Author's note:
To get right to the matter: I apologize for the late publication date.
Until now, I have tried to publish new chapters of this story on the first Friday of each month. That will not be possible anymore I'm afraid.
My mother needed to be hospitalized a few weeks ago and she will remain in hospital for the foreseeable future. Due to this situation, I am left with a lot less time to write.
I want to stress that I am dedicated to this passion project of mine. I will write the prequel and the sequel to TRTCT and we still have about 25 chapters/episodes of Sailor Moon Guardians to go before I bridge the gap with TRTCT by writing another series of Sailor Minis.
And then comes the big one :)
For the foreseeable future, however, it might take some time before each new chapter is released. I hope those intervals won't become too long.
I will still try to publish each new chapter on a Friday, but I will no longer aim to do so on the first Friday of each month as that is unrealistic at the moment.
I will continue to write this story until it is finished.
In so far as a story involving time travel can ever truly be finished.
"Isn't it great to have an inspiring boss?"
"I agree, Makoto-chan. I wrote in my career survey that I'd love to work for an inspiring employer who doesn't keep secrets."
"That's… Oddly specific, Shingo-kun. Why would your boss keep secrets?"
"I wouldn't know why a person would lie about themselves, Hotaru-chan. Maybe you can tell me?"
"Erm…"
"Ebihara-Sensei doesn't have any secrets in any case. He's an open book to me.
A completely open, neatly kept ledger."
"For the sake of charity and fellow feeling, Mako-chan bravely fights the golden hoarders!"
The month of June had been rather chaotic for Hotaru.
Having toured all over the Tokyo Metropolitan area with her friends from the tennis club she also took on a series of study sessions with several tutors to build a basis for hopefully successfully passing the city's most prestigious medical university's entrance exam in three years.
The first occupation already proved highly fruitful, culminating in Juuban Municipal High School's Pink Pikas winning the prefectural finals thanks to the black-bobbed stoic's increasing mastery of the game of tennis and her high performances during the tournament.
A wild celebration followed at school and an evening out with Chibi-Usa, Shingo, Setsuna, Michiru, and an unusually chatty Haruka.
But the hubbub of the previous weekend stood in stark contrast with the demure way the celebrated high-school athlete sat at her desk on a Tuesday evening to have her spelling tasks judged by her daytime homeroom teacher and current English tutor, Kaito Nagahashu in a classroom occupied by nobody but themselves.
Awaiting the corrections of her work, Hotaru listened to the ticking of the clock and allowed her eyes to wander from the handsome woman with the long dark-purple braid sitting at the desk opposite hers to the reproductions of paintings depicting the Tower Of Babel, a chubby man dressed in black against an emerald-green background, and others Kaito hung on the walls of her homeroom at the start of the school year.
"You did very well, Tomoe-san," Kaito said in a pleased vibrant voice. "We are making definite progress. With only 38 flaws you are proving that your grasp of the English spelling is improving."
Noticing that her pupil's attention had been occupied by something to her rear before she addressed Hotaru, Kaito directed her gaze at the clock hanging over the blackboard.
"But I see that it is almost time to stop our lesson. We'll review the flaws you made at the beginning of the next lesson then?"
"Alright," Hotaru simply nodded.
"What were you so fascinated by while I checked your spelling mistakes?" Kaito asked her student with a curious smile.
"Oh? I was just looking at that picture of the stern man in the black clothes behind you."
Hotaru saw her homeroom teacher turn in her chair and gaze at the picture she described. She suddenly felt like she was falling into a trap.
"I see," Kaito smiled while looking at the picture. "Our old friar Martin Luther-san."
"Martin Luther?" Hotaru frowned. "But I thought…?"
"Not to be confused with the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr." Kaito interrupted. "Martin Luther was the man who ignited the protestant reformation in Europe.
He protested against the corruption then reigning within the catholic church and formulated an extensive overview of what he felt was wrong with the church and how those wrongs should be corrected, disputing the infallibility of the Pope and creating a new order in the process."
Kaito purposefully turned to face Hotaru and tried to see beyond the blank visage she observed.
"The protestant reformation?" Hotaru asked. "But didn't it lead to a series of devastating wars?"
"The wars of religion," Kaito calmly nodded. "Yes. Reformed Christians and Catholics often found it antagonizing to have to live in close proximity and under each other's laws. Martin Luther-san always intended for the reformation to occur peacefully, however.
Sadly one person - even one with the conviction to confront the supreme religious authority and the mechanics of his world - doesn't have the power to make other people refrain from seeking violent confrontation."
She wanted to say more but decided to leave it at that for now.
"You sound like you admire him?" Hotaru asked.
Kaito didn't notice any realization of her intent in her pupil. The woman sighed almost imperceptibly.
She hadn't expected success so soon anyway.
"Martin Luther-san had his flaws of course," The handsome woman in the white-and-green peplum dress admitted. "But I admire him for taking on the absolute power ruling his life and the lives of the people around him.
He proved that one person can make a difference, even if that man's personal power is limited."
Kaito and Hotaru stared at each other like a pair of chess players waiting for each other's move.
The ticking of the clock was the only sound amidst the silent classroom. Until Hotaru responded sincerely:
"I agree. It is commendable when individuals try to right a wrong."
Kaito smiled at the bland reply she expected.
"But from experience…" Hotaru continued as Haruka and Michiru's quest during the struggle against the Deathbusters sprang up in her mind. "I think any person should stay critical about themselves and the possible impact of their efforts while striving to ameliorate a situation."
Kaito critically studied her pupil for a second while suspecting a more deliberate answer than she got.
