"Today there will be no enemies. This I command."
"The enemy isn't going to nicely refrain from attacking just because you want them to, Noodlehead."
"I am the Future Queen of Crystal Tokyo, Rei-chan. They will have to refrain or they will cause a diplodocus incident."
"A diplomatic incident, Usagi-chan. But I fear they won't care about causing one at this point."
"That's right, Ami-chan. Besides… You aren't Queen of Crystal Tokyo yet, Usagi.
So your authority ends pretty much here. Haha"
"Ow! Don't flick my nose, Rei-chan! I think you might be the true enemy."
"You know, Rei-chan, Usagi-chan. I think for some people the enemy might be inside of them.
And there may never be a way for them to truly defeat it."
"Destiny Alive Heaven Love Innocence Always.
Even in the company of friends, Urawa Touki-san is still being persecuted by his brain. Fight your fate despite the pain!"
"The male lion immediately spots the nomad as it approaches his pride.
Sensing a confrontation, his three lionesses move behind the protection of his powerful body as he steps forward to confront his rival..."
Dividing the pickled vegetables among the three dishes on the round western-style dining table, Ami glanced at the screen of the television set on the two-meter-wide brown Japanese cedar sideboard against the wall in the dining room to her right.
Ryo watched her absentminded actions while tending to the miso soup on the stove.
"I never knew you were so interested in natural documentaries," He said.
"It's…" Ami started with an embarrassed smile. "Chatting about panthers and other felines with Hotaru-chan during tutoring, she started to get me interested in Feliformia."
Hearing the ping of the rice cooker on the counter behind him, Ryo lowered the heat on the stove and turned around.
"I see," The young man in the light-green shirt and light-beige trousers smiled. "Passion is infectious, huh?"
"The nomad is an elderly lion. He might have been pushed out of his own pride at one time. Some lions never even conquer a pride of their own.
The two lionesses tending to their cubs are wise to be wary. When a lion takes over the pride of a rival they tend to kill his cubs.
But the confrontation here might be over quick and relatively bloodless. The elderly lion is lean and doesn't look like he will pose much of a threat to…"
Ami looked to the right once more when Touki Urawa's bedroom door opened and Ryo's lanky forty-something uncle entered the dining/living room dressed in a vertically blue-striped white shirt over a pair of beige trousers.
"Good morning, Urawa-san," The bluette in the orange frilled T-shirt and the long brown skirt smiled at the man with the graying dark-brown hair. "I hope you slept well?"
"Good morning, Ojisan," Ryo greeted his uncle.
"Good day, both of you," Touki timidly returned in his light deep voice. "But I told you before: You don't need to humor me with that good morning. It's well past eleven.
It's bad enough you come here to clean and cook for me every Saturday morning."
"How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, Ojisan?" Ryo playfully commented while he poured miso soup into three bowls in the kitchen.
"Stop turning a good deed into a bad thing. We understand your job is more than your brain can handle after having been weakened by the depression you suffered,
and we're happy to regularly visit and see to it that all is well with my only uncle."
"Come, Urawa-san," Ami smiled while pulling a chair from the table in the middle of the dining room. "Relax and join us for lunch."
"I know I don't always ask you, but I offered to pay you for these things before," Touki gently protested upon taking the seat beside his nephew's girlfriend while Ryo placed a bowl of miso soup on the table for him.
"I can at least do that much now I was finally able to pay off the bill for my several-months-long stay in the psychiatric hospital and the rent for my apartment which I couldn't get rid of because I needed to keep my stuff stored."
"Ami nor I will expect any compensation but to have the happy knowledge that at least on Saturdays you'll get the amount of sleep your wounded brain needs and you can start the last working day of your week after a homely and healthy breakfast with someone who loves you."
Touki was momentarily dumbfounded and heaved a heavy sigh while Ryo seated himself to the man's right.
"Thank you both. I feel spoiled by your kindness and understanding.
I can't imagine many people in my situation have family or friends who empathize with their strange needs and fragility."
"If it makes you feel better about the situation, Urawa-san," Ami smiled amusedly. "We may do the cleaning and cooking every Saturday, but for the lunches we share with you we make sure to buy only the very best products with the money you give us."
As he and his uncle laughed at the bluette's joke, Ryo happily remembered how empathically Ami reacted to Touki's situation from the start.
Contrary to his mother, his girlfriend didn't see his uncle's problems and needs as a burden but sincerely tried to understand a situation that seemed incomprehensible to most people.
Indeed, instead of considering it an annoyance to care for his uncle with his girlfriend whenever he had the opportunity of traveling from Hiroshima to visit her over the weekend or during a holiday, the diminutive young man with the dark-brown hair enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere that existed between him, the woman he loved, and the man who had been so fond of him as a child.
With the meeting that awaited him and Ami later that day, their current occupation was an oasis of peace and happiness he savored all the more.
"By the way, Ryo-kun," Touki said before bringing a spoonful of miso soup to his lips. "How are you doing at school?"
Ami chuckled expectantly when her boyfriend looked up from his lunch to answer the question.
Since Ryo was living in Hiroshima with his family for the sake of his dedicated studies at Hiroshima Jesuit Academy for Boys, the Saturday visits to his uncle fell mostly to her. This caused her to develop a considerable understanding of the man's personality over the past months.
