Episode Six

Curiosity

Slowly, drops of water rolled off the stalagmites high above on the ceiling and splashed into crystal clear pools of water. It was cold, damp, and wet. It was dark—completely dark. Nothing was visible to the human eye, but comfortably, he sat upon a large cold stone, listening to the sounds of the cave. His senses were acute to the darkness, noticing every sound and movement.

He sat quietly for hours alone. Within his palm, he held the golden tip of the arrow that had pierced his shoulder merely weeks ago. He gently rubbed his fingers across it as he sat there. He sighed, feeling the warm of his breath against his face.

Suddenly, he looked up, noticing the ground beginning to shake. The water that dripped slowly was now dripping heavily like rain within the cave. Tension was building, and it climaxed with the shrilling cold voice of his master. Her power, fueled by her intense anger, shook the entire dark passages and caves of the Negaverse palace. He sighed again before disappearing.

He reappeared before the great throne in the dark palace. The mysterious woman stood on the platform of her throne pacing back and forth. Her underlings kneeled all fearfully graveling and bowing before her throne. The Kagemusha looked around for a moment at all the graveling idiots then back up to the throne. His mood soured once General Taro walked into the throne room. They exchanged distaining glances then they each turned toward their master.

"My Lady, how may we serve you?" General Taro asked.

With her face flushing red, the mysterious woman turned toward her servants. "It is taking too long!"

"What, my Lady?"

"The crystal, you imbecile!" She screamed at him. "The scholars say that it'll take another year!" She screamed. "I cannot wait another year!"

General Taro bowed in submission. "My Lady, cannot we not move against the Sailor Scouts now? Why must we wait for the crystal?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Because my powers are weak!" She screamed. She sharply turned away, her thoughts dazing off. "If it wasn't for her…" She paused for a moment, feeling her entire body shake with rage. "…Serenity…"

"But, my Lady…"

"Get out of my sight!" She screamed.

"As you wish, my Lady." He disappeared.

The mysterious woman sat on her throne to brood. Slowly, the underlings of the court managed to slither away, but the Kagemusha walked away.

Thoughts plagued his mind as they always did. His head, constantly buzzing with the chaos of thousands thoughts, ideas, and questions, rarely gave him peace or rest from such mental torture. Often, during the latest hours of the night, while everyone was supposed to be peacefully asleep, he was awake. He needed escape, and that is why he often ventured into the mortal world without the permission of his mistress. As long as he was careful, he could easily slip away from the realm of the Negaverse and travel to the earth. Of course, due to his mistress' orders, this was forbidden, but he was compelled for some illogical reason to travel to the human world and spend his time there. So that night was spent high up within a tree at the Hikawa Shrine. The moon was full and bright—a poor night for hiding, but he managed to rest undiscovered within the bare trees. It was the beginning of spring, and the leaves were beginning to sprout. As he sat there, stroking the golden arrowhead, he tried to calm his mind. It was as if the universe was spinning chaotically through his heart and soul, swallowing up and destroying all life and hope within one dark mass of black hole.

He sighed—this was his curse—his power.

Bells began to ring. He looked forward, across the courtyard, towards the Shrine. The High Priestess, with golden bells and incense, slowly walked up and down the outer decks of the Shrine, using her powers to purify the area. The Kagemusha locked his eyes on her—the only one who has ever harmed him in battle.

Raye proceeded to purify the area, but after a few more steps, she turned around and looked over her shoulder—in his direction. She peered into the trees for a few moments, feeling a shutter down her spine, but after discovering nothing, she continued with her ritual. "He's watching me," She whispered to herself. Exhilaration coursed through her body. Her cheeks burned hot. The thrill—the terror—the confusion—it made her heart pound. She knew he wanted her life, and this time, there was nobody to stop it from happening. But as she bent over to set her bells down, the question came to her mind again, "If he is such a merciless killer of the Negaverse, then why has he spared my life twice now?" This time, it would be the question she would take to her grave. She turned around, slowly walking off the deck, and into the courtyard.

