Lady's notes: Okay, I know it's not good for me to be churning out chapters so fast, but I guess maybe it's like a stress thing for me. I get stressed and I put them out constantly, hehe. I'll try to pace myself better, but I really wanted to get this chapter out today when I finished it. Sooo I hope you don't mind its length and the fact it is a major cliffhanger into the second part, and probably the juiciest, chapter 8. I'm making it out to be like it's some scandalous star, hehe. Ooh, and I tried extra hard to work on Capella in this chapter! I hope I did well! Especially since I kinda had a little trouble with this... I dunno why. I spent a long time thinking about it... maybe too much time... hrm...
Supernova in the Sky
Ch. 7
It was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Capella was in utter disbelief of what she was seeing on the television screen, and the other children were beginning to give her odd looks. Onscreen, a band of what appeared to be possessed police officers were running rampant down the streets of Tokyo. A familiar black aura surrounded them. One that Capella knew all too well. All this time, she had been hoping it wouldn't come down to this… and then, she realized she had let out an ear-piercing scream.
"O-oh… uh… I have to go… um, take care of some lady issues, kids!" she quickly told the children. They all were going to question, but the last thing they heard as the blonde went flying out the door was, "Kotori's in charge!" So, naturally, when the redhead emerged from the hallway, they bombarded her with "I want this" and "I want that".
Capella didn't care what the kids wanted then. She had a job to do, one that she had hoped she would never have to do. Recalling the television scene, the police officers had been just shy of the Hikawa Shrine. There was no way she'd get there in time on foot.
How much money did she have? In the back pocket of her skirt was just enough for a one-way bus fare, and right on the next corner, one bright colored bus that hadn't yet been freed from the clutches of graffiti was pulling up. The blonde ran faster than she had in a long, long time.
In fact, the last time she had run so fast was… years ago, on the Sun Kingdom, she believed. Something terrible was eclipsing what little light they saw from the sky, casting a strange shadow… it was completely unnatural. An astronomical phenomena that couldn't just happen on its own. Everyone that couldn't run fast enough to keep just beyond the shade was swallowed into a realm in which they never returned from.
Tinia. Capella did what she could to wipe the memory of her fallen husband clear of her mind. She told herself she would forever be strong. It was that very day, the one in which Tinia had fallen, and her and Kotori were running to save their own lives, that she had sworn to find the answers to what plagued the Sun Kingdom. Unfortunately, it looked like the answers were coming to her. On Earth. Where she figured her and Kotori would be safe.
There was no way evil would get what it wanted! She'd be damned if it went any other way! Pushing through lines of people waiting to use public transportation, Capella loaded herself on the bus, hoping that its route would land her in a convenient spot. The last thing she needed was a long walk that got her lost. But, hope usually sufficed in most cases. She was unwilling to believe that hope was the key to disappointment.
The bus ride seemed to take forever, granted the Hikawa Shine was nearly 15 miles away. It would take her all day to get back home if she couldn't scrounge up some more change for another ticket back. More things came to Capella's mind as the wheels kept turning. Her duty to protect Kotori was being endangered. Antagonism was going to mark her words - there would be no compromise to her duties. None what-so-ever. That feline in the window the other day from Mau, not even he would do anything about it! She'd hold an iron fist to anyone else, because there was no way in hell she was going to be letting anyone down.
At long last, the bus came to its third stop, the blonde being the only one departing. Hikawa Shrine seemed to be just a few blocks away, which put her extremely close to the action. She could feel it in her bones already. Around her, sects of the road were blocked off, and the authorities were clearing the way and preparing to bring in some forces to take care of the job.
There wouldn't be any need, Capella thought. She'd take care of the whole thing herself! Quickly finding an empty space behind a child's toy store, Capella took out something she thought she'd never have to use again. A wand, no bigger than a pen, that was collapsible to fit in a small pocket. It was all the colors of the morning sky, swirling with a slow energy that hadn't been used in ages. At the tip was a golden four-pointed star, reflecting the glimmer of her watering eyes. Clatter and shouting from the possessed enemies was in the distance.
