After the End
Chapter 5: The Smell of Dust After Rain
1992
Tokyo
His head hurt. Mamoru sat up groggily. The room did a lively tap number, with castanets and a lot of nausea. He almost fell over, and he wasn't even all the way to sitting yet. He didn't remember going out last night, and yet… his eyes felt like they'd been rolled in a pile of glass shards. He was pretty sure his tongue was growing a coat of fur. He felt worse than he'd felt after his first post-examinations party.
What had he done?
And why did he remember a dream about buses- and girls in short skirts with super powers?
"Did I- Did I fall asleep watching anime and drinking rum? Again?"
000
"What do we know?" Serenity asked. She was seated on the tatami in Rei's room. Since the young priestess had the largest and quietest living quarters of the three of them, it was a natural space to meet and talk. The three girls had taken to convening at Hikawa Jinja after their respective schools let out. Sometimes they would discuss strategy, sometimes they would simply talk. Today was a strategy day. It had been a full three weeks since the near-disaster of the pocket dimension.
"We know that one of our number has been turned against us. We know that there remains one other of us whom we must find. We know that we can and we will rescue Princess Venus."
"How?" Rei asked. "We don't even know where she went."
"She went to the Dark Kingdom." Luna said.
"Then we must find them." Ami said quietly, but with a firm resolve.
"What do we have?" Serenity asked. "How can we use our resources to get what we want?"
"We have our powers." Ami said. "We can stop any single creature of theirs." She smiled. "Thanks to the training you and Luna designed for us, I think I might even be able to stop one by myself."
That had been a good idea. Terrified by her mistake, Serenity had insisted that Ami and Rei both spend a few hours every day working on their powers and their combat skills. The girls had all joined athletic clubs to strengthen themselves, and met before and after school with their clubs. Then, after school and their meetings, once it was fully dark, the senshi would transform and take to the roofs, practicing their skills where no one would see them. Ami had become much better at dodging and running since she started taking track. Rei had picked up archery and fencing, trying to out-do Serenity, who had taken track as well and a judo class. They were all trying so hard, taking everything so seriously.
Serenity worried sometimes that she was making them learn too much, too fast- but she didn't dare stop. The enemy had the advantage over them until they could get through to Venus, and before they could do that, they would probably have to defeat her in combat.
"What else do we have?" Serenity asked.
"We have each other." Ami said. Rei snorted.
"You sound like a magical-girl anime." She giggled.
"We are a magical-girl anime!" Ami countered, sticking out her tongue.
"Well then, all we have to do is believe in each other, and the power of love and friendship, and everything will be fine!" Rei dissolved into giggles. Serenity laughed and shook her head.
"I wish it were that easy."
"Actually, it might be." Luna interjected. "Part of what fuels your powers is the strength of your hearts." The senshi fell silent.
"Wait, what does that mean, 'the strength of our hearts'?" Rei asked. "Not literally, right?" Luna shook her head.
"No, it's based on your desires and belief in each other. Part of it runs on your emotions, especially love or anger."
"Moon technology is a bit weird." Ami said.
"It's magic." Luna shrugged.
"It should still make sense." Ami said. "There's laws behind everything, right?"
"Well, yes." Luna said. "There are limits to the level of power you can draw from emotions and the other intangibles. After a point, you have to grow in skill as well as in heart."
"Wait, is this why I was able to transform without my henshin wand?" Rei asked suddenly. "I've tried since we got back, and I can't do it without the wand anymore." Luna had given her the wand once she and Ami returned to Hikawa Jinja.
"Yes, that's a perfect example." Luna said. "Your fear for yourself and your desire to protect Ami combined with the energy of your returning memories to allow you to transform. It takes a lot of energy to accomplish something like that. If you'd tried it at any other moment, it wouldn't have worked."
"I don't remember this, but Luna- did we need wands and brooches to transform in the 'old days', back on the moon?"
