“So, what did she say?” Makoto asked.

“At first, nothing much,” Ryoku told her, sitting on the couch in their living room. “She just stuck her tongue out at me, then turned away, trying to ignore me. After a while… well, half an hour… I finally got her to listen to me.” He sighed tiredly to himself. “Rei-chan can be so stubborn at times. Well, to make a long story short, I finally convinced her to at least give Usagi-chan time to improve before she decides that she doesn’t want her as leader anymore.”

“That’s good,” she replied, smiling slightly. “I bet Luna was relieved to hear it.”

“She was,” he continued, nodding. “The last thing she wants right now is half the team contemplating mutiny, or something like that. We won’t get any of the Rainbow Crystals that way. Right now the score is Dark Kingdom: 1; Tuxedo Kamen: 1; Us: 0.”

“Not very good,” she remarked, folding her arms.

“I know,” he agreed, also folding his arms. “If we don’t start getting serious, then we’ll fail. While I don’t exactly cherish the idea of Tuxedo Kamen gathering all seven, I would prefer that he get them over the Dark Kingdom.”

“Zoisite! Kunzite! Come here at once!” Beryl bellowed angrily. Instantly, the two generals appeared.

“Yes, my Queen,” they replied in unison, bowing.

“There are seven Rainbow Crystals in total,” she began. “We must have all seven to gain possession of the Silver Crystal. You are aware of this, are you not? We have one our hands now. However, you let Tuxedo Kamen have the other one!”

“I beg for your forgiveness,” Zoisite said, bowing.

“Do not be concerned, Queen Beryl,” Kunzite added confidently. “He will appear to take the other Rainbow Crystals. We will regain the lost crystal at that moment.”

“Very well,” Beryl replied. “Then, get on with locating the other five Rainbow Crystals for the resurrection of our Great Master.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

That morning, Ami walked to school along the same path she usually did. There was going to be a test today, so she read her textbook while she walked. In a few minutes, Ryoku would be joining her, since he was in her class as well.

Along the way to school, construction had recently begun on a new building. What the building was to be used for, she had never really bothered to find out. The noise coming from the construction site was somewhat loud, but noise never bothered her while studying. A good thing for whenever Usagi and Rei started to argue during a study or homework session.

“Hey! Wait!” a voice called from behind. Ami turned to see someone running up to her.

“Good morning, Urawa-kun,” she said, smiling cheerily. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Oh, um…. Good morning…,” he faltered, occasionally glancing up.

“What is it?” she urged.

At that moment, one of the straps from a crane lifting a large metal beam suddenly snapped, causing the pipe to go plummeting down to the ground.

“Watch out!” someone yelled from above. Ami turned around in time to see the beam crush a car a few feet ahead and smash into the ground in front of her.

“Oh!” she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in shock as a few gusts of wind from the fall of the beam blew dust and dirt all around and gently blew her hair and her skirt. She froze in place for a few moments, in complete shock until she felt someone shaking her. It was Ryoku, eyes wide open in fear and breath ragged from sprinting all the way down the street. She also noted that some of the construction workers had also gathered around, trying to make sure that no one was hurt.

“Ami-chan! Ami-chan! Are you all right?” he asked frantically. He calmed as soon as he noticed her calming down. Satisfied that no one was hurt, the workers went back to their jobs. “I saw what happened from down the street. If Ryo hadn’t stopped you when he did….” He turned around to look at the metal beam lying in the street. The concrete underneath had several cracks in it, as that part of the sidewalk was nearly shattered.

She also stared down at the spot in disbelief. If I hadn’t stopped, I would’ve been crushed by that beam. I… I would be dead right now.… She looked behind her for the one who had indirectly saved her life. Wait, wasn’t Urawa-kun here a moment ago? “Ryo-kun, where’s Urawa-kun?” she asked a little shakily. “Ryo-kun?” she repeated, when he didn’t answer.

“What?” he responded, snapping out of his own shock. “Ryo? I didn’t see where he went off to.”

“That’s strange,” she said in bewilderment. “Why did he just run off like that?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, “but we’d better get going if we want to get to class on time.”

“Oh, right…,” she agreed quietly, her voice quavering just slightly. “We should go.”

He gave the blue-haired girl a considering look. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, his expression concerned. “After all, you were almost killed a few moments ago.”

“I’ll be fine, Ryo-kun,” she answered with a faint smile. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“All right.” Ryoku nodded and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Maybe next time you’ll watch where you’re going. I’d hate to lose a very good friend just because she didn’t watch where she was going.”

