Vol. 7 Sailor V's vacation The Hawaiian Plot! Originally appeared in Run-Run, September 1993. Translated by Alex Glover . Version A-1.1, 2.97. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been a while, hasn't it! I'm Aino Minako. I'm 13 years old and in 7th grade. "Mom!" Minako calls. "Hurry, hurry! I have to get a lottery ticket! The shopping center's summer sale and jumbo lottery end today! First prize is Hawaii! I'll get it!" * 1st prize - 6 days in Hawaii with your family * 2nd prize - 29-inch TV * 3rd prize - 8mm video camera * 4th prize - Laundry detergent * 5th prize - Beer * 6th prize - Tissues "You can't win first prize that easily," says her mom. "I'd just like the beer or detergent." "See you later!" Minako runs out of the house. "If nothing else," says Artemis, "you could get the tissues for 6th prize." This is my weird talking cat, Artemis. "Hawaii," Minako says. "Hawaii!" They see two men accosting a woman running a shop. "Hey hey!" one of the men says. "We're going to put up an octopus dumpling stand here. So you can't put one up!" "But this is in front of my store," the woman says. "Mina!" says Artemis. "Ohh..." says Minako. "I have to go to the lottery..." We're the kind who can't stop looking for trouble. "Don't be so irresponsible, you two!" she calls. In fact, I'm the soldier of justice, Sailor V. She stands before them in her sailor suit and mask. "Code name: Sailor V! I'm Sailor Venus! You can quite easily put up two octopus dumpling stands! Fighting gets in people's way." "Sailor V!" says one man. "We're going to put up an octopus dumpling stand!" says the other. "Back off!" "Sailor V Kick!!" The clock strikes six. Minako stops. "Oh no!!" she says. "The lottery's over at 6 o'clock!" She runs to the lottery stand, knocking another person out of the way. "I'm playing the lottery too!" She cranks the wheel, and the gold ball falls out. "Ooh... Congratulations!!" the shopkeeper says. "Sailor V-san, you've won six days in Hawaii!!" "I did it!" she says. "The trip I've been longing for! Hawaii!" The guy who Minako shoved steps up. "Umm... I'd like to play too..." "Oh, I'm sorry," says the shopkeeper. "Since first prize has been won, the lottery is now over." "B- But...!" he says. "Can't you even give me the tissues for sixth place? For this lottery, I've shopped in this mall for the whole summer, and bought lottery tickets, but... Ohh... The trip I've been longing for, Hawaii. One second earlier, and I would've had it. Sailor V's got such luck." Wakagi turns around. "What?" he says. "The first prize of Hawaii was snatched away by Sailor V!? Is that so, brother." Wakagi Toshio 27 years old Metropolitan Police Office, Special Police Headquarters Special Officer "I wanted to travel abroad, like you," the guy says. "I'm just going on an inspection tour to Greece as the chief's attendant," says Wakagi. "Brother, look, if you pay for the shopping center's tour, you can go along. Is that all right?" "Then that's what I'll do. I have money saved up." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dark Agency Office. Danburite looks up from his newspaper. "Hmm. Bubbles are bursting in this business recession. Travel abroad is record-breakingly popular. Seems the travel craze of the Japanese isn't falling off at all." He turns on the television, and the image of a woman appears through the static. "Danburite-sama," the woman says. "We can't ignore the power of the Japanese abroad. Let me, Hibiskos, do it. The power of the humans' energy in the midst of summer vacation is at it's highest. It will certainly be of use to our Dark Agency." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A tour guide reads from a clipboard at the New Tokyo International Airport. "Sailor V-san, of Shiba Shopping Center's tour! Is she here yet?" Minako runs up to her, with her parents close behind. "Here I am!" she says. "Actually, Sailor V-chan is busy with her job, and can't come, so I'm coming in her place!" "Well!" the tour guide says. "The lottery winner herself should come... I guess there's no helping it. Here's your ticket! It's the 6 o'clock flight to Honolulu." Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii. Hawaii is the 50th state of the U.S. Minako spots the ticket machine near the terminal's entrance. "What...!" she says. "The airport's not free!? You have to pay an airport facilities fee!? And it's 2,000 yen!" Two kids are climbing over the railing into the terminal. "It's okay, it's okay!" one says. "You can get in for free! You don't want to pay, right? This way!" Minako transforms and stops them. "Hold it right there, you two!" "Sailor V!?" they say. "Even if Narita Airport will let you use the place for free, I won't!" The security guard runs to them. "Where are you! You punks!" "Ohh!" they say. "With our allowance, we had no choice! We couldn't pay! We're sorry..." "If you don't pay the airport facilities fee," says the guard, "you can't come in the airport. You've got a problem." Minako sees Wakagi's brother walking into the airport. She slaps him on the back. "I've got it!" she says. "What if some nice person on the same tour lent me the money? How about it?" "Huh!? Me!?" the man says. He hands her his wallet. "*sob* Why me!? My money...!?" "Sailor V!" a boy says. "Please take a picture with me!" "Me too!" says a girl. Minako's mom grabs her dad. "Honey!" she says. "Let's take our picture with Sailor V too, to remember this!" She looks around. "Hey, speaking of which, where's Mina? Where'd she go!? Now that Sailor V's here..." She taps Wakagi's brother on the shoulder. "Hey! Excuse me, you! Take our picture, okay? "Huh!?" he says. "M- Me!?" - The superintendent-general of the Metropolitan Police Office stands with the police group gathering for the Greece tour. "It's so noisy!" she says. "I wonder if there's some star here. Wakagi! Go take a look!" "It might be an incident!" says Wakagi. "Sailor V!" calls the crowd. "Sailor V's here!" "Did they say Sailor V!?" the chief says. "That girl!" says Wakagi. "Causing such a commotion again at the airport!" "I wonder if V-chan's traveling somewhere too," says the chief. "I can't see through the crowd!" "It seems Sailor V is going to Hawaii," says another officer. "Hawaii!?" she says. "A vacation in Hawaii with Sailor V... If V-chan's going, I'm going to Hawaii too..." "Chief!" Wakagi says. "Aren't we going on an inspection tour to Greece!?" "Wakagi!! I've decided! Go to the counter and negotiate! There might be some cancels on the Hawaii flight!" "Chief...!?" he says. "We're supposed to go to Greece on the 6 o'clock plane! What are you saying!? We'll miss our flight!" - Minako runs through the terminal. "Ohh... I've been hung up! I have to hurry and undo my transformation, and get to the gate! I'll miss the plane!" "Sailor V, waiiit!" Wakagi's brother calls. "I've got to get at least one commemorative photo!" Minako runs into the women's restroom as Sailor V, and then runs back out in her normal clothes. Wakagi's brother takes a picture. "Eww!" Minako says. "In front of the woman's restroom! That's sick!" Two girls stare at him. "Did you hear that?" "He's a pervert. A pervert." "S- Sick?" he says. "But...! I was just going to take a picture with her..." Minako continues running through the airport. "Ohh... Where did mom and dad go!? It's five minutes to six. I'm going to miss the plane... I don't know where the gate could be..." Wakagi's brother runs after her. "Oh! That girl's on the same shopping center tour!" he says. "I'll follow her!" A bell rings through the P.A. system. "Would passenger Aino-sama of the departing 6 o'clock flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, immediately report to the gate..." "Oh no..." Minako says. "That can't be about me!?" She sees her parents in a store. "Mom! Dad! There you are! You're not buying at the duty-free shop! Hurry, hurry!" "But it's so cheap..." A flight attendant calls out to them. "Oh! You're here, you're here! Finally! People, this way!" Minako and her parents get on the plane, with Wakagi's brother behind them. "Great, you made it!" the flight attendant says. "The four members of the police group." "Huh!?" says Minako. "The police!?" say her parents. Amano waves from his seat in first class. "Hey! Mina-san!" "Amano!?" says Minako. "No way! You're going to Hawaii too!?" "Hawaii?" he says. "This plane is going to Greece." "Greece?" - A flight attendant runs to the gate. "Oh no! We have no-show passengers for the 6 o'clock flight to Honolulu, Hawaii! I can't find them anywhere." "To Hawaii!?" the chief says. "If the passengers don't come by 6 o'clock, they're cancels! I'll go in their place!" "Chief!?" says Wakagi. "Get out the money!" she says. "Ch- Chief..." "Well..." says the flight attendant. "No matter what, you'll be going. Seems we're departing." "Hawaii! With V-chan!" "Chief..." "Everyone!" says Hibiskos. "Thank you for taking advantage of this opportunity. I hope you enjoy your trip to Hawaii." "Miss," calls a boy. "You're cute!" "Why, thank you," she says. She carries out a tray of drinks. "These Japanese starting trips abroad are just fools overflowing with power," she thinks. "The Dark Agency's Hawaiian branch will get much more energy than in Japan. This will be easy, and fun. Many of these travelers are young kids, too. After I soak up their energy, everyone will eventually be my slaves." She chuckles. Wakagi holds his head. "I feel so weak..." "Oh, really!?" says the chief. "I wonder if V-chan has already arrived in Hawaii. I'll be able to watch her activities in Hawaii! Oh, the path to Hawaii is fun!