BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILORMOON
~MIRAI~
PART IX: WARRIOR MAIDEN
by: Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko and Kodansha, not me.
Although most of the characters in this fanfiction are original and
created by me.
Some Japanese words I use:
hai = yes
okaa-san = mother
oba-san = aunt
minna-san = everyone
* * * *
"Last night, a man was found dead in near the fifth crystal
point. Several witnesses has claimed that it was a Senshi, carrying a
spear, who was the murder. This is the third man that has been found
dead near a crystal point this month..."
"What are you watching?" Usagi asked, sitting down next to
Kenji on the couch.
"Just the news," he answered. He glanced at Usagi before
looking at the TV again. "There's been a murder again, witnesses say
that it was a Senshi who did it."
Usagi turned her gaze to the TV set. "Couldn't that just be false
accusations?" she wondered. "I mean, people often blame Senshi when
something abnormal happens, don't they?"
"That's what I thought when I first heard it," Kenji replied.
"But I think that this is different. Three murders and all the
witnesses have claimed that it was a Senshi with a spear. Even the
police annouced that the people who got killed were most likely killed
by a weapon, like a spear."
He paused as the TV showed a blurry picture of a female Senshi. They
couldn't tell how her face looked like since the picture had been
taken when it was dark. But one thing that was clear, the Senshi was
holding a spear in her hands.
"I think that we got an answer there," Usagi said. "But what I
don't understand is why a Senshi would run around Crystal Tokyo and
kill people. I know that all Senshi aren't trying to defeat all these
demons, but still... It makes no sense at all. No Senshi can be truly
evil."
Kenji nodded, agreeing with her. "You're right," he said and rose from
the couch. He began to walk towards the exit in the living room.
"Absolutely right."
"Where are you going?" Usagi wondered.
"I'm going to find that Senshi and find out what's really
going on."
* * * *
The sky was dark, filled with clouds. As if it wasn't chilly enough,
cold winds were blowing. Valkyrie tightened her grip around her spear
as a cold gust of wind blew past her and her hair blew into her face.
Her eyes were gazing downwards, at the ground and the people that were
standing on it. It was going to rain soon, if she didn't go back then
the others were surely going to notice that she was gone. The area was
still being surveyed by the police but she had to make sure that she
had left no trace. Or else... she didn't know what to do if the police
would find the others.
As she stood on the roof of a high building, she watched the
police going through everything around the crystal point. They were
looking everywhere for some kind of clue, anything, that would help
them find the mysterious Senshi.
Anything that would help them find the Valkyrie.
She hadn't been discreet enough about it, she hadn't noticed that
there were witnesses. Especially not witnesses with cameras. One had
snapped a picture, a picture of her. Luckily it had been too dark for
them to get a clear picture of her, but it was still a picture where
she could be identified. Valkyrie watched the policemen with disgust.
They were nothing more than simple humans with such short lifespans.
They believed that they had the right to rule the entire planet by
themselves, to banish all Senshi to the Moon Kingdom or to simply
kill them. They believed that the Senshi were the danger of the
planet. They were so wrong.
"They are the danger, not us," Valkyrie said out loud.
"Who are you talking about?"
The unknown voice coming from behind caused Valkyrie to turn around
and ready her spear, only to find that she was pointing at another
Senshi. He was not much taller than her, perhaps it was because she
was tall herself. He was dressed in an armour and a green cape. In
his gloved hand he held a bright sword. Valkyrie gazed right at his
face, the man had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. It was no doubt, by
the way he dressed she could see that he was a Senshi. Just like
herself.
"Who are you?" Valkyrie demanded, not lowering her spear. She
had learned many years ago that one shouldn't trust people easily,
Senshi or not.
"Just another Senshi," the man replied. "Odin is my name."
"What are you doing here?" Valkyrie immediately asked. She had
no intention of telling him her name.
"Would you please lower your spear? Trust me, I have no
intention of hurting you."
Valkyrie lowered her spear a little, but kept it ready, just in case
something would happen. She could see Odin looking somewhat relieved.
He grapped the sword with both his hands and raised it. Believing that
he would attack her, Valkyrie jumped backwards and held up her spear,
ready for a fight. But as Odin held up his sword it simply vanished
and he looked at her with surprise.
"What are you doing?" he wondered.
"Just tell me what you are doing here," Valkyrie hissed. "And
how did you know I was here?"
"Are you the murderer?"
Those words struck Valkyrie like an arrow. A murderer. Was she a
murderer? Three people had been killed by her spear. Did that make her
a murderer? No, she was a soldier. A soldier fighting for what was
right. Sacrifices had to be made sometimes.
"Perhaps," Valkyrie replied. "What does it have to do with
you?"
"Why did you do it?" Odin asked. "Why did you kill three men
for no reason?"
Anger flared inside Valkyrie when she heard for words. Her blue eyes
narrowed as she spoke. "No reason?!" she repeated angrily. "How dare
you... You aren't aware of what I have gone through, you aren't aware
what humans have done to us Senshi, for what they claim is in the name
of right!"
"They are simply afraid of us and their actions are caused by
their confusions."
"For the love of the light, you are a Senshi yourself!"
Valkyrie cried out. "How can you even think of defending humans?"
"We may be Senshi, but deep inside we are still human beings,"
Odin said, taking a few steps towards her. Valkyrie didn't move, nor
did she lower her guard. But she was speechless. She tried to think
of something to say but she couldn't. Human being? She had never seen
anything but ruthlessness from humans, her entire family had been
killed by humans. Now this Odin came... who did he think he was?
As Valkyrie opened her mouth to say something, the door that
to the stairs that led down into the building opened. To make things
worse, it was a policeman that came up on the roof. At first he didn't
see them, but when he did his jaw dropped in shock and he stood there
looking for his communicator that was somewhere in his pocket.
Valkyrie quietly swore to herself as he found it and started to
contact the other policemen. If she tried to kill this policeman than
Odin would surely stop her. There was only one choice let. She had to
flee. She turned around and ran as fast as she could. When she reached
the edge she showed no intention of stopping, instead she jumped over
the edge and fell down. Odin couldn't believe his eyes when she did
that.
"Don't!" he called, but it was too late. He ran over to the
edge and looked down to see her falling down. It was so high, she was
going to die from the fall. Odin took a deep breath, he knew that he
was going to regret this. That is if he would live to regret it. But
then he climbed over the edge and jumped after her.
Valkyrie was near the ground when she saw him coming after
her. Stupidity, was her only thought. But she had to admire him for
trying to save someone he had just met. When her feet were just inches
from the ground she suddenly stopped falling. She stood hovering in
the air for a brief moment. Then she jumped once again and shot
herself up in the air. On the way up she met Odin, grabbed his arm
with her free hand and continued to fly upwards. She flew upwards
until she reached the roof again. There, both she and Odin landed
softly. The policeman was still there, now he was holding a gun and
was pointing it at them.
"F...fff... freeze!!" he stammered, doing his best to not
panic. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, she grabbed Odin's arm once again
and jumped. It wasn't a normal jump that she made. She practically
leaped over to the next roof with Odin. Then to another, and another.
The policeman stood shocked as he watched her jumping from roof to
roof, moving further away from him.
* * * *
"That was close..." Valkyrie murmured as she leaned against
the cold, brick wall in the alley. She took a deep breath, sometimes
all the jumping really took quite some energy out of her. Odin just
stared at her, still somewhat surprised by her powers.
