Tsukino Usagi
Usagi doesn't think anything about Shingo's classmates who stop her on her way home from school later that week, complaining about how he destroyed one of their friend's prize-winning dolls, until a day later when Ami is reporting another abnormal energy spike. She gets the text at dinner, though the disapproving look her father shoots her has her quickly pocketing the device for the rest of the meal. Still, it lingers in the back of her head and when she looks at her brother something clicks, the phrase "prize-winning" echoing dramatically.
Her brother is oddly subdued, enough that she stops by his room later that evening. She'd told the girls the day before that she would do something about it though she never really intended on doing anything. What Shingo did wasn't her business, not that he would have listened to her in the first place. But now that intervention might be a good idea, if only to figure out what's happened.
She doesn't bother knocking on his door, opening it right up though she does stop in the doorway. Her younger brother is sitting at his desk, furiously writing something. She watches for a moment as he scribbles something down, falters, curses, and then crumbles up the paper and tosses it behind him. That's when she notices the other balls of paper lying around the room. "What'cha doing there, Shingo?" she asks, trying to make her tone as light as possible.
He flinches before turning in his chair to glare at her. "Nothing! Go away, stupid Usagi," he spits at her, though the slight flush on his cheeks tells her his attitude is more from embarrassment rather than actual anger.
Curious, she steps forward to pick up the nearest paper. His eyes widen and he makes an aborted move to reach for it, but Usagi has already smoothed it out to read. "To Mika-chan…" she reads aloud, immediately realizing what this is: an apology letter. She gives her brother a curious look. "Are you trying to apologize for breaking her doll?" she asks.
Shingo slumps in his chair, the fight drained of him when he realizes he won't be able to hide it from her. "Yeah…" he replies dejectedly. "I just – don't know what to say."
"That you're sorry?" Usagi suggests dryly, walking over to stand behind him and look at the current apology he's working on. It begins much the same as the letter she'd picked up.
"I've tried that," he retorts hotly. "It's just…I don't know, it doesn't seem like it's enough."
"Then do something more," she replies simply. When her brother looks up at her with a confused expression, Usagi tries to elaborate. She has to do some quick thinking because she's never really given apologies, much less heartfelt ones, so this is a little out of her depth, but she thinks she comes up with something decent. "She tried to give you a gift, right? Her prize-winning doll. So give her something in return, something meaningful. A gift. To show that you really do value her as a friend."
"Like what?"
Usagi falters. "Uh, chocolate, flowers, a stuffed animal?" she suggests. "What do you think she'd like?" she asks, throwing it back at her brother. Like she'd know what his friend would want. They're elementary schoolers.
Her brother looks contemplative for a moment before a thought seems to occur to him and he grins. "I have an idea," he says, and then turns to Usagi. "Thanks, Usagi."
She blinks, stunned for a moment by the sincerity of her brother's words, and the emotion. They aren't very close siblings, more antagonistic than not towards each other, so moments like this are few and far between. Finally she nods, deciding against teasing him for the sentiment, and then makes her way from the room. Shingo will figure it out on his own, and she maybe has a lead she can give Ami to look into. It almost seems like her theory is starting to be proven right.
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When Usagi gets up late Saturday morning she checks her phone first off just to see if Ami has responded with any information about her suspicions, but there aren't any notifications, from Ami or anyone else. 'Well then,' she thinks. 'Guess I've got nothing to do. Maybe I'll head to the arcade again…' she muses idly, laying back down.
For the first time in a while Usagi feels like she has a moment to relax. This new enemy of theirs from the Dark Kingdom has been relentless lately, triggering one monster after the next. They've already dealt with two different monsters this week – the student from Rei's school, and her home economics teacher after that – Usagi had had to dress up as a bride, and then there was some spider monster, but Ami caught the bouquet in the end and that was pretty funny – but really, Usagi wonders if this new enemy is hanging around the schools, because that's especially creepy. And now this latest, who may or may not be Shingo's friend. Usagi sighs and rolls over in bed, throwing the covers up above her head to block the light from her window. It's open, which means Luna must've snuck out sometime before she awoke. Good thing, too, or the cat likely would've had her out of bed as soon as she was up.
Instead Usagi lazes around her room, reading the new manga she's been collecting and catching up on the latest anime. She avoids her schoolwork – she can afford to skip the assignments – and devotes herself to having a lazy day.
