Chapter Eight

Sailor Mercury Kidnapped!

The bright lights of the Tokyo skyline glimmered like an ocean in the darkness of the night. He stood high above the city clutching onto a metal crossbar of Tokyo Tower with his left hand. Only his left foot was on the bar while the right side of his body dangled free in the wind. His long black trench coat fluttered in the wind. On his belt was his only possession—a sword called the Excalibur. With his right hand, he drew slowly drew the sword, watching the blade glimmer in the city light, and swung it aimlessly in the air. He looked down. The ground was hundreds of feet down, but he leaned back and released his grip on the bar. He fell aimlessly headfirst, laughing all the way down. Coming sooner to the ground, he flipped in mid-air and landed gracefully on his feet. He put his sword away and tucked his hands into the pockets of his trench coat while walking away.

He had walked the streets of Tokyo all night and played on the buildings as if they were his own personal playground. He kicked an empty soda can as he walked down the street. It wasn't often that he got to venture into the world of mortals—Queen Beryl never allowed it, but he had convinced her that it was necessary for him to study the mortals if he wanted to find the Moon Prince. Of course, Tokyo had millions of people and the effort felt absolutely futile. As his hand dug in his pocket, he grasped a hold of the Rainbow Moonstone. It was supposed to help him, but it seemed like a piece of junk that was getting him nowhere. If he didn't succeed, Beryl would likely kill him. He stopped walking for a moment to ponder. Would it matter if she killed him? He faintly sighed. She'd probably do him a favor if she killed him.

Emptiness was all he felt. It was all he ever felt—cold and empty. He continued walking. Nothing would ever stop the feeling. Maybe it was because he was the General of Ice, and it was just his curse to feel cold about everything. He shook his head and dismissed his thoughts. As he walked, he passed a couple of men. He glanced up, but they didn't acknowledge him. Nobody ever acknowledged his presence as he walked the streets at night. Catching the time, he decided to call it a night. It was two in the morning, and after all, it was a school night.

After walking a few minutes, he came to an apartment building. He looked around to see if anyone was around then jumped up onto the top story of the staircase on the side of the building. He opened the top window and stepped into the empty apartment. He made this apartment his base of operations while he was on Earth. He closed the window behind him and stepped into the middle of the room. He undid his belt and took of his sword. He laid the sword and scabbard on the floor next to his mattress pad. Next his trench coat came off along with his shirt and boots. He lay down on the mattress and grabbed his one thin blanket. He stared up at the ceiling and laid in the silence for a few moments. He was extremely glad that Azariah wasn't with him. She was terribly noisy and distracting. He sighed as memories flashed in his mind. So many nights Azariah came to him, and he complied, hoping to feel something. She was using him for physical gratification, why couldn't he use her just to feel something? But alas, he never felt anything. Her touch was hot to his skin, but his heart was always cold and his soul ached. He groaned and glanced to the side. On the floor laid his only change of clothes. It was a teacher's uniform. He turned his eyes back to the ceiling then closed his eyes. Tomorrow Matsumura High was getting a new Sensei.

Ami Mizuno walked down the hallway carrying her massive textbooks from physical science class. Along with her was the sandy brown haired boy with curly hair. They stopped at Ami's locker, and she did the combination while juggling her books. She opened her locker and grabbed her books for history.

"So, do you want to study for English tonight?" Shoji asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ami glanced away from her locker. "Yes, that would be fine." She grabbed a pen and shut her locker. "Do you maybe want to…" She paused for a moment and gulped. "…get dinner before or something?"

Shoji paused for a moment to think. "No, I'm busy. I only have time to study."

Ami glanced away from the boy's face. "Oh, okay."

"Eight tonight sound good?"

Ami nodded. "Yes, fine."

"Good." Shoji started to walk away. "Well, I need to get to computer class. See you at lunch, Ami-san"

"Okay. Bye Shoji-san" She trailed off.

Ami walked down the hallway and headed to her history class. It was one of her favorites. Everyone else considered Sensei Sato one of the most boring teachers in the school, for he was like an ancient fossil himself, but Ami found the class to be rather exciting. She walked up to the door and turned the knob. Confusion washed upon her face as she expected to see a short, fat, old man but instead saw a young, fit, and virile man sitting at the desk. Ami glanced over the new teacher. He looked extremely familiar, but she couldn't place where she saw this man before. His presence made her stomach turn and her senses scream. "He's the one who attacked Daita and Raye!" Ami thoughts screamed.

