Sailor Moon - The Order of Black

Chapter Twelve: Uneasy Travelling Companions

Originally published 18/06/2015

Minako wandered the streets of Tokyo in a furious haze, replaying her fight with Usagi over and over again in her head.

Would you just spit it out already? It's not like you to be so hesitant.

"Usagi was the one who insisted I even say anything in the first place," she muttered. "I knew it was gonna come out jumbled, that's why I held back!"

Did you really just call me immature?

"I was calling her actions immature! Why couldn't she just work out what I meant like always?" The blonde ignored the stare she got from a woman passing her as she continued her little review. "I messed up the delivery, that's all."

Your relationship advice always was terrible! The Goddess of Love finally admits what we all already knew – she's wrong most of the time!

"No matter what way she wants to play it, that last part was out of line!" Minako growled. "I mean, I am not wrong most of the time. It's fifty-fifty at worst!" She realised she wasn't really doing herself any favours with her recap, but what else was she supposed to do? I could really use someone to talk to, she thought, but who? As if in answer to an unspoken prayer, Sendai Hill loomed in the distance, home to the Hikawa Shrine.

"I haven't seen Rei for a few days," she murmured. "I guess it wouldn't do any harm to stop by." She glared at another passer-by as he looked her up and down. "What, you've never seen someone talk to themselves before?!" His eyes locked on the ground as he scurried off, leaving her seething. Geez, people act like it's the weirdest thing they've ever seen!

She made it to the bottom of the hill in short order and commenced her ascent. How many trips up these steps have I made by now? Hundreds? Thousands? So many she'd lost count, apparently. She reached the summit quickly and stepped through the gate – though the traditional torii had never really looked like a gate to her – and into the courtyard. Minako looked for signs of anyone else but found nothing; it seemed she was on her own. Her original plan was to speak to Rei, but the idea of sitting alone wasn't so unpleasant either.

She'd been here countless times before and always found the shrine relaxing, despite not being very religious herself. Its location atop Sendai Hill lent it quite a remote feel, despite being surrounded by city in all directions, and it was easy enough to lose oneself in thought. Not that I really want to dwell on my thoughts after today. It was a sour thought, one that began to drag her mood down once again.

The blonde made her way over to the shrine itself and sank down onto the steps. She sat there for a long time – exactly how long, she was unsure - until someone shook her by the shoulder. She looked up to find Rei staring back at her in concern.

"Are you alright?"

Minako shrugged. "Yeah, why?"

"I must have called your name three times with no answer." The miko sat on the step beside her and studied her carefully. "What brings you here?"

"I don't really know," Minako admitted. "At first I thought I wanted someone to talk to, but now I'm here I think I just wanted somewhere quiet to think."

"Are you alright?" Rei's brow furrowed in concern. "You seem a little more distracted than usual."

"Usagi and I, we…" She was beginning to feel a little guilty now. "We just had a huge fight."

"You two? What happened?"

Minako recounted the fight word for word, blow for blow, honest about its beginnings. "I know I can get a little muddled sometimes, but I really was just trying to help her see how Mamoru might take it if she did put her plan into action." She sighed heavily as she remembered her friend's outburst. "But she just exploded before I could explain…and proceeded to snub my nose in her perfect relationship with him!"

"That's rub-" The miko abruptly cut herself off. "Never mind. Go on."

Minako didn't even notice her attempt at correction. "That was when I really started to get mad, and things escalated from there. I was just trying to help, and she cut my head off to smite my face!"

Rei's 'reply' came in the form of a blank stare.

"Oh, whatever the stupid saying is!" she muttered, with a scowl.

"I honestly have no idea which one you were going for with that mess."

"Me neither," Minako admitted glumly. "Why are proverbs so hard?"

"They're not…for the rest of us." Rei flashed her a wistful smile and leaned back to look up at the sky. "It isn't often Usagi loses her temper…but that's our Odango, right? She pretty much buys into her own hype when it comes to Mamoru."

