Sailormoon Zodiac: #6 - Shouri/Victory
By: Janelle Jimenez (miaka@bishounen.org)
Official Webpage: http://www.sailormoon-millennia.net/ [http://bishounen.org/smmillennia/]


Note: At the very end of this episode is a bonus section. This episode turned
out to be incredibly long--so it gets cut off before any action starts :)
Sorry ^_^;


"Volleyball?" Usagi read as she stared at the calendar of events on
the board posted near the entrance-hall to Juuban High School. Minako was
busy changing out of her school slippers and into her street shoes,
"Don't you want to do that? It'll be so fun!" Minako exclaimed as she
tossed the slippers in her cubby hole.
"Aren't you already in the volleyball club, Minako-chan?" Mako-chan asked,
Minako's face flushed. She hadn't joined...she was actually rather intimidated by
the team. It was all upperclassmen...and they were all very good. Normally she
wouldn't be so self-concious, but Juuban High School's make up was different than
from Shibakoen Middle School.
"I haven't...joined yet..." Minako answered nervously,
"You should, Minako, Juuban High School's volleyball club is very good."
Ami said as she picked up her books, Minako's face turned redder, why must they
keep talking about this? she thought.
"I...know...anou..." Minako murmured uncomfortably, she quickly changed
the subject, "So, do you want to play on this district volleyball tournament or
not? Pleeaaasee...do it for your dear friend Minako! I only need five more members!"
"I'll do it, I love volleyball!" Usagi said happily stepping out of her
school slippers and changing into her shoes.
"I guess I will too...I'm not that good, but I can try." Mako-chan said
with a shrug.
"Ne, ne, Ami-chan?" Minako pleaded, turning to the blue haired girl.
Ami smiled softly,
"I would be a hinderance rather than an asset to your team, Minako-chan.
How about I manage it instead?" Ami suggested.
"Alright, manage it. I bet Rei-chan will play too..good, that's four."
Minako said counting up the members on her left hand, "Two more, two more..."
"How about Michiru and Haruka?" Mako-chan suggested.
Minako and Ami warily looked at Usagi, bracing themselves for another
negative comment towards the couple.
But there was silence.
Usagi glanced sideways at Mako-chan, then shifted her gaze towards
the open doors.
"So, what are we going to name ourselves?" Usagi asked quietly as
she continued to stare outside and watch various upperclassmen and
underclassmen walk by.
"How about...Venus-tachi!" Minako suggested. Mako-chan hung her head
in exasperation [Note: Venus-tachi suggests a team name meaning something close
to 'Venus and Everyone Else'],
"How about...the V-Team?" she counter-suggested.
"What does the 'V' stand for?" Ami asked with a smile, she had a pretty
good idea, there weren't many English words they all knew that began with a V.
"Venus!" Minako piped. Usagi laughed, her happy demeanor returning to her.
She turned around and grinned,
"No...V as in Victory!"

