There was a dense fog covering the entire area like a screen, offering only hints of his surroundings. It didn’t seem likely that the deep mist would dissipate any time soon, but it didn’t matter.
Ahead of him were the ghostly outlines of an immense palace. The shadows of night combined with the translucent mist gave the structure an ethereal quality, like it was from another world. Somewhere in there was his reason for being here.
“Silver Crystal…,” a sweet sounding voice whispered out. Her call echoed down to where he stood. He looked up to see her, but like the palace itself, all he could see of her was a ghostly outline. She had an even greater ethereal quality, giving off a subtle regal air and grace.
“Please find the Silver Crystal…,” she whispered out to him. Although he could not see any of her features, he could make out a pair of odangos and two long ponytails out of each bun. The hairstyle somehow seemed vaguely familiar to him.
“What is the Silver Crystal?” he called out as he strained to make out who was calling out to him.
A cold breeze suddenly came out of nowhere, blowing across his face, causing Mamoru to wake in a cold sweat and sit up abruptly. “It’s that dream again…,” he whispered to himself. He slowly wiped the sweat off his brow and laid back down. “It… it was probably nothing. Something I ate, maybe.” Sleep came slowly back to him after a short while.
“Was it another dream?” Naru asked herself, lying in bed and trying in vain to go back to sleep. “No, it couldn’t have been. I really did dance with Sanjoin Masato-sama during the embassy ball.” She grinned again at the memory and sighed dreamily. She could still remember every detail.
She had been standing by herself, bored out of her skull. Her gloved hands played idly with the sea-green sash she had tied around her light green dress with a bow in the back. Everywhere there were people dancing, all in masks. She was one of the few people without a mask.
“Miss?” a vaguely familiar voice called out to her. “Would you dance with me?” She looked up to see a very familiar-looking man in a midnight blue tuxedo and tie, wearing a dark purple eyemask. “You remember me?” he asked, lifting up his eyemask.
“Sanjoin-sama?” she replied in surprise, staring deeply into his blue eyes.
“Are you here by yourself?” he asked, taking her hand in his.
“Yes, I’m here on behalf of my mother,” she answered nervously.
“I never imagined I’d see you again,” he said with an amused grin as he led her to the dance floor. “It’s turned out to be the highlight of this night.”
“Sanjoin-sama…,” she sighed, blushing. In response, his grin widened and they began dancing.
They danced for a while, until he suggested that they get some fresh air. She accepted gratefully since she was beginning to grow warm, and not just from dancing. He led her out onto the balcony and gazed out into the dark ocean of stars that filled the nighttime sky.
“You are like the stars under heaven,” he said as he turned back to her, but she was just staring shyly at her feet. “Look at me,” he said gently as he took her hand.
She could feel her cheeks burning. She must’ve been blushing furiously right then. It seemed like some sort of dream; first dancing with a very handsome man, then going out alone onto the balcony under a beautiful star-filled night… it was just so romantic!
“Sanjoin-sama…,” she said giddily, looking up at him.
“That’s better…,” he whispered as he lifted his other hand, reaching out to her. For some reason, she could feel herself blacking out.… When she woke up, she was in another room. She couldn’t remember how she got there. “Where am I? What have I been doing?” she said as she got to her feet and left the room. She searched throughout the embassy, looking for Sanjoin, but he was gone.
“Was he the one who put me in that room?” she wondered to herself, looking out the window of her bedroom into the same starry night that she had shared with him. “It must’ve been. He was probably worried, after seeing me faint, so he put me there to rest for a while. He must’ve left afterwards.”
She sighed to herself at the memory of dancing with him. He was so kind and gentle… and handsome. Maybe… possibly… could I be… in love?
Ryoku was sitting on his favorite spot on his apartment’s roof. He always came here whenever he needed to think. The events that had occurred tonight left him feeling worried.
He, as Sailor Knight, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars had just confronted Nephrite outside of the embassy. He was waiting for a possessed Princess Dia to throw down her crystal to him.
