DISCLAIMER I don't own Fushigi Yuugi or Sailor Moon! They have
their own owners man I hat this!
Suzaku no Hime-sama
Usagi's Confrontation
PG
As Usagi walked through the gardens, her mind drifted to times past,
when she would have been hand in hand with Mamoru. It wasn't that she
loved him, for she knew now that she had never really thought of him
any more than of a brother, but she wanted to feel like she was
needed. She wanted someone who would tell her that she was beautiful,
and that she was loved.
As more time passed, she eventually ran into Haruka. "Konnichiwa,
Haruka-san!" Usagi said placing the fake smile on her face. She felt
a little bad for lying to her friend and guardian in such a way, but
she didn't want Haruka to think that she wasn't happy. They had done
so much to make her happy, and she didn't want them to think that it
was all in vain.
"Konnichiwa, Koneko-chan!" Haruka said smiling. She knew that there
was something up with Usagi. She was probably thinking about things
that had happened. "What's wrong?"
Usagi gave a brighter smile and said, "Nothing's wrong, what makes
you ask that?"
Haruka gave a disapproving shake of her head and said, "Don't think
that you can fool me! I know that something's upsetting you!"
Usagi thought for a moment and said, "Well" She was interrupted by
the noise that showed someone was behind her. She turned around
quickly, only to be shocked into taking a step back.
There, standing in front of her was none other than Demando! "What
are you doing here?" she asked him in shock and anger.
"What a bad greeting for the person that saved your life," he said in
a snickering tone and a mocking grin on his face.
Her face became angry and said, "You were dead. How are you here?"
"Tsk tsk," he said shaking his finger at her, "that isn't what you
should be asking me."
Her eyes narrowed, and she spoke before he could say anything
else, "You right, WHY are you here is a better question. So why are
you here?"
He grinned and said, "I only wanted to check up on the person that
holds the key to my heart."
At this, Haruka stiffened. Usagi could feel the air cracking with
tension as Haruka made herself known to the person in front of her.
She didn't know who he was, but she knew that Usagi didn't like him,
and that he was not a person that she wanted to deal with. "Who are
you?"
Usagi frowned and said, "Haruka, do you remember the person that I
told you about. The one that had kidnapped me when we went to the
future?"
Haruka gave a slight nod not taking her eyes off of the person in
front of her. "Well," Usagi said, "Here he is."
Haruka's frown deepened, if that was even possible, and she pushed
Usagi behind her. "You are leaving now."
At that moment, the seishi arrived. Chichiri had warned them of some
evil that was in the palace, and they had followed his lead and found
the scene as this. Haruka was facing a man with shoulder length
silver hair and a grin that said, "I'm better than you." She was
holding Usagi behind her in a protective gesture that showed that she
thought the person in front of her was a danger to the princess.
Hotohori came up behind them and said, "What's happening?"
Haruka's gaze never left Demando as she said, "This man has succeeded
in kidnapping Usagi before, and we need to make sure that doesn't
happen again. Why are you here, Demando?" she said turning her
attention to the person in front of her.
"I'm here for what rightfully belongs to me," he said with another
one of his smirks.
Usagi frowned, and said, "And what might that be?"
He gave her a grin, "Why it's you, dear princess. You are the thing
that belongs to me. I saved your life, now you owe it to me by the
law of the dark moon."
Usagi gave a frown at the thought of being referred to as a prize or
an item. She knew that he thought of her more of a trophy than
anything else. She wasn't sure what had pushed him to save her
life. "Demando, you forget, I am not from the dark moon family!"
He gave her a smile that he thought should melt her heart, "You will
be soon enough." With those words, his third eye opened and she
looked away, "Don't look into his third eye, it's hypnotic."
Everyone looked away, and he used this chance to attack, had it not
been for the unexpected entrance of a senshi, he would have won. Just
before his attack would it, someone called out "Silence Wall!"
There, standing in front of the group was a small girl in a sailor
fuku and a glaive about twice the girl's size. The attack disappeared
from what Demando could tell, and he said, "Who are you?"
