It was a half-hour until dawn. The sun was still hidden behind the horizon, but still lit the predawn sky with light shades of orange and red following into darker shades. It went further into a dark gray, then into the blackness of the retreating night. For some, it was a beautiful sight, inspiring them to begin their day with a revitalized spirit. For Ryoku, however, it was just the beginning of yet another day.
He woke from his sleep earlier than usual. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t go back to sleep. Muttering to himself, he blinked wearily and got out of bed. Since his bedroom window faced toward the coming dawn, he was bombarded with sunlight. His hand fumbled blindly for his shirt, which was lying on the chair next to his bed, and almost knocked the chair over in the process. Once he retrieved it, he tiredly pulled it over his head as he swung his legs out from underneath the blankets and rested his feet on the floor.
He sat up and stared down at the floor, musing over the events that had changed his life over the past few days. Changing schools didn’t bother him anymore. On his first day, he had made friends, despite the rumors about his past. If Ami was right about the rumors being forgotten in a few days, then that was all the more reason not to worry about it.
The biggest change, however, was the revelation that he, Kino Ryoku, was a Sailor Scout. He had heard a little about the Sailor Scouts before. The warriors fighting for love and justice. Now, he was one, too… well, for justice anyway. He had forsaken love a long time ago….
He gazed over to his left, to the wall where he hung his sword. Just a few days ago he had only thought of it as a family heirloom. Now, it was the means for him to become a Sailor Scout, or at least half of it. I wonder if Dad ever knew if the sword had such powers.… Probably not.
His new friends – Tsukino Usagi and Mizuno Ami – were Sailor Scouts, too. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. To finish the list of surprises, Luna – Usagi’s cat – could not only talk, she was the one who identified each girl – and later, Ryoku himself – as Sailor Scouts. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn that he was in some kind of weird dream. A very, very weird dream. Although he knew it was real, he occasionally expected himself to wake up at any moment.
Today, he and the others were going to try to come up with some way to find his missing sword. They had no clue as to where in the city it could be, if it even was in the city. He slowly rose from his bed and walked over to the window. As he opened it, a small breeze flew inside, flowing across his face and gently blowing his ponytail in the air. His eyes narrowed as he gazed out of his window into the slowly waking city before him.
It’s out there, somewhere. I need to find it, but how?
It was during school when Ryoku first felt it.
He was outside, sitting under one of the trees when a strange feeling came over him. He sat upright, trying to figure out what it was. Before he could do so, it was gone. He looked around, searching for something – he wasn’t sure what – but, he found nothing. Shrugging, he leaned back against the tree and relaxed. He’d figure it out later.
A stray thought came to him. He noticed that none of the students were staring at him, like when he first arrived. Likewise, he hadn’t heard a whisper of rumor about him anywhere. Ami-san was right. They’ve apparently forgotten about me. This might not be a bad school after all.… I just wish Mako-chan was here.… He sighed, depressed again.
“Hey, Ryoku-san,” a voice called from behind. “Are you asleep or something?”
He didn’t recognize the voice at first. “Um, no, actually I’m awake,” he said, turning to see who was talking to him. Standing behind him was a familiar red-haired girl, wearing a green bow in her hair. He remembered that this was the girl he saw, with Usagi and Ami, on his first day. Belatedly, he realized that he didn’t know her name. “What’s your name again?” he asked.
“Naru,” she replied.
“Nice to meet you, Naru-san,” he said, standing up.
She looked at him thoughtfully. There was something in his voice…. “Is there something wrong, Ryoku-san?”
“Wrong?” he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“Yeah, you sound kinda depressed,” she said.
“It’s nothing,” he said quickly.
“Hey, guys,” called another voice. He turned to see Usagi walk up to them.
“Hi, Usagi-chan,” she greeted cheerfully.
“Hi,” he greeted as well, though not as cheerily.
“I see you two have already met,” Usagi said looking from one to the other.
“Not that almost everybody already knows my name, if not my face,” he remarked dryly.
