Minako is the first to be brought in on the investigation.
She takes it far better than Rei did.
"Tell it to me again." She paces the floor of the backroom at the Hikawa Shrine. It's late, but it is also Rei's turn to be on call so I feel little guilt at keeping her up; she wouldn't have slept either way. From my position against the circular window, I watch as Rei sighs and turns to me, sporting an aggravated expression; It had only been a few days since I had made Minako aware of the situation, and though we were only now meeting to discuss it, I assumed for Rei, having to deal with Minako for the past couple of days had been unbearable.
After all, her dedication to Serenity knew no bounds.
Aggravating for Rei, and a solace for myself. Serenity would always be safe.
"These are the facts as we know them," I begin, "The Sword of the Silver Crystal, which should have been at the Moon Palace, appeared to Rei at the Dim Kingdom. It came to her in the same golden light that the letter appeared before me a few weeks back. It's the timing of it all that doesn't seem right. Someone is pulling strings here, playing god or whatever. We were- we are, being watched; that note to me was bait, maybe to rile me up or confuse me, I'm not sure yet. Whoever we're dealing with has been watching though, of that much I'm certain, and they've had more than a few chances to step in and take a side. That they haven't…"
Well, it was telling enough.
The order really only had one goal, one true priority, and that was Serenity.
If this person wasn't helping us, we had to assume they were against us.
Minako was quick on the uptake. "So what's the plan then? What was your course of action upon this discovery?"
"Eliminate the suspects. Starting with Ami."
Rei made a noise. "We've found nothing that would point to a betrayal from her."
"We've found nothing because you haven't put your heart into looking." I say, amending her words with a little more venom than necessary. "The only way for us to stay ahead of this is to use the advantages we have, and we can't do that by tiptoeing."
"Tiptoeing? Me?" Rei scoffed, "I'm not-"
"Enough." Minako barked, turning on her heel to level a stern look at Rei. "Fighting amongst ourselves helps no one; if we have a traitor in our midst, we need to weed that person out. To be assured that none of our people have betrayed us we must prove that the enemy is outside, and not within."
After a moment, Rei sighed and her shoulders loosened, the fight leaving her. We shared a glance, a white flag; we needed to stand united, not bicker on who was right. Rei swallowed her disagreement. "So what do you propose we do then?"
Looking for clues wasn't working out the way we had hoped it would; it required an empty headquarters, distracted members, something that took more time and resources than we had. We needed to change tactics if we wanted to see some results. I thought on it for a moment, considering our options. Could we just take them out, one at a time, and interrogate each of them until we were assured of their innocence? Probably not. Interrogation was a tricky game, and it was simply too easy to blow back up in your face. I wasn't sure any of us had the stomach for it anyway.
If I had been on my own… what would my next step have been? How would I force the enemy's hand? On my own it would've been a challenge, something that would have required pull out all the bell and whistles I had tucked away for the proverbial rainy day. Could I do this then, if I left Minako and Rei behind, could I get to the bottom of this mystery? Surely, the answer was yes; only the price to be paid… I wasn't willing to pay it. On my own, it would be difficult to take the advantage I had and use it to win.
But, I wasn't alone anymore.
And just like that, the answer came to me.
"We bait them, of course."
"No, that's wrong! Your curtsy should be shallow, shallow!"
"It is shallow!" I snapped.
Apparently, Serenity didn't agree.
"That," She murmured, shifting in her chair, "was most definitely not shallow. You're greeting a mere Merchant, not a Duke! When greeting anyone of a lower social standing, it is imperative that you execute the proper curtsy, least you offend anyone. How do you think a Prince of a neighboring kingdom would feel if you were to give the same greeting to one of his- his servants! It would be an outrage."
"In what twisted universe, would I be expected to greet a foreign prince?"
"This one." And, well, she had a point.
It wasn't going to be enough to just be able to imitate Serenity. Sooner or later, someone would think to call upon me to swap places with her during a time of emergency. Should I be around in such a scenario, I had to be able to nail the whole princess thing; the last thing I wanted was for my cover story to come under suspicion. So I swallowed my protests and rearranged myself into a more shallow curtsy, head dipped only just so.
Serenity examined me. "Yes, that is much better. Now, you are greeting the king of a hostile nation, show me the procedure."
It continued like this for a while, Serenity quizzing my etiquette skills as I stumbled through ridiculous and ancient customs I was unlikely to ever have need of. Eat this way, walk that way, learn about this dance and those people; it was all rather exhausting, and with every lesson I found myself regretting the entire idea.
We were halfway through dining manners when I dropped my head onto the table with a painful bang and gave up entirely.
"Would you like to take a break?" Serenity's tone was amused.
"My brain. It's melting."
She hummed. "Very well. Let us take a stroll, the garden air will do you some good."
I didn't want to get up though, I'd much rather flop onto the cold hard stone than get up. Serenity appeared to sense this as well, because she dragged me to my feet and began to tow me along behind her.
I groaned. "I don't want to walk; I want to lay face-down in the dirt and cease to exist for a brief intermission."
