Hotaru was so engrossed in animated conversation with Mark during lunch that at first she didn't notice the commotion. Finally she had to turn her head, though, because Mark's gaze kept flicking away from her face to look behind her. At first Hotaru ignored his distraction, but after a while she couldn't stand it anymore and turned to see what he kept glancing at. A young couple a few tables away from them had fainted, and the other patrons were alternately gaping in astonishment or attempting to help. "Did you see what happened?" Hotaru asked in a concerned voice as she turned back around to face Mark. He shook his head, but stopped snatching furtive glances in the direction of the disturbance. For some reason he looked satiated, as if the meal they'd been eating hadn't been satisfying enough for him until he'd caught a glimpse of the prone couple.
"No, I just noticed when they fell face down in their food and everyone looked over at them. It's very strange, don't you think?" Mark shrugged, then leveled a devastatingly open smile at her. "I'm sorry my eyes kept wandering while you were talking. I was paying attention to what you were saying, though. So what happened after you decided you wanted to become a nurse? Did you?"
Hotaru jerked her mind away from thinking about the two people behind her and tried to recall what she'd been saying. She'd been giving him a highly edited version of her life story and struggled to remember exactly what she had and hadn't said. Lying could be terribly complicated. As she remembered what she'd been saying, she looked down in faint shame. "I-I didn't do anything. I live alone, and I have the money from my father to keep me more than comfortable, and, well," she took a deep breath to steady herself, "I never did anything with my life." Why hadn't she? Everyone else had done something about their lives as humans, but Hotaru had just drifted along, feeling as if she didn't really belong in the same world as normal people. Why had she felt so disconnected? "That's part of the reason I came here. I've been so dissatisfied with the way my life has gone lately. I originally came here to meet an old friend, but things haven't worked out too well in that department." Hotaru looked down at her hands as her eyes darkened. Mark reached out and put his fingers over hers. She felt his comforting warmth soak into her cold, numb hands and raised her eyes to see him smiling at her. The ends of her lips moved up involuntarily in response. She'd been smiling so much more since she'd met him. "I've been thinking of changing that, though. I've been feeling so much more ambitious lately." Since I've met you, Mark. What are you doing to me? How are you changing me so much? "Maybe I could start taking some classes. I have the money." Hotaru's voice trailed off into introspective silence, and her eyes wandered from Marks aqua eyes to the wall clock. She brought her hands to her face and gasped in horror as she saw the time.
"What?!" Mark's brow furrowed with worry as he saw the look on her face. "In God's name, what is it, Hotaru?"
She jerked her head to look at him with startled eyes. "I have to go. I'm going to be late." She cursed the wooden sound in her voice, but she couldn't believe how the time had flown. "I'm heading back to your apartment building, if you're done." She gestured at Mark's crumb covered plate and the small portion on one side of it that he hadn't eaten yet.
"Yes, I've-" he hesitated for a brief second, and Hotaru caught a strange abstracted look in his eyes, "-eaten enough." He stood and waited for her to hurriedly pay the bill. "C'mon. How late are you?"
"I'm not quite late yet, but I have been pretty regularly the last few times, so I can't be late again." Hotaru began to walk faster. Mark had no trouble keeping up--his long legs ate up the pavement. Hotaru kept glancing at her watch. Finally they neared Mark's building. She stopped at the entrance to the lobby. "It's right near here--I'm cutting it awfully close, but I'll make it." Hotaru's hands itched to reach up to his face, and she uncomfortably stuffed them into her coat pockets. "Thank you for being so understanding."
Mark smiled kindly. "Thank you for lunch, and for bringing my coat back." He shrugged his shoulders in it and looked at her.
She could sense he was debating whether or not to kiss her. She lowered her eyelids a bit, hoping. . .
"Well," he cleared his throat uncomfortably and took a tiny step back, breaking the spell, "you don't want to be late."
Hotaru was silent for a second, almost too overcome with disappointment to say anything, then she nodded a bit and backed off as well. "I'm so sorry I have to run off like this. And I still don't know the number at my friend's place--I left soon after waking up this morning. I'll stop by again, with the number this time!" She gave him a lopsided smile and turned, and jogged out of sight. As soon as she rounded the corner she stole another glance at her watch and groaned. Her little conversation had pushed her over the edge--she was definitely late. Oh, well, there was no help for it. She reached into the air.
"Saturn Crystal Power. . .Make up!" Saturn looked around the corner again and finally saw them--they were running a bit behind too. She ran up to them as they neared the glass doors of the apartment building's lobby. She glanced through them just in time to see the elevator doors close on Mark. He was looking curiously at the unusual sight of Sailor senshi, and she had occasion to be thankful for the unconscious magic that kept her from being recognized as Hotaru in senshi form. Wouldn't that be awkward?