“Oh, are you still upset about those rumors from the day before yesterday?” she asked.
“Everyone’s probably forgotten about them by now,” Naru added.
“I’ve noticed,” he replied. “Well, I suppose that’s one less thing I have to worry about. Anyway, I’ve got something I need to do. I’ll see the both of you later.”
“All right,” Usagi said as she waved goodbye. “Bye, Ryoku-san.”
“See you later, Ryoku-san.” Naru added after Usagi.
He gave a small wave and left. After he was gone, Naru turned to Usagi. “Usagi-chan, do you know what’s bothering, Ryoku-san?”
“No. What makes you think something’s bothering him?” she asked, puzzled.
“Well, he seemed kinda depressed to me.” Naru told her.
“Really?” she said, looking in the direction that he left in. “Now that you mention it, he did seem a little depressed to me, too. I wonder why?”
Beryl was definitely not pleased. Time and again her subordinate’s plans have failed miserably. Maybe she should just get rid of him and be done with it. Still, he had occasionally managed to collect some energy during his doomed plans…. Well, he was lucky. She happened to be in a rare forgiving mood, so she would give him yet another chance to succeed.
“Jadeite, come here at once!” she commanded. Instantly, he appeared before her.
“Yes, my Queen?” he said as he bowed obsequiously.
“I am growing impatient with these failures of yours, Jadeite,” she said scathingly.
“It’s the fault of those meddling Sailor Scouts!” he explained quickly.
“The Sailor Scouts…. Yes, they have managed to interfere with your plans often,” she said thoughtfully. “But, you have constantly failed to eliminate them! You must not allow either Sailor Moon or Sailor Mercury to stop you from gathering energy!”
“Yes, my Queen. I have already devised another plan to gather energy.”
“And what is it?”
“Humans tend to spend large amounts of energy on recreation, especially physical recreation. I will gather this energy for the Dark Kingdom!”
“Very well. Do not fail me this time, Jadeite.”
“Yes, Queen Beryl.”
“I can’t believe I almost forgot about our meeting!” Usagi exclaimed while making a mad dash for Ami’s house. “Oh, I hope they won’t be upset with me for being late.”
“Why should they be?” Luna asked, running beside her. “You’re always late anyway. Why should today be any different?”
“I am not always late!” she retorted indignantly.
“You’re close enough,” Luna muttered.
“Okay, so I’ll work on it!” Usagi replied irritably.
I’ll believe that when I see it, she thought as they finally reached Ami’s house. Ami and Ryoku were outside waiting for them.
“You’re late,” he said flatly with his arms folded. He was wearing his usual neutral expression.
“Sorry, guys. I…,” she began.
“That’s all right, Usagi,” Ami said before she could begin to explain. “We’re not upset.”
“Yeah,” he added, nodding. “We expected you to be late, so we told you to come thirty minutes early.”
“You what?” she fumed indignantly.
“That’s not funny, Ryoku-san,” Ami said disapprovingly. “He’s only joking, Usagi-chan.”
“Oh,” she said as she gave him a scathing look.
He merely shrugged the glare off. “Sorry.”
Ami sighed and opened the door. Usagi, Ryoku and Luna followed as she led them to her room.
As Ryoku entered Ami’s room, the strange feeling he felt earlier at school came back. It was stronger this time, but he still couldn’t figure out what it was. He walked over to the window and stared outside, hoping to at least figure out where it was coming from.
“All right, everyone,” Luna said, “now that we’re all here, we need to figure out a way to find Ryoku-san’s missing sword.” She looked over at him as he was staring out Ami’s window with a contemplative look on his face. “Ryoku-san?” she called out, trying to get his attention.
“I heard you, Luna,” he answered without looking away from the window. “Don’t worry about me. Go on with the meeting.”
“Hmph. Fine then,” she said, slightly annoyed. “We are holding this meeting to help you, you know.”
“I appreciate that, Luna,” he replied, still not turning from the window.
