“Azura, how is she?”
The cerulean-haired girl sighed as she shook her head, her long, wavy hair swaying lightly with her movements. “I don’t know. We’ve never seen anything like this before.” She softly bit her lower lip, a habit of hers whenever she was either deeply concerned or deeply puzzled. This counted for both.
The dark-haired girl’s eyes widened in complete astonishment. “Are you serious?”
She turned away from the older woman lying on the infirmary bed and gave her friend a consternated glance. “Yes, and that’s what worries me. According to our best physicians, there is nothing physically wrong with her. No wounds; no signs of trauma or concussion; no indications of stress or overexertion; no symptoms of any known illnesses. Nothing.”
“Then, why did my cousin collapse?” Her voice was starting to show a hint of alarm. “She was completely fine five days ago. What happened to her? Why isn’t she waking up?”
“I told you, Hinageshi, I don’t know.” She closed her eyes and tried to think. Out of all the years of medical training she had received - even if she wasn’t allowed to be a doctor, she could still learn enough to act as a qualified nurse - she had never heard of any kind of sickness that could cause a person to collapse as if all of their energy had been completely drained from them within a matter of moments. And for that same person not to wake up five days later.…
This was not an ordinary coma. Of that, she was almost certain.
“Do you think…?” She paused as if to gather the strength to ask her question. “Azura, will she ever wake up again?” Her voice came out in a hushed whisper.
“Hinageshi.…” She took the other girl’s hands in hers and squeezed them reassuringly. “Try not to worry. I promise you that your cousin is in the best of care.” She made her smile as confident as possible… even if she wasn’t so sure, herself. “After all, she’s being looked after by the best doctors in all of Mercury.”
A strong, yet brief shaking woke Ami from her sleep, cutting her dream short. “Another earthquake?” she muttered tiredly as she sat up in her bed and glanced toward her alarm clock sitting at her bedside. A soft glow illuminated the clock’s hands and dashes that so that she could easily discern the time, even in complete darkness.
It was 2:05am.
“That dream…. It was just like last night…,” she murmured as she put a hand to the side of her head as she slumped forward wearily. “Mercury….
“I wonder…. Could it possibly mean something?” She straightened up and stretched as she yawned, one hand automatically reaching to cover her mouth as she yawned. It was late and there was school tomorrow. There was plenty of time to think about it later.
“For your homework tonight, you will complete page 212, problems 1 through 45; page 213, problems 1 through 36; and the Critical Thinking problem on page 214. Remember, show your work; otherwise, I will not accept it.
“Class dismissed.”
Ami finished writing down the last of her notes, closed her textbook, and began to put her things away. Now that class was over, she had some time to spare. Behind her and a couple desks to her right, Ryoku was quickly shoving his things in his bookbag.
“Ryo-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked.
He looked up in the middle of shoving his math textbook into his bag. “What is it, Ami-chan? Is something wrong?”
She stood up from her desk and stepped over to his desk, carrying her bag in her right hand. “Remember when Mamoru-san asked us about that earthquake yesterday?”
Ryoku stood up as well and picked up his bookbag. “Yes,” he nodded as they exited the classroom. “I remember that you were the only one besides him who felt it. What about it?”
“I felt another one last night.”
He frowned in perplexity. “So soon? I’ve never heard of two earthquakes occurring in the same place one day apart.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the phenomena. “It’s strange. Especially since I know I didn’t feel anything last night, just like the last time you said you felt an earthquake. Could it have been the same magnitude?”
“It might have been,” she replied. He merely frowned thoughtfully and stared out at nothing as they continued to walk down the hallway.
While they walked, Ami considered whether or not to tell him about the dream she had two days in a row. While not exactly the same, both dreams had someone calling her by the same name: Azura. She wouldn’t have paid the dreams any mind, but last night had given her cause for wondering whether or not the dreams had some sort of significance to them.
Azura had mentioned Mercury. Her guardian planet.
“Hi, Ami-chan, Ryo-kun!” Usagi called out as she waved at them from outside her classroom. Her usual cheery smile faded as she noticed the looks on her friends’ faces. “Hey, is something wrong?”
