| Usagi: Sailor Neomoon Writer's Note: The Sailormoon universe belongs to and is copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and all the different distributors with rights. Sailor Neomoon and the NeoSenshi, the Dragon Senshi, Eternal Night and those from it, Selene, Toshiharu, and Eien no Queen Serenity belong to me. If you want to use them in another fic, you may ONLY if you have permission from me first. That's not so hard to deal with, is it?
 by Eternal SailorSaturn
I do not understand this feeling that I have, Hakai questioned herself. This growing need has been in me for some time now. But why? Why must I feel like I need to belong amongst these inane girls? Why do I feel... remorse? Her black eyes narrowed, and she stabbed her plate with frustration. I do not understand!
Usagi glanced sidelong at Hakai when she heard the fork and plate make contact. Her eyebrow rose slightly at the expression the purple-haired girl wore. Although she wields the Silence Glaive, she wields it in your name and defense. She is your strongest guardian. Sailor Neopluto's words entered the young princess' mind. Still, Usagi could not help but feel a tad apprehensive after seeing Hakai's frustration. She began worrying that the quiet girl would lash out at more innocent people.
"I cannot believe that no one is eating this great meal I prepared!" Kumo exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. She moved out of the kitchen doorway and to the table the NeoSenshi were seated at. "If I did not know better, I would be insulted..." A sulky look appeared on her face for a moment before she reached over the table to snag half of a sandwich from a blue platter.
Usagi blinked and looked up at Kumo apologetically. "Please forgive us, Kumo. I know you must have prepared this meal with a lot of love, but I think I speak for us all when I say that we are worried." She received nods of agreement from her friends.
"You should eat something though. You are going to need the energy, and you cannot think straight with an empty stomach," Sasayaki interjected. She turned her head and looked to the girls around the table. From her seat on a sofa nearby, she continued, "If the King does come looking for you, it will not do any of us any good if you are caught. We made a promise to our prince, and we intend to keep it." A grin appeared on her face.
Usagi beamed. "I am so happy that we are all friends now," she replied. She gently nudged Hakai with her elbow. "We are all friends, are we not?" she asked the girl sitting next to her. She continued smiling brightly at the NeoSenshi of Silence.
Blinking, Hakai abruptly turned her head towards Usagi. She could feel the gazes of the other NeoSenshi and the Dragon Senshi on her, and it began to make her feel uncomfortable. Why is she smiling at me like that? Unconsciously, she nodded her head. What am I doing? her mind cried out. Her whispery soft voice answered, "I am your friend, Princess."
Usagi's heart filled with joy. Maybe we finally understand one another, she thought happily. I hope Shihaisha's words had an impact on her. Feeling much better, she stopped picking at her food and ate. "Wow, Kumo, this is great! The food on Eternal Night is very similar to the food of Crystal Tokyo."
Kumo widened her eyes and blushed faintly. "Thank you!" she exclaimed with glee. "I am happy that someone is finally eating this wonderful meal after I took all the time to prepare it." She shot a dirty look at her fellow Dragon Senshi, who quickly started stuffing their mouths. Giggling, she leaned down and whispered to the girls at the table, "They are scared of me." The NeoSenshi laughed and followed Usagi's lead.
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Elsewhere on Eternal Night..............
Having phased off of Nightfall, the prince of the planet Eternal Night reappeared in his room of the royal family's citadel. His electric blue eyes swept the room, carefully taking in every detail. Once satisfied that his room was left untouched, he quickly moved to the closet and took out a handful of shirts hanging there. I do not have a choice. I am going to have to hide on Earth if Father refuses to give up this obsession with revenge. Pushing aside a numb feeling in his heart, he put the shirts in a bag on the floor of his closet. It is true that my beloved Usagi killed my mother, but I could see the remorse on her face. It was all in defense; I cannot hold that against her. Why does Father refuse to acknowledge that Mother's hands were bloodied the moment she joined up with the Dead Moon? With a sigh, he closed the packed bag then shut the closet door. Kurai ran his hands through his slightly damp hair and inhaled a deep breath. He walked towards the double doors that led to the hallway but stopped by the chaise. He pictured Usagi sitting there as she had done merely an hour previously. With a smile, he left the room.