She sighed and turned her attention back to the two girls behind her. She noticed that they were frowning at Ryoku’s behavior as well. “Well, girls, any ideas?”
“We could go search through antique stores,” Usagi offered.
“I’ve already looked,” Ryoku said, still looking out the window. “Nothing there.”
“Oh,” Usagi replied. “We could check the shopping center, then.”
“I don’t think they would allow swords in there, Usagi-chan,” Ami said as she sweatdropped.
“Well… can we go anyway?” Usagi asked. “You never know. Someone could’ve brought one in by accident and sold it to some store as… oh, maybe a walking stick or something.” Everyone sweatdropped at once. “Maybe not,” she said.
“You just want an excuse to go shopping again!” Luna rebuked chidingly.
“Ahahaha…. What makes you think that?” Usagi asked nervously as she placed a hand behind her head in chagrin.
Luna sighed in exasperation. “Never mind,” she muttered in vexation.
“Why don’t we try looking for it with my minicomputer?” Ami suggested.
Ryoku turned from the window and looked at her curiously. “What minicomputer?”
She pulled out her minicomputer and showed it to him. He blinked as he noticed the symbol of Mercury on the back. “I guess we forgot to tell you about it,” she said.
“Anything else you three forgot to tell me about?” he asked, a dry, amused half-smile appearing on his face as he walked over to look at the minicomputer over Ami’s shoulder.
“No, I think that’s it,” she said apologetically, while starting her computer.
“So, how are you going to look for my sword with that?” he asked, watching as she pressed a few buttons.
“I’m going to scan the city for any unusual energy readings. Hopefully, the computer will find your sword and show us the location.”
“Hopefully?”
“Well, there is a possibility that the computer might pick up something else instead. After all, I’m not completely sure what kind of energy readings I’m looking for.”
“It’s too bad you can’t just show the computer what you’re looking for,” Usagi said with a sigh.
“Yeah…. Wait! That’s it!” he exclaimed suddenly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise. “What’s it?” Usagi asked curiously.
“Ami-san, can your computer scan this?” he asked, reaching behind his back and pulling out his sword.
“Where did that come from?” Usagi asked as her eyes widened in astonishment.
“I was carrying it with me,” he answered simply.
“How?” she asked as she stared at him. He was wearing his usual light brown school uniform. “I can’t see how you could carry something like that without it showing.”
He half-smiled mischievously. “Magic.”
She looked as if she didn’t believe him. “You carry it with you all the time? Even at school?”
“You and Ami-san carry your transformation items to school all the time,” he pointed out. “You display yours for the world to see, even though no one would expect it to be anything other than a normal brooch. Besides, would you rather I left it at home? I’m sure that would be a big help whenever we need to transform. By the time I run home, get my sword and run back, most likely it would be too late for me to do any good.”
“Good point,” she admitted.
“So, Ami-san, can your computer scan my sword?” he asked as he handed his sword over to her.
“Of course it can,” she confirmed as she took his sword. “Why…?” She stopped as soon as she realized what he was thinking. “That’s a great idea, Ryoku-san!” she said, grinning widely.
“Do you what those two are talking about?” Usagi asked Luna.
The black cat shook her head. “No clue.”
“Let me explain,” he said while Ami went to work. “We’re trying to find the sword that goes with this one, right?” They nodded. “Since I currently have only half of my power as Sailor Knight, I assume that my sword contains half of Sailor Knight’s powers. An exact half,” he added with some emphasis on the last part.
“I still don’t get it,” Usagi said, still baffled.
“I do,” Luna said. “You want Ami-chan to scan your sword and use her computer to search the city for any energy readings that might match your sword’s.”
“Exactly.”
“All right, I’m done,” Ami said as she returned his sword.
“Thanks,” he said as he made his sword vanish behind his back again.
Usagi walked over to him and peered behind his back. “Where’d you put it?” she asked, patting his back as she tried to find where he hid his sword. She grabbed his left sleeve and lifted it, finding nothing.
