S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?
^_^
Part Seven
In Light of Events
The dark spaces of Fitchner's office gave the man some solace.
But not a great deal.
The heavy, thick set, grey-haired man sat back in his padded
vinyl chair, staring into space, smoking a port cigar. The normally
light blue-green walls of the office were muted, with but the pale
light peering through the half-closed window illuminating things.
His mind was in a similar state.
For three years, he had been investigating the activities of
the Sacred House. Now his employer had pulled the financial plug on
him, and he didn't know why.
Oh well, it was not as if there hadn't been other such jobs of
similar nature and length. But this one had been special. This one
had special meaning.
He had lost his daughter to the Sacred House.
Five years ago, when she was eighteen. She had travelled with
him when he took up a posting in Tokyo for the company he had been
working for at the time. She had made some friends. Odd friends.
She went out one day and... Never came back.
He had been looking for her ever since. He had founded his
private investigation agency for that very reason, taking on various
jobs to support his search.
He watched as rings of smoke that emerged from his mouth
floated upwards, shattering to nothingness against the ceiling. He
had reported her missing, naturally, and the police spent some time
searching for her. But rarely were they helping in telling him just
what they were doing to find her, or even keep in touch with him.
It was like beating his head against a wall. They just didn't
seem to care. He wondered why they couldn't take his plight more
seriously. And then the name "Sacred House" came up.
He had no idea what the "Sacred House" might be. But it
sounded suitably impressive.
A religious cult, a secret society, an economic and corporate
entity.... In his time investigating the Sacred House, he had heard
it variously described as all these things. But never once did he
actually find some base or branch for them, nor someone who would
admit to being a member.
He had been in the service of a Malcolm Wright, who had been
looking for his own daughter, Gwen. Like his own daughter, Gwen had
gone missing one day, and had never been seen since. It gave
Fitchner a financial base upon which he could search for his own
child. He never found a trace of her, but he did find information
that lead him to Gwen. Or, at the very least, an old address of
hers.
It isn't hard, in a nation like Japan, to track down a golden
haired, blue eyed, attractive young woman with supermodel looks like
Gwen Wright. Even under ordinary circumstances, she would raise a
fuss just walking down the street. But in Gwen's case, there never
seemed to be a fuss made.... When he spoke to her ex-neighbours,
they mentioned the fact that Gwen was often never home.... In fact,
they had only seen her eight or nine times over a six month period.
When she was home, she was terribly quiet. And whenever she did
make contact with anyone in the local area, she seemed to know an
immense amount about them. As one neighbour said, you couldn't so
much as go to the toilet without her seeming to know precisely when.
Eventually, despite his best efforts, the trail went cold. It
was like Gwen had vanished into thin air.... And, of course,
Malcolm Wright decided to end their arrangement there.
And with it, his opportunity to find Michelle.
He had sent his three-strong staff home, with pay, that
morning. He needed time to himself, he said. Eriko was concerned
about him, of course, but then, she would be. She was a good woman.
Always had been since she joined him, right from the start....
Too much. It was too much for him to deal with. Tears ran
from his eyes, and he stubbed the cigar out in the ashtray that sat
atop the desk.
His gaze went down to the set of drawers that sat to his
right, underneath the desk. Slowly, he opened the second, and
stared at its contents.
He reached in and pulled out the handgun. It glinted dimly
at him. He checked its load. Two shots in it. He wondered when he
had found the time to let the other rounds off....
Slowly, he unhitched the safety catch. The phone rang. He
looked back and forth between the gun and the phone. Great timing.
He put the safety catch back on and placed the gun in the
drawer, picking up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, it's me. Just making sure you don't do yourself in. I'm
fine, thought you'd like to know that. Sorry about the
inconvenience.... I've been a bit busy over the last couple of
years. Friends to see and places to go. Love you lots. Seeya."
And the phone went dead. Fitchner stared at it. He could
almost laugh. Michelle.... How DARE you?
----o
Minako clutched onto her satchel, watching the rain, and the
people who walked past. She had been standing there for a good
three hours, too scared to move. She was getting THAT feeling
again.
People stared at her strange expression. Many found
themselves transfixed by her gaze. But she would always manage to
break it, and turn away. Eventually, the shopkeeper whose store
she had been standing outside was forced to move her along. She had
scared off enough customers that day.
Minako was positively terrified as she walked along the
street. The rain fell on her head, and she felt it run down across
her face, its filth-laden droplets running to her lips. The
sensation of moisture against her mouth broke her, and she cried
out, running like the Devil himself was after her.