"Oh?" Serenity turned left, moving down a corridor that did not lead to the gardens; or at least it didn't lead down to the one we most often frequented. "That is quite a shame, Usagi. You see, I was under the impression that you would be interested in learning of what I believe to be the key to traveling to Crystal Tokyo."
That certainly had me perking up. "What did you find?"
Serenity graced me with one of her rare, mischievous grins. "I suppose you shall have to follow me and find out for yourself."
She led the way down the large halls to an area of the Palace we hardly ever visited; Queen Serenity's wing. She took us down a dead end hall and, to my surprise, moved aside an old tapestry to reveal an indent in the wall. With a firm push it gave away, opening into an upward winding passage. We stared at it for a moment.
"Now, I know there aren't any spiders-"
"Or rats," Serenity added
"-Or ghosts, in there. However, I still feel as though this is exactly the kind of secret passage one definitely shouldn't follow."
"Well, then, I suppose it is fortunate that I have already walked its length a few times."
I tore my gaze from the darkened path to look at her incredulously. "You're telling me that you just plucked up some courage and went exploring? In there? Multiple times?"
Serenity shrugged. "I was bored, you weren't here."
"I see." I moved my gaze back to the passageway, considering. "But, you were scared, right?"
"Terrified." She agreed easily.
Well, that was a little comforting, at the very least. With a long-suffering sigh, I nodded firmly to myself and began the trek upward, Serenity clinging to the fabric of my shirt. Ten steps up had us in absolute darkness; another eleven gave way to a landing, and a door. I felt for the grove in the stone and pulled, bringing us out into sweet, sweet daylight.
We were… In another corridor.
"Wow. Super impressive."
"Oh, do shut up Usagi." Serenity said, not unkindly. "Go right and follow the corridor, it's right around the corner."
When we rounded said corner, the corridor opened up into something wider, not quite a room, but a large entry way of sorts, and my feet seemed to cement themselves to the floor.
An ominous, grandiose door; white, like the stone walls and floor, adorned with the phases of the moon. Pristine, completely untouched, and yet the area around it…
There were chips in the floor, dirty marks that appeared to grow more vivid the closer they appeared to the door. It reminded me of the shadows and dark spots I sometimes saw at the very edge of my vision.
My hair stood on end. "What is this place?"
"…I do not know for certain," Serenity began, "But the engravings on the door, the moon cycle… that could indicate a passage of time, no?"
She moved forward, through the progressively worsening state of the hall; a shudder left me as she traced her hand down each phase, and I shoved down the urge to rip her away from that thing. Serenity continued, unbothered, "I've given it some thought, you see; there are no other exits in this wing, not from this floor. Nothing other than the secret passage, and no other rooms to speak of, making it rather clear the intended use of this part of the palace. Mother wanted this door hidden, out of sight and away from the court and the servants. The only plausible answer for this is-"
"Because it holds a power." I finished, "Something great enough that she could not trust her subjects to not fall to temptation."
"Yes…" Serenity's hand fell back to her side.
Looking at the door, something about it did strike at my memory, and yet no solid explanation would come to mind. I knew this door was of great importance, but the why, the reasoning behind it, continued to elude me. The only thing I was sure of was that this was it.
This was what we'd been searching for, and somehow, it frightened me.
It was a pretty lamp.
Silver and tall, with leaves carved into the stand and a white lampshade; no lightbulb, but that wasn't a big deal. I could buy lightbulbs, would probably have to anyway. It was a nice lamp, all things considered; no dust, and hardly scratched. I just wasn't sure it was worth 2,500 yen. With a sigh, I turned to my companion, "What do you think?"
Rini eyed the lamp thoughtfully. "I like it. It'd look nice in the house, maybe by the entry way?"
At my other side, Harumi nodded. "Yes, I agree. It's in good shape for the price."
I considered the lamp, and hummed my consent. With a cheerful grin Harumi snatched it up and we continued our stroll through the shop. I scribbled out the item in my notebook, glancing at what remained of the list. "Right, so we should still be on the lookout for a coffee table, a desk, some bookshelves, and- oh."
I stopped dead, attention caught on the furniture Hajime-sensei currently examined. My feet made a sharp left, taking me right to his side and together we stared at what were arguably the nicest pieces in this consignment shop. Two brown leather armchairs, large enough to comfortably fit a man of Hajime-sensei's stature, worn only at the back and in the middle of the cushion. It was in perfectly acceptable condition, likely only a few years old, and for the life of me I couldn't understand how anyone in their right mind would see fit to get rid of them.
Hajime-sensei appeared to be of the same thought, because after a moment he offered, "Maybe they're cursed."
"Cursed with the misfortune of having such a negligent previous owner." I ran a hand over one of the arms, cooing, "I'm going to treat you so well, just you wait."
"If the chair talks back, we're exorcising it."
"This is good quality leather. You'll do no such thing." I checked the price tag, and nearly died. 6,400 yen each. But… that was fine, I could afford it. Who needs food anyway? I turned back to Hajime-sensei and nodded; we were buying both of them. With a grunt he heaved one of the armchairs up and brought it over to a mildly alarmed cashier, the rest of us trailing behind like teeny shadows.
