“What?!?” Chibiusa exclaimed, disappointed. “Why? You promised!”
Both Ikuko and Kenji gave the pink-haired girl contrite looks. “I’m really sorry,” Ikuko apologized.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Kenji added.
“You know, kids get hurt when adults break promises,” Shingo remarked from his seat beside Chibiusa.
“Mm-hm,” Chibiusa agreed, nodding as she crossed her arms. The two adults exchanged looks and sighed.
“Mama, is dinner ready yet?” Usagi asked as she poked her head into the living room. “Hmm?” she added, noticing all the somber looks, and stepped into the room. “What’s going on? You all look so serious.”
“That’s right!” Kenji said, his expression brightening along with his wife’s. “We’ve got Usagi!”
“We should ask Usagi to go!” Ikuko agreed.
“Huh?” Usagi blinked.
“You see, next Sunday, the kids in Chibiusa’s class and their parents will be making curry rice together,” she explained.
“But some urgent business came up that we have to attend to…,” Kenji continued.
“So, you want dependable Usagi-oneesama to go in your place, right?” Usagi finished understandingly.
Chibiusa frowned distastefully. “No.”
Usagi scowled back at the young girl.
“If Usagi is going, I’d rather no one goes,” Chibiusa declared obstinately as she stood up and spread her arms in refusal.
“Hmph!” Usagi snorted. “Same here! I’m never interested in babysitting someone like you!” With that, she whirled around and stormed out of the room.
“Usagi! Ikuko called after her daughter, but she refused to come back.
“Hmph!” Chibiusa snorted and tossed her head as if to say good riddance.
“So much for that idea,” Shingo muttered as he put his arms behind his head and stared lazily at the ceiling.
Later that night, Chibiusa stood out on the outside balcony, staring up at the sky with her Luna Sphere in her hands. “It’s all right,” she told herself. “I don’t care if no one goes. I’ll be fine, even if I’m on my own.”
As she continued to stare up into the starry sky, a stray memory played itself in her mind. It was a clear night like this when she was having dinner with her parents, while she was excited about watching the ship in the ocean that was passing by. It was the first time she had seen the ocean, so she had been excited about it.
“Papa…. Mama…,” she said piteously as she began to cry. “I want to have dinner with my mama and papa like everyone else!”
“You’re definitely wrong!” Luna admonished from her seat on Usagi’s table.
“Why?” Usagi huffed. “Chibiusa started the fight!”
The black cat looked at her askance. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
Usagi sat up on her bed. “Hah?”
“Chibiusa-chan is still in grade school, while you’re in junior high,” Luna explained deprecatingly. “She’s away from her papa and mama, while you’re always with your parents. I can keep going,” she added deliberately.
“No, that’s enough,” Usagi replied, waving the suggestion aside. “Oh! I know!” she said as she suddenly stood up.
“What is it?” Luna inquired.
“I’m gonna get some rice crackers,” she announced as she marched toward the door and left the room.
“Ah…,” Luna sweatdropped as she hung her head in exasperation.
While walking toward the kitchen in her search for some rice crackers, Usagi heard a noise coming from the kitchen that sounded something like water swishing around. Curious, she crept quietly toward the doorway and peeked around the corner.
Chibiusa was standing on a stepstool that had been placed in front of the sink, and was moving her arms around as if she was washing something.
“I don’t care if no one goes!” she griped to herself as she washed rice in a pot. “I’m not like stupid Usagi! I’m independent!” She tipped her pot over to empty out the water, spilling most of the rice in the process. “Ah! I spilled some rice!”
She set the pot down and reached in to pick up some of the spilled rice. Some of the rice had already gone down the drain, but a good portion of the rice had stayed in the sink in individual clumps. “Why can’t I do it right, no matter how many times I try?” she lamented as she stared at her small hands. “I can’t stand it!”
Usagi took that opportunity to step into the kitchen and say something. However, before she could open her mouth, she heard the little girl sniffle and start to cry.
“I can’t do this!” Chibiusa shouted in frustration. “I can’t! Papa! Mama!”
Usagi sighed and came forward, reaching out to place a consoling hand on Chibiusa’s back. “Chibiusa, what are you doing all by yourself?” she asked gently.