She gave him a grin and said, "Why shouldn't it be I who asks that
question. I am the protector of the outer rim of the solar system. My
name is Sailor Saturn, and you have attacked my friends and family!
You will pay." At those last words, her face lost its grin and she
gave him a look that said, I'm not playing around with you.
Demando frowned in confusion, but it dawned on him soon who this
little girl was. If she really was Sailor Saturn, she would be almost
as powerful as the girl that he wanted. She was her counterpart, the
darkness that was against the light. If she was here, that would mean
that the light was really in the princess, as he had originally
thought.
The forces always worked together to overcome the evil, and that's
why good always won. Darkness helped the light, and the light helped
the darkness.
He also knew that the small girl in front of him, no matter how
fragile she appeared, was strong enough to destroy him with a simple
attack. She held all of the power of destruction in her. And while
death is a double-edged sword, she had already proven that she was
willing to do it back during the Silver Alliance.
Usagi gave him a frown and said, "Leave before you loose more than
you have."
He knew that it was a threat that she would keep, and so he
said, "I'm going for now, but I will be back when you don't have your
guards around to protect you. You will be mine!" The threat rang
strong and clear as he disappeared. Everyone knew that he would be
back, and they knew that he would pick the worst possible time to do
it.
She gave a frown as she thought of the threat. Was she sure that she
was ready for another battle with him. It was hard enough last time,
but this time would be even worse, for Mamoru wasn't here, and there
was no way that she could make him give up. Last time, she had his
brother that was trying to dissuade him, and Esmeraud too. But this
time, it was just him. No Wiseman, he was destroyed, no family, just
him.
There was going to be hell to pay from now on, and she knew it. They
would start the protect' routine as she called it. That would mean
from morning to night, and a guard outside of her bedroom door. She
gave a small pout that went unnoticed by almost all around as she
thought of what was going to happen because of this.
She knew that there was only one other person here who would fully
understand what she felt, and that was because he had been in the
situation since he was a child. He had become an adult knowing that
he would have guards around him all the time.
This was going to be very bad until he finally was taken care of. Her
senshi were going to be on full alert.
She started to walk to her room, and Saturn followed, saying silently
that she would be on the first guard while Haruka and Michiru worked
out the details with Hotohori.
Everyone was silent; no one really knew what to say.
When Usagi reached her room, she collapsed on her bed, "Why?" was her
mumbled question.
"Because you are precious to us," was the answer she received from
her long time friend.
Usagi turned over onto her back to see the senshi of destruction
standing at her door. "Am I unable to defend myself?" Usagi asked her.
Saturn gave her a smile and said, "You know that's not why, Usagi-
mama, it's because we don't want you to be in that position. He has
already gotten to you once, and we don't want that to happen this
time."
Usagi nodded in understanding. In reality, she didn't want him too
either, but she didn't want to interrupt their lives again because
there is some danger to her life. She just couldn't stand being the
cause of that.
She knew, however, that they weren't about to relent. "I'm a little
sleepy, Hotaru-chan, can I go to sleep?"
Hotaru gave a smile knowing that she wanted her to step outside of
the room. There was a common understanding with the times that they
had done this before.
When Hotaru left, Usagi gave a sigh and set to work planning her
first sneak attempt. It was becoming a tradition that when they
played body guard that she would do her best to sneak away from them.
She just would stay in the sight of some guard or something.
An hour later, and after being checked on every fifteen minutes, she
smiled. Her plan was complete. She knew that in a minute, they would
check on her again, and after that, she could leave.
The door opened, and she played possum the best that she could. It
closed, and she turned over to see that the room was empty. She
smiled to herself, and silently got out of the bed. She went over to
her window that overlooked the garden, as she looked down, she
noticed the problem with this plan. There was someone outside of her
window watching guard.
