Chapter Four: The Importance of a Promise
Usagi waited until she was positive her parents were asleep before climbing out the window. She landed on the ground gracefully, and then changed into Sailor Moon. Her instincts were screaming at her that there was danger... and she needed to defeat it. The way the red nijizuishou was glowing, she was betting that there'd be another attack on one of the carriers... the carrier of the orange crystal. She needed to hurry if she wanted to get it- and incidentally save the person who it was taken from.
A small voice in the back of her mind reminded of her promise to Tuxedo Kamen, but she pushed it aside. If he didn't get there, then he couldn't claim the crystal, right? And if he did- well, she'd keep her word. The hero always kept their word.
She smiled as she leapt up into the trees, and then catapulted over onto the roof of a building. She'd always wanted to run along the rooftops, and she wondered if the noise she was making was waking anyone up. She raced across them, taking the most direct route as she felt pulled north, towards the edge of the Juuban district.
When she finally felt she had reached her destination she took a close look at her surroundings. Various buildings dotted the landscape, and the whole campus emoted a quiet feeling of contemplation. Yes, she had definitely ended up at a school of some sort, although she didn't think she'd heard of this one before.
Slipping over the wall, she quietly made her way to a large fountain that was situated in the center of the open area behind what she could only guess was the residential area. It was a gorgeous statue of an angel raising it arms and face to heaven in obvious supplication, and it took her breath away. So much so, in fact, that she almost missed the shadowed figure of a young man seated on the far side of the flowing water. He appeared to be deep in thought, letting the moonlight that reflected on the falling water droplets capture his gaze and drop him further into his meditative state. Usagi was almost jealous of the calm acceptance and determination she saw on his face, wishing she could feel that way about what she did. For she also saw a fierce joy behind it all, and that was something she hadn't been able to find quite yet inside herself.
Of course that was the moment the youma decided to strike. The noise from the fountain covered the nasty thing's arrival, and it took the both of them by surprise. Usagi recoiled slightly from the bat-like features of the creature's face, the orange scales that served as its skin not making things any better on the eyes. Drool continually dripped from its fangs as it picked the student up from his seat on the lip of the concrete structure, holding him above its head and leering at the shocked heroine.
Usagi was about to go into a furious spiel when she stopped short at the sight she was becoming a witness to. The young man grabbed the silver cross that had been hanging from his neck and folded both hands around it. Muttered words reached the blonde girl's ears, and she could feel a power building, a power she felt sure would not do the monster any favors in the health department. She started to smile, silently cheering him on, the youma starting to get confused.
Her own power started to surge and reach out of its own accord to assist, and when it brushed against the slight glimmer that surrounded the young man Usagi suddenly knew what he was doing. An exorcism! He was doing an exorcism! And that explained where she was, as well. The Christian seminary that missionaries had built right after World War Two north of the city - of course! She had never known it was so beautiful.
After the epiphany had passed, however, Usagi realized she hadn't been able to help in time. The youma roared, shaking its captive then throwing him yards behind him, just missing a large tree trunk in the process and interrupting the prayer that had nearly come to a head. Sailor Moon snarled in frustration and dashed forward to do what she had originally intended - kick some monster butt. "All right, hot shot!" she called out as it stomped over to the fallen ministry student and placed a clawed hand on each of his temples. "I'm not going to let you... hurt... this innocent..."
Her words trailed off as the youma ignored her and an orange glow began to surround both the attacker and its victim, quickly becoming blinding. She just caught sight of a red rose impaling itself in the ground at the monster's feet as an ear-shattering scream filled the air, for once too late to stop what had been started. Usagi had to turn her face away to preserve her sight, although she knew she wouldn't like what she'd see when she turned back.
And she was right. When the glow finally died amidst the horrific laughter of the scaled walking bat, Usagi faced, instead of a peaceful, contemplative, and *brave* young priest in training, a tall, hulking beast with vulture-like talons, angel-like wings, red silk shorts with a large bell where a belt buckle would rest, and boxing gloves on each hand. The look in the new player's eyes was homicidal, and she knew who his first target would be. It was times like this she wished she hadn't gotten out of bed in the morning.
"Um.... Tuxedo Kamen?" she called. "Now would be a very good time to do the hero bit and save the damsel in distress!" she called.
The elegantly garbed hero appeared. "You consider yourself a damsel?" he asked curiously as he summoned his cane. He clutched one end and started off for the original monster.
"Well, if it means you do the dirty work, I might allow it!" She produced her wand and stared at the monster.
The monster seemed to have gotten his bearings. "I am Bokushi!" he announced grandly. "And you are the first to feel the divine wrath of the Seven Shadows!" His eyes narrowed and a pair of boxing gloves appeared on his hands.
"Moon Healing-" she tried, but was stunned when one of the boxing gloves flew off his hand at her and hit her in the stomach, launching her backwards. She flew hard into the nearby fountain, coughing as she landing in the water.
Bokushi laughed and moved closer as she flailed about, trying to get her bearings. "You have stolen that which is the heart of my brother- I shall retrieve it and restore him to his glory! Then the world will know our wrath!!"
"Yada yada...." Sailor Moon said, sarcastically, spitting out a mouthful of water that she had almost swallowed. "The typical bad guy 'I am invincible' speech- been there, heard it before," she said coming to her feet and jumping out of the fountain.
She winced to herself as he boots made a squishing noise, and wondered if her white bodysuit was as revealing as she feared- getting white fabric wet was always a bad idea if you valued modesty. Her blue skirt clung to her legs, and she knew she probably looked like a hentai anime heroine. "I'm going to DESTROY you for this humiliation!" she said furiously.
Her yell distracted Tuxedo Kamen for a second from his battle with the youma. He swallowed as he saw his current ally's... predicament. "Down, boy- fight first," he whispered, extending his cane to land a blow in the youma's eye.