The young girl stifled her tears and shrugged the hand off her shoulder. “Stupid Usagi, can’t you see what I’m doing?” she snapped irritably. “I practicing making curry rice.”
“Hey, why don’t we ask Mamo-chan to come tomorrow?” Usagi suggested.
“Eh?” Chibiusa paused in her rice washing and turned to look at the older girl.
“We’ll ask him to come to the curry party with us,” she elaborated. “All three of us. Then, it’ll be okay, right?”
“But would he go?” Chibiusa asked hesitantly.
Usagi folded her arms smugly. “Well, it’s okay if you don’t want to come. I’ll just go to Mamo-chan’s place by myself.”
“Usagi, are you using me as an excuse to go?” Chibiusa asked skeptically.
Usagi sweatdropped. “What?” she exclaimed sheepishly with one hand behind her head. “I wouldn’t do that!”
She hesitated for a moment as she looked at Chibiusa’s dubious look.
“Well, maybe a little….”
“I knew it.”
Early the next day, Usagi and Chibiusa went over to Mamoru’s apartment complex. Once they reached his door, Usagi quietly reached up and rang his doorbell. Moments later, the door opened.
“Um… hello,” Usagi said hesitantly.
“What is it?” Mamoru asked. “It’s so early.” He started to close the door, but Usagi quickly put up a hand to hold it open.
“Wait,” she said quickly, “I need to talk to you.”
“I’m still sleepy,” he responded.
Chibiusa poked her head in from behind the door. “Mamo-chan, I want to ask you for a favor.”
“Oh, you’re here, too, Chibiusa?” he said, glancing down at the young girl. He looked back up at Usagi. “Come in,” he said, jerking his thumb inside over his shoulder.
Mamoru said nothing as he closed the door and went into to kitchen to prepare some tea for them. As he boiled the water, Usagi started to explain why they had come to him so early in the morning. About Chibiusa’s school’s curry party and how her parents couldn’t make it. About how Chibiusa tried to make curry rice, but couldn’t quite make it right.
“So, we’d like you to participate in the curry party tomorrow,” Usagi finished as she set down the cup of tea that Mamoru had given her during her explanation.
“It’s too sudden,” Mamoru sighed. “I have to work tomorrow.”
“Please don’t say that,” Usagi said.
“No, it’s okay,” Chibiusa interjected. “Sorry, Mamo-chan,” she apologized as she bowed her head sadly. “We’re asking for too much and not giving you enough time. Usagi really doesn’t have any common sense.”
“It’s okay,” he told her. “I’ll take care of my job somehow. But, I don’t know how to make curry rice.”
“Oh, that’s all right!” Chibiusa replied. “We can ask Usagi to….” She paused as she realized what she was about to say. “I guess that won’t work.”
“Hmph!” Usagi retorted. “Come on, are you kidding? Okay, then! I’ll make you some authentic curry rice! Just leave it all to Chef Usagi!”
“You worry me,” Mamoru replied, unconvinced by Usagi’s bravado. “Anyway, why don’t we try making some? I’ll help, too.”
“Mamo-chan!” Usagi beamed.
“If we screw up tomorrow, I’d feel sorry for Chibiusa.”
Usagi cringed.
“Then, let’s go!” Chibiusa said eagerly.
“Eh?” Usagi said, snapping out of her mortification.
“To buy ingredients for curry rice,” she added.
“Oh, I don’t think you should ask him for that so suddenly,” Usagi amended, waving her arms sheepishly. “Why don’t we go this evening?” she insisted.
“I don’t really mind,” he said reassuringly.
“Well, I kind of have a lot of things to do…,” she said, sweatdropping nervously.
“Avery, what are you doing?” Prisma asked in between bites of her strawberry cake as she watched her younger sister apply some kind of sliced fruit to her face in the mirror.
“Prisma-oneesama, they say the Earth people in this era take care of their skin like this,” she replied, turning from the mirror. “Why don’t you try it, too? Your skin will be nice and smooth, and you’ll be very popular with men.”
Prisma snorted disdainfully. “Men who judge women only by their appearances are scum.”
“But there’s nothing wrong with bring beautiful, Oneesama,” Avery replied with a smirk. “I know you were dumped, but continuing to act so prickly won’t make you attractive at all.”