"You are right, of course," She smiled. "And then there is the fact that an ordinary person cannot possibly predict the various ways through which other people's reactions to their efforts might impact their goals. The mechanics of the world…"
A knock on the door interrupted her discourse. Both females frowned at what might be the identity of the intruder.
Kaito got up and walked over to the door of her classroom.
"I apologize for disturbing," Shingo Tsukino bowed to Hotaru's delight when her homeroom teacher opened the door to him.
"I am Tsukino Shingo from class 1 - 2. I came to pick up my friend after her extra lesson."
"I see," Kaito smiled. "Please, come in. It's a pleasure to meet Tomoe-san's friends."
"Shingo-kun! What a nice surprise," Hotaru smiled as her boyfriend came over to her. "I thought we agreed to meet in Haru No Ike though?"
"I didn't feel like walking the way alone," Her dark-blonde boyfriend in the beige shirt and blue jeans shrugged and walked over to her while Kaito closed the door.
Hotaru smiled up at Shingo while he stood at her desk and looked at the papers he spotted there.
"How did you do on the spelling test?" Her friend asked while he tried to read the numbers on the top sheet of paper.
"38 mistakes in a text of a hundred words," The girl in the deep-blue T-shirt and white trousers said.
Shingo's face lit up with pride in his girlfriend's performance.
"Wow! Congratulations. That's pretty good… for you."
"Haha. Thanks, meanie," Hotaru laughed.
"How nice to see Tsukino-san so interested in how you are doing at your extra lessons," Kaito smiled. "I'm glad you have such a worthy boyfriend, Tomoe-san."
"Huh?" Hotaru reacted.
"Erm… we're just friends though," Shingo turned and smiled.
"Yeah. We're way off from each other's ideal type," His girlfriend simply stated. "I'm into tall athletic types and Shingo-kun likes studious girls with pretty blue bobs."
"Last time I tell you something," Shingo smiled sourly at his girlfriend.
"But aren't you a studious girl with a pretty black bob, Tomoe-san? And you're sporty too, so you probably have a body boys would obsess over," Kaito teased while folding her hands in front of her belly. "You don't have to hold back. Any secret you think you must keep is safe with me."
"Ah… I won't be swayed by just any girl with a sexy body," Shingo said with a bit of a blush. "When I fall in love it's because I feel like we understand and trust each other."
"That's right," Hotaru blushed in turn. "There are no secrets here."
Kaito bit her lip and smiled: "Alright then. I see I thought wrong about you two. But you might reconsider. Both of you seem price catches from what I see."
"Oh? Thank you, Sensei," Hotaru laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "That's nice of you to say."
Shingo saw his girlfriend leave her seat and understood her intention.
"I'm sorry we have to leave in such a hurry, Nagahashu-Sensei," He laughed while inching towards the door. "But we have a date to keep with a friend."
"Not a love rival I hope," Kaito said in a mock-serious tone while frowning at Hotaru.
"No. We're just friends," Hotaru laughed while waving her right hand from side to side. "So we'll go over the spelling test next week then. Thank you very much for the bento, Nagahashu-Sensei…"
"You paid for it," Kaito simply smiled. "It doesn't matter to me whether I buy one or two bentos. "But yes. I'll explain where you should improve next week. Or maybe we'll have time in class tomorrow. We'll see. Have fun with your friend."
"Thank you," Hotaru waved while she slipped out through the door.
"Have a nice evening," Shingo greeted in parting before he too left the classroom.
Kaito Nagahashu stared at the closed door for a moment longer after the couple left.
"It's good that you have a supportive boyfriend," She smiled before she turned and walked to the desk she had been sitting at.
The handsome woman with the large dark-purple braid took Hotaru's spelling test and calmly gathered the papers into the violet binder that lay underneath.
"You are going to need his support."
"That was close," Hotaru chuckled as she and Shingo walked through the school hallways. "She could have found us out if we hadn't talked our way out of the situation."
"She was probably only fantasizing about us being a couple," Her boyfriend sighed. "It was pretty easy to convince her we're just friends."
"You see?" Hotaru said, turning serious. "If we tell Usagi-chan and her friends about us, we wouldn't have to deal with this stress."
"I know," Shingo smiled. "I've been thinking about that too. Let's tell my sister about us after spring finals. It'd be too much of a hassle if we do it before the summer."
"You're sure?" Hotaru asked with a frown. "We'd leave ourselves open to months of doting and chances of her meddling with every slight disagreement we might have, as Chibi-Usa-chan says."
"I know," Shingo sighed. "But we understand each other so well now…"
Hotaru felt the handsome boy with the wavy dark-blonde hairdo take her right hand and squeeze it in the empty hallway.
"... I feel like we would be on the same page whenever either of us at any time wants to allow her nonsense or tell her to tone it down."
"Yes," Hotaru said as they turned the corner and she checked the hallway ahead for anyone who might see them.
"So I think the summer would be the right time to tell her," Her boyfriend continued before his slightly taller girlfriend embraced him and pushed him against the wall.
"I'm so happy that our cram school teacher got a cold today," Hotaru whispered while her closeness turned Shingo all red and made him catch his breath. "Thank you for coming to collect me today, Shin Shin."
The consequence of their physical proximity was a series of sweet kisses and caresses while the couple occasionally glanced into the hallway to Shingo's right.
"H… Hey," Shingo finally gasped and chuckled. "If you keep this up, I'm going to have a hard time concentrating on the conversation later at Haru No Ike, you know?"
Hotaru chuckled at his words and pressed herself against him. Feeling exactly how hard Shingo was, she slowly backed off and kissed him one last time.
Admittedly, she was having a hard time herself, stopping at kisses and caresses. The black-bobbed stoic had plans for Shingo's birthday on the 12th of August that year involving a certain pair of lingerie articles which she recently acquired with Setsuna's help.
