Over the next couple of days, each of the others noticed that Ryoku was steadily growing more reserved and introspective. They could also sense a subtle uneasiness between him and Ami, but neither one would talk about it to anyone.
“I’ve been thinking,” Ryoku said suddenly, surprising everyone since he had been quiet for most of the meeting. “So far, we’ve been acting passively in our fight against the Dark Kingdom.”
It was still quiet; no activity had been detected from the Dark Kingdom ever since Mamoru had been healed and recaptured. That was over two weeks ago and everyone was getting a little wary… everyone except Usagi, that is. Nevertheless, everyone decided to meet at the shrine to decide what to do. They all met in Rei’s room, around the table in the middle of her room; Usagi and Ami sat at one side, Makoto and Minako on the other side, Rei at one end and Ryoku at the other.
“We only go out as Sailor Scouts when there’s an attack,” he continued. “If we want to end these attacks and stop the Dark Kingdom, then we should take the battle to them.”
“Minako-chan and I have been searching for a way to do that, Ryo-kun,” Artemis told him. “That was before we joined up with the rest of you.”
“That was when I was known as Sailor V,” Minako added.
“But, no luck?” Usagi asked. Minako and Artemis shook their heads.
“What exactly is it you two were looking for anyways?” Makoto asked. “Some kind of gateway to the Dark Kingdom?”
“Sort of like that,” Minako replied.
“Do you know what it looks like?” Rei asked. The others turned toward Minako and Artemis with expectant expressions on their faces.
“We don’t have a clue,” Artemis admitted after a short silence.
The others facefaulted. “What do you mean, you don’t have a clue?” Rei demanded. “How do you know when you find it?”
“You’ll know,” Artemis told her. “I’m sure it’ll be radiating a large amount of dark energy. You’ll feel it. That’s how we were looking for it, by searching for a concentration of dark energy.”
“We are also certain that that place would also be where all of the monsters you were fighting were sent from,” Minako added.
“So, why don’t we all just go search for whatever it is and take on the Dark Kingdom instead waiting for them to attack us?” Makoto suggested eagerly, with Ryoku nodding agreement.
“If you all think you’re ready to take on the Dark Kingdom…,” Luna began.
“They cannot win against the six of us,” Ryoku said flatly. The other girls agreed fervently.
“Then, we should start searching for any sign of that gateway to the Dark Kingdom,” Luna told them.
That evening, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Ryoku had all gathered at the Crown Video arcade around midnight. Luna had told the others earlier of how she used to use the arcade to contact Central Control – she still hadn’t told them that Central Control was really Artemis and had made him promise that he wouldn’t tell them – and explained to Ami how to open the gates and doors to the place after it had closed for the night.
Ami sat at the Sailor V arcade machine that Luna told her about and was busy entering the data she and the others had collected through the entire day. Rei and Makoto watched over her shoulder as Ryoku was standing off to the side, watching all three of them and the entrance. He was watching for Usagi and Luna, and Minako and Artemis, who were late. “No…,” she mumbled as she typed away at the screen. “No…. Not here… or here…. This’s out, too….” She sighed to herself as one location after another was crossed out over the city map that was displayed on the screen. “All that’s left is….”
“Someone’s coming,” Ryoku interrupted quietly.
“Sorry we’re late,” Luna said as she entered the room with an exhausted Usagi behind her.
“I’m dead on my feet,” Usagi muttered tiredly as she hobbled into the room.
“Any luck?” Ami asked as everyone turned toward the latecomers.
“The sweet shop in question wasn’t the gateway to the Dark Kingdom,” Luna reported.
“That’s a no, too?” Ami repeated disappointedly and turned back to the screen to enter that last bit of information to what she had already entered. Rei and Makoto both turned back to the screen as well, while Ryoku continued to watch for Minako and Artemis. “The youma are being sent into this world from the Dark Kingdom. The gateway has to be somewhere.”
“Have you three found anything?” Luna asked.
“Absolutely nothing,” Rei said.
“No trace of a hideout anywhere,” Makoto added.
“No,” Ryoku muttered without taking his gaze from the entrance.
“I wonder how Minako-chan did,” Luna said.