“What did you say?!?” Prisma growled as she stood up furiously, dropping her cake onto the floor.
“Getting along is a beautiful thing,” Rubeus remarked as he faded into view a few feet away from the bickering sisters.
Both sisters quickly composed themselves upon noticing his arrival. “Rubeus-sama,” Prisma greeted as Avery quickly grabbed the three fruit slices off her face and disposed of them by eating them.
“Another Crystal Point has been found,” he informed them.
“Where is it?” Prisma inquired as Avery fought to choke down the fruit slices in her mouth.
The room darkened as the projection of Crystal Tokyo flickered to life in the middle of the room. One of the points on the projection flickered as the image changed to show the Juuban Supermarket. “This is the place.”
“I see,” Avery said after finally swallowing the fruit slices.
“Rubeus-sama, let me handle this,” Prisma stated as she strode over to one of the mirrors and stepped through just as Avery realized that she was leaving.
“Hey! Getting a headstart isn’t fair!” she yelled as she chased after her and leaped through the same mirror.
Later that day, Usagi asked her friends to stop by Makoto and Ryoku’s apartment to help her learn how to make curry rice. Ami brought out a huge book on spices opened it onto the table.
“To make curry powder, you mix thirty to forty different spices, such as nutmeg, cumin, cloves, ginger, cinnamon….”
“Ami-chan, you can stop lecturing now,” Usagi interrupted as she sweatdropped.
“Here, Usagi,” Rei said as she displayed an instant curry box. “I recommend this. ‘Here! Curry!’”
Everyone sweatdropped. “Hey, now….”
“Really, Rei-chan. Instant curry?” Ryoku remarked dryly.
“Usagi-chan, let’s give it a try,” Makoto suggested before Rei could say anything in reply.
Makoto, Minako, and Usagi all went into the kitchen while Ami, Rei, Ryoku, and Luna were going over the curry rice recipe. “First, peel the carrots, onions, and potatoes,” Makoto instructed. “Then, chop them into small pieces.” She proceeded to demonstrate with a peeled slice of carrot.
“Wow!” Usagi said, amazed at how deftly she handled the knife.
“I wanna do it!” Minako exclaimed eagerly. “Let me try!”
Minako grabbed another carrot and started to hack away at it. The pieces were all misshapen and uneven, unlike Makoto’s small, even pieces. Of course, Makoto’s cutting motions were straight up and down, while Minako’s were haphazard and partially random.
“You’re going to cut yourself if you do it like that,” Makoto warned.
“She might just be worse than me,” Usagi added.
“It’s okay as long as you’re having fun,” Minako replied as she merrily went along with her task. Her chopping paused as she gasped sharply, causing Makoto and Usagi to flinch anxiously. Minako dropped the knife and clasped her left hand with her right as she silently quivered with tears forming in her eyes.
“I cut my finger,” she said weakly.
“Aah! Her finger is on the cutting board!” Usagi exclaimed fearfully.
Minako screamed. “Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!”
“Minako-chan, stay calm!” Usagi said as she tried to calm her friend down.
Ami, Rei, Ryoku and Luna all rushed into the room. “What happened?” Ami, Rei and Luna all inquired while Ryoku moved past Usagi and took Minako’s hands in his.
“Let me see your hand,” he said calmly as he gently pried her hands apart while Usagi was clamoring for an ambulance for Minako. “There,” he said with a calm half-smile. “Ten fingers. And this isn’t that bad of a cut, either.”
“Eh?” Usagi said as she glanced at the cutting board. “Then…?”
“This is just the end of a carrot,” Makoto said as she picked up the ‘finger’.
“That’s all?” everyone sighed in exasperated relief.
“Sorry,” Minako said embarrassedly.
“Mako-chan, could you please go get a bandage from the bathroom medicine cabinet?” Ryoku requested as he led Minako to the kitchen sink, turned it on, and held her cut finger under the running water.
“Sure,” Makoto said as she left for the bathroom.
“Thanks, Ryo-kun,” Minako said, blushing slightly as Ryoku turned off the water and examined her finger again.
“I just want to make sure your cut doesn’t get infected or anything,” he replied as he released her hand. “You’ll be fine, Minako-chan.”
