Book, Staff, and Spirit Productions

Welcomes you to:

Sailor Moon L(ovecraft)

A Fusion with concepts from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft.

Episode 3

The Calm Before the Storm

Tragic Stories and Preparations

Note: Understanding this story requires no prior knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft or any of his writings. It does, however require a fair bit of knowledge of the anime series Sailor Moon. Like you'd be here if you didn't already have that.

This story takes place after Sailor Moon S. It can be considered an alternate universe, since it takes the place of Sailor Moon Super S.

1

After a short visit by a strange woman with teal colored hair and a headband, Mr. Urawa finally broke down and arranged for a funeral for his missing son. Ami and the rest of the Senshi attended, as did Mamoru, Motoki, Naru, Umino, Yuuchiro, and Iain.

It was a very somber event. Mr. Urawa was only able to speak for a short time before he broke down. Many people were worried about him, because after losing his wife all those years ago, he'd mostly lived for his son and his job; he had done the best job he could to raise Ryo.

Rei's grandpa presided over the ceremony; in fact, it was held at Hiwaka Temple. Mr. Urawa had never understood his son's faith in Shinto beliefs, but he honored them now. Ami was crying almost as soon as the ceremony started, and her sobbing and Grandpa's prayers were the only sounds heard through the rather short, but entirely too long ceremony.

Finally, it was over. The guests (mostly Mr. Urawa's friends and coworkers) started milling around and talking softly, as guests are wont to do after funerals. The Senshi had little to say to each other, though. Naru and Usagi wept gently while their respective boyfriends held them; Minako stayed near Motoki, saying very little, while Yuuichiro helped Grandpa. Makoto and Rei both kept to themselves, thinking their own private thoughts.

After a short time, Rei noticed Iain staring off into space near the prayer tree, where a prayer for Urawa Ryo had been hung as the final part of the ceremony. He was clutching his cross tightly, and looking upset.

Rei's eyes narrowed. Even though she'd attended a Catholic school up through the end of middle school (and only a cheap plot device had kept her out from going to one for high school as well), she was offended for some reason by some American Christian just waltzing in and saying his own prayers for a faithful Shinto. She marched over angrily and snapped (albeit softly), "Why are you so sad?"

He jumped, surprised, and stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Since when was being sad at a funeral a crime?" he asked, sounding a little hurt.

"You hardly even knew him," she said. Then she sighed. "Not that I did either. Sorry, I just…"

"Don't like some dude carrying a cross hanging out at a Shinto funeral, huh?" he asked, with the ghost of a smile. She blinked, surprised. Normally he wasn't so insightful. He laughed, and went on. "Don't blame you. Really though…" he glanced over at Ami, who was talking quietly with Mr. Urawa while tears still trickled down both their faces.

"I feel so sorry for Ami. I…" He made a frustrated face, though whether it was because he couldn't think of the right Japanese term, or for some other reason, she couldn't tell. "I just… I wish…" He sighed. "I don't know. I want to help her somehow. I wanted to help stop that thing… but when the Sailors left, they wouldn't let me go with them. I yelled and screamed a lot, but…"

She'd heard the story before, not to mention she'd been there, as Sailor Mars. She hadn't understood then why he thought he could help, and she didn't understand now. So, she said so.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I… I've never been any sort of help against monsters before…" He seemed to be on the edge of tears. "I just…"

Rei gave him a quizzical look. "You keep mentioning monsters and things like that. I know there are a lot around here, but I kinda get the impression that you've dealt with the supernatural before coming here?" That and you say your friends are all dead, but I won't mention that, she thought.

Iain winced, and said, "Yeah… I don't… Well, actually, you probably would believe me. Especially if I showed you."

She blinked. "Showed me?"

Across the grounds, Ami bid farewell to her late boyfriend's poor father, and slowly made her way over to Makoto. "Hey, Mako-chan," she whispered.

"Hey, Ami. You alright?" Makoto paused. "Sorry, stupid question."

