Chapter 22:
The Return of Tomaru
The next Monday, Emochan noticed herself not listening to Ms. Lennichi's lecture. She took out her notebook and started to doodle from boredom. Math didn't matter right now. Her mind was on more important matters. Maybe we can lure Daichi and Toma out like we did with Toshiro... She thought. No....they're not that gullible and can pop out of nowhere... her eyes watched her hand as it drew her pendent on the lined paper. If I can get Toma to come back....it would be easier....Yeah... Daichi wouldn't have a strong voice reminding him of his evil intentions…Tomaru... She thought as a smile spread on her lips.
At lunch, she spoke to Reiko, Toshiro, Sakura, and Toshira about the plan and they all configured their participation.
"We need to split them up. Toshira, Toshiro, and Mai can go after Toma. The rest of us will go after Daichi." Emochan explained. "Toshiro...you can be the heavy hitter because I know you want to kick some ass," Emochan said, making Reiko and Sakura giggle.
"Nice..." Toshiro replied, cracking his knuckles.
"So we're all agreed on what to do?" Emochan asked.
"Hai!" They all exclaimed and when the school day was over, they told the rest of the group about the plan. The next few days were filled with waiting. Emochan knew that the two would strike unexpectedly and she knew they would hit hard. She had to keep her guard up at all times. The final battle was approaching soon, and in her heart she knew that she had to be strong. To fight Toma and Daichi. To fight Morgana. To save the world. To have a normal life again.
It was once again the weekend, and everyone was hanging around the Crown. Homoto was ill and was home. Their spring vacation was coming up. During the week, Usagi and her friends invited Emochan's group to a hot springs they were planning on visiting. Emochan refused. No way could she leave now. Not when there was a possibility of another attack from Daichi and Toma. Her plan had to get put in action. They would come. She knew it. She just needed to be patient. Reiko and Sakura were chatting away with Mai and Sarah, while Toshira and Toshiro were talking about swords and training. Emochan gazed out the window. She changed a lot since this whole thing started. We were so full of light and innocence once. Now she could barely recognize herself. She was stiffer, rigid, maybe even more coldhearted. Oh well. "I have to fight." she said under her breath. She felt Toshira's gaze upon her and she reached up to touch is cheek with her hand and a gentle smile spread across her face. "Don't worry about me," she said. The reassurance softened Toshira face and he went back to the conversation with his brother.
A loud shriek from outside startled everyone within the arcade. Emochan and her friends ran outside with the others to see what happened. Shadows flew in the air, grabbing civilians from the ground and flinging them across the road. Screams filled the street as people ran as fast as they could away from the area. Emochan's face twisted in anger as she looked at her comrades. They all nodded in unison and pulled out their transformation tools. Laugher form above caused Emo to look up to see Daichi and Tomaru appear on a roof nearby. You aren't winning today, she thought with a small smile. "EARTH CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!" The rest followed suit and henshined. With her glaive as her side, Sailor Earth looked sternly at her friends. "Remember our plan." They all nodded and ran towards the wave of shadows.
Sailor Earth slashed through three shadows that were ballsy enough to try and attack her. Jumping into the air, she flew up towards the roof, towards her real enemies. The duo stared at her with eyes hungry for power. I will not fail today, Daichi, Sailor Earth thought, holding her glaive at her chest for protection. The screaming sounds and explosions from her friends' attacks below faded into silence as Sailor Earth's eyes burned with determination. Daichi and Tomaru only smiled wickedly in return. Soon, the shadows disappeared and Sailor Earth watched as her friends found their own ways up to the roof. She landed on the edge of the roof as the rest of the group circled around Daichi and Toma.
"Well isn't this a nice surprise? We're all together, like it's a party!" Tomaru started to giggle beside Daichi, who stayed silent; his dark eyes rested on Sailor Earth. "Shouldn't we bring some flashes to this show, Dai-chan?" Toma tugged on his lover's shirt lovingly. Daichi stayed still.
"What are you planning?" Daichi murmured towards Sailor Earth. She only smiled. Toma looked confused.
