Part Two : A Vision! Rei’s Dream and Epiphany
“Mamoru, come on,” Usagi said as she walked into the Physics classroom. Mamoru, Usagi’s boyfriend, had been speaking with a few friends after class, not noticing that Usagi had come to greet him. “Wait, I just needed to ask them a question,” Mamoru said as Usagi began to pull him away. Mamoru grabbed Usagi’s hand, and he removed it from its place on his arm. “I just need to ask them a question,” Mamoru repeated. Usagi’s large, blue eyes looked up into Mamoru’s own, and she slowly let go of him. She sighed as she watched Mamoru go back to his friends and continue the previous conversation. She really wanted to spend time with her boyfriend since school started, but she found that between her schedule and his, they barely had time to see each other. True, it was better now that there wasn’t anything calling on her as a senshi, but she still felt crammed with too many things and not enough time. Usagi’s eyes widened as she remembered that she had to tell Mamoru about who she and the other girls had seen at the park. She continued to wait impatiently until she finally saw Mamoru turn around and walk toward the door. When he was within arm’s reach, Usagi grabbed him again, and she pulled him out of the classroom and into the university’s large campus. Mamoru knew that something was wrong when Usagi didn’t answer to her name, but he let himself be dragged along nonetheless. As Usagi slowed down, Mamoru knew that whatever was wrong involved him somehow. She turned around to face him, and they stopped walked. Out of breath, Usagi waited a few moments before speaking. “Guess… who we saw at the park?” Usagi asked, still trying to catch her breath. Mamoru thought about this for a few moments before deciding that he had no idea. “Who?” “Kaboku and Kaichuu,” Usagi said, and she turned to look at Mamoru for his analysis. “What about them?” Mamoru asked, raising his eyebrows. Usagi breathed in deeply, not believing that Mamoru could care less about the person who was from the Dark Realm itself. Mamoru noticed the look on Usagi’s face, so he decided to explain. “He hasn’t done anything, has he?” Usagi thought about this for a second before she put her head down; they’ve had this conversation before. “No.” “Then why are you all worked up? He said he would change, and there’s no reason to think that he won’t,” Mamoru said as he hugged his girlfriend. “I just can’t see him changing,” Usagi said as she looked up at Mamoru. Mamoru smiled at Usagi, and he stroked her hair. “It might take some getting used to, but that’s normal,” he said. Usagi smiled slightly, and the two continued walked hand in hand toward Mamoru’s car. “He’s just the last person I expected to see changing,” Usagi said after a few moments of silence. “I know,” Mamoru responded, glancing at Usagi, “but that doesn’t mean that he won’t. He has yet to prove me wrong, and it’s already been two years.” Usagi understood what Mamoru was saying, but she couldn’t help keeping her guard up. What if all of this was just a plan to get them to trust him, and then he would show his true loyalty to the Dark Realm? At least she knew that she wasn’t the only one because the other girls also showed their concern when they saw Kaboku with Kaichuu. Usagi couldn’t believe that Kaichuu was able to forgive Kaboku for all that he had done wrong. Usually, Usagi was the first to do that, but even she couldn’t find it in herself to do that. “Did he do anything to make you guys suspicious?” Mamoru asked, noticing that Usagi still wanted to talk. “No, but he did seem a little eager to fight with Makoto,” Usagi said, remembering how Kaboku and Makoto had a battle of the mouths. “Maybe that’s just the way he is?” Mamoru suggested. “He wouldn’t be so bad if he had a pure mind, which I don’t think he does,” Usagi pointed out. “You remember when Beryl got me?” Mamoru asked. Usagi looked up at Mamoru, unsure of how that related to the subject. “It took me a while to shake everything out.” Usagi now understood what Mamoru was saying, but she replied, “I know, but he’s had two years. You didn’t take that long.” “I wasn’t there for my entire life. He was,” Mamoru pointed out. Usagi thought about this for a moment before she nodded. She hated it when Mamoru was right. Kaichuu tapped her pencil rhythmically on her open math book. Math had never been her strongest subject, so she knew that she had to work hard in order to get a decent grade in the class. She was thankful, however, since Kaboku was coming over shortly to help her. She sighed, knowing that she might not have been able to get through without him. She looked down at her paper once again, and she tried to find the dimensions of the triangle that the problem called for. After a few moments of useless problem solving, Kaichuu sat back in defeat and settled to looking at the problem, hoping that perhaps the answer would jump out at her. But before that happened, there was a sharp knock at the door, and Kaichuu almost leaped from her seat on the couch. Some of her papers scattered on the floor, but she didn’t think about picking them up. Calming herself down, she walked to the door, and opened the door slowly, knowing exactly who was on the other side. “Let’s get to work,” came Kaboku’s cheerful greeting. “I was working,” Kaichuu said as she hugged Kaboku. Kaboku raised a skeptical eyebrow in his girlfriend’s direction. “Were you? I find that hard to believe,” Kaboku stated, knowing that Kaichuu was known for her “wonderful” work ethic. “Yes, for once, I really was,” Kaichuu said, pointing to the pile of books and folders scattered on the floor and table in the living room. “That must have been some messy work,” Kaboku commented, taking in the look of destruction that