The Rainbow Mantle
Act Four: Makoto's Unusual Day / Unexpected Letter / Minako's Song.
By: eternal stargazer.
All standard disclaimers apply.



	"So, practice from now on is every Thusrday?" Minako asked. Usagi and the rest had gone home 
several minutes earlier. She decided to stay back to find out about volleyball practice.
	"Yeah." A tall, brown haired boy replied. "I'm glad you're joining volleyball again." He said.
	"I'm glad myself, Asai-kun." Minako said excitedly. "I can't wait to get started!"
	"Hmm, I wonder who he is." Asai said when he looked at the school gate.
	Minako looked at the gate and saw a silver haired man lingering around there. He seemed to be 
observing the school. 
	"Anyway, I got to run. See you at practice." Asai said and left.
	"Ja!" Minako said as she walked towards the gate.

	Minako reached the school gate and the silver-haired man stared at her. Minako widened her eyes 
when she saw his face. He looked so familiar. He looks like... 'Kunzite.' She said silently. Wondering 
whether he is the dark general that she fought before, Minako decided to talk to him.
	"Are you looking for someone?" She asked him.
	He tore his eyes away from the school grounds and stared at her. 
	Minako looked at him in wonder. He does look like Kunzite but somehow he was different, she noticed. 
He looked like Kunzite and yet, unlike.
	"Not really." He said in a deep voice after a moment of staring at her. 
	"Then why are you here?" Minako asked.
	"I'm investigating the suspicious circumstances that happened at your school a week ago. Maybe you can 
tell me about it." He said and stared at her with piercing ice-blue eyes.
	"You're investigating-are you a detective?" Minako asked in disbelief. First there were reporters and 
now a detective?
	"I'm Nirazuka Keisuke from Tokyo PD." He replied, not bothering to show his badge much to Minako's 
annoyance.
	"What 'suspicious circumstances' are you talking about?"
	"According to numerous statements from students, some unidentified creature appeared at your school 
field. Apparently, two 'sailor soldiers' arrived and fought the creature, which they managed to defeat in the 
end. Though I wonder; if they really defeated the creature, then its body should've been at the field." 
Keisuke said.
	Minako was about to say that there were THREE sailor soldiers and that they didn't defeat the 
creature but quickly stopped her self. Keisuke waited for her to speak. "Well, that just proves that the 
incident never happened. There's no proof."
	"Yes, I know but a huge number of students reported almost the exact same story and then there were 
six students injured the same day. I do not believe that it's a coincidence." Keisuke stated. "What is your 
story?"
	Minako was worried that her face had turned pale when the detective mentioned about the injured 
students but she just shrugged. "I don't know. I was in the toilet when it happened." She replied; it was 
the truth, in a way. "Well, I've gotta go. Ja!" She said and walked away. 
	
	


	"Have you ever noticed anyone with a strange quality about them?"
	"Did you witness the incident that destroyed the whole field?"
	"Do you think the school knows and is trying to cover it up?"

	"Leave me alone!" Makoto told the three reporters who were pestering her. 'I'm running out of 
patience here!' She said as she refrained herself from hitting any of them. She walked as fast as she 
could.

	Nakata was walking towards his car when he saw three people harassing a schoolgirl. 

	"Don't you have more important news to report?!" Makoto shouted at them. Only one of the reporters 
backed away. At first she thought they were pestering her because they knew that she was the one that got 
attacked yesterday but it clearly wasn't so. 'What am I going to do?' She asked silently. In a normal 
situation, she'd just hit any of 'em or run. But if she accidentally hit them harder than she should, they 
might suspect something. And if she ran abnormally faster than normal, that would probably lead to the 
same results.
	"Excuse me, but I think you'd better leave the young lady alone." A masculine voice spoke.
	Makoto looked up and saw a tall guy with long, wavy dark brown hair. She gave him a look of 
gratitude. But he failed to make the reporters go away.
	"Mr. Mieno! How do you do?" One of the reporters asked in an oily voice. "How do you feel now that 
you are the legal owner of Mieno Corporation again?" 
	"How did you manage to convince the board of directors to excuse your three year absence?" The 
other reporter inquired.
	"Do you still wish to deny that you were in a coma for three years?" The reporter that had backed 
away earlier had returned.
	Nakata gave them a look of the deepest annoyance. "I do no wish to comment at this moment. If you 
wish to interview me, contact my office." He said and looked at Makoto. "Come on." He told her and pulled 
her wrist.
	"What?" Makoto asked in confusion as she followed him.
	He stopped next to a silver Ferrari and opened the door. "Get in." He told her.
	"But..." Makoto began.
	"Look behind you." He told her.
	Makoto did as told and saw a few more reporters appearing. She quickly got in the car.

	"Arigato." Makoto thanked him. "You wanted to save me but ended in trouble yourself."
	"Oh don't worry." He told her. "They usually don't do that to me. Don't know why they're so bold 
today. I saw them holding notepads but I didn't think they were real reporters!" He admitted. "I thought 
they were a bunch of guys harassing you."
	"Oh."
	"Why were they after you?"
	"Stupid thing, really. Somehow the reporters had a tip-off that some of the sailor soldiers are 
actually students at my school." Makoto replied.
	"Sailor soldiers?"
	"You've never heard of sailor soldiers?" Makoto asked. 'Where have you been all these years?' She 
thought silently.
	The young man shook his head.
	"They're female soldiers with superpowers who defend this planet." Makoto said. "Of course, 
they're fictitious." Makoto added hastily after seeing his look of amusment but she did feel irritated at 
his reaction.
	"What's your name?" He asked.
	"I'll tell you once you tell me your name." Makoto said.
	He let out a laugh. "Mieno Nakata and yours is...?"
	"Kino Makoto."