* * * * *

Darkness.
The shroud of secrecy.
"Leadan...you could get in such trouble for what you are doing." Scorpia
whispered. He laughed gently in the darkness and held her close,
"I will be fine. But you...you must be careful here on Earth, Scorpia..."
he said as he kissed the top of her head. Through the darkness, she could see that
his silver eyes were worried.
"What's wrong, my love?" Scorpia whispered, Leadan held her tightly and
was silent for a moment,
"You will leave me soon..." he murmured. Scorpia shook her head, but
Leadan gazed at her with such tenderness and knowing that she stopped, he must
have consulted an oracle to wholeheartedly believe such a thing.
"You won't want to, but you will..." he added with a sigh, "Which makes it
even worse."
Scorpia didn't know what to say. She couldn't argue with a prophecy, they've
always turned out to be correct...so she decided to change the subject.
"I often worry about the missions the Princess Lithia orders." Scorpia confessed,
hoping this would spur a new conversation. Leadan released her and sat down on her bed,
"As do I, they seem pointless...schemes that my brother has created in order
to attain something, but I don't even know what Arseniru thinks anymore."
"I hate him, I truly do. He's selfish and vindictive--and insane."
"There is a method in his madness," Leadan said, "You must be careful."
"Arseniru cannot hurt me. He's too weak physically to get near me. No, don't
worry, I will never be destroyed by Arseniru..." Scorpia murmured reassuringly as her
fingers ran gently through Leadan's hair. Their's was true love, but a forbidden one.
Captains of the Black Star Army were to take vows of obedience and never allow themselves
to feel emotionally attached to anyone else, least they feel more devotion to another
person and not to the Black Star Galaxy.
"I still worry he may try to harm you..." Leadan whispered in the darkness, he
felt Scorpia's gentle kisses on his eyelids.
Scorpia smiled in the darkness, Leadan was such a dreamer--though often his
imagination dreamt of things that were horrible, yet impossible. But Leadan still
worried and pondered these imaginary problems. Scorpia, however, was not going to
let Leadan's short stay on Earth be ruined by Arseniru. She brushed a strand of Leadan's
silver hair out of his face,
"My love, let's not worry about your brother and instead enjoy what little time
we have together."

* * * * *

"Hotaru-chan, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Michiru asked
brightly, but her face was hiding how she really felt. She felt such anguish when
she looked upon Hotaru's pale face. Hotaru had really begun to feel like her daughter
and like any mother, Michiru couldn't help but feel distraught when she saw how
much Hotaru had changed. Gone was the happy girl who had grown up in a loving home,
replaced was a broken shell of a girl--frightened of the darkness and acting like
a child.
"I'm sure." Hotaru whispered, she was lying on her bed, staring at the
ceiling. Michiru was heartbroken, under any normal circumstance Hotaru would have
jumped out of bed, eager to be out in the beautiful sunshine.
"Don't worry, I'll stay with her. You two should have some free time...
You have become so stressed. You need to relax." Setsuna said, she was leaning
against the doorframe watching Michiru wring a handkerchief.
"I'm glad Usagi-chan asked us to play on their team...for a moment, I thought
she was mad at us, isn't that silly? Usagi would never be mad at us." Haruka said as
she lead Michiru down the hall, out the front door, and into her yellow convertible.
"I'm glad Mamoru called us to help them fight the Zodiac Senshi and the
Black Star Galaxy...but I cannot help but feel that if he had never asked us,
Hotaru would be fine." Michiru said as Haruka started the car.
"You shouldn't think things like that." Haruka said after a moment.
The two drove in silence, the tension was unbearable to Michiru...but she didn't
know what else to say.
They drove silently until they got to Aoyamabachi, the park where the
outdoor Volleyball festival was going to take place. The park had at least ten nets
set up and hundreds of girls seemed to be there, Haruka's eyes widened with
amusement,
"Who would have thought so many cute girls liked the sport..?" Michiru
said coyly, seeing Haruka's expression. Haruka returned a slight smirk as she
stepped out of the car,
"Haruka-san! Michiru-san!" called a cheerful voice, from the side-view
mirror Haruka could see Minako and the others running towards them.
"Ara, Minako-chan, you look cute today." Michiru said smiling at them,
Minako smiled brightly, she was wearing her school gym shorts and a white shirt
with a large "V" on the front.
"Hai [Here], these are for you." Minako replied, holding up two more
t-shirts with red "V's" on them.
"Mm...where's Ami-chan at?" Haruka asked, "Didn't she want to play?"
"I...think she's distracted..." Rei smiled with a slight shake of her
head.
"Ami-chan! Come here and say hi, don't be rude!" Minako called out
playfully. On a park bench several meters away, Ami scrambled to get up,
she was writing something. She quickly closed her note book and walked over
to the ground,
"Konnichi wa [Good Morning], Haruka-san, Michiru-san." Ami said politely,
"Nee...what's thaaaat?" Usagi asked with an evil grin, before anything
else could be done, she had grabbed the notebook from Ami's hands and opened it
to the page Ami was writing on.
Usagi burst out laughing, Rei quickly peaked over Usagi's shoulder to
see what was on the paper. There, in blue ink, was a story--in comic book-style
featuring Mizuno Ami and the Kageboshi Ninja.
"Oh man...you are soooo enameled!" Minako cooed,
"Anou, Minako...you mean...enamored?" Mako-chan suggested.
Ami was blushing uncontrollably, "I..I...Oh you guys are horrible!" she
exclaimed as she grabbed the notebook out of Usagi's hand. Ami tried to
recompose herself, then flipped the notebook to another page. Instead of
drawings, there was something of a battle plan.
"Okay, I calculated the best way to beat the other teams. You see, statistics
say that if we have Minako serve and let Rei-chan start here..." Ami began, eager
to change the subject. The remaining girls were quiet for a moment, but then
burst out laughing again. Ami looked hurt for a moment, but seeing that laughter
is contagious, Ami soon broke her seriousness and laughed with her friends.
Michiru and Haruka's worries over Hotaru disappeared, and the Kageboshi
Ninja left Ami's mind momentarily.