"At first you did, but after you'd had experience, no. You were much more connected to the source of your power then, though. The castles of each planet were alive back then, lit up and beautiful. They kept the path of energy open between you and your home planets." Luna looked sad for a moment before continuing. "Your henshin wands were made of pieces of those castles and jewels from your home planet. That's what allows you to transform, the link between you and your planets."
"Our planets…" Rei breathed. "We really were princesses, then." She grinned wildly. "I own Mars! Can we visit?"
000
Jadeite was furious. Mostly he was angry with himself. His failures were mounting up by the hour. Soon they would reach a dangerous level. He could not afford to lose any more fights. He had to create a plan that would bypass these senshi. He had to get around them somehow, stop them, kill them- whatever it took.
Luckily, he had the ruthless will to do any and all of these things. His first plan had been sheer brilliance. Capturing a senshi, turning her- but it hadn't worked. He could do nothing to change her. He'd been on the verge of simply killing her and letting her corpse be his challenge to the senshi leader.
Demons and darkness take that wretch Kunzite! Jadeite growled to himself. If Beryl hadn't specifically ordered the four of them not to fight each other, Kunzite would be dead a dozen times already.
Of course, his success proved it was possible. Maybe all Jadeite needed was a different subject. He knew the faces of the senshi. He even knew where one of them lived. Or- no, there was an even easier way. He chuckled now. This was splendid! What better way to strike, then at someone who would never see it coming?
A senshi who didn't know who she was…
000
Kino Makoto had a daub of rice flour on the side of her face. She had just put her dumplings into the steamer and was busy preparing her vegetables. Tiny star-shaped cutouts of carrots and cucumber were already sitting neatly in her bento box. She just had a few more to do. Makoto positioned the tiny vegetable slice under the star-shaped cutter and pressed down hard.
Perfect.
She'd been making her own lunches for years now, ever since the crash that killed her parents. She had the process down to what was almost a science. It was one of her little contradictions. She was a big, independent girl, taller than most boys, and known for picking fights. She was held in a strange combination of fear and awe by most of the other students. They saw what she'd dubbed Outer Makoto.
Inner Mako-chan was different. Mako-chan at home would make lunches with the girliest of domestic touches. Mako-chan liked to cook best of all, but she also prided herself in her great housekeeping skills. Her tiny apartment was spotless and decorated with cheerful flowers.
Outer Makoto was getting a bad reputation for violence at school, but the truth was she wasn't just striking out irrationally. She was picking fights with those who, in her mind, deserved retribution. Makoto hadn't always been this strong. She'd been young when she lost her parents. She'd had no one to protect her, just the impersonal system that cared for orphans. She'd spent a lot of time crying. Then Sempai had come along. Sempai had helped her to become strong. He'd protected her. Sempai was her idol. In a way, he was part of her. Makoto acted the way she did because of Sempai. She stood up for younger kids because of the way Sempai stood up for her. She'd been lectured and detained for it more times than she could count.
The phone rang. She picked it up.
"Moshi-moshi?" She listened for a moment, her face growing darker and darker. "I see. Thank you. Goodbye."
The phone struck the reciever with more force than was usually acceptable, just as she'd struck Sato-san with her heavy English book. Too bad Sato-san's father had decided to get involved this time.
She'd just been expelled.
000
Uniforms were expensive. Makoto looked at the proffered Juuban Gakuen fuku and raised an eyebrow. "I really don't think that's my size. She said, holding it up to herself. The tan skirt of her old fuku was a good six inches longer. She could tell just by looking that the sleeves would be too short and the blouse would be far too snug.
"That's the biggest size we have right now," answered Haruna, the teacher she'd been assigned to for 'orientation', "so there's not much we can really do…"
"I guess I can just keep wearing this one." Makoto said, gesturing to her tan fuku. "At least, until one can be ordered for me."
"We'll see if that becomes necessary." Haruna replied. "If you've been expelled once, I think we're going to be careful how much we invest in you. No offense; it just pays to be cautious." No offense, right. Makoto snorted, but didn't reply. No offense was only ever said to temper something obviously offensive. Saying 'no offense' didn't make it any better; it just highlighted the offense.