Just then, Tuxedo Kamen appeared, with the disguised Usagi, and charged at Nephrite. Something he had said earlier about the Silver Crystal caused Sailor Knight to block his path.
“Hold it right there!” he ordered, bringing out both his swords and stretching them outward, keeping Tuxedo Kamen from passing him. “Why are you after the crystal?”
“Who are you?” Mercury asked right behind him.
“I wish to know who I am, myself,” he replied as he looked away. “That is why I must solve the mystery of the Silver Crystal.”
“Are you our enemy, or are you on our side?” Knight asked in a dangerous tone of voice as he watched him suspiciously.
“If we seek the same thing, then I may be your enemy,” he said sternly, with the faint hint of a threat.
Mercury, Mars, Knight and Usagi were all stunned silent at his words. The one who had helped them whenever they needed it – the one whom they came to think of as a guardian – an enemy? They all stared in shock as he leapt over the wall and left.
The crystal turned out to be just ordinary diamonds, but Ryoku still felt apprehensive. There was now a possibility that Tuxedo Kamen could turn against them. He was a good fighter, almost as good as he was. He didn’t want to find out who was the better, but one day soon, it may come to that….
If they were to obtain the Silver Crystal, there would be no doubt that Tuxedo Kamen would try to take it from them. If he wanted to fight them, then he would have to face Sailor Knight first. No one harms my friends without going through me first!
“What’s wrong, Usagi?” Rei asked as she, Luna, Ami and Ryoku all arrived at the temple together. Rei was just exiting the main building where the sacred fire burned, when she noticed her friends walking up. Usagi was wearing her pink shirt and blue shorts, while Ami wore her blue dress. Ryoku wore an open gray shirt with a white T-shirt underneath and black pants.
“It’s Naru-chan,” Usagi replied. “She says she thinks she’s in love with Sanjoin Masato.”
“What?” Rei exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise and worry. “She’s got a crush on Nephrite!”
“That’s basically it,” Ryoku confirmed, his arms folded as he leaned against one of the buildings poles. Rei slowly sat down on the wooden floor, while Usagi sat next to her on her left. Ami leaned back against the opposite pole from him while Luna sat on the wooden floor next to him.
“Now that’s a big problem,” Luna pointed out.
“No kidding,” Usagi added.
“We have to tell her that Sanjoin Masato is really Nephrite,” Rei said.
“Maybe… we can wait and see how it turns out,” Ami suggested. “Considering what Naru-chan would have to go through, it’s not going to be easy. What do you think, Ryo-kun?”
Ryoku was silent for a moment. From the look on his face, they knew he was remembering certain past events.
“What do I think?” he asked softly. “What I would like to do is solve the problem by taking care of him before he can cause any more trouble! I still haven’t forgotten what he did to me… or what he almost made me do….” He fell silent again, his face taking on a pensive expression. “I’m sorry, everyone. I… I didn’t mean to bring that up again.”
“We understand, Ryo-kun,” Rei said consolingly. “It’s too bad you didn’t forget what happened to you like the other victims did.”
“Yeah,” he whispered softly to himself. “Too bad….”
“Leave everything about Naru-chan to me!” Usagi said pounding confidently on her chest. Apparently, she pounded a little too hard, since she ended up coughing. The others gave her an exasperated look as they sweatdropped in chagrin.
“By leaving it to her, things could get even worse,” Luna muttered dryly to herself.
There was a hostile atmosphere within Beryl’s throne room. Everyone there could feel the anger radiating from her as it permeated the entire room. Occasionally, Beryl’s floating crystal ball would flash as if it was angry as well.
“Where has Nephrite gone?” Beryl growled furiously to herself. As she waved her hands over the crystal again to summon him, the crystal flashed angrily again. Once again, there was no response. “No matter how many times I summon him, he does not come!” she growled as she furiously clenched a fist over her crystal ball.
Behind one of the dark pillars in the throne room, out of Beryl’s sight, Zoisite appeared, softly laughing to herself. Queen Beryl is angered, she thought in amusement. How terrifying.
“He had better be prepared to pay for the consequence!” Beryl snarled fiercely.
