At the woods mansion, Nephrite walked into the chamber where he usually made his plans. The room was dark, as usual. The tiny specks of light were the only source of illumination in the infinite ocean of darkness. The darkness had always helped him to think… to plan.
“The stars know everything,” he intoned. “Leo, which shines in the southern skies. Regulus, which symbolizes its powerful foreleg. Indicate the weakness of our hated enemy, Sailor Moon.”
From the center of the swirling representation of the galaxy, a bolt of dark energy struck him in his forehead. Suddenly, a vision appeared in his mind: a vision of a man in a tuxedo and cape.
“Of course, Tuxedo Kamen. Now, I know Sailor Moon’s weakness.”
From behind, Zoisite suddenly appeared in a cloud of cherry blossom petals. She folded her arms and gave him a contemptuous look. “Nephrite, Queen Beryl would like a word with you,” she said in a feigned courteous tone. He only glanced at her once over his shoulder and, without saying a word to her, disappeared. Frowning to herself in annoyance, she disappeared as well.
Both Nephrite and Zoisite reappeared in Beryl’s throne room, where she was waiting for both of them. “It appears your plans to collect human energy is not proceeding well,” Beryl said angrily.
“The universe was not made in one day,” Nephrite replied calmly.
“I will not hear any excuses!” Beryl exclaimed furiously. “If you do not defeat Sailor Moon, you will join Jadeite in eternal sleep!”
“Isn’t that terrifying?” Zoisite added in a condescending tone.
“I am one of the Dark Kingdom’s four Generals,” Nephrite growled heatedly at her.
“I have already formulated a plan for defeating the Sailor Scouts,” he said, turning to Beryl.
“As I recall, Jadeite said something similar to that,” Zoisite stated amusedly. “Can you do it?”
“I swear that I will lure out Sailor Moon and terminate her,” Nephrite stated, ignoring Zoisite.
Beryl grinned slightly. “Very well.”
“I have already set the plan into motion.”
Usagi was quickly running home after another quick visit to the arcade. She always felt good after seeing Motoki. She would’ve stayed longer, but he was very busy and she didn’t want to get in his way.
As the house came into view, she noticed something sticking out of her mailbox. The envelope was pink with a white heart where the return address was written.
“What’s this?” she said, picking up the envelope. She flipped over the envelope and looked at the back. The design was the same on both sides. “What?” she exclaimed as she read who the letter was addressed to. “From Tuxedo Kamen-sama?”
Immediately, she dashed inside the house and up into her room, after saying a quick hello to her mom. She quickly walked over to her bed and sat down next to Luna, who had been taking a nap a few minutes ago. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she opened the envelope and read the letter within.
“I love you more than anybody else,” she read. “Come to the MS department store in Shinjuku tomorrow night.” She blinked in surprise for only a second. “All right!” she exclaimed, falling back on the bed and kicking her feet in excitement.
Luna frowned suspiciously. “How come Tuxedo Kamen sent you a love letter?”
“Can’t you see?” Usagi said and began to repeatedly kiss the letter. “He must love me so much!” she said excitedly.
“It’s strange, though,” Luna continued. “How did he know that you’re Sailor Moon?”
“Love will triumph!” she said, staring dreamily at nothing in particular. “Love has the power to solve all mysteries!” A wide grin suddenly grew on her face. “Tuxedo Kamen-sama’s love must’ve saw through my secret!” she said and began to dance happily.
“Sure, Tuxedo Kamen helped you out all the time, but we still don’t know if he’s on our side or an enemy,” Luna interjected. “You have to be careful.” She noticed that Usagi wasn’t even paying any attention to her. “Did you hear me?”
“I’ve got a date with Tuxedo Kamen!” Usagi sang happily to herself, while still dancing. Luna just groaned quietly to herself in exasperation.
The next day at school, Usagi had suddenly experienced a rude awakening as she discovered that every girl in her class had received letters identical to hers. Suffice it to say, she was very irritated by that fact.
“No way!”