"I'm doing okay," Her boyfriend simply replied. "I'm busy studying for university entrance exams and hope to earn the right to propose to my girlfriend one day."
Touki tried hard to suppress a doting smile at the confession.
"It was a little sad having to quit the soccer club last year," Ryo reminisced. "But Hiroshima Red Diamonds reached as high as it ever did when we lost the prefectural finale of the All-Japan High School Soccer tournament last year. It felt good to be part of that accomplishment.
Ishizaki-sensei was close to tears at the goodbye party for the third-year and second-year club members.
This year is all about striving for another accomplishment. I'm satisfied with my results on tests so far. Especially the latest test in science and technology.
The journey to Hiroshima Institute Of Technology has begun!"
"Or the journey to Tokyo U," Ami pouted while she clasped a piece of smoked eel between her chopsticks.
"I'm sorry, Ami-chan," Ryo soberly reacted. "But so many of my friends are going to H.I.T.
It'd be so stressful having to find an entirely new group to hang out with while starting my university education if I attended Tokyo U."
"Your loving girlfriend would be attending Tokyo U," Ami reminded her boyfriend while employing her most seductive smile.
"I know," Ryo returned her smile with some heartache. "But truth be told, I'm afraid we might only end up distracting each other."
"In any case," His uncle spoke up while - as Ami had anticipated - he stealthily took three 1000 Yen notes from the wallet the bluette had placed near the dishes on the table by his seat before starting the meal. "It's good to hear you're off to a great start, Ryo-kun. Congratulations on the result of your science and technology test."
"Thank you, Ojisan," Ryo reacted while without looking he slid the bank notes his uncle tried to pass him back to the other side of the table.
"Good things do happen to you if you live long enough. I now know a man who is desperate to give me money."
"Heh," Touki Urawa chuckled. "Nice Gundam quote. I'll submit to keeping my money to myself then."
"That's right!" Ami exclaimed, making her boyfriend look up at her while he chewed on a mouthful of rice. "Urawa-san told me the two of you watched a bunch of mecha anime together when you were little."
Ryo chuckled and scooped another lump of rice into his mouth while Touki smiled fondly at the pickled vegetables in the small dish before him.
"I was so happy watching real robot shows with my little Ryo-kun sitting on my knees," The 40-something store manager of Azabu-Juuban Supermarket grinned.
"Yeah. Whenever my parents needed a babysitter, Ojisan ensured he got the day off from work," Ryo smiled.
"I sometimes dropped little hints about it having been a while since mother and father saw that couple or those friends, hoping they'd take the bait so I could stay the night at Ojisan's place."
"You were a cunning little boy," Touki laughed heartily. "The kind of stuff you got away with as a kid, I was half in awe and half of a mind to scold you every time I heard of your latest trick."
"You're one to talk," Ryo laughed. "Ojisan often called me on the phone whenever it had been a while since I last stayed over and told me of live performances by artists my father or mother enjoyed so that I could bring them up in conversation."
"I see," Ami giggled in a way that made her boyfriend feel like too much personal information was leaked. "So Ryo-kun was always this kind of underhanded character?"
"Hahaha! I'm sorry, Ryo," Touki laughed. "Looks like I got you in trouble."
"Not at all," Ryo chuckled. "I've still got a bit of a naughty side which my girlfriend is all too aware of. That's all."
His girlfriend's eyes slowly wandered from her empty bowl of miso soup over every other bowl and dish on the table to the bowl of rice her boyfriend was finishing.
Almost every one of them was empty or almost empty.
The documentary on the television set was already over. The pleasant talk would be too in a matter of minutes.
Touki would leave for Azabu-Juuban Supermarket. She and Ryo would wash and clean up the kitchen.
Then they would have a drink in Roppongi before going to the meeting.
"Speaking of mechanics, Urawa-san," She quietly mentioned. "How are things with that Yamaha VMAX Honda-san's son was working on?"
"Oh? We found a fix for that o-ring displacement together when I visited and took a look at it last Sunday," Touki said without looking up.
"He's almost done with the restoration. Honda-san's husband invited me in for dinner afterward."
"See?" Ryo smiled at his uncle. "That was nice of him, huh?"
Ami noticed the look on Touki's face. He was still looking at his food and took a bite of his eel before replying.
"When I was there I felt happy I could help, so I could finally somewhat repay Honda-san for her continued kindness.
Her husband inviting me in for dinner as thanks was a little…"
"You know Honda-san told you not to worry about that," Ryo smiled.
"She feels bad for your sake because you're always so excessively exhausted that you can't stay awake by the end of your shift.
So she doesn't mind driving you home after work."
"He doesn't like me, Ryo-kun," Touki quietly protested. "He acts all jovial, but there's something in the things he says and how he looks at me…"
"You're too suspicious about people," Ryo shrugged while finishing his bowl of rice. "That's all.
Just take Honda-san's jovial nature at face value. I bet he's simply anxious to have a good rapport with his wife's employer and that's what you're picking up on."
"Perhaps," Touki simply replied.
Despite the man's acquiescence, Ami recognized the look of someone who reserved his own opinion on the matter.
