En Route to Venus - Chapter 1: Morning Star on the Rise
Place: Azabu-Juban, Tokyo. Time: September, afternoon. The piano riff of "Route Venus" can be heard playing in a cafe nearby.
A bus came to a halt at a stop next to Amishiro Park. A girl in her teens carrying two suitcases and a backpack stepped out of the bus and waved to the driver as the vehicle accelerated away, leaving her golden locks and a large red bow that partially tied them up gently flowing in the wind. It was the wind of an early autumn afternoon – such wind that still felt very warm, but nonetheless carried a distant feeling of a slowly, but surely approaching winter. This feeling was further aided by the sight of the first fallen leaves hovering along the pavement.
Minako Aino had spent the summer overseas in London. While Tokyo is one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world, compared to her relatively short, but explosive stay in the UK, this children's playground in front of her appeared as an almost meditation-worthy garden of peace. Minako was ready to take on the new school year at Shiba Koen, ready to forget her past life, including Katarina and Alan, as much as it pained her.
"After all I've been through, getting it together and improving my grades surely can't be that hard!", she thought aloud.
"Remember Mina, the number of problems is always a constant...", a sardonic voice from the depths of the backpack replied, before continuing: "...and with you that number is painfully high."
"Oh be positive, Artemis! Surely over here those problems will be smaller at least.", Minako said.
"The school has begun here too, so you already have some catching up to do.", Artemis reminded.
"Hey, didn't you see? I even studied on the plane!".
"You studied for the first 15 minutes after the take-off. After that, you mostly spent time with your Walkman – and the comic books you hoarded before leaving."
"Get real – it easily takes the whole flight to read all of those in English, even for me! By the way, I wonder if Motoki is in Crown right now? Maybe I should drop by and say hello to the old-new love... Tee-hee!", Minako mused.
"Another continent, another never-ending search for love...", Artemis lamented.
Rei Hino climbed up the stairs of the Hikawa shrine. The 50-step staircase, located in the shade of trees of various kinds, is one of the defining features of the shrine. That afternoon, those 50 steps felt steeper than ever before. Her head was full of worries – school, family, relationships, and increasingly, the so-called sailor business. Rei had a sudden burst of empathy towards all those older people who would use the stairs on a daily basis, not to mention the disabled.
"I should start pushing the idea of some kind of railing to Grandpa, maybe even a ramp for wheelchairs.", she thought. But for now, it was just the stairs. The stairs and her.
However, she had way too many worries to concentrate on that for the time being. The history essay was due tomorrow, while the extra math problems she wanted to solve would likely have to wait until the weekend. The TA Girls School really had kicked off the semester with full force, no easy beginnings there. Also, she knew that changing the stubborn old man's mind on any issue was always going to be a long process.
Rei reached the top of the stairs.
"And then there's Usagi. Usagi Tsukino."
Just a while ago, they had lost another Rainbow Crystal to Zoisite. Rei had already noticed how dangerous enemy Zoisite was, in some respects vastly more intelligent than either Jadeite or Nephrite. With Rainbow Crystals at the Dark Kingdom's disposal, who knew what was going to happen? Rei was struggling to think of how Usagi was even going to approach this situation, let alone actually resolve it. She felt cold shivers travelling through her body, as a vision of sorts appeared in her mind's eye. It was hard to explain exactly why, but that brief flash made her feel very uneasy.
"This isn't a game anymore. The whole world is at stake.", she felt.
Rei had reached her room and before she even noticed, the essay was in front of her. It was about the Boshin War, a civil war in Japan that was a part of the Meiji Restoration. With her stream of consciousness flowing on the paper, this was not going to be her best work, but at that moment she couldn't bring her full attention to it.
Rei didn't have anything against Usagi as a person. While they loved to tease and annoy each other, usually she was fun the be with. She had noticed how Usagi had immediately become attached to her when they first met. Rei felt that Usagi really looked up to her and maybe she saw her as a big sister of sorts? It was a difficult situation, but something had to change. Usagi just wasn't fit to lead, it had been clearly shown by now. What divine force dictated that she absolutely had to be the one in charge? Rei had always seen herself as a natural leader, she had learned to take responsibility at a young age. Meanwhile, Usagi had clearly always been a spoiled brat, who had always had someone smarter to copy her homework from.
"Hey! How did you do this?", Usagi craned over her friend Ami Mizuno's notebook. "Where's the X?"
"Usagi! This is a study group, not Ami-Chan's Homework Copying Club!", Rei barked.
"It's okay! Just a little hint of how to solve the first one.", Ami said, while making a token effort to cover the rest of the page.
"You've been giving her an awful lot of 'little hints'. Our Usagi will never learn if she gets everything for free!"
Usagi got seemingly irritated, well, in the usually animated Usagi way.
"You're not my mom, Rei!", she answered. "And besides, it's Luna who usually does that."
"No, but you are supposed to be our leader in ...you know ...our fight against the Dark Kingdom. You should act like it and take responsibility.", Rei retorted.
"Pfft! What does finding all these exes have to do with that? Nothing!"
"Well, you never know-", Ami chimed in, before being interrupted by the sound of her bedroom door flying open.
A tall girl in a college shirt and jeans leapt inside. It was Makoto Kino.
