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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Bishoujo Sailor Moon + Other series in this story are not owned by me.

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Chapter 33: Charms and Threats

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So, Daimon-hunting. Never thought that my patient waiting for Season II would be ruined by Season III tried to rear its ugly head so early on.

Then again, it was canon that S3 Villains used S2's situation to sneak stuff around and get the private school built, authorized to be operative, and then actually getting students. So... I was planning to spare my future self some headaches by actually looking into the matter.

To do so, I also looked into solutions on 'not killing mind-controlled people' since I didn't want an Old Soviet Officer going around gunning down mind-controlled people. And while Yui was looking into this, I was planning to test things out with Lilim's succubus abilities.

Theoretically speaking, the girl's ability to charm people should also apply to other live forms. And, with the right manipulation, she could force the parasites out without killing the hosts. The little Succubus, after being told the plan, was fairly unsure of the idea.

"W-What if they latch onto me? Bugs are yucky!"

"But they aren't bugs," I argued with a flat tone. "They are tentacular little things that can hardly do much against magical beings."

"T-That's even worse!" She whined once more, and I felt myself roll my eyes at her.

There was a caveat to convince Lilim - we had to bring Minasaki along. It wasn't even about Lilim trying to make me befriend the brainless crow-girl, but rather-

"She made a mess last time I went out without her."

"Wha? I just painted your room a nice pink-"

"It was NEON PINK! MY EYES STILL HURTS BECAUSE OF THAT!"

I am not sure how it was possible, but I have a feeling that Lilim had somewhat gained Minasaki's remaining braincells and left her childhood friend devoid of common sense. Either that or Minasaki was already brainless to begin with (which was highly probable).

Still, after some personal convincing, I agreed to this matter but I laid some ground rules. Like hell I was going to let this gremlin out to give us more headaches than not.

Carrying around a whining crow-girl, Lilim and I started to clear out the known bases around Tokyo, starting with just two and... wasting a solid hour getting both done half-right.

The charm worked on the Daimons, and we managed to clear out both bases without any major complications but... Minasaki meddled, triggering a few alarms, giving us more troubles than not, and really eroding my capacity to handle her shenanigans.

To my relief, Lilim's patience was broken a few times too, which led to some loud shouting, which led to more alarms being sprung, and Minasaki getting spanked by her succubus.

A hour of lenghty purges went by and I was mentally exhausted - and I had yet to get my usual patrol gone by. And Minasaki looked so bubbly and full of energy.

I thought this sentiment would have been shared with Lilim, but the succubus appeared just as tired as I was after the experience.

We were walking to Lilim's flat since Lilim couldn't fly as her magical stamina was depleted and I couldn't carry two people at once. It was close enough, so I saw no issue in getting worked up over it. The streets were also quiet and safe enough as far as I could see, but right as we turned the corner to the street by the flat, I felt a chill go down my spine.

I didn't detect any bloodlust, but I definitely felt someone watching us. And I stopped to look around, Lilim mirrored my gesture and Minasaki... trailed forward, failing to notice we had all paused.

"Mina-"

Before I could have finished that sentence, two figures rushed upward, mere shadows flashing as they landed right in front of the crow-girl.

"Kyah!" The moron exclaimed and bolted behind Lilim.

I was busy looking at the two interlopers and frowned at the sight.

"Moon Knight," the tallest of the two greeted and I held a forced smile behind my mask.

"Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. I hope it is a pleasant night for you both."

"It was," Neptune, Kaiou Michiru, remarked quietly. "Alas, we didn't expect to finally find you with quite the... company."

"Do you know them?" Lilim asked, tense as she could see how uneasy the air had gotten.

"Yes. They are allegedly allies. But I can tell they are not checking in out of courtesy."

"Indeed," Uranus, Tenou Haruka, remarked with a frown. "Are they allies too? The two girls?"

"They are. What about it?"

"We are just curious," Neptune assured calmly. "We were on patrol. I believe we are all hunting the same threat."

"Daimons," I muttered and Uranus nodded. "So, how may I help you?"

"You need to stop it."

...

"Beg your pardon?" I asked to Uranus and the blonde hummed.

"The Daimons are not a matter that concerns you."

"We are reasons to believe that there is something else that is being held within this organization," Michiru added, trying to apply more context to the warning. "If that's the case, then we are the only ones that can handle that matter."

...

"I think you two look very cute together," I started to answer, trying to keep my patience here as I really really really didn't like the tone both had taken. I was familiar with what they were trying to say, but they really needed to work on their attitude in that regard. My words seemed to surprise them, but I wasn't done talking. "I can tell you Saturn is indeed an element in this plot, and I can assure you... you both are quite arrogant to think you two have any claim to try and singlehandledly 'rescue' her."

"You don't-"

"I know enough to be aware you two have been hush-hush quiet-quiet with Queen Serenity in regard to Saturn's state of mind. You have both disregarded your duties as her friends and you feared her back then," I lashed out harshly, causing Haruka to flinch and for Michiru to look away. "I can excuse Pluto since she has a big chore on her back, but you two? What's your excuse to desert your friend when she needed to know you two cared for her!"

My voice had grown increasingly furious and both Outer scouts appeared very guilty of what I was saying. To some extent, I was exaggerating, but I knew that these two were strongheaded enough to miss the point with too lenient of a voice.

"I will tell you what's going to happen from now on. If you wish to deal with this case, I will allow you two to do so on your own as you wish. But I will still work on the matter because there's more parties involved in this than you are aware of," I sharply proclaimed. "The next time you two try to force the issue, that you two are the single ones deserving of the right to save Sailor Saturn, then I will personally draw my sword, show you how stronger I am compared to the both of you, and strip your asses of your powers. Understood, Haruka and Michiru?!"