Ami nodded a little at that reprimand. He had a point; she wouldn’t have known that beam would’ve hit until it was too late. She leaned a little against his side as they walked to school. Ryoku had a soothing presence about him at times. Thanks to that near-death experience of hers, her heart was still pounding. She needed to be calm or else she wouldn’t be able to perform as well on her test as she normally would. Slowly, her nerves began to calm. He must’ve noticed too, because he removed his arm from around her shoulder.

“Feel better now?” he asked.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Good, now let’s hurry. We’ve got five minutes until class starts.” He then gave her a small half-grin. “Let’s try to avoid any more construction sites, okay?”

She couldn’t help but grin back at him. “Okay,” she replied as they started to run the rest of the way to school.

Later, the various classes that had tests today had their scores posted up in the school’s hallway. There were quite a few students who were complaining about their lousy scores. Among them was, of course, Usagi.

“Mom’s gonna be mad again!” she moaned after seeing her test score of thirty-seven.

“But, what a lousy mark you got,” Makoto commented, also noticing her score of sixty-eight. “Study harder.”

“Same to you,” Usagi replied laughingly.

Makoto scanned the higher end of the test scores in her brother’s class. Ryoku came in third place and Ami in second. “Who is this Urawa Ryo who came in first place?” she wondered just as both Ryoku and Ami walked up.

“You came in second place, Ami-chan?” Usagi called out.

“I missed a perfect score by one point,” Ami replied. “There’s always someone better, I guess.”

“I missed a perfect by two,” Ryoku added, shrugging. “By the time everyone handed in their papers, I had remembered the answers to those two I missed. Go figure.”

They make it sound so easy…, Usagi thought irritably. It’s way out of my league.…

“That boy who got a perfect score…, Urawa Ryo,” Makoto began, turning to Ryoku and Ami, “isn’t he in your class?”

“Yes, he just transferred here just a while ago,” Ami answered, just as she noticed the person in question walk nearby. “Hi, Urawa-kun!” she called out, waving at him.

Ryo paused and turned to see Ami waving at him. “Oh… um… hi,” he responded nervously while staring down at the floor. He then ran off down the hallway.

“What’s with him?” Makoto wondered as the four of them stared after him.

As Ryo disappeared around the corner at the end of the hallway, a realization hit Usagi. A grin formed on her face as an idea formed in her head.

“Hold it, Usagi-chan,” Ryoku muttered from behind. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re gonna try and play matchmaker between Ryo and Ami-chan aren’t you?”

“Huh?” she replied. “What makes you think that?”

“I saw that sly grin of yours. I’m not dense, you know,” he countered, then shook his head. “Well, if you’re going to go meddle in his affairs, then I’d better go with you just so you don’t mess it up.”

“You serious?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Yes,” he answered, nodding. “Ryo’s my friend. If anyone is going to meddle in his affairs, it might as well be a friend.”

“Great!” she replied cheerily and grabbed his arm. “Well, let’s go follow him.”

“I will regret this. I just know I will regret this,” he muttered to himself as she dragged him after her.

“Now, where are those two going?” Makoto asked, watching Usagi drag Ryoku after her. Ami just shrugged.

Ryo headed to the roof of one of the school’s several buildings. He needed to be by himself, to think. He took out the newspaper clipping he had saved from a few weeks ago, when Ami had been ranked the top junior high student in Japan, and started to read through the article again.

He remembered that day when he took those exams a few weeks ago….

He was very nervous about the exam. He wanted to do great, to get a high placing. With his talents he wouldn’t have that much of a problem, but today he wanted to see how well he could do without them. It wasn’t his talents taking the test; it was him.

He quickly took his seat and waited. He got the middle seat in his row. The two others who were taking the test in his row hadn’t arrived yet. He sat back in his seat and tried to calm himself.

When the door opened a few moments later, he turned to see who had just arrived. It was Kino Ryoku and Mizuno Ami. They were talking as they descended the stairs down to his row. When they reached his row, they both greeted him and quickly took their seats; Ami to his right and Ryoku to his left.

Suddenly, his nervousness returned twofold. She was sitting next to him! He briefly considered using his talents, despite what he had decided earlier, but he chose not to. If he wanted to impress her, he had to do it himself. He looked over at his friend, Ryoku. He was very calm, almost as if he were about to take a nap instead of take an exam. How can he be so calm…?

