I'll Cover You cpt 4

We went into one club after the other, the girls dancing, me observing. These were typical clubs, and if they weren't typical by American standards, they were by Japanese. No evidence of anything interesting here. I'd prefer we went somewhere quiet, so I could worm this secret out of them. What's the project? A secret military operation? The fashionable Japanese girl reads manga, speaks English, and can destroy an enemy base in ten minutes! And you thought your child was an honours student!

Not quite. Somehow I can't picture Usagi mowing down rebels in swampland. Makoto, maybe.

Coincidentally, Usagi chooses this moment in my reverie to grab my wrist and pull me out onto the floor. She is a little stronger than she looks. "You have to dance sometime tonight, Darien!"

"No, I don't. I can't dance, in fact. My body rejects any sort of rhythm as poison. It's the truth, I promise."

"Oh, come on! You can't be that bad!"

Usagi sees how wrong she is as I attempt to move like the forty other teenagers on the floor. "Okay, so you weren't lying," she giggles. "Want to go somewhere else?"

"Please."

"Mako-chan! Dokko?"

Makoto, being wooed by a group of men, winks and waves us away.

"I suppose she'll be staying here, then?"

Usagi harrumphs. "I don't know how she does it. She never used to pick up any guys, and now they just swarm."

I take a quick look back and notice that none of the men are looking her in the eyes. "I don't think it has much to do with her dance moves, if that makes you feel better."

"A little, thank you."

The cool night air is refreshing after the packed club. We wipe sweat off our foreheads and discuss where to go next.

"Let's not go anywhere," I suggest. "I'm done for the night. I'm an old man, you know."

"Oh, come on. You can't be that much older than me," Usagi laughs.

"Try me."

She stands on tiptoes and studies my face. "Hmmm...twenty-one?"

"Twenty-five."

A shrug. "I was close. Bet you can't guess how old I am."

My turn. I study her features. Her eyes have a childlike innocence in them that makes her look no older than 12. Her body would hint otherwise. Appearances aside, logic prevails in my brain. If she thinks I'm only a little older than her, and she guessed 21, then she must be...

"20?"

She furrows her brow. "Did you cheat?"

"Nope. I'm just a terrific guesser."

"'Guesser' is not a word, Darien."

"How do you know? 'Did you cheat?'"

"No. I paid attention in English class, like you should've done with Japanese."

I smile.

Holy shit. That's a real smile. I haven't done that since Raye-- maybe it isn't best that I think about her while I'm actually happy.

"Want to just walk around, Usagi?"

She smiles. "Sure. We can go to the park. It's my favourite place."

She grabs my hand and I feel warmth rush through me. Stop it. You're supposed to be thinking about Raye.

All thoughts of Raye start to fade out as vague pictures of Serenity fade in, but both of them lose their places when Usagi shoots me a smile and drags me along.

Usagi is lying in grass, I'm leaning against a tree, and we're watching the still waters.

"So why Japan?"

"Exactly."

"What?"

"That's what my boss told me. 'Exactly. No one's ever thought of it before.' So now I'm here, and I don't have a story. Well, I have an imagined one with Sara what's-her-name."

"Sera Muu," Usagi corrects.

Why does the Japanese language suddenly sound sexy to me? Until now, it has been regarded by myself and my friends as "ching-chay-chow" noises to make over poorly-dubbed Godzilla movies.

Because it reminds you of Raye, a voice tells me. She used Japanese in her Shinto prayers. If only I knew how to make it right with her when I get back. If only there were a woman I could talk to--

Oh wait, here's one.

"Usagi, I need help in women matters."

She rolls over and props herself up on elbows, watching me. "Nani?"

I'll take that as a go-ahead. "Well, I have this girlfriend - well, had this girlfriend - and she got mad at me over something stupid, and now won't answer my calls. What do I do?"

"What was the something stupid you did? Maybe you can't fix it at all."

"It was a Freudian slip."

"A what?"

Stupid damn language barrier. "A...I said something I didn't mean to say. I don't even know why I said it, or where it came from, and she got mad at me."

"What did you say? Did you call her a name?"

"Sort of, just not hers. I said 'Serenity.'"

Usagi seems to prick up at the mention of the name. "'Serenity'? What's wrong with that? Why would she get upset at that?"

Oh yeah, that embarrassing part. I shouldn't have brought this up. "I said it during sex."

"Oh." Silence. "Well, baka, why on Earth did you say something like that during sex? Do you know a Serenity?"

"That's my point! I don't! I mean, there's one in my dreams, but I - atchoo!" The hell? A sneezing fit overtakes me, and I feel my throat close up.

