Usagi anxiously paced back and forth in front of the entrance to the Crown's Game Center and decided to check her watch again.
It was a quarter to 6 now, making it a total of 15 minutes since she had left. As the time for him to arrive inched closer, she started to question her decision to meet him outside of the school. There's no doubt that if any of her friends found out about this, they would be furious with her. But, it was too late for that now, she was committed at this point.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Tohru's voice crept up from behind her.
She turned, somewhat startled, and replied nervously, "No, it's fine."
"Shall we go inside?" he asked.
Usagi nodded as she lead him inside the arcade.
The sliding doors opened, bombarding them with the blinking lights and loud sounds that were given off from all the different machines and games. He was still unfamiliar with the concept of a place such as this, for any type of recreation on his home planet was very hard to come by, but, he was open to the new experience.
A young girl who was standing behind the counter greeted them who Usagi immediately recognized as Motoki's younger sister.
"Unazuki-chan, are you working at the arcade today?" Usagi asked.
"Usagi-chan, long time no see!" she responded. "I'm afraid Motoki Onii-san's swamped with exams right now and needed me to run the register so he can study. Being a senior in college must be tough." She further commented.
"I don't even want to imagine." Usagi said as if she was nauseated at the idea.
Demande stepped closer to her side which caused Unazuki to finally notice his presence.
"Is this a friend of yours or something?" she asked.
"Oh, this is…Tohru." She then looked to Demande. "This is Unazuki Furuhata, her family owns both the Crown Gaming Center and the Café next door."
"I see, pleasure to meet you." He said flashing her a smile.
"Y-Yes." She said nervously.
It dawned on Usagi just then, how fortunate she was in Motoki being out that day. Motoki was one of Mamoru's close friends from school as well as being an older brother-like figure to Usagi. There's no doubt that he would have misconstrued things, seeing her with another man while her boyfriend is out of the country.
"Can I get either of you any tokens?" Unazuki asked the both of them.
Usagi pulled out her coin purse and opened it to find it completely empty.
"Oh no, I forgot that I spent the last of my allowance earlier." She said in disappointment.
"Don't be silly, I invited you here, I'll get whatever is needed. How about you go and choose a machine for us and I'll be over to meet you in a moment." He said.
Usagi smiled then nodded before heading over to where all the arcade games were.
She knew exactly which game she would pick.
The Sailor V game was still her favorite game to play even though it had been 2 years since it was first put in. That game was what she had Ami-chan played even though she had never touched any kind of video game before and is convinced it caused her to enjoy video games even slightly more than Usagi, though she would never admit it. She was hoping he would enjoy it just as much.
When she approached the console, she was surprised to see that right next to it was a brand new Sailor Moon game that hadn't been there the last time she came. The colors on the machine were so bright and vivid, it made the Sailor V machine's dull and faded in comparison. She circled the machine in awe, and blushed at the extra "generous" details the artist added to her alter ego's image . If someone told herself 2 years ago, as she stared in the same manner at the Sailor V images, that she too would acquire this very same fame, she would have thought it absolutely ludicrous. But here it was, and as someone with an extreme passion for video games she couldn't help but think of it as one of her proudest accomplishments.
"I hope this will be enough." He spoke as he made his way towards her.
When she turned around, her eyes widened at the incredibly large sack of tokens he brought over with him.
"What did you do, buy the whole register?" she asked.
"Sort of." He said in a chuckle.
She too, laughed.
"So, which one do you usually play?" he then asked.
"I usually start off with the Sailor V game here." She motioned to it.
He looked at it momentarily before the one next to it caught his eye.
"What about this one?" he pointed to the Sailor Moon game.
"Yes they just put this one in, I haven't ever played it before. Which one would you like to start out with?" she asked him.
"Well, if you don't mind, I think I would prefer to try the Sailor Moon one first. I'm a fan of her's you see." He said matter-of-factly while taking a seat the stool in front of it.
When he said this, she couldn't help but feel flattered as she took a seat next to him.