"I'm sorry, Shin Shin," She smiled as she let go and started to walk again. "I couldn't help myself."
Shingo continued his walk next to her and smiled from ear to ear.
"Geez," He chuckled. "You're starting to make a habit out of assaulting me out of the blue."
"And… You know," Hotaru giggled. "I want to ensure you stay focused on me when we're having dinner with your elementary school crush."
Which earned the tennis club ace a pinch in her well-trained exterior oblique.
Meanwhile, in Haru No Ike, Makoto stalked among the fake cherry trees that adorned the hanami-themed restaurant towards her studious friend.
The brunette in the black-and-white waitress uniform noticed Ami was strangely focused on the spoon that came with her caffè latte and decided to treat her friend to a surprise.
"Hello, Miss," Ami suddenly heard behind her in English. "What are you thinking about?
Turning around, the bluette in the brown pinafore dress over a white shirt saw her friend appearing from behind the fake cherry blossom tree to her rear.
"Hello, Mako-chan," She smiled as the brunette stood beside her. "What do you think I'm pondering? The usual, of course."
Makoto smiled at her friend's sigh and calmly sat opposite her.
Rather than arguing against her friend needing to become a more powerful fighter as she and the others already tried in vain a few times, the brunette thought she'd see if there was any way she could help Ami's efforts.
It wouldn't hurt in any case, if Sailor Mercury became a stronger Senshi.
"And what did you come up with?" She asked while leaning her head on her left hand.
"Shouldn't you be working?" Ami soberly asked, to the comical embarrassment of her friend.
"It's a slow evening," Makoto sweat-dropped. "I can have a quick chat with you. Besides… I'm not asking you why you brought a cat into the restaurant."
"And we appreciate that very much," Luna deadpanned while Ami patted the cat on her lap.
"Luna is keeping me company because Usagi-chan is over at Mamoru-kun's for the evening."
"On a school night?" Makoto asked while scratching her head.
"You're waitressing on a school night," Luna calmly put things in perspective. "Not that I don't agree with your objection."
"Hahaha. Anyway… What did you come up with so far, Ami-chan?"
"Well… Originally I thought your power as a Sailor Senshi was related to your athletic ability. But then I realized Rei-chan has been training hard these past two years, and she doesn't seem to have become more powerful. And Usagi-chan doesn't do any sport at all."
"She's still a teenager," Luna yawned. "But she'll start exercising soon enough when the twenty-something kilos start adding up."
"Whatever made you think athletic ability influenced your power as a Senshi though?" Makoto frowned.
Ami took a sip from her caffè latte and answered.
"Well, you, Minako-chan, and Haruka-chan are pretty sporty, and the three of you are pretty powerful."
"Huh. Minako-chan hasn't done any exercise in ages," Makoto said. "Whenever she's not earning her idol-Yens she's spending them.
You didn't notice she's rarely even among the first ten girls anymore when we're picking teams in physical education?"
"I only pay attention when we have swimming class," Ami shrugged.
"You know what gives me power?" Makoto proudly spoke while pointing at herself with her right thumb. "My passion."
"But Rei-chan…" Ami started to protest.
"I'm not talking about flying off into a rage because Usagi-chan isn't behaving with proper decorum during a tea ceremony or fussing about the safety of our Princess and joining a Muay Thai club out of the blue. I'm talking about having something you're passionate about in your private life… "
An uncomfortable notion slipped through Luna's brain. But like an ethereal vapor, it was too intangible to grab hold of.
"I'm passionate about cooking. That's what gives me power."
Ami made a strange lopsided frown at her friend's words, but she decided to listen anyway.
"Ebihara-Sensei is the same," Makoto continued with vigor. "He left the chance to take over a friend's booming business.
Instead, he took a risk and went overseas to upgrade his education. That is passion.
He practically begged to be taken on by the owner of Stockholm Svärdvisk and worked absurd hours, but he learned and perfected techniques that make his sashimi unrivaled IN THE WORLD."
"That is high praise," Luna said while licking her lips. "I wouldn't mind seeing him prove that boast."
"Take it from me, Luna… "
"I'd rather not."
"... I had the privilege of tasting a slice of Ebihara-Sensei's yellowtail sashimi and it was the sweetest, smoothest fish I ever had melting on my tongue.
I only ever read about flavors like that. I didn't dare suspect that they existed in real life.
The experience of Ebihara-Sensei's sashimi fueled a devotion in me to become a chef who can reproduce such flavor and texture at will."
"Hello everyone," Hotaru greeted her older friends when she and Shingo found them. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh? Good evening, Hotaru-chan. Good evening, Shingo-kun. We were having a chat about Ebihara-Sensei," Makoto goodhumouredly greeted the duo.
"Not really," Ami frowned.
"Ebihara-san, huh?" Shingo said. "Didn't he ask you and Haruka-kun whether you'd be up to having a weekend job waitressing for him?"
"He's always asking us to work for him," Hotaru laughed. "Setsuna-chan too."
"Ebihara-san seems to have a bit of an obsession with tall women," Ami pondered with her pointer finger on her right cheek. "Could that be the true reason he wanted to work in Stockholm, rather than…"
"While Ebihara-Sensei learned hundreds of valuable techniques in Stockholm," Makoto continued her epic narrative. "He found himself deficient in many techniques that didn't involve cooking with fish. That is why he decided to find an occupation in Paris and perfect himself in French cuisine."
Hotaru watched her friend take a moment and sigh.
"No really, I don't know how I can properly convey the amazing accomplishment of this man mastering French cuisine around the age of 30.
Ebihara-Sensei didn't become chef de cuisine in L'Archi-Duc during his second year in Paris for nothing.
