Tigers Dawn by Sailor Leo
Chapter Four: Crash! Dawuhns Dilemma!
Another lightning bolt hit the ground as the girl with the odd green hair narrowly jumped out of the way to dodge it. Her hair seemed to be divided into three balls, one on each side of her head and one high above her. They were all supported by what appeared to be a tree root. Her training outfit was torn and ripped in several places. It looked something like that of her "torturer" though it was somewhat simpler, without any extra frills or wings.
"Makoto-sensei, please, you have to listen!" the girl with the odd hair cried out.
"That's not my name! Makoto was given to me by birth. This is not my destiny. I am Sailor Jupiter, whom I'm destined to be!"
The cries of the smaller girl were not heeded as she dodged another lightning bolt. She wasn't able to leap out of the way in time, as several thousand bolts of electricity shot up through her ankle. The girl stumbled, and fell onto the forest-covered ground. Another lightning bolt hit one of the numerous trees, and a small fire began.
"You haven't come in for your training." A low voice rumbled from a throat that hadn't spoken to another being for ages. The owner of the voice became more visible as the fire spread. Her normally green eyes looked radiant in the firelight, and her hair looked as though it was one with the fire. "How can you expect to protect the family if you are not strong enough to protect yourself, JunJun?" Sailor Jupiter asked calmly.
"Sensei, the Moon family, they can protect themselves! They have the Ginzuishou! We're supposed to serve them! Please, Sensei, they want you to come back!" the one know identified as JunJun spoke.
"My duty is to protect them, and train the one who will take my place. You are making it impossible to do my duty." The Senshi replied back. "You haven't returned for over a month. How can you protect the future Queen if you are weak?"
"Makoto! You're going to die out here!" JunJun protested. "Please, come back! We care about yo.." JunJun's cries were cut short as Jupiter raised her hand against the smaller girl. The younger Senshi went sailing back, missing several trees, but finally hitting one. She hit it with a dull thud. Several leaves and branches were knocked loose from the force of impact.
Sailor Jupiter's shadow loomed over JunJun. The younger girl could fully see her Masters physical state. Her fuku was more red than white, and her Sailor Wings were now a dull skeleton, like that of a demons wings. Her chest was heaving with exhaustion, and her eyes were bloodshot. Cuts and bruises were strewn about her face. All in all, she looked like hell.
"The responsibility of the Moon is to keep peace and harmony throughout the galaxy. The responsibility of Mars is to foresee the war that is to come, the same as the responsibility of Mercury is to plan the strategy, the same as Venus is to attempt negotiations with the enemy. And it's Saturn's duty to make sure the dead do not rise, the same as it's Uranus's duty to make sure enemies do not arrive by land, the same as it's Neptune's duty to make sure nobody invades by sea, the same as it's Pluto's duty to ensure that none arrive through the gates of time. If they're breached, it's our job to protect the Royal Family. We're the ones who have to fight. Strategy, spirit, mental…none of it matters if you have no power to back it up! It's not the Royal Family's fault if they don't understand that, but they have to understand that it's my duty, and they can't keep me from it." Sailor Jupiter finished her speech in her usual even tone, just as rain began to fall upon the Senshi and the growing fire. She turned, and began to walk off. A faint cry from JunJun's lips stopped her trek.
"It's not always about fighting." The younger Senshi tried to explain. "They don't just use their powers for war. Mars gives spiritual guidance to confused people, and Venus helps everybody understand their heart, and Mercury uses her powers so they help to cure the sick, and…"
"OUR POWER IS FIGHTING AND STRENGTH!" Sailor Jupiter yelled over her shoulder. She turned ahead, facing away JunJun. Her student could see her shoulders heaving. "This cannot be used for peace, don't you understand?" Jupiter said again in a more ragged tone. "Our duty is to fight! You have to focus on your duty JunJun! Nothing else matters! Not even your own life!"
"Usagi-sama wants you to live!" JunJun shouted. Jupiter didn't say anything. A large tree root underneath JunJun began to twitch. It slowly wrapped itself around her ankles, and crept up around her waist. The young Senshi was rendered immobile. The tree uprooted itself, and began to carry JunJun away.
"Do not return until you can understand your duty." Sailor Jupiter said in a faint whisper. JunJun heard these words, but could not say anything to reason with her Master. She wouldn't listen to any rational thought. Sailor Jupiter was slowly dying, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Once JunJun was carried by Makotos tree out of sight, the Senshi collapsed. Her breathing became heavier, and her tears overflowed out of her blood-tainted eyes. More images began to flood her mind again. But the thing that disturbed Makoto was these images were those that she remembered the first time. But she knew she had remembered them before.