“Um…. Would you please stop that?” he asked emotionlessly before she could examine his right sleeve.
“Oh…. Um, sorry about that, Ryoku-san,” she apologized sheepishly and went back to where she was sitting before.
He turned toward the window, eyes narrowing as a sudden thought ran across his mind. The strange feeling he had felt earlier… somewhere in that direction? “Ami-san, can you start your search in that direction?” he asked, pointing in a direction out the window.
“Sure,” she answered as she did so. “Any reason why?”
“Just a feeling,” he replied, frowning in thought.
She pressed a few buttons and waited as the computer ran through its search. Everyone else gathered around her and watched, waiting for the computer to come up with a location. Luna leaped into her lap to get a better view of the computer screen. Within moments, the computer had a location.
“That looks like Shiba Park,” Ami concluded as she read the coordinates.
So, I was right. That feeling was the sword. It’s somehow calling me.… “Well, now that we know where it is, let’s go and get it,” he offered.
“Sounds good to me,” Luna said. “To the park.”
The jogger never knew what hit him. One moment, he was jogging down one of the many paths in the park; the next moment, he collapsed to the ground, drained of energy.
After draining the jogger of all his energy, the lizard-like youma reappeared. It was green and scaly with claw-like hands. Its long yellow hair matched its eyes and the long tunic that it wore.
It looked around for any sign of approaching humans, finding none. Disappointed, the creature left the comatose jogger behind and went to search the park grounds for more human energy. It hadn’t gone very far before a voice caused it to stop in its tracks.
“Karmelia, how is your progress?” Jadeite inquired.
“It goesss well, Massster,” Karmelia hissed. “I have collected a vassst amount of energy from the humansss.”
“Very good. Just make sure that you keep an eye out for those Scouts. They always seem to find a way to ruin all of my plans. I want no problems this time. Understand?”
“Of courssse, Massster. The Sssailor Scoutsss will not interfere.”
“I should hope not,” Jadeite replied and disappeared.
Karmelia gazed down the path she had been running down. She could see a girl on rollerblades approaching quickly. She leaped to one side of the path and altered her scaly skin to blend in with her background. She stood still and waited.
When the skater was in range, she leaped from her hiding place and completely drained the girl of all her energy as she did with the jogger. That done, she let the girl slide lifelessly to the ground and continued her search for more human energy.
The four reached the entrance of Shiba Park that was closest to the spot where Ami’s computer indicated. She was staring at the screen of her computer, while Usagi watched over her shoulder. Ryoku merely waited to one side while she tried to pinpoint his sword’s location. Luna was sitting on his right shoulder.
“Usagi-chan, you really shouldn’t bother Ami-chan while she’s working,” Luna chided from his shoulder.
“Oh, that’s all right,” Ami said. “She’s not bothering me.”
“See, Luna,” Usagi added. “I’m not bothering her. No need to get bossy on me.”
“How’s the search coming along, Ami-san?” he asked, changing the subject.
“I’m almost there,” she answered absently as her concentration was focused mainly on her calculations. “I just need a little more… there! I’ve got it!”
“Where?”
“That way,” she pointed.
“Let’s go,” he said as he headed into the park with the others following. As they made their way through the park, an uneasy feeling began to settle among them. There was something wrong, but they couldn’t see anything that would cause them to feel….
Wait a minute…, Ryoku thought when a sudden realization hit him. “Where is everybody?” he asked, looking around. They were alone.
“It’s weird,” Usagi said apprehensively. “There isn’t anyone here.”
“The park seems… empty for some reason,” Ami remarked, looking up from her minicomputer. She had a puzzled expression on her face.
“I think I’d feel better having that sword in my hands,” he said, turning back to the others. “How far now, Ami-san?”
She looked back down at her computer. “It’s close,” she said, pointing again. “That way.”
He nodded and pulled out his sword from behind his back. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he muttered.
“I bet a youma had a hand in this,” Luna stated warily.
