Story Title: Full Moon Fever
Series Title: House of the Holy
By Horosha
Disclaimer: “Sailor Moon” is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd. and Toei Animation Ltd. As such, I’m getting no compensation for writing this fiction other than my own enjoyment and to bring pleasure to the fans of this wonderful series.
Disclaimer: “Sailor Moon V: The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts” is the property of Troy “Silver” Stanton. This is here because several of the concepts I’m going to use in this series originated with Troy and his wonderful series. “Sailor Moon V: The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts” can be found at:
http://silormoonv.net
My e-mail addresses are:
http://V_Bashaw@hotmail.com
http://Horosha@mangablast.com
This is the second installment to this Sailor Moon series. At first this story will appear to be totally separate from the first installment but they are connected. Many will notice that I’m paying homage to the great detective novels of Dashell Hammett, Eric Stanley Gardner and Raymond Chandler. If you don’t recognize any of these authors, then maybe you will know their creations, Sam Spade, Perry Mason and Philip Marlowe.
WARNING: This story contains adult language and adult scenes, so minors should get parental permission before reading this series.
Copyright: September 19, 2004
Proofreader: Lanis
Timeline: This installment takes place fifteen days after the first installment of “House of the Holy: Temptation and Seduction.”
********
I was alone in the communications room when I woke up, someone had placed me flat on the floor, put a pillow under my head and a couple of blankets over me. At least I didn’t get a headache like I do whenever someone used a blackjack on me. I got up, stretched and walked over to the security terminal. A quick check of the clock showed it was 11 a.m.; the vampire had put me out for a long time. I used the monitors and found the facility was completely trashed and no Sailor Senshi was in sight. It was then I decided to get out of this not-so-secret-base before the owners of the amusement park came to check out the damage done by Typhoon Ursula and find my hog at the front gate.
There was damage all over the amusement park but my good luck held; no civilians were in sight so Old Glory and I got the heck out of Dodge after I got into my civvies. Once I was a safe distance from Cosmo World, I took my cellphone out and dialed my office.
“God Almighty, Thisbe-san,” the background noise from Yajue’s end sounded like she was fighting World War Three, “I have a mutiny on my hands because we haven’t heard anything from you for the pass twenty hours!”
“Sorry about worrying you, Number Two,” I smiled at Yajue’s hair-pulled-out tone, “one of the Sailor Senshi slipped me a Mickey and left me holding the bag.”
“You were arrested?” sudden silence made Yajue’s words harsh.
“No, I got out without anyone seeing me,” I answered
“You hope,” a cascade of sighs were added to Yajue’s counter.
“Anyway, I’m on my way back to Tokyo,” I decided to check on the news. “What does Tokyo look like?”
“Typhoon Ursula did a number, Boss,” Ichigo must have hit the conference button, “There is extensive flooding, telephone lines down and electricity is out in most parts of the city.”
“How did you guys weathered it?”
You could hear everyone giggle at my worry. Myomi answered me first, “We did fine, Thisbe-chan, although it does feel like Kone-chan invited every stray cat in Tokyo to stay with us.”
“I named this cat Luna,” I heard Kone faintly, “because of the crescent moon on her forehead.”
A bell went off in my head but I decided it could wait, “Number Two, checkout the damage to the building and the surrounding area, make sure the electric motor in the basement has plenty of fuel. I’ll get home as soon as possible.”
“God’s speed! See you later and look out for the Fuzz!” Those goodbyes came out of the receiver before I put the cellphone away.
The ride back to Tokyo was slow, damage from Ursula left roads covered with debris and emergency vehicles were all over the place along with firemen and police, so I took my time. During this time I carefully thought through what had happened during this case and came up with some conclusions:
Tokyo and the rest of humanity weren’t out of the woods yet. The Sailor Senshi was still fighting battles for us, just not as visible as the earlier ones.
Sailor Mercury was a vampire, Eternal Sailor Moon looked even more angelic than before and Sailor Venus wasn’t in the mix anymore, taking her place was the wild Sailor V, who acted like a rogue agent. It was clear Sailor Jupiter didn’t like the idea of Sailor Venus bailing out on them and Sailor Mercury had mixed feelings about it too. Only Sailor Moon’s trust of her friend kept things barely in check.