On closer inspection, she realized that it was none other than Sailor
Uranus. She let out a growl. She knew that she wasn't standing there
to guard against someone sneaking into her window, but to keep her
from escaping. If she used any power to leave the room, they would
know immediately. Michiru had an uncanny ability to follow energy
signatures, and that's why she couldn't do that.
Almost immediately, however, she came up with another plan. She
worked out all of the details, and then got up to leave the room.
"Arigato, Hotaru-chan, for letting me take a nap!" she said smiling
and sleepy eyed looking as she came out of her room.
Hotaru smiled. She knew that the princess hadn't slept, but she would
play along with this for now. Haruka had been smart to guard outside
of her window.
Usagi smiled and started walking down the hall. She was going to get
the better of her guards, even if they didn't realize it. She went to
see Chichiri, to see if he would help her out.
She found him walking around the palace setting charms in place.
Hotaru spoke to him for a moment, and left to get something. She left
with this warning, "Usagi-san, you better stay with Chichiri, or
else, you will be so heavily guarded that you won't be able to
breath."
Usagi frowned. She knew that her senshi meant it, and that she would
do it. They didn't like the idea of her sneaking off, but if they
didn't lie off, she was going to suffocate anyways.
Usagi nodded and said, "I will stay with him until you get back."
Hotaru nodded and walked off de-transforming as she went. Usagi
frowned, "They're meanies."
"Why do you say that, Usagi-san?" Chichiri asked.
Usagi nearly jumped, a part of her forgot that he was even there.
Then she turned to him and said, "Because they know how much I hate
being guarded. It's like being in a gilded cage. I can't escape it."
Chichiri gave a little laugh, "I have a feeling you're not the only
person who feels this way, no da."
She looked at him confused when it dawned on her that he was probably
referring to Hotohori, so she asked, "Are you talking about Hotohori?"
Chichiri nodded his head as he remembered the time that Hotohori had
him take the place as emperor of Konan so that he could go with the
others to find the rest of the seishi. It wasn't a hard task, but he
remembered that he didn't like the idea of being followed of the
entire troop of guards that he had. "Hotohori-sama can't stand being
followed by guards, but he can't order them away, because that's
their job. He knows that he has to be protected for the good of the
country, but that doesn't mean that he wants to be guarded all the
time. The only time that he's really alone is when he sleeps, and
technically, he's not alone even then."
Usagi nodded in understanding. She didn't remember all of the details
of being the princess of the moon, but she remembered that wasn't her
favorite part. She could even remember going to her mother and
begging her to take the guards away. That was when the senshi came to
join her, so that she wouldn't fee quiet so stifled by being guarded.
That doesn't change the fact that they loved to stifle her by
guarding her. They would take turns during the night at guarding her
bedroom door after they found out that she was sneaking to earth.
They didn't approve of her doing it without guards, but they couldn't
stop her, so one of them would always go with her.
All she really wanted was to be a normal girl, even in that life
time, but then she wouldn't have had such great friends, and found
that she had friends that loved her so much they would die for her,
and that she loved them so much that she would die for them. It was
that fate loved to take advantage of her. Then she remembered why she
wanted to talk to Chichiri, "Hey, I have a favor to ask of you,
Chichiri-san!" Usagi said bouncing towards him.
He turned to her confused, "What did you need?"
She smiled a smile that he recognized, he knew what she was going to
ask, but let her ask it anyway, "I would like to change into my form,
tonight, and give me some time away from my guardians!"
Chichiri shook his head and said, "I can't do that, no da."
Usagi's eyes furrowed and she whined out, "But why? You did it for
Hotohori!"
He frowned and said, "When I did it for him, he didn't have any
emanate danger to his life, or honor, you do, no da. You are in
danger; otherwise they wouldn't be acting as they do, no da. I can't
do it, no da."
Usagi sighed a sigh of defeat, but she wasn't ready to give up just
yet. Suddenly, another idea popped in her head. "What if I go with
someone that you deem worthy enough to protect me, but won't stifle
me?" she asked him hopefully.
