That Special Magic
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
http://strands-of-moonlight.my3gb.com
-or- http://strands-of-moonlight.6te.net
A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"> Chapter 38 - For the Senshi of Love <
Geoff and Minako stood together on the volleyball court, facing Tetsuro and Keiko. Geoff served the ball, and Keiko easily returned it. Minako stepped back, having already anticipated Keiko's return lob, and knocked the ball deep into their court. Tetsuro rushed back to return the ball. He now knew not to underestimate Minako, seeing that she had judged the distance correctly to keep the ball from going out of play. Geoff took Tetsuro's return, lobbing it high and short. Keiko knocked it back over the net, with Minako quickly making her own return. The volley continued for several minutes as each side looked for an opening. Finally, Keiko struck the ball hard over the net. Minako, however, was already vaulting upward, striking the ball for a killer smash. Tetsuro dove, but couldn't quite reach it as the ball hit the floor.
"That's the game!" declared Geoff, triumphantly.
"Yes!" Minako cheered, rushing back to exchange a high-five with Geoff.
"Nice game," Keiko acknowledged.
"A very good game," Minako agreed.
"I don't know how you two pulled that one out," Tetsuro said. "I was sure we had you."
Minako shook her head. "There's always a chance to come back."
They all shook hands and turned toward the door, seeing Kenda-san, the women's volleyball coach standing there. "That was a nice final volley," he said. "Who's this young woman, and where has she been hiding? Why isn't she on the team?"
They all burst out laughing.
"Sorry, Kenda-san," Keiko said. "But she's ineligible."
"Ineligible? Why?"
"She's not a student here," Geoff said. "Minako. This is Kenda-san, the women's volleyball coach. Kenda-san, Aino Minako."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kenda-san," Minako said.
"And a pleasure for me, Aino-san," Kenda said. "But tell me, where do you go to school? Any chance we can get you to transfer?"
The others started laughing again.
"I'm afraid I can't transfer," Minako said, giggling softly. "I'm not old enough."
Kenda looked at her in surprise. "You're not?"
Minako shook her head. "I attend Shibakouen Junior High School."
"Junior high school? Wow. They must have a powerful team," Kenda said.
"Well, actually... I don't play on their team," Minako said. "I've been out of the country until recently."
"We just play some informal games here," Geoff said.
"And Minako-san runs us into the floor," Tetsuro added.
"Well, Aino-san... I hope you'll keep us in mind when the time comes to look for a university," Kenda said. "I know our team could use you."
Minako nodded, still giggling. "I'll think about it, Kenda-san... But it'll be a few years yet."
"Well, it was nice to meet you," Kenda said.
"Good bye, Kenda-san," Minako said.
They walked out of the volleyball court and turned toward the locker rooms.
"Are you two going to stick around for a swim?" Keiko asked.
"I don't think so," Geoff said. "I'm afraid I have a stack of books waiting for me at home."
Minako nodded. "I keep hoping if I ignore mine they will get bored and leave, but so far that hasn't worked."
They all laughed again, then separated to their respective locker rooms.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
About half an hour later, Minako and Geoff emerged from the athletics building and walked across the campus. Suddenly, they heard screams.
Minako glanced around hurriedly. 'Oh, no. Not now,' she thought.
"What's happening?" Geoff asked, looking around.
Two people came running toward them, with a large blood-red gorilla-like figure right behind them.
"What is that thing?" Geoff asked, already pulling her toward a building.
The youma roared and jumped toward them. Geoff pushed Minako down, but was struck as the youma swept past them. She gasped as she saw he was unconscious, quickly checking to make certain he was alright. She then jumped to her feet and dove behind a tree, producing her transformation wand.
"Venus... power... make-up!" she cried.
As her transformation was complete, she noticed Geoff already beginning to stir. She jumped up into the tree and watched as the youma turned and rushed back. A powerful urge to jump to Geoff's side swept through her, but she resisted it, knowing she had to retain the element of surprise.
Geoff sat up, looking around frantically as he realized Minako was no longer there. The youma roared again. Geoff hurriedly rolled away, and the youma missed him.
Minako sighed with relief. As the youma turned back toward Geoff, she braced herself, then raised her hand. "Crescent beam!"
