Hello everyone! Thank you all very much for your support. I got more support than I thought I would for this so I continued it like I promised I would. I was actually really shocked that I got what I did! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.
Please review, I appreciate it!
A Little Late
Chapter 2/?
A week had passed since the incident at the hot springs and so far life had been quiet in the Tsukino household. Sure, there had been some adjusting to do, especially when they returned home and found that when Usagi had said that Luna could talk, she wasn't joking, Luna could talk. Shingo found this turn of events to be rather enjoyable, but only until Luna revealed herself to be a second mother in the household.
The Tsukino's were slowly warming up to the idea of their daughter being Tokyo's greatest super heroine. So far they had enough time to talk it over with her, about how she stayed safe, how she fought, because there had not been an attack since that one at the hot springs. Much to everyone's relief.
But it was also to their suspicion.
Usagi found that she was never alone. Luna had deemed it was 'too dangerous' for her to be left alone in case of an attack. School was easy enough, Ami and Makoto were both there at all times, but it was at home that everyone really worried. Usagi couldn't sleep with one eye open, waiting for the Dark Kingdom and Endymion to strike, while still being ready for school and normal day to day functions.
This was solved within two days of Usagi not sleeping by Ikuko, who invited Makoto to stay with them until everything blew over and things were back to normal. Makoto eagerly accepted the position of being Usagi's personal body guard, even going so far as to rub it in Rei's face a little bit before calming down. Makoto slept on the extra futon on Usagi's floor, always there if she needed her, but so far the two of them had just talked late into the night with Makoto reassuring Usagi that things would be back to normal soon.
One morning, during breakfast that Usagi found herself actually sitting through, the family discussed the day ahead.
"Is there training for the two of you today?" Ikuko asked as she spooned more rice into Usagi's bowl.
Makoto nodded and swallowed her breakfast. "Yes, Ikuko-mama. We're going to Rei-chan's to study and then once it's dark we'll go find a place to train."
"Don't you want to come home for dinner between the two?"
"We can eat afterwards. If that's okay with you," Makoto said hurriedly, not wanting to impress upon the hospitality that she was already being shown. "I can always whip something up for Usagi-chan and I when we get back."
"Don't be silly, Mako-chan!" Ikuko exclaimed with a laugh. "I'll keep dinner warm for you two."
Usagi beamed at her mother, her mouth stuffed full of rice. "Mama, thank you!"
"Usagi-chan, swallow," Luna instructed from her place on some phone books that the family had kindly perched for her at the height of the table from a chair.
Kenji jumped when Luna spoke so suddenly, still not entirely used to a talking cat, and patted his chest to calm himself down. "Oh, Luna, you really musn't…heh. I should go. Usagi, Mako-chan, isn't it time for school?"
Makoto checked her watch and gasped. "Usagi-chan, we're going to be late!"
XxXxXxXx
"Usagi-chan, we're going to be late!" the one called Makoto, Sailor Jupiter, said while checking her watch.
Endymion watched as Usagi shrieked and jumped up from her chair, tripped, fell to the ground, recovered, and then grabbed her lunch from her mother so she could dash out the door with Makoto at her heels. He chuckled when she tripped again, catching herself on a nearby light pole this time, only to be dragged off by Makoto.
He had been watching her for a week now, her clumsiness was just part of her charm.
Before, Sailor Moon had been an annoyance, a harbinger of justice and love, a thorn in his side. Now he had been watching her almost like a man obsessed, which he wasn't of course, and seen what she was really like when the tiara wasn't on. She was…
No. He wouldn't allow his thoughts to go down this path once again. He was Endymion, loyal servant to Queen Beryl and Queen Metalia of the Dark Kingdom. He was not going to let some little girl stand between him and his orders.
Since finding out Usagi's identity he had not found a moment, that he had seen, where she had been without another Senshi. He had been busy himself, but he hadn't thought that Jupiter would suddenly move in with the Tsukino's, making his chances at snatching her away less likely. They were taking him seriously, and this thought pleased him.
The girls reached the school, just barely on time, and Endymion found himself reaching out towards the image of Usagi doubled over, breathing hard as Ami, Sailor Mercury, laughed at her and patted her on the back in reassurance. He caught himself and in anger he swiped at the image, banishing it from his sight.
This had been happening since he discovered that Sailor Moon was Usagi, that they were the same person, that there even was an Usagi, and it confounded Endymion to no end. These feelings, this need to see her, were bewildering. Even more so than his decision to not tell his Queen about Sailor Moon's true identity. It was like something was awakening inside of him, something he was unable to tangibly understand.
