Alone No More: Minako's Story by Jason C. Ulloa Chapter 14 "Aw, come on, Ryo-kun...," Minako whined. "Can't we keep looking around some more? I saw a beautiful designer dress that would've looked gorgeous on me...." "I'm sure you would've looked stunning, Minako-chan," Ryoku said patiently as he dragged her out of yet another fashion boutique. "But, honestly, Minako-chan, do you think you can afford a £500 dress?" "£500?!?" she exclaimed in surprise. "No way! It'd take me a year to save up enough for that!" "Besides," he added pointing toward Big Ben, which showed 6:12pm, "we're supposed to be meeting someone in a half-hour. Remember?" "All right, all right," she huffed irritably. "I know." She sighed as she gave the boutique shop one last longing look over her shoulder, then turned and walked away, leaving Ryoku to follow behind her. "Gomen, Minako-chan," he said penitently after a little while. "I didn't mean to be a wet blanket." "That's all right, Ryo-kun," she replied, smiling at him over her shoulder. "If you hadn't dragged me out of that store, I'd probably have stayed there till it closed. Those dresses were so beautiful...." "And expensive," he added flatly. "You're ruining the mood, Ryo-kun!" she exclaimed crossly. "You worry too much about details like prices. Can't you just appreciate the fine beauty of the dresses without worrying so much?" Ryoku merely shrugged. "I'm a guy," he replied simply. "I guess it's just in my nature to worry about things like price when it comes to dresses." Minako sighed as she shook her head. "And here I was hoping that you'd be different and not like most other guys...." "Minako-chan," he said quietly, "do you know how long we were in that store?" "Anou...," she began as she blinked and glanced skyward in thought. "Twenty minutes?" "Almost an hour," he replied flatly. "Now, you tell me how many guys would actually remain inside a store like that, without complaining?" "Hey! You did complain once!" she retorted. "That was when you brought me over to the lingerie department," he said dryly. "And I only protested once. After that, I had to endure both people staring or winking knowingly. I suppose they thought that I was your boyfriend and... well, I think you get the point." Minako's blushes told him that she did. "Ehehehehe.... I guess I did kinda forget about that," she admitted. "It's just... they would've looked fabulous on me!" Ryoku sweatdropped at he glanced at Minako. "I think you were getting a little too carried away back there. I mean, we're still just in junior high, right? Don't you think that stuff was a little too... adult... for you to wear?" "Well, yeah...," she admitted. "But still, I thought that they were pretty...." She stopped, then turned and smiled sweetly at him as she put her hands on his chest and leaned forward against him. "What you think, Ryo-kun?" she asked in a low, smoky tone. "How do you think I'd look in clothing like that? Should I try and model one for you?" This time, Ryoku facefaulted. "Nani...?" he gasped nervously. "Oh, come on, Ryo-kun," Minako said, giggling as she winked playfully at him. "I was only joking. I think you were the one taking all of this way too seriously. I just wanted to take a look while I was there. My mother wouldn't allow me to look around at stuff like that whenever we went to stores like that, so I figured that this would've been the perfect opportunity." "Oh...," he said, trying to hide the obvious relief in his voice and failing miserably. This only made her laugh harder, which slowly began to infect him. Soon, they were both laughing over the whole thing. "Oi, Ryo-kun," she said as soon as she got herself under control. "We're almost there. I think we'd better change. After all, Katrina doesn't know who we are yet." "Right," he replied with a nod as he reached behind his back and pulled out his Star Sword. "There," he said, nodding toward an isolated alley. They both hurried toward the alley while making sure that no one was either watching or following. "We're safe," he reported when they had made it inside. "All right, then," she said as she held out her transformation pen and Ryoku held up his Star Sword. "Let's change." ********************************************** Katrina wandered around the agreed upon area, watching and waiting for Sailor V and Masked Knight. She glanced up at the huge face of Big Ben, looking at the time. 6:43pm. It was almost the agreed upon time. 'I hope they come,' she thought to herself. 'I've been trying to fine the answer behind these attacks for weeks. I could use any help I can get, even if it comes from a pair of school kids in strange fukus wearing masks over their eyes.' "Katrina-san?" she heard a young male's voice call out to her. "Yes?" she answered as she turned around. Sailor V and Masked Knight were both standing behind her. 'Amazing...,' she thought to herself. 