“But, it’s true,” Naru said as she turned toward the girl standing next to her. She was holding another pink and white envelope, just like her own. “I got this letter from this man named Tuxedo Kamen.”
“Me, too,” the girl replied.
“Who is this Tuxedo Kamen?” Naru said, puzzled.
“I don’t know.”
“Me, neither,” a second girl added.
“Same here,” a third girl added.
“Do you have any idea who it could be?” Naru asked.
“Nope, no idea,” a fourth girl replied.
Naru looked down at the envelope she was holding. Could it be that man, Sanjoin Masato-sama… I wish it was him.…
The door to the classroom suddenly opened and Miss Haruna entered. “Hello, everyone,” Haruna greeted after taking her place behind her desk at the front of the classroom. “Everyone, you mustn’t be deceived by this hoax love letter. Girls must have decency, okay?” She paused as the girls nodded in response. “The letter is a temptation by bad people. Don’t you go to the MS department store in Shinjuku tonight. All right?”
“Okay,” every girl except for Usagi replied.
“Good,” Haruna said, smiling. “Now, let’s get started.” The minute she turned her back to the class and faced the board, her smile was quickly replaced by a furious scowl. He’s gotta be kidding. How come I didn’t get a letter?!?
At about this time, class 2-5 had their Physical Education class. Even though people considered Ami a genius or a bookworm, not many people would’ve ever considered her athletic as well. She wouldn’t have blamed them for thinking so. After all, she was the one who spent most of her time studying.
“Ami-chan!” a voice suddenly called from behind her. She picked up the ball she was about to kick and turned around.
“What is it, Ryo-kun?” she asked. He was wearing P.E. clothes similar to the ones she had on, white T-shirt and dark blue shorts, only his were a larger version and his shorts were longer. She noticed that he always kept his ponytail tucked inside his shirt during this class, which made him look like he had short hair. Unlike her, everybody knew him to be athletic, especially considering his past reputation, but many never thought him to be scholarly as well.
He walked up beside her and leaned over so that he could whisper without being heard. “Luna wants to talk to the both of us,” he whispered quietly. “Something happened yesterday with Usagi-chan that has her worried.”
“Really?” she whispered back. “Did she say what it was?”
“No,” he replied quietly. “Come on, she’s waiting for us.” He turned around and started walking back the way he came, while Ami followed. He led her around the building, away from the other students. Luna came out from hiding behind the nearby tree when they arrived.
“That didn’t take long,” Luna said, looking at Ryoku.
“We’re both in the same class, remember?” he replied, pointing behind him at Ami. “I always know where she is.”
“Really?” Luna asked, giving him a considering look.
“Now, don’t you start, too,” he said irritably as Ami blushed imperceptibly. “It’s bad enough with Usagi-chan and Rei-chan.”
“Sorry,” she replied apologetically.
“What is it you wanted to see us about?” Ami asked as she leaned against the wall, while holding her ball in her arms.
“Yesterday, when Usagi-chan came home, she received a letter from Tuxedo Kamen…,” Luna began.
“Oh, I already know about the Tuxedo Kamen letters,” Ami interrupted.
“You did?” Luna said, surprised. “Wait…. What do you mean, letters?”
“Yes, I’d like to hear about this, too,” Ryoku added, leaning against the tree.
“Every girl in school received a letter signed by Tuxedo Kamen, asking them to come to the MS department store tonight,” Ami explained.
“Every…,” he began quietly. “So you got one, too?” She just nodded.
“Every girl…,” Luna said in a puzzled tone. “Don’t you think something’s strange?”
“That seems to be the case,” Ryoku replied broodingly.
“Maybe we should go see Rei-chan and talk with her about this.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Luna said. “Now, you two better get back to class before someone starts wondering where you two are.”
“Right,” Ryoku and Ami replied and headed back to class.
Later, at the arcade, Mamoru stood at a crane game machine, trying to win the Tuxedo Kamen doll. He carefully maneuvered the crane over the doll and succeeded in grabbing it. Now, all that was left was to hope that the doll wouldn’t slip out of the crane’s grip.
“Come on…,” Mamoru said as the crane brought the doll closer to the drop chute.
