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 Eight
An Inquiring Mind
Pagan stared through the window of the little coffee shop at
the Tokyo Metropolotan Police central office building. He'd ducked
into the shop to get away from the maddening rain that only now
appeared to be lifting. A pall of gloom being replaced by a more
hopeful light.
He thought about Aoi and how good she tasted when he'd kissed
her. A peculiar ability of his... To virtually taste a person's
mind, body and soul through a kiss.... And Aoi had something of an
exotic flavour. A slight bitterness, mixed in with something else,
indefinable....
He ran a finger along the edge of his coffee cup, wondering
if Aoi knew of the link between them he'd planted at that moment...
He hated using underhanded methods like that, especially on someone
like Aoi. However, it was thought that, of all people, she would be
the most likely to discover the identities of the Sailorsenshi,
calculating the strange genetic makeup that she contained would lead
to true sight.... the inability to be fooled through the use of
visions. If anyone was going to see through the magic the
Sailorsenshi used to hide their identities, it was going to be her.
He took a sip of the coffee. A little cold. He preferred it
that way. He disliked coffee when it was too hot. Placing the cup
down he stared around the shop. The woman who ran it had been
staring at him. He smiled back, sweetly. Oh well, it isn't
everyday that these places had foreign customers, even if he'd lived
in Japan for 25 of his 27 years.
He guessed it was the colour of his eyes. The bright
turquoise-blue had always been something of an... eyecatcher... for
want of a better term. It was that eyecolour that caught the
attention of one of the coven's "talent scouts". He had been living
with his Uncle's family after the death of his parents, virtually
growing up with Lysithea, his cousin of the same age.
It was when they had both reached Senior High that a teacher,
who had been a member of the Coven, decided to test them, bringing
out their powers to the fullest.... Of course, it almost cost the
teacher his life, considering he'd challenged them by kidnapping a
schoolfriend of Pagan's and demanded a showdown in the schoolgrounds
at midnight....
The members of the Coven's clean-up squad had to peel the guy
from the gym wall before they could apply medical treatment. All
Pagan could think of was Miyuki, his unfortunate friend. The poor
girl had been madly in love with him, and all because of that she'd
had to endure this....
Miyuki.... He wondered where she was now. Not that it
mattered much, anymore. Feelings change with time. She was
probably married to a salaryman with three kids and chained to a
kitchen sink for the rest of her life. He sighed. Now he was just
depressing himself.
"Mind if I join you?" Said the soft and slightly husky voice.
Pagan looked up at Sherrie and smiled.
"Please do. I'm not doing anything in particular."
"So I see." Sherrie smiled and sat in the seat opposite. Her
sudden appearance in the shop gave the owner and the other patrons
something of a start. Sherrie was not exactly the most
inconspicuous individual, not with hair as red as hers, and tended
to cause something of a stir wherever she went.
"So what brings you to this part of town?" Pagan looked down
at his cup. Sherrie giggled.
"The same reason as you, I suppose. I take it that is the
reason you are here?"
"I don't know. Should there be a reason for my being here?"
Sherrie shrugged as the owner placed a cup of coffee in front
of her. She nodded at the owner politely and turned back to Pagan.
"You find her more interesting than me?"
"Hmmm.... I don't know. Maybe I could start a harem."
"Not likely. Not with your choice of women."
Pagan smiled. "Do I detect a spark of jealousy within you,
Sherrie? That I've stopped chasing you?"
Sherrie snorted. "Hardly. It's nice to have you off my back.
Besides, it was never likely to happen, not with what we've aligned
ourselves with...."
"Indeed." Pagan nodded. "It is a pity you opted for the
House. You would have liked the Coven so much more. You certainly
would have fitted in far better, there."
"I guess I made my own choice in the matter. Not that I
really had much of a choice. If it had been up to me, I'd have
chosen neither." She crossed her legs, leaning her chin on her
right hand.
Pagan raised an eyebrow. "Neither? So your allegiance is not
as strong as suspected. I'm sure my superiors would be happy to
hear that."
"Don't flatter yourself, Pagan. I'm not going to switch. Not
for you or your superiors."
"Yes. I'm sure." He smiled, snidely. She shook her head and
took a sip of her coffee, looking aside through the window.
"I wonder how long Rumiko and Keiko are going to wait. Oh
well. I don't suppose they'll mind. It's not like they're doing
anything."
Pagan turned and followed her gaze. Sitting in a car, parked
some distance away, he could see Sherrie's two partners. Rumiko was
watching them intently. Keiko... Well, she was staring out of the
window at the pattern of the clouds in the sky. He hated Keiko...
She was the scariest of all the House's operatives, simply because
she had no sense of self-control when it came to using her powers.
