I, Aino Minako, Sailor Venus and the senshi of love, am stumped.

It’s in times like these where I wish I was a goldfish. I know it’s a weird dream, but right now, I want it to be true.

Five of the closest people I’ve known in my life are now dead. Sahkyo seems to be under the impression that since the Kindred brought her Sailor Saturn’s earring, that she might be alive somewhere, but this time I just can’t hold the same optimism.

They’re simply dead, and more of us are going to follow if we don’t do something -- but what CAN we do?

Nothing.

We’re going to simply die by these creatures because we’re just not strong enough, and that’s just how it is.

Poor Usagi is absolutely crushed. She won’t even come out of her room, even for her favourite brand of cupcakes, and Mamoru is running out of ideas as to how to help her. She’s improved over the last few days, but it’ll take more than just a few days to get Haruka and Rei’s deaths, let alone Michiru, Hotaru and Makoto as well out of her mind. Perhaps by Saturday she’ll be able to come out of her room. It frightens me though, I’ve rarely seen Usagi just so… lifeless.

I’m supposed to leave in a few minutes to try and help out Usagi through this, but… I don’t know If there’s anything I can do. Sure, I can think of something, but there’s not much anyone can do that hasn’t already been done.

I, Aino Minako, will do the best I can, and as the senshi of love, well, we’ll see about that.




Knock, knock.

“Geez, it took you three hours?” Ronin mumbled to himself as he heard the offensive knock at the door, and got up for his slow walk towards it.

He admitted to himself that he was looking forward to tonight - not so much of where he was going, it was what he was going to do. He sent Meian off three hours ago with over 200,000 yen to get a nice outfit, get her hair or whatever else she wanted to pretty herself up for tonight. He had already taken a shower yet refused to shave, and had dressed himself in a very formal suit and dress shoes. Since he started to get ready as soon as she left, he was done in about forty minutes, so he had to twiddle away his time for the past two hours or so.

He reached the door, opened it, and what he revealed by doing so nearly created the same effect as kicking him in the gut and twisting the foot.

Meian was dressed in a black and silver two piece outfit, which consisted of a long spaghetti strapped top with a medium neckline, and a sheer layer of fabric on top of a solid one underneath. The hemline of the top began gathered low on her left hip, and gathered downward to end also at an angle behind her right knee. Her pants were simply a solid black material, and were straight cut to end just below her ankles. A faint trail of silver glitter was splayed across the necklines and all the hems, which truly gave it an evening-dress feel. She wore black open-toed stilettos, with a silver and rhinestone buckle above the toe, a buckle also on the side for the strap around her ankle, with a silver heel. Finally, to complete the buckle theme, one buckle was affixed to the top of the spaghetti straps of the top, and she wore an inch-wide choker with a buckle set in the middle.

“Meian… you…” Ronin managed to slur out.

“I know I took a long time, I’m sorry.” Meian apologized, as she misconstrued what Ronin meant.

“No, it’s just that…. You really clean up.” Ronin completed his thought, and managed to get through it without stumbling.

“Oh, thank you.” Meian seemed to look a little embarrassed, and fiddled with the purse’s strap which she bought to match the outfit. “You don’t do so badly yourself, but Ronin…”

“What?”

“Your hair. It’s a mess, did you even comb through it? You’re not going like that, are you?” Meian asked, getting a little concerned. She’s learned from the past to make sure that she knew if he was going to do a dumbass thing or not.

“You’re not touching my hair!” Ronin protested, and backed away with his hands up to guard himself.

Meian smiled and placed her things on a nearby table, and took both his hands in hers, and managed to sit Ronin down at the living room table with an appropriate amount of resistance. She quickly sprinted to the bathroom to receive a few supplies which included a comb, hair ties, and gel, then returned to the main room, and set them in the spot closest to Ronin. She stood behind him, and it took her a good struggle, but with patience she was able to untangle his blond hair, and had to ignored the sounds of pain and struggle which emanated from the man.

She placed the comb back onto the table, and ran her fingers through his hair to make sure that all the tangles were out, and also to fluff it up again a little more before she would put the product in. Truth be told, she got a little carried away, and what was initially a little hair toss turned out to be a light scalp massage. She wasn’t sure what it was which made her do it, but Ronin appreciated it as much as the fact that he didn’t stop her.

Meian decided to end it, as she moved her hands away slightly to grab the gel bottle, but she felt resistance on her right wrist, and found that Ronin had grabbed her wrist gently with his hand. Meian froze.

“Keep doing that…. Just a little longer.” Ronin said slowly. Apparently, he enjoyed the little scalp rub just a little more than she thought. Meian never moved her hands, but leaned in a little to the opposite ear of where her wrist was held.

“We don’t have much time. If you’re good tonight, I can massage your scalp all you want afterwards.” Meian felt so much like a nagging mother with that statement, it was unbearable.

Ronin released her wrist, and she quickly took that opportunity to extract her hands from his hair, and put product on it before tying the trademark small braid at the base of his neck. She centred the ponytail and allowed her hands to fall on his cheeks after she was done. She noticed the fair amount of stubble there, and regretted now that she took so much time to get ready, or she would have enough time to help him there too.

< On a second thought, the stubble really suits him. I’ll let him go, for now. > Meian’s other side answered her thoughts.

Meian hopped over to her things on the other end of the table, as Ronin got up and tied his necktie, and put the finishing touches on his outfit before putting on his overcoat.

“I feel like a tool, you know.” Ronin complained at the mention that he had to wear a very formal suit.

The two exited the apartment, and could only suffer in the wonder of what this night would bring.




Tonight was the grand opening night of the New National Theatre of Tokyo - a new, state of the art building. With the help of its sponsors, it was able to finish construction and open up on schedule for this one-time event. The whole outer of the theatre was all white brick, and had tall areas of the walls comprised of glass panels to welcome the light in to the inside. The whole building had a very modern theme, which was carried through the rectangular architectural features. The sun was quickly setting for tonight’s event, and would probably get underway soon.