“Really, you overreacted so much!” Usagi remarked.
“You were also making a big deal out of it,” Luna retorted dryly. Usagi and Ami laughed sheepishly, while Rei grimaced in annoyance and Minako and Ryoku concerned themselves with her cut finger.
After Minako’s finger was tended to, Usagi decided to try her hand at the knife. “Now!” she shouted as she raised the knife overhead dramatically, then brought it down onto the cutting board.
The sound of the knife hitting the board rapidly impressed Luna, who was sitting on the floor. “What a swift move!” she said as she continued so watch her arm move up and down quickly.
“Ahahaha! It’s what you call talent!” Usagi said confidently. Of course, with Luna sitting where she was, she couldn’t see that Usagi wasn’t cutting anything on the board.
“Usagi-chan, are you serious about doing this?” Makoto asked flatly.
Usagi dropped the knife and started laughing sheepishly with her hand behind her head. Below her, Luna merely sighed in exasperation.
“Let’s see…,” Usagi said as she walked to the store with Mamoru and Chibiusa while Luna trailed behind them. “I need to buy carrots, potatoes, onions…. What else?”
They all stopped for a moment. “What about meat?” Chibiusa asked.
“Ah, that’s right!” Usagi agreed, nodding, then laughed sheepishly with one hand behind her head while Mamoru and Chibiusa sighed and sweatdropped. I’m glad I asked Mako-chan for a crash course.
Usagi’s chagrined laughter stopped as she noticed that the sun was now beginning to set. “Wow! What a beautiful sunset!” she exclaimed. Chibiusa gave a small gasp of awe as well.
“Let’s go,” Mamoru said, prompting them to start walking again.
As they continued on, Chibiusa was reminded of a time when she was walking with her own parents during a sunset just like this one. The pleasantness of the memory brought a smile to the young girl’s face as she recalled walking hand-in-hand with her mother and father.
As she continued walking, her left hand unconsciously moved up to take Usagi’s hand, causing the older girl to look at her in surprise. Noting Chibiusa’s happy expression, Usagi decided not to say a thing.
No matter what she says, Chibiusa is still a kid, she thought as a blush stained her cheeks. So, what is this feeling? I feel so comfortable when I’m like this.
Mamoru glanced over at Chibiusa and Usagi out of the corner of his eye. Why do I feel so at peace when I’m like this? he wondered pensively.
A short distance away, Luna watched the group stroll down the street. “My, what a nice little scene.”
Chibiusa suddenly snatched her hand away from Usagi’s hand. “Hey, Usagi, don’t hold my hand so familiarly!”
“What are you talking about?” Usagi retorted with her arms akimbo. “You’re the one who grabbed my hand first!”
“Liar, liar!” Chibiusa retorted.
“Chibiusa’s the liar! Liar, liar!” Usagi shot back.
“Usagi’s the liar! Liar, liar, liar!”
“Chibiusa’s the liar! Liar, liar, liar, liar!”
Luna sweatdropped while Mamoru sighed tiredly. “Maybe not…,” she muttered as the two continued to go back and forth.
“Come on!” Mamoru snapped irritably. “Let’s get going!”
Prisma and Avery watched impatiently in their Dark Fruits booth as the shoppers passed by without giving them a second glance.
“How about some rare, delicious Dark Fruit?” their disguised Droid called out to the masses.
“You, there!” Prisma said to the passing crowd. “Are you feeling insecure about your life? For an unhappy person like you, black will fit you best! Have some Dark Fruit and let’s all be unhappy!” she declared, grabbing a Dark Fruit and holding it out to the crowd.
For a moment, the crowd paused.
“Mama!” a small boy said, pointing at Prisma.
“Shh! Don’t look at her!” the mother warned as she drug her son away.
Prisma sweatdropped as the rest of the crowd continued on their way, pointedly ignoring her. With a growl, she clenched her fist seethingly, crushing the Dark Fruit in her hand. “You fools!” she muttered as the fruit’s juice dripped from her hand.
“Oneesama, you’re just not cut out to be a salesperson,” Avery remarked. “This is how you do it.
