"Do you really think we need Sensei Venus . . .um, Minako?"
asked Cere-Cere.
"If we're going to track down Chibi-Usa, she's the one to do
it," Makoto replied. They stopped in front of the arcade.
"So why are we here?" asked Jun-Jun.
"Well, she and her mom had another fight, so this was the next
logical place to look." Makoto grinned at the teens. "Remember I
said Minako was probably occupied with 'higher pursuits'?"
The five entered the arcade and looked around. Spotting Motoki
behind the counter, Makoto led the Amazons over.
"Hey, Motoki," Makoto waved, then noticed the stiff manner in
which he was standing. "Something wrong?"
"I'm just a little sore," Motoki grimaced.
"What happened?"
"We had a little trouble here yesterday. You wouldn't believe
it if I told you, though. Heck, I don't even believe it and I was
here." He noticed the Amazons, particularly Cere-Cere, who was
giving him a lustful glance. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten a
lustful glance from one of the younger patrons, but never from
someone who dressed so strangely.
"Hey, have you seen Minako in here?" Makoto asked.
"Does the day end in 'y'?" grinned Motoki. "She's in here
somewhere."
Makoto nodded and went off to look for her. As the Amazons
followed, Palla-Palla nudged up against Cere-Cere.
"Cere-Cere's in love," the girl teased.
"Oh be quiet," grumbled Cere-Cere, her cheeks coloring.
Even though it was the last day of junior high, it seemed a few
students decided to get a jump on the break. Even with that, it was
simple to pick out a sixteen-year-old blonde amid twelve and
thirteen-year-olds. Palla-Palla pointed her out with a squeal of
delight; Minako was still trying to conquer the Formula-One video
game.
"MMMmm!" Minako groaned, gritting her teeth as she tried
unsuccessfully to negotiate a hairpin turn on the screen. In shock,
she watched her virtual race car spin out, go airborne, then crash in
flames. For a solitary moment it looked like her fist was going to
go through the screen, but she reined in her emotions and accepted
her defeat peacefully, if not gracefully.
"Wipe out again?" teased Makoto. "Warn me when you get your
driver's license, huh? I want to move to another country."
"Watch it," Minako said through gritted teeth. "I am in no
mood to be heckled." She glanced at the Amazons. "Baby-sitting, I
see." Jun-Jun and Ves-Ves shot acid glares her way.
"If you can tear yourself away from embarrassing yourself
further," Makoto told her, "we need to track down Chibi-Usa."
"Chibi-Usa's back in town, huh? Did you try Usagi's place?"
Minako suggested.
"Duh! She's not there."
"Hmm. Mamoru's?"
"Wrong again."
"OK," and Minako began to ponder. As she did, Ves-Ves watched
her, soaking up everything the girl did. "How about Haruka and
Michiru's place? If she's in this time, she's bound to hook up with
Hotaru sooner or later."
Makoto rolled her eyes and smacked her forehead. The gesture
brought a satisfied smirk to Minako's face.
"Your apology is accepted," the blonde smirked. Turning back
to her game, Minako noticed Ves-Ves in the seat next to her. Her
eyebrow arched. "Thinking of challenging me, little one?"
"Yeah," snickered Ves-Ves. "I doubt I could be as bad as you
are and I've never played this game before."
"You little . . ." blustered Minako.
"Ves-Ves," sighed Jun-Jun. "We have work to do. Come on!"
Expelling an exaggerated sigh, Ves-Ves got up and followed the
others out. As she left, she glanced back at Minako and pointed.
"You got lucky this time," Ves-Ves bragged.
"Anytime you want a piece of me, kid, I'm here," Minako called
back. Only after the girl was gone did Minako allow herself to show
her amusement.
* * * *
"You were very brave, Usa," Hotaru smiled at her wistfully.
Usa had abandoned her Sailor transformation and walked with her
friend. Mamoru trailed the pair at a discreet distance. "Where did
you learn to fight like that?"