In part of the courtyard, there was a small cluster of ponds, lined with sacred stones, and ripping with tiny waterfalls. She glanced down for a moment, looking at the colorful koi fish swimming happily, but firmly looked up towards the trees. "Kagemusha!" She called out. She looked back to the pond. Within moments, she saw the reflection of the dark warrior. She looked back up.

He stood there, collected and confident, with a stoic expression across his hardened face. His left hand was resting against the handle of his katana.

Saddened, she spoke to him, "What do you want with me, Kagemusha?"

He said nothing, but dug into the pocket of his black shirt. He slowly pulled out his hand, and revealed the item. The golden arrowhead glimmered brightly in the moonlight. He held it up for a moment for her to see then threw it into the pond.

She nodded. "Revenge."

He nodded, moving into a fighting stance.

Raye reached into her priestess uniform, clutching the Sailor Pen in her pocket. She pulled it out and immediately called upon the powers of Mars. "MARS STAR POWER!" Quickly, before the Kagemusha's eyes, the Priestess of Hikawa Shrine was transformed into Sailor Mars, Soldier of War.

She clenched her fists tightly, bracing herself for his attack. He was fast—much faster than her. Before her eyes, he disappeared then quickly reappeared. Disappearing and reappearing in a zig-zag pattern, he quickly approached. She saw the punch coming and tried to block, but she was too slow. She was hit in the face. Another came. Again she tried to protect herself, but he was too fast. She was struck again, this time in the mouth. She leapt back, grabbing her lip. She pulled her hand away, looking at the blood stain on her white glove. He stopped his attack for a moment as she tried to pull herself together. She repositioned her stance and was ready. She charged, throwing another punch. He dodged then grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground.

Sailor Mars quickly scrambled up as he approached her. She put her guard up, ready for the next attack.

He calmly walked toward her. "Never punch like that."

"What?" She asked, still keeping her guard up.

"You overextend yourself, and you have no power."

He walked right up to her, but she backed away from him. He took another step, closing the space in-between them. He threw his arm out to punch but stopped before he hit her.

She quickly shielded herself, but after a few moments, she noticed that he didn't hit her. She peaked out from her protective arms and looked at him. He stood with his arm out in the correct position for a punch. He didn't move. She looked at him awkwardly for a few moments, wondering what he was doing, but she mimicked the position he was in. Once she did that, he moved to another position, pulling his punching arm back.

"You have to focus. You have no concentration. You just throw punches." He turned to the side for a moment and looked down at the water. He held his fist back for a few moments then punched forward. Gusts of wind flew from him and spread across the water. He stood up straight once he was finished. "You try it."

"What are you doing?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Try it!" He snapped.

"Oh, alright!" Sailor Mars got into a fighting stance. She stood still for a moment, trying to focus, then she threw a punch.

"No, focus!" He scolded.

"Why are you teaching me this anyway?"

"Punch!"

She tried it again, but it was dissatisfactory.

"Focus!"

"I'm trying!"

"Focus on your inner power. Use all your senses, not just your eyes."

Sailor Mars breathed a heavy sigh. She put her guard up once again. She closed her eyes, only listening to the sound of her heavy breath. Her fist, clenching at her side, was ready to strike, but it was premature. She waited for a moment longer—longer that what her first instincts told her, but she began to feel something. A faint burning sensation began to course through her fist. She felt it slowly crawling up her arm, but instead of waiting for it, she threw the punch. A small gust of wind followed with the faint ripping of the waters.

"Why did you stop?"

"I don't know," Sailor Mars said, marveling at her fist. She looked over at him. "Why are you teaching me these things? Aren't you a warrior for the Negaverse?"

"Yes, but perhaps you won't be as utterly pathetic when I kill you."

She looked towards the pond. The fish were scattering all over the place from the recent activity. "When you were about to kill me the last time, why did you stop?" She looked over at him.

He didn't say anything.

"Was it because of Yuka?"

He looked towards the pond. She did the same.

"It is you I am after—not her."

"And it seems as though you have me, but why would a merciless killer such as yourself spare the life of an innocent girl."

He looked over at her at the moment merciless killer rolled off her lips. His eyes dimmed for a moment then he looked away.

Sailor Mars sighed for a moment. She closed her eyes, releasing the power of Mars. She disarmed as Sailor Mars and became the Priestess once again. "I am ready to die. Take my life."