----o
Setsuna was gasping for fresh air as she, Hotaru and Usagi
landed in a secluded section of the local park. It had been such a
rapid, unthinking transport, that Setsuna barely had time to plot an
ultimate destination. In doing what she did, she had risked their
lives. But it was necessary, for she had not been ready for the
fight that would have occured if they had stayed there, and neither
would Hotaru and their Princess.
Usagi stared around her, confused about their location for a
few moments before she saw the park's central fountain between the
trees. She then realised she wasn't getting wet, which was unusual
as it was raining so heavily here.
"Nice job, Setsuna.... Right under the rotunda." Usagi
looked up at the roof of the small, round pavillion. Hotaru nodded.
"Must have taken a bit of quick thinking to get us here."
Setsuna swallowed, then looked up at them as she lifted her
hands from her knees. "A lot harder than either of you would have
expected. That was a close one."
"So. Would you mind telling us why we needed to run from
Mako-chan's apartment so damn quickly?" Usagi crossed her arms and
sat down on a small bench that lined the side of the rotunda.
Setsuna shrugged.
"What can I say? I detected a group of hostiles with magical
abilities approaching the apartment door."
"And that is all?"
"Pretty much all. From what I could ascertain from their
minds, they were members of the Coven of Atrocity."
"Wonderful." Hotaru threw her hands in the air and turned,
looking around. "They know who we are and where we are."
"Not necessarily. They might not know who WE are, but Jupiter
is another thing altogether."
Usagi stood. "You mean they were responsible for...."
"I didn't say that." Setsuna looked down at her. "I said
they may know who Jupiter is, based on.... associated information.
Information provided by the contacts we made within the Yakuza."
Usagi paced around. "If this is true.... We must... make
sure everyone is alright. We've got to round everyone up and cover
our tracks... somehow."
"Is that an order, Princess?" Setsuna looked at Usagi,
raising an eyebrow. Hotaru turned and looked from one to the other.
"Setsuna...." She said between clenched teeth.
"It's... not an order. It is a suggestion. We've got to pull
ourselves back into a defensive position. If someone out there does
know the identities of one or more of us...." Usagi shook her head.
"For all our sakes, I hope not. But if there is someone, and they
are hostile towards us, then.... Then I dare suggest.... we must
take precautions... that more people don't find out."
Setsuna nodded and Hotaru shook her head. "Do you KNOW what
that entails?" She ranged up on Usagi. "Do you realise what we may
have to do to achieve this?"
Usagi bit her lower lip. "Hotaru-chan.... You're the
youngest of us...."
"I'm seventeen, or have you forgotten?"
"No, I haven't forgotten that. But you seem to have forgotten
that you have a father out there, somewhere...."
Hotaru spat contemptuously. "I know that. Do you think I
don't understand? You have a set of parents, and a younger brother.
And you've been a great deal closer to them than I have ever been to
my father...." Hotaru looked down, her face a mask of troubles.
"Yes, Hotaru. Try to imagine... what these kind of people
might do if they find out about our families." Usagi shook her
head. "Regardless of how distant you might have become from him, I
think you would be most upset if they were to use him to get to
you."
Hotaru said nothing, turning and wandering away to the far end
of the rotunda. Usagi watched her as Setsuna stepped alongside her.
"She's like you, you know." Setsuna said softly. Usagi
looked up at her.
"How do you mean?"
"She's an emotional one. She has trouble seeing things with
the same sense of clarity that both Neptune and myself do. Even
Uranus. Saturn feels things more deeply than you understand."
"I understand well enough the depth of her emotions, Setsuna.
You forget what I am capable of."
Setsuna watched Usagi for a few moments, silently, then looked
away. "I most certainly hope you do, Princess, because I fear most
strongly what she may become if she...." Setsuna paused, then shook
her head. "We are wasting time standing here. I will go in search
of our number immediately, Princess." Setsuna gave Usagi a little
bow, and vanished.
Usagi stepped up behind Hotaru, placing a hand on her
shoulder. The younger girl turned aside to her. "Do you know what
you've done?"
"Eh?" Usagi frowned.
"The instructions you have given to us. You know how they
will be carried out?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at."
Hotaru turned to her. "Do you understand the way Setsuna
shall interpret those instructions?" Hotaru paused. "I have lived
with her for nigh on four years, now. I understand, only too well,
how she will carry them out."
Usagi looked aside, then took a deep breath. "You're telling
me she will kill those who may be a threat to us."