“Hmm? Wrong?” Ryoku asked as he blinked. “Oh. Usagi-chan. Sorry, I was kinda deep in thought a moment there. Didn’t notice you were there.”
“Eh? Thinking hard about something?” she said with some interest. “Like what?”
“Remember yesterday when Mamoru-san told us about the earthquake he felt? Ami felt another one last night.”
“Another one?” she asked glancing toward Ami. “Wow. I guess I slept through that one, too. Was it a big one this time?”
“Not really. I think it felt the same as before.”
“There’s something about those two earthquakes, besides the fact that one occurred one day right after the other,” Ryoku announced.
“What do you mean, Ryo-kun?” Ami asked as she and Usagi turned to regard the pony-tailed boy.
“Remember yesterday, how Mamoru-san said that the earthquake hit him harder than it hit Ami-chan? I’ve been thinking; Ami-chan lives near the downtown area. If they were the only two of us that felt it, then it must not have been that big of an earthquake, right?”
Usagi nodded. “That sounds right to me. So what?”
“But earthquakes powerful enough to be felt aren’t naturally that small,” Ami explained. “The rest of you should’ve felt them, too.”
“So, you think they weren’t natural?” Usagi ventured. “Like something caused it?”
Ryoku turned and gave her a slightly surprised look. “Actually, that’s pretty close to what I’ve been thinking.”
She shrugged. “Well, whatever’s causing it, I hope it’s nothing serious. It’s been really peaceful for a while. I don’t wanna have to worry about another enemy so close to the last one.”
Ami nodded, looking away while deep in thought. The possibility of another enemy so soon after defeating the Death Phantom was unsettling. However, if it was the work of another enemy, then that made the dreams she had been having all the more significant. But, was there a connection or was it just coincidence? Maybe there was a way to find out.
“Usagi-chan, Ryo-kun, I think we should talk with the others,” she said, turning back toward her friends.
Usagi sighed. Another Scout meeting. “Do we have to?” she whined. “It might be nothing, you know.”
“But it might be something,” Ryoku replied. “Will we be including Mamoru-san in this? He was the first one of us to feel these earthquakes.”
She thought about it for a moment. If her dreams were connected with the earthquakes, then would Mamoru be experiencing these dreams as well? If he wasn’t, then was she the only one experiencing them?
“Yes,” she replied to Ryoku’s question. “I’ll call Mamoru-san and ask him if it’s all right if we all go to his apartment. After all, if these earthquakes are all originating from downtown, then I might be able to run a scan of the area.” Not to mention that at least Usagi wouldn’t be complaining about having a meeting, as long as she got to be with her Mamo-chan.
“Don’t worry about calling, Ami-chan,” Usagi said enthusiastically as she started to leave. “I’ll go ask Mamo-chan personally. Bye!”
Ryoku gave Ami a wry look. “You knew she’d do that, didn’t you?” His half-smirk widened as she nodded and smiled. “Not bad, Ami-chan.” He chuckled to himself as he turned to leave. “I’ll let the others know and meet you all later.”
“So, this is where Mamoru-san lives?” Minako said as she glanced around the apartment. “It’s so… clean.”
“Yeah, Mamoru-san’s a neat freak,” Ryoku said jokingly. “Isn’t that right, Mamoru-san?”
“Shut up, Ryoku,” Mamoru retorted as he turned toward the girls and the two cats. “Anyway, I’ll be in the kitchen, making tea. Go ahead and make yourselves at home.”
“Sure thing,” Makoto said as she plopped down on the longer of the two couches in the apartment. “You know, you’ve got a nice place here, Mamoru-san. Better than our apartment.”
“More expensive, too,” Ryoku remarked as he sat down beside her with Ami sitting on his other side. Luna sat in Ami’s lap.
“Well, yeah. That, too.”
Minako took a seat on the shorter couch next to Rei with Artemis resting in her lap. “Say, did you ever visit Mamoru-san’s apartment when you were dating him, Rei?” she asked curiously.
“Minako-chan!” Rei sputtered, startled. From her chair, Usagi contented herself with a glare at Minako, then at Rei.
