Seisui didn't know how she had managed to get herself in bed; maybe it was the desire for her mother not to ask questions. More likely, it was to avoid her father. If she locked her door, he couldn't come in. She put the comforter over her face. In her bed, no one could see her or remember her. She tried not to think about what had happened.
"Seisui..." Ana called from behind the door. "You have a...umm...visitor."
"Tell them to go away," Seisui said hoarsely.
"It's Kouken, you know."
"Tell him to go away."
"Don't you think you ought to unlock the door?"
"No."
"Seisui, what's gotten into you? You've never been like this before. Sure, depressed, but...you've always be so resilient. You never stick around in bed like this."
Seisui didn't say anything. There was a long pause; eventually, Seisui heard her door make a "clunk" sound as her sister forced open the lock.
The door opened only a crack; Kouken stepped through. Ana evidently didn't want to become involved, at least not yet, since the door closed after his entry.
"Go away," Seisui mumbled from under the disheveled sheets.
"What happened to you?" he asked, jumping on her bed.
"I thought you lived with Tokimo."
"Not anymore. We got in a fight..." he mumbled. "So I'm living here now."
"Whatever."
"Something really awful must have happened," Kouken continued, a hint of concern leaking into his nonchalant tone. "How did you end up loitering around in bed like this?"
Seisui didn't reply.
"Seisui! I'm your guardian. It's my business to know. Does this have something to do with Usako?"
"Yes..." she murmured, her voice wavering.
"Well," he said, walking on top of her back, "what happened?" he repeated, this time more forcefully.
Seisui was saved from answering him by the unceremonious slam of her bedroom door into the adjacent wall. Kouken turned around; it was Tokimo, the person whom he least wanted to see.
"What're are you doing here!" Tokimo demanded, looking at Kouken. "Trying to sabotage me and Seisui's friendship, I'll bet...! I'll strangle you, you stupid little--"
"Calm down, Tokimo!" Kouken snapped, turning toward her. "I had to live somewhere. I can't starve to death!"
"Why not?"
Kouken sighed and turned around, back toward the front of the bed.
"What happened here, huh?" Tokimo asked, looking suspiciously toward Kouken. "How did you get Seisui so upset?"
"I just got here," Kouken snapped. "I didn't come in yesterday because I thought Seisui would still be working things out with her family."
"If it wasn't you, then what was it?"
"Why don't you ask Seisui?"
"Before I say anything to Seisui, you have to leave," Tokimo demanded.
"What?" he protested. "Why?"
"Sometimes people need to be alone with their friends," she said. Kouken opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Tokimo, he thought in annoyance, had a point. He turned around and left the room, tawny tail dragging behind him.
"That got rid of him," Tokimo pronounced victoriously. "Show him for treating me like that..."
Tokimo turned toward the lump underneath the quilted covers. She walked over to the side of the bed and began nudging Seisui.
"C'mon, get out from under there!" she demanded as Seisui's body moved limply back and forth. "What are you, A quitter? A coward? Yamiko?"
"Go away."
"I'm your friend, Seisui Han'i. If you want me to go away, you're going to have to force me out. And you can't. So don't bother trying."
"I don't care."
Tokimo sighed. This was obviously going to take something a little bit more extreme. Tokimo returned to the foot of the bed, grabbed the blue comforters firmly on each end, and started pulling. Seisui put up a strong resistance, but she didn't have a chance of keeping the covers on when Tokimo was putting all of her weight into pulling them off. The blankets snapped back suddenly; Tokimo caught herself before falling over.
Seisui was still curled up, her school uniform streaked with dirt, her face red and puffy. Her face had been turned toward the ceiling; no longer hidden safely under the covers, it lingered in view for a moment before she buried it in her arms.
Tokimo returned to the side of the bed; she sat down and rested her elbows on the flannel-covered mattress. She looked at Seisui.
"C'mon, Seisui," she said encouragingly, tousling Seisui's hair. "Cheer up. If you tell me what's wrong, I might be able to help you."
"It's too late. You should just stay away from me while you can...if you don't, I might get you in trouble..."
"Nobody can get Tokimo in trouble! She always triumphs!"
"Not this time...now, it's all over..."
"It's never all over. I'll still be your friend, no matter what!"
Seisui looked up at Tokimo; tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Even if I'm purified?"
"Don't be dumb, Seisui. Why would you be purified? Nobody knows who you are. Even if they did, we'd just beat 'em down!"
"There's no way we could defeat them alone," Seisui sniffled. "It's no use. We're doomed."