“That’s it….”
The crane drew closer.
“Almost got it….”
Closer….
“Just a little more….”
…and the doll fell.
“Damn…,” Mamoru muttered.
“Mamoru, why do you always try for that one?” Motoki asked. He was standing next to Mamoru, watching fail yet again at trying to catch the Tuxedo Kamen doll.
“I don’t know,” Mamoru said, standing up. “I like his cape, I guess. Anyway, what was that you were talking about? Love letters from Tuxedo Kamen?”
“Lots of girls have gotten those letters yesterday.”
“It is some sort of advertisement?” Mamoru asked.
“Beats me,” Motoki replied, chuckling slightly. “But, it could be.”
His laughter was cut short as the arcade doors opened, admitting a very depressed Usagi. She stopped a short distance away from the two guys and sighed.
“Hi, Usagi-chan,” he called out.
Usagi looked up at Motoki and managed a very depressed, “Hi.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Motoki asked, concerned. Even Mamoru had a concerned look on his face. “You look depressed.”
“I know,” Mamoru added. “Lots of girls got love letters from a guy named Tuxedo Kamen, but you didn’t. Is that why?”
“That’s not it!” she snapped at him. “I got one, too!”
“Then, how come you’re sighing?” Motoki asked, perplexed.
“It’s terrible!” Usagi said, dropping her bookbag at her feet. “How could Tuxedo Kamen-sama send out love letters not just to me, but to everyone else?” She then began to cry. Loudly.
“What a terrible sound!” Mamoru said, wincing as he tried to cover his ears.
“Stop, Usagi-chan! Please?!?” Motoki pleaded, also cringing at the loud whining cry of Usagi’s bawling.
Meanwhile, Ami and Ryoku headed over to the temple to go talk to Rei. When they entered Rei’s room, they found her lying sick in bed.
“You don’t look so good, Rei-chan,” Ryoku said. “Cold?”
“Yes,” Rei replied weakly.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said as he and Ami sat down next to Rei’s bed.
“We’re sorry to bother you like this,” she said, “but we need your help.” Ryoku brought out her copy of the Tuxedo Kamen letter and handed it to Rei.
She read over the letter, then handed it back to Ryoku, who placed it on the table behind him. “I got the letter from Tuxedo Kamen-sama as well,” she said faintly. “But, because of this cold, I can’t go.” She turned away and coughed into her blanket again. “That sucks….”
“So, it wasn't just Juuban…,” he said contemplatively.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Ami said sympathetically. “I’ll stay with you.”
Ryoku reached over to place his hand on Rei’s forehead. “You’re burning up,” he said, sitting back down. “You really need to rest.” He walked out of the room, then came back later with a small, damp cloth and placed it on her forehead. “That should help a bit. Just rest. Both Ami-chan and I will stay with you today.”
“All right,” Rei said with a weak smile. “Thanks, guys.”
At the MS department store, Nephrite stood silently in his guise as Sanjoin Masato and stared out one of the windows. A small grin spread across his face slowly as he thought over his plan. She will come. Sailor Moon is in love with Tuxedo Kamen, so she will surely come tonight. This place will be her grave.
From out of the corner of his eye, he could see a familiar young girl walking towards him. She was a pretty red-haired girl, with a green bow in her short hair.
“Excuse me, Sanjoin-sama?” the girl said, blushing. “It’s me. Osaka Naru from the Juuban Junior High’s tennis club.”
Now he remembered where he’d seen this girl before. “Oh, yes. Looking for something?” he asked, walking towards her.
“Yes. May I ask you something?” She hesitated for a moment. “Could you be… Tuxedo Kamen?”
“Tuxedo…?” he said, raising an eyebrow in feigned confusion and ignorance. “What made you say that?” he asked, turning aside from her.
“I just had this feeling that it might be you….” She faltered as she turned away from him.
I feel a very strange presence in her, Nephrite thought as he considered Naru. She possesses a great strength. Has she found out that I had sent the love letters? Could she be Sailor Moon?
She turned back to him. “I’m sorry to ask you such a strange question.”