"Saturn! Good to see you!" Neptune smiled sweetly at her, and Uranus' eyes flicked in her direction at Mars' words, but Mercury was already using her computer and visor to analyze things.
"There are some strange energy fields here," Mercury stated after a few seconds, "but they're so faint. Whoever's here is being very careful to cover his tracks. But then why would he allow his monsters to attack in that obvious expanding circle. . .?"
Mars was looking things over herself. "I get the feeling that those monsters were acting on their own--a few escaped his control and went on a rampage."
Neptune nodded. "They would naturally spread out in that circular pattern then."
Uranus began to move forward. "Well, then, if we're done with initial surveillance-" she pushed open the door, "let's go." The apartment manager was understandably awed by a visit of some of the Sailor senshi, and he gave them a key to the elevator without a single word of argument. Mercury was hunched over her palmtop again.
"The readings are so faint, I can't narrow down where they're originating from. . ." She looked up at the others. "I think we'll have to get into the elevator and ride up, stopping at each floor. I can't analyze the whole building from here--I'll need to compare local readings to get a descent estimate. . ." she snorted in disgust and wandered toward the elevator. Mars' eyes were closed, as if she were in a light trance, and Saturn had to tug on her to get her to follow Uranus, Neptune and Mercury to the elevator. They pushed every single floor button--all 50--and began the slow ride up. Uranus grinned faintly as the doors closed on the fifth floor.
"I feel like we've been tricked by a nasty little kid that pressed all the floor buttons before jumping off," she explained when Neptune shot her an inquiring look. Saturn nodded a little, having thought the same thing. This was going to take forever!
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Saturn stifled a yawn.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Mars was still staring blankly at the lights above the door which signaled which floor they were on. Saturn almost wondered if she wasn't in a trance after all, if something else was happening to her.
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
Twenty.
Twenty-one.
Twen-
"Stop!" Mars called out. Uranus quickly pressed the button to hold the elevator door open. Mercury looked up at the startling interruption.
"What is it?"
Mars cocked her head. "I wish I had a way to consult the fire here, then I'd have a better idea of what's going on. I still sense something different about this floor, though. Mercury, what does your computer say?"
"There is a slight change in the energy field, but it's lower, not higher. I was considering suggesting we search all the floors below this one."
"No, there's something here. It doesn't want us to be here. . ." Without another word Mars stepped out of the elevator. The others followed her. "I don't get any sense of direction. I don't know where to go from here." Mars shrugged helplessly after turning around in the corridor a couple times. She slammed her fist into her palm. "Damn! This is frustrating!"
"Well," Mercury sighed, "It looks like we're going to visit each apartment, floor by floor."
Saturn groaned softly at the prospect. There had to be about forty apartments on each floor! If only this complex weren't so huge! "Shall we split up, or stay together?"
"I think it's safer if we stay together, just in case this is where our enemy is hiding." Mercury appeared worried. "Which way should we go?"
"That way." Uranus pointed left. "That's the longer end of the corridor. Let's get that over with first."
Mercury knocked on the first door and began to talk to the old lady that answered the door. Neptune went to the room across the hall and raised her fist.
"Neptune! What are you doing?!" Saturn turned to watch as Mars glared at Neptune.
"We're together, but this way we'll get done twice as fast, Mars." Neptune gave Mars a cool look and knocked. Mars' cheeks blew out, as if she were holding in an explosion, but she didn't say anything else. Saturn sighed. Some things never really changed.
"Yes?" A middle aged man blinked blearily at Sailor Neptune, then gaped in surprise as he recognized her.
"Excuse me, sir, sorry do bother you, but have you seen anyone on this floor do anything strange lately? Or have you been feeling abnormally tired?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I have been awfully sleepy. In fact, I was sleeping just now."
"Really sir?" Neptune opened her mouth to ask the man another question, but he interrupted her.
"Yeah. Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that I work the night shift. Can't you girls think of anything else to do than dress up like the senshi and go around playing jokes on people? Really!" The man shut his door in Neptune's amazed face. Saturn tried to hold back a chuckle at the look on her adopted parent's face.
"Well, I doubt he's the man we're looking for." she commented cheerfully. "Our quarry would be worried by the sight of us."
Neptune shot a dark glance over her shoulder at the apartment door as she turned away. "I guess you're right, but I'd like to give that man a lesson in manners."
Saturn watched as Uranus and Neptune moved on to the next door. This was going to be a long afternoon.
*****