Usagi spared a quick look to see if her ally had noticed the state of her uniform and saw the tip of his cane nail his opponent in the eye, producing a horrible shriek of pain and protest. Good, he was busy. Now for the cause of all her mental misery... "Okay, buster, you asked for it! Just remember that!" Her forefinger and thumb pinched the gem in the center of her tiara and pulled the item from her forehead, immediately causing it to transform into a disc of light. "Moon Tiara Action!" she cried.
Tuxedo Kamen's shock at the sound of the attack - usually reserved for destroying an enemy instead of saving it - provided an opening for the youma he had faced off against. He barely managed to pull his thoughts back to the matter at hand in time to parry a nasty swipe of the claws, finding himself being driven further and further back from the other battle. He gritted his teeth in frustration and once again pressed his attack. Maybe if he defeated this thing quickly he could get back in time to save the feisty - and wonderfully shaped - heroine if necessary. At the very least he'd get another look.
Meanwhile, the attack went exactly as Usagi had hoped it would. The glowing disc flew toward its target, and Bokushi sent one of his flying boxing gloves to intercept it. Using the distraction to her advantage, she quickly powered up her main weapon and struck her pose. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Without another dive into the fountain to interrupt, the attack went off successfully, bathing the vulture silver and gold light and blinding flash. When it faded, the seminary student stood there for a moment then collapsed in an unconscious heap. Usagi took the time to quickly take the young man's pulse and, finding him alive with his heart beating strongly, took off to find the orange crystal. She thought it had shot off in an easterly direction...
Just as she had spotted the sparkle of orange in the grass near the tree the youma had nearly thrown the victim of the day into, Tuxedo Kamen obviously defeated his opponent, if the wailing scream were any indication. Usagi grabbed the crystal and turned to double check the security of the area, ending up facing the stiff form of her tuxedoed ally, his red-lined cape flapping in the breeze. She gulped audibly and reflexively squeezed the orange stone she held, feeling pinned beneath a gaze she couldn't even see.
He stared at her for a few moments more, not realizing his intensity had frozen her to the spot she now stood in, then shook his head in disgust and spun to begin his retreat. He would *not* fight her for them... not yet.
Usagi watched him begin to storm away and knew what she had to do. It was what she had planned to do from the beginning, after all. She ran after him, finally catching up and grabbing his arm. The unexpected gesture caught the man off-guard, and he nearly lost his balance turning to face the person who had taken hold of him. "We had a deal, remember?" she asked breathlessly, giving him a small, shy smile. "And a promise is a promise." She unclenched the gloved hand at the end of the arm she had snagged and pressed the orange crystal into it.
He gazed at her, confused. "But you had it... you rushed over to get it before checking on me..."
"You can take care of yourself," Usagi said dismissively. "And I wanted to make sure no other nasties snuck up on us while we were busy and snatched the prize. You just happened to get the better of the hideous beast before I could get back."
A smile began to form on the formally dressed hero now clutching the orange stone. "And you did a pretty good job yourself. I thought you were going to kill the carrier for a minute."
Usagi giggled. "I figured he was too quick for that, so I used it as a distraction. Not even he was quick enough to parry two nearly simultaneous attacks."
"Yeah, well, now that we're done here, we should get going. I think I hear people coming out to investigate the battle noises."
Usagi just caught a flash of midnight blues behind the domino mask before they became opaque once again. "I hear it too. Til next time then."
"Yeah." He was glad his mask hid his roving once-over. "And you might want to hurry home, wherever that is. A body like that in a sheer wet outfit like that is bound to attract undesirables like bees to honey, and I can't always be around to save you."
Usagi's jaw dropped. And things had been going so well... "Look, you chauvinistic pig, if you are trying to imply that I'm *always* a damsel in distress, you've got another thing coming! And keep your eyes to yourself! Do you think I *wanted* to get tossed in the fountain? Do you think *I* picked the material my outfit is made from? Do you think I am *enjoying* the way this situation has made me look? NO! ON ALL COUNTS, NO! Now leave me alone, you HENTAI!" She stormed off, furious with the obviously hormone driven pre-adolescent dweeb that was her only ally in the fight against the Dark Kingdom. She must have done *something* in a previous life to seriously piss off fate to have this hand dealt to her. "And remember," she called back just before she cleared the outer wall of the yard. "The next crystal is mine!"
When Usagi arrived at her house, it was after two o'clock, which meant she'd have less then five hours of sleep. She jumped into her window and detransformed without another thought.... until she felt the damp cotton of her pajamas clinging to her. Apparently the person who had designed her Senshi uniform hadn't thought to make it self-drying.
*
The next morning found her in a foul temper. Luckily it was a Saturday, which meant no school- but that also meant she'd have to be out patrolling, as the attacks were more likely to occur in the afternoon. She'd promised to eat breakfast with her mother, which was the only reason she was getting up that early on a weekend. Briefly she thought of crawling back into bed after breakfast, but realized that would be irresponsible.
Ten am found her leaving the house, dressed in a pale-pink shirt and a short jeans-skirt, which showed off her legs to their best advantage. The bows she wrapped into her odango were more due to habit than any particular concern for fashion. The Crown was always the best place to go, due to its central location in town. Afterwards she could check out the park- plenty of people would be taking walks, as it was a beautiful day.
The wind lifted her hair up and teased the long strands playfully, but she was completely unaware how attractive she looked as she finally entered the realm of the Arcade. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shining as she caught sight of the Sailor Moon video game. This time she couldn't resist- she slid into the seat there and fed it a token, which she had purchased on a previous visit.