"It's time," she mouthed silently. Suddenly, Sailor Gakusai, Toshiro, and Dragon Mist ran towards Toma. Sailor Earth, Sailor Estineon, Sailor Chouri, and Sailor Astinia formed a mini circle around Daichi and engulfed him in synchronized attacks. Daichi retaliated with purple waves of energy, throwing the senshi against the cold concrete. Sailor Earth staggered to her feet. In the corner of her eyes, she watched as the others fought Toma violently. Toma seemed to be struggling againt the barrage of attacks ceom from her friends. She smiled as her eyes darted back at Daichi and she held her glaive in front of her. "Girls, get behind me," she said. They lined up behind her and placed their hands on each other's shoulders. Sailor Earth began to spin her glaive at a rapid rate. Her eyes were glued to Daichi's as his face morphed into an expression of horror. Sailor Earth smiled as she and the other girls began to glow brightly.
"SENSHI...SHATTER....CRYSTAL....ATTACK!" The senshi screamed. Shards of multi-colored light wove around the glaive from the glowing auras around the girls. The light changed into shards of pure power and flew through the spinning glaive, jetting towards a horrified Daichi. He tried to dodge the attack but was too slow, and he screamed as he fell to the ground, blood seeping through his pale skin.
"Dai-chan!" Toma cried out, but before he could get over to Daichi, Dragon Mist blocked him with a blast of energy, which froze his legs in their spots.
"Damn you, senshi!" he screamed and stood up. He was bleeding through his clothes and spitting it from his mouth. The other senshi broke up and circled him, continuing to attack him. Sailor Earth stayed back and watched as she tried to regain her energy. "No!" he growled while trying to block the onslaught. Within a short amount of time, he finally gave in. The senshi stepped back and watched him begin to fade away.
"Damn you…" he spat. His eyes seemed t burn through Sailor Earth. "You haven't seen the last of me, Sister!" His voice echoed in the wind. Sailor Earth took a long, deep breath.
I'm so sorry Daichi. I hope you can forgive me for that…she thought to herself.
"You bastards! Let me go so I can kill all of you!" Tomaru cried from his frozen spot. Sailor Earth turned towards Tomaru.
Here I go…she thought as she approached the angry young man.
"You bitch! I'm going to kill you first!" Tomaru's behavior was completely opposite of his real self. The others flinched but kept their guard up as Toma struggled to free himself from Dragon Mist's binding. Sailor Earth stood before her possessed friend and sighed calmly.
"I know you are in there somewhere, Tomaru. Can you hear me?" Her voice was calm and gentle. Tomaru growled.
"You are such a failure. Whatever you're planning isn't going to work," he sneered.
"Toma-san, don't you remember your band mates? They miss you. We miss you. If I am going to free Daichi, I will need your help. I know you're in there."
Tomaru spat at Sailor Earth's face and laughed. The others gasped.
"As if I would try and get rid of this wonderful power! Why would Daichi and I go back to your weak and whiney ways of things?"
"Why you bastard—" Toshiro growled. He started to draw closer to Tomaru, but Sailor Earth held out her hand in protest.
"Tomaru…let me cleanse you." she said as her sailor fuku began to glow brilliant shades of green and blue. The ribbons flowed from her slender form and wrapped around Tomaru. He whimpered and struggled harder, but the ribbons flowed around and through him, making him stop.
"What are you doing to me?!" Tomaru whimpered as if in pain. Sailor Earth closed her eyes and her body flashed as she became Serendipity. She reached out and took one of his hands.
"Prince Tomaru of the Moon…please reawaken and come back to us. I know you're stronger than the demon within you. Help me free Daichi from his mental prison. Please…" Princess Serendipity stared into Tomaru's eyes as she spoke. He cried out in pain as the ribbons melded to his body and vanished. His dark eyes faded back to pure blue. His black outfit fizzled into his princely garb and his skin regained normal color. Everyone else watched in awe as Tomaru smiled warmly at the princess.
"Princess…arigato…" he whispered. Princess Serendipity returned his smile and nodded to Dragon Mist. He waved his sword once again, making the binding effect dissipate. Serendipity squeezed his handle a little before closing her eyes and feeling herself fall down.
"Princess!" She heard everyone cried out as she slipped into darkness.
