The sky was a gloomy one over the city as it had been for days now. Just when people thought the sun would finally come shining down on them, it got darker or windier...or rainy. Snow had begun to fall at some point but it didn't last long. It seemed like the entire weather was preparing for the biggest snowstorm possible, and yet there was no explanation behind the radical climate change.
"Right, so those are the people Senka's attacked so far," Azula slid over some photographs of the victims to Mamoru sitting across her. "You can see that in some pictures it looks like she's gaining actual form. I think the more power she sucks out of the victim, the stronger she gets leading to an actual body figure."
Mamoru picked a photograph up and stared at the woman in it. He remembered her perfectly because she had been the first victim Senka had taken when he saw her. He moved along the other photographs on the table. "How did you even get these?"
Azula smirked and looked around the cafe shop before she answered quietly. "I like hacking into things. I'm very technical."
"Yeah, I know," he said casually, not even noticing he had said it in the first place.
While Azula had retained the main truth from Mamoru - that he was a reincarnated Earth Prince - she had cleared up the fact that some time ago he had known her. Due to an attack similar to Senka's, people's memories - including his - were erased. He did ask, however, how she managed to remember, to which Azula honestly answered with an "I don't know". Neither Luna nor Artemis were any closer to figuring that out.
Surprisingly, the little Azula told Mamoru was enough to quell his suspicions for the moment. She supposed he didn't insist much on the memories of Usagi because he was still processing the fact he liked the girl again.
"So in each of those, Senka has tried to retrieve this Shadow Crystal and failed," Azula explained the general overview of the case. "Now her searching for the crystal implies that only one person has it and that it's someone who's probably hiding amongst us."
"But then that would lead to the question of why a human would have it in the first place," Mamoru picked up another photograph. It was more specific on Senka.
"Which leads me to Sailor Hemera," Azula waved another photograph on her side. "She harnesses powers of light and day, but she's mentioned that she's an honorary guardian. It kind of alludes that perhaps she's, I don't know, of a higher rank than other guardians?" she'd been thinking that over for a while now but hadn't come up with anything concrete about it. "And then there's this mention of 'Shadow' which I'm assuming is the planet she and Senka are from. She has to know who put the crystal on Earth and why."
"Shadow's princess," Mamoru had yet again spoken so casually, like he knew it for a fact.
Azula's eyebrows knitted together. "Shadow's princess?" she repeated.
Mamoru stiffened then, now realizing what he said. Azula tilted her head, eyebrows still raised as she waited for him to explain.
"I...I may have seen Sailor Hemera in a...vision…" he explained quietly. Azula knew that whatever memory he was talking about wasn't one that he'd ever mentioned before the memory wipe. This was something entirely new. "And she talked about a...Queen of Shadow...and a Princess. I thought it was crazy but now that you say there was a memory wipe incident...I'm not so sure."
Azula looked down for a brief moment to hide her guilt. The lie she fed him kept gnawing at her mind but she couldn't bring herself to correct him."So you've seen Sailor Hemera before?"
"Yeah but it was weird because...she called me by another name. And I was wearing some...armor or something…"
Azula was now even more confused than before. Had Sailor Hemera really met Mamoru - then Endymion - so long ago? But how was that possible?
"Maybe it's this Queen or Princess that's responsible for the Shadow Crystal," Mamoru kept going without noticing Azula's pensive face. "What were their names before?"
The cafe shop's doors opened up with a great big chatter from a couple students. Azula immediately recognized them as Usagi, Minako and Makoto. She scrambled to hide everything from the table before they were spotted…
"Azula!" Minako of course had good eyesight. She hadn't been Sailor V for nothing.
"You know how to lie through your teeth?" Azula very quietly asked Mamoru before the girls joined them.
"Haven't seen you in a while," Minako said with her usual bright smile.
"Been busy…" Azula supplied and because she saw Usagi's strange, suspicious look she added, "Tutoring."
"Yeah, she gets 30s," Mamoru followed her lie quick and easily.
Azula fumed fast. "I do not get 30s!"
"You got a 30!?" this took Usagi's suspicions right out from her. Now she was smug looking because Azula had teased her oh-so-many times about her own failing grades.
"One time!" Azula exclaimed but Usagi wasn't listening.
"Is that why Meroko was tutoring you?"
"I already told you she wasn't tutoring me!" Azula shook her head and decided to switch topics before her matched the color of her hair. "You know what, moving on. How do you guys know each other?" she asked the three girls.
