:: Greenstone: History ::

Naru sat on the edge of the public swimming pool, swinging her legs in the cool water. Her heart and mind were full to overflowing with thoughts of Sanjouin Masato; she saw him the moment she closed her eyes. Her inner ear could hear his voice... Naru-chan... So this was what love was like.

SPLOOSH. She was showered with water. Startled, she looked up to see Usagi laughing and flicking pool water at her.

'You're such a kid, Usagi,' she said, exasperated. Typical Usagi, playing silly tricks and interrupting her in the middle of such beautiful thoughts.

Bikini

'I am not,' Usagi retorted. 'I suppose you're all grown up?'

'Yep,' Naru said. 'Grown up enough to be in love.'

'Uh, Naru-chan - being "in love" takes two people.'

'Well, of course.' Naru smiled a secret smile.

'Is it Umino?!' Usagi asked. A horrible thought occurred to her. 'Tuxedo Kamen and Motoki-onii-san are out of bounds, okay? I've got first dibs on them!'

'This is real, mature love. I'll tell you who it is - Sanjouin-sama.' Usagi stared at her, waiting for the punchline.

'What are you looking so surprised for?' Naru asked. 'I mean, okay, he's a little older than me, but age differences don't matter if you've got real love.'

'Oh, forget it,' Naru said, impatient with her friend's childishness. 'I shouldn't have told you in the first place.' She got up and walked away from the pool, leaving Usagi to flounder.

Usagi seemed childish to Naru, but she knew more about some things than Naru could ever have guessed. Fortunately, she didn't have to think the problem over alone.

Ami, Rei and Luna agreed that Naru had to be told the truth about Sanjouin Masato: that he was Nephrite, and definitely not Our Kind of People. Usagi was reluctant to break the news, though, and they couldn't help thinking of how Naru would feel. But as Rei pointed out, you never know unless you try. Sensibly, Luna left the decision up to Usagi, who, after some deliberation, declared 'Leave everything to me!' It would have been more impressive if she hadn't emphasised the words by thumping herself on the chest and making herself cough. So, uh, yeah, good intentions, but not exactly a spectacle to inspire great confidence.

When Queen Beryl was angry, she spread it around. The very air of the great hall fizzed and snapped with her fury. The assembled denizens of the Dark Kingdom cowered before her.

'Where has Nephrite got to?' she raged. 'No matter how many times I summon him, he never comes! Damn him! He'd better be prepared to face the consequences.'

Zoisite, lurking in the shadows, let the smallest smile part his lips. 'Nephrite's had it. My condolences to him...'

Nephrite would not have appreciated the sentiment. In his spacious house, he was feeling boxed in. Recent events had made energy collection impossible; his only remaining bargaining chip was his star chart. It was hard to see how he could get out of this one.

With his usual unerring sense of when he would be most unwelcome, Zoisite materialised.

'Tsk tsk tsk - you should be nicer to me. I've come to tell you Her Majesty is in a rage, and commands your attendance.'

'So you came to keep an eye on me for Kunzite?' Perhaps Nephrite was paranoid, but under the circumstances it was justified. Indeed, in the Dark Kingdom paranoia was a healthy defence strategy.

'Ooh,' Zoisite said with a mock shudder, 'I'm shaking. Just a word in your ear - consider early retirement, before Her Majesty disposes of you for good.'

'Shut up!' Nephrite barked. 'I'll find the ginzuishou myself, and show you up for the fool you are!'

'You wouldn't dare,' said Zoisite, really needled for the first time in their conversation. 'Finding the crystal is my assignment.'

'Who cares whose assignment it is?' Nephrite asked, casual now, delighted to see he had scored a real hit. 'The first one to come up with the goods is the winner.' At this stage, the only way he could see to redeem himself was by producing the ginzuishou. The triumph over Zoisite would be the icing on the cake.

Zoisite's eyes narrowed. 'Damn you,' he spat. 'You'll pay for this.' In a flurry of pink petals, he departed.