To her surprise, the Sailor Moon figure actually used a weapon the resembled her tiara. Unfortunately, the games attack keys were placed awkwardly for her small hands, and she quickly found herself losing all three of her tries. She sighed and plunked down another token- the game was named after her, so she should master it!
She heard Motoki's pleasant laughter after she died for the sixth time. "It's great to see you enjoying a video game again, Usagi," he said softly, a serious smile lighting his face. "I've been worried about you."
"I've been worried about me, too," she confessed. "I miss Naru."
He nodded. "The pain will never go away," he said, "but in time it will get easier."
"Have you lost someone close?" she asked curiously. "I mean, if it isn't prying to ask?"
He shook his head. "Just a grandfather I hardly knew. No, it was Mamoru who told me that- he lost both of his parents when he was younger."
Usagi spun in her seat once, unable to think of anything to say aside from, "Oh."
Motoki changed the subject. "So are you a big Sailor Moon fan? I heard the first TV episode is set to premier tonight...."
Her sapphire blue eyes widened. "That's tonight? I didn't even realize..."
"Tonight? The premier's tonight?" another voice asked from behind the pair. The two blondes turned to find Mamoru standing behind them with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe I can set up my VCR..."
Motoki smirked. "*You're* interested in a *kid's* show, Mamoru? I never thought I'd see the day!"
"And one aimed at girls on top of that," Usagi added, still distracted. She was wondering if could set her own VCR. Well, get her dad to do it at any rate.
"Well," Mamoru began defensively, "with everything in the news about this new hero, I figured I'd check out the series and see if they get things right." A blush was beginning to form on his cheeks.
"Sure, Mamoru," Motoki teased. "You just want to see whoever they got to run around in that short skirt."
The blonde young man couldn't believe his words could set his best friend blushing quite that hard or make him widen his eyes that far. "I... I... I wouldn't say that."
"What would you say, then?" Usagi asked, feeling mischievous. She was still annoyed with Tuxedo Kamen, and taking her anger out on Mamoru wouldn't be such a bad thing. They both were annoying, dark-haired, blue-eyed- WHA-
Usagi's mind blanked out as she almost made an essential connection.
"I've seen her," he said. "The real Sailor Moon.... she was fighting in the park with Tuxedo Kamen-"
"-You saw her?" Usagi interrupted. She hadn't remembered Mamoru being one of the people there, but it was entirely possible that she had missed him.
"Yes. She fought well, I'm just waiting to see how much TV screws her up- and Tuxedo Kamen. I heard they're going to be making her 'gentler'," he said, moving his fingers to indicate quotation marks.
"Don't I know it!" Usagi groaned, shaking her head. "When I read the script I couldn't believe it. I mean, really!"
Both males looked at her strangely. "When you read the script?" Mamoru managed to ask.
"Oh, yeah. You guys wouldn't know. I tried out for the TV show." Usagi laughed weakly, as the looks got even stranger.
Suddenly Motoki's face cleared. "You did?" he asked excitedly. "That's great, Usagi! You must be doing better than I thought you were!"
It was Usagi's turn to blush. "Yeah, well, Umino reminded me that life goes on. I figured I'd better get on with it. Besides, it was kind of exciting." She paused. "A youma attacked the studio actually. Right after my audition."
"Really?" Mamoru asked. If Usagi didn't know better, she would have sworn he already knew about that, although the studio had done a wonderful job of covering it up. She figured it had something to do with their deal regarding her "sponsorship" - or lack thereof - of the show.
"Yeah. And get this: the actor they've got playing Tuxedo Kamen has a crush on him!" The petite blonde burst out into a fit of giggles.
Motoki laughed, but Mamoru looked a little green around the gills. "I refrain from any narcissism jokes!" Motoki offered with a bow.
Usagi fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh, Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she said, "save me!"
Mamoru surprised her by sweeping her off the stool and over his shoulder. She yelped and put a hand on her skirt, trying to keep it from riding up. "Put me DOWN!" she demanded.
"I'm saving you like you asked, oh damsel!" he replied.
Usagi squirmed. "MOTOKI!"
The blond bent over, clutching his ribcage as he laughed. "I'm not getting involved in this one!" he said. "I value my life!"
"I'll-" Mamoru said, and then set her down. The danger sense he had was tingling, and he knew that another crystal was on the verge of being revealed. "I forgot I have to work on an essay," he said, excusing himself and racing for the door.
Usagi gasped as the doors shut behind the fleeing young man, feeling the same sensation unbeknownst to Motoki. "Um, my mom wanted me home to help her clean... the attic! Yeah, clean the attic..." Her voice trailed off as she absently straightened her skirt and followed after Mamoru.
Motoki shook his head and he gazed after the two. "Those two are just plain crazy," he muttered. "Entertaining, but nuts." He wandered back to the counter to take care of some waiting customers, chuckling the entire way.
It took five minutes for the two superheroes to arrive at the park, and Sailor Moon groaned when she saw the attack was already underway. Two metallic-looking youma were stomping around, terrifying the locals and, in general, being Evil Bad Guys.
She noticed the yellow crystal on the ground, and tried to decide what to do.... she always HAD a problem prioritizing. "Which one of those is the youma, and which one is the person?" she asked, frustrated.
Before she could make a determination one of the creatures took a deep breath and blew out a column of flame at a younger couple with a little girl maybe four or five years old. Frozen in place by her shock, she could only watch as Tuxedo Kamen leapt over to the family and shielded them with himself and his cape. The caped and masked hero yelled with pain, but she could see he had succeeded. The family survived to be able to run away the next moment.
She felt her temper -never far beneath the surface lately- rise at the sight of her ally's injury. "Ok, I don't give a damn!" she said. She grabbed her tiara and chucked it, but in her rage, she forgot the important thing known as aiming.