"I'll never give up."
"That won't matter if you've had your will forced out of you...become like my father, and it's all my fault..."
"We came into this together! I was even a senshi before you, remember?"
"But I encouraged you to fight," Seisui said.
"That's because you were right."
"It doesn't matter whether I'm right or not. It's all over."
"Why is it all over, Seisui? We still have a chance!"
"No!" she shouted, turning her head back into the pillow. "Usako knows. She knows now! I tried to transform in front of her. I couldn't...I... "
Seisui started crying full force; Tokimo gently lifted her off of the bed and hugged her. "Don't be dumb, Seisui," she admonished her. "Even if everyone knows, we'll fight them, and win! We have the same power as Sailor Moon, remember? The power to make miracles happen. And anyway, you were Usako's friend, right?"
"That's..." Seisui was interrupted by a bout of sobs; she hated being reminded of Usako, because that made her think about what had happened. About her father, about trying to transform...about her failures...
"'That's' isn't much of an answer. Spit out the rest of the sentence."
"That's what she thought," Seisui managed, wiping her tears off on Tokimo's shirt.
"Well, as stupid and obnoxious as Usako is, do you really think she would tattle on her friend?"
"She might...if she thought she was doing what's best. I was the one that tried to kill her m-mother...she might do it...if she thought I had to be purified--to protect the royal family..."
"But Usako has the crystal now, doesn't she?"
"I guess so..." Seisui half-heartedly replied.
"Then if it was just a matter of purifying you, she could do it herself. If she handed you in, not only would you get purified, but there'd be a big public mess and a lot of humiliation. And if Usako thinks of you as a friend, I'd think she'd want to spare you the disgrace of letting the whole world know about your identity."
"But how could Usako think of me as a friend now that she knows I'm Sailor Titan?"
"This is Usako we're talking about. The same one that befriended Hotaru when she was an evil, psychotic Chaos-possessed freak. The same one that became an evil Chaos-freak herself! I would even think that she could be a little bit more understanding. Especially with the 'We're the nicest people in the world' look the royal family tries to show off."
Seisui opened her nightstand drawer and pulled out the dagger her father had given her; when she had returned, she had absentmindedly placed it there, perhaps hoping that if it were stuffed away its memory would not haunt her. Was Tokimo right? It seemed odd that even Usako might still have faith in her after this; even Hotaru, though evil, had been evil through the influence of Chaos. Seisui had acted of her own volition.
"What's the dagger for?" Tokimo asked, pulling it out of Seisui's hands and inspecting it. "It's pretty cool. I like the snake."
"My father left it to me. It's the only gift I've gotten from him since I was six years old."
Tokimo looked at the dagger in awe. "Did your father give this to you so that you could kill the queen?"
"I'm not sure," Seisui said uncertainly. "I only just found out that he once tried to, himself."
"Whoa! Really? But your dad wasn't even a Sailor Senshi. He must have been crazy to--"
Seisui looked up at Tokimo sharply; Tokimo could already see the tear droplets swimming threateningly in her eyes.
"Well, he may have been crazy, but he had the right idea." Tokimo handed the dagger back to Seisui gently; Seisui took it and looked at it with a face of despondent nostalgia.
"We both failed..."
"Sailor Senshi can get through the doors, right?" Tokimo asked.
"What doors?" Seisui asked.
"The doors of the Crystal Palace, of course."
"Yeah...but why--"
"We're going to get rid of the Queen, once and for all," Tokimo explained animatedly, clenching a fist in determination. "We'll attack the queen again--but this time, we'll all help you!"
"Are you crazy, Tokimo? The last time I tried, I was almost purified..."
"We won't fail! I'll be helping you this time, and so will Yamiko."
"Yamiko?" Seisui asked in confusion.
"Yeah," Tokimo replied. "Yamiko met your father. She's on our side now!"
"Yamiko met my father...?"
"Uh-huh. Yesterday. And once she saw how bad Purification was, she decided you were right. In fact, she felt so bad about what she did, she tried to kill herself. I saved her, though."
"I can't believe anyone else is on my side..."
"It's not unbelievable at all!" Tokimo replied stubbornly. "I think everyone would agree with you if they knew what you had been through. What happened to your father is unforgivable!"
"Maybe, but...even with the three of us, there's no way we could win. There are nine Sailor Senshi, and that's not including Sailor Pinkmoon and the Asteroids. Our cause has no hope."