Supernatural things were afoot. I always considered the Sailor Senshi and their opponents as some kind of mystical science and this case reinforced my opinion. Vampires, werewolves, body snatchers and things-that-go-bump-in-night seemed to be on the menu for the time being.
Titan Detective Agency could end up in the middle of whatever was going on with the Sailor Senshi. I was already connected to Kino Makoto and Ami’s mother before this case and both links had remained dormant until now. Would those links become inactive again once the case was closed or were my associates and me end up in the middle of a war?
After several police checkpoints and blocked off streets I made it to the secret garage for my bike and I made my way up the stairs. Yajue opened the door with the rest almost knocking me off my feet when they group-hugged me.
“Okay-okay, I’m alive,” I laughed at their bright faces, and then I caught the smell of homemade ramen, “I hope you left some for me, I’ve got a hole in my stomach.” That got me a lot of strange looks from them, “I’m joking, really.”
“We were very worried about you, Thisbe-chan,” Torami frowned at me while the rest escorted me to a table with a huge bowl of steaming ramen, a ladle and several smaller bowls.
I cleared a chair of cats so I could sit, which was when I noticed the bandage on Torami’s neck, “How you feel, Torami-chan?”
Torami shrugged, “I had worse hickeys from dates.” I decided to ask Yajue to keep an eye on Torami, just in case someone else thought of Torami as a mobile blood bank.
“So we are in cleanup mode?” Yajue asked as she took a bowl, filled it with ramen and handed it to me.
“Correct,” I took the bowl and picked up some chopsticks, “We are going to need to reunite Osaka-san with her mother.”
“That’s going to be raw, Boss,” Suzue went dramatic. “Hey, lady, your daughter is a catgirl, just remember to refill her hairball medication.”
I slurped down some noodles before saying, “Number Two, call Osaka-san and see if we can get her to our safe house.”
“What should I tell her?” Yajue was giving Suzue a nasty look.
“Tell Osaka-san that her daughter has a problem only a mother can solve,” I instructed.
After drinking down the ramen broth and bringing the bowl from my face, I saw the black cat in Myomi’s arms, her eyes never leaving me, “So, Myomi-chan, is this the cat you named Luna.”
“Hai,” our resident shrine maiden nodded, “I could feel the mark on her forehead.”
“There’s another cat around here, a white one, with the same mark,” Suzue called out as she looked at the various stray cats that were at our feet.
“Oh, where?” Myomi’s blind eyes brighten as she turned toward Kanyo.
“I’ll find it,” Torami spoke up while looking at the faces of the white cats.
The black cat shifted her attention to the Gemini Twins but I decided to test out the idea, “Myomi-chan, is Luna male or female?”
“Female,” I grinned at the way both of Luna’s ears turned in my direction.
I finished my ramen and sat up, saying, “I’m going to make a phone call to Tsukino Usagi, see if she wants to be there to help her friend.” As I strode pass Myomi, I stopped and turned to her, “Myomi-chan, I feel like having a cat to pet.”
The purple-haired girl grinned at me, “Here!” she held Luna up to me.
“Thanks,” I took the black cat and I turned to leave. As I passed Yajue at her desk, cellphone in her hand, she gave me a strange look. Normally I don’t allow cats into my office, so I silently mouthed the word, ‘Spy.’
Understanding was in Yajue’s eyes but then her attention focused on her cellphone, “Hello, Osaka-san, this is Titan Detective Agency. We have good news about your daughter.”
I was taking a chance. It was possible that I was taking the manga too literal. This case showed to me some of it was true while others parts of it were fabrications. It also made a lot of sense to me, if you are going to do a little spying, even on a friend, the best way is to not look like you are spying and right now, one or two more cats in our private quarters wouldn’t make any difference. I held her with my left arm underneath her body while my right hand gently scratched her behind the ears. I had to keep myself from laughing at how she was trying to purr, it sounded like a rusty chainsaw. When I opened the door to my private office, my gaze found a white cat perched on the sofa under the painting where my wall safe was located. I closed the door behind me and my smile grew a little when Luna’s purring jumped a note at the sight of the other cat. I placed the black cat next to the white cat and I pulled up a chair so I could sit across from them.
