Sailor Moon X by Starling Sinclair
Chapter 16: Ghost Busted
8/13/2019
They shared a room. The walls were hunter green with a faded red carpet. There were two western double beds, a green wingback chair, and a small table near the window. There was no TV, but it did have a surprisingly large bathroom. It wasn't the worst place she'd ever stayed in.
Minako cracked the window open for Luna and Artemis, while Usagi talked on her phone to Mamoru. She stared out over the dark beach and pretended not to listen in.
"No, no, we're fine, Mamo-chan. Don't come out here. The weather is terrible! It's the only reason we're staying the night anyway," Usagi explained again. "I know. I miss you too." She giggled and collapsed onto the bed, the pillow thwarting Minako's eavesdropping.
Mamoru had not been much of a phone guy with her. Not the long conversations into the middle of the night filled with soft promises and secret smiles, but rather the quick update, "talk to you tomorrow" type. So of course, Usagi had been on the phone with him for at least twenty minutes, and Minako had no bitter feelings what so ever. She flopped into the wingback. It's not like Minako was much of a phone girl anyway.
Luna was the first to appear in the open window. Like a little black ghost, she silently leaped into their room bouncing from the table to the floor. Artemis followed. They glanced towards Usagi, who was talking into her pillow like a teenager, before giving Minako their undivided attention.
"Anything to report?" Minako asked, grateful for the distraction.
Artemis shook his head. "It appears quiet here. There aren't many guests. Just you girls, an older man and his daughter, plus the caretakers."
"The teenager?" Minako asked.
Artemis nodded. "Yes. They appear to be staying on some sort of extended stay. They're in one of the fancier guest rooms on the other side of the pension. It appears quite lived in."
"Hmm," Minako pondered. "That is interesting."
"We also scanned for any trace of the Dark Kingdom but found nothing. There doesn't appear to be anything of note here," Luna concluded. "Usagi's haunted house appears to just be a tourist draw."
"That's not entirely true," Minako replied. "I saw a ghost at dinner."
"A ghost?" Luna asked in a small voice. "A real ghost?"
"Well, something very ghost-like," Minako continued.
"Do you think it's the Dark Kingdom?" Artemis asked. "I can double check out scans."
Minako shrugged. "No need. Maybe it's just time for some old-fashioned investigating."
Usagi hung up the phone, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling with a grin.
Finally. "Good," Minako said. "You're done." She all but jumped up from her chair.
Usagi propped herself up on her elbow. "So?"
"We have things to investigate," Minako said.
Usagi groaned. "Did I mention I hate ghosts? And dentists?"
"Nope. Don't care. Let's Nancy Drew this shit!" Minako grabbed Usagi's hand. The Senshi of the Moon whined as was hauled by the wrist to the door.
Minako stuck her head out into the hallway, looking both ways to see if anything was afoot. The hallway was dark but empty. She stepped out, carefully, in order to keep quiet. Sneak sneak sneak.
Usagi followed, immediately stepping on a creaky floorboard.
"YAGH!" she screamed.
Minako refrained from shooting a dirty look over her shoulder, so instead, she looked at the ceiling. Maybe she should have left Usagi in the room instead of the cats. They continued creeping down the hallway. Dark curtains, striped wallpaper, and European paintings lined the walls. There were electric sconces every few feet with flickering LED lights to create atmosphere. At some point, Usagi pulled out her phone and turned the flashlight on. Minako rolled her eyes. The hallway was dim, but certainly not dark enough for a flashlight. Though, the new light did reveal that the place was in need of a good dusting.
"So," Usagi started, breaking into the tension that was created by more than just a Scooby-Doo mansion. "Do you think it's a youma?"
Minako shook her head. Ten years of experience gave her a lot of insight into Dark Kingdom ploys, and this didn't feel like one of them. Plus, she had Luna and Artemis's intel as confirmation.
"I don't think so," she said, "but something is definitely up."
Usagi groaned, "Maybe it's really a ghost."