He would see if later she was free of her protectors.
XxXxXxXx
Usagi had detention.
Not because she was late, that hadn't happened all week thanks to Makoto, but because she had failed her English test again. Haruna had made her stay after school to complete the test again, this time with the correct answers, while she sat at the desk and graded papers. Makoto and Ami stayed after with her, haunting the gate into the school while they waited for detention to end.
It frustrated Usagi a bit to know they had such a close eye on her, but she was grateful at the same time as well. It meant that Endymion was less likely to attack her if they were in a group. Or at least that's how it seemed to work so far. There hadn't been a word.
Usagi scratched her head and tried to understand if the word "walked" was present or past tense, she just didn't get it. She'd never get it. She wondered if as a princess she'd had to bother with this stuff in her past life, or had it been harder? Had she been smarter, and it all came naturally? So many unanswered questions. Usagi sighed. No, this didn't help, and she still didn't get the damn word.
With the metallic scraping of a chair, Haruna stood up and stretched her back. They had been sitting still for over an hour and Usagi had, shockingly enough, been trying to work on her test. Haruna was impressed. "Tsukino-san, I'm going for some water, I'll be right back. Don't you dare move or it'll be another detention," she warned.
Usagi fought the urge to roll her eyes but settled for muttering a low, "Yes, sensei," and going back to work.
Haruna nodded proudly, feeling that so many months of work were finally getting through to her wayward student and stepped into the hallway, only intending to be gone for a few minutes.
XxXxXxXx
Endymion watched Haruna leave the room. The Senshi were still outside waiting for Usagi.
Usagi was alone.
XxXxXxXx
Usagi felt him before she saw him. Maybe it was Serenity reaching out for him, or her inborn sense to reject the darkness that over powered him now. Whatever it was, an instant before he appeared a cold chill ran down her spine and she knew that the moment she had been dreading for the past week was going to come to pass. Fear settled in her stomach and she swallowed hard as the room seemed to shimmer around her.
On instinct she reached for her communicator, she knew her friends were nearby and they could hold him until the others arrived. Her only real concern was that she would undoubtedly get another detention when she ran out of the room to take the battle someplace that wasn't her school. It didn't occur to her exactly how fast Endymion was.
Before she could hit the button to call the Senshi, a hand grabbed her arm and wretched her out of her hard plastic seat, nearly pulling Usagi's arm from her socket. She cried out as she tripped, for once not her fault, and tried to find her balance from the forced removal of her center of gravity. But she knew this grip, she'd felt it many times before.
"We can't have you doing that. Usagi." Endymion's smoky voice said softly as he wrapped an arm around her waist so she couldn't get away. Usagi's breath hitched as his lips brushed dangerously close to her earlobe. "Let's take a walk."
With a wave of his cape, and before Usagi could say a word, they vanished from the classroom, leaving Usagi's books and test where she had just been working on it in the empty classroom.
XxXxXxXx
Ami was reading a book when she felt it, Makoto was doing some of her homework to get it out of the way, asking for help as she needed. They knew they had another hour or so to go before Usagi got out of detention, and they were doing their best to not waste their time. They were being lazy, not really looking for anything to happen because they figured Endymion wouldn't try something with the two of them right there, so when it happened both of them snapped their heads up and exchanged a look.
Makoto jumped up, her homework tumbling to the ground as she looked at Ami to tell her what she felt. Ami just shook her head. "I feel him, too!" she said, reaching for her transformation pen, but holding off when another student passed by them.
They left their books where they were and rushed to their classroom where they found Haruna standing in the doorway, looking more than a little pissed off.
"Um, Haruna-sensei?" Ami broached, feeling dread well in her stomach. "Is it time for Usagi-chan to get let out of detention yet?"
"No!" Haruna yelled. "Tsukino-san is staying the entire time tonight, once she gets back! And tomorrow, too! I left for two minutes, two minutes, Mizuno-san, and she slipped out! Oh, she's going to get it for this."
Ami and Makoto exchanged worried glances and peaked into the classroom over Haruna's shoulder. Usagi's stuff was still at her seat, but as Haruna had said, Usagi herself was gone. With terror growing every second, Makoto grabbed Ami by the arm and jerked her head towards the hallway as Haruna began to go off on a rant. They ran down the hall and Ami pulled out her communicator, calling Rei and Minako to alert them to their missing princess.
