"Usako," Hiroshi murmured, peeking his face into her room. The early morning light streamed through her windows, casting long shadows on the glittering floors. "You said you had something you wanted to discuss?"
"Yes," Usako replied. "Yesterday, this new communicator appeared when that Moon Senshi called me. Remember?" Usako held up a pink and silver watch, exactly like Mayumi Hatsuhara's, barring the different color scheme.
"Of course I remember. It was pretty odd, wasn't it?" He replied, making his way inside her room and sitting down. She stood by her mirror; she looked distant and contemplative. Hiroshi frowned. Though he prayed diligently on Elysion, uniting Usako and Seisui as friends was far beyond his power.
"Well, when I de-transformed, that wasn't the only strange thing that happened. Look at this." Usako fumbled through her school uniform's pockets until she pulled out her transformation brooch. Hiroshi's eyes widened in surprise; unlike the brilliantly shining crystal star that Usako usually used to transform into Sailor Star Pinkmoon, this brooch was a sparkling pink circle. In the center was a silver crescent moon, and surrounding the brooch were four circular jewels; one pink, one silver, one red and one gold. "It looks familiar, but I can't quite place it...I think I remember learning about it. Wasn't it one of Mama's?"
Hiroshi paused. "Sailor Moon used a brooch like this, during the Silver Millennium. But the coloring was different. Hers was gold, not pink, and the stones around it represented the four guardians. The four stones on this brooch...well, two of them are consistent with the rest of the brooch's colors, pink and silver. The other two...well, I'm not sure. Red used to be on Sailor Moon's outfit during the Silver Millennium...red is also one of Earth's colors. Gold is another Earth color--it's the color of Endymion's crystal. So maybe that's what the other two represent. More importantly, though...this is the same design as the Moon Senshi's brooch."
"The Moon Senshi? But why would I have a brooch like the Moon Senshi have?"
He frowned. Good question. "I don't know. But the most logical explanation I can think of is that when Mayumi used her communicator, it sparked some kind of inner recognition of your sailor crystal as belonging to a moon. Then this brooch was reborn."
"I'm not sure I understand...."
"Usako, when Sailor Uranus and Neptune realized they were Sailor Senshi back in the 20th century, they were able to summon their pens and transform. Luna didn't have to intervene and tell them their destiny. What this suggests is that when Mayumi communicated with your via her watch, it sparked a recognition--that you were a Moon Senshi. That recognition could have been an automatic reaction on the part of your sailor crystal, or it could have been that you recognized it yourself on some subconscious level. Regardless, this brooch probably means that your Senshi power is now less like your Mother's than ever. It would mean that you're a Sailor Senshi that only the Moon Senshi's memories have a record of, who existed before the Silver Millenium--Sailor Luna."
"Sailor Luna?" Usako's eyes were clouded in confusion.
"Have you tried transforming?" Hiroshi asked.
"Not yet," she replied. "I wanted your advice first."
"Is your crystal still the same?"
Usako nodded. "Yes. It's still the Pink Crystal."
"That isn't so surprising," he mused. "You changed the Silver Crystal to the Pink Crystal because you found your own inner power and confidence, but your Star Senshi transformation came about because of your desire to unite with the other planetary Senshi. Now that you're independent and lead a team separate from Sailor Moon's, I'm sure your power as a Star Senshi weakened. Power that comes from uniting with the planets isn't going to hold much strength now that you no longer work with them. But if you're a Moon Senshi, your power works differently. According to what we've learned about them so far, their power is strong as long as they aren't in discord with their planet, priest, and fellow moons. Since your bond with your father, Elysion and I is strong, you should be too, as long as you're confident. And even though the Moon Senshi's power is old, we know from experience that it isn't weak."
"Does that mean that I'm Sailor Luna now, instead of Sailor Pinkmoon?"
"You'll know when you try to transform."
Usako nodded. "Luna prism power, make up!"
Tsuki ni michibikarete doko ni tadoritsuku to mada kangaete
iru
Yasashige na lullaby kiite kako wo sukoshi dake omou
Machigai
mo hiai mo ippai dakedo anata ga iru kara
Koukai-shinai
Pink-iro no tsuki no shita ni iru kedo
Motto tsuyoi nagusame ga
iru no
Tatoe ayamachi dake shitemo
I love you tte itte ne
Though I hold a mysterious destiny,
I'm still wondering to
where I will struggle on,
being led by the moon
Listening to a gentle lullaby, I think just a little of the
past
It's full of mistakes and sorrow, but since
You are here,
I won't regret it
Though I'm under the pink moon,
I need an even stronger
comfort
Even if I make only mistakes,
Say, "I love you,"
okay?