"That's precisely what I'm trying to say. Setsuna does NOT
see things the way you and I see them. Despite the many levels she
thinks on... Or perhaps because of them, she is extremely rigid in
her perception of duty."
Usago shook her head. "Perhaps, Hotaru-chan, in this case,
she needs to be...."
----o
Minako collapsed through the front entrance of her home,
slamming the door behind her. She puffed, heavily, water dripping
from her soaked body, as she leant against it with closed eyes.
"Is that you, Mina-chan?" She heard her mother's voice, from
the kitchen. She opened her eyes and swallowed.
"Hai, Mama...."
Her mother stepped into the hallway and took a good look at
her daughter. "Oh, Mina-chan! You're soaking wet! What on Earth
have you been up to?"
"I... I got caught... in the rain..."
"Why didn't you try to find shelter?"
"I did... It was just... It stopped and I thought...."
Minako stared at her mother, strangely, biting her lip. Her mother
had seen Minako with that expression several times over the last few
weeks, and it creeped her to the core. She shook it from her mind
and strode forward.
"Come on, you silly girl. You'll get the carpet wet. Let's
get those clothes off, and take a shower before you catch yourself a
death...."
----o
Kaji pulled his car into the multi-storey carpark of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Police Main Office. After flashing his i.d. at the
gate to the Duty Officer, he drove up three flights before finding a
spot.
"Busy day." Aoi muttered.
"Nah, it's always like this."
"Wasn't when I used to work here as a junior officer."
Kaji shrugged and undid his seatbelt, opening his door. He
looked back at Aoi as she sat, not moving an inch. "What's up with
you, Kiko-san?"
She shook her head. "I dunno. I guess I'm just worrying
about these people who have been following me around...."
"Don't be. They aren't likely to make a move on a Tokyo cop.
Not an obvious one, anyway."
"I dunno." Aoi undid her seatbelt, opening her door. She
stepped from the car and shut it behind her, Kaji locking up as she
stared over the roof.
"Kaji...."
"What?"
"Is there someone standing on the building over there,
watching me?" She pointed out through one of the open barred window
spaces that ran the length of the level. He turned and looked, but
just shrugged.
"I dunno. It's too dark and too far to see."
"I'm sure I saw someone...."
He turned back to her. "Settle down, Aoi.... You're making
yourself paranoid."
"I AM paranoid. I don't like the feeling of people I don't
know, stepping on my shadow."
Kaji watched her for a few moments as she continued to stare
out of the carpark, wide-eyed. He stepped around the back of the
car and took her arm. She snapped to and looked at him.
"Come on, stupid. You can't stand here all day, looking out
for spooks." Kaji sighed. Aoi nodded mutely and allowed him to
guide her to the entrance door.
----o
Minako stood under the spray of the shower, allowing the warm
water to run over her body. The sensation felt incredible, yet
somehow unsatisfactory. She opened her mouth and allowed the water
to run down her throat. Once more, she felt an unsatisfied thrill.
This was not enough. She needed more. She placed her mouth as
close to the nozzle as possible and drank the water... Until she
could drink no more.
She collapsed onto the floor of the shower, holding her sore
stomach. She was still thirsty, but she was full. Almost
immediately, she began to bring the water up, coughing and choking.
There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Mina-chan... Are
you alright in there? Mina-chan?"
Minako lifted her head, clearing out the last of the water
from her mouth. "Hai.... I'm just feeling a little... off colour."
"Not surprising, if you're going to walk through the rain the
way you did." Minako could hear her mother's footsteps, walking
away from the bathroom.
Mina pulled herself up into a sitting position, on the floor
of the shower, allowing the water to strike her on the head. An
indescribable sense of shame and fear overcoming her.... She was
going mad... surely... All these feelings she had been having over
the last few weeks.... No, it went longer than that...
Her constant need to be the centre of attention... To attract
people to her... She wanted people to come to her... To be
fascninated by her... Come into my web, said the spider to the....
Now she was just being stupid. She stared at the water
running across the floor of the shower towards the drain. The
rivulets trickled in a manner that held her fascination.... She
shook her head and stood, allowing the water to flow over her body
once more, she grabbed the soap from the dish....
----o
Aoi stood in the ladies room, staring at herself in the
mirror. Kaji was right. Even if there were all sorts of weirdo
groups out there, following her, in all likelihood, they were just
interested in her work, not her, personally.
She washed her hands, slowly, allowing the lather of the soap
to spread across the entire surface of her skin. Thoughts ran
through her mind. Of her meeting with those girls this morning.
Hayakawa Arisa. Maria Firenze.
