PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 22: Stars Bickering in Heaven
Another week had passed uneventfully, and Chibi-Usa and the Yoeda sisters were getting excited for CereCere's competition. Midori didn't involve herself as much in the preparation, but she agreed to accompany her to the show so she could borrow her ring and return it immediately after.
Aside from that, Midori couldn't shake the feeling she had when she noticed the person spying on her in the department store earlier. A few times after that incident, she had spotted the red-haired figure in black clothes watching her from a distance, but then leaving immediately upon being seen. Midori had a hunch that something was going to happen at the show involving this stalker, and she wanted to be ready in case she needed to appear as Sailor Arsenic Hyena.
It was approaching 5:00 PM on this sunny, early August evening when CereCere, Chibi-Usa and Midori stepped off the bus and mingled with the large crowd of young women bustling about in front of Tokyo Dome. CereCere clutched her bags of clothes tightly and muttered sourly, "My, what a huge affair for such a small contest."
"I think most of these people are family members and friends of the competitors," Chibi-Usa remarked.
Midori didn't pay attention to them. She was more focused on scouting for the red-haired person in the mess of bodies. Chibi-Usa asked her, "What's the matter? Are you looking for somebody?"
"Not really. I'm simply feeling uncomfortable from the noise of this contained riot."
"There's nothing to be worried about. CereCere's the one who should be nervous, and she doesn't look anxious whatsoever."
"Of course," CereCere smirked. "That's because I already know I'm going to win."
"You better not say that too loudly…"
That was when the trio heard a female's voice call out, "Hey, Chibi-Usa! CereCere! Over here!"
They saw Minako and Kunihiko squeeze through some people to reach them, and Chibi-Usa exclaimed, "Hey there! It's been a while!"
"Hi!" the blonde-haired woman waved, then glanced at Midori and asked, "Is she with you?"
Chibi-Usa nodded, and Midori introduced herself to them. Minako gestured to Kunihiko and said, "This is my future husband, Kun-Ku-… I mean, Toudou Kunihiko!"
She corrected herself after noticing his sharp glare. Chibi-Usa giggled and asked him, "How is your business coming along?"
"It was a rocky start but now that the red tape is out of the way, I can focus on advertisement and product demonstrations," Kunihiko replied.
"Sounds like you're always busy."
"An operation like mine, regardless if it is big or small, requires a significant amount of my attention. Even though I am weary at times, I still enjoy it."
"That's good. It's important to love your business first and foremost."
While Chibi-Usa and Kunihiko were chatting, Midori looked over at CereCere and Minako as they were clearly sizing each other up for the show. Minako puffed up her chest and declared, "I bet you were saying stuff like 'I'm already the winner' or 'Tonight's the night I'm going to break our tie'. You really have a bad habit of kidding yourself."
"I believe you are the one who is kidding herself, my dear. A 20 year old idol is way past her prime," CereCere waved her finger dismissively. "If you're a has-been with honor, then go back to the hen house with the other grannies and knit sweaters for your hubby."
"You'll never win a man over with that kind of arrogant attitude! I can already see you now, struggling to find an ideal mate when your fantasies of perfect princes on white horses get in the way of reality! Why, I think you're doomed to be single forever. My heart goes out to you, it really does."
"My, I think that last insult really frazzled you. A real star doesn't let such empty words pull her down from the heavens."
"That's ancient history. I'm only looking forward to your defeated expression when the judges call my name!"
"That goes double for me, Ms. Aino."
CereCere and Minako's arguing was so intense that some people in the crowd couldn't help but stare awkwardly at these two bickering divas.
"How bothersome," Midori grumbled, then said to the man next to her, "Judging from your unflappable reaction, I assume this occurrence is a common one."
"You would be right. They always get into heated arguments over beauty, fashion and idol competitions, always trying to see who the bigger star in Tokyo is," Kunihiko murmured. "If this happens again, just let them blow their steam off until they calm down."
"I see. So if I may be so bold to ask, who will you lend your support to in this competition?"
"Don't be silly," Chibi-Usa said. "He needs to support his future wife. Otherwise Minako would never let him hear the end of it."
"I see. The required, faithful devotion that comes with engagement…" Midori pondered, as if it were an epiphany.
"Well, there you have it," Kunihiko shrugged.
An hour and a half later, the competitors had gone to the back dressing rooms to get changed into their outfits, while their guests were escorted to the stadium and assigned seats. Everyone chatted amongst each other while waiting for the show to begin. Midori kept glancing around for the red-haired stranger. She couldn't see well due to the dim lights, but at least the crowd wasn't as large as she imagined. She didn't have any luck, so she thought that maybe she hadn't been followed here and settled down a little.
Unbeknownst to Midori, Gyps was hiding high above the stage watching everyone below her. Gyps observed the audience and found Midori as she darted her eyes around anxiously.
Good, she's here, along with the little princess.
The show finally began, and each girl did a catwalk run to show off their outfits. After that part of the show was done, they presented themselves to the judges one by one while answering such questions like, "How much did you spend on your outfit?" or, "Who is the most important person in your life?" or even, "What will you do with the scholarship money?" A lot of the contestants were around CereCere's age, given that this competition was aimed toward middle school and high school students wanting to attend post secondary.
It was Minako's turn to answer questions, and she was more than eager to show herself off. Her number was right before CereCere's, which irked the pink-haired girl a bit. One judge asked Minako, "So, Ms. Aino, please tell us what you're going to do with the scholarship money."
"That's easy! I'm going to start off by being an idol, and then go to acting school and become a full-fledged actress!"
"I understand that you're 20 years old and soon to be married. Do you think your age and marital status will influence your aspiring career as an idol?"