XxXxXxXx
Usagi shivered when she and Endymion rematerialized under the night sky in what she could only consider to be a barren wasteland. She could see what appeared to be limited vegetation growing around them and hard packed dirt under her feet. She had no clue where she was.
"Is this the Dark Kingdom?" she asked, fearful of his answered.
Endymion barked out a laugh, amused at the way she seemed to tremble. "No, Usagi, this is the Sonoran desert in Mexico." She gave him a blank look and he wanted to sigh, having the feeling of doing something like this before. "It's unlikely we will be discovered here. Nephrite was in charge of this area before his unfortunate accident."
"Before Zoicite had him murdered," Usagi bit back. She had always been bitter about how Nephrite had met his end, and had never felt any guilt with being directly responsible for Zoicite's. She pushed away from Endymion so she could stand apart from him, so he wouldn't know that she was still shaking from being so close to him, and not so much from the cold desert night. She stood straighter, and put her hand on her locket, ready to transform, but she didn't do it, not yet. Something told her that while this was a dangerous situation, she wasn't actually in any danger. Endymion wasn't out to hurt her.
"Mamoru-san-"
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Endymion snapped at her. "My name is Endymion. You would do well to remember that, Usagi."
Usagi jumped back and then raised her first in defiance of him. "No, it isn't! You're Chiba Mamoru! An annoying, cocky, stupid…JERK who likes to make fun of my hair style."
"Whoever this man is I may not be him, but he sounds charming."
Usagi steamed, and held back a retort, feeling that she would only be playing into his hand if she said what she was thinking about how Mamoru had always teased her. "Fine, Endymion, you've taken all of this trouble to get me alone, what do you want?"
"The ginzuishou."
"No."
"And what about your family, how do they feel about you saying no to me?" he asked casually, circling the school girl.
Usagi turned with him, not letting him get behind her at all. She wasn't going to let him get the drop on her. "They encourage it. They know you can't have it, that I can't give it to you. I'll heal you, though, Mamo-Endymion," she quickly corrected herself. "I'll heal you with it and then you won't want it anymore."
"Such pretty words from such a pretty princess." He moved in closer and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She shrunk back as though his touch burned her, though in reality it was what she had longed to have for more time than she cared to think about. "You're afraid of me."
Her head snapped up and Usagi grabbed Endymion's hand, her eyes burning with the fire of a warrior. He smirked. "I am not afraid of you, Endymion."
"Prove it."
"Moon Prism Power! Make Up!"
In a swirl of lights and ribbons Usagi transformed from her school uniform into her sailor fuku, and with every confidence known to her she faced Endymion, ready to fight him, and heal him.
"Did your family tell you that you're naked when you transform, by chance?" Endymion asked her, cocking an eyebrow.
Sailor Moon went red, and she raised her hand to slap him across the face, but he caught her hand as she made the move and shook his finger at her. "I'm sorry, was that new information? Have you never noticed before?"
In truth, she hadn't. She always concentrated on the rush of power, the feeling of escape, the sheer emotion that went with the transformation. And she hadn't paid any attention to what happened when her friends transformed because she was always in the middle of her own transformation when they transformed in front of her, so what was she really going to look at? She was horrified, embarrassed beyond all reason, that this is what Endymion had decided to focus on.
"Don't worry, Sailor Moon, it's not like it wasn't worth the show. You have nothing to worry about, someone will be very lucky one day."
"This is not happening."
"Now…come at me, Sailor Moon," Endymion ordered, his previous sarcastic and ridiculing nature tossed aside and replaced with the harsh cold that mirrored the outside temperature.
They took battle stances, facing off against each other and Sailor Moon knew there was only one thing she could do to get him back, and it was going to drain her of her energy. Sailor Moon pulled her Moon Stick out and Endymion unsheathed his sword, and the battle began.
XxXxXxXx
Sailor Venus paced about the Tsukino's living room, her heels sticking to the carpet occasionally as she made her trek back and forth, not caring how rude it was to leave her shoes on. Mercury was standing in the corner, tapping away at her computer, trying to find Usagi somewhere, anywhere. Jupiter was sitting on the edge of the couch, trying to calm Ikuko down while Shingo sat with Mars, who was making a good show of not calming him down. Luna and Artemis were sitting at Ikuko's feet. Kenji was still at work and didn't know his daughter was missing yet.
"She has to be somewhere, you have to be able to find her, Mercury," Venus snapped.
"I'm looking. He could have taken her literally anywhere in the world, Venus, you know we can't find them."