"Don't be silly, Seisui! Sailor Moon beat up all those impossibly hard Chaos-babies, right?"
"I guess so..."
"And Sailor Moon's a Moon Senshi, right?"
"Well... kind of..."
"And we're Moon Senshi too, right?"
"Yes..."
"Then we're as powerful as Sailor Moon. Which means we can beat up the lot of them, no problem!"
"But Sailor Moon has the Silver Crystal," Seisui argued.
"No, she doesn't! Remember, Usako has the crystal now. Serenity can't even transform! See, it's all part of my master plan. Me and Yamiko and Kouken will keep them busy and distracted, while you head up to the Queen's room and kick-ass--Seisui-style!"
"Seisui-style?" Seisui replied skeptically. She had tried so many times to eliminate Queen Serenity and her daughter... "I know you're trying to give me hope, Tokimo...but this is just stupid. We're walking into a death trap. It's about time I paid attention to my father's words...This hell is for no mortal to oppose. Even if I am a Sailor Senshi, and not mortal, I'm still no match for the royal family."
"We aren't walking into a death trap!" Tokimo shouted. Tokimo's voice sounded unusually angry; Seisui jumped a little. While she had no reservations about insulting other people, she had always been cheerful and kind to Seisui. "It isn't stupid. If we work together, we could create a new future. A future where you wouldn't get beaten up, and a future where people could be free to think on their own. But if you just sit under the blankets and give up--give up like a loser, just like everyone else around here--then nothing will happen! I'm disappointed in you, Seisui. I thought you had more guts than this. I thought you had more determination than this! It isn't stupid..."
Seisui was silent. She almost opened her mouth a few times, thought about saying something. But the look on Tokimo face said that she'd been hurt, and Seisui felt so bad she was afraid to say anything.
"I'm sorry," she finally said, her voice weak and uncertain. "I thought I could do something, even though my father couldn't...and then I couldn't transform, and the dagger didn't work..."
"You father gave you that dagger, didn't he?"
Seisui nodded. She was still holding the dagger in one hand; the handle was sweaty. She suddenly realized she had been gripping it tightly, and the muscles in her palm felt strained. She put the dagger back on her cedar bureau and clenched her soil-streaked palms nervously together.
"I don't believe your father wanted you to give up. Even if he told you that, this dagger proves that he believed in you. Some part of him always wanted you to fight. We can do this, Seisui! If me and Yamiko distract the planetary Senshi, then maybe you can sneak off and attack Serenity. See, we could do it in the middle of the night. We'd all go in by the front door, really quiet-like, and then we'd split up. You could go upstairs and hide; then me and Yamiko would make a lot of noise downstairs. All the Senshi would go rushing to see what it was, and while they were doing that, you could sneak into the Queen's bedroom. After all, they wouldn't want the defenseless Queen to get involved in the dangerous fight, right? So you could kill the Queen while we were fighting. Then all that would be left is Usako! And we can take care of her anytime."
"But you two will be fighting the Sailor Senshi all alone...and if you're caught, you'll be purified."
"Nah, that won't be a problem," Tokimo said nonchalantly, patting Seisui on the shoulder. "If worse comes to worse, I can always teleport away again! They'll never get us."
"Are you sure?" Seisui said nervously. If Tokimo were purified, too...
"Definitely. No one will bring us down!"
"Okay," Seisui finally agreed, nodding her head. "We'll do it. But you have to be careful, Tokimo!"
"Yeah!" Tokimo shouted enthusiastically, whapping Seisui on the shoulder. "That's more like the Seisui I know!"
"Shouldn't we tell Kouken?" Seisui suggested, looking toward the door.
"Why does he need to know? All he does is hand out the goods."
"Well...he did give us our powers and everything..."
"Who cares?" Tokimo defiantly replied, folding her arms in protest. "He may have given us our powers, but he's a stupid jerk. I've decided that animals should definitely not talk. At least not furry hot dogs, anyway."
"What did you have a fight about?"
"Kouken thinks I'm stupid," she responded matter-of-factly. "He thinks I'm not good enough to be your friend."
"Kouken is very negative..." Seisui sighed, leaning on pillow propped against her iron-worked bed. "I guess you give a lot of people the wrong impression. I like you, though, Tokimo. You're real...you don't try to become something that you aren't, like everyone else does."
"That's because I'm just naturally awesome," Tokimo said with a grin.
"In any case, no matter how insensitive Kouken may be, I think it would be a bad idea not to tell him. Who knows? He might even be able to help us."
