Disclaimer: EightofSwords sits down at her laptop and begins typing out the disclaimer for her latest (ah, irony) chapter. "When I blow out the candles on the Thanksgiving turkey this year, I plan to wish for Sailor Moon, Daniel Radcliffe, and laser hair removal."
Sword-chan's little sister looks up from her latest Tsubasa Reservoir manga, disdain scrawled across her features. "What planet are you from? You don't blow out candles on Thanksgiving."
"WHAT!" yells Sword-chan, enraged. How will she get Daniel Radcliffe now?
"Hey, don't blame me." Sword-chan's little sister turns to a new page in her manga. "I'm on your side. No one needs laser hair removal as much as you do."
(And that, my darlings, is what happens when you drink 2 Liters of Mountain Dew mixed with cranberry juice. Which is, as I have learned from my drug awareness course, a synergistic mixture and thus can be four times as potent as any two individual drinks. Cheers!)
Subject to Change
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mounting
From Ami Mizuno's acceptance letter to Kuritusaru Juku:
Kuritusaru Juku is pleased to welcome your son/daughter to their prestigious learning program! Please observe the rules in the enclosed handbook and prepare for an informative year! The weekly schedule is as follows. Punctuality is an important part of the business world and is consequently strictly enforced.
Monday: 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday: 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Friday: 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 7:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Looking forward to an enlightening new year,
Ihara Tutetsu
Principal
That morning:
"Business as usual today," said Luna, prowling back and forth atop the wall as she looked down at Rei and Ami on the sidewalk below her. "Report to me on your communicators at lunch and break to check up. Once school ends, you will immediately report to patrol – "
Luan broke off suddenly. Ami, her eyes glued to the ground, had timidly raised a hand.
"School hasn't started yet, Ami," said Rei caustically.
"I know," said Ami in a small voice, lifting her head a bit. "But Luna, I – um, I can't patrol today. Or – orMondayoranyotherschooldays."
She said this all in a rush, as though hoping to escape Luna's wrath, but the black cat caught every word of it. Then she swelled like a wrathful balloon.
"What do you mean, you can't patrol?" she growled slowly.
"Well – you see – " Ami twisted the hem of her skirt tightly in her hands. "I have to go to juku. I've been skipping to patrol – "
"Exactly," Luna cut her off. "Because we've already had this conversation. The princess is more important than your precious supplementary school."
Ami swallowed and, almost ashamedly, said, "My mother's said that if I miss another day of juku, I have to go back to my old boarding school."
Which meant that Luna would have no one at Azabu High to keep an eye on the two traitor Senshi.
The black cat flew into a rage.
"Zoicite." An impatient frown wrinkled Beryl's face. "Where is Malachite?"
"I summoned him forth an hour ago, Queen," replied the general, sheathing the bloody knife in her hand. She had been idly carving shapes in her arm with the blade. "Why not check on him with the crystal orb the Great One gave to you?"
Wordlessly, the Dark Kingdom monarch awakened the crystal ball. Fog swirled like a hurricane within its depths.
Zoicite sat up, placing her chin atop Beryl's knees in order to better see the orb's contents. A strange and presumptuous thing to do, and Beryl would have blasted her into oblivion for it – if Zoicite had still been the general she once was. But she was not; the real Zoicite had been killed, and now the soul inhabiting her body was just an extension of Beryl's.
"Look," breathed Zoicite, drawing Beryl's attention back to the orb. "He is with her again."
And indeed, he was. Though donning Terran slacks and a shirt and wearing shades, it was unmistakably High General Malachite walking down a Terran street beside the Leader of the Imperial Senshi, Minako. Both wore smiles, and Beryl's nostrils flared.
"I smell it, too," hissed Zoicite. "Betrayal."
"Now, now." Beryl placed a hand atop the orb. "He meets with her on my orders, Zoicite. Venus will never lead us to the princess of her own, but if she believes that Malachite is betraying me, she will tell all to him."
"I have followed him, Queen. He told her that you did not know of his visits to her."