Touki Urawa - on his part - was tired of trying to convince people that he had learned by experience how stronger and more confident men didn't tolerate their girlfriends or wives getting along with a guy like him. He had several mental scars and one physical scar to back up that opinion.
It wasn't as if he was ever romantically interested in any of those girls or women.
He would have at least felt lucky if the kind of women he was sexually attracted to granted him the opportunity to start a conversation with them even if they had aggressive husbands.
But it was enough of an excuse for the boyfriends of the various female friends he had made and lost in his lifetime to justify their hostile treatment of him by pretending that he was sexually attracted to their girlfriends.
He simply enjoyed the talks with those women when he initially got to know them, and they - Touki came to reflect over time - liked having him around from a mix of pity and amusement that over time often evolved into unveiled contempt.
Having used the orange pallet jack to roll a large pallet into the bakery department, Eri and Masaki were busy unloading cardboard cases of pre-packaged bakery products onto the shelves.
The usual division of labor that had served the team for almost eleven years - Masaki ripping open the boxes before gathering the waste and Eri placing the product on the shelves while sitting on a light stool - was employed while they busied themselves with the task.
Ignoring the Ai No Shojo song playing in the background on the radio, Eri shelved a series of packaged hamburger buns while quietly humming a song from the album her husband had played in the living room the evening before.
"You know what I like about working here, Masaki-kun?" The woman in the loose green uniform remarked while staring at the shiny tops of the buns in the package she was holding. "We get to look at all of these neat products.
I mean, most customers don't even know all the different products we offer for sale.
I think it's awesome when a new product is added to the assortment and I can try it out with my family the same evening."
"Did you and Daken-kun have a wild shōchū party last night?" Masaki dryly commented while he handed his colleague a plain cardboard box with prepackaged toast.
"We don't have an alcohol problem," His 45-year-old ponytailed colleague coldly commented as she took the box from him.
"You're denying it, but you are humming X songs again," Masaki chuckled as he cut open another cardboard box.
"But sure, it's fun to surprise my girlfriend with new products I guess."
"See?" Eri nodded to herself. "Why do you have to tease me? "You still think it's fun to work here after ten years, just like I do."
"Tease you? I might have said I thought Manager-san infected you with his madness. But I knew you'd get annoyed," Her colleague laughed.
"Pfft…" Eri sighed with a roll of her eyes. "I don't see why you'd even want to say such things.
Manager-san has many battles with his bosses to stop them from turning this into just another Azabu branch store.
Or would you rather we'd have to work the cash register with Noriko-chan and the others?
Or for them to be forced to clean the aisles with us?"
"Praise to him," Masaki sighed in turn. "No. I'd hate having to deal with cash and customers."
"But you still gossip about him with the others."
"That's just normal. Isn't it?" Masaki shrugged. "You're curious when someone like that comes into your group.
You start to wonder what's wrong with him and what he might have done."
"I told you before: It's not like that," Eri reacted in an annoyed tone to the statement of the tall thirty-something with the beige hair.
"Manager-san is just a little weak in the head. That's all.
He had a big depression over getting bullied by some college brats that lived next door to him and his brain never recovered."
"Sadly my ears are still as sensitive as they were back then," Masaki and Eri were shocked to hear from further down the aisle.
"Goo… Good afternoon, Manager-san," The latter guiltily sweated as she greeted the lean man in the blue-striped white shirt and the pair of beige trousers.
"Good afternoon, Manager-san," A not much less nervous Masaki smiled as Touki arrived to the right of his seated colleague. "Sorry for babbling during work…"
"I told you many times before, Tanaka-san..." His superior said in a lazy, gentle manner. "If I see employees chatting during work, I believe they feel at ease in their job.
I believe that a happy employee is a productive employee, so I will never think less of you if you talk or fool around during work.
Provided you can do both concurrently and as long as you don't badmouth your colleagues at this supermarket."
"Yes, Manager-san," Masaki and Eri said with a bow of their heads.
"We weren't badmouthing anyone, Manager-san," The latter quietly added. "Simply discussing."
Touki smiled and nodded at the woman. He trusted Eri and deduced from what he heard that she was sticking up for him after something gossipy Masaki had said.
Both were okay people according to him, but Eri had a bit of a temper and Masaki was prone to being swayed by whatever was the popular opinion of the day.
"Good. Tanaka-san, what time do you think you're done restocking the bakery department?"
The athletic man with the short beige hair cut open a cardboard box of Castella cakes and rubbed his forehead.
Relieved that Touki didn't seem bothered by catching them talking about him, Eri took the box from her colleague and placed the packaged cakes onto the shelves.
"It's a quarter to two now," Masaki reflected while the slightly built brunette sitting beside him started humming again.
"I think we'll be done with the aisle here by two. Ten more minutes to get the fridges done I expect."
"Right…" Touki quietly chuckled while picking up the box Eri was emptying when he arrived and folding it flat. "And if you're not trying to impress me?"
"Haha," Masaki grinned to Eri's amusement. "If you insist. Twenty past two?"
"Good," Touki nodded.
The lean man with the graying dark-brown hair handed the fitter man the box he just folded and Masaki opened another box for Eri, who got up to stock the fourth shelf from floor height.