“What?” Rei snapped hotly. “All that was in the past, remember?”
“How did you know about that, Minako-chan?” Luna asked quickly, before an argument could ensue. “That happened before you joined us.”
“Ryo-kun told me.”
There was much glaring at him from both Usagi and Rei. “She asked,” he replied, unfazed.
“At any rate, I wanted to ask you all if any of you felt an earthquake last night,” Ami said seriously.
“Earthquake?” Artemis asked curiously.
“Another one?” Makoto asked, blinking. “I didn’t feel anything last night.”
“Me, neither,” Minako added.
“Are you sure there was an earthquake last night?” Rei asked.
“I’m sure of it,” Ami replied, then glanced back behind her toward the kitchen. “Mamoru-san, did you feel another earthquake last night?”
“Yeah,” he replied as he exited the kitchen with a tray of full teacups. “Just like last night.”
“So, it’s just you and Mamoru-san again,” Ryoku said as he folded his arms and leaned back against the couch.
“I don’t understand,” Artemis said, confused. “What are you all talking about?”
Ami took a cup from the tray Mamoru set on the table and sipped from it contemplatively as Ryoku explained everything to the two cats. Everything was the same since last night. “There’s something else I want to ask,” she said as she set down the cup. “Have any of you had any… strange dreams yesterday or the day before?”
Everyone stopped in either mid-sip or while reaching for a cup. Ryoku lowered his head from his pensive study of the ceiling and turned to look at her along with everyone else.
“Strange dreams?” everyone asked at once. Even Mamoru.
Ami blinked in surprise. Mamoru didn’t have any strange dreams? It was just her? It couldn’t have been the earthquakes causing the dreams. A coincidence, then. Still, that didn’t mean that they were insignificant… even if they were dreams.
“I had a strange dream last night and the night before,” she explained. “I had a theory that they might’ve been caused by the strange earthquakes, but since Mamoru-san isn’t having any strange dreams….”
“What kind of dreams?” Usagi asked, her interest piqued.
“Yeah, don’t leave us hanging like that!” Minako added, also interested. “You brought up the subject, so you’re obligated to give us details.”
“All right, all right,” Ami capitulated, then sighed. “The first dream I had seemed to be about me, but everyone was calling me Azura for some reason.”
“Azura?” Luna repeated, blinking curiously.
“Do you recognize the name?” she asked, glancing toward her intently.
Luna gave it some thought. “Hmm…. Not really. Artemis?”
“Same here,” he replied. “It sounds familiar, but I just can’t place it right now.”
“So, what happened next?” Usagi asked.
“From what I remember, I was attending - or rather, Azura was attending - some sort of ceremony in some sort of royal courtyard when a young woman suddenly burst into the room, apologizing for being late.
“The ceremony continued and nothing seemed to be wrong, until the young woman suddenly collapsed. That’s when I woke up.”
“You’re right,” Makoto remarked. “That does sound strange.”
“What was the other dream, Ami-chan?” Rei asked.
“It was another dream as Azura, but this time, she was in an infirmary with the woman who collapsed in my last dream,” she continued. “The woman’s younger cousin, a girl named Hinageshi, was asking her why her cousin had been unconscious for… I think it was five days.”
“Five days?” Usagi repeated, astonished.
“Yes, I think that was it,” she nodded. “At any rate, what really concerned me was what Azura said to Hinageshi before my dream ended. She said that Hinageshi’s cousin was being looked after by the best doctors in all of Mercury.”
“What?!?”
“Luna, Artemis, do either of you remember anything from before the Moon Kingdom was destroyed?” Ami asked.
“Hmm…,” Luna began, thinking hard. “Now that you mention it, I do recall that Mercury was one of the more prominent places to study medicine during the Silver Millennium….”
“That’s right,” Artemis added, nodding. “I remember that, too. I think the reason was that there were many rare medicinal herbs that could only grow on Mercury back then.”
“Really?” Minako asked. “Hey, what about my planet? What do you remember about Venus?”