Meian and Ronin approached from a ways away from the building, since he drove her there in his car. The two walked up to the front entrance, and Meian looked around and could estimate that there were hundreds and hundreds of people arriving to participate in this. She looked to her left though as she approached the front area, and noticed that there were a large amount of people dressed very informally, and then shifted her gaze in front of her, and saw about an equal amount of the audience dressed as formally as she. The two eventually stopped near the stairway headed down, which was quite a distance away from the front doors.

Ronin looked to his side and noticed that Meian looked slightly unsure of herself. He pulled on her arm which was looped around his elbow, and leaned down.

“What is it?” he asked. She looked to him and answered,

“There’s such a difference in the formal and informal clothing, are you sure we didn’t overdo it?” Meian asked him.

“Oh Meian, relax. We want to convince people that we’re high society, so let’s act it at least for one night, am I right?” Ronin tried to put his friend at ease.

Truth be told, he kept a secret of his own. The people in front of them who were dressed so formally were independent supporters of the construction and institution of the Theatre, so it was their obligation to dress in black tie, even white tie attire. Ronin was no different; his family was the biggest supporter of this place, and since his parents weren’t able to attend the opening, the tickets were given to him. Lucky for Ronin, he hoped that an opportunity like this would pop up soon, and it did.

“So Ronin, tell me more about this. What are we going to see exactly?” Meian asked as she turned around to look at him.

“Well, it’s not going to be an ordinary Opera. What they’re going to do is a Western approach, and perform the music with the orchestra, but no costumes, sets or anything.” Ronin explained, as far as he knew. “I can only guess because the theatre was just completed a few days ago, they wouldn’t have the time to set up everything.”

“That’s certainly… different. What are they going to perform?” Meian asked. Ronin pulled out a small information brochure and read the name.

“’Takeru‘, by Dan Ikuma.” he responded, and smiled to her.

“MEIAN! RONIN!” a feminine voice called out from near the front entrance. The fast clicks of heels on a concrete ground could be heard beyond the crowd, and sooner or later, Sahkyo appeared wearing a yellow, semi-formal dress, and made her way as quickly as she could to her friends despite the heels she wore. She stopped short a short distance away from them, and attempted to catch her breath.

“Sahkyo, what are you doing here?” Ronin asked, a little perturbed since his alone time with Meian had been interrupted. His annoyed disposition was once again a cover; Sahkyo was asked to attend by Ronin so that Meian wouldn’t expect what he had planned that night. As long as she played her part, he was happy.

“Well, I asked for this story from my boss, and I begged him enough, so here I am!” Sahkyo exclaimed, and showed off her dress a little to her two friends.

A few seconds after she spoke, the front doors were opened by the ushers, and the audience started their slow march to go inside the building.

“You two can pick up your tickets from the front desk after we go in, just say my name and he’ll know. I need to get to my own seat, it’s on the other side of the audience seating! See you guys after!” Sahkyo exclaimed as she gave her friends a brief hug, and then was off again to disappear in the crowds.

“Sometimes it’s amazing where she finds all that energy.” Ronin commented as he once again took Meian’s arm in his, and went inside to get their tickets. Directly in front of them was the passage way into the courtyard and terrace garden, and to their left were the two double doors and into the building.

The inner appearance of the theatre didn’t differ that much from the outside. There was a lot of wood which intermingled with the glass and stone interiors, which added a futuristic touch. It took advantage of multiple levels in a single view from the ground floor, and there were numerous stairs ready to take the audience to their seats. There were pillars in front of the stories high windows on the other side, and let in whatever light which was still available from the outside. The style was very clean, and took advantage of angular shapes for the desks and waiting benches, and clean, polished floors which resembled the appearance of glass.

Within 20 minutes the whole of the audience were in their seats, and settled in for the performance. The entire cast were dressed as formally as the main sponsors, as well as the chorus who were in lines and risers on either side of the main cast, with the orchestra directly at the back.

Sahkyo was in the middle of the upper half of the seating, and had a small light and a notepad with a pen as she took notes all throughout the performance, and jotted down as much as she could remember. Ronin and Meian were seated in the third row back from the stage, near where the other wealthier people of the crowd were able to get tickets. Unfortunately though, Ronin fell asleep during the course of the evening, and had started to doze on the shoulder of the stranger on the left of him. Meian had enough of repeatedly waking him that she reached down near his lap, and gripped the muscles of his inner thigh for a temporary charlie horse and to wake him up enough for him not to fall asleep for the next little while. After the initial irritation at his friend, Ronin took the action as an indication, and kept himself awake for the rest of the performance.

It wasn't until after the performance ended two hours later that he was thankful that Meian took such a drastic measure to keep him awake. He had a mission tonight and he didn't want anything to get in the way.



“So Aniki was right after all…. Looks like maybe I could play around with my dinner first… “ a woman’s voice muttered as she sat atop the angled roof of the Opera house. She swung her legs around a little, and hummed along with some of the music which she could hear from inside.



The audience slowly filed out of the building, and for around 1,800 people whom attended this event, it took quite a while to even get outside from where they were. Meian spotted Sahkyo coming out from the entrance to her section, and flagged her down. Sadly though she couldn’t go with them, as she had special permission to go backstage and interview a few people as part of her article assignment - so eventually they decided to meet in the Terrace Garden area in about an hour.

Finally at the front doors, Ronin took Meian by her hand and dragged her outside through the crowds, and ran a little ways into the open area after they cleared the bodies around them. Both seemed to get a good laugh out of it, and continued to do so even for the fact that their hands were still connected. The two straightened out and looked to the other, then Ronin gave her no time to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I know where we have to wait. Come with me.” Ronin said, low in his voice, and still hand-in-hand, took her in the opposite direction of the front street, and to the left of the front doors. There was a small passage way under one of the building hallways, supported by pillars, which opened up to a wide courtyard.