Nephrite is doomed, Zoisite thought smugly. My sympathies to him.
At the mansion in the woods, Nephrite stood in his usual chambers. This time, there was nothing to block the outside light from coming in. He stood with his arms behind his back, thinking to himself. He slowly shook his head and sighed softly to himself.
“I have no time to collect energy,” he muttered to himself. Because of the constant failures to collect energy, Beryl had decided to concentrate on finding the Silver Crystal. It annoyed him that all his efforts to gather energy had ultimately been in vain, but her decision had been final and he’d be a fool to even think about arguing the point with her.
His surly contemplation was suddenly interrupted by a familiar annoying cackle. Overhead, Zoisite appeared in her usual flourish of cherry blossom petals. He growled to himself in annoyance.
“You again!” Nephrite barked angrily. “Want do you want?”
“Now, you shouldn’t treat me so coldly,” she replied in her usual condescending way. “Queen Beryl is quite furious. She wishes to see you.”
“So, you came to snoop around for Kunzite?” he retorted sharply.
She slowly shook her head in mock pity. “I see that you do not have any decent plans.”
“It is none of your concern!” he countered heatedly. “Begone!”
“You scare me, Nephrite,” she said in a feigned hurt tone, while playing with a lock of her blonde hair. “Just a piece of advise. Why not retire before Queen Beryl decides to dispose of you?”
“Silence! I will find the Silver Crystal and make a fool out of you,” he answered.
“How dare you! The Silver Crystal is my job!” she retorted, suddenly dropping her superior attitude.
“Who cares whose job is whose?” he countered coolly. “The first to succeed is the winner. I will redeem myself by finding the Silver Crystal.”
“Curse you, Nephrite!” she sneered angrily and disappeared in another whirl of cherry blossom petals. “You will pay for this!”
When she was gone, he breathed a sigh of irritation. “How could I lose my temper so easily with only Zoisite? Now, I must clear my mind….” Just as before, darkness fell upon the entire chamber, blocking out any light from the outside. Points of light representing the stars appeared in their assigned places as the whole mosaic of light and darkness slowly rotated around its center.
“The stars know everything,” he intoned slowly. “When the Sun makes a right angle between Neptune and Mars, the guide to the Silver Crystal will appear.” He brought his hands together in front of him, touching the fingertips together. Within the space between his hands, a darkness appeared, devoid of any light. Dark purple bolts of energy flashed around the surface of the dark energy within his hands. Slowly, he spread his hands apart, sending the dark energy out in front of him. As it moved away from him, the darkness expanded into a large sphere of blackness the size of an average man. The dark purple energy bolts flashed brightly around the dark sphere as it slowly began to condense into a long, black, two-pointed crystal. The crystal fell to the ground, flickering with the last remains of the purple energy bolts that helped form it.
“This is… the Dark Crystal,” he said, picking it up. “This will guide me to the Silver Crystal.” Suddenly, the crystal began to glow with a blue light, projecting Naru’s image above it.
“It’s the girl. So, she has the Silver Crystal?”
After departing from Nephrite’s base of operations, Zoisite went straight to Kunzite’s chambers, where he usually was at this time. As soon as she appeared in his room, she immediately sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulders. He put his left arm around her shoulder and took her right hand in his.
“Kunzite-sama, I feel so humiliated!” she complained in an upset tone. There was no need to ask about it; he already knew.
“Let him carry on,” he told her gently.
“But, if he finds the crystal….”
“If Nephrite finds the crystal, steal it,” he explained. “Have your youma keep an eye on him.”
“Yasha, are you there? You heard him!” she called over her shoulder. From within the shadows, a pale face flashed into view and disappeared just as quickly.
“Yes,” came the reply from the shadows. “As you wish.”
Usagi walked hesitantly over to Naru’s front door with Luna trailing behind her. She stood in front of the door with her finger hovering near the doorbell button, but not pushing it.
“I can’t do it,” she said finally, dropping her hand to her side.
“What’s wrong with you?” Luna asked impatiently. “You said you would handle it.”