Ami ignored the continuing conversation as she brought out her minicomputer. So, perhaps Azura was a subject of the planet Mercury during the Silver Millennium. A nurse, perhaps; or at least someone of some importance. But, why didn’t she see herself at that ceremony? Wasn’t she the Princess of Mercury during that time?
She let her mind wander as her minicomputer scanned all of downtown Azabu Juuban. After the numerous attacks by youma, Cardians, Droids and the like, she had a good range of negative energy wavelengths to base a generic scan for dark energy. If some dark force was indeed triggering the unnatural-seeming earthquakes, she would find out where it was originating.
The minicomputer beeped quietly as its scan completed. “What did you find?” Ryoku asked.
“There are some faint traces of dark energy,” she reported as she read the display. “However, I can’t be certain that it’s what’s causing the earthquakes. After all, it could just be residual dark energy from when we defeated the Death Phantom and that huge crystal disintegrated.”
“If this residual dark energy is causing the earthquakes, then would they stop when the energy finally dissipates?” Mamoru asked.
Ami turned to where he sat on the arm of the chair Usagi was sitting on and shook her head uncertainly. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “For some reason, I can’t get a very clear reading. I don’t think my computer can scan that far below the earth.”
“Below the earth?” Luna asked, startled.
“Yes,” she replied as everyone turned toward the black cat. “All the dark energy my scan picked up was located about three-quarters of a kilometer directly below this area.” She paused as she gave Luna a concerned look. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, Luna. For a second there, you looked totally spooked,” Minako pointed out.
Luna glanced over at Artemis, who just shook his head. “Never mind,” she finally said with a sigh. “For a moment, I thought I remembered something having to do with some kind of danger below the earth, but I can’t recall it. And apparently, neither can Artemis.”
“Still, if all the dark energy dissolves back into the earth, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?” he said with a sheepish grin.
Luna just glared at him. “Don’t be an idiot, Artemis.”
Ami put her minicomputer away and stared down at the floor, her mind lost in thought. There was something else. Something she was missing. She could almost feel it, as if it were something just sitting out of her reach. Her instincts were telling her that there was a connection between her dreams, the dark energy, and the earthquakes. But, with no concrete evidence to support such ideas, she didn’t really have any idea of where to go next.
The rest of the meeting slowly turned to small talk, while Ami pondered over all the information she had. She had received the warning; now she had to figure out what she was being warned against.
Jirou was punctual. Extremely punctual. His friends at work swore that they could set their watches by whenever he came into his office. Not a second too early, not a second too late. It was almost like an obsession with that man. In fact, he once snapped at a person just for almost making him late.
Thirty seconds late.
So, seeing him come into work an entire hour late had the whole office abuzz in speculation. The Human Clock was actually late for once? So, he was human, after all. What could’ve caused a man who believed in punctuality uber alles to arrive at work one hour late?
There were those that felt a good-natured teasing was in order. An opportunity like this was too good to waste. Who knew when this would happen again?
“Hey, Jirou! Forget to wind yourself this morning?” one of the guys joked as the group reached the small cubicle that he worked in. “The boss is gonna be pissed when she learns that her ‘Clock’ is running an hour slow.” He paused outside the cubicle and waited for him to respond.
No answer.
“Eh? Nothing to say, Jirou?” another guy added. “Or, has your battery died?” He stepped forward, toward the seated and slumped Jirou and tapped him firmly on the shoulder. “Hey!”
This time, Jirou moved. He tumbled out of his seat and collapsed onto the floor.
The guys glanced worriedly at each other. “That’s not funny, Jirou,” the first man said as he knelt down and poked at him. “Acting like you’re sick isn’t gonna cut it with us.” More poking. “Jirou? Hey, Jirou!
“Someone call an ambulance! Jirou’s not moving!”
“Mizuno-senpai, we’d like for you to take a look at this patient for us,” a younger female doctor requested. “We believe that our patient may be showing the exact same symptoms as your patient, but we’d like to have your input as well.”
Atsuko Mizuno looked up from her cup of coffee and sighed to herself. Couldn’t she take a break for ten minutes without something coming up? “Which patient would that be?” she asked calmly as she set her coffee down on the table and turned to regard the two junior physicians. “I am in charge of several patients, as I am sure you are well aware of.”
