The morning sun shone down on Minako, gently waking her. The slow smile that was on her face as she dreamed was replaced by a groggy expression as she sat up. Artemis was asleep next to her, or was, when she lifted him up by the nape of his neck and glanced at the alarm clock in his paws. 8:10 A.M.
“Aah!” she shrieked anxiously. “I’m gonna be late again!!!”
Not this again, Artemis thought tiredly as she set him down and all but flew out of her pajamas. He watched her with a small grin on his face, thinking about how long they had been working together as partners, much like Luna and Usagi, only longer.
“What’re you looking at?” Minako demanded, seeing his expression and misinterpreting it. “You pervert!” she exclaimed as she flung her pajamas over his head.
Artemis sighed. Just because he was a male, he was deemed a pervert for seeing her in her underwear. Just because he was a cat didn’t excuse him being male. To her, it was almost as bad as if it was Ryoku looking at her in her underwear. Almost. Maybe his being a cat kept him from it being more that just being branded a pervert. He waited patiently.
“Okay, Artemis,” she said sometime later. “Let’s get moving!” He wriggled out from under her pajamas and followed her out her bedroom door and out the front door, running at top speed.
Aino Minako, alias Sailor Venus, my longtime partner. You would think she was a reliable girl, but she is a bit clumsy. Sort of like another girl he knew. Sometimes I wish she’d take things a bit more seriously.
“I’ll take a short cut!” she declared, suddenly darting down a different street. Artemis skidded to a stop and hurriedly tried to catch up. As soon as she rounded another corner, she skidded to a halt. Two boys were looming over a little girl who had her hands up as if trying to fend them off.
“Hey! What’re you doing?” she demanded sternly.
“Ah! Run!” one of the boys shouted as he and the other boy turned and ran.
“You okay now?” Minako asked the little girl as she walked up to her. Artemis had just caught up and was now padding over to stand beside Minako.
She had been crying with her hands over her eyes as Minako walked up to her, but she suddenly stopped and lowered her hands, while grinning. There were no tears in her eyes. “Thank you for saving me,” she said cheerily.
Minako’s eyebrow arched slightly. “You were faking?”
“Can you walk with me to the bus?” she asked.
“But, I’ve got to…,” Minako began.
“Please?”
“But…. You see….”
“How cruel!” the girl wailed as she began to cry.
Minako’s smile took on a hint of exasperation and chagrin. “Fine,” she relented as she picked up the girl and took off like a rocket.
Minutes later, Minako stood at the girl’s bus stop, panting, as the little girl waved goodbye from the back window of the bus. “Thank you for your help,” he called out. “Thank you, big sister.”
Minako laughingly waved back. “No problem. Bye!”
“Well, I’m pretty sure you won’t make it, but you wanna run for it?” Artemis asked.
“For now, dash!” Minako replied, laughing.
As she continued her mad dash, Minako suddenly spotted a familiar-looking pair of blonde ponytails flapping in the wake of someone else trying vainly to avoid being late for school.
“Minako-chan!” Usagi exclaimed as Minako ran up beside her. “You slept in, too?”
“That’s right. As they say, ‘in spring, the sleepers tend for the fallow’.”
Artemis gave her an exasperated look as he ran. “You mean, ‘in spring, sleepers tend to sleep without noticing daybreak’,” he corrected.
Minako gave him a chagrined look. “That’s one way of saying it.” She glanced ahead, spotting the street she needed to go down. “Well, see ya. Gotta go this way.”
“Bye, Minako-chan,” Usagi replied as she continued on her way.
When she reached her school, she noticed that the gates were already shut. The clock showed 8:55 A.M. “Ouch…,” she murmured. “I’m so late.”
At least she’s getting better, Artemis thought. But she’s still giving me headaches.
Usagi’s tardiness had a different result. As soon as she stepped into the classroom, she was ordered to stand out in the hallway. A few minutes later, a sign was hung around her neck: I am an idiot who was late again.
“I can’t believe I have to stand in the hallway until break,” she moaned ruefully while staring at the floor. “I wonder if Minako-chan made it….”
“Usagi-san, your look of concern is so attractive,” Seijuro said as he walked up to her.
“Oh,” she said as she glanced up at him, blushing slightly. “Seijuro-san….”
“Let us talk of love, Usagi-san,” he said, spreading his arms dramatically.
“What are you doing, big brother?” Natsumi asked coldly as she frowned at him with her hands on her hips.
