Yeah, yeah, I know. I could give you all sorts of excuses, but really, what's the point? You and I both know that I'm just lazy, and that's why I'm so slow. So I won't crowd your precious (HAH!) time by making you read lame excuses that probably aren't even true. Enjoy!
She crossed the threshold of her bedroom and closed the door gently but firmly behind her. She threw her black case onto her bed, knocking several stuffed animals into disarray. Her white cat looked up at her appearence and then stretched one paw out in front of him luxuriously in a full body arch as she huffed and flopped down on her bed. Her shining locks of golden hair came to a gentle rest on the bed as the cat looked at her seriously and said, "What's wrong, Minako?"
"Arrrgh!" Aino Minako gave a soft scream of frustration as she sat up again. "Everything is wrong, Artemis. Everywhere I turn, people are discussing that poor Tsukino girl to death. Some of the idiots are even saying that they "knew all along", when they obviously didn't! Ooooh, it makes me so mad! I wish I could just go over and hit them! Usagi seems like too sweet of a girl for this to happen to."
Artemis took several seconds to digest this information, licking one paw as he mulled it over. He knew that Minako had been observing the other sailor senshi for the past week, and he knew that she had come to think of them as friends who could understand her own situation, even though they didn't technically know each other. Minako was desperately lonely and wanted friends more than anything; a little white cat with a wry sense of humour just didn't cut it. The strange situation made him think carefully about his response.
"You know you can't do that," he began.
She sprang off of the bed and walked towards her closet, carelessly shedding her school clothes as she moved. "I know, I know," Minako snapped. "But that doesn't mean I can't wish I could. This has gotta stop, Artemis. I want to be friends with Usagi."
"I don't doubt that you do." The cat leapt neatly off of her now messy bed and padded over to her desk. He made a neat jump from the floor to the top of it and sat down, curling his tail around him. "But, Minako, I don't believe this is the right time to reveal yourself. Things are going to be very confusing for the next little while. The media hasn't discovered the other senshi's identities yet, but it is only a matter of minutes before they find out about Usagi's connection to the other girls. If you make yourself known now, your identity will be revealed the second Sailor Venus makes her appearence."
A dark blue winter sweater came flying out of the closet. It was followed by Minako, who was now dressed in a pair of orange jean shorts and a yellow and orange halter top. There was a serious expression on her face. "So, you think I should just sit here like a good girl and do... nothing."
Artemis eyed her. His first thought was that she should change her revealing clothes again. "I think you should do what your mind tells you to do," he said.
She frowned. "I thought it was, "Always listen to your heart"?" she challenged.
Artemis rolled his eyes. 'The one time she actually gets the saying right...' he thought in resignation, shaking his small furry head. "Minako, I just don't want you to get hurt."
Her dark sapphire eyes grew soft. Reaching out a slim hand, she gently rubbed behind his ear. He started to purr as she said, "I know you don't want me to be hurt, Artemis. But I can't just sit here and do nothing. It's not fair to myself or anyone. Besides..." she pulled away and grabbed her backpack style purse, slinging it over both of her shoulders. Spinning towards the cat, she blew him a kiss and made her infamous 'V' sign with her index and middle fingers. "I know just what to do!"
Before he could respond, she giggled and raced out the door, closing it behind her enough so that her mother wouldn't see in but so that Artemis could get out if he wanted. Groaning softly, the white cat turned and placed his paws on the windowsill so that he could look out. Below, Minako had just exited the house and was running towards the road, her long sunshine curls flying out behind her. "Good luck, Minako..."
"Alrighty, then, Miss Hino," the nurse turned away from the IV and flashed what was meant to be a comforting smile at the prone girl laying in the bed. "The sleeping solution will just take a moment or two to take effect, but after that you'll have nothing but nice dreams! No bad monsters to scare you." She patted her patient's leg and bustled out of the room, humming under her breath.
"She's worse than Usagi!" Hino Rei grumbled as she poked her head up above the blankets. She had hid as soon as she'd heard the nurse coming. The woman treated her like a five year old, something the senshi of Mars really did not appreciate. The wound wasn't even that bad, really - a diagonal slash starting on one shoulder and stopping right between the first curve of her breasts, but everyone was acting like she was going to die if she moved. No, worse, the whole hospital was acting as if she had been hysterical coming in. On the contrary, she had been very calm and annoyed.
Squirming upwards, Rei looked around the tiny room with a deep sigh. Thanks to Ami's mother, she had at least ended up with a private room. Which wasn't really very private when you considered the constant stream of doctors and nurses, but was a lot more private than it would have been with a roommate or two. All the same, it wasn't a very nice room. The walls were plain white, the chairs were black with hard plastic backs, the sheets on the bed was white, the medical equipment was gray, and the only source of entertainment was a TV, which she hated. She had been grateful when Ami showed up, but the blue-haired girl had had to leave earlier when visiting hours ended.
Pressing the button to the back of her bed rise, Rei shifted into a more comfortable position. She knew the sleeping pill they had injected into her IV would take longer to work on her than a normal person, so she searched around for the TV remote. Normally, she wouldn't watch it if you paid her (unless there was something very special on), but she was desperate to know what was happening on the whole "Sailor Moon's Identity" situation.
Locating the remote, she craned her neck to stare up into the ceiling corner and turned the TV on, switching it to the News network. The reporter on the screen was currently talking rapidly about the weather, which was the same as it had been for the past week - very hot and humid, without a wind, and summer-like. Then, the screen changed to another, this time a young man.