'I never heard them arrive....' "It's us again," Sailor V said with a grin. "So I see," Katrina said, smiling as well. "I'm glad you two came. Now, would you two please explain to me about the attacks that have been occuring here for the past few weeks?" she asked, her expression turning serious. "You both said that you knew who were behind the attacks and that you have dealt with them before, right?" "We have," Masked Knight replied just as seriously. "And we do know who is behind these attacks," Sailor V added. "Can you please tell me?" Katrina implored. "This is a long story," Masked Knight told her, "but we will try to make it as short as possible. Sailor V?" "All right, I'll start," she said with a nod. "Our enemies are known as the Dark Agency. Their goal is to gather as much human life energy as possible in order to take over the Earth." "Dark Agency?" Katrina repeated incredulously. "Take over the Earth?" "Right," Masked Knight confirmed. "The Dark Agency, however, is only a branch of a much larger force, known only to us as the Dark Kingdom. As far as we know, the Dark Kingdom isn't fully operational yet, so they need the Dark Agency to supply them with human life energy." "Dark Kingdom???" Katrina said in disbelief. "I think we're going a little ahead of ourselves," Masked Knight said with a thoughtful frown. "Maybe we should go into a little bit of our own history?" "Okay," Sailor V said with a nod. "I was the first to be awakened to my powers as a soldier of justice. Codename: Sailor V. The soldier of justice and the sailor-suited beautiful soldier, Sailor Venus. My powers come from the protection of the planet Venus." "As for myself," Masked Knight added, "I accidently learned of Venus' secret, but instead of just keeping it to myself, I decided to fight alongside her as her partner. Only later did I learn that I, too, had the power of a soldier of justice. Codename: Masked Knight. The soldier of justice and the sailor-suited handsome soldier, Sailor Knight. My powers come from the protection of the Earth itself." "We would fight one enemy of the Dark Agency after another," Sailor V continued. "The fight never seemed to end, and there were a few times when all I wanted to be was an ordinary girl...." She glanced at Masked Knight's pointed look and sighed in chagrin. "Okay, LOTS of times!" she shot at her smirking partner. "Happy?" Katrina couldn't help but laugh. "You two must be very close," she noted. "I can tell by the way you act around each other." "We have each saved the other's life so many times that we can no longer count, nor do we care to," Masked Knight told her. "At any rate," Sailor V continued, "a few weeks ago, we had taken care of who we thought was the last of the Dark Agency and set out to find our allies who would aid us in our fight against the Dark Kingdom. But we soon learned that the Dark Agency still lived and had made their way here." "Now, we must finish off the Dark Agency," Masked Knight concluded. "Only then can we go back home to Japan." "I see...," Katrina said somberly. "So, the victims of all those attacks...?" "They're life energy had been drained," he confirmed with a nod. "And that monster you two had taken out earlier...?" "The Dark Agency," Sailor V confirmed. "Let me help you both," Katrina offered. "I've been trying to find out who's been behind all these attacks for the longest time. Now that I know, I don't want to sit idly by as you both do all the work." "It's too dangerous, Katrina-san," Masked Knight told her. "You might get yourself killed...." "Knight," Sailor V said softly. "What is it?" he asked. "I still remember when I told you the exact same thing," she told him. "Remember what you said to me?" "You mean, 'somehow, I feel as though I have to do this'?" he asked, then sighed. "I guess if that's the way she feels about it...." "I risk my life everyday," Katrina told them. "It's part of my job. I know what I'm getting myself into. Trust me." Masked Knight stared at her in surprise for a few moments. "Trust you...," he murmured to himself. "You know, I said that to her as well, when I first became her partner...." He nodded slowly as if coming to a decision, glanced around, then changed back to his normal form. "Somehow...," he said with some slight uncertainty. "Somehow, I do trust you, Katrina." Katrina stared at Ryoku in shock. She never expected for him to just reveal his identity to her, especially when she hardly knew him and he hardly knew her. But, he did say that he trusted her.... She got her second shock when Sailor V changed back into her ordinary form as well. "If he trusts you that much," Minako said after changing back, "then I can trust you as well. Especially since we're going to be working together." "Right," Katrina said with a smile. "And, thank you both for trusting me enough to do this. Oh...," she gasped in realization. "I don't even know your names...." "Atashi wa Aino Minako," Minako said with a huge smile. "Boku wa Kino Ryoku," Ryoku said with a small grin. "So, Minako-san and Ryoku-san...," Katrina began with a nod. "Minako-chan." "Ryo-kun." "All right, then," Katrina ammended with a smile. "Minako-chan and Ryo-kun." ********************************************** "What