“You know as well as I do that the Tsukino’s telephone is out, don’t you?” I let a note of humor into my voice.
“Meow,” the white cat looked at black cat with I-told-you-so in his amber eyes.
“I know Ami-san is Sailor Mercury as I know Makoto-san is Sailor Jupiter,” both cats bolt to their feet, staring at me like I grew a second head, “as well as what has happened to Sailor Venus.”
The two cats exchanged looks for a long time, maybe they were telepathic or it could have been the twitching of the ear and the flick of a whisker, I don’t know but I decided to add a tidbit, “The Deathbusters’ lab was destroyed.” Only when they faced me and both began to glow a bluish light that I knew I wasn’t losing it.
All conscious thought in my head fled when I saw Luna’s human form., I didn’t realize I leaned forward in the chair, my right hand taking a lock of her curly black hair. The feel of it running through my fingers was so unearthly and it framed perfectly the crescent moon upon her light pink forehead. The low growl to my left pulled me out of my stupor, “I’m . . . I’m sorry,” I pulled my hand back and leaned back in my chair. Only then did I noticed Luna was dressed in a bright yellow dress, a matching ribbon around her neck and gold crescent amulet hung from a chain just above her full breasts.
I looked at the source of the growl and found my eyes lock on a gorgeous man, whose long white hair matched the length of Luna’s hair, his shirt and pants shimmered with moonlight. I took a guess at the name, “Artemis.”
The white-haired man bowed his head slowly and turned my attention to Luna, once more my mind went mushy and the only I could say was, “You’re . . . you’re beautiful.”
The blush on Luna’s cheeks only made her look even lovelier in my eyes, but the moment was spoiled by Artemis mutter, “Don’t spoil her, she already has a big ego.”
“Artemis...” Luna turned and boxed his face like lovers do and the shared expression on their faces show warmth.
“Besides I don’t see why you complained about me making a scene over Luna-chan here,” I decided to get into the act, “after all you sleep with a pretty blonde.”
My words produce the opposite effect I intended. Artemis dropped his eyes, pain in his gaze spread to Luna’s blue orbs, his words matched the sorrow, “I . . . I . . . we had a fight awhile ago . . . I sleep in the living room . . . now.”
“Her resignation as Sailor Venus and the rebirth of Sailor V,” I stated.
Artemis nodded, “I told Mi . . . I told her she was deserting Sailor Moon . . . and neither one of us would back down.”
“It’s not entirely your fault, Artemis,” Luna’s hands reached and took hold of Artemis’ clasped hands, “I pushed you to confront her.”
“But I let it get out-of-control,” Artemis’ amber eyes turn to Luna’s aqua orbs, “I should have realized how broken up inside she was.”
“We forgot just how much our charges are young girls,” I saw the guilt in Luna’s features, “under their dedication is still the unspoken wish for a normal life.”
“But Sailor Venus reverted back to Sailor V,” I pointed out.
“Only because she couldn’t bring herself to abandon her friends completely,” Artemis looked at me, “she still loves her fellow Sailor Senshi but it is the duty she couldn’t handle anymore.”
Those words.
Weren’t they like the words I spoke to Grandpa three years ago, when I decided to leave the Army? They were my comrades and I saw them die, leaving me alone with strangers. I love my friends but I couldn’t stand the duty. Before I knew it I spoke, “To sacrifice friendship upon the altar of duty, to sacrifice love to the fire of victory, where do we stop when the pain becomes too much?”
Both Luna and Artemis looked at me, comprehension in both of their eyes and then they smiled at me, the understanding they showed was something I expected, their toothy smiles wasn’t, “Ehh . . . did I say something funny?”
“No,” Artemis shook his head, his amber eyes full of mirth.
I could see Luna forcing the smile from her face, “So you are going to have Osaka-san meet her daughter at your safe house?”
“Yes,” then a thought came to me and I stood up, went to my desk and pulled out a pen and a post’em pad, “Do you think you could take a message to Tsukino Usagi?”
“Sure!” Artemis grin widened. “After all, Usagi-chan is a friend of Sailor Moon.”