"Well… here goes nothing," she whispered, fighting back a remorseful tear. Things were changing. Nothing was going to be the same after this. "Starbright E--"
"In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
In all of holy hell, nothing had scared Capella out of her skin so much as the voice of a little girl claiming to be Sailor Moon right as she was about to reveal a self that had been hidden from her for years. She could've sworn she had gasped louder than what her voice box had ever planned on doing.
"Hahahaha! You pitiful pink sprite!"
Capella poked her head around the corner to see the action. A pink-haired and pink-clad girl stood against four officers, all teeming with an energy that was making the blonde cringe. Now, as a lot of senshi were built with an intuitional "senshi-dar", Capella's particularly strong, this certain Sailor Moon was screaming ChibiUsa. She never would have guessed.
"What am I supposed to do now?" the blonde whispered, knowing that Sailor Moon would no doubt recognize her. She had heard stories about the original, and every generation gets smarter, so they say. Then, the leader of the officers made another shout.
"No fragile senshi is going to stop us! We have a goal!"
"Destroy the sun!"
"Total blackout!"
As the others yelled and added to the commotion, the pink-haired girl only got more and more confused.
"The sun?" she murmured. "Why… the sun?" Indeed, Capella thought, why the sun?
"Because the sun has more power than the Earth or any of this system's feeble planets! We will take every star, every nebula, every light that's in the sky!" She had heard enough.
"Well, I don't know who you are, but I am Neo Sailor Moon! The new soldier wielding the power of the silver moon to punish evil like you!"
Neo Sailor Moon? Hopefully she had enough tricks up her sleeve to take care of things. Suddenly, the worst that could've happened… did.
The officers realized that they had guns in their holsters. Capella didn't think ChibiUsa's red eyes could get so big, and only hoped that the healing power of the moon was as great as it was cracked up to be.
"Listen, moon twit," the leader of the officers said, pointing a .9mm at the girl, "you either surrender to the Dark Matter Confederation, or you die." Expecting to see her mortified, Capella was surprised to see that Neo Sailor Moon actually threw herself back together and was seemingly fearless. Perhaps she had been held at gunpoint before...? Did she have a plan, or was she just dumb? Surely she wasn't going to use that ridiculous "Pink Sugar Heart Attack" that Capella had heard stories about in the past…
"I have a better idea," she said, taking out an old crescent moon wand. "You figure out how to work that safety lock, and I'll do my thing! Moon Healing Escalation!"
This moon senshi was extremely skilled, and knew her stuff damn straight. Apparently, she knew how to handle a situation all on her own. Capella was relieved that it had been handled. For now, at least. She would take every measure that she could to keep things under wraps for Kotori. With that in her heart and the Dark Matter Confederation on her mind, Capella started on her trek back home.
Meanwhile, as the sun was dwindling in the sky at 3 o'clock, a chill breeze lingered in the cul-de-sac, lifting Tomoe Hotaru's short hair off her shoulders. Kotori needed to know how ChibiUsa was doing after last night, and since her friend was slightly… distracted, she decided to take it into her own hands. Approaching the front door to Ichiban Taiyou, she found herself 'sweating-bullets' nervous. She wasn't used to coming out of her shell. However conflicted with her decision, Hotaru gently rapped her tiny fist on the door, and within seconds, a grimy little boy pried it open, instant ramen spilled all down the front of his shirt.
"Hi!"
"Uh… h-hello… is Kotori there?"
"HIROKI!"
Hearing the redhead's voice booming down the hallway, the little boy scurried off. Kotori then came to the door with a sigh of exasperation. Capella was so selfish, just leaving her there with all of these kids! None of them really liked to listen to her, and the other broads who were in charge of the place got all of the well behaved children to take care of.
"Hey there Hotaru!" she said, ignoring her inner dialogue. "How are you today?" The meek girl explained briefly of some chores ChibiUsa had to do, and how she doubted that she'd have the time to come talk to her, and Hotaru knew that her best friend wouldn't want Kotori to worry.
"So… I wanted to talk to you about her. And last night. She's very grateful for everything you said to her."
"I'm just glad that I could help. To be honest, Hotaru, I didn't know I could even talk like that. Here, why don't you come in?" Kotori said, ushering the girl inside. It was odd… she was someone that Kotori didn't even know on the surface, though this was only the second time she had even seen ChibiUsa's best friend. She had always known jealousy and rivalry when she had friends at the orphanage, and she was surprised Hotaru wasn't the same way. Kotori was always bent on being the only best friend.