She took a breath. They were both younger than her. Arisa
was even better looking.... Well, she thought so, anyway. Aoi
stared at her features in the mirror. Dark brown, slightly wavy
long hair, round face, pale complexion, deep, dark eyes.... She
shook her head.
She'd always been her own greatest critic when it came to her
looks. And so she spent a great deal of time trying to make herself
look ordinary.... Just like her mother.
She shivered.... She didn't want to end up like her mother.
But at 28, going on 29, the biological clock was starting to tick
away.... She chuckled at that... It's not like she missed having
someone, a man, around her life. She was quintessentially a loner,
and preferred to be by herself, once away from the office. But
still, her mother had married very late in life, and didn't give
birth to Aoi until she was in her late thirties. Maybe some things
were hereditary....
The first she knew of his presence is when he grabbed her
around the middle and spun her round. He then jammed his mouth over
hers as she tried to protest, hitting him with her hands. He
pressed himself against her, pushing her back against the sink
bench. She lifted back one of her hands and made to slap him one,
but he managed to get clear before she collected.
"Mmm... Tasty." He said, licking his lips.
"You!" She pointed at the thin, effeminate man with long
brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "What the hell are you doing in
here? Get out, before I call for someone!"
He clicked his tongue, wagging a finger. "Now now now, let's
not be hasty about this. I apologise for my forward behaviour, but
I let my instincts get the better of my senses sometimes."
"You're telling me." She wiped her mouth.
"And besides, even if you do yell, nobody shall hear you. I
have placed a silence wall around this room. Nobody shall come in,
and you shall not leave until our business is finished."
She pushed herself back against the bench. "What business
would that be?" He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Nothing like that, I can assure you. As I said, my instincts
sometimes get the better of me."
She relaxed, slightly, but not by much. "Who are you?"
"You weren't very surprised by my comment on the 'silence
wall'." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is
Pagan Lacey, and I am an operative of...."
"The enemies of the Sacred House."
Pagan opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Ah, so they have
warned you about us, previously, have they?"
"You could say that."
He nodded, putting a hand to his chin. "Yes, indeed, they are
very quick off the mark. Well, I suppose they've told you why they
have been watching you?"
"It has been mentioned in passing. And I suppose it is the
same reason you are watching me?"
Pagan smiled. It was one of the sweetest smiles Aoi had ever
seen. Despite his overly forward nature, Aoi couldn't help but feel
something for this Pagan Lacey. "Ah, yes, well... My involvement
is a little more personal than that. You see, the Coven of
Atrocity... Ignore the name, it's a misnomer... The Coven wished
to match me with you."
"Do they now?"
"Indeed. They say our bloodlines are perfectly matched to
produce children of power...."
"Like horses at a stable."
Pagan chuckled. "Looks like you catch on to the idea quickly.
I think its pretty silly, too, but I thought it was well worth
warning you about it."
"Thanks for your advice. Can I go, now? I have a job to do."
"Ah, not just yet... I am lead to believe you visited the
home of one Kino Makoto early this morning..."
"What about it?"
"Did you know someone has turned that place upside-down
since?" Aoi stared at him.
"Eh?"
"We followed you there, and kept watch. In that time, we saw
a young woman enter the apartment." He reached into the pocket of
his jacket and pulled out a photograph. "Hai kore..."
She took the photograph and stared at it for several moments.
He watched her expression.
"Interesting, is it not?" He smiled.
"This girl... This is..."
"This is...?"
"I've never seen her before. Can I keep it?"
Pagan facefaulted. "Uh, yeah, you can keep it."
"Good. Have you reported the break-in of the girl's
apartment, yet?" Pagan shook his head.
"We don't want to get too involved. Besides, we don't know
who did it yet." He shrugged. "It could be the Sacred House. I
can promise you, it wasn't us."
"We shall see." She nodded to the door. "Can I go, now?"
Pagan sighed and nodded. With a flash, she could hear noises
coming from outside the doorway, only then noticing how silent
things had been up to that point. She smiled.
"Thankyou."
He bowed. "Anything for her most gracious majesty."
"Oh, and by the way...." She levelled her gaze at him as he
looked up.
"What?"
"If you ever pull something like that on me again, Coven of
Whatever or not, you'll be dancing the Nutcracker Suite, do you
understand?"
He sweatdropped, crossing his legs. "I gotcha."
He vanished from the ladies room. Just like he did from the
garden area above the SIU car park. She sniffed... You get to see
a lot in this line of work.
She looked at the photograph again. So, Sailormoon, this is
what you look like in real life, is it?
END OF PART 7
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All
other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it?
