PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 37: Behind Everyone's Backs
Once Masato dropped JunJun and Midori off back at the apartment, the girls went to the former's suite and found a note from Chibi-Usa telling them that they had gone to the arcade for a while.
"Guess they're lettin' some steam off since they couldn't go to Makoto's," JunJun shrugged.
"I think this would be a good opportunity to ask you about Masato's connection with that jewelry store," Midori said.
"Ah… Well, that's kind of complicated… You know that the queen and the planetary Sailor Soldiers were active in the 20th century, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well, Osaka Naru was one of the queen's friends, but she and two of her Soldiers were fighting against Lord Nephrite at the time. For reasons I can't even begin to fathom, Naru became infatuated with him while he was using his Sanjouin Masato guise. But then Lord Zoisite was ordered by the one who brainwashed them, Queen Beryl, into killing Lord Nephrite due to his failures. Let's just say that it was extremely violent, and that Naru witnessed his death."
"Sounds like there are a lot of details being skimmed over, but the basic premise will suffice."
"Yeah, sorry. I'm not good with these kinds of stories."
"Hmm…" Midori sat down and pondered this new information for a bit. "So Makoto still thinks about her old boyfriend, and likewise with Masato about Naru."
"The problem is that Masato and Makoto are engaged, and I hear that Naru is about to marry someone as well."
"Who is Naru's fiancé?"
"I think his name was Yoshiwara Jouji."
"Never heard that name before. In any case, there are some obvious unresolved emotions going on beneath the surface. Call it a bad hunch if you will, but if I were part of the Animus Syndicate, I would notice this kind of discord hiding within their hearts and take advantage of it."
"Eh heh… Don't you think you're reading into this a little too much?" JunJun stammered.
Midori didn't say anything to refute her friend's claim. She fully understood how terrifying Eris could be when it came to turning an insignificant spat into an irresolvable calamity, but she knew that as 'Sailor Arsenic Hyena', not as 'Inuken Midori'.
"Oh, that could be it!" the Amazonian exclaimed out of nowhere. "Would it have something to do with that guy you mentioned before!? Something like you broke up with him and are worried about the same thing with Makoto and Masato not being able to let go!?"
Well… That's a rather unusual opening, but I'll take what I can get, Midori thought as she said, "Something like that, although we parted on civil terms."
"I see, I see, that makes sense! You also know about what our enemy is like and how they might turn these emotions into their next meal! If that's the case, then I'm all for it!"
"'All for' what?"
"Doing a little investigative work, that's what! If we know how Makoto and Masato are feeling, then we should get Naru's side of the story tomorrow!"
"I suppose so. Who knows if she still thinks about Nephrite's death, or if she's aware of him being alive again."
"Exactly! How about we meet up out front tomorrow morning and go to Osa-P to ask her!"
"We should have a good precedent for going there, lest we sound too abrupt to her."
"Meh, I'll let you deal with that. You up for it?"
"I see little reason to refuse," Midori said. They made some quick arrangements, then split up for the night.
Varan sat upon the railing of a fire escape staircase situated upon a high-rise building where she could get a good view of Osa-P. Throughout the last two months, she had been staking this place out due to the discordant energy brimming from the people living within its walls. It was weak to be sure, but if she could somehow escalate these feelings, then the Erisian she'd unleash would be virtually unstoppable. From her observations of her comrades' failures, she believed that their mistake lied in releasing the monsters too hastily and not giving them enough time to feed off of negative energy. The Sailor Soldiers would always destroy them in this primitive state, so Varan opted to try a different strategy of letting the Golden Apple in her possession find a suitable target and devour their energy slowly.
The target that the apple had found turned out to be a resident living in the upper floors of the Osa-P building, and Varan remained on a vigilant watch to monitor their activities. So far everything was running smoothly, and Sailor Arsenic Hyena hadn't caught on to her new tactic. Tonight wouldn't be any different as the Camarilla watched the window overseeing Azabu-Juuban's streets.