On the right were two sets of stairs/walkways, which were above a wide reflecting pool which encompassed the whole area. The stairs began on the balconies above them, and each stairwell had several landings. The stairs sloped down in a v-shape, and was a mere few feet above the water - the other set of stairs curved underneath the far end of it, and went directly against the right wall to stop on another floor. Giant slabs of stone were placed lengthwise into the pool between the stairs and the far left wall, and rectangular stones were lined up against the left wall, and had four lights illuminating each one. Above these stones was the window which belonged to the long hallway, which was lit from the inside, and provided the only illumination for the area. Since it was well into the night, all the lights outside were turned on, which gave the whole area a blue glow.

About ten minutes after their entrance to the area, Ronin and Meian finally reached the low apex of the v-shaped stairway, and the two leaned on the railing to stare into the waters below. A swift wind swept through the area, and Ronin unceremoniously took off his coat and placed it around Meian’s shoulders. As he did so however, Meian finally noticed that she had neglected to put her handflower henshin object after she had put on her outfit.

< If we’re attacked, we’re fucked. > Meian stressed, and about a dozen bad situations flashed through her mind.

It was another long while of silence between the two, as Ronin kept an eye on the crowds from the corner of his eye to make sure that everyone had left, so the two would have privacy. Meian’s mind however, was more concerned of how she was going to protect herself and Ronin if another Kindred just happened upon this place and started to kick up some trouble - which really, wasn‘t outside the realm of possibility. What broke her out of her thoughts was movement out of the right corner of her eyes; Ronin fiddled his fingers around, and could feel his trembling through the railing of which they were both leaned against. She straightened, and looked to him.

“Ronin, what’s wrong?” she asked, a little concerned.

“Meian, I….” butterflies happily flew through Ronin’s stomach as he too straightened up from leaning on the object, and searched through his pockets for a long jewellery case. He handed it to her with one hand on each end of it, and placed it carefully in her hands.

It was then as Ronin took in a deep breath, and held both her hands with one of his, and her forearm with the other.

“Meian, I had this made for you… before you left last year. I would have given it to you, but… well… let’s not get on that again. But I’m glad you left, because it made me realise how much I didn’t want to lose you again. I don’t think I could take it. You’re probably the best thing that’s happened to me, and when I’m near you, it stirs up these… feelings… I’ve never had before.” Ronin confessed, and each word echoed a pang of truth within himself that he couldn’t deny. “I don’t care what I sound like when I say this, but…. I think it could be love.”

He then fell to one knee, yet he kept his grip on Meian’s hand, but his other hand fell to her wrist. Ronin looked straight up to look at her face, and took pride in the slight look of confusion and shock as he knelt in front of her.

“I’ve never felt this way before. You’re too important to me, Meian, and I promise to you now I will be faithful to only you. Please say yes and marry me.”

Both were frozen in their places - Meian couldn’t believe her ears as she lowered her head and averted her gaze downward, and Ronin braced himself for whichever answer he would be given. Meian went through nearly a thousand possible answers as her mind battled the pros and cons of either answer. How could she marry him?! He was brash, coarse as sandpaper, and a pervert to boost! Then again… he didn’t choose his friends lightly, and if he still wanted to be her friend - let alone wife, then that had to be something.

After a few moments, another breeze passed by, and Meian’s stalling only placed doubt in his mind as more time passed by.

Meian finally raised her eyes, and peered into the ones before her; hopeful, yet a pang of doubt glazed over them slightly. She smiled.

“Does this mean that you‘ll get rid of the porn?” Meian asked as she whispered. Ronin’s eyes widened, as he stood up again suddenly, let go of Meian, and put up his hands as a surrender.

“Hey, there’s no way--!” Ronin protested, as Meian ran the short distance to him, and embraced him. A fraction of a second later, he heard his answer whispered into his ear.

“Yes.”

“Yes?” Ronin asked as he embraced her, as he couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yes!” Meian exclaimed. Ronin gently caressed Meian’s face, quickly yet as gentle as he could, and drew Meian into a kiss. Happiness filled them both as they switched between attempting to kiss and laughing, until they both embraced again.

“Meian, I’ll make you so happy!” Ronin exclaimed, as relief from being nervous nearly all night rushed through him.

“What’s the celebration?!” a voice from above called out. Both looked to the voice, and found that on the balcony above them stood a woman in grey-black and purple sheered clothing. Meian’s stomach dropped as she recognised the woman as Lady Saeryn, in full demon form. She leaned on the glass and steel railing, and her hands were far apart from each other as she took which seemed like a genuine interest of what was going on.

“We’re engaged, so leave us alone!” Ronin called out, annoyed already at the woman.

< Engaged? The Lord Saeryn won’t be happy about this…. > Lady Saeryn gravely thought. She phased herself out, then back in again behind Meian on the middle landing of the stairs, and quickly jumped down to get near the couple. Lady Saeryn grabbed one of Meian’s hands, separated her from Ronin, and spun her around so that she could grasp her other hand.

“Really, I didn’t expect this from you! You need to stop this and now, you’re above all this! Human emotions are icky!” Lady Saeryn finished off her short speech with a lot of the tone and demeanour which would belong to a child.

“Ronin….” Meian wearily said, as she looked to the man beside her. She knew what Lady Saeryn was capable of, and without her ability to turn into Sailor Syrin, she was a sitting duck. To Ronin however this woman seemed to really bother her.

Ronin had enough at this point, and rushed a few steps over, and disconnected the women’s hands in front of him, and pushed the strange woman away a few feet.

“Hey!” Lady Saeryn protested as she regained her footing.

“I’ll fuck you up if you touch Meian again.” Ronin nearly growled out, and stood between the two women.

“I’m sure you will, playboy.” she giggled in response. She raised her left hand, and her index and middle fingers curled together. “Or at least, here’s hoping! I haven‘t had any for maybe 200 years…”

“Leave now!!” Ronin said, as he took another step towards her. It was just something about her which really bothered him, and at this point, he just wanted her out of his sight so he could celebrate with his now fiancée.

Lady Saeryn shrugged, and it barely took but a millisecond for her body to land a quick punch to Ronin’s jaw, which sent him back a few steps.