Sailor Moon watched as the magical energy flew wildly through the air. "Oh, shit," she swore, watching it cut through a tree, narrowly miss a police officer that was reporting on the scene, and knock a lamppost over, "I should have been more careful."
"Concentrate, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Kamen ordered roughly. "Think for a second!"
Normally she would have snapped at him for being rude, but she could forgive him since he must have been in considerable pain. "Fine!" She shut her eyes, trying to figure out which had been the human.
Finally Usagi let loose with an explosive breath of frustration. She wasn't feeling a pull either way; it was like the strange attraction she was feeling for the glittering yellow crystal lying in the grass overwhelmed anything she might be able to pick up from the two monsters in front of her. "Well," she muttered ruefully, "that leaves only one option. Use the wand on both and hope I pick the right one the first time." She thrust out her hand and summoned the Moon Stick. "Here goes nothing!"
Meanwhile, while Sailor Moon thought her way through her latest dilemma, the two youma decided not to just stand around waiting. One, the greener of them, was tearing up trees and shrubs and throwing them at random onlookers, most of who managed to dodge the missiles. Those that didn't somehow managed to avoid serious injury, and were helped away from the scene by the policemen who stood ready to offer their assistance if they could figure out what they could do against such other-worldly threats.
The other, one of a more gold tint, seemed to be looking for something or someone in particular. It roared at the crowd, its glowing red eyes moving methodically over the individuals who seemed incapable of using common sense and hauling butt out of there. Tuxedo Kamen looked over at Sailor Moon lost in thought, and, while happy she wasn't just diving in impulsively like she usually did, was impatiently waiting for her to do *something*. He sighed as he realized she needed to figure out *what* to do, and dove to meet the first of the two creatures, since it seemed to be the greatest threat to the innocents that abounded.
Just as he blocked a small sapling with his cane, Usagi began her attack maneuver. "Moon Healing Escalation!" she cried, aiming for the gold metallic creature that continued to stand still and roar at anyone and everyone it saw. 'Hey,' she thought as she justified her choice, 'if it's just going to stand there, it deserves what it gets!'
The waves of light and energy washed over the now-silent youma, and everyone was surprised to see it just turn into a pile of dust and blow away in a gust of wind on a particularly windless day. "Guess that was the real youma," Usagi said with a shrug.
"Well, maybe you'd like to turn your attention over here then?" Tuxedo Kamen called out sarcastically.
Sailor Moon turned her head and saw something she was sure to remember for the rest of her life. The corners of her mouth twitched upward involuntarily, and it was only with the greatest of efforts that she reined in the urge to collapse into gales of helpless laughter. For there, in one of the larger trees that still stood, hung her masked and caped ally. His singed cape had been made into a large, make-shift diaper looking garment, and the man now hung by the back of it from a branch high in the old oak. The youma had gotten its hands on the hero's cane, and was swinging at the helpless Tuxedo Kamen like the man was a piñata. It even had a torn strip of the cape tied around its eyes.
That last fact was the only thing keeping Tuxedo Kamen from having suffered any major injuries thus far. Well, as long as you didn't count his pride. At that point he could only be glad no one knew who he really was. He'd never live it down. "Well, Sailor Moon? Are you going to do something? Or do you need to think about it some more?"
"No, no, that's okay," Usagi managed to reply as she tried not to laugh. "I think I can manage this one." She couldn't help but snicker a bit. She struck her beginning pose, readying her Crescent Moon Wand. She found she had to close her eyes before she started however, or she never would have made it through without losing it. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Her sapphire blues cracked open as she felt the last of the attack leave her and saw the final transformation of the green-tinted monster into a young five-year-old boy, who then flopped onto his rear end and began to cry. Usagi blinked, unknowingly copied by the man in the tree, and watched, stunned, as a frantic man rushed forward out of the crowd and gather the terrified child into his arms. A pair of policemen led them away. "A child?" Usagi wondered out loud. "That thing had been a child?"
"Well, it explains a few things," Tuxedo Kamen added from his precarious position.
"What do you mean, that explains a few things?" she demanded?"
He looked at her. "Next time I wave the stick and YOU be the piñata," he answered dryly.
"Oh," she said, unable to think of a snappier comeback. She went over to the yellow nijizuishou and picked it up, turning reluctantly to him.
"Yes." He squirmed for a second. "It'd be nice if you'd get me down before people find the courage to come over to ask questions... or the fangirls show up."
"Fangirls?" she asked in confusion.
"Fanboys in your case. Been on the web lately?" he asked as she walked over to help him down.
"Um.... I'm not what you call computer literate," she admitted. She studied the way he was tied up, amused at the crude knots. It looked like a super-strong Kindergarten child had tied him up. The knot would be awkward to get out, but...
"There's a whole bunch of websites devoted to us- we're celebrities. You have marriage proposals. I have girls offering to bear my child... to start. There's all sorts of wild theories about who we are. And- what are you doing?" he demanded.
She grinned, holding her glowing tiara out. "I need to get you down, don't I? Moon Tiara-"
"Not like THAT!"
"-ACTION!"
He went tumbling to the ground, wincing as he landed awkwardly on his back. "That hurt," he informed her, pointing to wear his tuxedo had been burned through.
"Sorry," she said. "I suppose we should be looking for the green one next?" she said.
"It's the next color in the rainbow.... I'll let you draw your own conclusion."
"I could smack you for that one!"
"Ah, ah, ah," Kamen said tauntingly, wagging his finger in the heroine's face. "Next time *you're* the piñata, remember? But until next time, farewell!" The caped man bounded off away from the crowd, only his echoing laughter lingering behind.
"Ooooo!" Usagi fumed. "I think I really *am* going to smack him!" She thrust the yellow crystal into her extra-dimensional pocket and made her own rapid exit.