"That would be something," Minako said. "I've never actually seen a real ghost."
Usagi smiled at her. "It's nice to think that not all magic is evil Dark Kingdom shenanigans."
Minako couldn't stop the smile tickling the corners of her mouth. It was nice. Usagi had an easiness that was infectious, even though the first Senshi tried to resist it. No wonder the pig-tailed blonde had charmed the other Senshi.
The girls continued to lurk through the hallways. The Pensive probably had about fifteen or so rooms suitable for guests in the main building, and maybe eight more guest rooms renovated from the auxiliary servants quarters. Usagi took pictures with her phone of things she found interesting as she walked.
Minako resisted the urge to cringe at each strobe of the phone's flash. She didn't conceal enough because Usagi flushed and explained, "Ghosts sometimes show up on film. Plus, they're great for my Instagram."
Even with Usagi's antics, being the only guests in the main house was certainly adding to the eerie feeling. Most of the guest rooms were locked, so they couldn't actually investigate in depth. Usagi seemed to get increasingly anxious as they explored.
"So," Usagi said, trying to get her camera to focus in the low light on an intricately carved library table. "Are you, um, okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Minako responded.
Usagi's phone clicked with the camera noise and no flash. She made a face and tapped the screen to focus again.
"Because it's kinda awkward? Between us? And um, Mamoru? I didn't know that he was your...," she stammered. "He never told me anything. Certainly not that he was ever engaged… And you didn't say names…"
Minako's stomach curled with something bitter as Usagi rambled. She didn't want to talk about this. "Would that have stopped you?" she blurted out.
"What?"
"Would that have stopped you from dating Mamoru if you'd known about us?" Minako said.
Usagi chewed on her lip. Something darkened in her eyes as worked through the hypotheticals. "I don't know."
Minako felt that bitterness again, like a weight in her diaphragm. She was the Senshi of Love, once, long ago. She should be happy for her friend, happy for this man she used to love. Besides, what was she really jealous of?
"You've known him longer than I have," Minako said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter. You're with him now. Enjoy it while you can."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"That Senshi don't get happy endings," Minako said before walking down the hallway and leaving Usagi behind.
XXX
Usagi was alone in a creepy hallway with only ghosts and her thoughts.
"Damnit," she mumbled to herself. She pressed her knuckles to her temples and closed her eyes.
She couldn't do anything right with Minako. Here was her childhood idol. Sailor V! The girl who fought against the darkness in the name of beauty and love! How many times growing up did she wish she could be in V's shoes? That she was meant for something greater, even though she was terrible at seemingly everything. She'd gotten to live a normal life, and while it had been nice, she wanted something… more. And here she was, actually living that dream. She was a Sailor Senshi, worked at an arcade (which outside of being a professional eater was her dream job), and had the hottest man she'd ever met head over heels for her! So, why did it feel like life sucked?
Maybe because she was also stuck in a haunted mansion with a woman she did nothing but disappoint. She may have dreamed of being a superhero, but that didn't mean she was going to be a perfect one. Well, damn it, she wasn't going to disappoint today. She was gonna find this ghost! Detective Usagi to the rescue!
Feeling determined, she started charging through the house. Instagram be damned. She wasn't going to get frightened at strange shadows, or noisy floorboards, or screaming women. Wait, screaming women?
Usagi rushed to the first window she saw. Looking out she saw the crashing ocean, black water breaking against a rocky cliff and small sandy beach. Well, no screaming women there. She rushed to the opposite side of the hallway. This view was of the interior courtyard between the main house and renovated servants house. There she saw the vampire woman cowering before a giant cloud with a face.
Ghost.
Heartbeat in her ears, Usagi stepped away from the window. A real, live (ish) ghost, and a real live woman in trouble. She'd faced monsters before, but this was more terrifying. Youma had rules and motives. Ghosts were supposed to be make-believe. Yet, she was a sailor senshi. She didn't have the luxury of childhood fears. Steeling herself, she rushed towards the sound (and didn't fall down any stairs or trip over any carpet corners on).