Ami laughed quietly. "No, it's fine. I'm feeling a lot better, now. I've promised Urawa-san that I'll come visit him, make sure he's alright…" There was a pause, and Makoto turned and looked at her. Ami was crying again. "I… I never even –sniff- even got to a first name basis –sniff- with him! It was… It was always Urawa-kun… Not Ryo-kun… or Ryo…-chan…" Coherant speech ended at that point, and Makoto simply held her friend as she cried.

2

It was three days after the funeral, and quite a group was gathered in the main chamber of the temple. The ache in Ami's heart had dwindled to an almost bearable level. She tried not to think about Urawa as she waited for Rei and Iain to arrive, since they were the ones who had asked them all to be there.

"Them all" included all the Inners in civilian mode (after all, Iain didn't know they were the Sailor Senshi), Haruka and Michiru, Mamoru, Umino, Naru, Grandpa, and Yuiichiro.

Ami briefly wondered if Usagi had told Naru and Umino about the Senshi yet, but dismissed the idea, since Umino wasn't acting any different around them. Rei and Setsuna had finally given their blessing for Usagi to tell Naru, and Ami was surprised she hadn't capitalized on it yet.

Finally, Rei and Iain walked in. Rei smiled and walked over to sit with everyone else, while Iain stood nervously at the entrance to the room. After a moment of everyone staring at him expectantly, he began.

"Er, I suppose… I suppose you've all wondered, at one point or another, about some of the comments I've made in the time I've been here. Uh, well, I can't think of any off the top of my head…"

Umino raised his hand and said, "Oooh! Whenever you mention that Chris guy!"

Iain closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Sure. Like those. Anyway, I've decided to give you all a short history of my life, which will demonstrate why exactly I'm so weird." He smiled faintly. "Rei's already heard this, but she wanted me to tell you all myself.

"You were the people she picked out that she thought could handle the things I'm going to tell you, since you've all had contact with the supernatural." The Senshi in disguise had to suppress laughter. He had no idea how much contact they'd had…

"And anyway, you're pretty much everyone I know." That produced a chuckle. Iain smiled, since getting a chuckle had been his intention for that comment. Now…"

"As Umino said, you've all heard me mention someone named Chris, who, I'm sure you've gathered, is dead. Christopher Gramyre-" He stopped. "Uh, Gramyre Chris-"

"We understand, go on!" Rei snapped.

Iain winced. "Sorry. Christopher Gramyre was one of my two best friends at the school I went to in America. He was handsome, funny, charming, and popular… Everything I never was. I always lived in his shadow, but that didn't bother me, since I am a follower by nature. However, I also have this desire… this desire to have a purpose. To feel needed. Sure, if this had been any normal friendship, I wouldn't have had a problem. Chris was a genuine friend, and enjoyed having me around. But, the little catching point in my life… was this."

With that, Iain reached up into the air in front of him, and seemed to grasp something none of them could see. Then he made a pulling motion down, and they all gasped as one (except for Rei). As he pulled, a shining white sword blade slid out of thin air, casting light onto Iain's face, making it softer… more noble. Ami had to resist the desire to change and scan it with her visor and supercomputer.

As they stared, he said, "This… is Lightbringer. Chris used this sword for three years to destroy demons, monsters, vampires… all sorts of minions of darkness. I, and a couple other people we knew, helped. However, everyone who helped had some sort of useful, paranormal or supernatural ability that made them an effective weapon against the forces of evil. Except for me.

"That was my major sticking point. That is the reason my life has been hell…" He stopped. "Sorry, I'm whining again. I haven't really reached my point. Not that it's much of one-"

"You're rambling again, too," Rei said sweetly.

Iain winced. "Sorry again. Anyway, I don't suppose any of you have heard of Poseidon High School…?"

Their eyes widened. Even in Japan, there'd been news stories about the mysterious slaughter of an entire high school full of students. There had only been a few survivors, who had ranted about demons and monsters, but the American government had officially denied there was anything supernatural about the incident and had yet to release anything substantial.