Moon Senshi: Unmei no Kodomo
Episode Fourteen:
"The Brightly Shrouded Threshold"
"Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, we can just get a ramen delivery or something. I might be rich, but I still like ramen," Kane told Yamiko. She was rilfling through the cookbooks that sat neatly shelved by the kitchen. It was an impressive collection; there were several shelves of books, and they covered every style of cooking from Japanese to Mexican. "You really don't have to cook."
"Don't tell her that!" Sayoko warned him, jabbing him in the stomach. "We want her to cook. Yamiko cooks well. Don't listen to him, Yami!"
"It's okay, Kane," she said. "I need something to distract me after all I went through tonight. Now come on. What's your favorite dish?"
"Spani--er, Spanish rice," He told her."Or anything with tomatoes, really, especially Mexican food."
"Hm, Mexican food," Yamiko said thoughtfully. "That's interesting. Where did you aquire a taste for Mexican food?"
He smiled. "I like spicy foods," he explained.
"Well, I like to try making anything. Spanish rice is Mexican, huh? That's kind of funny," Yamiko remarked, pulling out a thin volume marked 'Tomates, Chili and Corn: The Food of Mexico' and looking through the index. "Here it is. Looks pretty simple."
"So, Mr. Amano," Sayoko said devilishly, holding a fist toward Kane as though she held a microphone. "Is it true that you and Yamiko had a romantic rendezvous after she gallantly saved you from an attacking youma?"
"No, Sayoko," Kane replied with a grin. "Much to your disappointment, me and Yamiko are currently just friends."
"I see. But you say 'currently'. Do you have hopes that your friendship might develop into something much deeper?"
"I don't believe that is any of your business, Miss Sayoko," Kane tactfully replied.
"Sayoko, leave it alone before I throw one of these peppers at you." Yamiko brandished a large green bell pepper with apparent enthusiasm.
"So Kane," Sayoko said nervously, changing the subject, "you like movies, right? Let's watch a movie. I know, this one looks good." Sayoko pulled out her secret weapon with glee; 'Feverish Nights'. Featuring two hours of metaphorically touching romance and only a little less of the literal type, this tape was guaranteed to spring-board any romance. She'd just stealthily sneak out halfway through....
"Sayoko, the fact that you want to watch this movie with your sister disturbs me in a way that no words can express." He looked at the tape with skepticism. "What is that movie rated, anyway?"
"Only R," she said with confidence; then added in a murmur, "barely."
"Somehow, Sayoko, I don't think that forcing your sister to watch a movie that borders on erotica is going to encourage her to go out with me. In fact, I would venture the opinion it will only make her extremely uncomfortable. If it has to be romance, at least make it something a little more tasteful."
"Sayoko, please. Let's watch something happy to take my mind off things," Yamiko said, throwing two cans of tomatoes in her pot.
"How about a Disney movie? Those are cheerful and romantic," Sayoko said hopefully.
"Disney?" Kane asked in confusion.
"Yeah, you know...those old kid's cel movies from way back when. Yamiko likes Beauty and the Beast, don't you, Yamiko?" Sayoko said with a grin.
"Please. Don't embarrass me," She scowled, adding the peppers.
"That sounds like fun. I'd like to see what Yamiko likes," Kane said.
"Oh, please don't," Yamiko pleaded. "It's embarrassing."
"It sounds cute," he insisted. "Let's do it after dinner."
"I am not watching a Disney movie," Yamiko said stubbornly. "You two can while I eat all of this food I'm making."
"Oh, come on Yamiko," Sayoko pouted. "Pleeeeeease?"
"Pleeease?" Kane chimed in enthusiastically.
"Serenity!" Yamiko cursed. "We might as well, since you two are such children anyway!"
Kane and Sayoko grinned at each other broadly and clapped their hands together in victory. Though Yamiko hid it, Sayoko knew she was having a good time. And that meant that Yamiko might finally be making a friend.
"Seisui!" Tokimo shouted in enthusiasm, waving her hands violently. Seisui was quite a ways off, but Tokimo knew her face anywhere.
"Hello," Seisui replied as she caught up, looking wearily toward Tokimo. "You're in a good mood."
"Of course," Tokimo grinned, making a victory sign. "I could take down a youma with my pinkie today!"
Seisui smiled weakly. "It wouldn't be surprised if you could. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't already."
"But you look a little under the weather," Tokimo continued, dropping her hand. "Are you okay? Do you need a dose of fool-proof, guaranteed Tokimo energy?"
"No, I just didn't sleep well last night. Yesterday was kind of a long day, and I had a lot of homework."
"Oh..." Tokimo remembered yesterday and what The Crimson Eagle had told her. "Well...I could help you with your homework, and then it would go by faster!"
"The time would go by faster," Kouken remarked from Tokimo's backpack, "But not the homework."