"Mako-chan!", Usagi rejoiced.
"How's it going here? Working hard, or hardly wor-?"
"Yeah! Hardly at work!", Usagi interrupted.
"Indeed…", Rei lamented.
"Sorry for being late.", Makoto continued. "I saw this really cute guy in the park and..."
"Oh, I know! He looked like your old boyfriend?", Ami raised her hand.
"Ah, hah! Yeah.", Makoto scratched the back of her head. "Anyway, I went to the game store, like I said I would, and came back with this."
Makoto pulled a shiny, plastic-wrapped cardboard box out of her bag. It had the approximate shape and size of a typical novel or a manga compilation, but it definitely wasn't a book.
Usagi's eyes lit up.
"Ooh! You really got it, finally!"
Her notebook and the adjacent items literally exploded all over as the dumpling head sprinted across the room to inspect the box.
"Ami's just got the console too! You think we could try it out right now?", Usagi asked while doing her best eager puppy impression.
"Well… I still need to check my homework a little. But you can start if you're done with yours."
"Sure, I'm done with math alright.", Usagi quipped.
"The hell you are!", Rei shouted in the background, but Usagi was already in her own world.
Later, as the early autumn sun had begun to set, the girls were getting finished with their homework. A noticeably cooler breeze slipped through the open venting door, which prompted Ami to get up and close it. Usagi and Makoto were still sitting on the floor in front of the TV, taking turns in enjoying their new game.
"Could it be possible to take a little break? I would like to watch the news.", Ami asked politely.
"Great idea! We should keep track of what's happening in the city.", Rei agreed.
The game was paused and the channel switched to number three.
Indeed, the local news were just starting. The lead story hit closer than anybody in the room could've expected. The girls were treated to live pictures from the front of a bank they had walked past many times.
The newscaster's voiceover read: "The robbery and hostage situation at Fushi Bank's Azabu-Juban offices has ended almost as quickly as it began. A superhero girl in a sailor uniform jumped off the roof of a building on the opposite side of the street and leapt through the window. Mere minutes later the doors opened and the alleged robber walked outside with his arms tied. And right here, dear viewers, you can see the hero of the day."
Usagi and the rest were stunned. The girl on the TV looked a lot like Sailor Moon, including similar golden blond hair. However, the slightly darker blue and the red accents of the sailor uniform bore more resemblance to that of Juban High School. Maybe it was because she was on TV, but the girl did look more mature than any of them. One major difference was the mask that prevented anyone from seeing the new Sailor Guardian's eyes. It was similar to the domino mask donned by the lovely Tuxedo Mask, although hers was red.
"I know her - she's Sailor V!", Usagi shouted. "We have to get over there and find out who she really is!".
Sailor V was a Saior Guardian similar to Usagi and her friends, who had gained fame for her crime-fighting and "creative differences" with the local police. However, she seemed to have vanished without a trace some time ago.
"No, I don't think the time for that is yet.", Luna replied. "It could be the enemy's trap. And besides, she might be gone once we get there."
Indeed, "Sailor Mask" spent only a brief moment in the limelight, quickly escaping the camera as she launched a grappling gun she had with her and disappeared over the roof of another building.
Makoto leaned backwards in her typical elbows-up pose, pouting.
"If there's some new or old Guardian in town, why hasn't she seeked us out yet? We've been in plenty of news as well.", she wondered.
"Maybe she's just got her current powers. The newsreader described her like she hadn't appeared before, or at least for a while.", Rei suggested.
"Or maybe… she was on holidays. It was summer, after all!", Usagi quipped.
"This doesn't make sense!", Luna said. "Only I can grant powers like that, as far as I know. Unless..."
Luna found herself having a faint hunch of who might be behind the mystery girl, but she felt like it was too early to speculate it out loud.
"Hey Rei! Have you ever considered adopting a raccoon as a pet?", Usagi asked, having gotten back to playing the game.
A blocky, mostly red and white figure ran across an equally blocky, isometrically rendered garden while charging some kind of fireball.
"Isn't it a raccoon dog, Usagi? And those games are just fantasy, it's not like shrine maidens battle against monsters in real life.", Rei answered, before adding: "Well, not most of them, anyway."
The next night, it was a full moon. Grandpa Hino had climbed on the roof of his shrine, to get the best view of the sky.
"What a beautiful full moon!", he admired. "With some dumplings and sake with me, this truly is a grand way to enjoy the evening."
Just as Grandpa put another treat in his mouth, a person materialised out of thin air right between him and the moon. The stranger had a slightly feminine-looking figure with long wavy hair tied into a rather loose ponytail. They seemed to be wearing an old-fashioned military uniform.
"W-what in the devil are you?!", Grandpa gasped, while the half-bitten dumpling fell out of his mouth and rolled off the roof. He sensed an evil presence.
"I am Zoisite, a general of the Dark Kingdom.", the stranger introduced himself.
Zoisite pulled a dark stone out of her coat, placed it in the air and shouted: "Zoi!".
The floating crystal-like object started spinning and emitting some kind of visible radiation. Soon Grandpa's chest began to glow something that could be described as dark light. He screamed in pain as if something hard and sharp was spinning inside him.
"I see, you must be one of the Seven Great Youma. Hold still while I remove the Rainbow Crystal from your body.", Zoisite ordered and extended his arm forward.