She then said, "To start the game, you need to insert the tokens through the slot down here. This game requires two so, you just put in two token like so and-"
The intro screen lit up, with Sailor Moon dawning her original fuku, as she performed her signature pose while shouting "In the name of the moon, I will punish you." The battle music then began and a chibi version of sailor moon stood there idly at the beginning of the level. A monster in the game quickly came up and attacked her over and over since Demande didn't even have his hands positioned on any of the buttons before they were met with a 'Game Over' screen.
After a few moments, he slowly turned to her and asked innocently, "Was I supposed to be doing something?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that this was your first time playing a video game. Here why don't you watch me play a round and I'll show you what each button does as I go, I think that'll be the easiest way to learn." She said.
They switched seats and she inserted another set of tokens. The screen lit up once again, playing it's quick intro before the chibi Sailor Moon on the screen appeared again. On this go around, Usagi was able to make it through the first three levels without dying as she jumped from platform to platform, avoiding Youma and using attacks as she explained to him about the mechanisms of the game.
When the 'Game Over' read across the screen once again, Usagi turned to Demande.
"Want to give it another try?"
He gave a nod, "Sure."
They switched seats again and when he made another attempt, he was able to get 30 seconds in this time before being killed by a Youma.
"Sorry, I'm not doing very well, am I?" he said.
"No, that was much better, try it again." She reassured him.
He placed more tokens into the slot once again and started another round.
As he played, Usagi got up and stood over him, placing each of her hands over his so that she could guide his movements better. By the time she was able to get him through the first level, he was beginning to grasp the strategical movements and as time went on, she didn't have to help him as much and she sat back down next to him. He then died again shortly after and let out a frustrated grunt.
"Do you mind if I try one more time? I think I have it now." he asked her.
"Not at all. I can tell you're really starting to get the hang of it." She said enthusiastically.
He started up the machine again and played through the first level, controlling the chibi Sailor Moon to destroy each Youma that came at her using her tiara weapon, completing it with ease. The second level proved to be more difficult as the amount of Youma increased and seemed to be able to dodge the attacks. But, eventually he was able to make it all the way to the third level.
It was by this time, he picked up on the pattern of the level, avoiding each Youma's attack and timing the jumps just right. When he was attempting the fourth level, Usagi began to lean in and watch in amazement as the points gathered in the top right of the screen, which rose substantially as he was unlocking and using the different combo moves.
Usagi began to cheer him on as he made it past another three levels as they were proving to be more and more difficult which brought out his competitive side and his unwillingness to lose. At the end of the sixth level, he was met with a mini cut-scene that was the first boss fight as a chibi version of Queen Beryl blasted different attacks towards the small senshi, depleting her health over and over. To no avail, the 'Game Over' screen popped up again and both Demande and Usagi groaned out load in disappointment.
The looked at each other and started to laugh at how they mirrored each other just then.
"Oh look!" Usagi pointed up at the screen excitedly.
"You're the top scoring player so far!"
"Not a bad first day, I think." He gloated.
"I'd say not." She replied, then playfully said, "But I think I can if you give me another try, I could top it."
"Go right ahead" he stood and gestured to where he was sitting.
Despite what she said, Usagi had several 'Game Over's" as she desperately tried to reach the point Demande got to. She was becoming frustrated at how difficult the game was, but managed to make it all the way up to the level before the boss fight. That was when she finally gave up.
She was able to make the board as the 3rd highest scorer, making her satisfied with the final outcome.
"We can try another game now if you want, since I've already burned through half the tokens." Usagi said.
"You don't have to worry about that, if we run out, I can always get more." He assured her.
"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary." She replied.
They moved on to a few different arcade games, before she brought him to the giant crane game in the middle of the center. She showed him how to maneuver the giant claw and explained how you have to positon it just right over one of the prizes for it to stay within it's grasp.
When it came to be his turn to try, he asked, "Which one in here do you like?"
"Well, I was actually attempting to get that doll over there." She said pointing to the Eternal Sailor Moon styled plushy.
He carefully hovered the claw over the doll and initiated it for it to drop and grab onto it. Unfortunately, as it rose back up, the doll dropped back into the pile of toys proving it to be a lot more difficult than it looked.
On his second attempt, he decided to cheat the game by using his powers to achieve his goal. It was reckless, but he was certain she would never be able to detect it since he was using such a minimal amount. When the claw dropped down and grabbed onto the doll, he could tell that the doll would fall out again on it's own, but that didn't matter. He put all of his concentration into making the doll float up with the claw as if it was being held by it.