Until her brother knocks on her door just after noon. Usagi had thought it was Miharu-san again – the older woman had dropped off lunch not too long ago, to Usagi's appreciation – and so she'd opened the door without another thought thinking it was her again. She's surprised to find her brother standing there instead, looking oddly nervous holding something behind his back. "Shingo?" she asks, confused.
He fidgets nervously for a moment before finally speaking up. "Would you…go with me to give this to Mika-chan?" He looks up at her from under his eyelashes, much more unsure than the younger brother Usagi is used to.
"Uhh, I guess? If you want me to," she agrees, and then immediately wonders why she did that. Normally she wouldn't care to indulge her brother like this – they're not close siblings at all – so it must be his odd demeanor that's throwing her off. "Let me get dressed." She closes the door on him, shooting it an odd look before doing as she said.
Three minutes later she makes her way downstairs to find her brother waiting in the living room for her, present resting on his lap. "Let's go, Shingo," she says, startling him to attention. He jumps up and they set off.
"So where are we going exactly?" she asks some minutes later, having followed her brother thus far.
"Um, her family's gallery," he replies. "They're doing a show today."
Usagi makes a noise in response to that but doesn't ask any more questions. She's not exactly sure what her brother wants her there for. He's perfectly capable of walking around town on his own. But this is probably more to do with giving the gift he's holding, she figures. Not that she knows what she could do to help with that. She's certainly not going to give it to this Mika-chan herself.
Shingo leads her practically right into town. It's not quite near the Juuban shopping district, but closer to one of the parks. Usagi is surprised to find that it's not some gallery for art, but rather dolls. It…almost creeps her out a bit. As Usagi looks around a woman who'd been standing near the entryway approaches Shingo and they start talking. The woman seems worried, and Usagi wonders if this is Mika-chan's mother.
"Come, I'll take you both to see her," the woman says, catching Usagi's attention. She looks over, glancing between the two of them, but her gaze catches on her brother's nervous expression. He's trying to hide it, holding himself rigidly still so he doesn't fidget, but she can tell.
"Right, okay, lead on," she agrees.
The woman shoots her a relieved smile before heading off, Shingo trailing behind, and Usagi walks a bit quicker to catch up to him.
.
Chiba Mamoru
Mamoru quietly admits to himself that maybe this isn't such a good idea after all. Walking into the gallery full of dolls, he once again realizes he has exactly zero interest in dolls. They're fucking creepy, in his opinion, and the ones here are no different. But something about this place was giving him bad vibes and he'd just had to check it out. He wanders over to the first display, figuring he might as well take a look while he tries to figure out what's going on.
Some minutes later, after he figures he's stared at the one doll long enough, he moves onto another, but as he does a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye catches his gaze and he turns. Walking into the gallery is none other than Tsukino Usagi with a little boy at her side – her brother, probably, he assumes. Mamoru lets a smirk curl at his lips in amusement. Seems he's always running into the younger girl, even at places like this. She doesn't seem to notice him, though, but maybe later he can manage to run into her and tease her a bit. That might make this trip worth it.
Mamoru continues to move through the gallery, and though the bad feeling never leaves he still can't pinpoint where it's coming from or what's causing it. He moves onto another display, his ire growing, when he accidentally brushes shoulders with someone walking the other way. "Sorry," he turns to say, though the man makes him pause.
"No, I'm sorry," he says, his voice deep, though his brow is furrowed in confusion as he looks at Mamoru. "Do…I know you?" he asks.
Mamoru blinks, though there is definitely something familiar about the guy. But it's just another feeling he can't place. "I don't think so," he replies.
"Right." Then the man turns and continues walking. Mamoru watches him go for another moment, confused by whatever he'd just felt, before he mentally shakes himself and turns back to the next display. He's here for a reason, not to chase after semi-familiar guys.
.
Tsukino Usagi
Usagi doesn't need Rei's level of spiritual awareness to tell that Mika-chan has been influenced by their new enemy. Her whole demeanor is snappish and rude and there's clearly a shadow covering her expression. Usagi hangs back once they enter her room, letting the mom and Shingo start the talking. The mother is swiftly kicked out and Usagi tenses when her brother tries to approach his friend. She tries not to draw attention as she reaches for her communicator to activate the panic button.