Hajime-sensei set it down with a heavy thud. "How much for both of these?"
With narrowed eyes, the man glanced over to me, with my wallet out, then down to Rini at my side, before returning his gaze to answer unpleasantly, "6,400 yen per chair."
It was not, perhaps, the wisest decision to sneer at someone who looked like they could snap you -and every other person in Japan- in half. Hajime-sensei smiled. It wasn't kind.
"We'll take them for 5,300 yen." He paused, glancing to Harumi, and added, "ah, and that lamp as well."
I left with my wallet a little less empty.
Outside, as Hajime-sensei loaded his truck with our boon, Harumi turned a heavy glance to Rini and myself. "Are you sure she shouldn't be in school right now?"
"Its fine," I waved a hand, nonchalant, "Rini is smart, and she has some of the best tutors in Tokyo; a day off here and there won't hurt her."
"Mhm." Was his skeptical reply. "Well, we're going to haul this load back to the house. This is the last one for the day, yeah?"
"That's right." My wallet really couldn't take another hit this week. I checked the time. "We've got to head back. I'll catch up with you tomorrow?"
"Bright and early." Harumi winked mischievously. "And boy do I have a surprise for you!"
Yikes. "I'm… looking forward to it?"
But of course, from the grin on his face, we both know this to be otherwise. Rini and I said our farewells to the brothers and began the backtrack to the elementary school hand in hand, where her ball and communicator awaited our return. I squashed down the foreboding feeling Harumi had left me with and focused on the next course of business, gathering intel.
"You know," I mused aloud, "I was doing some thinking, about the Dark Moon Clan and how they've been able to reach us from the future, and I wanted to ask; do you think they're coming and going through the same way that you used to get here?"
Rini shook her head, brow furrowed. "No… no, I don't think they would be able to. Plu- er, I mean, the way I came isn't something they'd be able to do."
"Oh? How'd you get here anyway?"
Rini shifted, averting her gaze, and shrugged.
I slowed our movement, crouching down to her height and giving Rini a smile. "You know, it's okay to want to keep a secret. But I'm Sailor Moon, you know? And Sailor Moon definitely has an idea of how you got here. Is it okay if I tell you what I think?"
She nodded, curious and more upbeat. It made me wish I wasn't such a bleeding heart of small children; it was easier to deal with adults, no insufferable, long lasting guilt.
"In the Queen's Palace," I began, "There is a special, secret place where only she was allowed. A very special door, with the markings of the moon, unlike any other. You used the door, huh?"
Rini was wide eyed, silent, but there was something like relief on her face; a secret she didn't have to bear alone anymore. She squeezed my hand. "I'm happy you're here, Usagi-chan."
I melted a little. "Yeah, me too kid."
"I think… I think maybe everyone needs a bit of Usagi-chan time. The whole Order."
"Er, sure." That… was an odd turn in conversation, and I didn't quite follow. I cleared my throat. "So you're saying you think I should be at the warehouse more often?"
"No, that's not it," She shook her head, "You're there a lot, but… well, haven't you noticed?"
My expression must have tipped her off, because she huffed through her cheeks. "Everyone is… not okay. Like they're all heavy, and the room is heavy, and no one is talking about it, which is stupid. There's something wrong but everyone is pretending like everything is fine."
I paused, contemplating.
There… had been some tension as of late, it was true, but I hadn't realized the others had felt it as well. Those of us that knew Serenity was in danger has come up with a plan nearly a week back, and now we were simply waiting for the proper moment to enact it, and that moment wouldn't be around for another four days. Waiting when an enemy lurked nearby was no easy feat; Rei and Minako were doing remarkably well with hiding their emotions, but clearly it wasn't enough.
The subconscious mind was a dangerous thing.
No doubt we were all giving off tells of our anxiety, our anticipation, our nerves, and whether the others knew it or not they were also picking up on these tells, and it was effecting them as well. Something would have to be done or the three of us were going to give ourselves away to the enemy. I thought about what Rini had said.
"Usagi Therapy Session, hm?" I could work with that.
She blinked up at me. "Everyone needs a little bit of Sailor Moon in their life."
Well, I couldn't argue with that logic.
Or I could, but I certainly wasn't about to. After all, she might have a point; a release of pressure might be in order if I wanted everything to go according to plan.
"Right, leave it to me then." I ruffled her hair. "We better get going or Makoto will find out I took you out of school again and I'll be squished under her righteous foot of fury."
Rini laughed. "Makoto-chan is nice, I don't think she'd do that."
"Oh, is that what you think?" I gave her a conspiring grin. "I guess you never heard about the first time we met then."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it started with these three, burly men, each as big as a bus…"
It took time to put everything together, but Rini had a point; the tension wasn't good for us, it would only inhibit our search if allowed to continue. We needed that calm before the storm, that unsuspecting moment before the bait was laid.
It took me precisely five hours to get everything I needed.
Five hours, and one Chiba Mamoru.
"How did you get in my apartment?" He asked upon coming home to find me lounging on his couch, three large plastic bags at my feet and a little red wagon stacked precariously with boxes at his door. "And what in god's name happened to your hands?"