"Mostly from Makoto-san, although I picked up a few tricks from
Minako-san as well," Usa grinned. "I kind of had to, since my Sailor
attack is so puny. And it's so embarrassing, too. I hate to even
use it sometimes." The pair walked along. "Do those guys pick on
you a lot? And what's with that 'demon-girl' stuff?"
"They have long memories," Hotaru replied cryptically. Usa
continued to stare at her with concern. "I'm just the outsider, I
guess." She shrugged. "Every class has outsiders - - people who
don't seem to belong. I don't get picked on any more than anyone
else. I suppose you get used to it." Suddenly a fear seemed to grip
Hotaru. "Please don't say anything about this to my folks."
Usa looked at her uneasily. "Sure," she whispered finally.
"After all, you're keeping my secret. I owe you that."
They arrived at Hotaru's school. Hotaru paused at the gate and
hugged Usa fervently. When she heard the bell, the girl tore away
and scampered for the door. Usa watched with a heavy heart as her
friend disappeared into the school. Then she sensed Mamoru behind
her. She turned to him, but did nothing to end the awkward silence
between them.
"You've certainly grown since I've seen you last," Mamoru
offered. "You're almost as tall as I am now."
"Thank you," Usa replied in a very small voice. She wouldn't,
or couldn't, look at him.
"Why are you in the past?" he asked.
"Well, I'm," she began haltingly, "on a mission - - as Sailor
Moon. I-I'm Sailor Moon now. And I wanted to visit Hotaru."
"Both worthy goals," Mamoru said. He put his arm around Usa's
shoulders and they walked down the street. "I apologize if I
interfered."
"I'm sorry if I was short with you," Usa replied penitently.
"It's just that you're kind of going to make a habit of doing that in
the future."
"Ohhhh," nodded Mamoru. "Well, if I'm anything like I am now,
I won't be able to help it. I have this urgent need inside me to
protect the two women I love most of all. All I can do is ask you to
bear with me."
"Man, why is it so much easier to talk to you than it is to
him?" Usa scowled.
"Age, maybe? We're only, what, four or five years apart now?
Maybe I don't intimidate you as much as he does."
"I don't know about that," Usa muttered to herself, trying to
expel thoughts from her brain that she didn't want to be thinking
right now, particularly with the close proximity she was in to
Mamoru.
"So what convinced me to let you go into the past again?"
Mamoru asked.
Usa tensed. She could feel herself blushing and wasn't able to
stop it.
"Or did you convince me? Is that why you sought out Hotaru
first and not me or Usagi?" Mamoru asked.
"Don't be mad," grimaced Usa. She felt Mamoru's hand stroke
the hair on the back of her head.
"I'm more disappointed than anything," Mamoru told her.
"Either you ignored good advice to satisfy your own whims or I've
become so rigid that it forced you to this. Neither alternative
thrills me."
"You don't understand," Usa replied with the agony of youth.
"I'm willing to listen."
Usa sighed helplessly. "I can't, Mamo-chan. You're not
supposed to know. I shouldn't have even told you this much."
"I see. You're probably right. I guess I'll just have to have
faith in my beautiful, smart daughter." Mamoru leaned over and
kissed Usa on the cheek. "I think I can do that."
Mamoru watched Usa's reaction. She didn't say anything, but he
could see her chest swell. It made him feel good.
"I do think you should drop by and pay Usagi a call, though,"
Mamoru added. "She's very worried."
"Do I have to?" groaned Usa.
* * * *
Climbing the path to the Pension Adams Inn, Rei wiped her brow.
The journey hadn't gotten any easier in two plus years. At least the
woods were less ominous when the day was sunny and not clouded with
an approaching storm. And she wasn't lugging bags or listening to
Usagi whine this time, either.
Clearing the woods, she looked up the hill to where the Inn
should have been. Instead, Rei found ruins.
"Oh my goodness!" gasped Rei. She quickened her pace and
headed toward the wreckage.