Kaichuu had caused. “But then again, it’s always like this when you’re around.” Kaichuu was struck back for a second by Kaboku’s comment, but then she smiled. He always spoke the truth, but sometimes his comments were too blunt. “You’re turning into Shakaku,” Kaichuu pointed out, now knowing where she had heard such comments before. “Only she would make a statement like that.” Kaboku took a step back, and he widened his eyes as he looked at Kaboku. His deep gray eyes looked unbelievingly at Kaichuu, and she almost laughed at him. “In one way, I would take that as a compliment, but in another I take that as an insult,” Kaboku said. Kaichuu smiled, knowing how much Kaboku and Shakaku hated each other, and it was a daring move to say that they had more similarities than they would like to admit. “Yes, we are similar,” Kaboku said, looking at Kaichuu as he walked into the living room. “But she’s a little bit too serious.” Kaboku took one look at Kaichuu’s homework, and he sat down on the couch. “Pythagorean Theorem,” he said suddenly. Kaichuu crossed her arms questioningly, and she narrowed her eyes. “What?” “Pythagorean Theorem,” Kaboku repeated. He then pointed to the paper on top of the math book and said, “That’s what you need on this problem.” It amazed Kaichuu how Kaboku could comfortably balance the two different topics. “I knew that,” she said after walking over to the book and looking at the problem again. “Just because some of us aren’t in Calculus III like others,” Kaichuu whispered to herself mockingly, but she said it loud enough for Kaboku to hear. “You’re right,” Kaichuu said, changing the subject as she walked to the couch where Kaboku was sitting. “Shakaku is a little to serious for the rest of us.” “In a way, that’s a good thing,” Kaboku said, always determined to find something positive to think about. “But that’s not so for everything else,” Kaichuu pointed out. Kaboku nodded, knowing completely that being too serious put people in hot water. He knew that from first hand experience. Kaboku looked up suddenly, his trained ears picking up footsteps outside the apartment. “It starts,” he whispered to Kaichuu; she looked at Kaboku questioningly. They both looked up as they heard the door open. Quickly, Kaboku bent his head as if helping Kaichuu on her math homework. Shakaku stepped into the apartment, and stopped when she saw Kaboku and Kaichuu sitting in the living room working with each other. Kaboku tried his hardest to keep looking as though he was working, but he could feel Shakaku’s glare burn into the back of his head. Suspecting that he should say something, Kaboku turned around to meet Shakaku’s black-eyed gaze. “Hi,” he said after a few moments. Shakaku did not reply, but she continued walking toward her room without taking her gaze away from Kaboku, her body poised in case he did anything. Kaichuu continued to stare at her math homework, pretending as though she hadn’t felt the extreme tension between the two opposites. She was right when she had said that they were too similar for their comfort, as they were both built for battle, and were both presently ready to strike should the other move first. As Shakaku reached her room, Kaichuu looked up and gave her friend a soft smile. Shakaku couldn’t be mad at Kaichuu for welcoming Kaboku, but she couldn’t accept him the same way. Shakaku entered her room, and she slammed the door behind her, causing one of Kaichuu’s framed paintings on the wall to shake and threaten to fall. Kaichuu waited a few moments after Shakaku had left before she spoke. “You shouldn’t take it personally,” she suggested. “That’s just the way she is.” Kaboku looked at Kaichuu sadly, knowing that it was indeed personal, but he appreciated Kaichuu’s attempt to make him feel better. “Let’s get back to work shall we?” Kaboku said as he took a deep breath and took a tighter hold on the math book. He was quiet again when he heard the door to Shakaku’s room open, and he watched her from the corner of his eye as she walked back out of the apartment with her volleyball without saying a word. “She would really hate you if you painted her volleyball pink,” Kaichuu said, trying to lighten the mood. Kaboku smiled at Kaichuu’s ability to make things seem better. “I think I’ll try that when I feel adventurous,” Kaboku said. The two bent over the math book again, and they continued working on the homework. Kerai narrowed her dark green eyes as she watched the three eggs in front of her. One of them seemed to be pulsating with a renewed energy than the other two, which were as still as before. Kerai wondered to herself silently as to what the creatures from the eggs would look like. Would they just be larger versions of yajuus, or would they be another new creation that she had never seen or heard anything about? The thought of training a creature that she had never worked with before frightened her a bit. What if the creatures were too strong for her, and she would have to resort to destroying the help that she had been sent? No, she was going to work her hardest in order to bring Kaboku back to where he belonged. She didn’t care if she had to use the help that had been given; she just wanted Kaboku back. Kerai was thrown out of her reverie when she noticed that the pulsating egg was beginning to crack. She stood up from her seat, and she moved away from the egg, still unsure of what would come from it. What if its original purpose for being sent was to get rid of her? The thought scared Kerai. The egg continued to pulsate, and a green liquid could be seen from inside the egg where the creature was. At the sight of freedom, the creature began to poke at the egg, anxious to see what was outside the only home it had known. It only took the creature a