He smiled as he leaned against the wall and looked down at her. “Naru-chan,” he said smoothly.
“Yes?”
“I think you are the prettiest girl in all Juuban Junior High.” Her expression brightened and she sighed as he put his hand on her shoulder. “I was interested in you the entire time,” he said as he passed by her. “See you tonight.”
She watched as he left. “Tonight…?” she said to herself. “Is he….” She took out the letter from the purse she was carrying and looked at it thoughtfully. I knew it!
She walked over to the elevator and took it to the top floor. After getting off, she went to the nearest stairway and climbed up to the roof. The sun was very close to setting, as the sky was covered in retreating bright oranges and reds with approaching blues and purples from the east. None of this mattered to Naru though, for her thoughts were elsewhere. She could just imagine his voice admitting to her that he actually was the one who sent the letters as Tuxedo Kamen.
I think you are the prettiest girl in all Juuban Junior High. I was interested in you the entire time. See you tonight.
Naru grinned and blushed to herself. “Yes,” she replied to her imagination, “I’ll see you tonight….”
As night fell, Naru returned to the department store. As was expected, she found the door closed and the gate down. As she was waiting for ‘Tuxedo Kamen’ to show up, the gate suddenly lifted and the door opened all by themselves. Hesitantly, she entered the door and looked around the dark, empty place.
Seeing the place so… empty unnerved her. She had never seen the place so devoid of people before. The darkness didn’t help much, either. It gave the place an eerie feel to it. Still, with the mystery meeting and the atmosphere and her heart now fluttering with anticipation… it all seemed kind of… romantic.
“Tuxedo Kamen-sama?” she called out into the darkness. “Tuxedo Kamen-sama… or, rather Sanjoin Masato-sama….” She paused to listen for a reply. “Where are you?” She continued on her way.
As she began to walk past the escalator, the lights suddenly burst into light, revealing a man in a tuxedo and hat, wearing a cape and a dark purple eye mask. “I am here,” the man said, flourishing his cape. He stepped onto the now descending escalator as Naru’s eyes transfixed on him. “I welcome you.”
“That voice…,” she blushing. “It is you after all, Sanjoin Masato-sama.”
“You could tell just by my voice.”
“I can tell by your voice; the way you move. You must be Sanjoin Masato-sama.”
“Do you love him that much?”
Naru smiled. “I have been a captive of love ever since you gave me those words.”
Suddenly, he leaped of the escalator and landed a couple of feet in front of her. “Sailor Moon, show yourself!” he shouted angrily. He suddenly pointed a finger at her, poking her in the chest, just at the tip of her collarbone. Needless to say, she was quite surprised at his sudden mood swing. “Reveal your alter ego!”
Naru just blinked in surprise. She didn’t know what to say.
Meanwhile, outside of the mall, Usagi walked up to the entrance of the tall building. Just a short while ago, she had finished preparing herself for her encounter with ‘Tuxedo Kamen’. She had put on one of her favorite pink and green dresses just for the occasion.
She stopped for a moment and looked down at her purse, hanging at her side. “Hmm, I should probably check in with Ami-chan or Ryo-kun and let them know where I’m at.” As if on cue, the communicator beeped loudly. She quickly opened her purse and took out her communicator. Instantly, it projected Ryoku’s face on the small round screen at the top right.
“Usagi-chan, it’s Ryoku,” he said in a serious tone. “Where’re you at right now?”
“Oh, hi, Ryoku,” Usagi said cheerily. She was used to his tendency to be serious most of the time. “I was just going to call you. I’m over in Shinjuku.”
“All right,” he replied, then shut off his communicator.
She noticed that before he shut off his communicator, his attention had turned elsewhere. She guessed that he was probably at the temple and Rei was beginning to complain about her going to see Tuxedo Kamen when she couldn’t. She grinned to herself as she went on toward the store’s entrance.
On the other end, Rei suddenly got up from bed. “What?” she exclaimed. “How dare she sneak out and date with Tuxedo Kamen-sama!” She coughed as she pushed her feet over the edge of her bed and onto the floor. “We gotta go!” she said as she got to her feet.
