[FFML] [fanfic][Sailormoon] Moonshadow 14 (random prattle)

[H. Torrance Griffin]

--- On Thu, 7/16/09, The Eternal Lost Lurker <lurkerdrome at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> From: The Eternal Lost Lurker <lurkerdrome at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: [FFML] [fanfic][Sailormoon] Moonshadow 14 (draft)
> To: "FFML" <ffml at chez-vrolet.net>
> Date: Thursday, July 16, 2009, 8:39 AM
> 
> And continuing....
> 
> (The majority of this chapter has been written for about 8
> months. I just 
> wasn't quite happy with it, but now I realize it's about as
> ready as it's 
> ever going to be. It also has no title yet.)

Perfectionism. I can relate.

> Mars frowned, then nodded. In a flash of fire, the Shinto
> miko, Hino Rei, 
> returned. Glancing around and scowling at the damage to the
> temple grounds, 
> she gestured to the open shoji.
> 
> "Perhaps you should phone your respective families before
> you begin," she 
> suggested. "I suspect this is likely to be a very long
> evening."

I would say she is going to be the Creepy One, but there are several in the running already.

> Rei bowed her head. "They are a part of me now," she
> replied. "I can take 
> solace in that. And..." She paused, then set her mouth in a
> determined line. 
> "In their act of sacrifice, they have given me strength,
> both physical and 
> spiritual. I will not allow their sacrifice to be for
> naught."
> 
> "Yeah, having a flying Senshi should come in handy," Usagi
> said. "I mean, 
> we're bound to run into an enemy sooner or later that--"
> She trailed off. 
> "Gomen."
> 
> Rei smiled. "You have a practical mind, Tsukino-hime. I
> respect that. In any 
> event, it falls within the bounds of my duty to cleanse
> impurity and evil 
> spirits wherever I might find them. So I accept this new
> aspect of myself as 
> an extension of that which I have already sworn my life
> to." She stood and 
> bowed formally to Usagi. "I am at your disposal,
> Tsukino-hime."

She's taking this better than Ami or Mako-chan.  Much better... although I suspect she will grate on both of them.

> Mina blinked, then stared at the mage. "Is...is that
> true?"
> 
> "Essentially," Artemis admitted. At her horrified look, he
> added, 
> "Mina...you have to understand. I was the only one left
> alive. I knew what 
> had to be done, but I couldn't do it alone." He paused,
> frowning, an old 
> pain in his eyes. "I was fleeing the Palace. It was burning
> to the ground. 
> Her Majesty had already sacrificed herself. Everyone was
> dead, and almost 
> all the youma had been sealed away. Only a few youma
> escaped Queen 
> Serenity's final spell, and they were dying rapidly, or
> attempting to kill 
> me and...well, obviously not succeeding.

I suspect that Artemis is going to be some time rebuilding his relationship with Mina.

> The youma growled softly. "I would have to be destroyed,
> immediately, lest I 
> kill humans. Which I would, without hesitation--it is my
> nature."

I wonder if she protests too much.

> "This...has been one hell of a weird night," Mina
> pronounced. The others 
> nodded.

Like the others, even with the training wheels, have not?

> "You want some too, huh?"
> 
> "Insolent little bitch!"
> 
> "Oh, you're so fucked now it's not even funny..."
> 
> "Mako-chan? Could you come upstairs for a minute?"
> 
> "Not right now, Motoki--"
> 
> "It's urgent."
> 
> The tall girl sighed, and stepped away from the arcade
> machine and the 
> obnoxious neckbeard she had been soundly beating.
> "Haaaaai..."
> 
> After the two had disappeared into the upstairs office, the
> neckbeard nodded 
> to two boys dressed like rejects from a visual-kei band,
> who nodded to two 
> unassuming-looking office ladies...who pulled identical
> Sten machine guns 
> from their handbags.

Uh-oh.

Makoto is quite fearsome, but not that much so.  Hope she has her bracelet.

> This was really far too easy.

And not for thier sakes.

> Ami adjusted her glasses, which flared with reflected
> light. "I know who the 
> killer is."
> 
> She was right. As usual.
> 
> This was really far too easy.

Hobby?  Or am I forgetting some killings mixed up with this.