"It's nearly time for school to begin, in any case." Makoto said, giving Haruna-sensei the opportunity to change the subject if she wished. It seemed she did. After a hurried, excuse, Haruna left Makoto alone in the room.
Makoto sighed. It wasn't easy, being taller than everyone else. Shorter people tended to feel intimidated by her, even when she didn't intend to intimidate them. It made it hard to befriend anyone when they were too scared to speak. She straightened her uniform skirt and walked out. It took only a few moments to reach the school grounds. She had a little time before the beginning of class. She would walk around the block, clear her head a little. Try to.
She walked. Students were already arriving, of course, dressed in blue and white fuku with large red bows. Cheerful and chatting, laughing, walking together. Makoto walked by herself. A few of them looked up as she passed. Their curiosity was obvious, but none of them spoke to her. None of them would. This new school would be just like her old one. They would never speak to her- and she did not know how to speak to them.
The school lay behind her after a few moments. Empty sidewalk before her. Most students would be inside already. She could simply think, without interruption. She leaned on a low wall and let out a long breath. She had about thirty seconds of quiet, just enough to get used to it. Then the sounds of the scuffle reached her ears.
It was three on one. Three big ugly future mooks, delinquent thugs who were ninety percent body and ten percent brain. Makoto snorted. She'd dealt with this sort before. The three were ganging up on a tiny blonde girl with a choppy haircut and -My initial count was off- her equally petite blue-haired friend.
The triple threat was just warming up with their verbal assault before getting to the physical attack. Makoto didn't wait for them to get started. She dove in from the side, starting with a swift, sharp knee to the midsection of the nearest brute. He went down, the air expelled from his lungs, and stayed down, gasping, as Makoto swiveled and punched, clocking the second brute with a quick snap kick to the jaw. She planted both feet and threw a punch, but the third brute was faster than his friends, and dodged, returning fire. Makoto twisted just enough that the blow went past her face, and grabbed the following arm, pulling along the path of the blow with both hands. She followed him to the ground and landed in his gut with her right elbow. Done.
The entire fight had taken less than fifteen seconds. Makoto straightened, lifting a hand to straighten her hair. "You two okay?"
000
Jadeite was quite pleased with himself. Bribing Zoicite had been far simpler than he'd predicted. He'd forgotten to factor in the blonde man's capacity for jealousy, sulking, and petty vengeance. The slim red jewel he held in one gloved hand was the result of the afternoon's fruitful labor. He'd traded a few of his leftover humans he'd been saving, but he'd expected to pay far more for so specialized a device.
The humans had been far more valuable during the hungry years. It had been a thousand years of surviving on what scraps they could glean from the meager cache of slaves and frequently, from each other. Jadeite had been known for his frugality, surviving only on the emotional energy of his stockpiled humans, making each one last until their life was almost expended. The day the first crack appeared in the seal of their prison, he'd eaten three of them, devouring all of their energy until nothing remained. It had been a feast he would long remember.
This crystal would easily earn him another such feast. Zoicite has crafted it from a piece of the Jupetrian castle, Io. It was attuned to the princess of Jupiter. If she were anywhere on Earth, the crystal would respond, leading him directly to her. It was the simplest plan he'd had yet. Jadeite smirked to himself. Perhaps he wouldn't even turn her. Perhaps he'd simply feed on her energy, slaying her. Take away all hope for the tattered shreds of the Silver Millenium. Make them wait another thousand years for the stars to be right. Let them know the sting of hunger.
Jadeite opened a path to Earth and stepped through.
000
"Jupiter." Serenity couldn't stop the single word from escaping her. This was unanticipated.
"What?" Makoto asked, confused. "Juptaa?"
"I mean, um, thank you." Serenity fumbled. "That was… thank you."
Ami was just staring. Serenity nudged her. Ami blushed, recovering her wits.
"I thank you as well." She said, bowing slightly. Always so polite. "Your skills are formidable." She straightened. "I'm Mizuno Ami, and my friend is Tsukino Usagi. We attend Juuban Gauken."
