There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
- Hamlet, Act I, Scene v
YOUMA ATTACK AT Hikawa Shrine in Juubangai! Sailors Moon and Mars Save the Day! With a flourish upon entering the last exclamation mark on her laptop, Usagi leaned back to scan over her document once more. “There we go!” She couldn’t help the small grin that came to her face every time she wrote an article about the Senshi. Writing articles about her own superhero escapades in the city newspaper – she was like Peter Parker or Clark Kent, except with a much cuter wardrobe, she thought whimsically.
Humming softly to herself, Usagi e-mailed her latest masterpiece to her section editor and as a slight afterthought, typed ‘Hino, Rei’ into the CC: field with a wide grin. Rei-chan hated it when she put Sailor Moon’s name before Mars’ in the headlines. The mere thought of Rei’s likely reaction sent Usagi into gleeful cackles. Sure, at 24, Usagi was older and more mature now than she had been back in junior school a decade ago, but that didn’t mean she was above the occasional friendly swipe at Rei when she had the chance. “That’ll teach her to call me Odango in public.”
Still snickering to herself, Usagi rummaged through the chaotic pile of papers on her desk to pull out her cell phone and wallet. “Akiyama-sempai!” she called with difficulty, as she grasped her purse at its handles with her teeth while simultaneously pulling on her jacket. “I’m going out to lunch now!”
Her boss stopped near her desk, waving a freshly printed copy of her article in his hands. “Good work, Usagi-chan,” Akiyama laughed, watching her attempt to put on lip gloss with one hand and brush her pigtails with the other. “You can take all the lunch breaks you need if it means you’ll continue stumbling across these youma attacks each time!”
Usagi froze mid-action and plastered a disarming grin on her face. Maybe she was beginning to ‘coincidentally’ run into too many youmas, she thought internally. Out loud, she just let out a shrill laugh. “Ohohoho! I’m holding you to that, Akiyama-sempai!”
“Go on, have fun at lunch,” Akiyama called loftily, already back in his office. “Say hello to Mamoru-san for me.”
Turning to leave as well, Usagi nearly knocked her nameplate off her desk. “Eep!” She rushed back to her desk to reposition the little metal rectangle on her desk, next to a smiling group picture of herself, Mamo-chan and the Senshi. A silly little smile of pride graced her lips for a second as she looked at the photo and the nameplate: Tsukino Usagi, Special Crime Reporter. Who would have thought that Usagi, with a vocabulary once described as “atrocious” by her fiancé, would one day write for the city paper? Off to the side, she could see the clock pointing at quarter past twelve. “Oh no, I’m late!” she gasped, and ran out of the office at top speed.
…
HOPPING ON THE bus towards the public hospital, Usagi cringed at the thought of being late for lunch with Mamoru again. His tight schedule rarely left him much time for a lunch break. As it was, their last two lunch dates had already been rudely interrupted by youma attacks. “Come on,” she muttered, tapping her feet impatiently and mentally urging the bus to go faster.
Once the bus came to a full stop at the entrance gates, she leapt off and ran towards the main building. Now that she thought about it – were the youma attacks becoming more frequent? Usagi was so lost in her train of thought that she failed to look up while making a sharp turn past reception. With only enough time for a quick gasp, she collided head-first with a tall figure in a white coat.
“Itai…” she moaned, rubbing her shoulder. “Gomen nasai!”
There was laughter, then an amused “Fail any tests lately, Odango Atama?”
Usagi broke into a wide smile when she looked up to see the handsome grinning face of her fiancé. Carefully schooling her face into a petulant pout, she responded, “Get a life, Mamoru-baka.”
Mamoru bent down to leer wolfishly at her. “We should stop bumping into each other like this.” He tipped her chin upwards for a soft kiss. “My fiancée might get jealous.”
After all these years, Usagi still reeled from every kiss. Blushing heavily, she batted her eyelashes at Mamoru and fingered the stethoscope around his neck. “Your fiancée is a very lucky woman,” she breathed.
He straightened and grinned cockily, “I know.” Ignoring Usagi’s choking guffaw, Mamoru put his arm around her and led her down the corridor. Pointing at the clock on the wall, he praised her. “Twelve-thirty on the dot, not bad! It’s my turn to be running a little bit late. Let me finish this paperwork and we can go.”
“You’re always so tardy, Mamo-chan,” she mocked teasingly. Noticing the curious bystanders around them who had seen their peculiar display, Usagi smiled sheepishly and gave everyone a small wave. “The rumours they must be spreading around here about you,” she idly speculated. “Star doctor, Chiba Mamoru, gets frequent visits from gorgeous but mysterious young lady. Who is this enigmatic beauty that breaks through his cold, professional exterior? Why is he –?” She was interrupted by a fond ruffling of her hair.
“You’ve been watching too many soap operas, Usako.” Mamoru stopped at a nearby nursing station and grabbed a pen from behind the counter to begin jotting notes on his papers.