"Well, that was our school. Someone… or something… got tired of us killing their minions. So they sent creatures far more powerful than we could handle." His voice had been getting weak, and now he was choking on unshed tears. "I was even more useless than ever… I couldn't… couldn't do anything. Just get a couple of people to safety, outside the school grounds. By the time I got back, everyone… everyone was dead or dying." He paused, and took several deep breaths. "Chris gave me his sword. But I can't use it. It has no power when I hold it. At least I can still put it away…

Usagi stood, walked over, and wrapped her arms around him. He stood stiffly, and cried into her shoulder, though he made no move to embrace her back. The sword fell from his grasp, and slipped back into the air and disappeared. After a minute of this, he pulled shakily out of her grasp, smiling his thanks at her. "So… that is my story… now you know why I'm such a killjoy. Thank you for listening. I… I need some time alone, now." And with that, he left for his room.

3

They spent a while just sitting there, after that.

Usagi walked back to Mamoru, and sat within the circle of his arms. She'd heard Iain talk about Chris's girlfriend, Megan, and had gotten the impression that their love had been strong. She was scared to think that something like that could still happen to them, despite the power of their love.

Mamoru held Usagi tightly. He vowed, once again, that he would never let anything happen to his Usako.

Rei smiled at Grandpa as he gave her hand a loving squeeze. Don't worry, Grandpa. We have the strength to win the day, no matter what. Nothing bad will happen to us.

Yuuichiro and Grandpa were both thinking of Rei. They prayed that nothing so terrible would ever happen to her. Little did they know, it already had, in her past life.

Umino and Naru held hands tightly and leaned on each other for support. They knew what it was like to be helpless.

Michiru laid her head in Haruka's lap. It had been a heart rending story, perhaps the saddest she'd ever heard, short of the fall of the Moon Kingdom. She gazed up at Haruka and gave her a small smile.

Haruka smiled back. She'd been impressed. The boy had amazing willpower. She strongly doubted anyone here, except perhaps herself, could handle their entire high school being slaughtered without going off the deep end. Iain may see himself as weak, but he may well be the strongest person I know…

Ami stared at the door Iain had left through in horror. He's been through so much… We've never had any experience as terrible as that… I need to be strong. I've only lost one person my entire life… Ryo-kun… Even my dad still writes me… He never said what happened to his family.

Makoto held back tears, saving them for later. She was thinking about her parents. She knew his pain, though she hadn't lost so many, or been exposed to so much death… But she'd lost her parents. One person, or one thousand, is the same, if it's the wrong one.

Suddenly, Minako stood up with a sharp cry. Everyone jumped a little, and stared at her. Tears were streaming silently down her face as she raised her fist and vowed to the heavens, "He lives in so much pain! I must do what I can to ease the burden on his beautiful pure heart!" With that she disappeared down the hall towards Iain's room.

And with that, the tension broke. Makoto laughed, and said, "She never changes, does she?"

Haruka shook her head with a rueful smile. "Nope. She's still stuck in Death Buster mode. But would we really want her to?"

Ami smiled too. "Nope." He smile faded a little. "I hope she can help him."

Michiru commented, "He's very strong. I don't think he needs all that much help. He's dealt with it well. This was simple dredging up old memories that he'd already dealt with."

Usagi smiled off after Minako. "Maybe they'll hook up?" she said, with a twinkle in her eye.

Rei glanced at Ami appraisingly, and whispered to Usagi too softly for the blue haired girl to hear, "I think he might like Ami, actually."

Usagi made a face. "That'd be a little harder," she whispered back. "She's still getting over Urawa. Minako's single and desperate, though."

Rei glared and hissed, "Baka-Usagi! Don't talk about Mina-chan like that!"

Usagi flinched. "Well, she is!" Then she jumped up. "Okay, everybody! I think we've imposed on Grandpa and Rei and Yuiichiro long enough! We all need time to think! Come on, come on, everybody out!"

Everyone laughed, and started filing out, while Rei twitched in surprise. Usagi? Being responsible again? Maybe she really was growing up!

As they shuffled along at the end of the line, Umino and Naru gave Usagi a look that the poor princess was very familiar with. It said, "What is it you're not telling us, Usagi?"

Usagi smiled the brightest smile she'd smiled since well before they'd faced the King in Yellow, and danced happily over to her oldest friend. "Come on, Naru! I'll walk you guys home!"

Naru and Umino exchanged glances and shrugged.

