:: Greenstone: History ::

After a series of frustrating battles with the Sailor Senshi, Nephrite was ready to try a new tack. Simply selecting targets, augmenting, then draining their energy via a demonic influence was ineffective when the Senshi kept messing things up by attacking the energy-packed youma when it emerged. It was time for a real offensive, and that was best done with a knowledge of some weakness on Sailormoon's part. (Other than the obvious falling-over-and-screaming thing. Something that could be manipulated.)

Calling upon the constellation of Leo, Nephrite received a vision of Tuxedo Kamen, leaving the scene of a victory with a swirl of his cape and a 'Farewell, beautiful warriors.' The vision went on to Sailormoon's giggling face with huge pink hearts in her eyes. Bingo!

A very successful session of divination was interrupted by the arrival of Zoisite, looking entirely too pleased to tell Nephrite that Queen Beryl wished to speak to him. (Just a guess, but I bet when Zoisite was at school the other children hated him.)

Indeed, the tone of the interview was very much like that with the angry principal. Queen Beryl's concern was that Nephrite's strategy was not yet bearing fruit.

'I don't want to hear excuses. If you fail to defeat Sailormoon, you'll go the same way as Jadeite - eternal sleep.'

Beryl's threat was backed up with a silky whisper from Zoisite, always hovering behind: 'A terrifying punishment, don't you think?'

Nephrite seemed far more indignant than frightened. 'I am one of the four lords of the Dark Kingdom! I already have a plan for the destruction of the Sailor Senshi.'

'Yes... I seem to remember Jadeite said something like that. I wonder if you can pull it off?' Zoisite's remark met with no response, as Nephrite turned back to the Queen.

'I will lure Sailormoon into the open and bring her down. You have my word on it.'

Usagi's eyes skimmed the letter in surprise. It had come tucked in an envelope sealed with a heart. Of course, when someone sends you a letter like that the first thing you look at is the signature - Tuxedo Kamen!

'I love you more than anyone. Meet me in the MS Department Store in Shinjuku tomorrow night,' she read out to Luna. 'Alright!' She fell back on her bed, kissing the letter.

'It's weird, though. How does he know you're Sailormoon?' Nothing like a very practical talking cat to puncture romantic illusions... but Usagi is more or less immune to that sort of thing.

'Love conquers all!' she declared. 'The power of love solves all mysteries! He must have seen through my disguise with his heart!' (I think there's a small generator inside her head producing pink fluff.)

'Tuxedo Mask has helped you a great deal, but we still don't know if he's really on our side. He could be the enemy. You must be careful.' Admonitions like this were useless. Usagi was pretty much on Cloud Nine. That is, until the next day at school...

Every, but every, girl in her class had received an identical love letter from someone called Tuxedo Kamen. Naru wanted to know who on earth Tuxedo Kamen was. As the chatter and speculation went on around her, Naru knew who she hoped it was. Although Usagi had gotten over her crush on Sanjouin Masato pretty quickly (i.e. as soon as Cape Boy showed up) he had made a lasting impression on Naru, and become a regular feature of her daydreams. If someone like Sanjouin Masato had sent her a love letter, it would just be too perfect...

Naru's reverie, and the girls' gossip, was interrupted by the entrance of Haruna-sensei, with an announcement that the love letters were a hoax, and definitely not the sort of thing any sensible girl should pay attention to... probably a lure from some pervert. No-one was to go to the department store as the letters asked. As the class agreed obediently, Haruna-sensei turned to the blackboard to hide her face - a majorly pissed-off face.

Fortunately there was one sensible person at Juuban Junior High. Luna consulted with Ami, who agreed that they should be suspicious, and suggested talking to Rei.

By afternoon, when school let out, the widespread love letters had caused a minor sensation - well-known enough that Mamoru and Motoki were discussing them in the Crown video arcade, while Motoki worked and Mamoru, uh, hung around and watched him. (I sometimes think you could get an interesting parody of Clerks out of this scenario.)

'You got me. I suppose it could be. Oh, hi, Usagi-chan!' Motoki smiled at the sight of one of his favourite customers - but Usagi was not her usual sunny self. She entered with a tragic sigh. Then another one, in case they hadn't heard the first one. Her entire bearing exuded despondency.

'What's the matter? You look down.' Furuhata Motoki, folks, King of Understatement.

'I know what's eating her!' Mamoru said. 'All those girls got love letters from this Tuxedo Kamen guy, and you didn't, right?' (What a dork.)