“I’m exhausted!” Usagi complained.
“Usagi-chan, everybody else’s just about the same,” Luna chided. “Please be patient.”
“But, I’m starving!” she whined loudly.
“What did you just eat at the sweet store?” Luna asked exasperatedly.
“Three plates of dumplings and two bowls of fruit syrup,” Usagi replied cheerily. “Delicious!”
“Oh, that’s all?” Ryoku remarked sarcastically.
“It’s not enough!” Usagi cried.
“They’re here,” he said and walked over toward the others.
“What’s her problem?” Artemis asked as he and Minako walked in.
“She’s hungry,” Ryoku muttered and peered at the screen from beside the machine, making sure that he wasn’t in anyone’s way.
“Well?” Rei asked.
“I checked out all the public baths in Tokyo,” Minako reported, as she held a bucket with her towel and shampoo inside. “Nothing.”
“But you must be very clean from all that bathing. Right, Minako-chan?” Ryoku asked with an amused half-grin and a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Minako replied, laughing.
“Thanks for your effort,” Ami told everyone.
“Let’s call it a night,” Makoto suggested.
“Sure,” Ami agreed.
“Let’s go, Usagi-chan,” Rei said as she stood up from leaning on the machine. Ami reached forward to turn it off when a bright light suddenly flashed on the screen.
“What’s this?” she gasped in surprise.
The light slowly lessened its intensity and displayed an enlarged picture of the Sun. The machine increased the magnification until they were looking at a close-up view off the Sun. There were several dark sunspots scattered on the Sun’s surface, but one in particular was slowly growing.
“This’s…,” Luna gasped as everyone gathered around to see what was on the screen.
“It’s just the same as last time,” Artemis added apprehensively.
“What last time?” Usagi asked.
“The way this sunspot is spreading is exactly the same as when the Moon Kingdom fell,” Artemis told them. There was a collective gasp of shock from all of the Sailor Scouts.
“An ominous omen if I ever saw one,” Ryoku muttered as his expression darkened.
“No wonder the Dark Kingdom had been so quiet lately,” Makoto added, a similar dark expression on her face. “They must be getting ready to destroy our world, just as they did the Moon Kingdom.”
Ami reached forward and shut off the machine. “Unfortunately, we can do nothing about the growing sunspot. All we can do is find the gateway to the Dark Kingdom. We’ll begin searching again tomorrow.”
Ryoku quietly got up out of bed and gazed out the window toward the eastern horizon. Dawn wouldn’t be for hours yet. The thought of the spreading sunspot heralding the rise of the Dark Kingdom had been tormenting his thoughts since he and Makoto had left the others at the arcade and come home. Would there be a change in the sun’s brightness tomorrow? Would the Earth become dark and cold? As if I needed any more worries lately.
He sighed quietly to himself. There was no way he was going to get any sleep tonight; not with his mind in the state that it was in now.
“If I’m going to be up all night, then I might as well do something,” he muttered, pulling on a shirt and some pants. As soon as he slipped on his shoes, he grabbed his Knight swords off their resting place on the wall, slipped them in their hiding places behind his back and quietly headed out of the apartment after writing a short note to Makoto if she should wake up while he was gone.
Beryl knelt down before the structure that held Queen Metallia with Kunzite kneeling behind her. Between her and Metallia was Mamoru’s prone form, still in the brainwashing device. Beryl wanted to be absolutely certain of Mamoru’s commitment to her, so she decided to leave him in the device for twice the length as last time.
“WHEN THE SUNSPOT COVERS THE ENTIRE SUN, I WILL FINALLY RETURN,” Metallia told them.
“Queen Metallia will descend to this world again?” Kunzite asked.
Beryl raised her crystal ball and rod and gazed into it, at a view of the Sun. The large sunspot was already twice the size of any normal sunspot.
“When Queen Metallia resurrects and we have obtained the Silver Crystal, the world will be mine,” Beryl told him.
“Very shortly, the Silver Crystal shall be in our possession,” Kunzite replied.
“What do you mean?” she demanded, turning around to face him.
“I have found an acquaintance of Sailor V,” he answered.