"Tiger…" she whispered faintly just before her body gave out, and she collapsed. The rain clouds drifted away, and the sun finally filtered through the thick forest leaves on the bruised and battered Makoto.
---
"Ma-chan! Want a soda?" Tiger asked the brunette sitting across from him in the Crown Parlor booth. The annoyed Senshi of Lightning twitched.
"For all I know it's poison." She said.
"No, look, I'll order it." Tiger turned to the redheaded waitress. "Miss, I'll have two sodas."
"Anything else?" the cheery waitress asked writing it down on her notepad. Tiger shook his head. "OK, I'll be here when you change your mind." She said, sheathing her clipboard in her apron. She turned and left, leaving the two to talk.
"Ok, I am NOT paying for this." Makoto said outright. "This is your idea, so you're just going to have to wash the dishes yourself."
"Ahh, but Ma-chan" he playfully whined. "I.." his speech was cut off as the napkin container was thrown at him.
"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!" She said louder than was necessary. Several people from the booths around them turned to stare for a few moments, and then they went back to their own business.
"Makoto." He sighed. She didn't say anything, so he continued; "Makoto, I have just enough to pay for it. And I got the money through legitimate means too! See?"
With one fluid motion, Tiger produced his wallet from his jeans pocket and tossed it to Makoto. The brunette caught it with one hand and flipped it open. She looked down at the wallet and began flipping through it. Tiger could not read her reaction, as her bangs hooded her downcast eyes, but he could tell he was in the clear. At least, he could tell he was in the clear until he noticed the small static electricity bolts emitting from her head.
"Ma-cha…Makoto? Is something wrong?"
The wallet hit his face with force and fell into his lap. Tiger laughed nervously as he picked it up and checked over it himself. Then he noticed something. His Crystal Moon Credit Union card was gone. 'Did I drop it?' he wondered to himself.
Tiger looked up from his wallet and noticed a silver flash in Makoto's hand. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was his card.
"Look, it's perfectly legal and everything, and it's not a trick!" he explained tiredly. His tone matched one of a boy explaining the reasons that he shaved the family dog. Makoto's eyes flashed as she held it closer to his face, her thumbnail tapping against it.
And then Tiger realized it. No wonder she looked so upset. The name on the credit card read "Tiger I. Kino". He slowly raised his eyes to the seething Makoto. If looks could kill, he would already be having a paramedic yell "CLEAR!"
He jumped as the sound of thunder rumbling outside startled him.
"You have better have a good explanation for it. Is that your plan? Do you think you can just go around and put my and my parents name on a card and buy whatever sick thing you want and tack the bill on me?" she asked evenly. A babbling Tiger could not find the words to try to explain the sick joke that Pluto and his Princess had played on him. Thunder roared even louder outside, and some of the patrons glanced fearfully out the window, wondering if they should go home and beat the storm. Sadly, Tiger did not have that option.
"I didn't even use it yet! You can see for yourself! Ma-chan, I…" Tigers frantic explanations were interrupted as a lightning bolt hit the sidewalk outside, barely missing a frightened pedestrian.
"I couldn't think of any other name! For the love of the Moon, I've never had a last name! You were the only person I could think of! I swear I never did any intent, please you have to believe me!" he said quickly, praying for his life. He was going to die. Sailor Jupiter would soon be doomed, and it would all be because of the Princess and Pluto's sick sense of humor. The thunder outside died down, and Tiger finally braced himself to look up at Makoto.
She was leaning back against her side of the booth, with her arms folded across her chest. Her vivid green eyes looked at him intensely. Tiger sighed.
"Alright. Talk. Tell me what you're doing here. And if I hear any of your damn lies, so help me, I'll fry you." The Thunder Senshi said evenly, though somewhat forcefully.
"Thank you! Thank you Makoto-sama! Really, I,"
"Talk." Makoto barked at him. Tiger flinched.
"Ok. The truth is….I don't know." Tiger lied. "I just found myself here yesterday. I didn't want to do anything bad. I wanted to live a normal life, so I got a credit card, and I could remember your name, because I never remembered having a last name. I stayed at a hotel last time, but…but…"
Makoto raised an eyebrow.
"But what?"
"I didn't have anywhere to live, and I don't know how to live in a human world! I'm a delinquent, Makoto! Well, I was, anyway. I really came to find you because…because…" Tiger's eyes dashed around the room, hoping to find an explanation. He could see his own nervous reflection in the window next to him. Then an idea popped into his head.