However, something seemed to have awakened inside Grandpa, as he began visibly resisting Zoisite's magic, ultimately unleashing a powerful wave of energy that knocked Zoisite back a little and forced him to abort his crystal extraction attempt. It almost looked like the crystal had found a worthy host it didn't want to give up – if a piece of rock would have such ambitions – or then the old priest really possessed something extraordinary of his own.
"Bastard!", Zoisite cursed and quickly retaliated: "Zoi!".
This time Zoisite's magic carried such a punch that it caused Grandpa to fly off the roof and smash down on the gravel of the yard. The two resident pet crows of the shrine, Phobos and Deimos had arrived and lashed an all-out attack on Zoisite, pecking him with their beaks and generally being as much of a nuisance as crows could be.
"Get off me you pests! I'm not a can of garbage!", he shouted.
Rei had also shown up, having heard the racket from her room. Zoisite decided it was time to retreat and so he disappeared in the way he had appeared: into thin air.
"Grandpa! Are you hurt?", Rei rushed to help the old man up.
Grandpa didn't have time to give a proper answer as the two were surprised by a figure rising up the stairway. Rei would have otherwise grabbed a broom just in case, but Grandpa hadn't gotten properly up on his feet yet, so instead she nervously tried to make out who the new stranger might be. As the figure approached, the features became more clear to see. It was a young man with long, slightly unkempt hair. He was wearing blue jeans and an almost matching unbuttoned jacket with rolled-up sleeves. The guy was stretching and yawning, as if he had just woken up. Rei noticed that he was carrying a guitar case, then she took another look at his face. A sudden realisation came to her – this stranger who had seemingly wandered into their shrine at this time of day was no other than Yuichiro Kumada, a famous singer and songwriter who was originally from Azabu-Juban. In fact, just a few years ago he had gone to the same public school that Usagi and the others were attending right now.
"Ku-kumada Yuichiro-san...", Rei tried to get words out of her mouth. "What brings you here?"
Seeing Rei in her red Hakama clearly made quite an impression on Yuichiro, as his cheeks turned red and his eyes lit up to the point where one could be excused for thinking they literally were about to turn heart-shaped. However, he quickly turned more towards Grandpa.
"Y-yes, I-I'm Yuichiro Kumada. Please, make me your disciple!", he asked, while bowing on his knees.
Rei was completely dumbfounded. Why would he want to become an apprentice at a shrine? Is this another one of Dark Kingdom's ploys? She took a hard look at Yuichiro's eyes, but they seemed earnest.
Rei sighed. "We have room for guests in the house. Do you want to spend the night there?"
"Yes! Gladly.", Yuichiro said.
"Alright then. Grandpa here is a little shaken right now, right Grandpa? Maybe you could ask him tomorrow more about whatever it is that you actually want to do?", Rei suggested, while helping Grandpa towards the house.
"That sounds splendid!", Yuichiro rejoiced while raising his fist in the air, before realising that he should help too. Apart from the guitar case, he had brought nothing else with him.
Zoisite had returned to his home base in the Dark Kingdom. On a display conjured up in the air, he replayed the footage captured by his dark magic gem.
"Hmm, I see. This must mean that the Rainbow Crystal inside the old man has already activated. Worry not you geezer, it will be mine in no time! Wa-hahaha!", he laughed into his hand, while the images of Grandpa Hino twisting in agony appeared before him.
While Zoisite had been forced to retreat from the first encounter, by analysing the past events and devising a better plan he had serious intentions of turning the setbacks in his favour. After all, he was the most cunning of the Four Generals and what's more, he was on a winning streak.
The next afternoon, Rei had been joined by Ami, Makoto and Usagi on the way home after school, as was often the case.
"Your grandfather changed his behaviour overnight just like that…?", Ami confirmed what she had just heard.
"...And he's acting all wacko?", Makoto continued.
"Yep, nuttier than a Granola bar...", Rei nodded, before getting more serious: "You know he's always been… a little eccentric, but indeed this is something else. It's weird, he seems so energetic and upbeat, but also as if possessed by something.", Rei mused. "When I arrived, I only saw him on the ground. He told to me that he fell off the roof, but that's all the talk we had last night. He was so tired, but he also looked a little confused."
"If he hit his head, it could go away over time, but that type of behaviour sounds very unusual.", Ami suggested.
"Well, if it won't go away, I'm sure Rei can drive away whatever spirit is within him!", Usagi chimed in.
"I'm thinking more about calling a doctor, but I guess for now we'll just have to wait and see how it develops.", Rei said. "Oh, and another thing. Right after that incident, guess who showed up at the shrine? Yuichiro Kumada."
The other three froze in place for a moment, until Usagi got her mouth open. It opened and then kept opening some more for a good measure.
"Whaaat!?", she gasped. " The Yuichiro Kumada? The rock star?"
"None other.", Rei answered.
Makoto had taken her time to process the news. Her eyes slowly grew larger and sparklier, and almost seemed to gain new colours.
"W-we're going to the temple, right? As in, now?", she asked with a tense voice.