"Did I not just tell you that I do?" Beryl's ire flared up; she glared down at her general. "I am the one who sends him to her!" She calmed slightly, her expression becoming more benevolent. It felt too odd to scold her own soul. "Listen to me and learn, Zoicite. Malachite would not knowingly betray his soul mate. But he is desperate to protect her, after he has failed to do so so many times. He will do anything – even yield to me." Here, Beryl smiled widely. "Did you not wonder why I let Venus go so easily? Why I set her up at Sailor Moon's school and gave her a home?"
"Yes," hissed Zoicite, her tongue flicking eagerly from her mouth.
"I told Malachite that I would spare Minako if he went to her and brought all information she gave him back to me. And because he is so desperate, and because he has seen our strength these past thousand years and does not believe the Senshi or their princess can defeat us, he agreed.
"And that," finished Beryl with malicious satisfaction, "that is the weakness of love, Zoicite."
That afternoon:
She climbed down and went to unlock the stall door…when she noticed a strange thing in the stall beside hers. A pair of worn red and white sneakers, far too large to belong to a girl. And they were familiar…
"ASANUMA!"
Serena threw her stall door open. Before her hand could reach the other stall door, it swung open. There sat Asanuma on the commode – fully clothed and with his elbows propped on his knees and his face propped on his hands.
"Hi, Serena-chan," he mumbled.
"Oh my gosh!" Serena stared at him, then glanced around the bathroom, face staining a bright pink. "I'm so sorry, I thought this was the girls' bathroom...!"
"It is."
"It…is?" Serena repeated uncertainly.
"Yup."
Serena waited for him to continue, but apparently he was not in a very gregarious mood. "But then…what are you doing in here?"
"Skipping."
Serena's brows knit in concern. "Why?"
Asanuma shrugged. His tie was still neatly knotted neatly at his throat – not at all like him. He usually yanked his tie and collar loose as soon as he was out of a teacher's sight. "Got bored."
"That's a…good reason," said Serena slowly. My, but this was awkward.
"Yup."
No more words were said. Serena thought she was going to burst from all the silence. She thought hard for a minute, furrowing her brows, then plunked down on the toiler in the stall beside Asanuma's. "Then I'll skip class too and keep Numa-kun company!" she announced.
Asanuma's only reply was a sigh. After a few minutes had passed, she heard him say, "You know, if someone walks in right now, they're going to be scarred for life."
"Yup," said Serena.
More silence.
"Where's Darien?" asked Asanuma. His voice sounded strange. She heard a squeak as he shifted on the toilet seat. "Isn't he your personal escort these days?"
"In the principal's office." Serena hesitated. "Asanuma, we went to Miss Lanai like you told us, but she did something that made Darien mad, and I think he might have done something bad…" Apprehension was sloshing in her stomach like acid. "Asanuma, you don't think – "
"Miss Lanai?" came Asanuma's voice caustically. It sounded closer than before; Serena looked up from her white-knuckled hands to see him leaning against the doorway of her stall. His stance recalled Darien; arms crossed over chest, shoulders tense. "What the hell'd she ever do to him?"
Serena flinched. "She…well, it's a long story…Asanuma, are you okay?"
"Peachy." Asanuma did not relax his stiff posture, nor smile. "What's dear Dare-bear's problem with Miss Lanai? Did she paint another horrible picture of you two getting hot and heavy or something." Asanuma adopted a breathy, high-pitched voice. "Oh, my life sucks so much, people paint pictures of me!" His voice lowered again, to a disgusted tenor. "Lay off the drama, for God's sake."
Her stomach was churning more horribly than ever. Serena stared at Asanuma with the eyes of a dying doe, feeling bile creep up her throat. She swallowed. "Asanuma, I – I'm really sorry…"
Asanuma smiled self-deprecatingly. His face seemed unnaturally smooth without its customary smile crinkling his eyes and dimpling his cheeks. It was as though his visage had been carved from marble. "Not as sorry as me, though, huh?"
"Asanuma." Serena willed her hands to move towards his arm and grip it comfortingly, but her limbs would not move. Fear and dread swirled in her veins like a paralyzing poison. "Asanuma, you're not sorry."