4

Minako marched up to Iain's door and knocked. His voice almost immediately came from inside. "I'm FINE! GO AWAY!"

"You're not getting off that easy, buster!" she cried as she threw the door open and marched in. "You need emotional support!" She blinked and stopped as she watched him blow away half a dozen Youma in the latest Sailor V game, which looked very nice on his computer. "You're pretty good."

"If I can't kill monsters in real life, at least I can in my games. Why do you think I'm such a computer nerd?"

She shrugged.

"Yeah, well," he continued, "I'm fine." He paused the game and turn around with an overly cocky grin. He was clearly forcing it; even Minako could tell.

"Uh-huh. Sure you are."

"I am!"

"Prove it."

He stared at her. "How am I supposed to prove it?"

She shrugged. "I remind you of Chris's girlfriend, don't I?"

Paling a little, he replied, "How'd you know that…?"

She smiled a little. "Mamoru told me."

"Oh." He paused. "Well, you just look like her. Your personality is nothing like hers was."

Minako raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"

"No, no! Not at all," he responded quickly, shaking his head.

"Good!" With that, she flopped down on his bed, a twinkle in her eye. "So, you like Sailor V, huh?"

He blinked at her. "Yeah, some. It makes for a nice game. I think it's kinda funny that this mysterious super-heroine is active in England for half a year and then becomes a major Japanese commercial success, while the Sailor Senshi have been around in Japan for two years and no one's tried to make any money off of them at all."

Minako laughed delightedly. "They're afraid that the Senshi will demand royalties like Sailor V did. Or that they just won't allow products, period."

Iain raised an eyebrow. "Sailor V is getting royalties?"

"Yeah, but it's kind of a secret, so don't go spreading it around," she giggled.

"How do you know?"

She winked at him conspiratorially. "I'm Sailor V."

He blinked. "You're full of it."

"I am. Here, I'll prove it! V JUSTICE POWER, MAKE-UP!"

And with that, Iain was temporarily blinded by the spiral of red, white, and blue light that came when Minako activated her rarely used Sailor V transformation.

Sailor V grinned as he rubbed his eyes and stared at her. "Holy shit…" he whispered in English.

She mock frowned at him. "Don't swear. It's not nice."

"Wow," he said, staring at her. "That's an even better outfit than the Sailor Senshi wear." Suddenly he frowned and asked, "Can you take off your mask?"

She looked at him quizzically. "Why? I don't see-" She blinked, and suddenly, her mask was gone. Iain was twirling it around one finger. Kami-sama, he's fast! V thought. No wonder he was able to survive all those monster attacks with no offensive powers.

He was grinning at her, and now said, "Ha! You're Sailor Venus, too, aren't you?"

Oh shit, she thought.

"Which means… Makoto's the tall one, brown hair, must be Jupiter, Rei's gotta be Mars- Holy shit, I'm living with a Senshi!- then Ami, short hair, Sailor Mercury… then Usagi's Sailor Moon…?" He blinked. "Unlikely leader you've got, V."

V scratched the back of her head nervously. "Uh, you're not going to tell anyone you've figured this all out, are you? 'Cause I'll be in big trouble if you do…" She smiled ingratiatingly at him.

He laughed. "No, I won't tell anyone. I wouldn't want the world's greatest heroine to get in trouble, after all." He looked at her admiringly. "Wow. I'm talking to Sailor V." Suddenly, he got a thought, and jumped over to his book shelf. He pulled out a Sailor V manga that had been translated into English. "Can I get your autograph?"

She laughed and signed it.

5

Naru and Umino sat on the formers bed, gaping at Sailor Moon. "Usagi? You're Sailor Moon?" Umino asked, finally.

Sailor Moon frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the leader? Of the Sailor Senshi?"

"Well, yeah! What did you think?"

"Well, I-" Naru's hand clapped over Umino's mouth.

"What he means is that he's impressed with your leadership abilities," Naru said, smiling now. Before Usagi could respond, she stood up and whapped her friend lightly on the head. "Why didn't you tell me, you goofball?!"

Sailor Moon cringed. "Sorry, I-" She was interrupted by Naru laughing, much to her surprise.