'So how come you're sighing like that?' Motoki asked, nonplussed. Usagi's lip began to tremble.

'Because Tuxedo Kamen sent them to EVERYONE! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!' Umbrellas up, folks, she's lost it.

Ami leaned over Rei's bed. 'You're sick?' (No, she's in bed in the daytime for fun.)

'I've got a cold, and a fever,' Rei explained hoarsely. 'I got one of those letters from Tuxedo Kamen-sama, but I can't go out.' She stopped to cough, under her quilt so as not to hack germs at Ami. 'This really sucks.'

'Well, I'll keep you company,' said Ami, stroking her forehead kindly. (That gets them out of the action, I guess.)

Nephrite was mooching around under the bright lights of the Shinjuku mall, idly looking in shop windows as he contemplated the perfection of his plan.

'If Sailormoon is in love with Tuxedo Kamen, she will surely come tonight... and this place will be her grave.' His thoughts were interrupted by a hesitant voice.

Well hel-LO.

'Sanjouin-sama?' He turned, and saw a red-headed girl with an expression of nervous eagerness. 'It's me. Osaka Naru? From the Juuban Junior High tennis club?'

'I remember you,' Nephrite said smoothly, wondering what she might want with him. 'Are you looking for something?'

'Yes... I wanted to know... could you be Tuxedo Kamen?' She blushed as soon as she'd said it. Nephrite was taken aback.

'What makes you think that?' As Naru said something about 'I was hoping' he stopped listening as his mind raced - did she know he was responsible for the love letters? Could she be Sailormoon? This was too good an opportunity to waste - he would secure the deal.

'I'm sorry to ask you such a silly question,' Naru stammered. The whole thing was so dumb; he must think she was a crazy little girl.

'Naru-chan,' he said - Naru-chan! - and leaned towards her. He was smiling. Her heart gave a little kick. 'Yes?' she said.

'I think you're the cutest girl at Juuban Junior High. I've had my eye on you all along. I'll see you tonight, okay?' With one more melting smile, he turned and walked off.

Naru stood there, feeling quite light-headed. 'Tonight? Is he... oh, I knew it!' She wandered to the rooftop of the mall, and in the sunset, read the letter again, but the memory of Sanjouin-sama's voice seemed to come between her and the page... I think you're the cutest girl... I've had my eye on you... tonight! She sighed in happy anticipation.

***

*sigh*

Usagi was still steamed with Tuxedo Kamen. 'How could he send the same letter to all those girls? I just don't get it. I'll have to go and ask him myself.' Yeah, right. You don't want an excuse at all, do you Usagi? *^.^*

You can't say Sailormoon isn't educational. Here, in helpful list form, are the rules of the Tsukino Usagi School of Dating.

1. Wear clean undies, and clean clothes. (Gee, I would hope she did that every day, date or not.)

Usagi looked at herself in the mirror and tried to imagine that 'just in case' kiss... and managed to embarrass herself. (This is a baaaaad episode for giggling.)

As the last sunlight left Shinjuku, Naru returned to the mall. The security shutters were closed, but, to her surprise, one opened by itself to admit her. She made her way to the MS store. (I wonder if MS is a real Japanese store, or if those are just Sanjouin Masato's initials in European order? Or, God help us all, is there a Japanese branch of Marks and Spencers? And what romance could ever stem from meeting someone in Marks and Spencers?)

'Tuxedo Kamen-sama... I mean, Sanjouin Masato-sama, where are you?' Her lonely voice echoed among the displays.

A figure appeared at the top of the escalator, dramatically posed. Tuxedo... white gloves... red-lined opera cape... white mask... black top hat... but under the hat, masses of auburn hair. 'I am here. Welcome!' The escalator began to move, and he glided down towards her.

'You can tell just by my voice?' Nephrite asked (for indeed it was he) - a little rattled.

'I know you by your voice, by the way you move... you've just got to be Sanjouin Masato-sama,' she repeated, beaming at him. Everything was going right now. She felt no more embarrassment; she could say just what she felt.

He sprang into the air, leapt the last few steps of the escalator, landed in front of her. Suddenly things were strange; he wasn't charming now, but intimidating. Naru caught her breath. He pointed a finger at her, only inches from her face, and bellowed, 'Sailormoon! Show yourself. Reveal your true nature!'