“Is that so?”
“She’s a police officer in Interpol in London. I have obtained information that she treated Sailor V as her little sister.”
Beryl glanced over at Kunzite over her shoulder. “Interesting…,” she said and turned back toward her crystal. “Sailor V must be connected to the Sailor Scouts. Continue with your plan.” Kunzite bowed his assent.
Suddenly, a pale red light started glowing within the structure holding Metallia, causing Beryl and Kunzite to jerk back slightly in surprise. “What’s going on here?” Beryl exclaimed.
Two flaming hands erupted from the dark structure and engulfed the brainwashing device Mamoru was lying in. Shortly after the hands enveloped the device, they disappeared as if they were never there.
“THIS MAN HAS ENERGY WITH THE SAME WAVE LENGTH AS MINE,” Metallia told them. “HE IS WORTHY OF INHERITING MY ENERGY.” Dark energy began to flow through Mamoru, causing him to groan in pain.
Almost as if she could hear his agony, Usagi awoke suddenly and sat up in her bed. Her abrupt movement caught Luna’s attention, waking her up as well.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking up at Usagi from her floor cushion.
Usagi glanced toward the window, then down toward Luna. “Tuxedo Kamen-sama was…,” she began.
“That nightmare again?” Luna asked and hopped up onto the bed. “I know how you feel, but you shouldn’t worry so much.” She slowly padded over in front of Usagi. “It’s not good for you to worry. Sleep well and eat properly.”
Usagi nodded slowly. “I’m sure I’ll eat properly,” she said as she reached for a dumpling from a platter next to her bed. She had brought that from the sweet shop she had checked out with Luna… or rather, Luna checked out, while she ate.
Luna gave Usagi an exasperated look. “Forget what I said,” she muttered.
Usagi grabbed the platter of dumplings and opened the window as she knelt on her bed. “I don’t know why, but dumplings sure taste great in the moonlight,” she said while happily munching on another one. “I feel great!”
A white blur dashed along the ground and hurtled toward Usagi’s open window. Just as she opened her mouth to pop in another dumpling, Artemis leaped inside, pouncing on her upon landing and knocking her flat off her bed.
“Sorry, Usagi-chan!” Artemis exclaimed over toward her prone form.
Usagi was lying face-up on the floor, her platter of dumplings scattered all over her floor. She then began to choke as the dumpling she was previously holding was shoved down her throat when Artemis leaped into her.
“What’s wrong, Artemis?” Luna asked, not noticing Usagi’s choking.
“Major problem,” Artemis told her, also not noticing Usagi. “Minako-chan is gone.”
“Water…,” Usagi gasped, as she stood up while trying to breathe.
“Did she find the gateway to the Dark Kingdom?” Luna asked.
“Water!!!” Usagi gasped louder.
“Then, she would’ve gone with me,” Artemis told Luna.
“WATER!!!” Usagi gasped even louder and collapsed face-first onto the bed.
“Don’t you have any clue?” Luna asked.
“Just one,” he replied. “She got a call from somebody named Katrina. This might have something to do with her.”
Usagi finally choked down the dumpling and took a deep breath. “I thought I’d die!” she breathed. Artemis and Luna just gave her an exasperated look.
“Idiot,” Luna muttered.
Ryoku glanced up and down the street. It felt so abandoned and dark, despite the fact that each side of the street was lined with lamps spaced just close enough together for enough illumination to see by. He sighed tiredly to himself, since his search had so far turned up nothing. Although he didn’t expect to find anything, since all the shops were closed, he still would rather he find just one small clue. Finding nothing was very disappointing. He stretched his arms a little and gave a small yawn as he headed off down the street again.
“Usagi-chan, hurry up!” Artemis called as he and Luna dashed ahead of her.
“I’m going as fast as I can!” Usagi shouted back. “Why don’t you slow down?”
As Ryoku approached the corner, he noticed two cats suddenly shooting across his path. “Was that…?” he wondered, not stopping as his gaze followed the two cats. He was then bowled over by someone running full speed into him.
“Usagi-chan?” Luna called as she and Artemis went back to see what happened.
