Finishing the last chapter she had planned to study tonight, Ami closed her book and went downstairs to get herself something to eat. She hadn’t eaten since she started studying, so she was ravenous. It wasn’t very often that she would study for over four hours without a break.
She quickly made herself a sandwich and took it back up to her room. She was alone, again. Her mother was working another late night at the hospital. Being alone never bothered her, though. She knew it was with good cause.
After finishing her sandwich, she left her plate on her desk, so she could bring it down tomorrow morning, and got ready for bed. When she was done, she sat on her bed and looked over at the wedding bouquet that both Usagi and Rei had suggested that she keep, since Ryoku didn’t want it. The bouquet that she and Ryoku had both caught.
His behavior after that puzzled her. When the others asked who was keeping it, all he said was, “I don’t want it,” in a flat, emotionless tone and turned to leave. The expression on his face and the way he said it was obviously sad. His sudden mood swing immediately disheartened each of them. She was going to ask him what was wrong, but Usagi beat her to it.
“I don’t wish to talk about it,” he said without turning around. He stood there for a few minutes longer, not moving, as they continued to watch him. He softly sighed to himself. “Perhaps one day, but not now,” he said after a long pause, and left.
That happened several days ago, but every time she looked at that bouquet it reminded her of what he said and the mystery of his constant depression. She hated seeing her friend like that but there was nothing she or the others could do about it for now.
“I can’t believe how much homework Haruna-sensei gave us,” Usagi complained. “It’ll take me forever just to do it all! Hey, Naru-chan, you wanna go to the arcade?”
“I thought you were going to do your homework?” Naru replied.
“That can wait,” Usagi said.
“Excuse me, Usagi-san?” a voice called behind them. They turned to see a long-haired brunette walking up to them. Usagi recognized the girl immediately. Ariana Bryant, an American student who had just transferred into Juuban almost a month ago after her family moved to Tokyo. Her mother was born and raised in Japan, so she spoke both English and Japanese fluently, but with a mixed accent.
“What is it, Ariana-chan?” Usagi asked.
“I need to talk to you for a second,” she said. “Alone. That is, if you don’t mind, Naru-san.”
“I don’t mind,” Naru said. “I needed to get started on my homework anyway. I’ll see you later, Usagi-chan.”
“Right,” Usagi replied. “See you later, Naru-chan.” She turned back to the brunette as Naru left. “What is it, Ariana-chan?”
“I need to ask you a question,” Ariana began nervously. “You know Kino Ryoku-san, right?”
“Yeah. What about him?”
Ariana paused as she visibly gathered herself. “Is he… seeing anyone right now? Does he have… a girlfriend?” she asked quickly and blushed slightly.
Usagi looked at her in surprise. Ariana was usually a very shy, bashful girl. It must’ve taken a lot just to ask her about Ryoku.
“No, he doesn’t have a girlfriend and he isn’t seeing anyone,” Usagi answered. “But, he isn’t interested in seeing anyone, either.”
“Oh,” she said, obviously dejected. “Well, thank you for your time, Usagi-san. I’ll be going now.”
“I’m sorry, Ariana-chan,” Usagi said to the departing girl.
She stopped and turned to Usagi, giving her a small smile. “That’s okay. Thank you for your concern.”
At the woods mansion, Nephrite stood in the chamber where he made his plans. The darkness and the stars filled the room, blocking out all light but its own. Nephrite closed his eyes and concentrated.
“The stars know all. I seek your guidance with my newest victim.” The stars rotated around the center, where a bolt of dark energy suddenly hit his forehead. “The scales of Libra have tilted,” he continued. A vision suddenly filled his head; a vision of a bashful brunette girl in a school uniform. “The scales point to this girl. Ariana Bryant. The next target has been chosen.”
Ariana was disappointed at the news she had learned from Usagi. She was hoping that he might’ve been interested in someone like herself. But, since he wasn’t interested in seeing anyone…. At least he wasn’t seeing anyone right now. That meant that she might still have a chance later. Maybe she could change his mind. But, how…?
She was just walking by a flower shop when an idea suddenly hit her. Just because he wasn’t looking for someone, didn’t necessarily mean that if someone expressed interest in him, he would reject it. Maybe a flower and a card from a ‘secret admirer’ would get him interested.