He thought for a moment, and then he remembered what he had been told
by Haruka and said, "If you are with Hotohori-sama, no da. I will do
you the favor."
Usagi squealed and said, "Thank you so much!" She jumped up and gave
him a hug. "Can you do it this evening?"
Chichiri thought for a moment and said, "If Hotohori-sama is
available, no da."
Usagi smiled, but she didn't react, she knew that Hotaru was coming
back, and she didn't want her to think that anything weird was going
on.
Unknown to her, Hotaru knew what she was planning to do. She had
known the minute that Usagi had wanted to speak to Chichiri. She went
to get Haruka to take over watching her so that she could speak to
Chichiri, and they could work the plan out the entire little escapade
that Usagi was planning to get away from her senshi.
Hotaru came up to Usagi, "Haruka wanted to speak with you, and I have
some people I need to talk to, so I'll be seeing you around, Usagi-
chan!"
Usagi smiled and said, "See ya, Hotaru-chan!"
"Come this way, Usagi-chan," Usagi looked confused, Haruka never
called her Usagi unless it was extremely serious. She knew that
something was up, but she wasn't sure what was happening.
Once they were out of site, Hotaru appeared again. "Hello, Chichiri-
san," Hotaru smiled.
"Were you going somewhere, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"Yes, actually," Hotaru said still smiling, "I needed to speak with
you, but I had to wait for Usagi to go with Haruka-san.
"What did you need, no da?" Chichiri asked.
"Well, I know what Usagi asked of you for tonight," Hotaru said
seriously. "I just need to make sure that she will be with someone
who is capable to protect her. I was hoping that you would get
Hotohori-sama to do it. I want to make sure that she's alright, and
he seems the best candidate."
Chichiri smiled and said, "I've already told her that I would only do
it if he was able to escort her during the time that she's not being
guarded, no da."
Hotaru smiled and said, "Wanna play a game with me tonight?"
Chichiri looked at her confused, "What kind of game, no da?"
Hotaru gave a smile that she had to learn from Minako, "Matchmaking!"
Meanwhile, with Usagi and Haruka, we find them walking silently
through the garden. They had been silent since they had left the
others. Usagi finally couldn't take it and said, "So, what did you
need to talk to me about, Haruka-san?"
Haruka stopped, but didn't turn to her; she needed her to understand
how serious this was. "Usagi-chan, I need to know for a fact, what do
you think of Hotohori-sama?"
Usagi looked confused, and then thoughtful as she said careful of her
words, "I don't know if I can say yet. I mean, it's not been that
long since I met him."
Haruka sighed, "You don't remember," she said more to herself than
Usagi.
"Remember what?" Usagi asked confused.
Haruka turned to her and smiled while saying, "Don't worry about it
right now! Michiru said that she thinks you have a crush on him!" she
said trying to change the subject to something a little fun.
Usagi blushed showing that she did, "Hah! I knew it!" Haruka said
triumphantly.
That evening, Usagi, Hotohori, and Chichiri met in the designated
place, and Chichiri changed into Usagi. He looked almost exactly like
her.
Usagi smiled while giving her look alike a hug and said, "Thank you
so much you two!"
Hotohori couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy as she watched
her give Chichiri a hug. He didn't really understand why, but he did
have that feeling.
As they walked out of site, Chichiri transformed back and turned to
Hotaru. She gave him a grin and said, "Ready?"
He nodded and said, "Let's go, no da!"
Usagi went out into the woods with Hotohori by her side. She wasn't
really sure what to say to him, so she was grateful that he broke the
silence, "Why are you so determined to get away from your senshi?"
Usagi smiled and said, "Because they know better than to try and
suffocate me like this. Every time that they do it, I sneak off. They
haven't thwarted me yet. I really can't stand them being so
overprotective."
Hotohori nodded in understanding. He knew how she felt. It was much
like being in a gilded cage.
She decided that a change of subject was in order, "Hotohori, I
wanted to know something, how do you survive being cooped up in that
palace all the time, with no one to really talk to?"