I glanced at the red, blue, and purple stains on my fingers and palms. I was sure with a good scrubbing they'd come out, but there was no point in testing that theory just yet. With a shrug, I turned my attention back to Mamoru and gave him my best smile. "Welcome home, darling! Dinner is on the table –your favorite- and I have a bath drawn up for you whenever you're ready."
Mamoru eyed me dispassionately. "Really?"
"Of course not." I hopped up and grabbed the plastic bag, "I can't cook to save my life, and honestly, you probably shouldn't look at your bathroom; its, uh, a bit more colorful than you'll have remembered." Mamoru looked to the closed door of the bathroom in mild alarm, and I used two fingers to turn his face back to me, tapping his cheek twice. "Not the point though, don't you worry about that little detail for now. We have bigger plans at work."
His hand drifted up to catch my wrist, and I realized I was standing perhaps a little too close. "Ah, so there is a point to this madness. Pray tell, does it involve destroying my bathroom?"
"Only slightly." I swallowed, lightening my tone. "Orders from the little princess, you see. Usagi Therapy Session."
"Usagi… Therapy Session." He said disbelievingly.
"That is correct. Now, are you going to help me or not? I've got a lot of stuff to carry, and I could really use those Boy Scout skills of yours."
There was a fondness to his laugh as he dropped my wrist, "I expect to be reimbursed for whatever chaotic state you left my bathroom in."
I snorted.
"Reimbursed? Reimburse yourself, you rich b-"
The wagon was heavy, and wouldn't fit in a cab, so unfortunately we had to walk to the warehouse.
Now, it had come to my attention that I did not do well in the cold. Mamoru became oddly talkative during the journey though, so I had little time to fall into my own darker musings. We moved quickly, taking care not to slip on the ground –laughing when one of us nearly did- and made it to the warehouse in an impressive forty five minutes. Though it was Naru on duty tonight, Ami was at the supercomputer still and Nephrite was hanging around, helping Naru with some paperwork; they all looked rather surprised to see the two of us when we walked in the doors.
"What do you have there?" Ami questioned, looking from our grins to the wagon to the bags in my hands with amusement and just a little wariness.
"I'd like you to call the Order in, please." Mamoru turned to Nephrite. "Help me get this wagon upstairs, will you?"
As Nephrite obediently hopped up to grab the other end, Ami looked between the two of us, "Alright… And what, specifically, would you like me to tell them?"
I threw an arm around her, ignoring the wide eyed expression said action caused, and laughed. "Tell them we're having a surprise training session. Participation is mandatory; that means Rini, too."
"It's almost nine." She said flatly. "Rini, and the rest of us, have school in the morning."
"Time is just a number, Ami. Live in the now."
Ami most definitely did not look as though she were feeling up to living in the now, which was a shame, because like I had said, participation was mandatory. Behind us, the boys nearly dropped the wagon halfway up the stairs, and in the quiet, even from here the noise it made was undeniable. Nephrite looked to me with an expression that somehow managed to convey bafflement, worry, and incredulity all at once. "The boxes just made a splooshing sound. Why did they go sploosh?"
"Sploosh isn't a word." I informed him. "Be careful with those; I spent my hard earned on them and I'll be highly displeased if they don't reach the training area in perfect condition."
"…She ignored me."
"Oh dear god." Ami groaned.
I squeezed her shoulder. "That's the spirit."
As soon as the boys got my wagon up there, Nephrite was shooed away back downstairs while Mamoru and I finished our preparations. It was, admittedly, my first time on the second floor, and I took a moment to admire the set up. Mats covering most of the floor. Balancing beams, punching bags, hurdles; it had everything you'd find in a gymnastics center, even those large blue building foam thingies, the kind you were allowed to play with in elementary school and then never saw again. There wasn't much equipment on the floor at the moment, a lot of it pushed to the side to make maximum use of the space provided.
It was one, giant playground. Or it would be, when we finished with it.
Mamoru surveyed the room. "Right, so how do you want to go about this?"
I considered the area. "Four bases, one at each corner. Let's use extra mats and those geometric blocks to build them. I say we have maybe little over an hour before the Order is gathered."
"We'll scatter the hurdles and balance beams, use some of the thicker mats to make platforms and a few small walls. I think we should leave a decent open space in the very center. We'll put the ammunition there, use those punching bags as cover in a circle around the whole thing. There are five of them so it should work well."
I nodded. "Good thinking, let's also- is that a ball pit?"
"It sure is." Mamoru smiled down at me. "and what's more, we have a trampoline."
Oh, my god.
This was going to be great.
An hour later, my dream playground was ready, and downstairs the Order was gathered. They were all, thankfully, smart enough to have worn exercise clothes as well. Among them I spotted Rini, rubbing an eye and looking a little drowsy. I skipped down a couple of stairs, stopping about halfway, and opened my arms, "Come here, squirt."
And, well, that certainly got her attention.