"It's okay Tokimo," Seisui said reassuringly. "It probably just seemed longer because I hadn't gotten that much sleep." Seisui weaved her fingers together in an offhand motion, bringing her arms in front of her. She smiled innocently.
Tokimo glanced downward at the motion and noticed a row of skin-toned strips taped around her finger joint. Band-aids. "Oh wow. Did you get hurt, Seisui?" She asked, grabbing Seisui's right hand and looking downward in concern. Seisui drew her hand back, alarmed.
"I fell," she said, putting her hand in her pocket. "It still kind of stings."
"Oh," Tokimo replied, frowning, then quickly changing her expression to a rather unconvincing smile. "Well, at least I have good news! My mom baked cookies last night, and she made enough for all of us. Even The Grumpy Eagle! We can share them all at lunch."
"Why did she make so many?" Seisui asked. "We don't usually eat lunch together."
"Today we do," Kouken announced authoritatively. "We need to confront Erik about being The Crimson Eagle. Plus, we heard another news story last night."
"You mean--"
"Yup," Tokimo said, nodding. "There was another youma attack."
"What happened?" Seisui asked, "Who was there?"
"Well," Kouken replied, "We'll ask Yamiko this afternoon."
Fubuki frowned as a rapid, highly obnoxious bleeping sound emanated from her pocket. She sighed and pretended to ignore it, waited a minute, then got pissed off and angrily pulled her communicator from her pocket, flipping open the green and black face.
"What the fuck do you want!" She shouted into her communicator. Tokimo's stunned face looked up blankly from the watch's A/V screen.
"Um," she said dumbly, "We were wondering if you could meet us today at lunch. To talk about the youma and stuff."
"Oh, fuck," she said with a sigh. "Look, I'm not in the Sailor Senshi club, okay? You can have your little picnic without me."
"But you were the only one there when the youma attacked the church," Tokimo pleaded. "And I have cookies."
"Fucking Serenity! Do you honestly think that cookies are going to persuade me?"
Tokimo paused, sizing up an appropriate response. "They're really good cookies," she said earnestly.
"What's going on?" Jirou asked. Fubuki was making her way half-assedly toward school; as he approached her on his own trek to government-regulated hell, he noticed her loudly shouting into what he presumed was her communicator. "You aren't planning some kind of insane Senshi thing again, are you?"
Fubuki glared at him. "And what if I was?"
"Serenity! Isn't what you've done already bad enough?"
"I'm coming!" Fubuki shouted authoratively into the communicator. "Even though your Senshi picnic is about the fucking stupidest thing I've heard of. So it better be damn good." With that, she closed Tokimo's A/V channel. Stupid picnic.
"Why the fuck are you getting involved with them again?" Jirou asked.
"Because I'm sick of you bossing me around," Fubuki snapped. "Why the hell shouldn't I get involved with them?"
Jirou rolled his eyes. "Fubuki, it's dangerous. You could get killed. You could have gotten arrested. I'm surprised you haven't already."
"Not anymore," Fubuki said with a wicked grin. "I saved those dumbasses at the church. I saved them, and not only that, I managed to show my mom that she can't give me shit anymore."
"So, was your plan to make your mom go ape-shit insane successful, then? Is she cowering in a corner, murmuring to herself?"
"Damn straight," Fubuki said. She watched a beetle slowly crawl across the glittering sidewalk; euphoric and celebratory at her recent victory, she squished it into the ground-up crystal and managed to get a brief glimpse of it's crushed remains before walking on toward school. "I'm free! I'm disgusted at myself for taking this long to think of this."
"I can't believe that you're so happy about this," Jirou replied irritably, running a finger along the fence that lined the street to school. "I mean, I would be if I were you, but you're so inconsistent about your mom. Even though you say you hate her, you're always defending her."
"I'm not always defending her!" Fubuki replied angrily, turning toward Jirou. "But it's nobody's business but my own what kind of person my mother is, and whether or not I or anyone else should hate her! That includes you, Jirou!"
"Well, it shouldn't!" he replied angrily, dropping his hand from the wall-like fence and stuffing it in his pocket. "Fucking Serenity, I'm your boyfriend! I'm not 'anyone else', and it is my business whether or not you should hate her. And if I am anyone else--" He dropped off, his face seething with anger.
"Well? Finish your goddammed sentence!" Fubuki challenged him, turning around and looking at his face. "If you're so fucking important, I should listen to your sage advice!"
"If I am anyone else, then why the hell am I your boyfriend?" He shouted, heedless of the huge scene they were causing.
They faced off for a moment, so-called lovers staring at each other like they were about to pull out pistols and face off in a duel. "Fubuki," Jirou continued, more quietly this time. "If your mother is a bitch, if you don't care that she's a psychological vegetable, then fine. I certainly don't care. But you don't act like you don't care! Half the time you're defending her!"