“Hi!” she shouted shrilly as she raised her hand high, causing her older sister to flinch. “Everyone in the Juuban Supermarket! Today, let me introduce you to our mystery fruit!” she announced with a cheery expression on her face. “The color is black, but it’s absolutely delicious! Black is this year’s trendy color! Today, we’re offering this fruit at half-price!”
“Please, give it a try,” the Droid assistant called out as she passed around a plate of sample Dark Fruit.
Prisma stared in amazement at the size of the crowd that had gathered. “You’re good,” she admitted reluctantly as Avery continued to preen. “I guess that’s how you manipulate the men, too.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong,” she corrected. “All men like to worship a pretty girl like me.”
“You’re going to get hurt one of these days,” Prisma sneered.
“Here, have one,” the Droid said as she brought out another tray of sample Dark Fruit.
“Hmm… not bad,” one of the customers said as she ate the fruit.
“It’s pretty good,” another added as he ate.
After all the customers tried the fruit, they all fell into a dull, zombie-like state. A few pieces of fruit that fell to the floor began to smolder and disintegrate, leaving only the toothpicks they were stuck on.
“So, how does the Dark Power fruit taste?” Prisma asked with a smirk.
“Once we contaminate this store with Dark Power, the Crystal Point will be ruined,” Avery added.
The Droid assistant quickly leaped onto the table before the gathered zombie-like shoppers. “Now, if you’ve tasted the fruit, please start touching all the other merchandise,” she requested. “Smart consumers never buy anything by just looking at it.”
At her command, the drone shoppers all began to amble their way throughout the store, touching whatever they could get their hands on. Fruit, vegetables, and meats all rotted at their touch, while other items merely corroded.
“This is the supermarket that I recommend,” Usagi announced as the group reached the entrance to the supermarket. “Great selection, cheap and fresh! The Juuban Supermarket!
“Luna, please wait here,” she added as the automatic sliding doors opened.
“Mya?” Luna meowed questioningly.
“Look,” she said, pointing to a notice taped to the window. “Pets are not allowed.” She turned back to Luna and grinned. “But I’ll get you something good!” she added with a wide grin.
Yeah, yeah. I understand, Luna mentally replied.
Inside, Usagi lead everyone to the meat section, where they tried to find some meat for making curry. However, the entire selection had already turned a sickly greenish brown.
“Mamo-chan,” Chibiusa said as she wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell of decaying meat, “something smells weird.”
Mamoru sniffed the air tentatively. “You’re right.” He bent down to take a closer look at the stew meat. “What?!? This meat is rotten!”
“Eh? No way!” Usagi exclaimed as she took a closer look as well. “It can’t be, but it’s true,” she said as she picked up one of the meat packages. “What’s going on? Juuban Supermarket is known for its freshness.”
“Anyway, we can’t buy ingredients for Chibiusa’s curry rice here,” Mamoru told her.
“That’s right,” Chibiusa agreed as they both turned to leave, leaving Usagi holding the package of spoiled meat.
“Wait a minute!” Usagi called out, but they had already left the supermarket.
“Usagi-chan!” Luna said after sneaking inside the supermarket and making her way to Usagi.
“Luna?”
“Something’s wrong with this store,” the black cat declared.
“I’ll say,” someone grumbled as he strode out from one of the aisles, waving bags of rotten potatoes and carrots. “Just look at these vegetables! I can’t bring these home to Mako-chan!” Ryoku stopped when he spotted Usagi and Luna. “Oh, you’re here shopping, too?”
“Not exactly, Ryo-kun,” Luna replied giving both him and Usagi a serious look.
Mamoru and Chibiusa stopped at a specialty meat shop a short distance away from the supermarket, looking for some stew meat for curry.
“There are all kinds of meats,” Chibiusa said as she stared at the display. “I don’t know which one to get.”
“Mmm…,” Mamoru agreed.
“Excuse me,” Rei called out to the salesperson as she came up behind them.
“Rei-chan!” Chibiusa exclaimed, surprised to see the raven-haired girl there.
“Oh! Chibiusa-chan and Mamoru-san!” she said, surprised to see them there. “I thought you guys were with Usagi.”
“I don’t care about her anymore,” Chibiusa retorted coldly.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” Rei asked, frowning. “She might not seem like it, but Usagi is doing her best–”
“Oh, I know!” the young girl exclaimed suddenly. “Rei-chan, can you make curry rice?”