“Hold on a minute!” Ryoku said sternly, shoving her back onto the bed with one hand. “In case you forgot, you’re still sick. You aren’t going anywhere. I don’t want you getting any worse than you already are. Luna, Ami-chan and I will take care of this.”
“I don’t care if I’m sick!” she retorted angrily, getting back up. “I’m going! What if the Sailor Scouts are needed? There’s a chance you guys might not be able to succeed if I’m not there!”
He shook his head slowly in exasperation. He was beginning to regret calling Usagi from Rei’s bedside. One look in Ami’s direction told him that she was thinking the same thing.
“You’re not going,” he said sternly in his most dangerously calm voice and shoved her back on the bed again. This time, he stared harshly into her eyes, hoping that she would back down and stay put.
“Yes, I am,” she said, staring back defiantly as she stood back up. So much for that. Even if they left without her, she would come on her own. The only way he knew to stop her was if he stayed as well, leaving only Ami to help Usagi.
He sighed and threw up his hands in frustration as he turned his back to her. “Rei-chan, you can be so… stubborn sometimes!” he growled. “All right, fine. We’ll all go, but if you catch pneumonia, or whatever because of it, you only have yourself to blame!” He then stormed angrily out of the room.
Ami gave her a disapproving stare. “He’s right, you know,” she said quietly. “You could be making yourself even more sick going out like this.”
“I’ll be fine,” she replied as she closed the door Ryoku had previously left. She then went into another room to go change into something else. “I’ll be careful. You don’t have to worry about me.” She came out wearing blue pants and a dark red shirt. Over the shirt, she wore a heavy red coat. “All right, let’s go.”
She opened her door to find Ryoku there waiting for her. He was holding something in his right hand. “I see you’re ready,” he said emotionlessly as he gave her a flat stare. He grabbed her right hand and put whatever he was holding into it. “Wear it,” he ordered.
“What’s this?” she asked holding out the thing in front of her and examining it. It was a small cloth with a pair of strings on either end that looked like handles.
“It’s a surgical mask,” he said flatly as he folded his arms. “It’s supposed to keep germs from coming out as you cough and keep you from breathing more germs in. Now, wear it, or we’re not leaving.” From the severity of his scowl, she knew he wouldn’t yield in this. She also noticed that he could be quite frightening when he scowled angrily like that. She put the mask on over her mouth. When she was finished, she saw that his expression lightened to his usual neutral expression. She regretted antagonizing him, especially when he was only trying to look after her well-being.
“Let’s go,” he said quietly and left. She looked over to Ami, who was watching him leave with a contemplative expression on her face. She turned to her and smiled faintly. Rei just nodded, since her mouth was covered, and both girls followed Ryoku out.
Naru had finally recovered from her shock, allowing her to speak. “What?”
“Well?” Nephrite roared angrily. “Transform into Sailor Moon!”
“What are you talking about?” she insisted.
“Are you not Sailor Moon?” he asked, moving his finger from her chest to her forehead.
“I love you,” she murmured as he began to drain her energy. A blue sphere of energy began to flow into his left hand from her forehead.
“What energy…,” he mused thoughtfully to himself as Naru began to faint. When she fainted, Nephrite caught her and continued to drain all of the love energy out of her.
As this was happening, Usagi walked in and spotted him draining her best friend’s energy. “Naru-chan!” she exclaimed and ran back behind the wall. “Why is Tuxedo Kamen-sama doing that?” she said angrily and peeked around the wall. “He’s not Tuxedo Kamen-sama! Just wait, Naru-chan. I’ll be right there! Moon prism power, make up!”
At the same moment Usagi transformed into Sailor Moon, Mamoru was walking down a street a few blocks away. Suddenly, a black glow surrounded him, causing him to fall to his knees and groan in pain.
“Not again!” he groaned, putting a hand to his head. “What’s happening to me? My head….”
His groaning soon turned to yelling as the pain and the glow intensified. Moments later, he had transformed into Tuxedo Kamen.
