Point of view changes in this chapter again. And The Pillows are the only Japanese band I am at all familiar with, so, there wasn't much choice.
Blood on the Moon
By Lydiby
Chapter XIV
Kakyuu frowned into a red bucket full of seawater and sand.
"Seiya! This isn't a star!" she cried. She picked the creature up and then dropped it with a squeal when it moved.
Rini left her sand castle to look in the bucket too. Usagi smiled wistfully at them. It was grey day, so the beach was almost abandoned except for them. She wouldn't have wanted to come otherwise. The starlights were running out of ways to distract her without taking unnecessary risks.
"Of course it is. It's a starfish," Rini said.
"It doesn't look anything like a star or a fish," Kakyuu retorted accusingly.
"Well, it's not really a fish, but that's what it's called," Seiya said, bending down next to them. She picked the animal up. "See all the suction cups on its arms? There in the middle, that's its mouth."
Kakyuu looked dubiously at Seiya and then back at the starfish.
"Even stranger is that it can lose almost half its body and still survive. Come on, let's put it back."
Mutely, Usagi wondered if she would survive.
Groaning to herself, she leaned back and pushed her chair away from the computer. It was almost two. Rubbing her eyes only made them blur worse. Her client would have to wait; she wouldn't get any farther tonight, not on such a complex code. She had been up all the night before working for one of her less-than-legit customers and only snatched a few hours sleep after delivering the software in the morning. Flicking a strand of blue-washed hair over her shoulder, she reached for a disk and stood. As she moved a great low rumble vibrated through the floor and threw her off balance. The disk skidded and flew across the floor and she threw her arms out the break her fall.
"Oomph," she muttered as her hands smacked against the bare concrete. "What the hell was that?"
Her first thought was an earthquake, but it had been only one big jerk, not a continuous rattling. Uneasily, she pulled herself upright and moved to the sliding door on her small balcony. The city was just as it had ever been. No sign of any disruption as far as she could see. Dazed, she stared out at the lights, thinking somewhere she had lost part of herself and not sure what it was or how to get it back.
Shaking off such a strange thought, she turned to go back inside and turn on the news.
Usagi's temples ached fiercely as she gazed dully out the car window. Recently, she had been suffering numerous headaches, and the only doctor she would agree to see was Dr. Mizuno. This upset the Starlights greatly, because Dr. Mizuno was nigh impossible to get a hold of as she worked in the largest hospital in Tokyo. Ever since the disappearance (and death) of Ami, she had drowned herself in work.
So Usagi closed her eyes, feeling dizzy as the limo the Starlights insisted she use, rolled to a halt at a stoplight. She wasn't used to being driven everywhere all the time. Before she had always walked, taken the bus or subway. It made her feel like she didn't even live here to watch the city from the backseat of a nondescript limo.
"For your safety, please Princess," Taiki-chan said, "we can't always be with you, and it would make us feel so much better."
The three had tried to cancel their tour, but had been unable break the contract they had made with the record label. So they had hired a limo and returned to Tokyo in-between shows.
It had been nearly two month since the events that had razed and revived Tokyo. Usagi tried not to think about all the violence, about what she had done. Nightmares came like clockwork, and the most unexpected things could trigger a flashback. Everything was different now. She had done the unthinkable and she had found that the real power came from within her own heart.
There were days when all she craved was oblivion, but Galaxia had found it within herself, despite all her past, to reciprocate. Galaxia had broken the cycle; she had sacrificed her life. Even if her family had forsaken her, without Rini or the Starlights, Usagi wouldn't have dreamed of throwing Galaxia's gift back in her face. Galaxia had taken Sailor Moon's life and then traded it with her own when she understood her actions. All the forsaken Senshi had ever wanted was a star to call her own, she'd wanted a home. Usagi had had all of that, and more; suicide was unthinkable. So in turn, she had found a way for Galaxia to atone and at the same time realized her wish. Galaxia had allowed Chaos to swallow the sun so now as punishment and reward she would shine in its place. Giving life to the planet she had once terrorized. Someday, perhaps, Usagi would release her and restore her to the ranking of Senshi, when she had repaid her debt. If Usagi didn't have nervous breakdown, trying to suppress her memories. If she did have a full-blown breakdown, she didn't think she could recover.
Now she was going to pick up Rini, and she didn't want to look as bad as she felt. Her daughter worried too much about her. Usagi knew that a child should never have to take care of their parent so she tried very hard to put on a brave show. It was especially tough because Rini spoke very little, which left Usagi with many things to wonder about. For instance, if Rini would be her daughter, then who would be her father? She couldn't ever imagine falling in love with another man, which got her hopes up, which was a dangerous thing. Some days she told her driver just to go past the park, even though she knew the Starlights would be terribly upset if they knew.