After thinking about what to get him for several minutes, she finally decided on a single yellow rose. The card was simple. She would just write: ‘From a secret admirer.’ That short, simple, yet cryptic message should catch his interest. She paid for her things and left the shop.
Just as she was leaving the shop, she bumped into a man in a business suit who was passing by the store, causing her to drop her rose and card. “Oh, excuse me, sir,” she said apologetically.
“That’s all right,” the man said, bending over to pick up her rose and card. “Here, let me get these for you.” He picked up the rose and card, while glancing at the card’s message. “A secret admirer?” he said, handing her the items.
She blushed crimson. “Yes, sir,” she said shyly.
“Hoping to catch the interest of some lucky young man, are you?” he said with an amused grin as he continued on his way. “I wish you luck.”
“Thank you, sir,” she whispered to the departing man’s back.
Nephrite laughed to himself as he walked away. The energy I have placed in that girl’s rose will increase her infatuation dramatically. The energy spent in pursuing her crush should be adequate.…
The next day, Rei was watching Ryoku perform a few complex martial arts techniques; some so complex she knew she would need a lot of practice before she could do the same. She wanted to really impress Mamoru the next time she went with him to his martial arts class, so she had asked Ryoku over to have him show her some of his best moves.
The last move he had just done was to leap off a nearby tree to one of the shrine’s stone pillars, then into clear air, cleanly executing three midair kicks before he began to descend. While falling, he performed a spinning kick, then landed in a crouch. He stood up, then looked at Rei.
“That good enough?” he asked smugly.
“That was incredible!” Rei agreed, applauding. “But I think it’ll take a long time before I can do anything like that.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on how much you practice.”
“Thanks just the same,” she replied. “I think I’ll stick with what I already know. After all, I beat him the last time and I can probably beat him again.”
“Maybe I should be showing him some new moves,” he said with a smirk.
“What, so he can beat me next time?”
He shrugged again. “Does it matter? After all, you’re the one dating him. Do you want to impress him by showing him some new moves, or by beating him even worse than the last time?”
“Well….”
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter to me,” he said finally. “You know, Rei-chan, your grandpa’s shrine is really quite a peaceful place. Maybe I should come here more often for when I practice either martial arts or swordplay. That is, if you don’t mind?”
“No, I don’t mind,” she answered. “I don’t think Grandpa would mind, either.”
“Really? Thanks, Rei-chan,” he said with a half-smile. “Well, I’ll see you later.”
“See you later, Ryo-kun,” she said with a small grin as he left.
While walking home, he began to muse over what happened yesterday. Usagi had told him about what Ariana had asked her yesterday. She wasn’t the first to inquire about his current love life, but seeing how she was such a shy girl, it stood out in his mind. So when he found a card signed by a ‘secret admirer’ on his desk, he had a good idea of who it was. She was most likely hoping that he would try to find out who sent the card.
His musings were cut short when he heard someone following him. Whoever it was, they were trying hard not to be heard by him. He continued walking, over to a high brick wall and turned the corner. Then, he leaped over the wall and leaped to the top of the wall he had just passed by. He remembered when he did the same thing with Usagi and Ami when he first transferred to their school. However, unlike the last time, he couldn’t see anyone trying to follow him. Either he was imagining things, or whoever was following him was very good at stalking. Almost as good as he was. That thought didn’t suit him at all.
All the way home, he continued trying to see who was following him, but each time his pursuer evaded him. He considered continuing past his apartment, but he decided against it. If all of this was just his imagination, then he would feel very foolish being kept away from his home by his own imagination. Gazing at his surroundings one more time, he finally decided to go inside.
After Ryoku had entered his apartment and closed the door behind him, Ariana leaped out of the tree she had been hiding in. Now, she knew where he lived. She would have to work on her stalking technique, since he had heard her coming several times. Except for that little setback, everything was going according to plan. Soon, she would have him.
“So, she beat you again?”
“Yeah, again,” Mamoru said, nodding with slight embarrassment. Ryoku had just run into him a few minutes ago, while after he had finished with a couple of errands he had to run. Ryoku decided to walk with him, since he really didn’t have anything better to do for a while.