"Yeah, well, even if I am inconsistent, I'm not the only one. The last time we talked, you swore she was going to come out of her senses!"
"She probably will! But that's not the subject at hand. The subject at hand is your inconsistency. It's that I can't believe you were willing to do this to the same bitch who you defend every time I insult her! You need to hurry up and decide what you think before she really does go permanently insane!"
"I hope she does," Fubuki replied. "I promise on my grave, Jirou...I really do hate her. Ever since dad died. After what happened then, I'll never forgive that bitch."
"Then why are you always defending her? Why are you so happy about beating her but angry when other people insult her?"
"I already told you, goddammit! It's nobody's business but my own." She paused. "Besides...she used to be okay. Purely because of that, I at least want other people to shut up."
"But why is it any worse if they insult her than if you do?" Jirou asked in exasperation.
"Because it's bad enough if I have to hate her," Fubuki said in annoyance. "I don't want other people to, too!"
"And yet you would be just as angry if someone defended her!"
"She's still a bitch, and she doesn't deserve to be defended, either."
"Then what the hell do you want me to do?" Jirou asked, raising his hands in exasperation.
"Forget about her," Fubuki said darkly. "Bury her, the same way she's buried herself in that room. Never mention her again."
"That's almost more hateful than insulting her," Jirou responded dryly.
"Where's mama, Michito?" her eyes looked pleadingly up at her nana.
"She's at work, Fubuki. She can't see you right now."
"She's done just as bad to me."
"So will you come?" Tokimo asked Yamiko, her eyes wide and pleading. "Cookies?"
"I don't know," Yamiko curtly replied. "Are you going to try and make me kill anyone?"
Tokimo paused and shook her head with a frown. "No. It looks like even Seisui has decided to hold off on that. We just want to know about the youma, and what's been going on with each other lately. Like that weird guy who showed up last night, for example. We want to know who he is."
"Weird guy?" Yamiko asked in confusion.
"Yeah," Tokimo continued, "something about a guy that shot an arrow at a civilian."
"Eros..." Yamiko mumbled, half to herself. "I think Erik and Ikkoku know something about him."
Tokimo turned toward Erik, who seemed half-absorbed in a book on astrology.
"Erik!" She said authoritatively, slamming a fist on his desk. Erik looked over his astrology book with a decidedly blasé expression.
"Yes, Tokimo?" he asked, putting the volume down.
"Today! Lunch break! Meeting! Senshi!"
"Talk in! Complete sentences! In front of! Your English teacher!" he replied. "And keep it down while you're at it," he added in a quieter tone.
"Whatever," Tokimo said. "In any case, can we meet at lunch? We want to discuss the recent string of youma attacks. The ones I keep missing out on," she added bitterly, crossing her arms. "You should ring me up next time or something, so I don't miss out on the action. How come only Knights get a nifty danger sense?"
"Because it's our duty to protect Sailor Senshi," was his disinterested response. "I suppose you'll never give me peace unless I go, Tokimo, so I will. And I suppose it would be helpful for you to know some of what went on last night."
"Yamiko says you know about that guy that showed up last night. Yamiko mumbled his name...something with an 'E'."
"Eros. Yeah, I know a little about him. But I wasn't born in the same area of the Solar System, so I didn't know him that well," Erik explained. "And there aren't any other Moon Senshi around here from that area, either, let alone senshi that remember that much of their past life."
"Why, where is he from? Didn't he ever travel?"
"I'll explain more at lunch. For now, go sit down."
"Yeah, yeah," Tokimo replied, sighing as she made her way to her seat.
Kazeko made her way down the hallways as unobtrusively as she possibly could; a difficult feat, given her bright red hair and disproportionately tall height. She glanced nervously back and forth; as soon as she glanced at a passing stranger, they quickly averted their obviously gawking eyes.
"Kazeko!" a voice whispered behind her. Kazeko shuddered in violent fear as she felt a hand tugging somewhat persistently on her sleeve. She paused for a moment, recovering from the initial shock and remembering the safety of her surroundings. Those people, those places, were long ago and far away now. Nothing she found here could harm her. At least, Dannu willing, she hoped not.
Kazeko turned around nervously. It was Seisui, looking up at her and clearly on edge. Once she could have known if Seisui was anywhere in the vicinity, thanks to Seisui's bizarre guardian spirit...now, she had been able to sneak up on her. "Y-yes?" she stammered in response.
"There's...some kind of meeting today. Tokimo and Kouken set it up," she continued. Kazeko backed away; a meeting with Kouken and Tokimo was something she was decidedly not ready for. "Wait!" Seisui continued, tightening her grip on Kazeko's sleeve. "I know you're still probably not comfortable with all of this, but..." Seisui paused and turned her face toward the floor; her hand, however, was still tightly clenched onto Kazeko's uniform. Kazeko forced herself to relax; what was Seisui really trying to say? Through her sleeve, she could feel Seisui's sore fingers, throbbing in pain from...