"I admire your courage," Valkyrie finally admitted. "Although
I have no idea of what in the world you were thinking when you jumped
after me back there."
"I was afraid that you were going to..." Odin began.
"Get hurt?" Valkyrie finished for him with a smile and an
amused glimpse in her eyes. "My Senshi powers can make me jump up a
building or float, but since you didn't know that I guess that I still
have to thank you for jumping after me."
"You're welcome," Odin replied as he closed his eyes. A wave
of energy washed over him, transforming him back to Kenji. Valkyrie
was a bit surprised that he would de-transform right in front of
someone he had just met. On the other had, he had also jumped down a
thirty floor building trying to help her even though he didn't have
the power. Then he reached out his hand for her to shake. "My name is
Yamazaki Kenji. You already know my Senshi name."
"I'm Valkyrie," Valkyrie answered, taking his hand. "Otherwise
people call me Freya."
She reacted at his name. Yamazaki Kenji? This guy couldn't possibly be
*the* Yamazaki Kenji? But he was at the right age and his looks were
just right... Could it be a coincidence? But his appearance was right
and he was a Senshi. It was too much to be just a coincidence. Yes,
it had to be him.
"What is it?" Kenji asked when he noticed the expression on
Valkyrie's face.
"You don't happen to be the Yamazaki Kenji... the son of Jean
Takanera the Senshi, wouldn't you?" she asked carefully. She knew that
she had been right when Kenji looked so stunned. For a moment she
actually thought that he was going to deny it because of the long
silence. But he didn't.
"Yes..." he finally answered. "Jean Takanera is my birth
mother."
Valkyrie bit her lip, then waved her hand and de-transformed into a
woman with auburn hair and who was wearing a pair of simple jeans and
a grey sweater. When she was done with the transformation, she looked
at Kenji.
"Come with me," Freya said. "We need to talk, but this isn't
the right place."
* * * *
After nearly ten minutes of walking through alleys and empty streets
they finally reached the entrance of a basement. Freya looked around,
to see if anyone was there. There was not a single person around these
blocks, Kenji noticed. Freya unlocked the door and opened it.
"Come in," she said quietly, as if not wanting anyone to hear
her. Kenji walked past her and into the basement. There was nothing
but a chair and a table in the basement. On the wall was a full length
mirror, but that was it.
"Follow me," Freya ordered and walked towards the mirror. She
removed it from the wall and revealed what appeared to be a secret
hatch. With another key Freya unlocked the hatch's lock and then
opened it. "In here."
Kenji simply did as she told him to, he was curious about what
everything would lead to. Beyond the hatch was a stair, apparently it
lead downwards. When Freya had climbed through the hatch she closed
and locked it. Then she turned on the lights with a switch. The lights
were not strong, it was only a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.
"Go down," Freya said. "We'll talk there."
She went down the stairs first and he followed her. The stairs never
seemed to end, after one another showed up.
"How far down are we going?" Kenji asked.
"Far," Freya simply answered. "We have to be careful around
these days, we never know when NSS is around."
Kenji was just about to ask who "we" were when he reached flat, simple
floor. He looked forwards and saw that they weren't alone. They had
entered a hall filled with people, or to be correct, a hall of Sailor
Senshi. There were at least thirty of them. The hall was like a great
dormitory, there were beds and furniture everywhere. The Senshi, not
even aware of their arrival, sat doing things normal people did.
Reading, writing, listening to music, chatting with each other. At
first Kenji didn't know what to say, although his mind was occupied
with one question:
What were so many Senshi doing in a hall so far down?
"What is this place?" Kenji finally asked.
"This is our headquarters," Freya replied. "But also our home.
Lost and betrayed Senshi has gathered here, tired of the NSS and how
normal humans treat us. We are the Zealots, Kenji. The ones who will
bring an end to NSS and humans."
At first Kenji thought that he had misunderstood her words, but the
look on her face told him that he hadn't. The Zealots? Where they like
an opposite of NSS? And they were Senshi, who could predict what
danger they might cause if they would attack. People would die. Normal
and defenseless people. But could a Senshi really kill an innocent
without having regrets?
"Before you make out your mind about us, there is someone I
would like you to meet," Freya said. "Come with me."
She walked towards a door and knocked softly on it. Once she opened
the door, she waved to Kenji to follow her. Kenji did and they came
into a small room which looked like an office combined with a bedroom.
There was a messy desk with a computer in the center of the room. At
the corner of the room was an unmade bed. Sitting on a chair behind
the desk was a woman with dark skin and thick, dark blue hair. She
looked like she was in her thirties, which was rare for a Senshi.
"Kenji, meet our leader, Dahlia," Freya said. "Dahlia-sama,
this is Yamazaki Kenji, also known as Odin. I met him today and
decided to bring him here."
"Yamazaki Kenji?" Dahlia repeated, standing up and looking at
Kenji as if trying to analyse him. "You have certainly grown up to be
a fine young man."
"Excuse me, ma'm, but have we met before?" Kenji asked
politely.
Dahlia smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you were only a child
when I last saw you," she apologized. "I knew your mother, Kenji-san,
I used to work with her until... until those NSS bastards came."
Kenji was silent, remembering what had occured to his birth mother
when he was ten years old. He remembered how proud he had been to
have Jean Takanera as his mother, she was a Senshi, a good mother and
firm believer in peace. In his eyes she had been the bravest person in
the world. Which other Senshi had dared to reveal herself to the
public and had worked so hard for peace? She could have succeeded, if
she hadn't been shot during a live broadcast debate.
"I'm sorry," Dahlia apologized again. "I didn't mean to bring
up any sad memories. Your mother was a wonderful person, you must
never forget that. But all her work was in vain."
"What do you mean?" Kenji wondered.
"I once believed in peace," Dahlia told, looking away. "That
is how I met up with Jean in the first place. But Jean's death proved
that the human race wants war, not peace."
* * * *
"That was an interesting meeting," Kenji murmured as he and
Freya stepped out from Dahlia's office. Freya closed the door and then
looked at Kenji.
"Dahlia is right," she said. "The humans wants war and not
peace. What I can't understand is why no one has realized it sooner
and taken action."
"Not all humans wants war," Kenji pointed out. "Most of them
are just afraid of us. You're judging everyone by what NSS has done.
Don't you think it's a bit unfair for you to judge all of them?"
Freya looked away. "Unfair?" she repeated. "You say that they are just
afraid. Let me tell you a story, Kenji. Once upon a time there was a
woman, a pregnant woman. She was going through a difficult labour but
the doctors refused to help her because she was a Senshi. So she died,
but the baby survived. The baby was raised by her sister, also a
Senshi. Both her mother and sister had believed in peace, so the
little girl was tought to do that too. Until the day when the little
girl and her sister were attacked by angry villages, who accused the
sister of a crime she hadn't commited. She denied it, but they
wouldn't listen. She was beaten without a trial and she refused to
fight back because she believed in peace. The sister died and the
little girl no longer believed in peace. That is my experience with
humans and how judging they are."
With that Freya walked away. She went into another room and slammed
the door after herself. Kenji stood silent and in deep thought. It
was weird how Freya's family and his own mother had died because of
the same reason, but what Kenji was thinking about was how strange it
was that Freya was so different from him. If Freya didn't believe in
peace, was there a reason for Kenji to believe in it?
* * * *
"Kenji's not home yet..." Chie murmured, looking at her watch
for the fifth time in one minute. Yasha was lying on the couch and
zapping through the channels on TV and looking for some decent movie
to watch. She sighed, she was getting a little sick of Chie's worry.
