PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE

Chapter 35: Bad Dreams and Hasty Plans

On first glance, one would think that the planet Mangar was a beauty to behold, with purple crystals jutting out like stalactites from beneath the earth that shimmered in red, pink, violet and blue hues. If viewed from outer space, Mangar resembled an amethyst floating about in the darkness of space. However, the viewer's aesthetic senses would vanish once they learned just how difficult it actually was to live here. It was a world that suffered from constant rain and was overrun with crystals, not allowing any plants to grow properly. To make matters worse, wild dragons roamed the surface, threatening to slaughter any human they made contact with.

To survive, the residents of Mangar had to build underground cities and fortify them using those very same crystals that plagued the planet's surface. Just like Kadmas with selling honey and flowers, Mangar's economy relied on trading gems and rain water for food and seeds. If it wasn't for those commodities, Mangar would have been entirely ignored by the rest of Alkima's planets. This was precisely why its resident Sailor Soldier, Sailor Manganese Dragon, joined the fledgling Toxicum Sailor Soldiers.

The five Soldiers reconvened on Mangar after escaping from a harrowing mission on a different world. To make a long story short, Dragon had been kidnapped while on a spying job, and her partners had come to rescue her from being executed. They were forced to kill that world's Sailor Soldier, whom they had betrayed in the past, in order to make their getaway before the slain Soldier's allies could catch on and overwhelm the small team. It was thanks to those small numbers that the five warriors could sneak aboard a trading vessel bound for Mangar and get away safely.

Sailor Cyanide Cobra happily held her partner's hand for the whole trip back while Sailors Cinnabar Vulture and Cadmium Bee bickered with each other as usual. For some reason though, Dragon noticed how unusually quiet Sailor Arsenic Hyena was as she sat in the corner staring out the window, as if she wanted to exclude herself from the celebration. It wouldn't be until the group landed safely on Mangar that Dragon would get the chance to talk with Hyena one-on-one.

Mt. Mangar served as the struggling planet's capital city, situated deep within a crystal-fortified mountain. Dragon's villa served as the city's central hub, which reached out into the highest cavern adjacent to the world's tallest waterfall. The mansion had a massive patio with a magnificent view of the waterfall and the surrounding landscape. This was where Dragon found Hyena standing with an umbrella by herself.

"There you are," Dragon said. "You have been absent from dinner for a long while. Cobra wanted to look for you, but I volunteered in her stead."

"Hm..." was Hyena's flat reply.

"You have looked pale ever since we escaped, and your appetite has decreased significantly. Are you feeling all right?"

The green-haired girl didn't respond. They listened to the pattering of the waterfall for a short while. The taller Soldier approached her in concern and said, "Perhaps it would be best to talk about it. If you persist in this taciturn behavior, the others may want to intervene against your will."

"I suppose you're right," Hyena agreed. She had to crane her neck up just to look at her ally's face, and then said, "I thought I could keep this hidden, but since it's you who's asking, I have little choice. The truth is, this whole incident was due to my own carelessness."

"You, being careless? I cannot imagine such a thing."

"Don't be absurd. I'm still human, and we are prone to making mistakes no matter how well-guarded we are. Your mission failed because there had been an information leak, as I'm sure you strongly suspect."

"Indeed. There's no possible way that Sailor Soldier could have known unless she got her hands on your strategic plans. Could your notes have been stolen at some point?"

"Not necessarily. I confirmed that there had been a mole within my ranks, and they were the one responsible for sabotaging my records."

"A mole... How truly despicable..." Dragon seethed. As a woman of honor and valor, she despised the very notion of underhanded tactics and espionage.

"Due to that, I must apologize to you for having you exposed to such a bitter experience," Hyena lowered her face. "If I had not discerned this breach, we would not have been able to save you from being executed in a timely manner."

"Whatever are you talking about? You have nothing to apologize for."

"That is more untrue than you possibly know."

Dragon watched as Hyena faced away from her comrade in what looked to be a gesture of shame. Her umbrella almost obscured the shorter girl's body from Dragon's view, and they remained there in total silence, again listening to the water patter around them. Eventually, Hyena spoke in a low, broken murmur. It was so faint that Dragon had to ask, "What was that you just said?"

"... You are the girl of my dreams."

The violet-garbed Soldier thought that it was some kind of surprise confession that she would have to outright reject. However, she knew that Hyena wasn't like that. As far as sexuality went, Hyena was completely straight. Thus, Dragon interpreted it to mean that her friend was actually repeating some guy's words spoken to her in the past.

Hyena continued, "I was going out with another Sailor Soldier, but she was killed in a recent battle. Some people might talk about me behind our backs, but just ignore them. I believe that I have found the one who will make me happy for the rest of my life. You're smart, beautiful, and clever enough to avoid getting yourself killed and leaving me behind. I hope that you will find it in your heart to accept me as the man of your life as well."

Dragon couldn't resist the urge to raise an eyebrow in consternation. How could someone as collected as Hyena be swayed by such pathetically trite words? Perhaps there was the slightest hint of a dreamy-eyed romantic hiding within that vapid intelligence. Dragon had such a hard time reading Hyena's expressions that it was impossible for her to tell.

"... An unlocked cabinet."

"Hmm?" Dragon murmured. What in the world was the melancholic Hyena going on about now?

"Missing notes. Photocopied diagrams. Used envelopes. Pages that had been written on, leaving behind writing indentations on the next page. Pencils that had suddenly grown shorter. Unsaved computer documents. More and more burned papers in the fireplace. An invoice for a long-distance parcel delivery."