“Ah, thank you for asking me!” she replied, suddenly all smiles. “I can make any type of curry from Indian style to Sri Lanka style to restaurant style.”
“Wow! That sounds like an instant curry TV commercial!”
Rei twitched slightly, but said nothing. After all, Chibiusa didn’t have to know how close to the truth that was.
“Would you please come to my school tomorrow?” Chibiusa asked pleadingly.
“What?” she said, her smile dropping quickly.
“Her class is having a curry party,” Mamoru explained.
Rei’s eyes widened. “What? I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said quickly. “Please ask Usagi to go.”
“Why?” Chibiusa asked, slightly disappointed. “Are you busy?”
“W-well, it’s not that, but…,” Rei dithered.
“If it’s because of me, I won’t go,” Mamoru offered.
“No, you’re coming with us!” Chibiusa insisted. “Okay? Please!”
Rei’s expression turned uneasy, but the pleading look on Chibiusa’s face decided things for her. “Okay,” she agreed hesitantly.
“Luna, what do you mean by weird?” Usagi asked as she and Ryoku followed the cat to the appliance aisle.
“Here,” she said, hopping up to a shelf with large pots. “Watch very carefully.” Luna then tapped the pot with her paw, causing the pot to suddenly crumble into a pile of rusted metal powder.
“What?” Ryoku breathed, narrowing his eyes in disbelief.
“I can’t believe this!” Usagi exclaimed as she backed away from the rusted pot and into the shelves behind her. As soon as she bumped into the shelves, everything on the shelves behind her crumbled into a corroded mess. “No way! What is this?!?”
“Everything’s rotted so quickly,” Ryoku said as he looked around. “Even things that aren’t supposed to rot.”
“This is awful,” Usagi lamented. “I can’t make curry rice with this!”
“That’s not the problem!” Luna chided.
“Ah! I found one!” Usagi brightened as she found a fresh carrot. “At least I’ve secured one carrot!”
“Congratulations,” Ryoku deadpanned, clapping apathetically.
Usagi, I’m sorry, Rei thought penitently as she, Mamoru, and Chibiusa all sat on a bench, waiting for a bus. Somehow, it just ended up like this.
It’s weird…, Chibiusa mused as she stared pensively at the ground. When I was with Usagi a little while ago, I felt something nice and warm inside.
“Um…,” Chibiusa began as she looked up at Rei.
“Eh?” Rei blinked as she turned to the young girl.
“I think I’ll go get Usagi after all,” she said quietly.
“That’s just what I was about to say,” Rei replied with a smile as she started to get up. “Let’s go.”
“Okay!” Chibiusa agreed as she got up as well, with Mamoru following after them.
The three strolled casually back to the supermarket, with Chibiusa merrily skipping and hopping alongside them. As they drew closer to the building, a dark, malevolent sensation washed over Rei’s senses, causing her to reflexively halt and grab Chibiusa’s arm.
“Stop!” she commanded firmly. “Don’t go in there!” Both Chibiusa and Mamoru stopped as she released the young girl’s arm and straightened up. “I sense an evil presence,” she explained as she started running toward the supermarket. “Wait right there!”
Back inside the supermarket, the shoppers continued to amble aimlessly about, looking for things to spread the Dark Power into. Prisma and Avery continued to watch, no longer in their disguises.
“It’s almost time to finish up,” Prisma remarked, pleased at the results.
“Avogadora, contaminate this place completely,” Avery ordered.
“Yes!” the Droid agreed. “Kiwi, papaya, mango!” she yelled as she divested herself of her disguise and reverted to her true form. “Avogadora!” The tanned Droid had a skirt made of palm tree leaves and had bananas for shoulder guards and to cover her breasts. Her formerly teal hair was now a spiky green, similar to the top of a pineapple, with a red flower stuck into one side. A choker with a teal stone in the center adorned her neck.
The Droid sent out waves of Dark Power, causing all of the zombie-like shoppers to completely collapse.
“Usagi-chan, look out!” Ryoku shouted and tackled her down to the ground as several tendrils of Dark Power quickly lashed out at her. The force of the tackle knocked the carrot out of her hands, which the Dark Power managed to strike instead of her. The carrot rotted instantly, falling into a decayed pile of mush on the floor.