"Chie, you don't need to worry about him that much. He's all
grown up and he doesn't need another mom who's worrying."
Chie impatiently drummed her fingers against the coffee table. "I'm
worried because he might be in trouble," Chie told. "It's not very
like Kenji to sneak away and not be back yet. It's late and it's dark.
What if he was attacked by a demon or something?"
"Then he would have contacted us," Yasha assured as she sat up
on the couch and put down the remote on the coffee table. "You don't
have to be so worried. He'll be home soon." They suddenly heard a
clicking sound, as if the front door was being unlocked. "See what I
mean, *mom*?"
Chie smiled. From where she was sitting she could see Kenji entering
the house. She got up from her chair and walked towards the hallway.
"Where were you?" Chie asked Kenji. "I was afraid that
something might have happened to you. Usagi said that you just went
out to look for a Senshi that had been on the news. You should have
told us about it."
"I know," Kenji answered as he took his shoes off. "I was just
anxious to find her. And I did, near a crystal point."
Chie raised one eye brow, looking surprised. "You did? What happened?
Nothing dangerous, I hope."
Kenji almost smiled to himself, remembering when he had jumped off the
roof top after Freya. "No, nothing like that," he lied. "Would you
mind if I tell you about it tomorrow instead? I just want to go and
get some sleep right now."
"Of course," Chie replied, returning to the living room. "Good
night, Kenji."
"See, what did I tell you?" Yasha said as soon as Chie came
back.
* * * *
He remembered it all so well. It had been a traumatic event but after
thirteen years he still remembered it. He was going to spend the
evening at his uncle Nobuo's and aunt Emi's house. His mother was
going to attend some live TV thing. She had described it as boring but
neccessary.
"I'll pick you up at eight," Jean said and she stroke her
son's hair. "Then we'll go out and eat, okay?"
"Hai okaa-san," Kenji answered and ruffled his hair back into
the way it normally looked like. Jean smiled, Kenji noticed how well
his mother looked despite that she had spent less than ten minutes in
front of the mirror. Her hair was naturally wavy and brown. The new
sunglasses were pulled up over her forehead. Compared to other
mothers, Jean looked very young although Kenji knew that it was
because she was a Senshi.
"Please make sure that he does his homework," Jean said and
turned to her cousin Emi. "He has a tendancy to not do the homeworks
until five minutes before school."
"I'll make sure of that," Emi promised and gave Jean a tight
hug. "Good luck with the broadcast." She then whispered a few words
that Kenji wasn't supposed to hear, but he did it anyway. "Be careful,
Jean. Don't let your guard down."
"I won't," Jean whispered back and then released Emi from the
hug. She grabbed her coat and put it on, then she gave Kenji one last
hug. "Be nice to aunt Emi."
Kenji nodded. Jean then said goodbye and left through the door. From
the window Kenji waved to her and mouthed goodbye, one last time.
* * * *
"Minna-san, have you heard?" Yasha asked as she dashed into
the living room. To her surprise only Kenji sat there. Yasha looked at
him with a surprised look. "Where is everyone?"
"I don't know," Kenji answered with a shrug. "I know that the
girls are helping Misao with an essay or something but I have no idea
where the others are. What happened?"
"I just heard something on the radio," Yasha told and a
serious look came across her face. "You know the NSS guy who works
with Miyazawa's dad, Amano Akihito? Just a few hours there was a group
of Senshi who broke into his house and tried to kill him. They failed,
but when reinforcements arrived they took Amano's daughter with them
and escaped."
Kenji looked at Yasha. Could it be the Zealots who had done that? No,
Dahlia couldn't possibly order them to kill Amano Akihito. He hadn't
known Dahlia for long, but she didn't seem to the careless kind of
leader. Breaking into an NSS leader's house in the afternoon was a
careless action.
"Did they say anything else?" he asked and stood up.
"Yes, they said something about one of the Senshi," Yasha
replied. "You know the Senshi who everyone thinks was responsible for
the murdered men? She was spotted among the Senshi group."
Kenji frowned. If Valkyrie was spotted, it had to be the Zealots. But
why would they try to kill Amano Akihito all of the sudden? According
to Dahlia the Zealots hadn't tried to attack NSS leaders like that
before. Something was wrong.
"Where are you going?" Yasha wondered when Kenji left the
living room. "Are you going to find those Senshi?"
"You're right."
Yasha bit her lip and remembered how worried Chie had been about Kenji
last week when he had just gone out. Kenji hadn't told them yet
exactly where he had been but Yasha could figure out that it had
something to do with those Senshi. Whatever it was, it would be
Yasha's fault if something happened to Kenji.
"I'm going with you," Yasha declared, following her friend.
She was surprised when Kenji didn't protest. Instead, he looked a
little relieved.
"You're welcome to."
* * * *
"So basically... these Zealots are the opposite of NSS?"
"Something like that," Kenji replied as he parked the car.
"I'm worried about what Dahlia and Freya will do to Amano's daughter.
I just hope that everyone's alright."
Yasha opened the car door and stepped out. She pulled her sunglasses
over her forehead and let her green eyes gaze through the shabby
neighbourhood. When she closed the door she saw Kenji heading for a
entrance that probably lead to a basement.
"Nice place they chose to live in..." she murmured and
followed Kenji. Kenji expected the door to be locked, but to his
surprise it wasn't. He frowned, Freya had told him that the Zealots
were very careful to not be discovered. Had something happened to
them? He pushed the door open and to his surprise he saw a girl
sitting in a corner. Kenji recognized her immediately before of her
pale green skin and white hair. It was one of the youngest Zealots,
Michie, whom Dahlia had introduced him to.
"Michie," he said, walking over to her and bending down on his
knees. "It's me, Yamazaki Kenji. What has happened? Why are you
crying?"
Michie looked at him and Kenji could see that she had been crying.
"Kenji-sama, what are you doing here?" she wondered. "All the adults
have already left."
"Left for what?" Yasha asked.
"They took the girl to the fifth Crystal Point," Michie told.
"Freya ordered everyone to do it."
"What about Dahlia? What did she say about that?"
Michie looked at Kenji with tear-filled eyes. "Don't you know,
Kenji-sama? Dahlia-sama is dead."
Kenji had never looked so shocked when he heard that. He opened his
mouth to say something but couldn't find the right words. Yasha knew
what he wanted to ask and did it in his place.
"What happened?"
Michie started to sob quietly. "Dahlia-sama was just trying to save
us. We were playing outside and all of the sudden a car came.
Dahlia-sama used her powers to protect us, but a NSS man came and
thought that Dahlia was trying to attack them..."
Yasha pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and bent down to
Michie, drying the little girl's tears. She smiled faintly and put her
hand on Michie's shoulder.
"It's alright," Yasha assured. "Are you alone here?"
Michie shook her head. "The other children are downstairs. But I
wanted stay up here in case NSS would come."
"Go downstairs with the others," Yasha said softly. "NSS won't
come here. Whatever you do, don't panic. Kenji and I will take care of
this."
Michie nodded and then opened the hatch behind the mirror. Yasha
followed her and when Michie had climbed through, she quietly closed
the hatch and turned to Kenji. He still hadn't said anything since he
had heard what happened to Dahlia.
"Kenji, we better get going," Yasha reminded. "Your friend
might not be so merciful to this girl. Will you be okay?"
Kenji nodded and then headed for the door. "I'll be okay..." he
slowly answered. "Dahlia may be dead but Amano's daughter is innocent.