That was a good way of looking at it. "I know I'm not perfect; far from it, in fact. Corey and I have our issues, especially lately, but why can't she just be happy for me? She knows how long I waited to find a love of my own, but all she does is make snippy little comments about our problems when her own relationship is clearly not as perfect as she thinks!"

Rei surprised her by leaning over and enfolding her in a warm hug. "Just breathe, Minako, and feel it all melting away."

It was quite unusual for the miko to hug any of her friends, except maybe Usagi – that was just Rei's way – but Minako had to admit that it was exactly what she needed in that moment.

"Usagi's not perfect," Rei said softly. "I think we all forget that sometimes, because she so rarely lets anything bother her. But when it comes to Mamoru, she has a blind spot. She doesn't think logically, or see the world around her clearly." She released Minako slowly, and smiled gently as she sat back again. "Try not to hold it against her too much, okay? I'm sure she feels awful about the whole thing already…just like you do."

"Me?" Minako avoided eye contact, unwilling to admit she was right. "I'm the victim in all this! What do I have to feel awful about?"

"You feel awful because you're a lot like Usagi. You try not to let anything bother you, but this really got under your skin and you don't like how you responded, regardless of who started things."

She sighed and nodded gently. "Maybe you're right." A tiny spark of stubbornness rose up, though, that prevented her from completely forgiving Usagi then and there. "I'm still not apologising first. It was Usagi who took things too far, and I won't pretend it was my fault just to smooth things over!"

"That works for me," Rei said, with a far more characteristic shrug. "The longer you stay mad at each other, the more peace and quiet the rest of us will get!"

Minako stuck out her tongue on reflex. "Oh, ha, ha." Rei's unorthodox tactics had paid off; while she was still mad at Usagi, their fight was no longer dominating her thoughts the way it had been. "If you think…" She trailed off as a shadow fell over them, and looked up to find an unfamiliar Japanese man waiting patiently to speak.

"What?" Rei asked wearily.

"Rei, have you seen the…" He trailed off as he noticed Minako's stare. "Uh, hello?"

"Hi!" She leapt to her feet and began circling him, like a shark circling its prey. He's tall…though not as tall as my cutie. Messy black hair, bright blue eyes, shrine robes… Her eyes widened slightly as she realised who he was. "Ohhh…" She turned to Rei and grinned devilishly. "Rei, you bad, bad girl! You didn't tell us he was cute!"

"What?!" Rei sputtered. "That…that's because he's not!"

The blonde waggled her finger back and forth in a light-hearted rebuke. "Now, now, your red cheeks tell a different story!"

The miko's blush deepened. "Shut up!"

"I'm Minako!" she cooed, as she thrust her hand towards him. "I'm sure Rei's told you all about me."

He stared down at her hand almost disdainfully, making no effort to shake it. "Not that I recall."

Minako's lips dropped into a pout. "Aw, you're so gloomy! Such a serious face!" She flashed him one of her brilliant smiles, the sort she knew always cheered Corey up when he was down. "Come on, er, Grandpa's new student whose name I don't know yet! Try on a smile!" Nice save, she told herself in silence.

Rei sighed in frustration as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is Rinjirou…"

He ignored Minako completely and turned to the miko. "I don't like your friend. She's annoying."

"She sure can be."

Minako refused to let them get to her. "Seriously though, why so glum? It isn't all so bad. You get to stay at this beautiful shrine, you get your very own…um…cool, shrine person robes, and – if it's not too presumptuous of me – I do believe there's a hint of romance in the air!"

"Oh, gods," Rei muttered.

Minako's own problems were forgotten entirely as she glanced back and forth at the two of them in turn. "I can practically feel the electricity between you two!"

Rinjirou stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "I think that's your brain short-circuiting from all the crazy it's putting out."

The reference to 'crazy' finally succeeded in putting a damper on her spirits. "That's not very nice."

He shrugged. "It may not be nice, but I suspect it's true."