Suddenly, he looked at her directly making eye contact with her. His bright blue eyes stared into her eyes. Her thoughts became hazy and she couldn't remember who this man was anymore. She shook her head from her thoughts then went to her desk.

"So Sensei Sato must have finally died." One of the other girls said.

"Yeah, this new Sensei's pretty hot! I like him!" Another girl giggled.

Ami shook head at the silly girls and started to unpack her stuff. Soon the school bell rang, and the students took their seats. They waited for the teacher to start the class, but the new sensei sat at the desk silent. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk.

"Um, Sensei, aren't you supposed to start class or something?" One of the boys raised his hand.

"Do whatever you want today." Kaiba dug into his front pocket and dug out a packet of cigarettes. He took one and lit it. All the students started giggling and whispering then they broke out into conversation.

"You're not supposed to smoke in here!" A girl piped up.

"Mind your own business." Kaiba put his arms behind his head and he leaned back in the chair. He closed his eyes sat quite comfortably with his feet up and a cigarette in his mouth.

At first, Ami tried to do the right thing. She opened her history book to the lesson that should have been covered today and started to review it, but the noisiness and the chaos of the classroom drove her nerves to an end. After a few minutes, she slammed the book shut, got out of her desk, and walked over to the teacher's desk. She slammed her hands down on the desk. The classroom fell silent.

Kaiba opened his eyes to see the angry blue haired girl towering over him. "What do you want?"

"Excuse me, Sensei, but I don't believe my mother or the Japanese government for that matter is paying to you sit around and smoke during class time."

"I'm the Sensei, and I'm in charge of this class. If I want us to do nothing, we will do nothing."

"You're supposed to be teaching us history!" Ami exclaimed. She grabbed the teacher's edition of their history book and threw it on the desk in front of Kaiba. The other students looked in awe at each other. Never had they seen Ami Mizuno that flustered.

Kaiba sat up in his chair. He glanced over the history book then curiously opened it. "Well, let's see here…" His eyes scanned through the first few pages. The strange symbols on the pages blurred together into a sea of black and white. "…uh…I…um…" He shook his head. "No, I don't need this!" He pushed the book away. He didn't know how to read.

Ami crossed her arms over her chest. "What is your name, Sensei?"

"My name?" Kaiba bit his lip. "My name…my name…" Kaiba's thoughts raced. He didn't know any last names. He didn't even know what his name was—if it was his last name or his first name—and besides, he didn't want to give his real identity away. "Sensei…uh…Sensei…"

"What?" Ami smirked. "You don't know your own name?"

Kaiba mocked her with his facial expressions. "Yes, I know own my name." He paused for a second. "It's, uh, Sensei Hisame," He replied, thinking of the word for chilly rain.

"Well, Sensei Hisame, I will be reporting you."

Kaiba took a puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke into Ami's face. "Well, what was your name again?"

"Mizuno Ami."

"Well, Mizuno-san, you'll be in detention after school for your disrespect."

"WHAT!" Ami exclaimed, slamming her hands on the desk. "You are by far the worst teacher I have ever seen…"

Kaiba jumped up from his chair. "You are the most disrespectful student I have ever taught!"

"You haven't taught me anything!" Ami yelled back. "You're just a freeloader looking for a paycheck!"

The students glanced back and forth at each other in awe. They had never seen Ami irritated, but they certainly had never seen her yell at anyone ever.

Ami's body shook. Never in her entire life had she felt such emotion and rage surge through her veins. It was like something possessed and controlled her. She said and did things that she normally wouldn't even dream doing. Her stomach swirled with emotion into one big stomach ache as she saw herself fall deeper and deeper into a hole, but she couldn't stop. The sight of this man irritated her more than anything in the entire world. The worst part of it was that she knew he knew this fact too.

Knowing the comment would annoy the girl even more; he grinned and let it fly. "Careful now, I might just have to suspend you." He glanced up for a moment. "Class dismissed."

The students quickly packed up their possessions and scurried out of the classroom. Some lingered to try and hear more dialogue, but after a few minutes, the students were all gone. Only Ami was left standing and trembling in front of the classroom. She stood silently mentally scolding herself for getting herself in a heap of trouble.

Kaiba jumped back into his chair and put his hands behind his head. "Mizuno-san, you need to calm down."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm fine!"

Kaiba smirked. "You're shaking like a frightened animal."

"I am not," Ami tried to stop her knees from wobbling.

The Sensei sat and stared at the young girl with a large grin on his face. Ami stood nervously as her Sensei's eyes racked over her. New emotions started pumping through her body. Anger and rage started turning into fear.

Ami gulped. "Sensei Hisame, may I please leave?"

