School the next day wasn't what he had expected.
He had wanted to get back to normal, to put the Dark Kingdom and everything that had come with it behind him, to enjoy his life with his friends and Usako and Helios and skate through school, maybe struggle with what he really wanted to be, and what university he should apply to; he wanted to have to concentrate on homework assignments and upcoming tests and performing well in the classroom and on the field, but instead he was looking at his watch every few minutes, half-expecting it to sound an alarm and reveal that the Juuban Elementary School had been attacked and Midori needed backup. He was on edge all day – had even checked in at lunch only to find nothing amiss, comforted only by everyone else's interest in the kid's wellbeing in that it didn't mean it was just him who was paranoid.
"The kid's at school," Midori shrugged off, "I dropped him off and I'm hanging around to see if anything happens, but so far this is barely better than class." He took an over-large bite of something deposited by a vending machine.
"With any luck, a parent will show up to claim him at the end of the day," Hanada commented, adding darkly, "Then maybe we can get to the bottom of this."
"That'd be awkward," Midori laughed around his mouthful of food, "'Woops! Sorry for kidnapping your kid for two nights! In our defense he was almost taken-out by a monster and he refused to contact you, so it's really on him.'" He paused, chewing thoughtfully, when it finally hit him and he swallowed, "Wait – what should I do if a parent does show up?"
"Follow them, I guess?" Moegi offered, his voice hushed, his face in the projected screen huddling low and covering the side of his mouth as though trying to hide that he was talking. "Make sure it's actually a parent and not that creature again."
"Stake out wherever they end up; later we'll transform and explain the situation to the parent and see what they know." Kobai stated with some finality. Mamoru nodded his agreement, but while he hoped otherwise, the vibe he had gotten from the kid was that something had happened to his parents, so no one would pick him up after school.
"Maybe try to catch his teacher if the parent doesn't show," Mamoru voiced thoughtfully, "They should know more about him and his home life. If something happened to his parents, this might be the only way we find out where they are if the kid continues to refuse to talk about it."
Midori grimaced but didn't refuse and the conversation ended shortly after, but it had done little shake the anxious feeling Mamoru had, and the rest of the school day trailed on at a snail's pace. At around two, with just an hour and a half left of classes, Mamoru couldn't focus on anything but his watch: the elementary school should be letting out, and he couldn't stop wondering would Midori contact them right away, or would he wait for the high school day to end? As the minutes ticked by, he wondered if the kid was in any clubs – what grade was he in, anyway? When the bell finally rang at 3:30 and everyone started cleaning up, Mamoru did his cleaning assignment as quickly as possible and left, watching his wrist the entire time. Nothing had come through. As he stepped outside and felt the sun on his skin, he almost started to relax – no news was good news, right? … Unless Midori was in a situation where he couldn't activate his communicator. Sighing, frustrated with himself, he gave in and called the others, somewhat wondering if there was a way they could reprogram the communicators to dial one person instead of everybody so his paranoia wouldn't be broadcast at such a wide level, but that was the way of things, he guessed.
"Whasfup?" Midori replied around another mouthful of food.
"Any word on the kid's parents?" Mamoru asked.
"Nah," the brunet returned, glancing away from the screen, supposedly towards the school as he swallowed, "Haven't even seen him yet. He must be part of a club or something."
Hanada caught up to him on the sidewalk and redid his low ponytail as he listened; once he retightened the elastic to keep his blond curls in place, he said, "I checked online with missing persons, and so far nothing is in the system fitting the kid's description, so either the police department handling the case hasn't gone online with it yet or nothing has been reported."
"I've checked with missing persons and got nothing," Kobai voiced, and Mamoru slowed; he had been heading that way, but if Kobai had already checked there was no reason for him to do the same, so now where should he go? He could join Midori in waiting at the elementary school… or he could work on putting his apartment back together. Usako was checked out of the hospital earlier, but putting his apartment back together was the more responsible choice.
He stopped, having just gotten to a bus stop, and Hanada continued walking for a moment before doubling back. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm stuck here, aren't I?" Midori replied, misunderstanding, "I'm starving, I've just had vending machine stuff all day."
"I wasn't asking you," Hanada corrected wryly, eyes rolling. "Besides, don't you like that stuff?"