Now then, since it's a Friday evening, it would be an opportune time for the target to leave the place… Varan thought. Even though it was an extremely tedious job, her patience never faltered. Waiting for the right moment was something she was trained on as a warrior, and she had no trouble applying it here. At this moment, her heart leapt with anticipation as she finally noticed something out of the ordinary.
A man in his early 20s left the upper apartments and hurried out to the street. He hailed a taxi, and the vehicle began to drive toward the Minato district. Varan leapt high into the sky and hid her form within her violet robes to blend in with the night sky while following him.
Just like last time. What an utter simpleton, and yet the one who plans on marrying him is an even bigger fool for not noticing this. Wouldn't you agree?
She felt the evil soul inside the Golden Apple tremble with excitement. It wanted to devour the young man's energy right away, but she had to keep its urges under control to avoid unleashing the creature too early. To that end, Varan actually allowed it to savor her own hatred for Hyena betraying Naja so viciously during the previous battle.
That's right, enjoy my contempt for that turncoat. It will serve as the appetizer leading up to the main meal; the vile soul of the man called Yoshiwara…
At about 10 AM the next morning, Midori met up with JunJun in front of the apartment building. They wore their casual attire so that they'd look like good friends going out for a day of window shopping rather than two sleuths trying to solve a romantic mystery. They hailed a cab and went to the Osa-P jewelry store, where it was another busy day of customers peering through the glass cases in awe at the elegant selection of baubles.
They found Naru helping a person with their selection. When she was finished, she found them and said, "Hey, girls! Are you looking for something?"
"Ah! Well, as a matter of fact-" JunJun stammered.
Midori calmly intervened with, "We're looking for a birthday present for one of our friends. I understand that the birthstone for October is the opal, so we were trying to find a pair of earrings for her."
"How wonderful! You know, this month actually has two birthstones – opal and tourmaline. I actually have a pair of yin-yang earrings made with those stones if you can't decide on either one. The price won't break your wallets either," Naru said as she showed them the piece of jewelry in question, and they agreed to split the purchase for them. As the happy jeweler prepared the items, she remarked, "You know, I'm getting the same kind of design for my fiancé, but his will be for a thumb ring. His birthday is in October as well."
JunJun and Midori glanced at each other and nodded, seeing this as their chance to ask more questions.
"So you must love your fiancé very much to get him such pricey jewelry," JunJun remarked.
"Of course I do. Nothing that I'll get for him will ever top the ring he proposed to me with, though," Naru swooned as she looked at the diamond ring on her left ring finger.
"I remember the queen saying that the two of you would talk about guys a lot back when you were in school. Do you still think about them, or have you grown out of that?"
"My, what are you asking me for? Are you trying to get my advice since you're in the same phase?"
"I actually don't really think about boys a lot. But say as an example, you had someone you really, really liked back in the day. You liked them so much that you have trouble letting them go, even when you're about to get married. Would that cause problems for you and your new hubby?"
Naru's fingers slowly fidgeted with the plastic bag. She murmured softly, "Well… There was someone I used to like. He probably wasn't the best person in the world, but…"
"But?" the girls repeated together.
"I could sense a sort of kindness coming from him. But then… Um… I heard that he died all of sudden, and I was really upset for a long time."
It's not that she 'heard' about Masato's death. According to JunJun, she witnessed it directly, Midori thought. She's lying to us in order to downplay how difficult the situation really was for her.
"It really was a shame that he passed away before we could fulfill our promise," Naru continued. "I closed myself to the prospect of ever having an important man in my life after that."
"I don't blame you," JunJun frowned. "Going through all of that effort to know each other, only to lose them all of a sudden. It feels like a waste of time and energy."
"That engagement ring begs to disagree though," Midori pointed out. "Her fiancé must have really helped open her heart to the idea of falling in love again."
Naru blushed. "You're right. Jouji would always come here to buy gifts, and we would talk like this every time he stopped by. Before we knew it, we were going out for dinners and enjoying recreational activities together. Time must have really flown by because he was on his knee asking for my hand in marriage! I found it impossible to say no!"