The ballotine he made for Bushida-Sensei's birthday speaks for itself."
"I'm sure it does," A nonplussed Shingo commented before asking Ami in a whisper what a ballotine is.
"Anyway," Makoto said while getting up and standing akimbo. "What can I bring you?"
"I suppose I have no choice but to order yellowtail sashimi now," Ami smiled. "We'll have the Hydrangea Course and a pitcher of barley tea, Mako-Chan."
"Make that two orders of the Hydrangea course and barley tea, Mako-Chan," Hotaru told her older friend.
"Same here. But a pitcher of jasmine iced tea instead of barley tea for me," Her boyfriend said.
"Thank you for your order, dear customer," Makoto politely bowed. "I will return to serve you in due time. Please enjoy your stay at Haru No Ike."
Makoto's friends saw the tall brunette walk in the direction of the bar.
Amy's eyes wandered to the man with the caramel-blonde mustache and marquisette beard and the woman with bright vermillion curly hair who took a seat together at a table in a corner of the restaurant.
"That's my homeroom teacher with Mako-chan's colleague," The bluette mentioned with some surprise.
Shingo and Hotaru followed her gaze.
"Oh yes. She's the French waitress," The latter recognized the woman in the blue jeans and blue blouse. "It's her day off. Strange to see her have dinner at her place of employment."
"I suppose they became friends at some event for foreign employees," Shingo wondered. "Maybe they're romantically involved."
"That would break a lot of young girls' hearts," Ami pondered while drinking the last of her caffè latte.
"I still don't understand why you insist on being here on your day off," Christopher Wagner told Marthe Schwerdtlein. "I hope you're not planning on adding to your family?"
"I just want to keep an eye out in case Geizkragen gets in trouble and needs help to escape," Marthe replied to the man in the black linen trousers and long gray vest over a pale light-blue shirt.
"We shouldn't assume the golems will get into trouble."
"We shouldn't assume?" Marthe interrupted in a hushed panicky voice. "But there are three of them here, including Sailor Saturn. Please intervene if you see Sailor Saturn getting involved, Christophe. You know Geizkragen won't stand a chance against her Silence Wall bubbles."
Christopher blushed imperceptibly when Marthe imploringly took hold of his folded hands as they rested on the table.
"You… We discussed this, Marthe," The man with the kind blue eyes stuttered. "You shouldn't get too attached to the golems. You know where they come from."
"They're the only good that ever came from those two," Marthe pouted.
Her gray eyes suddenly turned worried and she burst out in hushed tones: "You didn't tell him about my family, did you?"
"No. You know I never would," Christopher Wagner soothingly spoke. "I haven't told anyone... But Marthe… I wish I could make you see that Faust is a victim of Mephistopheles, just like the rest of us."
"I know you pity him, Christophe, and I like that about you. But I can't help feeling that if he didn't sign his pact with Mephistopheles, the rest of us wouldn't have been targeted by that monster and our lives…"
Christopher gently caressed the hands of the woman he had fallen for as he saw her eyes water up.
"Here, dry your tears, Marthe," The handsome theology professor said while handing the woman with the bright vermillion hair a handkerchief.
"I know I am to blame myself," Marthe sniffed while she applied the handkerchief to her eyes. "It's my own fault sweet Gretchen will hardly talk to me."
"I've been trying to soften Gretchen's heart to you," Wagner said.
"Thank you, dear Christophe," Marthe smiled gratefully. "If I didn't have you..."
Wagner smiled. He wished he could convince Valentin to stop supporting Gretchen in her bitterness towards Heinrich and Marthe.
But as deep as the young man's trust in Wagner ran and as much as he was able to open up to him about the traumas they all shared as well as his horrific experiences serving the army of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, Valentine's resentment of Faust was a match for Marthe's.
It might be the one thing he could use to bring them closer together.
Although he didn't want to build up the fire of animosity against Faust any higher than it already was.
"So what were you really talking about?" Shingo asked Ami.
"Huh?" The bluette apprehensively reacted while her eyes sought help from Hotaru.
"When Mako-chan said you've been discussing Ebihara-san you said you weren't really," The black-bobbed stoic assisted her boyfriend.
"Oh my," Luna muttered under the table.
"Well… Ahem," Ami coughed. "We were discussing how to become more… energetic."
"Oh! I see," Hotaru grimaced. "Yes. That discussion…"
The Pink Pikas Tennis Club ace worryingly glanced at her boyfriend who - to her concern - seemed intrigued by the subject.
"I… I told Mako-chan I pondered that perhaps your level of athleticism determined how energetic a person might be," Ami hesitatingly said. "But that idea seemed flawed to me."
"Huh? Why would it be flawed?" Shingo frowned.
"First of all, Minako-chan hasn't been doing any sports for over a year, but she still seems as… energetic as ever."
"She doesn't seem that energetic to me," Shingo reacted. "Although I guess she improved compared to last year."
"And Usagi-chan is still the most energetic of us all…"
"Only when she doesn't need to be," Shingo grinned and rolled his eyes.
"Here is your barley tea, Okyakusama," Makoto said as she placed Ami and Hotaru's pitchers and glasses from her serving tray on the table.
"Mako-Chan said that people become energetic through dedication. But I think that's a flawed theory too, because Rei-chan's dedication to Usagi-chan would have caused her to surpass Usagi-chan by now."
Hotaru and Shingo frowned as they saw Makoto and Ami laugh.
"Rei-chan's dedicated to Usagi-chan?" Hotaru asked. "I thought she didn't like Usagi-chan much?"
To her surprise that only made her friends laugh louder.