When the exams were passed out, he quickly went through the first part. They were easy so he wasn’t worried there. The next part wasn’t as easy, but he had no problems there as well. The third part was tricky, and he had made several mistakes that needed to be erased. He was anxiously erasing one of his wrong answers when his eraser escaped from his grip and bounced over to Ami, bumping against her hand. She calmly picked up the eraser and offered it back to him.

“Don’t worry, Urawa-kun. It’s only an exam,” she said, smiling.

“Just relax, and you’ll do fine,” Ryoku added, turning briefly from his exam.

“Good luck,” they both said and returned to their tests. Ryo just looked at the two of them for a moment and went back to his test, a little less nervous than before.

Naturally, Ami placed first in all of Japan. He took twelfth place, while Ryoku managed twenty-fifth.

Ryo was so engrossed in the article, and the picture next to it, that he didn’t hear Usagi walk up to him.

“You like Ami-chan, don’t you?” she declared, startling him and causing him to jump a few inches. “That’s the picture of when she was placed first in Japan, right? You’ve had a crush on her for that long?”

“That’s not true,” he retorted defensively. “I’m just striving to be as good as she is. She’s just a target; a goal I’m trying to reach.”

“But you’ve caught up with your target,” she countered slyly, elbowing him slightly. “Good going.”

“Usagi-chan, cut that out,” Ryoku called out from behind them. “You’re making him uncomfortable.”

“Thanks, Ryoku-san,” Ryo muttered quietly.

“Ah, come on, Ryo-kun. I thought you wanted to help!” she said petulantly.

Ryoku sighed and shook his head. “Look, Ryo,” he said, turning to him. “What Usagi-san is trying to say is that she wants to play matchmaker with you two. You do want to go out with her, right?”

“I don’t know,” Ryo said quietly, turning to look over the side of the building down to where Ami was playing a game with Makoto and two other girls, where they each hit a volleyball back and forth. “Sure, I like Ami. But, she’s still way too good for me. Besides, no matter how much I think about her….” He looked away and sighed to himself. “Never mind.”

“Come on, Ryo, you can’t be serious about that,” Ryoku remarked, folding his arms. “Ami-chan’s one of my best friends, just as you are. If you think that about yourself, then maybe she is too good for you. I know you’re better than that. You just need confidence. Look, we’ll handle part of this, but the rest you’ve got to do on your own. All right?”

“Well…,” Ryo began.

“That’s good enough for me,” Usagi declared and started for the stairs. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll work something out for you! Let me handle this!”

“Wait!” Ryo called out.

“What?” she asked, stopping and turning back to him.

“You’d better be careful around water today,” he advised.

“Huh? Water?” she asked, just before someone tossed a bucket of water from above, drenching her.

“Oops, too late,” Ryoku remarked.

“Guess I should’ve told you sooner,” Ryo admitted, rubbing the back of his head in chagrin.

“I’m freezing!” she muttered as a breeze started to blow across the roof.

“Sorry about that,” the man who threw the water said from above.

Luckily for her, she wasn’t completely soaked. Her school uniform dried quickly, but for the rest of the day at school she had to deal with wet socks. She hated wet socks.

When school was out, and after a quick stop at home to change and pick up something, she met Ryoku and Ryo at a diner near the school with Luna following her. She noticed that while Ryo was wearing the same clothes he was wearing at school, Ryoku had stopped at home to change into a light gray, short-sleeved T-shirt and black pants. For a moment, she wondered why he always seemed to prefer to wear dark colors and always with something black as well.

She joined the two guys and entered the diner. They sat at a window table, with Usagi on one side and the two guys on the other with Ryo getting the window side. Luna sat next to her on the bench. As they all were served fruit juice that she had ordered, she went digging in her purse for the present that she got for Ryo.

“Ah, here it is,” she declared, sitting up with a pink, bunny-adorned envelope in one hand. “This is for you.”

Ryo took the envelope and opened it, sliding out the picture inside. It was a picture of Ami in one of her favorite light blue blouses. She was about to bite into a sandwich she had in one hand, while looking forward in surprise at whoever had the camera pointed at her.

“Not that picture,” Ryoku muttered, rolling his eyes in chagrin. “Couldn’t you find any better pictures than that to give him?”

Both Usagi and Ryo ignored him. “This’s for me?” Ryo asked eagerly.