* * * *

"I can't believe that you chose this name. Can we be a little more obvious?"
Jessica Taylor demanded, she glared at Ameko--it was Ameko's job to get the t-shirts
for their volleryball team.
"I thought we all agreed that 'Stars' was a good name for us?" Ameko said
meekly, she knew that Jessica hadn't liked the name when they voted...but she didn't
expect her to be this enraged.
"Just go with it, Jessica-san. What are the chances that the girls who are
the Sailor Senshi will be here as well?" Mihana asked.
Jessica was silent.
She knew the odds were against her and complaining wouldn't get her anywhere.
"I'm going to go register us in," Ameko said after a moment. She was eager
to leave the group, just for a little while.
Jessica sighed heavily and leaned against a tree, Tien-Lei, Mihana, and Joanna
didn't know what else to do...so they stood near her. No one talked.
"Ara..." Tien-Lei murmured under her breath, "Who is that?"
Jessica quickly looked up, she saw a raven haired man walking in their
direction.
"Kage Masaya is much cuter than that." Joanna said, she had recently found
out the name of the handsome blonde haired man who she watched daily and since then
she couldn't stop saying his name.
"Masaya is cuter in a different way..." Tien-Lei replied, "OH! He's coming
this way!" she squealed.
But the man was not coming that way. He was actually in deep thought, he
didn't even know he was about to pass by a group of young girls. He murmured
something under his breath, then bent down to tie his shoe. The four girls stood
dead still, he glanced at them and raised his eyebrows at their awkward poses,
then continued on his way. He didn't even notice when the box that he was carrying
in his pocket fell onto the pavement.
Wordlessly, Jessica bent down to pick it up. It was a small velvet box,
the kind that you carry necklaces in...or maybe rings...
"Oh! Thank god you picked that up!" the man said, he had stopped and turned
around, Jessica didn't see him since she was busy about to open the box. She
shrugged and handed the box back to him,
"Can I please have your name?" he asked with a gentle smile. His deep
blue eyes seemed to be piercing her,
"My name is Jessica Taylor." she replied,
"I'm Zan Tien-Lei!" Tien-Lei exclaimed, jumping in front of Jessica.
"I am Joanna McMahon, nice to meet you." Joanna said, putting out her
hand to shake.
"My name is Hayashino Mihana..." Mihana added quietly, she was nowhere near
as daring as the other two. The man seemed overwhelmed by the sudden attention he
recieved, but he seemed pleased.
"Well, I am Chiba Mamoru. Nice to meet all of you. Thank you, Taylor-san for
picking up this box for me." he smiled, "I would have lost three months' salary
if someone else had found it. It would have been horrible if I lost it since
I'm going to return it."
"That's nice." Jessica said icily, she didn't care at all.
Mamoru's face turned cold as he stared at Jessica harder.
"Well, thank you anyways. Goodbye and good luck!" he said to the other
three girls before walking off.
"Oh...that was the most embarassing thing in my life! You had him, but
no...you had to be mean..." Tien-Lei wailed,
"Worse off, you were about to open that box." Mihana commented, wondering
if that was standard practice in America. "Which contained a wedding ring..."
"Yes, because so many other small items in velvet boxes cost three months
salary." Joanna said sarcastically, Mihana looked down--were all Western girls so
rude and brash? She didn't want to start an argument, so she internalized Joanna's
snide comment.
"I wonder why he was returning a wedding ring..." Tien-Lei sighed, in her
mind she was dreaming up a romantic reason...perhaps he had found another love
because he was forced into a marriage by his parents...or maybe...