“What else was I supposed to say?” Usagi asked, grinning sheepishly. “That happens pretty often.”
“It’s only often with you,” Luna muttered dryly.
Usagi ignored the black cat’s sarcastic remark and began to consider her options. “What do I do? Oh, I know!”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“This is a great idea! I’ll talk to Motoki-oniisan!”
“Not that I expected anything out of her…,” Luna grumbled to herself as Usagi left for the arcade.
Usagi walked in the arcade and immediately started looking for Motoki. She found him over at the Sailor V arcade games.
“Hey, Motoki-oniisan!” she called out, but he didn’t hear her. That’s when she noticed the girl he was helping play the Sailor V game.
Who’s that girl he’s with? she thought apprehensively. How could he look so sweet? Don’t get so close to her! Your Usagi is right here!
“Well look who’s here!” a familiar and unwelcome voice said behind her. Turning to see who it was and dreading the result, she saw Mamoru standing behind her. “Hi, meatball-head!” Usagi only growled angrily in reply.
“Hey, Motoki,” Mamoru shouted over to Motoki, “better pay some attention to this one! She’s about to explode!”
Usagi blushed crimson at what Mamoru said. “That’s not true,” she said sheepishly. “I’m not going to explode.”
“Hi, Usagi-chan,” Motoki said, walking over to them. “I’m sorry I didn’t see you there.”
“That’s all right,” Usagi replied. “Good afternoon.”
“It’s almost quitting time. Usagi-chan, you wanna grab something to eat?” Motoki asked.
“Sure!” she agreed instantly. “There’s something I needed to talk to you about.”
“I’ll go, too,” Mamoru added. “I’ve got some time to kill.”
“That’s a good idea,” Motoki replied.
“Right,” Usagi said less than enthusiastically.
Later, at a nearby diner, Usagi was finishing up her story about Naru’s crush on Sanjoin Masato.
“My friend, Naru-chan, fell in love with this bad man,” she explained to the two guys sitting across from her. Motoki nodded thoughtfully at her words while Mamoru sipped his drink. “But, she doesn’t know that he is bad.”
“And?” Motoki prompted.
“Well… in this situation, what should I do?” Usagi asked. “If I tell her the truth, she would be….”
Motoki considered the problem. “Maybe you don’t have to be in that much of a hurry. Why don’t you wait and see how it turns out?” he suggested.
That’s what Ami-chan said we should do, Usagi thought to herself.
“Nothing is going to change if you just wait,” Mamoru said, putting down his cup. “To tell the truth is a form of courage.”
“Mamoru’s right,” Motoki agreed. “If you tell Naru-chan the truth, she might get mad, but as a friend, you have to tell her.”
“Sure!” Usagi said, grinning. “Now that I’ve got that all worked out, I’m getting hungry. Excuse me!” She signaled to a waiter across the room. “Can I have a fruit parfait, an assorted sandwich plate, strawberry cake, and some juice please?”
Mamoru and Motoki both had a chagrined look on their face. “How much do you have on you?” Mamoru asked dryly.
“Enough…,” Motoki replied as he sweatdropped.
“Oh, come on. I’ll pay the bill,” Usagi said with a wide grin. “Oh, and can I get pizza, too?”
After eating, she returned to Naru’s apartment. Once again, she stood in front of the door with her finger hovering reluctantly over the doorbell.
“Courage, Usagi!” she said encouragingly to herself. “Yeah! Courage!” She took a deep breath and pushed the doorbell.
“Yes?” Naru’s voice called from inside. She opened the door and poked her head outside. “Oh, Usagi-chan,” she said, coming the rest of the way outside. She was wearing her yellow sleeveless shirt and an orange skirt. “What’s up?”
“Listen, Naru-chan,” Usagi began urgently, while Naru looked at her with a puzzled expression. “I’ll tell you this with courage. Sanjoin Masato is a bad man. He isn’t human… I mean, he’s really bad! So, don’t get close to him. Just give up on him, okay?”
“But I’m…,” Naru began, confused at Usagi’s words.