do you think of Katrina, Ryo-kun?" Minako asked as she and Ryoku started for home. They had been talking with Katrina for over an hour, basically just getting to know the Interpol officer. "She's nice, ne?" "Very," Ryoku replied with a nod as he glanced up at a nearby street sign and compared the name with the map in his hands. "Still, even though I understand what she's feeling, I can't help but feel a little uneasy about letting her take the same risks we do. I know we already agreed, Minako-chan," he said quickly, forstalling a possible arguement from Minako, who had just started to open her mouth, "but it's different with her." "Oh?" Minako asked flatly. "How is it different, Ryo-kun? When you first started to fight at my side, you had no powers. You didn't even have your sword." "Katrina doesn't have the powers we do," he said calmly. "You had no powers, either, when you started," she countered quickly. "You think that Katrina might be a soldier of justice like us?" he asked facetously. "It's possible," she told him. "You became a soldier of justice, didn't you? Who knows, Katrina might be one, too." Ryoku merely shrugged. "It's possible, unlikely as it is," he conceded. "Well, when she does become a soldier of justice like us, that is when I'll stop feeling uneasy." Minako frowned slightly at him as she turned her gaze down the road. "I have faith in Katrina," she said certainly. "I never said that I didn't have any faith in her," he told her patiently. "I believe in her just as much as you do. But that doesn't mean that I can't feel uneasy as well. Did you ever feel uneasy having me fight alongside you before I became Masked Knight?" Minako looked at him in surprise. She wasn't expecting that question to come up. "Anou... now that you mention it...," she began with some slight chagrin, "I think I see what you're talking about. Still, I have no worries about Katrina fighting with us." "I know that she's an Interpol officer with plently of experience," he said with a sigh as he folded up the map and put it away. "She also carries a gun, which I'm sure she has had plenty of training on and experience in using, but I'm not sure if guns and law enforcement training will be enough against the Dark Agency." He turned to look at his partner, his eyes showing the uncertainty he was feeling. "Minako-chan, tell me that I'm worrying too much about all this." Minako looked back at him, then turned away and shook her head. "Now, I'm not as sure, Ryo-kun," she told him. "You've made some good points. But still, we said that she could help us." "I know, Minako-chan," he said, nodding slowly. "She knows about the risk she's taking. I certainly hope that she isn't getting in over her head...." "Me, too, Ryo-kun...," she sighed as they reached the house. The lights were on and they could see Alan waving at them from his upstairs window. "Me, too...." ********************************************** "So... they have found us all the way here...," Quartzite murmured thoughtfully as he gazed out into the night sky. The building where he had set up the Dark Agency's base of operations was an old abandoned warehouse near the river. He never bothered to learn the river's name since he wasn't going to stay here that long. The Dark Kingdom was already in operation thanks to his efforts in London, and at the rate the Dark Kingdom was building its power, when he was done Queen Beryl would surely promote him to the rank of General. But, now that Sailor V and Masked Knight were here.... "I think I should step up my operations a bit," he said quietly to himself as he continued to stare up into the starry sky. "If they're going to keep trying to stop me, then I'd like to have more than enough energy to deliver to Queen Beryl, in case I have to make a hasty retreat." He quietly scowled as he turned to go back into the warehouse. "Then again," he said with a sudden grin as he was about to step through the door, "if I managed to do what even Danburite failed to do - to kill Sailor V and Masked Knight - then Queen Beryl would surely promote me on the spot! I would definitely become a General!" He silently weighed his options. On the one hand, he would retreat when he thought that it was prudent, keeping his life intact, but he would lose face with Queen Beryl even if he gave her a tremendous amount of energy on his return. On the other hand, he would risk his life to destroy Sailor V and Masked Knight, securing his rise to the venerable rank of General. General Quartzite... that would show Zoisite and Kunzite. He never really liked those two very much. Nephrite and Jadeite were more friendly to him, especially since they remembered the rank he used to hold, first among the Dark Kingdom, just below the four generals. The only reason he was bumped down to working in the Dark Agency under Danburite was because of a botched attempt to attain an artifact that he thought would assure his rise to the rank of General. He shook his head as he turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand. To stand, or to