	Ami was walking home from tuition when she saw the postman leave the condominium. She got in and checked 
the mailbox. As she saw the name of her mother on all the letters, her sapphire eyes widened when she saw 
the last letter, which was for her. "It can't be." She quickly closed the mailbox and got into the elevator.
	The tore open the letter once she got inside her home.

	Dear Ami,
	Hi? How are you? Hope you're doing great. I'm fine at the moment. It's been a long time huh? Anyway, 
	something's come up and I'm coming to Tokyo. I'm probably on my way by the time you're reading this. 
	I need to see you Ami. I'm sorry for suddenly appearing in your life like this. I'll call you when I 
	reach Tokyo.

	Ryo

	Ami re-read the letter a few times. Something must be wrong. Ryo wouldn't come all the way from Kobe 
for nothing. And another thing: why didn't he just send her e-mail? Three years ago, Ryo was her sort-of 
boyfriend. She liked him and got along very well with him. But a few weeks after she got to know him, he told 
her he had to move to Kobe. At that time, Ami felt a surge of dread at the news. She didn't want him to go. 
Ryo was the only guy who had ever been interested in her and he was really nice too. He promised to keep in 
touch once he reached Kobe. They both kept in touch at the beginning but soon the letters came less 
frequently. Ami wished she could put the blame on him for the loss of communication. But she became lazy to 
write as well. So, Ami hadn't been in touch with him for almost two years, until now. A part of her felt 
happy that he was coming here but another part of her felt a foreboding. Ryo proved to be a very knowledgeable 
and accurate psychic. Ami suspected that he must've had a vision or premonition that involved her. The ringing 
of the phone brought Ami out of her thoughts. "Moshi-moshi." She greeted and held her breath. Could it be Ryo?
	"Konnichiwa, Ami-chan!" A cheerful voice greeted her. It was Minako. Ami let out a sigh of relief. 
	"Can you come over to my house right now?" Minako asked.
	"Huh? Why?" Ami inquired.
	"I've finished it." Minako said with increased cheerfulness.
	Ami seemed blank for 1 second then she gave a cry of surprise. "Honto?"
	"Hai." Minako replied.
	"I'll come over right now." Ami said and terminated the line. 



	The delicious aroma of chocolate chip muffin still lingered in the kitchen. Makoto had baked in last 
night because she had a sudden craving for muffins. Makoto was glad she did so. When Nakata dropped her in 
front of her apartment, she insisted that he accept her muffins as her thank you. Makoto smiled when she 
remembered seeing Nakata flush as he received her muffins. "That was a very nice guy." Makoto said as she 
took a bite of muffin. 'What a day I've had! First, sleazy reporters pestered me. Then this good-looking guy 
in a silver Ferrari rescued me!' Makoto sighed sadly. 'But he's Nakata Mieno. Mieno Corp. is a very big 
company. He must be rich. I'll never see him after this.' Makoto then looked out her window.



	"Well, what do you think?"
	"Minako-chan, it's beautiful!" Ami said earnestly. The song Minako just played brought soulful things 
to her mind. It was happy yet sad and touching. "How did you ever come up with such a beautiful song?"
	Minako stretched his fingers above the keyboards of her white grand piano. "I just thought of the most 
beautiful thing: love." She paused before continuing. "Even though I don't have a boyfriend at the moment, I 
just imagined how it would be to have the most beautiful love in the whole world. I don't how it came so 
easily to me. It's like I have experienced a beautiful love before. Ami-chan, this song is how I perceive a 
beautiful love to be."
	"Then are you sure you don't want to write the lyrics?" Ami asked her. "I mean you can explain your 
feelings through it."
	Minako shook her head. "As much as I'd like to, I'm not good in writing. I'm not ready to write, yet. 
Will you do the honors?"
	"All right." Ami agreed. "So the theme is beautiful love?"
	"Hai." Minako replied.
	"I'd better start soon then. Michiru wants it in next week right?"
	"Yeah, sorry I took so long to compose." Minako apologized.
	"Don't worry about it. How come Rei didn't want to pitch in?" Ami inquired. "She'd written a good song 
two years ago, remember? The one she sang at her school festival?"
	"Yes, I remember. Rei told me she was going through a phase. At that time, it was a song 
composing/writing phase. She's not interested in it anymore." Minako explained. 
	"Oh, okay." Ami said. Then she remembered about Ryo's letter and told Minako about it.
	"He's coming back?" Minako asked.
	"Well, I don't think he's coming back for good. I reckon he's just coming here for a visit." Ami told 
her.
	"I do have a feeling that it might be about the enemy." Minako said.
	"I think so too." Ami said and got up. 
	Then, Minako told her about the detective she met earlier but left out the fact that he looked like Kunzite.
	"Why is everyone suddenly interested in us?" Ami asked.
	"I've no idea. I just hope they don't get too far." Minako said and got up as well. "Make sure you inform 
us after you've seen Ryo."
	"I will." Ami replied as she took the cassette from Minako. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Asai first appeared in Sailor Moon S. He's a friend of Minako's and plays volleyball.
* Ryo appeared during the first season of Sailor Moon. He's a very powerful psychic and knew about the senshis'
  identities long before seeing them transform.
* In the manga, Minako's ambition is to become a popular singer. I decided to portray the composer side of her.
  Ami on the other hand, have not been known to show a profound interest in music, but in one of the episodes of 
  Sailor Moon SuperS, she wrote a poem to accompany a beautiful song she heard on the Net written by an anonymous 
  composer.
* Concerning the part where Keisuke introduced himself as a detective from 'Tokyo PD', I'm not sure whether
  that's the way they say it in Japan ^_^. So, I ended up using the American style instead.
* E-mail: stargazer173@whale-mail.com