“You know,” Ronin said, as he touched his knuckles to the quickly developing bruise on his jaw. “I’d never hurt a woman, but in this case I think I can bend the rule.”

Ronin rushed towards the strange woman as she shrugged at the sight, and deflected his first attack. Ronin continued the attacks as Meian backed up a few steps to get out of his way, as she tried to think of ways she could dissolve the situation and to try and get Lady Saeryn away from Ronin. He was starting to wear down as Lady Saeryn became more and more proficient at blocking his arms.

Meian had an idea, and called out to her clanswoman;

“Lady Saeryn!” she called out to distract them both from attacking one another. The woman straightened up and gave Meian her attention.

“I’ll break it off, just please leave Ronin alone! Please, I’ll do whatever you want!” Meian begged with her to not harm Ronin.

It was a long few moments of silence as Lady Saeryn placed one hand on her hip, and one finger placed on her lips as a sign that she was considering her offer. Ronin however, turned around and looked at her, with a look of disbelief on his face, as he considered once again that Meian just might know this person after all. Lady Saeryn broke her pose, and faced one palm up towards the sky, and the other limp at her side.

“Sorry! No deal. Just like Ronin tonight, I had a mission too.” Lady Saeryn, almost cheerfully declared, as she formed fire-like energy between her crooked hands, which in turn created glass-like shards, all of varying length, and included up to a foot and a half in length.

It took but a millisecond to form and throw the shards towards Ronin, whom still had his head turned towards Meian. The shards embedded themselves into the back of the young man’s skull and chest, some even protruded out of his front. Blood and tissue from his brain flew from the open wounds, and even nearly missed Meian as the events registered themselves in her mind. Lady Saeryn took pride in her work as she and Meian witnessed Ronin’s body quickly become limp, and fall in the direction of the railing to the side of him, and clear over it. He landed with a slight splash as his upper body fell first into the shallow water near to the decorative rock, and a second splash as his feet fell in next.

Lady Saeryn blew a quick kiss towards Meian as she immediately disappeared, and her voice echoed as she said a quick “See you later!!”.

Meian’s breath quickened as she took off Ronin’s coat, and folded it over the railing as she tried her best to get over it, and was grateful that she was wearing dress pants. She sat with her feet on the other side of the railing, and jumped down into the waters of the shallow reflecting pool waters, as her foot muscles cramped up at the sudden cold temperatures of it. She quickly rushed to Ronin’s side, and pulled his upper body out of the water, and tried to revive him -- even if foot-long shards still protruded from his head, his eyes still wide open in shock.

“Ronin, come on…. Come on…. “ Meian begged as she continuously tapped his cheek to try to revive him. “I’ll rub your scalp, I’ll clean your apartment, please just come back!”

Meian gave up and simply clung to his cooling body, as she began to tremble from a combination of wind and the temperature of the water, which in turn, shook Ronin’s lifeless body. Tears which were held back until now fell freely from her eyes - cold, salty tears which stung her skin and eyes.

“Wake up!” she begged, “Please wake up!!”

A sudden glow emerged from the skin on her arms, yet only appeared in blotches, which were concentrated at the joints; the shoulder, elbow and wrist. It appeared to be a combination of dusky purple and an opal tinge, much like the spot on her stomach which was found not long ago. This odd mirage appeared only briefly, as it disappeared again.

It was only a few moments until she heard the footsteps in the entryway to the area, and only clung onto him further.

“Meian?” it was Sahkyo whom happened upon this scene, as her interviews with the main cast were completed, and she had walked to the Terrace Garden area, just as the three of them agreed. The older woman took off her pumps and stepped into the cool waters of the pool, and ran up to Meian. It was then when Ronin’s body began to disappear, and Meian took note of this and only kept up her vice grip on his body. Soon there was nothing left to hold onto but small strands of energy, until there was nothing left. She had nothing to hold onto anymore except for herself, and as soon as she saw that Sahkyo was there, she clung onto her arm, which was also a function to keep herself from falling into the water, as the muscles in her body suddenly lost their tension from the strain of the events.

It was a long while until Sahkyo could get in any words of her own, as she waited for Meian’s cries to die down a little.

“Meian…..” Sahkyo began. “There was nothing you could do for him.”

Eventually, Sahkyo was able to help Meian to her feet with the help of the large rock to their side, and over the next half an hour, was able to get her back to Ronin’s car, which was pretty much their only mode of transportation. After she got Meian situated and buckled into the seat, she ran around to the right side of it and hopped into the driver’s side, and got the car’s phone to start after she turned the engine. She called Minako, and asked her to tell Usagi - who was still very depressed at the time - and convince her that someone needs her help right now. Who knows, it might be the motivation that the leader of their group needs to step up again and be strong.

“Sahkyo…” Meian croaked out suddenly, which startled Sahkyo from her thoughts.

“What is it?” she asked in turn.

“I left…. I….” Meian fumbled for words, as her head was going in multiple directions at the moment.

“Did you leave something in the courtyard?”

Meian nodded, and told her what she could find; Ronin’s jacket, her jewellery case and purse. Sahkyo had to go back in any case, and get her pumps she took off before she stepped into the pool.

Sahkyo got out of the car, and as Meian continued to sob alone, the older woman sprinted back towards the building to collect all of their items. There was no danger of anyone taking them, really, but it was safe to have them anyways - she grew up in very populated places. There was a law against theft in Japan, and it was basically a given that if you found something, it would be handed over to a local lost and found building so that the owner could pick it up. She wasn’t used to such a thing here, so her old habits kicked in.

As the two headed back to Ronin’s apartment - and in a way, Meian’s too since she had stayed there more and more lately - and to hopefully see Usagi soon.




It was Sunday night, and Usagi entered Mamoru’s apartment from the front door, and tiredly dropped her bags near the door.