“Who my colleague was referring to was your coma patient,” the male doctor explained. “Our most recent patient seems to be showing the exact same symptoms as your coma patient.”
Atsuko blinked. Another one? “Show me.”
“The patient was brought in this morning,” the female doctor briefed as they led her to their patient. “The paramedics were told by the patient’s co-workers that he seemed to be fine when he came in to work, but when they went to talk with him, he collapsed out of his chair.”
“There is nothing physically wrong with him,” the male doctor added. “There are no signs of any head wounds or any signs of trauma or concussion. Even though his co-workers said that he had arrived at work an hour late, there are no indications of any extreme stress or overexertion. Also, there are no symptoms of any known illnesses. Nothing at all.”
“Hmm…. That does sound like my own coma patient,” Atsuko remarked as they arrived at their destination. She glanced over toward the various monitors and machines the man was hooked up to and read the display that indicated heart rate. “Fifty-two bpm,” she murmured quietly to herself as she went over the other read-outs. Heart rate was low, but stable. So far, everything was exactly the same. But, still….
“Mizuno-senpai?” the female doctor prompted hopefully.
“It is true that your patient is showing the same signs of coma as my own, but this is not an unfamiliar case,” Atsuko pronounced as she turned toward her younger colleagues. “You two are new to Juuban Memorial, so I’ll explain.
“You’ve no doubt heard stories about so-called ‘demon’ attacks and the Sailor Scouts who fight them, right?” She hardly paused before continuing, hardly even noticing the two doctors nodding their heads. “Well, because of these so-called ‘demon’ attacks, we’ve had numerous cases of people being brought in like this-“ she gestured toward the man on the hospital bed, “-without any signs of injury, but with their life signs seriously depleted, as if their life energy was drained out of them. But, with each patient that comes in like this, that same patient soon recovers miraculously, either completely or mostly, within the day.
“However, my current coma patient is the only one I’ve seen that hasn’t at least partially recovered within one day.” She started for the door, pausing before stepping past the two younger doctors. “Give your patient a day at the least. If he doesn’t show any signs of improvement by then, let me know.” Atsuko walked out of the room and headed back to the break room, hopefully getting back to that cup of coffee she had abandoned. It looked to be another busy day today and she’d need all the energy she could get to keep up with it.
“Is she getting any better?” Azura asked as the last doctor left the room.
The doctor shook his head. “If afraid not,” he replied with a slight hint of frustration audible in his voice. “She’s not responding to any type of stimulus. And now she’s not the only case.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Another person collapsed suddenly? When?”
“Two days ago. One of the palace’s apothecaries suddenly collapsed while tending his herbs.” His hands tightened at his sides as he glared down at the ground. “I just can’t stand this. Nothing out of all of our medical knowledge seems to explain this! It’s as if… they just went to sleep; only we can’t wake them up. It’s too frustrating!”
Azura touched the doctor’s arm and gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re doing the best you can. All of you are. That’s all we ask from you. I’m sure that eventually an answer will be found.”
The doctor nodded and relaxed visibly. “Yes, I know,” he sighed. “I just don’t like feeling helpless. That’s all.”
A loud crash followed by a woman’s frightened shriek coming from down the hall caused both of them to whirl around suddenly. From the room furthest down the hallway, a nurse attempted to flee from the room, only to trip and crash against the wall headfirst. She slumped down to the floor and laid still.
“Mariko!” the doctor shouted as he and Azura rushed toward the fallen nurse. As they ran to her aid, a man slowly stepped out of the room, a frenzied, malicious grin spread across his face. They stumbled to a halt as they took in the look on the man’s face.
His eyes were completely black. No irises, cornea, or pupils at all. Just pools of pure black ink. Those eyes were enough to terrify her.
“Kishirou?” the doctor called out in shock just before the crazed man leapt at them.
Ami woke up with a start and sat bolt upright. That man… he was just about to attack her! No, he was about to attack Azura, not her. The dream, though. It certainly felt like it was happening to her.
She remained sitting up in her bed for a few moments more as she allowed her heart to slow down its beating. Well, no earthquakes this time. Yet another theory invalidated.