Though, Capella always made a point in ruining each and every friendship.
Ignoring another stretch of inner dialogue, Kotori found the small girl a seat that wasn't infested with children and ran to the kitchen to nuke some chocolate milk. It was still technically hot chocolate, after all… though when she came back, she saw that every single child that had been in the playroom with Hotaru left.
"Here you are!"
"Thankyou, I don't get hot chocolate very often…" Hotaru answered, blowing on the top of her mug, watching the surface of the beverage ripple. Kotori grinned.
"Well, it's one of the few things I can make on my own. Anyway… I wanted to say that I don't exactly know what came over me last night. I mean… I do, but--"
"You just don't know where it came from?" Hotaru asked. The redhead nodded. They sat silently for a few moments, taking everything in including a few sips of the hot chocolate that Kotori so loved. She only wished she had whipped cream and some chocolate sauce to drizzle over it. Ahh… one of the many things she loved besides mochi that was going to be the doom of her enamel one day.
"You'll find out," Hotaru said, smiling. "You'll probably find out that deep down inside, you're a perfect mother yourself. I think you would be."
o ... .O. ... o
It was getting a tad dark outside, and Rufus could see overcast looming in the distance, and he knew that by morning, the fall clouds would envelop the sky. But he couldn't very well pee inside just because it was a little nippy! He couldn't be as high maintenance as he wanted, especially with the lack of luxury Kotori lived with. So, taking the scenic route to his 'call of nature' territory, he took in the sights of Tokyo's evening life.
The 'call of nature' territory was at least a mile or two away from the dingy cul-de-sac, and he saw a wide range of things on the short walk. Police officers, reporters, ambulances, patrol cars, detour signs and caution tape. For someone, it had been a busy day. He kept hearing something through the clamor… there was much speak of a Neo Sailor Moon, but something was more striking… something he could have sworn Shigeo told him about.
Oh well, he couldn't be bothered with it now. He came upon his 'call of nature' territory, which was a quaint and very ignored section of a playground. The main feature of this ignored section was an old sun-warped see-saw. After he neatly covered up his evidence, Rufus made his way back to the orphanage, wondering if there was some way he could speed up time so everyone would get to sleep already. He was anxious about trying those mochi with Kotori!
Suddenly, someone called out to him. A voice strikingly familiar.
"Rufus!"
It was very light and lyrical, but there was a familiar bite to it. A teasing, perhaps coy bite. There was no way he could mistake that voice.
"Merope!"
The cat looked up to see another feline staring down at him from a fence top. Unlike his eyes, hers were a cold steely color, and her fur was a dark shade of blue, almost an Abyssinian shade like the night, and her tail was just a short, puffy bob. He didn't notice those first, however. He noticed the black and silver star on her forehead. Which meant only one thing.
"Merope, you're a guardian! I never expected to see you again!" Rufus said, out of breath. His grin was bigger than it had been in a long time.
"I know!" the other cat said with a smirk. "Who would have thought that two childhood friends would see each other again, hm?" She jumped down to meet him, a faint purr in her throat until she saw the symbol on his forehead. "And just who are you looking after?"
"No, no, you first!" Rufus said anxiously, almost jumping around. However, his weight restricted such excited actions. But at hearing his words, Merope was skeptical. She saw the symbol Rufus bore, and it naggingly wouldn't leave her eyesight.
"Ah, ah!" she laughed, playing it off. "I asked you first!" What harm could it be? Rufus thought, smiling. It had been so long since he'd seen Merope, as she left to be a guardian long ago. It would be fun catching up on old--
Wait. The large, bumbling feline back-tracked for a minute. There was something… off. If she wouldn't tell him what she was up to… maybe he shouldn't, either. He felt a Queen Mau moment coming on.
"Uhh, hello? Rufus?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, for crissake… I have to go," Merope then said, somewhat of a glare in her eyes. Rufus's jaw dropped in dread. "Perhaps we'll meet up again sometime."