Even as she spoke, she winced at the lack of conviction in her voice. She merely sounded frightened and pleading. Was it wrong of her to want him to stop? Yes. She was selfish for wanting him to conceal his emotions so that she would not have to deal with them. She was a coward, just like Rei had always said. But where had all this anger come from?
Asanuma was watching her expectantly. She tried to talk without letting her voice quaver, but as usual, she failed.
"Y-y-you're not sorry. I am. Tell me what's wrong, please?" His silence continued. "Numa, if this is about Rei, I know she likes you. If you'll just talk to her – "
"Leave her out of this!" snapped Asanuma abruptly. A flush leapt up in his cheeks like flames. He paused, breathing heavily. "This isn't about her!"
"No, no – " Serena shook her head rapidly, almost hastily. "This is about you. Numa, I don't want you to be sad and angry anymore! I want you to be happy again! We all do!"
"Why?" he bit out. "So I can make jokes and be your lunchtime entertainment again? The photogenic couples are getting bored without their fifth wheel idiot, are they?"
"Asanuma, that's not true – "
"Maybe it isn't," he cut her off. Then he shrugged, turning away. "But it sure feels like it is."
He strode out the door. And Serena couldn't muster the courage to follow him.
Lita licked her lips as she stood in front of her locker. She looked around. Not a soul was to be seen in the empty hallway.
Her hands scraped down her shirt and left dark streaks behind from her sweaty palms.
She broke into motion, striding purposefully down the hallway.
Fifteen minutes later she found herself sitting at Motoki's bedside and listening to him scold her for skipping class to come see him.
"How are you going to get the study guide for your test on Monday?" he was saying, brown eyes wide with concern. "You know Usa won't take the notes, she never does – "
"Well, if you want me to leave…" Lita trailed off, rising. She knew she shouldn't have come –
"No!" Motoki scrambled out from under his bedspread. "I didn't say that – " His dismayed expression suddenly gave way to a sheepish blush. "Aw, you're making fun of me."
"Nooooo," Lita drew out, but the twinkling of her eyes belied the truth.
Toki sighed, relaxing again, though he did not lay back down on his pillow. He propped himself up on his back with his elbows and flexed his toes.
"I'm kinda glad you came," he said out of the blue.
"Kinda?" repeated Lita with her usual eyebrow quirk.
Motoki shot her a furtive look. "Yeah." He looked back at his toes again. "I mean, I thought you'd come with everyone else."
"So you're glad I skipped class," translated Lita with a little grin
Motoki laughed a bit. "Yeah. Kinda." He rolled over, his head burying itself in the pillow like an ostrich in the sand, and mumbled something.
Lita leaned forward to poke him n the ribs. "Come on, stop trying to asphyxiate yourself to death. I'm not THAT bad of company."
Despite her flippant words, every one of her nerves was on edge, like a tightrope walker balancing on the edge of a knife. What was Toki trying to say?
She poked him again, against her better judgment. She forced herself to talk teasingly. "Motoki. Pick up your head and look at me when you're talking to me, boy."
His blonde head turned sideways on the pillow so that he was looking up at her. A grimaced crossed her face; she hid it quickly.
"Sometimes I think that you only go out with me because of Serena."
Lita took a moment to swallow this. "You think…that I'm going out with you because of…Serena?" She shook her head, feeling her ponytail brush against her neck. "You're gonna have to walk me step by step through whatever male logic led you to that conclusion because I'm not following you."
Motoki smiled a little and rolled over again. "I never said it made sense."
"Well, obviously it made some twisted sort of sense to you." Lita sat on the edge of his bed, leaning back on one hand. "Go on, spill. I'm sick and tired of people hiding stuff from me."
Motoki sat up so rapidly and so abruptly that Lita found their faces only a few centimeters apart. "What?"
"Nothing," grumbled Lita, thoroughly angry with herself for letting that complain slip. Kino, you big fat whiner, stop looking for pity –
"No, tell me! Who's hiding things from you, Lita?"
Lita sighed, turned her face away from his. She felt her hair brush his face. "I'll tell you later, okay?" She faced him again. "I want to know what crazy-ass idea got into your head that me dating you has anything to do with Serena."