"...But I think it would be good for you to come," she continued. Kazeko half-listened and slided halfway into meditation. "You wouldn't have to say anything, and if anyone tried to pressure you into telling them more about yourself than you're comfortable with, you could always leave..."
Kazeko held back a gasp, waking suddenly from contemplative state. Throbbing in pain. She glanced at Seisui's fingers; her finger joints were covered in bandages. It was some kind of hit. Had something hit her? "Are you okay?" she asked, gingerly taking Seisui's wrist and looking at her fingers. "It looks like you hurt yourself."
Seisui jerked her fingers back violently, her more-or-less calm demeanor shattering abruptly. "I fell. Not a big deal," She said nervously. "But will you come? You can leave if they push for more than you want to tell them."
"I'll go," Kazeko replied in resignation, frowning thoughtfully. "But I may not stay long."
Seisui nodded. "I understand."
"Fucking Serenity. They're here, too?" Fubuki cursed, motioning toward Usako and Hiroshi.
"It may be easy to forget this, given her nigh-constant exposure to the public," Usako retorted, barely concealing her anger, "But I'll politely remind you that that is my Mother whose name you are using as an expletive."
"So what? I'm often pretty close to using my own mother's name as a curse-word," Fubuki replied.
"No fighting!" Tokimo shouted authoritatively, making a "time-out" motion with her hands and standing decisively between them. "We're not here to hang out because we're friends. This is strictly senshi business! You can fight after the meeting is over."
"Not worth it," Fubuki mumbled, spitting onto the ground beside her. She grinned in satisfaction as Hiroshi expressed his displeasure with a grimace.
"Well, are we all here?" Yamiko asked, glancing around at the assembled Moon Senshi, most of whom were sitting down as if resigned to an undesirable fate. "It looks that way to me. Shall we get this whole business over with?"
"We can't start yet," Kouken said with a sigh. "Erik and the hawk aren't here yet."
Ikkoku swooped down beside Kouken, primming her feathers delicately. "I'm a falcon," She said quietly, hoping to minimize on the attention they were already likely to attract. "And my name is Ikkoku."
"Whatever," he responded.
"You know...falcons eat rodents," Ikkoku replied devilishly.
"I'm not a rodent. I'm a ferret."
"Whatever."
"Not 'whatever'," Kouken replied in annoyance. "There's a big difference. Rodents are--"
"That's enough of that," Erik interrupted them. Ikkoku looked up at him innocently, and Kouken just scowled irritably from where he sat in Tokimo's lap. "Let's get this over with, shall we? And try to keep your voices down. We're already drawing more attention than I'm comfortable with."
"Jeez, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Tokimo complained.
"No, I just know that most of you mix like oil and water."
"In any case, Let's take stock of what's happened so far. We were all here for the first battle," Hiroshi said.
"Oh yeah!" Tokimo exclaimed, motioning to Erik. "That's when we found out you were the Crimson Eagle. Why were you so intent on denying it, anyway?"
Erik frowned. "Because I didn't know myself until that very moment. It was that youma that first revealed it to me."
"But how could you not know? You were parading around as the Crimson Eagle on a regular basis! You jumped out of my apartment window!" Yamiko said.
"I'd rather not get into specifics. But my memories were limited to a mask that appeared in front of me. Everything after that was black. Sometimes I would come back as Erik with wounds or in strange locations, without knowing how or why my situation came about. Even now, some of my memories are a little fuzzy. And I still know very little about my past life."
"What about you?" Hiroshi asked, turning toward Ikkoku. "What's your connection to him? Who are you?"
"I'm Ikkoku, the gyrfalcon. I keep Erik out of trouble."
Hiroshi opened his mouth as if to say more, but Erik held up his hand as if to motion for silence. "Don't bother," He told him. "She won't give you a straight answer. I've been trying to get one for weeks, to no avail."
"Are you sure it's safe for her to hang around, then?" Hiroshi asked. "She could be the enemy!"
"She could be the enemy. She could not. She could be someone they're looking for, and the we're the only ones keeping her safe. She could, in fact, be the only way to beat them. Hell, she could be my mother, for all I know. Let's not make any foregone conclusions."
"Really, you were born from an egg," Ikkoku told him.
Erik chose to ignore her comment. "In any case, you all know who I am now, and that's all that really matters at this point. I think trying to find out more about the enemy is far more important."
"You seemed to know something about Eros," Yamiko said, turning toward Erik. "The one who shot Kane."
