S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page) Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me. Well, its true, isn't it? ^_^ -------------------------------------------------------------------- He was here, somewhere. She could SMELL him. Smell his sweat, his flesh, his blood.... It drove her on to find him, to catch him.... To KILL and EAT him. He had pursued her for years, like some object. She WAS the object of his affections. Too much affection. There had been times when he had tried to snatch her away from the Sacred House.... Kidnap her. She had fought him off each and every time, and sometimes even tried to eat him. The thought of biting into his throat, tearing it out.... She fell to her knees and stared at her surroundings. She was in the middle of a factory yard. Cement and warehouses and tanks... She could hear the sound of machinery. To her left, a building belched steam through short stacks. She could smell others in the area. They smelt delicious, too. She held her throat and retched. She couldn't let those instincts take over.... But even as she thought this, she knew it was too late, and it was all her own fault. Rain fell on her back, and she slowly sat up, resting against the side of the steel shed where she had found herself, eyes closed. The sound of shiphorns echoes across the yards, and she remembered the day she arrived in Tokyo, searching for her younger sister.... "What is this? Giving up already?" She heard the voice in her mind. She opened her eyes. "It's not like you, Sherrie. I thought you were made of sterner stuff." "I haven't given up, you bastard...." She said it so softly that even she didn't hear it. But the thoughts that produced the words traveled across the large distance between herself and the origin of the voice. "I can smell you out, wherever you go." "I don't think so. Besides, I have people coming to my aid. You are but one. Three, if you include your less than useful partners who are searching for you even at this moment." "Heh, and if they are, they'd have called for backup as well." A sneer crossed her face. "You smell as good as always, Pagan." She licked her lips and stood, slowly.... "Have we been taking our medication, like a good little girl?" The mocking tone in the thoughts increased. She shook her head and ended the conversation, peering around the corner of the shed. Across the vast, empty yards, she could see another series of factory buildings. She sniffed the air, and began the long dash across the yards, running at near inhuman speeds. Not surprising, as she was only half-human to begin with. ----o Part Eleven Nature of the Beast ----o Usagi had known Minako for a long time, now. They had shared many moments, many adventures, together. But there was something about Minako that neither she nor Usagi knew.... It came to a head within the coffee shop above their favourite game arcade. One moment, Minako was sitting next to her, quietly, if not in something of a daze.... Usagi had been a bit worried about her physical state when Setsuna had guided her to the table, but apart from that, she'd shown no outward signs of what was to come. And then.... "GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE'S DANGEROUS!" Usagi, Setsuna and Hotaru, who had been talking to each other about their precarious situation, turned as a young girl in a dark kimono, Tani Naoko, charged through the entrance of the coffee shop, making for their table. Suddenly Minako made a growling noise in her throat, and she gripped the table. With a bestial cry, she wrenched it clean from its mountings, displaying inhuman strength. The tabletop dropped on top of the unfortunate pair of outer senshi, who had been sitting opposite Minako and Usagi. They both sprawled on their seat below it to short and pained cries of distress. Other patrons of the coffee shop, who had gone silent through this display, were frightened out of their seats as Minako let out a screeching roar that shattered every glass object nearby, including the windows. "NO!" Naoko cried as she reached out to grab Minako, but was bowled back by the patrons of the coffee shop, who were desperately trying to get away from the increasinly monstrous figure. "Mi.. Mina-chan..." Usagi had backed up against the wall, staring at her friend. Minako turned to her, and Usagi let out a short gasp of shock. Her friend's complexion had changed to a ghastly pale, and her eyes.... Had gone a steel grey, the whites bloodshot. With frightening speed, Minako grabbed Usagi by the throat with a clawed hand, and lifted her from her seat. Usagi let out choked cries of distress as Minako dragged her forward, and opened her fanged mouth, ready to tear out her throat.... Then Usagi heard silence. A silence so pure that it was almost painful to hear. The sudden division from the noise of the previous events to what she was experiencing now was so great that she thought she had to be dead.... Then the chanting began. Soft and resonant at first, but increasing, with a musical quality to its tone. "Jacquie...." She heard Naoko say. Tentatively, she opened her eyes. Minako was still holding her up off the ground by the throat, but her face had lost the savage expression it had had only moments before. Slowly, Minako's hand weakened, and she let her go. Usagi fell onto the seat, then rolled to the floor, gagging and coughing as she gasped for air. She turned and looked back. Behind Naoko, Jacquie Madendjirra