Brisk air chilled Usagi as she burst from the house. It was unseasonably cold, and that was probably because of the giant glowing cloud. From the window, the ghost had seemed manageable, but outside, it felt as if the effigy was as large as the courtyard. Twisting tendrils shifted in swirls and shapes around a screaming face. The agony of the mist broke Usagi's heart. Any fear she had was replaced with the need to help her.
A piece of the ghost formed like a tentacle and lashed out at the vampire woman cowering on the ground. She lifted one arm to shield herself.
"Over here you unwashed floating sheet!" Usagi hollered, distracting the being from landing its blow. The face sneered at her, then screamed.
"Holy shit!" Usagi exclaimed, ducking. The scream of the ghost knocked several pieces of patio furniture around. She dodged as a chair collided with the doorframe she stood in.
The howling was terrifying, and sounded… painful? Like the wail of a woman in pain. Usagi's heart twisted as her desire to help the specter and the hotel increased. Steeling herself, she rushed to the employee.
"Are you alright?" Usagi asked the vampire, offering the fallen woman her hand.
The terrified woman nodded yes. Usagi helped her to her feet before taking a defensive position between the woman and the ghost. She wasn't sure what she could do, but damn it, she was going to do something.
"Get to the house," she instructed. "I'll cover you."
"But Miss…" the vampire costumed woman started. "What about you?"
"I'll be fine, now go." Gah, this woman really needed to get away. How else was she supposed to transform so that she could actually stand a chance against this thing? Turning her attention away from the frozen woman, she yelled, "You incorporeal asshat!"
The face in the mist turned its focus on Usagi. She took a deep breath. "With all your moaning you should go haunt a toilet!"
The ghost froze. It blinked as its face changing from rage to something else. Confusion and maybe humor? Did it get the joke? In that instant, Usagi recognized the features.
"Sakiko?" she whispered.
The face grimaced as if the weight of the name was a physical blow. Usagi's heart pounded in her ears as her eyes darted over the movement of the ghostly cloud. Its name was a weapon.
"Get away!" a distinctly male voice called to Usagi.
Shei turned towards the new voice, as did the ghost. Sakiko's father haunted the doorway of the exterior quarters. He clutched his chest and rested heavily against the doorframe. His breathing was strained. When it saw him, the ghost's face snarled. It screamed, the force nearly knocking the older man to his knees. The connection between the Senshi and the specter was shattered.
Usagi glanced between the ghost and the man. The rage of the spirit had seemed arbitrary, lashing out at everything and anything in its way, until he arrived. Staring into the face in the mist, Usagi could see an underlying pain and trauma. Her gut churned as she realized who had caused it.
"Move! Before it hurts you!" he called out again.
Usagi wasn't going anywhere.
"What did he do to you?"
Her voice demanded attention. The ghost's howl died in its throat. Even Sakiko's father was drawn to her. Minako, two stories up and sensing a ripple of power, turned to her window. In the moonlight, Usagi looked ethereal, terrifying, and like a queen.
"Sakiko," Usagi continued. She smiled softly at the ghost, then held out her hand, beckoning the spirit to her. "It's okay. You can tell me."
"I did nothing," the man growled.
Usagi held up a hand, silencing him while her eyes never left the ghost. "It's not your time to speak," she commanded. Letting the fierceness sofen, she smiled at the ghost.
"Is he the one hurting you?" she asked. The ghost's expression wavered. "It's okay. It's not your fault. I won't let him hurt you anymore."
Usagi held her arms out. "Let me help you."
The mist looked at her with such anguish. Then, it started to solidify, forming a tired young woman. She wore pink pajamas with a cat pattern, her face tear-streaked. Usagi's heart melted as the teen ran into her arms.
"What have you done to her, Daisuke?" the vampire woman said, breaking through Usagi's enchantment. She was standing now, her dress ripped, one of her vampire ears missing.
"You have no idea…"
"What did you do to my niece?!" the woman continued. The woman left the doorway, walking towards Usagi and Sakiko, rage at her brother causing her to tremble.