I'm just afraid that Freya will do something terrible out of hate and
anger."
* * * *
The dark clouds told Valkyrie that it was going to rain soon. She
closed her eyes and remembered another day with dark clouds. It had
been just like any other day. She had gone to school, she had gone
home and her sister had taken her out to eat. Only minutes after that
she had been alone, without a friend or relative in the world. Dahlia
had brought her out from poverity and worries about where to find food
for the day. Dahlia had given her a family, a home and a cause. And
now she was dead. Valkyrie frowned. It was all because of humans'
prejudice.
[You were wrong, Signe...] Valkyrie thought, as if thinking
that her sister could hear her. [You, mother, Jean Takanera... and
everyone else who believed in peace. Humans are too judging, if they
want war... I'll give it to them.]
"Valkyrie, we got the witnesses," one of the Zealots informed.
Valkyrie nodded and turned to the group of people that the Zealots had
captured. They were tied and guarded by the Senshi. Valkyrie
recognized the look on their faces. The look of fear. Valkyrie had
been that afraid once. The only reason why humans had spared her life
was because she had been a child. She had remembered the fear in her
heart. But after Signe's death she had never feared anything. The fear
had become anger and hate. Anger and hate was her strength.
"Remember this," Valkyrie said. "Remember what a Senshi's
wrath can do. Remember what the Zealots can do."
Then she turned around and looked at the little girl. She stood on the
ground but her entire body was shaking, out of cold and out of fear.
Valkyrie took a few steps closer, to the girl she was like an evil
goddess with eyes made of blue ice.
"What's your name, little girl?" Valkyrie asked. The little
girl was so afraid that she was stammering.
"A..a... Amano... Keiko."
Valkyrie smiled, but her smile was just as cold as the look in her
eyes. "I will remember your name, Keiko-chan. Your father and his men
took someone important away from me. Now I'm taking someone important
from your father, you."
She held out her right hand and her spear appeared like magic. Keiko's
eyes were focused on the sharp blade of the spear, she knew that it
was going to pierce through her any moment. She shut her eyes tightly
when she felt the tears being formed. Valkyrie raised her spear, not
hestitating.
"Valkyrie, stop!"
Valkyrie frowned at the interuption and looked over her shoulder. She
saw Odin standing there, accompanied by a Senshi with long dark hair.
Valkyrie lowered her spear and turned to them.
"What are you doing here, Odin Knight?" she asked.
"Let the girl and the others go," Odin said as he walked over
to her, his cape flapping in the wind. "They are innocent, they have
nothing to do with Dahlia's death."
"I don't care," Valkyrie hissed angrily. "They are humans and
should die."
"Talk about nice attitude," the Senshi who had accompanied
Odin said with a sarcastic tone.
"Who are you?" Valkyrie demanded.
"I'm Medusa, one of the Shin Senshi. We demand that you
release the girl and the others ones, or else you'll just have to
fight us."
Valkyrie turned her gaze back to Odin. "You, the son of Jean Takanera,
should know the pain of having a relative lost because of humans'
prejudice. Why don't you want to join us, Odin? Your mother and Dahlia
would have wanted you to do that."
Medusa sighed and raised her arm. "Okay, let's get to the point then,"
she said casually. "Poison Ar..."
"Medusa, wait," Odin cut off. Medusa looked at her with a
surprised expression on her face, but the arrow that had appeared
disappeared and she stood silent. Odin took one step forwards.
"You're wrong. My mother wouldn't have wanted me to join the
Zealots. She believed in peace, as well as your sister."
"They shouldn't have. It was what caused their deaths. The
humans never listened to them. They both worked hard for nothing. No
humans has ever been kind to me, ever."
"My foster parents are human," Odin told. "My real mother was
a Senshi. My best friends are Senshi, my other friends are humans.
Look at the girl you were about to kill. Tell me who you see."
Valkyrie turned to Keiko. "I see the daughter of a NSS leader,"
Valkyrie said with hidden anger in her voice.
"Look again."
Valkyrie looked at Keiko once again. Keiko had blonde hair and blue
eyes, it all seemed to familiar. Valkyrie's eyes saddened as she
realized it. Her hair had been blonde once, before she became Valkyrie
and the powers changed her appearance. And that look of fear on
Keiko's face... Yes, their faces weren't exactly alike, but Keiko
looked just the same way Valkyrie had that night when Signe had died.
For the first time in a long time tears were formed in Valkyrie's
eyes. She tried to hold them back, but it was useless. She dropped
the spear but it vanished just before it fell to the ground.
The other Zealots looked confused. All of them wondered the
same thing, were they going to release Amano Keiko or were they going
to kill her? Valkyrie was their leader now, they would obey her every
command. But what would they do in this case?
Valkyrie closed her eyes, but she couldn't push away the
memory of looking at her attackers with the look of fear. The
attacker had been a tall, well-built man. He had looked at her with
angry eyes, then had muttered something about a child and then left
with the other attackers. She had been so shocked that she hadn't
done anything for several minutes, then she had crawled over to her
dying sister. Why did she had to be alive and not Signe? Because the
man had spared her. Valkyrie opened her eyes as she reached the
decision, she turned to Odin and the other Zealots who was watching
her.
"I will spare this girl, just because another man spared my
life," she declared. "But the Zealots will still be around, stronger
than ever. It will not be today, but one day, we will strike."
"And the Shin Senshi will be there to stop you," Odin replied
calmly. "I can promise you that."
Valkyrie bowed her head lightly in respect and then left the place.
She was followed by the Zealots, who released their captives and left.
Odin watched her leaving while Medusa made sure that the captives
hadn't been hurt.
[I will see you again, Freya... And I sincerely thank you for
sparing this girl's life.]
* * * *
"I thought that I might find you here," Chie said as she saw
Kenji sitting in the library with a photo album in his hands. She
closed the door after herself and walked over to Kenji.
"I'm just looking through a photo album I got from my aunt
Emi," Kenji replied. "I went and visited her this morning and she let
me borrow this."
Chie nodded and looked at the picture. "Is this your mother?" she
asked, pointing at an elegant, brown haired woman dressed in a blue
business suit. Kenji nodded. "You look just like her."
"I know."
Chie smiled faintly. "Yasha told me what happened with those Zealots,"
she said. "Are you okay?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"
Chie shrugged and pulled a chair over to her. "I don't know," she
replied and sat down. "While she told me the story I was actually a
bit afraid that you might be thinking about leaving us and join the
Zealots instead."
"Why would you be that?" Kenji wondered. Chie shrugged once
again.
"Perhaps because you seem to have more in common with them
than us. I mean, despite being Senshi we all had a happy childhood,
even Tomo. It's easier for us to say that we believe in peace than it
is for the Zealots."
"Maybe. My mother dreamt of a world where there are no fights
or hate between humans and Senshi. Freya was able to spare a girl's
life yesterday. It prooves that my mother's dream can still come true,
that's all that matters."
Yes, I finally finished this part!!! It took me almost two and a half
month to do that, but now it's finished and I'm so happy!! :) This was
a difficult part to write and also became one of those parts that
turned out very different from how I planned them to be. BTW, you'll
be seeing more of Freya in the future.
Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
9 April, 2001
Next:
Sailormoon Mirai Part X: Visions
Usagi gets strange dreams about a mysterious woman who warns her about
a danger. But what can Usagi do to save Ishtar and the others when
they get injured in a fight?