Alone once more, Nephrite shook his head. 'How could I let someone like Zoisite get to me?' He was more on edge than he cared to admit. It was deeply reassuring to turn to the stars for guidance. The alignment of the Sun with Neptune and Mars was portentous. Now was the time of the kurozuishou, the ginzuishou's dark shadow. Nephrite reached into the heart of chaos and gave it shape, imposed a form on darkness. Vast surges of energy rolled back and forth in the room, lifting and pulling at his hair, pressing against him powerfully, but nothing could rock him, and he completed the work of his will.

Shazam!

A black rod-shaped crystal fell to the floor of the hall with a small clink. A few arcs of bluish energy crackled over its surface and winked out as Nephrite picked it up in one gloved hand.

'So this will guide me to the ginzuishou,' he mused. He looked into its depths. An image came to him: turquoise eyes set in a pale face, framed with red hair. 'That girl... does she have the crystal?'

'Let Nephrite carry on,' Kunzite said calmly. He and Zoisite sat together in a massive chair hewn from a twisted rock formation, Zoisite leaning against the older man for moral support as much as physical comfort.

'And have a youma keep an eye on him,' Kunzite suggested. Zoisite turned his head slightly to look at the looming darkness behind the rock throne. At his word, the youma Yasha came forth, its face an enigmatic, doll-like mask.

'What's wrong with you?' Luna demanded, at her feet. 'You said "Leave everything to me!".'

'Well, what else was I supposed to say?' Usagi asked, with a guilty chuckle. 'That happens a lot!'

'It only happens a lot with you,' Luna sighed. Usagi got a brainwave - she should ask Motoki-onii-san! (Onii-san means 'older brother.' Motoki is no relation to Usagi, but she calls him this because she looks up to him. Just a little language note there...) Luna sighed again and followed her. It wasn't as though she'd expected much better...

Through the sliding doors of the Crown video arcade, Usagi saw Motoki with a customer - a girl about her own age. He was guiding her through a game, encouraging her, leaning over her shoulder and smiling. Usagi seethed with jealousy.

'How could he look so sweet! Don't get so close to her - your Usagi is right here!'

'Hi, dumpling head!' exclaimed Chiba Mamoru, turning up again like a bad penny. 'Hey, Motoki! Your dumpling's turning into a steamed bun 'cuz you're not looking after her!'

'Good afternoon,' Usagi said, very politely to Motoki, and very pointedly not to Mamoru.

'Hey, nearly quitting time,' Motoki remarked. 'Usagi-chan, wanna go out for a bite to eat?'

'So, my friend Naru-chan's in love with this guy who is really bad news. She doesn't know what he's really like,' Usagi explained over the café table.

'Well... in a situation like this, what should I do? If I tell her the whole story, Naru-chan would feel...' Usagi trailed off.

'Well, maybe there's no hurry. Why don't you wait and see what happens?' Motoki asked, unknowingly echoing Ami's advice from earlier.

'Nothing will change if you do nothing,' Mamoru said briskly. 'Honesty is a form of courage.' Usagi looked at him, surprised to hear such good sense from such a jerk.

'Mamoru's got a point,' Motoki admitted. 'If you tell Naru-chan the truth, she might be upset, but you really owe it to her as a friend.'

It was a relief to Usagi to have her mind made up for her. Naturally she decided to celebrate by eating vast quantities of food.

A few minutes later, fortified by pizza and the thought of her own courage in being so honest, Usagi marched up to the Osakas' door and rang the bell. The door was opened by Naru.

'Naru-chan!' Usagi said, 'It's taken a lot of courage for me to tell you this. Sanjouin Masato is a bad man. He's not even human - uh - I mean, he's really really bad! You shouldn't have anything to do with him. Just forget about him, okay?'

'But I'm...' Naru said, trying to get a word in edgeways. No luck. Usagi was already turning to go.

'See ya!' she called as she headed down the stairs. 'And remember, forget about him, 'kay?'

Luna had not accompanied Usagi on the second trip to Naru's, so she was eager to know how it went.

'And did Naru-chan see your point?' Luna asked. Usagi got a guilty look. 'Don't tell me you just blurted it out and left! I can't believe you. What was the point of telling her like that?'