"Kouken? Be helpful? You're giving him too much credit. He just sits around and tells you to think up plans."
"He knows more about the Rainbow Millennium than we do," Seisui argued. "And he might know something else about our powers. Like why you were able to teleport."
"Or how you summoned that freakish man."
"We are alike..."
The strange, dark face appeared briefly in Seisui's mind, a ghostly wisp that disconcerted her.
"Seisui?" Tokimo said somewhat tentatively, putting a hand on the top of her head. Seisui's hair was full of grit and sand, with a few pieces of vermiculite here and there. Seisui looked upwards at Tokimo and shook her head vigorously, prompting Tokimo to remove her now dusty hand.
"Sorry...I just zoned out. But you're right. We could figure out that, too."
"I guess I should get the stupid hot-dog back..." Tokimo said begrudgingly, walking to Seisui's door and turning the doorknob. Kouken immediately poked his head through; the rest of long, slender body slid behind him through the small crack in the door. Tokimo considered shutting the door midway through his entrance but thought better of it. There was a small possibility he'd have more gadgets.
"You were eavesdropping," Tokimo said accusingly, noting his speedy entrance.
"I was not!" he said defensively. Tokimo picked him up by his tail and threw him on Seisui's bed, causing several squeals of protest.
"Tokimo!" he hissed, scowling up at her from the bed.
"Here's the plan, hot-dog," Tokimo began. "Me and Yamiko and Seisui are going to attack the Crystal Palace tomorrow. Me and Yamiko are going to distract the nine Senshi while Seisui goes in to kill Queen Serenity. Got it?"
"Sounds like a Tokimo plan. Illogical, reckless, and quickly thought up. Besides, the Queen isn't important, not to my cause, and not to Seisui's. If we kill her, there's still an heir to the throne and a holder of the crystal; which means that Diana will be reincarnated, and Serenity's regime will continue."
"I want revenge on the woman who destroyed my father," Seisui replied. "And anyway, if we kill the Queen, Usako will be more vulnerable. The royal house will be in shambles--"
"Chaos will abound!" Tokimo interrupted enthusiastically.
Kouken paused. The plan was reckless, but what Seisui said was partially true. If they could kill the Queen, there would be a small period of time when the royal family would be in total confusion--and Queen Serenity was, it was true, far more defenseless than her daughter. If they waited too long, however, the security of the palace would only be heightened, and far from being easier to kill Sailor Pinkmoon, it would become impossibly hard. It would be unlikely that the King would even let her out of the palace.
"I'm not sure I like this plan," he finally responded.
"It doesn't matter whether you like it or not!" Tokimo snapped. "We're doing it. Right, Seisui?"
Seisui paused nervously; far from disliking Tokimo's plan, she was worried about hearing Kouken's censure. She nodded anyway, however, because if they didn't attack the queen, it was unlikely she would remain unpurified; and if she was purified, she would never have another chance to redeem her father's name.
"Seisui!" Kouken reprimanded her. "I know the Queen purified your father, but--"
"This is my last chance!" Seisui protested. "If I don't kill the Queen now, I may never be able to."
"Killing Usako makes infinitely more sense! If you kill her, there's no crystal holder. If you kill her, it won't even be possible for people to be purified! Isn't that what you really want?"
"The Queen is mortal. I can kill her, and if I do, my father will finally be avenged. But Usako...it's too late. She knows who I am. She'll have her guard up, Helios will have his guard up, and before long, Usako will tell the royal family-- by then, they'll more ready than ever for an attack. Maybe if I strike now, I'll be able to do something, at least."
Kouken looked at Seisui; she held an expression of determined dignity, but her dirt-streaked complexion and puffy red eyes told the true tale of her feelings. Seisui was desperate and afraid; right now, she would listen to anything that gave her something to believe in, even a plan as desperate as this. Kouken didn't even want to tell her not to try it. He wasn't sure if this was because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, or because he was afraid of just how desperate Seisui had become.
"If you're going to do it, you're going to do it. It doesn't look like I'm going to be able stop you. But if you have to try this, you have to be careful. Tokimo, you and Yamiko need to be ready to run away at any moment. And Seisui...you can't stick around trying to kill the queen. You need to enter and leave quickly, and if you aren't able to do it fast, don't try it at all."
Seisui nodded. She had no intention of following his instructions; at this point, she was ready to kill Queen Serenity if it meant her own life.
"No problem. Me and Yamiko will be able to escape faster than you can say 'Kick your a--'"
"Yes, Tokimo, we know," Kouken replied.
