[FFML] [fanfic][Sailormoon] Moonshadow, chapter 9 (first draft)

[The Eternal Lost Lurker]

Someone PLEASE help me come up with a better title for this chapter. My 
exhaustive memory for song lyrics and movie quotes isn't producing anything 
particularly fitting here... X_X

C&C welcome, as always.



Ami stared in mute horror at the morning newspaper, jaw slack in disbelief, 
face tinged slightly green.

An enormous, grainy photo of herself--or rather, Mercury--and Serenity was 
splashed prominently across the page. There was also a smaller photo of 
Jupiter, and a blurry, black and white still capture from the previous 
evening's news topped a sidebar.

The headline at the top of the front page proclaimed, in bold blue text:

"Real Life Superheroes?! 'Sailor Senshi' Sighted At Tokyo School!"

"SAILOR Senshi? What...?"

She scanned the text of the article, and the sidebar, and her brows drew 
downward.

The other Senshi, the one Luna's enigmatic master had found, the one who had 
been on the news last night, had been followed by a reporter. The article 
had very little real or reliable information, but the one most notable 
feature--much to Ami's disbelief and horror--was that somehow, the reporter 
had gotten it in his head to christen the masked Senshi 'Sailor V'.

The Japanese news media picked it up and ran with it.

Throwing aside the newspaper in disgust, Ami picked up the television remote 
and clicked it on. She rapidly tuned to a morning news show.

Predictably, the topic of the morning was Senshi.

//--confirmed by witnesses that three Sailor Senshi fought a monster which 
shattered every window and destroyed all the paper and textbooks at Juuban 
Junior High School in Azabu-Juuban, Minato-ku. Accounts of the incident are 
confused and sketchy, but at least three students overheard one of the 
Sailor Senshi identify herself as Sailor Jupiter--//

*No they didn't.*

//--and another was referred to as Sailor Mercury.//

Ami buried her face in her hands. "That's even more embarassing than 
Tsukino-san's speeches."

//But the real mystery is this fourth Sailor Senshi, who is as yet unnamed. 
What do you think, Kaneda?//

//Well, Fuuka, if you look at the pictures from the school incident...the 
golden-haired one has a lot of moon-shaped decorations on her costume. And I 
hear she was heard yelling the word 'Moon' a lot during the fight.//

//So...you think maybe, 'Sailor Moon'?//

//Sure, it fits.//

Despite not being prone to humour in general, Ami couldn't quite fight down 
a queasy giggle.

*More than you know...*



=-------------=



Studio ELL Presents

MOONSHADOW

Adapted from "Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon" by Takeuchi Naoko.

9: What's your name, little girl?

=-------------=

//So...you think maybe, 'Sailor Moon'?//

//Sure, it fits.//

"Are you alright, Usagi-chan?"

The tea-haired girl coughed, thumping her chest with a fist. "Just swallowed 
too fast."

"Be more careful."

"Hai."

*'Sailor Moon'?! What the hell is WRONG with these people? Oh god, Ami-san's 
gonna be really pissed. And Kino-san, I wonder what she'll think...*

=-------------=

Makoto clicked off the television with a snicker. "*Sailor* Jupiter..." She 
shook her head. "Cute. Real cute."

=-------------=

The palatial Yamagoto Tower Hotel was the crown jewel of the sprawling 
Yamagoto Grand Plaza Complex which occupied a sizeable tract of land just 
outside the Azabu-Juuban shopping district. Upscale, beautifully 
architectured, and designed to cater to an exclusive crowd, the monolithic 
hotel was a beautiful sight to behold in the early morning light--especially 
the rooftop gardens of the ultra-exclusive penthouse suites.

Of course, only the *very* wealthiest and most important people in Japan 
ever had the chance to see the rooftop gardens of Yamagoto Tower Hotel. The 
average person would likely never be fortunate enough to set foot anywhere 
near the penthouse levels of the tower.

For a demon panther from the depths of blackness, however, the sight had 
long since lost its novelty.

Luna emerged from the private access stairwell, blinking dazedly against the 
blinding sunlight streaming through the glass panes that enclosed the roof. 
Softly, stealthily, she padded along a smooth, shining path of bright white 
cement, grimacing at the heady smells of fragrant growth around her.

She hated flowers.

After a few moments, she reached a shaded breakfast nook on the veranda of 
the lone suite at this level of the tower. The suite was one of several in 
the hotel to host a permanent occupant, and the cost of maintaining this 
particular residence was staggering.