“Usagi-chan, are you all right?” he asked as he got off of her and stood up.
“My carrot…,” she wailed, half-upset and half-frightened at wondering what would’ve happened if the dark energy had hit her.
“Usagi-chan, transform now!” Luna prompted.
“Right!” Usagi agreed as she stood up and brought out her brooch. “Moon crystal power, make up!”
Ryoku quickly drew his Star Sword and made the blade appear. “Knight star sword power!”
Luna charged the Droid as the two Scouts were in the middle of transforming. “Avo!” the Droid shouted as she backhanded the black cat away from her. Luna flipped and landed on her feet, hissing menacingly at the Droid.
“Bana knife!” Avogadora said as she grabbed a banana from her left shoulder guard and thrust it in front of her. The banana glowed for a moment before a long blade burst out from the tip of the banana. “Bana knife!” she shouted as she raised the blade overhead and started to bring it down on Luna. Before she could swing it, another blade shot through the air, knocking the knife out of her hand, and imbedded itself into the floor behind her.
“Hold it right there!” a female voice commanded.
“Avo, avo?” the Droid said as she turned in the direction of the voice. Standing on top of the aisle behind her, Sailor Moon and Sailor Knight stood, Sailor Moon with her arms akimbo and Sailor Knight with his arms folded across his chest.
“A supermarket is the people’s fountain of health!” Sailor Moon declared. “The fresh vegetables of the open country and the melt-in-your-mouth-good thinly sliced meat are mad!”
Sailor Knight sweatdropped. “Are they?” he asked flatly.
“Shh!” she hushed him. “At any rate, I’m the Sailor Warrior fighting for love and justice, Sailor Moon! On behalf of the Moon….”
“…and on behalf of the Earth…,” Knight added.
“…I’ll punish you!” she finished.
“Sailor Mars is here, as well!” Sailor Mars announced as she dramatically rode in on a supermarket cart. She leaped out of the cart, sending it barreling toward the Droid. “In the name of Mars, I’ll chastise you!”
Avogadora sneered at the charging shopping cart. “Avogado!” she shouted as she threw a handful of avocados at it. One of them broke through the metal bars of the cart and exploded, destroying it, much to the surprise of the three Sailor Scouts.
“Now, Avogadora!” Avery said, smirking.
“Get them in one fell swoop!” Prisma added, sneering.
“Avogadora!” the Droid shouted as she pirouetted, sending a shower of exploding avocados at the Sailor Scouts.
“Aah!” Sailor Moon exclaimed as she was blasted one way,
“What is this?!?” Mars yelled as she was blasted another way.
“Gah!” Knight grunted as he was blasted backward.
“Now, kill them!” Prisma ordered.
“Avogadora!” Avery prompted.
The Droid responded by taking off its right earring. “Peeled lichee bomb!” she shouted as she flung the white, ball-like earring at the three Scouts slowly getting up off the floor.
Before the earring could strike, a rose cut through the air, striking the earring off its path and knocking it to the floor next to where the rose embedded itself. The earring suddenly popped open, perfectly sliced in two.
“Avo?” Avogadora said curiously as she glanced up to where Tuxedo Kamen was leaning against the wall on one of the overhangs with his cane in one hand.
“A supermarket is the people’s fountain of health!” he said crossly. “The fresh vegetables of the open country and the melt-in-your-mouth-good thinly sliced meat are mad!”
“Wow!” Sailor Moon said giddily as she jumped to her feet. “That’s exactly what I said! We think alike after all!”
“That’s a somewhat frightening thought,” Knight muttered as he got to his feet along with Sailor Mars.
“This isn’t the time to say things like that,” Mars added dryly. Sailor Moon gave her a flat look in response.
“Let’s go!” Tuxedo Kamen said as he leaped down and commenced attacking Avogadora, cane against blade. At this, Prisma and Avery started moving to assist their Droid.
“That won’t be necessary,” Sailor Mars said as she pointed at the two sisters.
“We will be your opponents,” Sailor Knight added as he pointed at the sisters as well.
“Burning….”
“Avalanche….”
“…mandala!”
“…barrage!”