By the time Hiroshi and Usako reached the palace, it was already dark. They had walked most of the way in silence; Usako hadn't felt like talking, and Hiroshi didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. There was an unspoken promise between them that the truth about Seisui would not be told. Although they both knew that Usako would never agree to purify Seisui if she were found out, it was inevitable that some other severe punishment would be put in its place. Punishing the Moon Senshi would help nothing, change nothing. The only hope for Seisui--perhaps even the Moon Senshi--was reconciliation with Usako.
As they walked toward the Crystal Palace, the ornate doors magically appeared in front of them. Usako frowned as she thought of the mildew-covered, trash-laden houses of the poor. The thought of living in the decadent palace almost made her feel uncomfortable now.
"It feels unfair, somehow," Hiroshi quietly mumbled. Usako inclined her head.
The doors opened before them and they walked into the vestibule.
"It's almost seven," Hiroshi observed, glancing at the huge, golden clock hanging on the wall. "Everyone must be having dinner."
"I'm not really hungry," Usako said indifferently. "We can get something later from the kitchen, okay?"
"Okay."
"I guess we should do our homework," she said with a sigh. "We should avoid acting in a way that might seem suspicious."
"Are you going to tell Hotaru?"
"I don't know..."
"She'd want to know. You know she won't tell anyone, Usako. And she's your best friend..."
"I know. I mean, she's trying to help...but I'm not sure I want her to. This is really a conflict between me and Seisui."
Hiroshi looked hesitantly toward her. "I know this is between you and Seisui...but...well...I'd like to help you too, Usako. I mean, I won't come between you two...I'd like to support you, though, and maybe help you find a way to help Seisui."
Usako smiled. "Of course, Hiroshi. We're more than just friends, right?"
He blushed. "Well...yeah..."
"Then we should share our problems with each other. No secrets." Usako kissed him on the cheek and Hiroshi gave her an affectionate hug in return.
"Don't talk to Seisui without me, okay, Usa?" he said worriedly. "As long as she has her locket, she's too dangerous for you to be with alone."
"Say, Hiroshi..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you think Seisui would really do it?" She looked up the grandiose staircase. "Do you think she'd really try to kill me?"
Hiroshi rubbed her back comfortingly as Usako laid her head on his shoulder.
"I don't know. Seisui...probably not. She might come close, but I don't think she really would. She's too scared, too alone...but Sailor Titan...It's almost like she becomes a different person."
"They're both the same person, Helios. Seisui inherited her way of thinking from her father. As Sailor Titan or Seisui, why should she hesitate?" a voice rejoined.
"Who's there?" Hiroshi shouted, stepping away from Usako. "Who's been listening?"
Haruko stepped from behind the stairwell; Her blazing, fuchsia hair drew their attention as she came into view. The other three girls followed. It was an easy enough place to eavesdrop. The stairwell was wide, so they could clump together in the very back. It didn’t help that the stairs were set back from the wall; no one was apt to look in on either side.
"You're going tell Mama, aren't you?" Usako asked them angrily. "You're supposed to be my Senshi, and yet you were eavesdropping on me to find out the truth about Seisui."
"We were," Akiko admitted. "But we weren't planning on telling the Queen. We mean to help you, Lady, not turn you in. We had some important information we were going to tell you. It may not be so useful, now."
"We were gonna tell you right away," Fuyuko explained. "But it looked like you and Hiroshi were talking about something juicy, so we decided to listen in."
Natsuko stepped on Fuyuko's foot, eliciting a cringe from their sprightly, loud-mouthed member. Hiroshi looked very disapprovingly toward them, but said nothing.
"If it's about Sailor Titan being Seisui, it's obviously irrelevant now, so there's no point in telling me," Usako said impatiently.
"You still feel sympathy for Seisui, don't you?" Haruko asked.
"Yes. Seisui has been through a lot."
"Because her father was demoted, correct?" she prompted.
Usako paused; she looked toward Hiroshi, uncertain as to if she should let them know the truth. Hiroshi nodded. Her own Sailor Team should be trusted with something this important.
"No," Usako responded.
"If it wasn't because of that, what was it?" Natsuko asked skeptically, raising a green eyebrow.
"Seisui's father was purified," Usako explained. "I know that doesn't sound like a punishment, but...it really does terrible things to people. Removing someone's negative emotions destroys their motivation; not only that, but because they feel contempt for no one, they don't feel true, discriminating love for anyone, either. Seisui's father was purified, so that he would love everyone and feel kindness; but in doing so, the special fondness he felt for Seisui and her family is gone. It's hard to explain, but...because Han'i loves everyone equally, his love for Seisui no longer means anything."