Minako span around to Rei and planted her hands on her hips. "You didn't say he was a jerk!"

"I did so!" Rei shot back. "I've said it right from the start!"

Rinjirou uttered an exasperated sigh. "I'll just ask your grandfather." He left in quite a hurry, shaking his head in apparent disgust.

"Rinjirou? More like…Rinjerko!" Minako tapped a finger against her cheek thoughtfully as she stared after him. "Still…he's a cute jerk." Her eyes turned to Rei once more, sparkling with mischief. "So, you two must be spending an awful lot of time together to be on a first name basis so soon."

"Hold it right there, airhead," Rei snapped, holding up her hand to emphasise her protest. "I will say it once, and once only. I don't think Rinjirou is cute, and I don't like him in any way at all other than as a friend…and even that's pushing it. Got it?"

"Oh, message received loud and clear," she replied, with a rather saucy wink. "You don't like him at all. Not one, little bit."

Rei buried her face in her hands. "Were you listening at all, or-"

"Oh, god, no!" Minako paled as she stared down at her phone. "I totally lost track of time! I need to get halfway across the city in half an hour or I'm going to be late for my audition! I can not afford to miss this. It's my big break! I won't need to audition again for ages! I'll be able to focus on finishing off my coursework, and even getting ahead! Why did I let myself get so distracted? What am I going to do? I'll-"

"Minako!" Her friend seized her by the shoulders and shook her gently. "Instead of freaking out over it, how about just running?"

"You're right!" she declared, with a determined nod. "I will get there on time!" She slung her handbag over her shoulder and launched into a run, turning briefly to wave goodbye. "Thanks for the talk, Rei, it was exactly what I needed!"

The miko pointed emphatically. "Watch out for the steps, you idiot!"

Minako shrieked and swung her arms around furiously, narrowly avoiding a painful face plant as she teetered on the edge of the top step. That was close!

"Be more careful, will you?!" Rei snapped. "The last thing we need is bad publicity from you falling to your death!"

"Right, right! Sorry!" She bolted down the steps and onto the sidewalk, already calculating her route. Three blocks to the train station; I just hope I haven't missed it! If I have, I… Her inner monologue trailed off as a thought occurred to her. Artemis won't like it, but Sailor Venus can get there with plenty of time to spare! It wouldn't be the first time she'd used her powers for slightly more personal gains. She reached back into her subspace pocket and wrapped her fingers around her transformation wand. I won't be late after all…

Titus slipped into Makoto's apartment through the open window and dropped to the floor. He could see Makoto and Luna, but Usagi was nowhere to be found. Luna had her back to him, so he decided to indulge himself. Slowly, he crept along the carpet until he was within striking distance…and took a swat at her tail.

She yowled in surprise and jumped about a foot into the air. "Titus! Why would you do that?!"

"Fun," he replied dryly. "Oh, and practice. I have to keep my skills sharp somehow, don't I?"

Makoto just shook her head. "You two are as bad as Usagi and Rei sometimes."

Her door opened and Usagi stepped inside, talking on her phone. "Okay. I'll see you tonight, Mamo-chan." She appeared to hesitate. "I love you too." A sigh slipped from her lips as she ended the call, but she covered her despondency quite well as soon as she spotted him. "Oh, Titus. You're already here. Good." She sank onto the couch beside Makoto wearily – she wasn't quite as adept at hiding her body language.

Something's obviously bothering her, he thought, and it has to do with Mamoru. That much is clear. "Right down to business, then?" At her weary nod, he launched into his analysis. "So, our favourite companions from the Outer Solar System encountered three Constructs…along with several soldiers we believe were Black Paladins." He clarified in detail, largely for Luna's benefit. "Like Rinjirou."

Luna stared back at him warily. "The Order of Black?"

"We can't say for sure," Usagi replied, "but Michiru says they called themselves Paladins. It's pretty unlikely we'd come across another group using that name."

"That's quite a coincidence, though," the cat replied, her fur rippling up and down her back. "Rei is attacked at the shrine, and now we're suddenly encountering them on the other side of the planet?"