Usagi was "Oooing and Ahhing" as it was a rare occurrence for anyone to win a prize at this game.
When the claw finally moved over the bin and began to open it's grip was when he broke eye contact and the doll dropped.
Usagi clapped her hands and cheered.
"Here, for you." He presented it to her.
She asked him, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I won this for you." He said, placing it in her hands.
She took the doll and hugged it to her chest as she blushed and smiled at him, "Thank you."
His heart seemed to beat so loud just then when he looked at her that he felt as if she'd be able to hear it if she were to step any closer.
They moved onto the multi-player games like rail shooters and combat games where they fought each other, then tried the air hockey and ski ball. She couldn't recall a time she was able to play so many of the games at one time.
They approached the racing game now.
"This is one of my favorites as well, it's a lot of fun." Usagi pulled him over towards it.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to go to the counter and get more tokens first, I can't believe how quick that bag emptied out." He chuckled.
"Oh no, please, you don't have to –" she protested.
He held up a hand to silence her, "Don't worry, I want to. This is actually a lot of fun."
She smiled, "Alright, I'll wait right here."
He returned her smile and walked towards the counter.
He wasn't lying to her when he said he was having a good time. It was bizarre that something so mindless and pointless could relieve so much stress and help to forget your current problems. He admitted to himself that before living here, he would have scoffed at the idea of a place such as this, but he was glad to experience something like this with her and felt as if nothing could bring him down at this point.
When he arrived at the counter, the young girl wasn't there, so he decided to wait around, figuring she could be in the back room and would come back out soon.
As he stood around, he looked towards a small table in the distance and noticed that it had something shiny on top of it. When he moved closer to it, the object turned out to be a golden handheld mirror that was finely crafted, looking old like an antique yet in the most pristine condition as if it was brand new. He picked it up and turned to examine it the back. It had a beautiful greenish-blue color that was adorned with lovely decal's framed by more of the gold.
He was confused as to why such a gorgeous item such as this would be laying around in an arcade. None of the prizes behind the counter were even close to the worth of this mirror so it couldn't have come from there.
After staring at the back for a little while, he turned it back around and looked into his reflection. To his shock, the man staring back was not Tohru Satoshi, but rather, Prince Demande of Nemesis. The white hair, the violet eyes, even as he brought the mirror out further, the clothes that reflected back was the traditional white, suite he wore on back on Nemesis. He looked around him in a panic for an exit to escape before Usagi would discover him like this.
But as he passed a full length mirror on of the adjacent walls, he saw that his disguise was still intact. He looked to the hand mirror, back to the other mirror, then back to the hand mirror again. Even his complexion was different; paler inside the hand mirror as it is untouched by sun compared to slight beige color his skin now was. Unable to take his gaze away from it, he brought his fingers up to his forehead, feeling the area where the Black Moon symbol should be.
"See something interesting?" A voice called.
Startled, he turned to the voice.
It belonged to a young woman. She was very beautiful and as she walked towards him, she moved with such grace that it was more like she was gliding towards him. Her hair and eyes had a unique color to them, as it was impossible to distinguish if they were blue or green, much like the color of the sea. The smell of rose petals filled the air when she neared him that was almost intoxicating.
He noticed she wore a slight smile on her face, but was unable to tell what emotion lied behind that smile.
"I must thank you for saving me the trouble of locating my mirror." She said to him.
"Oh, this is yours? I saw it laying on this table and just picked it up to admire it, it's an incredible piece." He said.
She continued to stare at him until she asked, "Mind if I ask what it was you saw when you looked inside of it?"
"My own reflection, of course." He said with a tinge of impatience. "What else would I see?"
"This mirror is said to reveal your inner most self, who you really are deep down. Perhaps what you saw…frightened you?" she said.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken." He said.
"A silly superstition I suppose." She said with a touch of laughter.
The young girl, still wearing the same expression on her face continued to simply stare at him. Although it seemed innocent enough, he couldn't help but feel as if her gaze was purposely trying to pierce through him and dissect his innermost thoughts. As if she knew something about him and was waiting for him to say it out loud.