"Why?"

"I feel very uncomfortable right now."

Kaiba let out a deep sigh and stood up from his chair. He casually walked over to the trembling student and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Fine, but promise me one thing."

"What?" Fear echoed in her voice, and tears almost started to leak from her eyes. She glanced away from the Sensei. Fear weaved webs of paranoia in her mind. What did he want with her? Would he try to hurt her? She was so scared she couldn't even look at him.

Kaiba grabbed Ami's chin and forced her to look at him. Immediately, tears poured from Ami's eyes. Kaiba sighed gently, and locked his bright blue eyes with Ami's. Her heart stopped for a moment. His eyes were gentle. "Mizuno-san, promise me that instead of hiding your feelings until they grow into a raging monster, you will share them."

Ami nodded slightly, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Kaiba released her chin, and she took a step back. After a few moments of staring each other down, Kaiba backed away and sat down in his chair. "You may go now." Ami closed her eyes and more tears poured. She quickly headed to her desk, gathered her things, and exited the room. Kaiba watched her as she hurried to leave, and once she left, he smirked.

Once she left the classroom, Ami started running down the hallway. Coming down the hallway, Shoji looked up and saw Ami running. He stopped, but she didn't see him. Accidentally, she ran into his shoulder. Books and papers went flying everywhere. Not even caring, she scrambled back up and tried to start running again. Shoji grabbed Ami in his arms. "Ami, are you okay?"

"Let me go!" Ami exclaimed. "Let me go!"

"Ami!" What's wrong?"

"Let me go!" Ami pushed him away and continued running down the hallway.

Shoji stood there dumbfounded. He looked around for a few moments then shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

Running down many stairwells, Ami found the place she usually liked to study without any disruptions. It was a stairwell in the basement of the school that wasn't used often. She sat down on the last step and pulled her knees to her chest. She buried her face and started to cry. She didn't know what to think or feel. She went from irritated to raging mad in seconds then fearing for her safety to having her soul laid out before a complete stranger. She shook her head. "Who is this man?" She thought to herself. "It's like he can see straight through me." Her heart ached. It was a terrible feeling. At first when he came close, she thought he was going to physically assault her, but when she saw his eyes, it was as if he permeated her mind and soul. It felt as if everything was laid bare for him to see. This seemed so much worse—he forced himself into her mind and soul, and that was a place she never let anyone in.

The lunchroom was noisy as usual. Lunch was an extremely delicate social situation. Depending on where one sat, it would profile your social status. On left wing in the front were mainly the nerd types—computer geeks, outcasts, the brainiest, and others who fit into this category. Usually Ami Mizuno made her way here when not with her Sailor friends, but today the five of them had to meet for important business. She sat down at an empty table and one by one the other Sailors joined her.

She typed silently on her little blue computer while the others sat eating their lunches. There was slight tension in the air. The others heard about Ami's blow-up with Sensei Hisame, but they didn't know how to ask her about it.

"Have you locked in the locations of the Planet Crystals yet?" Lita finally spoke just before shoving a piece of shrimp into her mouth.

Ami turned the computer around so the others could see. "Yes, all nine crystals have been located by the computer."

"They're all in Japan." Raye noted. "Is the red one mine?"

Ami nodded. "Yes, your crystal is in Tokyo somewhere."

"Well it looks like mine is all the way up in Hokkaido," Lita sighed. "When are we going to have time to find it?

"Fall break is coming up in two weeks. Maybe we could do it then?" Mina suggested.

"Hey, mine's in Tokyo too!" Serena exclaimed.

Mina watched the small orange dot flash on the screen. "What city is that again? Hmm…"

"Osaka," Ami answered.

"And yours is north of mine," Mina said.

"Yes, in the Shinano prefecture." Ami nodded.

Raye dug her notebook out of her bag. "We'll have to report to the outer Sailors that their crystals have been found then we'll have to make plans on how we're going to get the stones."

"Right!" The other girls agreed.

The two of them walked home in silence. He slowly trotted with his hands in his pockets while she carried her books tightly against her chest. They walked down the dark street and entered into circles of light when crossing under lampposts.

Ami looked up into the starry night sky. She exhaled, and her warm breath floated up to the heavens. Millions of thoughts scattered through her mind but nothing came out her mouth. She glanced over at Shoji. "Why hasn't he asked me out yet?" She wondered. "I guess he's still too shy…" She stopped her thoughts as pain filled her heart. "What's wrong with me?" She wondered. "Why doesn't he like me?"

"What are you doing Saturday?" Shoji broke the silence.