"Did I miss something?" Ameko asked, bounding towards the group. She had
in her hand a slip of paper,
"Who's the other girl on our team?" Jessica asked, much more relieved that
she could stop talking about that guy. She didn't know why, but she always felt
guilty when men talked to her, even if they were just being friendly.
"Let's see her name is...ah..nou..." Ameko began, she stared at the name.
That was...odd...she couldn't figure out what the kanji she was reading said,
"Tenshi...Nami...Umm..." she stumbled, she blushed horribly. She knew
she wasn't too great at her vocabulary, but what she saw on the paper didn't
make sense to her. What she read wasn't a name...
"Well, what is it?" Jessica demanded,
"Tenshi...something..." Ameko mumbled, Mihana took the paper from her.
In a matter of seconds she looked as confused as Ameko had.
"Well, let's just meet her--we can ask her what her name is then."
Joanna suggested. They agreed and walked over to Court 4, where their first
match against GLAY Girls was going to take place. Already waiting for them
at the court, was a short girl with medium length white hair and glasses.
"Hello, my name is Jessica Taylor. I'm the captain of the Stars, the
team you were assigned to." Jessica said, the girl seemed relieved.
"Ah, my name is Haato Tenshi. Nice to meet you all." she smiled, she
had a small voice.
Haato? That says Haato? Ameko thought.
At the same time, Jessica was thinking, how are we ever going to
win with this girl? She doesn't even look like she could hit a ball!
The group introduced themselves and began to talk a bit, but before
anything of value could be said, it was announced that the tournament would
begin.
From the very start, the GLAY Girls made sure every return
was sent to the weakest, most unathletic looking person on the team. This person,
of course, was none other than Tenshi. She missed every ball which came to her,
luckily, the other team wasn't very good either. Near the end of the match,
the score was tied.
"You better not mess this up." Jessica said in a low voice, narrowing
her eyes. Mihana sighed, this is unbelievable, she thought, first she was about
to open a stranger's gift, now she's threatening someone she just met!
Sure enough, the ball went flying towards Tenshi...but...for some strange
reason instead of landing right in front of her, the ball stopped in midair and
slowly began to hover upwards into Tenshi's waiting hands. The ball flew up
into the air with such speed and velocity that it defied the basic laws of physics
considering the light tap Tenshi had given it. The ball fell to the ground with a
thud, everyone was stunned. However, no one even thought to ask questions. The magical
hovering ball HAD to be due to the wind.
Match after match went similar to the first one. After four matches, the
only other team which was undefeated was...The V-Team.
The two teams met with each other on Court 3.
The moment Rei saw who they were playing she let out a groan,
"If we have trouble today, you know who you can blame." she muttered,
"Who?" Usagi asked, she was retying her shoe.
"Jessica 'Sailorleo' Taylor." Rei said dryly,
"Oh Rei, you don't know she's Sailorleo." Ami said, she was doodling again.
The playbook had turned into a forum for her 'Ami + Kageboshi Ninja' doodles.
"Well, you know...we can find out if it is them." Michiru murmured, she turned
her back and held apart her hands. The Deep Aqua Mirror appeared with a gentle
flash of light, she turned towards the sun to look into it. Usagi, from behind Michiru
began to mimick Michiru's actions, but Mako-chan jabbed her in the ribs.
Michiru glanced over her shoulder to see what the commotion was, Mako-chan and
Usagi stared innocently at her. She smiled slightly, then returned her attention to
her Talisman,
"Deep Aqua Mirror, tell us...who are the 'Stars'?"