“Artemis!” Luna waked Artemis hard enough for his head bounce away from her blow.
Now it was my turn to grin, “Don’t worry, I’m no snitch.”
Artemis looked like he agreed with me but Luna continue to give me a sober expression, “What about your associates?”
“We’re detectives,” I wrote down the address of the safe house, “but we’re also a band of sisters.”
A thoughtful look filled Luna’s enchanting face. She knew what my words meant and the look from Artemis told me he did too. I hit the intercom button and asked, “Number Two, did you get hold of Osaka-san?”
“Yes, I made the meeting for six o’clock tonight,” Yajue replied.
“How did she sound?”
“Relieved and demanding, she wanted her daughter now,” Yajue sounded envious of Naru, “I was barely able to put her off until this evening.”
“Good,” it promised good tidings to me, I walked over and gave Luna the note, “Tell Tsukino-san to be there at 5:30, I want her to keep Naru-san from clawing the couch.”
I could imagine Luna’s ears going flat while Artemis covered his mouth to keep from laughing at Luna’s repartee, “I had better not see a collar on Naru-chan’s neck, neither I nor Sailor Moon would be happy about that piece of jewelry.”
I grinned but knew a motherly warning when I heard one, “Naru-san will be ready to meet her mother, with Usagi-san’s help.”
“Then we better get going,” Artemis suggested and both of them stood. Some people say clothes make the man but right now in my eyes, they only added a veil to the breathtaking beauty I saw before me.
What happened next shocked me, why did it happen I don’t know, maybe it was because my face held a mesmerized look or it was a reward for not failing their trust, whatever caused it I only know I found Luna putting her hands on my shoulders and using them to pull herself up on her toes so she could kiss my lower jaw, the only part of my face she could reach. I was sure Artemis’ eyes were as big as mine, the only thing Luna said as she took the white-haired man arm was, “Thank you for helping my charges.”
“It’s what they pay me to do,” I discovered I still had a tongue.
Luna smiled and pulled a totally confused Artemis toward the door. I turned and watched the door open by Yajue. At first she was puzzled by the twin confusion on Artemis’ part and mine own before she grinned hugely at the cat-who-ate-the-canary expression on Luna’s face. She bowed to the departing guests before she turned to me and asked, “I only heard what you exchanged between yourself and our ‘visitors’ but something else happened, something expressed without words.”
I touched the place where she kissed me, asking myself, “I wonder if she knows I’m not a guy?”
“Who?” Ashimi poked her red-haired head around Yajue and I could almost smell the waif of jealousy coming from her.
“Nothing, Ashimi-chan,” I shook my head to get my mind back on the case. “Number Two, call the Gemini twins and tell them I’m coming over.”
“Do you need any help?” Nae joined the two at the door.
“No, Naru-san is already twisted up inside,” I headed out of my office, “she will only feel shame if anyone else sees what she’s become.”
The trio nodded, “Your call, Thisbe-chan,” Ashimi said.
I was out the door and in ten minutes I was back on Old Glory.
********
Azabu-Juuban, Tokyo
Old Glory was parked in the driveway of the whitewashed two-story house that doubled as our safe house. I sat on the wood steps of the front porch, my mind forcing my eyes on what my hands were doing, playing Sailor V on my Gameboy. The Gemini Twins were taking care of Naru inside and the shamed look she gave me when I first entered, told me she wasn’t ready to accept my presence. So I sat here, using mental junk food like Sherlock Holmes used his seven-percent cocaine and Philip Marlowe used his bottle of scotch. I didn’t break my concentration when I heard footsteps nor when someone sat down on my right, it wasn’t until I cleared level twelve and I took a deep breath did the person talk, “You going need to build up her points on the next level so she can use her compact against the boss monster.”
I looked to my right and found Usagi there with Luna in her lap, I actually expected someone from my gang to be there and I said so, “I didn’t hear the bus go by.”
The blonde’s baby blues twinkled and she said, “I live only a few houses from here, so does Naru-chan.” She gave me a looked puzzled look, “Why did you send Luna to give me the address to this place, I’ve already been here?”
