Hello Minna, Here is Chapter 5 of Fantastic Journey. I hope you enjoy it. Please R & R
Author's Notes - 'Denotes People's Thoughts'
For my reviewers -
Jamesstutz - Thanks, Cardcaptor Eternity - I think she was justified. I would be angry too, Crescendo - I am so glad you are enjoying it. Glomps you back. ;) Starangel07 - Thanks I am glad you like it, Jumping-Jo - Thanks, Red-Rose18 - Thank you I hope you enjoy it.
Anyways as usual...I do not own any of the original sailor moon characters but the plot and oc's are mine. ;)
I know I know...Hurry on to the good stuff,
Fantastic Journey
Chapter 5 - Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Minako walked into the Arcade head down, her usually bubbly personality subdued. When she reached the table, where the other three girls sat waiting she almost fell apart.
"Where's Usagi?" Rei glanced around impatiently as though Minako might be hiding her.
"Um well, she-is-not-coming." She glanced at Ami with newfound respect. "You were right. We do not give her enough credit."
"What are you saying Minako-chan?" Makoto looked at her friend's saddened face and knew something was wrong.
"I...well...she...eto...I was trying to convince her to come and well I sorta mentioned that we...well...we were concerned. She figured the rest out quickly." Minako hung her head and waited for the lecture.
"Minako-chan it is okay. We know you didn't mean to." Rei smiled softly and placed a hand on Minako's shoulder trying to offer comfort to her guilt-ridden friend.
"Usagi ran towards her house so I came here." Minako smiled softly. "I think Mamoru-kun is going to get an earful though."
"You didn't" Ami gaped at her friend with surprise.
"I did...You know how it is...you can't lie to her. You cannot look into those eyes and lie." The rest of the girls looked at Minako knowing just how right she was. They lapsed into silence pondering what to do next.
All of their heads shot up as a voice spoke startling them from their thoughts.
"Where is Usako?" Mamoru stood looking at the girls in shock. Minako sunk low in her seat her eyes trained on her lap.
"She's not coming." She mumbled keeping her head down. The girls all glanced at her with sympathy in their eyes. Rei reached over and gently squeezed her hand.
"I sort of slipped up and she figured the rest out." Minako glanced up to see irritation in Mamoru's eyes.
"I see, well that is okay then. I guess it is time for a confrontation." He smiled at the girls with fake cheerfulness and continued. "I think everything will be all right." He did not want them to see his worry.
Usagi stared at the mat, 'none of it was real it was all just a dream. I have to quit thinking like that. He just sees me as a young girl.' She was close to humiliating herself, by speaking of it, when a yawn overtook her. Embarrassed to be caught yawning she started to cover her mouth.
Etienne watched her surreptitiously and he almost smiled when a yawn slipped from her mouth.
Usagi blinked realizing her eyes were becoming heavy as she tried to lift a hand to cover her mouth. She felt warm and sleepy and nothing else seemed to matter. She watched as her teacher reached over and gently held her hand.
"It's all right ma petite just sleep for now. That's right let it everything go."
She tried to fight closing her eyes but sleep seemed so important. The last thing she heard was a voice from her dreams.
"Ma petite Cherie, I'll be there when you wake up." She felt his hand feather over her cheek and then she gave in to the darkness.
He caught her right before she slumped over. He checked her breathing and heart rate to see that is was normal before sighing in relief. 'Thank god I didn't go too heavy on the drug. I don't need her in a coma just deeply asleep.'
"It's all right ma petite," He spoke to the sleeping girl even though he knew she could not hear him. "We'll soon be home and then everything will be perfect." He laid her on the floor and went to the back room pulling out the blanket he had brought.
'Everything else can wait. I do not need to be seen leaving here with her. That would definitely be a bad thing if someone could identify her.' Carrying the blanket back to where Usagi lay he sat her up and wrapped the blanket around her hiding her head and features intentionally.
Picking her up, Etienne gathered her in his arms just like a sleeping child. Deeply asleep, she curled up to him never realizing a thing. Saying a silent goodbye to the dojo, he turned out the lights for the last time and locked the door as he left.
Mamoru was just starting to worry when things became even worse. The girls and he himself had spent the afternoon and early evening hunting for Usagi and found no trace of her. It was nearing dark and his phone began ringing. He hurried to answer it hoping it might be Usagi.
"Moshi moshi?" He could hear breathing over the phone.
"Mamoru-san...Have you seen Usagi?" His eyes widened to hear Ikuko's worried voice come across the phone.
"Um...actually...no I haven't...the girls and I have been looking for her since shortly after school let out." Mamoru felt ice water pool in his stomach and a cold sweat broke out on his brow. 'This isn't like her, where could she be?'
"Well she came home after school, but she left again and hasn't come home or called." Ikuko tried not to worry too much but the strain was evident in her voice.
