Three Fox Tales, a sailor moon fanfic

THREE FOX TALES
Chapter 1: "Rising And Advancing"

A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

It was a lovely afternoon in Tokyo and it found two women browsing a gardening store. One was unusually tall and robust, her brown hair pulled into a pony tail. She wore jeans that fit close - - but not too close - - on her round hips and long legs, and a gingham shirt. Her companion had on a loose navy skirt and a beige short-sleeve blouse. Her long black hair swished behind her. People noticed them as they browsed, as much for their beauty as for their fame as two of Queen Serenity's Senshi.

"Thanks for coming with me," Rei said as they looked over a section of potted flowers. "I've always said that if you don't know what you're doing, consult an expert."

"Well I don't know about 'expert'," Makoto chuckled. "Just because I've had some success with growing flowers in our quarters . . ."

"Means you know more about it than I do," Rei interjected. "I managed to kill every flower Grandpa planted at the old shrine. When the ice giants came through, they didn't have much left to destroy."

"You're being too hard on yourself," Makoto told her. "So what exactly were you looking for?"

"Something to brighten up the shrine in the palace. I don't want to turn a holy place into a garden, but I'd like something to lighten the mood. You know, to counterbalance me."

"You could always smile more," Makoto jabbed.

"It's hard to smile when you can read some of the things people are thinking," muttered Rei. "And it isn't like I have a lot of patience with people anyway."

"If you say so. But I think you sell yourself short," Makoto judged. "So, we're looking for something bright and colorful that can live indoors." She looked at a display of potted plants. "I'm thinking maybe a Guzmania or an Anthurium."

"A what or a what?" Rei asked. She paused and stared at Makoto for a moment. "Oh! Yes, those are both nice!"

"Did you read that?"

"Sorry."

"It's OK," Makoto smiled. "I could have you look at a Guzmania, if you want a yearly bloom instead of a quarterly . . ."

Her sentence began to trail off, which alerted Rei. She looked at Makoto and found her friend staring intently. The focus of her stare were two girls roughly eighteen in civilian clothes instead of school uniforms. They, in turn, were staring at a woman browsing the garden implements section.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Rei murmured as her henshin stick appeared in her hand.

"I certainly am," Makoto replied. "And I don't even have 'the sight'." Her henshin stick appeared as well.

As the two youths broke for the unsuspecting woman, Rei and Makoto spoke their transformation phrases. As one youth knocked the woman off balance with her shoulder, her partner snatched the woman's purse from her shoulder. The pair bolted for the exit as their victim tried to regain her wits.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" echoed through the store.

A bolt of lightning struck the two delinquent girls in mid-stride. The pair seized up, electricity overloading their central nervous systems. When the current spent itself, the pair sank to the floor, quivering involuntarily. Mars was on top of them in a second, armed with two sutras should they try to escape.

"I hit them with as light a bolt as I could manage," Jupiter said as she approached. "How are they?"

"They're alive," Mars remarked with little compassion. "They may need a change of underwear." Mars reached down and retrieved the stolen purse. She handed it to the victim, only now approaching.

"Thank you," she whispered in awe as shoppers applauded.

"I'll hold them for the police," Mars told Jupiter.

"You sure?"

"Yes," Mars nodded, then smiled. "You use the time to get me two or three plants; a nice mix. After all, you know more about it than I do."

It was nine in the morning when Emi Mitsukiyama entered the office of the King of Crystal Tokyo. Walking over to the desk in the outer area, Mitsukiyama placed her purse in the lower left hand drawer. Smoothing out her black knee-length skirt, she adjusted the glasses on her face and glanced at the door to King Endymion's inner office. The woman wondered for a moment if she'd find the King in his office, even though he technically wasn't due yet. For there had been more times than she could count that she'd found the King in his office working on a problem early - - and only because the Queen had refused to let him work on it all night.

This brought a smile of familiarity to Emi's face. The smile made her face that much more attractive. Emi Mitsukiyama wasn't unattractive; she just minimized her looks, pulling her long silky black hair back into a bun, wearing only minimal makeup in order to look presentable, and confining herself to long-sleeve white blouses and conservative black skirts with nude hose and two inch heeled shoes. She still recalled the suspicious looks the Queen had given her when she'd been first hired. Emi was in her mid-twenties, but mature and experienced enough to assume the suspicion was born of a silent staking of territory. Even though Queen Serenity had come to accept her as a valuable asset to the office and a non-existent threat to her marriage, Emi took great care in her appearance to keep it that way.

Peeking into the office, Emi found it empty. It was welcome news. She felt the King worked far too hard to keep the country running smoothly and appease as many as he could. Clearly he was obsessed with protecting everyone, and with good reason. Emi still had the occasional bad memory of being trapped in that theater and of the strange woman dressed as a sex magazine's idea of a mouse pulling a crystal from her body and consigning her to some oblivion for who knew how long. It was a traumatic thing to happen to anyone, particularly to someone then only six years old.