But, he soon came to realize that he was still holding onto her mirror and she was probably just patiently waiting for him to give it back.
"Sorry about that." He said with a nervous laughter as he handed her the valuable mirror.
When the flesh of their fingertips touched as he gave it to her, was when he felt it. That wave of an unknown energy source. It was different than the energies that emitted from the Three Lights and the small white haired lady in the business suit, but, he was unsure if that was a good or bad.
She looked deep into his eyes now, her expression unchanged even from the shock of energy between them.
"The color of your eyes are noble." The girl told him.
She looked into her mirror and then to him, "Perhaps you were a prince in your former life?"
"Why do you say that?" he asked her obviously flustered.
Again in keeping her same expression and calm tone of her voice, she answer, "Sorry for saying such an odd thing, don't let it bother you. If you'll excuse me, I'm looking for someone. Goodbye."
She walked away taking the mirror and scent of rose petals with her.
His heart began to pound so fast that he began to break out in a cold sweat.
That girl. She knows what he is, or at the very least suspects something. This was not good, not good at all.
"Sorry I was out taking a small break, did you need more tokens?" the Furuhata girl called out from behind register.
"Yes, please." He said as he handed her more money.
"I'm afraid I'm having trouble finding where we keep the extra tokens at the moment so I'll have to look around in the back room. You see, Oni-chan's usually the one that works here so I'm not as familiar with…" she trailed off as she noticed the troubled expression on his face.
"Are you feeling alright, you look a little flushed." She commented.
"Actually, can you point me to where your restrooms are?" he asked her.
"Down the hall and around the corner." She directed him.
"Thanks." Is all he said before walking away in a hurried pace.
He knew that Usagi was waiting for him, but he needed a few minutes to compose himself and calm his nerves down. Yes, there was a strong possibility that, that woman was not an ordinary human and there was also a chance that she could tell he wasn't as well. But, was she an enemy? Could she even possibly be an ally? It was hard to tell from that blank smile she wore; that emotionless, Mona Lisa smile.
The color was coming back to his cheeks now and he took a deep breath before leaving the restroom. He had left Usagi several minutes ago and he needed to get back to her as soon as possible before she started to think that something was wrong.
He was glad he returned when he did, because he when finally spotted her back in the arcade, he saw that she wasn't alone now. A tall, good looking man with blonde hair was talking and acting very familiar with her. He kept grabbing on to one of her pig tails and playfully tugging onto it while Usagi didn't exactly resist.
As he walked up to them, he heard the man saying to her, "Did your friend get lost or something, Odango?"
"Not in the slightest." Demande said crassly.
They both looked to him now. The young man, from what Demande could tell, seemed almost appalled at his presence.
"Oh? This is your friend?" he asked Usagi.
"Yes, I was..showing him some of the games from here…he's never played games before and…" she was mumbling almost like she wished as if Tohru was anywhere else but here right now and he didn't know why. Who was this man?
"Tohru Satoshi." Demande said as he stepped forward to him.
"Haruka Tenoh." The young man replied, not even attempting to put on a polite façade.
"May I ask how you two know each other?" he asked.
"Well, he works up at my school, sort of like a student worker type thing, and helps me out with my school work every once in a while." She said.
Not only was she stumbling over her words but her lying was making the situation seem worse than it really was.
"So, in other words you're a teacher hanging out with a student. That doesn't seem to be very appropriate." Haruka said.
"I beg your pardon?" Demande said raising his voice.
"Now, now, now Haruka." A voice called from outside of the small group. The girl Demande had met earlier walked up to them.
"Are you picking a fight with Usagi's new friend over here." The young woman said with that same emotionless smile.
"I was doing no such thing. We were just introducing ourselves." Haruka said in annoyance.
"If anything, you should be thanking him. He recovered my mirror that a certain someone was supposed to be holding for me while I attended the ladies room." She shifted her eyes towards the young man, yet still showed no change in demeanor.
Haruka winced. "Sorry. When I saw our little koneko-chan sitting alone over here, I ran up to her and must have set it down without thinking."
"Likely story." She replied before turning to Demande.