To look away, to sigh: this was what Lita expected Motoki to do. Instead, his eyes remained firmly on her face, flicking back and forth across her features as though searching them. Loathe to break his concentration, she remained perfectly still, barely daring to breathe.
"Like I said, it doesn't make sense," Motoki muttered. "Just this feeling I get – like, I dunno, you would put Serena before anyone else. Like you want to spend more time with her than with anyone else. I'm not whining, really I'm not, Lita. Just sometimes we're in the arcade, and it seems like you gravitate towards Serena, like a planet or something…and today…" he paused. "Well, I wasn't sure you'd come to see me if Serena didn't."
Lita bit her lip, staring at Motoki's averted eyes. The action made her feel oddly feminine. Like a princess concerned about her prince.
Was it true? That strange feeling she felt for Serena – it wasn't lust, she knew that. It was in no way anything but platonic. But from the moment she had met Serena, something had…clicked. Begun to feel familiar. And secure. And so, like a child clinging close to her mother at a new school, Lita had glued herself to Serena.
Toki had been a new feeling, no less strong, but foreign – all the more so because he was the opposite gender, a gender that had thus far never done much to gain Lita's trust. Toki had proven himself to be an exception and had gained Lita's fierce loyalty, but still failed to inspire that incredible sense of familiarity that Serena glowed with.
Yet…that instinctual feeling of security had been only that – a feeling. And she should know better than to base her actions on those alone. Hadn't she just told herself that in the library earlier that day?
"Lita." Toki had backed away a little now. Ever the gentlemen. "I'm sorry, you haven't known me all that long, it's okay, you don't have to trust me like you trust Serena – "
Like a code word, "truth" spurred her out of her motionless.
"No, it's my fault." She stared at her hands. "I do trust you, Toki. I'm just not very good at showing it. And with Serena – a lot of the time I'm with her when I'm with you because I feel too awkward approaching you by myself. I…I'm not used to having a boyfriend. And I don't want to be clingy, so actually, I used Serena as an excuse to talk to you, not the other way round."
"…oh."
His side bumped hers. Then his arms tentatively encircled her. Lita stiffened, then relaxed, slinging an arm around his neck. She tilted her head back to look up at him. Once again, a giddying sense of femininity trembled her limbs – how wondrous it was to have to crane her head to look up at someone for once! It made her feel small and graceful –
"Why do you feel awkward, Li?"
The softly breathed question filled her mouth with a sour taste. She leaned back in his arms, her eyes fastening themselves resolutely to his ceiling. The skin of her throat protested the stretch. This was not something that she wanted to talk about…
"Is it because of me?"
Lita whipped up to a sitting position. His arms fell from her back.
"Toki, no!" Anger and wildness swirled in her voice. Was he INSANE? What was wrong with HIM? "It's not you! It's ME!"
"And this is the part where you say you just want to be friends, isn't it?" Motoki wore a rueful smile, not looking at her.
Lita could not believe what she was hearing. "NO! God, Toki, what in the hell's wrong with you?"
"I couldn't do anything about that damned youma," said Motoki with that same pained little smile. "You practically beat it up one-handed – and me, I passed out from one measly punch. I'm supposed to be the one who protects you, but I didn't do a single thing – "
"Wait just a second," growled Lita, grabbing him by the collar. "Where have you been this past century, Motoki Furuhata? There's a little thing called women's empowerment, you know!"
"I know that!" snapped Motoki back. "But that doesn't change the fact that I want to protect you!" His head swung slowly. "I can't blame you for feeling awkward. I would, too, if I was as strong as you and I was dating a wimp – "
Lita grabbed his forearm and wrestled it out of the sleeve of his bathrobe, revealing the cut-off tank top he wore underneath. Her fingers gripped his bicep and waved flailed his arm in front of his face.
"Hi, Motoki!" she squeaked like a ventriloquist voicing a puppet. "Remember me? I'm your well-toned muscle!" She poked it. "Hmm, doesn't feel like a wimp's arm…"
Motoki just stared at her with a miserable expression. Disgusted, she threw his arm down. "Typical guy. You don't even know how lucky you are. Trust me when I say, Motoki, that you are not a wimp."