"No, I didn't come in early today," she heard and turned to the door. King Endymion was there, dressed in his gray tuxedo and smiling so kindly.

"I'm glad to hear it," Emi returned the smile. Queen Serenity was such a lucky woman. No wonder she was so protective. "I'll have your calls summarized in a few minutes, Endymion-Sama."

"Thank you, Mitsukiyama-San," Endymion replied as he headed for his office. "I'm expecting a call from the Prime Minister of Australia. When it comes, put it through immediately, no matter what I'm doing - - and particularly if the Chief of the Self Defense Force is in there."

"Yes, sir," smirked Emi.

After watching Endymion disappear into his office, Emi began summarizing the overnight calls. As she did so, her thoughts drifted to the standing offer Endymion and Serenity had once made to allow her to live in the palace, in the staff sections. It was still a tempting offer - - even more tempting now with the recent rent increase she'd experienced with her apartment - - but at the same time she wanted to keep that feeling of independence from her job, to keep her home life and her palace life separate.

"Here is the call summary," Emi said, entering Endymion's office and finding him studying a financial report from the Ministry of Taxation. "Remember, you have an appointment at ten with the Minister of Transportation and one at eleven with Dietman Funishi. I'll have all pertinent records on your desk before then."

"What would I do without you, Mitsukiyama-San," Endymion spoke as he read.

Emi returned to her desk and sighed. Why couldn't she meet someone like King Endymion? Then she got to work.

In the midst of dusting the outer area of the shrine located in the Crystal Palace, Rei stopped suddenly. It was as if she heard a voice only she could hear. Her great-grandmother Moriko looked up from the text she was reading and watched her for a moment. Turning to the door of the shrine as Rei headed for it, Moriko waited to see who was there. She sensed someone, but as usual Rei sensed more. The door opened just before Rei got there.

"Oh!" Makoto said with a start. "Were you going out?"

"No," Rei smiled.

"Because I can come back."

"You're here now. Why come back?"

"If you've got somewhere you were headed for . . ." Makoto said.

"I sensed your approach," Rei replied. "You just beat me to the door." She looked down at the potted plant in Makoto's hands. "It's lovely. Thank you."

"They're African Violets. I saw it and thought the purple would balance out the other three plants you got a few days ago," Makoto began, "but you must have read that. If you don't want it . . ."

"You're absolutely right. It does counterbalance all of the red," Rei said. Confused, Makoto handed over the plant. "I only hope I don't kill it. I was never as good a gardener as Grandpa was."

"It's a pretty hearty plant," Makoto told her. "Put it near a lamp and water it once a week and it'll be fine."

"I'll do just that," Rei nodded. "And Ichiro will be fine."

"Huh?"

"Rei-Chan, please stop that," Moriko sighed.

"Sorry," Rei offered. "Sometimes it's difficult to turn my sight off. But you were worried about Ichiro's finals grades, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but that's because he's my son and it's my job to worry," smirked Makoto. "I didn't come over here for encouragement. I'm confident he'll pass - - mostly."

"If you'd like to stay and chat, I can make some tea," Rei offered. "But only if you promise not to critique it."

"Senshi's honor," Makoto grinned.

As Rei swept out of the room to prepare tea, Makoto sat down across from Moriko. The elderly woman put down her text.

"And how are you feeling, Moriko-obaasan?" Makoto asked politely.

"Oh, all right, I suppose, for someone my age," she sighed. "I probably sit too much. After all, I'm only two hundred and fifty-two."

"How long do kitsune usually live," Makoto asked, "if you don't mind the question."

"Nine tails can live to be over one thousand," Moriko responded. "Come to think of it, I should be about due to grow another tail myself. I should meditate on that." She turned back to Makoto and smiled. "So is your family in good health and spirits?"

"Good," Makoto replied. She thought a moment. "It's a lot quieter, though. Akiko has been on her own for over a year now and Ichiro will be gone soon."

"Planning on another brood?" Moriko ventured. "Um, I mean, child."

"At my age? I'm forty-five. It would be riskier at that age. And I'm not sure Sanjuro and I want to go down the 'diapers and midnight feedings' route again." She paused. "Oh, but holding a little bundle of sweetness in my arms and just loving her to pieces - - it's a little tempting."

"Well, I'll help out, no matter what you decide," Rei said, entering with a tray. "Just don't tell Serenity or . . ."

"I'll never hear the end of it," smirked Makoto. "I know."

It was nine that evening when Endymion returned to the Royal Chambers. He felt guilty about keeping Mitsukiyama that late - - and he felt guilty about leaving Serenity to handle the children alone. But a certain intractable someone was lobbing missiles into the Sea of Japan again and he had to stay to make certain that they weren't armed and aimed at the island.