~MIRAI~
PART IX: WARRIOR MAIDEN
by: Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Sailormoon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko and Kodansha, not me.
Although most of the characters in this fanfiction are original and
created by me.
Some Japanese words I use:
hai = yes
okaa-san = mother
oba-san = aunt
minna-san = everyone
* * * *
"Last night, a man was found dead in near the fifth crystal
point. Several witnesses has claimed that it was a Senshi, carrying a
spear, who was the murder. This is the third man that has been found
dead near a crystal point this month..."
"What are you watching?" Usagi asked, sitting down next to
Kenji on the couch.
"Just the news," he answered. He glanced at Usagi before
looking at the TV again. "There's been a murder again, witnesses say
that it was a Senshi who did it."
Usagi turned her gaze to the TV set. "Couldn't that just be false
accusations?" she wondered. "I mean, people often blame Senshi when
something abnormal happens, don't they?"
"That's what I thought when I first heard it," Kenji replied.
"But I think that this is different. Three murders and all the
witnesses have claimed that it was a Senshi with a spear. Even the
police annouced that the people who got killed were most likely killed
by a weapon, like a spear."
He paused as the TV showed a blurry picture of a female Senshi. They
couldn't tell how her face looked like since the picture had been
taken when it was dark. But one thing that was clear, the Senshi was
holding a spear in her hands.
"I think that we got an answer there," Usagi said. "But what I
don't understand is why a Senshi would run around Crystal Tokyo and
kill people. I know that all Senshi aren't trying to defeat all these
demons, but still... It makes no sense at all. No Senshi can be truly
evil."
Kenji nodded, agreeing with her. "You're right," he said and rose from
the couch. He began to walk towards the exit in the living room.
"Absolutely right."
"Where are you going?" Usagi wondered.
"I'm going to find that Senshi and find out what's really
going on."
* * * *
The sky was dark, filled with clouds. As if it wasn't chilly enough,
cold winds were blowing. Valkyrie tightened her grip around her spear
as a cold gust of wind blew past her and her hair blew into her face.
Her eyes were gazing downwards, at the ground and the people that were
standing on it. It was going to rain soon, if she didn't go back then
the others were surely going to notice that she was gone. The area was
still being surveyed by the police but she had to make sure that she
had left no trace. Or else... she didn't know what to do if the police
would find the others.
As she stood on the roof of a high building, she watched the
police going through everything around the crystal point. They were
looking everywhere for some kind of clue, anything, that would help
them find the mysterious Senshi.
Anything that would help them find the Valkyrie.
She hadn't been discreet enough about it, she hadn't noticed that
there were witnesses. Especially not witnesses with cameras. One had
snapped a picture, a picture of her. Luckily it had been too dark for
them to get a clear picture of her, but it was still a picture where
she could be identified. Valkyrie watched the policemen with disgust.
They were nothing more than simple humans with such short lifespans.
They believed that they had the right to rule the entire planet by
themselves, to banish all Senshi to the Moon Kingdom or to simply
kill them. They believed that the Senshi were the danger of the
planet. They were so wrong.
"They are the danger, not us," Valkyrie said out loud.
"Who are you talking about?"
The unknown voice coming from behind caused Valkyrie to turn around
and ready her spear, only to find that she was pointing at another
Senshi. He was not much taller than her, perhaps it was because she
was tall herself. He was dressed in an armour and a green cape. In
his gloved hand he held a bright sword. Valkyrie gazed right at his
face, the man had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. It was no doubt, by
the way he dressed she could see that he was a Senshi. Just like
herself.
"Who are you?" Valkyrie demanded, not lowering her spear. She
had learned many years ago that one shouldn't trust people easily,
Senshi or not.
"Just another Senshi," the man replied. "Odin is my name."
"What are you doing here?" Valkyrie immediately asked. She had
no intention of telling him her name.
"Would you please lower your spear? Trust me, I have no
intention of hurting you."
Valkyrie lowered her spear a little, but kept it ready, just in case
something would happen. She could see Odin looking somewhat relieved.
He grapped the sword with both his hands and raised it. Believing that
he would attack her, Valkyrie jumped backwards and held up her spear,
ready for a fight. But as Odin held up his sword it simply vanished
and he looked at her with surprise.
"What are you doing?" he wondered.
"Just tell me what you are doing here," Valkyrie hissed. "And
how did you know I was here?"
"Are you the murderer?"
Those words struck Valkyrie like an arrow. A murderer. Was she a
murderer? Three people had been killed by her spear. Did that make her
a murderer? No, she was a soldier. A soldier fighting for what was
right. Sacrifices had to be made sometimes.
"Perhaps," Valkyrie replied. "What does it have to do with
you?"
"Why did you do it?" Odin asked. "Why did you kill three men
for no reason?"
Anger flared inside Valkyrie when she heard for words. Her blue eyes
narrowed as she spoke. "No reason?!" she repeated angrily. "How dare
you... You aren't aware of what I have gone through, you aren't aware
what humans have done to us Senshi, for what they claim is in the name
of right!"
"They are simply afraid of us and their actions are caused by
their confusions."
"For the love of the light, you are a Senshi yourself!"
Valkyrie cried out. "How can you even think of defending humans?"
"We may be Senshi, but deep inside we are still human beings,"
Odin said, taking a few steps towards her. Valkyrie didn't move, nor
did she lower her guard. But she was speechless. She tried to think
of something to say but she couldn't. Human being? She had never seen
anything but ruthlessness from humans, her entire family had been
killed by humans. Now this Odin came... who did he think he was?
As Valkyrie opened her mouth to say something, the door that
to the stairs that led down into the building opened. To make things
worse, it was a policeman that came up on the roof. At first he didn't
see them, but when he did his jaw dropped in shock and he stood there
looking for his communicator that was somewhere in his pocket.
Valkyrie quietly swore to herself as he found it and started to
contact the other policemen. If she tried to kill this policeman than
Odin would surely stop her. There was only one choice let. She had to
flee. She turned around and ran as fast as she could. When she reached
the edge she showed no intention of stopping, instead she jumped over
the edge and fell down. Odin couldn't believe his eyes when she did
that.
"Don't!" he called, but it was too late. He ran over to the
edge and looked down to see her falling down. It was so high, she was
going to die from the fall. Odin took a deep breath, he knew that he
was going to regret this. That is if he would live to regret it. But
then he climbed over the edge and jumped after her.
Valkyrie was near the ground when she saw him coming after
her. Stupidity, was her only thought. But she had to admire him for
trying to save someone he had just met. When her feet were just inches
from the ground she suddenly stopped falling. She stood hovering in
the air for a brief moment. Then she jumped once again and shot
herself up in the air. On the way up she met Odin, grabbed his arm
with her free hand and continued to fly upwards. She flew upwards
until she reached the roof again. There, both she and Odin landed
softly. The policeman was still there, now he was holding a gun and
was pointing it at them.
"F...fff... freeze!!" he stammered, doing his best to not
panic. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, she grabbed Odin's arm once again
and jumped. It wasn't a normal jump that she made. She practically
leaped over to the next roof with Odin. Then to another, and another.
The policeman stood shocked as he watched her jumping from roof to
roof, moving further away from him.
* * * *
"That was close..." Valkyrie murmured as she leaned against
the cold, brick wall in the alley. She took a deep breath, sometimes
all the jumping really took quite some energy out of her. Odin just
stared at her, still somewhat surprised by her powers.