"It is a pretty big stretch," Makoto agreed.

Titus sank back on his haunches carefully, almost lost in thought. "Perhaps not."

"I wouldn't have expected you to believe in coincidences," Luna observed. "They're so illogical."

Usagi appeared to agree. "And why Brussels, of all places?"

"There may not be any specific reason," he replied, with a shrug. "It seems quite unlikely that one of only eight Sailor Senshi currently on Earth would encounter the Order of Black in such a manner, let alone three…but it's also the only explanation that makes any sense."

The ponytailed blonde leaned forward intently. "Go on."

"After my talk with Rinjirou, I'm convinced the Order of Black doesn't want an open conflict with you or the Sailor Senshi; not yet, at least. That alone makes their presence in Brussels a coincidence. Perhaps it's simply convenient, or it's where they found the first Construct? I'm assuming they weren't able to just start making them without a form of template to work from."

"But where would they find a Construct?" Makoto asked, clearly unhappy with his theory. "Rinjirou's the first Black Paladin we've encountered!"

"That we know of," he reminded her. "They may well have been active in Tokyo for some time. With no reason to look for them, they could have been operating with impunity, right under our noses."

"That's an unpleasant thought," Luna murmured.

"And to your first point, the Revenant Knight may have been gathering energy from other countries. It makes a lot more sense than your rather naïve assumption that Japan is the centre of the universe."

Usagi frowned. "We don't believe-"

"No?" he asked, genuinely curious. "You've made little effort to eliminate threats outside your own sphere of influence. The resurgence of the Dark Kingdom in North America is an excellent example; Corey was left to handle that himself."

The blonde's eyes widened. "Hold on! We didn't even know they'd survived!"

"Precisely my point."

"We were in junior high when we started out!" Usagi protested. "Then, university. Travelling all over the world without making our parents suspicious would have been a little difficult!"

She's definitely upset about something, he decided. She has practically no fuse left at all!"Alright, Usagi, alright. I wasn't challenging you over it."

"Oh, she's been like this all morning," Makoto said dismissively. "She had a fight with Minako-"

"Mako!" she snapped. "That's private!"

Luna looked up at her with concern. "You had a fight with Minako? What happened?"

Usagi sighed irritably and folded her arms across her chest as she sank back against the couch. "See what you've done?"

Titus allowed himself an eye roll. "Oh, please, I would have found out eventually; there's little I don't know about you. You could almost say I know everything about you. All of you."

"Everything?" Usagi asked suspiciously.

"Everything. I wouldn't be a very good spymaster if I didn't."

Makoto leaned forward and glared down at him from her place on the couch. "Have you been spying on us?"

"Well, not exactly...but things did get very boring over the last six months. A cat can only eat so many fish and take so many naps before getting bored."

Usagi's eyes narrowed. "Titus…"

"I began to shadow you. Some of you. Sometimes." He felt the sudden urge to take a few steps back. My smugness may have gotten me into trouble this time.

"Titus…" Luna and Makoto seemed similarly annoyed.

There's only one chance to escape this. He cleared his throat hastily and shot the blonde a dirty look. "Back to the matter at hand, Usagi. Please, try to stay focused!"

She blinked, confused. "But you were the one who-"

Makoto shook her head in frustration. "You won't win, Usagi. Just let it go."

"I miss the days when I thought you were just some timid foreign adviser," Luna muttered.

"That Titus was never real, Luna, and he's never coming back." A twinge of pride crept into his voice as he spoke, his tail puffing up along with his chest. "You should be thankful for that as well; without my cunning and-" He recoiled as Makoto rather unceremoniously flicked him on the nose. "What are you doing?!"

"Well, what do you know," she crowed, with a victorious smirk, "Minako was right; that does work!"

Usagi just sighed. "I called you here so we could discuss strategy, Titus, not so you could make us all feel stupid."