"We just realized we had a mutual friend in common," Makoto chuckled in her sweet natural way.
"Oh...goodie," Azula smiled. "Well, you know what, I need to get going. Mamoru's talked my ears off enough for a lifetime, so…"
"Excuse me?" went the offended teen.
Azula shot him a smirk. She wasn't done with him. "You can stay with your new girlfriend if you want. I have to go study."
Well if there was one thing she didn't mind about Mamoru half knowing the truth it was that she could begin to going back to teasing him. It was far too much fun to let go of.
Upon exiting the cafe shop, Azula she made wau for home. She looked up to meet grim skies again. It really looked like it would begin to rain at any moment. She never saw the pair of golden eyes watching her from across the street.
"My patience thins," went the girl with a menacing tone. "I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands."
That was a promise.
~ 0 ~
The next day, both Azula and Meroko were the first ones in class. The two girls sat beside each other, presumably studying when Azula slumped on her desk with a weary sigh.
Meroko looked up from her book and raised her eyebrows at the sight of her friend. "Azula, what's wrong? You look so tired."
"I am," Azula confirmed and rubbed her face. "I kept having these weird dreams." And that wasn't a lie. She now understood why Mamoru was often so broody over the day because of his own dreams. No sleep and weird dreams made for a very bad day.
"What were they about?" Meroko curiously asked.
"Um…just horrible monsters," Azula released a big sigh knowing Meroko couldn't hear what she really dreamed about. Last night Azula had heard voices in her dreams warning her she needed to wake up. Well, she sure did wake up two or three times every hour, so mission accomplished.
The school day dragged on like there was no tomorrow and it certainly did not help having Meroko constantly question Azula about her dreams. Azula was close to snapping, honestly.
"She just keeps pestering me about the dreams," she complained to Mamoru at the end of the school day. "Can't she take a hint?"
"You'd be surprised to know that's how friends act ACT," Mamoru was close to laughing. "They care about the other's well being."
Azula took her shot just like she would have if he remembered everything. "And how would you know considering you have no friends?"
"I'm gonna be the bigger person here-"
"-mhm, sure-"
"-so I'm just going to ask what the dreams were about."
Azula got serious again and explained more than she had with Meroko. "It was just a weird voice telling me to wake up. There was danger coming and everyone needed to awaken. She was coming."
"She?"
"Yeah, 'she'. I've no idea what it means except that I'm probably so deep into this Senka thing my mind is getting payback."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, it's nothing. Lots of people have weird dreams from time to time. It's no big deal, believe - Rei?" Azula had stopped walking right in the middle of the street. No longer was Azula surprised to find Rei just a block from her school. It had been happening a lot since Azula visited the shrine. Rei would just magically show up in areas where she didn't usually stop by but were typically places Azula did.
"Who's that?" asked Mamoru, curiously eyeing Rei at the end of the street.
"A...friend...I guess," Azula sighed.
"Do you know how relationships with other people work?"
Azula shot him a look. "Oh, this coming from the guy so clearly crushing on my friend but who has no idea how to go about it."
She was satisfied to see his face go suddenly red. "What!? I'm not-"
"Oh please," she snorted and turned to face him. "Let me tell you how this is going to go: you're going to ask Usagi on a date, she's gonna say no but then she's going to realize what you said and she's going to ask if it's joke. You'll say no with that usually dead serious face of yours so then she'll get all flustered but she'll say yes. You'll be flustered but you're gonna be happy - obviously - and then you're going to go on a date."
Mamoru stared at Azula for a full minute. "...have we done this before?"
Azula blinked innocently. "No."
"Then-"
"-oh just do it!" Azula started walking again, this time with the idea to greet Rei. "Rei?"
The girl in question turned and beamed at the sight of Azula. Each day that Rei saw Azula was fine was another good day. She just couldn't get the images of the vision she saw no matter how much she tried. "Azula, I thought I'd wait for you and see if you wanted to go have lunch together."
"I would like that," because by now Azula learned ignoring Rei wasn't going to drive her away. She forgot Rei was persistent too. "And you-" she looked to Mamoru, "-have something to do with Usagi, right?"
Mamoru didn't think twice before muttering a , "No, I don't." It wouldn't work on Azula.
She smiled at Rei. "This is my broody friend, Mamoru. Don't mind him he's just going through a denial phase."