In fact, she didn't have too much sense in anything at all. He
sweatdropped, slightly.
"You know how to make a guy feel welcome, don't you?" He
turned back to Sherrie, smiling. She mirrored the smile.
"Oh yes. I guess you can say that." Her smile disappeared.
"I'm warning you, Pagan. The House has their dibs on the Kikotsuka
woman, and the Sailorsenshi, when their identities becomes clear.
You shall find your infatuation with the woman cut short. Give it
up before you get hurt."
"Is that a threat? It certainly sounds like one to me."
Sherrie looked into the air, nochalantly, then nodded. "Yes,
I think you could define it in such words." She looked back. "Both
you and I know what might happen when the Sailorsenshi come up for
grabs. It'll be an all out war.... I dare suggest the safest thing
to do is be as far from the eye of the storm when it hits. And that
woman will be close to the centre when it blows through."
"Ah, you're jealous. I can see it now." He pointed at her,
sticking his tongue out at her. "You're just used to playing me
around, and now I'm interested in another woman you don't like it."
Sherrie shrugged. "Think what you want to think." She paused
for a moment, then sniffed the air. "I can smell blood. Someone or
something is dying nearby." She stood. "Not good for my instincts
to hang around where the scent of death is strong."
Pagan sighed as Sherrie walked up to the counter and payed her
bill. He watched her as she walked out of the shop and over to the
car. Oh well, at least she didn't try to eat him this time.
----o
"Was that entirely necessary?" Rumiko looked aside at Sherrie
as the redhead sat in the back seat of the car. Sherrie made a face
at her.
"Schneider seemed to think so. Make our presence known to
them, he said."
"I don't think he meant a lovers' tiff when he said that."
"Well, it'll have the desired effect. It'll rattle Lacey a
bit." She leaned forward, between the front seats, pointing.
"Look, there he goes now."
They watched as Pagan exited the door to the coffee shop,
looking up at the sky. He pulled his jacket tighter around his neck
and started walking away.
"Ah, such studied nonchalance." Sherrie smiled. Rumiko
sighed and started the car.
"He doesn't look all that worried to me." Rumiko looked back,
checking traffic, then turned the car into the street, following
Pagan slowly. Sherrie placed a hand on Rumiko's shoulder.
"Can't you smell it, Rumiko? He's afraid. I can hear his
heart beating, quickly. I can smell the cold sweat. He's alone
with us on his tail." She licked her lips.
"Knock it off, Sherrie. We're not hunting today. Besides, I
thought you told me you'd taken your medication."
"I did. But sometimes the urges are strong." She turned to
Keiko. "Ain't that right, Kei-chan?"
"Hai..." Keiko said, simply, not turning their way. The girl
began to wave her fingers in front of her face. Sherrie shook her
head and sighed.
"She's at it again."
"What?" Rumiko looked aside at Keiko, then shook her head.
"Oh, that. Ignore it. She's always doing that. People with her
condition normally do." Rumiko then hit the brakes, causing Sherrie
to fly forward about a foot. After almost planting her face into
the handbrake, she picked herself up and looked at Rumiko
indignantly.
"Hoi! What did you do THAT for?"
"Because Lacey has made a jump. He's not here, anymore."
Rumiko pointed at the portion of footpath Pagan had been, and
indeed, he was no longer occupying it. Sherrie smiled.
"Ah, he thinks he's going to get away from me that easily,
does he? Well, I have a little surprise for him." She opened the
left side rear window and sniffed the air. "Three miles south east
of here. By a canal, of all places. He's getting sloppy with those
jumps."
"And you can tell all that from just sniffing the air?"
Rumiko looked back at her.
"My dear, if I told you the kinds of things I can work out
just using my sense of smell, you'd want to wash yourself for a week
before you ever did anything around me." She smiled sweetly. "Now
let's make a move before he decides to."
----o
Aoi stepped up behind Kaji as he struggled with one of the
Major Crime division's computers as only a true technological
Luddite could.
"Got as far as putting in your password yet?" She leaned over
his shoulder. He grumbled. "Now now now, there is no reason to be
like that."
"I hate these things. Never do what you want them to do."
"Aha, we have discovered what everyone else has known for a
long time. Careful you don't do anything that will crash the entire
police network."
"I think I have. Several times."
Aoi chuckled as Kaji struggled to stop the machine listing out
the names of fine defaulters in the greater Tokyo area since the
early 1980's.
"Move over and let me show you how to get it to work, you
goit." Kaji smiled and stood, gesturing to the seat he vacated.
"Be my guest."