“Ryo-kun?” Artemis exclaimed as he recognized the person Usagi had run into.
“Ow…,” the two moaned painfully.
“As long as you’re here, Ryo-kun, would you mind helping us?” Luna asked as the two slowly got to their feet.
“What’s wrong?” Ryoku asked.
“Minako-chan’s missing,” Artemis explained. “We need to find her.”
“All right, so where do we start looking?”
“She received a call from someone named Katrina, so….”
“You’re looking for a Katrina, right?” Ryoku cut in. Artemis nodded. “Right, I’ll help you search.”
“Okay, let’s split into pairs,” Luna suggested. “I’ll go with Usagi-chan and Artemis will go with Ryo-kun.”
“All right,” Ryoku agreed and ran off with Artemis following.
“Let’s go, Usagi-chan,” Luna said and ran off with Usagi trailing behind.
The moonlight shone gently on the surface of the nearby river. A boat could be heard in the distance sounding its horn as it sailed. The stars twinkled brightly in the dark, midnight sky. Had Minako been looking out the window, she would’ve seen this as well. Instead, she sat in a chair and stared despondently down at the floor as Katrina gazed out the window of her hotel room.
“Minako-chan…,” Katrina said quietly, and turned toward her. “No, Sailor V. I was surprised when I found out you were okay.” Minako remained staring at the floor and said nothing.
Katrina walked over to her and knelt by her left side. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were still alive?” she asked. Minako looked away from her. “I heard you were still fighting as Sailor V. I want to give you a hand. You’re with the Sailor Scouts, aren’t you?” Her expression became expectant. “Can you introduce me to them?”
Minako’s hands tightened in her lap. “How is Alan?” she asked quietly.
Katrina’s expression turned to one of surprise. “He’s fine,” she told her. She stood up and reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her wallet. She opened it, showing Minako a picture of her and Alan. Minako turned and glanced at the picture, then up at Katrina. “He really wanted to see you,” Katrina continued as she looked down at the picture herself.
Minako blinked in surprise as she noticed the pendant around Katrina’s neck. “Katrina-oneesan, you still have that pendant.”
“Of course,” she replied, clutching the pendant. “After all, this was a birthday gift from you.
“I really want to help you. Please, let me meet with the Sailor Scouts.”
“Katrina-oneesan, you’re an Interpol officer, but this is our problem,” Minako replied. “I can’t let you get into trouble.” She stood up from the chair. “I’m glad I could see you again. Thank you. Bye.” She turned and ran out of the hotel room, closing the door behind her.
“Minako-chan! Wait!” Katrina called after her, but she was already gone. Just as she was about to run after Minako, Kunzite appeared in front of her.
“It’s useless to sound her out,” he told her and raised his arm in front of her. “Turn into Papiyon and attack her.”
In a flash of light, Katrina had turned into Papiyon and crashed through the window in search of Minako.
Down by the harbor, Minako was staring at a photo of her and Alan together. She was happily holding onto his arm as the picture was taken. Alan.… She held the photo close to her, almost as if she was hugging it, or rather, hugging Alan. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. “Alan…,” she whispered sadly.
A small, luminescent butterfly fluttered in front of her, catching her attention. “A butterfly?” she wondered. “At this time of year?”
A sickle came hurtling close to her. At the last second, she leaped away, landing on her feet a short distance away. “Who’s there?” she shouted.
“If you died once, why hesitate dying again?” Papiyon said as she raised her sickle from the ground. The sickle was actually part of her right arm. The green and purple colored outfit combined with the light-green skin, the two discs on her head that looked like insect eyes, and the pair of wing-like protuberances behind her head made her look like a large butterfly. When she finished speaking, the sickle turned back into her right hand.
Minako stood up with a determined expression on her face. “Another youma?” she said as she brought out her transformation pen. “All right….” She thrust the pen into the air. “Venus power!” Within moments, she had transformed into Sailor Venus.
“What?” Papiyon exclaimed. “Minako is Sailor Venus?”
“Crescent beam!”
“It’s useless,” Papiyon said as she caught her crescent beam and began floating into the air. “I know your fighting techniques. Take this!” She shot a stream of luminescent butterflies at Venus, which began to circle and attack her while slowly lifting her into the air.