^_^
Part Seven
In Light of Events
The dark spaces of Fitchner's office gave the man some solace.
But not a great deal.
The heavy, thick set, grey-haired man sat back in his padded
vinyl chair, staring into space, smoking a port cigar. The normally
light blue-green walls of the office were muted, with but the pale
light peering through the half-closed window illuminating things.
His mind was in a similar state.
For three years, he had been investigating the activities of
the Sacred House. Now his employer had pulled the financial plug on
him, and he didn't know why.
Oh well, it was not as if there hadn't been other such jobs of
similar nature and length. But this one had been special. This one
had special meaning.
He had lost his daughter to the Sacred House.
Five years ago, when she was eighteen. She had travelled with
him when he took up a posting in Tokyo for the company he had been
working for at the time. She had made some friends. Odd friends.
She went out one day and... Never came back.
He had been looking for her ever since. He had founded his
private investigation agency for that very reason, taking on various
jobs to support his search.
He watched as rings of smoke that emerged from his mouth
floated upwards, shattering to nothingness against the ceiling. He
had reported her missing, naturally, and the police spent some time
searching for her. But rarely were they helping in telling him just
what they were doing to find her, or even keep in touch with him.
It was like beating his head against a wall. They just didn't
seem to care. He wondered why they couldn't take his plight more
seriously. And then the name "Sacred House" came up.
He had no idea what the "Sacred House" might be. But it
sounded suitably impressive.
A religious cult, a secret society, an economic and corporate
entity.... In his time investigating the Sacred House, he had heard
it variously described as all these things. But never once did he
actually find some base or branch for them, nor someone who would
admit to being a member.
He had been in the service of a Malcolm Wright, who had been
looking for his own daughter, Gwen. Like his own daughter, Gwen had
gone missing one day, and had never been seen since. It gave
Fitchner a financial base upon which he could search for his own
child. He never found a trace of her, but he did find information
that lead him to Gwen. Or, at the very least, an old address of
hers.
It isn't hard, in a nation like Japan, to track down a golden
haired, blue eyed, attractive young woman with supermodel looks like
Gwen Wright. Even under ordinary circumstances, she would raise a
fuss just walking down the street. But in Gwen's case, there never
seemed to be a fuss made.... When he spoke to her ex-neighbours,
they mentioned the fact that Gwen was often never home.... In fact,
they had only seen her eight or nine times over a six month period.
When she was home, she was terribly quiet. And whenever she did
make contact with anyone in the local area, she seemed to know an
immense amount about them. As one neighbour said, you couldn't so
much as go to the toilet without her seeming to know precisely when.
Eventually, despite his best efforts, the trail went cold. It
was like Gwen had vanished into thin air.... And, of course,
Malcolm Wright decided to end their arrangement there.
And with it, his opportunity to find Michelle.
He had sent his three-strong staff home, with pay, that
morning. He needed time to himself, he said. Eriko was concerned
about him, of course, but then, she would be. She was a good woman.
Always had been since she joined him, right from the start....
Too much. It was too much for him to deal with. Tears ran
from his eyes, and he stubbed the cigar out in the ashtray that sat
atop the desk.
His gaze went down to the set of drawers that sat to his
right, underneath the desk. Slowly, he opened the second, and
stared at its contents.
He reached in and pulled out the handgun. It glinted dimly
at him. He checked its load. Two shots in it. He wondered when he
had found the time to let the other rounds off....
Slowly, he unhitched the safety catch. The phone rang. He
looked back and forth between the gun and the phone. Great timing.
He put the safety catch back on and placed the gun in the
drawer, picking up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, it's me. Just making sure you don't do yourself in. I'm
fine, thought you'd like to know that. Sorry about the
inconvenience.... I've been a bit busy over the last couple of
years. Friends to see and places to go. Love you lots. Seeya."
And the phone went dead. Fitchner stared at it. He could
almost laugh. Michelle.... How DARE you?
----o
Minako clutched onto her satchel, watching the rain, and the
people who walked past. She had been standing there for a good
three hours, too scared to move. She was getting THAT feeling
again.
People stared at her strange expression. Many found
themselves transfixed by her gaze. But she would always manage to
break it, and turn away. Eventually, the shopkeeper whose store
she had been standing outside was forced to move her along. She had
scared off enough customers that day.
Minako was positively terrified as she walked along the
street. The rain fell on her head, and she felt it run down across
her face, its filth-laden droplets running to her lips. The
sensation of moisture against her mouth broke her, and she cried
out, running like the Devil himself was after her.