“Um-hm,” Usagi replied, nodding. “That’s better than that newspaper clipping, right?” He continued to stare at the picture she gave him. “That picture shows a bit of her silly side as well.”

“It shows her with her mouth wide open,” Ryoku commented. “But I guess it is better than that newspaper clipping.”

Unnoticed by anyone except Luna, the Crescent Moon Wand started to flash and beep repeatedly. The wand is reacting, Luna thought, turning to regard Ryo. Is he one of them?

“Thank you,” he said happily. “I’ll treasure this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied, waving away the thanks in polite dismissal. “Now, when are you gonna tell her?”

Ryo’s expression fell slightly as he gazed down at the table. “When I found out that I was going to be transferred to this school, I decided that when I won against Mizuno-san academically, I’d tell her.”

“Then, you’re all set to go,” Usagi said with a grin.

“But… I can’t.”

“Why not?” Ryoku asked.

“I… I just can’t.”

“Sure, you can,” Usagi said, getting to her feet. “Look, I’ll just get Ami-chan after her cram school is over and we’ll meet you near the arcade.”

“But…,” Ryo began.

“Just you wait,” she continued, ignoring him. “See you later!” She then left the diner. Luna glanced at him for a second longer and followed her out of the diner.

“Wait!” he called to her, but she had already left.

“Don’t worry, Ryo,” Ryoku said, getting to his feet as well. “Everything will work out fine, you’ll see.” He frowned as he looked in the direction Usagi had left. “She can be quite enthusiastic at times, but she means well.” He turned back to Ryo, who still looked uncertain. “If it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll come with you to the arcade.”

Ryo looked up at Ryoku, his uncertainty replaced with curiosity. “You will?” he asked.

“Sure,” he replied with a half-grin. “Besides, someone’s got to keep her from meddling any more than necessary, right?” He then left as well, leaving Ryo to stare after him.

“Why are you doing this, Ryoku-san?” he whispered to himself. He turned to look at the picture in his hands. “Maybe I shouldn’t ask….”

Meanwhile, Zoisite was staring at a projection of Ryo while she was turning the Dark Crystal between her fingers.

“So, this boy is the one who carries the third Rainbow Crystal,” she said thoughtfully. “One of the Seven Shadows….”

Usagi leaned against the building where Ami had cram school classes and waited for her to come out while Luna waited with her.

“Usagi-chan, listen,” Luna said urgently. “This is important. I’ve been meaning to tell you….”

“What is it?” Usagi asked. Just then, Ami exited from the building. “Hey, Ami-chan!” she called out to her.

“Usagi-chan, what are you doing here?” Ami asked curiously.

“Can you come with me for a bit?” she replied cheerily. “Come on, Ami-chan!” She grabbed the blue-haired girl’s arm and started dragging her along.

“Wait!” Ami cried as she tried to regain her balance. Now I know how Ryo-kun must’ve felt earlier today.…

Luna watched as Usagi dragged Ami behind her. She never even bothered to listen…, she thought in vexation and followed them.

A short distance away, Ryo walked down the street where he would meet with Ryoku. Above him, he could hear someone’s laughter. Oh no, she’s here…, he thought apprehensively as he stopped. A few feet away, on top of a nearby canopy, Zoisite appeared out of a flourish of cherry blossom petals.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said nonchalantly, as she sat at the edge of the canopy.

Ryo instantly assumed a defensive stance. “So, you’re Zoisite,” he replied, his expression wary.

“What?” she exclaimed in surprise. She pushed herself off the canopy and floated down to the ground in front of him. “How did you know?” she asked sternly.

“I’ve always had this power to foresee the future,” he explained. “It’s been getting stronger recently. Thanks to that, I know all about you and the Dark Kingdom. I know all about who I am and what I will become.” His expression then turned hard. “I wish I didn’t have to know.”

“That makes everything so much simpler,” she replied, grinning while bringing the Dark Crystal out and holding it out over his head. “Now, boy, submit to my power and become one of the Seven Shadows.”

“Never!!!” he yelled angrily. “I’d rather die than be under the control of a demon!” To prove his point, he charged at her and swung a punch straight for her face. In retaliation, she thrust her hand out and shot an energy pulse at him, sending him flying backwards and landing on his back.

“You’re only making things harder than they have to be,” Zoisite mocked, holding the Dark Crystal out in front of her. “Now be a good boy and accept your fate.” The Dark Crystal began the glow as it began to emit pulses of energy at Ryo.