"Kane?" Fubuki asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Like Yamiko said, The boy who was shot," Erik explained. "By Eros. I do know a little. As I'm sure you all know by now, once all of the planets had Moon Senshi like Sailor Moon and priests like Helios, who guarded the planet's inner holy lands. The Moons from the outside, the holy land and priest from the inside, and the Sailor Senshi on the surface were collectively known as the three powers. And Eros was the priest of Venus, who protected its holy land of Aphrodite." Realizing the meeting was unlikely to end anytime soon, Erik sat down on the grass in front of the Moon Senshi and pulled out an unassuming gray lunch box. "Personality-wise, I know less. But I do know that he had taken many lovers, male and female, and that he was seeking a wife when the war broke out. He had already been through many prospective candidates. Given his reputation as something of a player, I presume he wasn't taking his search very seriously. But then, they also said back then that he was well-mannered, so perhaps I assume too much."
"Well, the flirt part wouldn't surprise me," Fubuki said, "seeing as his youma are always attractive women. But what the fuck is up with all those weird pictures?"
"Pictures?" Seisui asked.
"Yeah. The youma always leave behind pictures of themselves. Not even camera pictures--painted pictures." Fubuki responded.
"It might have something to do with how he creates them," Hiroshi replied. "Different youma have been created different ways in the past. The Black Moon's droids were created from dummy-like figures, and Professor Tomoe used his failed experiments. Sailor Galaxia used mortals or former Sailor Senshi and gave them the power to transform, as though they had Sailor Crystals. This could be the way the new enemy creates their Youma."
"Weird," Tokimo responded, raising an eyebrow. "But if Eros is alive as an evil undead priest or whatever, what about the other priests? Are they alive too?"
There was a pause as everyone digested Tokimo's probable surmise.
"We can't say anything for sure, yet," Yamiko said at last. "We wouldn't even know who they're working for, if anyone. And it's still perfectly possible that only Eros--"
Seisui let out a brief gasp, turning everyone's eyes on her. She blushed and put a hand over her mouth--a bandaged hand--and then quickly and nervously set it back by her side. "No, it's not possible," she interjected animatedly.
"Wait--what?" Kouken replied, confused. "What isn't--"
"The other priests. They are alive!" she continued.
"How do you know?" Yamiko asked, a little nervous.
"I've seen them," she explained. "When I was on Nemesis. At first I saw them as statues. They were in the center of a group of many, many statues, but most of them were Senshi and Knights. The Priests were dressed differently, though, and that was how I could recognize them as being unusual. There were eight of them, and they had these weird outfits with lapels on them. Just like Helios' lapels, but they were shaped like each planet's symbol. And then later...later, when the castle of Nemesis rose out of the ground, just before Tokimo rescued me, those statues came to life. I don't know that any of them were Eros, but there was one named...I can't remember. I can't remember his name, but there was another one, a woman, with a glaive..."
"Wait!" Erik interrupted her. "Did you say a woman?"
Seisui nodded.
"That can't be right," Hiroshi said. "At least if this rule holds true for the other planets besides Earth, Priests can only be men. Their assistants, the maenads, are women. Are you sure she was a woman?"
"I...I thought it was a woman. But It was awhile ago now, and I was so afraid at the time. She saved one of the Priests from killing me, and gave me my brooch; I wasn't really thinking too closely about her appearance at the time."
"That means she--or he--summoned it from the Crystal Palace, where we were keeping it at the time. No mean feat," Helios interjected.
"I was able to summon my brooch when someone else was holding it," Kazeko offered timidly.
"Yeah, but that was just me and Tokimo," Kouken replied. "We weren't trying to keep it away from you and it was your own magical talisman. And I'm sure that Hiroshi put no small amount of magical guards on that brooch to keep Seisui from summoning it."
"We had always just assumed that Seisui's retrieval of her brooch was an exceptionally powerful act of will," Hiroshi explained. "The fact that what we'll assume, for the moment, was a priest was able to break through that barrier and summon it means that they are almost certainly more powerful than I am. Or that someone else is helping them become more powerful."
"Nemesis," Seisui and Usako said. Seisui glared darkly at Usako. Usako's only guess was that Seisui was annoyed for being in any way similar to her.
"So the priests, including Eros, are almost certainly working for Nemesis," Yamiko said darkly.
"Bad news," Erik said, shaking his head.
"Even though we've been getting our memories back, albeit slowly, I don't remember the priests very well," Seisui said. She glanced at Erik. "I'm surprised you seem to know so much about them."
"I had reasons to seek them out toward the end of the war," he explained. "Though I never found them. They disappeared around that time, and until now, I never knew where to. I had always thought that Diana killed them in secret," Erik explained.
"But what are their aims?" Yamiko asked. "So far, Eros, or whoever, just seems to be attacking innocent people at random."
