Hello Minna, Here is Chapter 2 of Fantastic Journey. Please R & R and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy it.
A.N. - 'Denotes People's Thoughts'
To the reviewers I have had.
Cardcaptoreternity - Thank You I will, faerex - I think so too, I am glad you are enjoying it, Jumpin'-jo - I'll never tell...You will have to enjoy the mystery :), Cherrybunny - Thank you, Crescendo - I hope this is speedy enough..., Serenity-hime - Thank you, Jamesstutz - Thank you,
You all know by now that I do not own any of this if I did there never would have been a crappy live action! (Sorry, no offense to anyone that liked it) Anyway, on to the good stuff...
Fantastic Journey
Chapter 2 - Varied Realizations
The next day after school, she hurried to the dojo just barely making it on time. Opening the door she walked in nervously wondering what today's lesson would be. The room was once more empty and she slipped off her shoes preparing to call out. At that moment, the door opened and he walked in.
He was wearing the same silk black pants but today his shirt was white. She could see his blonde hair slicked back into a ponytail. Her eyes snapped back to his face to find him regarding her with an amused look that spoke volumes. She blushed to be caught staring and ducked her head.
"You are punctual and that is a good thing. Now for today's lesson I have question for you. How would you defend yourself if you could not see?
"I have never thought about that." She answered him honestly; surprised by his question, thanking kami that he did not mention her bad manners. He motioned her to the center of the mat and pulled a black handkerchief out of his pocket.
"I am going to blindfold you for today's lesson." He moved to stand behind her as he folded the silk square into a blindfold. It unnerved her when he set the soft material over her eyes. She could feel his breath tickling the top of her head as he deftly tied it at the back of her head.
"Can you see anything?" He waved his hand in front of her face as a test as he spoke.
"No, I can't." Her voice quivered as a faint blush stained her cheeks. He smiled in satisfaction knowing she was outside her comfort zone.
"Now I want you to listen for a moment and tell me what you hear." She listened to the sounds in the room for a moment before speaking.
"I hear the hum of the lights." She listened closely for more sounds but could not hear anything else.
"Try harder, focus." The harsh tone of his voice surprised her. She suddenly realized she could hear his breathing. The moment he moved, she could hear the fabric of his clothes as it moved.
"I hear you breathing and you are moving." She waited to see what his next move would be.
"Very good, you seem to be a fast learner. Now I want you to find me. I won't move for the moment, but use your ears to locate me." She listened closely to his voice until she had a general idea where he stood in relation to her. She walked forward and stumbled into a muscled chest. Not being able to see she could not regain her balance and was surprised when strong arms wrapped around her waist holding her steady.
Her heartbeat sped up and she did not quite know what to make of it.
"Now that I have you what are you going to do?" His warm breath tickled her ear sending shivers up her spine. His hand, pressed against the small of her back, nearly took her breath. She tried to think quickly.
'What do I do? What do I do? Why do I feel this way? What do I do?' Usagi remembered seeing something before that might work. She immediately went limp in his arms and collapsed.
He was not ready for that and that was all it took for her to slip loose and tuck and roll away. She stood up as best as possible and trained her ears. She could hear his breathing a few feet away slowly approaching. At the very last moment she thought possible she dodged to the right. Hearing his gasp of surprise, she smiled.
He stopped visibly shocked. 'She is definitely better than I thought.' Holding completely still, he thought about his next move. 'What else can I do to throw her off guard?' When an idea hit him, he moved slowly off to her left.
She could hear him moving again; he was trying to sneak up on her to her left. She waited until the very last moment before ducking to the right. She let out a squawk of surprise when she found herself snug against a strong chest and two bands of steel wrapped around her.
His hands brushed the undersides of her breasts and she shivered. His warm breath tickled her ear as he spoke.
"You weren't paying attention. You must focus more on what I am doing. Otherwise that old trick will catch you unaware every time." Leaving her shaken and breathless he moved away continuing with her training.
She listened intently trying to locate him. He was sneaking up on her right side this time. Rather than move, she listened until she heard him dart back to the left.
'Ah so that is his trick.' She waited until the very last moment and darted to the right.
"Very good, now you are focusing. Stay still I am going to get the balance beam again." She listened as his footstep wandered away and she heard the door open. Relaxing a bit she stood quietly lost in thought. The feelings that assailed her were strangely confusing. Seconds ticked by until she heard him struggling with something heavy.
