Chapter 5: Mercury
"You may think you're better at swimming, but my swimsuit is fancier than yours!" Kaori Taiki bragged as she, her older sister Kirameki, and their mother Kou Taiki arrived at the swimming complex in Crystal Tokyo. While it was still too cool out to swim in the outdoor pool, they at least could enjoy the indoor pool that allowed people to enjoy the water at any time of the year.
"I know it is, because I was with you when you bought it. But scientifically, a swimsuit should have less frills on it to be more aerodynamic in the water," Taiki replied.
"That's not true, if something is frilly and sparkly, that means it's more powerful! It's like the pictures in the history books of Sailor Moon's outfits. Her Eternal Sailor Moon form was the strongest, and it had the most frills and decorations!" Kaori asserted.
"Sailor Moon's power doesn't come from her Senshi outfit; you have it backwards. Her Senshi outfit is merely an outward symbol of the magical power that comes from her Star Seed, and the same applies to all Sailor Senshi. Our powers come from our Star Seeds, not from the uniforms we wear when we transform," Taiki corrected her.
"Aww, so even if I got a dress made that looked like Eternal Sailor Moon's uniform, I wouldn't be able to use the powers of a Sailor Senshi to make people adore me in the way that they do with the Queen?" Kaori pouted.
"Wearing certain types of clothing CAN make us feel different, and maybe more confident and powerful, but it's not quite the same thing as becoming a Sailor Senshi," Kirameki said as they entered the door to the swimming complex. She and Kaori went through first, but Taiki paused, having recognized a couple of familiar cars in the parking lot.
"Come on, Mom, or are you afraid of the glittering power of my amazing swimsuit?" Kaori teased. Taiki followed her daughters into the building, rolling her eyes a bit at Kaori's comment.
"No, I just recognized someone's car in the parking lot," Taiki said simply. After they checked in, the three of them went to the dressing room and put their swimsuits on. Kaori's was indeed very gaudy and also a contrast with her turquoise hair, being bright orange with two big, very glittery bows, one on her chest and the other on her lower back, making it look somewhat like the typical uniform of the Solar System Senshi minus the collar and skirt. Kirameki, on the other hand, wore a plain, sky blue bikini. When they entered the room that housed the indoor pool, Taiki's suspicions were confirmed. Ami Mizuno was also at the pool complex, along with Michiru Kaiou. Kirameki noticed Ami too, and was confused as she began to feel a strange connection to the blue-haired woman, as if they shared something that no one else did. While Kirameki did know Ami somewhat, it was mainly in the context of seeing her for medical visits or as someone who had known her mother when they were Sailor Senshi together in the late 20th century. So why was she suddenly drawn to Ami like this? Ami also noticed them, and she waded over to the edge, waving.
"Taiki! And Kirameki and Kaori! I thought you might be coming here today," Ami said.
"How would you know that? I don't remember telling you we were going to the pool," Taiki responded.
"Sailor Senshi intuition," Ami said, "If you wait for me to get out of the pool, I can get something out of my bag that will explain."
"I know! I'm going to be Sailor Chibi Mercury!" Kaori exclaimed excitedly. When Kirameki heard her little sister's words, she was surprised at the sudden angry feeling that popped into her mind at the idea of Kaori being Sailor Chibi Mercury, as if Kaori was going to steal something very important from her. Ami got out of the pool and came over to the two sisters, smiling amusedly at Kaori's eagerness.
"Not quite, although I can use the Mercury Computer to see whether or not you have the potential to be a Sailor Senshi. But Kirameki is the one who will inherit the power of Mercury," Ami said, becoming more serious. She took a blue wand that was topped with a pale blue crystal out of her bag and held it out to Kirameki. Kirameki was about to accept it, when she remembered something Hikari had complained about to her. Hikari had been feeling jealous that she was the only Tsukino sister who hadn't become a Sailor Senshi yet. If Kirameki were to become Sailor Chibi Mercury, would that make Hikari even more jealous? Kirameki was sure she would feel guilty if that happened, as she did not want to hurt the feelings of someone she loved so much.
"What's wrong, Kirameki? Don't you want to be a Sailor Senshi? If that wand was for me, I would take it right away!" Kaori blurted out. Kirameki mentally shook herself out of her hesitation. She knew that Hikari was well aware of how Sailor Senshi powers worked, and that if she truly loved Hikari, that she shouldn't throw away power that would enable her to protect Hikari from danger that could only be fought by Sailor Senshi.
"I understand that if it is my destiny to be the next Sailor Mercury, I shouldn't run away from it. I accept, Mrs. Mizuno," Kirameki said formally, and she took the wand into her hands. The blue symbol of Mercury flashed on her forehead, showing that she was the true owner of the mystical wand.