Then why do you feel awkward when you're with me?" challenged Motoki.
Lita threw her hands in the air. "Because in case you haven't noticed, I look like a freaking female He-Man!"
A strange expression crossed Motoki's face.
"What mirror have you been looking in?" He pushed the hair back from her face with his fingers. Lita realized that she still gripped his collar. She did not let go of it, nor did Motoki release her face from his hands.
Power and that feeling of being precious and small were spiraling through her veins, hot as molten gold. She felt like she was glowing, like that gold was seeping out of her pores to gild her skin.
"I don't see it in the mirror," she said breathlessly. "I see it on people's faces. I feel it when I have to look down at people to talk to them."
"Lita," said Motoki softly. His word were a warm breeze on her ear; she blinked, and her eyelashes brushed against his neck. When had her head ended up here, between his neck and shoulder? "You live in Japan. What do you expect? Besides, if I really thought you were big, do you think I'd be offering you milkshakes all the time?"
She had to laugh at this. Her hands released his collar and twined around his neck.
"Motoki," she said in a muffled voice, "have I ever told you that you're the best thing that's happened to me since I came to Juuban?"
"Wow, if you get mushy like this every time I get knocked out by a youma, I'm gonna jump in their paths a lot more," joked Motoki.
"What was that I was saying about you having big muscles?" wondered Lita aloud. "I meant except for that one in your skull."
Motoki groaned theatrically and fell back as though wounded. Lita crossed her arms and grinned.
"I have so enjoyed speaking to you, Ami." Mina smiled down at her. Warmth spread through Ami's insides, a broad smile stretching her cheeks so tightly that they hurt. Though they didn't hurt enough to mask the burning sting of the claw scratches hidden beneath her sleeves.
"I reciprocate the sentiment," replied Ami with earnest sincerity, ignoring the pain of both. "Do you – do you think we might eat lunch together again on Monday?"
"Of course!" Minako laughed. "But why wait? Let us go find something to eat now – do you want ice cream?"
"Oh, I…" Ami's insides sank with disappointment. "I can't. I have to go to juku."
"Pity." Minako's smile also fell. "Well, how about I meet up with you after your…ju-ku? And we can find some ice cream then?"
"Well, you see I…I have to meet up with someone immediately after juku…"
"A friend?"
Ami looked down. "Kind of."
"Not a boyfriend?" For some reason, Ami thought that she detected reproach, something sharp, in Mina's question. She flinched away from it, shaking her head violently.
"No! Oh no! A girl – her name is Rei."
"Rei Hino? Not the priestess?"
"Yes…" Ami fidgeted. She hoped that Mina wouldn't ask if she could get her fortune read, Rei got ever so angry when people tagged along with Ami to get their fortunes told…
"Could I come along with you and meet her?" Mina pleaded. "Otherwise I'll be so lonely and bored tonight, and I want to get to know you better!"
Ami smiled shyly. A friend! A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend – she felt like dancing!
"Me, too," she heard herself say. "Can you…meet us at the temple?"
Minako heard a small rustle as she watched Ami disappear in the distance. She glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of two golden buns above a trembling set of shoulders. The Terran who was Sailor Moon.
And she was crying? Minako felt both satisfaction and disgust. This alien who had fashioned herself as a Senshi was sniveling like an infant. Was it because she recognized who Minako was? Did she know now what terrible fate awaited her now that the Senshi's TRUE leader had arrived and discovered her attempt to control the Princess's own Senshi?
Minako smiled humorlessly and continued off of the school grounds.
Students streamed out of the school doors as though borne by a current. School was out, it was Friday, and two blissful days of freedom stretched out before them! Not to mention that Spring Fling was next weekend! Could life get any better?
The carefree atmosphere was infectious – and Serena, hunched up beside a gardenia bush on the school's front lawn, regretted that she was immune to it.
Asanuma's flare-up had been like an avalanche. She felt cold and feverish, smothered and trapped. And at the same time, felt as though she had no right to have these feelings. And then, at the same time, she felt as though she deserved to feel even worse and more horrible – it was her fault that Asanuma felt so neglected and unwanted!