A barrage of burning rings and stone spikes rocketed at the two sisters. In response, Prisma raised an arm, invoking the power to force the air between them to thicken to the point where two attacks stopped in mid-air and clattered to the floor.
“My Burning Mandala was…!” Sailor Mars gasped in shock.
“My Avalanche Barrage, as well,” Sailor Knight said, frowning darkly while Sailor Moon watched nervously behind them.
“It’s our turn now!” Avery shouted.
“Hold it!” Prisma interrupted. “You should let your older sister handle the good parts.”
“You don’t even act like an older sister most of the time!” Avery shot back.
“What did you say?!?” Prisma growled. “You’re just my younger sister!”
“Old maid!” Avery retorted.
“Enough of your sibling rivalry,” Sailor Jupiter said as she leaped down onto the floor behind them. Beside her, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus leaped down as well, surrounding the two sisters.
“Damn…,” the sisters exclaimed as soon as they realized that they were surrounded.
“Just who are you people?” Jupiter demanded.
“We will find out who you are today, no matter what!” Mercury added.
“We won’t let you get away!” Venus finished.
At the other end of the supermarket, Tuxedo Kamen had just disarmed Avogadora. He then flung his cane at the Droid, which smacked her in the head.
“Avo!” the Droid grunted as it bent over in pain.
“Now, Sailor Moon!” he exclaimed urgently.
“Right!” Sailor Moon said as she quickly brought out her scepter. “Moon princess halation!” she shouted as she waved the scepter in front of her, firing a blast of white energy at Avogadora. The attack struck her, shattering her skin to pieces, leaving only her figure in crystal, which disintegrated into a pile of powder. The jewel on her choker with the upside-down black crescent moon turned from a light teal into a dull lifeless gray.
“Be thankful that we are retreating this time,” Prisma said angrily.
“You’ll pay extra for this!” Avery added as she and her sister teleported away. The moment that they teleported away, all the rotten merchandise in the supermarket slowly began to return to its original state. All of the shoppers slowly started to awaken, as well.
“Well, that’s that,” Sailor Knight said as he reverted back to his normal form and walked over and picked up the bags of potatoes and carrots he had discarded a while ago. “Hey, Mako-chan, as long as you’re here, you wanna help me carry this stuff home?”
“Huh?” Jupiter said as she reverted back to her original form as well. “Oh, sure. No problem.”
The other Scouts reverted back to their original forms and watched as the pair left with their bags of vegetables. “Um… those were rotten just a moment ago, right?” Minako asked, pointing at the bags that the pair were carrying.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Rei replied, sighing at how Usagi was cheering over finding that she would be able to get all the ingredients she needed for curry rice after all.
Later that evening, Usagi carefully went about her task of chopping onions, being careful not to cut herself as she cried.
“There’s no time to cry,” Chibiusa remarked as she and Mamoru waited at the table in his living room.
“I’m not crying because I want to!” Usagi retorted in mid-sob. “Aaah!” she exclaimed suddenly as she ducked down out of view for a moment. “Don’t worry; it’s okay,” she explained as she lifted a pot into view. “I just dropped the pot.”
Mamoru and Chibiusa sweatdropped as Usagi frantically went back to her cooking task.
One gigantic mess later, the meal was done.
“Finished!” she announced as she served three plates of curry rice. Mamoru and Chibiusa grimaced as they looked at the meal, as the messy presentation made it look slightly unappetizing. Of course, it didn’t help that Usagi, herself, was covered in curry splatters and stains.
Usagi laughed sheepishly as she picked up a spoon. “Come on, I know it looks bad, but I’m sure it tastes great,” she said dug her spoon into the concoction and took a bite. Mamoru and Chibiusa watched her cautiously, curious at her response and worried that they might have to call for an ambulance.
After several moments of chewing and swallowing, Usagi smiled. “Delicious!” she announced happily.
Encouraged, Mamoru and Chibiusa both took a bite of their curry rice. “It’s pretty good,” Mamoru said, mildly surprised.
“All right!” Usagi cheered, giving a ‘V’-sign. “I guess I’ll be fine tomorrow!”
“Usagi, you did pretty well,” Chibiusa said between mouthfuls as everyone enjoyed their curry rice dinner.