"Yeah, but I'm stuck with the cold-service options –" Midori complained before being cut-off.
"I'll grab a burger for you on the way over," Kobai mollified, his grey eyes looking away from the communicator to scan the area around him. "I'm going to pick up a portable radio to keep an ear on breaking news reports, and then I'll head to the elementary school. Any news from Helios yet?"
Hanada looked at him with a mixture of amusement and disbelief and Mamoru returned a smile just as the bus pulled up, answering, "Not yet, but then he said Beryl might need help with a few things so he could be a while." He wasn't worried about Helios – now that Elysion was reopened and the unisus could teleport there and back without too much trouble, he could easily escape from any troubling situations with relative ease. Glancing over to Hanada, he finally answered, "I'm heading back to my apartment to start putting things back together –"
Midori groaned, "You shouldn't do that – it's my fault, I should be the one to clean it up."
Mamoru shrugged and shook his head, "It wasn't your fault. It was Diana's."
"At least wait 'til I could actually help out," Midori appealed, "It'd make me feel better about it."
"He probably won't stop asking until you agree," Hanada assured, a little too eager to back Midori up to Mamoru's ears, "You two could work on it later this week – maybe Usagi-chan would help, as she helped wreck the place?" he suggested, and Mamoru couldn't help but get the impression Hanada was bringing Usako into this in an attempt to persuade him to follow that plan, but why?
"Yeah! That'd be fun, right? A remodeling party or whatever," Midori chimed in with a great smile, "We'll all help out – right Hanada?" The smile had turned predatory at the last, and Mamoru started to clue in: Hanada didn't seem too keen on physical labor. He resisted an eye-roll as the bus left their stop without them.
"Sure thing," Hanada forced through smiling teeth, staring daggers into the communicator screen.
"It's decided then!" Midori cheered, taking the final bite of his cold sandwich. "If we wait 'til Saturday we can pull Moegi in, too. So hey, on your way over here, could you pick something up for me?"
Mamoru looked at the screen incredulously, "Kobai's already getting you a burger –"
"Sure we'll pick something up for you," Hanada cut in with an overly-cheerful smile.
"Sweet, thanks!" Midori quipped in English before continuing, "There's a –"
"We'll message you later when we're on the way over," Hanada interrupted again, the smile still broad.
"Wait, what?" Midori paused, "You're not coming?"
Hanada deactivated his own communicator and stood directly behind Mamoru to say, "Nah, we have to go invite Usagi-chan to a remodeling party, right Chiba? She was released from the hospital earlier, so we should try to catch her before her schedule fills up."
"But –"
"No time, Midori – Usagi-chan is a very popular girl; if we don't get to her first your remodeling party will be ruined." Hanada cheerfully reached for Mamoru's wristwatch, waving a farewell , "You're lucky to have friends like us!"
Midori's face was nothing but shock as Hanada deactivated the call, "But I'm so bored! –"
Mamoru raised his brows but was smiling at Hanada as the blond removed his hand from around the watch-face and put both of his hands on his hips, looking down the street. "If he can dish it, he can take it," he remarked offhandedly before turning his green eyes back on Mamoru, "So, where can we find Usagi-chan?"
…
They really had to get her a communicator.
While Mamoru had felt certain that she would be at her house with her parents, when they arrived, awkwardly knocking on the door to see if she were home, Usako's mother greeted them, invited them in for tea and snacks, and then told them that she had sent Usagi-chan to school to get all of her missing assignments. While Ikuko-san assured them Usagi-chan would be back soon and that they could wait for her there, Mamoru and Hanada got out of there as quickly and politely as they could. It wasn't that Mamoru didn't like Usako's mother, but she was eager yet matter-of-fact about Mamoru being Usako's boyfriend and way too informal way too quickly, having already pulled out a photo album before they could even thank her for the tea. He enjoyed her enthusiasm, but he'd rather face that storm of affection and rock-solid-certainty with Usako at his side.