The closer she got, the more Rei could see that it would be a
miracle to find anyone living. The walls were all caved in, save
part of the wall that faced the ocean. Strewn amid the rubble were
fragments of broken furniture and bent appliances. The wreckage
looked like the result of a tornado, with the twisted pattern the
debris had, but Rei couldn't recall hearing about any tornadoes in
recent times. Standing on the stone walk that led to the inn, she
wondered if she dared go further. Then Rei sensed a presence. It
wasn't here now. It was more like the lingering residue of something
that had been here. It was something extraordinarily powerful - -
and familiar.
Cautiously picking her way through the rubble, Rei searched for
something she couldn't name. Her guard was up and she was ready at
the first provocation to transform into Sailor Mars. Her search was
coming up fruitless until she entered the area of what had been the
back office where Sakiko and her father lived.
Laying on the remnants of the floor was Sakiko's father. Rei
didn't have to look closely to see he was dead; her nose told her
that much. Covering her nose with her hands, Rei noted the pattern
of the debris around him. It seemed to fly away from him, forming an
almost perfect circle around him.
"Like this was ground zero," Rei whispered. "Oh, please don't
let this be what I'm thinking."
Suddenly Rei's second sight was tickled by the aura of another
presence. She turned suddenly. No one was there, but she didn't
expect anyone. The sensation was in that direction, but away from
the ruins of the inn.
Carefully, but determinedly, Rei made her way out of the
wreckage. She walked from the inn, across the lawn in a straight
line, to the denser foliage of the surrounding woods. As she walked,
the sensation got stronger. So, too, did the sound she could just
barely pick up. It sounded like whimpering.
Approaching a tree cautiously, Rei peered around. Huddled at
the base was a woman. She was about thirty-five, with long black
hair that had probably been silky several days ago. Her black dress
was tattered and soiled. The woman shivered and Rei wasn't sure if
it was from prolonged exposure or fright.
"Um, ex. . ." Rei began.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" shrieked the woman. She whirled around to
get a look at Rei, cowering in a fetal ball.
"Please, don't be afraid!" Rei gasped. She stayed at a neutral
distance, not wanting to further spook the woman. "Wait, aren't you
the maid from Pension Adams?"
The woman, eyes still wide in fear, nodded.
"I didn't recognize you without the Lady Dracula makeup," Rei
smiled timidly. That caused the woman to really look at Rei.
"I," she began, searching through a still-traumatized brain.
"You're that girl. The one who was here - - with the quiet one and
the loud, clumsy blonde."
"That's me," Rei smiled sheepishly.
"You were here the last time . . ." and suddenly the maid
couldn't go on. Her face contorted with another fearful flashback.
"What happened here?" Rei asked. Rather than answer, the maid
just gripped her head and shook it violently. Rei crouched down next
to her, grasping the woman's shoulders. "Please, I have to know! We
found Sakiko in Tokyo . . ."
The mention of Sakiko froze the woman in shock. "Run!" she
gasped, holding her quivering hand out to Rei. "You must run from
her! Tell your friends to run from her! Too much! Too far! She
can't be stopped!"
"You mean Sakiko did all of this?" gasped Rei. The maid nodded
furiously. "And her father?"
She nodded again. "He said he'd be good. He said he'd change.
But it was too late. The genie was out of the bottle. It would come
back - - whenever she was angry or afraid - - he tried to control
her. He tried his trick with the watch - - tried to command her as
her father. Finally . . ." and the maid couldn't go on.
"What happened?" Rei prodded.
"He struck her," the maid whispered. "He lost his temper. She
wouldn't obey him. She was stronger than him! She didn't have to!
Not anymore! So he hit her - - to make her afraid of him again. He
hit her and he hit her and all he did was make her angry."
Rei rocked back onto her bottom, stunned. She flashed back to
the body she saw in the ruins and just couldn't reconcile that result
with the shy little girl she remembered meeting two years ago. It
couldn't be.
"T-The others?" Rei asked vacantly.
"Dead," sobbed the maid. "She killed them all. She destroyed
the inn. I barely got into the woods with my life." Suddenly a
fervency seized the woman. She turned to Rei and grabbed her by the
arms. "You have to warn your friends! She's not human anymore! If
they cross her, she'll kill them all!"
Ice formed in the pit of Rei's stomach.
Continued in Chapter 6
