17: "Parabola"
Usagi thought she saw a familiar face as she was walking back home from work late one evening—and on closer inspection, proved her theory correct. Naru was milling around the same street she had been when they were first reunited—ages ago, it seemed—oblivious to her surroundings, apparently. Usagi decided to play a little trick on her, and snuck up from behind while she was staring away in a trance. She reached out for the woman's short red hair, intending to flip it, but Naru stopped in her tracks, forcing Usagi to do the same.
"It's dark out tonight. Care to walk me home, officer?"
"Uh, yeah," she murmured, caught off guard. She assumed a position at Naru's side, but the other woman still didn't make eye contact. She just kept on walking, as if Usagi were a stranger but one she trusted implicitly. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Because you've played that trick on me before. And I saw you out of the corner of my eye. Sorry to ruin your fun." She smiled but still didn't look over. Usagi peered purely out of nosiness.
"It's okay. So we haven't talked in awhile. Anything special going on?"
"Nope. Other than, you know, the constant gripping chaos that is life in modern Shibuya."
"Tell me about it!" she coughed.
"Actually, I was hoping you would." A wry smile creased Naru's lips, and her eye imperceptibly traveled over—purely to gauge her friend's reaction, of course. "After all, you are a police officer."
"I'm just as lost as you are, to be honest."
"And how is Senator-to-be Hino handling it?"
"Handling's the only thing she can do. I doubt anybody can explain it."
"Not even the good Dr. Mizuno?"
"Pick a theory, any theory," she sighed. Naru finally stopped and faced her friend, a serious expression on her face.
"Could it maybe be…say, something out for revenge?"
"I don't get that impression. Like I said, Naru, nobody's made any ground at all. Oh, do you remember my model friend, Minako?"
A nod. "Your long-lost twin sister."
"Come on, don't kid, we're not related at all…although I do admit, her mother and mine look an awful lot alike."
"Cousins, then? You were saying?"
"She's volunteered to look into it during her spare time."
"Models have spare time?"
"She quit." Naru made a face laced with intrigue and surprise. Usagi grinned sheepishly. "Like I said, it's been awhile since we've spoken."
"And yet you're the only one who gets special things happening to her."
"Minako coming back to Japan after years abroad is special enough. Seeing all my friends on a more regular basis…and running into you, of course, is all I care for. I never did like too much danger, Naru."
"Yet you seem tailor-made for it," she murmured mysteriously. "So you really have no idea what sort of troubles we're facing now."
"Just vaguely. I'm really more concerned with stopping them."
"Are the police equipped for that?"
Laced, as always, with double meaning.
"They've held their own…but we all need help once in awhile."
"Speaking of which, I heard rumors of female vigilantes running around the city. Care to comment on that, officer Tsukino?" They both shared a knowing grin as Naru pantomimed a microphone.
"They're probably four very devoted citizens who've taken time out of their busy schedule to help Tokyo in her dire hour of need. Oh, god, I just sounded like Rei back there!"
"No, you were Usagi, through and through." Naru smiled innocently at her, and linked hands, because even though they were closer to her house than Usagi's, she didn't want to let go of her old friend just yet. "Well, officer, if you happen to run into them, give them my love, especially the clumsy one with the long pigtails, and the tall brunette. I've always admired them the most."
"The brunette is pretty awesome," Usagi tittered, "but I don't think we'll ever see her again." Genuine concern flashed over Naru's face only for the second time that day. Bantering like this was fun, but to hear of the permanent loss of one of her favorite beautiful mysterious crime-fighters…
"Why not?"
"Just an impression I got," she murmured wistfully. "I can't really speak for her, of course, but…I think that in the ensuing years since their last appearance, some of them just moved on."
"Even with the city in danger?"
Usagi shrugged. "I guess some roads are just one-way." She and Naru both held a respectable silence until they stopped walking. The end of their time together had arrived at last.
"This is me."
"Nice place. I'd…like to come in, but I'm so scared that Mina's going to burn the apartment down with her cooking. Um, did I mention she moved in with me? Gee, I don't know why I suddenly started crying." The tears had bubbled and trickled graciously, causing her voice to warble and fade. Usagi didn't want to let Naru go, either, because there had simply been too much time between their parting and their meeting, and she didn't know how much longer the next happy coincidence would be—or even if there would be one. Naru laughed softly, bringing her friend in for a long overdue embrace.
"Same old Usagi! Always crying about something. But I don't think I would've loved her quite as much if she didn't." The warmth Usagi emanated was immediately familiar, sweet, nurturing, tender. How had they let so much time pass since they last indulged in this beautiful feeling? The cold came far sooner than either of them expected: Naru felt an intense crackling of energy summing up near her, and was so greatly affected by the energy that she was flung out of Usagi's arms, flat on the ground.