"Don't worry Tsukino-sama I will find her no worries. You know Usagi, she probably got lost or something. Leave it to me; I will bring her home safely I promise.
"Thank you Mamoru-san." He heard her voice break as she hung up the phone. Listening to the beeping of the dial tone, he thought about where she might be and it scared him. Hanging up the phone, he hurried out the door to meet with the girls...
Usagi was starting to wake up when she felt a cup pressed to her lips. With her mouth dry, she knew a drink would help. Drinking deeply she enjoyed the cool feel of it as it passed her lips. In moments, she was sated and sleepy again for some reason that she could not grasp. Giving in to the urge she curled up to the softness around her and let sleep reclaim her.
Mamoru and the girls met at Rei's temple as a central location. He strolled up to the door and knocked. Rei opened the door and immediately realized by the look on his face things had gotten worse.
"What is it?" She hurried him into the temple. Ami, Minako and Makoto already seated on the floor could see that something was wrong.
"Well Tsukino-sama called me looking for Usagi. She came home after school and then left again and they have not seen or heard from her since." Four pairs of eyes widened in surprise; their thoughts echoed his.
"That's just not like her, usually she would call them." Ami spoke aloud the thought that was running through all their minds.
"So how are we going to find her?" Rei chewed nervously on a piece of her hair thinking about her question.
"Well people don't usually just disappear, there has to be some kind of logical explanation." Mamoru tried to keep the girls calm; he needed them focused on finding her rather than panicking. "We just need to search so here is what I have planned. We need to separate and each take a section of town and look for her. We will cover more ground that way."
The four girls agreed and Rei found a map of Tokyo so they could map out sections. They quickly split it up and each person took an area and headed in that direction. Ami had reminded them that if anyone found any trace of Usagi to call everyone on their communicators...
Mamoru walked up a block looking everywhere, in alleys and doorways. When he spotted an old man standing near a bus stop he stopped and questioned him. Pulling out his wallet, he flipped it open showing the old man the picture.
"Have you seen this girl? It's very important...She's missing and needs her medication or she might die." The old man shook his head and Mamoru felt even more frustrated. He had been walking for a half an hour with no sign of her. No one, he had asked, even remembered seeing her.
Mamoru hoped the girls were having better luck. He stumbled and stopped realizing his shoe had come untied. Bending down he bent forward to tie it. He heard footsteps behind him and never gave it a second thought with all the people around.
Suddenly he heard a whistling noise just before a sharp pain in the back of his head had him slumping forward blackness overtaking him.
Usagi awoke slowly stretching enjoying the softness around her. 'Wait I don't remember going to bed.' Her thoughts were still hazy being half-awake. 'Wait a minute...the last thing I remember...I was...where was I...Kami-sama!
Her eyes flew open to glance at her surroundings. She did not recognize anything. 'Where am I? The room beautifully decorated in the palest of pinks and creams, the carpet looked soft and thick, the bed hung with beautiful silk hangings creating a canopy around her, seemed like a haven.
Her eyes wide with shock, she slid to the side of the bed and climbed down trying to stand. Her legs were still shaky and she felt dizzy, as the floor seemed to sway under her.
She stumbled over to the door to find it heavily barred and locked. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone around?" Banging on it, she became frightened when no one answered. Seconds ticked by until she heard a key scraping in the lock and then the door opened.
"Ah ma petite cherie you are awake at last." He walked up to her and laid his hand on her forehead before dropping a kiss on it. "Ah good no bad side affects from the tea."
Suddenly memories flashed in her mind. She had been in the dojo with him drinking tea just before she fell asleep.
"Where am I?" Her voice came out choked and nervous. She glanced around the room once again.
"Why at home of course. Do you like it, ma petite?" He reached for her hand just as she started to back pedal landing against the bed.
"What do you mean home? My parents will be worried I have to go." Her voice had risen as fear bubbled up inside her.
"Ma petite cherie, you do not understand...please you must calm down." He gave her a gentle look and walked forward sitting next to her.
"You love me, I know you do, and you will see that I love you too, ma cherie. You must understand I do this because I love you, but I can't share you with the world." His hand feathered over her cheek gently. "You are so beautiful ma petite cherie."
She sat trying to comprehend what was going on. "B-but...there are things you don't know. Things that that..." Her words trailed off as she thought about Mamo-chan.
Etienne could see that this conversation was upsetting her so he tried to calm her down again.
"No worries ma petite. It will be all right. Everything has been taken care of." He soothed her as best he could.
"You do not understand..." She covered her face with her hands and fought back the tears. "Oh Mamo-chan what have I done?" Her words were like ice water to him when she spoke aloud.
"This Mamo- person you speak of he wouldn't happen to be a dark haired young man, would he?" Etienne glanced at her with a sad look. Her eyes jumped to his face.