"One of these days I'm going to go over there and turn those missiles into," Endymion muttered as he slid the door to the chambers open. "No, Serenity's right. We can't take them away from him. He has to want to put them down. It's the only way to a lasting peace."

Normally seeing Serenity waiting for him in the living room would be a welcome sight for the tired monarch. Seeing Serenity with her arms folded across her chest and that peevish look on her face, though, was not.

"The children missed you," she said, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry," sighed Endymion. "There was an emergency . . ."

"Yes, there's ALWAYS an emergency," huffed Serenity. "Endymion, you're beginning to work as hard and as long as Ami-Chan does. It's not good for you. And it's not good for the children, either. They need a father."

"Your Majesty," Luna began.

"Ah!" Serenity snapped, holding up her flat hand to signal Luna to stop. "This is between my husband and me."

Luna stared stonily for a moment. "Of course, Your Majesty." The cat exited the chambers at a dignified pace.

"Yes, Serenity, I know," Endymion attempted in a conciliatory manner. "The children need a father. And you need a husband. But there's one hundred and twenty-four million people out there who need a leader and a protector. You more than anyone else should know that." He moved in and took her hands in his. "You're probably right that I sweat too much of the small stuff instead of delegating. But there are times when you and the kids have to share me with the people, because I can't be everywhere at once."

Serenity huffed her frustration, then sought her familiar comfort spot against Endymion's chest.

"I know," she whimpered. "But it's not fair. It's not fair to the children. The boys need a man to model themselves after, and the girls need a man to be their safe zone."

"And you need a man to hug and kiss," Endymion smiled.

"Who's she? Your new girlfriend?" Serenity smirked.

"That was a terrible pun," Endymion said, wrapping his arms around her and walking her back to the sofa. "I don't think even Minako would have told that one."

"Where do you think I got it?" giggled Serenity. The pair sat down on the sofa and cuddled together.

"Any problems I should know about, Mom?" Endymion asked.

"Haruto wants to enroll in an aerospace major in college," Serenity told him.

"We've known he's always been fascinated with space. I don't see the problem."

"He'll have to study in America!" howled Serenity. "How am I supposed to be his mother if he's in California?"

"You've got to let him go some time, Dear," Endymion advised her.

"No I don't," Serenity pouted. Endymion pulled her closer. And suddenly he wasn't as tired as he'd been before.

"Rei-Chan," her great-grandmother said, approaching the priest in the shrine, "I have something to tell you."

"Oh?" Rei said, purposefully avoiding looking at her so as not to read what was on her great-grandmother's mind. She knew how it could put off some people. "What was it?"

"I need to leave for a while," Moriko replied.

"The city getting the best of you?" Rei asked. "I know you don't really like the noise and bustle of modern city life."

"No, I'm able to - - tolerate it as long as I live in the palace," the old woman answered. "This is something - - more personal."

Reflexively Rei looked at Moriko and she unconsciously read the rest.

"You're about to grow another tail?" Rei exclaimed. "That's a good thing, isn't it? For Kitsune, I mean."

"It is," Moriko nodded. "But the process involves meditation and I'd really be more comfortable meditating in the mountains. They're - - comfortable - - more familiar."

"Too bad," Rei replied. "I'd be interested in seeing what a kitsune growing another tail involves."

Moriko glanced curiously at the priest. "Would you? Perhaps you would like to accompany me?"

"What mountain were you planning to ascend?"

"Mount Takao," Moriko informed her. "It's close, yet sufficiently remote to allow me to meditate on the wisdom I've gained and that which I still need to seek, if Great Inari so wills."

"How long would you be gone?"

"Several days; no more than a week." She smiled at Rei. "I didn't think to make it my life's work."

Rei thought it over.

"You know," the priest smiled, "the change might do me good. I'll go clear it with Serenity and Endymion and unless they say no, I'll join you. And maybe I can borrow some camping equipment from Makoto."

"I'm glad to have you, Rei-Chan. You'll make this trip even more appealing," Moriko told her. "I am sorry to leave the palace without my protection. Hopefully nothing will happen that will require our talents."

"Well Endymion hasn't said yes yet," Rei warned her. "But I haven't foreseen any trouble, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Across from the Crystal Palace and down the street, in an apartment building crammed between a convenience store and a sweet shop, a pair of eyes watched the palace. As the eyes watched, the possessor of those eyes let her mind clear. In a moment, the truth came to her. The kitsune in residence was still in the palace.

It had already been two months since the apartment had been leased. But the kitsune never seemed to leave and, so long as she remained, the palace was protected. For a moment it was considered to move ahead with the plan anyway, but it was dismissed as too risky. If the kitsune didn't sense her actions, the priest in residence surely would. Rei Hino's prowess was well known through Japan and one didn't challenge it.

"Patience," thought the possessor of the eyes. "Your time will come. The prize is too great to give up."

Continued in Chapter 2