That evening, Naru could not stop thinking about what Usagi had said. She had seemed so sure... but Sanjouin-sama seemed so wonderful... Naru's daydreams were interrupted by the shrilling of the phone. Her mother answered it.

It wasn't a romantic call. Sanjouin-sama sounded hurried and troubled. He wouldn't talk long, but asked her to meet him in the nearby Sankaku Park. Wild horses could not have kept Naru away. As she put down the phone, she called to her mother 'I'm just going out for a bit!' She was already out of the front door when her mother stepped into the room.

'It's okay,' Naru said. 'I'm so glad you did.' The park was shadowy, the only illumination coming from a dim bluish lamp around which moths fluttered, but Naru's eyes shone with their own light.

'Not at all,' he assured her. 'The thing is, I don't want you to get into any trouble. I've been threatened by some very dangerous people, and I wouldn't want you to be involved. So... goodbye. I'm glad to have known you.' He rose to go.

'Wait!' Naru couldn't stand to see him leave. 'Please... if there's anything I can do, just tell me.'

'If I give them the ginzuishou, I'm a free man... but I've said too much. Forget about it.' It wasn't the world's most convincing or artful performance, but Naru believed in him absolutely. And the mention of a silver crystal had sparked something in her mind... something her mother had shown her, a rare crystal she was going to sell in the store. What had struck her about it was its silvery shine. That just had to be it; she didn't know why the jewel Sanjouin-sama's enemies wanted should have ended up in her mother's possession, but it had to be it.

'Sanjouin-sama, please wait here. I'll bring it to you right away!' She was off and running, full of purpose, joyful in the knowledge that she could help her love. Nephrite watched her go with a wicked grin.

One of the moths battering at the blue lamp finally reached the light, burst into flames and spiralled down into darkness, destroyed by what it had desired...

Of course Naru knew where her mother kept the keys. Opening the safe cupboard was the work of a moment, and then the silver crystal was glistening right before her, in its padded case. She stretched out her hand and took it. She was in at the deep end now, for better or for worse.

'Who's there? What are you doing?' For all she had tried to make no noise, her mother had overheard and came in. 'Naru-chan!? What are you doing there?'

'Mama - I'm sorry...' Naru stammered. She couldn't go back. She ran, pushing past her mother, pelting out of the house and away.

'Come on,' Luna said briskly. 'We have to find out what Naru-chan thinks about all this. The whole mess is your fault anyway, not telling her properly.' Before they even got to Osa-P, though, they came upon Mrs Osaka.

As Usagi ran through the night streets, she remembered Mrs Osaka's words... Naru had stolen a jewel from the store and run away... there had been a phone call from someone called Sanjouin Masato... Usagi had promised to help look for Naru. And so she was running, her heart pounding as her feet beat upon the pavement. With every beat she swore Nephrite would pay for taking advantage of Naru's feelings.

Hmm...

'It's quite a nice marble... I'm more into Pokémon cards myself.'

In the park, Naru waited, hands clasped, as Nephrite examined the silvery jewel. He was both puzzled and disappointed. The kurozuishou should react when in proximity to the ginzuishou, but it was quite inert. Naru had brought him an ordinary decorative crystal. He was inclined to suspect some kind of trick, but she didn't look as though that were the case...

Flecks of light appeared in the kurozuishou, but not close to the stolen crystal. They clustered and brightened in the facet closest to Naru.

'I need your help with one more thing,' he said aloud. 'Will you come with me?' Naru would gladly have followed him anywhere - but they were interrupted.

'Stop right there! If you keep playing around with a young girl's heart, I'll bust you for romance fraud!' Only one person would use an opening line like that...

'Don't meddle in my affairs,' Nephrite warned her - but Sailormoon was already away on her love-and-justice speech.

'Naru-chan!' Sailormoon cried. 'Don't be fooled! Sanjouin Masato is just a cover identity for Nephrite, a minion of the evil Dark Kingdom.'

'That can't be!' Naru said. 'Sanjouin-sama couldn't be evil! Right, Sanjouin-sama?' She turned to Nephrite, beseeching him to justify her trust. He raised one hand in a mystic gesture.