"Naru!" Usagi was suddenly floored, powerless to help her friend, unable to even stand. A well of alien energy opened up in the earth, pouring out a being of incomprehensible might. Though vaguely human, the creature was many times a man's size, stunning in ethereal beauty and rippling with untold power. Merely by being near him, Usagi and Naru felt an immediate urge to battle—not each other, but to fight in general, to triumph over something, to dominate, to win, to be victorious, hailed before the throngs of thousands. Whether by her own will or the influence of the being before her, Usagi became Sailor Moon; Naru was too absorbed in what was happening before her to notice the change.
"Apkallu," spoke the shining creature, "there you are. My scouts have scoured the length and breadth of leagues for thee. I have urgent news from thy throngs."
"What in the hell are you?!" Naru shrieked. The warrior—he could not be mistaken for anything but a man of war—raised his hand, palm flat, in a gesture of rebuke.
"Silence, mortal slave. You are in the presence of your betters."
"Like hell I am!"
"Such insolence should not come from slaves. O mighty Apkallu, for whom even the gods bend their ears, permit me behead this shameful wench, that your honor should not be stained." Sailor Moon, who had been stunned by the sheer terror and magnificence of the entity before her, was just as quickly shaken from her trance by the overwhelming urge to protect those she loved. She stood and glared at the warrior with all of her might.
"If you so much as raise a hand against her, I swear you'll pay for it! Now who are you, and what do you want?" The entity raised its head in civilized disgust, but made no move.
"As you will it, though better mortals than her have gone to the axe for less. I am Ninurta, if it pleases you, mighty sage, and I bring most dire news. A trio of Druj, far more powerful and devious than the ones you and your kin have slain, have made themselves known on this hallowed plane. As it brings me unbearable shame to have left the last two solely to your means, my colleagues and I agreed to assist thee, through what little devices we may bear. I was chosen to deliver this message to thee, great lady, and to personally assist thee, as it is my station in life."
"I'm not getting this at all," she answered, considerably less forceful. Ninurta drew a heavy breath.
"I was informed that though you may be Apkallu, you are perhaps muddled to your cause. Usmu relayed how you opposed his methods as much as you fought against the Druj."
"So those two monsters that my friends and I fought… They're called Druj?"
"Yes, O sage. You may also think of them as devils, or demons, evil creatures fragmented from the root of all evil itself, children of Ahriman. We do not know how many sum their numbers, but that you have already vanquished two, without our aid, gives us hope."
"And you said three more are coming? Who…what are they?"
"Fiends far more terrible than mortal minds can comprehend," he sneered, casting a foul look Naru's way. "The first cited was Anzu, the great bird who sends fierce winds and terrible storms in precedence. His power even rivals ours, O sage, but as it is my destiny to slay him, I have come to offer my meager assistance. The next is Jahi, who embodies the basest wickedness in feminine aspects. Though your mortal slave be a thousand times depraved, she could not equal a fraction of Jahi's wickedness."
"Bite me!" Naru shouted. Sailor Moon held her friend at bay; listening was more important than defending one's pride.
"And the last?" Even Ninurta, whose very presence broke the inhibitions of restraint, whose essence was comprised of battle, shuddered at the thought.
"Gandarewa. Though were I in the company of all seven Apkallu, and my companions and allies, I would not utter his fiendish attributes. Even amongst the strongest Druj, Gandarewa is one of the most feared."
"Are they here now?" she whispered. Ninurta grumbled, massaging his shining forehead, making him seem all the more human. So: even gods, or beings who fancied themselves gods, worried now and then.
"I sense Jahi is close by. She is aware of our presence as well as yours, Apkallu, though I do not believe she is aware of thy number. Anzu, thankfully, has not shown his face, nor do I believe he will, so long as I am near. And if Gandarewa had revealed himself, we would know."
Sailor Moon swallowed. "That bad, huh? But what do they want?"
"Destruction, brutality, chaos, discord, wickedness… In everything they are perverse and hateful, but now, I fear, they are motivated by vengeance, for even in their abhorrent hierarchy, they mourn the fallen. Though I am unworthy of advising thee, mighty Apkallu, if thou wilt entreat me, gather thy kin quickly. We shall have need of all seven Apkallu if we are to survive."
"If by 'we'," Sailor Moon swallowed, "you mean your…friends? The, uh…gods, I suppose?" Ninurta shook his head.
"Nay, sage. This concerns all life. Even thy slave's."
"I'm her best friend, jerk," Naru grumbled. Ninurta grumbled with laughter.