Sometime later, Emochan woke up and realized that she was on a couch in Homoto's apartment. "What am I doing here?" she asked. There was light shining from the windows beside her and she saw everyone's worried faces.
"You fainted after healing Toma. He caught you as you fell, but then passed out himself. Toshiro and I carried you both here to recover," Toshira explained. Emochan turned her head and saw Toma resting on the bed in the other room. She sat up and looked at the ill Homoto and with a smile.
"Thank you, Homoto," she said.
"It's alright. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you guys. Between work, school, and being sick off and on..." he said.
"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it," Reiko said. "We got Toma back. That's what matters." she said. Sakura, Mai, and Sarah nodded.
"It was cool...fighting like that again," Sarah said. "I've been out of practice."
"Apparently being healed really drained Toma, huh?" Mai said. Emochan walked over to his side and looked down; her brown hair draped over the sides of her face.
"Hai..." she replied, looking over the resting body of Toma. "The first task of our current mission is completed. Now we need to let Toma in on what is happening and find a way into Morgana's fortress to find Daichi and free him from her spell..." she said in a distant voice. She placed a hand on his cheek, feeling warmth from the flesh; warmth that had been gone for a long while. "It will be alright, Toma-chan..." she said.
After a moment, she took a deep breath. "Alright. Tomorrow we should meet up here and sort out our next move." she said. Homoto ran his hands through his hair and glanced over at Toma.
"I'll keep him here tonight to sleep. He'll probably still be asleep when you come back tomorrow." he said sluggishly, his face a bit red with fever. Toshira placed a hand on his shoulder and grinned slightly.
"Try to get some rest yourself. We need both of you in good health," he said. Homoto responded with a nod and Reiko took Emochan's hand.
"Don't worry, Emo. We'll get Daichi back. Toma will help us." she said. Emochan looked at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. It brought a slim smile on her face.
"I believe in us and our powers. Our bonds as friends will get us through." Mai said.
"Yeah. When this is all over I'll cook us up a big banquet of good stuff!" Sarah said cheerfully. The others chuckled at her comment.
"We can throw a huge concert! I'll have to write a few new songs..." Mai said. Reiko looked over at Toshiro and winked at him, making him grin. Sakura sighed and stood up from the chair she was sitting in.
"You know....I think we should leave and let these two fellas get some rest," she said. As the others agreed, Emochan looked at Toshira.
"Will you walk me home?" she asked. Toshira nodded and Sarah and Toshiro followed as everyone waved goodbye to Homoto and left for home. As the two began to walk down the dark street towards Emo's house, she sighed while looking at their joined hands. "You know, Toshira..."
"Hai, Emochan? Is something wrong?" he asked. She shook her head, hesitant to say anything.
"I'm just glad we got Toma back. He'll be able to help us get to Daichi." she said. Toshira smiled and gazed up at the moonlight above them.
"A lot has changed since we first met..." Toshira said in a nostalgic tone. Emo looked up at him. "I mean, I never thought how fun life could be or how adventurous it could be, until I met you." Emochan smiled.
"Yeah....everything sure has changed…" she replied. Their hands swung a little back and forth as they walked.
"All this fighting and bloodshed will soon be over with. Once we get Daichi back and defeat Morgana, we can go back to our normal lives…" Emochan nodded slightly.
"Maybe I'll try out for the volleyball team again," Toshira chuckled.
"I still can't believe that you did that when I came here. You didn't even know me that well and you just blew off your friends for me."
"They were being total jerks. Still are. People who criticize me for who I hang out with are people I don't want to associate with, anyway. I'm glad I broke away from them."
"I see..." Emochan lowered her eyes, still feeling guilty.
"It's true. They don't dare say anything to me about it. I think they're scared of me!" Toshira buffed. Emochan giggled a little and grasped his arm.
"You are simply wonderful to me, Tosha-chan. I love you so much. Thank you for being here with me," Emochan said, leaning her head against his arm.
"Well, you're welcome," he replied. "I love you too, my princess."
"Toshira..." Emochan whispered and they stopped walking. "I really think that sometimes, you are the only one who gives me the strength to carry on."