Ami jerked her head over. "Me? Saturday? Uh…nothing. I'm free the whole day. The entire day, in fact."

The boy tugged on his ear. "Do you want to study for the Geography test on Saturday?"

"I guess so." Ami looked forward. Her house was at the end of the street, and with the silver car in the driveway, it meant her mother was home. The two of them continued until they reached the small driveway of Ami's house. They paused at the mailbox and stood silently looking at each other. Ami looked down as her feet stood in the cool, mushy grass while Shoji darted his eyes over the sideway and rubbed the back of his neck.

Ami glanced up, looked at Shoji, and swallowed hard. "Shoji, we need to talk."

"About what? Is Saturday not good for you?"

Ami shook her head. "No, Saturday's fine. I mean, about our relationship..."

"Oh look!" Shoji pointed in the sky, "There's Ursa Major—the bear constellation!"

Ami rolled her eyes as she turned around to look. "Yes, very nice, but we seriously need to talk…"

As Ami was talking, the front door of her house flew open, and Ami's mother stepped out onto the sidewalk wearing her pajamas and robe. "Ami, dear, you need to get inside! You'll catch a cold! I don't know how many cases of pneumonia I've treated this week…" She stopped talking once she saw Shoji. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Ami. "Who's this? Is he that boy you like but hasn't asked you out yet?"

"Mom!" Ami hissed under her breath. "Just go back inside! I'll take care of this!"

The blue-haired woman with wavy curls tied back in a ponytail extended her hand to Shoji. "Umiko Mizuno, Ami's mother. What's your name, young man?"

"Fujita Shoji." He bowed.

"Mom!" Ami hissed. "Just go back inside."

"Ami, I want to meet your friend…" Umiko looked up out onto the street. "Is he your friend too?" She pointed toward the street.

Ami turned her head and looked toward the street. Her heart skipped a beat. A dark blue haired man stood in the street with his black trench coat fluttering in the wind. He saw that he was spotted and started to walk forward while digging into his pocket.

"Or is that the guy you like, Ami?" Umiko turned to Ami.

"Mom!" Ami started to back away. "Get in the house now!"

"Nonsense! I…" While Umiko spoke, a beam of white light shot out of Kaiba's hand and went straight through Shoji's chest. Shoji fell backwards unto the lawn while his heart crystal remained floating in the air.

Umiko stumbled backwards in fear and tried to rush towards the house, pulling Ami along with her. "What kind of friends are you making?" She gasped as she tried to scurry away.

"He's not my friend, mom!" Ami exclaimed, trying to run away.

While pulling her mother's arm to guide her into the house, Ami suddenly felt her mother's arm grow cold. She glanced over and saw her mother completely turned to ice. "MOM!" She screamed as she gazed over her frozen mother. She quickly spun around to see the General of Ice in the street standing with his arm extended. Her memory returned to her in that moment. He was no teacher—he was the warrior that attacked Daita and Raye. "What do you want?"

"The Moon Prince!" Kaiba exclaimed. "Give him to me now!"

"We don't have any Moon Prince!"

Kaiba extended his hand toward Ami. She shielded herself with her arms, but realized that no attack was coming. She looked up to see Shoji's heart crystal floating towards Kaiba. "NO! Leave his crystal alone!"

Kaiba held the crystal in his hand and studied it. The crystal was dim—a light brown color. "What a coward," He pondered as he studied the crystal.

"LEAVE HIS HEART CRYSTAL ALONE!" Ami screamed.

"Give me the Moon Prince, or I'll crush it!"

"Then I'll fight you for it!" Ami pulled out her Sailor transformation stick. She called upon her powers of Mercury and soon transformed into the Solider of Water. Immediately, she started an attack toward the General. "SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

As the attack hurled toward him, Kaiba side-stepped and dodged the attack effortlessly. He looked over at her once the attack dissipated. "I'd rather not get wet this time. It's rather cold out."

"Then how about a little fire! MARS FLAME SHOOTER!" The fire attack flew directly at Kaiba's chest, but again, he was able to effortlessly dodge the attack.

Sailor Mercury glanced off in the distance to see her friends. All the other Sailors and Tuxedo Mask stood ready for a fight. They soon formed a circle around Kaiba. Kaiba glanced around as he watched himself being circled. He stood up straight out of his fighting stance and kept glancing around. Everyone stood silent for a moment, but Tuxedo Mask broke the silence when he charged with his cane.

