It’s been a while (two weeks, I think) since I was able to update, and I’ve been trying to backdate the entries, but it’s getting a little tricky, and I’m having a hard time talking about some thing that happened recently anyhow, because it was pretty awful. I already tried to write about it once and the computer ate it. Maybe that’s a sign. If it happens again I suppose I’m not going to talk about it.
The week started off fairly well. We had arranged to all get together at the Hikawa Shrine and work on preparations for our own New Year’s Party. Mako-chan and I arrived about the same time, Usagi-chan was nowhere in sight, which isn’t unexpected; she’s often late to our group meetings, but when an hour had passed and there was no sign of her we were starting to get a little worried that she had completely forgotten or something had happened to her. Rei-chan was about to call her when the phone rang. It was Usagi-chan but before she was able to explain why she was late there was a bit of an accident and a lot of things got spilled, so Rei-chan told her she was better not coming over so late after all.
We were eventually able to get things cleared up, and then Rei-chan and I went to Mako-chan’s for dinner. We had something that she had decided she wasn’t going to make for our party, after all. It was very good.
Then at the weekend came our party. To begin with it was very enjoyable: we did celebrations and formal dinner (minna-san looked so kawaii in their kimonos–I will post an entry with some pictures in a moment. It’s good, to remember the happy times) we sang karaoke (much to Rei-chan’s discomfort); I brought everyone flan from the bakery down the street from my apartment; Rei-chan and I played jenga. Usagi-chan tried, again, to get Mako-chan to wear lipstick; we dressed up in strange costumes and took photos. But then…
Usagi-chan COLLAPSED!
We thought perhaps she was just over-exhausted…but Luna explained that before when Usagi-chan had faced a youma, which turned out to have been created by the last shittenou, she had been also attacked. Apparently this shittenou, Kunzite, can turn people into youma, and Luna had thought Usagi-chan had cured herself, but the youma had just grown dormant, to bide it’s time.
Mako-chan quizzed Luna about where they had encountered Kunzite and went there hoping to track Kunzite down and get Kunzite to turn her back.
Rei-chan asked me if I would be alright looking after Usagi-chan, and she went back to the shrine hoping to find some information out by doing a fire reading. After she had left I realized that really I needed to get Usagi-chan back to my apartment, which was going to prove tricky, but fortunately Motoki-onii-san’s friend Chiba-san was there, and volunteered to carry her for me. I was reluctant, and gave a rather strained excuse that she had apparently caught the flu.
He must have let himself out while I was fretting and running around like a mad thing trying to get enough blankets to keep her warm. It was rude of me to ignore him like that after he’d been so generous, but I was frantic…
I tried to keep Usagi-chan warm, but the monitor kept saying her temperature was still dropping, and she was starting to grow talons…I even had to borrow heaters from our neighbor.
Then I remembered I should call Ikuko-san to let her know where Usagi-chan was so she didn’t worry, that was tricky. I hated lying, but I keep reminding myself that I couldn’t exactly say, “Ohaiyo, Ikuko-san, I’m keeping your daughter here so that if she changes into an energy sucking demon she won’t eat you, your husband and her brother…”
Unfortunately Ikuko-san told Osaka-san that Usagi-chan was at my apartment, so she came over looking for a CD of hers that Usagi-chan had borrowed, and I couldn’t let her in. She must either think that Usagi-chan is really angry with her…or that I’m hateful. I told her that Usagi-chan was asleep. I don’t know what she thinks of it. Usagi-chan had seemed to be improving, maybe that’s why the Dark Kingdom acted the way they did. A dark cloud of rose petals filled the room and covered her, despite my attempts at shielding her, and then she was gone.
I ran from the apartment, hoping I could somehow find out where she had been taken. I’m not a psychic like Rei-chan, and even though I henshined and managed, I think, through sheer force of guilt and will, to get up onto the roof of the adjacent buildings.
I closed my eyes, I tried to calm myself down, I knew that I needed help, and that the others needed to know what happened, so I called them. Thankfully we have a ‘call-all’ so I didn’t have to repeat it twice.
(Mako) “What is it?”
(Rei) “Ami-chan, what happened just now?”
“The Dark Kingdom…” I managed, trying to calm my breathing, “…it must have been. Something…rose petals…Usagi-chan is gone!”
“Ami-chan…” Rei remarked, sounding upset, and yet also soothing, “Do you know where they took her?”
“We’ll be right there!” Makoto responded, sounding very ticked, “Isn’t what they were already doing enough? Damn it!”
“I don’t know where they took her,” I admit, thoroughly annoyed with myself, “I ran up here, but I can’t see anything. I-I think it was some kind of teleportation effect. They could be miles away.”
I could almost see Rei closing her eyes, “I don’t think so,” she said, “What I felt just now was a pulling east. Head east from where you are, Ami-chan, maybe you’ll pick something up. Mako-chan and I will follow, we’re not going to leave you to face this by yourself.”
“No, shit,” Makoto remarked, “I’m in an alley now. Jupiter will be on the way,” and her section of the line went dead.
“Ganbatte, Ami-chan,” Rei added, and she too was gone.
East…I closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths, before setting off again. Rei was right, of course, the further I traveled I could feel the pull, the swelling negativity, making my skin prickle.
I found myself drawn towards a cave, it was dark and damp in there, and very cold; the walls clammy. There was an eerie light emanating and I walked towards that. A tall man with dark hair, wearing a cape that shimmered was walking around a altar shaped rock which had Usagi-chan laid out on it as though she were a sacrifice. My heart skipped, but we couldn’t let her, I couldn’t let her stay with them, that was a fate worse than death.
“Give her back!” I yelled at him, and he looked over at me with contempt. We fought, although honestly that was more him throwing my power back at me several times and me being thrown around like a rag doll. I remembered how I had been able to use the water to help me find the teleporting youma, and begged for the water to help me do something against the shittenou. As he swung his sword to attack me, I was able to form the water into a sword to stop him. I still wasn’t strong enough to defeat him, but it meant he didn’t cleave me in two.
Then, fortunately, Jupiter and Mars arrived but even their combined attack wasn’t enough to do anything against him. He deflected that back against us, also. We thought we were going to be destroyed. He told us that Usagi-chan would turn into a youma and kill us, but as he boosted the power into the transformation, she sat up yawning, and was very confused as to where she was.
She henshined though and he lunged for her, but Tuxedo Kamen stopped him and fought cane to sword with the shittenou, before Sailor Moon attacked him, but he teleported away.
Tuxedo Kamen left, and we hid in an alley outside and turned back to normal. We were all so relieved and yet a bit confused as to how come Usagi-chan was able to wake up and be alright. She said that she had heard us shouting at her and it was so noisy that she woke up! She said I was the loudest I’m not sure what to make of that.
Okay, hopefully I won’t have to write this over again (the computer connection has been on the fritz).
I don’t think I could take that.