"You didn't want me to get hurt, I know. I've read enough Sailor V to know her excuses for not telling her friends." She suddenly threw her arms around her friend. "You're still the best friend ever, Usagi!"

Poor Sailor Moon was very confused, but was glad Naru was taking it so well. "You're my best friend ever, Naru! And now I don't have to lie to you anymore! Yay!"

Umino chuckled.

The two old friends released their embrace, and Sailor Moon changed back into Usagi. Her face was uncharacteristically serious as she said, "It goes without saying that you guys can't breathe a word of this to anyone, right? Because if this gets out, Mars and Uranus will make sure we wish we were never born."

Umino and Naru nodded quickly, since both were intelligent human beings and had already figured out who the other Senshi must be. Knowing Rei and Haruku, they were certainly were willing to believe that the consequences of the secret getting out would be dire.

Then Usagi grinned. "Enough of that though. I bet you want to hear about all our keen adventures!" And those were tales that kept them up far into the night.

6

"And here are Washu's labs," Ritsuko said with a smile as she led eight Senshi and a Prince of Earth through a large door. They looked around in awe at the massive chamber they had entered, which was filled to the brim with bookshelves full of old books, various strange contraptions, and glowing computer monitors.

"Washu is our expert on hyper-physics and para-mathematics. As you might or might not have guessed, the research into such topics have driven even her brilliant mind quite insane, but luckily for us all, it is a relatively safe form of insanity, and has actually helped her by expanding her capacity to understand the infinite. However, if you tried telling that her insanity is harmless to her poor assistant, Ruri, or to any one of her 'guinea pigs,' I think you'd get rather convincing arguments as to the opposite."

Iain, with a rather pitiful, frightened look on his face, seemed to be removing and replacing Lightbringer in its hiding spot repeatedly, while all sorts of weird instruments measured the energy. He caught sight of them and gazed over pleadingly.

"Huh. That's where he was all weekend," Rei commented.

Iain whimpered loud enough for them to hear it all the way across the room, and a sense of hopelessness entered his expression.

"I would suggest that we not linger here, and that none of you ever agree to let her study you. She'd never let you go," Ritsuko said.

Very nervous now, the group quickly left.

7

When she entered the office of the Chairman of HERZ, Pluto raised an eyebrow. "Gendo. I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here."

Gendo was in the Gendo Position™, but now he unclasped his hands and stood. "Hello, Pluto. It's been a long time."

She smiled slightly. "I suppose that would be a matter of perspective, now wouldn't it?"

He allowed himself a chuckle at that one. "Yes, well. Please, sit down."

She did so, but frowned. "So, Gendo… Is this school going to be churning out 'tools' for your personal battle against the forces of darkness?"

He smirked as he sat down as well. "Very astute, Pluto. Can you blame me, though?" He leaned forward, his eyes fierce behind his glasses. "Humanity it heading towards its darkest time. We need to be prepared. I am doing my damnedest to prepare the world to combat both kinds of menaces; those things not of humanity, and our own ignorance and evilness." He paused, then settled back. "I am prepared to support you and your Sailors anyway possible, however. We believe we have information dredged up from Atlantis that will be able to help you, but we're going to need time to process it."

She sat silently for a moment. Finally, she said, "The timeline is damaged beyond repair. I cannot get to the future, and I can't discover what is keeping me from it."

His eyes widened, slightly. "Very well, then."

Her eyes, in contrast, narrowed. "I believe that you may have had something to do with this, Gendo."

"And how do you propose I was able to seal you off from the future?"

"I believe your foolish investigations into the unknown are what stirred up whatever it is that has sealed me off. The King in Yellow wasn't it; I was hoping, but even after I destroyed him, my situation didn't change. The King should never have been on Earth during this time, though. I don't know why he was, but it bodes not well."

She stood, then, and turned to leave. Before she did, though, she turned back to him and said, "If I find enough evidence that you've somehow brought about my problems, intentionally or unintentionally, it won't go well for you, Gendo. The Great Old Ones were dogs we should have let lie. If more awaken, we may not be able to deal with them. Even with your help." And with that, she was gone.