Makoto returned the courtesy. "I'm Kino Makoto- I just transferred to your school from Sanmori Gauken. This is my first day."
"I hope we will see you again in class then." Serenity said, smiling. "Perhaps we could share lunch, as a thank-you?" Assuming she didn't give in to her teenage appetite and eat it again.
"I'd like that." Makoto smiled.
000
"Wow, that's delicious!"
"Oh, may I please try some of the maki?"
"Help yourself! Just let me have one of your onigiri!"
"Mmmmmmm…."
"Oishii desu ne!"
"Om nomnomnom"
000
Best day ever. Makoto smiled, full of food. It wasn't even over yet, but hopefully it would continue to be this good. She didn't even bother trying to squash the optimistic sensation. These two girls weren't afraid of her, even after watching her administer a beat-down that had terrified the staff at Sanmori. They liked her food, and they liked her. They had witnessed Outer Makoto's expression of rage and accepted it, and they had been happy to share Inner Makoto's expression of generosity. Was it just Juuban? Was everyone here the same? Or perhaps it was Sanmori where everyone had been the same, and here everyone was simply more relaxed.
"Ne ne, Usagi-chan!" A girl with curly red hair called. "Have you heard? There was another incident last night."
"Oh, that superhero?" Tsukino-san asked, turning slightly. "Yeah, Naru-chan, it was on the radio this morning." She smiled. "Sailormoon was seen at a carnival, right?"
"Sailormoon?" Makoto asked, confused.
"Hadn't you heard?" 'Naru-chan' asked, "we've got our very own super-hero here, just like Sailor V-chan!"
"Oh, Kino-san, this is Osaka Naru-chan. Naru-chan, this is Kino Makoto-san. She just transferred here from Sanmori Gauken." Tsukino-san explained. "So maybe you haven't heard about Sailormoon?" She asked, turning back to Makoto as Osaka-san took a seat.
"Like Sailor V-chan, huh?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, but they say Sailormoon has a whole team now. Everytime she appears she has another friend." Naru explained.
"She does?" Tsukino-san asked.
"Yeah, there's three of them now." Naru said. "I heard the newest one is Sailormars."
"So they're named after the planets?" Makoto asked. Something was funny about that, but she couldn't quite decide what.
"There's Sailormoon, Sailormercury, and now Sailormars." Tsukino-san said. "They fight against evil."
"Evil?" Makoto asked.
"There have been some strange incidents around here." Tsukino-san explained, and proceeded to tell her about how, before Sailormoon appeared, people had been found drained of their life-force, dead or nearly so. She got about halfway into her explanation, when Osaka-san jumped in to tell the story of how she and her mother had been rescued from nearly certain death in Sailormoon's first appearance.
"Wow." Makoto said, stunned. Maybe Juuban had more to worry about then just one giant schoolgirl with mildly violent tendencies. If this kind of thing was happening, she wasn't going to be that interesting by comparison.
000
It had been several hours since the tear in the universe closed. The human universe was filled with human smells, human sights, and human noise. Human chatter, human machines clacking and beeping, and the infernal human music. What they called music, Jadeite could easily have bested by recording the screams of the so-called artists as he tortured them. That would be an amusing diversion.
Jadeite had almost forgotten why he was wandering the streets of Tokyo when he felt the reaction from the crystal. His hand had cramped up. His stiff fingers protested as he unwound them enough to see the blackish spindle light up with a mote of pale green. He held it up, pointing it this way and that, to see where the light grew greener and brighter.
After a few moments of uncertainty, Jadeite found the trail. The light grew stronger as he walked, and then ran. It soon seemed as though he held a fistful of green radiance, and no crystal at all.
He came upon a school. The gates had just opened, letting the students out at the close of day. Dozens of schoolgirls passed him, walking and talking. Human chatter, human problems, and the very human giggling of teenage girls. Jadeite ground his teeth and waited, holding his hands around the crystal to hide the glow.