"Strange that lowly servants befriend the mighty Apkallu! But I suppose that is in thy nature. When once thou hast gathered thy six kin, O sage, summon me, and I shall return. Only together can we survive. Until then, your servant deprives himself of your glorious presence." Ninurta bowed—even bent, he towered over the two women—and melted back into the wellspring from whence he spawned. Sailor Moon and Naru stood stock-still, shell-shocked, silent, organizing and trying to come to grips with everything they had just witnessed.
"Ya see!" Moon blurted, gesturing helplessly. "Now you know why I don't understand anything!"
"Yeah, really," Naru murmured. She then jerked back, alive with alarming surprise. "Oh my god, Usagi! You're really Sailor Moon?!"
The young heroine just stared at her friend with simmering impatience.
"Really, Naru?"
"Just kidding," she giggled. "I had to do something to break the tension. Besides, I couldn't resist. You changed so suddenly—you didn't even touch that brooch of yours, or call out to the crystal, or whatever it is you do."
"I know, that's strange," she said, studying herself carefully. She was definitely Sailor Moon, all right, from the feathers in her hair to the trim of gold, blue, white, and red on her skirt—and she hadn't exactly gone through all the red tape, as Naru pointed out. "I mean, sometimes, when I've really needed to, I was able to transform automatically, but those were very extreme cases. I sensed a lot of power and danger coming from that guy, but it certainly wasn't directed at us. It was kind of like…well, when Rei or Mako got really angry, and you knew they were going to unleash a lot of hell, but it was always for the right reasons, and they were always on your side. Maybe it was just the urge to fight something that took over."
"What does it matter?" Naru said, suddenly falling to her knees as she gasped for breath. Sailor Moon quickly helped her friend up, even though she was equally shaken. Naru smiled prettily, albeit bashfully. "Whew! Coming into contact with beings from another plane of reality really takes it out of ya! Like Nephrite all over again."
"Hey, I used to do it all the time, and it still freaks me out a little!" The two women shared a smile, then Naru punctually reminded her friend that she still resembled a fantastic magical superhero, and not a normal woman. Sailor Moon humbly reverted back, and saw Naru to her door. They embraced one more time, but much more awkwardly than before.
"You gonna be okay?"
"Not unless my friends are around. You know how helpless I am without them."
Naru smiled warmly. "Does that include me, too?"
"Especially you. I'm such a wreck."
"It's all about giving and returning," she whispered warmly. Naru kissed Usagi's cheek; she felt a touch of love on her forehead.
"And one for Makoto, too," she added, fleetingly touching her lips. Usagi was left alone with her thoughts shortly thereafter.
"I…think I'll leave that to Motoki."
…
He couldn't help but laugh, even though he knew how serious the situation was.
"Between your police work and Minako dressing up like Sherlock Holmes…"
"Seriously?!" He laughed again.
"I wish I were making it up. Honestly, she came in one day with the deerstalker, the pipe, a monocle…"
"So more Closeau than Basil Rathbone."
"Pretty much. And here I thought Mina was the movie buff."
"We did date. And I'm afraid I'll have to take responsibility for this latest craze. I was the one who got her all Doyle'd up."
There was a pause in the Kino family restaurant.
"My god!" Makoto laughed. "You're probably the only couple I know of that could resemble each other after breaking up!"
"That was a rather bad pun, Ami," Motoki said. Mizuno blushed.
"I didn't mean to! I just didn't know how else to put it! Ah, shame on me again."
"Aw, she would've gone to those extremes in any case," Usagi said. "You know Mina. So what all did she uncover?"
"Just that these creeps you've been seeing are Mesopotamian in origin," Motoki said. "However, that's a very broad statement. You may as well clump all the European myths together and say they're from the same place: Celtic, Greco-Roman, Scandinavian, Russian…"
"What do you mean?" Motoki sucked on a stirring spoon, Makoto quietly excusing herself as she flitted from pans to pots.
"Detective Aino thinks they're split up into two distinct camps, and based on what little research Mako and I've put in, these camps came from different parts of the ancient world: the Babylonian people, which consists of the people that spoke with you, Usagi; and the Drujs, which are actually Persian, or modern-day Iran. When this Ninurta fellow mentioned 'Ahriman', that about clinched it. Ahriman was represented as the ultimate evil in Persian religion."
"Zoroastrian," Makoto added.
"Yes, right. A very difficult word to pronounce."
"I'm surprised Mina was able to do it," Usagi muttered. "So our enemies think they're the gods of Babylonian and Persian myth?"
"One of the camps certainly does, but from what you all have told us, they don't sound like enemies. It's almost as if they came here to wipe out these Druj demons, and when they discovered your abilities, they assumed you'd help them."
"That's not really the problem," Usagi whispered. "I'm willing to cooperate in that regard, but where did they come from? What do they want? It would be nice if all they came here for was demon-hunting, but I didn't get that impression."