“Hurry up!” Usagi shouted, as continued to drag Ami along with her.

“Usagi-chan, what…,” Ami cut off when she saw that Zoisite was after Ryo. “That’s Zoisite!”

“Oh no! Urawa-kun’s in trouble!” Usagi exclaimed.

“Hurry up, you two! Transform now!” Luna ordered.

At that same moment, Ryoku turned the corner in time to see Zoisite use the Dark Crystal on Ryo. “Zoisite!” he said to himself, bringing out his swords from behind his back.

“Moon prism power, make up!”

“Mercury power, make up!”

“Knight swords power!”

“Hold it!” Sailor Moon ordered.

“Zoisite!” Sailor Mercury shouted.

“Let him go!” Sailor Knight demanded.

“As long as the Moon shines in the night sky, no evil deeds will go unpunished! I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon!”

“Likewise, Sailor Mercury!”

“And Sailor Knight!”

“Release him, Zoisite!” Mercury demanded.

“You dare to interfere with me?” Zoisite growled furiously, snatching the Dark Crystal back into her grasp.

“Sailor Mercury, take Urawa-kun to safety,” Sailor Moon ordered over her shoulder.

“We’ll hold Zoisite off here,” Knight added, without taking his eyes from Zoisite.

“Right,” Mercury responded, taking one of Ryo’s arms around her shoulder and helping him walk away while Sailor Moon and Knight blocked Zoisite from following.

“I don’t have to play with you,” Zoisite said brusquely and suddenly shot a flurry of flower petals at the two Scouts, causing them to cover their faces protectively. When the attack ceased, they lowered their hands and saw that Zoisite wasn’t there anymore.

“Huh?” Sailor Moon said scanning the area. “Where’d she go?”

“She’s probably after Mercury and Ryo,” Knight growled. “We’d better go find them. Did you see where they went?”

“No,” she admitted. “Maybe we should split up and look for them.”

“All right. I’m going this way,” Knight said and headed off in one direction.

“Come on, Luna,” Sailor Moon called out. “Let’s go find them.”

Going on a hunch, Knight headed for Sankaku Park. Ryo didn’t look too good as Mercury practically carried him off. She’d probably take him to somewhere that had water, and the nearest place that had water was the park.

After taking a few shortcuts through the trees, he found them. Ryo was lying semiconscious on a bench near a pond, while Mercury was soaking a cloth in the water. Since there seemed to be no sign of Zoisite, he was content to just sit out of sight and silently watch for any danger. He was close enough so that he could quickly reach them, should they need help. He was also close enough to eavesdrop on them, but he didn’t want to move farther back just for the sake of being polite.

Mercury stood up from the pond and wrung some water out of the cloth. She walked over to Ryo, who was just barely conscious and wincing in pain.

“Don’t worry, Urawa-kun,” she said, placing the damp cloth on his forehead. “You’ll be safe here with me. I’m pretty sure she won’t find us.”

“Thank you for saving me…,” he murmured, opening his eyes slightly, “Mizuno-san.” He closed his eyes again and fell unconscious. The cloth on his head fell off and landed on the bench.

At the mention of her name, Mercury jerked back in surprise. “How does he know my name?” she wondered to herself.

Sailor Moon dashed down the street, still searching for Mercury and Ryo. Knight hadn’t checked in yet, which was unlike him. She was growing worried, so she had called Rei and Makoto on the communicator, telling them to meet her at Sankaku Park, which was where she was heading to right at that minute.

“Where did Mercury go?” Sailor Moon muttered to herself, stopping after she turned the corner leading to the park. “I can’t find them anywhere!”

“You know, if you use the Crescent Moon Wand, you can probably find both Urawa-kun and Sailor Mercury,” Luna mentioned. “I’m positive they’ll be where the wand tells you.”

“What do you mean?” she retorted. “Are you saying that Urawa-kun is one of the Rainbow Crystal carriers?”

“Exactly.”

“What?”

“We’d better hurry. Sailor Mercury may be in trouble.”

“Are you positive?”

“I am. Now, let’s get moving.”

Knight remained where he was, watching for either Zoisite or Sailor Moon to show up. If Sailor Moon showed up, then he would come out as well, so that all three Scouts would be able to protect Ryo. If Zoisite showed up, then he was in a perfect position for an ambush. Either way, he would stay put until someone arrived.