was standing straight, eyes closed and hands clasped together, as if praying. The middle and forefingers of both hands were pointing upwards, and her thumbs were pressed together. It was from her mouth the chanting had emerged. It was in a strange, almost musical language Usagi had never heard before. But she could feel the waves of power emanating from the young woman. She turned to her right as the tabletop was gently placed beside her. Setsuna rose from behind it, watching Jacquie carefully. "Wh... Who are they? What's going on?" Usagi whispered to her." Setsuna put up a hand and hushed her. "A pacification song...." Setsuna whispered. "One of the oldest magical spells in recorded history. Also one of the most effective." Usagi ahhed as if that was supposed to make sense. Deep within the recesses of her memory, she had heard of the spell before.... One practiced by the peoples who populated the southern continent. "Are they...?" Usagi pressed up against the tabletop, trying to get as close to Setsuna as possible so she wouldn't be overheard. Setsuna raised her eyebrows and looked at her. "Are they the people we have been worrying about? Yes. I'm very afraid they are." Usagi's heart sank at the reply as Setsuna looked back at Hotaru. The girl's eyes were spiralling and she was letting out a short moan of disorientation. "Hotaru, get up...." "Aww, another five minutes, mom." Great, thought Setsuna. That's two down, two to go. "What are we going to...." Usagi tugged on Setsuna's arm as Naoko stood behind Minako, holding her hands out, ready to catch the girl. Setsuna hushed Usagi again. "We wait our opportunity, then we make a run for it." "What do you mean? What about Mina-chan?" "It's already too late for her...." Before Usagi could ask Setsuna what she meant, Jacquie's chant reached a crescendo. With a flourish of her hands and arms, she stopped. Minako fell back into Naoko's arms. Grabbing Hotaru's hand Setsuna let out a bark. "NOW!" Setsuna leapt from her seat, dragging the recalcitrant Hotaru with her. Usagi blinked in surprise and stood, following her out at great speed. Jacquie had just enough time to open her eyes when Setsuna bowled through her. The young woman fell back against the counter of the coffee shop, sliding down and landing on her rear end rather painfully, letting out a little gasp of pain and surprise. Naoko also watched the trio depart. "Hey.... Wait, what are...." She looked at Jacquie helplessly, unable to do anything with the pacified Minako in her arms. As Setsuna and Hotaru flew through the doorway, Usagi stopped and turned, looking back at Minako. "Mi.... Mina-chan..." She stood, shivering, not wanting to leave her old friend behind. This gave Jacquie enough time to stand and turn to her.... A few moments passed between them. It was enough time for Jacquie to see what lay beyond Usagi's ordinary exterior... and for Usagi to feel the probings. Stunned by the revelation, Jacquie stood and watched as Usagi turned and followed the two Outer Senshi through the door. Naoko gently lifted Minako in her arms and lay the girl on the seat by the broken table. She then turned and walked across to where Jacquie was leaning against the counter. She saw the look in her companion's eyes and tugged her on the sleeve. "Hoi.... What's gotten into you?" "S... Sailor...." "What? What is it?" Jacquie turned to Naoko. "That girl.... The blond one. She was Sailormoon...." "Eh?" Naoko's eyes opened wide. "How.... How do you know?" "My powers broke through her magical shielding.... She left herself open wide to mental probing...." She turned to the prone Minako. "That one is also a Sailorsenshi...." Naoko shook her head. "That would explain something, then." "What?" "Her age. She's too old to go through the normal process of becoming. Something has been holding the process back." "Sailorsenshi powers." Naoko nodded. "It appears we have one in our hands, at last." She smiled. "Good thing my nose is so keen, eh?" Jacquie bopped her one over the head. "Silly. You could have gotten yourself hurt. I'd be in a hell of a strife with your father if that was to happen." "Biiiiiida!" Naoko stuck her tongue out at Jacquie. "You're just thinking of yourself." "Ano...." The pair turned to the counter attendant, a young woman not much older than Jacquie, as she rose up from behind the cash register. "I hope you don't mind paying for the table. The owner of the shop will be real mad with me, otherwise...." ----o Akizuki stared out of his front window at the street beyond, holding the cordless phone to his right ear. "I see." There were children.... What were they doing out of school? They were kicking through the water that ran freely along the gutters. "And that was all he said?" There had been a time in his life where he could do that and not be looked upon as being strange in the head. There were things people could forgive you for doing because you were a child. At his age, however, kicking through puddles or running water in the street would be contrived as a sign of encroaching senility. "So, what do you want me to do about it? Punish her for this? I don't think it shall do us any harm...." But there were times, since his retirement from the police force, when he really wanted to just do something utterly juvenile and stupid. How many years left did he have? probably less than twenty, if that. "Well, if you're so sure he is such a problem, I shall see to it that she gets a good talking-to