8

"Ah, come on, Rei! I mean, he lives with you! Wouldn't it be easier to tell him?" Minako said pleadingly to Rei as they walked from Biology to English together, a little behind the others.

"Why do you care, Minako?" Rei asked, exasperated.

"I, er, I… And it's not like it would be a big deal to let him know, since he has the sword thingy and all…"

"A no is a-" Suddenly a thought struck her. She looked at Minako with a little smirk on her face. "Minako… Do you like him?"

Minako's eyes went wide. "WHAT? NO! No way do…" She trailed off suddenly. Did she? Was there anything so wrong with him…?

"Hey, Minako," a voice called. "What's up?"

Minako spun around, hearts in her eyes. "Oh, hi, Duo-kun!" she said dreamily, smiling at the boy with the braid. He flashed he a smile, then turned and grinned at the boy he was with as they walked by.

"Well, scratch that," Rei said dryly. "So why do you want to let Iain know about us if you don't like him?"

"What?" Minako asked, still staring after Duo.

Rei sighed. "Never mind."

9

"Did you hear? Did you hear? Have you heard the news?" Usagi shouted, running to catch up with her friends after school one day. They all turned bemusedly and looked at her as she came to a screeching halt beside them.

"What news are you talking about, odango-atama? I hear lots of news over a Monday," Rei sighed.

"The first dance of the year is in two weeks! I can't wait! Mamo-chan will blow all the other girls' dates away!" With this statement she closed her eyes, clearly imagining her stunning entrance to their first high school dance, Mamoru at her side.

"Yeah, and then your dancing will break all their feet," Rei said sarcastically.

"Oooh, Rei! You're so mean!" Usagi snapped. "Why are you always so cruel?" She stuck her tongue out at Rei; the dark haired priestess returned the favor.

"Oy," Makoto moaned. "We're in high school now and they still have tongue wars…"

"Actually…" Ami suddenly spoke up. "I'm not sure they'll allow a college student to take a first year girl to a dance…"

This got Usagi's attention for sure. "What? Not let Mamo-chan take me to the dance?! No way! They can't do that! Can they?"

Rei sniggered. Usagi glared. "Oh, yeah, Rei, and you have a date all lined up, right?"

Rei stopped sniggering. The other three girls all looked at each other. "We're in trouble, aren't we?" Makoto asked.

Ami and Minako nodded solemnly. Then all three sat on the curb with a sigh while Usagi teased Rei about taking Yuiichiro.

10

Umino was whistling a cheery tune as he entered the card shop. He was looking for just the right card for Naru to ask her to the dance. Normally, he would have just made one on his computer, but he was in the middle of an upgrade, and his computer was in pieces. So he was here.

He strolled down the aisles, when he noticed that one of the other customers was actually Iain. He smiled and went over to his friend. "Hey, Caduceus-kun! I didn't expect to see you here!"

Iain blinked and turned to look at Umino. "Why not? Am I not allowed to buy cards?"

Umino shrugged. "No, not at all. You're as free to buy a card as I am. So who are you planning on asking?"

Had Iain been drinking something, he would have done a spit take. As it was, he made some gasping sounds before glaring at Umino. "What makes you think I'm asking anyone? Why would I ask a girl to the dance with a card, anyway? I mean, I could just be getting a card to send home to my sisters, couldn't I? Huh?"

"Well, you could be, if you weren't getting so defensive about it. As it is, I think you're definitely asking a girl." Umino grinned at Iain.

Iain snorted, and went back to looking at the cards. Umino peered over his shoulder to find him looking at… "Sailor V cards, eh?" Umino asked.

"You aren't any more Canadian than I am, Umino. And that sounds down right silly in Japanese."

"Your Japanese has gotten a lot better since you've been here, Iain. But as to the girls you know that are fans of Sailor V, I'd have to say that you are planning to ask Minako!"

Once again, he would have done a spit take. He eventually managed to turn and glare at Umino. "I don't like you. Not in the least little bit."

Umino just grinned. "Oh, you love me."

Iain snorted and selected a card.

