Shieldsman
A Sailor Moon S Fanfic

All Sailor Moon characters the property of the people who have rights to
them.  Don't sue me.

***

3 - The Plot Thickens

***

"The pocket knife was silly, but THAT is just ridiculous."

Crimson and Tuxedo Kamen were watching the Inner Senshi fight another
daimon that had showed up at an appearance of a rather famous singer.  The
diamon's body was covered with an almost mother-of-pearl like substance. 
It took them a few minutes to realize they were miniature compact discs,
which coated her body like scales.

Tuxedo Kamen winced as Venus was blinded by one of the diamon's attacks,
and glanced at Crimson sideways, splitting his attention between the other
man and the combat.  "Why do you say that?"

"The Swiss Army Chick at least made some random sense, since it had all
those swords and knives.  But what ever possessed the bad guys to turn a CD
into a diamon?  What thought process made the leap from," he held up one
hand, "information medium to" he held up the other, "instrument of evil?"

Tuxedo Kamen thought about that for a minute, and with no little suprise it
occured to him that this was a train of thought he had never gone down
before.  If he really thought about it, it WAS ridiculous.  Why not create
daimons from guns, and bombs?  Why such innocent items?
He shook his head and stood as he noticed a newcomer enter the battle. 
"Sailor Chibi-Moon!"

Crimson looked down at the combat, and for once, was completely dumbstuck
by what he saw.  A young girl, not even in her teens, with pink hair made
up suspiciously like Sailor Moon's was trying to fight the daimon.  As he
watched he noticed the Senshi changed battle tactics, as they became far
more protective of the little girl and far less interested in actually
defeating the diamon.  He finally cursed under his breath, and turned to
Tuxedo Kamen.  "This is insane!  A little KID?  I'm going in."  He prepared
to run into the combat, but was halted by a familiar cry.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!"  The blast of water crushed the daimon against a nearby
wall, but didn't destroy it.  The daimon shook it's head and flung it's arm
out at the newcomer, and Sailor Neptune barely dodged in time to avoid the
disc the diamon sent flying at her.

"I see the cavalry's arrived," he said dryly to Tuxedo Kamen as Uranus and
Pluto came onto the scene and made their entrances.  He shook his head in
dismay.  "How they say that with a straight face I'll never know."  He
waved to Pluto.  "Hiya Oneechan!"

Pluto ignored him as they went to work on the daimon, who was furiously
attacking Neptune.  After a couple softening blows Uranus finally wound up
for the finishing attacks.  "WORLD..."

Crimson, watching, paled.  "Doesn't she see where she's aiming?"  He
suddenly sprinted into the line of fire, hoping he'd get there in time.

"...SHAKING!"  The powerful blast tore though the ground and rose to impact
the daimon.  As they watched, it blasted through the daimon, continuing on
a collision course for Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon.  Sailor Moon
shrieked and tried to cover Chibi-Moon's body with her own.

Sailor Mars saw Crimson run by her towards the cowering pair, and couldn't
help herself.  "Crimson! Don't!"  He ignored her and placed himself between
the oncoming blast and Sailor Moon.

"UNNNNGHHHH!"  Sailor Moon looked up to see Crimson standing over her, his
head tucked under the shield he held in front of him.  As she looked down
at the ground, she saw furrows in the cement where he had been shoved back
by the force of the blast.  His body was streaked with scorch marks where
the blast had burned him.

"Lemme go!"  Sailor Chibi-Moon squirmed in her grasp, and Sailor Moon
reluntantly let her go.  The little girl looked up at the battered man, and
gasped.  "Uncle Crimson!"  She ran up to him, and threw her arms around his
waist.  "I'm happy to see you!"

The dazed man in question staggered a bit, and looked down at the little
Senshi.  "Do I know you, Little Miss?" he asked in a bemused tone.  He
disentangled himself from her grasp and knelt in front of her.  "I don't
remember you from the Silver Millenium."

Chibi-Moon giggled.  "Of course not, silly, I'm from the future!  Mom sent
me back from Crystal Tokyo to train!"

Crimson gave her a look of confusion, and held up a finger to stall her. 
"One moment, Little Miss.  I have a small matter to discuss with the
Dyanmic Duo over there."  He stood and stormed over to Uranus.