for her actions. Relax, my friend. This won't blow open the existence of the Coven to the general populace or anything...." You are given just so many years to enjoy your life. He found that out when his older brother died ten years ago. He was in his late fifties at the time.... Early in the expectations of some. "Yes, I may not know the kind of person Fitchner is, but look at the situation, my friend. He was about to commit the act of suicide upon his person. Michelle's link to her father is extremely strong. She would have known of his intended actions, and reacted accordingly. Now, if you wish her to be punished for this, then I shall be happy to oblige. But I really don't think it is as desperate a situation as you seem to make it." Too early in his expectations. He and his brother had shared a close relationship. The sudden passing had left him damaged within, in a way many could not even begin to understand. "Very well. I shall hear from you later on this matter, yes? Good. Goodbye." Akizuki hit the off button of the phone and glanced through the window one more time. The children were gone, now. He sighed and stepped away.... ----o "Where are you taking me?" "Shutup and you might just find out." Aoi dragged Ami through the corridors of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police building by the arm. A couple of times the girl had protested about the rough handling, so Aoi would reply by squeezing her nails into her arm. Well, it was enough to shut her up, for a while at least. "Now, if I know Kaji, he'd be playing around in the forensics department." She came to a lift and pressed the button to go up. "Please..." Ami looked imploringly at her "I came here to..." "..Confess to the murder of your friend, yes yes yes.... Give me a break girl. I can read you like a book." Aoi sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's the truth." Ami clenched a fist at her side, determinedly. "Oh yeah? And what did she die of, then, eh?" Ami determination evaporated, and she became flustered. "She, ah.... I had the pair I sent to.... Uh.... They were going to... drug her, overdose her.... Umm... That failed to do the job, so they shot...." Ami turned away, trying to hide her pained expression. For a few moments, Aoi thought the girl might even be sick. It passed. Aoi inwardly shrugged. The girl certainly knew the basics of what happened. But still, whatever it was that had given her the ability to see through the magic, that disguised the Sailorsenshis' identities, was also seeing through the pretence of the confession. This girl, Mizuno Ami, was LYING, and she wanted to know why. The lift doors opened, and Aoi silently dragged Ami in, pressing the button for the next floor. Ami looked at her as she stared at the closing doors. "Well, was I right?" "Hmm?" Aoi turned to her, lost in thought. "Was I right? Is that how she died?" "You tell me. You're the one confessing." Aoi turned away as Ami looked at the floor, red faced. A smile crept to the corners of Aoi's mouth. She asked such a question! It had been like reciting something she was told to say.... However, this girl's social skills weren't exactly top notch. In fact, right from the start, Aoi detected an element of.... She couldn't define what it was.... A psychological condition, maybe? Or perhaps an intellectual dysfunction? Whatever the case, the girl was not at ease with the company of others, but was trying EXTREMELY hard to emulate a semblance of normal social behaviour. She sighed. This was pure speculation on her part. Her keen senses were mixing with her psychological training, creating a crossbred diagnosis that was 50% intuition, 50% educated opinion. Pity she didn't have these senses earlier, she could have avoided the need to join the police and jumped straight into psychiatric practice. Of course, if there was anywhere in Japan that was worse than the Police Force with its attitude to women, it was the medical profession. Aoi smiled again. The girl had a mother who worked as a doctor. She had to meet her when they called her in and ask her what it was like for her. Aoi was putting money on finding a woman with exactly the same kind of personality as Ami. A socially stilted intellectual. An autistic savant. Aoi shook her head. "Stop it, for Kami's sake." She mumbled to herself. All this thinking was giving her a headache. She turned to Ami, who had been staring at her after her mutterings. The girl shied away, quickly, as if afraid to look her in the eye. The lift doors opened, and Aoi dragged Ami into the corridor beyond, turning left. After a short distance, she arrived at a set of doors which lead through into another corridor, painted a pale green. The Forensics department.... Aoi shivered. She always hated walking into this part of the building. More than once, she had been given practical lessons on internal human physiology here, by being made to watch through several autopsies. Of course, she had nobody but herself to blame for that.... It had all been part of her attempt to get into the Major Crime department. That it failed made the shade of the walls all that more unpleasant. They arrived at the end of the corridor, where a door lead in to a small office. She peered through the small window set above the handle of the door. As she expected, Kaji was chatting away to one of the pathologists, Honeaki. She opened the door and strode in, causing the pair to turn as she took Ami by the shoulders