Usagi was already at the top of the staircase and was about to leave. “Bye, Naru-chan. Forget about him, okay?” she said and ran down the stairs, leaving Naru to stare after her in complete bewilderment.
Later that night, Luna was feeling curious about what happened with Naru, especially since Usagi just said that she told her and nothing else after that. Just because she was a cat, didn’t mean she had to act like one all the time… but she did have the curiosity of one, which was not necessarily a good thing.
“So, you told her?” Luna asked. There was no need to say who since Usagi knew very well who she meant.
“Yeah, it was hard, but I told her everything,” the blonde girl replied.
“And did Naru-chan agree?” Luna asked.
“Uh….”
“Don’t tell me you just told her and left!”
“Um….”
“I don’t believe this. What was the use of telling her?”
“I’m sure she understood me…,” Usagi said meekly.
“I should’ve gone with you,” Luna muttered with an exasperated sigh.
Naru sat at her desk in her room studying. Or, at least trying to study. Her mind just couldn’t stay on her work, since it constantly drifted back to the same thoughts that had plagued her mind since Usagi’s unusual visit a few hours ago.
Usagi-chan said that he was a bad person.… Oh, but that can’t be true. He’s so wonderful.… Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.
“Naru-chan! Telephone!” her mother called from the living room. “From Sanjoin-san!”
Naru grinned brightly at the news. So, he loves me, too.… She quickly ran into the living room and took the receiver from her mother, who then left the room.
“Hello?” she said hopefully. “Yes, I know where Sankaku Park is. Yes, I’ll be right over.” After he hung up on his end, Naru hung up the phone.
“I’ll be out for a bit!” Naru called out so her mom could hear her.
“What? Now?” her mom asked and came into the room. She looked around for Naru, but she had already left. She gazed at the phone worriedly. I have a bad feeling about this.…
Naru rushed over to the park as fast as she could. When she got there, she went over to the center of the park, where he asked to meet her. She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous and excited about seeing him again, especially since he was the one that called.
She saw him sitting at one of the benches, waiting for her. As soon as he saw her, he waved her over.
“Hello, Sanjoin-sama,” she said, sitting down next to him, blushing slightly.
“I’m sorry to ask you out this late at night,” he said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” she replied. “I’m so glad you did.”
He slowly turned away from her. “I wanted to say goodbye to you.”
“What?” Naru blinked in surprise for a second, then looked sadly down at her hands, her eyes tearing. “Oh, I see,” she said with a small false smile. “So, have I been bothering you?”
“Certainly not,” he replied. “I just… don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, looking back up at him with a concerned expression.
“I’ve been threatened by evil people,” he explained. “I don’t want you to get involved.” He stood up and started to walk away. “Goodbye,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m glad I’ve met you.”
“Wait!” she shouted, leaping to feet. “If there’s anything I can do, tell me!”
“Only if there’s a Silver Crystal,” he said, turning back to Naru.
“What is the Silver Crystal?”
“If I give them the Silver Crystal, I’m a free man,” he told her, then hesitated, as if he regretted speaking. “Oh, sorry…. Forget what I said.”
“Silver Crystal?” she murmured, thinking back to when her mother showed her one of her most rare and precious crystals. The coloring was silver…. Oh, that’s gotta be the Silver Crystal! “Sanjoin-sama, please wait here. I’ll bring it right away!”
As the redheaded girl ran off to find her Silver Crystal, Nephrite grinned wickedly and began to laugh.
Naru took the ring of keys her mom usually kept hidden and slowly crept down into the dark jewelry store below their apartment. She tiptoed carefully over to where the safe was and tried to open it as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell which key was which in the darkness, but she didn’t dare turn on any lights. The clinking of the keys didn’t help her nervousness any, either.
“This should be the key…,” she whispered to herself, trying yet another key. She had already tried over half of the keys, with none of them even fitting the keyhole. Her anxiety was beginning to reach panic level when she finally found the right key and opened the safe.
“It worked,” she sighed, the relief palpable in her voice. She reached in a grasped the crystal in her hand. She took it out and gazed at it for a moment. “This’s it….”