"I'm going to my office to quickly study the marketing strategy for the Three Lights Tour summer campaign again. Come to me by twenty past two at the latest so that the three of us can start setting up the promotional stands and banners together."
"Aye, Commander," Masaki smiled with a bow of his head.
"And yes, I know we're late," Touki sheepishly admitted. "But if…"
"Do nothing but cry…!" Eri sang. "Day and night. Between the past and the future…!"
Masaki frowned in surprise when his superior turned pale and gasped for breath.
"Flowing into an endless night sky…"
"Ha… Honda-san…!" Touki gasped while grimacing in pain and supporting himself against the shelves.
"Oh, my Dahlia…!
Manager-san!" Eri exclaimed in shock when she saw the state her superior was in.
"Hang in there, Manager-san!" Masaki said while rushing forward and supporting Touki in his arms.
"Please… Please don't sing that song when I'm around," The older man quietly begged Eri as he slowly recovered from his panic attack. "It's got… bad memories for me."
"Sorry," A deeply impressed Eri muttered. "I guess it's because the students played it."
"Yes," An embarrassed Touki nodded.
"You alright, Commander?" Masaki asked the man.
Feeling annoyed at the public display of his psychological trauma, Touki pulled the collar of his striped shirt straight without looking Masaki in the eyes.
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm alright now. Please continue. I'll see you at twenty past two."
"Yes, Manager-san," Masaki said as his superior turned and returned the way he came.
Eri stared at Touki's back while he walked from her, feeling double guilty after what happened.
"Boy, that was some reaction," Her colleague sighed.
The ponytailed brunette absentmindedly turned to see him cut open another cardboard box.
At that same moment, Ami and Ryo finished climbing the stairs to Hikawa Shrine.
Megumi Sakurada - dressed in Rei's miko uniform - welcomed them like the hostess of a ryokan though she was busy cleaning the stone-flagged approach to the shrine with her broom.
"Good afternoon, Ami-chan. Good afternoon, Urawa-san," The beautiful young woman with the long orange hair smiled and bowed. "Congratulations on your team's success. It's nice to meet you again."
"Thank y… Ahem… Thank you, Sakurada-san," Ryo smiled at the young woman. "It's a pity we lost the Prefectural finale. But nobody seriously believed we would make it that far in the first place."
"Good afternoon, Megumi-chan," Ami smiled. "Thank you for taking over Rei-chan's shift so we can party."
"Oh? I love doing THAT," Megumi smiled while turning her eyes on Yuuishirou who waved at the group from his position at the shrine's administrative office to her left.
"In fact, I should thank you for inviting Yuuishirou-kun and me to join you after our tasks. Even though I barely made your acquaintance."
"Ah. Well, that's all the more reason to get to know each other better," Ryo smiled while rubbing the back of his neck.
With the expression of someone wanting to hide, the young man physically urged his girlfriend past their friend in the red and white hakama.
"This is so embarrassing," The diminutive brown-haired high-school student whispered when they were out of hearing range and turned left.
"Couldn't we find another excuse to hold this large meeting than telling Rei-chan's grandfather you wanted to hold a late celebration of my team reaching the prefectural finale?"
"Hello, Ami-chan. Ryo-kun," Minako greeted the couple when they reached the short flight of steps to the temple where the sacred fire was kept.
"Are you ready for the big argument?"
"Big argument?" Ami repeated with a tilt of her head.
Ryo looked from his girlfriend who was still dressed in her orange frilled T-shirt and long brown skirt to their blonde friend whose slender limbs were accentuated by the short sleeveless dress with the diagonal white-and-light-blue stripes and the lace-trimmed borders she was wearing.
"With Usagi-chan on the phone in one ear, warning me that Rei-chan will want to impose a military dictatorship, and Rei-chan on the phone in the other ear, warning me that Usagi-chan will be the death of us all if she keeps ignoring "the warning signs" I expect the mother of all shouting matches to make up for the comparatively mellow way they've been dealing with each other the last year," Minako sighed.
"I hope the rest of you guys can counter them because I plan to simply listen and go along with what is decided in the end."
"Don't worry, Mina-chan," Ami smiled as the trio entered the temple. "I doubt things will get as fired up as you fear.
Though the reason for this meeting is certainly far from festive."
Inside, the bluette found the side of the temple's wooden floor farthest from the low-burning sacred fire equipped with enough pillows for all of them to sit comfortably with a few tables along the wall laden with glass containers containing all kinds of cooled beverages.
"Thank you for coming," Rei nodded to Ryo, Ami, and Minako upon approaching them. "After hearing certain things from Michiru-chan I was especially anxious to have you here, Ryo-kun."
"I'm happy to attend the meeting if you think I can help, Rei-chan," The young man smiled.
For the occasion, the blackette was dressed in green capri pants with a dark-blue waistcoat over a white shirt.
Behind her, Ami saw Setsuna standing in a long light-gray dress and a pink blouse.
"Hi, guys," Hotaru called out from one of the pillows around the row of long low tables that served to stand their drinks on and on which several dishes with food were placed.
To the right of the black-bobbed stoic in the thin beige trousers and the pastel-blue shirt with a black necktie Michiru sat, dressed in a short-skirted pink dress with a burgundy bust and Haruka in a light-green summer jacket over a light-yellow shirt balancing a glass of chilled barley tea on the knee of her light-yellow pants.
