Disclaimer: I'm not sure I should continue disclaiming either… I'm pretty sure I've disclaimed quite enough. But since disclaiming seems to be rather amusing, I will disclaim once more. I disclaim Sailor Moon. There. I hope that made someone happy.
Chapter 2: Chain Yankers
My father tugged at my arm and urged me to escape from the horrible scene with him but years of fighting and training taught me to ignore the plea to run. I ducked down behind a park bench and my father followed suit. His worry was touching but my being at this scene was imperative.
"Minako! This is crazy; we need to get out of here, Honey."
"Shh, Papa. Don't worry."
I concentrated on the monster in front of me while it looked for victims. Before I could assess the monster's attacks, strengths or weaknesses it seemed to fall into a fit of madness. Stomping, growling, roaring. It was large, bulky and slow. It began to glow. It leap and shot a single beam towards the ground. When it made contact the beam's diameter began to expand. I grabbed my father's arm.
"Now we run!" I said.
The ground began to tear behind us as we ran; ripping through trees and mutilating the tiny park. There was one place we may be safe: the elementary school. I explained the plan to my father and we began to run in its direction. I looked back to see the monster following at its own sluggish pace. Once we reached school grounds, we quickly made our way into the building.
"Quick, Papa, in here!"
"Minako, this is the janitor's closet!"
"No questions!"
As soon as he stepped inside I had shut the door and began to sprint down one hallway. I got into a classroom and closed the door. I pulled out my communicator and stared down at it.
"Mamoru-san and Odango-chan are very happy, aren't they?"
"Mm. Things are good like this."
"I should have been best man."
"Ha! Just because you look gorgeous in a suit doesn't mean you're a man. You're far too beautiful."
"Ah...well, being the best will do."
"Just the comment I'd expect from a cocky blonde."
"Last I checked you were just as blonde...if not just as cocky, Love Goddess."
I put the communicator away for now. This was nothing; some stray beast looking for trouble. I wouldn't let this ruin the peace that my soldier's had for the time being. There was simply no more time to reason with myself. I pulled out my henshin pen and lifted it high.
"Venus Crystal Power! Make up!"
The light embodied me. The familiar light that always made me the star I needed to be. Super Sailor Venus: The Leader of the Sailor Soldiers and Guardian to the planet of love and beauty. I left the building to find the abomination creeping through the schools playing fields and knocking everything in its path.
"Foul beast. I can't think of how many ways to curse you for leaking your existence all over this peaceful time! No matter. In the name of the Planet Venus! I will punish you!"
The end of my speech brought only the slightest alterations of expressions to the monster's deformed face. It was confusion. Threats from a teenage girl in an orange sailor suit were always confusing at first. It made a sloppy attack, nothing threatening at all. It was almost completely brainless of a monster to use its own head as a hammer. It cracked the floor in front of me but that was easily dodge as well. I was almost insulted by how crude it was.
"Yield and bow, you disgusting creature!" My 'love-me chain' shot out from my fingertips. With expert precision, it wrapped itself around a twisted, orange, metal bar that I dared to call a leg and than I gave it an abrupt tug. The mess of metal had always seemed off balance to me and my haul had pulled it back off it's feet and face first onto the ground.
"That's more like it. Now you're finished!" I shouted. "Venus! Love and Beauty Shock!" My kiss of death sent the disastrous fiend sprawling in no particular direction. Once landed it let out one more pained groan, made an attempt to move but finally disintegrated in defeat. I sighed with satisfaction and silently whispered, "dusted."
I looked around because after a while one tended to learn to expect more from a battle. It was insulting that something so pitiful remained in the world; attempting to destroy my home. And maybe I was being too confident. I was simply upset.
I de-transformed and walked back into the school to collect my father. He acted as parents act when they realize their children could have been in grave danger. Angry. I suppose he believed I had somehow gotten past my phase of getting into trouble. He had not been given the chance to grow used to my random disappearances like Mother had. Hopefully, he would not be required to.
"Where did you go anyway?"
While we walked the long way home--around the mess that had become the park--I suddenly realized I had been ignoring a large portion of my father's rant. I lied before my mind could even consider telling the truth.
"To contact the officials."
"They don't seem to be here yet. I wonder what happened to that monster."
My father put an arm around my shoulders and looked around protectively. I laid my head against his shoulder and decided I would keep Venus's appearance a secret.
"I'm sure they took care of it rather quickly."