“Maybe you need to practice more,” he suggested.
“It’s not really that important. Besides, she enjoys it. She’s a little bit better than I am, so I don’t mind.”
“Oh, really?” Ryoku remarked, not totally believing him.
“What? You think I’m letting her win?”
“Some guys do that, you know. I’m not saying you do, of course.”
“Of course,” Mamoru responded skeptically.
“Oh, Ryoku-sama!” a female voice called from across the street. Ryoku and Mamoru both turned to see a familiar-looking brunette running up to them, ignoring the traffic passing through the street.
“What are you doing?” Ryoku yelled as Ariana continued to make her way across the street, leaping past car after car.
“Ryoku-sama?” Mamoru asked with an eyebrow raised questioningly. “You know this lunatic girl?”
“Not really,” Ryoku replied as she finally made it to the other side, luckily avoiding both every single car and causing a traffic accident due to her crossing in the first place.
“Hello, Ryoku-sama,” Ariana said sweetly as she walked up to him. She was holding a yellow rose in her right hand.
“Um…. Hi, Ariana-san,” he answered, confused at her strange behavior. “You really didn’t have to cross the street like that just to talk to me. You could’ve used the crosswalk at the end of the street, like other people.”
“I know,” she said with a huge grin. “I just didn’t want to wait that long.”
Ryoku and Mamoru exchanged a look and sweatdropped. “Well, I’m just getting in the way, so I’ll be going,” Mamoru said as he turned to leave. “See you around, Ryoku.”
“Come back here!” Ryoku growled, obviously not pleased at being abandoned. “You traitor….”
As soon as he left, Ariana inched closer to Ryoku and suddenly hugged him, effectively pinning his arms to his sides.
“Ariana-san! What are you doing? Would you please let go of me?!?” he exclaimed.
“Why, Ryoku-sama?” she asked in a pouty voice. “Don’t you like me?”
Ryoku choked slightly. “Ariana-san, I’m sure you’re a nice girl and everything,” he said calmly, “but can you please let me go? I’m not really fond of not being able to move my arms.”
“But, why?” she pouted. “And I brought this pretty yellow rose for you, too. Well, if you want me to let you go, I will. On one condition, though,” she said as she stared up into his eyes.
He gulped silently at the look in her brown eyes. “And… what’s the… condition?” he asked uneasily.
“Kiss me,” she murmured in a low, smoky voice. “Right here and right now.”
“What?!?” he exclaimed as his eyes widened at far as they could go.
“I’m only joking,” she said as she let go of him.
“Thank you,” he said a little unsteadily. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be… well… somewhere else right now.”
“Okay, where’re we going?”
“We’re going nowhere,” he replied, stepping back uneasily. “You’re going home, or wherever. I’m going somewhere else.” He regretted having to speak like that to her, but he had to be firm with her or else she’d never leave him alone. Hopefully, she’d just pout again, or whine and cry and call him mean, but either way she’d stop pestering him. What she did, though, caught him completely by surprise.
“Oh… all right,” she said smiling and in a tone so sweetly that it put his senses on alert.
There’s definitely something wrong here, he thought worriedly to himself. Ariana-san is acting like a.… He almost shuddered at the thought. …and it’s definitely more than just a cure for her shyness.
“Okay…,” he said, turning to leave. “I’ll see you later at school, then.” He left quickly while Ariana just watched him leave.
“Ryoku-sama,” Ariana said quietly to herself in a low, menacing tone as she clenched a fist around the stem of her flower. “Is there something else you’d rather do than be with me? Well, let’s just see what that is…. Or, perhaps… who that is….”
Ryoku hurried over to Usagi’s house, hoping to talk to both her and Luna about his suspicions. He occasionally looked behind him to see if Ariana was following him. Luckily, she wasn’t.
He was just about to walk up to Usagi’s door, when he saw that door was already open and she was already on her way out, with Luna.
“Ryo-kun,” Usagi said cheerily. “Luna and I were just about to head over to the shopping center for some new manga. You wanna come?”
“Some other time, maybe,” he replied. “Right now, I have to talk to both you and Luna.” He lowered his voice and looked at both of them pointedly. “It’s business.” Apparently they both understood what kind of business, since Luna only nodded and Usagi merely groaned to herself.