"Why, what do you know, tell me please?" She reached out and clasped his hand begging for what he knew.
"I am afraid, Mademoiselle, that this person you speak of is dead!" His tone was cold and hard and her eyes widened in shock.
"Dead..." It was all her mind could process. 'Dead...Mamo-chan... Dead...Mamo-chan.'
"Mais oui, He is dead" With a Gaelic shrug of nonchalance he continued...I saw it for myself." To prove his claim he pulled something out of his pocket. Thrusting it towards her he was not prepared for her reaction.
When she saw what he thrust into her hands the world around her suddenly bounced in and out of proportion before fading to black. The picture Mamoru kept in his wallet slowly drifted to the floor when it slipped from lifeless fingers as she collapsed in a heap.
"Ah, ma petite cherie, it is all right." He lightly slapped her cheeks until her eyes blinked open. She sat up slowly as a tear wandered down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb and wiped it away.
"You will survive, ma petite, I shall return shortly with a sumptuous meal for us to share." He stood slowly glancing down at her. "Your dress is in the closet, ma cherie." He turned and with a final wave left her, locking the door behind her.
Usagi lay dazed as he left. 'Mamo-chan is dead.' Scalding tears coursed down her cheeks. The pain in her heart was unbearable as her mind tried to accept the fact.
Ami being of sound logical thinking decided to start at Usagi's house. She knocked on the door and waited for Tsukino-sama to open it.
"May I please look for clues in Usagi's room?" She smiled gently trying to appear calmer than she felt for Ikuko's benefit.
"Hai, go ahead, I know you guys are all trying to find her." Ikuko pointed up the stairs and wandered into the front room.
Ami wandered up the stairs and opened Usagi's door, to find her room a mess. There was stuff strewn everywhere, but Ami immediately knew to look for the out of place item rather than searching through everything. Glancing over everything, she noted all of the usual junk until a bright pink piece of paper caught her eye.
She walked over to Usagi's desk and picked it up.
Want to learn to better your self-defense skills?
I am your perfect teacher.
Please come to Ryu Dojo.
Classes are free for new students.
Ami read the flier, her eyes widening in surprise at what she saw. 'So maybe this is why she has been acting so strange lately?' Taking note of the address, she tucked the paper in her pocket and left Usagi's room. Waving to Tsukino-sama, she let herself out and headed for the Dojo.
Mamoru woke with a pounding headache. Trying not to increase his pain, he glanced around through the gloom and tried to see the room. Chained to a chair in some kind of closet, listening closely he could faintly hear the hum of distant voices.
Thinking of transforming, he decided to wait and see what whoever held him wanted. He could not quite move his wrist very well; anyway, they must have realized who he was. The manacles that held his wrists were wide and held his arms snug against the arms of the chair. They had also added a chain around his chest, knees and manacles held his ankles tight.
He frowned in the gloom thinking about who held him. 'It must be our newest enemy, but how did they know my real identity? Kami I completely forgot about finding Usagi. I hope the girls are capable of managing.'
He blew out a frustrated breath as he thought about how many ways they could and probably would botch everything. 'Why do I always have to be the one in charge? I wish just for once those girls could do something right. Usagi is the worst of the bunch. Why do I always have to play baby-sitter?'
The door opening interrupted his thoughts. A man he recognized walked into the room carrying a tray.
"Well if it isn't rose boy, bit of a headache eh? Sorry about that but it was the only way to grab you quickly." His smile belied his real attitude. "It was the least I could do. I still owe you for this scar, now don't I? I brought you some food, but oh there is a small problem."
He smiled again before continuing. "We have not been properly introduced. I am Rob-Pierre by the way." He waved at Mamoru as he spoke. "No need to speak, I know you are the mighty Chiba Mamoru or Rose boy as I like to call you. Tuxedo Kamen?" He laughed, "And who gave you such a funny name?" He watched his captive get angry as he continued taunting him.
"Ah yes the problem, how can you eat if your hands are rendered useless?" Rob-Pierre glanced at him thinking of his captive's arrogance, deciding how to best use it against him.
"So let me ask the question of the day. Why do you follow those girls around anyway? Can't handle it on your own?"
Mamoru was seething with rage. 'How does he know?'
"That Sailor Moon, there is just something about her." He smirked at Mamoru to add insult to injury. "I'd like to spend one night with her. Unlike you I think I could make her happy."
Rob-Pierre stood slowly watching Mamoru's futile angry glances. "Well I will let you be. Enjoy your food. I'll check in with you later." With a jovial wave, he left the tray across the room from the chained man and whistled a jaunty tune as he left the room.
Here is an end to Chapter 5. I hope you have enjoyed it. Please R & R and let me know what you think. Due to a suddenfamily emergency I will have to be away for a week. Please do not expect an update until this time next week. Thank you for reading.