Aoi shrugged and sat down, instantly stopping the scrolling
screen with the touch of a button. Kaji mumbled something inaudible
and started to pace behind her as she brought up the photographic
image files of the Sailorsenshi.
"These are the best images we have of them. The clearest
pictures of their faces." Aoi pointed to the screen. "These images
have played on television, yet nobody has recognised them."
"Because of the magic that masks their identities, yes." Kaji
continued pacing.
"So, it would be logical to assume that, if we had a
photograph of one of them in civilian guise, we wouldn't recognise
them from a bar of soap."
"But you've already been able to pick out one of them. Or so
you've told me...."
"Shh... Not so loud, 'kay?" She waved at Kaji, who bit his
lip. After a quick look around the open plan office to make sure
nobody heard them, Kaji turned back to her.
"Sorry..."
"We don't want everyone knowing that I know who one of them
are. Can you imagine what would happen then?"
"We'd lose control of the investigation. Not only into the
Sailorsenshi, but the murder as well...."
Aoi nodded. "They'd move the investigation on to... more
'worthy' officers. And we poor bastards would have to sit back as
they wrap everything up and take all the plaudits."
"You have a real mean streak in you, you know that?"
"Yes."
"I mean, what have these girls ever done to you that makes you
want to expose them so much?"
Aoi blinked a couple of times. "Uhh... Because it's my job,
I suppose. Why else would I want to?"
Kaji sighed. "So, what is the point of bringing all this up
about photographs?"
Aoi smiled and pulled the photograph of Usagi from her pocket,
placing it next to the picture of Sailormoon on the screen. Kaji
looked from one to the next.
"So?"
"What do you mean, so? Kaji, this is a photograph of
Sailormoon in her civilian guise."
"It is?" Kaji studied the photograph. "Looks nothing like
her." Aoi facefaulted.
"The girl has blond hair and wears it up in long ponytails.
How many more Japanese girls do you know with blond hair?"
"Umm..." Kaji thought for a bit, and Aoi put a hand to her
face.
"Don't try and think too hard, Kaji. The answer shall be
close to none. Blond isn't a very common genetic trait amongst us."
She sighed and placed the photograph back in her pocket.
"Alright, then, but that doesn't bring us any closer to
finding out her name."
"It does if I use the same method I used before to expose the
Kino girl." She turned and closed the files she had opened,
choosing to look into the Juuban school records once more. She
sweatdropped. "Ah, forgot about this system's wonderful search
program...."
----o
Minako lay on her bed, shaking. It almost felt like
withdrawal symptoms... At least, she intellectualised it that way.
It was difficult to think about anything else, after the events with
the shower....
Her mother ultimately decided, after she had been in the
shower for nigh on 45 minutes, to open up the bathroom door and see
what she was doing. At that point, Minako was trying to lap up the
water on the floor with her tongue like some thirsty animal. It was
at that point that her mother decided that Minako was either sick,
required professional help or both.
Whatever the case, she'd handed her daughter a new set of
clothing, and had ordered her to take a good lie down.
She sat up. On the edge of the bed, holding the mattress as
if she were about to topple off. It looked like a good lie down
was going to do its best to avoid her. This was the seventh time
she had done this. She did it in an effort to regain some control
over what was happening to her.
And that was what frightened her the most. She felt out of
control. The tightening sensation in her chest and throat, like an
encroaching heart attack. The panic seizure was almost impossible
to settle. The more she thought about it, the worse it got. The
worse it got, the more she thought about it. Something that slowly
fed on itself....
She stamped her feet on the floor. Everything seemed to be
spiralling in on her. She wanted to be free of these feelings, but
was afraid of what that meant... What it would take to achieve
this.
And who could she turn to, now? She had been avoiding the
others ever since the fight that had broken out between Makoto and
Setsuna. Haruka had gone to Setsuna's defence, and so she decided
to lay in herself. She was just surprised by the violence and fury
with which she achieved this....
There was even a point where she had been sorely tempted to
tear out Haruka's throat. It would have been SO easy to do...
She'd had the young woman in a headlock, and was easily overpowering
her. It was surprising how strong she had become in recent times...
Of course, Michiru managed to remove her from the grip. And
she felt monstrously guilty for what she'd done ever since. Which
was why she had chosen to avoid them all.... She'd even forgotten
what the fight had been about in the first place. Talk about being
an airhead.... A violent airhead, at that.
She stood and stared out of her bedroom window. Even Artemis
had abandoned her, yesterday. Normally he'd be wandering around,
watching out for her, or curled up on the end of her bed. His
disappearance had left her feeling lonely.
She'd felt this feeling before.... When Adonis.... She shook
her head. That was different. She'd always had this great
emptiness within her... An emptiness that could only be filled by
the social. Now she was closing off those pipelines that fed her
hungry soul, to be replaced by another hunger far more disturbing
than she could imagine....