She remembered that both Ami and Minako had come over to her house, and it took hours for them to finally convince that one of their peers needed her help - even though she was new to the group. With enough encouraging, she was able to get out to Ronin’s apartment and help the devastated girl, even though she herself was going through a similar thing. She noticed though that the more she was around, the more Meian seemed to do better, so she stayed longer than she expected. The only reason she was actually at Mamoru’s apartment was because she and Sahkyo switched in taking care of the girl.

Before she left, Meian had exhausted herself crying, and was mainly just as responsive as she needed to be, and simply allowed people to be near her. Meian would randomly have a bout of crying seemingly with no previous cause, so all one could do was just be with her. Even during one of these bouts, the mere sight of another’s crying triggered Usagi to cry along with her friend. It would take both these girls to come to terms, let alone get over, the recent deaths. For the whole of the weekend, this process was repeated several times until no more tears could be shed on both their parts.

Usagi sighed, and made it to Mamoru’s bedroom, and settled in for the night beside her future husband - and King.




There was a knock at the door, and Setsuna was quick to answer it. Sahkyo sought entrance to the apartment after she spoke on the phone with the other woman on a few of her concerns. The casually dressed younger woman quickly stepped into the apartment to escape the chilly night air.

“Thanks for wanting to speak to me so late.” Sahkyo said as she was welcomed by the older woman to sit in the living room.

“I hope you didn’t forget the pendant.” Setsuna joked, as Sahkyo looked a little lost for a moment, as she most likely forgot the reason she was here in the first place.

“Oh!” Sahkyo exclaimed, as she reached inside her purse for the object, and produced it after a struggle searching through all the other items which became lost in it. She promised to herself one day she would empty and clean it. Setsuna took the object when Sahkyo offered it to her, and she inspected the crystal while Sahkyo awaited an estimation from her elder. It was a few moments, and Sahkyo grew slightly impatient.

“Whenever I wear it, the Kindred show up.” Sahkyo stated, as Setsuna nodded as she looked to the object. Eventually, she raised her gaze from the pendant, to the other woman in the room.

“I believe it’s a starseed.” she stated flatly.

“A what?” Sahkyo asked, and refused to believe that it was true, at least for a moment.

“It looks very strongly to a starseed, however…” Setsuna said as she leaned over in her armchair, and held the object so the woman on the sofa could see as well. “See the bottom of the pyramid? It has markings consistent with what a saw would make, but they’re also smooth at the same time. Somewhere out there, is the other half to this starseed.”

“How could that be? I found this on the ground after I tripped, and it had already been made into a necklace. Do you think that this is connected with the Kindred?” Sahkyo asked.

“It makes sense to me.” Setsuna said as she leaned back, and placed the object on the arm of the chair. “Do you remember Sailor Illargia and how she gave us such severe pain even though she barely lifted a finger? She was manipulating our starseeds, and if she could do that, it would be very simple to merely split one in half to her. One thing seems very odd to me, is that the handiwork is angled and jagged.

“I think it’s most likely that they are using the other half of the starseed as a homing device, to find the other half so it would be reunited. That’s why they were after you, because you wore it.” Setsuna estimated, but wasn’t doubtful that her guess was a correct one.

Sahkyo got up, and held the pendant with one hand, and patted the jagged bottom of it with the other as she paced in thought. She suddenly stopped and held her open hand open to Setsuna as she had an epiphany.

“I can have Daedalion fly across the city with the pendant, and see where it reacts! When it glows, we’ve found where the enemy is!” Sahkyo exclaimed.

“It may not be too reliable Sahkyo, but anything is worth a try at this point. If they have a senshi who can so easily control and manipulate starseeds, then they were a greater threat than I had thought.” Setsuna said as she got up, as gracefully as she could at this time of night. “Tell as many of the remaining senshi of your plan, and we’ll execute it tomorrow night.”




Word spread quickly through the group of the new development, and decided that the Hikawa Jinja would be the most appropriate place, since it was high on a hill, and would be best to transform and to carry out such a plan. Also since it was on a hill, it would be easier to see Daedalion from a distance, just for safety’s sake. All had made it to the front of the temple, and since it was getting late, none worried that Usagi, Mamoru and even Meian had failed to get there at the moment. Some thought that Usagi nor Meian wouldn’t be up to doing such a thing, but they needed as many senshi as they could get, and they needed their leader most of all.

Ten minutes passed the agreed-upon meeting time, footsteps were heard from the steps opposite to the temple. Usagi first appeared over the top step, then Mamoru and Meian trailing after her. Usagi was in better spirits than anyone expected, but Meian seemed to still be the opposite - her hair was in a mess, her clothing was wrinkled, and makeup was nowhere to be seen. There was one significant thing to mention though, that she wore a new piece of jewellery - it was the necklace that Ronin gave her. It was a centimetre and a half long green and blue opal, with gold accents on the sides which widened in the middle and thinned out as it reconnected to the gem. There was another at the top which connected to the chain, yet it was more curved than fully round, and had diamonds embedded into the gold.

Sahkyo tried to push the events from those days ago out of her mind, as she looked to the sky after the last three arrived.

“Daedalion!” She called out, and not too soon after, the large Northern Harrier came towards her to land on her arm. There was no risk of damage to her skin however, at least at the moment when she was out of senshi form - she wore a special padded glove to him to perch on, made of a dense leather.

“What do you want?” Daedalion asked, as he ruffled his back feathers to perch more comfortably.

“That was kind of rude.” Ami pointed out, surprised that he could be so disrespectful.

“He’s always like that.” Sahkyo said to her, then shrugged her shoulders sadly. “Now Daedalion, I want you to wear this pendant, and fly around the city. I want you to call out the second it starts to glow, and try to follow it to where the stone gets its brightest, remember the location, and come straight back here.”

Sahkyo looped the necklace securely around him, and patted him a few times on the head, with the bird vainly trying to shrug off her affectionate motions. She lifted her arm suddenly up into the air, and Daedalion took flight, and soon flew out of the line of sight of those below.