She looked back at him haughtily, with the same sense of amusement and
supriority he knew he should have expected.  "Hello, Crimson.  Pluto told
us about you."  Her attitude died in the sheer fury she saw in his face.

"Are you insane, or just stupid?" he demanded.  "What the hell were you
thinking?  You're supposed to be ALLIES, for Mars' sake!"  He was shaking a
little in anger, and with visible effort he controlled himself.  "Since
when is it accepted practice to throw around attacks with no regard for
whom you hit?  Shieldsmen aren't supposed to have to protect the Senshi
from EACH OTHER!"  He ranted on for a few moments, eventually letting his
anger run out.

Uranus's face had turned cold.  "They had no business being here.  This is
beyond their capabilities to handle.  They would have been better off not
getting involved."

Crimson was staring at her, aghast.  He turned to Pluto.  "Is she serious? 
I've never heard anything more stupid in my entire existence!"  He turned
back to Uranus.  "Listen, you disgrace to the Royal House of Uranus, not
only are they your superiors in rank, that little stunt could have cost
that little girl, as well as Sailor Moon, their lives.  Could you really
condone being their murderer?"  As the horror of what she'd almost done
occured to her, her eyes grew wider.  "Think about that."  

He turned away, and took a few steps back towards the others.  "Nice
partners, Oneechan," he said, and continued to walk away.  Silently, the
Outer Senshi took their exit.

Crimson returned to the others, and pointed a finger at Tuxedo Kamen.
"You," he said, and then pointed at Sailor Moon, "you.  Let's talk."

***

Kaneda held his head in his hands, and groaned slightly.  "This is giving
me a headache.  Let me see if I've got this straight.  The kid is your
child, from the future.  One thousand years in the future."  Usagi nodded. 
"You sent her back to train with your younger self, thinking she'd be
safer."  Usagi nodded again, and he turned to Mamoru.  "And she doesn't
know who the two of you are."  Mamoru nodded.  "I see."  Kaneda sighed. 
"Usagi, since I probably won't have the nerve to say this to you in the
future, I'll say it now, and hope you remember.  This is a STUPID idea."

"I understand why she...why I did it," Usagi said softly.  "As much as the
little spore irritates me, I would never let her get hurt."  She looked
into Kaneda's eyes, and he was once again struck by the sincerity he saw
there.  "Chibi-Usa's my daughter.  The only person I could ever truly trust
to take care of her is me, and my friends.  We have time for her now.  In
the future, I'm a queen, now, I'm just a school-girl."  Mamoru held the
girl tightly, and looked sternly at Kaneda.

"Fine," Kaneda sighed.  "Maybe I can be of help."  He stood, and returned
to where the others waited, and kneeled in front of Chibi-Usa again. 
"Hello, Litte Miss.  I'm Kaneda Akasei."  He held his hand out for her to
shake, and she solemnly shook it, causing him to grin.  "But you can call
me Ka-chan if you like."  The little girl gave him a brilliant smile, and
threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.  Kaneda's face turned
as red as his uniform, and the watching girls giggled at the sight.  He
gently pulled her off of him, and smiled gently at her.  "Little Miss, can
I see your broach?"  She gave him a look of confusion, but handed it to
him.

"It's 'Small Lady'," Rei told him primly.

"Huh?" Kaneda responded eloquently as he moved into transformation
position.

"People in the future call her Small Lady," she said.  "Not Little Miss."

Kaneda turned to Chibi-Usa and grinned.  "You know me in the future,
right?"  She nodded.  "What do I call you?"

She smiled back and said, "Little Miss."  Kaneda turned a triumphant face
back to Rei, who threw her hands up in exasperation while the other girls
giggled.

"I rest my case," he quoted.  He then took a quick look around, and seeing
no one watching, drove his fist at the ground.  "CRIMSON RADIANCE!"  Once
again the red light burst from the point of impact and flowed over his
body, banishing his clothing and replacing it with his uniform.  He stood,
and noticed the girls blushing slightly and whispering to each other. 
"What?"

Mamoru walked up and whispered in his ear.  "Your transformation is
rather...um...revealing." Crimson gave him a confused look.  "You just gave
the girls a skin show."  Crimson blushed, and shook his head in dismay.