The prince's footsteps echoed throughout the otherwise silent hallway once he left his room. It is too quiet, he noted. More on his guard now, he treaded along with softer footsteps so as not to bring attention to himself. I feel like a criminal, sneaking through my own home, he mused. His journey ended once he stopped in front of the demonic doors to the throne room. Miya's ofuda scrolls were still on the door, and he stared at them curiously. Magic? he questioned. He opened the left door and, with extreme caution, walked inside the room. "Father?" he called out.
Silence.
Kurai closed his eyes. No, there is a presence here. His sixth sense kicking in, he rolled to the left as two boomerang-shaped bands of black energy struck the ground where he had been merely seconds earlier. Standing, he glared across the dark room, trying to pinpoint the location of his attacker. Who would have the nerve? his thoughts growled.
Without warning, all of the candles in the room lit, throwing the young prince off guard momentarily. Standing on the dais in front of his throne was King Akuma with his eyes locked on his son. "Kurai," his deep voice rumbled. "You have disappointed me. Nikushimi told me that you ordered him to cease the attacks on Crystal Tokyo, which was NOT my orders." The demon sat down upon the throne and tapped one sharp claw on the right armrest.
Kurai grimaced. "I only did what was right, Father. You know that we should not attack those people. We have to settle this matter peacefully. Do you think Mother would have wanted carnage and war?" Tentatively, the young prince moved to the center of the room. "You are not honoring her memory this way, Father. Admit it; you have changed!"
The king's eyes flashed with anger. His left hand raised, and he pointed it in Kurai's direction. A shockwave of blackened, negative energy burst from the ground beneath Eternal Night's prince, knocking him onto his back. With his black-eyed gaze still locked onto his son, King Akuma lowered his hand. "To think that you have the audacity to speak to me in such a manner... I was wrong about you taking the Earth princess as your bride. She has obviously affected your mind and not for the better." His voice oozed disgust.
Quickly, Kurai moved back to his feet. "Do not speak of her! You are not worthy of even THINKING about her!" he shouted. He reached into the waistband of his pants and withdrew a dagger he had placed there while he was in his room. With a cry of anger, he hurled the dagger at his demonic father.
In response, Akuma's clawed right hand cut the air and another band of negative energy appeared. The dagger and energy met in between the father and son, causing a small explosion as the dagger shattered. The king's attack continued forward and struck the floor merely inches from Kurai. Enraged, Akuma roared, "I WILL strike you down, boy, if you think you can take me on." He stood and started swiping the air over and over in his rage, making numerous more bands of energy appear.
Kurai phased from one area of the room to the next to keep the bands from hitting himself. Damnit! All I can do is dodge for now. If I can ever get an opening, I will be able to use the Kuraisuishô. As it is, I will not be able to keep this up much longer without exhausting myself... After about five minutes of nonstop dodging, the attacks finally ceased. Breathless and close to passing out from the over-exertion of his powers, the prince willed the Kuraisuishô to appear in his hands. "Counterstrike!" he exclaimed as the darkness of the Crystal Without Light outstretched towards his father.
The beam struck the demon in the chest, but unlike what Kurai was expecting, which was to see his father blasted back, King Akuma instead was feeding off the energy of the crystal. Laughter erupted from the demon. "Do you realize what you are doing?" he asked his son with amusement. "Your Kuraisuishô is what fuels every being of Eternal Night. You have just increased my powers!"
Damn! Kurai thought, and the Kuraisuishô stopped giving off its powers. He watched his father continue laughing before merely flicking one of his claws at the prince, and a larger and far more deadly beam of blackness crackling with negative energy was released. The half-vampyre attempted to phase away, but his powers were spent. The beam struck the crystal first, shattering it into hundreds of dark shards, and the light in the prince's eyes burned out before the beam reached him.
Akuma stopped laughing and focused his emotionless eyes on his son. No feelings of remorse filled the demon's mind as he stepped off the dais and walked to the unmoving body of Kurai. He could see the young man's chest vaguely rising and falling, and the king's head shook. Movement from the corner of his eye caught the demon's attention, and he sharply turned his head in its direction. A wicked grin appeared on his face. "Ah, there you are. Someone here has been wanting to see you..."
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Back at Shihaisha's house..............