Tuxedo Mask swung his cane, but Kaiba dodged. He swung again but this time, Kaiba caught the cane in his hand. Outmaneuvering Tuxedo Mask, Kaiba elbowed Tuxedo Mask in the face then punched him in the stomach. Tuxedo Mask collapsed over in pain while gasping for air. Worried, Sailor Moon charged first while the other Sailors followed. Fists and feet flew at Kaiba from all directions, but he was able to combat them all. He would punch, kick, block, dodge, and throw effortlessly. He punched Sailor Moon in the face, kicked Sailor Jupiter in the stomach, blocked an attack from Sailor Mars while dodging a punch from Sailor Venus. He then grabbed Sailor Mercury's arm and threw her down the street then threw another punch into Sailor Venus' back. He kicked Sailor Mars behind her knees and while she fell, he chopped her in the chest. Finally, as Sailor Mercury ran toward him, he shot an energy blast into her stomach, sending her flying again.

The wounded warriors looked up at Kaiba while gasping for air. The blows the sustained paralyzed and numbed their bodies. In one punch or kick, each Sailor was knocked out. Kaiba smirked as he looked at the wounded bodies. He grabbed a hold of the heart crystal again. "I expected better from the Sailor Scouts."

"Drop that heart crystal!"

Kaiba looked down the street. "Tuxedo Samurai. Perhaps I'll have a challenge now."

The Sailors tried to sit up the best they could to look at the other Tuxedo Warrior. The mysterious Tuxedo Samurai walked toward them with his katana already drawn. Kaiba opened his long trench coat and revealed his sword—the Excalibur and drew it from it's sheathe.

"Are you any good with that thing?" Tuxedo Samurai asked.

"Naturally. And you?"

"I've practiced a bit." Tuxedo Samurai charged at Kaiba. The Sailors blinked. It looked as if a black blur charged then smacked into Kaiba's sword. Kaiba gripped his Excalibur tightly and held his guard while Tuxedo Samurai smashed into him.

"So you are good," Tuxedo Samurai stated.

"And you've practiced more than a bit," Kaiba grunted while using his strength to keep his guard.

The two warriors backed away from each other and panted for a few seconds. They then charged back and forth at each other. The Sailors watched with their eyes bouncing all over the street. It looked as if two blurs were running all over the place with the random clashing sound of metal every few seconds. They seemed to be evenly matched as they dueled for a few minutes, both out of breath and panting heavily. Kaiba glanced over to the side and extended his hand. He sent a small blast of energy flying toward Sailor Jupiter. She glanced up quickly, but couldn't move out of the way. She shielded herself, but opened her eyes after a few moments. Towering above her was Tuxedo Samurai with frozen feet. "NO!" She hollered. "Tuxedo Samurai!" The rest of the Sailor hollered.

Tuxedo Samurai grabbed his katana with both hands and stabbed the block of ice on his feet. The ice broke apart, and he was able to get free. He started to charge forward. He looked up and stopped.

"Help!" Sailor Mercury gasped. She was in Kaiba's grip. His arm was around her neck choking her, and his blade was held to her

throat.

"Sailor Mercury!" The Sailors hollered.

Kaiba took a step back from the Sailors out of the fighting ring. "Give me the Moon Prince, or I'll kill her!"

"Let her go, Kaiba!" Tuxedo Samurai hollered sternly.

"Take one step closer, and I'll kill her!"

Tuxedo Samurai stopped walking. "Let her go!"

Kaiba smirked as he glanced over the Sailor Scouts.

"Help me!" Sailor Mercury gasped for air. "I can't breathe!"

"KAIBA!" Tuxedo Samurai hollered.

"Alright! I'll let her go!" He grinned again, but two small blue laser beams shot from Kaiba's eyes. The beams hit Tuxedo Samurai, and he instantly started to freeze. Kaiba backed away again, and the Sailor Scouts started to charge toward Kaiba. He managed to back away a few more steps, but he disappeared with Sailor Mercury in his arms just before the Sailors reached them. Sailor Moon swung her arms in midair to try and grab Sailor Mercury, but it was too late—Ami was gone. Sailor Moon collapsed to her knees. "AMI!" The other Sailors stopped running and circled around where Ami disappeared. Tears started to pour from each of the girls' eyes. "AMI!" Sailor Moon screamed again. She collapsed over onto the hard pavement of the street. "AMI!"

Tuxedo Mask bent over and cradled Sailor Moon into his arms as she screamed and cried frantically. The other Sailors stood solemnly for a few moments. Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter went to attend to Shoji and Ami's mother while Sailor Mars went to unthaw Tuxedo Samurai. Only Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask stood in the light of the lamppost holding each other and crying.