"Do you have a photo of Jouji?"
"There's one right there," the jeweler pointed to a picture frame containing a photograph of the happy couple standing in Tokyo Tower. Midori paid careful attention to the man's features, narrowing her eyes when a thought occurred to her.
Hm? Doesn't he look familiar somehow? I thought I saw his face somewhere before…
"Well, here you go, girls," Naru handed them the bag. "I'm a bit busy today, so we'll have to save this chat for another time."
"Just one more question before we leave," Midori stopped her. "Is your fiancé going to help you out with the store after you get married?"
"Yes, he said he would. He's just not here during the weekends."
"The weekends?"
"He always says he has some urgent business and leaves during the afternoon on Fridays, then returns on Sunday evenings. He's a businessman, so I can understand when something comes up at his workplace that requires his attention."
"I see. Thank you for your time."
The two girls bid Naru good-bye and left to 'do some other shopping', although they really wanted to find a good restaurant and eat while sorting through this new information. As the duo walked along the sidewalks, Midori noticed a red sports vehicle pass by them several times. She couldn't get a good look at the license plate nor the driver, but she found it rather odd that so many people drove the same type of vehicle.
After meandering about looking for a good place, they found an Italian restaurant and went inside. As the waitress guided them to a booth, Midori's gaze caught someone familiar and she turned pallid for a moment. JunJun didn't notice anything wrong until they were given menus and left alone. She noticed how Midori raised the menu in front of her face while peering her eyes at something behind JunJun.
"Hey, what's the matter? You're lookin' mighty shifty there," she wondered.
"… Try pretending to go to the washroom, and then pay attention to the couple at that particular booth."
"Huh? O-Okay…?"
JunJun did just that, and she took a casual glimpse at a young man and woman sharing the same seat. Now it was her turn to turn pale, and she returned to her seat while hissing, "Wait a damn minute! Isn't that guy the same one that was in Naru's photo!?"
"So you noticed it too," Midori whispered. "There's no mistaking it; that fellow is her fiancé, Yoshiwara Jouji."
"B-B-But-! What in tarnation is he doing with another girl!? I even saw them sucking face for a second!"
"Hmm… Perhaps it has to do with those 'business trips' that Naru told us about. Every weekend, without fail, he suddenly has urgent business and has to leave her to manage her busy shop for three days. Now we have him eating at a restaurant with an unfamiliar girl while Naru's busy. He must be pretty confident that he won't be caught two-timing when she's too preoccupied with her work."
"What a low-down jerk! I oughta-!"
"Wait. Don't do anything that will exasperate the situation."
"Are you kidding!? The guy's a cheat! He'll be nothing but trouble for Naru!"
"Don't forget about the Animus Syndicate. If we inadvertently worsen things, they'll seize the opportunity to reap the discord stemming from this. We need to take our time and analyze everyone's behavior before making our move."
"Argh!" JunJun groaned and glared back at the oblivious couple, annoyed that she couldn't sock Jouji with one of her acrobatic kicks.
"On another yet similar topic, there's something else I've noticed about Jouji," Midori said while taking out a small photo from her pocket.
"Oh yeah? What would that be?"
"I may be mistaken, but I believe that he is the young man that Makoto once had a crush on…"
JunJun yelped and kept switching between looking back at the booth and glancing at the photo in rapid succession. "Hey, you're joking, right!? What makes you sound so sure about that!?"
"He definitely looks older, but there are some characteristics that haven't changed. Take his teal eyes, the peculiar sweep of his bangs, and the mole beneath his right eye for example."
JunJun looked harder this time, and she realized it as well. "You've gotta be kidding me! So you're saying that Jouji dumped Makoto in middle school so he could be some playboy!? She oughta be thankful that such a total jerk let her go! How can she still have feelings for someone like that!?"
"We don't know what he did after leaving Makoto, other than he grew up to seek Naru's hand in marriage while simultaneously dating another woman behind her back. We can't call it an extramarital affair since they're not married yet, but I'm willing to wager that his behavior would continue after the vows have been made. Remember that Masato still thinks about Naru, so even if he doesn't make the connection between Jouji and Makoto, he could potentially find out about Jouji cheating on Naru and confront him."