"Hahaha, Hotaru-chan," Makoto laughed. "Take it from me, the louder Rei-chan complains about Usagi-chan and the nastier she criticizes her, the more she loves her.
That girl just can't be honest about wanting to hang with her best friend forever."
Hotaru's lips formed a perfect O
"So that's how it is?" The black-bobbed stoic reacted. "Then I have to drastically alter my opinion of Rei-chan. Is it the same for you, Shingo-kun?"
"Of course I love Usagi," Shingo shrugged.
"But I mean everything I say about her," He said while pointing his tongue at his girlfriend.
"I'll set you straight about your sister yet, boy" Hotaru threatened while narrowing her eyes at the handsome young man with the dark-blonde hair.
"Good evening, Okyakusama," The group heard Hifumi Ebihara say when he walked over to their table. "Welcome to Haru No Ike."
"Good evening, Ebihara-san," Ami smiled up at the man.
"Good evening," Hotaru and Shingo greeted Makoto's employer.
The latter proudly stood behind the short stout man with the neat black hair.
"I trust you will enjoy your dinner," Hifumi smiled. "The great Bushida Botan-san is currently preparing it, so your taste buds are in for a treat."
"We look forward to it," Ami said. "We hoped to be treated to your sashimi arts actually. But I know we already enjoyed your creations."
"You certainly did," Hifumi chuckled with great amusement. "I don't wonder you were hoping to taste my work again.
But Bushida-sensei is quite as good a chef as me. His craft is not to be underrated."
"Very true," Makoto nodded sagely. "Being the best, Ebihara-sensei made sure to employ the best."
"Aren't you now complimenting yourself, Mako-chan?" Hotaru laughed.
"She sure is," Hifumi grinned at the brunette behind him.
"And still lingering at our table instead of working," Ami muttered.
"Well, like I said: I want to become worthy of working with Ebihara-Sensei," Her friend smiled confidently.
"Which means I'll have to get trained in a French kitchen too, I suppose."
"Don't worry about that, little one," Hifumi smiled while rubbing the scalp of his tall protégé. "Thanks to us helping out Moreau Marthe-san, there will always be a place for you in restaurant L'archi-Duc. As long as you keep working hard for me, of course."
"Thanks, Sensei," Makoto said while hugging her boss. "You're such a humanitarian."
"A humanitarian?" Ami repeated with a smile. "Does that mean Ebihara-san will donate meals to Royalty For A Day?"
"Royalty For A Day is a televised charity where a select group of poor families can enjoy dinner in a classy restaurant on the house," Hotaru explained to Shingo.
"Hahahaha! That's the silliest idea I've ever heard." Hifumi laughed to the surprise of the group. "Why would I cook for people who will never be able to pay for my creations through their own efforts?"
"That's a bit mean," Shingo said.
"But it's true," The owner of the place where he was drinking his jasmine tea chuckled. "What a ridiculous concept. It'd be like throwing pearls to swine. They wouldn't have any use for them. No, my friends. Let those who want to stand in the spotlight waste time with such initiatives. I have better things to do."
Shingo and his friends watched Hifumi walk off while dismissively waving his hand and chuckling with great amusement.
"Sorry guys," Makoto shrugged. "Ebihara-Sensei is kind as they come, but he does have some strong opinions."
"I can't disagree with his claim that donating luxury meals to people who refuse to work…"
"If they are refusing to work," Hotaru contested Shingo's statement. "Lots of unemployed people simply lack the ability to find long-term employment. It's not because they don't want to work."
"... Is like wasting money. But to downright refuse to brighten the life of someone in dire straits is quite mean."
Botan Bushida looked up from the sashimi he had just prepared when he felt a chill pass him by.
He saw his employer walk into the kitchen with a chipper smile.
"Oh? Are you done chatting with the customers and ready to join us in the kitchen again?" The short man with the short blue goatee sneered.
"I guess there are no cute older women in the restaurant then," Osuke Tsuji joked.
Hifumi looked at the short lean man with the sharp nose and spiky red hair and chuckled.
"Kino-san's friends had some misguided idealist project they wanted me to participate in," He laughed.
"I'll be right back with the two of you. Just need to get something from the office."
"You mean that "Royalty For A Day" thing?" Botan asked. "You're not going along with that nonsense, are you?"
"No. Of course not, Botan-kun. Don't worry."
Entering his office, Hifumi sat at his desk without looking and opened a drawer to his right.
"Golem. Golem," He heard behind him.
In his silent fright, Hifumi looked over his shoulder and saw a faceless gray humanoid figure standing behind his desk chair.
The eerie grin forming in the creature's head was the last thing the world-renowned chef saw before he lost consciousness.
Botan was almost done preparing Shingo's sashimi and rang the bell for Makoto to come to the kitchen and bring the order to the customers.
He wasn't aware of the large creature slowly approaching him from the office.
"Bushida-san, Tsuji-san," He heard Hifumi's voice say. "Why do you always tease me about flirting with the tall customers? I am not what you think I am. I am golden."
"Oh, so you are…" Botan Bushida began before he looked up into the eyes of the tall completely golden golem with his employer's face and a red 24 on its forehead. "Are…"
Osuke Tsuji also looked up in fright when he heard his colleague's knife fall onto the floor.
"Ebi… hara-san," Botan stammered. "What's with this ridiculous getup?"
"Isn't it grand?" Geizkragen grinned while showing off the golden imperial robe he wore over Hifumi's golden cook's uniform. "Look how tall I am now, Bushida-san! Don't you want to be golden too?"
"Be careful, Bushida-san!" Osuke Tsuji exclaimed. "I don't think that's really…!"
The man with the sharp nose was too late. Geizkragen touched his quickly cringing colleague's arm and turned him solid gold.