To Hotaru's left sat Chibi-Usa, looking somewhat demure in her purple short-sleeve shirt and orange skirt while Diana sat on her lap.
Next to the pinkette sat Makoto, who was dressed in a short-sleeved orange shirt and yellow capri pants with Luna and Artemis sharing a pillow at a corner of the table.
On the other side of the table, opposite Haruka, Taiki sat dressed in black trousers and a short-sleeved gray V-neck shirt with fine horizontal blue stripes - a stylish yet casual leisure ensemble purchased at Sparkles Boutique.
To his right, opposite Michiru, sat Seiya who sported a grass-green necktie over a white shirt and grass-green pants.
Yaten, lastly, sat opposite Hotaru, dressed in a pale red T-shirt and white pants.
"Good afternoon, Hotaru-chan," Ami smiled while waving at everyone. "Nice to see you all again."
"If only the occasion for this gathering was as festive as the excuse we made up for it," Haruka sighed. "Nevertheless… Congratulations, Urawa-kun. You and your team did a great job raising the bar for future club members."
"Thanks, Tenoh-san," Ryo waved at the warmly smiling blonde. "It was a great match. We came pretty close to winning but alas."
"Yeah, Urawa-kun," Hotaru chuckled. "It was cool following the journey of the Hiroshima Red Diamonds throughout your campaign last year.
I hope to make the Pink Pika's as proud of me as your team must have been with you."
"Hahaha," A sweatdropping Ryo laughed as he walked over the group around the tables. "From what I hear you've already turned heads. I wouldn't…"
"See, Mamo-chan?" He and his companions heard a slightly agitated voice from outside. "Even Megumi-chan was looking at you strangely. This is supposed to be a celebration yet you're dressed so casually."
Minako and Ami turned to see their King and Queen about to enter the temple.
"Careful, Usako," Mamoru warned his girlfriend whose right arm was linked with his left. "Watch the threshold."
"Thank you, Mamo-chan," The blonde smiled while carefully leading the way through the door.
Standing behind Minako, Rei was elated to see Usagi wearing the beautiful black-and-white "leaping bunnies" dress she bought at Sparkles.
Though she worried the dress might make her weak against the strategy - or lack thereof - which she expected her friend to push for during the meeting.
Setsuna, who stood behind Ami, regarded the violet shorts and white T-shirt with blue breast pocket Mamoru seemed to have thought would be fitting to wear at a party when his girlfriend was dressed for a classy evening dinner.
"Mamoru-kun's party suit doesn't look that bad, Usagi-chan," The grinning greenette joked. "I'm sure he won't look out of place at all."
Mamoru observed the tall young woman's expression with surprise as he entered the temple behind his girlfriend.
"Thank you, Meiou-san," He smiled. "That is kind of you to say."
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi exclaimed as he tripped over the floor. "Watch it!"
Upon seeing their King drag their Queen down as he fell, Minako and Ami jumped out of the path in panic.
But to their relief, Mamoru and Usagi found themselves caught by Rei and Setsuna respectively.
"Be sure to follow your own advice, Mamo-kun," Rei teasingly smirked while supporting the young man by his waist with both hands as - leaning with his hands on her shoulders - he tried to recover his footing.
"Thank you, Setsuna-chan," Usagi sighed as the older woman helped the blonde to her feet. "You saved us from embarrassment."
"Think nothing of it, Usagi-chan," The greenette smiled while trying to hide her confusion at the moment of inattention on Mamoru's part that led to the fall of the royal couple.
"Now that the guests of honor have arrived…" Seiya chuckled. "Let's get this "party" started."
"Not to be rude, Usagi-chan," Yaten dryly added. "We want to help you guys where we can. But right now our time is precious."
"Of course, Yaten-kun," Usagi smiled as she and Mamoru - unlinked - walked over to the other end of the table to sit with Luna and Artemis on the pillow to her right. "Thank you for joining us. You too, Seiya-kun. Taiki-kun."
With Ryo already sitting to Yaten's right, Ami seated herself beside her boyfriend.
Minako chose to sit to Rei's left at the other end of the table. Setsuna sat at the corner of the table in between Ami and Mamoru.
"Right," Makoto sighed, with concern for the situation visible in her expression. "Let's start with the reason why we are here. It is clear by now that we have a new enemy on our hands who is targeting people at random.
Those people are targetted by golems who seem to absorb them before proceeding to go on a rampage."
"I'm sorry to say, that me and Mako-chan have failed to catch the golem we encountered," Taiki interrupted his friend with bowed head.
"So there are two golems who are now at large in the city," Yaten sighed.
Ami, Ryo, Usagi, Mamoru, Makoto, Luna, and Artemis stared at him in bewilderment while Chibi-Usa was absentmindedly caressing Diana's fur.
"There are two of those creatures out there, free to roam the city?" Ami exclaimed.
"Apparently," Rei sighed in frustration at their lack of internal communication.
"We need to get out there and find those creatures as fast as possible," Makoto urged. "They could be making victims as we speak."
"We have no way of knowing where they are though," Michiru said, inclining her face to the brunette three seats to her left. "We would have to patrol the streets day and night before we can find them."