A tall girl passed through the gates. Everything about her marked her out as different from the rest. Her uniform was the wrong cut and color, out of place among a sea of blue and red. She stood several inches taller than the other girls, and most of the boys. There was a difference in her face as well. Unlike the others, she wasn't laughing and chatting. She seemed preoccupied with some ponderous mental puzzle.
The crystal he held pulsed. The green glow shone through his fingers. It was nearly blinding.
Jadeite pocketed the crystal. He needed it no longer. He followed the girl, moving from rooftop to rooftop until she was alone. He crouched, watching, waiting for the perfect moment. The streets were nearly clear.
"Kino-san!"
Jadeite swore as a girl came running up to his target. Her choppy blonde hair swung loosely through his mind, provoking a recollection.
He knew this girl.
"You're going to leave me here? All alone? I don't- I can't-"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaa-!"
He hated this girl.
Jadeite flung his careful plan aside. He would kill the blonde, and then take the Princess of Jupiter. It would be easy. He would be rewarded, that was certain.
He gathered energy in one hand, and swept his hand forward, flinging it at the blonde girl.
000
"I almost didn't catch you in time." Tsukino-san laughed as she slowed her steps to keep pace with Makoto.
"What is it, Tsukino-san?"
"Well, Ami-chan and I were going to go and meet our other friend, Rei-chan after school and I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come along."
"Come along?"
Hang out? Like, if we were friends? There was nothing that could have made her more surprised or delighted. A girl, a normal girl, wanted to be normal friends with her.
That was when Makoto saw the bright white glow in the sky. A bolt of white light arcing from the roof of a nearby building. Heading for Tsukino-san.
She dove without thinking, tackling the blonde girl.
The sound of the bolt flashing past her ear was like the roar of a jet, or the wind of a passing hurricane. Makoto's ears rang as she and Tsukino-san rolled across the pavement. Makoto came up in a half-crouch.
"What the hell?" She saw Tsukino-san already standing, adopting a surprisingly competent-looking battle stance.
"Jadeite." Tsukino-san hissed.
What?
"What?"
A man in a grey uniform leapt down in front of them. He wore a cruel smile. "Hello, Princess Jupiter."
"You can't have her." Tsukino-san growled. "Not this time."
"I can have what I want, little girl. You are merely an annoyance to me." He dismissed her with a flick of his hand.
You can't have her
Not before you go through us
That won't be a problem. Not this time.
Run, Princess!
Makoto shook her head. This was no time for woolgathering. A super-powered psycopath was attacking them. And after her personally, apparently.
"Tsukino-san, what's going on?"
"I'll explain later. For now, run." Tsukino-san attacked, striking with a swift storm of punches. Makoto just stared, then remembered she was supposed to run.
I cannot abandon you!
Then we all die! Run!
"Not this time!" Makoto shouted, and attacked.
As she dove into the fight, Jadeite threw Tsukino-san aside. With inhuman speed, he spun back to face Makoto. He grabbed her punching arm and pulled her into his grip, pinning her arms. One arm restrained her, and the other hand began to glow with deadly white-hot energy.
"Release her!" Tsukino-san snapped. She stood too far away to intervene before Jadeite could release the energy bolt.
"Oh, I think not, little one."
"I am no child, Jadeite." Tsukino-san drew herself up. A stray wind whipped her choppy blonde hair around her face. "I am the Daughter of the White Moon, the Defender of peace and of hope. I am the hands that stops the tide of shadows, the torch that burns despite the storm." She raised one hand to the simple brooch at the collar of her fuku.
"It can't be…"
"I am the champion of Love and Justice- Sailormoon!"
"No freaking way." Makoto breathed.
"Moon Prism Power- MAKE UP!"
As the light show surrounded Tsukino-san, Makoto couldn't stop a simple stray thought from writing itself across her eyes in lines of blue lightning. Jadeite was still holding a ball of molten energy two inches away from her face. If he decided to kill her, Sailormoon wouldn't be able to stop him, no matter how fast she was.
I am going to die anyway. Nothing can stop it.
000
Notes on this chapter can be found on my profile page. Old notes are zapped when new ones go up.
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