On her way to Shinjuku, it occurred to Usagi that she really ought to have checked in with Ami and Rei before heading off on her mission. She found her communicator in her bag and told Ami where she was. Rei, listening from her bed, was outraged.

'How DARE she sneak out for a date with Tuxedo Kamen-sama?' It takes more than a nasty cold to keep Hino Rei down when she's got an injustice like that to rectify. No way was she staying in bed now.

'Well? Come on! Transform to Sailormoon!' Nephrite was getting impatient as well as angry.

'Are you or are you not Sailormoon?' he demanded, jabbing the finger at her again. It touched her collarbone. She felt giddy. She said the one thing she was still certain of.

Sluuuuurp.

Blue-white light flared and pulsed where Nephrite's hand touched her, and became a stream of coruscating energy. Things were not going according to plan, but Nephrite knew a good thing when he saw it. As Naru swooned, he caught her with one arm, and continued to draw the energy from her form, in a tableau very similar to the traditional image of the vampire and his victim. (The audience shall say 'Ick...')

Another person thinking 'ick' was Usagi, who had just walked in and saw the whole thing.

'Why would Tuxedo Kamen-sama do such a thing!? Hey - that's not Tuxedo Kamen-sama!' (Ten out of ten for observation, Usagi.) 'Hang in there, Naru-chan... Moon Prism Power, MAKE UP!' (You'll have to excuse her for a moment, ladies and gentlemen. Let's go back to tall, dark and evil, shall we?)

'Well, she wasn't Sailormoon after all, but I did get an unexpected windfall of remarkable energy.' You little Pollyanna, Nephrite - seeing the good side of everything. Unfortunately, someone was about to ruin his day.

'Let go of Naru-chan!' a voice yelled. As he looked up, startled, the voice declaimed, 'A demon that would play with an innocent girl's affections is unworthy to wear a tuxedo!' Only one person makes speeches like that. (And is so fixated on tuxedos.)

'I'm the sailor-suited pretty soldier fighting for love and justice - Sailormoon! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!'

'How did you figure out I wasn't Tuxedo Kamen?' Nephrite demanded.

'Woman's intuition!'

Nephrite did not miss a beat. 'Catch.' He flung Naru away from him, and Sailormoon had to scramble to catch her limp body before it hit the floor. Nephrite leapt into the air (the uncharitable might add 'like a flying squirrel') and flung away his disguise. (He must have been awfully hot wearing his grey uniform underneath.) Sailormoon gasped.

Hat hair

'Damn! I have top-hat hair!'

'I am Nephrite! One of the four lords of the Dark Kingdom. I used the name of Tuxedo Kamen to bring you here.' (Nephrite, here, is observing Article V of the Villains' Charter: 'The villain will always explain his plan to the hero once he believes it is too late for the hero to escape.') Nephrite called on the constellation of Leo, and summoned an enormous, ugly pink lion. Things were looking very grim for Sailormoon when the genuine Tuxedo Kamen arrived, posing dramatically in an elevator doorway, vowing to avenge the misuse of his name.

Excuse me. I'm just going to fast-forward to the next bit relevant to the Nephrite-and-Naru story. Although the battle that follows, and the conversation in the elevator shaft, are very important to the Sailormoon-Tuxedo Kamen story, that's not what I'm covering here. Suffice it to say, Sailormoon and Tuxedo Kamen escaped the trap Nephrite had set for them, and Sailors Mars and Mercury found Naru and took care of her. And Nephrite went home...

Zoisite was simply stoked. His case had been made for him. Queen Beryl could not fail to agree that Nephrite had been allowed to mess about for far too long.

'Your Majesty, Nephrite boasted that he would destroy Sailormoon, and he has failed to make good his promise. He deserves eternal sleep.'

'The energy he collected is quite impressive,' Beryl mused, contemplating the glowing orb between her hands. 'There will be no punishment for now.'

'Punishment is always an option! Zoisite, if you have enough free time to take such an interest in Nephrite's assignment, you are not trying hard enough to locate the ginzuishou.'

Zoisite knew when not to push his luck. And he knew all about how to bide his time...

When Nephrite was alone again, he turned his thoughts to the strange things he had witnessed that day.

'At some time, every life is transformed, consumed by one thing, and this single focus produces immense energy. This girl Naru... I would never have expected such an energy from her. She loves my alter ego, Sanjouin Masato...' The image of Naru floated before him in the starry darkness of his mind.

For all his art in astrology, Nephrite could not have known that that day's work had set in motion events that would transform his own life...

Love Letters