Rini shot off to my side with a sort of delight I would likely never understand, and I was nice enough to scoop her up as Mamoru popped his head into view in order to call everyone up. I scurried up to show Rini the fruit of my labor, and she took it in with a starry, fully awake gaze as the others crowded in behind us.
"One Usagi Therapy Session, as promised." I set her down, and Mamoru came over to my side. We shared look of mutual interest for what was to come, and he began to explain.
"Being a member of The Order of Elysion is no easy feat." He said. "Its long hours, constant recon and research, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, working to shield the people of Tokyo from beings and powers they have no hope of defeating. We are one, relatively small, organization tasked with the responsibility of watching over, and protecting, this world; because of that, we're required to keep on our toes, to put our work over everything else. The Order has done an excellent job at maintaining the peace we have though, and I think we are more than deserving of a reward."
That had people perking up.
Mamoru reach down into the nearly empty plastic bag and pulled out three items; one very big water gun with the words Blaster written on the side, a smaller, cheap reminiscent of a hand gun that was also a water gun, and a laminated, gold rectangle. I could feel the Order's bafflement as I stepped forward to explain, "The name of the game is Battle Royale. Your objective? To gather as many gold tickets as your team can before the hour is up, and to avoid getting wet.
"The rules are as follows. Each team will get two blasters –the big water guns- and two mini guns. Whether you choose to arm your entire team or not is up to you, but only one blaster per team is allowed out in the field at any given time. Each base is equipped with one full gallon of water for refilling purposes, one bowl of ammunition –water balloons- and a basket for your treasure. Now, be warned that some of the ammunition is not as it seems. You will find that upon getting hit that the water will be colored; if you do get hit with one of these, you are 'knocked out' for one minute and must stay down."
Mamoru gestured to the battlefield of our creation. "At the center of this course you will find addition ammunition. The only other way to refill your water supply is by way of that water fountain. Attached to each balloon you will find a gold ticket. The team with the most gold tickets at the end of the battle will be the winner. However, in order to take the ticket, you must first untie it from the ammunition and use said ammunition. If any two teams have the number of tickets at the end of the hour, the winner will be decided by whoever had taken less damage, meaning whoever is dryer. Stealing from other bases is permitted; however, you cannot take the basket itself, only what you can carry with your own two hands."
"Finally," I stated, "You can disarm your opponent, but you are not allowed to take their weapons. The only permitted use of stealing is gold tickets; no water supplies, ammunition, or weapons can be taken. Hand-to-hand combat is highly encouraged, and using any supernatural ability is prohibited. Any questions?"
Minako examined the course. "How will the teams be decided?"
"By division." Mamoru replied. "Intel; Ami, Naru, Zoisite. Training; Matsuo, Makoto, Nephrite. ESP; Rei, Usagi, Jadeite. Strategy; Minako, Kunzite, and myself. Rini is welcome to choose her team, and of course-"
"-We'll be referees." Artemis offered. Which, fair enough, all things considering. I wasn't exactly sure how a cat was going to wield a water gun.
Minako turned and gave Kunzite a lovely smile that did nothing to hide the vicious glee in her gaze. Kunzite merely let out a fond sigh, which was somehow almost worst. I moved my attention towards the rest of the group and clapped my hands together. "Right then, Team Usagi, pick your home base."
"Team Usagi?" Rei snorted, making a beeline for the far right base with Jadeite right on her heels, "In your dreams. Now, Team Rei, on the other hand-"
"-Like hell." I followed them, rolling my eyes though there was a grin slowly taking form on my face. As we settled into our home base, I checked out the positions of the other teams. Ami's team was closest, in the upper corner; across from them, Mamoru's team had taken a base, leaving the last one to Matsuo's team. It took me a moment to realize, looking at us all, but when the thought stuck me, I couldn't help but laugh.
"What is it?" Jadeite asked me.
"We're right above our work station." I told him, pointing down. "So is Ami's team, and, in a way, Mamoru's team. We all picked the corners we were most familiar with."
He cocked his head, glancing at the other teams. "Huh, you're right."
"This is all very interesting," Rei began flatly, "But maybe we should move on to coming up with a battle strategy. We've only got five minutes."
"Well…" Jadeite surveyed the area, and the other teams, taking in details the two of us probably hadn't. "I believe our greatest threat will lie in the Strategic team. We should either work to ambush them, or perhaps attempt to take them out quietly."
"I think you're forgetting whose division we're in." Rei interjected. "I mean, Minako's scary, sure, but Makoto and Matsuo together might as well be an unstoppable force. If they're sent out together, which they will be, then we need to be on the lookout for them. I think it would be in our interests to form an alliance until we have a proper advantage."
"An alliance with whom, exactly?"
Rei shrugged. "With the strategy team, obviously. The only person we need to convince is Mamoru, and, well, taking in to consideration that thing we were talking about the other day… Getting him over to our side surely won't be too difficult. If Mamoru follows, Kunzite surely will, and that's all we need to get a head start. Minako isn't going to go against her own team."
Jadeite's gaze flicked over to me. "…It is a possibility."
My brow furrowed. "What's with the look?"
"What are your thoughts on the matter?"
Oh, well that was easy enough.
I mean, it was a terrible plan.
