Chapter 6
Chapter 6
The four groups decided they should all head in different directions, so as to better cover more ground. Ceres along with the children of Neptune and Uranus, headed towards the north, a wooded region that had gone unexplored for quite some time. As they walked along, Michiko once again hitched a ride on her older brother's back, smiling as she held firm to his shoulders. Kasami turned her nose up in disgust.
"You sure pay a lot of attention to her," she muttered.
"Why not?" Akio asked. "She is my sister."
"What about me?" Kasami asked. "We're not little kids anymore, and I'm practically a woman you know."
"Kasami, you're nine," Ceres pointed out. Kasami sighed. Ceres really knew how to ruin a point when she wanted to. Akio, however, seemed more than happy to change the topic.
"Ceres, can you tell us more about our parents?" he asked. "What were they like?"
"Well..." said Ceres hesitantly. "I wasn't exactly around when the outer senshi came to battle. But I think I have a photo of them." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slightly worn photograph and handed it to Akio. Akio was quite fascinated by the picture, 20th century technology was certainly primitive.
Kasami glanced over Akio's shoulder. The picture depicted a group of four, one a young woman with beautiful turquoise hair wearing a light pink dress. To either side of her, a blonde in a green plaid school uniform and a young man with very light, almost white hair wearing glasses and a kind smile. And next to him, another man with brownish hair and hazel eyes.
"You see?" said Ceres. "That's Kasami's father, Taylor. And Akio and Michi," she now pointed to the young man wearing the glasses. "This is your father, Nathan." Kasami squinted at the picture.
"And who's the other guy?" she asked, pointing to the blonde. Ceres sweatdropped.
"Um, that's your mother." Michiko burst into uncontrollable peals of laughter while Kasami grabbed the photograph in disbelief.
"What!" she exclaimed. "That can't be my mother! She looks like a princess in all the other pictures in the palace."
"Now we know why Kasami's such a tomboy," Michiko giggled again. Kasami's face turned bright red. In truth, Michiko probably didn't mean anything personal by her comment, but that didn't mean that the words didn't hurt just as much.
"What do you know, Michiko!" she snapped.
"Kasami, calm down," said Ceres, taking the photograph away before she ripped it. "Sailor Uranus was a strong fighter. She believed that gender should never make a difference in battle, that a woman could protect those she loved just as much as a man could. You should be proud to be the daughter of someone like that. A princess and a warrior..."
Kasami turned her face away. "Neptune was both too," she muttered. "And she managed to be beautiful and graceful on top of that." With that, Kasami turned and ran into the woods. Ceres was about to run after her, but then, she reasoned, maybe the girl just needed some time alone.
Kasami ran only a short distance until she found a small pond in a clearing. Kneeling down, she glazed into her reflection, at the scared, rough little kid she tried so hard not to be. Of course, it was obvious that Akio's mother was the gorgeous one. His face and the face of his sister showed it. Removing the band that held her hair in its usual ponytail, Kasami ran her hands through her hair a couple times to try and smooth it out. It didn't work, only bounced back to flyaway look it always had. A tear of frustration formed in Kasami's eye. Maybe Michiko was right. Maybe she was just a tomboy after all. There was nothing Akio would ever see in her.
"Mama," she said sadly. "Mama, you fell in love once. What was it like? Did you act any different? How did you finally tell Papa how you felt about him?" The forming tear finally escaped Kasami's eyes and fell into the pool before her, distorting her reflection. "You're supposed to be here to tell me these things, Mama. I hate you for being gone."
At that moment, Kasami heard something that sounded like a scream coming from the area she was just at. Michiko! Without hesitation, Kasami jumped up, grabbing her Space Sword in the process and running towards the sound of her companion's voice.
As Kasami ran into the clearing, she gasped at what she saw. She some kind of giant snake was holding Michiko tightly in its coils. And it wasn't about to let anyone come near her either. Off to the side, Akio was try desperately to help his sister, striking blow after blow at the serpent's tail, but the creature didn't even seem to take notice. Meanwhile, Michiko continued to cry and scream for help.
"Michi, use the Submarine Mirror!" Kasami heard herself calling out. Akio looked up in shock, apparently unsure as to whether or not Kasami would return. Michiko nodded as she struggled to reach for her talisman.
"You're going to get it now," she muttered, finally finding the mirror. "Submarine Reflection!"
For not being used in such a long time, Neptune's talisman still showed an impressive amount of power. The mirror's reflected surface burst forth with a while beam of light that hit the creature that held Michiko captive right in the face. The young senshi was quite proud of her accomplishment, but unfortunately the pride came too soon. The creature was far from defeat and it shook its huge body angrily at taking a hit, causing Michiko to lose her grip on her precious talisman.
"No, the mirror!" Akio yelled, but it was too late. Neptune's mirror fell to the ground, shattering the surface to pieces. Seeing the last possession of his mother broken before him, Akio's anger raged as he again began to attack the creature that held his sister captive, making several large gashes with the edge of his shield. In the meantime, Kasami held out her talisman and readied herself for an attack. "Space Sword..." she whispered. The blade of the Space Sword at first did nothing. But then, it began to let forth a warm golden glow which grew into a blazing yellow light. Kasami wielded the blade over her shoulder and swung it forward with all her strength.
"Space Sword Blaster!" The light from Uranus' talisman rushed forth and connected with the serpent's neck, slicing it in two. The creature screamed and in the next moment, vanished from sight, taking Michiko with it.
"Michi!" Akio screamed. "Michiko, no!" But there was no reply. The air
was still, and his sister was gone.
"No..." Akio whispered as he fell down to his knees, cursing himself
for not protecting her better. Was he that much of a failure? What chance
did he think he stood as a knight of Neptune if he could not even protect
his little sister from a forest monster?
Kasami's heart ached to see Akio in such pain, and she didn't know what she could do to ease it either. Slowly she walked over to where Neptune's talisman lay on the ground. Trying to salvage what was left of the mirror's dignity, she gently picked it up and walked towards Akio, who looked disheartened towards it.
"I couldn't even protect the mirror..." he said sadly. Kasami was about to correct him, since the mirror had been in Michiko's possession and she was the one charged to guard it. But before she could speak, the mirror suddenly began to glow. And then it vanished, just as quickly and mysteriously as its owner. The two children looked at each other in shock.
"Maybe it went to Michiko?" Kasami suggested.
"Or maybe it vanished since it lost its power," said Akio sadly. Now Kasami was losing her patience.
"Stop being so pessimistic!" she snapped. "You know that's not going to help you find Michiko or the mirror!" Akio looked up a bit surprised, and Kasami had to admit, she was a bit shocked herself. Were those her words? She certainly sounded like she was taking charge. She kind of liked the feeling.
"Anyway," she said, getting herself under control. "We should try to find the others as soon as possible. This isn't something we can handle on our own. Where's Sailor Ceres?"
Akio looked around him, but somehow his eyes read that he knew he would find nothing.
"I'm not sure exactly, but I think she was captured during the battle," he admitted. "One second she was right behind me, backing me up, the next, she was gone."
"Then, we had better re-group with the others as soon as possible," Kasami said. "If this thing was strong enough to take Ceres without our even noticing, then the others and maybe even the queen could be in danger. We have to hurry."
"Right," said Akio, at last with a confident nod. "Let's go."