"No way…!" JunJun clenched her teeth so hard, Midori was afraid they would dislocate from her jaws. "What do we do!? If we leave it like this-!"
"Whether we interfere or not, it's going to go out of control. We truly are treading on thin ice here."
The two girls fell silent. Fortunately, their food came just in time and they ate heartily to help give them the energy they sorely needed to continue their sleuthing.
"So lemme get this straight," JunJun began after gulping down her soda, "Makoto and Jouji briefly dated while in middle school, but they broke up and she hasn't gotten over it. Jouji later goes on to engage with Naru while dating some other woman behind her back. But when Naru was younger, she met Masato and harbored some feelings for him. He died back then, but is now reincarnated without her knowing it. On top of that, Masato used to be Lord Nephrite and Makoto as Princess Jupiter in their past lives, who fell in love during the Silver Millennium and rekindled their relationship in this timeline.
"But Masato is worried about Naru due to the shock that his death caused her, which is causing a rift in his and Makoto's relationship. Meanwhile, Jouji is completely oblivious to how Makoto felt when she was dumped, causing Masato to be slightly jealous of this 'old boyfriend' she always talks about. If he finds out what Jouji is up to, it could result in a nasty fight between them. Does that sound about right?"
"I believe so," Midori nodded, then rubbed her temples. "My goodness. We've gone from a simple love triangle into a complicated love rectangle. I bet a reality show producer would be ecstatic if he found out about this."
"This isn't the time for jokes!" JunJun snapped. "We've got a huge misunderstanding on our hands here!"
"I wasn't trying to make any sort of jest. I'm aware of how serious this is just as much as you are."
"If something isn't done soon, Masato and Makoto's relationship could be in trouble! And like you said, there's the chance of an Erisian taking advantage of the discord between them!"
"Even if you say it like that, we're not exactly proficient with match-making," Midori shrugged.
"Argh, this isn't about match-making at all! Naru is engaged to the worst type of guy possible, and Masato and Makoto are going to marry soon! The problem is that there are too many unresolved feelings lingering around that could threaten Masato and Makoto! Not to mention that if Naru finds out, she may never want to go out with a man ever again!"
"I suppose so. Masato seems to be getting involved in the worst of it. He still thinks about his time with Naru, but hypocritically doesn't care for Makoto reminiscing about her 'old boyfriend'. I can only wonder if he realizes that Jouji is the same person that Makoto remembers."
"I really don't know," JunJun pondered. "We need to prod all of them for more information."
"Even if we manage to get intel on the sly from them, what are we going to do with it? If it wasn't for the Erisians, none of this would have been our business to begin with."
"Geez, can't we do this one thing at a time? Why do you have to be so paranoid about every single detail?"
"I prefer 'meticulous' over 'paranoid', thank you," Midori muttered before sipping her tea in annoyance. "And I prefer to approach things with a solid plan of action rather than acting on impulse."
"Well either way, we're not going to accomplish anything just sitting here!"
"You're right. Even if it sounds cruel, we should go back to Osa-P and tell Naru what we saw, and then see what she thinks about it. It would be dangerous for her to continue pursuing a relationship with Jouji, but I also don't know if she will believe us or not."
"Mmmmngh…! Love sounds so simple, and yet it becomes totally complicated like this!"
"True romance should only involve two people. Throw more people into the equation, and you have nothing but a convoluted calamity."
"Definitely! Let's do our best to prevent this disaster!"
The girls paid for their meal and left, with Jouji and his date completely clueless about the duo having spied on them. As they exited the restaurant, they too failed to notice that they had been listened in on as well. The owner of the red Ferrari that Midori had seen earlier took a long sip of his coffee while watching the pair leave. As he had been seated in the booth directly next to the girls, he heard everything that they had discussed.
Without a word, he paid his bill and left the restaurant to continue tailing them.