"No, that can't be right, either," Seisui disagreed. "Or at least, I doubt it. If we think about the three places that the Youma have attacked, it's true that in some ways they just seem like locations that were chosen because they would have flocks of innocent people--a school, one of the largest churches in the world, and a highly publicized gala. But if we think about it from another sense, they're far less random. The school that the youma attacked is the school that all of the Tokyo Sailor Senshi attend. The church is the one that Fubuki goes to--" Fubuki grimaced at Seisui as she said these words. "--Willing or not. And the gala is the one that Yamiko just happened to be invited to. And how many of us have been to galas recently?"
"But that would create all kinds of unlikely assumptions," Usako. "For one, it would mean that the Priests would have to know all of our identities, and where we were at almost any given point! And if they didn't know where we were at any given point, it would have to mean they'd orchestrated things so that we'd be in a certain location when they attacked us!"
"Well, stranger things have happened," Hiroshi replied. "The Dead Moon circus was able to do all--or at least most--of those things."
There was an uncomfortable silence. "And what about that strange new Senshi that appeared?" Tokimo said, breaking the uneasiness.
"Oh, Sailor Io," Yamiko responded. "Yeah. Believe it or not, she's Mayumi Hatsuhara! Isn't that weird?"
"Mayumi Hatsuhara?" Fubuki repeated incredulously. "And I thought one piece of sugar shi--"
"Mayumi Hatsuhara?" Tokimo exclaimed jubilantly. "You mean A-Girl's-Delight-Always-Always-Light-by-my-Window-A-Maidens-Dream singing Mayumi Hatsuhara?"
"Um, the Idol," Yamiko replied. "So yeah, I think so."
Tokimo looked so ecstatic you could practically see stars shining in her eyes. Which was a little frightening, Yamiko thought.
"Wow. Why didn't we invite her to the meeting?" Tokimo complained.
"She didn't seem that interested in becoming a Sailor Senshi on a regular basis," Erik explained. "She said she was too busy." he frowned. "Frankly, I find it a rather irresponsible decision."
Tokimo frowned. "She must have her reasons," she said. "I'm sure she has good reasons."
"Well, we'll talk to her more if we meet her again," Usako assured Tokimo. "We'll see if we can't convince her."
"So what should we do about the youma and Nemesis?" Yamiko asked.
"For now, we'll use the communicators and let each other know when the youma attack," Erik said. "Or at least, that seems to be the most logical solution. The enemy is almost certainly from Nemesis, but I doubt that a full-out attack on Nemesis is a good idea until we have a better idea of who we're dealing with. Especially if, as Seisui says, there are Knights, Senshi and a handful of Priests ready to greet us."
"I agree," Kouken said, nodding his head.
Fubuki raised her hand. "Can we call it quits on this goddammed meeting now?"
"Adjourned," Kouken said with a sigh, climbing back into Tokimo's bag. "Lunch bell's ready to ring anyhow."
Leaning on a tree, Fubuki watched as the Sailor Senshi made their exit and went back to their classes. Except for one.
Fubuki grabbed Seisui's wrist as the pathetic thing started to make her way back to class; a devious grin on her face, she pivoted Seisui on her arm and spun her in a half-circle, not unlike a rather unwilling dance partner.
"What?" Seisui snapped, frowning. "If you want to talk with me, you know, you can just ask. I don't have any reason to particularly avoid you, unlike the rest of this school."
Fubuki didn't say anything at first. Instead, she twisted Seisui's right arm back into it's natural position, heedless of Seisui's attempts to free herself. This was the girl that went charging after Serenity with only a knife, a uniform and a lot of balls? Fubuki could crush her. She held up her right hand, whose finger joints were covered in a neat row of bandages.
"Interesting," Fubuki said, uninflected.
"What? I just fell and--"
Fubuki flipped over Seisui's hand, exposing her palm, and grabbed the edge of the bandage. With a rather unceremonious tug, she pulled off her left-most bandage, revealing her raw and barely scabbed over finger joint. "Well, now, what a shock," Fubuki said sarcastically. "Sei, how could you? Think how disappointed Tokimo and all your little Senshi friends would be if they found out what you were doing."
"What do you mean?" she asked, tugging at Fubuki, trying to free her arm. "I told you, I fell--""
"Fell? Fell and punched your hand into a wall? Over and over?" Fubuki asked mocking. "You make me sick, Seisui. And here I had respect for you, but you're still doing middle school theatrics. And you don't even have a license." Fubuki pulled up Seisui's uniform sleeve from the same hand; two or three nicks with bright red scabs crossed over each other like streamers on her skin. "Fucking Serenity, look at this! Look at you! You make me sick. How old are you again? How old?"
"Th-thirteen," she mumbled.