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii. "What!? Sailor V isn't here!?" "Sailor V was busy with her work and couldn't come," says the leader of the Shiba Shopping Center tour group, "so a girl came in her place. But V-chan was at the airport! I wouldn't be surprised if that girl is Sailor V." The flight attendant looks at her clipboard. "The one who was late for the plane must have been V-chan!" she says. "There's been a misunderstanding. I wonder if she was left behind in Narita. But we haven't gotten a call about that... Oh! Wait. There was another flight departing from Narita at 6 o'clock. To Greece." The chief and Wakagi grimace. "I didn't think it could be, but I'll do a little checking..." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The other plane soars through the sky toward Greece. The flight attendant cringes. "I mistook that party of four from the Hawaii flight for the ones on the Greece flight, and brought them on board... Oh, I'm a thoughtless stewardess. *sob* I'm sorry!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Whaaat!? Sailor V-chan is going to Greece in our place!?" "Chief..." says Wakagi. "I said we should go to Greece..." "Sailor V!?" thinks Hibiskos. "She said Sailor V, the mortal enemy of the Dark Agency!!" She calls out to the others. "Everyone! I'm the chief stewardess of the Dark Air System. I'm accompanying that group. The passengers that mistakenly went to Greece will surely want to come to Hawaii again." "Then, let's all hurry and go to Greece!" says the chief. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hellenikon International Airport, Athens, Greece. Wakagi steams as he carries all of the suitcases. "Damnit... We're coming, we're going. How did I get this luck... This is like everything else! It's Sailor V's fault!" The chief, Wakagi, and Hibiskos run out of the airport. "Now, where's Sailor V!?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Acropolis. The cool wind blows over Minako's body. "Oh... Glorious ruins. As I walk through the inside of the shrine, I feel like I remember something..." ("What!? A memory of your former life!?" calls Artemis, who was left in Japan this time. "It's not fair, I was the only one left behind!") "A memory..." she thinks. "That's it. Why am I in this place!? Hawaii! I'm supposed to be in the Hawaii I've longed for, but...!" "Hey, Mina!" calls her mom. "The price for the tour of Greece is much higher, so we can't come often. Take advantage of it!" "Hawaii." "Look, you should be taking lots of commemorative photos too!" Wakagi's brother wanders around the ruins. "Oh, why am I in Greece. Strange. About now, wasn't I supposed to be relaxing in Hawaii!? Since I lent my money at the airport, I don't have any spending money. I was treated like a pervert. The money I had finally saved up, the trip I've been waiting for. Here in this foreign country, with just this stone building, I can't even make myself understood. I got it! Since I messed up in that lottery, all my fortune has gone! This bad luck. When I think over all of this, all of this (even when I don't think over it)... It's Sailor V's fault!! I'll get her!!" Minako's head jerks up. "Hatred!!" A block of stone loosens from the roof of the ruins. "Watch out, Mina-san!" calls Amano. He pushes her out of the way. The stone block falls on the head of Wakagi's brother. "Yes, yes, yes," Amano says. "This is turning into an Agatha Christie plot. Smells like a mystery! Like in "Death on the Nile". Of course, that was at Egypt's Temples of Abu Simbel, but... (I'm a mystery otaku.)" A worker calls out from the roof. "Oh! My hands slipped and I dropped a stone!" "Be careful!" says another. "Wh- Why do I have this luck!?" thinks Wakagi's brother. "It's all, all Sailor V's fault!