----o
Setsuna was gasping for fresh air as she, Hotaru and Usagi
landed in a secluded section of the local park. It had been such a
rapid, unthinking transport, that Setsuna barely had time to plot an
ultimate destination. In doing what she did, she had risked their
lives. But it was necessary, for she had not been ready for the
fight that would have occured if they had stayed there, and neither
would Hotaru and their Princess.
Usagi stared around her, confused about their location for a
few moments before she saw the park's central fountain between the
trees. She then realised she wasn't getting wet, which was unusual
as it was raining so heavily here.
"Nice job, Setsuna.... Right under the rotunda." Usagi
looked up at the roof of the small, round pavillion. Hotaru nodded.
"Must have taken a bit of quick thinking to get us here."
Setsuna swallowed, then looked up at them as she lifted her
hands from her knees. "A lot harder than either of you would have
expected. That was a close one."
"So. Would you mind telling us why we needed to run from
Mako-chan's apartment so damn quickly?" Usagi crossed her arms and
sat down on a small bench that lined the side of the rotunda.
Setsuna shrugged.
"What can I say? I detected a group of hostiles with magical
abilities approaching the apartment door."
"And that is all?"
"Pretty much all. From what I could ascertain from their
minds, they were members of the Coven of Atrocity."
"Wonderful." Hotaru threw her hands in the air and turned,
looking around. "They know who we are and where we are."
"Not necessarily. They might not know who WE are, but Jupiter
is another thing altogether."
Usagi stood. "You mean they were responsible for...."
"I didn't say that." Setsuna looked down at her. "I said
they may know who Jupiter is, based on.... associated information.
Information provided by the contacts we made within the Yakuza."
Usagi paced around. "If this is true.... We must... make
sure everyone is alright. We've got to round everyone up and cover
our tracks... somehow."
"Is that an order, Princess?" Setsuna looked at Usagi,
raising an eyebrow. Hotaru turned and looked from one to the other.
"Setsuna...." She said between clenched teeth.
"It's... not an order. It is a suggestion. We've got to pull
ourselves back into a defensive position. If someone out there does
know the identities of one or more of us...." Usagi shook her head.
"For all our sakes, I hope not. But if there is someone, and they
are hostile towards us, then.... Then I dare suggest.... we must
take precautions... that more people don't find out."
Setsuna nodded and Hotaru shook her head. "Do you KNOW what
that entails?" She ranged up on Usagi. "Do you realise what we may
have to do to achieve this?"
Usagi bit her lower lip. "Hotaru-chan.... You're the
youngest of us...."
"I'm seventeen, or have you forgotten?"
"No, I haven't forgotten that. But you seem to have forgotten
that you have a father out there, somewhere...."
Hotaru spat contemptuously. "I know that. Do you think I
don't understand? You have a set of parents, and a younger brother.
And you've been a great deal closer to them than I have ever been to
my father...." Hotaru looked down, her face a mask of troubles.
"Yes, Hotaru. Try to imagine... what these kind of people
might do if they find out about our families." Usagi shook her
head. "Regardless of how distant you might have become from him, I
think you would be most upset if they were to use him to get to
you."
Hotaru said nothing, turning and wandering away to the far end
of the rotunda. Usagi watched her as Setsuna stepped alongside her.
"She's like you, you know." Setsuna said softly. Usagi
looked up at her.
"How do you mean?"
"She's an emotional one. She has trouble seeing things with
the same sense of clarity that both Neptune and myself do. Even
Uranus. Saturn feels things more deeply than you understand."
"I understand well enough the depth of her emotions, Setsuna.
You forget what I am capable of."
Setsuna watched Usagi for a few moments, silently, then looked
away. "I most certainly hope you do, Princess, because I fear most
strongly what she may become if she...." Setsuna paused, then shook
her head. "We are wasting time standing here. I will go in search
of our number immediately, Princess." Setsuna gave Usagi a little
bow, and vanished.
Usagi stepped up behind Hotaru, placing a hand on her
shoulder. The younger girl turned aside to her. "Do you know what
you've done?"
"Eh?" Usagi frowned.
"The instructions you have given to us. You know how they
will be carried out?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at."
Hotaru turned to her. "Do you understand the way Setsuna
shall interpret those instructions?" Hotaru paused. "I have lived
with her for nigh on four years, now. I understand, only too well,
how she will carry them out."
Usagi looked aside, then took a deep breath. "You're telling
me she will kill those who may be a threat to us."