and made her sit on one of the chairs that lined the near wall. "Stay!" She waved a finger in Ami's face. Ami nodded mutely. Aoi then turned and stepped over to Kaji and Honeaki. "Uh, hi, Kiko-san. Finished your little search...." Kaji blinked uneasily as Aoi stopped in front of him. "Yes, if it is of any interest to you. Hi Kumada. You two talking about anything I should be hearing." "Who's the chick?" Kaji thumbed Ami. "Don't you worry about her. You don't normally spend this amount of time hanging around the forensics department unless there is something to interest you." "Ah yes." Kaji smiled, and gestured to Honeaki. Aoi turned to the pathologist. "Well, we've been researching the batch numbers for the prescription drugs found near the body of the sailorsenshi." Aoi half turned to Ami and saw the girl wince. She turned back and put up a hand. "A little more... quietly, if you don't mind." Honeaki and Kaji looked at each other a moment. "Who is she?" Kaji frowned. "This girl.... Is she...?" "Yeah, well, she's come in to help us with our search for the Sailorsenshi. She apparently knows who they are." Aoi smiled at the two men sweetly. "So a little shutting up in her presence won't go astray, okay?" "Alright, alright...." Kaji sighed. "So..." Aoi continued. "What about these batch numbers, then?" "Well... You see, all prescription drugs, their packaging and whatnot, are stamped with their particular batch number, so if there is any problem with them, or if they are stolen and turn up somewhere they shouldn't be, they can be traced back to their point of origin." Aoi nodded. "I know that much." "We traced the origin of these drugs.... They had been sold to a hospital. A MAJOR private hospital, with a lot of influential people within the medical profession working there...." "Shit." Aoi blinked. "Shit, indeed." Kaji chuckled. "I wouldn't want to be the one to charge in there and start asking questions...." "Wait a minute..." A thought came to Aoi's mind. "Is this hospital near the Juuban area?" "Well, it's close. I wouldn't say that it was nearby, but it's not that far away." Honeaki shrugged. "Is this relevant to the case?" Aoi turned and looked back at Ami. "A mother who works as a doctor." She said to herself, softly, then turned back to Honeaki. "Can you call them and ask to arrange an interview with a Doctor Mizuno...." ----o Carey West stared through the large panel of windows, that looked down upon the operations centre of the Sacred House, which had the appearance of a kind of space program ground control, with the same air of icy unemotionality that followed her wherever she went. She was lost in thought.... Working over the possibilites of losing control of someone like Sherrie Meehan, of having a Becoming incident in a public place, involving a Sailorsenshi, no less, and a few other things besides.... Her gift, of being able to deal with such affairs without it flustering her in the slightest, was what had seen her gain the position as Chief of Operations, despite being so young. She wasn't even surprised by the entrance of Tani Genzaburo into her private domain, the large viewing room she used as her office. Even before he had thought of seeing her, she knew the precise moment he would step through her office door. She turned a fraction of a second before the door opened, and watched as he stepped in. A few moments passed between them as Gen realised he had been expected. He cleared his throat, nervously. "I hear my daughter was involved in an incident outside the bounds of the Sacred House." "A Becoming incident, yes." Gen blinked a couple of times, and tried to smile. "I shall not disturb your thoughts for long. Can you tell her to see me when she returns." "Hai." Carey nodded. Another uneasy silence passed between them, then he turned and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. Carey sighed and shook her head. He was worse than usual, today.... Gen shivered. He'd always had trouble dealing with women. One of the reasons he liked the air of conformity and structure that existed within the Sacred House. Here, relationships were more formal and predictable. But he still had trouble with some. Like Carey West. She had never been easy to fathom. Of course, that had a lot to do with what she was. The less thought about that, the better. ----o Sherrie sniffed the air within the warehouse. Despite its dilapidated nature, it was still being used by the company that owned the factory yards. Boxes and crates were piled in long rows, only just barely lit by what little light shone through the high windows. Water dripped through holes in the roof, and the entire place was enveloped in a cacophany of aromas.... Of must, rust, wet cement, wet earth and rotting wood. She smiled. Pagan wasn't stupid. If there was anywhere he would hide from her, it would be in a place where her sense of smell would be severely limited.... But not limited enough. She could almost taste him in here. The wondrous aroma of his flesh. Her hand rested against the edge of the door, gripping the wooden frame so hard that it began to crack. She stared at the hand, removing it from the frame. Her fingernails had begun to curve inwards, becoming clawlike. For a few moments, she held the hand, closing her eyes.... Then she licked her lips, and disappeared through the doorway.... END OF PART 11 -------------------------------------------------------------------- DDFA ayanami@merlin.net.au 2nd Apr 1998