Meanwhile, at the Hikawa shrine, truly strange things were under way. Yuichiro had climbed up one of the tallest trees in the area and was now nervously standing on a branch that was barely strong enough to support his weight. Grandpa Hino was standing far down on the ground with his arms confidently crossed. Yuichiro was holding an old rope that he had painstakingly wrapped around a branch of an entirely different tree beforehand.
"A-are you sure this is necessary, Master?", he asked with a trembling voice that could barely be heard on the ground level.
Grandpa nodded. "It's all part of your training, son! Now get on with it and jump!", he instructed.
"What kind of philosophy tells you to swing from a tree to another like The King of the Apes!?", Yichiro asked.
Grandpa was losing his patience. "Don't question my methods!", he snapped. "You'll thank me when you're back on the ground!".
Yuichiro let out a loud gulp and stepped forward. First, he fell downwards and then began swinging through the air suspended by the rope. The grip from his guitarist's hands was immense and the old rope had remained in one piece. What didn't, however, was the branch around which Yuichiro had tied the rope. It snapped clean off the tree from which it had grown, sending Yuichiro quickly falling to the ground. Luckily this happened just as he had passed the midway point of the swing, so his impact with the ground was rather gentle, relatively speaking. Unfortunately, the wayward branch was still in the air and ended up landing on the back of Yuichiro's head.
"Owie.", Yuichiro got out of his mouth, before planting his face on the stone pavement.
Oddly, Grandpa was overjoyed. "Wa-hahaha! That was amazing – and the falling branch was like a cherry on top.", he rejoiced while making the most stereotypical chef's kiss known to man.
Meanwhile, a group of a few people had arrived at the scene. They were reporters from local newspapers. A gossip had already got out that the famous rock star had started a new phase in his life and naturally they were going to find out all about it.
"Kumada-san! Are you okay?", a young female reporter asked, while photographers on both sides of her were furiously capturing the moment.
"Uhhh...", Yuichiro muttered, before springing up. "Oh no! That wasn't good!", he said and sprinted to the shrine's entrance where a suzu bell was located, before pleading: "Give me strength to overcome every challenge I'm put through!".
He began ringing the bell rigorously, but only after a few rings, he was soaked by a sudden burst of water from above. It turned out that someone had placed a spherical case full of water at the top end of the bell rope – and that it had opened.
"Ah-hah-hah! You fell for it! You really are so much fun!", Grandpa laughed and waved his arms in the air.
There was no second question about who had devised the prank, as the old man practically danced around in joy. The newspeople were following the events unfold with their mouths open, but no words coming out of them. That is, until one of them approached Grandpa.
"Are… you the priest at this shrine?", he began, before checking his notes: "...Hino-san?"
"That's me! Hee hee!", Grandpa responded. "You've come at the right time, as you are witnessing a young man taking his first steps in self-discovery!".
"Ah, I see!", the reporter nodded, while clearly trying to make sense of the whole madness in his head.
Grandpa's bright mood quickly swung in the opposite direction. "Boo-hoo! My granddaughter is the only one who can take over the shrine when I'm gone. I'm so alone in here!", he cried.
While all this was happening, the girls had finally arrived as well. Rei noticed Grandpa and the reporters, and immediately she could imagine the absolutely worst scenarios in her mind - this had to be stopped fast before any major damage could be done! However, Usagi was faster. The dumpling head had already rushed to meet everyone and was complimenting Grandpa for his successful prank.
"That was so funny, Gramps! You sure nailed him!", Usagi laughed.
Grandpa immediately cheered up again. "You're the only one who gets my jokes, Usagi! Ha-ha-haa!", he rejoiced.
"Excuse me, who might you be…?", the male reporter asked Usagi.
Before Usagi could answer, Rei had barged in front of her. "She's… with me!", she told gingerly.
"Rina Tachikawa from Central Tokyo Daily News. Are you perhaps the granddaughter we were talking about?", the female reporter asked Rei.
"Y-yes I am. Rei Hino. I-I work part time here...", she stuttered. The reporters were using voice recorders, so Rei was very stressed about potentially slipping something stupid out of her mouth.
"First of all, these 'methods' your grandfather is using for some kind of training – are they often used here?", reporter Tachikawa asked.
"No! Absolutely not!", Rei answered hastily. She decided it was best she stuck to what she knew: "Yesterday, he fell off the roof and hit his head. Must be some sort of concussion...".
None of the newspaper people looked all too convinced. "Ryuji Suzuki, Minato Weekly. Do you often take apprentices like this? It must be unusual to have someone like Kumada-san here.", the male reporter asked.
"No, we don't. I must also stress that this… training will end right now as it could be very dangerous.", Rei asserted.
Yuichiro had dried somewhat. "Look, if it's me you're worried about...", he began.
"You need to keep quiet, mister!", Rei retorted.
"But I just thought..."
"I said quiet!", she shouted, before remembering the members of the press again: "Ha-ha! Now, would you perhaps mind coming at a later date? As you can see, my grandfather is in need of rest and I'm sure so is Kumada-san. Me? That's right, I need to rest as well."
The two reporters nodded understandingly, although undoubtedly this whole ordeal had only raised more questions.
"Ah-ha-ha! I'm still overjoyed by today's results. Tomorrow again, right Yui-chan?", Grandpa asked in excitement.
"I already told you no! Your whacked-out jokes are totally going to wreck the great reputation that this shrine has built in the community!", Rei quickly dashed hopes of any further shenanigans.
