Chapter Four: Friend or Foe? Ooshii's Visit and Vulcan's Appearance.
"Please tell me, was last night a dream?" Yuki asks on our way to school. I shake my head and point to her Senshi stick. I then explain what happened last night. We had to call her mom to tell her Yuki was spending the night. She looks down and grins. "This is so cool! I am a Sailor Senshi!" she does an excited jump. I look around and see no one. "Yuki-chan! We have to keep it a secret!" I scold her. She grins sheepishly. "Gomen. This is just too cool. By the way, who was that guy in the Zorro/ ninja getup last night?" "Ooshii? I think he's a friend, but..." I trail off, remembering the talk I had with Cele this morning.
~"What if he is the enemy?" Cele scolded. "Then why would he save me three times now?" I shot back. "To get closer to you!" I roll my eyes. "Ya, sure. That's exactly what he's doing Cele-kun." I say sarcastically. His eyes softened. "Just be careful."~
I shake my head to clear the memory. "Cele says I need to be careful, so I will. Now, let's head to school." I run toward the school and straight into Ari. I fall back on my butt. "Ari! You have got to watch where you're going." I yell at him. He looks more stunned then I am so I get up and wave my hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Ari?" I ask. He blinks and shakes his head. "What did you say?" he asks. I throw my hands in the air. "You're hopeless." I exclaim with a smile. He grins, but it looks off.
I see him outside at lunch and approach him. I shove a bag of cookies in his face. "You looked down so I made you some cookies in Home Ec." I grin. He starts and then takes them, giving me an odd look. I raise an eyebrow. "What?" I ask. "Nothing." He tries a cookie and he smiles. "These are good!" he says. The smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Are you ok?" I ask. He looks at me. "Ya, of course." I frown. "You're lying." I get an idea. "Meet me after school here, ok?" Without waiting for a response I head back to the cafeteria as the bell rings.
I see Ari leaning against a tree. I run up to him, grab his hand, and take off down the street. "W-what are you doing Firefly?" he asks in a surprised tone. I just grin. After a while, we reach the famous Crown arcade. I turn to look at him and see a puzzled look on his face. "You look depressed. When ever I'm depressed I play a video game or eat chocolate." I head in and go to the claw machine, trying for a kitty keychain. I fail and look at Ari. He still has that blank look. "Let's try the Sailor Moon game." I say. I head over, put in two tokens and begin. After a while, a crowd forms behind me. I am on the last level. I use the Super Secret move that Ali taught me. I win! There are cheers and high fives for me. I look around but don't see Ari. I guess he left. I frown and head toward the snack counter.
"I am sorry milord Vulcan. She defeated my youma, but she had help. There was a second scout and some ninja guy. I beg you, milord. Please spare me." Gareth pleads. "You have failed me, general." A brown light consumes Gareth. "NOOO!" With that, Gareth dissolves. "Hmph, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Vulcan mutters. "Does that mean you will be paying this girl a visit?" the seer asks. "Yes."
"A chocolate malt, please." I tell the guy behind the counter. He nods and goes in the back to make one. I lay my head on the counter, sad because I couldn't cheer Ari up. Another guy comes out with my malt. "Are you Yumeno Hotaru?" he asks. I nod. "A guy left this for you." He hands me the keychain I was trying to get earlier with a note. "Firefly, thanks for the fun time. I'm sorry I didn't stay to watch you finish your game. Something came up. Here's a keychain for your troubles. Ari." I shake my head and smile. Idiot. I clip it on my purse.
After I finish my malt, I pay the cashier and head home. No incidents happen. I get home and head up to my room. The window is open. Huh. I don't remember leaving it open. I head over to close it. "Hello Hotaru or should I say Sailor Cosmos?" a voice says behind me. I jump and turn around. Ooshii smiles. "Why are you here?" I ask, my stupid heart already speeding up. "Can't I say hello?" he asks. I shake my head. I don't ask how he knows who I am, I mean hello! He came to this very room last night. I transform. "What do you want? Are you my enemy? If so, why do you keep saving me?" I ask. He looks hurt. "I don't want anything. I am not your enemy. I am an alley. That's why I keep saving you. I was hoping we could work together." I can't speak. "I-I-I-I...." "Will not say anything." I hear a voice behind me say. I turn and see a large, dark man in flowing brown robes. "Vulcan." I hear Ooshii growl behind me. The man smirks. "Good to see you again, Ooshii, is it? 'Hero'? Well, well, not very modest are we?" Ooshii just keeps growling. I finally place the name. "You're the one the guy with the weird mustache was working for!" I exclaim. Vulcan has an amused look on his face. "Yes, he was working for me, before you destroyed him." His voice is cold. I shiver. "He was a perv." I mutter. Vulcan laughs. "He was an amateur compared to me." He has an evil smile on his face. "Don't you dare touch her!" Ooshii snarls as he gets in front of me. I blush at his protectiveness. Vulcan yawns. "All talk, no fight. Some hero. My dear," he looks at me, "wouldn't you rather spend your time with someone who has great power rather than this boy?" he spits out the word. I shake my head and hold onto Ooshii's arm. "Never." I yell. His face hardens. "You will regret you ever said that. Your planet will become mine! Your people, my slaves. It wont be long before you are my wife." He says with a knowing look and then vanishes.
I crumple onto the floor, remembering to breathe again. Ooshii heads toward the window. "How do you know him?" I ask. He stops. "He destroyed my home star, my family, my friends, my priestess, and my love." He says quietly. I look down. "I'm sorry." I say. "I wont let him hurt you, I swear." He says, more to himself than to me. "Thank you." He nods, then disappears himself. I look around. Where's Cele? I hear a noise in my closet. I open the door and see him sleeping. How could he have missed that?
"Did you have success, milord?" the seer asks. Vulcan nods. "I am going to become one of them. That girl will be mine!" he promises.
To Be Continued...