> "I can't get over this, cartoons in the middle of the
> night," Mina 
> commented, kicking her bare feet in the air idly. "And who
> came up with this 
> lame romance plot? Yech."
> 
> Rei laughed softly. "I suppose the concept of ren-ai does
> seem a little 
> strange," she said. "Then again, much of our popular
> culture is rather 
> strange, by my estimation."

The feelings mutual, I am sure.

> The blond snorted. "I'll say. I've seen some of those girls
> dressed up in 
> the maid costumes. That's just *weird*." She frowned. "I
> guess I'm a fine 
> one to talk about weird costumes, though, huh?"

Usual feminine usage is 'blonde'.  Common typo but the spellcheck misses it entirely. 

> "I have wondered," Rei admitted, "about the design of those
> Senshi 
> uniforms."

<golf-claps>

> "It is not my place to approve or disapprove," Rei said
> mildly. "I simply do 
> not wish to see you hurt. I have come to care for you as a
> friend...and at 
> the risk of being excessively forthright, I do not trust
> this person."

Aside from Mina, who does?

> "I'm starting to think Umino-kun might be right," Naru
> muttered.
> 
> "Eh?"
> 
> "Ah! Nothing, it's..." the redhead trailed off. Then, she
> sighed. 
> "Usagi-chan..." Looking up at her friend, pain in her eyes,
> she said softly, 
> "Umino-kun found out some...*things*...about Kino-san..."

Oy.

> Everything was dark. She was blindfolded.
> 
> "Okay, what the fuck's goin' on here?" she demanded
> angrily.
> 
> Something struck her sharply across the face. "Shut up,
> bitch!"
> 
> She knew that voice. "Okuda-san? What the--"
> 
> Her captor slapped her again. "I said shut up!"
> 
> "STOP HITTING HER, DAMMIT! I told you we'll refund--"
> 
> Makoto heard a truly sickening sound, followed by a
> tortured scream.
> 
> A rough hand seized her chin. "Now, you still owe me two
> hours. With 
> interest. And my nakama are VERY interested..."

You know that browbeating over abuse of power?  I think Serenity and co. would let it slide this once.

> Usagi wrung her handkerchief over the washbasin with more
> force than was 
> strictly necessary. *Naru-chan, how could you say those
> things...*

Problem is that the core of it is true.  The real question is how much it matters.

> "If you learn where and when she encountered him, you can
> determine which, 
> if any, of the gems on your list he attempted to steal.
> Then, we can rule 
> out at least one possible false lead." She folded her own
> handkerchief and 
> pocketed it. "Good day, Tsukino-san."

Here is hoping she asks her herself.  All five in the same room could be good for multiple laughs.

I do hope that, if she is at all interested in a medical career, she will avoid fields where a bedside manner is expected.

> "Jadeite."
> 
> Beryl scowled at the blond Shitennou as he appeared.
> 
> "Acting on your counsel--yours and Nephrite's--I permitted
> you to engage the 
> Senshi in combat. I am less than pleased with the results."
> She drummed her 
> long, lacquered nails on the armrest of her throne. "Our
> enemies grow in 
> number, and you, the noble sword of the Shitennou,
> retreated with no 
> apparent attempt at direct combat."

Senses of Self Perservation tend to have that effect. 

> Beryl's eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. "Artemis
> lives?!"
> 
> "There is no mistake," Jadeite replied, frowning severely.
> "I had believed 
> that monster dead and buried in the dust of the Moon.
> Nevertheless, he is 
> alive, now, in the human city of Tokyo."

Oh this guy is popular....

> Jadeite was silent for a moment, pensive; he seemed to
> debate whether or not 
> to add to his report. At length, he drew a deep breath, and
> added, "Queen 
> Beryl-sama...the Senshi of the Moon, by the reckoning of
> myself and my 
> brethren, is most likely Princess Serenity herself."

At least that bit of confusion is avoided for the moment.

> The Shitennou saluted and vanished.
> 
> [You are
> ridiculoussss....usssselessssss...pointlessssss....and they
> know 
> it...they mock you...]
> 
> Beryl screamed.

Perhaps she has a few problems of her own then?

Nice to see this continue.

HTG