As she moved to flip down a mirror from the ceiling, the car began to move again, gently swaying her towards the untouched mini bar. Out the window two people on a sleek motorcycle tore past the limo and disappeared into the cold soggy evening. Sighing slightly to herself (Rain and motorbikes always made her think of Michiru and Huraka.), Usagi pulled some rouge out of her handbag and tried to brush some color into her face. Slowly, she applied subtle makeup, and then returned them to her bag with a click. Smoothing her new dress tiredly, she sat back and rested her eyes. Shingo had bought it for her last week; she tried to be cheerful for him too. Thinking of him made her smile; he was such a goofball. The other week he had brought home a pretty girl named Tomoko. Shingo had been more nervous than Usagi had ever seen him. She could tell he was crazy about her. Tomoko seemed very nice, and had enough tact to change the subject when Usagi answered that she had left school in America because, "events conspired." After dinner Kakyuu and Rini challenged her to a match on Shingo's videogames and the rest of the evening had been spent in an enjoyable competition.
Feeling much more composed, Usagi stepped out of the car and took the umbrella from the chauffer.
"This shouldn't take long, Yukari," she murmured.
"I'm here to pick up Tsukino Rini," Usagi said to the man behind the desk. The man leafed through some papers and frowned.
"She's not on here…I'll go check with her teacher," he said.
Nervously, Usagi sat down in one of the chairs next to the office door. This was unusual, Rini always waited for her just inside the front entrance for Usagi to come in and sign for her. After fidgeting for a few minutes, Usagi heard the clicking of heels coming down the hall and the door swung open.
"You're looking for Tsukino Rini?" A slightly plain woman asked.
"Yes," Usagi said.
"She's not here, are you sure your mother didn't pick her up already?"
"I am her mother," Usagi snapped, "where is my daughter?"
The woman's eyebrows arched as she appraised Usagi's age and thought of the silent eight year-old in her class.
"I don't know, miss, I am a teacher, not a babysitter, perhaps her father picked her up?"
Usagi drew back as though slapped and stood up sharply.
"Do not dare to have the impudence to insult me. Not when my daughter, entrusted in your care, is missing," Usagi hissed, her sapphire eyes narrowed into slits. Turning, she slammed out of the office, and pulled her cell phone out of her bag. Shaking with rage and fear, she speed dialed and snapped her umbrella open.
"Rini is missing," she said when the phone was answered, letting her terror show through for the first time, "I went to the school and she wasn't there. They don't know anything."
"What?" It was Yaten, her usually indifferent voice filled with shock, "We'll be there as fast as we can, we'll find her, don't worry Princess."
Usagi sagged into the car and began to cry.
As she opened the door to her apartment, she hummed to herself. It had been a long day running lots of lackey errands for the photography house, but someday it would be worth it. Bouncing into the living room she snapped on the radio and into the kitchenette to raid the fridge.
"…That was Ride on Shooting Star by the Pillows…Just a few minutes ago, in an press conference Yaten and Seiya of the famous trio The Starlights abruptly announced they were canceling their concert this Friday after receiving a mysterious phone call. This is the third concert the trio have cancelled on their most recent tour since last…"
"What!" she shrieked. Jerking her head up inside the fridge, she smacked it hard. Whimpering, she rubbed it and bemoaned how unfair it was that they had cancelled the show she had tickets for.
The first place Usagi went was to the arcade. It only took a few seconds to see that she wasn't there.
"Does Motoki still work here? Is he here?" Usagi urgently asked the boy behind the counter.
"Eh, yes. I think so, back in the office—"
"Thank you." Usagi tore back past the bathrooms and through a door marked 'Authorized Personnel Only.'
"Usagi!" Motoki looked up in surprise. "I haven't seen you in—What's wrong?" he asked, instantly reading her expression.
"I can't find Rini."
"I haven't—" he cut off and looked at her strangely, "Rini? You mean, I mean, I knew she was staying with your family…what's going on?" He trailed off uneasily.
"I need you to help me run a search for her."
"I'll call the police, we can—"
"No, that's not what I mean. Could you close down the arcade? The best way, I can think to explain this, is to show you."
He stared at her, confused out of his mind, but worried enough to listen to whatever she had to say.
"It's only six, but okay. I guess," he muttered.
"Holy crap!"
Usagi ducked her head to hide the painful smile she couldn't help.
"Usagi! What the hell is this?"
"It's our headquarters," she answered, seriously.
"Our?"
"Mine, then," she corrected with a sigh. This was going to be a long and painful explanation, but she needed Motoki's help in the same way she had needed Shingo's. Shingo, who would be here as soon as his class got finished, she reminded herself, as well as Yaten, and Seiya. Taiki was flying in from France, where she had been settling their last cancellation with their contractor, on the next flight she could catch.
"Do you remember Chiba Mamoru?" she began.