The girls huddled in Shihaisha's living room as the crimson moon, Shinku, began to illuminate the city of Eclipse. Dinner was over, and they had begun to talk strategy. "What are the most commonly used methods of interplanetary travel on Eternal Night?" Kasumi asked Sasayaki. "Since we arrived here by unconventional methods, it is obvious that we will not be able to return to Earth the same way."
Sasayaki absently rubbed her chin as she thought. After a moment, she replied, "Most people on Eternal Night have never had the luxury of leaving this planet. As Dragon Senshi, we can teleport to our respective moons and back, but being able to move to an entirely different galaxy?" Her head shook, tossing her dark red curls about. "We would need a lot of power."
"Hey," Hanami interrupted. "Can you ask Sailor Neopluto if we can use the Gates of Time to travel back?" Her blue eyes focused on her princess, anxiously waiting for a positive answer.
Usagi blinked and slowly shook her head. "I do not think it is a good idea. We should not use the Gates unless we have absolutely no alternative. One has to be careful when traveling through her realm because countless pockets of rifts in time are sprinkled throughout. One wrong move and you could find yourself in the Stone Age." She watched Hanami lean back with a dejected expression.
"Usagi," Otome said as the conversation died, "we would be able to perform a massive Sailor Teleport, but we would have to go to Earth with you then find our own way back. It is not wise, but if we are forced to..." The white-haired girl frowned.
The princess of Crystal Tokyo shook her head again. "I could not ask you to do that. There has to be some other way." Her red eyes looked over each of the other Senshi, noting how deep in thought each was. I wish Kurai would hurry back so we could come up with a better game plan.
Almost as if on cue to Usagi's thoughts, Eternal Night's prince opened the front door of Shihaisha's house and stepped inside. His eyes swept over the assembled group of girls before the natives abruptly stood. "My prince!" Chi and the other four Dragon Senshi bowed before him.
Kurai appeared to ignore his five protectors as his electric blue eyes fixed on Usagi. "There you are," he murmured. He took large strides to be across the room at her side in mere seconds. His pale hand outstretched and captured Usagi's gloved hand, pulling her from the sofa.
Miya, who up until Kurai liberated Usagi from the sofa, had been sitting beside her princess, stared in bewilderment at the young man. Something is not right about him. There is something in his eyes... something sinister... She found her voice and quickly spoke up, "Usagi?"
Cutting the redhead off, Kurai wrapped his arms around Usagi. "I must speak with you," he whispered. Before the other girls could react, he phased away with the princess of Crystal Tokyo. The assembled Senshi stared at the empty space previously occupied by the duo, dumbfounded.
It was Miya who broke the spellbinding as she quickly jumped to her feet. "Usagi is in trouble!" she cried. "I do not think that was really Kurai!"
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Back in Kurai's room of the citadel..............
The prince released the princess once they were safely in his room. Usagi stared at Kurai in surprise, her head tilted to the side. "Kurai, what is it? What could be so important that you would bring me back here? Why can you not discuss this with the other Senshi?"
Kurai focused his hollow eyes on Usagi as he encircled her with his strong arms. She continued to stare at him, sensing something was wrong, but she could not put her finger exactly on what it was. "Usagi," he whispered, sending a chill through her. He held her close for a long moment and gazed at her face then shoved her away, sending her down onto his bed. Quickly, he was on top of her, using his weight to pin her.
Shocked, Usagi cried, "What are you doing? Let me go! Kurai, this is not like you!" She struggled, sending herself deeper into the gold pillows amongst a sea of white satin, but he was too strong for her to squirm away from. His eyes... what has happened? she wondered.
"You are mistaken," he replied softly. "I cannot let another moment go by without worshipping your perfection, without showing you the fullest extent of my desire." He leaned in close to her face and exhaled warm breath on her cheek. Usagi caught a glimpse of his fangs protruding, and her pulse started racing.
"Kurai, please! Do not do this to me!" He nuzzled her throat briefly then she felt the sharp pain of his fangs biting into her tender flesh. Why? He said he only drank blood when he was injured. Is that what has happened? The confusion left the young princess' mind, replaced by a vaguely more pleasurable feeling. Usagi was almost ready to forgive him, thinking that he was out of sorts because of some kind of injury he might have had, and her arms loosely curled around the prince's lean form. But she shrieked and released him as she felt his hand on her blouse before he started tugging. "No!"
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