Part Eighteen : A Hidden Defeat; The Enemies Grow Smarter
Listen to Tactics
“Is it an understatement when I say that this gym is big?” Mandy said as she looked around the Tokyo Academy’s main gym. It was tournament time, and the Tokyo Academy’s Junior High division and Juuban Junior High were both in the finals.
“Is it an understatement when I say that the Academy is overly-cocky this year?” Tania said as she glanced at the Academy’s team hitting at the net.
“I think both of those are understatements,” Shakaku said as a look of disgust crossed her face. She hated the way that the Academy took pride in their better facilities, and the fact that they always made it into the finals in the volleyball tournaments.
“Let’s go ladies; don’t get intimidated,” the coach said as she directed the team over to the row of chairs where they were going to sit. The team walked over to the chairs, and they put down their bags. “It’s time to show them what you’re made of!” the coach encouraged them.
The team all stood in a circle, and Meticka, who was the team captain, led the chant. “Who’s gonna win?!” Meticka yelled.
“We are!” the team said as they all put their hands in the middle of the circle.
“Who’s gonna win?!” Meticka repeated.
“We are!”
“Who’s gonna lose?!”
“They are!”
“Who are we?!”
“We are Juuban!”
The team quickly lined up in two lines, and they began running their warm-up laps around the gym. The Academy’s team couldn’t help but watch as their realized that they had some very good players on the team. Dorei, who was on the Academy’s volleyball team, watched almost with her mouth open as the team ran their final lap.
“They’re just trying to look better,” one of Dorei’s teammates said as she also watched the team run. Even with that statement to think about, the team couldn’t help but be intimidated. This was Juuban’s third year in the finals, and the last two years they had won.
The visiting team got up to the net, as it was their turn. “Gwen,” the coach said as she pointed to the net. Gwen ran over to the net, and the girls all lined up to begin their hitting practice.
“Four!” Gwen said as she put her hands up. The coach threw her the ball, and she crouched down in order to be able to get the most force possible into the set. She set the ball to the farthest position, and the hitter, Keli, attacked it.
“Two!” Lori requested. Gwen made the set, and Lori, being extremely tall, was able to make a good attack.
“Five!” Meticka yelled, as it was her turn to hit. Gwen, who had never been good at fives, arched her back slightly, and Meticka had to make a tight curve in her approach in order to hit the ball.
“Four!” Shakaku made her anticipated call. Dorei made the other girls on the team watch as Shakaku made her approach and attacked the ball. The ball landed on the outline of the other side, and it bounced back up quickly.
A loud buzzer rang shortly after, and it was time for the two teams to face each other. All of the players got to where they were assigned to go, whether it was on the court or on the bench. Everyone was anxious to see where this match was going to go.
Dorei grew nervous as she saw Shakaku walk over to the serving line. Dorei knew that Shakaku’s serve was extremely hard to return because she had perfected it over hours of practice.
The referee walked over to the stand that had been set up for him, and he blew his whistle. The battle for the title as the best junior high volleyball team had begun. Shakaku threw the ball up in the air, and she hit it with her right palm as hard as she could.
“Mine!” Dorei said as she dove for the ball, but she missed, and the ball hit the ground near where her arm had been.
“A-C-E Ace!” Juuban’s volleyball team chanted as they realized that the serve had resulted in an ace.
“Lighten up!” the coach told Shakaku as Shakaku walked to the serving line. The referee blew his whistle again, and this time Shakaku served it softer, and she ran to her spot near the net. One of the girls in the back row managed to get to the ball, and she passed it to the setter. The setter, called her set, and she set to the hitter.
Lori ran from her position in the middle over to where Meticka was, and they both jumped up as the hitter hit. The ball bounced off of Lori’s hands, and the girls on the other side made an attempt to save the ball, but it was too late.
Dorei let out a sigh as she realized that their hopes of beating the other team were diminishing quickly.
“Go Shakaku!” someone from the stands yelled as Shakaku walked over to the serving line a third time.
Shakaku glanced at the stands, where she saw Kaichuu waving a banner that said just what Kaichuu had just screamed. The entire team looked up at Kaichuu.