Even while out of it, Ryo was still suffering from the effects of the Dark Crystal. Mercury stayed by his side, gently moving the cool, damp cloth across his forehead. Apparently, he was having some sort of bad dream, since he was moaning and tossing back and forth.

As she lifted the cloth from his head in order to dip it back in the pond’s cold waters, she noticed something protruding from his shirt pocket. Curious, she took the object out and glanced at it. It was a picture of her that Usagi took a few weeks ago. She remembered that picture especially since both Usagi and Ryoku spent a good portion of five minutes laughing at her expression and the fact that she had her mouth wide open. Honestly, she had also found it to be a silly photo of her as well, but she didn’t want to say that in front of them at that moment. Only when they apologized for laughing, did she admit it.

A picture of me? she mused to herself. When Ryo began to stir, she replaced the photo back into his shirt pocket.

“Not again…,” he murmured as his eyes opened and his vision began to focus on Sailor Mercury above him.

“Do you have a nightmare?” she asked, as he sat up on the bench.

“It was no dream,” he answered quietly, staring down at his feet. “I was seeing my future.”

“What?”

“I have this power to foresee the future,” he admitted. “That’s how I scored a perfect on the exam.”

So, that’s it…, Knight thought to himself. The construction site, the bucket of water… he saw it happen before it happened. As soon as she sat next to him, a feeling in the back of his mind told him that something was wrong. He glanced around looking for any sign of anything wrong. He couldn’t see anything wrong; all he could see was Mercury and Ryo.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“There’s no need to hide, Mizuno-san,” he told her, causing her to start in surprise. “I’ve always dreamed about you. But, you and I are destined to fight.”

“That can’t be true,” she replied, staring at the pond in front of them. “You are totally wrong. After all, you think I’m Mizuno-san.”

“I see,” he replied, regarding her contemplatively. “Then, I’ll leave it at that. Only….” He trailed off and turned his gaze to the pond.

“What?” she urged.

“If I turn into a youma,” he began solemnly, squeezing his eyes shut in anguish, “please kill me!” Mercury gasped in shock at Ryo’s request. From his hiding place, even Knight blinked in surprise at the vehemence in his voice. “It must be done. That much is true.” He clasped his hands together and bowed his head so that it was resting on his hands.

Mercury stared at him for a moment, then got up from the bench and gazed down at him. “Listen to me, Urawa-kun,” she said gently. “You have the power to change your own destiny. If you give up, nothing will change. As long as you have faith in yourself, you can control your own fate.” When he opened his eyes and glanced up at her, she gave him a reassuring nod and a small grin.

“Mizuno-san…,” he said, getting to his feet and smiling back at her. “…I mean, Sailor Mercury.”

“How touching,” Zoisite said as she appeared hovering over the pond with the Dark Crystal in hand. “Did you really think you could escape from the Dark Crystal?” Instantly, Mercury and Ryo assumed defensive stances against the blonde general. “Oh, trying to defend him?” she asked mockingly. “I wonder if you can keep it up after seeing the boy’s true form?”

When she raised the crystal in front of her, a blade suddenly struck her hand, causing her to drop the crystal. A second blade struck the crystal midair, deflecting it to Sailor Knight’s waiting hand. “Got it!” he shouted, grabbing the crystal.

“Why you…!” Zoisite screamed angrily, charging at Knight just as he grabbed the crystal. In response, he recalled one of his swords into his empty hand. She shot an energy pulse at him just when he caught his sword, but the force was too great for him to block with just one sword. He went flying a few feet, with the crystal leaving his grasp upon crashing into the ground.

“Nice try,” Zoisite sneered as the Dark Crystal floated back into her hand, “but this crystal belongs to me.”

“Are you okay, Sailor Knight?” Mercury asked as she and Ryo helped him to his feet.

“I’m fine,” Knight replied, as he recalled his other sword.

“Now, it’s time I retrieved the crystal that’s in this boy,” Zoisite said, as the Dark Crystal began to glow, emitting pulses of energy at Ryo. The pulses of energy began to envelope him and penetrate through him. Suddenly, he felt a surge of power as the energy from the Dark Crystal found the Rainbow Crystal within him. He began to scream as the power of the Yellow Rainbow Crystal began to overload his senses.

“Ryo!” Mercury and Knight shouted as a screen of smoke rose around him. From out of the smoke, the Yellow Rainbow Crystal flew straight into Zoisite’s hand.