"Daijobou?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

"Are you okay?"

Oh. That word. "No, not really."

"What's the matter?" She pulls tissues out of a little purse.

"It's my allergies, but they haven't acted up since I've been here!"

She glances behind me, asking, "What are you allergic to?"

I should just carry around a list with me. "Uh...everything?"

"Are you allergic to me?"

"No..."

Her eyes return to me. "Then be more specific."

Gotta admit it, she's got spunk.

"Okay, dogs, cats, pollen, smoke--"

"I'll take you back to my place and give you something."

I could make another sarcastic and/or dirty joke here, but I have decided against it. She helps me up and we head to her apartment.

"Wouldn't it be better if I went back to my place?"

"Oh shush. My house is closer."

"House?" I'm shocked. "When did you get your own house?"

She blushes. "Let's talk about that later, okay? We'll just sit you down for now." She glances behind us again, then leads me full speed ahead to the suburbs.

Two glasses of water and the perusal of fifteen drugs later, we're drinking coffee at her dinner table. My sneezing fit has died down, either due to the fact that we're away from nature, or the efficiency of the drugs.

"So tell me more about this Serenity in your dreams," Usagi yawns.

"Am I keeping you up? I'll go home if you need to go to bed."

"No, I'm fine. Not every moment can be as exciting as an allergic reaction."

I smile again. She's just a Raye of sunshine, isn't she? Oh, hell. I really need to work on what idioms I use.

"Well, I don't see much. She's usually calling out for 'Endymion,' but I'm not sure if that's supposed to be me. I feel like I need to help her, and at the same time, she helps me. And I - atchoo! Oh hell."

Usagi looks past me. "I'll be right back."

She leaves and my allergies die down again. Oh please, don't tell me she wears a pollen-filled sweater or something.

I hear voices arguing. One of them is Usagi's, and the other...the other is reminiscent of my mother scolding me. Of course! She still lives at home. She's arguing with her mom. Probably over the handsome, exotic stranger in the house.

Apparently, I am part of the conversation. I hear a "Darien" from the other room. Well, if they're talking about me, there can't be any harm in listening in. Right?

The two are arguing in Japanese, but I can pick up a few things here and there. "Danger...stupid...mission [is this their 'project'?]...Darien...your fault...Serenity...Sara Moo..."

I knew it! She's been hiding something from the day we first met. Although I have no idea what my dream and a blurry sailor chick have to do with them. I peek around the corner to see how angry her mother must look: hopefully I can rush in and save Usagi. And then I'll grill her with questions.

I've seen a great deal of things in my time. I've seen contortionists who can do obscene things to themselves, I've seen men paint portraits onto pinheads, and I've seen Ozzy Osbourne bite the heads off of bats. But I peeked out of Usagi's kitchen to see her arguing with her cat!

Let's review, shall we?

My life has not varied from the norm in 25 years. I grew up, I went to high school, I played basketball, I went to college, I graduated, I got a job, I rented an apartment, I got a girlfriend. Averageville.

In the last few months, I have: a) broken up with my true love over a shadowy dream woman who won't leave me alone, b) been shipped, by my office, to a country where I don't speak the language, c) in said country, encountered a girl with blue hair, d) have seen a monster explode with death by jewellery, e) and now I see a girl talk to her cat. More important than that, the cat is talking back.

This has to be a joke from Andrew. This can't actually be happening. For a month, I had no story ideas, and now at least five have presented themselves. What an odd little place the world is.

It's about to get odder. A voice full of static, like over a walkie-talkie, tells Usagi something that sounds very urgent. I hear "Hai!" and my blonde escort pulls a large compact out of her purse. Was that always there? How on Earth did it fit?

That's the least of my questions.

Usagi holds it up and yells...actually, wait a moment.

I, Darien Edward Shields, am of sound mind and body while retelling this. There is no fictionalisation, but if there is, it is noted. Everything else is absolutely true, as I witnessed said events. I am not out of my damn mind.

Usagi holds up her compact and yells, "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

Her clothes fall off, and light and ribbons wrap around her body, forming a little sailor outfit. With a skirt. And a tiara. This time, my vision isn't blurry.

Usagi is Sailor Moon. Hey, I finally got the name right.

I hide back in the kitchen until I hear her front door close gently. I laugh. She may be a superhero, but she's a hero sneaking out of her parents' house past midnight.

I grab my coat. My camera's in my right pocket. I sneak out of the front door and follow the long pigtails.

This time, I'm getting pictures.