But then, her master had always been fond of opulence and excess...

"Master?" she called.

The man seated at the breakfast nook looked up from his morning newspaper, 
setting aside his coffee. "Luna," he acknowledged.

The youma sighed. "*MUST* you call me that when we're alone? It's 
humiliating enough being stripped of my Name..."

"We're not having this discussion again," the white-haired man said, 
stirring cream into his drink. "Besides, you obviously have something very 
important to say, or you wouldn't have bothered coming all the way here to 
speak in person."

The panther hesitated, then nodded. "Serenity...has demanded an audience."

A slim white eyebrow raised. "I thought I already told her and Mercury it 
isn't the time yet--"

"No, Master," Luna interrupted. "Serenity DEMANDS an audience. She spoke to 
Jupiter yesterday, and learned about her temporary loss of power." The 
panther looked up, locking her crimson gaze on the silver-grey eyes of her 
master. "The Princess is...angry."

"Well, I can't imagine she'd be thrilled knowing someone can turn her Senshi 
on and off like a light switch, but..."

"And it was *Serenity*," Luna interrupted. "Not Usagi. Not the schoolgirl. 
The princess. I don't even think she realised she was doing it, but she 
issued a Royal Decree."

The white-haired man seemed taken aback by this. He said nothing for a long 
moment, sipping his coffee and staring into space. Then, he sighed, dabbing 
his mouth with a silk napkin. "Well then," he said, pushing his chair back 
and standing, "If that's the case, then that changes everything. I suppose 
I'd best take care of today's business swiftly." He smiled. "After all, it 
would be terribly remiss of me to keep Her Highness waiting."

=-------------=

Chiba Mamoru sat at a posh outdoor cafe, taking advantage of a free morning 
to indulge in a late brunch and a leisurely read of the morning newspaper.

And what a newspaper it was, this morning.

He had missed the previous evening's news, having spent much of the night at 
the library, but the replay on the morning broadcasts had 
been...illuminating.

*Sailor V...she's going to make my life even more interesting than it 
already is.* He couldn't decide whether or not that was a bad thing.

He still couldn't quite figure out what the enigmatic girl was, or how she 
did that laser thing. One thing he was absolutely certain of, however:

She was as dangerous as she was sexy.

Her little friends--if they were indeed connected to her--weren't too shabby 
either.

As he read the confused, sensationalist reports concerning the Juuban Junior 
High School incident, he thought about his upcoming heist.

Ever since he had begun his 'night job', a primary concern had been secrecy. 
He did everything in his power to avoid attracting attention--despite the 
admittedly unusual attire he wore to 'work'.

The battle with Sailor V had been an invigorating change of pace. He could 
do without the disgusting zombies, but...

Frowning as he nibbled on a bit of egg and toast, Mamoru contemplated once 
more the Yamagoto gala and the showcase of treasures he intended to 
liberate.

Perhaps...

It would be risky, to be certain, but it almost certainly guaranteed a 
second meeting with Sailor V, and maybe the other Sailor Senshi.

Surely, for a dashing, handsome thief, at least one of them would put out.

Mamoru covered his uncharacteristic grin with his napkin.

*Tomorrow night...the phantom thief goes primetime.*

=-------------=

The morning chatter at Mina's school had taken a decidedly odd turn. 
Everyone--boys and girls alike--were chattering animatedly about something 
called 'Serabi' or 'Sara V' or...

Oh, who could tell, with these accents. *I really, really HATE this 
country.*

She espied Rei, sitting at her desk by the window, aloof as always, and made 
her way over. "Mornin'," she called.

Rei looked up, and nodded to her. "Ohayou, Mina-san."

Mina glanced around the room, and let out a snort. "What's this lot on about 
today?"

The raven-haired girl looked up, glanced around, and her brow lowered 
slightly. "There was some sort of nonsense in the newspapers this morning 
about a group of girls in strange outfits fighting a monster." She frowned. 
"There was that odd story on the news last night, too, about the robbery..."

Mina blinked. "Robbery?"

"Apparently, it was on several stations through the night. I didn't see it 
myself." Rei frowned. "From what I understand, some girl in a strange 
costume apparently foiled two men attempting to rob a jewelry store."

"Really? Wow." *So I WAS on the news last night...*

Rei seemed indifferent. "In any case, several newspapers and even more 
television news programs have been running stories about last night, and 
about an incident they claim occurred yesterday at another school in Juuban. 
It sounds completely ridiculous, and I can't understand why the real news 
media is wasting their time on this foolishness."