Usagi stroked the girl's hair. "Shh," she whispered. "It's all right. I'm here."
"You make a laughing stock of our family Yuuko with this," Daisuke paused to gesture wildly at the building, "abomination of a Pensive. Turning our gifts into a mockery. I was going to prove that she was so much more than a tourist trap. Perhaps even the most powerful psychic of our time!"
"She's a child!" Yuuko, the vampire woman, countered. Finally, beside her niece, she reached out and, trembling, stroked the girl's hair. "My darling Sakiko…"
The teen shifted from Usagi's arms to her Aunt's. "I don't care about being psychic," she whimpered into her aunt's chest. "I just want to be a normal girl."
Yuuko stroked Sakiko's cheek. "You get to choose who you're going to be. If you want to be a normal girl, than be a normal girl," she said. "I'll always love and support you. And you will always have a home here."
"You don't get to make that decision for my daughter," Daisuke snarled, jerking away from the doorway and stumbling towards his sister and daughter. Usagi intercepted him.
"I don't think so," she said. Then she punched him. He went down, and Usagi yowled in pain.
"MY HAND! FUCK ME THAT HURTS!"
Sakiko giggled into her aunt's shirt.
"Why did no one warn me punching people hurts! It looks so easy in movies," Usagi complained.
"We should put some ice on that," Yuuko said. "Come with me, and leave that trash where it belongs. Out of my home."
Usagi stepped over the unconscious Daisuke and followed the two women inside.
XXX
Yuuko had done a fair job at wrapping Usagi's hand, Minako observed as she adjusted the the next morning. Plus, their room had been comped.
"I see that I need to teach you how to punch," Minako said. "We've been focused too much on defensive tactics for you, I think."
Usagi groaned, "Ugh, how am I ever going to explain this to Mamo-chan?"
"Just tell him the truth," Minako said.
"Eh?" Usagi looked at her, blinking.
"That you, Usagi, stood up to an abusive father to save a girl," Minako said. "It's something to be proud of."
"Does that mean you're proud of me?" Usagi asked, a bit too enthused.
"Well, I would be prouder if I wasn't bandaging your hand," Minako teased. "But you did great work, Usagi."
The Senshi of the Moon beamed. Minako couldn't hide her own smirk.
"Ya know, now that the mystery has been solved, I thought we could spend the morning at the beach before heading back home?" Minako added, pinning the bandage closed.
Usagi's smile got impossibly bigger. "YES! I knew investigating the beach was a good idea!"
XXX
AN: Every time I start to feel like I'm catching up, I look at the workload ahead and cringe. However, I've been updating regularly for 8 months! And now I'm determined to keep to this schedule. (It's inspiring me to push forward.) The next arc is the Embassy Ball (finally!). I'm also hitting the revision train hard with my Senshi/Shittenou Reverse Mini Bang Piece (it's gonna be amazing y'all).
Also, since I've been so slammed, I never really got to take a second to talk about my inspiration for this mini-arc. I didn't watch the episode "The Summer, the Beach, Youth and Ghosts" until just a few years ago. Growing up on the DiC dub meant this episode was totally cut. And honestly, when I first saw it, I was fascinated by it. It's also pretty much non-existent in fanfiction. So, when I was looking for a narrative bridge between the boat arc and the upcoming action heavy Embassy Ball, I thought this would be fun to explore.
Thank you Queen Risa, Celestial Cat, ameriar, merendinoemiliano, AliceNotInWL, Ghost Man, and Roxypockets1 for the reviews! Your comments give me all the warm fuzzies.
Thank you ElvisVF101 for that fantastic ghostly insult. I had tried to figure out how to work a Nightvale Glow Cloud reference in, but, it just wasn't gelling.
Thank you to the awesome Smoking Bomber for beat-reading. I'm glad this chapter got a few chuckles out of you.
And as always, thank you so much to my loving husband for supporting me through this epic writing endeavor.