END PART 4
Usagi waited until she was positive her parents were asleep before climbing out the window. She landed on the ground gracefully, and then changed into Sailor Moon. Her instincts were screaming at her that there was danger... and she needed to defeat it. The way the red nijizuishou was glowing, she was betting that there'd be another attack on one of the carriers... the carrier of the orange crystal. She needed to hurry if she wanted to get it- and incidentally save the person who it was taken from.
A small voice in the back of her mind reminded of her promise to Tuxedo Kamen, but she pushed it aside. If he didn't get there, then he couldn't claim the crystal, right? And if he did- well, she'd keep her word. The hero always kept their word.
She smiled as she leapt up into the trees, and then catapulted over onto the roof of a building. She'd always wanted to run along the rooftops, and she wondered if the noise she was making was waking anyone up. She raced across them, taking the most direct route as she felt pulled north, towards the edge of the Juuban district.
When she finally felt she had reached her destination she took a close look at her surroundings. Various buildings dotted the landscape, and the whole campus emoted a quiet feeling of contemplation. Yes, she had definitely ended up at a school of some sort, although she didn't think she'd heard of this one before.
Slipping over the wall, she quietly made her way to a large fountain that was situated in the center of the open area behind what she could only guess was the residential area. It was a gorgeous statue of an angel raising it arms and face to heaven in obvious supplication, and it took her breath away. So much so, in fact, that she almost missed the shadowed figure of a young man seated on the far side of the flowing water. He appeared to be deep in thought, letting the moonlight that reflected on the falling water droplets capture his gaze and drop him further into his meditative state. Usagi was almost jealous of the calm acceptance and determination she saw on his face, wishing she could feel that way about what she did. For she also saw a fierce joy behind it all, and that was something she hadn't been able to find quite yet inside herself.
Of course that was the moment the youma decided to strike. The noise from the fountain covered the nasty thing's arrival, and it took the both of them by surprise. Usagi recoiled slightly from the bat-like features of the creature's face, the orange scales that served as its skin not making things any better on the eyes. Drool continually dripped from its fangs as it picked the student up from his seat on the lip of the concrete structure, holding him above its head and leering at the shocked heroine.
Usagi was about to go into a furious spiel when she stopped short at the sight she was becoming a witness to. The young man grabbed the silver cross that had been hanging from his neck and folded both hands around it. Muttered words reached the blonde girl's ears, and she could feel a power building, a power she felt sure would not do the monster any favors in the health department. She started to smile, silently cheering him on, the youma starting to get confused.
Her own power started to surge and reach out of its own accord to assist, and when it brushed against the slight glimmer that surrounded the young man Usagi suddenly knew what he was doing. An exorcism! He was doing an exorcism! And that explained where she was, as well. The Christian seminary that missionaries had built right after World War Two north of the city - of course! She had never known it was so beautiful.
After the epiphany had passed, however, Usagi realized she hadn't been able to help in time. The youma roared, shaking its captive then throwing him yards behind him, just missing a large tree trunk in the process and interrupting the prayer that had nearly come to a head. Sailor Moon snarled in frustration and dashed forward to do what she had originally intended - kick some monster butt. "All right, hot shot!" she called out as it stomped over to the fallen ministry student and placed a clawed hand on each of his temples. "I'm not going to let you... hurt... this innocent..."
Her words trailed off as the youma ignored her and an orange glow began to surround both the attacker and its victim, quickly becoming blinding. She just caught sight of a red rose impaling itself in the ground at the monster's feet as an ear-shattering scream filled the air, for once too late to stop what had been started. Usagi had to turn her face away to preserve her sight, although she knew she wouldn't like what she'd see when she turned back.
And she was right. When the glow finally died amidst the horrific laughter of the scaled walking bat, Usagi faced, instead of a peaceful, contemplative, and *brave* young priest in training, a tall, hulking beast with vulture-like talons, angel-like wings, red silk shorts with a large bell where a belt buckle would rest, and boxing gloves on each hand. The look in the new player's eyes was homicidal, and she knew who his first target would be. It was times like this she wished she hadn't gotten out of bed in the morning.
"Um.... Tuxedo Kamen?" she called. "Now would be a very good time to do the hero bit and save the damsel in distress!" she called.
The elegantly garbed hero appeared. "You consider yourself a damsel?" he asked curiously as he summoned his cane. He clutched one end and started off for the original monster.
"Well, if it means you do the dirty work, I might allow it!" She produced her wand and stared at the monster.
The monster seemed to have gotten his bearings. "I am Bokushi!" he announced grandly. "And you are the first to feel the divine wrath of the Seven Shadows!" His eyes narrowed and a pair of boxing gloves appeared on his hands.
"Moon Healing-" she tried, but was stunned when one of the boxing gloves flew off his hand at her and hit her in the stomach, launching her backwards. She flew hard into the nearby fountain, coughing as she landing in the water.
Bokushi laughed and moved closer as she flailed about, trying to get her bearings. "You have stolen that which is the heart of my brother- I shall retrieve it and restore him to his glory! Then the world will know our wrath!!"
"Yada yada...." Sailor Moon said, sarcastically, spitting out a mouthful of water that she had almost swallowed. "The typical bad guy 'I am invincible' speech- been there, heard it before," she said coming to her feet and jumping out of the fountain.
She winced to herself as he boots made a squishing noise, and wondered if her white bodysuit was as revealing as she feared- getting white fabric wet was always a bad idea if you valued modesty. Her blue skirt clung to her legs, and she knew she probably looked like a hentai anime heroine. "I'm going to DESTROY you for this humiliation!" she said furiously.
Her yell distracted Tuxedo Kamen for a second from his battle with the youma. He swallowed as he saw his current ally's... predicament. "Down, boy- fight first," he whispered, extending his cane to land a blow in the youma's eye.