"Women," he muttered, and brought his right arm up to his chest.  He
balanced the broach on his bracer, and whispered the word "Attune."  The
broach and his bracer glowed with the same golden light for a moment. 
Crimson removed the broach and handed it back to Chibi-Usa.  Where the
broach had been, they could now see a small golden crescent moon.  It was
smaller than the Mars symbol, but due to its color stood out.  He kneeled
again in front of Chibi-Usa, and showed her the mark.  

"Do you know what this means?"  She shook her head, and he smiled.  "If you
ever need me, Little Miss, I'll be there.  I promise."  She once again
threw her arms around his neck, and he once again blushed.  "Urk." 
Chibi-Usa reached into her pocket and gave him a piece of paper.  "What's
this?"

"Mother told me to give that to you," she said.  He looked confused, but
unfolded the paper and read it.

    Crimson,
    
    I thought a great deal about what you said.
    It was a very hard decision, but I now know
    it's the right one.

    Thank you for taking care of her.

                                   Serenity

    PS.  When the darkness fades, the red star
    will shine again.

Crimson read over the paper a few times, and finally sighed.  He looked up
to the sky.  "Why me?"  He stood up and transformed back to Kaneda.  "Come
on, short stuff, I'll go buy you an ice cream, and we can get to know each
other."  He looked at the others.  "Anyone else want to come along?  I'm
buying."  He stepped back a little at the resounding response, and looked a
bit sheepish.  "I hope there's an ATM along the way."

***

The Inner Senshi and Mamoru watched as Kaneda walked along, Chibi-Usa at
his side, talking with him.  The little girl was giggling, while Kaneda was
laughing quite a bit himself.  As they watched, Kaneda reached down and
picked her up, seating her on one of his shoulders.  Chibi-Usa shrieked in
delight.

"She's got him completely wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"  Makoto
said idly.  Ami smiled in agreement, and Minako giggled.

"He'd make a great father," Minako said a bit dreamily.  Rei favored her
with a glare, but the other girls didn't notice.  "He's so good with her."

"At least now there's someone else to take care of her," Rei muttered.  "I
still can't believe he pulled that stupid stunt, he could have been
killed!"

"You're just jealous," Usagi quipped, and soon her and Rei had degenerated
into their usual bickering.  Mamoru sighed and sped up his pace to catch up
with Kaneda.

"What's up?" Kaneda asked.  Mamoru sighed again, and indicated the
bickering girls with his head.  "Ah.  Little Miss," he turned and showed
her Rei and Usagi.  "Do they do that a lot?"

Chibi-Usa scowled.  "They do it all the time."  Just then she brightened
and squirmed.  "We're here!"  Kaneda let her down and she ran to make her
order at the ice cream stand.

"She's a good kid," he said to Mamoru.  "You should be proud."  At Mamoru's
slight blush he grinned.  "Ah, we haven't quite hit that point in our
relationship, have we?"  Mamoru blushed deeper.  "Yeah, well Usagi is a
little young..." he paused as an idea occured to him and he suddenly
laughed.  "Oh man, that'll be perfect!"

Mamoru watched the other man chortle.  "What are you talking about?" 
Kaneda waved him off as he continued to snicker.

"You'll find out," he told him with a mysterious smile.  He groaned as the
other girls walked by him and ordered their treats.  "There goes that album
I wanted to buy."  He glanced over at Mamoru.  "Remind me never to make
that offer again."  

Mamoru nodded sagely.  "I learned that lesson very quickly myself."  The
two walked over and ordered milkshakes, Kaneda wincing as he paid the bill.
 The group walked over to a park where they could sit and enjoy their
snacks in peace.

"Since you're all here," Kaneda began, and pulled some tickets out of his
pocket.  "I got you all tickets for my choral class's performance night." 
He passed out the tickets and looked apologetically at Chibi-Usa.  "Sorry,
short stuff, but it's not really for kids.  I'm already pushing it by
getting them in."  Chibi-Usa looked dejected.  "But I'll make you a deal. 
After the performance I'll come over to your place and sing some songs all
for you, OK?" The little girl cheered up immediately, and nodded
acceptance.