"Enjoying the view?" Setsuna asked from behind. Minako
wasn't even surprised by the Guardian of Time's unexpected arrival
in her bedroom. She could... smell... the woman as soon as she had
appeared. The scent of her sweat, her skin, her blood....
"You might say that." Minako turned. Setsuna frowned at the
girl's expression. The way her eyes looked at her.... She shook
her head, removing the blond's strange gaze from her mind.
"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me and join the others,
Venus. We're in the poop up to our necks, for want of a better
term."
"Really?" Minako didn't seem interested. Her gaze was
levelled more at the open collar of Setsuna's jacket, now. Setsuna
looked down at where she was staring, then back up again.
"Are you alright, Venus?"
"Perfectly, thankyou."
"Then perhaps you'd like to take my hand?" Setsuna reached
out. Minako smiled and took the hand, dreamily.
"Shouldn't I tell my mother that I'm going out?"
"Right now, we need to retreat and consider our options. I'm
afraid our identities might have been exposed by hostile groups..."
Setsuna paused as Minako touched her shoulder, gently. "What are
you doing, Venus?"
"Your skin..."
"What about it?"
"It's dark. It looks so healthy...."
Setsuna paused for a moment, staring at Minako, thinking. "I
think we had better get back to the others, don't you agree?"
"Oh yes, the more the merrier." Minako smiled. With that,
the two of them disappeared from the room.
----o
Joachim Schneider raised an eyebrow as he read the research
paper, written by members of the Sacred House's scientific and
historical departments. He strode around the shrine room, watched
by Tani Genzaburo, who knelt on the top step of the shrine stairs,
The older man's footsteps echoing through the shrine chamber.
"Fascinating. The idea of linking the Sailorsenshi with this
had never even entered my mind."
"We have been researching for some time on the origins of the
powers posessed by the Sailorsenshi, Schneider-san." Tani nodded.
"There is no doubt, these powers predate the arrival of the Others
on this planet."
"An older power than our own. I find the concept frightening,
to say the least." He turned to Tani. "Who else within the High
Executive knows of this?"
"Most of us, Schneider." Said a husky voice. From the
shadows emerged a pale-skinned figure of a young woman, with short
albino-white hair and powder-white eyes, lined with black eyelashes
that made her eyes stand out in an almost manic gaze. She wore a
severe black business skirt, blouse and jacket, matching the
atmosphere that surrounded her.
Carey West was the Operations Manager for the Sacred House.
Although only 28, she had managed to reach this position quickly
through various methods of diplomacy and intimidation. And she had
a lot to back up her intimidation.... One didn't argue with a
member of the West bloodline.
"So, now we have some historical perspective on the
Sailorsenshi.... How did we put two and two together?" Schneider
looked from West to Tani. Gen shrugged.
"Even though our organisation is only 3000 years old, or so,
we do carry records dating back far further than that..."
"Records that go back to a golden era in the history of this
planet. Or a Silver one, to be more precise." Carey continued his
train of explanation. She strode forward, making a gesture of faith
to the shrine as she did so.
"Yes, I have read them you know." Joachim took a breath.
"The Silver Millenium." Gen looked at Joachim, who nodded.
"We'd always considered it to be a myth. Certainly, the records we
have salvaged about its existence are written in the form of
religious doctrine...."
"It seems to be the origin of many forms of faith and
mythology. A combination of the single-god doctrines and animist
faiths. We'd always regarded it as such, and that included the
myths of its downfall, and the promise of resurrection." Carey
stopped in front of Joachim. "It would seem those promises might
have come to light."
"The Sailorsenshi are the 'promised ones' of mythology..."
Joachim rubbed his chin. "Interesting. And I'm sure the Coven
shall have come to this conclusion, also."
"No doubt about it." Gen stood. "They have much the same
records as we do."
"It gets worse." Carey looked grimly between Joachim and
Gen. "We have calculated that, if their spirits have been reborn
into new bodies, it is most likely that those bodies have been
imbued with power. The power of our kind."
"A kind of defensive mechanism.... To make sure they made it
to the point where their Sailorsenshi abilities came to the fore,
they were born into lost lines of the Others." Gen slowly descended
the stairs.
Joachim looked down at the papers. "So, in a way, they are
connected with us." He bit his lip. "I'd hate to think what would
happen if one of them were to be born into one of the more dangerous
breeds, and went out of control.... Who knows what would happen if
someone with the powers of a Sailorsenshi were to go on a feeding frenzy...."