"Uh, yes," he agreed, albeit with a dirty look in Makoto's direction; his nose was still twitching. "We should investigate the scene more thoroughly. With any luck, and my skills of-"

Luna swatted him across the back of the head. "Titus!"

"We may find some clue to the Order of Black's location," he finished grumpily. "At the very least we might learn something new."

"You're going to ask Corey to take you there?" Usagi asked, with a wary glance at Makoto.

"Well, yes, who else?" At their continued silence, he frowned. "Why? What's the issue?"

"You want to take Corey to Brussels. Where Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru are. His two least favourite Senshi…and the girl who was crushing hard on him six months ago."

He waved a paw dismissively. "Corey's a professional, I'm sure he'll be fine. If he won't, then I'll give him some of his own advice."

Makoto raised an eyebrow curiously. "And what's that?"

The cat smiled a very-feline smile. "Suck it up."

Usagi pushed herself to her feet and began to pace, her fingers rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "You said you were speaking with Rinjirou earlier?"

"I was. We've agreed to an…alliance of convenience. For the moment, anyway."

She nodded slowly. "Do you think he might be of use to you in Brussels?"

Titus paused. It's actually not a bad idea at all. "Usagi, you just might have something there." There was already a plan forming in his head. "Can you contact Michiru again and get the address of that factory? I need to speak to Corey, then our friend at the shrine…"

About an hour later…

"You want me to go to Brussels. With you." Rinjirou stared down at the cat intently, waiting for his answer. After their talk that morning, he hadn't expected to see him again so soon. This is all rather sudden.

"Yes. We suspect the Order of Black has been experimenting with Constructs, creatures first seen in the service of the Revenant Knight."

"So you said before," he recalled. "What proof do you have that the Order is involved? Experiments of such a nature don't sound like something they would condone." The Order was a different beast than he'd been led to believe, but they still had their standards. He was sure of it.

"Three Sailor Senshi encountered a squad of soldiers in an abandoned factory. There was a man in a hooded robe present, as well. The soldiers called him a Cleric…and he called them Paladins." The cat sounded almost smug. "What's your explanation, Rinjirou?"

"I…" He was unable to completely mask his surprise, and that annoyed him. Paladins and a Cleric. It does seem unlikely to be anyone else. "What do you want from me?"

"They made mention of a 'Sanctuary'," Titus replied, "Perhaps some sort of lab or testing facility? I thought to examine the factory for clues…then try and find this Sanctuary so we might infiltrate it."

Rinjirou folded his arms across his chest. "Our time would be better spent trying to find the Order's new Tokyo safe house."

"I'm investigating that too," the cat agreed, "But this is a credible lead. One we can't afford to pass up." He cocked his head to the side. "Don't you want to get into their records and figure out what's going on? I thought you wanted to help your former compatriots?"

He's trying to manipulate me, Rinjirou thought, with gritted teeth, and the most frustrating thing is it's working! "Yes. Of course I do."

"Well, then?"

An exasperated sigh slipped from his lips; arguing with the arrogant feline was pointless. "When do we leave?"

"In a few minutes."

"Now?" Rinjirou asked, with a frown. "How does a cat get plane tickets?"

"Computers," Titus replied mildly. "But we're not flying today."

He found himself confused. "Then how are we-"

With a brief flash of light, a hulking figure in silver plate armour appeared before them. He was tall – easily six-foot-five - and wore a large longsword on his hip. His face was hidden behind a full helmet, golden wings extending out from the temples beside a dark, t-shaped slit over the face. Rinjirou had seen the armour before, albeit in illustrated form only.

"A Guardian Knight?!" He reached for his daggers reflexively but came up short; they were back in his room. "You were all supposed to have died with the Moon Kingdom."

His reply came in slightly-accented Japanese; American perhaps. "Evidently not."

"Indeed," Titus agreed, with a nod to the knight. "This is Justice, of the Divine Triumvirate of Selene. He's our way into Brussels." He raised a paw towards him. "This is Rinjirou, formerly of the Order of Black."