"Well, you said their reemergence was preceded by an unnatural earthquake," Ami said. "Perhaps they were lying dormant underground. Furthermore, from what you've said, it sounds like they want control over this world, and wish to take the people as their subjects. It makes sense if they believe they're gods."
"That's what I'm worried about."
"There's a catch twenty-two," Motoki ruminated. "On one hand, you're about the only ones here who can stop those demons. It's not just your duty, but your desire. Who wouldn't stand up to those things if they had the power? But doing that just helps these so-called gods in their campaign. On the other hand, getting in their way means letting the demons go free. I don't see how you could have both."
"I was thinking the same thing," Usagi whispered. Gloom settled around the trio until Makoto returned, blissfully cheerful and smiling, her timing impeccable. She presented a steaming-hot bowl of what she dubbed "Japanese nachos", an unusual hybrid of Spanish and Asian cuisine meshed only in a way she could accomplish.
"Hey, come on, guys: I didn't invite you over to sulk, and I certainly didn't ask you to bring Senshi business into this. Now are you all going to be my test-subjects, or will I have to ask a few strangers to do the honors?"
"Sorry, Mako," Usagi said, smiling sadly. "You know I don't mean to keep bringing this sordid business into your house. I'm just…"
"You're just being yourself," she winked, tapping her friend lightly on the head with a serving spoon. "But now, if you please, I need you to be Usagi with the insatiable appetite. Motoki, could you make sure there's some left for Rei and Mina? Ami, how about you?"
"None for me, thanks," she said, smiling for the first time since she arrived. "I'm actually going out on a date with Nastya later. There's a nice nightclub here in Sendai that I've been meaning to go to."
"Ah, I never took you for the clubbing sort," Makoto said, her eyes twinkling. "Well, I won't keep you from your fun. Thank you for stopping by—and bring Nastya over here sometime! I'd love to meet her."
"So would I," Usagi muttered. "She must be some lady for you to give up Mina like—um…" Ami's grin had turned into a glare, and she turned round and left, shaking her head. Usagi suddenly felt two millimeters tall, chained next to a mountain of guilt. "Ho boy, talk about a faux pas."
"That's what you get for criticizing her love-life," Makoto warned her. Usagi groaned.
"I couldn't help it! It just blurted out."
"I know. But just as she'd never fault you for your decisions, she expects you to do the same."
"I wasn't criticizing," she pouted defensively. Husband and wife sighed. There was really nothing they could say. Luckily, Usagi's phone went off, breaking up the frigid silence.
"Hey, dumpling, am I interrupting anything?" It was Rei. Usagi heaved with relief.
"No, actually, your timing couldn't have been more perfect. What's up?"
Yet still an uncomfortable lull. "Bear with me here. Remember how I…used to get these, uh…premonitions?" Usagi grunted an affirmative. Rei seemed understandably disquieted. "And…um…remember how they sort of stopped once we, uh…hung up our talismans?"
"You had one," she surmised. Rei's silence said enough.
"I'm not sure what frightens me more: the clarity of it or the fact that I wasn't even trying. It just came to me, like…I dunno, someone speaking to me out of the blue. Does the name 'Jahi' mean anything to you? I saw a beautiful woman."
"It does," she replied thickly. "What else did you see?" Makoto and Motoki both sprang to life, crowding around Usagi as they tried to overhear the conversation. Rei receiving psychic interpretations again was as big a news as seeing new enemies.
"Something in Sendai. I saw a woman named Jahi going into a structure in Sendai. But I couldn't tell what kind of a place it was." Usagi swallowed nervously.
"Rei, I don't want to alarm you, but I'm in Sendai right now. Mako and Motoki are with me." Rei sighed heavily.
"I wish I could tell you more. I'll see what I can do about going there. If I don't make it…"
"Don't worry, Ami's here, too. She just went—" Usagi froze. Prickles of fear formed on her skin. "Outside."
Another tense pause. "Where to?"
"On a date with her girlfriend. At this nightclub." Even Makoto and Motoki could hear Rei hissing.
"I just got a really bad feeling, Usagi, like she's not supposed to go there. I'll be right over—scout the area for me!"
"Right. Do you need Mako or Motoki to do anything?"
"Call Mina, tell her what's going on. After that…it's up to them." Usagi hung up, glancing between her two longtime friends. The concern in their face could have been impressed in stone. Each one made a mad dash to uncover this last bit of deadly mystery; Usagi began pounding Ami's number on her phone.
No answer. She was probably still angry.
"Darn it, Ami, now's not the time to hold a grudge," she hissed as she scrambled out the door. "I'm trying to save your life here!"