“Now, look at him,” Zoisite taunted. “Bunbou, one of the Seven Shadows. Get them, Bunbou! Kill these Sailor Scouts!”

“Ryo, what about your destiny?” Mercury called out. From out of the smoke, a creature appeared sporting what looked like penknives on each hand. Instead of knives, the right hand was a pair of scissors and the left hand was a drawing compass. The creature was large and its pale yellow skin resembled armor.

“I don’t think he’s listening,” Knight remarked, standing protectively in front of Mercury with his swords ready.

Bunbou’s orange eyes stared fiercely at the two Scouts. From his subconscious, he could recall Mercury’s voice telling him that he could control his own destiny. He knew that the Scouts weren’t his enemies, the enemy was the one who made him this way. The one who was trying to order him to destroy his friends.

Mercury watched in fear as the Shadow Warrior closed his scissor hand and thrust it straight at her and Knight. At the last second, the scissor blades struck the ground in front of them, allowing the creature to flip himself over the two bewildered Scouts. He then went on to tackle Zoisite out of the air, knocking the Yellow Rainbow Crystal out of her hands. The crystal fell straight into Mercury’s hands as Bunbou landed in the pond.

“He still has a human mind?” Zoisite wondered, having teleported out of his grasp. “Bunbou, obey me! Kill the Sailor Scouts!” She raised the Dark Crystal over Bunbou, which began to emit more pulses of energy at him. They seeped through the creature, imbuing him with more dark energy. He turned back to the Sailor Scouts, this time to destroy them. “Now, take the Rainbow Crystal back from her!” she ordered as he suddenly grew twice his size.

“Let’s go!” Knight shouted, putting away his swords as he grabbed Mercury’s hand and dragged her behind him as they ran away. “We can’t fight him by ourselves!”

“Zoisite!” Sailor Moon shouted, as she and Luna finally arrived. “You can’t force an innocent boy’s mind to change!”

“I never forced him,” Zoisite said, unconcerned. “I merely restored the boy to his true form.”

“You’re gonna pay for this, Zoisite!” Sailor Moon declared angrily. “On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”

“Punish her later, Sailor Moon!” Knight shouted, as he and Mercury continued their flight from their pursuer. “You’d better heal Ryo first!”

“All right,” she replied, bringing out her Crescent Moon Wand. “Moon healing escalation!” Mercury and Knight stopped and waited for Bunbou to change back. To their surprise, along with Sailor Moon’s, the healing had no effect and he started to chase all three Scouts and Luna.

“How come it’s not working?” Sailor Moon exclaimed.

“His mind is completely controlled by the evil power of that crystal,” Luna explained as she ran behind the Scouts. “You’ll have to weaken the power before you can turn him back.”

Suddenly, Bunbou began to spit out razor blades from his mouth at the fleeing Scouts. Knight noticed the blades coming first and brought out one of his swords to deflect them. The first two imbedded themselves into a nearby tree, while another sliced cleanly through a limb. The limb fell directly into their path, blocking their escape.

“We’ve got to do it,” Mercury stated.

“There’s no other way,” Knight added, bringing out his other sword.

“If I turn into a youma,” she remembered Ryo begging in anguish moments ago, “please kill me!”

Don’t worry, Urawa-kun. We’ll turn you back into your old self.

Bunbou lifted his right hand and fired a pair of scissor blades at the Scouts, then lifted his left arm and fired the compass. Before the attacks could hit the Scouts, Knight deflected each attack with a swing of his swords. Bunbou then fired another volley, which Knight deflected again.

The cycle of attacks continued to increase in speed until both of Knight’s swords had been struck from his hands. Yet another volley of attacks sped towards the small group of Scouts, too fast to dodge in time.

“Fire soul!”

“Supreme thunder!”

The fireball from Sailor Mars struck the scissors, while Sailor Jupiter’s lightning bolts hit the compass. Both weapons fell to the ground, singed and motionless.

“We almost missed the show,” Jupiter said.

“Really,” Mars agreed.

“Shabon spray!” Mercury shouted, raising a thick mist. Bunbou ceased firing and merely stood still, not having a visible target to fire at. “Sailor Moon, do it now! Save Urawa-kun!”

“Moon tiara magic!” Sailor Moon shouted, flinging her tiara at the creature. The tiara fastened itself to his head and drained away most of the dark energy inside him, shrinking him down to normal size.

“His energy is low enough!” Luna exclaimed. “He can be changed back now.”