“Why can’t these things happen when I’m not doing anything fun, like when I’m doing homework, or something?” Usagi complained.
“Come on, I’ll tell you along the way,” he said as he, Usagi and Luna went to get the others.
Stepping out from within the shadows, Ariana stared balefully after Usagi. “So, Usagi-san, you thought you could play with my feelings by telling me he’s not dating anyone, when he’s really seeing you? I thought you were my friend… you lying traitor. I should kill you for that, you…!” A menacing grin slowly replaced the brunette’s enraged scowl as she laughed wickedly to herself. “No problem. I’ll just deal with you… when I deal with him.”
After getting Ami and recounting the whole story to her, the group went to Rei’s shrine to inform her of the latest Dark Kingdom attempt at energy stealing. They found Rei sweeping the wooden floors of the shrine’s buildings, dressed in her usual red and white robes.
“Hey everyone,” Rei called, looking up from her work. “Something up?”
“Rei-chan, you’re not going to believe the story we’ve just heard from Ryo-kun!” Usagi said, earning disapproving stares from Luna, Ami and Ryoku.
“Oh, really?” Rei said, her interest piqued. “What is it?”
“You didn’t have to sound so amused when you told her, Usagi-chan,” Ryoku said, annoyed.
“Sorry, Ryo-kun,” Usagi replied contritely.
“Anyway, what happened is that Usagi-chan’s friend, Ariana Bryant, has suddenly began to act strangely, just like every person who had been under Dark Kingdom control,” Ryoku began. “Usually, Ariana-san is a polite, shy, bashful girl, but lately she has been acting the complete opposite.
“She used to have a small crush on me,” he continued, “or so I learned from Usagi, but just a while ago, she had ran across a busy street, down the middle with cars coming both ways, just to talk to me. After that, she just suddenly hugged me, pinning my arms to my sides and calling me ‘Ryoku-sama’! She may have tried following me wherever I go, if I hadn’t demanded that she stop pestering me!
“This is not a small crush; it’s an obsession! I’m positive that it’s the Dark Kingdom’s doing.” He noticed that Rei was trying hard not to laugh. “Oh, don’t tell me that you think it’s funny, too?” As soon as he said it, Rei suddenly burst out laughing.
“Ryoku-sama!” she gasped as she burst out laughing. Usagi soon began laughing as well.
“I’m hurt,” he muttered in a deadpan tone as he folded his arms irritably.
“I’m sorry, Ryo-kun, but just the thought of you having to run from a girl with a crush on you….”
“Thank you for your concern,” he muttered to himself, as Rei got herself under control. “However, I seriously doubt that this is just any ordinary crush.”
“We have to find her quickly,” Ami interjected. “Who knows what the Dark Kingdom’s influence will make her do?”
“Ami-chan is right,” Rei said, putting her broom aside. “We shouldn’t waste any time looking for her.”
“Don’t bother looking,” a voice said darkly from above them. “I’ll come to you.”
“Oh, great. It’s her again,” Ryoku muttered as they all looked up to see Ariana leap down from the roof of the building they were standing next to.
The brunette had an evil grin on her face as she stared at the group. “So, you all think you can keep me away from him?” she asked in a low, threatening voice as she thrust her right hand forward in a tightly clenched fist. She was still holding her yellow rose in that hand. “He belongs to me! None of you can keep me from him! If any of you try to stop me, I’ll kill you!”
“You think it’s funny now?” Ryoku asked flatly.
“Ariana-chan, please stop this,” Usagi said calmly, hoping to pacify the enraged girl. “Do you really think you can gain Ryo-kun’s affections by threatening his friends?”
“Shut up, Tsukino!” Ariana roared. “You think you can fool me like you did the last time, when you told me that he wasn’t seeing anyone, when he was really dating you the whole time!”
“What?” Usagi asked, confused at her accusation. “What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t act all innocent with me, Tsukino!” Ariana shouted. “I know your true feelings for my Ryoku-sama now. The way you call him Ryo-kun,” she said in a sweetly mocking tone, then scowled fiercely at her. “When I was with him a while ago, he left me to go to your house. No wonder he didn’t want to tell me where he was going.”