Over the next thirty minutes, the group found comfortable spaces around the front grounds of the shrine to wait for the guardian hawk to return. The main group stayed near the front steps of the shrine, while Usagi stayed around Meian for moral support. Sure, they still didn’t know the girl too well, but at least to Minako and a few others, the gap narrowed the more time they spent with her. They had accepted Michiru and Uranus into their group after the True Messiah was discovered, so the senshi of love had no doubt that eventually, Meian would be accepted too.

The cry of a hawk could be heard from a distance, and a feeling of elation spread quickly through the group of girls. Some stood, and only a few stayed seated.

“That was very quick, are you sure that Daedalion found it?” Mamoru asked.

“Absolutely! He has incredible speed and his senses of sight and hearing are impeccable.” Sahkyo proudly announced as she turned her head to the man from where she was looking towards the sky.

“Alright guys, you know what to do.” Minako said, as she got up from where she was seated on the front steps to the shrine.

They all stood as they all took out their henshin objects. Sahkyo tried to gain the attention of Meian, but she was uncertain if she accomplished doing so. The younger woman looked as detached from the situation as she did when she first arrived, and would hope she would henshin along with everyone else.

“Moon Eternal!
“Mercury Crystal Power!
“Venus Crystal Power!
“Pluto Planet Power!
“Arcas Hunter Power!
“Saeryn Aether Power!
“Make up!”

It took but one second for all their henshins to finish, and ready to hunt down one of the most dangerous enemies they’ve encountered. Daedalion finally appeared above the trees, and swooped down to land on Sailor Arcas’ right arm. Sailor Arcas quickly unwrapped the string which held the pendant from the bird, and tied it onto her right wrist with her free hand.

“I found a building in construction, and the light was its strongest there.” Daedalion reported.

“Thank you, Daedalion.” Sailor Arcas said, and nodded her head to him.

“Where’s my treat?” he asked impatiently. Sailor Arcas gave a knowing smile, and produced a blade from underneath her hand where she produced it. It was merely one of the pair of blades she used in one of her attacks - the other blades were smaller and would be insufficient for what she wanted to do. She dislocated the blade from her padded glove, and she hurdled it towards a tree of which a squirrel was trying to climb. The blade went straight through its tiny body, and pinned it to the tree. Sailor Arcas walked over to it, and pulled out the blade, with the squirrel still attached. She held it up to the hawk on her arm, and it took the squirrel by the tail, pulled it off, and ate it quickly - which grossed out a few of the senshi surrounding herself and Daedalion.



After the well deserved snack, with the hawk on his charge’s arm, they were guided through the streets towards the building he mentioned. It was in an area on the outskirts of Juuban which had been demolished then rebuilt, and now almost had all of the skeleton covered except for the top five and a half floors with twenty floors in all. The parts still in construction had sheets of plastic placed on the skeleton to protect the building material from the elements. The construction crew had left the premises hours ago, which was a good thing; the fewer witnesses the better.

The group spent a while on the other side of the road from the tall building, to not only make sure that no others were around, but also to see what kind of energy they were receiving from it, just to be sure.

“It’s the perfect cover, isn’t it?” Sailor Mercury observed. “Barely anyone around - it’s the ideal spot for such activities.”

“Well, the fewer the people around, the more we can make a light show out of it -- let’s go everyone!” Sailor Venus said enthusiastically, and was the first to step onto the street and run for the structure.

When taken into consideration that this was a very high-end building, the security wasn’t as impressive. The group found that access to the building was in fact quite easy at this stage of the construction. The foyer was comprised of 20 foot ceilings, with two short ranged elevators on each side to get to the top level, which could possibly be used as a café area. The two elevators at the back, in front of the back balcony, the senshi found were fully operational, with the electricity fully operational at this point in the development of the building. The walls and floor however were all white, since the design teams won’t be granted access to the building until it’s finished and checked for safety once more.

It was an arduous process, but gradually over the next hour or so, each floor was checked from the bottom up, as they tried to find anything suspicious in the building, such as secret passageways. Eventually, every floor appeared the same to them, and even some were starting to get a little restless.

The team eventually reached the sixth floor from the top, and found that only half of the floor appeared like the others, and if they looked up, they could see the bare steel garters of the structure above them. They noticed that a lot of the building material was still strewn around the place; drywall, sheetrock, screws, plaster, rags and more, all covered with thin plastic sheets.

A thud was heard from the floor below them, and since no one was around or in the building, it was quiet enough to be heard, and strong enough to be felt through their boots. The whole group stood still from the disturbance, since all in the group were together, they knew that it wasn’t any of them. The group slowly walked back into the constructed area of the floor, and were as quiet as they could so that if another noise sounded, they could adapt their path to try and find what could cause it. They received their answer as the floor exploded before them, and a few in the front were knocked off their feet and caught by those behind them.

A kindred emerged from before them, and immediately lashed out towards the one nearest to it - Sailor Mercury. She was able to duck under its arm, and immediately created a mist so that they could gain the common ground, since it wasn’t a good idea to fight in a hallway due to the restricted room.

“Spread out!” Sailor Moon called out immediately after, and the group obeyed.

Sailor Pluto, Sailor Arcas and Sailor Mercury dispersed into the rooms for cover, and Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Venus and Sailor Syrin ran to the open area where the construction ended at the other side of the floor. This particular Kindred was shorter than the others, yet had a very round body, with most of its mass centred around that area.

The Kindred’s next targets were Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon, since they were the ones which stuck out the most due to their striking attire. As it attacked and was dodged by the two, the three senshi which had previously hidden themselves came out from the hallway, and within moments the Kindred was completely surrounded.

The senshi of the group could tell that something about this Kindred just wasn’t right. It lurched forward towards Sailor Moon, yet it only collapsed to the ground with a floor-shaking thud. Silence spread through the area like a sticky hot breeze, as the group waited for what could be next.

“Gosh, and we never even touched it.” Sailor Moon commented, as she scratched her ear in confusion as she looked at the creature.