11

"So…"

Two boys sat lethargically on a set up concrete steps in the courtyard of SGN High. Suzuhara Toji was tall and dark haired, wearing a set up black and purple warm ups. Aida Kensuke, on the other hand, had glasses and sandy colored hair, and was wearing something much closer to the typical school uniform. The only difference was that he had his white dress shirt unbuttoned, and underneath was a camouflage undershirt.

"So…" Toji said again. "Y'got any plans fer da dance?"

"Er… well, I was kinda thinking about asking…" Kensuke trailed off.

"Askin' who?" Toji said, his curiosity piqued.

"Hino," Kensuke said quickly.

"HINO?!" Toji nearly shouted, jumping up.

"Keep it down, Toji! You want to let the entire school know?" Kensuke said frantically, making nervous motions for Toji to sit back down and be quiet.

"Hmmph," Toji snorted, flopping back down. "Hino's almost as bad as da Red Devil. Da same personality, jes different hair color 'n' background."

Kensuke had a silly grin on his face. "Yeah… I know. She can attend to my spiritual needs any time."

Toji rolled his eyes.

"What about you?" Kensuke asked.

"Erm… well, I was thinking' 'bout askin' Kino, y'know? She's nice 'n' tall, and got real nice-" He made a cupping motion at chest level with both hands, "and she'za real athlete, y'know?"

"I don't know… I don't think you remind her of her old boyfriend, so you could be in trouble."

"Yeah, well, I don't think yer exactly Hino's type either, yo!"

They blinked at each other, then sighed, and returned to silently lounging on the steps.

12

Iain blinked as Minako came skipping up to the group's usual lunch table. She's in a good mood. Maybe after lunch would be a good time to-

"Hey guys! Guess what? You'll never guess!" Minako did an excited little dance that would have reminded poor Kiyone-sensei entirely too much of her old partner Mihoshi, had she been there to witness it.

"So, she tells us to guess, then says we never will…" Rei said conversationally. Then she jumped up and shouted, "JUST TELL US!" at Minako, who was still dancing.

Minako blinked. "Oh, sorry. Duo-kun asked me to the dance! He's so dreamy!"

Iain went back to his lunch, while silently crushing the card he had in his pocket.

13

[The stage is trashed. After a moment, C-kun pokes his head out from behind a large couch that has been ripped to shreds]

C-kun: Ah, is it that time already? Damn. Well, folks, I'd planned to interview Tenjou Utena from one of my favorite animes, Revolutionary Girl Utena, but instead, that basket case Saionji showed up instead! He's been trying to kill me for something he says I posted on a message board about him! I, frankly, don't know what the lunatic is talking about.

Saionji: [walks in, katana in hand] There you are! You are going to die, now!

C-kun: Eeep! Now back to the fic! [runs off stage, ducking and dodging katana blows from Saionji, who's right behind him]

14

"Don't be so down on yourself, Iain. It's not the end of the world," Mamoru said as the two trekked through women's department of the mall well behind Rei and Usagi, who were getting ready for the dance. Everyone had been shocked to hear that Aida Kensuke had asked Rei, and even more shocked to hear that she'd accepted. Usagi had been perplexed, since she'd been sure that Rei was going to end up going with Yuiichiro, while the rest of Rei's friends had been pretty sure she'd accepted just so that Usagi would quite bugging her about him.

"I really thought she liked me though. She's been way nice to me for the past couple of weeks. I was sure she wanted me to ask her," Iain sighed. "And then that Duo guy asks her, and I'm at square one again." He made a face. "This always happens to me. I'm always a bit too late."

"Well, it's hardly the first time a guy's misread the signals that a girl has been sending." Mamoru shrugged. "She's probably just been trying to be a friend. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, yeah. Doesn't mean I can't be depressed about it."

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "Why don't you ask Mako-chan or Ami? Neither of them have a date yet."

"Actually, Makoto got asked by Suzuhara Toji today during P.E. I was standing right there," he chuckled. "She dropped the basketball, she was so surprised, and he nabbed it and dunked it. After chasing him around the gym and smacking him in the head with half a dozen basketballs, she said yes!"