'Stars, grant me your power...' As Naru watched, aghast, he attacked Sailormoon with sizzling white bolts of light, smashing the pavement as she leapt and stumbled out of the way. As the dust settled, it became clear that she had managed to dodge every blast.

Zap! Zap!

'I won't miss next time,' Nephrite promised, gathering himself for the killing blow. Sailors Mars and Mercury arrived at this point, but he was undaunted.

It wasn't going to be as easy as that. Sailormercury clouded the air with chilly mist from a Shabon Spray, and Sailormars followed through with a vicious Fire Soul. Nephrite managed to evade it, and saw to his astonishment that Naru had not run away. She was clearly terrified, but determined to stay by his side.

The golden disc scythed through the air, a humming angel of destruction, headed directly for Nephrite. There was no time for him to get out of the way.

Shield

'NO!'

Naru stood between Nephrite and the oncoming tiara, arms outflung. He gazed up at her, bewildered. Why would she do this?

'I'll protect Sanjouin-sama!' Naru glared at the hurtling disc as though she could stop it with her will, but could anything do that?

'Stop! Please!' Sailormoon screamed.

And whether it was her words, or Naru's will, or whether the tiara itself would not strike an innocent person, it came to a halt in mid-air, and dropped to the ground, a harmless piece of jewellery. Everyone stared at it in disbelief.

Flinch

'Because... I love him,' Naru said simply. 'I love him so much. I'll stand by him even if it costs me my life.'

Nephrite's mind was racing with hitherto undreamt-of possibilities. Does the kurozuishou respond to a kind heart? She's willing to sacrifice her life to save mine... is this what humans are talking about when they say 'love'?

He never had time to figure it out, as the youma Yasha appeared. Time seemed to slow down, the air to darken, as Naru noticed the kurozuishou where Nephrite had dropped it, and stooped to pick it up.

'Naru-chan!' The name didn't even pass through Nephrite's thinking mind before it left his lips. It was an impulse straight from the core of his being that made him call her name, that made him turn the power of the stars on the youma, shattering its mask and sending it flying.

The Senshi stared in disbelief. 'Nephrite defended Naru-chan!' There was no surprise in Naru's heart, only love and joy banishing the fear. Sanjouin-sama saved me! Overcome by the confusion of the moment, she passed out.

Yasha was not dead. It was stirring. It raised another face, ogre-like, to glare at Nephrite with blazing yellow eyes.

Glomp

'How dare you, Nephrite? Are you on their side now? Death to traitors!' The horns on its head became whirring drill-bits, ready to rend flesh. It charged at Nephrite, aiming for the stomach. Fast as it was, he moved faster, caught the horns, twisted and threw the beast into the air.

'Moon Tiara Action!' This time the missile found its target. Yasha hung stricken in the air for a moment.

'Damn you!' it wailed, as its being was torn apart and dispersed to the four winds. The battle was won... the first ever battle in which a general of the Dark Kingdom and the Sailor Senshi had, however unintentionally, fought on the same side.

Sailormoon knelt on the ground, cradling Naru's unconscious head in her lap. 'Nephrite,' she begged, 'can't you see what you mean to Naru-chan?'

Nephrite stood back from the girls. 'I have repaid her for what she did,' he said coolly.

'That's not what I mean,' Sailormoon said.

Tableau

'What a bunch of airheads,' said Nephrite, with equal disdain. Where Mars had been angry, though, he seemed grimly amused. 'Once I find the ginzuishou, the Dark Kingdom's dominion will be absolute.'

'Your time as superheroines is almost up,' Nephrite said, turning his back on the girls. 'Until then, feel free to blather about love and justice. Farewell.' He disappeared into darkness.

Sailormoon raised her eyes to look at the stars, glowing brightly, blurring through her tears. One star smeared, moved, traced a trail across the sky. She wished with all her heart... Shooting star, please... if Nephrite has any love for Naru-chan, don't let him pursue evil...

Could a wish do anything in a situation like this? Nephrite's fate seemed sealed. And as for Naru, oblivious to the night around her, oblivious to Nephrite's true nature... what would become of her?

Dark Crystal