"Yes!" Geizkragen laughed as he turned the table Botan had been working at into gold too. "This is how I'll create my palace of gold, with my subjects of gold!"
Witnessing what was happening through the double kitchen door's round windows, Makoto immediately turned and ran to her friends.
Ami saw the agitated expression Makoto tried to hide when she arrived at her table.
"Hey, Ami-chan. Ebihara-sensei asked if you could come to the kitchen for a moment. He said you'd have a chance to test how energetic you are."
Hotaru and Ami immediately understood what was going on.
Only Shingo was oblivious to the change in their mood.
"Alright. Let's see what Ebihara-san wants," Ami said as she left her seat.
"Don't touch what's mine, Hotaru-chan, in case they bring our food before I get back."
On that light-hearted note, Ami and Makoto walked among the wooden pillars supporting the roof of the long hall Haruto No Ike was made up of.
"So…" Hotaru grinned. "Wonder if she was talking about you when she said I shouldn't touch what's he…"
A pained yelp resounded through the restaurant as Shingo's thumb and pointer finger exacted revenge for excessive teasing.
"There's a huge golden golem who swallowed Ebihara-Sensei," Makoto said as she walked. "Anything he touches turns to gold and those golden objects are starting to turn their surroundings to gold."
"Sounds like he's a lot more dangerous than what we encountered so far," Ami said while the two young women hid behind two pillars in an unoccupied corner of the restaurant. "Good thing Hotaru-chan is here to evacuate the restaurant. "
"Let's try to take him by surprise as we enter the kitchen," Makoto suggested.
With a nod, Ami started her transformation.
The Mercury symbol activated on the fluid blue Mercury Orb as Ami exclaimed her transformation command: "Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!"
Ami raised her Crystal Change Rod in her right hand, the Mercury Orb attaching itself to the rod.
The blue Mercury symbol then launched itself from the orb of the Crystal Change Rod and five swelling currents of water flowed from the tips of the star on top.
The young woman twirled around her axis while the swelling currents of water washed around her body until it was submerged in the cool liquid.
Standing with her feet close together, Ami joined her hands while firmly holding onto the Crystal Change Rod.
Large ripples expanded from the water's surface around Ami's body while it was momentarily illuminated in a shimmer of bright light.
Bubbles burst from around Ami's body and the light flashed itself out, revealing Super Sailor Mercury as she turned around, dressed in her deep blue boots, her blue skirt with the large light-blue bow on her lower back, her long white gloves, her white leotard and the deep blue heart at the center of the light-blue bow over her breasts, her segmented white shoulder pads, her blue neckerchief, and the golden tiara with the deep blue crystal on her forehead.
Super Sailor Mercury raised her arms while the two long light-blue ribbons attached to the back of her skirt trailed around her.
A shiny bright harp appeared behind her as she struck a pose, standing in an A-stance with her arms lowered to the sides.
The Jupiter symbol activated on the sturdy green Jupiter Orb as Makoto exclaimed her transformation command: "Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!"
Makoto raised her Crystal Change Rod in her right hand, the Jupiter Orb attaching itself to the rod.
The green Jupiter symbol then launched itself from the orb of the Crystal Change Rod and three huge lightning bolts crackled from the star on top.
The young woman twirled around her axis with her left hand reaching out until the electric surges reorganized themselves around her in three circles like the orbits that electrons follow around an atom's nucleus as her curly brown hair streamed upward.
Standing with her feet wide apart, Makoto raised her arms with the Crystal Change Rod still in her right hand before lifting her left foot at knee height.
In a flash, Super Sailor Jupiter appeared in her sturdy green laced ankle-high boots, the two long pink ribbons attached to the back of her skirt trailing around her from the large pink bow on her lower back, her green skirt, her long white gloves, her white leotard and the shiny green heart at the center of the pink bow over her breasts, her segmented white shoulder pads, her green neckerchief, the green beaded hair-tie that held her ponytail together, and the golden tiara with the deep green crystal on her forehead.
Super Sailor Jupiter spun around once more in a nimble pirouette while her long curly ponytail bobbed up and down
A green wreath of leaves appeared behind her as she struck an attack pose with her right arm bent upwards and her left arm extended to the side.
"Say, Shingo-kun?" Hotaru cautiously spoke.
"What?" Her boyfriend smirked. "Are you going to tell me how cute Ami-chan is and you're surprised it didn't work out between us?"
"Well, I do think Ami-chan is quite the cutie," Hotaru chuckled. "But I have a bit of an awkward question for you."
Shingo turned serious and placed the glass he was drinking from back on the table.
"What's the matter?" He asked while looking into his girlfriend's eyes.
"I have to go to the toilet, but I have a bit of a woman's problem, and it's… "
"What's wrong?" Shingo repeated, struck by the unusually troubled tone in Hotaru's voice.
"Can you please come with me and wait in the cubicle next to mine?"
"Whaaaat?!" Shingo cringed. "Do you want me to get arrested?"
"We'll make sure nobody sees you enter or leave," Hotaru whined while entreatingly joining her hands. "Please. It hurts. I would feel better if you were with me."
"Jeez…" Shingo sighed. "Alright then, but let's be careful about it."
"Really?" A wide-eyed Hotaru asked.
"Let's just do this before I change my mind."
"Jupiter!"
The symbol of Jupiter appeared in the palm of Jupiter's hand, discharging a blinding bolt of lightning.
"Oak!"
Jupiter hugged herself and spun around on her right leg while bright rays of green light burst from the green crystal in her tiara.
"Evolution!"
Then she spread her arms wide, and numerous green leaves were launched in all directions as she twirled around in a pirouette before from the crystal in her tiara an overwhelming amount of green energy flashes electrified the air as they shot toward their target.