"And that is not the only reason why we're here," Haruka added.
"Be that as it may," Seiya sternly interrupted. "The safety of the people of Tokyo is our most urgent business right now."
"I have to agree with Michiru. We need to organize a patrol duty if we are to be successful," Mamoru reflected.
"Wait…" A sweatdropping Haruka said while staring at the man who was dressed for a beach party. "That isn't exactly…"
"Before we take action, I think everyone needs to share any information they have," Ami said, turning all heads toward her.
"Good plan," Rei nodded while sitting with her arms folded.
Her blue-haired friend sought support by looking at Usagi and Luna before continuing.
"Does anyone have an idea or suspicion on whom we are facing?" She asked. "Has anybody seen who is sending these golems out to perform their crimes for them?"
The Senshi sitting around her all tried to remember the details of the events in which each of them participated over the past weeks.
"I don't remember anyone suspicious being around when that golem attacked at Sparkles Boutique," Rei pondered. "Do you remember anything, Meiou-san?"
"Why aren't you asking me?" A slightly irritated Usagi demanded.
The two young women stubbornly stared at each other over the row of tables.
"Do you remember seeing anyone suspicious, Usagi-chan?" Rei finally relented with a sigh.
"I remember hearing a scream in the men's toilets before the golem left the restrooms and entered the restaurant while I was in the ladies' room," Minako quietly interrupted. "Yaten-kun searched the men's room after the creature escaped."
"I didn't find anything out of the ordinary though," The young man with the long white ponytail sulked.
"The guy that was absorbed by the golem we fought walked out of sight for a few minutes before the creature attacked," Makoto remembered.
"We simply found the golem Chibi-Usa-chan saved in the house of a classmate we were visiting," Hotaru added.
"So the ones who encountered these golems so far," Luna reflected. "Have been Usagi-chan, Rei-chan, Minako-chan, Mako-chan, Hotaru-chan, Chibi-Usa-chan, Yaten-kun, and Taiki-kun?"
"And me," Setsuna smiled down at the black cat. "I'm still here."
"Have the rest of you encountered a golem?" Artemis asked in the general direction of Michiru and Haruka while Luna sweatdropped at Setsuna's strange remark.
"I haven't," Ami answered the white cat.
"We haven't either," Michiru said. "But I have received some unsettling visions lately."
Her friends fell silent, awarding her their undivided attention after hearing the ominous revelation.
"This may not be related," The greenette coolly spoke. "Starting last week I have been dreaming frequently about some sort of androgynous angelic being which - in my dreams - is floating in orbit around our planet."
"That sounds very unsettling," Ami reacted. "But we have methods with which we can at least try to investigate this.
I'll ask Professor Amanogawa if I can use his telescope. With luck, we might spy something out there to provide us with more information about this angel."
"Isn't an angel supposed to be a force for good?" Usagi blinked. "I think this vision of yours might be a benevolent sign, Michiru-chan. Maybe the angel is here to help us fight the golems."
"Yes, Usagi-chan. The appearance of an angel can't possibly spell trouble," Minako chuckled. "After all: We have such a great track record of getting along with people who cross our path while fighting evil."
Usagi sulked at the snark from the celebrated idol while Taiki and Haruka coughed uneasily during the silence that followed her words.
"Michiru-chan contacted me to ask whether I had similar visions," Rei finally spoke up. "Which is why - after hearing Mako-chan's terrible news - we started contacting everyone to organize this meeting.
I started to consult the flames this morning - with little success so far. But I haven't had any visions myself. Which is why I was curious whether you might not have shared Michiru-chan's visions, Ryo-kun?"
Ami - already knowing the answer to that question - saw her boyfriend shrug at her friend.
"I can't say I did," Ryo said. "Or if they did come to me I forgot."
"The problem is…" Michiru continued her story. "That the vision is coming to me in a very piecemeal fashion. Only last night did I glimpse what seemed to have been a second angel floating on the opposite side of the planet."
This made even Usagi look uneasy.
"So we have golems on the one hand," Mamoru pondered. "And not knowing whose bidding they are doing or whether the latter are connected, we have angels on the other hand."
"If we are assuming an Abrahamic religious connection, according to the Talmud…" Ami quietly spoke. "The first man, Adam, was created as a golem. An incomplete being, created from mud."
"Then… was Eve made of mud too?" Usagi asked with an expression of disgust.
"We can speculate all we want," Seiya interrupted her. "But right now - beyond how Mamoru-kun summed up the situation - we have little to go on."
"Right," Makoto nodded. "Our priority is hunting down those two escaped golems before they make any victims."
"I disagree," Rei stated. "Hunting down the golems is our most important task right now. But our priority is to decide how we will go about that."
"What do you mean, Rei-chan?" Minako asked.
"I know exactly what she means," Usaig fumed.
"Playtime is over, Usagi! We all had a lot of fun in the past year, but we can't continue playing around if we are to once more take up our duties as Sailor Senshi!"
"Nonsense! There is always time to play!"
"Ah… That's what you meant," Minako sighed at Rei's words while Luna and Artemis sweatdropped at the outburst that nearly pierced their eardrums.