"You mean that Councilor Han'i no longer loves Seisui?" Akiko asked skeptically. "Isn't that the opposite of what purification does?"
"No, you misunderstand me. I mean that he loves Seisui as much as anyone else, as much as a person on the street, as much as the Queen who purified him. Because his love for Seisui is not special, it doesn't mean anything to her--to anyone."
Haruko paused. Purification, by these words, did seem immoral. It was hard to say how accurate Usako perception of it was, however; Seisui might employ any kind of trickery for her own gain, including several well-rehearsed lies to gain Usako's sympathy. Regardless, even a punishment as harsh as the one Usako had described might be understandable, under the circumstances. Since Usako did not know the reasoning behind the punishment, however, it was natural for her to believe it unfair.
"Whether what you say about Purification is true or not remains to be seen. It is entirely possible that Seisui could be deceiving you, possibly with her father's cooperation. Besides, Seisui's circumstances are not what you think they are. As punishment for being slanderous, it is understandable that you would think purification--as you have come to view it--or even demotion might be too harsh. After all, it is part of the Councilor's job to scrutinize the queen; as out of line as his criticism was, it was a harsh punishment. But the reason why Councilor Han'i was punished has nothing to do with his criticism," Haruko explained.
"Then what was it?" Usako asked defensively.
"Usako...Councilor Han'i did a lot more than criticize your mother," Haruko replied. "He tried to kill her."
"That couldn't be true," Hiroshi said. "How couldn't we know about something that important? And even if it were kept from us for some reason, how on earth would you have found out?"
"The only reason we even know is because we searched through the records in the control room--without permission," Natsuko said.
"But why would Papa keep something like that a secret?"
"He says it's because he didn't want you to lose your confidence in your abilities. Your mother, as I understand it, was in the hospital for upwards of a month with severe wounds. Councilor Han'i snuck into her room and stabbed her with a dagger; he barely missed her heart. Your father told us that if you knew your mother was almost killed by a mortal man that you would lose confidence in your own powers as a Sailor Senshi, because yours is the same power as hers."
"Really, I think it's because he didn't want to make your mother and himself look vulnerable," Fuyuko cut in.
"Does Seisui know this?" Usako asked, hopeful that she, like Usako, may have been under the mistaken impression that her father's punishment had been a gross injustice.
"It's hard to say," Haruko sighed. "But judging from how close Sailor Titan's attack mirrored Han'i's, it would make sense if she did."
"And the dagger..." Usako mumbled in disappointment, remembering the blade Seisui had pulled from her pocket.
"But if it's true that Councilor Han'i's punishment fit his crime, Haruko," Hiroshi said guardedly, "Why would Seisui still seek the Queen's death so vehemently?"
"Because Seisui is petty," Akiko said bluntly. "Why does she need more motive than that? Her father was destroyed; to her, that's the only thing that matters. I'm sure it means nothing to her that his crime was equally malignant, or that, under the circumstances, the queen may have had no other choice but to punish him."
"Seisui isn't petty!" Usako shouted, stepping angrily toward Akiko. "It's easy for you to say her crime wasn't justified. You're not the one that's had to live with a father who's nothing but an empty ghost!"
"It's just as easy for you to say that her crimes were justified! You didn't lose anything from Councilor Han'i's attempt. By the time you returned to Crystal Tokyo, your mother was fine. But if Queen Serenity had died that day, you wouldn't sympathize with Seisui so easily. You'd be ready to banish her for trying to repeat her father's crimes!"
"You must think your mother is invulnerable if you don't see the danger involved with letting Seisui roam free!" Haruko added. "And Usako, if you continue to associate with her, you'll be killed yourself! You criticize our lack of obedience, but if you keep putting yourself at risk this way, it's our job as your guardians to interfere and save your life!"
"That's right, isn't it?" Usako said in resignation. "A guardian's job is not to respect my leadership. It's to look after me like I'm a child. Very well, then. Seisui will be found out, and punished, and my mother's well-intentioned, horribly flawed empire will continue!"
"Why do you still take Seisui's side, even after you know the truth about her, and about her father? How can you see Seisui as the victim when your own mother was nearly killed? Do you think that Serenity is invincible to any harm, some sort of untouchable paragon?" Fuyuko asked.