END OF PART 8
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net
18th Mar 1998 (Happy birthday to me ^_^)
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 Eight
An Inquiring Mind
Pagan stared through the window of the little coffee shop at
the Tokyo Metropolotan Police central office building. He'd ducked
into the shop to get away from the maddening rain that only now
appeared to be lifting. A pall of gloom being replaced by a more
hopeful light.
He thought about Aoi and how good she tasted when he'd kissed
her. A peculiar ability of his... To virtually taste a person's
mind, body and soul through a kiss.... And Aoi had something of an
exotic flavour. A slight bitterness, mixed in with something else,
indefinable....
He ran a finger along the edge of his coffee cup, wondering
if Aoi knew of the link between them he'd planted at that moment...
He hated using underhanded methods like that, especially on someone
like Aoi. However, it was thought that, of all people, she would be
the most likely to discover the identities of the Sailorsenshi,
calculating the strange genetic makeup that she contained would lead
to true sight.... the inability to be fooled through the use of
visions. If anyone was going to see through the magic the
Sailorsenshi used to hide their identities, it was going to be her.
He took a sip of the coffee. A little cold. He preferred it
that way. He disliked coffee when it was too hot. Placing the cup
down he stared around the shop. The woman who ran it had been
staring at him. He smiled back, sweetly. Oh well, it isn't
everyday that these places had foreign customers, even if he'd lived
in Japan for 25 of his 27 years.
He guessed it was the colour of his eyes. The bright
turquoise-blue had always been something of an... eyecatcher... for
want of a better term. It was that eyecolour that caught the
attention of one of the coven's "talent scouts". He had been living
with his Uncle's family after the death of his parents, virtually
growing up with Lysithea, his cousin of the same age.
It was when they had both reached Senior High that a teacher,
who had been a member of the Coven, decided to test them, bringing
out their powers to the fullest.... Of course, it almost cost the
teacher his life, considering he'd challenged them by kidnapping a
schoolfriend of Pagan's and demanded a showdown in the schoolgrounds
at midnight....
The members of the Coven's clean-up squad had to peel the guy
from the gym wall before they could apply medical treatment. All
Pagan could think of was Miyuki, his unfortunate friend. The poor
girl had been madly in love with him, and all because of that she'd
had to endure this....
Miyuki.... He wondered where she was now. Not that it
mattered much, anymore. Feelings change with time. She was
probably married to a salaryman with three kids and chained to a
kitchen sink for the rest of her life. He sighed. Now he was just
depressing himself.
"Mind if I join you?" Said the soft and slightly husky voice.
Pagan looked up at Sherrie and smiled.
"Please do. I'm not doing anything in particular."
"So I see." Sherrie smiled and sat in the seat opposite. Her
sudden appearance in the shop gave the owner and the other patrons
something of a start. Sherrie was not exactly the most
inconspicuous individual, not with hair as red as hers, and tended
to cause something of a stir wherever she went.
"So what brings you to this part of town?" Pagan looked down
at his cup. Sherrie giggled.
"The same reason as you, I suppose. I take it that is the
reason you are here?"
"I don't know. Should there be a reason for my being here?"
Sherrie shrugged as the owner placed a cup of coffee in front
of her. She nodded at the owner politely and turned back to Pagan.
"You find her more interesting than me?"
"Hmmm.... I don't know. Maybe I could start a harem."
"Not likely. Not with your choice of women."
Pagan smiled. "Do I detect a spark of jealousy within you,
Sherrie? That I've stopped chasing you?"
Sherrie snorted. "Hardly. It's nice to have you off my back.
Besides, it was never likely to happen, not with what we've aligned
ourselves with...."
"Indeed." Pagan nodded. "It is a pity you opted for the
House. You would have liked the Coven so much more. You certainly
would have fitted in far better, there."
"I guess I made my own choice in the matter. Not that I
really had much of a choice. If it had been up to me, I'd have
chosen neither." She crossed her legs, leaning her chin on her
right hand.
Pagan raised an eyebrow. "Neither? So your allegiance is not
as strong as suspected. I'm sure my superiors would be happy to
hear that."
"Don't flatter yourself, Pagan. I'm not going to switch. Not
for you or your superiors."
"Yes. I'm sure." He smiled, snidely. She shook her head and
took a sip of her coffee, looking aside through the window.
"I wonder how long Rumiko and Keiko are going to wait. Oh
well. I don't suppose they'll mind. It's not like they're doing
anything."
Pagan turned and followed her gaze. Sitting in a car, parked
some distance away, he could see Sherrie's two partners. Rumiko was
watching them intently. Keiko... Well, she was staring out of the
window at the pattern of the clouds in the sky. He hated Keiko...
She was the scariest of all the House's operatives, simply because
she had no sense of self-control when it came to using her powers.