“She was not Sailor Moon,” Nephrite said, staring at Naru’s unconscious form in his arms. “But now I have collected an unexpectedly huge amount of energy.”
“Let go of Naru-chan!” a voice shouted in front of him.
“Who’s there?” he demanded.
“Monsters who play around with innocent girls’ hearts do not deserve to wear a tuxedo!” Sailor Moon stated.
“Then, you must be…,” he said with a smirk.
“I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon!” she continued. “On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”
“You’re no match for me, Sailor Moon!” Nephrite challenged.
“We’ll just see about that,” she retorted. She ran and leaped at Nephrite, aiming a jump kick at his head. He quickly ducked causing her to kick his hat off his head.
“How did you discover that I was not Tuxedo Kamen?” he asked as he tossed Naru’s limp form to Sailor Moon. She set Naru down nearby and turned to face him. He then leaped into the air and began to hover there. He removed the Tuxedo Kamen disguise, except for the eye mask, revealing a gray uniform underneath, similar to the one she had remembered Jadeite wearing.
“Intuition of a girl in love!” she countered, answering his question.
“Here,” he said calmly as he removed the eye mask. “Take this thing.” He casually tossed it at Sailor Moon, who made no move to catch it.
“You’re Sanjoin Masato-san….”
“I am one of the Dark Kingdom’s four Generals, Nephrite. I have assumed the name of Tuxedo Kamen to lure you here,” he said waving his left arm. Suddenly, transparent duplicates of himself appeared at his sides. “Leo, which shines in the southern skies,” each duplicate of Nephrite intoned simultaneously. “Regulus, grant me power!” The duplicates began to float into several different places and turned into points of light. The light points were arranged into the star constellation, Leo. From out of the constellation, a large lion-beast leaped out at Sailor Moon as she screamed in fright and started running. “It will tear you apart.”
“No thanks!” Sailor Moon shouted as she ran from the lion-beast. As she looked back, noticing that it was gaining on her, she suddenly tripped and fell on her face. At that moment, the beast leaped into the air, ready to pounce on her. Before it could land on her, a rose flew through the air and struck the beast in its face, knocking it back.
“Who’s there?” Nephrite said, coming down to the ground. Sailor Moon looked behind her and saw him standing in the elevator doorway with his back on one side and his right foot resting on the other side.
“Have you sent love letters under my name to lure out Sailor Moon?” Tuxedo Kamen said. “You will pay for this.”
“Wow, you’re the real one, aren’t you?” Sailor Moon said dreamily as Tuxedo Kamen leaped between Nephrite and Sailor Moon.
“Sailor Moon, run,” Tuxedo Kamen said, turning partway to her.
“Sure thing, real Tuxedo Kamen-sama,” she said as she turned to leave.
“Fool! Do you think you have anywhere to run?” Nephrite shouted and signaled his lion-beast to chase after her. Tuxedo Kamen turned to the charging beast and brought out his cane, preparing to fight the creature.
“Tuxedo Kamen-sama, watch out!” Sailor Moon said, stopping abruptly. She quickly removed her tiara from her forehead. “Moon tiara action!” she shouted, flinging it at the lion-beast, knocking it away from Tuxedo Kamen. It landed on its feet and shook off the attack, roaring at her.
“No way!” she exclaimed in shock. “It’s not an ordinary youma.”
“Come on, hurry!” Tuxedo Kamen said, rushing for the elevator. “Sailor Moon, get into the elevator!” He grabbed Sailor Moon’s arm and pulled her towards the elevator as the beast charged at them. They both ran inside the elevator car and turned to watch the lion-beast as it closed in. Before it could reach them, it began to disappear. As soon as it disappeared completely, the doors closed shut.
“Now I have you,” Nephrite said laughing.
Inside the elevator car, Tuxedo Kamen had suddenly realized that they had been trapped and was trying to force open the doors. Unfortunately, he was having very little effect on the doors.
“It was a trap,” Tuxedo Kamen said in surprise.
“What do you mean?” Sailor Moon asked apprehensively.