"Oh come on, don't be such a stick in the mud! It's a good idea to have some fun...", Usagi budded in.
Rei walked up real close to Usagi and leaned forward, seemingly towering over her despite being only slightly taller. "Usagi! This is our problem, not yours – so stay out of our business!", she said, while making a dismissive finger-flicking motion towards her chest.
Usagi lost her balance and fell on her backside. She began crying: "Waaah! Why is Rei-chan so mean to me again!", while turning into a literal fountain of tears. Although such a comparison might be unfair towards fountains, for they rarely emit annoyingly high-pitched sounds.
"Hmph!", Rei crossed her arms and turned away. She wasn't being mean - it's Usagi who stumbled on her own and then tried to pin the blame on her like some 5-year-old kid fighting at the dinner table. When would she learn to take responsibility? And coming here of all places to tell her what to do – this was her realm, not Usagi's.
All this time Makoto had been quietly and respectfully admiring Yuichiro from a safe distance, but now she had something to say: "Usagi, you can't cry over every little thing that happens.".
However, Ami sided with Usagi: "Rei, you didn't have to shove her like that to make your point, did you? I think you should apologise.".
"I'm not going to apologise for something I didn't do!", Rei replied.
Ami got uncharacteristically upset. "Fine, be that way then. But I'm sick of breaking up your pre-adolescent fights, so I'd be better off studying at cram school! I'll see you tomorrow.", she said, before turning around and leaving without further fuss.
Makoto followed right on her heels: "I'm gonna go practice my kung fu. See ya!", she quipped while already walking away. However, she turned around once more. "Hey… Yuichiro-san! I hope we could meet better later…!", she said and winked, acting as cool as someone with a three-digit heart rate possibly could.
"Ah-hah! Sure, later...", Yuichiro waved back, with a singular drop of sweat joining all the existing water on his forehead.
"Didn't I tell you to be quiet!?", Rei snapped at him, before continuing: "I have a problem on my hands and they just leave like that. Fine then, I guess.". She took a measuring look at Yuichiro. "I feel like you have something to talk about, isn't that right?", she asked.
"Yeah, I've been thinking...", Yuichiro admitted. Another sweat drop ran down his forehead.
"I think we could talk when we get somewhere a little more private.", Rei said and tilted her head towards a distant bench closer to the side of the area.
While the two were walking towards the bench and Grandpa was heading indoors, Usagi realised that everyone else had left except for her.
"Wow! I wonder if Rei-chan and Yuichiro-san have something going on?", she pondered aloud.
"You shouldn't jump into such conclusions just yet.", a distinctly feline voice replied from behind. "To be honest, I just don't see Yuichiro being Rei's type. They might well become good friends, though.", Luna continued, while sitting down next to Usagi.
"Huh? Good friends, but still not more than friends? Why?", Usagi tilted her head.
"Well, I don't want to jump to conclusions either. After all, we haven't known Rei for that long, not to mention Yuichiro, who just arrived.", Luna weighed her words.
"But what about Mamoru? Or that dreamboat Tuxedo Mask? We had a fierce battle for his attention just a while ago. I mean, Yuichiro's a rock star, but much more approachable than either of those two, because Tuxedo's got the Mask and Mamoru is – well, duh – Mamoru. And Yuichiro's so nice to Rei…", Usagi argued.
"I don't think Rei has been particularly nice towards him. Also, didn't that... episode... with Tuxedo Mask and the horse happen under a Youma's spell? Now, thinking about Mamoru – would you say that Rei has been genuinely interested in him or has it perhaps been more of a way for her to challenge you?", Luna posed a question. "After all, didn't you want to go on a date with Umino just to match her?".
Usagi looked surprised. "I'm not interested in Mamoru! No way!", she denied and shaked her head furiously. "...And I'm obviously not interested in Umino either, so uh...".
Luna glanced at Usagi with a very critical side-eye. "Did I imply that…?".
"But, um… haven't thunk of it. You really know how to take a different angle on things, Luna. You know a lot of things...", Usagi continued before changing the subject: "So anyways, have you heard anything new about Sailor V?".
"I wish I had, but I haven't.", Luna answered. "Neither have I noticed anything new about the Dark Kingdom. I want to remind you that the enemy is still who we need to keep an eye on the most. That Zoisite is much more sneaky than our past foes – he just appears like a lightning on a clear sky and strikes. We need to be quick.".
"Yeah, of course!", Usagi shook her fists up and down in unison, while having her eyes locked on Rei and Yuichiro in the distance.
Rei and Yuichiro had walked near a park bench at the side of the shrine. A ginkgo tree behind the bench was dropping its yellowed leaves in the wind. Rei caught one of the leaves in her hand, took a brief whiff of it and turned towards Yuichiro.
"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?", she asked.
"I've been thinking… in autumn, a person's feelings can change quickly.", Yuichiro began before continuing: "It's a season when the biorhythms of the mind and body can become easily disturbed.".
"What is it that you're trying to say?", Rei asked.
"I think that when the sunnier days of spring return, the master will become more rational and calm again.", he explained. "Maybe for now, we should just keep an eye on him and see how he's coming along."