He gave her a smile and said, "Now whoever said that I had no one to
talk to? I have you, and before you there were the seishi. I do have
people to talk to."
She smiled at him, "I know that you do now, but what about before the
seishi? Who did you talk to before then?"
He frowned and said, "I guess that you're right about then, but then
was then and not now. It's no longer true, so there is no reason to
dwell on it."
Someone laughed, and they both looked up to see none other than the
person that Hotohori was there to protect her from.
Meanwhile, in the bushes, Hotaru and Chichiri were hiding from the
two who were talking. Hotaru was giggling as she listened to them
talking. However, she knew that the princess didn't like being the
only one; there was no one else there.
When they heard the laugh, however, Hotaru was about to jump out when
a halting hand caught her on her shoulder. She turned to look at the
owner of that hand, and she saw Chichiri shaking his head telling her
not to come out yet. She nodded.
As soon as the two saw who was standing there, Hotohori pushed Usagi
behind him, much like Haruka had earlier that day, and said, "Why are
you here?"
Demando grinned and said, "I have come to claim what is mine, you
can't keep her from me."
Hotohori's scowl deepened, "I don't see anything here that is yours?"
"You must be the replacement for her boyfriend," Demando replied
annoyed, "I guess that I'll eventually have to deal with you. Might
as well be sooner than later."
Hotohori grinned, "You don't think that I'll be that easy to get rid
of, do you?"
Demando smiled, "You don't think that you can defeat me?"
Demando took a fighting stance as he prepared to take care of this
nuisance in his eyes.
During this time, Usagi had been preparing to finish what had been
started three years ago.
She gathered her power, from both the moon shining above, and the
from the earth, and from her senshi.
The senshi knew immediately when she called for their power, and all
ran from the palace. The seishi followed shortly not quiet
understanding what had happened.
Meanwhile, from the physical contact between Usagi and Hotohori, some
of her power transferred to him. He now had an extreme power boost,
so strong that he could feel the power coursing throughout his veins.
On the other hand, Usagi could feel her power diminishing suddenly,
for a moment, it scared her, and then she realized what was
happening. Her contact with him was transferring her power, and her
senshi's power, into his body. He would be the tool used to control
it instead of the Silver Crystal.
She whispered into his ear, "Place the power into your sword, and use
it to defeat him!"
He nodded, signifying that he heard her, and concentrated for just a
moment. The power that he had just received, visibly transferred into
his sword.
He gave a cry and said, "I will defeat you, and you will be gone from
my kingdom forever!"
Demando just laughed. From what he had heard, this prince was nothing
but a pansy. He didn't have any of the known physical abilities that
most of the seishi were given. He would be easy to defeat.
When Hotohori charged at him, he went to dodge, but Hotohori was
expecting this. He faked a strike to his right, and went for the
left. The sword hit it's mark, and the power destroyed him.
At that moment, the others decided that they were going to make their
entrance. What they saw, however, was surprising to every one. There
was Hotohori standing over a kneeling Demando who was holding his
shoulder. Hotohori's sword was in his hand, hanging at his side.
Usagi was about ten feet behind them, standing in shock.
The last words spoken by Demando were, "I will be back for your,
whether in this lifetime or the next. Don't worry, my love, I will
come for you, and we will be happy together."
Usagi frowned and said, "Demando, perhaps the gods will take mercy on
you, and will provide for you the love that you so desperately want
from me, but I won't be the one that will give it to you. It's just
not meant to be between us. There were no promises, no affection, and
no want, you are only after what you thought you saw. Perhaps you
will find the love that you want in Esmeraud, for she loved you. I am
sorry." With those words she bowed her head and let a tear of
sympathy fall from her eyes.
Demando said, "I will find you again, Serenity. We will be happy
together in some lifetime or another. Sarabada, Serenity." He fell to
his back, and then disappeared in a flurry of silver sand. That was
the last that any of them saw anything of Demando in that life, or
any other.
To be continued