And she hadn't even had the decency to comfort him.
"Oh, God…" Serena mumbled pleadingly into her arms. She didn't even know who she was pleading to. Herself, to stop being such a witch. Asanuma, to forgive her. God to help her, Time to turn back so she could fix everything, her mother to come home so she could cry in her arms –
Her head fell back against the brick wall she sat against. Stars exploded behind her eyes as the two connected, brief pain erupting in her head. A pitiful mewl of despair escaped her.
"Serena."
Eyes watering, she looked up. Above her stood a silhouette, his features indiscernible against the dazzling sunlight. Like a phantom, the name drifted across her mind…
"Endymion," she murmured, disbelief in her tone. Was he the one from her dream…?
The silhouette shifted and settled beside her, surrendering its face to the sun's revealing rays, and the spell was broken. Now it was who Darien sat beside her, his eyebrows cocked in that ironic way of his.
"Serena," he said again.
She turned away from him, scrubbing her wet nose hastily with a corner of her collar. If he saw that she'd been crying, he'd get angry again, and she didn't want him in trouble –
"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" she whispered. She turned back towards him. "In the office? You're not going to jail, right?"
Darien stared at her with incredulity. "To jail? Why would I be going to jail?"
"All they gave you was detention, then?" cried Serena in relief. She threw her arms around him. "Oh, thank God!"
"Odango, you're insane," she heard him say. "What's gotten into you?"
She pulled back. "What's wrong with me?" she echoed indignantly. "I was scared half to death that you'd killed Miss Lanai and gotten arrested, that's what's wrong with me! You looked like you were going to rip her throat out, Darien!"
"Is that bad?" demanded Darien, equally incensed. "She drew a picture of you being stabbed, for God's sake!"
"You think I don't know that? I'm not blind, Darien!"
"I'd rather be blind than let her paint another picture like that," retorted Darien.
"So would I!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
"Good – wait, why are we doing this?" Serena demanded suddenly. She glanced at him.
"I don't know," admitted Darien.
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then –
"We're stupid," said Serena.
"Speak for yourself," retorted Darien. He paused. "What were we even fighting about?"
"I don't know," said Serena, standing up and dusting off her skirt. "But I'm pretty sure you started it."
Darien rolled his eyes at this, standing up also. "What were you doing back here, anyways? Hiding away in the bushes like a rabbit?"
"I…" she hesitated. "Asanuma's kind of mad at me. And my parents aren't coming home for another week. And…well, that whole painting thing. But I'm okay now." She smiled, and while it wasn't one of her brightest, it wasn't fake, either. Her argument with Darien had genuinely lifted her spirits.
Darien, who had no idea that his bickering with her had cheered her, saw only how her smile was dimmer than it could have been. His anger at Miss Lanai grew. And again, he wondered how it would be at all decent of him to leave. And – wait, what had that been about Asanuma?
"He said that?" said Darien, sounding as though he were seasick, after Serena reluctantly summarized her encounter with Asanuma.
"Stop looking like that!" said Serena sharply. "It's not your fault!"
"'s not yours either," retorted Darien, but it was with half of his usual conviction. "I'm his friend, I'm the one who should have noticed that he felt left out."
"I'm his friend, too," protested Serena. Aren't I?
"It's Rei," said Darien, somewhat wildly. His eyes flicked around. "It has to be her. She's the reason he's feeling so sensitive – it's not like we haven't tried to help him! He just won't listen!"
"It's not their fault," Serena insisted, but she sounded unsure. "You know how it is when it seems like your life can't get any lower – people do things that they can't help – "
"But there's a point where they go too far." Darien's eyes flashed. "Serena, look. If Asanuma sits and stews in silence like he did at lunch today, fine. That's okay. If he yells at me, okay. But when he tries to blame his problems on you, that's when he's going too far."
"But it's better than him bottling everything up…Darien, if he has to yell at me to make him feel better, it's okay…"
"No, it's not! He doesn't have the right to take out his problems on you!"