"Thank you again for finding my mirror, I'm afraid we didn't get a proper introduction before, I'm Michiru Kaioh."
"I'm Tohru Satoshi and it's no problem. I would be deeply upset if I lost a beautifully crafted antique such as that."
She gave the first genuine smile that he had seen her give thus far before she turned to Usagi.
"Haruka and I came up here looking for you actually."
"You did?" Usagi said.
"Yes, to give you this." Michiru handed her a slip of paper.
Usagi read the fine print and soon her eyes began to widen.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked Michiru.
Michiru nodded. "Yes, it's a ticket for tomorrow night's concert."
Usagi jumped into the air screaming cheers of excitement.
While Haruka's mood seem to lighten up in the midst of this, Demande's secretly began to fall into the pit's when he heard this news but all he could do was nothing.
"I'm glad I was able to find you in time, we went up to your school earlier and gave the girls their tickets, but they said you weren't there." Michiru said.
"You were able to get them tickets too?" Usagi asked.
"Yes, Michiru was able to acquire 6 tickets. One for you and the others and then one for me of course." Haruka said.
Being that there were four tickets left, Demande knew only too well who "the others" were, they were referring to.
"I'm meeting up with you guys there at 6:00 so don't be late." Haruka winked at Usagi, but she was so enraptured by the small piece of paper that she didn't seem to be paying attention.
"The concert is going to be amazing, Michiru, I can't wait!" Usagi squealed to her.
"Yes. It'll be just magnificent." Haruka said softly, wrapping an arm around Michiru and gazing into her eyes with affection.
At the same time, Michiru returned her affections as she looked up at Haruka with her eyes showing the unmistakable look of pure unadulterated love.
"Well it looks like we better be going now." Michiru said, not taking her eyes off of Haruka.
She turned to Demande and told him, "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Haruka added, "Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to make such an accusation."
"It's forgotten. But just to clarify I'm not her teacher." Demande said.
Michiru leaned into him as Haruka was saying goodbye to Usagi.
"I wouldn't let it bother you, Haruka's jealousy tends to rear it's ugly head around other good looking men."
"Hey I heard that." Haruka said.
Michiru grabbed onto Haruka's arm as they made their way towards the exit. "See you tomorrow Usagi!"
"I'm not jealous, I tell you." Haruka said to her.
"Shh." Michiru placed two fingers to Haruka's lips. "Save that energy for when we get home."
She turned back and waved one last time be they walked out of the door as Usagi and Demande stared after them.
He turned to her to find her blushing looking as if she was absolutely fascinated by them. But, he was slightly relieved that those two seemed to be involved and that Haruka and Usagi were only friends. Demande knew how it was when jealousy reared it's ugly head so maybe that was the one possible common ground they had.
More importantly, there was something about them that he knew wasn't normal. The man gave off similar energies to the girl and they both happened to have some sort of connection with Usagi and the rest of her senshi. There was a strong foreboding feeling deep inside him, because if what he suspected about them was true, then he and Sapphir were more at risk than he originally thought. He just hoped he could find out who they are before they find out who he really was.
Haruka Tenoh. Michiru Kaoih.
"Michiru Kaoih." He said to himself quietly.
"Michiru?" Usagi asked.
"It just occurred to me that I've heard that name before. Maybe you've mentioned it to me in the library?" he asked.
"You mean you don't know?" she asked him in disbelief.
He shook his head confused as to what she meant by that.
She walked away and over to a bulletin board near the register. She pulled off a flyer that was being held by a thumbtack and handed it to him.
It was her! She was the act that was joining the Three Lights at that concert tomorrow.
"Her violin playing is truly one of the most beautiful things you will ever hear, and I'm not even a fan of classical music." Usagi gleamed.
"So she is…" he said.
'Someone very important to me is going to be on that stage tomorrow night and it would have meant the world to me to see that performance.' He remembered her saying earlier.
"This is why you're so excited to see this concert, isn't it." He said.
"Oh yes she is a very dear friend to me, as well as Haruka." Her face brightened.
"So what about her boyfriend, he doesn't seem like the classical instrument playing type." he asked her, hoping she would reveal some sort of information about either of them.