Really, as if Makoto and Matsuo were the biggest threats. Were they two of our most active members? Yes. But they hadn't built this course, and I knew for a fact that I could take on at least Matsuo, probably Makoto too, if it was one on one. I was still working with Hajime-sensei one on one and had been practicing in anticipation for whatever fight the universe decided to throw my way next. So no, it wasn't that division that worried me. Like I'd said before, if there was one person you didn't want to make an enemy out of, it was-
A long ring echoed throughout the warehouse, signaling the beginning of the battle.
"Oh hell," I turned, handing Jadeite one blaster, and Rei two water guns. "Whatever, look, Jadeite, you stay here and guard home base. I have a good idea of the terrain and Rei is faster, so we'll head out for now; we're counting on you to cover us when possible. Rei, you have way better aim than me, so the water balloons are all yours. Get as many tickets as you can."
And with that we headed out, sneaking around hurdles, hopping over balance beams, before coming to a pause behind a mat wall. It wasn't tall enough to cover our heads, so we had to duck down and try not to lean against it. It was in a large Z to keep it standing, almost like a screen, and I feared one good bump would bring the damn thing down and reveal our location.
"Okay," Rei began, "we're only about twenty, twenty five feet from the punching bags. If I'm quick, I think I can make it and use the punching bag as cover."
"Remember, stay out of the line of fire as much as possible." The goal was to get as many tickets as possible, sure, but if we got soaked doing so, it could turn into a problem. I went to add something when a shriek pierced the air, followed by victorious laughter, and the sounds of war finally broke out. Rei saluted me, and, with a shit-eating grin, she disappeared around the wall. I pumped the blaster and poked my head around the side, ready to aim and fire.
Rei was smart, she stayed low to the ground, taking cover behind a hurdle.
At the center of the room, Matsuo and Makoto had already begun their attack, movements in sync with one another as they dodged shots of water and grabbed ammunition, yanking gold tickets off like the pin of a grenade before chucking the balloons at the strategic team. Minako, it seemed, had stayed behind to guard home base, leaving Mamoru and Kunzite to gather the tickets. Kunzite managed to dodge the first balloon sent his way, slipped back toward the punching bags to shield himself, but the second balloon nailed him in the shoulder, exploding and dying the white of his shirt red. With an annoyed expression he laid back-first onto the mats for his knock out period.
Mamoru was forced to retreat back from the punching bags to a half mat-wall. I watched as Rei eyed him contemplatively from her position behind the hurdle. In the center, Matsuo was ripping tickets off and tossing ammunition Mamoru's way while Makoto, blaster in hand, covered him. When Matsuo had a good handful of tickets, he sprinted back toward home base, where Nephrite met him halfway and procured the hard earned tickets. Rather than having the good sense to retreat and come up with a new plan of attack, Rei began a slow crawl towards Mamoru now that he wasn't under rapid fire. I bit back the urge to spray her, knowing it would only serve to give my location away.
Kunzite's minute ended, and the moment Luna announced his return to the game Mamoru was at the ready with his blaster, covering for Kunzite while he made his way to Mamoru's hiding place. Matsuo was on his way back, and Rei continued to converge while the supposed dream team was busy. She put her water guns down as soon as she came into sight, perhaps as a gesture of good will. Mamoru and Kunzite had their weapons pointed at her, but they didn't fire. It was just as Rei began to scoot over that my attention was caught elsewhere.
It was too quiet in the center.
I scurried to the other side of the mat and peer around it to find Makoto and Matsuo pointing their guns at Naru, who has stumbled into range. But they hadn't fired. She looked incredibly nervous, actually; shoulders hunched, hands clenching the blaster –in the right places, but far too close to her chest to actually be of use, like a schoolgirl holding her textbooks-, she let out a shaky squeak, and froze on the spot.
"W-wait…" She sputtered.
The dream team hesitated.
It cost them dearly.
From behind, Zoisite, out of nowhere, vaulted over a punching bag and proceeded to hit both Matsuo and Makoto squarely in the back of their heads with water balloons. Each one broke against them in blue and purple colored water, which, holy shit. How had Zoisite figured out which water balloons had colored water and which didn't? I was the one that had filled them and even I couldn't tell the difference!
Zoisite landed lightly on his feet, wearing a smug look that perfectly mirrored Naru's as the dream team went down. From the corner of my eye, I caught movement. A head of blue hair snuck across the edge of the battleground, and I watched, impressed but not quite surprised, as Ami, without her blaster, converged on the Training division's home base and ambushed Nephrite with two more water balloons; they struck Nephrite to reveal more colored water, making him down for the count as well.
Of course, I'd figured from the beginning that Ami's team would be the one to watch out for. The fact that she had abandoned her base, her blaster, had used both Zoisite and Naru in order to completely incapacitate Matsuo's team and steal their tickets was… brilliant. Exactly to be expected for her. She used Matsuo and Makoto's weakness, their severe kindness towards someone like Naru, who appeared weaker, against them. She abandoned her blaster and had Zoisite forfeit his water guns in favor of the ammunition because it was the only thing actually able to stop someone. Tactical thinking at its finest, and…
And the reason Ami couldn't be the one that had sent the note.