“I am familiar with all of your weaknesses,” Papiyon continued, coming back down to the ground.
Venus glanced down toward Papiyon and noticed the pendant around her neck. “You’re Katrina-oneesan …,” she said in disbelief. “Why?” The attack increased in force, causing her to gasp in pain.
“Now, say the names of the Sailor Scouts,” Papiyon ordered.
“Katrina-oneesan….”
“Sailor Venus!” Artemis exclaimed as he and Luna rushed onto the scene with Usagi and Ryoku.
“What do we do?” Usagi exclaimed. “That youma looks so strong!”
Luna looked around for an idea and noticed an idle motorboat. “Let’s escape on that.”
“How am I supposed to do that? I can’t drive a motorboat!”
Ryoku shrugged as she turned toward him. “I don’t know, either.”
“Then, why don’t you become a sailor?” Luna suggested.
“I see,” Usagi replied and brought out the Luna Pen.
“A sailor,” Ryoku said, smirking. “How ironic. Well, while you’re doing that, I’ll go help Venus.” He quickly brought out his Knight swords.
“Knight swords power!”
“Moon power, turn me into a cute sailor!”
Sailor Knight glanced at Usagi. She was wearing a white and blue sailor’s uniform with a white beret-like hat with blue trim. Her hair was wrapped into two smaller shoulder-length ponytails. “Cute,” he commented and headed off to help Venus.
Knight leaped into the air and threw both swords, one after the other, at Papiyon. The first one made her hop back at little and the second made her hop back a little more. As she glanced up to see who threw the swords, his foot connected with her chest, knocking her over the railing and into the water. With her concentration broken, the butterflies dispersed causing Venus to plummet. Knight rushed underneath the falling Sailor Venus and caught her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Luna shouted. Usagi and Knight nodded their agreement and rushed onto the motorboat, Knight carrying Venus. Usagi quickly started the boat and piloted it into the open waters, away from the harbor.
As Usagi piloted the boat, Venus sat with her head in her hands. The two cats sat across from her while Knight sat beside her.
“How did you know I was here?” Venus asked as she sat up, taking her head out of her hands.
“We just hunted for a hotel with a guest named Katrina,” Artemis explained.
“Ryoku and Artemis found out that was staying at a hotel by the harbor and called us here,” Luna continued.
Back at the harbor, Papiyon burst out of the water and hovered several feet above it, searching for the two Sailor Scouts. “Where did they go?” she growled. “They won’t get away!” She then spotted the fleeing boat and shot after it.
“Anyway, let’s get…,” Usagi began and screamed in fright as she saw Papiyon chasing after them. “Here she comes! Full speed ahead!” She accelerated the boat to its top speed, leaving Papiyon behind.
“Looks like we can lose her,” Luna said as she watched the monster fall behind.
“Usagi-chan, thank you,” Venus told her.
“No problem,” Usagi replied with a wink and a grin. The grin slowly faded as she noticed the dispirited look on her face.
Knight also noticed Venus’s expression. “Usagi-chan, head for that cruiser over there,” he suggested, pointing toward a large ship just ahead.
“Roger,” Usagi acknowledged and steered toward the cruiser. She anchored the ship just under the cruiser’s ladder. Knight was the first to climb up, then Venus with Artemis, and Usagi with Luna.
As soon as he swung over the top, he reached over and helped Venus up while Artemis hopped off of her.
“I can’t go anymore,” Usagi groaned as Knight pulled her up and over the top of the railing, while Luna hopped off.
“Move it,” Luna ordered as Usagi leaned against the rail.
“But, you took a free ride on my head,” Usagi countered.
“At any rate, let’s hide,” Venus told the others.
“Right,” Knight agreed, glancing around, looking for a good hiding place. “Follow me.” He quickly headed inside the ship while the others followed.
A short while later, Papiyon flew down onto the ship’s deck near the swimming pool. “Where are they hiding?” she muttered to herself as she glanced around, then flew off in one direction.
Knight led the others inside the dining room of the ship. There were several empty tables and chairs over to one side of the room, while near them there was a row of stools in front of a bar.