“Who’s there?” someone shouted into the room as the lights suddenly blazed to life. “What are you doing there?”
Startled at the sudden appearance of her mother, Naru dropped the ring of keys. She was caught red-handed with the safe wide open and the crystal in her hand.
“Naru-chan?” her mother exclaimed in astonishment. Naru slowly backed into the safe behind her, ashamed at what her mother must be thinking about her at that moment. “Naru-chan, what are you doing there?” her mother asked, concerned.
“Oh…,” she moaned, looking down at the crystal in her hand and putting her hands behind her back.
“Naru-chan!” her mother said, upset.
She just looked down at her feet and closed her eyes sadly. “Mother…,” she said finally, “forgive me….” She then ran out of the store and down the street to the park where Sanjoin was waiting for her.
Her mother ran out of the store after her, but when she ran outside, Naru was nowhere to be seen. “Naru-chan, what happened to you?” she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
“Luna, we shouldn’t do this,” Usagi complained as she leaned against a traffic light.
“We have to check how Naru-chan feels about this,” Luna berated. “Besides, it’s all your fault, because you didn’t do it right.”
“But, look…,” Usagi began irritably as she looked up to see someone heading in their direction. “That’s Naru-chan’s mom!”
“Usagi-chan, have you seen my daughter?” she asked worriedly.
“No. What happened?” Usagi asked.
“She just went out with a jewel from the store!” Naru’s mother explained in an upset tone.
“Any idea where she might be?”
“There was a call from a man named Sanjoin Masato….”
“That’s it! He’s a very terrible man! I’ve got to go look for her!” Usagi then ran off with Luna to go find Naru.
“He’ll pay for taking advantage of Naru-chan’s feelings for him!” Usagi growled as she ran to the park.
“Usagi-chan, transform!” Luna said, running beside her.
“Moon prism power, make up!” Usagi shouted, transforming into Sailor Moon.
“I have it!” Naru shouted, running up to him. “I got the Silver Crystal!”
“Let me see.”
“Here,” she said, handing the crystal over to him.
Nephrite pulled out his crystal from one of his pockets and held it over Naru’s crystal.
“What are you doing?” Naru asked, curious.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said as the crystal began to glow with a blue light. The light then flickered and faded into nothing. The Dark Crystal is not responding. It is a mere crystal.
Naru simply stood to one side and watched as he administered some sort of test on the crystal. She clasped her hands together in front of her in joy at the thought of actually being able to help him.
Suddenly, the Dark Crystal began to glow brightly, with its focus on Naru. What? Nephrite thought to himself in bewilderment. The Dark Crystal is reacting to her? He turned to look thoughtfully at Naru. Why? This girl is worth looking into.
“I need your help with something,” he told her. “Can you come with me?” He put his arm around her shoulder and started to guide her forward. “Let’s go.”
“Sure,” Naru replied. As the two started to leave, something began to stalk them through the trees….
“Hold it right there!” someone commanded behind them. They turned around to see Sailor Moon standing behind them. “If you play with that girl’s heart anymore, I’ll bust you for romance fraud!”
“Do not interfere with me,” Nephrite growled angrily.
“I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon! On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”
“Sailor Moon, what are you doing here?” Naru asked, slightly confused at this new turn of events.
“Naru-chan, don’t be deceived,” Sailor Moon replied. “Sanjoin Masato is the alter ego of Nephrite, a member of the evil Dark Kingdom!”
“That’s not true!” she protested. “Sanjoin-sama can’t be evil!” She turned to Nephrite who was staring balefully at Sailor Moon. “Right, Sanjoin-sama?” she pleaded. Unfortunately for her, his reply wasn’t what she was hoping for.
He raised his hand above his head, shooting a light blue sphere of energy at Sailor Moon. The attack connected, sending her flying onto her back a short distance away from where she was standing.
“Stars, grant me power,” he intoned, bowing his head and closing his eyes as he placed his hand below his head, with his palm straight and facing outward. Along his hand, several light blue energy spheres appeared. They shot out of his hand and started dropping around Sailor Moon from above. Whether it was intentional or just dumb luck, each blast missed her by a few inches, while she began to whine in fear of getting hit.