They made their way to Usako's middle school and asked around for her, only to find that they had just missed her; some of her classmates said she looked like she was heading to a library, but, as much as he loved her, he knew that would never be a willing stop. Thanking them anyway for their help, he and Hanada left the campus and went directly to the shopping district and the Crown Arcade: no question as to the first stop Usako would make. However, she wasn't there, either. They asked around, finding Motoki, the arcade worker, who told them that she had already come and gone, leaving a stack of books behind. Mamoru claimed them for her, adding them to his bag, glad for another excuse to track her down at home later in case they struck out this afternoon, but as he was buckling the bag, Motoki caught him off guard and he froze, looking up at the blond sharply, Hanada with him.
"Yeah, that Usagi-chan's sweet, but careless sometimes, you know? She came in with all this stuff and was playing the new side-scroller when this little kid came in, found her like he knew her, and suddenly they were both leaving –"
"Red hair and eyes?" Hanada asked, watching Mamoru as Mamoru watched Motoki.
"Yeah – do you know him, too? He looked lost –"
Mamoru finished buckling the bag and Hanada immediately peeled off, his right hand reaching for his left wrist as Mamoru, keeping the arcade-guy's gaze, asked meaningfully, "Where did they go?" trying to sound as unconcerned as possible while still expressing that he needed an answer now,his every nerve on edge. His watch beeped an alarm.
"I'm not sure," Motoki replied, catching on that something was wrong, "They went left – is everything okay?"
Holding his bag firmly, he lifted it from the counter and nodded once before leaving, brushing through the crowd to the street, and immediately headed left, his eyes scanning the crowd for a blonde pair of pigtailed buns. He kept tight control of himself, refusing to consider the consequences of their disappearance, pushing back and down the urge to panic, knowing he needed to be clear to figure this out. Hanada caught up to him and he turned the clock hands to noon to stop the alarm, but listened in on Hanada's conversation rather than join in as he walked and searched, his heart beating painfully in his chest.
"What do you mean he was at the arcade?!" Midori repeated in confusion, "I've been here the whole time – the kid hasn't left his school yet!"
"That's not what this eye-witness reported," Hanada replied coldly, "The kid found Usagi-chan at the arcade and left with her; we're looking for them now."
Was he able to teleport? Mamoru wondered, gritting his teeth. It would explain how he got away without Midori noticing; it wouldn't be the first time they had encountered an enemy with that skill. Could he teleport with someone, though? If they made that assumption, a search would be useless – they could be anywhere – which didn't help him now. Going forward under that assumption would only distract him from the search now, and if the kid could teleport, he could have teleported to Usako at any time, without needing to wait until after school to do so. Teleportation was out for now.
"We're on our way," Kobai replied succinctly, and the conversation ended as Mamoru put to rest the idea of instant movement, which made him feel a little more relieved emotionally. He knew next to nothing about the kid, but he didn't think he was a villain. Suspicious, yes, but not corrupted.
"If Usagi-chan were in charge, where would she lead him?" Hanada asked quietly, "Assuming he told her he was lost or some similar story?"
He answered without needing to think, "The Fruit Parlor." Problem was that the Fruit Parlor was to the right of the Arcade, not the left. What if the enemy had reappeared? What if they were in trouble, even now?
Hanada replied instantly, "Any other places?"
"The police? Her house? I told her last night that he told us he was related to her, but she wasn't sure – she said he could be related on her mother's side, so she could've taken him there to check out his story – " Thinking, and catching site of a bus map as they passed a stop, Mamoru got another idea. "There's a park near here she likes to go to; she could've taken him there?" He didn't know why she would, but the notion wouldn't leave.
As they quickly passed an alleyway they were joined by Kobai and Midori; without questioning their sudden appearance, Hanada repeated quickly, yet calmly, "Police station, Tsukino House, Park."
"Tsukino's," Midori repeated decisively and was gone, turning back the way he and Kobai had come.
Before any of them could claim it, he did. "Amishiro Park."
"Police Station," Hanada claimed, peeling away to find a crosswalk; Kobai moved up to walk beside Mamoru.
"The park?" He asked; Mamoru shrugged and shook his head. Last night he had told her about the kid, so she knew his description and would know he wasn't lost. He had told her that they thought he was suspicious, hadn't he? She wouldn't know where to find them at this time of day, but she should've known they would have found her easier if she had stayed at crown - why, then, did she leave? Had he asked her to take him somewhere once they were out of the arcade? Had they been approached by that creature?