In fact, she didn't have too much sense in anything at all. He
sweatdropped, slightly.
"You know how to make a guy feel welcome, don't you?" He
turned back to Sherrie, smiling. She mirrored the smile.
"Oh yes. I guess you can say that." Her smile disappeared.
"I'm warning you, Pagan. The House has their dibs on the Kikotsuka
woman, and the Sailorsenshi, when their identities becomes clear.
You shall find your infatuation with the woman cut short. Give it
up before you get hurt."
"Is that a threat? It certainly sounds like one to me."
Sherrie looked into the air, nochalantly, then nodded. "Yes,
I think you could define it in such words." She looked back. "Both
you and I know what might happen when the Sailorsenshi come up for
grabs. It'll be an all out war.... I dare suggest the safest thing
to do is be as far from the eye of the storm when it hits. And that
woman will be close to the centre when it blows through."
"Ah, you're jealous. I can see it now." He pointed at her,
sticking his tongue out at her. "You're just used to playing me
around, and now I'm interested in another woman you don't like it."
Sherrie shrugged. "Think what you want to think." She paused
for a moment, then sniffed the air. "I can smell blood. Someone or
something is dying nearby." She stood. "Not good for my instincts
to hang around where the scent of death is strong."
Pagan sighed as Sherrie walked up to the counter and payed her
bill. He watched her as she walked out of the shop and over to the
car. Oh well, at least she didn't try to eat him this time.
----o
"Was that entirely necessary?" Rumiko looked aside at Sherrie
as the redhead sat in the back seat of the car. Sherrie made a face
at her.
"Schneider seemed to think so. Make our presence known to
them, he said."
"I don't think he meant a lovers' tiff when he said that."
"Well, it'll have the desired effect. It'll rattle Lacey a
bit." She leaned forward, between the front seats, pointing.
"Look, there he goes now."
They watched as Pagan exited the door to the coffee shop,
looking up at the sky. He pulled his jacket tighter around his neck
and started walking away.
"Ah, such studied nonchalance." Sherrie smiled. Rumiko
sighed and started the car.
"He doesn't look all that worried to me." Rumiko looked back,
checking traffic, then turned the car into the street, following
Pagan slowly. Sherrie placed a hand on Rumiko's shoulder.
"Can't you smell it, Rumiko? He's afraid. I can hear his
heart beating, quickly. I can smell the cold sweat. He's alone
with us on his tail." She licked her lips.
"Knock it off, Sherrie. We're not hunting today. Besides, I
thought you told me you'd taken your medication."
"I did. But sometimes the urges are strong." She turned to
Keiko. "Ain't that right, Kei-chan?"
"Hai..." Keiko said, simply, not turning their way. The girl
began to wave her fingers in front of her face. Sherrie shook her
head and sighed.
"She's at it again."
"What?" Rumiko looked aside at Keiko, then shook her head.
"Oh, that. Ignore it. She's always doing that. People with her
condition normally do." Rumiko then hit the brakes, causing Sherrie
to fly forward about a foot. After almost planting her face into
the handbrake, she picked herself up and looked at Rumiko
indignantly.
"Hoi! What did you do THAT for?"
"Because Lacey has made a jump. He's not here, anymore."
Rumiko pointed at the portion of footpath Pagan had been, and
indeed, he was no longer occupying it. Sherrie smiled.
"Ah, he thinks he's going to get away from me that easily,
does he? Well, I have a little surprise for him." She opened the
left side rear window and sniffed the air. "Three miles south east
of here. By a canal, of all places. He's getting sloppy with those
jumps."
"And you can tell all that from just sniffing the air?"
Rumiko looked back at her.
"My dear, if I told you the kinds of things I can work out
just using my sense of smell, you'd want to wash yourself for a week
before you ever did anything around me." She smiled sweetly. "Now
let's make a move before he decides to."
----o
Aoi stepped up behind Kaji as he struggled with one of the
Major Crime division's computers as only a true technological
Luddite could.
"Got as far as putting in your password yet?" She leaned over
his shoulder. He grumbled. "Now now now, there is no reason to be
like that."
"I hate these things. Never do what you want them to do."
"Aha, we have discovered what everyone else has known for a
long time. Careful you don't do anything that will crash the entire
police network."
"I think I have. Several times."
Aoi chuckled as Kaji struggled to stop the machine listing out
the names of fine defaulters in the greater Tokyo area since the
early 1980's.
"Move over and let me show you how to get it to work, you
goit." Kaji smiled and stood, gesturing to the seat he vacated.
"Be my guest."