Mars sighed and closed her eyes. "We have to consider that he probably took her to the-"
"We aren't thinking about that," Jupiter snapped. "He's had all week to take her there. Why now?"
"Because we left her alone, Mako-chan," Mercury whispered. "He's been watching, and waiting."
"This guy is creepy," Shingo observed.
"Yeah, he kinda was even when he was good," Mars gave him. She sighed again. "I'm going home to consult the fire. Maybe we'll get a clue that way."
Luna shook her head. "We already did that, Mars. You didn't see anything-"
"Well, we'll try again!" Mars' voice startled the crying Ikuko. Jupiter shot Mars a dirty look, which she ignored. "We're not letting our Princess get hurt by that, that…psycho betrayer!"
Venus ran her hand through her hair and nodded her head. "Fine. Jupiter, Mars, go check it out. Do it quietly, be quick. Mercury and I will stay here. I don't want to leave Usagi-chan's family alone."
"Fine by me," Jupiter said as she got up. She squeezed Ikuko's hand once and Luna and Artemis took over as chief comforters. Artemis put a paw on Ikuko's hand and Luna climbed into her lap, purring. The two Senshi left, taking to the streets like the wind was at their backs.
Mercury's fingers whisked across the keyboard as she programmed another run to sweep for information, checking for both dark energy and the ginzuishou's signature. So far she had found nothing, but she wasn't giving up. Swallowing hard, she tried again, tweaking the program a little to see if she had done something wrong, if she could work it right this time.
It was going to be a long night.
XxXxXxXx
Sailor Moon feigned right and then was forced to pulled her tiara off her head and attack Endymion again.
"Moon Tiara Action!"
Endymion, now Tuxedo Kamen, ducked the tiara expertly and countered with a rose of his own. Sailor Moon ducked and knocked the rose away with a swing of the Moon Stick. They had been fighting for several minutes and they were at a stalemate so far. They had both been fighting with everything in them, not giving either any leeway. Sailor Moon hadn't had a moment to pause to properly charge up her attack. There were no speeches, no taunts going back and forth, just the battle.
Tuxedo Kamen had his cane out and came at Sailor Moon from above, always the aggressor, and Sailor Moon rolled out of the way, barely escaping in time. She jumped to her feet, her knees scraped from the roll in the dirt, but otherwise she was fine. In times like this she really needed her Senshi for support, but they weren't here to help. She had to take him down herself.
"What's the matter, Sailor Moon?" Tuxedo Kamen taunted when she didn't attack him. "I thought you weren't afraid of me."
Nostrils flaring, blooding pounding through her ears, Sailor Moon took that second to hold the Moon Stick and the ginzuishou in her hand. "I'm not!"
"Moon Healing Escalation!"
But Tuxedo Kamen was too quick. He had been expecting this and he jumped out of the way of the healing light of the ginzuishou and landed next to Sailor Moon, who immediately stopped her attack and turned to attack him again with the Moon Stick as a melee weapon. They both stopped short with each of their weapons paused at the others throat, breathing heavy and shocked that the battle had come to such aggression.
Tuxedo Kamen had never been so proud of himself.
"Nice work, Sailor Moon." He dropped his cane and turned away from her, working a kink out of his side from where she had landed a kick. "Surprising, even."
Confused, Sailor Moon lowered her weapon and shuddered a little in the night air. Seconds before they had been fighting to the death, now he was turning his back on her, leaving himself perfectly open for an attack. And she was going to take it.
"Moon Healing-"
"Stop. I stopped attacking because I was feeling generous to acknowledge your strength. Don't make me start fighting you again," Tuxedo Kamen warned.
"I'm still not giving you the ginzuishou," Sailor Moon reminded him pointedly. "So whatever you think you're going to do, or achieve here, you may as well get it over with. I'm not giving up."
Tuxedo Kamen crossed the distance between them in two quick paces. He leaned down so that the gap between them was only a hair's breath. Sailor Moon could smell the sweat of his body, and nearly taste him as he breathed on her lips, "Neither am I."
With a flourish of his cape they vanished from the desert, leaving only scarred landscape and charcoaled plants in their midst.
Sailor Moon reappeared, alone, in front of her house. It was now sunset, she had apparently been gone longer than she had realized, but she often lost track of time during battles. With a groan, because Tuxedo Kamen had hit her several times, she let her transformation fade away and walked past her gate to the front door. She opened the door and clicked it shut behind her, not knowing if anyone was home or not she still called out.