The telltale tunnel was ahead and he turned into the park and walked beneath it, keeping his eyes open for -there. His relief was palpable when he saw her at the swings, all in one piece in a casual pink-and-green outfit, smiling brightly and talking to the kid. The kid saw him first and the smile disappeared from his face immediately, and he slumped in his swing moodily. Usako seemed to question him for a moment before following his red gaze over to them, and waved brightly. She bounced over happily. While he was frustrated, and grouchy because of it, he didn't lash out - it wasn't her fault.
"Mamochan!" She greeted brightly, taking is hand. He let her, but kept his eyes on the kid. He wasn't going to disappear again this time. "Hi Khalid-kun," she added, "It's great that the park isn't that crowded right now, huh?"
So that was why. She knew there wouldn't be a lot of people here.
"That is great," Khalid echoed, "What are you up to this afternoon?"
"We need to get you a communicator," Mamoru commented flatly, not playing along with their casual side-speaking.
Usako ignored him, answering Khalid instead as she pulled him forward, toward the swing set. "Nothing much, just hanging out with my new friend, Mamo-rin!" She said the last loudly and pulled them to a stop in front of the redhead. Mamo-rin? She had gotten him to go by a nickname? "Rin, Mamochan and Khalid-kun are here - isn't that -" she broke off as the alarms went off on their watches, glancing back at them nervously, "great?"
The kid grunted, not looking at either of them.
Mamoru switched off his alarm as Khalid stepped away, trusting him to convey that they had found the pair and call off the search. "You left school early?"
He didn't answer.
"After everything that happened on Saturday, you went out alone?" Mamoru continued crossly, only now that they were found really considering what might have happened if they hadn't been. They didn't know who he was or where he came from, or why that creature was chasing him, but he was a target, and he could have been taken without their even knowing of it. Not to mention that he had pulled Usako into it - if anything had happened to her -
"The Heavenly Kings would have protected me, right?" Rin repeated sullenly and sarcastically, and Mamoru released Usako's hand, not wanting to inadvertently squeeze it. What did he think was going on here? What did he think they were trying to do?!
"Yes, they would have," Usako replied evenly, though it felt the statement was more towards him than the kid. "You can trust them - they're here to help you and everyone else in trouble - they're just that cool," she said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms to look superior and confident. But she softened, "Are you in trouble, Rin? If you are, they might be able to help you -"
"They can't help!" Rin exclaimed, cutting her off abruptly.
"Rin," Usako called softly, "why? What is it?"
"Mamoru!" Khalid called sharply, drawing his and he kid's attention, but Usako kept right on him. Khalid stood straight, looking at him, expecting him to come over, but the kid might have been about to reveal something useful -
"Rin, look at me, why -"
"Mamoru!" Khalid called again, insistently, and Mamoru sighed with frustration and went to join him, not wanting to miss what Rin had to say but knowing Usako would keep him in the loop if it were important.
"What?" He demanded when he was close enough for conversation, "We were about to get something out of-"
"There's been an attack at Yuu's school, at the debate - we need to go."
He didn't comprehend what Kobai was saying. "An attack? But-" but there were no more of Diana's creatures outside of Elysium - surely Helios or Beryl would have told them if there had been a breech - they were there. And the creature Saturday was after the kid - it wasn't interested in people - what kind of attack was he talking about?
"The police don't know much beyond the location, but Yuu isn't answering his communicator. We have to go, now."
He nodded, still feeling disoriented by the sudden declaration, wondering what it could mean, but followed Kobai towards the tunnel; Moegi was in trouble - "Wait," Mamoru said quietly, and immediately Kobai stopped to look at him. "What about Usako and the kid? We can't leave them alone here - what if it's a decoy?"
Khalid turned back to look at the pair at the swings and hesitated. "I - " he started, but stopped again. Mamoru understood the dilemma - they don't know what kind of attack was going on; it might need all of them, especially if their friend was in danger. On the other hand, if they were all across town it would leave Usako and Rin alone and open for attack. Kunzite wouldn't want Mamoru to stay behind in case of attack, but wouldn't want to stay behind himself in case the attack at Yuu's school demanded more forces. He looked back at them, then at Mamoru sharply, "Can she still transform?" He asked, quickly.