I smiled at her because she knew I recognized her, “For some reason I’m having a hard time connecting a name to you and your fellow soldiers, unless I see them transform to their secret identities.”
“It’s a kind of disguise spell,” I was still startled when Luna spoke, “it keeps foes and strangers from knowing the Sailor Senshi’s secret identities. Constant exposure to it does allow some to be immune to its effects.”
“Like parents and boyfriends,” Usagi frowned and nodded her head. “Is that why Naru-san . . .” once more the spell began to cloud my mind, . . . knew you were . . . Hell.”
“Yes,” I couldn’t miss the worry in her voice, “after all, she and her mother were the first ones I saved from the Dark Kingdom jerks.”
“Usagi-chan, a princess must use proper language whenever possible,” Luna admonished her.
“I’ve heard you call them worse, Luna,” glared down at the black cat.
“You can go right in, Usagi-san,” I nodded toward the door, “Naru-san is waiting for you.”
Usagi stood, holding Luna in her arms, took a couple of steps up but stopped when I didn’t follow, “Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I make Naru-san nervous,” I kept my eyes focused on her face so I wouldn't glimpse of her panties that her black miniskirt was giving me, “Besides the Twins are inside and they will let me know if you need a white knight.”
“I already got one of those,” I noticed Usagi had a pretty smile, “but I could use a Royal Investigator.”
“I hope a nice big paycheck comes with the job,” I countered, “I’ve got several mouths to feed.”
“How did you end up adopting so many teens?” curiosity was in Usagi’s voice.
“You could say they adopted me, some are from a teen gang who decided I would make a good leader while the others were strays I found while working,” I looked at my watch and I added, “You better get inside and get Naru-san ready, her mother will be here soon.”
Usagi bowed to me as did Luna and went inside.
I went back to my game, expecting the next person to come would be Osaka-san but instead someone cleared his or her throat just behind me. I looked and found Artemis in his cat form, a pink envelope at his feet, his blue eyes serious, “Here is the rest of your fee, Rogers-san, plus a bonus.”
A simple nod came from me as I picked up the envelope and slipped it into my inside coat pocket, saying at the same time, “Artemis, just out curiosity, how does a male cat end up with a female name?”
Artemis’ eyes narrow but he countered, “One could ask the same thing of you, Rogers Thisbe-san.”
“Touché,” I smiled before going back to my game, saying without looking, “Say hello to Sailor V for me, okay?”
“I will, Rogers-san,” I didn’t hear him leave but I didn’t check.
It must have been about twenty minutes later before I heard a car pull up, a car door open and close followed by the sound of high heels on concrete. Immediately I saved my game, put the device away, stood and bowed to the middle-aged woman with hair the same color as her daughters. “Good evening, Osaka Nashiyo, I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding this place.”
“No,” Nashiyo looked at me with suspicion. “I presume you are Rogers Thisbe of the Titan Detective Agency.”
I nodded and turned slightly toward the front door, waving her to come with me, “Your daughter is waiting inside with Tsukino Usagi.”
Tension flowed out of Nashiyo and her steely expression softened, without saying anymore she moved by me after I opened the door. We took off our shoes and I led her to the living room. The twins stood beside a loveseat where Usagi sat with Naru, Luna sat on the arm next to the blonde. Everyone in the room saw the younger redhead shrink into her friend’s embrace, her body in a tasteful sky blue blouse and skirt combo, her face covered by an enormous pair of sunglasses. The mother didn’t miss her daughter’s reaction to her entrance, her face showed surprise as she took a step toward her daughter, but stopped when Naru whimpered, “No, Mama.”
“Naru-chan,” with good intensions Usagi used both her hands to gently push her friend to sit straight. The young redhead looked at her friend and found a confident smile.
“Naru, you’ve been missing for three days,” Nashiyo’s caring voice drew Naru’s attention back to her, “What happened?”
“I’m . . .” Naru reached up with both hands and her head drooped as she took the sunglasses off, “I’m not the same Naru, Mama,” when her head came up, I heard Nashiyo gasp at the same thing I saw, the slit irises of cat eyes in her daughter’s face.
I kept my place behind Nashiyo as the twins remained where they were, the three of us acting as silent witnesses. It was several seconds before I heard the older redhead speak, “When I reached the hospital, Mizuno-sensei told me you ran from the hospital, suffering from some kind of chemical imbalance.”