Aoi shrugged and sat down, instantly stopping the scrolling
screen with the touch of a button. Kaji mumbled something inaudible
and started to pace behind her as she brought up the photographic
image files of the Sailorsenshi.
"These are the best images we have of them. The clearest
pictures of their faces." Aoi pointed to the screen. "These images
have played on television, yet nobody has recognised them."
"Because of the magic that masks their identities, yes." Kaji
continued pacing.
"So, it would be logical to assume that, if we had a
photograph of one of them in civilian guise, we wouldn't recognise
them from a bar of soap."
"But you've already been able to pick out one of them. Or so
you've told me...."
"Shh... Not so loud, 'kay?" She waved at Kaji, who bit his
lip. After a quick look around the open plan office to make sure
nobody heard them, Kaji turned back to her.
"Sorry..."
"We don't want everyone knowing that I know who one of them
are. Can you imagine what would happen then?"
"We'd lose control of the investigation. Not only into the
Sailorsenshi, but the murder as well...."
Aoi nodded. "They'd move the investigation on to... more
'worthy' officers. And we poor bastards would have to sit back as
they wrap everything up and take all the plaudits."
"You have a real mean streak in you, you know that?"
"Yes."
"I mean, what have these girls ever done to you that makes you
want to expose them so much?"
Aoi blinked a couple of times. "Uhh... Because it's my job,
I suppose. Why else would I want to?"
Kaji sighed. "So, what is the point of bringing all this up
about photographs?"
Aoi smiled and pulled the photograph of Usagi from her pocket,
placing it next to the picture of Sailormoon on the screen. Kaji
looked from one to the next.
"So?"
"What do you mean, so? Kaji, this is a photograph of
Sailormoon in her civilian guise."
"It is?" Kaji studied the photograph. "Looks nothing like
her." Aoi facefaulted.
"The girl has blond hair and wears it up in long ponytails.
How many more Japanese girls do you know with blond hair?"
"Umm..." Kaji thought for a bit, and Aoi put a hand to her
face.
"Don't try and think too hard, Kaji. The answer shall be
close to none. Blond isn't a very common genetic trait amongst us."
She sighed and placed the photograph back in her pocket.
"Alright, then, but that doesn't bring us any closer to
finding out her name."
"It does if I use the same method I used before to expose the
Kino girl." She turned and closed the files she had opened,
choosing to look into the Juuban school records once more. She
sweatdropped. "Ah, forgot about this system's wonderful search
program...."
----o
Minako lay on her bed, shaking. It almost felt like
withdrawal symptoms... At least, she intellectualised it that way.
It was difficult to think about anything else, after the events with
the shower....
Her mother ultimately decided, after she had been in the
shower for nigh on 45 minutes, to open up the bathroom door and see
what she was doing. At that point, Minako was trying to lap up the
water on the floor with her tongue like some thirsty animal. It was
at that point that her mother decided that Minako was either sick,
required professional help or both.
Whatever the case, she'd handed her daughter a new set of
clothing, and had ordered her to take a good lie down.
She sat up. On the edge of the bed, holding the mattress as
if she were about to topple off. It looked like a good lie down
was going to do its best to avoid her. This was the seventh time
she had done this. She did it in an effort to regain some control
over what was happening to her.
And that was what frightened her the most. She felt out of
control. The tightening sensation in her chest and throat, like an
encroaching heart attack. The panic seizure was almost impossible
to settle. The more she thought about it, the worse it got. The
worse it got, the more she thought about it. Something that slowly
fed on itself....
She stamped her feet on the floor. Everything seemed to be
spiralling in on her. She wanted to be free of these feelings, but
was afraid of what that meant... What it would take to achieve
this.
And who could she turn to, now? She had been avoiding the
others ever since the fight that had broken out between Makoto and
Setsuna. Haruka had gone to Setsuna's defence, and so she decided
to lay in herself. She was just surprised by the violence and fury
with which she achieved this....
There was even a point where she had been sorely tempted to
tear out Haruka's throat. It would have been SO easy to do...
She'd had the young woman in a headlock, and was easily overpowering
her. It was surprising how strong she had become in recent times...
Of course, Michiru managed to remove her from the grip. And
she felt monstrously guilty for what she'd done ever since. Which
was why she had chosen to avoid them all.... She'd even forgotten
what the fight had been about in the first place. Talk about being
an airhead.... A violent airhead, at that.
She stood and stared out of her bedroom window. Even Artemis
had abandoned her, yesterday. Normally he'd be wandering around,
watching out for her, or curled up on the end of her bed. His
disappearance had left her feeling lonely.
She'd felt this feeling before.... When Adonis.... She shook
her head. That was different. She'd always had this great
emptiness within her... An emptiness that could only be filled by
the social. Now she was closing off those pipelines that fed her
hungry soul, to be replaced by another hunger far more disturbing
than she could imagine....