"It's because I know she isn't a paragon that I'm taking Seisui's side! My mother means well...I know that, but...how can I ignore the vacant look in Seisui's father's eyes? The rotting houses of the poor? I know it's wrong for Seisui to want to kill the queen, but maybe I want to believe that it's okay to be wrong about some things. I want to believe that we don't have to be perfect people." Usako shook her head, frustrated, and looked toward Fuyuko. "Everything associated with the palace is covered in this thick blanket of righteousness. Seisui showed me that there is wrong--even amongst the Royal Family--and it's because of the wrong Seisui saw that her own bitterness was cultivated. If Seisui's father had lived in a world where the Queen wasn't thought of as some kind of untouchable paragon, a place where questioning her was normal and not rebellious and evil, maybe things would have turned out differently."
"Are you saying the Queen is responsible for her own brush with death?" Fuyuko queried.
Usako didn't reply; she looked down at the shining marble floor dejectedly. She wanted to believe in Seisui, but her loyalty to her mother still tugged at the back of her mind. Now that she knew the truth, what Seisui had done was not only wrong, but unjustified. Despite that, the ramshackle homes haunted her, and so did Seisui's father. There was no way that Seisui, as a young child, could have understood anything but the absence of a beloved father. And there was no way she could associate anything but hatred with the perpetrator of that crime. Usako loved her mother, but the longer her rule continued in the same way, the more Seisuis and Councilor Han'is there would be. If Usako handed Seisui over to her family--to be purified, maybe even banished--it would be too much of a punishment. What she had put up with already was enough to compensate for her crimes.
"Maybe," Usako finally replied. Her mind was full of maybes. "I know Mama isn't intentionally trying to hurt anyone, but her desire to make everything perfect may be too much to ask. Some people see things about the way we live that need to be improved--no matter how much we try to make things perfect. To ask those people to keep to themselves, to hold back the desire to create change...that's wrong. Please...don't expose Seisui. Even if she tries to kill me...even if she tried to kill my mother...she taught me so much. Even though Seisui hated me and tried to kill me, she taught me to love myself, because she made me realize my mother was not perfect. That that meant didn't have to be perfect."
The Sailor Quartet looked skeptically at each other.
"Seisui is a huge danger to you," Haruko told her. "And you're always running off to talk to her alone. If you want us to even consider keeping your secret, you had better stick to us more often from now on."
"But if you're there, Seisui won't--"
"We can hide in the shadows. Besides, shouldn't you be keeping Diana with you? Whatever happened to her?"
"I didn't want her to get involved...Diana is so innocent and trusting. I was afraid she would tell her mother, and end up exposing Seisui..."
"Well, if you kept her with you, it would be a lot easier to keep an eye on you," Natsuko complained.
"Usako needs some space, you know," Hiroshi snappishly interjected. "She doesn't always want someone to keep an eye on her."
"We understand that," Haruko responded. "But in this case, it just isn't practical. Even her mother didn't defeat Queen Beryl alone."
"Seisui isn't Queen Beryl..." Usako murmured, looking at the floor.
The Amazons looked at each other hesitantly; there was probably nothing they could say to console her.
"Just tell us the next time you're involved with Seisui," Natsuko told her. "Let us do our jobs, at least. If you don't, we'll have to tell the Queen--for your own safety."
"Yes..." Usako dolefully replied. "I understand."
"Tokimo! Seisui!" Yamiko shouted, running after them as they walked toward Goban high school. Tokimo was assuming her usual, plucky walk, while Seisui walked along with an unassuming gait. They both turned around as she called them; Tokimo put her hands on her hips and waited expectantly for her to catch up.
"Wake up a little late today?" Tokimo said accusingly as Yamiko struggled to catch her breath.
"I was sick yesterday," Yamiko snapped. "Aren't I entitled to a little extra sleep?"
"No! Today is important. We don't have time to worry about your health."
"Why? Is something going on?"
"We're going to kill the Queen today," Seisui calmly replied. "The three of us."
"What?" Yamiko shouted, looking at Tokimo in disbelief. "How are we going to manage that?"
"We're going to attack in the middle of the night. We'll meet at the front of the palace. Me and you will distract the planetary Senshi while Seisui does the deed. Then, while the castle is in turmoil after her death, we can get Usako, too! It's perfect."
"We're going to be distracting the Planetary Senshi...?" said Yamiko skeptically, remembering her dangerous brush with Sailor Saturn. "We can't even take on one Planetary Senshi, let alone nine..."