It wasn’t hard for me to see the tears pool in Naru’s emerald eyes, “When Umino-chan . . .” her voice choking, “when he raped me . . . it made me into this . . .” with her right hand she reached between herself and Usagi, pulling out a furry red tail.
More seconds tick off the cloak and from my angle I couldn’t tell how Nashiyo was taking the news of her daughter's transformation in a catgirl. She was standing stack still, as if her body betrayed any emotion it was shock.
“Rogers-san, what time is it?”
I felt like an anime character who face-faulted, it wasn’t what I expected from Nashiyo, “Eh . . .” I looked at my watch, “it’s six-twenty, Osaka-san.”
“Thank you,” Nashiyo gave me a slight nod before she held out her right hand, “I think we should go home, Naru, we have much to talk about before we go to bed.”
Disbelief, it was plain on Naru’s face, two tears rolling down her cheeks, “Mama?”
“Don’t you want to be my daughter anymore?” Nashiyo held out a second hand.
“YES! OH, Yes!” Nashiyo was knocked backwards when Naru flung herself into her mother’s embrace, only my hands kept both of them from falling to the floor.
“Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes,” Naru continued to say as mother and daughter embraced. I like the others forgot sunset was now or we wouldn’t be caught by surprise when the air tingled with ethereal energy, a rumbling purr coming from the girl.
I looked down to find Naru a catgirl once more but that didn’t stop Nashiyo from running her left hand through her daughter’s hair. The mother looked up at me and asked, “Could we stay here the night, Rogers-san?”
“It would be a pleasure, Osaka-san,” I looked over at the twins. “Kanyo-chan and Sanyo-chan, could you help them?”
“Yes, Boss,” answered Kanyo and Sanyo in unison.
This left me with Usagi and Luna. We stood there in the hallway as the Gemini Twins took Nashiyo and Naru to one of the many bedrooms our safe house contained. As the foursome disappeared from my sight, I said, “That went much better than I thought it would.”
“Indeed,” Luna was in Usagi’s arms, “although I’m a little surprise how quickly Osaka-san accepted her daughter’s new look.”
Usagi’s baby blues widen at the black cat’s words, “Maybe it has something to do with what Naru-chan told me a couple of months ago.”
Luna looked up at the blonde, “What do you mean, Usagi-chan?”
“Well, Naru-chan was told by her great-grandmother that they were descendents of hirayanu,” a sliver of fear in Usagi’s tone.
“Hirayanu?” Luna questioned, I didn’t recognized the word either.
“Chinese cat demons,” now the girl looked positively scared.
“And when were you going to tell me?” Luna was using Usagi’s crossed arms so she could look at the girl eyeball-to-eyeball.
“Eh . . . now,” I bite my lip to keep from laughing, here was the fuku-suited heroine cowering before an enraged puss.
“Usagi, don’t you realize we could have helped your friend better if you told us?” I had a feeling that this little chat between the two was going over old ground.
“Ack . . . Sorry!” Usagi tossed Luna away from her, grab her shoes and I was surprised she took the time to open the door.
“Come back here, Usagi!” I finally let it out, I laughed as I followed the two out of the safe house, watching five-pounds of furry chasing after hundred-plus shrieking teen.
I was standing on the walkway, watching the chase of the century and giggling up a storm when I heard a voice I recognized in a New York minute, “Would you like to let me in on the joke, Thisbe-chan?”
“Aino-san!” I turned around and was greeted by the most dazzling smile I ever saw on a woman’s face. Her lips were glossy baby pink, her cheeks a light blush painted on and her eyeliner along with her full eyelashes gave her sparkling blue orbs the perfect look. I kept my cool even while sticking my hand out, “How’s my favorite idol singer doing?”
“How many time do I have to tell you not to be so formal with me,” the blonde with her trademark red ribbon in her hair, giving me a pout, “Aino-san indeed.”
I chuckled, just as she wanted me to do, “So Minako-san, does the war paint mean you’re working today?”