"B-but… Merope! What did I--"
He stopped. It was no use, as her slinky form had disappeared into the night that she so matched. What a day. And he had only gone out to pee.
o ... .O. ... o
Capella and the feline made it home at nearly the same time, at two shakes of a moonrise. Fortunately, one used the front door and the other Kotori's window, and hopefully it isn't too hard to distinguish who did what. Rufus sat himself on the redhead's desk and began to clean himself, while Capella had an odd encounter. Fudaya-san, the "orphanage mother", had one of her rare outings from her office, often referred to as the recluse's "alcove". She wasn't the prettiest of people, not quite, but you could look in her general direction without being repulsed. She had an awful spare tire of skin around her waist, though, and brown hair that often enough looked to be matted. It was no wonder other women did all the caretaking; Fudaya would scare the children. On this night, most likely due to Capella's enormously high stress level, Fudaya's presence alarmed her.
"Fudaya-san! Good evening!" she said, her painfully long walk leaving her short of breath. The mother merely smiled, forming wrinkles at the corners of her mouth.
"Capella, dear… you know what I always ask you to call me!" The blonde's face reddened, slightly out of fear and slightly out of embarrassment. Fudaya always insisted that she be called by her first name.
"Natsuko. I'm sorry, I forget…"
"I wanted to talk to you about Kotori." Fudaya's bluntness worried her. She remembered how Kotori had shot her down earlier in the day when she told her the suspicions she had for the orphanage mother. "Don't you think it's time she left this place? Got out in the real world?"
A white-hot fury rose in Capella. Everything was against her! Every damn thing! There was no way in hell anyone was going to con her out of her duties! She was ready to throw her fist into the damn orphanage mother's face that very second, because Kotori would continue being sheltered, and if anyone was going to change that, it would be over her dead body.
"No." Almost as if she expected the response, Fudaya smirked and walked back into her office.
Time passed regularly after that, Kotori and Rufus hanging out in their room at a quarter past midnight pigging out on mochi and sharing awkward life experiences, fighting over the best flavors in the box, and revealing secret dreams. Never once, however, did Rufus reveal anything about Merope.
o ... .O. ... o
On that morning, the sun's pale early rays didn't shine and didn't cast their light upon Tokyo. Dark clouds had made their way and hung still, making sure everyone was aware that they were there to stay till it rained. The scent wasn't quite in the air, as the clouds had a few shades darker to turn until then, but it was bound to be a cold day.
A colder day when Shigeo's black cloak fluttered in the faint wind about him. A scarily determined look was in his eyes, and the few people who were out on the streets that day avoided him at all costs. He was a man who knew exactly where he was going, and no one wanted to deter him. Gauntness went hand in hand with him and the weather. He came straight to Ichiban Taiyou at 6 on the dot, no interruptions and nothing to sidetrack him. When he reached the door, his first instinct was to simply knock it down, but consequences considered, he knocked instead. His visit would cause an uproar as it was.
And that it did. Capella was always up at the crack of dawn, despite the fact that there was no real dawn this morning, and as soon as she saw his figure in the peep hole, she swung the door open with a fiery violence, although slow, like a lingering, painful violence.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Her eyes narrowed, as did his.
"I came to talk to Kotori."
"Over my goddamned dead body! You seem to have no problem doing it over Tinia's, you bastard!" Capella's voice rang, a fury that hadn't been in her since the last time she saw Shigeo on the tip of her tongue. "I'm not going to let you do the same thing twice!"
"Capella! How dare you think such a thing of me! I have a family of my own, and that's why I'm here! I did nothing to hold Tinia back - I tried to save him!" Shigeo said back, pointing a finger right before her eyes.
"Listen, you filthy piece of trash," the blonde sneered, pulling on his cloak collar, him then realizing how tall she was, "you know how I feel deep down inside about the Queen. You know that. You know very well that I don't approve of a damned thing she does, but send me to hell if I can't keep her from dragging her daughter down with her!"
"I came," Shigeo breathed heavily, "to stop that!"
Suddenly, a very sleepy redhead emerged from her room, her hair wispy and tangled from a short sleep and wild mochi-eating. She stared blankly to the two warring figures in the doorway, and Shigeo's earthy brown eyes almost moved a wall in her mind. His heart nearly melted seeing her.
"Kotori!"
"No!"
At last we know Capella's motives! Gaspeth!