“Looks like it’s unoccupied,” Usagi commented as Venus and Knight went further into the room.
“Stay put,” Artemis told them. “The monster knows we’re hiding here.”
“By the way, Venus,” Luna added, “you called the monster ‘Katrina-oneesan’. Who is she?”
Venus stopped and glanced at Luna, then bowed her head sadly.
“Venus?” Knight said concernedly.
“Luna, there’re things people don’t wanna talk…,” Usagi chided.
“It’s okay,” Venus interrupted. “It’s okay. It was only half a year ago. I got a tip that the Dark Kingdom’s youma was in London, so I flew there. There, I met Alan and fell in love with him.”
Usagi and Venus both took seats on the stools while Knight stood nearby. Luna and Artemis sat on the counter.
“One day,” Venus continued, “I was involved in a criminal case. The youma that I was looking for was fleeing from an Interpol officer, Katrina. As he was running, a little girl was standing in his path. He grabbed the little girl and held her hostage, then began to drain her energy. As he did so, he changed into his true form. That was when I stepped in.
“I shot a crescent beam near the monster as a warning shot, then leaped off of the building I was standing on. I kicked the monster in the head, destroying him, and saved the little girl. Katrina-oneesan walked up to me and thanked me. Since then, we became friends.
“She did lots of things for me, like teaching me English and becoming my counselor. I looked up to her like my real older sister. She also treated me like her own little sister. I introduced Alan to her and all of us played together.
“But, one day, Katrina-oneesan and I, as Sailor V, were involved in a raid on some big criminal’s hideout. I signaled to her that I would go in first and rushed in. What I found was an empty warehouse and someone waiting for me. He tossed in a grenade and ran. I hadn’t realized that it was a grenade until it was too close and too late. I managed to make it to a window when the explosion blew me out through it. If I wasn’t transformed, I would’ve died from that explosion. Instead, I was blown into the alley behind the warehouse.
“My uniform was singed and my mask was blown off my face. I felt very weak and I hurt all over. I limped away from the building, but I couldn’t walk very far, so I stopped to rest for a bit. That’s when I saw Alan looking for me. Katrina-oneesan hurried over to him and tried to tell him that I was dead, but she broke into tears before she could say it. As soon as he realized what must’ve happened, he tried his best to comfort her, telling her that he would always be by her side. That’s when I realized that Alan and my big sister were in love.
“I disappeared that way,” Venus concluded. “I thought it’d be better for them that I stay dead.”
“So you came back to Japan and…,” Luna began.
“You’ve been fighting to forget all about that bitter memory,” Artemis said.
“No…,” Usagi said, her eyes full of tears. “They… can’t do that….”
“I can understand all too well how you would want to forget something like that,” Knight said as he walked up to Venus and placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder. “Some memories go hand in hand with pain. The more it hurts, the more you want to avoid that pain. It must’ve been hard to tell us that story.”
“Usagi-chan…. Knight…,” Venus said, looking up at them.
Suddenly, the lights turned on, flooding the room with light. Usagi and Venus got to their feet as everyone began to scan the room for any sign of Papiyon.
“Is it so joyous to be killed by me that you’re crying?” Papiyon asked as she walked into the room. “This will be your grave.”
“I’m in a bad mood,” Usagi snapped. “You’re gonna really get hurt. Moon prism power, make up!” Within moments, she transformed into Sailor Moon.
“What?!? You’re Sailor Moon?”
“I don’t care if you find out my alter ego,” Sailor Moon declared. “I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon! On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”
“Enough of this talk!” Papiyon growled and reformed her sickle. She then charged at the three Sailor Scouts. Sailor Moon and Venus quickly dived to opposite sides, while Knight quickly brought out his swords and blocked the attack. He then fell backwards and rolled so that his feet were planted on Papiyon’s stomach. With a powerful kick, he tossed her backwards and into one of the tables behind him. She stood up quickly, scowling at Knight.
“I won’t run around like I do all the time!” Sailor Moon declared. “You’ll pay for stepping all over a girl’s innocent heart!”
“Die!” Papiyon shouted, charging them again.