***

Kaneda sat in his apparement, playing his keyboard.  As he played, he sang
out pieces of songs, and made notes on the sheets he had in front of him. 
"OK, definitely use 'girl' for 'chick'. They're touchy about that one..." 
He snickered as he imagined Mamoru's face.  "Oh man, this'll be rich."  

There was a knock at the door.  Kaneda got up and answered it, revealing
Setsuna.  "Oh, hi, Oneechan.  Come on in."  He looked depreciatingly about
his disaster area of an apartment.  "Sorry about the mess."  He walked over
to a large mound of clothes and began tossing them aside.  "I think there's
a couch under here somewhere," he said, and grinned as he reached cushions.
 "Thought so."  Soon he had made a clearing for her to sit in.

"Have a seat," he said as he wandered into the kitchenette.  "You want
something to drink? I have some OJ, beer of course, there's water too..."
his voice disappeared as his head went into the fridge.

"Kaneda."  He poked his head out of the kitchen and looked at her.  "Stop
avoiding me and sit down."  Kaneda blushed sheepishly and walked over,
sitting on what looked like a chair under the mess.  "I want to talk to you
about what happened today."

Kaneda scowled.  "You mean with that joke who calls herself a Senshi?" 
Setsuna gave him a sharp glance, and he lost his temper.  "Give me a break,
Setsuna!  What the hell was that crap she was spouting at me?"

Setsuna was silent for a long moment.  "Did you ever think they were trying
to protect the Inners?"

"Oh please."

"I mean it, Kaneda.  You know the Outers are much more powerful than the
Inners..." Kaneda barked with laughter.

"They WERE.  Oneechan, you've seen the stuff Sailor Moon is tossing around.
 She takes out those diamon things in one hit.  You guys have to work at
it."

"Sailor Moon is an exception," she conceeded, "but the others simply aren't
powerful enough."

"They are," Kaneda said.  Setsuna looked at him with a bit of a worry.  "I
don't know how to explain it, Oneechan."  He struggled for words, and found
them.  "They're a team.  Even if Neptune and Uranus are like they were
before, they never had that meshing that the Inners did.  They're kids,
yes, but they fight as a unit.  Fine, you guys are tougher, one on one, but
I'd rate them, with or without Sailor Moon, against you three any day of
the week."

Setsuna watched him carefully, "What's really bugging you?"

Kaneda sighed.  "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Never have."

"It's something to do with Chibi-Usa."  He showed her his right bracer.  "I
attuned myself to her, and I feel different.  I didn't notice it at first,
but I can't help but feel...stronger.  Tougher.  It's like there's
something about her that's making me more than what I was."

*The Ginzuishou,* Setsuna concluded.  *It's touched him through Chibi-Usa. 
A new transformation?*  Kaneda looked a bit worried, so she tried to cheer
him up.  "You're still adjusting, Kaneda.  Maybe some more memories are
coming back."

"I hope not," he said faintly.  "Most of the memories I have aren't happy
ones."  He was silent for a few moments, and Setsuna took it as her cue to
go.

"If it is meant to happen it will," she said, and stood.  She laid her hard
on his shoulder.  "Try to be nicer to Uranus in the future, OK?"  Kaneda
snorted, but nodded, and showed ehr to the door.  Before she left, he
handed her three tickets.  "What's this?"

"My class is having a performance night," he explained.  "I'm going to be
singing a few songs there, and I thought you might like to come.  You might
as well bring the lovebirds along with you."  He suddenly grinned. 
"Besides, I have a song you'll appreciate."

Setsuna gave him a suspicious look, but after a moment softened and smiled.
 "I'm looking forward to it."

***

"...Yes Professor, I have the perfect candidate for my next attack," Mimete
said into the phone.  "No sir, I won't fail again."  She put the phone down
and wiped the sweat off of her forhead.  *How does he do that?  He knows
just when it's the wrong time to call.*

Her eyes alighted on the flyer she had found.  'Nekomi Arts College's
Performance Nights.  Tuesday: Choral 251 [no minors].'  She smiled
triumphantly.  "An absolutely PERFECT candidate..."


--
Christopher Angel
cja124@mail.usask.ca      http://www.engr.usask.ca/~cja124
-The road to hell is paved with good intentions. -Old proverb.
-People forget that the same road leads to heaven. -Response