"Because, you're the only person who ever cared for me, and I need you to make sure that some bad guy isn't going to make me his evil pawn to attack you or your friends! I LIKE having a soul and dreaming and being able to do what I want." He babbled. Makoto didn't show any signs of doubting him. However, she didn't show any signs of believing him, either.
An overbearing silence followed, broken only by the cheery redheaded waitress bringing their drinks. Tiger took his, but Makoto only stared at him, as if the way he drunk his Coca-Cola would determine his credibility.
"So, you figured that since I was the only who was stupid enough to wait for you, then I was the perfect person for you to leech off of again? Is that it?" she asked slowly.
"I don't want to leech off of anyone! I have a little money!" Tiger explained to her. "I just want to learn to live right! You're the only one I know who can teach me, besides Sailor Moon, but I don't think that there's enough room for me. Fish Eye said that Chibi-Usa had to live in an attic, and…"
Makoto finally took a sip of her soda. This eased Tiger somewhat.
"Are Fish Eye and Hawk Eye here?" asked Makoto. Tiger shook his head no.
"I only remember what he told me when we were still…alive. But, I'm sure you can spare some room for me, and you can teach me how to live in a human world."
"Wait, wait, wait," Makoto interrupted again. Her fists were on the table balled up in stress. "Are you saying that you want to move in with me?"
"Yes, Ma-cha…Makoto. I haven't been able to find an apartment anywhere and I can't get a job if I don't have and address! I don't know how long the credit card will last, that's why I already put your address on there."
The frustrated Senshi put her face in her palms. This was all so crazy! There were so many things wrong about Tiger that she couldn't process them all in her mind at once.
"You, you can't stay." She told him. Her mind was so full of thoughts, on so many memories, she was sure that she couldn't think straight.
"But Ma-chan! I have nowhere else to stay!" he pleaded. He could see her eyebrow twitch, though her eyes were still buried in her palms.
"I said no! I'll be leaving on a trip soon, and I don't want you to stay and mess up the place, not only that, but I don't know what kind of things you can do to the place where I live. Not to mention the fact that I have some really gossipy neighbors and it can totally ruin my reputation!" she said to him.
"Those are all very good points." Tiger agreed. "But will happen if you don't let me in? You'll be stuck with all of my credit card bills and all of my mail, and then some evil monster will kidnap me and make his or her minion again, and I'll be forced to use my good looks for really bad things, and lots of people will get hurt. And even if I'm not brainwashed again, I'll be forced into a life of crime, because it's all I know!" The former member of the Amazon Trio said offhandedly, as if the whole matter was a big deal to him.
Makoto grabbed him by his tee-shirt collar and pulled him in close so her lips were almost touching his ear.
"Maybe I can drag you outside and kill you then, and I wouldn't have to worry about any of that at all." She whispered. Her grip on him slackened, and he slunk back into his seat. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
'She wasn't this difficult and stubborn when she actually liked me.' He mused. 'I guess I have myself to blame. To think that she'll be worse if I don't do something.'
"Is that what your Princess would want?" Tiger had produced his trump card. If this wouldn't work, then he didn't know what would. IF Makoto didn't kill him first, that is.
"You leave Usa-chan out of this." She said in a low voice. The sound of the café doorbells could be heard. They rang cheerfully as four girls walked in, looking around.
"Too late. She's already here," Tiger sing-songed playfully. On the inside he was trembling. Either they were all going to kill him or they were going to be his lifesavers. At this point in time, he didn't know which one.
Makoto glanced behind her and her face paled. Over at the counter, she glanced at the redheaded waitress, who gave her a thumbs up. "Thanks a lot Unazaki," she muttered, regarding the redheaded waitress. She wished the other Senshi would've come before she was faced with this dilemma. If there was one thing she hated, it was asking for help in situations like these.
She stood up to greet her friends. She could hear Tiger stand up as well. Makoto clenched her jaw. As much as she respected her fellow Senshi, she really wanted to handle this situation herself. The last think Makoto needed was for Sailor Moon to wave her magic wand and all of her troubles gone.
Makoto grabbed Tiger by the wrist and began to drag him out of the small diner. She didn't want to have a confrontation, and she didn't want to lie to her fellow Senshi either. Makoto didn't know what she would do, but she knew she had to get away from there.
"Mako-chan…" Usagi asked Makoto as the Lightning Senshi rushed by. Makoto threw an apologetic glance at her leader.
"Sorry Usagi, I was interviewing a potential roommate, isn't she cute? Then I remembered I left something on the stove, talk to you later, call me!" the tallest girl said quickly as she rushed past the other four Senshi. Hopefully none of them had a chance to look at Tiger close enough. He could pass for a girl, on first glance. That's what Makoto hoped, anyway.