“This is all just a misunderstanding,” Ryoku insisted. “Please, Ariana-san, leave them out of this. This is between you and me. You don’t want to do this.”
“Sorry, Ryoku-sama, but I really do want to do this,” she told him. “And since you seem to choose her over me, then I have no choice but to kill you as well.” A red glow suddenly flickered about her, making her seem more dangerous than before. “If I can’t have you, then no one will!” she shrieked in a furious rage.
“Energy level, peak!” Nephrite said from his chamber in the woods mansion. “Come forth, Amoran!”
The red glow suddenly flashed into a brilliant red light. At the same time, Ariana collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The dark energy flowed out of her body, forming into a winged creature. Its body was covered with short red fur and it had long claws on both its feet and hands. The pair of black webbed wings had a span of about six feet across.
“From bad to worse…,” Ryoku muttered, bringing out his swords from behind his back.
“Everyone, transform!” Luna shouted.
“Moon prism power, make up!”
“Mercury power, make up!”
“Mars power, make up!”
“Knight swords power!”
“An innocent maiden’s love is precious, even if it is unrequited!” Sailor Moon exclaimed. “How dare you twist such a beautiful thing into an obsession! I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon! On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”
Amoran wasted no time in its attack. It leaped straight into the air, unfurled its wings and dived at the four Scouts.
“Heads up!” Knight shouted as he leaped at the monster with both his swords out. He was about to swing them at Amoran when it suddenly swerved in mid-flight and struck him with one wing, sending him hurtling toward the ground. He crashed into the ground very hard, rendering him unconscious.
“Sailor Knight!” Mars exclaimed, then turned angrily toward the approaching monster. “You’ll pay for that! Fire soul!” She aimed her fireball straight for the diving creature. Once again, it swerved in mid-flight, dodging the fireball.
“Look out!” Mercury shouted as she and the other two Scouts leaped out of the way of Amoran’s dive.
Sailor Moon ran to Knight’s side to check on his condition. He was breathing, but he was still unconscious. “Luna, can you watch over him for us?” she asked, looking worriedly toward the black cat.
“Of course,” Luna replied walking up next to him. “Now, you’d better go help the others.”
“Right,” Sailor Moon said, getting up. “Don’t worry, Knight. We’ll give that youma one for you.”
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted, raising a thick mist to interfere with Amoran’s diving attacks.
“Fire soul!” Mars shouted, throwing another fireball at Amoran, which it dodged again. It dived again, this time for Sailor Moon. She leaped out of the way, but not before one of its claws raked her across her right leg. Luckily, the wounds were only scratches.
“This isn’t going well,” Mercury said. “This monster is near to impossible to hit while it’s airborne.”
“We’ve got to keep trying!” Mars said. “Until Sailor Knight regains consciousness, it’s just us.”
“Here it comes again!” Sailor Moon shouted. Amoran was hurtling at them even faster than before, in an attempt to finish them off. Before it could reach them, a pair of something struck both its wings, causing in to falter and crash into the ground. Sailor Moon looked down at the ground where a pair of roses had struck the ground at an angle.
“Warping a young girl’s infatuation into a twisted obsession is something only the most evil mind would do,” Tuxedo Kamen stated while he stood on the same building that Ariana had appeared from. “Sailor Scouts, only by working together can you defeat this evil. Farewell.” He leaped of the far edge of the building away from the Scouts and disappeared from sight.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Knight said from behind the Scouts.
“Sailor Knight, you’re okay!” the other Scouts exclaimed.
“I just needed a short respite,” he said as he stared at Amoran, who had just recovered from Tuxedo Kamen’s attack. “Anyway, I think have an idea of how we can stop this flying menace.”
“How?” Sailor Moon asked.
“Just like Tuxedo Kamen said: by working together,” Knight said with a small half-smile. “When the monster dives at us again, each of you aim slightly away from it, either above, below or to either side. At the same time, I’ll attack directly.”
“I see,” Mercury said, nodding. “When the monster swerves to avoid your attack, it’ll hit one of the other attacks.”
“Exactly,” Knight said. “But you’d better use your bubbles to create another fog so this can work.”
“Here it comes again!” Mars shouted.
“Everyone ready?” Knight asked.
“Ready,” the others said simultaneously.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted, raising another thick mist.