Rei smiled warmly. "You're so sweet. And I'm surprised how thoroughly you've thought about this. Forgive me, but I had the impression that you were a bit of an airhead.", she snickered. Rei felt really worried about Grandpa, but she didn't want to ruin what was shaping into a rather nonserious conversation.
Yuichiro blushed slightly. "Heh! You see, the people who help me in my daily work want me to say all kinds of dumb things sometimes. They say girls like it and boys find it relatable.", he recalled. "Maybe you're not one of those girls then...".
"I do admit, some of your lyrics are kind of… relatable. The girls you sing about, I see my own friends and classmates in quite a few of them.", Rei pondered.
Yuichiro noticed the school uniform that Rei was still wearing. "I can see that you don't go to the same public high school I used to go. Or then they've upgraded their dress code since I left.", he said and let out a brief laugh.
"I go to the TA Girls' School. According to my father, I'll thank him for it eventually.", Rei told. "Would be the first time I thanked him about anything...". The smile she had was wiped off her face.
"Oh, I see. Isn't your father the owner of-", Yuichiro began, before being interrupted by Rei.
"He owns lots of things, except for time. Time to live life. Men like my father, all they see in life is power and how to grab it as much as they can. Such is the nature of these men – to conquer over others, to push aside and hurt.", she looked down and muttered, before looking up to Yuichiro. "Promise me you'll never become like that.".
"Well, you see – I came here to take some time off. To gather and clear up my thoughts about myself and life in general – to help me write more music for sure, but it's not just about that.", Yuichiro declared. "I don't want to lose the passion for what I do, even if it has become like a job for me.".
"That sounds pretty good to me.", Rei said. "Oh, one more thing: you don't have to call my Grandpa your master, Yui-chan.".
Yuichiro scratched the back of his head. "Right...".
Meanwhile, Usagi had returned home. She was in her room, looking rather depressed as she rested her head on the purple bed cover that had pictures of bunnies and moons printed on it.
"To think of it, I made Rei pretty mad again. I hope she'll still talk to me...", Usagi said while slowly rolling her head left and right.
"I wouldn't be too worried. She's the type who gets mad quickly but also forgets quickly. I'll bet by tomorrow the two of you'll be the best of friends again!", Luna said while sitting on a table behind. While they had been gone, a bowl full of pastries had appeared on the table. Luna took a bite off one. "My goodness! These daifuku rice cakes your mother baked are so delicious!", she managed to say between the munches.
Usagi looked slightly annoyed – to enjoy treats at this time? "Ugh, will you knock it off?".
"Mmm… Sweet bean filling...", Luna ignored her plea.
Usagi gave in to her urges and crawled to the table. She picked one of the cakes and took a rather cautious bite. Her eyes lit up and she sprang up. "Wow! These really are delicious!", she exclaimed. "I know! I'll take these over to Rei and make up with her tonight! What a good idea!".
Before Luna could come up with a second opinion, Usagi was already heading downstairs. Judging by the sheer speed, she realised that she had no chance of catching her. "Good grief! Once that girl gets something on her mind, you just can't change it. I can only hope she's not going to make things worse this time.".
Over at the shrine – in her home, to be precise – Rei was taking a moment to relax in a bath. She had opened the window and was leaning on the window sill, looking at the darkening horizon. She had wrapped her hair with a red towel.
"So, Phobos and Deimos – what do you think about all this?", she rhetorically asked her two pet crows who Rei knew were on the roof above the window. "Would Grandpa's strange behaviour really have been caused just by the change of season?". Rei tried to gauge her own feelings. Was the onset of autumn changing her in any way? Despite now being almost alone in peace, she felt it difficult to get a hold of the full extent of her feelings. It's like they were fleeing from her like the clouds of steam out of the window. "Could it be that what we often call 'change' is just something within us that's trying to get out? Something that's been there all along?", she continued.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Hino was sitting by a fireplace, chanting and waving a wand with paper streamers that is known as gohei. Both the chanting and waving were as furious as the flames raging in the fireplace. Despite having appeared cheerful to the point of being deranged, deep down Grandpa knew there was something wrong and he was doing everything he knew to rid himself of the impurities.
Suddenly, he turned around. "I see that you're back, you evil spirit!", he said to what seemed to be just a wall. However, in the blink of an eye, a small tornado of cherry petals materialized – and behind it, a familiar figure appeared.
Zoisite looked confident. "Tonight I'll take that Rainbow Crystal from you!", he announced, not even bothering to look at his opponent in the eyes.
"Zoi!"
Grandpa pointed the gohei forward and once again he was able to resist the attack, with the two magic beams clashing against each other in the middle of the room. However, Zoisite's magic proved to be stronger and it soon sent Grandpa flying out of the building and tumbling across the yard. Zoisite hovered out of the door and lifted Grandpa up in the air, with his magic surrounding him with the same pink petals as seen before.
"That's more like it. Just give up, old man!", he taunted. "The Crystal is mine now!".
A dark, portal-like hole appeared on Grandpa's chest and soon a blue, symmetrically cut gemstone came out of it and started moving towards Zoisite. It was spinning in the air and shining a rather unnatural light. A normal crystal it definitely wasn't. Suddenly, a red rose came flying seemingly out of nowhere like a dart. It hit the Crystal and knocked it out of Zoisite's reach, with both the stone and the rose falling to the ground below. Zoisite gasped and looked around until he noticed a dark figure standing tall atop the concrete torii gate that marks the entrance to the shrine. The figure was wearing a black top hat and a dark cape flowing in the gentle evening breeze. The only brighter feature that could be seen from the distance was the white domino mask covering the eyes, or rather their surroundings.