Both girls jumped in surprise, eyes wide open as I addressed them with their real names. I bet that had shocked them to the core, but I cared not to provide on why I knew their identities.

"I repeat: do you two understood what I just said?"

"Y-Yes." "...Yes."

I nodded, then turned to both Lilim and Minasaki, the former looking at me with some unease over the entire situation while Minasaki had those admiring eyes as I just dominated two women at once with mere words.

"You two, let's get you both to your home and I will get to bed. I really need to rest right now."

Nods came at my words and the three of us walked away from the two Scouts without paying them any further attention. To my relief, they didn't try to stop us but... I have to admit that my threat was partly hollow - I can't strip them of their powers even if I so desired if they continued on this line, but I could definitely kick their asses with how rusty they had to be at this point.

The nerves they had on claiming they were the only ones able to solve this mess was equally infuriating. I guess the entitlement behind their backgrounds has to go somewhere - in this case, their attitude and possessiveness around Sailor Saturn.

And I sure as hell wasn't going to cede Tomoe to them if I happened to get to save her - I may support their love and all, but I fucking didn't trust them to responsibly handle parenthood.


"Maybe he is right."

It was early in the morning and Haruka was recoiling from the verbal beating both her and her girlfriend had gotten.

They had gone for Haruka's flat to rest, knowing that Michiru's parents still didn't see fit for a young lady to share the bed with a fellow woman. At least Haruka had her own space where they could both feel happy, whole, and safe.

Wearing an unbuttoned white shirt and a pair of boxers she had used as PJs, the blonde had been working behind the stove since Michiru didn't feel in the mood to cook at the moment.

Her eyes widened a bit as she turned to see Michiru glance at her from the nearby couch, eyes offering a degree of awareness and guilt that were so familiar with the tomboy.

"Do you truly think so?" She asked, still unwilling to back down on the fact that Saturn was their responsibility.

They already found Pluto and allowed her some space so she could properly remember her past life, so it wasn't like it would be a new experience. Then again, one couldn't simply compare Pluto with Saturn.

Setsuna was a nerd but she wasn't someone with a creepy attitude towards self-isolation.

"Yes. I mean, it is true that Queen Serenity entrusted us with the chore of giving Saturn love. All we gave her was space."

The old memories of their past lives offered some insight on their current struggles. Compared to the Inner Scouts, the Outer Scouts were given chores that were well beyond those of the more known Sailor Scouts. They were silent figures, unknown elements, the 'secret line of defense'.

One that had been suddenly turned into the last line the day Metalia claimed the Moon Kingdom. One that was held mostly by the very individual they were trying to retrieve - Saturn had swung her glaive and ceased the crisis in the most destructive way possible.

Yet, Haruka had a dark look over her girlfriend's mentioning of the old Queen.

"Queen Serenity also failed to tell us how to handle Saturn. She could have given us hints."

"Maybe she did. Maybe we didn't try to listen."

...

"What?" Haruka inquired, eyes darting once more away from the pancakes she was fixing for their breakfast.

"Queen Serenity told us to give Saturn love and understanding. Have we ever done that?"

"No, but... but it's not that simple. Do you remember the cold looks Saturn would give us? The way she would shy away from us as if we didn't matter to her or-"

"How many friends do you still have in school, Haru-chan?" Michiru sharply interjected, eyes offering no way out as she rapidly struck again. "How many times did I tell you that you were an introvert?"

The blonde frowned. "I-it's not the same."

"Perhaps not to the same extent, but maybe that was the issue. We never tried to do much but keep things formal. Why would Saturn, someone that has always struggled to feel much for others beyond Queen Serenity, personally reach out for others."

"We were meant to all be close. She ignored that-"

"Because she was as afraid of us as we were of her," Michiru muttered grimly. "Don't forget the times she told us about our 'staring'. She saw the eyes we gave her when we learned of her power. She knew that we were scared of what she could do without control."

Haruka bit her lower lip at that. The memory was indeed within her current thoughts and it didn't help her case. In fact, the more she tried to look into proof of Saturn bearing some fault, she realized that, despite her best efforts, there wasn't any of that.

Saturn always held a degree of distant cordiality and it never occurred for their fears to turn true. In fact, Saturn took for the highest sacrifice, taking upon herself the sin of slaying the remnant of life upon their previous lives and allowing Queen Serenity the opportunity to give them a chance to fight Chaos once more.

And the Inner Scouts did it.

And now there was more Chaos involved on Earth's affairs.

Haruka tensed up as she felt Michiru suddenly hug her from behind. "You're burning the pancakes."

Panic erupted within the blonde's eyes as she swiftly turned off the fire and checked the food. One was a bit charred much to her chagrin, but she took the burden of claiming it rather than leaving it to her lover.

"You are trying to claim so many burdens to make up to her. You are a fool if you think I didn't notice."

A guttural whine was trapped in her throat, with Haruka ultimately huffing at being such an easy book to her beloved Michiru.

"You truly know me so much."

Michiru beamed and leaned to land a kiss on her cheek.

"And you better never forget that, love."


AN

So, I initially planned to stop at Shingo POV, but I realized that this chapter needed both sides expressed. Shingo is right, but the untold bits are not as simple to grasp. Haruka and Michiru have a bit of a point in this being their responsibility, but for them to try and oust others involved on the topic and also disregard their initial flawed relationship with Saturn is just prove of their recurring mistakes.

One that is getting fixed as these events unfold and that ultimately will grant Shingo more free time away from troubles and... more attention from these two in response to that. After all, it isn't missed to them that this Moon Knight bears the same authoritative tone as their Queen.