The Guardian, Part 6
Staff of Arianrhod
By Taerir
All Sailor Moon references are the property of their respective owners. Any concepts, characters, world names, plotlines, and so on not found in the Sailormoon television series or manga are the sole property of the author, Taerir, copyright 1999. No duplication is permitted without written permission from the author.
After Asami returned to her apartment, she changed into more comfortable clothes and turned on the television. She turned off the lights and then sat on the couch, wrapping herself in blankets. Her thoughts began to wander. She had to do something about Kensaku, but the only method that occurred to her was avoiding him completely. As much as Kensaku's feelings frightened her, she did not want to lose a best friend.
At first, she planned on staying awake for the movie she had put on but began to fall asleep instead. Her mind wandered to the past.
"Guard the staff well; it's the mainstay of the safety of Taerir and the Gates," the priestess had told Rhanwyn al Llew.
Asami jolted awake. A blinding light surrounded the room, and when it receded, Asami had transformed into Princess Rhanwyn. Before her appeared a staff with the emblem of Taerir...the Staff of Arianrhod. It glowed once more before disappearing to a location where only Asami could reach it.
Exhausted, Asami went to her room. She shivered once before falling asleep still in princess form.
Next door, Kensaku looked up suddenly. Something strange was going on, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He felt ...different, somehow. Frowning, he finished his schoolwork and went to bed.
Kensaku awoke again in the middle of the night, too disturbed about the strange feeling he got earlier to go back to sleep. He got up and glanced at his clock to see what time it was... only 1 am. In front of his clock radio sat a strange... pen, or something, with an interesting symbol on it. He stared at it for a moment, shrugged, and went next door.
Asami answered, looking only half-awake. That, however, was not what stopped him in his tracks. Asami did not wear normal night clothes or even street clothes; she was wearing a full-length gown.
"Asami," Kensaku sputtered. "What on Earth are you wearing?"
Asami thought for a moment before answering. "Well, since you know everything else, I might as well tell you what happened." She let him into her apartment.
She changed into her normal form before sitting down to talk to Kensaku.
Asami closed her eyes and told Kensaku about how she found out that she was Sailor Taerir and what had happened a few minutes ago. She did not, however, tell him about her past other than having been a Guardian.
Kensaku sat there, silent for a long while afterward.
"So now you see," Asami said. "I won't mind if you're mad at me, or don't want to be my friend any more..."
"No!" Kensaku replied suddenly. "Don't you get it, Asami-chan? I just want to help!"
Asami stayed quiet for a moment. "I don't want you to get hurt."
Kensaku smiled at her. "I won't." With that, he left and they both went back to bed.
Far away, Kado looked up, almost as if testing the air. An energy fluctuation had reverberated through his stronghold, causing a sort of trembling. Something had happened down on Earth.
He called Midori to him. "Tell me what you feel."
Midori concentrated. "There has been a surge in energy. It's not dark energy, though. It's almost like... like holy or white energy, or something."
Kado looked satisfied. "It's as I thought. One of the senshi has gained new power, and I think I know who it was. We shall need to keep an eye on our dear Sailor Taerir; she is a dangerous one." His eyes narrowed as he watched Midori. "Watch out for her. She is important."
Midori nodded and disappeared. Kado certainly hoped he wasn't misplacing his trust; if Midori failed, he would have one less ally.
Oh well, he thought coldly, clinically. I can always find more.
For now, though, he would let Midori try to prove her strength. If she couldn't, he would take her energy and find another. It was absolutely necessary to destroy the senshi, including Sailor Taerir, if he could, and no failure could be tolerated. Kado had no time for blunders.
Now to find out what that fluctuation was... Kado reached out with his senses, but could find nothing. If Taerir had indeed caused that surge, she had hidden it well. Now, Kado could not tell where the surge had come from, or even whose energy signature was attached to it. His eyes burning, Kado stalked down to Earth and began to explore, intent on alleviating his frustration with a little detective work.