"I admire your courage," Valkyrie finally admitted. "Although
I have no idea of what in the world you were thinking when you jumped
after me back there."
"I was afraid that you were going to..." Odin began.
"Get hurt?" Valkyrie finished for him with a smile and an
amused glimpse in her eyes. "My Senshi powers can make me jump up a
building or float, but since you didn't know that I guess that I still
have to thank you for jumping after me."
"You're welcome," Odin replied as he closed his eyes. A wave
of energy washed over him, transforming him back to Kenji. Valkyrie
was a bit surprised that he would de-transform right in front of
someone he had just met. On the other had, he had also jumped down a
thirty floor building trying to help her even though he didn't have
the power. Then he reached out his hand for her to shake. "My name is
Yamazaki Kenji. You already know my Senshi name."
"I'm Valkyrie," Valkyrie answered, taking his hand. "Otherwise
people call me Freya."
She reacted at his name. Yamazaki Kenji? This guy couldn't possibly be
*the* Yamazaki Kenji? But he was at the right age and his looks were
just right... Could it be a coincidence? But his appearance was right
and he was a Senshi. It was too much to be just a coincidence. Yes,
it had to be him.
"What is it?" Kenji asked when he noticed the expression on
Valkyrie's face.
"You don't happen to be the Yamazaki Kenji... the son of Jean
Takanera the Senshi, wouldn't you?" she asked carefully. She knew that
she had been right when Kenji looked so stunned. For a moment she
actually thought that he was going to deny it because of the long
silence. But he didn't.
"Yes..." he finally answered. "Jean Takanera is my birth
mother."
Valkyrie bit her lip, then waved her hand and de-transformed into a
woman with auburn hair and who was wearing a pair of simple jeans and
a grey sweater. When she was done with the transformation, she looked
at Kenji.
"Come with me," Freya said. "We need to talk, but this isn't
the right place."
* * * *
After nearly ten minutes of walking through alleys and empty streets
they finally reached the entrance of a basement. Freya looked around,
to see if anyone was there. There was not a single person around these
blocks, Kenji noticed. Freya unlocked the door and opened it.
"Come in," she said quietly, as if not wanting anyone to hear
her. Kenji walked past her and into the basement. There was nothing
but a chair and a table in the basement. On the wall was a full length
mirror, but that was it.
"Follow me," Freya ordered and walked towards the mirror. She
removed it from the wall and revealed what appeared to be a secret
hatch. With another key Freya unlocked the hatch's lock and then
opened it. "In here."
Kenji simply did as she told him to, he was curious about what
everything would lead to. Beyond the hatch was a stair, apparently it
lead downwards. When Freya had climbed through the hatch she closed
and locked it. Then she turned on the lights with a switch. The lights
were not strong, it was only a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.
"Go down," Freya said. "We'll talk there."
She went down the stairs first and he followed her. The stairs never
seemed to end, after one another showed up.
"How far down are we going?" Kenji asked.
"Far," Freya simply answered. "We have to be careful around
these days, we never know when NSS is around."
Kenji was just about to ask who "we" were when he reached flat, simple
floor. He looked forwards and saw that they weren't alone. They had
entered a hall filled with people, or to be correct, a hall of Sailor
Senshi. There were at least thirty of them. The hall was like a great
dormitory, there were beds and furniture everywhere. The Senshi, not
even aware of their arrival, sat doing things normal people did.
Reading, writing, listening to music, chatting with each other. At
first Kenji didn't know what to say, although his mind was occupied
with one question:
What were so many Senshi doing in a hall so far down?
"What is this place?" Kenji finally asked.
"This is our headquarters," Freya replied. "But also our home.
Lost and betrayed Senshi has gathered here, tired of the NSS and how
normal humans treat us. We are the Zealots, Kenji. The ones who will
bring an end to NSS and humans."
At first Kenji thought that he had misunderstood her words, but the
look on her face told him that he hadn't. The Zealots? Where they like
an opposite of NSS? And they were Senshi, who could predict what
danger they might cause if they would attack. People would die. Normal
and defenseless people. But could a Senshi really kill an innocent
without having regrets?
"Before you make out your mind about us, there is someone I
would like you to meet," Freya said. "Come with me."
She walked towards a door and knocked softly on it. Once she opened
the door, she waved to Kenji to follow her. Kenji did and they came
into a small room which looked like an office combined with a bedroom.
There was a messy desk with a computer in the center of the room. At
the corner of the room was an unmade bed. Sitting on a chair behind
the desk was a woman with dark skin and thick, dark blue hair. She
looked like she was in her thirties, which was rare for a Senshi.
"Kenji, meet our leader, Dahlia," Freya said. "Dahlia-sama,
this is Yamazaki Kenji, also known as Odin. I met him today and
decided to bring him here."
"Yamazaki Kenji?" Dahlia repeated, standing up and looking at
Kenji as if trying to analyse him. "You have certainly grown up to be
a fine young man."
"Excuse me, ma'm, but have we met before?" Kenji asked
politely.
Dahlia smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you were only a child
when I last saw you," she apologized. "I knew your mother, Kenji-san,
I used to work with her until... until those NSS bastards came."
Kenji was silent, remembering what had occured to his birth mother
when he was ten years old. He remembered how proud he had been to
have Jean Takanera as his mother, she was a Senshi, a good mother and
firm believer in peace. In his eyes she had been the bravest person in
the world. Which other Senshi had dared to reveal herself to the
public and had worked so hard for peace? She could have succeeded, if
she hadn't been shot during a live broadcast debate.
"I'm sorry," Dahlia apologized again. "I didn't mean to bring
up any sad memories. Your mother was a wonderful person, you must
never forget that. But all her work was in vain."
"What do you mean?" Kenji wondered.
"I once believed in peace," Dahlia told, looking away. "That
is how I met up with Jean in the first place. But Jean's death proved
that the human race wants war, not peace."
* * * *
"That was an interesting meeting," Kenji murmured as he and
Freya stepped out from Dahlia's office. Freya closed the door and then
looked at Kenji.
"Dahlia is right," she said. "The humans wants war and not
peace. What I can't understand is why no one has realized it sooner
and taken action."
"Not all humans wants war," Kenji pointed out. "Most of them
are just afraid of us. You're judging everyone by what NSS has done.
Don't you think it's a bit unfair for you to judge all of them?"
Freya looked away. "Unfair?" she repeated. "You say that they are just
afraid. Let me tell you a story, Kenji. Once upon a time there was a
woman, a pregnant woman. She was going through a difficult labour but
the doctors refused to help her because she was a Senshi. So she died,
but the baby survived. The baby was raised by her sister, also a
Senshi. Both her mother and sister had believed in peace, so the
little girl was tought to do that too. Until the day when the little
girl and her sister were attacked by angry villages, who accused the
sister of a crime she hadn't commited. She denied it, but they
wouldn't listen. She was beaten without a trial and she refused to
fight back because she believed in peace. The sister died and the
little girl no longer believed in peace. That is my experience with
humans and how judging they are."
With that Freya walked away. She went into another room and slammed
the door after herself. Kenji stood silent and in deep thought. It
was weird how Freya's family and his own mother had died because of
the same reason, but what Kenji was thinking about was how strange it
was that Freya was so different from him. If Freya didn't believe in
peace, was there a reason for Kenji to believe in it?
* * * *
"Kenji's not home yet..." Chie murmured, looking at her watch
for the fifth time in one minute. Yasha was lying on the couch and
zapping through the channels on TV and looking for some decent movie
to watch. She sighed, she was getting a little sick of Chie's worry.