"Then what's he supposed to do? Keep it all hidden and quiet until he explodes? Darien, you were the one who told me people have to let other people know how they feel, even if it's bad – "
"No, I said you can't let other people push themselves and their problems on you, there's a difference – "
"No, there's not!" Serena darted in front of him, stopping him in his tracks, and glared up at him. "There's not! It means the same thing! You said if Asanuma yelled at you, that was okay. How come it would be okay for him to yell at you but not okay for him to yell at me? They're the same thing!"
"They're NOT, Odango!"
"They ARE!" Serena stamped a foot. "I'm not made of glass, Darien! You think I like it when people blow off steam at me? I don't. It makes me feel like throwing up. But that's what I can do! I can listen! I can't fight very well, or make good grades, but if people feel like they can make themselves feel better by talking to me, or yelling at me, then at least I'm doing something. At least I'm making a little difference in the world!"
"No. No, Serena, you don't get it." Darien's voice held that wild despair. "It's not your responsibility to make people feel better. It's not your job!"
"It's what I can do!" Serena cried. "Everyone has something they can do, and they have to use it, however small it is, to make the world better – "
"Is letting Asanuma feel sorry for himself helping the world any? Tell me how that helps anyone, Serena."
Serena didn't answer. Her eyes had fallen from his, and her shoulders were shaking slightly. Then her head flew up, little sparkles flying from her eyelashes.
"Fine!" she said. "It didn't help Asanuma. Okay, I get it, I can't even listen well! I'll stop, okay?" She turned around and started walking.
Darien's mouth fell open. Oh, smooth move, idiot. You always scold her. Why do you always, ALWAYS have to scold her!
"Serena – " He jogged to catch up with her, not a hard feat with her short legs and his long ones.
She picked up the pace, but little good it did. He feared for a moment that she might break into a run, in which case he would have little chance of catching her, so he took hold of her backpack strap as gently and non-aggressively as he could.
"Serena – "
She yanked her bag out of his grip. "Stop trying to talk to me," she said. "I'm not allowed to listen!" She broke into a run.
Darien followed her. "See?" he shouted over the wind in his ears. "You're treating me like this, Wwy can't you treat everyone else like this?"
Serena stopped dead. He crashed into her, and they fell in a heap on the ground. Serena fought her way out first. "Because it's mean!" she panted in disbelief.
"It's safe!"
"I don't care!"
"And neither do other people!" Darien yanked her down to the ground again by grabbing her school bag. "Serena, I'm not telling you that you're wrong! I'm telling you that OTHER people are!"
"Typical Darien," said Serena, eyes flashing. "You're always right, and everyone else is always wrong – "
"I'm not saying that!"
"Then what do you want me to do?" Serena yanked her bag away from him again. "What do you want me to do, Darien? Walk around in a veil like those women from Afghanistan and not let anyone talk to me?"
"NO!" exploded Darien. "I just want you to stop letting people take advantage of you! ESPECIALLY," he added, "people who are supposed to be your FRIENDS!"
"But that's what friends are FOR." Serena's voice rose. "That's what we do, we give everything we have to our friends and hope that they use it to their best advantage! That's what friendship is, Darien, it's trust! I give my secrets to you because I trust you to keep them and I trust you to use them to help me if I ever need it. I know you're Tuxedo Mask, and do I take advantage of that? God knows I do! Every time there's a battle I need you to come and rescue me – wouldn't you call that being taken advantage of – ?"
"It's different," Darien started to say, but then he stopped. And thought.
Serena watched him. Breathing hard, as though she had just fought a youma, she watched shadows pass through his dark blue eyes, watched light dawn in them, watched his mouth move soundlessly.
"God, Odango," he said finally. He looked up at her and laughed a little, a short, tired sound. "Why do you always have to be right?"
"I'm not always." Serena smiled a little and tugged him to his feet with a hand on his arm. "Just when I'm fighting with you. C'mon, let's go see Toki. He'll know what to do."
"I thought that was what we just spent half an hour fighting about?"
The sun was crashing down around her ears in magnificent hues of red, gold, and orange. This was one thing she begrudgingly admitted about the Terra planet: its sunsets were unrivalled in beauty. While the moon was just as ideally placed as Earth to catch the sun's rays, it lacked the atmosphere to contain the countless particles that reflected and refracted the gorgeous colors.