Usagi spared a quick look to see if her ally had noticed the state of her uniform and saw the tip of his cane nail his opponent in the eye, producing a horrible shriek of pain and protest. Good, he was busy. Now for the cause of all her mental misery... "Okay, buster, you asked for it! Just remember that!" Her forefinger and thumb pinched the gem in the center of her tiara and pulled the item from her forehead, immediately causing it to transform into a disc of light. "Moon Tiara Action!" she cried.
Tuxedo Kamen's shock at the sound of the attack - usually reserved for destroying an enemy instead of saving it - provided an opening for the youma he had faced off against. He barely managed to pull his thoughts back to the matter at hand in time to parry a nasty swipe of the claws, finding himself being driven further and further back from the other battle. He gritted his teeth in frustration and once again pressed his attack. Maybe if he defeated this thing quickly he could get back in time to save the feisty - and wonderfully shaped - heroine if necessary. At the very least he'd get another look.
Meanwhile, the attack went exactly as Usagi had hoped it would. The glowing disc flew toward its target, and Bokushi sent one of his flying boxing gloves to intercept it. Using the distraction to her advantage, she quickly powered up her main weapon and struck her pose. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Without another dive into the fountain to interrupt, the attack went off successfully, bathing the vulture silver and gold light and blinding flash. When it faded, the seminary student stood there for a moment then collapsed in an unconscious heap. Usagi took the time to quickly take the young man's pulse and, finding him alive with his heart beating strongly, took off to find the orange crystal. She thought it had shot off in an easterly direction...
Just as she had spotted the sparkle of orange in the grass near the tree the youma had nearly thrown the victim of the day into, Tuxedo Kamen obviously defeated his opponent, if the wailing scream were any indication. Usagi grabbed the crystal and turned to double check the security of the area, ending up facing the stiff form of her tuxedoed ally, his red-lined cape flapping in the breeze. She gulped audibly and reflexively squeezed the orange stone she held, feeling pinned beneath a gaze she couldn't even see.
He stared at her for a few moments more, not realizing his intensity had frozen her to the spot she now stood in, then shook his head in disgust and spun to begin his retreat. He would *not* fight her for them... not yet.
Usagi watched him begin to storm away and knew what she had to do. It was what she had planned to do from the beginning, after all. She ran after him, finally catching up and grabbing his arm. The unexpected gesture caught the man off-guard, and he nearly lost his balance turning to face the person who had taken hold of him. "We had a deal, remember?" she asked breathlessly, giving him a small, shy smile. "And a promise is a promise." She unclenched the gloved hand at the end of the arm she had snagged and pressed the orange crystal into it.
He gazed at her, confused. "But you had it... you rushed over to get it before checking on me..."
"You can take care of yourself," Usagi said dismissively. "And I wanted to make sure no other nasties snuck up on us while we were busy and snatched the prize. You just happened to get the better of the hideous beast before I could get back."
A smile began to form on the formally dressed hero now clutching the orange stone. "And you did a pretty good job yourself. I thought you were going to kill the carrier for a minute."
Usagi giggled. "I figured he was too quick for that, so I used it as a distraction. Not even he was quick enough to parry two nearly simultaneous attacks."
"Yeah, well, now that we're done here, we should get going. I think I hear people coming out to investigate the battle noises."
Usagi just caught a flash of midnight blues behind the domino mask before they became opaque once again. "I hear it too. Til next time then."
"Yeah." He was glad his mask hid his roving once-over. "And you might want to hurry home, wherever that is. A body like that in a sheer wet outfit like that is bound to attract undesirables like bees to honey, and I can't always be around to save you."
Usagi's jaw dropped. And things had been going so well... "Look, you chauvinistic pig, if you are trying to imply that I'm *always* a damsel in distress, you've got another thing coming! And keep your eyes to yourself! Do you think I *wanted* to get tossed in the fountain? Do you think *I* picked the material my outfit is made from? Do you think I am *enjoying* the way this situation has made me look? NO! ON ALL COUNTS, NO! Now leave me alone, you HENTAI!" She stormed off, furious with the obviously hormone driven pre-adolescent dweeb that was her only ally in the fight against the Dark Kingdom. She must have done *something* in a previous life to seriously piss off fate to have this hand dealt to her. "And remember," she called back just before she cleared the outer wall of the yard. "The next crystal is mine!"
When Usagi arrived at her house, it was after two o'clock, which meant she'd have less then five hours of sleep. She jumped into her window and detransformed without another thought.... until she felt the damp cotton of her pajamas clinging to her. Apparently the person who had designed her Senshi uniform hadn't thought to make it self-drying.
*
The next morning found her in a foul temper. Luckily it was a Saturday, which meant no school- but that also meant she'd have to be out patrolling, as the attacks were more likely to occur in the afternoon. She'd promised to eat breakfast with her mother, which was the only reason she was getting up that early on a weekend. Briefly she thought of crawling back into bed after breakfast, but realized that would be irresponsible.
Ten am found her leaving the house, dressed in a pale-pink shirt and a short jeans-skirt, which showed off her legs to their best advantage. The bows she wrapped into her odango were more due to habit than any particular concern for fashion. The Crown was always the best place to go, due to its central location in town. Afterwards she could check out the park- plenty of people would be taking walks, as it was a beautiful day.
The wind lifted her hair up and teased the long strands playfully, but she was completely unaware how attractive she looked as she finally entered the realm of the Arcade. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shining as she caught sight of the Sailor Moon video game. This time she couldn't resist- she slid into the seat there and fed it a token, which she had purchased on a previous visit.