"Haruka's a race car driver. Actually, it's funny, people tend to make this mistake all the time and I admit I did as well at first but, Haruka is actually a gir-"
"Hey sorry for taking so long with those tokens! I finally broke down and called Onii-san and he told me where to find them." Unazuki interrupted.
"It's alright." He said as he received the tokens.
"Did you still want to continue? I know you probably want to get ready for that concert." He asked Usagi.
"How about a few more rounds and we can call it a night? I still wanted to show you the racing game." she said.
"Sounds good." He smiled to her.
A few more rounds, turned into a whole couple of hours more, with the arcade closing being the only reason they left to go home.
Demande walked Usagi to her bus stop and they talked along the way.
"So what did you think?" Usagi asked him.
"I actually had a lot of fun." Demande said laughing slightly.
"Really?!" she asked eagerly.
He nodded. "Really."
"You still have your Sailor Moon prize?" he reminded her.
"Yes, thank you again for winning it for me!" she smiled warmly.
He laughed again, "Glad you like it."
"Can I ask you something?" said Usagi.
"Sure." He replied.
"Speaking of Sailor Moon, earlier you mentioned that you were a fan of hers?" she said in a shy voice.
"I am." he said.
"I'm just curious as to why that is."
He stopped walking momentarily to think of his answer.
"Well… she's brave, determined, selfless, has a pure sense of justice, beautiful."
"Beautiful?" she asked.
"Oh yes, probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Whoever the man is that has her heart has to be the luckiest in the world."
She turned her head away now too embarrassed to look at him.
His eyes shifted over to her and was enjoying the reaction he was giving her making it hard to wipe smile off of his face.
"Can I tell you something that I haven't told anyone before, not even my brother?" he asked.
She nodded.
"You may think me foolish but, one of the main reasons I chose this city when I relocated, was that this area had a high amount of reported sightings of her. I thought that maybe if I lived here long enough that one day I can actually see her in person, maybe even meet her. I know it's unlikely but, I can dream, can I?"
"No, it's not foolish at all." She said as all of the color rose to her cheeks.
"Oh wow you're really red." He said before placing his hand on her forehead. "Are you getting a fever?"
She started to tense up as her heart began to race and she swiftly took a step backwards.
"No-no I don't think I am." She said.
The bus started to pull up.
"I guess this is me." She told him.
"Here, before you go, I wanted you to take this with you. You can use it next time you go so you won't have to wait on your next allowance." Demande handed her a bag half filled with tokens.
"I couldn't possibly take all this, I feel bad if I used them without you, after all, you did buy them." She said trying to give them back to him.
"Well, if you don't object to another visit here with me, then you can keep it for the next time." He handed the bag back to her.
She looked as if surprised but, then smiled and nodded.
"Thank you for everything today, this is the first time in a very long time where I felt like all my troubles seem to have disappeared. I'll see you at school, Tohru." She said before boarding the bus.
It caught him off guard so much so that he wasn't able to verbalize his goodbye to her until she was out of earshot.
He let out a small sigh, looking up into the sky filled with stars as if he was seeing them for the first time and knew that it was only a matter of time when he would come to have everything he ever dreamed of.
She wasn't the only to have forgotten all worries and troubles because once he reached the door to his home, the gloomy realization came over him how once again he would spend another weekend alone with only the Jakokusuishou to keep him company.
When he opened the door and hung up his coat, he noticed that there was a new computer with a desk and chair next to their window. He went over to examine it, wondering how long it had been there for.
"I purchased it earlier today." Said Saphir's voice in the distance.
Demande turned to see that he had been standing outside his bedroom door watching him this whole time. He didn't reply to Saphir right away.
"I used the remaining scholarship money I had received to pay for it. I thought it would be more convenient to work on my school work at home rather than spend so much time at the university. It's nothing special, but, it's been fascinating getting to use such primitive technology, such a long way the 30th century will come." Saphir said, ending with a chuckle.
Demande stood there just staring at him, feeling like there was something in his throat preventing him from making a sound. This was the first time Saphirr had spoken to him since that night, two weeks ago.
Saphir gestured over to their sofa.
"I think it's time we talked."
Author's Note- Merry Christmas everyone, hope everyone enjoys this chapter and stays tuned for the next one!