* * * * *

"Methania..." Leadan whispered, it was late night in the Black Star Galaxy.
He had returned home without incident--neither of the Princesses were aware he had
left. Sulfiria was touring the Kingdom with advisors and Princess Lithia and Arseniru
were...busy.
From the shadows of his den appeared the beautiful Methania, he smiled
at her. Her hair was styled as it was always styled, blue hair with green streaks
hanging loose. Her green eyes were a perfect match to her hair,
"My precious Methania," Leadan smiled, he sat down in his chair and
picked up some papers which had been laid on his desk. Methania stepped forward and
poured him a glass of wine, she set the goblet on his desk.
"I was unable to fulfill the mission Princess Lithia gave me."
Methania said without emotion, Leadan stopped reading and looked up at her
thoughtfully,
"That is a good thing. You are not to be Lithia's murderer...Especially
when what she asked of you was actually my brother's orders. He uses
seduction to get what he desires. It's so childish." Leadan replied, shaking
his head gently. He looked up towards the roaring fire, above the mantle was
a portrait of his beautiful Scorpia which he had comissioned hundreds of years
ago. It was amazing to him that she had been with them for almost three thousand
years...it didn't seem that long.
"What am I to do, Master? My mission is now nonexistant." Methania said.
"Methania...I have a new mission for you...you are to protect Scorpia
with your life. Make sure no harm comes to her...I couldn't bear it if she
was hurt." Leadan said seriously as he stared at Methania.
His creation.
His Experiment.
Yes, Leadan the Dreamer thought he could create a living being, so he
tried and he succeeded. It was his only experiment which had turned out as planned,
"Yes, Methania, please. I know how Arseniru feels towards her...he hates her.
I fear it will be he who takes her away from me, like the Oracle said. Make sure
this doesn't happen, I'm depending on you."






******************
BONUS SECTION
******************

I haven't mentioned this yet, so I figured I would do it now. :) As you may
or may not know, what you are reading is the Rewritten Version of SMZ.
To those of you who didn't know before, certain names have been changed. If
you are really interested, then read the Sailormoon Zodiac Explained file. :)
Anyhoo...

Sailorleo -- Jessica Taylor (no changes)
Sailoraquarius -- Janie Lee -- Nakayama Ameko [Rain Amidst the Mountains]
Why did I change her name? Having entirely Western people was ridiculous.
I changed her name to reflect what her powers do. Her last name is a very
common Japanese last name.
Sailorsagittarius -- Veronica O'Riley -- Zan Tien-Lei [War Heaven Lightning]
The name seems nonsensical because it's actually Chinese. I wanted the
Zodiac Senshi to be more international. I had Chinese friends help me
come up with a pretty name which related to her Zodiac form. I put in
Zan because it sounded cool together. ^_^;
Sailortaurus -- Alana Johnson -- Hayashino Mihana [Beautiful Flower of the Woods]
Taurus is very nature based, so I made up a name that fits with her. Plus,
I think Mihana and Alana sound similar (sorta ^^;)
Sailorcapricorn -- Joanna McMahon (no changes)


Oh yes, I bet you noticed the first team the 'Stars' played was called the
GLAY Girls. I bet you are wondering, what the heck is that supposed to be?
Well, GLAY is a Japanese band made up of really hot guys who Japanese girls
really dig. Kind of like how Backstreet Boys were a rage amongst teenyboppers...
except GLAY is popular with all high school aged girls, pretty much. They're
fanatical. Fanatical enough to name their volleyball team that. ^^;