Makoto kept walking rapidly towards the direction of her apartment, while keeping an iron grip on Tiger. She didn't plan to go there, but she had to be in the general direction in case the other Senshi were looking after her. She chanced a look over her shoulder. She could see a frazzled Tiger panting, but she didn't see any of the Senshi looking out the diner windows or doors. This wasn't a big surprise, seeing as how they were now several blocks away from the Crown Fruit Parlor, and it was getting farther and farther by the insane speeds she was going.
"MA-CHAN LOOK OUT!" Tiger called to Makoto. She was snapped out of her cloud of thought and turned her head to the direction in front of her. Makoto didn't have time to register what it was that was approaching her at such speeds, but seconds later, she did know of all the pretty colors that could exist. Tiger was able to catch Makoto as the force knocked her backwards.
"Ma-chan…Ma-chan, are you alright?" Tiger shook Makoto's limp form. A large red bruise formed on her forehead. He checked her wrist, and felt a pulse. 'At least she's alive.' He thought. 'Maybe it's just a concussion. But I don't know where a Doctors is." Tiger looked around. Thankfully, there weren't too many people out in the city. Then, he saw a small green thing on the sidewalk. He picked it up and opened it. He could see Makoto's picture.
'It's her wallet. It must have fallen out when she hit that light post.' He thought. Tiger looked around in it, until he found what he was looking for. He produced a small card.
"Property of Makoto Kino. If found, please return to…"
---
In the halls of the Cherry Hill Temple, the feet of a small child were padding softly across the lush floor. Quivering hands reached the handle for one of the sliding doors and moved it across, granting her access.
The storeroom had only one small slit of a window, which had shown through casting a small square of light on the dusty floor. The room smelled of old yellow papers and must. She could see that the light was fading fast. Dusk was approaching. Dawuhn had to work fast if she wanted to go with the plan. She made her way to the box that was placed nearest to the fading light and opened it.
Hundreds of charms that were hand crafted with love and care by the priestess and her friends. Some of the bells gave off a shining light, reflected on the little sunlight left pouring from the window. Dawuhn's hand hovered over the charms. Dark energy emanated from her fingertips.
A face flashed into her mind. She could feel warm arms and joyous laughing inside her mind. Dawuhn's eyes widened and her hands fell to her lap.
'They were so kind. Maybe we don't have to do this.' She reasoned with herself.
"Why are you hesitating Sister?" a low voice called out. Dawuhn glanced behind her to see her twin. Nawuhd leaned against the wall under the fading light, with his arms folded over his chest.
"I can't seem to summon up the energy. These love charms are strong." Dawuhn lied. Nawuhd stepped over towards the box and looked in at them. His face fell to a frown.
"They don't seem to have any aura to me."
"Then my power must be fading. I'm sorry brother, I waited to long. The priestess and her friends, it took me forever to get away from them." Dawuhn explained, hoping that her brother would not notice her weakness.
"Then I'll do it when the night has finally come. I've been resting, don't worry. I can accomplish this." Nawuhd said in a low voice.
"Nawuhd…" Dawuhn began. Her brother cut her off.
"Sis, when we charge up these love charms, it'll taint them with negative energy. These love charms will corrupt all the negative energy, creating even more and more negativity, which will flow into our Mothers last power. Sis, we'll be able to access this power to destroy the Senshi. We can kill them for murdering our wonderful Mother. And then we'll kill the Prince for murdering us and our big sister."
Dawuhn winced as the last lights of day began to fade.
"You should leave. The sun is gone. I'll take care of this, Sis. Don't worry." Nawuhd said to his sister, not looking up from the box of charms that were slowly glowing a brighter and brighter red. Dawuhn looked down at her feet, and through her purple locks she could see her brother's maniacal grin that looked so unnatural on a child.
'But they were so kind…' Dawuhn thought to herself as she slowly faded away. Nawuhd kept his hand over the charms, as they glowed a brighter and brighter red. The moonlight reflected off of his blood red hair.
"Mom…Dawuhn…Big Sis…I won't fail you."
---
Hiya! Sailor Leo here! It's starting to get good, hm? Well, I'll try to update more. Please forgive me. Hey, anyone ever thought about what happened when Usagi left Mamoru? I bet something weird is going on in the future. And Makoto in the present isn't doing too well, maybe good ol' Tiger can help her. And what are the Senshi going to do about anything? More will be in the next chapter:
Wow! A Mysterious Constellation!
"This red star has faded out. Perhaps this brighter star shall last longer."
"It's my apartment, so I choose the sleeping arrangements!"
"My God, Ami, Mina…you were only there last week!"