“Everyone keep an eye out,” he cautioned as they continued steadily toward the sword’s location, everyone watching for trouble while Ami directed them to the sword. A soft rustling of the bushes from behind told him that they weren’t alone.
“I think we’ve being watched from behind,” he cautioned quietly without turning his head.
“Where?” Usagi asked, turning around to look.
“No! Don’t turn your head!” he warned, but it was already too late.
As soon as she turned her head, whatever was watching them leaped out to attack. Although they couldn’t see their attacker, the movement of the bushes and other plant life marked its location.
Immediately, he stepped between the others and their attacker; his sword raised in defense. “Hurry! Go!” he shouted, giving them a guarded look over his shoulder.
Luna nodded. “Come on, Usagi-chan! This way!” she shouted, as she ran off. Ami and Usagi quickly followed suit.
He listened carefully for any sound that would give away his opponent’s position. Hearing heavy footsteps to his right, he dived forward, dodging a slashing blow. As he came to his feet, he heard a hissing sound. He ducked as something flew overhead. From his crouch, he performed a backflip with his sword out, slashing upward at his opponent. He heard a hissing shout as he landed on his feet. Before he could move out of the way, he was struck hard in the chest. The blow sent him flying through the air and slamming into a nearby tree. When he regained his senses, he realized that he had been disarmed by the attack. His sword was lying a good distance away from him.
And the hissing noise was coming closer.
Now that they were under cover, Usagi and Ami both pulled out their transformation items.
“Moon prism power, make up!”
“Mercury power, make up!”
The two Sailor Scouts ran back to where they had left Ryoku, with Luna trailing behind them. They arrived just in time to see him crash against a tree. His sword was lying a few feet from him.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted. A thick mist appeared, clouding sight. She quickly pressed an earring and a visor appeared over her eyes. Pulling out her minicomputer, she did a quick scan of the area. Her computer picked up the life-signs and location of the youma and projected the information into her visor.
“Everyone, listen. This youma has the ability to blend with its surroundings like a chameleon. That’s why it appears to be invisible to us.”
“How can we fight something we can’t see?” Sailor Moon complained.
Ryoku looked up into the mist. A subtle movement caught his eye; a part of the mist was moving as if it was alive. “Sailor Mercury, keep up the fog!” he called out into the mist. “The youma’s camouflage isn’t perfect. If you see the fog move, that’s the youma.” He then leaped to his right and dived forward, past the creature, and ran for his sword. He scooped it up and headed straight for the others.
“It looks like I won’t be much help unless I can get my other sword,” he said quickly. “Mercury, how close is it?”
“Very close,” she reported. “It’s straight that way. I’ll go with you.”
“And leave me to fight this thing by myself?” Sailor Moon whined.
“You did all right by yourself before,” Luna pointed out.
“None of my enemies were invisible before,” she countered.
“She has a point,” he conceded. “No, Mercury, you have to help Sailor Moon. You’ll need to maintain the fog so you can see the youma despite its near-invisibility. I’ll only need Luna to unlock the sword’s power.”
“How will you find it?”
“It’s close by,” he said, his voice suddenly distant. “I can feel it, now.” The pulling of the sword was strong now. He could point out its direction with his eyes closed. “You two keep it busy. I’ll be right back, with both of my swords.” He ran off into the trees with Luna close behind.
“Well, Sailor Moon, it’s up to us to take care of this youma until Ryoku-san gets back. Ready?” she asked.
“Not really,” Sailor Moon whimpered.
A subtle shifting of the fog showed that the youma, Karmelia, was on the attack again. Mercury’s visor caught the movement and displayed the location for her. “Sailor Moon, over there!” she said, pointing.
“Well, here it goes,” she said reluctantly. “Moon tiara action!” Her tiara flew in the direction indicated. Karmelia saw the attack coming despite the mist and dodged it easily.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted. A stream of bubbles flew from her gloved hands, flying toward Karmelia. Her attack came closer to hitting the youma, but it still missed.