“Just doing some stretches,” he replied nonchalantly as he began to do some calisthenic stretching exercises. “One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four….” He kept it up as he walked away and until he was out of sight.
Natsumi watched Seijuro until he was out of sight, then sniffed as she spun around and stalked away in the other direction.
Usagi frowned in bewildered confusion. What a weird pair of siblings.
Seijuro was lounging against the wall on the school roof when Natsumi finally stormed up as well, her hands immediately going to her hips again as she glowered at him.
“About the next plan to collect energy….,” he began, when Natsumi quickly cut him off.
“Don’t change the subject,” she interjected crossly. “What do you think you’re doing? How could you be after such a little girl?”
Seijuro wisely refrained from pointing out that that ‘little girl’ was the same age that she was. No sense getting her any angrier than she was already. “Don’t misunderstand me,” he replied in a placating tone. “It’s all part of the plan.”
Natsumi’s frown took on a hint of skepticism. “I wonder what your plan was. Anyway, I think what we need is to have younger and more fresh energy.”
“Fresh energy?” he repeated, an interested grin slowly spreading across his face.
Despite being late and some unpleasantness with her teacher afterward – she hated having to stand out in the hallway… again – Minako had a smile on her face as she walked home. She was carrying Artemis with one arm, instead of letting him walk beside her. It was usually a quiet walk, but the sounds of shouting caught her attention.
“Does not!” It sounded like a little boy.
“Yes, she does!” This one was a little girl. “Sailor Moon does exist!”
“Have you ever seen her?” A second little boy.
“Yeah! That’s right!” A third.
She had finally reached a point where there was a break in the wall, allowing entry into a playground. There they were, in a large sandy area with most of the playground equipment behind them. Three little boys facing one little girl. The girl was arguing with all three boys and not backing down an inch. A brave little girl… who looked familiar.
“It’s her again,” Minako said.
“And they’re bullying her again,” Artemis added.
“Hey, stop!” she shouted as she approached the children. “Be nice to each other.”
“Big sister,” the little girl said in surprise as she recognized Minako.
“Hey, stay out of our fight, you old fart!” the first boy retorted.
Minako’s expression turned stony and one eyebrow raised questioningly. “Old fart?” she repeated coolly.
“If you got time to meddle around with us, why don’t you go find a boyfriend, old lady?” the second boy asked.
“Not with that ugly face, though,” the third one commented.
That was the last straw. “SAY THAT AGAIN?!?” she demanded fiercely.
“Waaah! The old lady’s pissed!” the boys cried and ran for their lives.
“Damn those little brats,” Minako growled to herself.
Spoken like a true old fart, Artemis thought amusedly to himself.
“Thank you, big sister,” the little girl said gratefully.
“No problem,” Minako replied. “What were you talking about, anyway?” She bent down so the little girl wouldn’t have to stare up at her. “Let’s see….”
“I’m Mie,” the girl said, smiling. “I’m in Tulip Group in Juuban Kindergarten.”
“I’m Minako. And he’s Artemis,” she added, glancing down at the white cat on her arm. Artemis meowed a greeting at Mie.
“Hello, Artemis,” she greeted back and giggled.
Minako’s gaze shifted over to the image on Mie’s pink jacket. It was a picture of Sailor Moon standing in that well-known pose of hers; the one she did before almost every battle. “Oh, so you like Sailor Moon?” Mie nodded enthusiastically. “Then, I bet you like Sailor Venus, too,” she added, grinning hopefully.
There was a long pause. “Who’s that?” Mie asked. Both Minako and Artemis hung their heads ruefully.
“Don’t worry about it,” Minako said with a sigh.
“That’s life,” Artemis murmured quietly to her.
Mie turned and walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. Minako set Artemis down and sat beside her.
“You know…,” Mie began, then trailed off uncertainly.
“What is it?” Minako encouraged.
“Sailor Moon does exist, doesn’t she?” she asked looking up at her. Her expression was filled with hope of a confirmation.
Minako thought for a moment. Of course she knew that Sailor Moon existed, but how should she tell her that without making it sound like a parent trying to convince their child that Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy existed?
“That’s a hard question….”
“Oh,” Mie said, looking dejected. “So, she doesn’t.”
“You believe in her, don’t you?” Minako asked, smiling.
Mie nodded. “Yes.”
“Then, she exists,” Minako stated. “Believing is the most important part.”
Mie’s smile grew as her expression became grateful. “Big sister….”
She paused for a moment. “Do you know Sailor Moon?”