To her surprise, the Sailor Moon figure actually used a weapon the resembled her tiara. Unfortunately, the games attack keys were placed awkwardly for her small hands, and she quickly found herself losing all three of her tries. She sighed and plunked down another token- the game was named after her, so she should master it!
She heard Motoki's pleasant laughter after she died for the sixth time. "It's great to see you enjoying a video game again, Usagi," he said softly, a serious smile lighting his face. "I've been worried about you."
"I've been worried about me, too," she confessed. "I miss Naru."
He nodded. "The pain will never go away," he said, "but in time it will get easier."
"Have you lost someone close?" she asked curiously. "I mean, if it isn't prying to ask?"
He shook his head. "Just a grandfather I hardly knew. No, it was Mamoru who told me that- he lost both of his parents when he was younger."
Usagi spun in her seat once, unable to think of anything to say aside from, "Oh."
Motoki changed the subject. "So are you a big Sailor Moon fan? I heard the first TV episode is set to premier tonight...."
Her sapphire blue eyes widened. "That's tonight? I didn't even realize..."
"Tonight? The premier's tonight?" another voice asked from behind the pair. The two blondes turned to find Mamoru standing behind them with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe I can set up my VCR..."
Motoki smirked. "*You're* interested in a *kid's* show, Mamoru? I never thought I'd see the day!"
"And one aimed at girls on top of that," Usagi added, still distracted. She was wondering if could set her own VCR. Well, get her dad to do it at any rate.
"Well," Mamoru began defensively, "with everything in the news about this new hero, I figured I'd check out the series and see if they get things right." A blush was beginning to form on his cheeks.
"Sure, Mamoru," Motoki teased. "You just want to see whoever they got to run around in that short skirt."
The blonde young man couldn't believe his words could set his best friend blushing quite that hard or make him widen his eyes that far. "I... I... I wouldn't say that."
"What would you say, then?" Usagi asked, feeling mischievous. She was still annoyed with Tuxedo Kamen, and taking her anger out on Mamoru wouldn't be such a bad thing. They both were annoying, dark-haired, blue-eyed- WHA-
Usagi's mind blanked out as she almost made an essential connection.
"I've seen her," he said. "The real Sailor Moon.... she was fighting in the park with Tuxedo Kamen-"
"-You saw her?" Usagi interrupted. She hadn't remembered Mamoru being one of the people there, but it was entirely possible that she had missed him.
"Yes. She fought well, I'm just waiting to see how much TV screws her up- and Tuxedo Kamen. I heard they're going to be making her 'gentler'," he said, moving his fingers to indicate quotation marks.
"Don't I know it!" Usagi groaned, shaking her head. "When I read the script I couldn't believe it. I mean, really!"
Both males looked at her strangely. "When you read the script?" Mamoru managed to ask.
"Oh, yeah. You guys wouldn't know. I tried out for the TV show." Usagi laughed weakly, as the looks got even stranger.
Suddenly Motoki's face cleared. "You did?" he asked excitedly. "That's great, Usagi! You must be doing better than I thought you were!"
It was Usagi's turn to blush. "Yeah, well, Umino reminded me that life goes on. I figured I'd better get on with it. Besides, it was kind of exciting." She paused. "A youma attacked the studio actually. Right after my audition."
"Really?" Mamoru asked. If Usagi didn't know better, she would have sworn he already knew about that, although the studio had done a wonderful job of covering it up. She figured it had something to do with their deal regarding her "sponsorship" - or lack thereof - of the show.
"Yeah. And get this: the actor they've got playing Tuxedo Kamen has a crush on him!" The petite blonde burst out into a fit of giggles.
Motoki laughed, but Mamoru looked a little green around the gills. "I refrain from any narcissism jokes!" Motoki offered with a bow.
Usagi fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh, Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she said, "save me!"
Mamoru surprised her by sweeping her off the stool and over his shoulder. She yelped and put a hand on her skirt, trying to keep it from riding up. "Put me DOWN!" she demanded.
"I'm saving you like you asked, oh damsel!" he replied.
Usagi squirmed. "MOTOKI!"
The blond bent over, clutching his ribcage as he laughed. "I'm not getting involved in this one!" he said. "I value my life!"
"I'll-" Mamoru said, and then set her down. The danger sense he had was tingling, and he knew that another crystal was on the verge of being revealed. "I forgot I have to work on an essay," he said, excusing himself and racing for the door.
Usagi gasped as the doors shut behind the fleeing young man, feeling the same sensation unbeknownst to Motoki. "Um, my mom wanted me home to help her clean... the attic! Yeah, clean the attic..." Her voice trailed off as she absently straightened her skirt and followed after Mamoru.
Motoki shook his head and he gazed after the two. "Those two are just plain crazy," he muttered. "Entertaining, but nuts." He wandered back to the counter to take care of some waiting customers, chuckling the entire way.
It took five minutes for the two superheroes to arrive at the park, and Sailor Moon groaned when she saw the attack was already underway. Two metallic-looking youma were stomping around, terrifying the locals and, in general, being Evil Bad Guys.
She noticed the yellow crystal on the ground, and tried to decide what to do.... she always HAD a problem prioritizing. "Which one of those is the youma, and which one is the person?" she asked, frustrated.
Before she could make a determination one of the creatures took a deep breath and blew out a column of flame at a younger couple with a little girl maybe four or five years old. Frozen in place by her shock, she could only watch as Tuxedo Kamen leapt over to the family and shielded them with himself and his cape. The caped and masked hero yelled with pain, but she could see he had succeeded. The family survived to be able to run away the next moment.
She felt her temper -never far beneath the surface lately- rise at the sight of her ally's injury. "Ok, I don't give a damn!" she said. She grabbed her tiara and chucked it, but in her rage, she forgot the important thing known as aiming.