Their relief was short lived as a hand protruded from the back of the kindred, and a much smaller version of the creature ripped his way through tissue and bone to break itself free. A moment later it jumped out, as it shook off the remaining blood and fluid off its body like an animal, and landed on top of its previous body. Its body jerked around as its muscles contracted all over, and stepped off of the discarded body beneath it.

It cackled towards the senshi, and broke out into a run, and right between two senshi, too fast to be caught. It ran towards the sheets which blocked the winds to the inside of the construction site, and sliced it open with ease using its sharp fingernails. The creature then crouched down slightly and jumped off the building. The senshi rushed to the opening in the side, and watched as a light purple and grey portal opened below it, and as the newborn kindred disappeared into it. The group continued to watch as the portal stayed open, even after a few moments of the monster disappearing into it.

“Maybe we should follow.” Tuxedo Kamen hypothesized.

“Why not? Maybe the portal is open because it wants us to follow it.” Sailor Pluto added.

“It’s highly probable that it’s headed back to where the Kindred are most concentrated.” Sailor Mercury offered, as she used her visor, and found that the portal was operational, and headed somewhere - where, she didn’t know yet.

“Let’s get a move-on!” Sailor Venus said, as she jumped up, held her nose as she was going to dive into a pool, and fell a few stories into the portal below.

“She’s going to get us into a lot of trouble.” Sailor Pluto commented, amused as she too followed, yet in a more serious manner.

“Let’s move out!” Sailor Arcas exclaimed, as she jumped in head first, like a diver would, and mimicked her fellow senshi who first jumped in. Daedalion reluctantly followed, and merely took a nose dive into the portal after her.

“This is crazy, I know it…” Sailor Mercury nearly muttered as she too gathered her courage before she jumped in.

All who remained now was Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Syrin - the couple of the three were at the edge, when Sailor Moon looked back to her fellow senshi behind her. She looked a little nervous, and hugged her stomach to find some sort of reassurance for herself. The moon senshi tapped her lover on the shoulder, which brought his attention to her as well.

“Sailor Syrin, are you okay?” Sailor Moon asked, as she got a little concerned.

Sailor Syrin seemed a little unresponsive as she looked like she was about to cry, but finally raised her head slightly, and commented in a low tone; “I can’t do it.”

“Sure you can, why not?” Sailor Moon said.

“I can’t fight anymore.” Sailor Syrin stated simply, as her eyes avoided Usagi’s and looked rapidly around the ground in front of her.

“You need to. We need everyone along with us.” Tuxedo Kamen said, from slightly farther away.

“What’s the point? I don‘t know if I can face her.” Sailor Syrin said, with a hint of failure in her voice.

“Of course you can! You should hear some of the stories of what the senshi and I have gone through!” Sailor Moon said, as she tried to make her feel better.

“Sailor Syrin, would you rather stay here and do nothing, or come with us and fight?” Tuxedo Kamen said, as he worried that the portal would phase out, and their opportunity would disappear along with it.

Sailor Moon leaned in to Sailor Syrin, and took her right hand, which she was able to wedge from underneath her arm. “Come with us. Please.”

Sailor Syrin looked up with tired eyes to the woman in front of her. Even from the beginning, she remembered that she was the only one that could trust her, a new and strange senshi. Sailor Syrin hoped that by now, the rest would trust her a little more, but still, Sailor Moon was always there, eager to help, or just listen. Her faith was shaken at this time, from the loss of three people in her life that she trusted; her mother, Halcyon, and now last of all, Ronin.

Horrible things really do come in threes.

She had to start to trust again, at least with someone.

Sailor Syrin sighed as she unfolded her other hand from her arm, and placed that hand on top of Sailor Moon’s. The two nodded to each other in a silent agreement, and the senshi of the moon brought Sailor Syrin over to near the edge, as Tuxedo Kamen touched the purple clad senshi on the shoulder to urge her on.

The couple made sure that she had jumped off the edge and fell towards the portal before they themselves jumped through it, a mere few seconds before it snapped shut.




After the last three of the group landed on the other side, they found that they had landed in a very small, dimly lit rectangular room, with absolutely no furniture or any distinguishing marks. Merely one hallway to their left, which seemed to be the only way out. The kindred which they had followed though, was long gone.

From what they could see, the walls were simply painted a dull white, almost grey, and had porcelain floors and as they walked around, the echoes could be heard from all around. Sailor Mercury felt around the walls for some sort of switch, while the others looked around with much less intent than their peer. Eventually, Sailor Mercury hit a seemingly invisible panel on the wall no bigger than a coin, and after it sank into the wall, larger panels on the wall lifted up to reveal three large electronic panels. The main surface was a dull grey, and their buttons were mainly either red or orange, and the screens were tined green.

The lights also were activated, and a gruesome sight welcomed them; random and deformed body parts littered the floor in heaps, of which some could be identifiable as human, and some not. There was no blood however, only the stench of rotted flesh, as the matter in the room all was in some sort of decay. The senshi clasped their hands over their noses and mouth, and tried to get the smell out of their nostrils.

“How did you do that?” Sailor Venus asked in regards to the discovered technology, as she and some of the others walked over, very interested.

“Magic.” Sailor Mercury said as she wiggled some of her fingers around slowly in the air, as some sort of joke to lighten the mood. “The body parts I take no credit for, however.”

The senshi of ice then punched in some of the buttons, and was able to get a map of the area displayed on the middle display screen. It marked their location with a white ‘X’ - apparently, they were in a large hall which was on the outer edge of the whole underground laboratory, and if they went through the hallway which was just beyond the larger exit to their rights, it would connect to a door which was just off the elevator’s hall.

“So all we need to do is follow that path, and we should be in that laboratory.” Sailor Pluto remarked from near the back of the group.

“If we can’t find Lady Saeryn, we’re sure going to be able to knock out a few kindred while we’re here.” Sailor Arcas said, as some of her worry was lifted off her shoulders, and it showed.

The whole group exited the room through the one door, and headed into the much larger hall beyond it.

They could sense something ahead though.

Very near.