Mina nodded, deciding not to comment about Rei's opinion of the matter. "So 
this superhero girl, or girls, or whatever--that's what everyone's talking 
about?"

Rei nodded. "Yes. The news media has dubbed the girl from last night 'Sailor 
V'." She enunciated the name very carefully, in her flawless, unaccented 
English.

Mina smiled sickly. "Is that so? How...strange."

"Yes, isn't it?"

=-------------=

Osaka Naru was a minor celebrity for most of the day.

Everyone wanted to know if she'd seen Sailor V, if she knew anything about 
the Sailor Senshi, if she knew who the three Senshi from their school were, 
if the robbers got away with anything, if her mother was closing the store, 
if, if, if...

After a few hours of it, she just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

As Naru sought refuge in one of the lavatories, Usagi found her, and placed 
a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey...you okay, Naru-chan?"

Naru gave a start, then turned, sighing, and smiled. "Un. I'm just...kinda 
tired. Last night was really long, and then everyone's been pestering me all 
day..."

"So I noticed."

"I wasn't even HOME, though!" Naru exclaimed. "I mean, the whole thing was 
wrapping up when I got home last night, and I didn't even know about this 
'Sailor V' stuff until this morning!" She sighed. "Everyone wants me to say 
I saw her, or I know her, or whatever, and I just..."

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean," Usagi replied softly. She frowned, 
then, and tilted her head. "You were out THAT late? What--"

"I had a late dental appointment," Naru said, grimacing. "And...and I went 
to the hospital, to visit Umino-kun. I felt kinda bad for him, and I know 
nobody else went to see him, so I figured he could use some cheering up."

Usagi smiled. "You're so kind, Naru-chan."

The redhead giggled. "Yeah, I know." She straightened up, digging her 
handkerchief out of her pocket. "So, are you excited about tomorrow night?"

The tea-haired girl grimaced. "Mou, Naru-chan...you KNOW how I feel about 
the jerk fiance..."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Naru started washing her hands. "It's still a big 
fancy party, and the Yamagoto Tower is really beautiful. I think you'll have 
a really good time, even if you don't like the guy you're going with."

"Are you and your mom still going?" Usagi asked. "I mean, with all the...you 
know."

Naru nodded, turning off the water and drying her hands. "Yeah. Mama's 
already got the doors fixed, and she hired private security to keep an eye 
on the place tomorrow night. Besides," she giggled, "I think the whole 
Sailor V thing's gonna scare off anybody stupid enough to try to rob us 
again."

Usagi giggled. "Yeah..."

=-------------=

Lunchtime arrived, and as they sat together eating, Mina noticed that Rei 
seemed unusually pensive. "Something wrong, Rei?" she asked.

The raven-haired girl shook her head slightly. "No, it's just..." She 
paused. "Mina-san...we don't have school tomorrow..."

"Yeah...?"

Rei looked down at her bento. "Um...well, the thing is, I..." She paused. "I 
realise that I've been rather...evasive."

"Evasive? How so?" Mina asked, feigning surprise.

"You are so straightforward with me, and I have not been equally candid. 
If...we are truly to become friends, then perhaps I should...open up more."

Mina smiled. "Hey, I'm not gonna push or pry, Rei. You don't have to do 
anything you don't want to."

"No," Rei replied, shaking her head, "I can make more of an effort than I 
have to reciprocate your friendship." She took a long sip from a can of tea. 
"If...you are not otherwise occupied tomorrow, I..." She hesitated. "I would 
like to invite you to my home."

The blond blinked. "Really?"

"If it is inconvenient--"

"Not at all!" Mina replied enthusiastically. "I'd love to come over! Do you 
need me to bring anything?"

Rei stared at her for a moment, then smiled--a rare, earnest smile. "Just 
yourself and your set books, so we can study. I can help with your 
Japanese..."

Mina winced. "An afternoon with kanji, bleah." At Rei's slightly hurt and 
regretful look, she smiled. "I'm kidding. I'd love the help, really. I can't 
even read a bloody newspaper in this country, it's getting on my nerves."

"I can well imagine."

"So...around noon, then?"

Rei nodded. "I will meet you at the bus stop."

=-------------=

King smiled at the antics of the students. The questionable veracity of the 
reporting aside, the entire 'Sailor V' thing had certainly created enough 
excitement, and the teachers' attempts to quell the students' eagerness to 
gossip about the newest celebrity fell largely flat.