So many mysteries and so little information. Unnatural earthquakes, residual dark energy fading away beneath downtown Azabu Juuban, strange dreams that seem to be trying to warn her of something…. She just wished she had a little bit more information to work with rather than just waiting for her dreams to tell her something. The dreams didn’t even come every night, since she didn’t have one last night.
With a vexed sigh, she laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. Even with a great deal on her mind, sleep found her soon enough.
It was pitch dark in the recovery room where they left Jirou. The drapes were completely closed, so there wasn’t even a trace of moonlight. The only light that existed in that room were the soft, electronic glow of the displays on the various monitors and other pieces of medical equipment, and the single strip of light below the door leading out to the hallway. The only sounds that existed in the room were the soft, rhythmic beeping of the machine that monitored Jirou’s heart rate, and his slow, quiet breathing. Nothing else.
At some time during the night, the soft din was interrupted by the sounds of muffled speech coming from outside the room, behind the closed door.
“So, what do you think it is, then?” a female voice asked in a vexed tone of voice.
“Well, I certainly don’t believe in demons,” a male voice replied. “I have to agree with Mizuno-san. Demon attacks and Sailor Scouts are just that. Stories. They aren’t real, just urban legend. They’re just something to model UFO catcher dolls after.”
“Mizuno-senpai never said that she didn’t believe in demons and Sailor Scouts,” the female replied as she turned the doorknob. “She just said they were ‘so-called’. Personally, I think they are real. After all, a friend of mine told me that she was attacked by a demon once. She said it felt like her life was being sucked right out of her.”
“And I suppose that after the Sailor Scouts saved her, she was able to meet one of them,” he said skeptically.
“Actually, she only managed to come to in time to see them leave,” she admitted as she opened the door. “But, she swears on her soul that she has seen them. Six Sailor Scouts, five female, one male.”
“What, does the guy wear a skirt, too?” he laughed as he followed the female doctor into the room. As the two doctors entered the room and approached Jirou, the beeping of the heart rate monitor began to accelerate. “Hey, I think he’s starting to show some signs of waking up,” he said as he pointed toward the monitor.
“Really?” she asked as she stepped closer to the machine to have a closer look.
Suddenly, Jirou’s eyes snapped open as he reached out and grabbed her arm. The female doctor stiffened as she looked down toward Jirou. The crazed, malicious expression on his face gave her plenty of cause for alarm, but it was when she looked into his eyes that she completely froze in fear. There was just enough light from the open door to see that Jirou’s eyes were now completely black.
The loud shriek accompanied by a lower-pitched scream caused Atsuko to drop her medical records and sprint toward the direction of the screaming. On the way, she called out for someone to call security up to her floor quickly, and grabbed two orderlies, telling them to come with her.
Just as she reached the room where the screams had originated from, a loud crashing sound came from inside the room. With a quick glance at the two orderlies, and a nod from them indicating that they were ready, she quickly reached inside and turned on the lights. The three burst into the room, watching for any signs of a possible attack.
From what they saw, the attack had already come and gone. Her two junior colleagues were both lying unconscious on the floor and their patient was gone. The window was broken and a shred of the drapes was hanging on a piece of the broken glass still remaining the window frame.
What disturbed her most was the fact that since there was no glass on the floor, that indicated that something was thrown out of the window, rather than something thrown inside. Since the patient was gone, the only way he could’ve left was through the window.
Through the man-sized hole in the window, which was seven floors above the ground.
A quick check on her two colleagues showed that neither one had any physical injuries. They were probably just knocked unconscious until their attacker could escape.
She signaled her two orderlies to help her lift the two doctors into the beds, one at a time. As long as they were unconscious, they might as well be comfortable. Once they were in bed, she dismissed the two orderlies, sending them back to what they doing before she had brought them with her. With a soft, vexed growl, she realized that she had dropped her medical records right in the middle of the hallway. She would have to go back and pick them all up. Hopefully, nothing spilled out. Not for the first time that night, did she curse having to work late. Well, it certainly wasn’t the first time something strange had happened while she was working late.