“Crazy lady,” Keli said to Lori, and they both laughed.
The referee blew his whistle once again.
Kerai took a deep breath as she got a box of rice out from the pantry. She turned and looked at the microwave. There was no way that she was going to let a simple apparatus beat her. She took the tray out of the box this time, and she read the instructions on the box.
When she was sure that nothing good go wrong, she put the tray in the microwave, and she slammed the door. She set the time, and this time she waited in the kitchen as the rice heated. The rice heated as it should have, and just as the time neared its end, the box exploded.
“Ack!” Kerai screamed as the microwave had once again beat her. She waited for the tray of rice to cool down before she opened the microwave.
“Let me guess, the microwave conquered?” Kaboku said as he poked his head into the kitchen.
“Shut up,” Kerai said as she blushed. Kaboku rolled his eyes. Kerai went and got a mixing bowl, and she got two eggs from the refrigerator.
“Gave up?” Kaboku said as he watched Kerai try to crack one of the eggs. The shell stayed with the egg, and Kerai glared at Kaboku in a warning for him to be quiet as she picked out the shells.
“It’s not that hard,” Kaboku said.
“You try,” Kerai said because she knew that Kaboku would not be able to crack an egg. Kaboku grabbed the remaining egg, tapped it on the side of the bowl, and he let the egg drop into the bowl without any shells mixed in it.
“Shut up, shut up!” Kerai said as she grabbed the bowl defensively, and she grabbed a few more things from the refrigerator. Kaboku was going to ask if Kerai knew what she was doing, but he remained silent.
After Kerai was done mixing the ingredients, she poured the mixture into a pan, and she stuck it in the stove. She stared at the various buttons and knobs, and she could hear Kaboku choking back a laugh behind her. “You try!” Kerai said in defeat, as she stood back ready to see Kaboku also make a fool of himself.
Kaboku took a step toward the stove, and he lifted an eyebrow. There were many knobs to turn and buttons to push, but he had no idea which ones he needed to push and turn. He turned one of the knobs all the way, and it only took a few minutes to realize that he had turned it too far, and the mixture was about to explode just like the tray of rice had.
“Surely a simple human device could not be so complicated,” Kaboku said as he stood back to study the stove.
“It’s not so simple is it?” Kerai said as she crossed her arms.
“If we were this bad against the senshi, Kyuuteki would have killed us for sure,” Kaboku said as he shook his head in disappointment.
“By the way, has he contacted you?” Kerai asked at the mention of Kyuuteki.
“He told me that we need to get our act together,” Kaboku stated flatly.
“It seems like Kyuuteki doesn’t know how hard it really is to find the senshi in such a large town when they are in their human form,” Kerai said in defense of their slow progress. It was true that they had seen the senshi ice-skating, but there had been no sign of them since then.
“I’m sure he does know,” Kaboku said as he turned to go into his room; he had long since given up on the stove.
A black bird let out a long, loud moan as Usagi, Makoto, Minako, Rei, and Ami all walked home from school. Luna and Artemis were also with them, but they walked and talked separately from the group.
“Guess what, Rei?” Usagi said with a proud smile.
“What?” Rei said. Rei knew that Usagi would announce that she had done her homework; it was the only time she had something positive to say to Rei.
“I finished all my homework!” Usagi said with a smile. What a surprise! Rei nodded, although she didn’t think of finishing simple homework as something that someone would be proud about.
“Lighten up, Rei,” Makoto said. “It’s not everyday that Usagi does her homework.
Usagi smiled again, but then she looked at Makoto. “What is that supposed to mean?!” she asked.
“Nothing,” Makoto said as she put her hands up in front of her.
Usagi cast her one more glare before she turned to look ahead.
“I guess that means you’ll be doing your homework more often,” Ami added.
Usagi slouched at Ami’s perfectly timed comment. “Why does everyone have to be so mean to me?” Usagi wailed.
“We just do it cause we love you,” Minako reassured her friend. Usagi continued to pout, but she knew that the other blonde girl was right. It wasn’t the girls’ fault that Usagi never did her homework, and it was their job as her friends to make sure that she continued to try.