To Jupiter's shock, however, Geizkragen protected itself from the attack by hiding behind the goldified forms of Osuke and Botan, causing her to drastically diminish the power of her attack before it impacted with her seniors.
"You coward!" The brunette exclaimed while pointing her finger at Geizkragen. "Using innocent civilians as a living shield is a disgraceful tactic."
"So much for the element of surprise," Super Sailor Mercury observed with regret as she followed her friend into the kitchen.
The two Senshi stood with their backs to the double doors that led back to the restaurant.
The doors had been blown out of their sockets by Jupiter's attack, however.
Geizkragen stood in the middle of a miniature fortress he had built out of the kitchen's cabinets and workstations which he had all turned to gold.
"I'll do better than use them as living shields," Geizkragen grinned." I'll use them as soldiers. "Attack the intruders!"
Mercury and Jupiter looked on in fright as the latter's male colleagues moved on their own accord following the command and turned towards the cabinets behind them.
The two Senshi saw themselves forced to duck for cover when Osuke and Botan pulled knife after knife from the shelves inside the cabinets and threw them at Jupiter and Mercury.
"That was close," Jupiter sighed upon getting up while she wiped the sweat of fear from her brow.
"closer than you think," Mercury alerted the tall brunette. "Look!"
Each of the knives that had planted themselves in the wall behind the two young women was starting to turn those portions of the wall golden.
"Hahaha haha! My palace is growing bigger and bigger!" Geizkragen exulted. "Soon the two of you will join it as my harem."
"What are you talking about?!" Jupiter asked the golem with her employer's face. "You told me repeatedly you're not interested in marrying me!"
Mercury stood sweat-dropping at the outburst but thoroughly summed up their situation.
"We're in serious trouble, Jupiter. We can't launch our attacks at the golem because he's hiding behind your seniors and we're wide open to attack by them.
What's more, he's right about his palace growing bigger."
Standing in the glare of Geizkragen's kitchen fortress, the two Senshi huddled close together, hoping to evade the next knife-throwing attack by the creature's golden minion.
That was the moment Mercury, to her horror, noticed that the kitchen floor was turning gold.
The Senshi of wisdom and water raised her arms and brought her hands forward.
"Bubbleee!" She exclaimed.
A tiny light appeared between her hands as the bluette focussed her power.
Spinning around once, Mercury crossed her arms before her face with the tiny light gathering power in front of the cross.
"Spray!"
Sailor Mercury spread her arms wide, and - from the tiny light - a multitude of water bubbles burst forth all around her.
"At least we're safe from the floor," The Senshi of wisdom and water said as she and Jupiter stood on a carpet of bubbles.
Shingo was tired of sitting on the toilet with his hands over his ears.
He was used to Hotaru playing pranks on him and thought his girlfriend was kind of cute - if a little annoying sometimes - when she teased him.
She was taking things a little too far this time though. What if someone were to knock on…
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Turning pale, Shingo lifted his feet so his big men's size shoes wouldn't be visible from underneath the cubicle.
But that would only make whoever just knocked more suspicious if they were to look under the cubicle, he reflected.
"Tsukino Shingo-san?" He heard a low woman's voice call out to him. "Your girlfriend told me you are here.
Don't worry. There's nobody else around. I evacuated the restaurant."
Worried and confused because of what was being said, Shingo decided to open the door of the cubicle.
He saw a tall and athletic young woman with a black bob and a cold stare dressed in a violet-and-white sailor uniform.
"You… You are Sailor Saturn?" The young man with the dark-blonde hair stammered.
"Your girlfriend is Tomoe Hotaru-san, isn't she?" Super Sailor Saturn asked.
Shingo nodded. Then he turned anxious.
"Where is Hotaru-chan? Is she alright?!" The young man exclaimed while placing his hand on Saturn's left shoulder.
"Don't worry," The handsome young woman replied without emotion. "Tomoe-san is outside with the other customers. "She told me where you were so I decided to evacuate you last despite her entreaties. You're a pretty nice boyfriend for going along with her whims."
Something about Saturn's grin annoyed Shingo. Though he thought she looked cute with a smile.
But Saturn's smile quickly turned upside down when she noticed the wall behind Shingo turning gold.
"Come here!" She exclaimed while pulling Shingo out of the cubicle. "We need to get out of here."
Shingo followed the Senshi of death and rebirth towards the door to the restaurant.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"There's a monster in the kitchen that's turning everything to gold. Sailor Jupiter and Mercury are fighting it.
By the looks of things they haven't found a way to beat the golem yet."
Shingo saw Saturn hold the door open to him after she passed through.
"And where is Hotaru-chan?" He asked while looking her in the eyes.
"Tomoe-san is outside with the other evacuees," Sailor Saturn somewhat impatiently told him as Shingo exited the restroom area and entered the restaurant with her.
"Come on now. I have to get you outside so I can help my friends."
There was something in the black-bobbed young woman's voice and the way she looked at Shingo that made him feel anxious inside.
"I don't know why, but I get the feeling you're lying to me," The young man said. "I get the feeling Hotaru-chan is still in the restaurant somewhere."
"No! Why would I lie to you?" Saturn said with considerably more emotion in her voice than was her usual. "Just come along with me and… Hey!"
To her dismay, Shingo suddenly ran away from her at a surprising speed straight in the direction of the kitchen.
"Hotaru-chan! Hotaru-chan! Where are you!" Shingo cried out as he ran in a zigzag between the fake cherry trees and tables of the restaurant while looking left and right. "Hotaru-chan! It's me: Shingo!"
The dangerous golden glow became more intense around him in his search as it spread over the decor of Haru No Ike.
Suddenly, Shingo found himself caught in a translucent orb floating just above the floor.