“Sailor Moon, get up!” Luna shouted from behind a nearby statue.
“No more playing around!” Nephrite shouted as he crossed his arms and concentrated his power into his attack. “Star light attack!” he shouted as he flung his arms apart, sending a huge energy blast hurtling at Sailor Moon.
Seeing the blast rushing towards her while she was still on the ground, she did the first thing that came to mind. She rapidly scooted away from the blast, just barely avoiding it. In front of her, where she was sitting just a few moments ago, was a long crater in the cement.
“So, you have managed to evade it,” he said dismissively. “But, I will not miss next time.”
“So you think,” a voice shouted from nearby. Sailor Moon grinned as she turned to see Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Knight standing behind her.
“We were just in the neighborhood and we thought we’d just stop by,” Knight said, with a half-smirk on his face and a cold fury in his eyes directed at Nephrite.
“Sailor Mars here!”
“Sailor Mercury here!”
“Sailor Knight here!”
“So, you’re all here,” Nephrite sneered. “Now that all of you are here, I will send all of you to hell!” He crossed his hands again, preparing another blast.
“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted, raising a thick mist to obscure vision.
“Where are they?”
“Fire….”
“Earth….”
“…soul!”
“…thrust!”
The two attacks headed for Nephrite at the same time. Before they could connect, he quickly leaped out of the way.
“Are you all right?” Naru called out from behind him.
He quickly glanced behind him and saw Naru watching him with worry in her eyes. “You’re still here?” he pondered to himself.
“Moon tiara action!” Sailor Moon shouted, flinging her tiara at him.
“No!!!” Naru shouted, running towards Nephrite.
“How could she?!?” he said to himself in shock.
“I’ll protect you, Sanjoin-sama!” she shouted, standing between him and the tiara.
“No! Stop, please!” Sailor Moon yelled fearfully. Naru shut her eyes and waited for the tiara to strike her.
The tiara stopped inches away from Naru’s head and fell to the ground at her feet. “I don’t believe this,” Sailor Moon said in surprise. “It actually stopped.”
“Don’t hurt Sanjoin-sama!” Naru stated determinedly.
“We can’t let him get away,” Mercury told her.
“Get out of our way!” Mars commanded.
“I don’t want to,” Naru retorted. “Not even if you kill me!”
She’s serious about me? Nephrite wondered in astonishment.
“How can you protect such an evil man?” Knight exclaimed in astonishment. “Do you have any idea what he’s done? The pain and suffering he’s inflicted on people? Why do you want to defend him?”
“Because… because I love him,” Naru replied, her eyes filling with tears. “I love him so much. I’ll defend him, even at the cost of my life!”
In Nephrite’s hands, the Dark Crystal began to glow brightly again. Within the trees, a pair of eyes noticed the glow….
She’s willing to sacrifice her life to save mine. Is this what humans call love? Does the Dark Crystal react to a kind heart? But… the Dark Crystal was only supposed to react to the power of the Silver Crystal.…
“Is that the Silver Crystal?” Yasha asked as she leaped out of the trees at Nephrite, her long dark hair and her white and yellow robes fluttering as she sailed through the air. Her face was covered by a smooth white mask, which showed no expression.
She repeatedly attacked Nephrite causing him to drop his Dark Crystal. Naru noticed the black crystal on the ground and went to retrieve it for him. Unfortunately, Yasha saw that Naru now had the crystal and went after her. “Hand it over to me!” she demanded, leaping at her.
Before she could reach her, Nephrite shot an energy blast at Yasha, splitting her mask in half.
“Nephrite… defended Naru-chan?” Sailor Moon exclaimed in surprise.
“Sanjoin-sama saved me,” Naru murmured to herself. She then fainted and fell to the ground. Nephrite merely stared at his hands in disbelief, wondering why he saved her.