She heard him approach and it skittered over her nerves. When a warm hand clasped hers, she sucked in a breath. He led her to the balance beam and set her hands on it.
"You know what to do." He waited as she slowly climbed up on it and stood. Usagi began walking the length of it dipping each foot. When she reached the end of the beam, he spoke.
"Now I want you to listen again." She could hear him climbing up on the beam then the sound stopped. She was surprised when warm fingers feathered over her face.
'How did he do that?' Her breath quickened and she wondered what he going to do. When the fingers wandered around the back of her head, she blinked as the bright lights hurt her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted, she found him standing directly in front of her on the beam.
"Now on to something harder, I want you to defend yourself up here." Throwing him a surprised glance, she wondered how to do that.
When his first hit connected, she wobbled a bit trying to suck in air. He had caught her solar plexus flat handed and knocked the air out of her. Straightening up she watched for his second move.
"Don't watch me! Watch my eyes. They will always give away an attackers next move." He tried to trick her but she caught him when she blocked his next move.
"Jump down it is time for something more." He tugged the beam out of the way and moved to the center of the mat motioning for her to follow. "Now what do you know about hand to hand combat?"
"Well a little...I am not sure." Thinking about it she realized she didn't know much. 'I have never really battled hand to hand. Sailor Moon always uses her tiara or the Ginzuishou.' Her eyes widened in surprise and she blinked.
He watched the play of emotions on her face. She was constantly able to surprise him, which not many people were capable of doing. When he witnessed the fear and doubt flash across her features he hid his smile.
"In order for this to work, I will be coming at you full force. If I don't you will not be prepared for what a true attacker might do."
Her eyes widened and he could see her fear intensify. His hand moved so quickly she never saw it coming and ended up on the floor dry heaving.
"Get up!" He sounded angry and she hurriedly staggered to her feet. His next punch caught her shoulder but she remained standing. Shaking it off she tried to focus and block his next attack.
Before she knew what happened she was lying on her back gasping for air. He had swept her feet out from under her and with help from his hand, the force had knocked the air out of her.
"Are you wasting my time? I thought you were better than this." He gave her a fierce look and grabbed her arm pulling her up to a standing position. "You have not been trying. What do you think you are doing?"
With two simple moves, he had her pinned against him unable to move. "Is this what you want to happen?" He increased the pressure just a bit before continuing. "You see how easily it would be for me to do whatever I want to you."
He ran his free hand up from her stomach where it had rested wreaking havoc. As it started wandering upwards, her breath stopped completely, his fingers burning a trail over her skin as they went.
Rather than being frightened, Usagi found herself ensnared by his touch. The heat of him behind her and her own helplessness combined with his hand had her head spinning.
He mistook her loss of breath for fear and suddenly let go. Glancing at her face, he was surprised to see a look of yearning on her features and a faint blush staining her cheeks. His eyes widened for just a second.
'So the little innocent is intrigued...hmm I wonder how far I could go? I never considered this aspect of the situation.'
Usagi chewed her lip nervously watching him. He seemed to be lost in thought. 'I hope I did not anger him somehow.' She watched as he visibly relaxed and then smiled.
"You have done well but your hand to hand skills need work. I will see you again tomorrow." He dismissed her with a wave. Usagi walked over and put her shoes on. Slipping out the door, at the last minute she glanced back just once to see him watching her.
Hours later Usagi soaked in the bathtub trying to ease the pain of bruising and sore muscles. She thought about her reactions earlier and scolded herself again. 'Why would he be interested in me? I know it is just my imagination besides I have Mamo-chan,' with that thought a faint blush spread over her and she realized that Mamoru had never invoked such odd feelings in her. Climbing out of the bath, she dried off and slipped into her pajamas before crawling into bed.
She was standing in the cool night air dressed in white lace. The night shrouded in a wispy fog and a haunting tune floated on the air. She glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings trying to make sense of where she was.
"Good evening Mademoiselle, welcome to my world." With a sweeping bow, her teacher stepped out of the fog. She could see that he wore a long silk cape along with his usual dojo clothing and his mask. His gaze traveled over her dress devouring her and it sent shivers up her spine.
"Good evening." Her voice surprised her slipping out quietly musical in the cool night air.