Elsewhere in the laboratory, Lady Saeryn was up to her unique form of mischief. At the moment, she was conducting another experiment, yet found it hard to concentrate this time. Her movements were not as fluid and calm as they used to be, and found herself becoming more angry as time went on.

All of a sudden, there was a squeaky, nervous voice which came from the intercom, which could only belong to her assistant - Junko.

“What?!” Lady Saeryn barked back, as she slammed her tools into the gap of the Kindred which she had just created.

“I-I’m sorry ma’am, but I think you should know! The senshi followed one of the kindred back here, and they’re on their way to your direction!” Junko hastily reported.

“Where are they now?” she asked, as she leaned on the edge of the experimental bed for support.

“The Hall of Crystals, ma’am!” Junko reported. Lady Saeryn seemed to calm, and grinned as she stood up.

“Let them go through. I’d like to see how I’ve welcomed them.”

< I’d also like to see how my little playmate will take it as well…. It‘s about time we spoke anyways. >




In the pure black of the hallway, the senshi found the walls immediately beside the entrance, and began to feel around the walls for a light - to hopefully have the same luck as Sailor Mercury had.

“Oh! Here’s the light!” Sailor Venus said as she found a small switch, yet also found something else.

It was some sort of hanging cloth.

“And something else. It’s some sort of cloth.” Sailor Venus observed. “It feels kind of dirty…”

“Just turn on the light!” Tuxedo Kamen exclaimed from afar.

Sailor Venus did so with the opposite hand with which she had felt the cloth with.

What she saw would haunt her for years.

This particular hall extended down a lot more than they thought. The ceiling was high, and had bright, florescent lights. Hung on the wall was not paintings, but bodies. About two hundred bodies held up using large, very thick crystals which were forcibly rammed through the backs of their chests at a forty degree angle, and protruded out the front to keep them up there. Their bodies were held limp on these displays, yet their bodies had yet to decay as normal - most probably from the crystal they were being held up with, in the exact same state upon their deaths.

Upon seeing this sight, a few of the senshi felt like losing their lunch, as they passed through the hallway, and couldn’t help but look at all the innocent civilians who lost their lives to the kindred. Their footsteps slowed without any realising it, as they looked solemnly to those who lost their lives.

“This just…. Goes beyond anything…” Sailor Mercury was at a loss. She had never seen anything like this.

“Why do you think they’ve been kept like this?” Sailor Pluto, unaffected by what she saw, and began to hypothesize. “I’m beginning to think that they are being kept here for a reason -- perhaps they were specially selected?”

“Or preserving them like meat until they want to use their parts,” Sailor Arcas gravely thought aloud. “transporting their bodies a few moments after their deaths to make sure they didn’t start to rot.”

“You could be right….” Tuxedo Kamen agreed.

He was about to go on, when Sailor Moon, in front of him, suddenly ran ahead of them, to a body on the wall.

“Sailor Neptune!” she called out, with tears collected at her eyes.

There she was, a crystal through her chest, and her leg nearly useless from the poison which the Kindred had used on her. Her eyes though, they seemed eerily peaceful. The rest caught up, and had equally as shocked - and somewhat heartbroken - looks on their faces.

As the group walked further down the hall, leaving the sea senshi’s body behind, they found the bodies which once belonged to Sailor Mars, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Uranus. They had barely been able to recognise Sailor Jupiter, whom was nothing but a charred skeleton, with her legs still in good condition to be ‘recycled’ so to speak. Sailor Saturn’s neck was still nearly cut clean through, and her head leaned unnaturally to the side. Sailor Mars still had a very large hole through her chest, and the crystal spike rest on the top part of it to keep her on the wall, since the hole in her chest was far larger than the diameter of the crystal. Finally, Sailor Uranus rested like the others, the only odd thing about her was that if one would walk around to the other side of her, they would notice that half of hear head was barely hanging onto the rest

Sailor Arcas brought out Sailor Saturn’s earring, and had Daedalion reattach it to her - where it belonged. The senshi were spread amongst the four fallen soldiers, and were in various forms of disbelief and sorrow.

Sailor Syrin however, strayed from the group, as she decided to take it upon herself to scout out the rest of the way, to make sure that the rest of the hallway was safe to stay in, at least for now. She had made it to the other end of the hallway, and she kept her gaze to her left, as she spotted an exit there with a white door - this was no doubt the way to the main area to the laboratory, or at least, one more step closer.

Sailor Syrin slowly turned around as she began to make her way back to the others, but a glimpse of black and white caught her eye as she did so; a glimpse of dirty blond hair and brown skin later, there was no doubt in her mind.

“Ronin!” she cried, as tears sprang hastily from her eyes, all the emotions of the past few days relived and again brought to the surface. He, along with the others, were perfectly preserved in the exact state of their deaths; Ronin’s eyes were still open, with shards of glass protruding out from his skull and chest, with dried blood collected at the bottom-most part of the glass shards.

Sailor Syrin rushed to his limp body, hugged his legs, and desperately clung to him as she tried in vain to pull him off of the crystal. She cried as she tried over and over, but to absolutely no avail. The other senshi were over to her in less than a moment, and through a few tries of their own, were able to pry the purple clad senshi off of Ronin’s corpse. Sailor Syrin lost her balance temporarily, but as the senshi already had a grip on her, she quickly got her footing back.

She struggled from the other senshi, and wiggled out of their grasp.

“I’m sick and tried of all of this! I’ve lost too much all for the perverse mind of one person!” Anger flooded through her, as her eyes flashed a colour of red, and her skin pulsated as patches of scaled, purple skin appeared on her, and this time remained there. Some in the group thought this was merely an illusion, but were quickly proven wrong.

“This ends now!!” Sailor Syrin screamed, as she ran out of the room with intent, and to the left of the hall to where the exit was located. The slamming of a door later, and the senshi were left in complete silence around them, and also in shock of what they observed of Sailor Syrin.

Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.

“Daedalion, follow her. Call us if she gets into trouble.” Sailor Arcas muttered to her guardian, and he obeyed -- very reluctantly.

Chapter Twenty Three