No, she wasn't the third party; because if it had been Ami, we'd all have been done for long ago. She'd have taken us out without any of us ever having seen it coming. Somehow, that realization left my shoulders feeling lighter.
One more suspect off the list.
Matsuo and Makoto were down, leaving Intel to turn on Strategy. Rei appeared to have come to an agreement with them, because the trio began to fire back at Naru and Zoisite.
I used this distraction to my advantage, backtracking.
She didn't see me until it was too late, blaster aim right at her face.
"I'd like half of those tickets, please," I informed Ami, tone sweet, "unless, of course, you want to get soaked."
She eyed me, possibly stalling for time as she mused, "Only half, huh? That's rather generous of you."
I moved the blaster closer. "I'm feeling generous today. Now, why don't you hand over those tickets?"
I managed to get back to home base unscathed.
"Where's Rei?" Jadeite glanced behind me curiously, gaze searching for the missing spitfire.
I peered over my shoulder, back to where a three-way fight had commenced between Intel, Training, and Strategy; Rei, of course, was lending Mamoru's team a hand, though she kept looking around as though searching for something. "She's making friends."
Jadeite followed my line of sight to the trio, something wistful appearing in his expression, giving off the feeling of a desperate puppy. I smothered a laugh, "Go on then, join your prince. I'll watch the base."
He started to move forward, but paused.
"What are your plans," He inquired quietly, gaze never wavering from Mamoru, "once Princess Serenity has been saved?"
I stared at him, unable to come up with an answer to such an unexpected question.
Why was it always that question?
Maybe he knew I didn't have the answer, or maybe he simply didn't expect one yet. Whatever the case was, with a sigh, Jadeite stood and said, "Well, it hardly matters in this moment."
He flitted away, a shadow that moved from barrier to barrier unseen, reaching his prince without issue. It was difficult, to tear my gaze from them as Mamoru greeted him with a smile that said it all; that he'd always known Jadeite would make it to his side. I managed, eventually and with great effort. I counted the tickets as they fell into the basket, six, seven, eight. It was a good start, and we were what, fifteen minutes into the game? I looked around and saw grins, laughter. It was working then; the tension, at least for now, was gone.
A prickling sensation graced the back of my neck, so familiar.
"What do you think you're doing?" There was a crease at his brow, one that spoke of irritation.
I glanced at the blaster in my lap. "Guarding the base?"
"Guarding the base," Mamoru echoed flatly, gaze wandering toward the others –all very far away from my little corner, and of no threat to the tickets we'd gathered- and then back to me, "I can see how trying such a task might be. Still; our teams came to an agreement, so perhaps your skills would be best suited out in the arena."
His grin was a little disquieting, and I was beginning to get the impression that he might, maybe, be a bit peeved with me, though I hadn't the faintest idea why.
"You know," I tried, most certainly not sheepish, "I think I'm more of the, uh, home base type."
It was, apparently, the wrong thing to say.
"Is that so?" He crouched down and reached out.
I stilled, but his hand went past me, brushing my cheek as he grabbed something behind me and lifted it over my head.
"You have no consideration for the efforts I make." Mamoru said, clearly frustrated and yet still smiling.
I blinked, watched the muscles in his arm, still oddly close, flex.
And then water spilled down on me
Interlude
Zoisite P.O.V.
It was the squeal that made him pause.
There'd been a good deal of those sounds from the girls –and one from Nephrite, though he knew his proud comrade would never admit it- so it wasn't the sound of the squeal itself that had caught his notice. It was that the squeal had come from his far left, and pretty much everyone in the order was currently either fighting or defending at his right. So, Zoisite turned, surveyed the course and then the people to his right; five reasonably normal young women, one very small girl. That left-
"You are so dead, Boy Scout!"
-Usagi.
The others had paused as well now, the voice loud, enraged and unmistakable. They all turned towards the next noise, one that brought a rush of fondness to his heart; it was peals of laughter, his Prince's laughter. Endymion- no, Mamoru, flew into view, jumping over one of the hurdles with a grin on his face. A water balloon skipped just past his head, breaking open against a mat. Mamoru landed with a tuck and roll, avoiding another water balloon, and hopped back onto his feet quickly, throwing an amused glance behind him.
And there she came, jumping not over the hurdle as Mamoru had, but onto it in order to give herself that extra boost. She launched herself into the air, blaster in hand, and aimed with a frankly alarming intensity. Mamoru dodged the spray, but only just barely, spinning around and fleeing towards the open center. Usagi stuck her landing beautifully, undeterred by the failure to hit her target, and took up the chase once more. Zoisite, sensing trouble in the gleam Mamoru sported, quickly sidestepped out of the way and watched as he entered the center. His Prince shared a look with Matsuo and nodded toward Usagi in some kind of silent gesture.
Mamoru ducked down, and Matsuo stepped forward, taking his place.
Usagi charged into the center, sliding to a stop.
"Oh-ho?" She eyed Matsuo in the way one might a bug about to be smashed underfoot, and Zoisite did not envy him, "Do I smell an act of treachery underway?"