“Look out!” she cried as Karmelia finally reached the two Scouts. She grabbed both Scouts by their necks, one in each hand, and lifted them above the ground. Both Scouts dangled by Karmelia’s hands, each one grabbing at the hand that held her and pulling, trying to loosen the youma’s grip. Before they managed to even budge her hands, they were thrown through the air, hitting tree branches and limbs as they flew. They landed on another path, on the other side of the trees.
“Sailor Moon, are you all right?” Mercury asked as she got to her feet.
“I guess,” Sailor Moon replied, also getting to her feet. “That youma’s quick. I hope Luna and Ryoku-san hurry up. We could use another Sailor Scout about now.”
He was getting closer. He and Luna were making their way through clusters of trees and cutting across paths as they headed straight for the sword. Occasionally, they came across some of the victims of the youma’s energy drains. They were all lying comatose, breathing slowly as if they were only fast asleep. Their faces were a ghastly pale color. He spared them only a glance. He had no time to help them. The only way he could truly help was to find his sword and help the Sailor Scouts defeat this new threat.
They had entered yet another thicket when the pulling of the sword on his mind suddenly doubled. He came to an abrupt stop with Luna not far behind him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I think we’re here,” he said, looking at the trees around him. “Now, all I need to do is find it.”
“Let’s start searching, then.”
He closed his eyes to get a better feel for the sword’s location. He let the pull of the sword guide his feet as he moved. Slowly, step by step, the pull grew stronger the closer he came. It continued to grow until he ran smack into one of the trees.
“Ow…,” he muttered, backing away from the tree he hit while feeling like an idiot.
“Are you all right, Ryoku?” she asked with a concerned, yet amused look on her face.
He closed his eyes again, feeling for the sword’s location. It was right in front of him. “Better than all right, Luna,” he said, a half-smile growing on his usually serious face. “I think I found it… sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Well, it’s here,” he said, looking up the tree. “Whether up the tree or in the tree is another question. You think you can take a look up there?”
“Why me?”
“Well, you’re the cat.”
She gave him an exasperated look. “Oh, all right.” She climbed up into the tree and started looking for the sword. “Nothing here,” she told him.
“I guess that means that it’s inside the tree then. Come down, Luna. I’m gonna cut down this tree.”
“Um, Ryoku-san….”
“Yes?”
“Can you…. Um…. Well….”
“Oh, sure, Luna.”
He climbed up into the tree and climbed back down with Luna on his shoulder.
“Not a word of this to Usagi-chan,” she warned sternly. “If she knew about this, she would never let me live it down.”
“No problem, Luna,” he agreed. “I promise I won’t tell.”
After he climbed out of the tree, he pulled out his sword from its hiding place behind his back. Focusing his energy into his sword, he swung it at the tree. He swung his sword a second time, a little higher than the last. The tree didn’t move.
“Did you miss?” she asked a few moments later.
“Nope,” he replied smugly. “Watch.” He kicked the side of the tree between the two cuts he made. The middle part flew out, as the top part came crashing down on the trunk. He grabbed the top part of the tree to keep it from falling to the ground. Despite having a section taken out of it, the tree looked almost the same, even though it was shorter than before. “How’s that?” he asked her as he walked over to the piece he cut out of the tree.
“Not bad.”
He examined the piece of the tree for a moment. “Luna, can you feel anything from this piece I cut?”
Luna walked over to the log and studied it. “Yes, I can feel the same kind of power that I felt from you before. We’ve found the sword.”
“Now, how do we get it out? Just hack at the log until I reach it?”
“I have an idea. Put your sword on the log.”
He placed his sword on the log as she suggested. “Now what?”
“Now, leave it to me,” she said as a thin yellow beam shot out of the crescent moon on her forehead, exactly like when she unlocked his first sword’s power. Both the sword and the log began to glow with a brilliant silver light. The light flashed and disappeared leaving a pair of swords behind.