"That's precisely what I'm trying to say. Setsuna does NOT
see things the way you and I see them. Despite the many levels she
thinks on... Or perhaps because of them, she is extremely rigid in
her perception of duty."
Usago shook her head. "Perhaps, Hotaru-chan, in this case,
she needs to be...."
----o
Minako collapsed through the front entrance of her home,
slamming the door behind her. She puffed, heavily, water dripping
from her soaked body, as she leant against it with closed eyes.
"Is that you, Mina-chan?" She heard her mother's voice, from
the kitchen. She opened her eyes and swallowed.
"Hai, Mama...."
Her mother stepped into the hallway and took a good look at
her daughter. "Oh, Mina-chan! You're soaking wet! What on Earth
have you been up to?"
"I... I got caught... in the rain..."
"Why didn't you try to find shelter?"
"I did... It was just... It stopped and I thought...."
Minako stared at her mother, strangely, biting her lip. Her mother
had seen Minako with that expression several times over the last few
weeks, and it creeped her to the core. She shook it from her mind
and strode forward.
"Come on, you silly girl. You'll get the carpet wet. Let's
get those clothes off, and take a shower before you catch yourself a
death...."
----o
Kaji pulled his car into the multi-storey carpark of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Police Main Office. After flashing his i.d. at the
gate to the Duty Officer, he drove up three flights before finding a
spot.
"Busy day." Aoi muttered.
"Nah, it's always like this."
"Wasn't when I used to work here as a junior officer."
Kaji shrugged and undid his seatbelt, opening his door. He
looked back at Aoi as she sat, not moving an inch. "What's up with
you, Kiko-san?"
She shook her head. "I dunno. I guess I'm just worrying
about these people who have been following me around...."
"Don't be. They aren't likely to make a move on a Tokyo cop.
Not an obvious one, anyway."
"I dunno." Aoi undid her seatbelt, opening her door. She
stepped from the car and shut it behind her, Kaji locking up as she
stared over the roof.
"Kaji...."
"What?"
"Is there someone standing on the building over there,
watching me?" She pointed out through one of the open barred window
spaces that ran the length of the level. He turned and looked, but
just shrugged.
"I dunno. It's too dark and too far to see."
"I'm sure I saw someone...."
He turned back to her. "Settle down, Aoi.... You're making
yourself paranoid."
"I AM paranoid. I don't like the feeling of people I don't
know, stepping on my shadow."
Kaji watched her for a few moments as she continued to stare
out of the carpark, wide-eyed. He stepped around the back of the
car and took her arm. She snapped to and looked at him.
"Come on, stupid. You can't stand here all day, looking out
for spooks." Kaji sighed. Aoi nodded mutely and allowed him to
guide her to the entrance door.
----o
Minako stood under the spray of the shower, allowing the warm
water to run over her body. The sensation felt incredible, yet
somehow unsatisfactory. She opened her mouth and allowed the water
to run down her throat. Once more, she felt an unsatisfied thrill.
This was not enough. She needed more. She placed her mouth as
close to the nozzle as possible and drank the water... Until she
could drink no more.
She collapsed onto the floor of the shower, holding her sore
stomach. She was still thirsty, but she was full. Almost
immediately, she began to bring the water up, coughing and choking.
There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Mina-chan... Are
you alright in there? Mina-chan?"
Minako lifted her head, clearing out the last of the water
from her mouth. "Hai.... I'm just feeling a little... off colour."
"Not surprising, if you're going to walk through the rain the
way you did." Minako could hear her mother's footsteps, walking
away from the bathroom.
Mina pulled herself up into a sitting position, on the floor
of the shower, allowing the water to strike her on the head. An
indescribable sense of shame and fear overcoming her.... She was
going mad... surely... All these feelings she had been having over
the last few weeks.... No, it went longer than that...
Her constant need to be the centre of attention... To attract
people to her... She wanted people to come to her... To be
fascninated by her... Come into my web, said the spider to the....
Now she was just being stupid. She stared at the water
running across the floor of the shower towards the drain. The
rivulets trickled in a manner that held her fascination.... She
shook her head and stood, allowing the water to flow over her body
once more, she grabbed the soap from the dish....
----o
Aoi stood in the ladies room, staring at herself in the
mirror. Kaji was right. Even if there were all sorts of weirdo
groups out there, following her, in all likelihood, they were just
interested in her work, not her, personally.
She washed her hands, slowly, allowing the lather of the soap
to spread across the entire surface of her skin. Thoughts ran
through her mind. Of her meeting with those girls this morning.
Hayakawa Arisa. Maria Firenze.