"There hasn't been a demon here in a long time." He said. "I was sure they just drifted off to Japan. Quite odd really. A little frightening. Did you see them ever? Were you attacked at all?"
He became nervous. I suppose realizing your daughter could have been in the midst of a war zone does that. How could I calm him down?
"There were attacks but we were always safe." A half-truth. "The Sailor Soldiers protected us."
I leant against him and put an arm around his back.
"I'm not so sure a bunch of young girls in sailor suits could fight demons, Minako."
I wanted to laugh. Maybe even cry. Fight demons? Yes. We fought demons. But we also saved lives. Saved worlds. Sacrificed dreams. For a minute, I wanted to curse the skirts and bows for not being plate metal or chain mail. But I got a grip on those feelings and knew that it didn't matter. All I had to do was remember Mercury's constantly deepening wells of knowledge, Jupiter's right hook and Mars's blazing passion and I then realize how proud I am of my skirted warriors.
"They saved this world." I whispered to him and into the night. Then I watched the moon intently as it lit up the streets leading us back home and wondered if they all knew how much they meant to me.
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"Preheat oven to 350 degrees… Place bread sticks on a flat pan and bake for 2 to 3 minutes." It was straightforward. Good. I liked that in a quick, unhealthy breakfast snack. I winked at the package and blew it a kiss. "You and me should get to know each other a little…better."
"Minako. We should talk."
My father's voice stunned me and I dropped the package back onto the counter.
"I realize that you're young and…times are very different now. I just want you to know that I'll always love you and accept you for who you are. But before you run off and marry the breadsticks…would you at least consider the fact that they are smeared in garlic?"
I threatened to throw the package at him before he fled the kitchen. I was in pursuit of him, with the breadsticks in hand, only to find him picking up his briefcase for work at the front door.
"I suppose this isn't a good time to spread all this garlic goo off on your suit in my quest for vengeance towards you for scorning my one true love?"
I hugged the precious carb-o-licious, garlic smeared, breadsticks to me.
"No…That wouldn't be such a fabulous plan at the moment."
"Well than you better get going, Evil-doer. Because in the name of all things garlic infested and good, I am about to punish you!"
He gave me a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before heading out.
"Don't get into any trouble at the mall, okay?"
Trouble? It was just shopping!
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Ugh. Trouble. Line-ups! Line-ups everywhere! Didn't anyone go to work! Line-ups for change rooms! Line-ups for parfaits! There was no escaping the dreadful downfall of summer vacation: It was everyone's summer vacation. I was sure that the entirety of students that attended the four nearest schools to that particular mall were currently in it. It was far beyond annoying. Especially when that old woman practically stole that red summer dress I had been eyeing. I was glad that the arcade seemed to be unpopular and I set myself in front of the first video game that seemed to be interesting and open.
After inserting a token into the machine, I found it was a fighting game. It wasn't too challenging and after a few rounds I looked up from the screen to my surroundings. Suddenly, I felt out of place. Old. Not that eighteen was too old to be playing video games. But these people…I could tell I didn't fit with them.
I left the arcade and passed my free game off onto the first kid I saw. Sitting on a bench outside the arcade, I watched the people pass by me, feeling very detached and lonely. Then I realized the problem hadn't been with me but with the mall itself. There was something eerie about the place and it was making me feel uneasy. Almost queasy and anxious.
Ah…In Minako-land, it's not unlikely that an attack takes place everyday. Sometimes there are even two a day. Lucky me. My hand was in my purse, my fingers curling around my wand and I held onto it tightly. I looked around suspiciously. My heart had begun to pound, which caused my head to do that exact same thing. Deep breaths. There! The doors to the arcade swung open and a group of teenagers sprinted out as quick at they could, dispersing into all different directions. I stood up, ready to find a secluded area to transform when…
"And don't you come back here ever again! Damn kids!"
The manager of the arcade shouted, fist shaking high in the air. I sat back down, willing my heart to calm down. Everything was alright; I was just paranoid. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling I was having about Broadgate Centre. It would be better if I left.
I would see Michiru on the weekend and we would straighten things out for good.
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Authors Note Part 2: Not an exciting enough cliff-hanger? I'm actually quite happy with how it turned out. Yes, I wanted it to end a little more exciting than this but I've hit five pages already and its seven in the morning. I'm just happy that I felt so inspired to write this. I hope you've enjoyed it. Time to read over it, edit it and post it. Night, folks.