"Now, now, Usagi-chan," Matsuo began, "We made a bet remember? Something about your crushing defeat and a rabbit suit, I believe."
Usagi laughed. "We'll see about that, Moon boy."
Zoisite's attention was pulled to Mamoru, who had circled around to stop at his side. With a sigh, Zoisite turned his gaze back to the brewing spar and murmured, "Did you really have to provoke her?"
Mamoru leaned an elbow against his shoulder. "It's hardly my fault she doesn't pay attention."
Zoisite hummed. "Jealousy does not suit you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
The two of them watched as Matsuo kicked the blaster out of Usagi's grasp and it flew in a neat arc out of the center. Usagi shook out her hand, unfazed, and shifted into a fighting stance. Zoisite felt vaguely concerned as her opponent slid into a similar stance; Matsuo, while lacking any supernatural ability, was easily twice the size of her, and even the Generals, who were highly trained warriors, had had trouble holding their own against him. Obviously, they'd done so –they were Earth's most elite guard, at one time- but it had been a struggle.
Zoisite hadn't truly ever had the opportunity to see Usagi in action; he'd received the most gentle of her 'salvations' and still bore the silver mark to prove it, but from what he had heard, to be on the wrong end of Sailor Moon's ire could be deadly. He only recalled one battle, back at the wretched Dark Kingdom, and it wasn't even much of a battle, really. It was defiance, an act of final vengeance against the person who had killed the princess Usagi had been sworn to protect. It was a choice made, to give Minako the chance to take down Queen Beryl. But he had heard the stories.
How she had slayed one of Jadeite's best Youma, and had then bested him, in a matter of moments. How she had lured Minako to Tokyo, orchestrated a false trail that led the Sailor Scouts to Naru in order to keep Princess Serenity safe. She had also been the one to take each of his fellow Generals down, and on her own no less. That was why it truly shouldn't have surprised him when Usagi caught Matsuo's next kick and flipped him over herself as though he weighed nothing.
Matsuo was ready for it though and rolled to his feet before she could get a good hold on him. From there the spar seemed to dissolve into something entrancing; it was like a dance, somehow vicious and playful all at once. Matsuo swiped for her feet, Usagi jumped; she struck out and he twisted away. They were on par with one another, and not in the harmonic way he was with Makoto. No, this was something else entirely; it was a battle, where they challenged each other to strike harder, faster, with less remorse and hesitation.
It was quite brutal.
"You know," Zoisite mused, "I wonder if perhaps riling her up isn't the best way to get her… attention."
"How do you figure?"
Usagi blocked a punch and spun, landing a kick to Matsuo's side. Zoisite didn't flinch, but looking at her relentless attacks, he could not help but imagine his prince being on the receiving end.
"Well, she could come to resent such tactics. And, she isn't looking at you."
Matsuo boxed her ears and received a blow to the nose for his trouble, and around them, the rest of the Order watched with equal bewitchment. Matsuo was good at what he did, he was merciless in their training, and while the Generals could certainly keep up with him- ah.
And he was down, pinned by Usagi and the hand she had clamped around his throat, nails slightly dug in.
She smiled, broad and joyful.
It was likely the first genuine smile Zoisite had ever seen her wear, and it was enough of a shock that he blinked once or twice, as though to be sure his eyes were not simply deceiving him.
Mamoru clapped Zoisite's shoulder. "She may not be looking, but she's having fun."
Zoisite, having spent countless years at his side, was able to hear the unspoken words of his prince: that this was enough. Mamoru stepped forward, lending Usagi, and then Matsuo, a hand up. She looked between the two of them with something resembling light hearted suspicion, ready to say something when the unexpected happened.
A flash of golden light from above, and a slip of paper fell.
Usagi's smile fell.
A/N
Ha! See? I can do happy scenes! I can be just as well adjusted as any other author on this site.
Anyway, I have very important news for you guys! I've been thinking about writing a fluff extra, and I've been having trouble deciding which characters to include on it, so here's what I'm going to do. I'll let whoever writes the 900th review for this fic decide which two characters they want to read an extra about, and it will be almost entirely fluff. I realize getting that 900th review might be difficult for some of you, so I'll add this in addition; whoever comes the closest to guessing who is leaving the notes to Usagi, or how Serenity is going to be revived, will also get a fluff piece of their chosen characters.
No choosing the fluff though, only the characters.
Also, I am officially taking conspiracy theories as to what you believe Crystal Tokyo is like in this AU. I'm now replying to all PM's, but please give me some time to answer them because as shockingly as it is, I do have a day job and other horrific obligations.
In other news, Rabbit of the Moon is officially more than halfway through its second arc, and I have a New Poll for all interested parties. I call it the "Who Is Your Problematic Fav?" and it does NOT include Usagi because Main Characters should never be anyone's fav. It is the side characters that make up a story. So vote on that if you feel up to it.
With that said,
Thoughts? Questions?
Please Review!
P.S. I also sorted the Order into Hogwarts Houses, so I'll post that at the end of the next chapter