"And, as an update on the Sailor Moon situation," he said smoothly, "Researchers are now working hard on discovering the identities of the other Sailor Senshi. It is thought that perhaps Sailor Mars has already been found. As of now, FBI personnel are currently on their way to Miss Tsukino's house to question her - "
Rei snapped the TV off and bit her lip hard, anger darkening her violet eyes. So they thought they had found Sailor Mars, did they? Well, they could bring it on. She felt sorry for Usagi, however. The blonde-haired princess was doubtlessly crushed by the turn of events, if she even knew. ... Did she know? Rei licked her lips and reached for the phone. She dialed the familiar number and listened to it ring. And ring. And ring. No one picked up, not even the answering machine.
'Great, they aren't even answering the phone,' she thought, heaving a deep sigh. She set the phone down and blinked rapidly. Her vision was beginning to go dark, and her movements were becoming more sluggish. 'That stuff is setting in,' she realized, falling back against her pillows. 'Usagi... I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you now...'
The woman stood, almost entirely covered in shadows. She had long, dark green hair that fell almost to her knees. A few strands were gathered into a bun at the back of her head. Her sailor fuku had a dark skirt and collar, with a maroon bow. She was wearing dark boots that went to her knees and gloves that went to her elbows. In one hand, she held a staff. The handle of it was silver and fashioned to look like a key. The top of it was shaped a little like a heart with a smaller heart atop it, with a red ball inside the larger heart.
This woman, Sailor Pluto, was the Guardian of Time. She had been watching the events of the past few days with somber crimson eyes. There was a rift in the time system; something had changed that wasn't supposed to be different. She had only just become aware of it, and now, she sought to change it.
Looking into the hole carved into the stone below her, she watched Kino Makoto talking on the phone, Mizuno Ami waiting for her mother, Chiba Mamoru in the Arcade, Hino Rei asleep in a hospital bed, Aino Minako running towards the downtown area, and Tsukino Usagi staring out her bedroom window and crying silently. Pluto's heart arched for the weeping girl, and she waved a hand over the liquid that was showing her these images.
Things began to rewind, showing her how they had come to be. When it got to where Pluto needed it to be, she pointed one slim finger. It froze half on an image of Sailor Mars reaching for her communicator as two youma came for her, and half on an image of Tsukino Usagi sleeping in her overly warm classroom.
"Saa..." Pluto breathed. "I see." She laid a gloved hand out of the surface, almost but not quite touching the substance. It moved slightly, and came up with an image of the time exactly five minutes before Sailor Mars had called for her friends. Then, the image glowed brightly and disappeared. Sailor Pluto turned on her heel and strode gracefully into the Time Gates behind her.
She reappeared at the Tokyo shopping mall. It was devoid of people, since the two youma that were running around were fond of attacking innocent victims. The time was exactly 48 hours in the past; exactly four minutes and thirty seconds before Usagi had answered her communicator in front of her class.
Striding forward, Pluto looked around. It took her only a second to pinpoint her target. Moving towards them, she paused in step as Sailor Mars darted by, too panicked to see that there was another senshi standing right in front of her. Sailor Pluto raised her staff. "Dead... Scream." she intoned with an air of finality. The youma didn't even get a chance to scream before a magenta orb was upon them.
Sailor Mars came back around the corner, holding her communicator in her hand. She looked around in bewilderment, but did not see or hear any sign of the youma that had just been chasing her. She had been just about to summon her friends but... Apparently, they were not needed. Frowning in confusion, she shrugged, de-henshined and tucked her communicator back into her school uniform's pocket. Then, she turned and headed for home.
In the shadow of the storefront across the street, Sailor Pluto smiled. The future was back on course. Her shining, dark pink eyes spoke of the real future still to come as she held her Time Staff and vanished.
koosei - Um... how can I put this nicely? Wait, I can't. HELL NO! I hate writing that jerk. I only did because like three people pointedly asked when I was going to break down and write him in. It was torture just doing that tiny tiny segment!
MoonPrincess568 - This fic is pretty much finished now, I'm afraid. Only the epilogue. It was only meant to be real short.
Oreo - "What if?" stories RULE! They are so totally awesome. I'm a complete Usa/Sei fan myself; I LIVE on these what if fics! I'll have to check out yours; I'm always up for a U/S one.
Rayne StarDust - Kenji, Kenji. Naaaah, too lazy for that. Sorry. I mean, how many times can you write "Oh.. my.. god... My baby jumps around wearing a mini-skirt getting saved by young guys" and mean it? I did put Artemis and Minako in, as well as Rei AND SETSUNA! I think that was a total shock all around! No one even asked about her. Yay for in character! It's a good thing; like gosh I've loved Sailor Moon for so long that if I didn't know how to get inside their heads I'd worry. Kinda freaked about the whole Mamoru IC thing... that's a bad thing. But oh well.
Icy Frost and Blue Angel - Thanks! I love how everyone thinks the characters are IC, that means a lot.
EmeraldSong - You know what? I actually went and checked it out at after I read your review and it really is. Isn't that weird? I just love the sound of the word "emeraldine" but it turns out I'm not just nuts! It really IS! Naked Mamoru BLECH!
Chibes - OMG! Did reading YOUR review ever give me a swelled head! LOL "The great SailorChibi"? You gotta be kidding. I've been flamed once before... I think... I really can't remember. It doesn't bug me too much, especially when I've got like ten other people saying what an awesome story it is.
Anime Ambreen and Poke' Manic - What happened to my writing another chapter right away, Angel? Well... Lessee... Shuichi and Ryuichi happened, that's what! You know what a fangirl I am; didn't it occur to you to think I'd love them, too! Gees, you never do think, do ya? I'm glad you like it so much. I'm also glad I re-converted someone into SM! LOL
Well, that's all, folks! Only the epilogue left. Please leave a review, even if it's just yelling at me for taking FOREVER. Which the next chapter won't. I swear. Cause it'll be really short and all. Promise.