“Moon tiara action!” Sailor Moon shouted flinging her tiara at Papiyon, striking her in the stomach and sending her crashing into the tables again. The pendant around her neck snapped and fell to the floor in front of Venus, opening up as it landed. Venus picked it up and gasped in surprise.
“Venus?” Knight said and rushed over to her, looking at the pendant in her hands. It was a picture of Minako, Katrina and Alan together.
“Save her!” Venus shouted. Sailor Moon looked at Venus. “She was turned into a youma because of me,” Venus continued. “She knew that I was a Sailor Scout. That’s why the Dark Kingdom used her. It’s not her fault!”
“But, she betrayed you, who saw her as a sister!” Sailor Moon retorted.
“Save her….”
“She took away your loved one!”
“Sailor Moon,” Knight interrupted, “let it go. Venus doesn’t want you to do this.”
“He… Alan, loves her,” Venus added. Sailor Moon looked at Venus in surprise. “Please…,” Venus begged.
Sailor Moon looked from Venus to Knight and back to Venus. “All right,” Sailor Moon relented and brought out the Crescent Moon Wand. “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 monster, returning her to her normal form. She then collapsed onto the ground.
“Katrina-oneesan!” Venus shouted, ran toward Katrina and hugged her.
“Minako-chan, I’m sorry,” Katrina apologized. Venus just shook her head. “I never knew about your feelings. I thought you were still a child. I’m sorry.”
The next day, everyone stood by as Minako watched the ship Katrina was sailing on leave the harbor. Everyone wore concerned expressions on their faces, but Ryoku’s and Usagi’s were especially concerned.
“What happened to Minako-chan?” Rei asked.
“She looks so sad,” Ami commented.
“Shouldn’t we comfort her?” Makoto asked.
“Leave her alone,” Usagi told them. Everyone except Ryoku turned to look at her. “Minako-chan’s far more mature than any of us.”
Ryoku looked over toward Minako. “Perhaps,” he murmured and walked toward her, stopping halfway between her and the others. A small wind began to blow, blowing everyone’s hair and clothes. In a way, she’s just like me. Someone who’s fighting to forget a tragedy. Since her tragedy came back, she had to face it and the feelings she fought so hard to forget. Perhaps that’s why she told us her story. She decided not to run away anymore. Maybe I’ve been running too much as well. Maybe I should follow her example.…
“This’s the best way,” Minako murmured quietly as she stared out toward the slowly disappearing ship. She gazed down at the photo of her and Alan together. “After all, he chose her. If they’re happy, then that’s the best for me.” She closed her eyes and sighed as she released the photo and watched it as the wind blew it out to sea. She watched it fly as her feelings for Alan flew with it, to be relinquished forever. That’s the best for me.…
“Hard, wasn’t it?” Ryoku asked, as he came a little closer to her. Minako turned to look at him. “Letting Alan go like that? It must’ve taken a lot to do so.”
“You don’t know how much,” she said quietly.
“Maybe I do,” he replied solemnly.
“How could you know?” she countered. “How could you know how I feel?” The others were now staring at Ryoku and Minako and listening intently.
“I know because I know what it is like to lose someone,” he told her. “I know how hard it is to let go because I haven’t the strength to do so like you do.” He paused for a moment and looked out toward the water. “Or, maybe it’s just that I’ve held on too long to let go, even if I had the combined strength of all six of us.”
“What are you saying, Ryo-kun?” she asked, gazing at him with concern.
“You and I have something in common, Minako-chan,” he told her. “We had been running from our past. You had been running for half a year, while I’ve been running for almost five years. When you told Usagi-chan and me your story, I began to realize this. You’ve shown me that I need to stop running and to face my past.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Makoto asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he replied, nodding sadly. “The time has come for me to stop running. Perhaps if I relieve myself of my burden, then my mind and heart will finally find some sliver of peace.” He then turned, walked past everyone and started to leave.
“Wait!” Usagi called out. “Aren’t you going to tell us?”
“The time for this story is not appropriate,” Ryoku replied without looking back. “Tomorrow. Meet me in front of my apartment tomorrow at noon and I will tell you everything.”