“This elevator will climb all the way up to he roof,” Nephrite’s voice boomed out from the elevator car’s speaker. “Care to guess what will happen then?” Both Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon looked up at the speaker.
“What’s gonna happen?” Sailor Moon asked in a puzzled voice. Her answer came when they were knocked off balance by the elevator suddenly starting up.
“The elevator will be pulled by gravity and fall to the bottom,” Nephrite explained. “Your bodies will be as flat as a pancake.”
“I don’t wanna be a pancake!” Sailor Moon whined. As Tuxedo Kamen looked around for a way out of their situation, she considered professing her feelings to him, but decided against it.
“We must do something,” Tuxedo Kamen said as he glanced around the elevator car.
How can I feel so romantic when we’re in danger? Sailor Moon thought to herself as she turned away and stared at the elevator door. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself.
“Sailor Moon,” Tuxedo Kamen said suddenly.
A kiss? she thought to herself and puckered up for a kiss.
“What are you doing?” he asked when he noticed that she wasn’t paying attention. “We will escape.”
“What?” she asked, as she turned around with a sheepish grin on her face. “Sure!”
“Wait until it reaches the top,” he said as he knocked open the elevator car’s escape hatch with his cane. He climbed up onto the roof first, then he knelt down and helped Sailor Moon up onto the roof. “As soon as it stops, we have to jump,” he said, standing up.
“We do?” Sailor Moon asked flatly.
The elevator car stopped just below the top floor. When the car stopped, Tuxedo Kamen leaped off the roof and grabbed onto the small ledge of the elevator shaft opening. Sailor Moon jumped as well, but missed the ledge by a short margin. Before she could fall too far, he reached out with his left hand and grabbed her right hand. She watched in apprehension as the elevator car plummeted the rest of the way down the shaft.
On the first floor, Nephrite watched as the elevator floor indicator rapidly ran downward until it hit bottom. When it did so, the elevator car hit the bottom of the elevator shaft with a loud crash.
“I won!” Nephrite said, laughing to himself as he disappeared.
Back in the elevator shaft, Sailor Moon was growing more scared by the second. “We won’t make it!” she exclaimed, staring down the shaft.
“You mustn’t give up, Tuxedo Kamen said in a strained voice, looking down at her. “We will escape eventually. Talk to me so that you can focus your attention on something else.”
“Sure…. Let’s see…,” she said, considering the thought. “How come you come and rescue me all the time?”
“I suppose it’s in my blood,” he answered. “Something compels me to come to your rescue.” He placed his right foot on top of a metal floor marker bolted into the elevator shaft. “I have a foothold. Can you climb onto my back?”
She quickly climbed up onto his back and held onto his shoulders. “Thanks,” she said over his shoulder. “I can tell that you love me.” She paused for a second. “Sorry, I’m talking silly. Let’s see…. Who are you?” She paused for a moment as a thought came to her. “Maybe you’re a male Sailor Scout, just like Sailor Knight!” She paused again. “Hmm…. Maybe not. I can guess, though. You must be Motoki-oniisan… or…. But that’s another stupid question.”
“Sailor Moon,” Tuxedo Kamen said quietly.
“Yes?”
“I can feel that I knew you in the distant past,” he admitted. “It is residing in the edge of my memory, but I cannot remember.”
She was about to reply, when the floor marker suddenly ripped out of the wall. “We’re falling!” Sailor Moon shrieked fearfully.
“Remain calm,” Tuxedo Kamen shouted as he struggled to maintain his grip on the ledge.
“Um… um…. What is your favorite hobby?” she cried. “Your favorite food?” She began to cry. “I’m such a dummy! All these stupid questions! I can’t believe myself!”
Slowly, Tuxedo Kamen’s grip on the ledge began to slip away. His left hand slipped, causing him to hang by just his right arm. Just as that grip was beginning to slip as well, the doors slowly opened up, revealing Luna, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars and Sailor Knight.
“Need a hand?” Knight asked as he knelt down and grabbed Tuxedo Kamen’s arms, one arm in each hand, while the other two Scouts pulled up on either arm.