"She hasn't tried - her transformation item disappeared along with the belt when she resurrected the Senshi."
"Damn," he replied, and Mamoru could see his jaw clenching. He then pulled up his wrist and activated the communicator, motioning Mamoru forward. There was still no sign of Moegi when the others answered - they were already transformed, the background a blur behind each of them. "East!" Kobai barked, "Reassignment! Come to Amishiro Park, get Usagi-chan and the kid to safety."
"What?!" Midori balked, "I'm helping Yuu!" Behind his orange mask he looked worried, as well as hurt and a little confused. Mamoru didn't blame him - Nero and Yuu were close, but they needed someone to do it and they'd need Hanada's -
Before there was further commentary, Hanada jumped in, "I'll get them!" And dropped the communication. Midori disappeared shortly after. Kobai didn't look pleased, but accepted the swap without another word.
Mamoru turned to look at Usagi on the swings and waved to her as he and Kobai continued to move away from her at a quicker-than-casual pace; as soon as they disappeared through the tunnel, they transformed instantaneously and took to the rooftops, seeing North King heading back the way they had come. Without fear of something taking advantage of the situation, Mamoru ran alongside Kobai, heading directly for the public high school.
….
They landed amidst chaos. Hundreds of high school students from around the city were fleeing the school grounds as police tried to cordon off the area, and in the middle of it all, South King fought a humanoid enemy that had set most of the school yard ablaze. From the hole in the wall of the second story, Mamoru quickly guessed that the fight had started there. They approached, running at full speed, and saw South's daggers bounce harmlessly off of their opponent as a conversation burst towards them riding on the wind.
"Don't you want more for yourself than to simply be his lackey?" The being asked, throwing a jet of fire that made South leap to avoid being caught in the inferno, "You could do so much more, South King! You could lead the life you were meant to live, free from your responsibilities to the past - Renounce your ties and join us!"
Mamoru's stomach dropped, fitting pieces together to assume what the enemy meant as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop, down towards the fray.
Moegi responded, "For the last time, I won't!" and threw another trio of daggers. But these, too, were ineffective.
"Fine!" The enemy retuned with a sharp laugh, "Then serve us!" A tunnel of fire shot forward and engulfed South King, anticipating the way he would dodge, perfectly covering him in a torrent of raging fire.
"South!" Mamoru shouted, throwing a rose at the enemy before his feet even touched the ground. The rose struck, but the flames remained. East hit the ground, landing like a freight train, ran forward and punched the black-haired opponent in the face. The shockwave sent him flying, but still the flames remained. A bubble of panic and fear filled his chest - "Let him go!" He demanded, running for the flames as West ran for the fallen opponent, his scimitar flashing in the afternoon sun. The plasma was thick and bright - he couldn't see through to Moegi -
"He's already gone," the enemy laughed, and fell suddenly silent. With his silence the flames disappeared, revealing that he had told the truth - Moegi Yuu, the King of the South, was gone. Mamoru froze, his mind blank, chest cold and empty as he stared at the spot where Moegi was supposed to be. He hadn't even had the chance to heal him. He was just gone.
"South?!" East called, running over, "South! Where'd -?" He looked at Mamoru, and all Mamoru could do was look back, unable to explain, unable to process what had just happened. Moegi couldn't - he wasn't -
"Come on!" West beckoned, "The police are here! We need to go!"
"But South - " East started, but Kobai interrupted -
"He's not here anymore, go!"
Mamoru was pushed from behind by Kobai urging him forward, and, numb, he obeyed, pulling East along automatically, whether as a straight reaction to Kobai's orders or as a response to the rock of fear in his stomach that threatened that, somehow, if he didn't move Midori along, he, too, would vanish.
"But South!" Midori cried out again, as though in disbelief that they were actually leaving, that Mamoru was going along with it, but there was nothing they could do here. There weren't even ashes to collect, from either combatant.
"It's not the end of it," Mamoru stated, half-numb still, but needing to hear those words. They spurred him on, letting him move forward, stalling the thought process to let words give way to action. To jump away, follow Kobai, not dwell on the unforgivable notion that Yuu was gone, and he had been completely unable to stop it.