He reached over to retrieve the swords. The first one he recognized as his original sword. The second one looked almost exactly like the first, but it had a different insignia on it. Where his original sword had a pair of crossed swords, the second had a crescent moon on its side with the symbol of Earth in its hollow.
“This is it,” he said reverently. “The second Knight Sword. I have them both now.”
“Good. Now, hold the sword just like you did with the first one, and I’ll unlock the sword’s power.”
He held his newest sword in front of him. Luna’s yellow beam reappeared from her forehead, shining over the sword’s insignia. Just like before, a second beam shot from the sword to his forehead. As the beam shined on his forehead, the previous sword’s insignia suddenly reappeared. Slowly, the second sword’s insignia joined with the first to become the same symbol that first appeared on his forehead. The symbol that marked him for who he was.
The symbol of Sailor Knight.
When Luna cut off the beam to the sword, the second beam cut off as well. “There. Now the power of Sailor Knight is yours, Ryoku-san.”
“Great. Now what?”
“Raise your swords above your head, cross them and shout, ‘Knight swords power!’ You’ll then transform into Sailor Knight. Now, Ryoku-san, transform!”
“Right!” he said, raising his swords overhead and crossing them. “Knight swords power!” Silver light surrounded him, transforming him into a Sailor Scout. A short time later, Ryoku was gone and Sailor Knight stood in his place.
“All right, let’s go find the others,” Sailor Knight said as he and Luna darted of to find the other Scouts.
“Shabon spray!” Yet another mist rose to take the place of the last one.
“Moon tiara action!” Sailor Moon flung her tiara again. Karmelia dodged the tiara again, but this time she made her tiara curve towards the youma, hitting her from behind. Karmelia’s camouflage suddenly flickered and disappeared.
“There it is!” she shouted.
“Earth thrust!” a voice shouted from behind them. A large spike of stone flew straight at the now exposed youma. It missed hitting her directly, but managed to pin her to a nearby tree by her long yellow hair.
The Scouts turned to see Sailor Knight and Luna walking up to them. He was wearing one of his half-smiles as he approached them. “Am I late?” he asked.
“No, you’re just in time,” Sailor Moon told him. She reached once again for her tiara, and pulled it off. “Moon tiara action!” she shouted, throwing her tiara again.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted. Her bubbles began to swirl around the flying tiara.
“Earth thrust!” Knight shouted. His stone spike went through the middle of the tiara, joining with it and the bubbles.
The combined attack slammed into the lizard-creature, who was still trying to free herself from the stone spike that held her hair to the tree. The creature turned to dust, then vanished, releasing the energy it collected back into the people she drained.
From behind one of the trees, Jadeite clenched a fist in frustration. “Karmelia failed me,” he growled angrily. “Even worse, now there’s another one to deal with.
“Just you wait, Sailor Scouts. I will win, yet!” He turned and disappeared.
Ryoku sat between Ami and Usagi on one of the park benches. He had both his swords on his lap, which Usagi was gazing at with a curious interest.
“So, you found the other one in one of the trees?” she asked, looking at the sword in question.
“Yes. Strange, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Who goes around putting swords in trees?”
“Not exactly my first choice of a hiding place, either, but at least I was able to get it,” he said. “By the way, thanks you two, for your help in finding my sword.”
“Your welcome,” Ami said, smiling at him.
“Glad to help, Ryo-kun,” Usagi added. “You know you can count on us to help you in any way you need.”
He glanced at Usagi. There was something about the way she said that…. Ryo-kun, eh? I kinda like the sound of that.… “I know,” he said, nodding. “You can both count on me as well, Usagi-chan. Ami-chan.” Both girls grinned at his more familiar use of their names. Especially Usagi.
Looks like I was mistaken. I guess he was just having a bad morning.
He stood up with both swords in hand and put both swords away behind his back. “I wish you’d tell me how you do that,” she grumbled. “One sword I could believe, but how do you hide two swords like that?”
Ryoku gave her one of his amused half-smiles. “I told you before,” he said with a smirk. “Magic.”
To Chapter 12: An Uncharmed Life