"I'm home!"
There was the sound of a dish breaking in the living room and then running. Seconds later, Usagi was smothered by her mother who held onto her tightly and cried openly into her hair. Usagi grabbed onto Ikuko like she was a lifeline and let out a loud wail that let everyone know that she was fine. Usagi was just fine.
"Is he still here?" Mercury asked, closing her computer and turning off her goggles.
Usagi shook her head and still clung to her mother.
"What did he want?" Venus asked while Mercury made the call to Jupiter and Mars that everything was fine and they had Usagi again.
"The ginzuishou," Usagi hiccupped out, finally pulling away from Ikuko. Luna padded along silently beside her and rubbed against her ankles. Usagi reached down and picked her up, hugging her tightly to her chest. "He just wanted the ginzuishou." She remembered how they had parted, and some small part of her wondered, vaguely, if that was all he was after now.
"Did he hurt you?" Kenji, who was now home, asked, surveying his daughter, checking her for bruises and cuts.
Usagi touched the one place where one of Tuxedo Kamen's roses had scratched her, her left side, and shook her head. There was no use getting them upset. "Not really. We fought, but we were pretty evenly matched. He didn't want to kill me and take the ginzuishou if that's what you mean."
Powering down, Minako and Ami led Usagi back to the living room where they waited for Rei and Makoto to arrive. When they got there, there were more happy reunions, and some yelling from Rei about Usagi being stupid, before Usagi told the story of what happened.
"Mexico?" Ami said as she wrote the information down. She had kept very careful notes of everything Usagi had told them in case something Endymion had said led them to where the Dark Kingdom was currently located.
"He said Nephrite had been in charge of it before he died," Usagi explained.
"Then it's probably not the Dark Kingdom's hiding spot," Artemis argued. "They aren't going to leave their lair exposed like that."
"And with the hostilities between Kunzite and Endymion he probably wanted to go somewhere he wouldn't be seen if he wasn't going to just out right kill you, Usagi-chan," Minako reasoned.
"That really isn't all that reassuring, Minako-chan," Usagi said with a frown.
"It really wasn't meant to be," Minako said with a sigh. Her demeanor changed drastically and she laughed. "Come on, Usagi-chan, buck up! We'll fix this, no matter what. We're just now going to have to make sure that Mako-chan or Ami-chan gets detention with you every day!"
Ami went pale at this suggestion and Makoto merely shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I could do that, too."
"Mako-chan, we're already asking so much of you," Ikuko said wearily. "Surely there's something else we can do?"
"Usagi can just not get detention," Rei suggested with a tone that said this wasn't the first time this offer had been brought to the table.
Usagi suddenly wailed. "I just remembered!"
"What is it, Usagi-chan?" Luna asked, worried.
"Haruna said I'd get detention if I left the room while she was gone. I'm going to be in so much trouble!"
XxXxXxXx
Endymion punched a wall as soon as he arrived back at the Dark Kingdom. What was he doing? What was going on with him? He didn't understand his actions, he had the girl right there in his grasp and he let her go, just let her go! And he had almost kissed her, he had come so close to kissing those lips and this confused him why he felt that, at the time, it would have been so right if he had done that.
But why? Why Usagi? He had fought beside Sailor Moon so many times before, teaming up with her often against Kunzite when his plans would involve innocent people. Mostly to get back at Kunzite he told himself, of course, and he hadn't felt like this around her.
Or so he told himself.
He hadn't saved her, he hadn't given her special attention.
"Shit," he muttered, punching the wall again and pacing, his cape billowing behind him as he did so.
From behind him another figure appeared, scowling, as was his customary facial feature. Kunzite did not like being Beryl's errand boy any more than he liked being second to Endymion, and right now he was both. "You've been missing most of the day, Endymion."
"That isn't your business," Endymion bit to Kunzite furiously, grateful to have someone to take his anger out on.
"No, but our queen believes it is hers. She requests your presence."
Shit.
There would be punishment, and Endymion would accept it because he would not explain his missing day to Beryl. She did not need to know about Tsukino Usagi until the day he brought her the shining ginzuishou.
To be continued…
Well that ended up being a little longer than I had planned, but I hope it came out alright. I honestly have very little idea of where this is going and I'll just write until it ends. It shouldn't be too long, to be honest. Though it already seems to be getting away from me! My stories have a habit of doing that.
Thank you to those who have reviewed! Please review! I really do appreciate your feedback.
-Ginzuishou