"That's not true. You have all your other friends who should also give you strength. You have a lot to live for. I'll fight for you always. I would die for you, Love," he said and gently pecked her on her nose. She rubbed her nose and chuckled slightly. Then her face hardened.
"No. I don't want you to die. I don't want anyone to die. That's why I'm fighting."
"Of course. That's why we all are. I didn't mean to upset you…"
"Just…stay....at my side, Toshira. Please." Emochan said; her eyes like sparkling gems under the street lights.
"I will never leave your side. I promise." Toshira replied and leaned over to kiss his princess tenderly under the warm light from the street lamps nearby.
Emochan woke up the next morning to a ringing phone. "Ehh....Moshi moshi?" she said, half awake.
"Emo? Toma's waking up. I called everyone else and they are on their way." Homoto's stuffy voice replied.
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up and dashed into the shower. Throwing on a pair of blue jeans and a pink shirt with the words I Love Fluffy Bunnies on it (one of Usagi's shirts), she left a note for her still-sleeping mother and left for Homoto's house. On the way, she ran into Sarah and Toshiro. They soon reached Homoto's home and everyone joined up in Homoto's bedroom, where a groggy Toma sat up in the bed.
"Wh...where am I? What happened....?" he said, rubbing his forehead in confusion.
"Toma...do you remember anything?" Reiko asked. He looked at them all for a minute in confusion.
"I remember.....lying in my bed....I remember feeling really sick... then I felt a horrible pain in my chest....and Daichi appeared to me and....oh....oh my god!" Toma cried out as his eyes widened in disgust. "I remember it all! All the fighting! All those people Daichi and I killed! Oh god!" he said. "I'm gonna be sick..." Homoto grabbed his trash can. Toma threw his head into it and vomited from self-disgust and horror. Emochan frowned.
"Don't worry, Toma. It wasn't you committing the crimes. It was Morgana possessing you. Now that you are back with us, you can show us the way to Morgana's fortress so we can save Daichi, too." she said. Reiko handed Toma a napkin and he wiped his mouth. After he gained his composure, he sighed slowly.
"True...I know how to get into her fortress. But Daichi...he'll know that I'm back with you. They might move to a new location." he said.
"Well if they do that, we can at least try to find some clues in their old hide out." Toshira said. Toma tipped his head slightly to the side and smiled.
"Yeah..." he said and Homoto left the room for a moment. He returned with a glass of water and gave it to Toma to drink.
"I wish we could sit here and relax, but now that Toma is back, we need to start planning." Emochan instructed. "Daichi will be onto us in no time flat. We have to be ready for him."
"You really are a strong princess, Emochan," Sarah said. "I am proud to be your protector."
"Yeah, me too." Sakura said.
"Fighting by your side is always an adventure!" Reiko chimed in.
"Hai." Mai said.
"I'm glad we're partners." Sakura said happily. Toshira smiled as Toma nodded.
"Yeah...I'm glad to be back with you all…" he said weakly. Homoto grinned and glanced over at Toshiro, who just looked on from a chair.
"You really need to loosen up." he said. Toshiro smirked in response and Reiko strolled over to him, sitting down in his lap. He grumbled but softened up.
"Thank you guys," Emochan said in delight. "If we die fighting, I will be proud to have been with you all."
"Don't think about us dying. That won't be happening any time soon!" Toshira chirped.
"You think you can get up, Toma?" Sakura asked. Toma shrugged and slowly swerved his legs through the blankets and stood up slowly.
"Wow...my body actually feels quite rested." he said, stretching. Looking at everyone, he said, "I will fight for all the innocent people I killed. Morgana will pay."
"Why don't you go home for a little bit and get yourself cleaned up?" Homoto asked.
"Not a bad idea, Homoto-kun. I will do that."
"Let's meet up around dusk at Sarah's restaurant." Emochan suggested. They all agreed and Toshira accompanied Toma to his house. The girls dragged Emochan around the city for a couple hours to keep their minds relaxed for the time being. Toshiro jumped across the rooftops, trailing behind them. Meanwhile, Homoto went back to sleep after taking some medicine. That evening would be a very loaded one.