Geoff looked up in surprise as an intense beam of energy struck the youma. He caught a brief glimpse of a Sailor Senshi standing in the tree before the youma roared once more. It regained its feet and jumped forward. Geoff rolled into a crouch.
Minako gasped as she saw the youma racing at Geoff. They were now too close to each other for her to risk another blast.
Geoff grabbed the youma's arm. It was as massive as he had feared, but he made use of its momentum for a judo throw, flipping it off balance. Energy flared around them as he grabbed it and the youma screamed in pain. In an instant, it had crashed to the ground, and Geoff jumped away.
"Crescent beam!" Sailor Venus cried again, striking the now immobile youma. It roared, then collapsed into dust.
Geoff looked up to see Sailor Venus leap away, leaving him with little more than an image of a long sweep of golden hair which somehow seemed to fill him with a sense of deja vu. He turned back toward the remains of the fallen youma, which were rapidly fading away. He recalled the flash of energy from the youma, suddenly realizing it resembled a sensation from his dreams involving the dragons. Considering this for only a moment, he turned, looking for any sign of Minako.
"Geoff!" she called. "Are you OK?"
"Minako!" He rushed toward her. "I'm fine... What about you? What happened?"
"I'm OK," she said. "I... got thrown... and took cover behind the tree over there."
He glanced over in that direction, then looked at her uncertainly. "Well... at least you're OK. That's what's important."
"You're sure you're OK?" she asked, running a hand gently along the side of his face. "Slugging it out with that thing was pretty risky."
"It was just a single judo throw," he said. "And it seems to have given that Sailor Senshi... Sailor Venus I presume... the chance to finish it off... so I guess it was worth the risk."
She nodded. "As long as you're OK," she said. "Do you want to get some pizza and take it back to your apartment?"
"Pizza? Don't you have to be home for dinner?"
She shook her head. "My father left this morning for a conference in Kyoto..."
"Yes. You mentioned that," he said.
"Well, he took Mom with him and they're going to spend the weekend," she said. "So... I don't really have to go home... and it would be more enjoyable to have dinner with you."
"I certainly don't object," he said.
As they walked, she glanced over at him. She'd hated lying to him about her involvement against the youma. Of all the Senshi, she was the only one whose soul-mate did not yet know of her secret. She glanced at him again, remembering the strange flash of energy she had seen when he had thrown the youma. It stirred vague memories of the past, but until he knew she was Sailor Venus and that they had been together in a past life, there was no way she could really discuss that with him. It was clear to her; she had to tell him her secret, and very soon.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Geoff emerged from the small pizza place near his apartment and walked back toward his building.
As he walked, he again considered the events of that afternoon. His strange experience with the ape-like monster had been like nothing he had ever known... except in his dreams about the dragons. In those dreams, he was increasingly seeing himself very passionately involved with a young woman who looked exactly like Minako.
His thoughts were interrupted as he waited to cross the street. The light soon changed and he stepped off the curb, holding the pizza box securely.
Approaching his building, his thoughts returned once more to Minako and the dreams he had been experiencing. He had been growing still closer to her as they spent more time together. A lingering concern about her youth remained, but he had to admit his attitudes were softening even on this. Only a month ago, he wouldn't have seriously considered allowing a girl her age to spend the night in his apartment, but now she was staying with him on a fairly regular basis.
He entered the building, walked past the elevator and climbed the stairs at a gentle jog. Reaching his floor, he opened the door and walked toward his apartment. He slipped his key into the lock and opened the door. Stepping inside, he noticed the lights were off.
"Minako?" he called.
He closed the door and set down the pizza box, then removed his shoes. Her shoes were still there in the entryway, indicating that she had not left.
"Minako?" he called again.
Taking a step forward, he saw her standing there, now wearing her Sailor V costume. He was about to say something when he suddenly remembered that the only clothes she had brought with her were her school uniform and the shorts and t-shirt she wore to play volleyball. His breath caught as the faintest inkling of a possibility began to occur to him.
She smiled as she saw his reaction, and stepped forward into her classic Sailor V pose. It had been several months since she had last activated this transformation, but it was still proving to be second nature to her.
"Minako?" he asked uncertainly.
She nodded, then made a quick rotation. As she completed the motion, she focused her concentration, feeling her Venus transformation wand form in her hand. She raised it in front of her, seeing his eyes following it.