But did the Terrans appreciate it? thought Minako bitterly, looking around her at the speeding, honking vehicles and hurrying pedestrians with their ears glued to their cell phones. No, of course not. Selfish, ungrateful pigs.
She reached the temple, placed her foot on the first of the steps leading up to it, and gasped.
Though she was not the spiritual sponge that Rei was, even she could feel the despair and fury and resentment and fear flooding this place, sucking at her psyche like a whirlpool and then crashing down on her like a breaker. What was this place, what was this pit of misery? What had happened here, for so much pain to have sunk within its place in the spiritual zone?
And why was Mars living here? For an ultra-sensitive psychic like her – even with all of her mental barriers – this place had to be like a torture chamber!
Despite Minako's horror, a little bit of pride seeped into her. The loyalty of her Senshi, that Mars would endure such a thing for her princess! Granted, it seemed a little stupid, also, to dwell in such a tainted place, but Minako was sure that Mars had her reasons.
She reached the head of the steps, trying to ward off the dejection sucking at her by summoning thoughts of her Senshi. Soon they would be together again, and soon after that, reunited with their princess…
"What are you doing here? The temple's closed." A pause. Then, with fury: "Odango Brain!"
Minako looked up, a wide smile on her features. There before her stood Mars, eyes as fiery as ever. But the fire dimmed a little when Minako looked up, and Mars' stance relaxed a little.
Hide it, Mars, thought Minako silently. Just a little longer, until Mercury gets here, and then she can check to make sure that Beryl is not watching.
"I'm here to wait for someone," said Minako, clearly, "and also to meet someone. A Rei Hino."
"I'm her," said Mars shortly. "What do you want? I thought I'd told everyone at school, I'm not doing readings anymore. I'm sick of trying to find your stupid little dream men, so you can just go home."
Minako smiled slightly. Poor Mars must be so sick of giving in to the Terrans' petty whims in order to keep her cover.
"And you can stop making fun of me," said Mars sharply. "Please leave." She pointed the broom towards the steps. Minako glanced towards them, spotted Mercury's blue hair moving slowly up them, and decided to stay put.
Mercury looked up when she reached the top. Her eyes flicked from Mars to Minako, and suddenly looked frightened. Minako turned to scan their surroundings, but not a youma was in sight.
"Who's she?" Mars was saying to Ami, gesturing to Minako. Minako frowned at the lack of courtesy – although maybe Mars was doing it just to get a rise out of her.
"This is Mina – I invited her here…" Ami's voice was quiet, her shoulders hunched like one awaiting a whipping.
"Luna won't be happy," Rei said dourly, looking none too happy herself. "Where is she, anyways?"
"Ami," said Minako, joining the conversation. "Take out your computer, please."
Ami started, a hand flying protectively to her side pocket, then relaxed and reached down to her bookbag. She pulled out one of the Terrans' clunky, ugly machines. "What for?"
Not that one. Mina rolled her eyes at her Senshi's reluctance to drop the facade. Ami drew back, her expression hurt, but Minako did not notice it, for at that moment, a black shape slid from the bushes.
It let out a little growl, the hair lifting along its back, as its slitted red eyes landed on Minako.
Minako's mouth went dry.
It was Luna.
The woman whose husband Minako had killed.
A/N: Not much Serena or Darien, I know. Or humor. I feel rather insecure about Asanuma to tell you all the truth…but numerous times, he has been yanking his reins in this direction, so I finally gave into his angst. He's definitely not going to be the same after this, and I don't know if I like that - - but oh, well, I guess that's how parents feel as they watch their children grow up. (pulls out handkerchief and dabs eyes, then blows nose with a trumpeting sound)
I'll try to have the next chapter out soon, though it might be a while, as the characters' stupid egos are yanking me in circles and making the plot much more difficult. The best-behaved one out of all of them is Serena, darn it, but then I realize that I'm just taking advantage of her niceness in not telling me what SHE wants, to I have to pry it out of her, and then her needs tangle up with everyone else's…grrr.