"Kou Taiki. I would like to speak with you," said a voice that none of them recognized. Taiki turned to where the voice had come from. A girl was standing at the doorway to the locker room, her green hair was in two pigtails and she was wearing a long, frilly red dress that was entirely unsuitable for swimming in. Taiki then remembered something Makoto had told her, on the day that Sailor Libra had first awakened to her Senshi powers. The girl who had attacked them also had green hair in pigtails, was wearing a red dress, and went by the name of "Blueberry Muffin."
"You think you're going to outdress me?! Your dress may have more frills and a longer skirt, but MY swimsuit has bows that are just like the ones the Sailor Senshi outfits have!" Kaori bragged, noticing Blueberry Muffin's frilly red outfit.
"My princess needs the Sailor Senshi to be eliminated. But there might be a way to compromise as well," Blueberry Muffin said calmly, "That is why I would like to speak with you in particular, Taiki."
"Why me? I was told about you and your princess's goals. Do you think I would allow you to turn an entire planet and its lifeforms into candy for your greedy princess's consumption?" Taiki challenged her.
"What if you were able to benefit from the world of sweets as well? Not just you, Taiki, but your family and all of the other Sailor Senshi could join us. No one would eat you, and you could live in the world of sweets that Princess Lollipop desires," Blueberry Muffin offered.
"Does your world of sweets HAVE to be made of people? 'Cause if you just did things like turn grass and dirt into candy I wouldn't mind it," Kaori said.
"Princess Lollipop would not like that. She does not wish to share her world of candy with billions of people. You are lucky that she is offering to share it with you at all," Blueberry Muffin replied coldly.
"But I don't wanna eat people that were turned into candy! That's gross!" Kaori whined, "Come on, Kirameki, transform and make her go away so I can challenge you to a swimming contest!"
"I agree with my sister. Having only candy to eat is unhealthy, anyway. If you truly care about your princess, then wouldn't you want her to eat a more balanced diet?" Kirameki pointed out. Blueberry Muffin stared at her blankly, confused for a moment.
"I don't understand. A diet of candy is perfectly healthy for my princess. If you will not compromise, then I will have to eliminate all of you," she stated, and she began to form a ball of fire above her head, aiming to throw it at Kirameki, who grasped her new transformation wand. She was about to recite the magic words when Kaori interrupted her, charging straight at Blueberry Muffin.
"Don't you dare burn my sister!" Kaori yelled, and she tackled Blueberry Muffin, sending them both falling into the pool with a big splash.
"Kaori! Mercury Prism Power, Make Up!" Kirameki called out. A blue light surrounded her and she became Sailor Chibi Mercury, wearing an outfit that matched the original Sailor Mercury's. Michiru also transformed into Sailor Neptune alongside her. In the pool, Kaori quickly surfaced and swam away from Blueberry Muffin, who was struggling to swim in her long dress. Sailor Chibi Mercury knelt down by the side of the pool and helped Kaori get out, while still keeping an eye on her overdressed enemy. She hesitated to attack, remembering that when Ami was Sailor Mercury, her powers had been used for freezing things. Should she risk ruining the swimming pool by freezing the water and trapping Blueberry Muffin inside the ice? While Chibi Mercury was busy considering her actions, Blueberry Muffin managed to get to the part of pool where her feet touched the floor, and she raised her arms over her head and began to form another fireball.
"Deep Submerge!" Sailor Neptune shouted, not wanting to wait any longer. Her ball of watery energy slammed into Blueberry Muffin, putting out her fire and knocking her back under the water. In a flash of red light, Blueberry Muffin teleported away, realizing that she was in danger of drowning if she continued to try to fight Sailor Senshi with water powers in a swimming pool.
"Did you see how that girl who attacked us had difficulty swimming in her dress? That's why wearing more frills does not give one more swimming power," Taiki commented.
"I guess you're right, Mom," Kaori sighed, reluctantly admitting to herself that simply wearing clothing that looked similar to a Sailor Senshi's outfit wouldn't give her the powers of one.
"That girl is gone now, so we can swim safely now. You can still challenge me if you'd like," Kirameki said. Kaori eagerly agreed, and she, Kirameki and Taiki all got in the pool. Ami was about to join them, but then she paused, remembering a theory she had about their current enemy.
"Do you think those girls are simply oblivious to human dietary needs? They may be telling the truth when they claim that a diet of pure sugar is perfectly healthy for them," she said, addressing Michiru.
"Even if they can live only on sweets, that doesn't give them the right to force their diet on others or turn people into candy in order to eat them," Michiru replied.