Dragon's eyes widened as she asked, "Might you be insinuating the unthinkable?"

Hyena paused, feeling her chest tighten intensely. "While Cobra, Vulture and Bee were rescuing you, I was busy confronting that man."

"And what did you discover?"

The short girl slowly turned around, her hair covering her eyes as if she didn't want to look at her comrade. Then, she began to speak...

****

Midori's heavy eyelids pried open. To her surprise, she wasn't in bed as she expected. She had actually fallen asleep in front of the computer while in the middle of writing her thesis. The bright glare of the monitor made her feel nauseous for a moment, so she rubbed her eyes before looking at the clock. It read 6:15 AM, which greatly annoyed her.

It's supposed to be the first day of school today. What an inconvenient time to wake up...

Seeing no point in going back to sleep, she stretched before getting ready for the day. Her dream kept nagging her though, as it wasn't the typical jumble of thoughts and concepts weaving some kind of random story that she was used to. This was a genuine glimpse into her past in Alkima Galaxy.

Why did I dream about Dragon and I, though? Although we were teammates, we weren't particularly close as friends. Perhaps her parting threat from the last battle must have made a greater impression on me than I realized.

After unleashing a good yawn, Midori locked her apartment and left the complex in her casual attire, hauling her heavy textbooks in her knapsack to read during breaks at school.

****

With a snort, JunJun woke up from a totally bizarre dream that she couldn't remember anymore. She found herself splayed over her bed with the covers having fallen off during the night, and the cool breeze from the opened windows formed goose bumps on her skin.

"Brr... So chilly..." she whispered and got up to close them. She looked down at the sidewalks and discovered Midori walking towards the Azabu district, where Juuban Municipal Primary School was located.

Hey, where's she going so early in the morning? Wait a minute...

JunJun looked at the calendar and realized that school started today.

Aw man, summer's over already!? What a bummer! And I can't go back to sleep either.

She scratched her head and looked back at the window, an overwhelming curiosity getting the better of her as she wanted to see why Midori had left so early. Maybe she had a bad dream too? With that, JunJun decided to get ready as well. She could always use her acrobatic leaps and tricks to catch up to her fellow tenant.

****

Midori wasn't in a rush to go to the school, so she flipped open a handheld device and read a downloaded textbook that she was interested in to pass the time during her walk. She also wanted something to distract her from that lingering dream, and these complicated facts and theorems that would give others a headache served to soothe her nerves.

She rounded a corner, absorbed in her studies, when she heard a familiar girl's voice call out to her, "He~ey, Midori~i!"

She looked around, but couldn't see anyone. The girl shouted again, "Up here!"

That was when Midori found JunJun hanging upside-down from a light fixture from her bent legs. The energetic girl dropped down and landed with the grace of a cat before exclaiming with a cheery salute, "Mornin' there!"

"What an unexpected surprise. I thought you would be running late with the others today."

"Notta chance! VesVes and I argued about who was going to be in class first, and I'm gonna beat her no matter what! Besides, I saw you leaving already and thought it'd be perfect to go with you!"

"Is that so? But since we're not in a particular hurry, we can afford to take our time. The doors don't open until 8:30 anyway."

"Sure thing! So what're you reading there?"

"I was just reviewing the basics concerning nucleic acid structures to see if they could be coded into digital format and processed into a supercomputer, from which the geosynchronous satellites could track criminals. That's been my main point of contention for the last while, since digitizing human DNA hasn't even been considered by anyone in forensics. I may have to consider developing a nanomachine injection program as my backup strategy if I can't solve this conundrum, but that runs the risk of violating ethical laws."

"Oh, uh... That sounds... interesting..." JunJun muttered, completely stumped by what her friend was saying.

"It's fascinating to me, but I will keep such discussion to a minimum for your sake," Midori relented.

"Thanks. I don't really dig that kind of science-y stuff. I'm more worried about what we're gonna be learning at school."

"I actually researched the standard curriculum for our grade, and I have a fairly solid outline as to what will be taught throughout the year."

"So you're gonna try and finish all of your assignments early!? I oughta get in on that so I can have more time to play! Say, how 'bout we both get up early like this and do our homework before the teacher even assigns it!"

Midori scratched her chin and said, "I wasn't intending to make such waking patterns a routine, plus I'm not 100% certain as to what the teacher will assign in the first place. Like I said, I only have a general idea of the curriculum, not an exact schedule of assignments."

"Aww... So we can't just barge through the year and get out early, huh?"

"I think you're putting the cart before the horse here. It's important to carefully listen to the professor and learn through trial and error. Charging through assignments like they're a mere hurdle will not bring you long-term success."

"Sounds kind of boring," JunJun rolled her eyes. "But I guess there's no other way, huh? I'm bad at a lot of things like kanji, math and English. They just don't seem to click for me."

"If you're having trouble with something, you could approach me with a request for me to study with you one-on-one."

"You'd do that?"

"Not every day, but if there's something you're genuinely stuck on, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help."

"Awesome! Thanks a bunch!"

Midori brushed her hair aside in embarrassment and sighed. While they were chatting, they passed by several other people who were on their way to work or going for a jog. Two people, a man and a woman, stuck out to them while passing by a bus stop because the couple leaned in close and gave each other multiple kisses.

"Yick. Why couldn't they just get a room?" JunJun whispered and scrunched her face.

"To be fair, there aren't many people out at this time," Midori murmured. "Just leave them be."

They continued on their way, oblivious to the masked purple-haired woman hiding in an alleyway. She first gazed at the girls intently, then shifted her eyes to the blatantly romantic couple.