"I think the industry needs a fresh take on what it means to be a proper idol. I know it promotes a healthy, wholesome, youthful image that people can admire, but it doesn't mean I have to devote my entire youth to the stage or to remain single forever. I consider my happiness to be very important to me because then I can share it with everyone else, whether it's my future husband, my family, my friends, and all of my wonderful fans!"
"I see. So what type of idol do you want to become now that you have aged past the teen idol limit?"
"Let's see…" Minako pondered. "I always wanted to be an actress ever since I was young. I would often play pretend while watching a movie – I remember one time watching a cowboy movie and pretending to be the bad guy, and I fell on the carpet acting like I was shot. I actually wound up wrecking it because of how many times I played that scene out!"
Some people laughed from the story, and she continued, "I thought about the gravure idol sensation, but I don't think it would make my husband happy. So I guess I want to be a trained action star and make movies that other kids will want to act out over and over again."
The judge nodded, satisfied with her confident answers. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Aino."
Once Minako finished, she blew the applauding crowd a kiss and declared, "Please support me!"
Now it was CereCere's turn, and she walked up to the microphone. The head judge read her info and said, "So you're Yoeda CereCere? That's an unusual name."
"Thank you. I'm glad you noticed," CereCere faked a smile, a little irritated that she was being called out on that. "My family and I originated from the Amazon, and we kept our names to remember our heritage."
"I see. So what will you do with the scholarship money?"
"I want to become a fashion designer. Whether you're rich or poor, I believe you should look your best for a special occasion, and I want my career to revolve around making people feel happy through clothing."
"Good, good. You may still be young at this time, but do you have a soul mate in your life yet?"
"I think it's too early for me to consider looking for someone like that," she said. "I already have enough on my plate with trying to accomplish my dreams. I'm not saying that I won't find someone, but I feel like he'd be insulted if I didn't pay attention to him. One thing at a time, right?"
A couple of the judges chuckled, and then one asked, "Are there any important people in your life that aren't boyfriends?"
"Of course there are! I'm the oldest of four sisters and I always have to take charge whenever they get out of line. I have lots and lots of friends that I spend time with too. And…"
CereCere twiddled her fingers together and added with a slightly sullen tone, "There's someone who I have been trying my hardest to get a smile out of them."
"Could you elaborate on that a bit?" the judge wondered.
"Well… It's kind of hard to explain, but I haven't seen this person act happy in a long time. I don't think they're depressed or upset… They're just stoic all the time, as if nothing happy or funny affects them. I've always wanted to see them cheerful, so I would give them gifts or treat them to meals, but it would never happen. I want to understand this person more, but it's been very difficult…" she said, somberly fingering the apatite ring on her necklace.
Some people were befuddled by what the contestant was rambling over. Midori murmured, "Whatever is she going on about? If she keeps this up, she might be heckled off the stage."
Chibi-Usa glanced at her with a frown. She knew exactly what CereCere was saying, but she couldn't bring herself to explain it to Midori. CereCere had insisted upon clearing up this misunderstanding with Midori herself, and asked Chibi-Usa not to interfere. All she could do was keep quiet and hope things worked out for them.
Gyps watched the show from her vantage point, barely interested in what the girls were saying. What she was doing was using an immature Apple of Discord she smuggled onto Earth to examine the level of discord in each contestant's hearts. The apple would react to stronger levels of negative emotions, and Gyps had to keep it covered beneath her cloak so its glow would not betray her position in the darkness.
For such a silly little display of mannequin-like beauty, there's a lot of girls harboring some kind of hatred. Being forced to participate to please their parents… Proving they are beautiful when society calls them ugly… Considering this fiasco their only hope to pay for college… Wanting to beat their competitors and come out on top… Yeah, that last one is definitely prevalent here. This little fella should ripen into a full-blown Erisian in no time.
Once CereCere had finished her speeches, Gyps figured it was time to act. She didn't want to do anything grandiose like upstage the show with an evil speech and unleash the monster upon the alarmed crowd. That was for amateurs like Sailor Upala. Although Gyps had a fiery personality, she also enjoyed being sneaky. If the Sailor Soldiers were going to appear, she wanted to blindside them while they were struggling with the monster. She shuffled to a different spot so people looking up wouldn't see her, and then simply tossed the Apple of Discord onto the stage.
CereCere heard the fruit bump on the ground behind her and turned around, asking, "What was that?"
She recognized the golden apple too late as it created a skeletal mouth in its flesh and started 'eating' wisps of dark energy that it extracted from the surprised contestants, including CereCere and Minako. Most of the girls immediately collapsed from exhaustion, but the duo buckled to their knees and fought to stay awake.
"This is…" CereCere groaned.
Minako sweated and moaned, "An Erisian… That woman-!"
She looked around to see where Gyps could be, but was growing exhausted. The crowd of spectators fled the stadium in panic while the judges called for security guards to rescue the unconscious girls. Midori knew exactly what was going on and, in a blind fit of desperation, shuffled through the mess of bodies to reach the stage.
"Midori!" Chibi-Usa screamed and took chase after her.
"Hey, wait!" Kunihiko tried to stop her, but was too late. He opted to follow the pair, especially since he wanted to rescue Minako. Midori barged onto the stage and, to everyone's amazement, boldly kicked the Apple of Discord against the wall! The evil fruit was stunned momentarily and stopped devouring evil energy, allowing Kunihiko to escort Minako behind the curtains and Chibi-Usa to help CereCere to her feet. The immature Erisian extended black tendrils from its flesh and knocked Midori onto her side with a whip-like motion.
She glared at the creature and thought, I need to get my ring back from CereCere! But even if I did, where am I going to find the opportunity to transform when that thing's attention is on me?