“So, how about those Constellations?” Makoto said after there was a long pause of silence. Suddenly, there was a change in the air just as Makoto said that.
“Kill you,” a sleek voice hissed. The five girls and the cats turned to see a yajuu jump down from a tree that they had just past.
“I knew something smelled rotten,” Minako said as she brought out her transformation pen.
“Venus Star Power, Make up!”
“Jupiter Star Power, Make up!”
“Mercury Star Power, Make up!”
“Moon Crystal Power, Make up!”
“Mars Star Power, Make up!”
The five girls took on their transformation sequences while the two cats made sure that the yajuu did not attack.
“Shabon Spray!” Sailor Mercury yelled after she was done transforming. The yajuu looked around puzzled, but then it smiled.
“Don’t tell me,” Makoto said as her mouth almost dropped open. The creature’s skin changed colors, and it was now sporting a bright blue coat.
“Burning Mandala!” Sailor Mars yelled as she realized that she could make a good attack on the creature.
“Ouch,” the yajuu said flatly as the attack hit it, and it was sent tumbling backwards a few feet.
“Sparkling Wide Pressure!” Sailor Jupiter yelled as she figured that her attack might work. The yajuu’s skin turned black, and it dodged the attack quickly.
The senshi looked up as the creature jumped over their heads, and it landed behind them. The yajuu’s skin turned blue, and it lost its shape in order to go against the senshi.
“Moon Spiral Heart Attack!” Sailor Moon yelled, as she figured that her attack might beat the creature.
“Rah!” the yajuu screamed as it say the attack. It managed to dodge the attack for the most part, but it lost its left arm and part of its torso. The creature fell to the ground, and the senshi stood in a circle around it.
“Crescent Beam!” Sailor Venus yelled as she aimed her attack at the fallen yajuu.
“Supreme Thunder!” Sailor Jupiter also attacked the creature.
“No,” the creature moaned as it realized that even though it could change its powers, the senshi had still defeated it.
Kerai and Kaboku both rolled their eyes almost at the same time when they saw the senshi destroy the yajuu.
“Where are they?” Kerai asked as she noticed that the Constellations were nowhere to be found.
“What a shame,” Kaboku said, although his voice betrayed that he was not all the way disappointed.
“It’s time,” Kerai said as she looked around, and the two got up from the bench that they had been sitting on to watch the battle.
Hoshi and Dorei smiled to each other from behind the bush where they were watching Kaboku and Kerai. They remained silent as they watched Kaboku and Kerai get up. Hoshi turned to a group of trees where she could see Shakaku, Enzeru, and Kaichuu emerge. They knew all along what the villains where planning to do.
“Duct tape, duct tape everyone to the wall. When I’m drinking Mountain Dew, I’ll always have a ball!” Kaichuu said happily as she and her friends walked up to the inner senshi, who were now in their human forms.
“Exactly as you planned?” Rei asked after she and the other senshi greeted the new comers.
“Exactly,” Shakaku said with a nod and a small smile.
“We know them too well to fall for a trap like that,” Hoshi said with a proud smile.
“Thanks again, it was a big help,” Enzeru said politely.
The inners said goodbye to the Constellations, and the two groups walked their separate ways.
"It's a shame we had to beat you, isn't it?" Shakaku said as she smiled. Dorei frowned as Shakaku had to remind her that her team had been defeated against Shakaku's team.
"Quiet," Dorei said in disappointment. Shakaku smiled.
“They think we’re so stupid,” Kerai said as she and Kaboku walked around the corner of a building; they could now completely see the location where the senshi had just talked.
“We are smarter than they think,” Kaboku said as he watched as the Constellations turned a corner, and they never looked back. “They didn’t even sense that we were watching.”
“They take us to be idiots,” Kerai said, and it was clear that she was glad that they had outsmarted the senshi.
“This will be easy,” Kaboku said as the two walked in the direction that the Constellations had chosen to take.
Back to Part Seventeen ~
On to Part Nineteen