few moments until it completely broke free of the egg, and it tumbled out of the large shell. Surprisingly, the creature was small when compared to the size of the egg, but that relieved Kerai. Kerai froze when the creature laid its beady, black eyes on her, and it kept them on her for a few seconds. “Mommy!” it squeaked in a small voice. The creature wobbled over to Kerai, and it raised its arms as if wanting to be held. So this was an advanced form of yajuu, Kerai thought to herself, looking at the body frame and the oil base that covered its skin. The skin on this creature, however, looked rougher, as if it could withstand more damage. “Mom?” the creature said once again, not understanding why its new mother did not want to hold it. Kerai slowly moved toward the yajuu, wondering if she could, in fact, pick up a creature that was already two feet tall. She was able to pick it up, and she held it close to her; she had never had this close of a relationship with her original creations. The baby pointed at the other eggs, which had also began to crack. “Baby,” Kerai said, also pointing at the egg. “Ba-bi,” the yajuu repeated, looking at the eggs as their contents continued to emerge forward. The second egg cracked and revealed a blue yajuu with the same features as the first. However, when it moved to Kerai, it turned into a water-like liquid, and it traveled on the floor this way until it reached Kerai. The third and final egg revealed a taller, skinny yajuu that seem to extend itself to where Kerai was instead of walking or crawling. “Baby,” the green yajuu said as it pointed at the other creatures. “Baby,” the red yajuu said mockingly as it stretched itself up into Kerai’s other arm. “We’re a family,” Kerai said, thinking about what a sight they looked like. The blue creature was still sitting on the floor, while Kerai was holding the green and red yajuus, which were now beginning to fight for Kerai’s attention. This was new for Kerai, but it was new in a good way. Kerai looked up at no one in particular, and mouthed the words, “Thank you,” as she was, indeed, glad that she had accepted the help. The image of Kerai and the yajuus caused Rei to wake up with a start. Unintentionally, Rei had kicked off all the pillows and blankets from her bed, so she had been left lying on the bed with nothing but her pajamas and the sheet on the bed that was under her. Images of the female villain continued to go through Rei’s head as she tried to find a logical explanation for the dream. Had Kerai herself sent the dream? However, Rei thought that perhaps Kerai’s activities were so powerful that it had caused the dream without the slightest intention of doing so. Did that mean that Kerai was coming back into power? Rei rubbed her forehead, trying to think whether or not Kerai had been destroyed along with Kyuuteki. When she came to a conclusion, she hit her head, remembering that Kerai had left the throne room before Kyuuteki had been destroyed. That was the major flaw in the destruction of the Dark Realm. However, the Dark Realm itself was still standing, which most likely meant to Rei that the forces maintaining it were also not completely gone. But they were severely weakened. Rei had heard once that Kyuuteki was linked with the Dark Realm. It was Shakaku who had said that Kyuuteki would remain as long as the Dark Realm stood. So did that mean that the power felt in the dream was Kyuuteki’s? Before Rei could contemplate this, Yuuchirou, one of the temple helpers, stormed into the room. “Rei!” he said, as he looked at the room. His gaze fell upon the pillows and covers that were on the floor. “Why were you screaming?” he asked in a worried voice. “I just had a nightmare,” Rei replied, not quite wanting to tell Yuuchirou anything about the dream. “Is everything alright?” she asked, noticing the persistent look of worry on her friend’s face. “All the fires went out,” he explained, “except this one.” Yuuchirou pointed to the fire in Rei’s room. Rei looked at the fire, and visions from her dream streamed through her head. “Kyuuteki,” Rei said softly so that Yuuchirou could not hear what she said. She knew that Kyuuteki favored using fires as a means of communication as he had used them when he was still alive. That meant Kyuuteki was still very much alive. “Let’s go,” Yuuchirou broke the silence. “Your grandpa needs help lighting the rest of the fires.” Rei nodded, got up from the bed, and pulled her robes over her pajamas. The rest of the senshi definitely needed to hear about this. The two walked down the hall to meet up with Rei’s grandfather who was busy working on getting the fires lit in one of the meditation rooms. “Grandpa?” Rei said, letting her grandfather know that Yuuchirou and she were there to help. “Ah, Rei!” Rei’s grandfather said as he turned around, and a smile appeared on his face. “All the fires have burned out. You and Yuuchirou can help.” “They didn’t all go out,” Yuuchirou interjected. “The fire in her room is still burning.” “Really?” Rei’s grandpa said as he looked at Rei through his narrow eyes. “How strange.” Rei knew that she had to tell her grandfather about the dream, but she decided that she wouldn’t go into detail. “I think it has something to do with the nightmare I just had,” Rei said. Rei’s grandfather turned around to look at her, his already narrow eyes narrowed even more. “Of course it does,” he answered, although his voice sounded as though he was worried. “What happened?” he asked after a few thoughtful moments. “There was a lot of fire,” Rei said. “That’s all I remember.” She hated lying to her grandfather, but there was no way that she could tell him to truth. “That makes sense,” he said. He gathered up his tools, and the three walked to the next room.