Yasha was kneeling on the ground covering her face. “How dare you, Nephrite!” she sneered, staring at him with malignant orange eyes. She changed into red and blue robes with long pink hair, pale yellow skin and a pair of horns on her head. Her evil grin showed numerous short fangs. “Do you intend to take the side of the humans?” She ducked her head and charged at him like a rhino. “Death to traitors!” He caught her by the horns and tossed her into the air, where she began to hover.
“I’m getting tired of just standing here,” Knight muttered and leaped into the air after her, who never saw him coming. He pulled out his swords in mid-flight and slashed at her sides while passing her. At the peak of his jump, he twisted around to face her. “Earth thrust!” he shouted, sending a large stone spike to slam into her. “Now, Sailor Moon!”
“Moon tiara action!” Sailor Moon shouted, flinging her tiara at Yasha, finishing her off.
After destroying the youma, Nephrite and the four Scouts gathered around an unconscious Naru. Sailor Moon kneeled at her side, while Nephrite stood to one side and the other Scouts to the other side. He gazed at the crystal that Naru had brought him and knelt down at her side to place it in her left hand.
“Nephrite, where are you going?” Sailor Moon asked after he stood up and started to leave. “Can’t you see how Naru-chan feels about you?”
Nephrite stopped and looked down at Sailor Moon. “I have returned the favor,” he replied coolly.
“That’s not the problem!” she countered.
“Don’t you have any heart?” Mercury asked, frowning.
“I highly doubt it,” Knight sneered, his arms folded.
“Forget it. There’s no way does,” Mars agreed, her arms folded as well.
Nephrite grinned wickedly at the Scouts. “What airheads. Once I find the Silver Crystal, the Dark Kingdom will rule the universe!”
“Silver Crystal? What’s that?” Sailor Moon asked.
Silver Crystal? Luna thought to herself. I’ve heard of that before.…
“Your time as superheroes and superheroines is running out,” Nephrite said over his shoulder as he walked away. “You may blab about your love and justice till then. Farewell,” he said, laughing as he disappeared.
“Sanjoin-sama….” Naru moaned softly and slipped back into unconsciousness.
“Here,” Knight said emotionlessly, picking up Naru and carrying her in his arms, “I’ll take her home. The rest of you should go home as well. It’s getting late.” He walked away, heading for her house, carrying her all the way. Before he was out of sight, he changed back into Ryoku.
The three girls stared after him, each wondering what was going on in his mind. From his tone, there was something disturbing him greatly, but as usual, he never let it show on his face.
“He’s right,” Ami said, changing back from Sailor Mercury. “It is getting late. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She turned and headed back to her house.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Usagi-chan,” Rei said, after changing back, and headed back to the temple.
Usagi changed back to her normal self, but she didn’t head back yet. Instead, she just looked up into the stars, as if the answer to everything could be found there, if she just looked hard enough. A shooting star flashed by overhead, which Usagi saw as an opportunity to make a wish.
“Shooting star, please. If Nephrite really loves Naru-chan, don’t let him do evil things,” she wished. With a heavy heart, she tore her gaze from the stars and headed for home.
Ryoku arrived at Naru’s front door and found it open. “Hello?” he called inside. No answer. He entered the apartment and started searching for her room quickly, since his arms were growing weary.
When he found her room, he set her down on the bed. A small grin spread across her face as he stood up. He sighed sadly to himself as he observed her sleeping peacefully.
“Having a peaceful dream, Naru-chan?” he asked the sleeping redhead. “About your ‘Sanjoin-sama’, no doubt.” He sighed again as he closed the window and curtains. “You know he’s bad, yet you still love him….” He slowly shook his head in pity as he turned to leave.
“I feel sorry for you…,” he said sadly to Naru, stopping for a moment at her bedside. “Sooner or later, your love will come to a horrible end.” He left her side and headed out of her room.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t stop this from happening,” he said looking back at Naru before closing the door to her room. “I hope you’re strong enough to handle the pain when it comes….” He blinked sadly at the memories that had resurfaced during the battle in the park.
“It will be the most excruciating pain you will ever feel in your entire life…,” he whispered softly to himself as he closed the door.
To Chapter 21: A Friend in Wolf’s Clothing