retreat...? To return in defeat with his life intact, or to risk it all to obtain the sweetest prize...? Who was he kidding? He would do anything if he was sure that it would make him a General. With his mind firmly set on his new strategy, he went back inside the warehouse. He had a lot of planning to do. Sailor V and Masked Knight would die. He would make certain of that. ********************************************** Ryoku sighed to himself as he gazed up at the stars from the top of Alan's roof. It had been a few days since the first meeting with Katrina and he had a lot on his mind that he didn't want to burden Minako with. He had just checked in with Artemis as Minako lay asleep in their room just underneath him. He had never told her that he had also configured the communicators to be able to contact Artemis back in Tokyo... well, his at least. He and Artemis had come to an agreement that it would've been better if he was the only one to know of the progress that was going on back home. Minako had enough on her hands with the Dark Agency without having to worry about her unknown ally back home... or, rather, her two allies, since Artemis had just reported that Luna had just found Sailor Mercury. Ryoku smiled to himself at being able to finally know about their new allies back home, even though Artemis never mentioned any names other than Luna, who apparently was a cat just like him, only black and female. All he knew about his allies were the names they went by after transformation, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. Sailor Senshi, just like they were. 'Sailor Senshi...,' he mused to himself. 'I think I like that better than "soldier of justice". It has a nice ring to it.' He sighed to himself, upset at having to keep secrets from his partner when he wanted to tell her everything. She would be so excited... which was probably why Artemis didn't want her to know. Artemis knew that she tended to get distracted very easily, which was something that he had been trying to help her get over... with very little results. Artemis seemed to be very surprised over the news that he had given him. Like him, Artemis doubted very highly that Katrina could possibly be a Sailor Senshi, especially since the Sailor Senshi were supposed to be found in Tokyo, not London. Artemis also said that he didn't think that it would be a bad idea if the Interpol officer did help, since she obviously knew London better than they did and could aid them in finding the remains of the Dark Agency. "Thinking about something, Ryo-kun?" Minako asked as she climbed up onto the roof and sat down next to him. "You look like you're deep in thought." "I was just thinking about home," he told her. "You know, about how Artemis must be doing without us." "Oh, I'm sure that he's doing fine," Minako said dismissively. "You know him; he's probably getting into trouble somewhere or just sleeping in the sunlight in my room." Just as he was about to speak, a breeze began to pick up, sending a wave of chilled air over the rooftops. Since Minako was wearing her light pajamas and Ryoku was only wearing a pair of sweat pants, they both began to shiver slightly at the drop in temperature. "Ryo-kun, why'd you come up here without wearing a shirt?" she asked as she scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You must be cold, being shirtless like that." Ryoku could feel Minako shivering as well as she held him. He knew that she was giving him some of her warmth, so he wrapped his arms around her, giving her back some of his warmth in return. He could feel her shivering slowly subside as he held her. "Feeling better, Minako-chan?" he asked as he smiled down at her. She silently nodded as her eyes held his. "I don't even feel cold anymore...," she murmured quietly as she leaned into him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Mmm... this feels so good, Ryo-kun...," she yawned as she slowly began to fall asleep in his arms. "I think we'd better go back inside, Minako-chan," he said to the tired blonde he held gently in his arms. "It's starting to get a little colder out here and I don't think you want to spend the night outside...." He stopped as he noticed that she had fallen asleep. "Minako-chan...," he sighed fondly. Without jostling the sleeping beauty, he slowly stood up and shifted Minako so that she was riding piggyback. Slowly and carefully, he made his way down from the roof and back into their room and placed her back in her bed without waking her once. He gently tucked her into her bed and kissed her lightly on her forehead before going to bed himself. "Oyasumi nasai, Minako-chan," he whispered as he settled himself into his blankets and slowly fell asleep. ********************************************** Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This story belongs me, so I would appreciate it very much if you would ask for permission before posting it anywhere else. Thank you. The Question and all stories included are: Copyright © July 6, 2001 Jason C. Ulloa. All Rights Reserved.