"Venus... power... make-up!" she cried.
He gasped and his eyes went wide as waves of energy swirled around her, sweeping away her Sailor V costume, then washing over her naked form. The energy quickly began to coalesce, forming the costume of Sailor Venus. Even as he felt consumed by shock and amazement, a faint sensation of deja vu lingered, insisting he had seen even this sight before. The energy around her faded, and he found himself face to face with a genuine Sailor Senshi.
"Minako..." He shook his head in amazement. "You... are... Sailor Venus?"
She nodded. "That's right."
"And you're also Sailor V?"
"Yes," she said, nodding again. "I'm sorry for just dumping this all on you so suddenly... but after what happened this afternoon, I had to tell you."
"I... I don't understand," he said. "What was that thing?"
"It's called a youma," she said. "It comes from the Dark Kingdom, which is trying to take over our universe."
He looked at her, remaining silent as more strange images surfaced in his mind, like some sort of suppressed memory.
Minako recognized his confusion. As she stepped closer, energy swirled around her again, transforming her back to normal, leaving her wearing one of his shirts. "Are you alright?"
He took a breath. "I'm not sure... I keep feeling like... like I've seen you like this before."
She nodded. "I understand... And actually... you have."
Surprise showed on his face. "What?"
She switched on a light, then took hold of his hand and led him to the sofa where they sat down.
"I know it may sound strange, but it's true," she said. "You see, each of the Sailor Senshi lived a previous life... A thousand years ago, we were the court and royal guard of Princess Serenity of the Moon. We were all princesses of our respective planets, and each of us had found a young man we were deeply in love with..."
He looked at her, his eyes quickly losing their focus as more memories stirred.
"But eventually, the Dark Kingdom invaded our universe. Earth was overrun and the Sailor Senshi joined in the Moon Kingdom's last stand... We lost."
He took a long, slow breath, still struggling with it all. "What happened?" he asked softly.
"The queen of the Moon used her power to lock the Dark Kingdom away, and sent all of her people to live new lives in the future on Earth," Minako said. "She took precautions in case the Dark Kingdom should return, making sure the princess and the Senshi would be able to stop their invasion before it was too late... And she also made sure that we would each be able to meet up again with our loves from the past."
His eyes went wide again and he turned his head slowly to look at her.
"You've been having dreams of the past, haven't you?"
He sighed, then nodded. "For many years... I've dreamt about living with dragons... following them around, and apparently helping ones that were injured."
"Is that all?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Just recently, I've had dreams about... a young woman... She looks like you."
She leaned closer. "I've been having really intense dreams about you."
"So... you're saying we were together in a past life?" he asked.
She nodded. "That's right... We were lovers... and soul-mates."
He remained silent as still more memories stirred. Finally, he just nodded slightly. "I can hardly believe it."
She placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "I know. I was a bit amazed when I first learned that we each had soul-mates waiting for us... but I realized almost right away that you were the one."
"It's incredible," he whispered.
She looked at him thoughtfully. "Are you OK with this?"
"I... don't know," he said. "It... It's a lot to deal with."
"I understand," she said softly.
She kissed his cheek once more then rose to her feet, retrieving the pizza and several napkins. Setting the box down in front of the sofa, she opened it and offered him a slice.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
"You're welcome."
She took a piece for herself and sat down next to him.
As he sat there, more memories washed over him. He now recalled many happy occasions with her in their past life, and just how happy they had been together. Taking another bite of the pizza, he continued to stare blankly ahead, still feeling overwhelmed.
She looked over at him, recognizing that he was still struggling with this. He was entirely right that it was a lot to deal with. She sat there quietly. There was still more she wanted to ask him, but she wanted to give him time to think.
He finished his pizza slice and sat back. "Uhm... Thanks for telling me," he said. "It... ah, it does explain a lot of things."
She nodded. "I felt that I needed to tell you."
He nodded, then reached for another piece of pizza.
"I do have a question, though," she said.
He turned and looked at her curiously.
"When you fought with the youma, there was a flash of energy," she said. "I was wondering what caused that?"
"I'm... not entirely sure," he said. "It felt like something I remember from some of my dreams about the dragons..."