She took a breath. They were both younger than her. Arisa
was even better looking.... Well, she thought so, anyway. Aoi
stared at her features in the mirror. Dark brown, slightly wavy
long hair, round face, pale complexion, deep, dark eyes.... She
shook her head.
She'd always been her own greatest critic when it came to her
looks. And so she spent a great deal of time trying to make herself
look ordinary.... Just like her mother.
She shivered.... She didn't want to end up like her mother.
But at 28, going on 29, the biological clock was starting to tick
away.... She chuckled at that... It's not like she missed having
someone, a man, around her life. She was quintessentially a loner,
and preferred to be by herself, once away from the office. But
still, her mother had married very late in life, and didn't give
birth to Aoi until she was in her late thirties. Maybe some things
were hereditary....
The first she knew of his presence is when he grabbed her
around the middle and spun her round. He then jammed his mouth over
hers as she tried to protest, hitting him with her hands. He
pressed himself against her, pushing her back against the sink
bench. She lifted back one of her hands and made to slap him one,
but he managed to get clear before she collected.
"Mmm... Tasty." He said, licking his lips.
"You!" She pointed at the thin, effeminate man with long
brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "What the hell are you doing in
here? Get out, before I call for someone!"
He clicked his tongue, wagging a finger. "Now now now, let's
not be hasty about this. I apologise for my forward behaviour, but
I let my instincts get the better of my senses sometimes."
"You're telling me." She wiped her mouth.
"And besides, even if you do yell, nobody shall hear you. I
have placed a silence wall around this room. Nobody shall come in,
and you shall not leave until our business is finished."
She pushed herself back against the bench. "What business
would that be?" He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Nothing like that, I can assure you. As I said, my instincts
sometimes get the better of me."
She relaxed, slightly, but not by much. "Who are you?"
"You weren't very surprised by my comment on the 'silence
wall'." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is
Pagan Lacey, and I am an operative of...."
"The enemies of the Sacred House."
Pagan opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Ah, so they have
warned you about us, previously, have they?"
"You could say that."
He nodded, putting a hand to his chin. "Yes, indeed, they are
very quick off the mark. Well, I suppose they've told you why they
have been watching you?"
"It has been mentioned in passing. And I suppose it is the
same reason you are watching me?"
Pagan smiled. It was one of the sweetest smiles Aoi had ever
seen. Despite his overly forward nature, Aoi couldn't help but feel
something for this Pagan Lacey. "Ah, yes, well... My involvement
is a little more personal than that. You see, the Coven of
Atrocity... Ignore the name, it's a misnomer... The Coven wished
to match me with you."
"Do they now?"
"Indeed. They say our bloodlines are perfectly matched to
produce children of power...."
"Like horses at a stable."
Pagan chuckled. "Looks like you catch on to the idea quickly.
I think its pretty silly, too, but I thought it was well worth
warning you about it."
"Thanks for your advice. Can I go, now? I have a job to do."
"Ah, not just yet... I am lead to believe you visited the
home of one Kino Makoto early this morning..."
"What about it?"
"Did you know someone has turned that place upside-down
since?" Aoi stared at him.
"Eh?"
"We followed you there, and kept watch. In that time, we saw
a young woman enter the apartment." He reached into the pocket of
his jacket and pulled out a photograph. "Hai kore..."
She took the photograph and stared at it for several moments.
He watched her expression.
"Interesting, is it not?" He smiled.
"This girl... This is..."
"This is...?"
"I've never seen her before. Can I keep it?"
Pagan facefaulted. "Uh, yeah, you can keep it."
"Good. Have you reported the break-in of the girl's
apartment, yet?" Pagan shook his head.
"We don't want to get too involved. Besides, we don't know
who did it yet." He shrugged. "It could be the Sacred House. I
can promise you, it wasn't us."
"We shall see." She nodded to the door. "Can I go, now?"
Pagan sighed and nodded. With a flash, she could hear noises
coming from outside the doorway, only then noticing how silent
things had been up to that point. She smiled.
"Thankyou."
He bowed. "Anything for her most gracious majesty."
"Oh, and by the way...." She levelled her gaze at him as he
looked up.
"What?"
"If you ever pull something like that on me again, Coven of
Whatever or not, you'll be dancing the Nutcracker Suite, do you
understand?"
He sweatdropped, crossing his legs. "I gotcha."
He vanished from the ladies room. Just like he did from the
garden area above the SIU car park. She sniffed... You get to see
a lot in this line of work.
She looked at the photograph again. So, Sailormoon, this is
what you look like in real life, is it?
END OF PART 7
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net