Minako smiled knowingly. “What can I say? I met her.”
Artemis almost choked. What?!?
Mie’s eyes widened excitedly. “Hey! Can you tell the boys about it tomorrow? They don’t believe me.”
“Sure thing.”
Artemis almost choked again. What?!?
“Really?” Mie asked.
“I’ll be sure to tell them everything about it.” Artemis just stared out blankly at nothing, not really believing what he thought he was hearing.
“Right. If I can’t believe in her now, I’m sure I’ll regret it when I grow up.”
Both Artemis and Minako turned to her with questioning expressions on their faces.
“Right?” Mie asked again, smiling.
Minako turned away from the girl and grimaced. “Damn children…,” she muttered to herself. She turned back to Mie; her smile back as if it had never gone. But, she’s cute.
Ail and Ann frowned as they considered the Doom Tree. As usual, it was beginning to wither from a lack of energy.
“Makaiju’s energy is running out,” Ail murmured, folding his arms across his chest, then turned to Ann. “Who are the targets of this plan?”
In response, Ann projected the images of children at play; swinging, running, jumping and all the rest of the physical activities that children enjoy. “The lively and fresh energy of children,” she replied, turning away from the projected images to address him.
“Interesting,” he commented as he held out a hand of seven cards. “Now, choose a card.”
“Sure,” she said as she made a pointing gesture toward his hand. A single card rose from the hand and fluttered into the air above them, then expanded into a larger version of itself. A figure appeared on the card: a winged creature wearing a light sky blue tunic with white, feathered wings spreading out from its back. Its yellow-orange hair was spiked like a bird’s feathered crest.
Ail lifted his flute to his lips and began to play his summoning song. The card glowed with a brilliant white light as the song played on.
“Come forth, Gigaloth!” Ail commanded. On his command, the card grew brighter, then disappeared as Gigaloth stood in its place.
The next day began the same as usual. The bus driver would begin his route, making his stops and picking up the children along the way. Now that the last stop had been made – on schedule, of course – it was time to take the little rugrats to their kindergarten. The children were just as noisy as usual; twenty different conversations all going at once, making it a wonder if anyone heard anything anyone else said to them, even if they sat next to each other and screamed in each other’s ears. Just like always.
As the bus approached one of the bridges it passed under on its route, a winged figure appeared, unseen, over the bus, coasting above it at the same speed. Slowly, it descended until it was able to reach down and place a hand to the bus’ roof. A glowing light emanated from that hand, followed by the sound of a blast and wrenching metal.
Instinctively, the driver immediately slammed on the brakes, bringing the bus to a screeching halt. Smoke filled the interior of the bus, along with the apprehensive, frightened wails of the children. As the smoke cleared, Gigaloth stood with its wings spread wide, roaring at the children, who were too scared to move, let alone run away.
As Gigaloth proceeded to drain all the children dry, Ail and Ann stood watching the Doom Tree fill with the energy of the young victims.
“Wonderful,” Ail remarked, his wide grin mirrored on Ann’s face. “What a harvest.”
“It’s them again,” Luna stated as she, Rei, Makoto and Ryoku were all examining a certain article in the morning newspaper the following day at Rei’s room in the shrine. Ami had already given the article a cursory glance as she pulled out her minicomputer and set to work determining the next target. There was always a pattern, she had told them once.
“How can they be so cruel?” Rei remarked as she folded her arms angrily and sat back down from leaning over the table the newspaper was resting on. “Going after children.”
“Really,” Makoto agreed, sitting back down as well. “I’ll get them for this.”
Ryoku solemnly nodded his agreement, then turned to Ami as he noticed that she had stopped pressing buttons on her computer and was now waiting on an answer. “Do you have anything yet?”
She silently nodded. “I got the next kindergarten that they’ll go after.”
“Where’s that?” Luna asked.
“It’s only a 67% chance, but it’s Shiba Kindergarten.”
“Hmm…. A two out of three chance…,” Ryoku remarked thoughtfully. Ami nodded again. “Well, we’d better keep an eye out on the other kindergartens as well, in case that 33% chance happens.”
“Then, we better have somebody at Shiba,” Luna added.
A fit of laughter suddenly caught everyone’s ears. Luna grimaced as she realized who was laughing. She had almost forgotten she was here. Everyone turned to the bed to see Usagi laughing as she read one of Rei’s manga.