She thought for a moment, trying to focus on her own memories. "You had a special ability, didn't you?"
"Uhm... now that you mention it... I think so," he said. His eyes widened. "Oh, my God... Yes. I could redirect and cancel out magic energy."
She nodded. "Ami's boyfriend was a psychic in the past, and he still has that ability in this life... And Rei's friend, Atana, has magic abilities of his own that seem to have carried over from his past life... so I guess it makes sense that you'd still have your special ability."
"I guess so," he said uncertainly.
"If you can cancel out magic energy, that would explain why the youma seemed to be in such pain," she said. "Afterall, it's basically a creature of dark magic."
He nodded, and returned to eating his slice of pizza. "Would you like a soft drink?" he asked.
"Please. That would be great."
He stood up and walked into the kitchen. Retrieving two cans from his refrigerator, he filled a glass for each of them. "Here you are," he said, handing her a glass.
"Thanks."
He sat down again. "So, how did you become a Sailor Senshi...? In this lifetime, I mean."
"Actually, it was all because of Artemis," she said.
"Artemis? Your cat?"
She nodded. "He's not your ordinary cat," she said. "He had been a royal advisor to the queen of the Moon. He and Luna, that's Usagi's cat, were sent into the future to be able to awaken the Senshi if that should become necessary. Artemis found me and taught me to be Sailor V. Later, after I'd returned to Japan, Luna was bringing the other Senshi together, and Artemis started training me to become Sailor Venus."
"He trained you? Does your cat talk?" he asked.
Minako rolled her eyes. "Does he ever! Sometimes I can't shut him up."
He looked at her, not fully understanding.
"Artemis is a bit of a nag," she said. "Sometimes he's... rather impatient."
He nodded. "I don't suppose it would have anything to do with you perhaps being a somewhat difficult student?" he asked softly with a grin.
She glared at him. "Of course not," she declared.
He smiled. "Well, at least that's settled."
"That's right," she said firmly.
He took a sip of his drink, then picked up another piece of pizza. As he glanced over at her, powerful feelings for her again swelled within him. He sighed softly, coming to realize just how much he cared for her. This was going to make it even more difficult having her stay with him, as he now knew just how involved they had been in their past life together.
"Uhm... I think we each probably need to spend some time on school work," he said.
She sighed, then nodded. "I guess so."
He slid off the sofa and retrieved their books. She took hers, opening a notebook and moving over to his computer.
"I need to type up a report," she said, as she switched his computer on.
"That's fine," he said. He opened one of his books and sat back on the sofa.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Geoff rubbed his eyes and shut down his computer, leaning back in his chair. As he stood up, he saw Minako on the sofa, having fallen asleep with her book resting on her chest. He stretched, then moved toward her, gently picking up her book.
"Minako," he whispered, crouching alongside her and softly caressing her arm.
"Hmmm?" she responded, still asleep.
He smiled, seeing how peaceful she looked in sleep. Very gently, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Minako," he whispered again.
She began to stir, her eyes blinking open. "Hmmm? What is it?"
"You fell asleep," he said.
"Oh." She stretched her arms and legs.
He glanced down, admiring her long, fit legs. His body quickly began to respond, and he mentally cursed himself.
"Do you want to think about going to bed?" he asked.
She nodded. "I think so," she said. "I didn't realize I was so tired."
"That's OK," he said. He offered her a hand, helping her to her feet.
"Thanks."
He switched off the lights while she stepped into the bathroom. Entering the bedroom, he quickly removed his clothes, changing into a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.
She emerged from the bathroom, removing the bow from her hair, then slipped into bed.
He took his own turn in the bathroom, then returned to the bedroom, slipping into bed alongside her. He switched off the light and lay back. She snuggled close to him, already drifting off to sleep.
"I love you," she murmured.
He looked over at her and smiled, running a hand gently along her arm. "I love you," he whispered.< To be continued >
* * * * * * * * * * * *
NOTE: Just to clarify a point in this story, Minako does not yet know theat Atana was not reincarnated like the rest of them. As always, special thanks to my lovely better half for all her love and support. More to come.Hopeless Romantic and I now have a message group to notify our readers when we post new stories/chapters. Those who are interested can sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/strands_of_moonlight/ .
Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.
-04.14.2002