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fierce hatred toward Sailor V!" thinks Hibiskos. "I feel it!" "Well!" she says to the others. "The police party has safely made it to Greece. I'll look for the other passengers to take back to Hawaii. See you!" "The passengers returning to Hawaii," says the chief. "That's the party in Sailor V's place! Wakagi! Follow me!" They head to the Acropolis. "The hatred came from here," Hibiskos says. "Hey! There's a pretty girl here!" calls a boy. "She must be a guide. Will you take a picture with us?" "Sure," she says. "It would be my pleasure." "Throughout the world," she thinks, "wherever you go, the power of Japanese tourists is amazing. But I will receive that power." She holds up an a camera. "I'll take it with this specially-made instant camera. Here we go." A beam shoots out from the camera, draining the energy from the two boys. "But compared with Hawaii, the power of energy here is small. Since the age group of travelers to Greece is high, there aren't any young kids." She sees Wakagi's brother muttering to himself. "God damnit!" he says. "Sailor V! Wait till I get my hands on you!" "That man," she thinks. "Maybe I can use him. Yes, even in this dry land, I'm an aloha girl. You poor thing, you wanted so much to go to Hawaii. You hate Sailor V. I will lend you my power." She strikes him with a blast of power. - Minako looks around. "Huh!? The people of the shopping center tour are all gone suddenly. Everyone!? What's wrong!?" She hears a voice. "Heh heh heh." A caped figure stands atop the ruins in the distance. "Sailor V! I know why you've come to Greece!" "An enemy!?" she thinks. Wakagi's brother stands on the ruins wearing Hawaiian garb with a mask and cape. "I am Aloha Kamen!" he says. "I have a big grudge against Hawaii! If you want the lives of the Japanese tourists saved, show yourself! Sailor V!" Minako grabs her magic pen. "Boss! What is that!? Is he an enemy!?" "No," says the voice from the pen. "I don't know why, but I feel a fierce hatred of Hawaii." "Hatred of Hawaii!?" says Minako. "If he has a grudge against Hawaii, I'll take care of it." She grabs her compact. "Crescent Moon Power! Transform!! Turn me into a Hawaiian bathing beauty! I accept your challenge, Aloha Kamen." Blood spurts from Wakagi's brother's nose as he sees Minako in an extremely skimpy two-piece swimsuit, with a lei around her neck. "Oh no!" he says. "Going to Hawaii and taking my picture with a bathing beauty. It was my dream!" He collapses on the ground. "What, over already?" says Minako. "Aren't you an enemy?" "I can't use him!" says Hibiskos. "After all, I can't get the youth out of him." "Who are you!?" "I am Hibiskos, of the Hawaiian branch of the Dark Agency. Do you think you're a match for me!? Bringing me out to this remote place, where I can't get one tenth the energy of Hawaii, that makes me mad. You're going to pay with your life!" "Hawaiian branch!?" says Minako. "Hibiskos!? Coming to this remote place makes you mad!? Moon Power Transform!!" She appears in her sailor suit. "Code name: Sailor V!! The soldier of justice! I am the sailor-suited beautiful soldier, Sailor Venus! This summer, I bet in the shopping center's lottery! A summer in Hawaii! The Hawaii I've wanted to go to since I was little, I finally made it! But I missed the chance of going there for free! The one to pay with their life will be you! Rolling Screw Sailor V Punch!!" Her fist launches Hibiskos high into the air. "The coup de grāce! Crescent Beam!!" Hibiskos is destroyed. "With Venus Power, Love Crescent Shower! Pour down! Vanish into Greek dust!" The people at the ruins begin to awaken. "Huh...?" "Oh! Splendid!" "We saw Sailor V's exploits here!" "A Japanese maiden! Nice!" A man runs to Minako. "Sailor V!" he says. "You must take one picture with the Parthenon under the setting sun as the background! I just know with you standing still in front of the sanctuary, the image will be perfect!" "What? Really? It will? Now that I think about it, a free trip to Greece isn't so bad." She kneels on a stone in front of the ruins. "Yep, looking at it now, Greece is a beautiful place." Wakagi's brother wakes up. "Huh!? What!? These clothes! What on earth have I been doing!? There's nobody here. How did I get here!? All of it, all of it. It's Sailor V's fault!!" Wakagi reaches the ruins. "There's nobody here!" he says, steaming. "What!?" says the chief. "Sailor V-chaaan! I thought I'd finally, finally meet her, but--!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minako chuckles nervously. "Well, I won the shopping center lottery, and went to Hawaii." Hikaru holds up a parchment of hieroglyphics. "Why does this gift say 'made in Greece'?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright (C) 1993 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright (C) 1996, 1997 Alex Glover. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------