Her brother barely gets a word out because Mika-chan isn't paying him any attention. She's entirely focused on the doll in her lap, until she stops fiddling with it to proclaim, "It's done!" Then the doll on the table starts to react, its hair flying up as a dark shadow starts to gather around it. Her brother falters, taking a fearful step back as it starts to engulf Mika-chan in a dark purple energy. When she falls to the ground unconscious a tall woman stands above her, wearing nothing so they can clearly see the segmented doll-like limbs of hers.
She looks down at Shingo before whipping her hand around to slap him harshly across the face. Usagi yelps in indignation as her brother is pushed across the room, roughly hitting the wall nearby her. The present he'd had in his hand – a small figurine of some character Usagi can't make out – falls to the ground, miraculously still intact. At least until the monster takes a step forward, unforgivingly crunching the figuring under her foot.
'Well,' Usagi thinks, 'not how I would've chosen to get Shingo out but at least now I can transform.' "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
When she's finished transforming she stands proudly before the monster and points an imperious finger at it. "I am Sailor Moon, Guardian of Love and Justice. In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you! No one hits my brother like that and gets away with it," she adds with a growl.
The doll woman's eyes flash red for an instant and Usagi tenses in anticipation of an attack. She has no idea how far out Mercury and Mars are, so for now she'll have to hold it off herself. But instead of the monster attacking, the doll that had been sitting on the desk comes flying out of nowhere towards Usagi, forcing her to dodge to the side to avoid it. She does so with a yelp, her eyes wide in the face of the innocent-looking doll's vicious looking mouth of teeth. It pauses in the space where she'd previously stood, practically upside down. Its eyes roll down so they're visible again and the thing starts to turn towards Usagi. She swallows and turns in the split second it takes to start moving again, chasing her around the room.
There isn't very far for her to go, but at least the thing can only move in straight lines, giving her a moment of reprieve as it changes to face her again. At least, she'd thought it was reprieve, standing in front of the window. She isn't winded – not anywhere near that – but she certainly isn't paying attention to the doll woman, and that's her first mistake. The woman lunges, her ceramic hands roughly grabbing and digging into Usagi's shoulders as her momentum and weight pushes them both through the large window in the room.
They crash into the sidewalk amidst a shattering of glass, the sharp pieces digging into Usagi's back as she's pinned under the monster's weight. The sharp nails of its hands dig into her shoulders – Usagi can't quite tell, but she's pretty sure they've pierced skin – and its straggly green hair hands limp around their faces. She tries to shift her weight to throw it off, hands clutching its forearms to no avail, but the thing has pinned her solidly.
"Mars Fire Soul!"
Hot flames scorch the air above Usagi, striking the doll monster directly and flinging her off Usagi. Her nails are roughly yanked out of her shoulders, drawing a sharp cry from Usagi, but she ignores the stinging in her shoulders to roll over off the shattered glass and stand with her comrades. "Thanks, Mars," she grits out, rolling her shoulders to test the pain. It stings, but she figures she'll be fine enough to fight.
"Don't thank me just yet," the girl replies, her tone grim.
Confused, Usagi looks over to the monster as it starts to stand up, looking virtually unscathed from her flame attack. "Shit."
"Your attacks aren't going to work on me," she says with a chuckle.
"Mercury Bubble Spray!" A thick fog covers the area, hiding the monster from view and hopefully them as well. "Keep it distracted and I'll try to figure out its weak spot," Ami urgently whispers, pressing at one of her earrings to activate her Mercury Goggles.
"We'll try, but no guarantees with this fog," Usagi replies.
A moment after she says that two more of those dolls come flying into their group, one slamming right into Ami's gut and throwing her to the ground while the other targets Rei. She manages to dodge its clawed attack on her face, but only barely, four tiny scratch marks appearing on her upper cheek. She grits her teeth and turns to face the doll, but beside her on the ground Ami seems to be struggling to get the thing off of her. Usagi moves to help her first, kicking out at the doll as hard as she can to punt it off her comrade. Then she reaches down to help the other girl up.
"So much for trying," she mutters.
"I'll deal with them," Mars instructs. "You keep looking at the monster." The fog is starting to thin again and Usagi can just make out the monster's outline in the distance. Closer to them, the tiny dolls are gearing up for another attack.
Mars starts chanting, her hands together in prayer while her eyes close to aid her concentration. When she finishes her chant her eyes snap open with a burning glint as she shouts, "Evil spirit, be exorcised!" Two talismans appear in her hands that she proceeds to stick on the flying dolls as they attack, catching them right in the face. The talismans activate to freeze them in place a moment before they drop to the ground, useless.