"Tuxedo Mask!", Zoisite shouted.
Tuxedo Mask smiled even more confidently than Zoisite had smiled during his entrance. "Mhah-hah... Don't worry about that Crystal, for I'll be taking it with me!", he said and jumped down, with the cape seemingly acting as a parachute of sorts.
Zoisite turned back towards Grandpa, who was laying on the ground. "Attack him! Stop Tuxedo Mask!", he commanded. It quickly turned out that the instructions weren't directed towards Grandpa himself, as a dark cloud surrounded him, only to reveal what could only be described as a demon. The dark ape-like creature had a red, disfigured face with white hair and a pair of horns growing out of the top of it. The only piece of clothing was the simple red cape that Grandpa had begun wearing around the neck during his recent "phase". The creature was now standing between Tuxedo Mask and the Crystal.
"Hah-hah! Too bad, Tuxedo Mask! The Crystal will still be mine, but Jiji here will kindly be taking care of you.", he said, picked the Crystal off the ground and flew away.
"Zoisite, you coward! Why don't you fight me yourself?", Tuxedo Mask shouted in frustration and jumped after him, narrowly dodging an energy blast released by Jiji.
Yuichiro walked to the scene, as he had wondered about all the noise. The demon turned around and instantly locked its yellow eyes on him.
"Huh? What is that… a real monster!?", he asked himself as the tone of his voice gradually caught up with his surprise. Jiji leapt towards him and all he could do was try and run at least as fast as it did. He sprinted inside the house and opened the first door he could find to see if he could hide from the beast. To his surprise, he met Rei who was wearing nothing but a towel. Instinctly, he covered his eyes. Turned out it was Rei's bedroom he had tried to hide in.
"Knock the door, idiot!", Rei screamed in anger.
"Sorry, sorry! Th-there's a m-monster outside!", Yuichiro excused himself.
"Huh? Could it be…?", Rei got out of her mouth before the two peeked out down the hallway. A pair of yellow eyes and several sharp teeth gleamed in the darkness. The two immediately sprinted the other way, while Jiji chased after them. They managed to get out and reached the room with the fireplace in it when the monster launched another one of its magic blasts. The force of the attack sent both Rei and Yuichiro flying to a wall.
"Rei… I think… if it's still following me – just leave me and get away now...", Yuichiro said before losing consciousness.
However, Rei wasn't the one to run away like that. She crawled to the fireplace and began chanting: "Rin! Pyo! To! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!". The flames grew and almost reached the roof. Jiji covered its eyes with its arm and turned away, seemingly being unable to look straight into the fire. The outline of Jiji's face appeared in the flames, before morphing into a face that clearly resembled Grandpa's.
"Oh no! It is Grandpa!", Rei noticed to her horror.
"Rei!", a familiar voice broke through the flames. The creature had taken a few steps back and peeked from behind the fire.
"What happened to you, Grandpa?", Rei asked, but in vain, as she could find nothing more but ferocity in Jiji's eyes.
The beast pounced towards her and the two crashed through the outer wall and onto the yard. Luckily, the wall was rather light in its construction, however, the impact had left Rei battered and she was struggling to stand up, let alone make a run for it. Rei backed up against the wall as Jiji slowly closed up to her. Suddenly, the monster sensed something and turned left.
"Huh…?". Rei tried to get a view as well. Between the bushes, there was a girl – a Sailor Guardian just like her. She was wearing the familiar outfit, but with an orange collar and skirt, and a dark blue bow on her chest, while an even larger red bow was used to tie back some of the long, blonde hair. Unlike Rei, the stranger was wearing a red mask, not unlike the one Tuxedo Mask had – and indeed, it looked like exactly the same as the mask worn by Sailor V, at least from what she had seen in pictures.
"How dare you terrorise this fine place of worship! Friedrich Nietzsche may tolerate your antics, but I, Sailor Venus, won't stand for it!", the orange Guardian loudly declared.
"Eh…?" was all Rei got off her tongue while staring in bewilderment. Was this one of Usagi's disguises after all?
"The friend of innocent shrine maidens everywhere - I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier of justice, Sailor Venus, and I'm here on the scene!", Venus continued. Rei's cheeks turned red.
Jiji started charging towards Sailor Venus. The latter also ran forward briefly, before slowing down and rapidly lifting her right leg into what looked like an unorthodox combination of an axe kick and a front kick.
"Venus Kick!", she shouted and planted her orange high heel shoe right into the monster's chin. The force of the hit shook the ground beneath them and sent Jiji rolling backwards for at least a couple of rounds.
"Looks like it's already time for a finishing blow!", Venus said, while lifting up a crescent-shaped device.
Rei began to realise just how badly the fight could end: "No! Grandpa!".
Just as Venus was about to start reciting her attack spell, Usagi appeared in her field of vision.
"Oh, hi Rei! Do you want some daifuku?", Usagi asked.
"Are you blind!? Just transform already!", Rei screamed back at her.