"Thirteen!" Fubuki pushed Seisui backward, sending her to the ground. "Thirteen, huh? And you think your life is so bad. I can see it. It's written right there on your arm! You've got a lot of nerve! You think you come from a broken family, huh? You think you don't have any friends?"
"I do!" She shouted, tears forming in her eyes. "And I don't!"
"Don't make me laugh. At least you still have family members who actually give a fuck about you. And you have a friend, you just whine and moan and pretend you don't. You make me sick. And you know what? When I punch things 'cause I'm goddamn angry, at least I have the nerve not to put bandages on the cuts!" She held up her hands--both of them--and showed Seisui the ragged, blood-streaked and ripped up joints. "It's like you're crying out 'Oh, I'm so hurt that I hurt myself,' but you don't even have the nerve to really show it, to really hurt yourself. You're just pretending like you hate yourself that much, pretending you want to hurt yourself, but really, you don't. You just hurt yourself enough--just enough--to convince yourself that you really want to."
"That's not true!" Seisui shouted. "You don't understand me! And you never will! Nobody will ever understand me, but least of all you!"
"I understand you," Fubuki replied, spitting as she walked past Seisui. She was still slumped on the ground like a dog. "I understand you so well it makes me sick to my goddamn core."
She only glanced back at Seisui once before re-entering the school; after this, she decided, she would never exchange words with her again.
"Hey, Usako," Hiroshi said. Usako had been feeling encouraged after their meeting with the Moon Senshi; she seemed to think that things were finally turning up between her and the Moon Senshi--maybe, even, between her and Seisui. She had already packed down a serving of flan and a strawberry crepe at the fashionable cafe on the main strip toward the palace, and seemed to be pondering between rice pudding or a strawberry parfait for her next victim. "Don't you think we should have told them about your new brooch?"
Usako glanced back toward him. She had been looking out at the window, weighing her dessert choices as she watched people walk contentedly down the street lined with tall, sparkling crystal buildings. "It think it'll be a lot more fun if it's a surprise. It's not like it's super urgent news. And we already know I can transform okay with it, and I can still heal people with the crystal. So there's no danger from that arena, either."
"What do you mean, a surprise exactly?"
"Well, I'll show up when the next youma arrives. Then I can announce my presence as Sailor Luna. I'm still working on the specifics. I'm not sure if I should do a speech or not...definitely, if I do, it should be something new. I'm ready to turn over my image as mother's replacement."
"Usako..." he began, his voice half-annoyed and half-resigned. He sipped his hot chocolate uneasily, his red eyes still staring up at her. "This isn't a game, you know. Maybe you're just anxious to prove yourself like your mother has, but--"
"Don't worry about me, Hiroshi," she interrupted him. "After all, you were the one that gave me confidence when I was still young. I know this isn't a game. But if I can take some kind of enjoyment out of it, I'll do so while I still can. Because fighting alongside my mother, it's been my experience that things only become more and more trying later on. Let's make the best of the time when we don't yet have to worry about losing."
"That reminds me," Helios continued, replacing his cocoa on its saucer. "I know now that Seisui's united with the other Moon Senshi again, you'll want to try and make friends with her. But I don't want you getting your hopes up too much, because--"
"I won't, Hiroshi. I know you're just worried about seeing me disappointed. But I realize that if Seisui ever becomes my friend, it won't be for a long, long time." Her face darkened as she said it; she seemed lost in thought.
"I've begun to think, Usako, that maybe she really was just pretending the whole time she was with us. I always wanted to think that she had grown to like us in spite of herself, but...I really think she just wanted a chance..."
Hiroshi broke off his sentence as he watched Usako bury her face suddenly in her arms. Her shoulders quivered as a muffled wail escaped from her.
"I really wanted to believe that," Usako muttered. "I wanted to believe I could make friends the way mama always did, that I could help lonely people become happy, just like she did with Ami and Mako and Haruka...but I can't. I finally think I helped someone, and they were just lying to me. Just using me. And I'll never be anything but an enemy to Seisui!"
Hiroshi was almost too dumbfounded at her sudden outburst to respond. Although even Usako had her moments of weakness, usually she was so composed....
"That's not true!" Hiroshi responded, gathering his wits. "You helped Hotaru. The world could have ended if you hadn't, and Hotaru certainly wouldn't have been as happy as she is today! And what about me? I was all alone and weak until you guided me, maiden."
Usako peeked an eye above her sleeve; it was blood shot and filled with tears. Hiroshi gingerly bent over the table and kissed her on the forehead; as he sat back down, Usako straightened her back and rubbed her sleeve over her weepy eyes. "You're right," She agreed, her voice tired. "But it's still frustrating."
Hiroshi nodded. "We'll find a way through this, Usako. Things will work out somehow."
To Part B