Sailor Moon watched as the magical energy flew wildly through the air. "Oh, shit," she swore, watching it cut through a tree, narrowly miss a police officer that was reporting on the scene, and knock a lamppost over, "I should have been more careful."
"Concentrate, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Kamen ordered roughly. "Think for a second!"
Normally she would have snapped at him for being rude, but she could forgive him since he must have been in considerable pain. "Fine!" She shut her eyes, trying to figure out which had been the human.
Finally Usagi let loose with an explosive breath of frustration. She wasn't feeling a pull either way; it was like the strange attraction she was feeling for the glittering yellow crystal lying in the grass overwhelmed anything she might be able to pick up from the two monsters in front of her. "Well," she muttered ruefully, "that leaves only one option. Use the wand on both and hope I pick the right one the first time." She thrust out her hand and summoned the Moon Stick. "Here goes nothing!"
Meanwhile, while Sailor Moon thought her way through her latest dilemma, the two youma decided not to just stand around waiting. One, the greener of them, was tearing up trees and shrubs and throwing them at random onlookers, most of who managed to dodge the missiles. Those that didn't somehow managed to avoid serious injury, and were helped away from the scene by the policemen who stood ready to offer their assistance if they could figure out what they could do against such other-worldly threats.
The other, one of a more gold tint, seemed to be looking for something or someone in particular. It roared at the crowd, its glowing red eyes moving methodically over the individuals who seemed incapable of using common sense and hauling butt out of there. Tuxedo Kamen looked over at Sailor Moon lost in thought, and, while happy she wasn't just diving in impulsively like she usually did, was impatiently waiting for her to do *something*. He sighed as he realized she needed to figure out *what* to do, and dove to meet the first of the two creatures, since it seemed to be the greatest threat to the innocents that abounded.
Just as he blocked a small sapling with his cane, Usagi began her attack maneuver. "Moon Healing Escalation!" she cried, aiming for the gold metallic creature that continued to stand still and roar at anyone and everyone it saw. 'Hey,' she thought as she justified her choice, 'if it's just going to stand there, it deserves what it gets!'
The waves of light and energy washed over the now-silent youma, and everyone was surprised to see it just turn into a pile of dust and blow away in a gust of wind on a particularly windless day. "Guess that was the real youma," Usagi said with a shrug.
"Well, maybe you'd like to turn your attention over here then?" Tuxedo Kamen called out sarcastically.
Sailor Moon turned her head and saw something she was sure to remember for the rest of her life. The corners of her mouth twitched upward involuntarily, and it was only with the greatest of efforts that she reined in the urge to collapse into gales of helpless laughter. For there, in one of the larger trees that still stood, hung her masked and caped ally. His singed cape had been made into a large, make-shift diaper looking garment, and the man now hung by the back of it from a branch high in the old oak. The youma had gotten its hands on the hero's cane, and was swinging at the helpless Tuxedo Kamen like the man was a piñata. It even had a torn strip of the cape tied around its eyes.
That last fact was the only thing keeping Tuxedo Kamen from having suffered any major injuries thus far. Well, as long as you didn't count his pride. At that point he could only be glad no one knew who he really was. He'd never live it down. "Well, Sailor Moon? Are you going to do something? Or do you need to think about it some more?"
"No, no, that's okay," Usagi managed to reply as she tried not to laugh. "I think I can manage this one." She couldn't help but snicker a bit. She struck her beginning pose, readying her Crescent Moon Wand. She found she had to close her eyes before she started however, or she never would have made it through without losing it. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Her sapphire blues cracked open as she felt the last of the attack leave her and saw the final transformation of the green-tinted monster into a young five-year-old boy, who then flopped onto his rear end and began to cry. Usagi blinked, unknowingly copied by the man in the tree, and watched, stunned, as a frantic man rushed forward out of the crowd and gather the terrified child into his arms. A pair of policemen led them away. "A child?" Usagi wondered out loud. "That thing had been a child?"
"Well, it explains a few things," Tuxedo Kamen added from his precarious position.
"What do you mean, that explains a few things?" she demanded?"
He looked at her. "Next time I wave the stick and YOU be the piñata," he answered dryly.
"Oh," she said, unable to think of a snappier comeback. She went over to the yellow nijizuishou and picked it up, turning reluctantly to him.
"Yes." He squirmed for a second. "It'd be nice if you'd get me down before people find the courage to come over to ask questions... or the fangirls show up."
"Fangirls?" she asked in confusion.
"Fanboys in your case. Been on the web lately?" he asked as she walked over to help him down.
"Um.... I'm not what you call computer literate," she admitted. She studied the way he was tied up, amused at the crude knots. It looked like a super-strong Kindergarten child had tied him up. The knot would be awkward to get out, but...
"There's a whole bunch of websites devoted to us- we're celebrities. You have marriage proposals. I have girls offering to bear my child... to start. There's all sorts of wild theories about who we are. And- what are you doing?" he demanded.
She grinned, holding her glowing tiara out. "I need to get you down, don't I? Moon Tiara-"
"Not like THAT!"
"-ACTION!"
He went tumbling to the ground, wincing as he landed awkwardly on his back. "That hurt," he informed her, pointing to wear his tuxedo had been burned through.
"Sorry," she said. "I suppose we should be looking for the green one next?" she said.
"It's the next color in the rainbow.... I'll let you draw your own conclusion."
"I could smack you for that one!"
"Ah, ah, ah," Kamen said tauntingly, wagging his finger in the heroine's face. "Next time *you're* the piñata, remember? But until next time, farewell!" The caped man bounded off away from the crowd, only his echoing laughter lingering behind.
"Ooooo!" Usagi fumed. "I think I really *am* going to smack him!" She thrust the yellow crystal into her extra-dimensional pocket and made her own rapid exit.
END PART 4