This is another part of the Crystal Kingdom Archives. It helps if you've read Demon Hunter's Journal first, but (hopefully) it's not necessary. This story takes place between Forsaken Heart and Dear Ami.
Dear Diary,
It's been a month since Serenity started thawing the Earth, and we're already learning that some things never change.
I was down by the harbor, watching as the ships and warehouses opened for their first full day of business in nearly a thousand years. I thought it would be a good idea if Sailor V were there, just in case anything went wrong.
The sun was shining brightly, promising a pleasant day. It was already 20 degrees, and it wasn't even 10am yet. Minako thought it might get up to 25, or maybe even 30, before the day was out. Definitely a welcome change from the -250 it had been for the last 900 years.
One of the good things about the Long Freeze was the absence of pigeon droppings on the roof. There were a lot of things she'd willingly face - and had faced - both as Sailor Venus and as Sailor V, but pigeon shit was one thing she'd gladly do without.
Watching as cranes lifted shipping containers from the docked freighters, while further on a conveyor moved fish into a refrigerated warehouse, Minako noticed a pair of black Mercedes driving along the waterfront. She watched curiously until the cars turned in at a warehouse she remembered vaguely from before the Long Freeze.
She looked around quickly to make sure nobody was watching too closely and leapt to the next roof. Halfway across, a gust of wind snatched her fedora, revealing her Sailor V mask. She continued her journey, running across the roof and leaping to the next as her old instincts came back.
**Damn. I wonder how Bill managed to keep his fedora on.**
**He didn't wear a mask. Or a ribbon. And it still fell off a lot.**
**So why did he wear it all the time?**
**Why do you wear a red ribbon in your hair?**
**Because I like it. Oh.**
**See?**
The warehouse she wanted had a bi-level roof, with windows around the upper level. Minako crept toward the nearest open window and leaned against the frame so she could hear what was happening inside.
"So we're agreed, then. Unless we stop the Queen's new weapons law before the peasants can take advantage of it, we're going to lose a large part of our income - and be at risk of facing armed peasants."
"We're agreed. Since the Queen seems firm in her resolve, despite my people's attempts to dissuade her, we'll have to attack the problem another way. We believe the best route is through attacking the peasants directly. It worked in America, so it should work here much easier."
"How many guns will your man need?"
"Enough to fill a gym bag. And the more military-looking, the better. Do you have your reporters ready?"
"All they need is a date, time, and place. They're all reliable."
"Good. Our plan is to have our man hit Juuban Elementary School during lunch period on Monday. If your reporters do their jobs, we can use all those mourning families to demand stricter weapons laws, instead of the Queen's law."
Minako gasped in shock and anger. These people were actually planning to murder children, just because Serenity had replaced all laws restricting or prohibiting weapons of any kind with a single law that tripled the penalty for any crime if a weapon - of any kind - was used while committing it. She jumped to her feet, and immediately realized her mistake - just a few moments too late.
"Someone's up there!"
"Kill him!"
Bullets began striking the glass around her as those inside the building opened fire.
Oh well, in for a penny, in for a dollar.
She dove through the window, shucking her trench coat as she fell. With a flip and a flourish, she landed on the roof of one of the Mercedes.
"Sailor V! Shit!"
"Kill her!"
The flying bullets convinced her that now was not the time for speeches. She dove from one car to the other as the Yakuza followed her with their guns. Crouching in the shelter of a car, she caught her breath and envisioned where she'd seen the enemy on her way down. She'd only seen six, and unless they'd moved, they were all bunched together about 10 meters away. The noise of the guns, echoing inside the warehouse, was giving her a nasty headache.
"Crescent Beam Shower!"
She popped up and fired in one movement, producing an immediate reduction in the volume of fire. The two men still standing realized they had escaped only by luck, and when she pointed at them, broke and ran.
They were really surprised when they ran right into Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter when they got outside. I was surprised, too. Sailor Mercury identified one of the two I'd heard talking as the Chief Justice. He was the one who was going to provide the killer. The Yakuza were only going to provide the guns.
Sailor Moon explained that Aphrodite had called when I dove through the window, and that she was going to use the recording of their plotting to help sell her new law. It seems to me she ought to use it to sell eliminating the Yakuza and the old politicians, once and for all. She says it will, but I don't know how.
It was a good day, though. I got to stop a crime before it happened, and now the harbor is safe.
In the Yakuza warehouse, a cable swung lazily in the breeze through the open door. As it swung close to the office wall, sparks jumped between the exposed wires within it and the bullet that had embedded itself in the wood of the office doorframe. With each spark, the wood around the bullet charred just a little, until it finally burst into flame.
The flames were small at first, but as they grew to engulf the office, the heat shorted an electronic lock, causing a concealed door in the back wall of the office to swing open, exposing over half a million rounds of ammunition to the spreading flames.
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi, and all terms, names, etc. associated with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. I make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should not be seen as making a claim.
Those characters and concepts that are original, the Crystal Kingdom Archives, and the story "Sailor V Saves the Day", are copyrighted © 2000 by Bill Hartwell.
Rated: PG