“Take a look at this one,” she said, flipping the manga around so that the others could see. “It’s too funny!” Her laughter trailed off as she noticed the flat looks everyone was giving her.
“Put it away,” Ryoku said dryly. As Usagi quickly did so, everyone exchanged a quick look, then nodded.
“Usagi-chan, good luck,” Rei told her.
“I’m counting on you, Usagi-chan,” Makoto added.
Usagi gave them a perplexed look. “About what?”
“We’re all behind you,” Ami added.
“About what?” Usagi asked again.
“We have a little job for you,” Ryoku said, giving her a half-grin. Somehow, from that grin, Usagi knew she wasn’t going to like it.
Meanwhile, at Juuban Kindergarten Minako and Mie were explaining the existence of the Sailor Scouts…. Well, two of them, at least.
“So, Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus do exist,” Minako concluded. She felt only a tiny bit bad because she had waxed poetic on Sailor Venus, but not as much on Sailor Moon. Only a little.
“I wouldn’t believe unless I see them for real,” one boy said skeptically, with the other murmuring agreement.
“What’s important is to believe in them,” Mie told them. She was holding onto Artemis today.
“If you believe in them, you’ll meet them someday,” Minako added.
“Why can’t you be more realistic? Something bothering you?” the boy asked.
“Why?” Minako asked, still trying to hold onto a smile.
“That’s escapism,” he explained.
“Aren’t they lucky?” another boy asked, raising his arms in an exasperated shrug. “They can dump all their problems onto the younger generation and they just escape into the world of fantasy.”
It was all Minako could do to hold onto that forced smile. You kids, she thought darkly, if you push me hard enough, I’ll snap.… She tried to give the semblance of a patient laugh, but even that sounded forced. If only I could tell them like Usagi-chan.…
“Boys and girls, it’s time to go home,” the kindergarten teacher said as she joined them. “I hope you didn’t pick on her too much.” The children murmured reassurances that they didn’t. Despite herself, Minako gave a small laugh. “And I can’t ride with you.” That produced disappointed murmurs.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll go with them,” Minako told her.
“But….”
“Let’s go home with me,” Mie said to Minako with a big smile on her face.
“If she can’t come with us,” the first boy said, “then that’s the only other choice.”
Both Minako and the kindergarten teacher sweatdropped as they simultaneously gave an exasperated sigh.
The bus left Juuban and headed over to Shiba Kindergarten to pick up the rest of the children to take home. As the last of the children climbed aboard, Usagi and Luna peeked around from the edge of the wall surrounding the kindergarten.
“That’s the bus,” Luna pointed out.
“Yeah, I suppose so,” Usagi agreed. “But, why me alone?”
“You’re the only one with the disguise pen,” Luna pointed out.
“You’re right about that,” Usagi reluctantly agreed, putting her hands on her hips, “but everybody’s so cruel….”
“Move it,” Luna snapped, cutting her off.
“I heard you,” Usagi retorted. “But, what if the youma really does come?” she wailed apprehensively.
“Usagi-chan!”
“All right,” she relented, raising the pen overhead. “Moon power, turn me into a kind kindergarten teacher!” Instantly, she was given the disguise of a kindergarten teacher, complete with a pink sweater and blue jeans, a pair of blue sneakers and a short, shoulder length hairdo.
“Thank you,” the kindergarten teacher said to Minako as she waved to the kids. She couldn’t leave, either, so Minako agreed to watch over all of them. At least these kids were better behaved. None of them thought she was an old lady.
As the bus slowly began to pull out of the kindergarten, Usagi quickly ran toward the bus, waving for the driver to stop. “Sorry I’m late,” she told the driver. “I’m new here.”
Minako glanced at the newcomer and blinked in surprise. She recognized her, even in that disguise of hers. “Usagi-chan?”
Usagi blinked in surprise. “Minako-chan?” She wasn’t expecting anyone else to be with her since she was the only one with the power of disguise, but seeing Minako was welcome, even if it was unexpected.
“Go, collect fresh energy again,” Ail commanded. Gigaloth bowed its head in assent and disappeared to execute his command.
“So, what’re you doing here?” Minako asked. “Trouble?”
“We aren’t too sure,” Usagi replied. “Ami-chan says there’s a very good chance that we might be attacked.”
As the bus made its way through the streets, Usagi and Minako lead the children in a sing-along. Well, tried to, at least. While not many children could sing very well – a few couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket – Usagi and Minako occasionally forgot the lines to the song they were singing. Altogether, it sounded terrible. Then again, no one really cared since they were having fun.