King had been drawn into the discussions about the Sailor Senshi a few 
times, and had fielded them with practised ease, disclaiming any knowledge, 
not offering an opinion on the matter. "Who knows? The world is a strange 
place," was the only answer given to the students' overeager questioning.

Perhaps the most amusing--or the most alarming--part of the day, King mused, 
was when a number of second-years began suspecting the recently-arrived 
British girl, Aino Minako, of being Sailor V, simply because she happened to 
be blond.

King had diffused an awkward moment for the foreign girl when several of her 
classmates had cornered her, gibbering anxiously. She had seemed most 
grateful, as well as terribly flustered.

Poor thing. She was cute, but she got worked up so easily...

=-------------=

As the day wore on, and Naru gradually managed to shake off the eager 
pestering about the Sailor V incident, her mind returned to the alarming and 
disconcerting things Umino had told her the previous day.

*Kino-san...she doesn't act like a delinquent, even if she's a little on the 
tall and scary side, but...*

"Well, I guess I'll see you at the party tomorrow," Usagi's voice broke into 
her thoughts.

Naru jumped, then smiled at her friend. "Yeah. I'll try to bail you out if I 
see your fiance giving you a hard time."

"I'm just glad somebody I know is going to be at this thing," Usagi replied, 
grimacing. "Parties aren't any fun when you're all alone."

"Yeah...well, I need to go help Mama finish up things at the shop. Mata ne!"

*Usagi...* Naru mused as she walked listlessly to the train station. *I 
hope...you're not getting yourself into something you can't handle...*

=-------------=

"So, how was your day, 'Sailor V'?"

Mina groaned and batted playfully at Timothy's shoulder. "Don't. 
Just..don't."

"Why not?" he asked, eyebrows raised, eyes twinkling. "I think it's cute. 
It's catchy, and at least it's something to call you until we know whether 
you're Venus or Mars."

"I'd better be Venus, then, oughtn't I? Because going from Sailor V to 
Sailor M would just be dumb."

Timothy snorted. "Speaking of 'Sailor M', I'm afraid I can't do anything 
tonight. I..." He paused, a pained expression on his face. "I'm going to 
meet Princess Serenity."

Mina's eyes widened. "Really? Tonight? I'll go with--"

"No, love," Timothy said, shaking his head and placing a hand on her 
shoulder. "Not a good idea."

The blond blinked. "But why not?"

Timothy sighed. "The Princess is...somewhat upset with me."

"She is? How come? I mean, how can she be, if she's never even met you?"

"It's kind of a long story."

Mina glanced down at her watch. "I have time."

The white-haired man chuckled wearily. "Well, Her Highness lost control of 
one of her Senshi the other day. Jupiter decided to go on a rampage. Beat 
the snot out of several blokes."

The blond's eyes widened. "No way."

"I'm afraid so. My subordinate, Luna, informed me about it, and said that 
for whatever reason, Serenity decided not to try to find and stop Jupiter 
before she did any real harm." Timothy sighed heavily. "So I took care of it 
myself."

"Took care of--?"

"I disabled Jupiter, temporarily. I sent her home and told her to cool off. 
She didn't take it well. And yesterday, she complained to the Princess."

"And the Princess got mad."

"That's about the size of it. So I'm going to meet with her and try to sort 
this mess out." He smiled gently, tiredly. "You can see why I'd rather go 
alone. I don't want her getting a bad first impression of *you* just because 
she's angry with *me*."

Mina sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah, that makes sense." She smiled. "Well, 
good luck, love." She leaned up and gave Timothy a peck on the cheek, then 
bounced down the sidewalk, headed for home.

The white-haired mage watched her for a long moment, then chuckled and 
strolled away.

=-------------=

Usagi had lingered at the Tower for several minutes after Naru had left, 
hoping to have a word with her two fellow Senshi. Ami, however, was already 
long since gone, and Makoto had blurted out a hasty apology, saying that she 
had an urgent errand to run. She seemed rather unhappy about whatever it was 
she needed to do, so Usagi didn't press or offer to follow.

Finally, she headed for the train station. As she neared the platform for 
her train, a tall, lean figure peeled away from a column, veering into her 
path.

"Oi, kimi."

Usagi stopped just shy of plowing into the black-shirted, green-jacketed 
youth in front of her. She craned her neck to look at him, and her eyes 
narrowed. "*Anata*," she fairly spat.

Chiba Mamoru's cold, dark eyes bored into her. Then, he glanced aside. "I 
have been waiting for you," he said.