Minako gave me a frown before she reached up, her long fingers barely touching my face, squeezing my cheeks in, “Now repeat after me . . . hello, M-chan, can I be in your next picture. I hear they need a hunk to play your boyfriend?”
A belly laugh from me at the mischief-making look she gave me, but I resisted the impulse to clasp her fingers and kiss their tips. Aino Minako was my friend, my very first friend on this island, ever since that night in the alley, and although we never were close, mostly because I didn’t want her to think of me as a freak, I kept an eye on her as she made her way through the world of an idol singer. I knew she had friends in school so I wasn’t worried about that part but her parents were the type who shouldn’t have children, they were too caught up in their own worlds to be bothered by what was happening to their only child.
All I did was stand there, smiling down at her, saying, “You didn’t answer my question, M-chan?”
“Yeah-yeah,” Minako took a step back, “they had me doing charity work all day, you know, passing out pillows and blankets to storm victims, helping little old ladies to the bathroom,” this last part she wrinkled her little nose.
“No rest for the wicked or the sainted,” I put my hands in my pocket, not really sure where to go with this conversation, I noticed she was wearing a white jumpsuit with several domino masks embroidered upon it in red-white-and-blue rhinestones.
“How about you, Thisbe-chan,” she tilted her head to one side, “rescue any more damsels in distress?”
“No, not really,” I shook my head but I kept my smile, “I did help a couple of girls in fuku uniforms with a problem they had but nothing more.”
It was strange, I was sure there was flicker of disappointment on Minako’s face but before I could ask what was wrong, she said, “You probably know I doing another Sailor V movie and we really do need someone to play my love interest.”
“Oh, no,” I waved my hands at the blonde, “I’m perfectly happy with what I do, M-chan, I have absolutely no aspirations of being an actor, a singer or anything else besides being a PI. "Besides isn’t Furuya Tohru playing that role?”
“Fur-sama is getting long in the tooth and he’s been acting like he owns me,” Minako stared at me, putting all her willpower into it. When I shook my head she huffed at me and complained, “Why don’t you, Thisbe-chan, with your pecks you would be a natural?”
I shrugged my shoulders, “It not my style, M-chan, I deal with hard truths and soulless people, you deal with illusions and smooth talking agents.” Still seeing a little hope there, I added, “Besides someone needs to take out the garbage.”
Minako opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again only to close it again. Finally she threw her arms up in the air while walking in a circle, “Why can’t you see I’m trying to pay you back for what you’ve done for me?”
But was it just a payment of obligation Minako was making to me? The seriousness of the words were there but the look she gave me, the soul revealing plea in her eyes, was there something else there, something I fear would tatter our friendship? I opened my mouth but the ring of my cellphone stopped me. Minako heard it too and we shared a look before I pulled it out and answered, “Hello, Rogers Thisbe here.”
“I see the hurricane wasn’t tough enough to blow you away.”
“Grandpa!” the clouds lifted from my spirit before I decided to tease back, “And they are called typhoons here.”
“I know,” I heard him chuckle as he added, “So how’s my big girl doing?”
“I’m fine, Grandpa,” I couldn’t stop smiling. “Is Tony still complaining about wearing your costume?”
“It’s down to a low rumble,” I felt so good to hear his voice. “He still thinks one should wear more than a jockstrap when fighting the bad guys.”
The mention of our family’s profession brought me into a new thought, “Grandpa, do you think you could help a friend of mine?”
“Oh, who?” I could tell just from his tone he was already half-convinced, I only ask for his help whenever a blue moon appears.
“It’s something I’m not familiar with but your stories seem to suggest to me you might know about it.” I looked around me at that moment, to make sure no one was eavesdropping on our conversation. It was then I saw Minako walking away from me, “Grandpa, can you hold on for a minute?”
“Sure.”
I waved over my head with my left hand, shouting, “HEY, M-CHAN!”
Minako turned around and looked at me. The distance between us prevented me from telling what she was thinking.
“HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KID!”
I know it’s corny and a borrowed line from Grandpa’s favorite movie, but I wanted at that moment to let Minako know I did care about what she was trying to do, even if I couldn’t accept it right now.
What I got was what I wanted for Minako smiled at me, threw me a kiss and walked on.
(End of Full Moon Fever)