"Would you honor me with a dance Mademoiselle?" He held out his arm and she could not resist. His presence commanded her in unknown ways. She reached out and took his arm while smiling up at him.
He led her to a dance floor filled with other couples swirling around the room. She felt almost slightly drunk as all the sensations swirled around her, the colors of people blending slowly with everything else. She stepped into his arms, he set one hand at her waist, and the other clasped her hand.
They began to twirl around the room slowly in time to the music. She glanced up at him to see his green eyes watching her passionately. A small blush stole across her face as she stared at his mouth. His lips were firm and unyielding yet seemed full and pouty.
She could imagine him leaning forward to capture her lips in a kiss. It would be warm and soft. She smiled at her own thoughts and her blush deepened just a bit.
He could see the expression on her face and knew exactly what she was thinking. Pulling her closer he melded their bodies without ever missing a beat. He leaned forward and let his warm breath tickle her ear.
"I know exactly what you want." Her gaze jumped to his face to see mild amusement there, "Soon enough ma petite Cherie Amour, soon enough." Out of nowhere, a distant sound distorted the music.
'What is that sound? I should know it.' She suddenly realized they were no longer twirling around the room. He looked distracted staring off into the distance. The noise was back a bit louder this time.
He glanced down at her one last time. "I must go Cherie but remember parting is such sweet sorrow." He stepped away and began fading off into the distance.
"No don't go...don't leave... please come back." She felt tears running down her cheeks and wondered at herself.
Beep...beep...beep...beep. Suddenly Usagi sat up in bed shaking off the remnants of the dream. Reaching over to the table, she realized her communicator was beeping madly. Grabbing it, she flipped it open. Minako looked back at her.
"Sailor Moon we need you in the park now. We have a new enemy. Please come quickly." Usagi nodded in agreement and threw her clothes on. Grabbing her henshin, she climbed out of her window and shimmied down the tree. Hitting the ground running, she went three blocks over before transforming.
As soon as she was finished, she made her way to the park. Hearing the battle before she ever arrived she was surprised when she finally found them.
The new enemy appeared to be a male human. He was of average height and had pale skin and dark hair. He had a very arrogant air about him.
"You little girls have no chance. When our leader rules Japan, you will regret ever trying to prevent us from taking over." He laughed before throwing an attack. The four girls quickly darted out of harms way.
"You speak words filled with fear and hate and in the name of the moon I will punish you!" Sailor Moon spoke the words as she jumped lightly to land in front of her friends.
"Oh no sailor moon I am scared now. Try again sweetheart, you don't scare me." He laughed throwing another attack. Remembering what Sensei had said, her timing was much better as she dodged out of the way. It was not lost on the rest of the senshi.
Pulling out the ginzuishou, she readied for an attack. Moving through her routine she called out each word until it was complete, "Moon...Spiral...Heart...Attack! As the energy left the ginzuishou, their enemy's face finally showed fear for the first time.
He tried to dodge it but was not quick enough. He screamed in agony as the attack hit and then began turning into fine sand and disappearing with a small breeze.
"Did you get any information out of him?" Usagi looked at the four girls and was surprised to see their gazes all curiously locked on her paying no attention to her question.
"So how did you do that?" Rei asked with the most obvious interest.
"Do what?" Usagi looked puzzled and tried to understand Rei's question.
"Come on Usagi, you dodged his attack like a pro. We all saw you. How did you do it?" Everybody nodded at Rei's questions. They were all curious just too unsure to ask.
"Um..." Usagi thought quickly. 'What do I say? What do I say? I don't want to blow this.' "It must have been luck..." She shrugged helplessly and ducked her head. Again, she felt bad for lying but still thought it would make a nice surprise.
Glancing up she could see the doubt in Rei-Chan's eyes and the questions in everyone else's. 'Guys I am sorry but it will be a good surprise when I really need it.' "Well guys I need sleep so I will see you all tomorrow."
With a final wave, she hurried away and headed home not wanting to arouse any more of her friends' suspicions.
In another part of town in the same dank building, he understood the loss of his subordinate. 'Well my friend, you underestimated her power. Trust me I will not be so foolish. They will all pay but she will pay the highest price of all.' "Have no fear, Retribution will be mine!"
When he began to laugh maniacally, everyone present shivered...
Here is an end to Chapter 2. I hope you have enjoyed it. Please R & R and let me know what you think.