"Enjoying the view?" Setsuna asked from behind. Minako
wasn't even surprised by the Guardian of Time's unexpected arrival
in her bedroom. She could... smell... the woman as soon as she had
appeared. The scent of her sweat, her skin, her blood....
"You might say that." Minako turned. Setsuna frowned at the
girl's expression. The way her eyes looked at her.... She shook
her head, removing the blond's strange gaze from her mind.
"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me and join the others,
Venus. We're in the poop up to our necks, for want of a better
term."
"Really?" Minako didn't seem interested. Her gaze was
levelled more at the open collar of Setsuna's jacket, now. Setsuna
looked down at where she was staring, then back up again.
"Are you alright, Venus?"
"Perfectly, thankyou."
"Then perhaps you'd like to take my hand?" Setsuna reached
out. Minako smiled and took the hand, dreamily.
"Shouldn't I tell my mother that I'm going out?"
"Right now, we need to retreat and consider our options. I'm
afraid our identities might have been exposed by hostile groups..."
Setsuna paused as Minako touched her shoulder, gently. "What are
you doing, Venus?"
"Your skin..."
"What about it?"
"It's dark. It looks so healthy...."
Setsuna paused for a moment, staring at Minako, thinking. "I
think we had better get back to the others, don't you agree?"
"Oh yes, the more the merrier." Minako smiled. With that,
the two of them disappeared from the room.
----o
Joachim Schneider raised an eyebrow as he read the research
paper, written by members of the Sacred House's scientific and
historical departments. He strode around the shrine room, watched
by Tani Genzaburo, who knelt on the top step of the shrine stairs,
The older man's footsteps echoing through the shrine chamber.
"Fascinating. The idea of linking the Sailorsenshi with this
had never even entered my mind."
"We have been researching for some time on the origins of the
powers posessed by the Sailorsenshi, Schneider-san." Tani nodded.
"There is no doubt, these powers predate the arrival of the Others
on this planet."
"An older power than our own. I find the concept frightening,
to say the least." He turned to Tani. "Who else within the High
Executive knows of this?"
"Most of us, Schneider." Said a husky voice. From the
shadows emerged a pale-skinned figure of a young woman, with short
albino-white hair and powder-white eyes, lined with black eyelashes
that made her eyes stand out in an almost manic gaze. She wore a
severe black business skirt, blouse and jacket, matching the
atmosphere that surrounded her.
Carey West was the Operations Manager for the Sacred House.
Although only 28, she had managed to reach this position quickly
through various methods of diplomacy and intimidation. And she had
a lot to back up her intimidation.... One didn't argue with a
member of the West bloodline.
"So, now we have some historical perspective on the
Sailorsenshi.... How did we put two and two together?" Schneider
looked from West to Tani. Gen shrugged.
"Even though our organisation is only 3000 years old, or so,
we do carry records dating back far further than that..."
"Records that go back to a golden era in the history of this
planet. Or a Silver one, to be more precise." Carey continued his
train of explanation. She strode forward, making a gesture of faith
to the shrine as she did so.
"Yes, I have read them you know." Joachim took a breath.
"The Silver Millenium." Gen looked at Joachim, who nodded.
"We'd always considered it to be a myth. Certainly, the records we
have salvaged about its existence are written in the form of
religious doctrine...."
"It seems to be the origin of many forms of faith and
mythology. A combination of the single-god doctrines and animist
faiths. We'd always regarded it as such, and that included the
myths of its downfall, and the promise of resurrection." Carey
stopped in front of Joachim. "It would seem those promises might
have come to light."
"The Sailorsenshi are the 'promised ones' of mythology..."
Joachim rubbed his chin. "Interesting. And I'm sure the Coven
shall have come to this conclusion, also."
"No doubt about it." Gen stood. "They have much the same
records as we do."
"It gets worse." Carey looked grimly between Joachim and
Gen. "We have calculated that, if their spirits have been reborn
into new bodies, it is most likely that those bodies have been
imbued with power. The power of our kind."
"A kind of defensive mechanism.... To make sure they made it
to the point where their Sailorsenshi abilities came to the fore,
they were born into lost lines of the Others." Gen slowly descended
the stairs.
Joachim looked down at the papers. "So, in a way, they are
connected with us." He bit his lip. "I'd hate to think what would
happen if one of them were to be born into one of the more dangerous
breeds, and went out of control.... Who knows what would happen if
someone with the powers of a Sailorsenshi were to go on a feeding frenzy...."
END OF PART 8
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net
18th Mar 1998 (Happy birthday to me ^_^)