“Now, attack all at once!” Knight shouted.
“Moon tiara action!” Sailor Moon shouted, aiming above Amoran.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted, aiming to Amoran’s left.
“Fire soul!” Mars shouted, aiming below Amoran.
“Earth thrust!” Knight shouted, then flung both his swords. He aimed his attack to Amoran’s right and his swords flew straight for the monster. Just as planned, Amoran swerved to avoid Knight’s swords and flew directly into the path of Sailor Moon’s tiara. The tiara struck Amoran head on, destroying the flying creature.
“All right!” Sailor Moon exclaimed in triumph. “We did it!”
“Yes,” Knight said with a somber nod as he glanced toward Ariana, who was still lying unconscious on the ground.
“Ariana-chan…,” she said worriedly. “She’s going to be so upset we she wakes up….”
“Hopefully, she won’t remember what she did under the influence of the Dark Kingdom,” Mercury said encouragingly. “After all, most of the victims didn’t remember anything they did, so she shouldn’t, either.”
“But, what are we going to tell her when she wakes up?” Mars asked.
“Wait…,” Knight said suddenly. “I have an idea….”
“What…? What happened?” Ariana asked as she returned to consciousness.
“Are you okay?” Ryoku asked, kneeling down by her side and extending a hand to help her to her feet.
“Ryoku-san?” she said and blinked in surprise. She looked around in confusion. “What am I doing here?”
“I hope you’re all right,” he said, bowing apologetically. “I didn’t know you were there. I didn’t mean to hit you like that. It was an accident.”
“Hit me?” Ariana asked, blinking in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Uh-oh,” he said, looking to the other girls worriedly. “Um, how far back can you remember?”
“I remember buying a couple of items yesterday,” she said cautiously as she glanced down tentatively at the yellow rose still in her hand. “But after that… nothing.”
“That rose and card from a ‘secret admirer’…. I know,” he said with a half-smile as he gestured toward the flower. “I’m flattered that you like me, but I’m really not interested in dating anyone right now. Not that you aren’t a nice girl, though.”
“Oh…,” Ariana said, blushing. “I’m sorry…. I guess I should just throw this away, then….”
“Don’t do that,” he said gently as he extended his hand. “Here. I never said I wouldn’t accept your thoughtful gifts. After all, you went through so much trouble for them and everything….”
“Oh… h-here,” she stammered as she handed him the rose and blushed even harder. “I’m… happy that you… like the card and flower….” She paused as she glanced at Usagi, who was giving her an encouraging nod along with a ‘V’-sign. “…Ryo-kun.” She paused for a moment as a realization suddenly struck her. “What did you mean when you said you accidentally hit me?”
“Well…,” Ryoku began sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I was practicing some moves with this staff,” he pointed to the wooden staff lying next to him, “when I heard someone call me from behind. I was in mid-routine and I thought the person was far behind me since the voice sounded quiet and distant, so I turned around while still maintaining my routine. That’s when I accidentally hit you on the side of your head, knocking you unconscious.
“It sounds like the hit must’ve given you a small case of memory loss, or something. Anyway, we all attended to your injury,” he continued, gesturing to the other girls. “You were out for quite a while.”
“Strange, I don’t feel any pain or headache,” Ariana said quietly, feeling the bandage that had been placed on her head. “No bump, either….”
“That’s good,” Ami said with a smile. “You’re probably a quick healer.”
“That’s right,” Rei added. “I bet if you took of the bandage, there wouldn’t be any sign that you had been injured.”
Ariana considered what she said and took off her bandage. Just as Rei had said, there was no sign of injury. “I guess you were right,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry to be such a bother to you all.”
“That’s all right,” Ryoku said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You’re a friend, and we take care of our friends.”
“Ryo-kun’s right, Ariana-chan,” Usagi added. “You were no bother to us at all.”
“Really?”
“Of course,” Ami answered, smiling.
“Sure,” Rei replied, smiling as well.
Ariana blushed again. “Oh, thank you… my friends.”
Ryoku and the other girls nodded and grinned, each tacitly deciding that they wouldn’t mention her errant behavior to her. The poor girl had been through enough as it was.
To Chapter 18: Friend and Foe?