"You are very brave for a mortal." He slowly withdrew his katana. Soon the cold blade was resting against her beautiful neck.

"I have nothing to live for," She uttered, feeling the blade press against her neck. A tear from each eye flowed softly down her reddened cheeks.

His face, which usually had no expression, showed a slight intrigue. Slowly, he removed the blade from her neck and withdrew his guard. She closed her eyes, feeling the pressure off her neck, but tears started to roll heavily down her cheeks. Death—it seemed to be an easy, but fearful escape from the pain she felt. Three times she was close to crossing the line, but three times she was jolted back into the world of the living.

The Kagemusha stared at her, still looking puzzled. "Why do you cry?"

"Take my life!" She screamed at him, her tear-filled violet eyes flashed open. "Take my life!" She screamed once again. "It's what you came for! Now do it!"

The Kagemusha sheathed his sword and turned around to walk away.

She stood there sobbing by the ponds as he disappeared into the night. After a few minutes, she collected her composure and headed back into her house. Exhausted, she headed for her bedroom and leapt into bed. Her shades were up in the window, letting in the moonlight, but she was too tired to pull them down. She passed out.

Curiously, the Kagemusha sat outside the bedroom window within the tree looking on it at the sleeping Priestess.

What was supposed to be a Sailor Scout meeting actually became a shopping trip in downtown Tokyo. Armed with her husband's credit card, Serena ravaged every department store's sales rack within the Ginza district. Toting behind, the other Sailors carried their relatively small purchases compared to their leader. Exhausted, Serena plopped down unto a public bench with her heavy bags and let out a sigh. "I'm so tired," She moaned as the other Sailors joined her.

"We have been shopping for five hours now," Ami said, looking at her watch.

"My feet hurt." Mina took of her right shoe and began to massage her foot. "And we haven't even found Lita a wedding dress yet."

"Perhaps if someone wasn't so preoccupied at the chocolate factory…" Raye crossed her arms.

"What?" Serena looked up from tearing through a small box, her teeth covered in chocolate smears.

"We have plenty of time to find a dress, and besides, I might even consider making it myself," Lita said.

"That sounds like a lot of work." Ami crossed her legs, turning towards her friend.

Lita turned towards Ami. "It will be, but I think I know better than anyone what kind of dress I want to wear. So who would be better than me to design it?

"True," Ami said.

"It's getting late. Perhaps we should call it a day?" Mina suggested. "Besides, I have a band practice tonight."

"Oh, speaking of which, how are things with that guy?" Lita asked.

"What guy?"

"Oh, you know…uh…Ichiro…the base player."

"Ichiro?" Mina laughed. "We only went on a couple of dates. I'm onto this really cute police officer…"

The girls rolled their eyes as Mina went off on one of her tangents about her latest love interest.

"Well, we've got to get going if we want to catch the next train out of here," Ami said, looking at a pocket transportation schedule.

"But, I'm so tired!" Serena whined.

Raye gasped. "Is that an ice cream truck?"

"Where!" Serena leapt off the bench, frantically looking around.

Raye chuckled.

"Raye!" Serena turned toward her raven-haired friend with a frown on her face.

"Time to go," Raye started off in the direction of the train while the other girls followed. Serena trotted sullenly behind. Soon, one by one the girls headed off towards their own homes. Serena was first, heading back to the city apartment that she and Darien shared. Lita came next while Mina followed behind her. Soon, Ami and Raye were left upon the train. They both had the same stop, but they would head off in different directions. While on the train, they merely chatted about light things, but as they stepped off, Ami called out to Raye as the raven-haired woman turned to head home.

"Raye!"

The woman turned around. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Ami asked, looking worried.

"Yes, I'm fine." Raye said, looking cool and collected with her hand in her pocket.

The terminal was filled with people entering and exiting the train. "Are you sure?" Ami hollered over the commotion.

"Yes, I'm fine!" Raye hollered back, being pushed around by people.

Ami stood, biting her lip as she looked at her friend. Slightly frustrated, Raye weaved through the crowd and walked up to her friend. "What is this about?" Raye asked, annoyed.