"Chie, you don't need to worry about him that much. He's all
grown up and he doesn't need another mom who's worrying."
Chie impatiently drummed her fingers against the coffee table. "I'm
worried because he might be in trouble," Chie told. "It's not very
like Kenji to sneak away and not be back yet. It's late and it's dark.
What if he was attacked by a demon or something?"
"Then he would have contacted us," Yasha assured as she sat up
on the couch and put down the remote on the coffee table. "You don't
have to be so worried. He'll be home soon." They suddenly heard a
clicking sound, as if the front door was being unlocked. "See what I
mean, *mom*?"
Chie smiled. From where she was sitting she could see Kenji entering
the house. She got up from her chair and walked towards the hallway.
"Where were you?" Chie asked Kenji. "I was afraid that
something might have happened to you. Usagi said that you just went
out to look for a Senshi that had been on the news. You should have
told us about it."
"I know," Kenji answered as he took his shoes off. "I was just
anxious to find her. And I did, near a crystal point."
Chie raised one eye brow, looking surprised. "You did? What happened?
Nothing dangerous, I hope."
Kenji almost smiled to himself, remembering when he had jumped off the
roof top after Freya. "No, nothing like that," he lied. "Would you
mind if I tell you about it tomorrow instead? I just want to go and
get some sleep right now."
"Of course," Chie replied, returning to the living room. "Good
night, Kenji."
"See, what did I tell you?" Yasha said as soon as Chie came
back.
* * * *
He remembered it all so well. It had been a traumatic event but after
thirteen years he still remembered it. He was going to spend the
evening at his uncle Nobuo's and aunt Emi's house. His mother was
going to attend some live TV thing. She had described it as boring but
neccessary.
"I'll pick you up at eight," Jean said and she stroke her
son's hair. "Then we'll go out and eat, okay?"
"Hai okaa-san," Kenji answered and ruffled his hair back into
the way it normally looked like. Jean smiled, Kenji noticed how well
his mother looked despite that she had spent less than ten minutes in
front of the mirror. Her hair was naturally wavy and brown. The new
sunglasses were pulled up over her forehead. Compared to other
mothers, Jean looked very young although Kenji knew that it was
because she was a Senshi.
"Please make sure that he does his homework," Jean said and
turned to her cousin Emi. "He has a tendancy to not do the homeworks
until five minutes before school."
"I'll make sure of that," Emi promised and gave Jean a tight
hug. "Good luck with the broadcast." She then whispered a few words
that Kenji wasn't supposed to hear, but he did it anyway. "Be careful,
Jean. Don't let your guard down."
"I won't," Jean whispered back and then released Emi from the
hug. She grabbed her coat and put it on, then she gave Kenji one last
hug. "Be nice to aunt Emi."
Kenji nodded. Jean then said goodbye and left through the door. From
the window Kenji waved to her and mouthed goodbye, one last time.
* * * *
"Minna-san, have you heard?" Yasha asked as she dashed into
the living room. To her surprise only Kenji sat there. Yasha looked at
him with a surprised look. "Where is everyone?"
"I don't know," Kenji answered with a shrug. "I know that the
girls are helping Misao with an essay or something but I have no idea
where the others are. What happened?"
"I just heard something on the radio," Yasha told and a
serious look came across her face. "You know the NSS guy who works
with Miyazawa's dad, Amano Akihito? Just a few hours there was a group
of Senshi who broke into his house and tried to kill him. They failed,
but when reinforcements arrived they took Amano's daughter with them
and escaped."
Kenji looked at Yasha. Could it be the Zealots who had done that? No,
Dahlia couldn't possibly order them to kill Amano Akihito. He hadn't
known Dahlia for long, but she didn't seem to the careless kind of
leader. Breaking into an NSS leader's house in the afternoon was a
careless action.
"Did they say anything else?" he asked and stood up.
"Yes, they said something about one of the Senshi," Yasha
replied. "You know the Senshi who everyone thinks was responsible for
the murdered men? She was spotted among the Senshi group."
Kenji frowned. If Valkyrie was spotted, it had to be the Zealots. But
why would they try to kill Amano Akihito all of the sudden? According
to Dahlia the Zealots hadn't tried to attack NSS leaders like that
before. Something was wrong.
"Where are you going?" Yasha wondered when Kenji left the
living room. "Are you going to find those Senshi?"
"You're right."
Yasha bit her lip and remembered how worried Chie had been about Kenji
last week when he had just gone out. Kenji hadn't told them yet
exactly where he had been but Yasha could figure out that it had
something to do with those Senshi. Whatever it was, it would be
Yasha's fault if something happened to Kenji.
"I'm going with you," Yasha declared, following her friend.
She was surprised when Kenji didn't protest. Instead, he looked a
little relieved.
"You're welcome to."
* * * *
"So basically... these Zealots are the opposite of NSS?"
"Something like that," Kenji replied as he parked the car.
"I'm worried about what Dahlia and Freya will do to Amano's daughter.
I just hope that everyone's alright."
Yasha opened the car door and stepped out. She pulled her sunglasses
over her forehead and let her green eyes gaze through the shabby
neighbourhood. When she closed the door she saw Kenji heading for a
entrance that probably lead to a basement.
"Nice place they chose to live in..." she murmured and
followed Kenji. Kenji expected the door to be locked, but to his
surprise it wasn't. He frowned, Freya had told him that the Zealots
were very careful to not be discovered. Had something happened to
them? He pushed the door open and to his surprise he saw a girl
sitting in a corner. Kenji recognized her immediately before of her
pale green skin and white hair. It was one of the youngest Zealots,
Michie, whom Dahlia had introduced him to.
"Michie," he said, walking over to her and bending down on his
knees. "It's me, Yamazaki Kenji. What has happened? Why are you
crying?"
Michie looked at him and Kenji could see that she had been crying.
"Kenji-sama, what are you doing here?" she wondered. "All the adults
have already left."
"Left for what?" Yasha asked.
"They took the girl to the fifth Crystal Point," Michie told.
"Freya ordered everyone to do it."
"What about Dahlia? What did she say about that?"
Michie looked at Kenji with tear-filled eyes. "Don't you know,
Kenji-sama? Dahlia-sama is dead."
Kenji had never looked so shocked when he heard that. He opened his
mouth to say something but couldn't find the right words. Yasha knew
what he wanted to ask and did it in his place.
"What happened?"
Michie started to sob quietly. "Dahlia-sama was just trying to save
us. We were playing outside and all of the sudden a car came.
Dahlia-sama used her powers to protect us, but a NSS man came and
thought that Dahlia was trying to attack them..."
Yasha pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and bent down to
Michie, drying the little girl's tears. She smiled faintly and put her
hand on Michie's shoulder.
"It's alright," Yasha assured. "Are you alone here?"
Michie shook her head. "The other children are downstairs. But I
wanted stay up here in case NSS would come."
"Go downstairs with the others," Yasha said softly. "NSS won't
come here. Whatever you do, don't panic. Kenji and I will take care of
this."
Michie nodded and then opened the hatch behind the mirror. Yasha
followed her and when Michie had climbed through, she quietly closed
the hatch and turned to Kenji. He still hadn't said anything since he
had heard what happened to Dahlia.
"Kenji, we better get going," Yasha reminded. "Your friend
might not be so merciful to this girl. Will you be okay?"
Kenji nodded and then headed for the door. "I'll be okay..." he
slowly answered. "Dahlia may be dead but Amano's daughter is innocent.