"We don't have to stick around." Tokimo replied, "We can just hit and run. They'll be chasing us long enough to give Seisui a chance."
"Did you run this by Kouken?"
"Kouken is at my house," Seisui explained. "He won't get involved."
"What will happen if we get caught, though?"
"I can teleport!" Tokimo assured her. "I did it once before, so I can do it again. We'll zap outta there if we get in trouble."
Yamiko looked toward the ground. She should have trusted her better instincts and stayed out of this.
"Everyone is equally wonderful."
No...after that, even Yamiko couldn't keep quiet. "You're sure?" she asked. Despite her determination, fear saturated her heart.
Tokimo nodded confidently. "I'm sure! Everything will be fine."
Yamiko look reluctantly toward Seisui. Seisui's face was sullen and ashen; her eyes seemed a little glazed. She walked beside Tokimo as if in a dream, trying to remember where she was going. How many times had Yamiko walked down an endless pavement with the same vacancy in her eyes?
"You know...Seisui..."
"Yes?" she responded, staring down at the pavement.
"I'm sorry I fought against you all those times. If I had known about your father, things would have been different."
"There wasn't any way for you to know what had happened to my father. There wasn't any way for anyone to know, except for me."
"I wish you had told me," Yamiko replied. "I lost family members too. I would have understood."
"Under the circumstances, it was unsafe to tell anyone who I was, and you had already left before we had a chance to come to trust each other. Besides, I don't know if you would have believed me. You had no reason to believe that the Queen could have done anything wrong."
Yamiko looked away. She probably wouldn't have taken Seisui's word for it; but then, if she had seen her father sooner, she would have understood.
"Well, it doesn't matter now, anyway," Tokimo reminded them. "All that's left is to end this. And when we do, we can all go out and get ice cream and snacks, and we can buy everyone a stuffed animal--each one can be the same color as their fuku! And we can have a sleepover! No boys! Kouken won't be invited, either."
Yamiko sighed. An end was what she needed; what she dreamed of. A end to the ceaseless pain--the pain, at least, of being a Moon Senshi.
"Midnight, in front of the palace, huh?" Fubuki said, amused. They were whispering in front of her, oblivious to her presence behind them. It was just as well that she was hearing this, and not someone else; these girls, evidently, had no knack for secrecy.
"Shit, you're really going through with this?" Jirou asked in annoyance, shoving his hands roughly in his pockets.
"Of course. Once I've decided something, I never change my mind. If I kill the Queen, I can do all sorts of things. I'll destroy that fucking church permanently. I'll let everyone know what a whore all the lamers in the world adore. I'll piss off my mom. Hell, I might even end up pushing through a welfare program."
"It's not likely."
"More than before. Anyway, I can't lose anything."
"Except for your life," Jirou caustically reminded her.
"My life?" Fubuki mused. "Who cares? If I ended my life, I'd never have to listen to her again."
EPISODE SEVEN: FIN
Softly mumbling, "Don’t cry," to myself,
I cry
under the distant moon rising on the horizon
Even if I wish on that Moon, my wish won't be realized, will it?
I’m not at fault, right? It’s everyone else's fault, right?
If
you think so too, if you’ll believe in me,
I’ll be so happy,
because I want only that happiness, because I absolutely hate this
destiny
Lulululu...
Naicha dame yo to jibun ni sotto tsubuyaite
Chiheisen ni noboru
tooi tsuki no shita ni naiteru no
Sono o-tsuki-sama ni negattemo nozomi ga kanaenai ne
Watashi ga waruku nai deshou ne hoka no hito no sei na no ne
Anata
mo sou omoeba watashi ni shinjite kureba
Totemo ureshiku naru sono
shiawase dake hoshii kara kono unmei zettai iya kara
Lulululu...
NEXT EPISODE
Usako: Now aware of the true path, I must convince my mother before it's too late. But will she listen when the voices of judgement ring in her ears?
Seisui: Now is the time for my moment of glory. Blood will spill through the halls, and freedom will ring in my ears. The black guardian will come forth, and victory will be mine.
Yamiko: Facing the inevitable becomes the most difficult part of the journey. I cannot be resigned to the possible repercussions of my own decisions. But without making those decisions, what remains of the life I have saved?
Tokimo: I am Seisui's only friend. I will never, ever leave her behind! But it's too late, now...
Hotaru: Next time, on MOON SENSHI: UNMEI NO KODOMO--
"Apocalypse"
Seisui: Evil returns to those who create it.