"Well… I never planned to become an eternal idol."
"There is no reason to retire, Minako-chan," Usagi stated while looking at Rei as if her eyes were laser guns. "Rei-chan is just being a scaredy-cat."
"If you weren't wearing that dress right now…" A confused Haruka thought she heard the annoyed miko whisper under her breath.
"There is no reason for Minako-chan to retire, Rei-chan! Or for Mako-chan to quit her part-time job! Or for you to give up your violent Muay Thai club! Or for Ami-chan to give up on Ryo-kun…!"
"I never said…!"
"That's why, as soon as you called me up, acting all high and mighty about organizing this meeting, I decided to invite Seiya-kun and his brothers."
"We're happy to help," Seiya smiled.
"It's not like we were planning to look the other way if any golem attacked whenever we're around," Taiki added.
"Thank you, Seiya-kun. Taiki-kun," Usagi gently spoke while gazing at the brothers with a bright smile.
"See, Rei-chan? There are fourteen of us now.
If we all work together and properly organize ourselves nobody will have to give up on their well-deserved occupations and entertainments."
Rei looked at her friend in surprise at how the blonde had thought ahead to find solutions to assuage her concerns.
"I'm sorry, Kitten," Haruka said, looking intent on throwing a wrench in the matter. "I'm afraid, Michiru, Hotaru-kun, Setsuna-chan, and I won't have time to help you, because we will have to look into that angel business."
"What?" A deflated Usagi exclaimed. "Why?"
"As Outer Senshi it is our duty to guard the solar system from external threats," Michiru sternly informed the blonde. "And there is every reason to assume that the angels in my visions are just that."
"Oh! I see!" Seiya said with a nod and an intrigued look at a suspicious Haruka. "You plan to conserve your energy so the four of you are fully prepared for the angels when they attack. That's clever.
Or is it that you need to start charging your attacks that far ahead?"
Haruka gritted her teeth at the obvious sarcasm of the young man who ostentatiously sipped his glass of Coca-Cola.
"You don't get it, do you, Seiya-kun?" Rei suavely spoke while shaking her head at the Kinmokuan.
"The fact of the matter is our friends here are so amazing and powerful that they are concerned the golems wouldn't stand a chance against them"
Hotaru couldn't help laughing while Mamoru, Usagi, and Minako smiled happily at seeing Rei coming to her Queen's aid.
"You're right, Rei-chan," The latter giggled while patting her friend's shoulder. "Being an Outer Senshi is all about sportsmanship. We underestimate Haruka-kun's sense of honor"
"We get the message," Michiru peevishly protested. "There is no need for ridicule."
"So we agree to take both threats on together?" Setsuna asked with a look at her housemates.
"I suppose we could try working together from the start on this occasion," Haruka sighed while leaning back with her hands behind her neck. "At the very least it might save us from more "You'll tell us if you and Michiru come up with a plan, will you?" jokes."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Her tall and tanned friend teased while sharing an amused smile with Hotaru.
Both granted Ami their full attention when she took the initiative to continue the discussion.
"If everyone agrees that the fourteen of us will handle the current situation together," The bluette said. "I think we really might be able to keep up the extra activities in our daily lives. Which leaves us only to discuss how we will deal with the angles and the golems."
Ryo took his girlfriend's hand in his, knowing how relieved she was that she could continue giving undivided attention to her studies to enter Tokyo U and her life's goal to save thousands of lives as a medical doctor.
"I think we are all delighted and grateful to our friends for helping us fight this new enemy together going forward," Rei picked up where she left off.
"But before we go into detail about how we are going to do that, there are two things I have been pondering ever since I saved the golem I encountered with Usagi and Setsuna-chan."
"What's been on your mind, Rei-chan?" Usagi cutely asked with a tilt of her head.
"Frankly," The miko deadpanned. "I think Michiru and I could be more efficient in the ways we employ our clairvoyant powers."
Mamoru and Ami listened intently to what the blackette was saying.
"You are the one most receptive to visions among the Outer Senshi," Rei continued. "I can collect information from my fire readings. Ryo-kun is also highly receptive to visions."
"Me?" Ryo exclaimed in surprise at being called out.
"Yes. You," Rei addressed the young man with the dark-brown hairdo. "We have next to no information on the enemy right now. The three of us have ways to gain that information. I realize that it would be difficult for Ryo-kun to join us but I think we can enhance our abilities by regularly meditating together and by discussing our experiences."
"You touch on a matter I've been idly considering myself," Mamoru spoke up. "The need hasn't arisen until now, but I think we might act faster and with more precision to emergencies if we distribute information directly to Luna and Artemis so that they can organize our response.
What you are saying now makes me think it would help the flow of information among us if during these meetings you suggest to hold between yourselves you would inform Luna and Artemis of your conclusions so they are kept up to date."
"An operational intelligence taskforce," Ami summarized the statements of her two friends while looking up at the young man with the black hair.
"A Visionary Club," Taiki joked.
"That would turn us into the Sailor Senshi command center," Artemis pondered out loud. "I don't know if I'm completely on board with that idea."
"In the first place," Luna deadpanned. "The future King and Queen are the command center of the Sailor Senshi. Artemis and I cannot take that role from you.
Those days are over."