Embarrassed, Usagi realised the gravity of the situation: "Oh, right!".
"Moon Prism Power! Make Up!", she shouted and disappeared briefly into a flash of light.
Despite hiding most of her expression behind the mask, Venus was clearly surprised by the arrival of another Guardian. In a quick decision, she turned around, took a long jump and disappeared behind the trees. Jiji was still on the ground but was regaining its consciousness. Rei on the other hand had gotten up and sprinted next to Sailor Moon.
"Usagi! That monster is actually my grandpa!", Rei told her, short of breath.
"Huh!? No way – really?", Moon responded in total surprise. She looked hard into the monster's eyes. She couldn't find any humanity in them, but she decided to believe Rei – after all, she was her friend.
"Remember, you do have the attack to heal him!", a voice from below them told. Luna had arrived at the scene, after having used every shortcut she knew. "Use it – quickly!", she continued.
Usagi twirled the Moon Stick in her hand, before pointing it towards Jiji. "Grandpa, go back to being a nice old man!", she said, before shouting the magic words: "Moon Healing Escalation!".
A shining crescent-like ring surrounded Jiji and it quickly began glowing so strongly that one could only see a blob of bright light vaguely shaped like something human. Then, after a moment, the light disappeared, revealing Grandpa Hino, who collapsed on the ground, barely conscious.
"Grandpa!", Rei shouted, while running to lift him up.
"Is he okay?", Sailor Moon asked worryingly.
Rei hugged her old man. "I can feel the heartbeats...", she responded, while shedding a small tear.
Meanwhile, on the street outside of the shrine, Ami and Makoto ran into each other.
"Mako-chan!", Ami greeted. "What brings you here?".
"I was thinking that Rei and Usagi could still be fighting, so I wanted to drop by and see if I could help them...", Makoto answered.
"I had exactly the same thought. After a while, I concluded that we can't afford to lose their friendship.", Ami said.
The two began climbing the stairs. "So how was the cram school?", Makoto asked.
"With regards to my goals, I'm on track. It's nearly impossible to be perfect, which sometimes feels annoying, though – if you know what I mean.", Ami said. "How was the practice?".
"I'm close to mastering the axe kick.", Makoto told.
"You know, when you have time, you should teach me some. Lately, I've felt like such knowledge could also be useful.", Ami suggested.
"Ha-ha! I know what you mean. But please, don't lose your focus – I like you the way you are.", Makoto laughed.
Up at the shrine, Yuichiro had joined Grandpa, Rei and Usagi. Grandpa was feeling much better already and all four were enjoying the daifuku Usagi had brought with her.
"I really wonder, where did that horrible monster disappear?", Yuichiro asked.
Grandpa was surprised: "What? There was a monster roaming around!?".
"Ah! Grandpa mustn't remembe-", Usagi began, before having her mouth shut by Rei.
"Ah-hah! Yuichiro-san must've worked out so hard that he dreamed up the whole thing...", she corrected.
"Huh, you could have a point there, Rei-chan.", Yuichiro admitted.
"Hey, don't you two get along pretty well? I feel like there's some love in the air...", Usagi began her shipping attempt, despite Luna's earlier words of discouragement.
"What? No! You don't understand me at all!", Rei snapped back.
"What is this? Yui-chan, I demand you to cease your marriage plans with my granddaughter immediately!", Grandpa chimed in, despite having a wildly inaccurate understanding of the situation.
"Nobody's getting married!", Rei shouted in frustration. "You'll pay for this Usagi – hand me the rest of the daifuku!".
"No! You'll get fat if you eat any more!", Usagi taunted and started running.
"Hey!".
Rei got really angry and chased after her, and somehow, all four were soon chasing each other across the yard. Meanwhile, Ami and Makoto had arrived through the gate.
"What are they doing over there, traditional comedy theatre?", Ami asked mildly amused.
"Well, at least they are communicating, or whatever this is.", Makoto shrugged.
Over in the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite had returned with the Rainbow Crystal. He met with Kunzite, who had just finished watching into a vision portal that had shown him the events at the Hikawa shrine.
"Good work, Zoisite! Another Crystal brings us closer to realising our Queen's grand plan.", Kunzite congratulated.
"Thank you, dear. Tuxedo Mask gave me a hard chase, but I managed to create a portal before he could catch.", Zoisite told.
"Hm. Apart from lacking in magical powers, he seems to be a dangerous enemy for us.", Kunzite mused.
"Indeed. However, he seems to be a little distant from those girls. We could have a chance to put something between them...", Zoisite suggested.
"That could be a move for another turn. For now, though, Sailor V, or Venus as she likes to call herself now, seems like an interesting potential pawn to me. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", Kunzite asked while conjuring up a display that showed Sailor Venus kicking Jiji with a force that was enough to cause strange glitches in the image, before getting ready to blast the monster with the crescent-shaped compact.
"I know what you mean. She seems very powerful, but she's not part of their team.", Zoisite answered.
"Yet. We need to act quickly if we want to keep it that way – or to preferably even drive them against each other.", Kunzite schemed.
"You can leave that to me. I think I'm already starting to have an idea of how that could be arranged, fu-fu-fu!", Zoisite giggled mischievously while pressing his head against Kunzite's shoulder.