I'm just afraid that Freya will do something terrible out of hate and
anger."
* * * *
The dark clouds told Valkyrie that it was going to rain soon. She
closed her eyes and remembered another day with dark clouds. It had
been just like any other day. She had gone to school, she had gone
home and her sister had taken her out to eat. Only minutes after that
she had been alone, without a friend or relative in the world. Dahlia
had brought her out from poverity and worries about where to find food
for the day. Dahlia had given her a family, a home and a cause. And
now she was dead. Valkyrie frowned. It was all because of humans'
prejudice.
[You were wrong, Signe...] Valkyrie thought, as if thinking
that her sister could hear her. [You, mother, Jean Takanera... and
everyone else who believed in peace. Humans are too judging, if they
want war... I'll give it to them.]
"Valkyrie, we got the witnesses," one of the Zealots informed.
Valkyrie nodded and turned to the group of people that the Zealots had
captured. They were tied and guarded by the Senshi. Valkyrie
recognized the look on their faces. The look of fear. Valkyrie had
been that afraid once. The only reason why humans had spared her life
was because she had been a child. She had remembered the fear in her
heart. But after Signe's death she had never feared anything. The fear
had become anger and hate. Anger and hate was her strength.
"Remember this," Valkyrie said. "Remember what a Senshi's
wrath can do. Remember what the Zealots can do."
Then she turned around and looked at the little girl. She stood on the
ground but her entire body was shaking, out of cold and out of fear.
Valkyrie took a few steps closer, to the girl she was like an evil
goddess with eyes made of blue ice.
"What's your name, little girl?" Valkyrie asked. The little
girl was so afraid that she was stammering.
"A..a... Amano... Keiko."
Valkyrie smiled, but her smile was just as cold as the look in her
eyes. "I will remember your name, Keiko-chan. Your father and his men
took someone important away from me. Now I'm taking someone important
from your father, you."
She held out her right hand and her spear appeared like magic. Keiko's
eyes were focused on the sharp blade of the spear, she knew that it
was going to pierce through her any moment. She shut her eyes tightly
when she felt the tears being formed. Valkyrie raised her spear, not
hestitating.
"Valkyrie, stop!"
Valkyrie frowned at the interuption and looked over her shoulder. She
saw Odin standing there, accompanied by a Senshi with long dark hair.
Valkyrie lowered her spear and turned to them.
"What are you doing here, Odin Knight?" she asked.
"Let the girl and the others go," Odin said as he walked over
to her, his cape flapping in the wind. "They are innocent, they have
nothing to do with Dahlia's death."
"I don't care," Valkyrie hissed angrily. "They are humans and
should die."
"Talk about nice attitude," the Senshi who had accompanied
Odin said with a sarcastic tone.
"Who are you?" Valkyrie demanded.
"I'm Medusa, one of the Shin Senshi. We demand that you
release the girl and the others ones, or else you'll just have to
fight us."
Valkyrie turned her gaze back to Odin. "You, the son of Jean Takanera,
should know the pain of having a relative lost because of humans'
prejudice. Why don't you want to join us, Odin? Your mother and Dahlia
would have wanted you to do that."
Medusa sighed and raised her arm. "Okay, let's get to the point then,"
she said casually. "Poison Ar..."
"Medusa, wait," Odin cut off. Medusa looked at her with a
surprised expression on her face, but the arrow that had appeared
disappeared and she stood silent. Odin took one step forwards.
"You're wrong. My mother wouldn't have wanted me to join the
Zealots. She believed in peace, as well as your sister."
"They shouldn't have. It was what caused their deaths. The
humans never listened to them. They both worked hard for nothing. No
humans has ever been kind to me, ever."
"My foster parents are human," Odin told. "My real mother was
a Senshi. My best friends are Senshi, my other friends are humans.
Look at the girl you were about to kill. Tell me who you see."
Valkyrie turned to Keiko. "I see the daughter of a NSS leader,"
Valkyrie said with hidden anger in her voice.
"Look again."
Valkyrie looked at Keiko once again. Keiko had blonde hair and blue
eyes, it all seemed to familiar. Valkyrie's eyes saddened as she
realized it. Her hair had been blonde once, before she became Valkyrie
and the powers changed her appearance. And that look of fear on
Keiko's face... Yes, their faces weren't exactly alike, but Keiko
looked just the same way Valkyrie had that night when Signe had died.
For the first time in a long time tears were formed in Valkyrie's
eyes. She tried to hold them back, but it was useless. She dropped
the spear but it vanished just before it fell to the ground.
The other Zealots looked confused. All of them wondered the
same thing, were they going to release Amano Keiko or were they going
to kill her? Valkyrie was their leader now, they would obey her every
command. But what would they do in this case?
Valkyrie closed her eyes, but she couldn't push away the
memory of looking at her attackers with the look of fear. The
attacker had been a tall, well-built man. He had looked at her with
angry eyes, then had muttered something about a child and then left
with the other attackers. She had been so shocked that she hadn't
done anything for several minutes, then she had crawled over to her
dying sister. Why did she had to be alive and not Signe? Because the
man had spared her. Valkyrie opened her eyes as she reached the
decision, she turned to Odin and the other Zealots who was watching
her.
"I will spare this girl, just because another man spared my
life," she declared. "But the Zealots will still be around, stronger
than ever. It will not be today, but one day, we will strike."
"And the Shin Senshi will be there to stop you," Odin replied
calmly. "I can promise you that."
Valkyrie bowed her head lightly in respect and then left the place.
She was followed by the Zealots, who released their captives and left.
Odin watched her leaving while Medusa made sure that the captives
hadn't been hurt.
[I will see you again, Freya... And I sincerely thank you for
sparing this girl's life.]
* * * *
"I thought that I might find you here," Chie said as she saw
Kenji sitting in the library with a photo album in his hands. She
closed the door after herself and walked over to Kenji.
"I'm just looking through a photo album I got from my aunt
Emi," Kenji replied. "I went and visited her this morning and she let
me borrow this."
Chie nodded and looked at the picture. "Is this your mother?" she
asked, pointing at an elegant, brown haired woman dressed in a blue
business suit. Kenji nodded. "You look just like her."
"I know."
Chie smiled faintly. "Yasha told me what happened with those Zealots,"
she said. "Are you okay?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"
Chie shrugged and pulled a chair over to her. "I don't know," she
replied and sat down. "While she told me the story I was actually a
bit afraid that you might be thinking about leaving us and join the
Zealots instead."
"Why would you be that?" Kenji wondered. Chie shrugged once
again.
"Perhaps because you seem to have more in common with them
than us. I mean, despite being Senshi we all had a happy childhood,
even Tomo. It's easier for us to say that we believe in peace than it
is for the Zealots."
"Maybe. My mother dreamt of a world where there are no fights
or hate between humans and Senshi. Freya was able to spare a girl's
life yesterday. It prooves that my mother's dream can still come true,
that's all that matters."
Yes, I finally finished this part!!! It took me almost two and a half
month to do that, but now it's finished and I'm so happy!! :) This was
a difficult part to write and also became one of those parts that
turned out very different from how I planned them to be. BTW, you'll
be seeing more of Freya in the future.
Komillia (komillia@hotmail.com)
9 April, 2001
Next:
Sailormoon Mirai Part X: Visions
Usagi gets strange dreams about a mysterious woman who warns her about
a danger. But what can Usagi do to save Ishtar and the others when
they get injured in a fight?