"You seem…" Ami paused, biting her lip harder.

"What?" Raye snapped.

"Depressed."

Raye rolled her eyes and turned away. "That's ridiculous!"

"Is it really?" Ami chased after her, pushing through the crowd. She grabbed Raye by the shoulder and spun her around. "You're not yourself! You haven't been since you're grandfather died."

When she heard those words, she turned her face towards Ami, displaying utter shock for a moment, but then she turned away and began to charge forward again. "Ami, just drop it!" Raye stormed off into the crowd, leaving Ami behind.

Ami stood helpless, watching her friend leave. "I'm just trying to help you!" Ami hollered over the noise.

Raye continued to charge, tears rolling down her cheeks.

While it was still chilly, it was warmer than it had been in months. On that morning in the middle of March, Raye quietly sweep the shrine grounds in preparation for re-opening to the public from a cold and snowy winter. Soon, empty gardens, shrines, and pathways would be filled with patrons from all over Japan. It was her duty to up-keep this place for the visitors.

It was peaceful and quiet, but her heart and mind ruminated on the words Ami spoke to her in the train station yesterday. She hated the fact that Ami was right—she hadn't been the same since her grandfather died, but what she hated worse was the fact that she could do nothing about it. This was her life. She continued to sweep the sidewalks but applying her frustrations to her work. While beating the ground with her broom, she suddenly felt a strong breeze rush past her. She stood up straight, clutching the handle of the broom then slowly turned around.

Standing across the yard, the warrior of darkness stood watching her with his arms crossed over his chest. She stood still for a moment, her knuckles turning white from clenching the broom handle. Neither did he move. They both stood still, looking towards each other, but not moving an inch. Enough was enough; Raye threw the broom down and charged towards the warrior. She swiftly ran across the courtyard, leaping up into the air, and throwing a kick towards him. He quickly blocked, pushing her leg away from him. She landed and prepared to fight. He threw two kicks, both of which she clumsily blocked. The third time, he kicked her straight across the arm, making upper arm swell with pain. She grabbed her sore arm, trying to swallow the pain, but it felt as though her arm was going to fall off her body.

He waited for her to gain her bearings, which a few moments. She slowly, still in pain, moved into a fighting stance. She took a swing at him; he blocked it, but instead of counterattacking, he waited for her to gain her posture. She continued with her futile attempts for a few turns, but he never stuck back at her. Once she grew tired, he quickly moved forward, almost disappearing before her and reappearing closer with a punch, but instead of hitting her, he stopped.

She stood, staring down his fist. She breathed out a heavy sigh, the warmth of her breath touching against his fist. She stood frozen.

"Your blocks are terrible."

Raye stood up straight. "I don't understand why you are telling me this."

He started motioning a block for her to mimic. Instead of arguing with him, she followed his movements with her arms. He moved into another block.

"Watch my feet," He said, moving to another block.

She followed him.

He then slowly extended his arm towards her, and she blocked the incoming attack. He shot her a dirty look as she incorrectly blocked, but the look washed away with the second block done correctly. At first, the exchanges were slow, but after a few minutes, the tempo began to pick up. Soon, they were walking back and forth across the courtyard exchanging blocks and punches. She was blocking everything he threw at her, including a fake, at which she grinned. But suddenly he disappeared, and before she realized it, his food went across her face. She fell to the ground.

"Don't get cocky."

She looked up at him, rubbing her sore chin. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes," He said flatly. He turned around to walk away. "You're still slow."

Raye sighed, still sitting on the ground as she watched the warrior walk away.

That night was filled with the thrilling adventure of watching re-runs of popular television shows. She hated the television, but sometimes, she couldn't stand the silence of the dark house. She sat in her living room while the television illuminated the room. Usually, she would try to read or sew, but tonight, she merely stared at the television with her head propped against her fist. After a while, she got up and headed into the kitchen. She went to the refrigerator for a drink and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Feeling something peculiar, she turned around. Everything was dark. She stared in the corner of the room for a moment then headed to the cupboard for a glass. She reached in the cupboard and poured the orange juice. She put the carton away and left the room, sipping on her glass, but left on the table, was another full glass of orange juice.

Come the next morning, the glass was empty.