Let it be said that Mamoru was not rude to strangers. He greeted Rei but then glared at Azula. "We're going to need to reevaluate this whole 'friendship' thing between us."
"That-" Azula pointed at him, "-we've already done. A lot. But you know what? She might be there so let's go." She didn't exactly give the option for him to stay back.
Rei was all for it. She thought the more people there were around Azula the better the safety. What am I even doing? She would ask herself with no answer of course. She thought it was ridiculous, honestly, what she was doing but for some reason she couldn't stay away from Azula since the rush of images invaded her mind.
~0~
"Well, she wasn't in the arcade but I'm sure she'll be around soon enough," Azula laughed as Mamoru went into glaring fit. It was far too easy to get to him. Azula went to lead up the staircase when something gold blasted her, Rei and Mamoru backwards onto the ground.
Sailor Hemera dropped in and raised a hand to catch her golden boomerang. Her eyes flickered until she found the red-haired girl groaning near the arcade entrance. "You know where the Prince is," she started walking towards Azula.
Azula was still trying to get over the fact she'd been thrown like nothing. There were a couple cuts from her fall which were trickling with blood. She looked up in time to find the blonde Sailor Scout towering over her. "What-"
"Prince Endymion - you know where he is!" Sailor Hemera pulled Azula to her feet, gripping Azula's arm enough to make the red-haired girl yelp.
"Hey, let her go!" Rei exclaimed. She and Mamoru jumped to their feet but Sailor Hemera thrust a hand at them and formed her golden sword right there and then.
"This isn't about either of you!"
Mamoru felt that familiar jab at the side of his head. He clutched his head and breathed in hard. Rei panicked with him and Azula in danger - what the hell was she going to do!?
Prince Endymion trudged up to where the invisible barrier was. He looked around for someone but since it was empty - or so he thought - he started going straight for the barrier.
"I know you're not trying to get through!" Sailor Hemera's voice stopped him in his tracks. Endymion turned sideways to find the brunette woman just a couple feet from him. She raised a hand towards him and Endymion watched as her golden sword quickly formed in her hand to be brandished directly at him. "I said I would speak to Queen Nyx about your demand and you're still trying to get through to Shadow?"
"I'm a bit impatient," Endymion retorted.
"You're a bit of a liar," Sailor Hemera mimicked his tone of voice. "You should be happy that it was me who found you and not my sister. She's not as trusting as I am."
"I demand to speak to Queen Nyx and your day is up," Endymion went straight to business.
"Queen Nyx believes you have a right to speak about the deal between our people but she is too ill to take matters up with you. She has, instead, agreed to send Princess Reign in her place."
"She's coming here?" Endymion raised an eyebrow, startled by the news.
"Guarded by my sister and my fellow Sailor comrades of course," Sailor Hemera narrowed her eyes and kept her sword still threatening him. "I suggest you not try anything against my Princess. If you do your people will cease to have a leader."
Mamoru released a groan as the pain in his head began to grow. Rei tried helping him out but she didn't know what was wrong with him.
"You know where he is! I know you do!" Sailor Hemera paid no attention to the other two as she shook Azula.
"I-I don't!" Azula tried her best to persuade but it did no good.
"Don't lie to me! Who do you think you are!?"
"Lady the question is who do you think you are?" Azula still found it in her to snap back. "You're a Sailor Scout! Aren't you supposed to fight for the innocent!?"
"This only proves you know more than you lead on," Sailor Hemera lowered her threatening weapon and made it disappear. "I'm willing to bet you know the Prince and he - at the very least - appreciates you. He'll have to talk to me if I take his little friend."
Azula's eyes widened with alarm. "Wait-"
"Hear that!?" Sailor Hemera shouted for everyone to hear. Rei stopped with Mamoru to throw Sailor Hemera a threatening look. "Prince Endymion you're not a coward the last time I remember! Come out! You and your people owe Princess Reign this!"
"Now wait a second-" Azula barely got to say before Sailor Hemera made it incredibly bright for a split minute.
"Bright Sun attack!"
Rei and Mamoru shielded their eyes with their arms. When the light finally stopped, they both saw that Sailor Hemera and Azula were gone.
Author's Note:
Yikes our poor Azula's got herself in a problem .
For the Reviews:
James Birdsong: Thanks!
Vigriff: Thanks so much! Hopefully the new chapter kept your interest too! :)