“Look what trouble you can get into if you don’t call us,” Mercury said as she helped pull Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon up out of the shaft.
“Where have you been?” Sailor Moon asked.
“Climbing a million flights of stairs!” Mars retorted, coughing into her hand through the mask she wore over her mouth.
“You have no room to complain, Mars,” Knight added, gesturing at Naru’s limp, unconscious form. “You didn’t have to carry anyone up those stairs. Anyway, we should head up to the roof, in case whoever did that to Naru-chan is still in the building. Besides,” he added, walking over to Naru and picking up, “the evening air might help her wake up.”
A short time later, everyone had climbed up onto the roof. Knight was still carrying Naru in his arms, while the others followed behind him. Tuxedo Kamen walked over to the far side of the roof, while Mercury walked over to Knight and checked on Naru’s condition. Sailor Moon and Mars were at the other side of the roof.
“How is she, Mercury?” Knight asked.
“She’s fine,” Mercury replied. “Just unconscious.”
“Thanks for saving me,” Sailor Moon said.
Mars coughed again. “Remember, I caught cold,” she retorted irritably. “And you sneak behind my back and cuddle up to Tuxedo Kamen-sama!”
“That’s not true!” Sailor Moon countered defensively.
“That’s it! I’ve had enough of your fighting!” Knight shouted, silencing the two girls.
“Unity is your greatest strength,” Tuxedo Kamen said as he stood on the fence at the roof’s edge. “Work together in harmony. Farewell.” He leaped off the fence and out of sight. Sailor Moon and Mars both rushed to the roof’s edge in hopes that they could watch him go.
“Tuxedo Kamen, wait!” Sailor Moon called out into the nighttime darkness.
Unbeknownst to the girls, he was sitting on the ledge just underneath them and out of their line of sight. He sighed tiredly to himself. “I can’t stand girls’ quarrels,” he muttered to himself.
“Nephrite, your plan has failed again,” Queen Beryl said disappointedly. “Sailor Moon managed to escape.”
“Queen Beryl, Nephrite boasted that he would terminate Sailor Moon,” Zoisite said derisively. “Yet, he failed to do so. He deserves the eternal sleep.” Nephrite merely growled angrily.
“The energy he brought back was quite powerful,” Beryl said, staring at the energy stored in her crystal ball. “You will not be punished for that.” Nephrite grinned at that.
“But…!” Zoisite began insistently.
“Punishment can be done anytime,” Beryl replied. “Zoisite, if you have time to worry about his business, then find the Silver Crystal!”
“Yes,” Zoisite answered humbly and bowed deeply. Nephrite’s grin grew even wider at that.
“That is all,” Beryl said, dismissing them. Nephrite and Zoisite bowed and promptly disappeared.
Nephrite reappeared back in his chamber at the woods mansion. The room was still as dark as he had left it earlier and the image of the stars was still up. It was just as well, since he had some business that he had to take care of right away.
“To be so absorbed into one thing and emanate such a tremendous amount of energy could only occur once in a person’s lifetime,” he said meditatively. “This girl named Naru.” A sly grin slowly spread across his face. “I would never have thought that she would have such a powerful energy in her,” he said, grinning. “She is in love with my disguise, Sanjoin Masato.
”What a silly girl….”
Naru suddenly awoke from her sleep. She sat up in her bed and looked around. The room was dark, but that was to be expected since it was the middle of the night. For some reason, she expected to be somewhere else, but she didn’t know why. Confused, she began to lie back down on her bed and go back to sleep when something caught her eye.
She immediately got out of bed on went over to the window. She pushed back the curtains and peered outside. As she looked out over the city, she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She shrugged and pulled the curtains back together.
As she got back into bed, she began to wonder if she had just imagined what she thought she had seen. After thinking about it for a few seconds, she dismissed the thought as silly and went back to sleep. She couldn’t have seen what she thought she had seen. After all, her room was on the second floor.
People don’t usually hang around on roofs and watch you though your window. Especially not four at once. But… she could’ve sworn she had just seen four people watching her from the roof of the house next door. Three girls and a guy….