“You like them too, Mamo-chan. Don’t think I won’t spill your secret,” Usagi threatened, sharing a wink with a nurse behind the counter who had overheard them. “Ne, Kaede-chan?”
“It’s the only thing he ever watches in the break room,” Kaede, a pretty dark-haired nurse, confirmed, smirking conspiratorially.
Mamoru blanched and steered Usagi towards his office, depositing his papers in a filing unit along the way. “The last thing I need is for you two to start teaming up against me. I’ll be back in time for my appointment at two, Misato-san,” he called behind them.
In the privacy of his office, Usagi was finally able to bring up the question she’d been considering all day: “Is it just me, or are we seeing more and more random youma?” She counted off the occasions on her fingers. “There were attacks the last two times we had lunch, last night at Rei-chan’s, and Minako-chan says she came across one on Monday near her photo shoot.”
Mamoru looked thoughtful. “You’re right, that’s four within the space of a week.” He exchanged his lab coat for his pea-green blazer, chuckling as she crinkled her nose in distaste at the sight. “Well, Luna did say that some random youma appearances were to be expected even when it’s quiet. Has Rei felt any evil auras lately?”
“No,” Usagi shook her head. “That’s what we were trying to find out at the shrine last night. There was nothing showing in the fire, but I have a bad feeling in my stomach.”
As if on cue, her stomach let out a noisy grumble. She turned bright red as Mamoru let out a loud laugh.
“Mou… You’re as bad as Rei-chan.” She pelted a nearby paperweight at him (which he caught easily) and instantly brightened. “Ne, do you think Ami-chan will have time to join us?” Usagi asked hopefully. “She might have some ideas, and it feels like forever since I’ve last seen her!” To be precise, it had been a few months since Ami began work at the teaching hospital. The rotational internship program here was world-renowned, but world-renowned also equated to random hours, long shifts, and no personal life.
Mamoru replaced the paperweight – a rounded white stone with a rabbit carved on top, a witty gift from Motoki – on his desk, thinking back to his own experience as an intern just a few years ago. “If Ami had the time, I’m sure she’d rather slip in a power nap. She’s been on-call for the ER all week.”
Usagi furrowed her brow in confusion. “But you always managed to make time for lunch when you were in the program,” she thought out loud.
“Yes,” he agreed readily. “But a regular dose of Usako is more vital to me than substantive hours of sleep will ever be.”
“Mamo-chan…” Usagi flushed pleasantly and leaned in for a kiss – because such a sentiment certainly deserved a kiss. Just as their lips brushed, they heard another rumble.
“We should get you some food,” Mamoru chuckled.
“That wasn’t me!”
Yet another rumble reached their ears, this time, followed with a shaking below their feet. “Earthquake?” Mamoru grabbed for Usagi and pulled her under the doorway with him, shielding her body protectively with his own.
The shaking grew stronger – the paperweight that he had just put back on the desk wobbled its way to the floor, taking along with it a cup full of pens, a pile of paper, and a photo frame. “Mamo-chan, I’m scared!” Usagi’s voice became a wail as the lights flickered. Burying her face in Mamoru’s chest, she could hear the babies in the maternity ward nearby wailing and the nurses shouting for the patients to calm down.
The plaster began to crack – and Mamoru could feel the dust settling into his hair – but after a few seconds, the ground stopped shaking and the lights stopped flickering. “Is it over?” Usagi whispered, peeping one eye open, as if afraid a loud noise or sudden movement would set off the earthquake again. In the back of her mind, she vaguely registered that the babies were still crying.
“I think so,” Mamoru responded, raking a hand through his hair to shake off the dust. He cracked a joke to try to relax Usagi. “I always did say our kisses were earth-shattering.” When she didn’t smile, he cupped her cheek with a large hand and looked at her worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Something doesn’t feel right,” she muttered. “Can you feel it?”
When all she got in response was a blank look, she shook off the feeling with a nervous laugh. “I’m probably just being paranoid.” Brushing off some plaster off Mamoru’s shoulder, she tried to break the tense atmosphere by cracking a joke too. “It almost makes your jacket look better.” She leaned down to collect the bric-a-brac on the floor to hide her shaking hands.
Mamoru wasn’t fooled. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” He took her hands in his. “Maybe you should lie down, Usako.”
“I –“ She was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. “Moshi moshi?”
“Usagi-chan! You need to get to Tokyo Memorial Park immediately!” came the tinny voice over the phone.
“Akiyama-sempai?”
“The phones have been ringing off the hook since the earthquake. There are at least four different youma sightings! This could be a big story – we might even see all the Senshi together at once! I’m sending a photographer, you better get there now!” There was a click on the other line, notifying Usagi that Akiyama had hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Mamoru asked, noting the ashen look on his fiancée’s face.
“I was right, something’s wrong! We need to go now!”