They both chuckled at the image, even though Mamoru didn't have a clue about who exactly Toji was. When they had contained their mirth, Mamoru said, "Okay, how about Ami? She doesn't have a date."

To Mamoru's surprise, Iain suddenly got very red. "I, erm, I'm sure she probably doesn't, err, want to be bothered, I mean, so soon after, uh, Urawa and everything, and, you know, I doubt I'm her type, and-"

"What the heck are you babbling about?" Rei said, as she and Usagi wandered up with their acquisitions. Mamoru sweat dropped as he saw how much he would be paying this trip.

"Nothing!" Iain said quickly, turning even redder.

Usagi's eyes narrowed. "Really?" She examined him closely, causing him to lean away and fall down. She blinked down at him, then grinned. "Iain's got a cru-ush! Iain's got a cru-ush!"

Rei grinned to. "Who were you guys talking about? Trying to find Iain a date for the dance?"

Iain tried to crawl underneath a rack of clothing, but Mamoru produced his Kamen cane, snagged him by his belt, and pulled him back out. Mamoru grinned as he said, "I was telling him that he should ask Ami to the dance."

"That's a great idea!" Usagi cried. "Omigod, Iain! Are you gonna? You've gotta. Everyone else has a date, we've gotta get one for Ami, too! You'd be perfect! Come on, you have to. We'll help you!" She grabbed a hold of Iain and started dragging him off. Iain shook his fist impotently at Mamoru, who just grinned and waved.

15

Yuiichiro swept with extra force, for he was in a bad mood. He'd just heard that Rei's high school was holding a dance, but when he'd asked her if she wanted to go with him, she'd told him that she already had a date. Worse yet, she wouldn't even tell him who, so that he could make sure that he was worthy of her. Fat chance of that, of course.

"Yuiichiro!" came Grandpa's voice from the entrance of the temple. Yuiichiro sighed with irritation and headed over to the old priest.

"Yes, sir?"

The old man handed him a book. "I've decided a little reading will do you some good. This is a collection of ancient Shinto teachings. Perhaps reading them will have more of an effect on you than me preaching to you all the time."

Yuiichiro blinked as he looked at the book. It had a plain leather binding with nothing on its cover. He shrugged. "Thanks, Grandpa. I'll read it before I go to bed." He wandered over to his room on put the book on his bedside table, then returned to sweeping, feeling slightly better.

Later that night, as the denizens of the Temple at dinner, a shadowy figure moved silently through the temple grounds to the window of Yuiichiro's room. It silently crawled through the window, and made its way over to the bedside table. When it left, the book was in a slightly different position… and it was slightly larger…

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: Well, I was really rolling. No action in this one, but that'll be more than remedied in the Episode 3.6. Ah, I love my numbering system. I think we're looking at a nice Serial Experiments Lain style thirteen episodes for this story. I intend to be half done by the end of summer. One episode a month; think I can do it?

Well, time for apologies and comments. I know next to nothing about Shinto death ceremonies; I just was kind of general and wrote what sounded good. If anyone wants to send me details on a real Shinto death ceremony, I'd be happy to read them and incorporate them into the story.

I think I ended up going overboard with Iain. My intention was to make him something other than your typical ACC. He seems a bit too pathetic as I read through this, though. I think I'm doing pretty good when it comes to not having him be the center of the story. Tell me what you think… is he a good support character? As anyone who's written a fan fic with an ACC, it is very hard not to spend a lot of time on them.

I don't actually know what phrase Minako uses to change into Sailor V. I made it up. I have yet to be able to find any Codename: Sailor V manga. Though mostly for lack of money and effort.

I am modeling Toji and Kensuke on their characters from the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, not the anime. Kensuke wants Asuka in the manga instead of disliking her. Toji still can't stand her. Also, I'm doing my best to reproduce Toji's manga accent.

Whoa, that's a lot of notes. Uh, okay, here's the Disclaimer: I don't own any character in this except for Iain Caduceus. Please don't sue me for using your characters. It's just for fun.

Anyway, expect the rest of Episode 3 before the end of June. Maybe even before the end of May. Its not like I need to do final projects anyway, yo?

This story is Copyright 2002 C-kun and Book, Staff, and Spirit Productions.