The eye of the spotlight shines brightly upon three souls, but tonight they are concerned with a more private engagement. Manga and Anime Canon. Written in celebration of the Amazon's Trio on Sailor Moon's 30th anniversary.
Rated: T - Friendship/Spiritual - Words: 2,605 - Hawk's Eye, Fisheye, Tiger's Eye
A/N: There are two versions of this fic. The first version is set in manga canon and the second in anime canon. The main difference begins with the fifth scene of each respective story, so choose whichever version you want to read first, it makes no difference beyond going over the same material for scenes 1-4.
This story is a gift for ReisPinkOveralls00
Thank you to Mangaka_chanfor betaing the fic for me.
Beneath the spotlight half a dozen knives glittered through the air. Each one was deftly caught and thrown back up by the figure in blue expertly balancing atop the large ball.
In one fluid motion, the figure ceased juggling the knives and threw all of them directly into the air before flipping forwards to balance upon the ball with a single hand.
The crowds gasped as the knives fell!
However, they missed the blue ball balancer entirely, merely piercing the sphere.
The ball balancer flipped again, snatching up the knives once more as they reversed their position, their feet firmly back on top of the sphere.
The ball balancer then became a ball rider, proceeding to juggle the knives whilst simultaneously manoeuvring the rapidly deflating sphere around the circumference of the circus ring.
As the ball rider neared the completion of a third circuit the ball had shrunk to merely a quarter of its original size.
And upon reaching its original starting point it seemed to EXPLODE!
The audience did not cheer nor clap. The few who were not rendered speechless let out shrieks and gasps…until they noticed what seemed to be a large fish bowl descending from the rafters of the tent.
Within the bowl were all manner of tropical fish accompanied by a single sea lion. The lone mammal was treading water at the centre of the tank, its head above the surface and a ball balancing upon its nose. And, on the parallel hemisphere of the sphere, was the ball rider, balancing upon a single finger.
"Ladies and gentlemen," announced the ringmaster, "A round of applause for the Amazon Circus' very own Fish Eye!"
The audience positively erupted as Fish Eye took a bow, swiftly followed by the other circus performers.
"Where're you off to?" asked the ringmaster.
Fish Eye, now dressed noticeably more casually in light blue jeans and matching jacket, stopped just short of the back door.
The ringmaster seemed taken aback slightly when Fish Eye shot a smile over a slender shoulder.
"Give my apologies to the other performers, I need to rest up for tomorrow."
Upon the stage, the rock star gave a mighty roar, fuelled by the thrum of the speakers flanking him.
Stalking closer to the stage's edge, he leaned forwards as the music built and built.
Though his eyes appeared to be closed, he could hardly fail to notice the throngs of crying and screaming young women in the front row.
The musician flashed a smile, one of his pointed teeth practically glittering in the light. The tiny gesture sent the girls into a veritable frenzy.
As the song reached its crescendo, the musician, accompanied by the three other performers on stage stood in a row. The lead musician swept his right arm forwards as he bowed, the motion almost clawing at the air.
As he drank in the crowd's adoration, the musician wondered if there could be a sweeter sound than hearing them repeatedly chant his name.
"Tiger's Eye! Tiger's Eye! Tiger's Eye!"
"Tiger's Eye!?"
At the sound of his name, Tiger's Eye swivelled around in his chair and away from the dressing room mirror. Pushing some of his orange fringe out his eyes, fixed his gaze upon the lead guitarist.
"What's up?"
"I asked if you want to grab something to eat after we sign autographs?"
"Sorry," he replied. "I won't be doing autographs tonight. I need my beauty sleep."
The guitarist shot a look of disbelief. "That's not like the Tiger's Eye I remember."
Tiger's Eye gave a lazy shrug as he exited the dressing room. "Well, tomorrow is a special day for me. Tell the ladies I'm sorry."
Even at seven o'clock in the evening, the herbal store was utterly abuzz with activity.
The owner of the humble establishment seemed to never stop, fluttering from one corner of the store to the other.
With relentless cheer he advised customers on which item would spice up their meals, help them sleep or improve their love lives.
With relentless patience he scanned and bagged purchases at the cash register.
And with relentless energy he aided his half dozen staff members to unload and take inventory of their stock at the back of the store, whilst also placing orders for his secondary sites in Paris, Jûban, Sydney and the Ginza-district.
Finally, at four o'clock, the slightly haggard owner squeezed past a hoard of customers to flip the 'open' sign to 'closed' and apologised to the customers waiting outside.
"Why're we closing so early, boss?" asked one of the store assistants.
"I need an early night for tomorrow" said Hawk's Eye, straightening out his dress and draping a black cloak over himself with a dramatic flourish. "It's a special day and I'm working at my other business."
"I thought most people were taking tomorrow off."
"They are," said Hawk's Eye as he affixed a large feathery mask onto his face, "But I'm opening up for some very old and loyal customers..."
With just a pinch of their old magic the pair traversed the streets unharassed by onlookers or any of their fans, their glamours ensuring their privacy. Not that many people would have noticed them anyway.
Whether it was the money, the alcohol or the dazzling neon lights fractured through crystalline structures, walking the strip of Neo Vegas had a hypnotic quality all its own.
At last the pair reached the Bellagio, the famous fountains just beginning their aquatic dance. They paused for the briefest of moments to watch the display before Tiger's Eye moved off, dragging Fish Eye away.
Entering the hotel they were drawn as if by a homing instinct, to the massive bar that was somehow both homey and as glamorous as any of the hotels they had passed. Above the bar entrance was a holographic logo looping the Sun and Moon coming into perfect alignment.
Fish Eye leading the way, the duo strode into the mostly deserted establishment and beelined for a group of barstools that were roped off to the side and sat beneath a mirrored ceiling.
Almost immediately upon taking their seats the barkeeper appeared seemingly out of thin air, removing their feathery mask.
"On behalf of the Eclipse Bar, I'd like to offer the both of you your usual drinks. On the house," said Hawk's Eye.
"So there are some perks to being friends with the owner," said Tiger's Eye.
"You should see what happens at Happy Hour," smirked Hawk's Eye as he poured out three glasses.
Each of them took a glass and raised it to the holographic live feed from Crystal Tokyo.
"To friends and living free," said Fish Eye.
"To second chances and fulfilling your dreams," added Hawk's Eye.
"To that miraculous Pink Crystal…and the rabbit who owns it", smirked Tiger's Eye.
In synchrony, the Trio turned their attention to the live feed where a beautiful couple were waving at both the cameras and the assembled crowd below the balcony they were standing upon. The dashing young man had soft white hair and a regal alabaster robes to match. The woman had bubblegum pink hair tied up in twin hair buns. Trailing from the hair buns were a pair of pigtails, although these were hard to see beneath the veil of the wedding dress.
Three glasses clinked together as the Trio saluted the newlyweds and drank heartily. They drank as heartily as they had all the years before. And as they would all the years to come.
A/N: The fates of the Amazon Trio in this fic were based upon Naoko Takeuchi's notes from the Materials Collection.
Also, just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!