If this keeps up, I’ll thank the youma if it shows up, Artemis thought as he winced at another screechy note sung by the little girl sitting behind him. A cat’s enhanced hearing was a curse at times like these.
“What’s that?” the driver exclaimed suddenly after they had entered a tunnel. Usagi and Minako whirled around to see what had caught the driver’s attention and apprehension. A winged figure was standing in front of the bus, waiting for it to come. At the rate the bus was going, there was no way it could slow down in time to avoid running it over. The bus’ headlights washed their light over the figure as a grin of anticipation spread across its face.
So, there you are, youma, Usagi thought with a worried expression on her face.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Gigaloth suddenly leapt forward and smashed itself through the windshield. It quickly reached out and grabbed the bus driver by his neck and drained him of his energy. The bus suddenly began to spin to a halt, coming to a stop in the middle of the tunnel while blocking off one side of the tunnel. When the last of the driver’s energy was gone, Gigaloth released the driver’s neck and turned toward the children, who were cowering behind Usagi and Minako. Mie was holding onto Minako tightly.
“I’m scared,” Mie moaned.
“Don’t worry,” Minako said reassuringly. “She’ll come to the rescue.”
“Who?”
“Your favorite.”
Mie’s expression brightened with hope. “Sailor Moon?”
“That’s right,” Usagi said, grinning back at her. “Sailor Moon will come to your rescue.” She scowled as Gigaloth began to approach. “Let’s go, Artemis,” she said as she and the white cat rushed the youma. It didn’t even blink as it knocked aside both of them in one sweep of its arm.
“Usagi-chan!” Minako cried out as she was flung out through the broken windshield and hit the street below, face first.
“It’s tough being a super heroine,” she muttered as she slowly pushed herself to her knees. “Anyway….” She raised her hand skyward, lifting her brooch overhead. “Moon crystal power, make up!” A hand passed over the Silver Crystal inside, beginning her transformation into Sailor Moon.
Gigaloth slowly approached the children, who were hiding behind their seats and behind Minako, hoping that the youma wouldn’t get them. It grinned at their fear; savored it.
“Hold, you youma!” Sailor Moon shouted from outside. It paused, turning to see who dared to halt its plans. “You’ll pay for taking away the energy from those who’ll create the 21st century and look after our retirement pension! On behalf of the Moon, I’ll punish you!”
“Sailor Moon!” Mie shouted in excitement.
“She does exist after all,” one of the boys said in shock.
“Thanks for waiting,” Sailor Moon said, giving the children a confident “V”-sign. She turned to confront the youma as it hovered overhead. “Come and get me!” she yelled defiantly.
Gigaloth gave her a grin as if to say ‘as you wish’, and flung its hands to its sides, creating a gust of tornadic winds and sending it after Sailor Moon. She quickly flung herself out of the way of the small tornado, only to find another one coming her way. And another. And another.
“Sailor Moon doesn’t look too tough,” one boy said worriedly to Mie.
“Sailor Moon…,” Mie murmured concernedly.
As the children were gathered at one side of the bus, watching Sailor Moon fight Gigaloth, Minako quietly slipped out of an open window and dropped to the ground. “Gotta help Sailor Moon,” she said determinedly to herself.
Sailor Moon leaped a little too far to avoid the last attack and struck her head against the side of the bus, sagging dazedly against the bus. “Sailor Moon!” the children cried out concernedly, calling for their heroine to stand and fight. Gigaloth saw its chance and rushed at her with one of its hands outstretched toward her and razor sharp claws extended. Sailor Moon gasped in fear as she saw those claws, too close for her to dodge from her position.
“Crescent beam!” Venus shouted, firing her attack squarely into Gigaloth’s chest, knocking it back several feet.
Sailor Moon glanced up to the top of the bus, toward the source of the attack. “Sailor Venus!” she said in relief. Several of the children pushed their heads out of the windows enough to look onto the roof of the bus. Sailor Venus stood there, with her arms folded across her chest and a stern glower directed toward the fallen youma.
“So, she’s Sailor Venus,” Mie observed.
“Neat!” one of the boys remarked.
“Are you okay?” Venus asked as she jumped down to the ground beside Sailor Moon, who was just getting to her feet.
“More or less,” Sailor Moon replied a little unsteadily.