"Really? Why?"

"I..." He paused. "I felt it would be prudent to at least speak to you 
before our...'date'. I am not without manners."

*Could've fooled me.* "How thoughtful of you," she said, somewhat frostily. 
Straightening up, she added, "I suppose you're worried I might embarass you 
at the ball."

Mamoru said nothing.

"I assure you, I will be on my best behaviour, *husband*. I will not 
embarass either of our families."

Mamoru nodded curtly. "I will be expecting it." A pause. "I will collect you 
from your home at 18:30, promptly. Be ready to leave immediately." With 
that, he turned and left the train station.

Usagi stood for a long moment, staring at his retreating back. Then, 
scowling darkly, she boarded the newly-arrived train for home.

*As if I didn't have enough problems...*

=-------------=

"So, King-san, what did you think of your first week here?"

King, who was going over worksheets to be graded in a corner of the staff 
room, looked up at the source of the voice, and nodded respectfully. 
"Headmaster. It was...very interesting."

The headmaster was a bit of an enigma. His short hair was the wispy 
silver-white of drifting summer clouds, and yet his face was smooth, 
youthful, and unlined. He nodded, hands clasped behind his back, gazing 
through the open door into the hallway beyond, where students were chatting 
as they left for the weekend, or drifted off to club meetings.

King followed his gaze, and smiled. "There are certainly some very 
interesting students here."

The headmaster smiled, tilting his head to appraise the teaching assistant. 
The harsh glare of the flourescent lights reflected brilliantly off the 
lenses of his round-rimmed spectacles.

"Sou da."

=-------------=

"Hi, Mum!"

Mina's mother raised her eyebrows as her daughter flounced in, stepping out 
of her shoes. "You're in an unusually good mood."

"I'm going to my new friend's house tomorrow," Mina replied.

"Hontou ka?" The Japanese woman stood, a happy expression on her face. "Oh, 
Minako-chan...I knew if you gave it a chance, you'd start to like it 
here..."

Mina raised a hand to forestall the gushing spurt of Japanese patriotism she 
*knew* was coming. "Hold up, Mum. I still hate Japan. But I'm trying. I 
mean, I've got a friend, and..." She paused, hesitant about what she was 
about to reveal to her mother.

"And...?"

*Fuck. I can't let it drop now.* "Well, I only know this because I kinda 
followed her home the other day and she doesn't know it yet, and I think 
she's kind of embarassed about it, but...she lives at a Shinto temple."

Mina's mother blinked several times. "She *lives* at a..."

"Yeah. I guess so, anyway. I mean, her grandpa's the priest there and she 
was doing the chores and dressed up in the red skirt thing and all..."

Mina's mother seemed about to make a scolding remark about her daughter's 
ignorance, but held her tongue. "Hmm...which temple did you say she lives 
at? Was it Hikawa?"

"Yeah, that's the one. You know it?"

With a broad smile, Mina's mother nodded. "I believe I know *exactly* who 
your new friend is..."

=-------------=

Rei kept her face down as she fed wood into the fire heating her 
grandfather's bath.

"So, you are bringing your gaijin friend here tomorrow to study."

"Hai, Jijiue."

"Mmm." The old priest paused. "I trust she will behave respectfully while on 
our sacred grounds?"

"She is not ill-mannered, Jijiue. Just...energetic."

"Mmm." Another long pause. "Did you dispose of that...*obscenity*, as I 
asked?"

"...hai, Jijiue."

"Mmm." Yet another long pause. "I trust there will be no further such 
obscenities."

"Hai, Jijiue."

"Because you know that I will not be as forgiving the next time."

"...hai, Jijiue."

=-------------=

Usagi sat at her dresser, brushing out her hair before bed. The night was 
warm and muggy; on evenings like this, her sleep attire tended towards an 
oversized T-shirt and panties. Her mother often expressed dismay at this; 
she was oddly wary of the dangers of perverts spying on the house.

Usagi always dismissed her concerns with a laugh. After all, her room was on 
the upstairs floor, and she kept her curtains drawn, and who'd want to spy 
on *her*, anyway?

"Your Highness."

Usagi jerked upright, brush clattering to the floor, and spun around.

A man was standing in her bedroom.

The man bowed, smiling winsomely. His silver-grey eyes sparkled with charm. 
"I apologise for startling you, but your...missive did sound rather urgent. 
Allow me to introduce myself.

"My name is Artemis."

=-------------=

to be continued

=-------------=



================================
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com