The Guardian Knight made no effort to acknowledge him whatsoever beyond his initial response. We used to wear armour like that, Rinjirou thought, back when the Order was still known as the Exalted Knights of the Undying Sun. I wonder when things changed.

"So," the cat continued, "if you'll prepare yourself, we can leave as soon as you're ready."

"I'm wary of going anywhere with him," the Paladin muttered. "The Guardian Knights were symbols of the Moon Kingdom's oppression and hypocrisy."

The knight finally spoke again. "I stand for Justice as I always have. For all."

"So long as you were born on the Moon, right?" He didn't even try to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Titus' exasperated sigh was about as much emotion as he'd ever heard from the cat. "Let's just focus on the task at hand, shall we? You and I require a quick and quiet way into Brussels, and Justice can provide it. Liking one another is unnecessary."

Rinjirou was beginning to regret his arrangement with the cat already…but he had a point. I have my own questions about the Order of Black, and this Sanctuary is a potential source of information. With no idea where the Tokyo safe house is, I can't really afford to turn down this opportunity. He glanced at the Guardian Knight and nodded slowly. "I need a few minutes to collect my gear."

"Of course," the cat said calmly, in a clear attempt to smooth any ruffled feathers. "We'll be here."

He headed for the guestroom and retrieved his armour from the corner. It had a rather large hole in the abdomen, but it was better than nothing. In minutes, he was dressed in the familiar fatigues and armour of a Black Paladin; it was almost a comfort after all the upheaval of the past few days. He slid his daggers into their sheathes, followed by his pistol. It was a modified M1911A, an old design but a reliable one – the standard sidearm of the Order. I don't intend to use it, he thought, but it's best to have it and not use it than to need it and not have it.

He stepped back out into the light and tightened his mask over his face. It covered everything from the bridge of his nose and cheekbones down, leaving his eyes and hair free. Some Paladins preferred a full face variant, but Rinjirou had always valued the increased visibility and peripheral vision the half-mask afforded.

"Impressive," Titus called, from beside the Guardian Knight. "Are you ready to go?"

Justice' helmet barely moved, but Rinjirou got the distinct impression he was being studied. "Are you planning on using that gun?"

"Not unless I have to," Rinjirou replied coolly. "Are you planning on using that sword? It'll kill people just as easily." He found the knight's subsequent silence rather pleasing. That shut him up.

"Get in close," Titus said, leaping onto the Guardian Knight's pauldron in a single bound. "I'm afraid Justice's teleportation ability doesn't extend all that far around him."

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, as he awkwardly tried to get close without actually touching his uneasy travelling companion.

Justice just sighed and pulled him in tight, his arm coming up around his back. "Don't let go. Even I don't know what'll happen if we're separated mid-blink."

He stared back at his dark eye-slit blankly. "Noted."

"Ready, Titus?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He leaned down to Rinjirou and grimaced. "This is going to be unpleasant. I suggest you close your eyes and hold your breath."

"I think I can handle it."

Justice sounded almost smug. "Suit yourself."

Rinjirou suddenly tipped over backwards as his stomach folded in on itself…and the world disappeared in a brilliant flare of light.

AN: So, lots of talking with no real action, but some key meetings in this one. Minako met Rinjirou and declared him 'Rinjerko' – I can't say I blame him for his attitude, really – and then he met Justice. There's no love lost between those two already, thanks largely to the former's indoctrination under the Order of Black and the latter's suspicion of his motives.

I tried to sprinkle a little comedy throughout this one, to break up the more serious plot movement – I hope it was effective. I didn't want to end it here, but it was a decent enough place to pause and it should give me a great place to pop in for the start of the next chapter. I expect it will follow straight on from here with Titus, Rinjirou and Justice examining the factory for clues. I expect Hotaru and the other Outer Senshi to make an appearance as well.

Thanks for your reviews, as always – constructive feedback is always very much appreciated, good or bad. Until next time, stay classy!

Lisseas