"Jeez. How troublesome you are," He heard Saturn's voice right behind him.
Turning around he saw that the Senshi of death and rebirth was standing inside the Silence Wall orb with him.
"Tomoe-san is exactly where I told you she was, but you go and get yourself in danger when her foremost concern was to keep you safe," Saturn complained. "She told me to tell you: Don't be afraid, Shin Shin. Sailor Saturn already led me outside."
Shingo stared at the tall Senshi in shock. Hotaru had only ever used her nickname for him in private. She had never before shared it with a third party. Not even Chibi-Usa.
"You're…" He muttered in confusion.
"What?!" A super pale Super Sailor Saturn asked.
"N… Nothing," Shingo said as his thoughts became clouded. "Alright… I believe you."
Together they noticed that the part of the restaurant they were in had completely turned to gold.
Shingo looked ahead again and saw Sailor Mercury launching Mercury Aqua Rhapsody to counterattack the multitude of golden knives that was being thrown at her and Sailor Jupiter.
"You're here now," He told Sailor Saturn. "I'm safe inside this bubble, aren't I? Won't you help them?"
Saturn didn't answer right away but watched the battle with her companion.
"I want Sailor Mercury to become more powerful," She at last said. "And I learned that if you're psycho-neurologically and physically capable, what will make you stronger is to learn about what it is you want to do so that you become more confident and to give it your all without worrying."
Shingo picked up on the physical ability remark and hesitatingly parted his lips.
"I learned from the Sailor Moon mangas that you used to have a disability caused by the alien living inside of you," The young man said. "My girlfriend suffered from a disability too when she was young but her body miraculously healed. She doesn't talk much about it though."
"You shouldn't believe everything you read in the mangas," Saturn coldly stated.
"I think you are one of the coolest Senshi," Shingo said. "But you were even more cool for trying to live with a disability and having to suffer the constant bullying."
They saw how Sailor Jupiter attempted another Jupiter Oak Evolution attack.
"That… Doesn't have anything to do with our current situation," Shingo babbled. "But I felt like saying it."
"It's very kind of you to say. I'm happy your girlfriend is healthy now," Saturn matter-of-factly replied while fighting the urge to fiercely hug her boyfriend.
"I have an idea!" Super Sailor Mercury told Jupiter. "I'll attack it with Mercury Aqua Rhapsody while you use Sparkling Wide Pressure."
"But that's a weaker attack than Jupiter Oak Evolution," Super Sailor Jupiter protested while bracing herself for the new wave of golden knives Geizkragen ordered golden Botan and Osuke to throw at them.
"Jupiter," Mercury sternly stated while looking into her friend's eyes. "Sometimes it's not about how powerful you are but about how you use what power you have."
Jupiter regarded her friend's expression.
She saw a light in Mercury's eyes that she never saw there before. A light that made her grin from ear to ear.
"Alright," The young woman with the curly brown ponytail nodded. "Let's take this guy down together."
"I'm getting tired of these obstructions to my expanding rule!" Geizkragen bellowed to his subordinates. "Let's end this now!"
"Your expanding rule? This is bad comedy! I'll end this gaudy farce and restore my employer's dominion once more, you fiend!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed with glee.
The green Crystal in Jupiter's tiara extended its small lightning rod, generating an electrical surge.
Jupiter then extended her arms and clapped her hands, harnessing the power of the electrical surge between her hands as she parted them.
"Mercury!"
The symbol of Mercury appeared in the palm of Mercury's hand, a roaring maelström washing out of it.
"Sparkling!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed as she took a stance like a pitcher preparing to throw a baseball.
"Wide!"
"Aqua Rhapsody!"
The maelström created by the symbol in Mercury's hand shaped itself into a silver harp which she played with virtuosity.
Unbound streams of water burst forth from the instrument and merged into an unstoppable vortex that launched straight at its target and flooded Geizkragen.
Jupiter launched the orb of electricity her crystal created straight at her opponent with her right hand.
"Pressure!"
The orb expanded at a phenomenal rate as it enveloped Geizkragen and melted the golem from her employer, leaving only a small ceramic figurine dressed in an Imperial robe lying at Hifumi's feet.
"Take a look at this," Hifumi Ebihara said sometime later when Shingo, Hotaru, Chibi-Usa, Ami, and Ryo were gathered around a table in Haru No Ike.
Makoto watched over her employer's shoulder as he handed Ami a sheet of paper.
"This is an account of monthly deposits," The blue-haired genius said. "To a non-profit organization called Fixing Life."
"Fixing life actively seeks out underprivileged individuals and families," Hifumi warmly smiled. "Several of the people who founded the organization have such a background. They offer a personal improvement program with counselors guiding individuals through a process of self-discovery, an education in husbandry and personal finances, and lastly, a professional education to help them get a job or find a better job."
"That's an amazing initiative," Hotaru smiled. "It's incredibly noble to help people understand their limitations and abilities and to teach them how to improve their lot."
"I agree," Hifumi Ebihara proudly spoke. "That is why for some time now every month, a substantial amount of Haru No Ike's bare profits go to the organization."
"We even train people who show an aptitude for work in the restaurant business," Makoto grinned. "I did my own part in that respect, guiding a guy from Katsushika-ku."
"I can't but agree with you, Ebihara-San," Ryo said. "This is a much more worthy initiative than having a select few underprivileged families dine in a high-end restaurant for one day to the diversion of others who watch the event on national television so they can afterward complain that poor people are parasites."
"I agree," Shingo nodded. "My apologies for doubting you, Ebihara-San."
"Don't worry about that. Just keep visiting my restaurant so I can give more money to charity," Hifumi laughed to general amusement.