"The two of you could serve as their personal assistants?" Makoto suggested with a shrug. "If you ensure regular communication with the rest of us and inform Mamoru-kun and Usagi-chan of the things we encounter, they can make the decisions on how to employ us in our struggle against the golems and their masters."
"And the angels," Yaten added while staring at Hotaru who observed her introspective pink-haired friend with wonder while Chibi-Usa continued to caress a sleeping Diana.
"Sure. I can be a governess," Luna sighed. "I can be a private tutor. I can be a personal assistant…"
"Then that's settled," Ami smiled to the dismayed surprise of the sweatdropping black cat.
"Though I regret to say it out loud," The bluette sighed. "Ryo-kun continuing his studies in Hiroshima might have an advantage here in that it would help him to serve as an unbiased counter-opinion to the impressions you and Michiru-chan form of your visions, Rei-chan."
"I could certainly try serving you as the auxiliary part of your intelligence taskforce," Ryo seriously stated. "I admit that the idea of exploring the limits of my clairvoyant ability is intriguing. I might find ways in which to come to Tokyo a little earlier than I usually do when I visit my girlfriend so that our mediation sessions don't eat into my time with her."
"It's nice to see you being so protective of your private time together with Ami-chan, Ryo-kun," Minako smiled while leaning her chin on her two hands.
As Hotaru observed the embarrassed blush on the boy's face and the happy smile on Ami's face, she found envious feelings filling her heart.
The blackette looked at Mamoru and Usagi and then at Michiru and Haruka, wishing Shingo could share the table with her while being completely aware of her double life.
She even hoped that Chibi-Usa's girlfriend, who was mildly worrying the pinkette since she hadn't called her since the day before, could someday be informed that she was dating an alien Princess.
"At the risk of making Haruka-kun feel lonely without me, I am completely on board with this idea of exploring how the three of us can improve our clairvoyant abilities together," Michiru smiled at Rei and Ryo. "An ingenious suggestion, Rei-chan. Mamoru-chan."
"Good," Rei nodded coolly. "Then here is the last concern I have..."
"Glad to hear you're almost done," Haruka teased. "You're starting to sound like you're soliciting for the function of speaker of the house in Kitten's future parliament."
"Héhéhé," Rei reacted with a chuckle so dry it sent shivers of apprehension down Usagi's spine.
"I'll keep it simple," The miko smirked. "Let's everyone raise our hands if past enemies threatened our lives on the grounds of our private residences."
The Sailor Senshi watched as a few hands were raised among Rei's own.
"Now let's everyone raise our hands if that happened to us two times in the past."
Only one or two hands were hesitatingly raised next to Rei's own
"And who has been treated to such pleasure a third time?"
This time only two hands were raised.
"How about a fourth time?"
"It does seem that the shrine has been targetted with disproportional frequency by past enemies," Setsuna pondered. "I wonder whether it being a Crystal Point has anything to do with that."
"It's not that I feel like my living conditions are especially vulnerable," Rei seriously spoke. "I have a duty to protect my Queen and King and to give my life to protect others."
The miko saw the sour look on Usagi's face when the blonde cast her eyes downward.
"... But I feel anxious about Grandpa, Yuuichirou, and Megumi-chan. Their lives are statistically at higher risk here. I worry what might happen to them when an enemy targets the shrine during my absence."
"I get that. I worry about Ryo-kun living so far away in Hiroshima," Ami cunningly reflected to Ryo's amusement.
"If an enemy were to find out he's my boyfriend there's no telling what might happen to him without anyone nearby to protect his life.
But the rate at which Yuuichirou-kun and Grandpa have been in danger is high indeed."
"How would you feel if I moved into the shrine, Rei-chan?"
Everyone turned their eyes on Makoto.
"Move in?" Rei frowned.
"We'd both be absent during school hours. There's nothing we can do about that.
But we can try to ensure there's always one of us here to protect everyone after school hours.
The shrine is much closer to Haru No Ike than my place and it's still close enough to school, so I'd stand to gain by the move," Makoto said.
"I don't need lots of living space and I will earn my stay by cooking for you guys."
"You'd be cooking for us?" Rei profoundly pondered. "But that would mean I'd have to give up the pleasure of eating instant curry dinners in front of the television."
"Rei-chan!" Ami, Minako, and Usagi shouted at their friend in unison.
"In fact, It crossed my mind to suggest this before, just so you'd finally change your sinful eating habits," Makoto spoke with closed eyes while clenching her fist with divine purpose.
"Thank you, Mako-chan. I appreciate your offer," Her friend smiled. "We do have a largely vacant room you can move into. So if you volunteer to help me with this concern of mine, Yuuichirou and I will gladly help you move in."
"It's my pleasure to help you protect your loved ones, Rei-chan," Makoto winked at the miko.
Alright then," Usagi said while stretching her arms. "If everything has been discussed, let's finally start this party!"
The blonde set into a smile but frowned when she found everyone's eyes upon her.
"Huh?" She reacted.
"We still have to discuss how we'll organize our patrols of the city, Usagi-chan," Minako said.
"That was your idea, remember?" Seiya laughed while rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry, Noodlehead," Rei grinned while sticking out her tongue at her friend. "This meeting is far from over."