“Moon healing escalation!” she shouted, rotating the wand in a large circle in front of her, ending above her head. As she held the wand above her head, a white glow emanated from the wand and covered the Shadow Warrior, returning him to his normal form. He then collapsed into unconsciousness.

“Urawa-kun!” Mercury shouted, running to the prone figure on the ground, with the other Scouts looking on.

From above, Zoisite glared at the Sailor Scouts angrily. “You’ll pay for this!” she growled and disappeared.

“Urawa-kun, are you okay?” Mercury asked worriedly as Ryo slowly regained consciousness.

“Mizuno-san…,” he murmured weakly, looking up into the blue-haired girl’s face.

From a distance, Tuxedo Kamen watched as Mercury helped Ryo to his feet. So, the Sailor Scouts have the third Rainbow Crystal…, he thought to himself as he walked away. I guess I’ll leave it with them, for now.…

Knight watched as Tuxedo Kamen left, a thoughtful expression slowly crossing his face. So you won’t challenge us for our Rainbow Crystal? Or are you just biding your time? More importantly… does this make you our ally, or our enemy?

“Hey, Knight?” Jupiter said, nudging her brother with an elbow. “Something wrong?”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Nothing’s wrong… for now.” He turned to Ryo, who was leaning weakly on Mercury’s shoulder. “Are you going be all right, Ryo?” he asked, walking over to him and offering him his own shoulder as well.

“Sure, Ryoku-san,” he responded, as Knight took some of the weight off Mercury’s shoulders. “Thanks for your help.”

From Ryo’s tone, he had the feeling that he was implying more than just Zoisite. “What’re friends for?” he replied with a half-grin.

A couple of days later, Ryo had received word that he would be transferring to another school. The day that he was to leave, Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Ryoku all came to see him off at the train station.

“Transferring again?” Makoto asked. “You don’t like to settle down, do you?”

“It’s because of my dad’s job,” he replied. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“And just when we got to know you, too…,” Usagi added regrettably.

“Well, I’ll be sorry to see you go,” Ryoku added with a small half-grin.

“Well, …um, Mizuno-san, I…,” Ryo stammered nervously.

“You can call me, Ami, Ryo-san,” Ami said, smiling faintly.

“I guess it’ll be ‘Ryo-san’ for Urawa-kun and ‘Ryo-kun’ for my brother, right, Ami-chan?” Makoto asked, grinning.

“I guess so.”

Ryo reached into his pocket and took out the picture Usagi had given him. “Ami-san… here’s your picture back,” he said, handing the photo to her.

“No, keep it,” Usagi urged.

Ami took the photo and glanced fondly at it. “When I can beat your marks with my own power, I’ll return for it,” he told her.

“I still say that was a lousy picture to give him, Usagi-chan,” Ryoku said, looking at the photo over Ami’s shoulder. “I think that this one would’ve been a better choice to give him.” He brought out his wallet from his trouser pocket and took a picture out, handing it over to Ami. “Don’t you think so? After all, I took this one.”

I remember this…, she thought as she glanced over the photo. This is when Ryo-kun, Rei-chan and I went on that cruise that turned out to be a Dark Kingdom plot. I almost forgot about those pictures. “I believe you’re right, Ryo-kun,” she agreed, taking the photo. “Here, Ryo-san,” she said, handing the picture over to Ryo.

He looked down at the photo and grinned. It was a picture of Ami wearing a long greenish-yellow dress with a cream yellow long sleeve coat. Behind her was the city of Tokyo at twilight, with the ocean spread around it and stretching out into the distance. “Wow,” he murmured, looking back up at Ami and Ryoku. “You sure I can keep this?”

“I’ve got the negatives; I can always have another one made,” Ryoku replied nonchalantly, waving away any concern. “Besides, I want you to have it.”

“Thanks.”

“I prefer that picture,” Ami added. “Especially, since I don’t have my mouth wide open, like Usagi-chan.”

“Good one, Ami-chan,” Ryoku laughed, while the train closed its door and started moving.

“I do not always have my mouth wide open,” Usagi muttered irritably, as Ami ran alongside the train down the platform. When she ran out of platform, she stopped at the edge, but continued to wave goodbye.

“See you again, Ryo-san!” she shouted at the departing train. “You can come back any time, without worrying about your marks!” As the train disappeared into the distance, everyone began to leave. Everyone except Ami, who was still staring out into the distance where the train had left, and Ryoku, who was watching Ami.