They get two seconds to feel elated about taking them down before the doll monster is lunging out of nowhere at Sailor Mars. It tightly holds her up by the neck, growling in her face. "I'll make you pay for destroying my creations!"
Usagi gasps in surprise, her eyes widening in panic as she turns to Sailor Mercury. "What do we do?" she asks, reaching for her tiara. She only semi-confident in her ability to throw it without hitting Mars, if it'll even do anything. That's really her only option, though.
"I don't know yet!" Ami snaps back, though she seems a little panicked as well. Usagi can see Rei starting to turn a little blue as she struggles for air, but she knows better than to tell Ami to hurry up. Annoying the other girl is the last thing they need.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you two," the monster snarls. Its hands, which weren't really attached in the first place, detach to stay around Rei's throat, and instead she points her handless arms at them.
Usagi has a moment to think, 'Oh shit,' before she's pushing Ami out of the way and throwing herself to the side as the forearm and upper arm pieces detach further from its body to launch at them. "Anything?" she can't help asking, kneeling on the ground next to Ami.
"Um –" she begins, but Usagi is roughly dragging her up and pushing her aside. Seconds later more of those limbs are smashing right where they were.
"Keep moving," she interrupts. "It's not gonna stop," she mutters, flashing back to the first monster she'd faced after Jadeite. A tinge of fear – that instinctive feeling you feel when something is chasing or hunting you – trickles down Usagi's spine and something tells her that she cannot stop moving.
The sound of something shattering behind them interrupts Usagi's rushing thoughts long enough for her to pause, glancing back. The hands that had been wrapped around Rei's throat are in pieces on the ground before her, along with a red rose. Her gaze trails upwards to where she can see a dark-clothed figure standing on the rooftop, a grin twitching at her lips. "Tuxedo Mask!"
"Take her down now, Sailor Moon!" he shouts.
Usagi's eyes widen and she turns to Ami. "The ankle," the genius answers her unasked question. "Right ankle, aim there."
Usagi nods in determination, grabbing for her tiara. The monster sees and lifts her arms again, a snarl twisting her face, but two more roses are piercing through her skin before she can let them go. "Moon Tiara Action!" Her aim obliterates the foot, but it must catch enough of the ankle that the monster starts to disintegrate.
She rushes over to Rei to see how the other girl is doing. She's kneeling on the ground, wheezing through her injured throat, but at least the scratches seem to have stopped bleeding. Ami comes up beside her to take a look at her throat, where the bruises from the monster's hands are an ugly purple. "I'll take care of her," Ami says. "Didn't you come here with your brother?"
Usagi nods. "I'll go check on them really quick." She stands and leaves the two to head back to the window, hopping back through to get inside. Miraculously, no one seems to have heard anything that went on, in this room or outside. Both Mika-chan and her brother are in the same spots they were left in before. She stops by Mika-chan first, but the girl seems to be fine, if not exhausted.
Her brother seems to be fine, too, as far as she can tell. There's a small bump on the back of his head, but when she reaches out to touch him he starts to stir. Usagi flinches and stands, almost turning away before her brother's voice stops her. "Usagi?" he asks, his voice so much smaller than what she's used to hearing.
"Uh…" she starts before clearing her throat. "No, sorry kid, you must have me confused with someone else. I'm Sailor Moon, Champion of Love and Justice."
"Oh. Did you help Mika-chan?"
"Yeah, she'll be fine when she wakes up," she replies. "I've gotta go, kid. Don't get into any more trouble now." She doesn't wait for her brother to say anything else, quickly jumping back through the window to join her friends. Mars is looking a lot better now, though Ami looks a bit more worn. "We should probably leave soon. My brother is up and I don't think it'll be much longer before Mika-chan is up as well. Are you guys good to move?"
"Yeah." Rei stands, dragging Ami up with her. The genius sways on her feet for a moment before finding her balance and standing tall.
"I feel the sudden urge to eat a fucking horse," she grumbles. Then she shoots Usagi a grimace. "Are your shoulders too bad or can I take a look at them in an hour?"
Usagi blinks, trying to look down at herself but the injuries are too high up for her to properly see. "They really only ache right now. If we just clean them I should be fine; don't waste your energy."
"Back to the shrine, then," Rei says. Usagi nods in agreement, and in the next moment they take off.
Author's Note: This story will be going on temporary hiatus for the next week while I take finals, so I won't be posting the next update until 16 May 2020.