Gigaloth growled as it rose to its feet and thrust its wings open angrily. “No way!” Venus exclaimed in shock, her expression mirroring Sailor Moon’s. “My crescent beam didn’t work?” Gigaloth flapped its wings, sending a horizontal version of its tornado attack at Sailor Venus. She quickly dodged the attack, then fired another crescent beam. This time, it simply raised an arm to block the attack with little effect to itself. It countered with yet another tornado attack which Venus was hard pressed to dodge. One blast took out Venus, and the following blast took out Sailor Moon. The two Sailor Scouts were knocked to the ground, struggling to get to their feet.
“Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, get the monster!” the children all cried out at once, urging their heroines to fight once more. Gigaloth saw his second chance to finish them and quickly rushed forward to end the fight.
How do I beat this youma? Venus thought to herself as she pushed herself to her knees. She had to get up before Gigaloth could get to her but it was closing in too rapidly. Before it could reach them, a white rose suddenly struck the ground in front of Gigaloth, causing it to halt abruptly. While half the children were staring at the white rose stuck stem first into concrete, the other half at the end of the bus were staring at a white-robed man leaning at his leisure against the end of bus, holding a similar white rose in his right hand.
“Moonlight Knight!” the two Sailor Scouts exclaimed in relief.
“Beyond the tunnel of despair, there is hope,” he told them as he glanced up at them. “Any hardship can be overcome. Believe in yourself.”
For some reason, Venus felt as though he was speaking directly to her. “Believe in myself?”
Moonlight Knight flung his right hand to his side, the rose in his hand pointing at the children behind him. “You two have people who believe in you.”
“Come on, Sailor Moon!” the children called out to them. “Fight, Sailor Venus!”
A determined expression formed on her face as Sailor Venus stood, glaring defiance at Gigaloth. “The children taught me the importance of believing,” she stated in a firm voice. “I’ll protect them.” There was something, a stray thought that flashed through her mind as she stood. It was something that Ryoku had told her the following day after they had all witnessed that new attack he had preformed as Sailor Knight. He said that he didn’t know where it had come from; all he knew was that it had flowed into him, like a righteous rage. Perhaps a righteous rage was what had triggered his new power. Well, she was feeling a righteous rage right now. There was a fire burning in her heart… her soul. She prepared to go through the motions of her attack, but the words that came to mind were completely different. Words fueled with rage.
Gigaloth stepped forward, crushing the white rose beneath its foot and prepared to attack again. Sailor Venus never let it have the chance.
“Crescent beam shower!!!”
Just as before, Venus fired a beam of light from her finger, but in mid-flight, the beam suddenly broke apart into a shower of light beams, each striking Gigaloth at once. Venus then grinned at Sailor Moon over her shoulder. “Now.”
“Got it!” Sailor Moon acknowledged as she raised the Moon Scepter overhead, preparing the finishing attack. “Moon princess halation!” she shouted as she waved the scepter in front of her, ending with it pointing at the youma. A stream of light emanated from the scepter and struck Gigaloth destroying it and leaving nothing behind but a smoldering card stuck into the ground.
A great cheer erupted from the children inside the bus as the threat was dealt with by the Sailor Scouts. Moonlight Knight nodded satisfactorily. “Marvelous. That is the importance of believing in oneself. Farewell.” With that, he vanished.
Venus stood staring at the smoldering card lying stuck into the ground, thinking over the attack she had just performed. “Crescent beam shower?” she murmured wonderingly to herself.
“That’s right,” Artemis affirmed as he walked up to her. “Just as Sailor Knight’s hidden power is the Volcanic Flare Explosion, the Crescent Beam Shower is your hidden power.”
“That was awesome!” Sailor Moon said as she joined them.
Artemis turned his gaze toward the children still cheering in the bus. “It’s all thanks to them.”
Venus nodded and smiled at the children. Maybe they weren’t so bad after all. “Yeah, it’s them.”
“Let’s go,” Artemis suggested. “They’re waiting for us.” Laughing, the two Sailor Scouts ran to join the children on the bus. After all, they still had to be taken home.
“Minako-oneechan, Sailor Moon was neat!” Mie told Minako as she walked her home.
“Really?” Minako said with a fond smile. The kid was really starting to grow on her.
“Yeah,” she replied giggling. “Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus are both great!”
Minako’s smile widened as she laughed with her. She had an admirer in the little girl. Maybe kids weren’t all a bunch of brats after all, if Mie was any indication. A little girl with a strong belief that helped to save everybody. She was one of a kind.
To Chapter 49: Usagi and Mamoru’s Babysitting Mayhem